Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025 • 5 p.m.
Timashev Recital Hall
Columbus, OH
Christopher Durrenberger, piano
Lecture Recital on American Piano Music:
A closer look into John Cage, Aaron Copland and George Gershwin
Program
Selections from Sonatas and Interludes (1946–1948)
John Cage (1912–1992)
Four Piano Blues
Aaron Copland (1900–1990)
1. Freely poetic (1947)
2. Soft and languid (1934)
3. Muted and sensuous (1948)
4. With bounce (1926)
Preludes for Piano (1927)
George Gerswhin (1898–1937)
I. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
II. Andante con moto e poco rubato
III. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
About the Artist
Award-winning pianist Christopher Durrenberger has earned top prizes at major national and international competitions, including the Coleman and Carmel Chamber Music Competitions, the Los Angeles Etude Musical Club Piano Competition, the Young Keyboard Artists Association International Piano Competition, and the National Music Teachers Association National Piano Competition. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) invited him to be an artist-in-residence for the 1992–1993 season. Subsequently, he and his award-winning chamber ensemble gave hundreds of performances, were broadcast live on National Public Radio, were featured on ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and played for the National Council in Washington, DC.
Durrenberger commenced his piano studies at the Hartt School of Music (Hartford, Connecticut) at age five. After making his orchestral debut there at age twelve, he went on to pursue his musical training at Oberlin College. Post-graduate work brought him to the University of Southern California School of Music where he earned both a master's degree and the Doctor of Musical Arts with honors. Some of his mentors include Julian Martin, Leon Fleisher, Yoheved Kaplinsky, John Perry and James Bonn.
Solo, concerto and collaborative piano engagements continue to take him across North America, North Africa and Asia. He frequently travels to China, where he has given performances and master classes at major universities and conservatories in Taipei, Shanghai, Shenyang, Dalian, Tianjin and the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Durrenberger, a Columbus resident, is a professor of music at Wittenberg University.
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