Pianist Barbara Nissman to Open DePauw's Faculty Select Series Wednesday

September 18, 2014

On Wednesday, September 24, local audiences have the opportunity to hear one of the great proponents of romantic pianism perform in the intimacy of DePauw University's Thompson Recital Hall, when internationally recognized pianist Barbara Nissman presents the opening concert on the School of Music’s Faculty Select Series. The performance will be given at 7:30 p.m. in the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts.

Hailed as the “one of the last pianists in the grand Romantic tradition of Liszt, Rachmaninoff and Rubinstein,” Nissman has performed and worked with the major conductors of our time, from Eugene Ormandy to Riccardo Muti. She recently joined Leonard Slatkin at the Kennedy Center’s 25th anniversary gala concert broadcast on PBS. For the DePauw event, an ambitious program for solo piano is planned, ranging from Béla Bartók through Franz Liszt to the works of Alberto Ginastera and Sergei Prokofiev (whom Poulenc called the “Russian Liszt”).

“Probably the greatest pianist to ever grace the concert stage, Liszt was a true ‘pop star’ -- our first ‘celebrity’ performer,” notes Nissman. “With his extraordinary technique, Liszt laid the foundation for romantic pianism and influenced so many composers who wrote for the piano: Bartók, Ginastera, Prokofiev. I guess we could call Liszt, the ‘godfather’ of bravura pianism.” Wednesday’s program will demonstrate how these 20th-century composers were connected to Liszt and influenced by his approach to the keyboard.

The DePauw School of Music was fortunate to receive the recommendation to engage Nissman from Greencastle native Tom Turk ’58, who will return to campus to attend the concert. Turk, a longtime friend of the artist, met the musician while she was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. At Ann Arbor, she studied with Hungarian-born pianist Gygory Sandor, himself a student of the famed composer Béla Bartók.

“Between November 1964 and January 1985, our TV station WMSB/WKAR-TV produced 17 recital programs with Barbara for PBS,” says Turk in a recent phone interview. “They were distributed both nationally and internationally, so she got some good exposure through the station. We recorded lots of Schubert, Bartók, Franck, Beethoven, Liszt and, of course, Alberto Ginastera, the Argentinian composer.” Ginastera dedicated his Piano Sonata No. 3 to Nissman when he came as a guest artist for the May Festival at Michigan, while she was still a student.

“Barbara’s playing is based on solid scholarship. Her performance is not just proficient technically, she’s able to communicate the work and make it understandable in a lot of different ways -- and with a wonderful sense of humor,” Turk adds.

In addition to Wednesday’s concert, Nissman will lead a master class for student pianists at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25. Both the concert and the master class are open to the public and will be held in Thompson Recital Hall.

General admission tickets to Faculty Select Series concerts are $5. Tickets for seniors, children and all students are free. No admission will be charged to attend the master class.

For questions or assistance purchasing tickets cal (765) 658-4827, drop by the Green Center box office, located at 605 S. College Avenue (Mon.–Fri. noon–4 p.m. and 6–8 p.m., Sun. 12–8 p.m.), or visit www.depauw.edu/music/events/eventcalendar.

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