Free Masterclass  I  O’Donnell Recital Hall  I  Owen Center for the Arts SMU  I  6101 Bishop Blvd, Dallas, TX 75205

Follow along as groups of Junior Competition participants play for and learn from some of the world’s top pianists and teachers.

ABOUT Alessio Bax

Alessio Bax is without a doubt “among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public” (Gramophone). He catapulted to prominence with first prize wins at both the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, and is now a familiar face on five continents, not only as a recitalist and chamber musician, but also as a concerto soloist who has appeared with more than 100 orchestras, including the London, Royal, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, the Boston, Dallas, Sydney, Cincinnati and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, and the NHK Symphony in Japan, collaborating with such eminent conductors as Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov, and Jaap van Zweden.

Mr. Bax explores many facets of his career in the 2019–2020 season. Fall brings the release of Italian Inspirations, his eleventh recording for Signum Classics. Pairing works by Luigi Dallapiccola and Alessandro Marcello with Italian-themed pieces by Rachmaninov and Liszt, the album’s program is also the vehicle for Mr. Bax’s solo recital debut at New York’s 92nd Street Y. A further debut follows with the Milwaukee Symphony, where he plays Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto under Han-Na Chang, and the same composer’s Fourth Concerto and Choral Fantasy take him to the Santa Barbara Symphony. Placing special focus on long-term collaborative projects, this season Mr. Bax undertakes Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) and on a forthcoming Signum Classics release, both with Paul Watkins of the Emerson String Quartet; plays trios in Santiago with Berlin Philharmonic concertmaster Daishin Kashimoto and French horn virtuoso Radovan Vlatković; and embarks on multiple U.S. and European recital tours with superstar violinist Joshua Bell. After headlining the North Carolina Symphony’s season-opening concerts together, Mr. Bax and his regular piano partner, Lucille Chung, give duo recitals with CMS, at Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, in the Yale Piano Series, and at Sala São Paulo in Brazil. He rounds out the season with a full summer of festivals, highlighted by his third season as Artistic Director of Tuscany’s Incontri in Terra di Siena festival, which is fast becoming a major international destination for music-lovers.

Mr. Bax revisited the two concertos heard on Alessio Bax Plays Mozart for his recent debuts with the Boston and Melbourne Symphonies, both with Sir Andrew Davis, and with the Sydney Symphony, which he led himself from the keyboard. Other 2018–2019 highlights include the pianist’s Auckland Philharmonia debut, concerts in Israel, a Japanese tour featuring dates with the Tokyo Symphony, U.S. collaborations with Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Edo de Waart, and two solo recitals marking his return to the prestigious Mozarteum Argentino series at Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón. Recent seasons have also seen Mr. Bax make his solo recital debut at London’s Wigmore Hall, which aired live on BBC Radio 3, and give concerts at L.A.’s Disney Hall, Washington’s Kennedy Center, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. In 2009, he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and four years later he received both the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award and the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists.

Alessio Bax graduated with top honors at the record age of 14 from the conservatory of Bari, his hometown in Italy, where his teacher was Angela Montemurro. He studied in France with Francois-Joël Thiollier and attended the Chigiana Academy in Siena under Joaquín Achúcarro. In 1994, he moved to Dallas to continue his studies with Mr. Achúcarro at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts. In fall 2019, Mr. Bax joins the piano faculty of Boston’s New England Conservatory. A Steinway artist, he lives in New York City with Lucille Chung and their 5-year-old daughter, Mila. Beyond the concert hall he is known for his longtime obsession with fine food; as a 2013 New York Times profile noted, he is not only notorious for hosting “epic” multi-course dinner parties, but often spends his intermissions dreaming of meals to come.

Free Master Class  I  O’Donnell Recital Hall  I  Owen Center for the Arts SMU  I  6101 Bishop Blvd, Dallas, TX 75205

Follow along as groups of Junior Competition participants play for and learn from some of the world’s top pianists and teachers.

ABOUT Gilbert Kalish

Pianist Gilbert Kalish’s profound influence on the musical community as a performer, educator, and recording artist has established him as a major figure in American music-making. He was pianist of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players for 30 years, was a founding member of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, and is an Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He is a distinguished professor and head of performance activities at Stony Brook University and serves as international program director of Music@Menlo’s Chamber Music Institute. He previously served on the faculties of the Tanglewood Music Center, Banff Centre, and Steans Institute at Ravinia. His discography of some 100 recordings encompasses the classical repertory to new compositions. Mr. Kalish received the American Composers Forum’s Champion of New Music Award in 2017.

Free Masterclass  I  O’Donnell Recital Hall  I  Owen Center for the Arts SMU  I  6101 Bishop Blvd, Dallas, TX 75205

Follow along as groups of Junior Competition participants play for and learn from some of the world’s top pianists and teachers.

ABOUT Gilbert Kalish

Pianist Gilbert Kalish’s profound influence on the musical community as a performer, educator, and recording artist has established him as a major figure in American music-making. He was pianist of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players for 30 years, was a founding member of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, and is an Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He is a distinguished professor and head of performance activities at Stony Brook University and serves as international program director of Music@Menlo’s Chamber Music Institute. He previously served on the faculties of the Tanglewood Music Center, Banff Centre, and Steans Institute at Ravinia. His discography of some 100 recordings encompasses the classical repertory to new compositions. Mr. Kalish received the American Composers Forum’s Champion of New Music Award in 2017.

Free Masterclass  I  Caruth Auditorium  I  Owen Center for the Arts SMU  I  6101 Bishop Blvd, Dallas, TX 75205

Follow along as groups of Junior Competition participants play for and learn from some of the world’s top pianists and teachers.

ABOUT Ruth Reinhardt

Ruth Reinhardt is quickly establishing herself as one of today’s most dynamic and nuanced young conductors. She served as the assistant conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) for two seasons under Jaap van Zweden and concluded her tenure at the end of the 2017–2018 season. Having recently made her debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic this past summer, this season Ms. Reinhardt made debuts with the Grosses Orchester Graz and Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, and in North America with the Fort Worth, Omaha, Orlando, Portland, and Sarasota Symphony Orchestras, among others. Ms. Reinhardt returned to the Dallas Symphony three times this season, to conduct a subscription week as well as several concerts in the greater Dallas community and the DSO’s contemporary alternative ReMix series. She also returned to conduct the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and Malmö Symphony, and at the Impuls Festival in Germany.

Last season, Ms. Reinhardt was selected as a Dudamel Fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and in summer 2018, she served as the assistant conductor of the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra. In addition, she worked with Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra (NYO-USA) assisting Michael Tilson Thomas. Highlights of her 2017–2018 season included guest engagements with the Indianapolis, North Carolina, and San Diego symphonies, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in the Primrose Viola Competition.

Ruth Reinhardt received her master’s degree in conducting from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Alan Gilbert. Born in Saarbrücken, Germany, she began studying violin at an early age and sang in the children’s chorus of Saarländisches Staatstheater, Saarbrücken’s opera company. She attended Zurich’s University of the Arts (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste) to study violin with Rudolf Koelman, and began conducting studies with Constantin Trinks, with additional training under Johannes Schlaefli. She has also participated in conducting masterclasses with, among others, Bernard Haitink, Michael Tilson Thomas, David Zinman, Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Marin Alsop, and James Ross.

Prior to her appointment in Dallas, Ms. Reinhardt was a conducting fellow at the Seattle Symphony (2015–2016), Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Center (2015), and an associate conducting fellow of the Taki Concordia program (2015–2017). During her time at Juilliard, she led the Juilliard Orchestra as well as concerts with New York City’s ÆON Ensemble, with whom she has led a collaboration with the Kronos Quartet.

A precocious talent, by age 17 she had already composed and conducted an opera, for and performed by the children and youths of her hometown. While studying in Zurich, she also conducted the premieres of two chamber operas for children: Die Kleine Meerjungfrau (The Little Mermaid) by Swiss composer Michal Muggli, and Wassilissa by German composer Dennis Bäsecke. Other opera productions she has conducted include Dvorák’s Rusalka and Weber’s Der Freischütz for the North Czech Opera Company, and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus at the Leipzig University of the Arts.

Free Masterclass  I  O’Donnell Recital Hall  I  Owen Center for the Arts SMU  I  6101 Bishop Blvd, Dallas, TX 75205

Follow along as groups of Junior Competition participants play for and learn from some of the world’s top pianists and teachers.

ABOUT Alexander Kobrin, 2005 Cliburn Gold Medalist

Since winning the gold medal at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Russian pianist Alexander Kobrin has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Russian National, English Chamber, Dallas Symphony, and BBC Symphony Orchestras. Recitals have taken him to major halls throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Also a committed teacher, Mr. Kobrin has been on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music since 2017, having previously served on the faculties of the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University (chair) and NYU’s Steinhardt School. In addition to the Cliburn gold medal, he has won top prizes at the Busoni, Hamamatsu, and Scottish International Piano Competitions. His teachers have included renowned pedagogues Tatiana Zelikman and Lev Naumov.

Free Masterclass  I  O’Donnell Recital Hall  I  Owen Center for the Arts SMU  I  6101 Bishop Blvd, Dallas, TX 75205

Follow along as groups of Junior Competition participants play for and learn from some of the world’s top pianists and teachers.

About Orion Weiss

One of the most sought-after soloists in his generation of young American musicians, pianist Orion Weiss has performed with the major American orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic. Also known for his affinity and enthusiasm for chamber music, Mr. Weiss performs regularly with violinists Augustin Hadelich, William Hagen, Benjamin Beilman, and James Ehnes, and the Ariel, Parker, and Pacifica Quartets. His impressive list of awards includes the Gilmore Young Artist Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the Classical Recording Foundation’s Young Artist of the Year in September 2010. A native of Lyndhurst, OH, Mr. Weiss attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Paul Schenly, Daniel Shapiro, Sergei Babayan, Kathryn Brown, and Edith Reed. In 2004, he graduated from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Emanuel Ax.

Free Masterclass  I  O’Donnell Recital Hall  I  Owen Center for the Arts SMU  I  6101 Bishop Blvd, Dallas, TX 75205

Follow along as groups of Junior Competition participants play for and learn from some of the world’s top pianists and teachers.

About Anne-Marie McDermott

For more than 25 years, Anne-Marie McDermott has balanced a versatile career as a soloist and collaborator, playing concertos, recitals, and chamber music throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Her repertoire spans from Bach and Haydn to today’s most influential composers. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, among others; been a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 1995; and continues a longstanding collaboration with violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. Together with her chamber group OPUS ONE, she has commissioned more than 15 works. In addition to performing, she serves as artistic director of the Bravo! Vail and Ocean Reef Music Festivals, as well as curator for chamber music for the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego.

Free Masterclass  I  O’Donnell Recital Hall  I  Owen Center for the Arts SMU  I  6101 Bishop Blvd, Dallas, TX 75205

Follow along as groups of Junior Competition participants play for and learn from some of the world’s top pianists and teachers.

About Anne-Marie McDermott

For more than 25 years, Anne-Marie McDermott has balanced a versatile career as a soloist and collaborator, playing concertos, recitals, and chamber music throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Her repertoire spans from Bach and Haydn to today’s most influential composers. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, among others; been a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 1995; and continues a longstanding collaboration with violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. Together with her chamber group OPUS ONE, she has commissioned more than 15 works. In addition to performing, she serves as artistic director of the Bravo! Vail and Ocean Reef Music Festivals, as well as curator for chamber music for the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego.