Guest Pianist, Clinician to Perform Beethoven, Others Feb. 22

Guest Pianist, Clinician to Perform Beethoven, Others Feb. 22

Alexander Peskanov, a pianist and composer, will perform in Edmunds Hall on Friday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 p.m. Peskanov is the guest artist and clinician for the 35th Annual Presbyterian College Piano Clinic for High School and Middle School Students and Teachers.

Peskanov’s program will include works by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Czerny and Peskanov. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for seniors.

About the Artist

“This brilliant pianist can create incredible excitement and knows how to please a crowd,” reported The Washington Post in a review of Peskanov’s Kennedy Center performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto.

Peskanov’s American debut as orchestral soloist came with the National Symphony. Since then, he has appeared internationally with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and several symphonies in the United States, among others.

New Yorker Magazine claims Peskanov is a “distinctive soloist.” He has made concert appearances in Australia, Russia, Poland, Colombia and the US. He also appeared at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdansk and Bargemusic in New York, performing an all Chopin recital.

Peskanov has performed at the Wolf Trap, Aspen, Grant Park, Newport, Seattle, Vancouver, Monterrey, Sarasota and Flagstaff festivals, and in coast-to-coast recitals including a piano recital at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center as part of the series, “Russian Splendor,” the prestigious Van Cliburn Foundation Series in Ft. Worth, Texas, and the Gina Bachauer Piano Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah. Among the illustrious musicians with whom he has collaborated are Maurice Andre, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Yo-Yo Ma.

A Successful Composer

Peskanov is also a successful composer of classical works, including piano solos, piano concertos and chamber music. He has written fifteen concertos for young pianists, two of them, Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Strings (Hal Leonard) and Spring Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (Alfred Music) have been selected by the National Federation of Music Clubs for 2016–2020. In 2018-2017 seasons, Peskanov’s Azery Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra along with his Spring Concerto was premiered at Carnegie Weill Hall and London, Great Britain. His Concerto No. 7 (Anniversary Concerto) was premiered in Durban and Pretoria, South Africa and Bogota, Colombia.

More than 50 contestants have participated in the prestigious 2015 Brown Piano Concerto Competition in Maryland performing his Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Strings. Recently, Peskanov concertos have also received International recognition and have been premiered in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa, including the premiere of his Concerto No. 2 (Ukrainian Concerto) in Mexico at the Zacatecas International Music Festival. Three of Peskanov concertos (No. 1, 6 & 10) have been broadcasted and performed by the young soloists and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra on Estonian National Radio. New releases included several piano trios, written for Six Hands and “Spring Concerto” for Piano and Orchestra, published in 2015 by Alfred Music.

Awards and Recordings

Peskanov has received three special ASCAP awards and founder of BMTG Intercontinental Piano Competition – Music of Immortal and Living Composers. In October 2015, Peskanov performed in Gala Concert, dedicated to “Autism and Musical Education” at Carnegie/Weill Recital Hall. The concert program has also featured his Piano Concerto No.5, performed by Remington Howell, BMTG Chamber Ensemble, conducted by David Bernard.

Peskavov’s recordings include a CD of his own piano compositions entitled “Spirits of the Wind – Peskanov Plays Peskanov,” which has been featured in a satellite broadcast on National Public Radio stations. Other recordings include music by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt and Scott Joplin. He has recorded for Naxos Record’s American Classics series and Musical Heritage Society.

Peskanov graduated from the Stoliarsky School of Music in Odessa, Ukraine and received his master’s and bachelor’s degrees at The Juilliard School in New York. He is also the author of the series of six books entitled “The Russian Technical Regimen for the Piano,” published by the Willis Music.

Learn More

For more information about the performance or the clinic, please contact Dr. Karen Buckland at 864-833-8467 or the Music Department Office at 864-833-8470.