The Gustavus Artist Series and the Department of Music are pleased to announce a recital by renowned South African pianist Franklin Larey, Sunday, March 17 beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Jussi Björling Recital Hall. With support from the Gustavus Artist Series and the Johnson Endowment for the Arts at Gustavus, admission to Mr. Larey’s recital is open to the public at no charge.
Franklin Larey has been hailed as one of South Africa’s leading pianists and acclaimed for his performances of works by Brahms, Mozart, Scriabin and Ravel. His recent recording of works by Brahms was met with critical acclaim in the US and in South Africa. Larey teaches at the University of Cape Town, where he was appointed as Director of the South African College of Music from 2002-7. He appears regularly as recitalist, soloist and accompanist, and has worked with conductors such as Isaiah Jackson, Gabriel Chmura, Bernard Gueller, Victor Yampolsky and Lesley Dunner. In South Africa, he has served on the National Arts Council, a documentary of his career was aired on satellite television, and he was featured in South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council’s published series, Living Treasures. He currently serves as Director of the summer session of the Adamant Music School in Vermont (USA), and in 2010 he performed at Carnegie Hall (NY) at an anniversary concert of the school.
Of his appearance with the San Jose Symphony, the San Jose Mercury News wrote, “When Franklin Larey turned to soft poetry, time stood still, and the audience held its breath for an eternity. His slow movement was sheer ecstasy – clear, measured, lyrical.” Larey, who has studied with Bruce Gardiner, Laura Searle, Frank Weinstock and Richard Fields, has received several honors for his work as a concert pianist, and for his contribution to music in South Africa. He has won several awards, including first prize at the 1991 Young Chang International Piano Competition, and third prize at the 1996 New Orleans International Piano Competition. In 2003 he was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Researcher Award and spent six months in residence at his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, where he was honored with a Distinguished Alumnus Award. During this time he also performed at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington DC, as an invited Fulbright artist.
For Sunday’s recital, Mr. Larey will open with two works by Domenico Scarlatti, Sonata in A Major, K. 208 and Sonata in D Major, K. 492, followed by Mozart’s Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 570. He will end the first half of the performance with Johannes Brahms’ Three Intermezzi, Op. 117. Following a brief intermission, Franklin Larey will return to the stage to present the Sonata in E Major, Op. 109 by Ludwig van Beethoven and conclude the concert with two works, La fille aux cheveux de lin and Feux d’artifice, by Claude Debussey.
Sunday’s Gustavus Artist Series presentation by pianist Franklin Larey begins at 1:30 p.m. in Björling Recital Hall. The recital by the renowned South African pianist is free and open to the public.
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