Pianist Hinrich Alpers makes his New York recital debut on Thursday, March 27 at 7:30 PM at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall as this year's winner of Juilliard's William Petschek Debut Recital
The all-sonata program includes the world premiere of Benedict Mason's "Sonata 2008" and sonatas by Scriabin, Schumann, and Beethoven
German-born pianist and Juilliard alumnus, Hinrich Alpers, makes his New York recital debut on Thursday, March 27 at 7:30 PM at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall as this year’s winner of Juilliard’s William Petschek Piano Debut Recital. His program includes the world premiere performance of Benedict Mason’s Sonata 2008 and Scriabin’s Sonata No. 10, Op. 70; Schumann’s Sonata in F-sharp Minor, Op. 11; and Beethoven’s Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111. Mr. Alpers received a graduate diploma from Juilliard in 2006 as a student of Jerome Lowenthal. Prior to coming to Juilliard, he had completed an undergraduate degree as a ‘triple major’ from the Hannover Hochschule für Musik und Theater, certified in teaching music, music, and music theory. He has returned to the Hochschule, enrolled in the artist diploma program while teaching piano, improvisation and theory in their Institute for Highly Gifted Children.
Of the work, Sonata 2008, Mr. Mason writes: In this sonata, development starts already on the first note. It is a bravura work using primary colours and simple harmonies - a view onto America from a European. I am delighted to write this piece especially for Hinrich Alpers who is one of the most talented pianists of his generation.
Benedict Mason gained a scholarship to Kings College, Cambridge, and then took a degree in filmmaking from the Royal College of Art. He turned to composition relatively late, in his early thirties, but immediately attracted attention with his first acknowledged work, and gained the Guido D’Arezzo Prize for his composition, Oil and Petrol Marks on a Wet Road are Sometimes Held to be Spots Where a Rainbow Stood, while his first orchestral piece, Lighthouses of England and Wales, won the Benjamin Britten Competition in 1988. Subsequent awards include a Fulbright Fellowship, the Paul Fromm Award (1995) for Steep Ascent within and away from a non-European Concert Hall: Six Horns, Three Trombones and a Decorated Shed; and the Third Britten Award (1996) for Rilke Songs.
Tickets are $20 and will be available beginning February 28 through the Carnegie Hall Box Office or CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800, or purchased online at www.carnegiehall.org. Half-price tickets for students and seniors are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office.
German pianist Hinrich Alpers has performed in recital, as soloist with orchestra, and as collaborator in chamber music and lieder throughout Europe and the United States. His performances have often been recorded for radio and television broadcast, including a 2005 performance with the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin. In upcoming seasons, Mr. Alpers performs with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and tours with the TinAlley String Quartet, winner of the 2007 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In addition to becoming laureate of the 2006 Honens International Piano Competition (Canada), Mr. Alpers was awarded Honens prizes for best ensemble performance and for best performance of a newly-commissioned work by composer Heather Schmidt. Two years earlier, he received First Prize at the Concours Grieg (Norway), the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival Prize (Germany) and the Mozarteum Salzburg Summer Academy Award (Austria). He was named a Steinway Artist in 2007. Mr. Alpers studied with Bernd Goetzke at the Hannover Hochschule für Musik und Theater and received a graduate diploma from Juilliard in 2006 as a student of Jerome Lowenthal.
Mr. Alpers listens to everything from Bach to Coltrane and wants the audience to hear the music the way he does when his fingers touch the piano keys. He has performed jazz and is an accomplished chef as well, but classical music is his clear first devotion. A thoughtful and unique programmer, Mr. Alpers’ full-length recitals have examined such ideas as “Shakespeare Meets Piano” and in future seasons will explore the 2nd Viennese School. “I want to inspire others to enjoy and think about music,” says Mr. Alpers. “Music is one of the most direct and powerful ways of communicating and listeners depend on honest and inspired performers.”
The William Petschek Piano Debut Recital award was established more than 25 years ago, through the generosity of the William Petschek Charitable Trust, to assist in launching the careers of young pianists. Previous winners have included Frederic Chiu, Jeremy Denk, Akira Eguchi, Soyeon Lee, Predrag Muzijevic, Jon Kimura Parker, Elizabeth Joy Roe, Konstantin Soukhovetski, and Orion Weiss, among others.