January 26, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Janice L. Mayer, Director of Artistic Planning and
Communications, 817.738.6536
CLIBURN CONCERTS TO PRESENT PIANIST URSULA OPPENS AT THE
MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2010 AT
2:00 PM
MISS OPPENS TO GIVE A FREE PUBLIC MASTER CLASS AT TEXAS
CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2010 FROM 4:00-6:00
PM
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, January 26, 2010 - The recipient of a 2009
GRAMMY® Nomination in the category of "Best Solo Instrumental
Performance (without orchestra)" for her recording of Elliott
Carter's complete piano music, Oppens plays Carter, pianist Ursula
Oppens is the featured artist on the Cliburn at the Modern series
next month. As one of the leading interpreters of the music of our
time, Miss Oppens is the first pianist to be presented in a solo
program on this series.
The pianist has demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to
contemporary music through the commissioning and performing of new
works by Anthony Braxton, Elliott Carter, Anthony Davis, John
Harbison, Tania Leon, György Ligeti, Witold Lutosławski, Conlon
Nancarrow, Tobias Picker, Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Singleton, Joan
Tower, Lois V. Vierk, Christian Wolff, Amnon Wolman, and Charles
Wuorinen. A number of composer Julius Hemphill's works were also
dedicated to Miss Oppens. Mr. Hemphill was born in Fort Worth.
For her February 20, 2010 recital, Miss Oppens has programmed
John Corigliano's Fantasia on an Ostinato which was commissioned by
the Van Cliburn Foundation for the Seventh Van Cliburn
International Piano Competition. She will also perform five works
written for her: Bolcom's Ballade, Corigliano's Winging It,
Hemphill's Parchment, and two compositions by Picker: First
Nocturne for Ursula and First Etude for Ursula.
Ursula Oppens celebrated the hundredth birthday of her friend
and colleague, Elliott Carter, with critically acclaimed
performances of his complete works for solo piano at the Boston
Conservatory of Music and Tanglewood in Massachusetts, at Merkin
Hall and Symphony Space in New York, at Ravinia in Chicago, and at
San Francisco Performances, among other venues. The final two
selections in her Cliburn at the Modern program are a tribute to
Elliott Carter: Intermittences and Catenaires.
The combination of her superb musicianship, profound artistry
and technical proficiency has enabled Miss Oppens to rise to the
forefront of the new music movement. Her committed performances
have drawn a dedicated audience following, as well as the
admiration of her musical colleagues. The Seattle
Post-Intelligencer has reviewed her performance: "What makes Oppens
a compelling musician...is her probing intellect and curiosity; her
ability to clarify what she perceives."
For more detailed biographical information on Ursula Oppens
please visit www.colbertartists.com, or contact her press
representative Hemsing Associates, Inc. 212.772.1132 or info@hemsingpr.com.
TICKETS AND INFORMATION
Tickets are available from Central Ticket Office online or by
calling 817.335.9000. Ticket prices are $20 for Modern Art Museum
and Van Cliburn Members; $25 for the General Public; $10 for
Students with identification.
For Group Sales Information, please call 817.738.6536
ext. 116 or email GroupSales@cliburn.org.
Special Ticket Offer for Senior Citizens: For
information on Special Super-Saver Tickets for senior citizens (age
65 and older, with identification), at a cost of $10 each on a
space-available basis, please call 817.335.9000.
Widely regarded as the foremost performance series in the
region, Cliburn Concerts features the world's leading recitalists,
ensembles, and rising stars. Cliburn Concerts is presented at Bass
Performance Hall and at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
Ursula Oppens is also committed to the development of emerging
musicians. During her visit to Fort Worth, she will conduct a
master class at Texas Christian University. The master class will
take place in PepsiCo Recital Hall in the Walsh Center for
Performing Arts on Friday, February 19, 2010 from 4:00-6:00 PM. The
master class is free and open to the public.
Ursula Oppens studied piano with her mother, the late Edith
Oppens, as well as with Leonard Shure and Guido Agosti. She
received her master's degree at The Juilliard School, where she
studied with Felix Galimir and Rosina Lhévinne. After fourteen
years as the John Evans Distinguished Professor of Music at
Northwestern University, in 2008 Miss Oppens joined the faculty of
Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music and City University of New
York Graduate Center as Distinguished Professor.
For more information on the master class, please contact Kristen
Queen, Special Events, Piano Division, Texas Christian University
817.257.6349.
ExxonMobil is the Principal Corporate Sponsor of the Van Cliburn
Foundation. American Airlines; "Crystelle Waggoner Charitable
Trust" Bank of America, Trustee; City of Fort Worth; J.P.Morgan;
Star-Telegram; Steinway & Sons; and XTO Energy Inc. are
Official Corporate Sponsors. Official Sponsors include the Amon G.
Carter Foundation, Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County,
Beaumont Foundation of America, the Burnett Foundation, the Sid W.
Richardson Foundation, and the T. Boone Pickens Foundation.
Star-Telegram is the principal media partner and WRR 101.1 FM is
the official radio station of Cliburn Concerts.
