Winter Concert, featuring pianist Henry Kramer
Sunday, February 18, 2024
3:00 PM
Central Bucks High School South
1100 Folly Road
Warrington, PA 18976
Concert Details
Concert Program
Mikhail Glinka: Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila
Peter Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in Bb minor, Op. 23
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No.2 in D Major, Op. 73
Sebastian Grand, conductor
Tickets: General Admission $25, Seniors $20, Students Free
Henry Kramer, pianist
Praised for his “astonishingly confident technique” (The Cleveland Classical Review ) and for “thrilling [and] triumphant” performances (The New York Times), pianist Henry Kramer has developed a reputation as a musician of rare sensitivity who combines stylish programming with insightful and exuberant interpretations. In 2016, he garnered international recognition with a Second Prize win in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Most recently, he was awarded a 2019 Avery Fisher Career Grant by Lincoln Center – one of the most coveted honors bestowed on young American soloists.
Mr. Kramer emerged as a winner in the National Chopin Competition in 2010, the Montréal International Competition in 2011, and the China Shanghai International Piano Competition in 2012. In 2014 he was added to the roster of Astral Artists, an organization that annually selects a handful of rising stars among string, piano, woodwind and voice candidates. The following year, he earned a top prize in the Honens International Piano Competition.
Mr. Kramer has performed “stunning” solo recital debuts, most notably at Alice Tully Hall as the recipient of the Juilliard School’s William Petschek Award, and at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. At his Philadelphia debut, Peter Dobrin of The Philadelphia Inquirer remarked, “the 31-year-old pianist personalized interpretations to such a degree that works emerged anew. He is a big personality.”
A versatile performer, Mr. Kramer has soloed in concertos with such notable orchestras as the Bilkent (Turkey) Symphony Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared in recitals at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Mainly Mozart Festival, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest.
In the fall of 2022, Mr. Kramer joined the music faculty of Université de Montréal, having previously served as the L. Rexford Whiddon Distinguished Chair in Piano at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. Throughout his multifaceted career, he also held positions at Smith College and the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Dance and Music.
A Steinway Artist, Mr. Kramer graduated from the Juilliard School, where he worked with Julian Martin and Robert McDonald. He received his Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Yale School of Music under the guidance of Boris Berman. His teachers trace a pedagogical lineage extending back to Beethoven, Chopin and Busoni.
