Murray Perahia appears to be back in form, and the keyboard world is breathing a sigh of relief.
The celebrated pianist won the Leeds Piano Competition in 1972 and has been a much sought-after interpreter since.
But Perahia has been troubled by pain in his right thumb, which has forced him to take breaks from the piano in recent years. He told BBC Music Magazine recently that he believes the problem dates back to an improperly treated paper cut 20 years ago.
“Perahia is hoping the injury will become a thing of the past,” wrote interviewer Nick Shave, “and since his most recent spell, (he) has shown his return to form with a recording of the Bach Partitas (Nos. 2, 3 and 4), which . . . came within a whisker of winning the BBC Music Magazine Award earlier this year.”
Perahia is best known for his performances of Bach, but he has recently been focused on Beethoven, giving thought to recording all of the composer’s 32 sonatas.
Works by both composers will be on the program Oct. 8, when the Friends of Chamber of Music presents Perahia in a much-anticipated recital in Gates Concert Hall at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts. (303-871-7720 or )
Here is a look at 10 other highlights of the fall classical season along the Front Range:
George Crumb,
University of Colorado at Boulder College of Music, Tuesday-Friday, Grusin Music Hall and ATLAS Building (303-492-8008 or ). CU-Boulder pays tribute to the celebrated American composer with a four-day festival of free concerts, discussions and other events.
St. Martin’s Chamber Choir,
“Music of the Tsars,” Sept. 25, St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral; Sept. 27, St. Augustine’s Orthodox Church (303-298-1970 or ). This Denver-based ensemble surveys little-known Russian choral music of the 12th to early 20th centuries, exploring contrasting styles of the Orthodox tradition.
Kronos Quartet,
Oct. 2, CU Presents, Macky Auditorium, CU-Boulder (303-492-8008 or ). This famed new-music ensemble will present a program centered on Crumb’s seminal Vietnam War-inspired quartet from 1970 — “Black Angels (Images I).”
Thomas Hampson,
baritone, “Song of America,” Oct. 11, CU Presents, Macky Auditorium, CU-Boulder (303-492-8008 or ). Hampson celebrates the 250th anniversary of the first published art song in America, presenting highly varied selections from the 1700s to the present, including hymns, cowboy songs, African-American spirituals and works by such composers as Charles Ives and Aaron Copland.
Olga Kern,
piano, Colorado Symphony, Rachmaninoff Festival, Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 23-24, Boettcher Concert Hall, (303-623-7876 or colorado ). Kern joins conductor Jeffrey Kahane and the orchestra for four different all- Rachmaninoff programs, featuring all four of the composer’s beloved piano concertos.
Lang Lang,
piano, Colorado Symphony, Oct. 30, Boettcher Concert Hall (303-623-7876 or ). Two of the classical world’s biggest stars join the CSO this fall for special one-night-only concerts — Lang Lang and cellist Yo-Yo Ma on Dec. 2.
Michael Daugherty,
Rocky Mountain Contemporary Music Festival, Nov. 2 and 3, Griffin Concert Hall, Colorado State University, Fort Collins (970-491-4849 or ). The fast-rising, Iowa-born composer has been heavily influenced by American popular culture, creating works inspired by everything from UFOs to Superman.
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and Miami String Quartet,
Nov. 11, Friends of Chamber Music, Newman Center (303-388-9839 or ). These two ensembles team for a program highlighted by a new septet by Pulitzer Prize- winning composer Ellen Zwilich. Friends was a co-commissioner of the piece.
Rebel,
“Kingdoms and Viceroys: Music of Spain and its Dominions,” Marta Almajano, soprano, Richard Savino, Spanish guitar, Nov. 15, CU Presents, Macky Auditorium, CU-Boulder (303-492-8008 or ), Nov. 17, Newman Center Presents, Newman Center for the Performing Arts (303-871-7720 or ). This imaginative program explores the musical cross-currents in the Spanish empire during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Christine Brewer,
soprano, Colorado Symphony, Nov. 20-21, Boettcher Concert Hall (303-623-7876 or colorado ). Brewer does not have the star power of some of her peers, but she is a revered figure in the operatic world. She joins the orchestra for Richard Strauss’ “Four Last Songs.”
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
