RiverArts Presents A Gala Afternoon at the Cropsey Foundation to Kick Off Your Holiday Season

Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem

On Sunday November 20th at 1:00 PM RiverArts will present its annual gala concert hosted by the Newington-Cropsey Foundation. Internationally renowned piano duo, Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem will play Brahms’ own four hands arrangement of his Piano Concerto no 1 in d minor Op 15. The duo has championed this work through performances worldwide, having edited the definitive published edition, as well as releasing the premiere recording. Following intermission, Aebersold and Neiweem will take us on a tour of Fin de Siècle Paris with works by Chabrier, Stravinsky, and Ravel. They will perform Ravel’s breathtaking Rapsodie Espagnole, two scenes from Stravinsky’s Petroushka, and Chabrier’s Bourée Fantasque all arranged by their respective composers for four hands.

At the conclusion of Sunday afternoon’s music, the Cropsey Foundation will host a gala reception (included in the ticket price). Guests are invited to enjoy the works of Hudson River School painter, Jasper Cropsey in the gallery. In addition to the permanent collection on display, the Newington-Cropsey Foundation will have Cropsey’s 1896 painting, Autumn in the Highlands of the Hudson on view.  This work was painted by Cropsey after he moved to Hastings-on-Hudson in his studio at Ever Rest.  This will be the first time the Foundation has displayed this painting to the public.

In addition to the gala ticket, a limited number of Premier tickets will be available that will include both Sunday’s concert as well as an intimate performance and desert reception with the artists on the Saturday evening before the Sunday event. Proceeds from these two events support the RiverArts Chamber Music Series throughout the year.

Details:
Sunday November 20, 1:00 PM
Newington Cropsey Foundation
Across from the Metro-North train station
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

Tickets:
Gala ticket $100
Premier Ticket (both Sunday AND Saturday’s events): $200 

Further information: https://riverarts.org/event/chamber-music-gala/

Wearing masks is at the discretion of attendees.

About the Artists

Aebersold and Neiweem are among the most accomplished and in-demand piano duos performing today. In 2020, the duo was awarded the 1st Josef and Rosina Lhévinne Legacy prize for their achievements both in Piano Duo performance and teaching. They were also the first recipients of the Colburn award for excellence in teaching at the Music Institute of Chicago.

Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem have been described by the Washington Post as “consummate practitioners of pianism…in complete sympathy with each other.” They enjoy an international career as performers of music for both piano duet and two keyboards. Currently celebrating their 40th season before the public, the duo has been heard on RAI-TV Italy, PBS television, and on WFMT Radio in Chicago, where they performed an unprecedented series of thirty live broadcast concerts covering virtually the complete four-hand repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries. Aebersold and Neiweem have appeared with orchestras internationally, including the Chicago Philharmonic and the Vienna Tonkünstler. They have been heard in recital in many cities throughout the USA and Europe, including Chicago, New York, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Santa Fe, Vienna, Rome, Florence, a residency in Odessa, Ukraine, and at the Gina Bachauer Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah. Performances in New York include a 25th anniversary celebration concert at Merkin Hall, as well as lecture recitals at the Goethe Institute.

The duo has commissioned significant new works for the piano duo, including Joseph Turrin’s “Symmetries” for Two Pianos; “Great Movements” Sonata for piano, four hands by Patrick Byers; and “Cries and Whispers” by Robert Chumbley. Aebersold and Neiweem’s many CDs on the Summit label include a complete traversal of Schubert’s four-hand music, praised by Gramophone Magazine as “utterly charming…warmly recommended.”

You can visit RiverArts on-line to read more about its mission, core values and programming calendar. riverarts.org.

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