MEADVILLE, Pa. – April 18, 2008 – Alec Chien, professor of music and artist in residence at Allegheny College, will conclude the seven-concert series in which he is performing all 32 of Beethoven's piano sonatas at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 26 in the college's Shafer Auditorium.
For the convenience of persons driving to the concert, beginning at 6 p.m. shuttle buses will run to the Campus Center from the Odd Fellows lot, accessible from Allegheny Street, and from Lot 10, off Highland Avenue near the intersection of Highland and Limber Road. Shuttles will return to the parking lots from the end of the concert through the end of the reception.
Chien is dedicating this free community concert to Richard Cook and his wife, Terry Lahti. Cook is retiring at the end of this academic year after 12 years as president of Allegheny College. The community is also invited to attend a reception with Richard Cook and Terry Lahti following the concert.
“After five concerts in the series, I took some time off from this project and became busy with other music of solo repertoire and chamber music,” says Chien. “It was Richard who so very gracefully nudged me to finish the cycle, as he mentioned that people from the community were wondering if I would indeed finish the 32 sonatas.”
The concert program includes the Piano Sonata No. 19 in G Minor, Opus 49 Number 1; Piano Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Opus 49 Number 2; Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-Flat Major, Opus 7; and the Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Opus 106, “Hammerclavier.”
“It seems so appropriate to thank Richard and Terry for their numerous contributions to this community, of which my music is a small part,” Chien says. “They are always thoughtful and encouraging to me, and I am sure many others would echo the same sentiment. It is my personal desire to thank them with this last recital of the series during their last semester here at Allegheny.”
A native of Hong Kong, Chien received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the Juilliard School in New York City. Winner of a grand prize at the 1986 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, he has performed throughout the world, earning rave reviews in Austria, Australia, Greece and New Zealand, among other countries.
In 1988 Chien was one of 25 Steinway artists to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York to celebrate the company's 135th anniversary and production of its 500,000th piano. Currently in his 27th year as a faculty member at Allegheny College, he has also performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Erie Philharmonic in Shafer Auditorium.
Dedicated to enriching cultural life in the area, Chien has donated his services on many occasions for fund-raising concerts, recruitment of students and faculty, and informal appearances. In 1986 the mayor of Meadville declared Chien the city's “adopted native son.”
For more information about the event, call the college's Office of Alumni Affairs at 814-332-5384.
