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Penn State College of Arts and Architecture
Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State

Pianist Barnatan, clarinetist McGill and cellist Weilerstein to perform as trio Jan. 23 at Schwab

Three prestigious classical musicians—pianist Inon Barnatan, clarinetist Anthony McGill and cellist Alisa Weilerstein—will demonstrate how they make beautiful music together with a performance of three pieces at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23, in Schwab Auditorium.

The program will feature Ludwig van Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 11, “Gassenhauer”; Johannes Brahms’ Trio in A minor, Op. 114; and Joseph Hallman’s “Short Stories.” The piece by Hallman, a Philadelphia native and 2014 Grammy-nominated composer, is co-commissioned by the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State through its membership in the national consortium Music Accord and is being debuted on this tour.

Purchase tickets, which are $42 for an adult, $15 for a University Park student, and $32 for a person 18 and younger. A grant from the University Park Allocation Committee makes Penn State student prices possible.

Barnatan is called “one of the most admired pianists of his generation” by The New York Times and a “born Schubertian” by Gramophone. The Israeli native has studied and performed alongside some of the 20th century’s most distinguished instructors, conductors and orchestras throughout the world. He is in his final season of a three-year artist-in-association with the New York Philharmonic, for which he performs as a soloist and acts as an ambassador. This year, Barnatan will embark on three tours, including the trio program with McGill and frequent recital partner Weilerstein.             

McGill, principal clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic, often performs as a soloist with orchestras throughout the country and is known as one of the few black artists to hold a principal position in a major orchestra. In a review of one of his first concert performances after a decade with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, The New York Times described McGill’s playing as “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound and rich character.” In 2009, cellist Yo-Yo Ma chose the clarinetist to round out a quartet (also featuring pianist Gabriele Montero, Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman) to perform for President Obama’s inauguration. In addition to performing, McGill is heralded as an in-demand instructor, and he is on faculty at various prestigious institutions, including The Juilliard School and Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Weilerstein, a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant” recipient, is the first cellist in 30 years to be signed to an exclusive recording contract with Decca Classics; BBC Music named her first release on that label—which features her interpretation of Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto as performed with pianist Daniel Barenboim and Staatskapelle Berlin—Recording of the Year in 2013. Weilerstein has performed with world-renowned orchestras and is a champion of contemporary composers, including Hallman, who wrote “Short Stories” especially for her. In 2009, she performed in a classical music event at the White House, by personal invitation from First Lady Michelle Obama. She also makes a cameo in the 2014 film “If I Stay,” of which the soundtrack features the cellist’s performance of Zoltán Kodály’s solo sonata.

Learn more about the performance, the musicians and public engagement events.

Complimentary parking for the performance will be offered at the Eisenhower Parking Deck, and complimentary wheelchair-accessible shuttle service will be provided from the parking deck to Schwab.

Watch Barnatan perform the first movement of Franz Schubert’s Sonata in C minor, D. 958.

See McGill perform at the 2015 Chicago Humanities Festival.

Watch Weilerstein perform an NPR Tiny Desk Concert.

This presentation is a component of the Center for the Performing Arts Classical Music Project. With support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the project provides opportunities to engage students, faculty and the community with classical music artists and programs.

Bob and Ruth Murray sponsor the performance. WPSU is the media sponsor. The Norma and Ralph Condee Chamber Music Endowment provides support.