Critically acclaimed Israeli Pianist Inon Barnatan Performs Adventurous Program of Piano Suites at The Wallis

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents pianist Inon Barnatan, recently named music director of the La Jolla’s prestigious SummerFest, who makes his Wallis debut with an adventurous program of piano suites by Bach, Handel, Ligeti and others on Saturday, June 22, 2019, 7:30 pm, at The Wallis’ Bram Goldsmith Theater. The solo recital features Handel’s Chaconne in G Major, HWV, 442, Couperin’s L’Atalante, Ravel’s Rigaudon from Le Tombeau de Couperin, Bach’s Allemande from Partita in D Major, BWV, 828, and Ades’ Blanca Variations. Barnatan also performs Ligeti’s Musica Ricercata, Nos. 11 & 10, Rameaus’s Courante from Suite in A minor, RCT. 5, Barber’s Fugue from Sonata for Piano, Op. 26, and Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24. Celebrated for his poetic sensibility, musical intelligence and consummate artistry, Barnatan has been hailed by the New York Times as “one of the most admired pianists of his generation.” A regular soloist with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors, the Israeli pianist recently completed his third and final season as the inaugural Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic. He is the recipient of both the 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant and Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, which recognizes “young artists of exceptional accomplishment.”

“Inon Barnatan, who has received universal critical acclaim, puts a brilliant exclamation point on the conclusion of our 2018-2019 Music @ The Wallis season,” says Artistic Director, Paul Crewes. “We are proud to share his talent with Wallis audiences.”

Single tickets are $45-$95. Visit TheWallis.org/Barnatan, call 310.746.4000, or stop by in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services Office located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

About the Artist

Inon Barnatan (piano) is celebrated for his poetic sensibility, musical intelligence, and consummate artistry. He is the recipient of both a prestigious 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant and Lincoln Center’s 2015 Martin E. Segal Award, which recognizes “young artists of exceptional accomplishment.” He was recently named the new Music Director of the La Jolla Music Society Summerfest, beginning in 2019. Summer 2017 saw Barnatan make his BBC Proms debut, playing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with Kazushi Ono and the BBC Symphony at London’s Royal Albert Hall. A regular performer with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors, the pianist recently completed his third and final season as the inaugural Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic. Highlights of recent seasons include Barnatan’s Walt Disney Concert Hall debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel; performances of Copland’s jazz-inflected Piano Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas in San Francisco and at Carnegie Hall; a debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic; appearances with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon; and solo recital debuts in the Celebrity Series of Boston and at Chicago’s Harris Theater. He also collaborated with choreographer Mark Morris, pianist Garrick Ohlsson, and the Mark Morris Dance Group at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York. A sought-after chamber musician, Barnatan was a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s CMS Two program from 2006 to 2009, and continues to make regular CMS appearances in New York and on tour. His passion for contemporary music sees him commission and perform many works by living composers, including premieres of pieces by Thomas Adès, Sebastian Currier, Avner Dorman, Joseph Hallman, Alasdair Nicolson, Andrew Norman, Matthias Pintscher, and others. Barnatan’s most recent album release is a live recording of Messiaen’s 90-minute masterpiece Des canyons aux étoiles (“From the Canyons to the Stars”), in which he played the exceptionally challenging solo piano part at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. In 2015 he released Rachmaninov & Chopin: Cello Sonatas on Decca Classics with Alisa Weilerstein, earning rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. His most recent solo recording, of Schubert’s late piano sonatas, was released by Avie in September 2013, winning praise from such publications as Gramophone and BBC Music, while his account of the great A-major Sonata (D. 959) was chosen by BBC Radio 3 as one of the all-time best recordings of the piece. His 2012 album, Darknesse Visible, debuted in the Top 25 on the Billboard Traditional Classical chart and received universal critical acclaim, being named BBC Music’s “Instrumentalist CD of the Month” and winning a coveted place on the New York Times’ “Best of 2012” list. He made his solo recording debut with a Schubert album, released by Bridge Records in 2006, that prompted Gramophone to hail him as “a born Schubertian” and London’s Evening Standard to call him “a true poet of the keyboard: refined, searching, unfailingly communicative.” Next Barnatan looks forward to the release of Beethoven’s five piano concertos, which he recorded with Alan Gilbert and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, marking the orchestra’s first complete recording of the cycle. Born in Tel Aviv in 1979, Inon Barnatan started playing the piano at the age of three, when his parents discovered his perfect pitch, and made his orchestral debut at eleven. His musical education connects him to some of the 20th century’s most illustrious pianists and teachers: he studied first with Professor Victor Derevianko, a student of the Russian master Heinrich Neuhaus, before moving to London in 1997 to study at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton and Maria Curcio, a student of the legendary Artur Schnabel. Leon Fleisher has also been an influential teacher and mentor. Barnatan currently resides in New York City.

About the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts: 

Since opening its doors in October 2013, The Wallis has produced or presented more than 250 dance, theatre, opera, classical music, cinema and family programs to an ever-expanding audience. Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, California, The Wallis brings audiences world-class theater, dance and music, performed by many of the world's most talented and sought-after artists. Featuring eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its notability as the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis offers original and revered works from across the U.S. and around the globe. The mission of The Wallis is to create, present and celebrate unique performing arts events and educational programs that reflect the rich cultural diversity of our community. Nominated for 48 Ovation Awards, seven L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Awards and the recipient of six architectural awards since opening in 2013. The Wallis is a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot venue that celebrates the classic and the modern and was designed by Zoltan E. Pali, FAIA, of Studio Pali Fekete architects. The building features the restored, original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) that serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and houses the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater, GRoW at The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education (a gift of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family and the Annenberg Foundation) and the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the art Bram Goldsmith Theater. Together, these structures embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike.

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