Without an audience present, Ax said that the November event felt like an open rehearsal, and face masks and distancing added to the oddity of the situation.
#Chopin scherzo 2 emmanuel ax series
It’ll make things a little less formal, and that’s always a good thing.”Įarlier in this non-season, Emanuel Ax helped keep the music going at Cleveland’s Severance Hall by recording Haydn’s D-Major Piano Concerto with Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra, part of a one-hour program on the Orchestra’s In Focus series that remains available on demand on the Adella streaming platform. “Caroline and I are going to talk a little bit about the program. I hope people will forgive me for things, because it’s going to be difficult in that sense.”Īx will be joined on the Thomas Hall stage by Youngstown State University piano professor Caroline Oltmanns. Of course, I’m going to be very nervous because I haven’t done a recital for a year. I learned some of it that I’d never played before during quarantine and I’m excited about trying out the program. “This program is meant to feature incredible masterpieces from Chopin’s later years. “I’ve never done it, but it’s been done,” he said. Lots of pianists program Chopin, but you don’t often see a complete recital dedicated to his works. I reached “Manny” Ax by telephone at his getaway in the Berkshires to chat about his program, which I found a bit unusual. This time around, the annual Margaret Baxtresser Concert will mark the Association’s first in-person event since the pandemic began, and the management has made sure that all performers have had their vaccinations, and that distancing protocols are respected in the seating plan.Īx has chosen works from Chopin’s later years: the Two Nocturnes, Op. Thomas Hall in Akron on Thursday, March 25 at 7:30 pm. He’s looking forward to making up for that with an all-Chopin program on the Tuesday Musical Series at E.J. Thanks to COVID-19, the earth has cycled through four seasons since pianist Emanuel Ax has played a solo recital.