The 36th season of Pianofest opened at the Southampton Cultural Center with six performances by six extraordinarily gifted and accomplished young pianists. Paul Schenly, the director of “Pianofest In The Hamptons,” guided the show with his masterful piano knowledge and teaching gravitas, making the audience feel like they were part of a masterclass. This is a must-see for anyone who has never attended a Pianofest performance and loves classical piano. For those who attend regularly, you already know how incredible these concerts are, having graced stages in the Hamptons for 36 years.
As the evening’s program concluded, Director and Founder (1988) Paul Schenly shared his thoughts on the success of the evening with Hamptons.com, saying, “The kids were stupendous. They are not really kids but multi-talented young adults, and this is the future. We heard some of the most spectacular plays I have ever heard, and I think that they communicated to the audience their enthusiasm, zeal, and optimism about life.” Then, about the audience, he said, “This was a good-sized audience, but that’s what we usually attract. I think they participated in the excitement and actually contributed to it by the way they listened.”
The first performance was by Jair Zacarias, who played Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No.3, Op.2 No 3” – flawlessly with precision and an understanding emotion that had the audience spellbound. He presently studies at Indiana University and is from Trujillo, Peru. Like all the guest pianists, he is spending his summer practicing at a home with eleven pianos in East Hampton. Twenty-two pianists are participating in the 2024 Pianofest, and they are all learning, sharing, and thus growing before their careers take them all over the world.
The second performer was Azalea Kelley, who, at 22 years old, performed “Frederic Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op.35 I. Grave: Doppio movimento.” Her technique on this piece was very light-handed and feathery. She hails from NYC and studies at West Virginia University. Her list of achievements is impressive, as is her performance at Weill Carnegie Hall.
Third up was Yang (Jack) Gao, now studying at the Juilliard School in New York. His long-gifted fingers mastered the keyboard as he interpreted Frederic Chopin’s Ballade No.3 in A-flat major, Op 47. With both genius and disciplined skills, he played dramatically. At times, his masterful left hand hung in the air like a tiger about to pounce on his prey. Yet when his hand came down, he caressed the notes most delicately.
Taiwanese pianist Wei-Yun Chang, who is studying at Indiana University, performed Forth. Her program consisted of three pieces from Gyorgy Ligeti: VII. Cantabile, molto legato then IX. (Bela Bartok in Memoriam) Adagio, Mesto—Allegro maestoso, and X. Vivace. Capriccioso. Her vibrant, intense performance was masterful, and her soothing touch was magic.
The fifth performance was provided by pianist Min Joo Yi of The Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. She hails from Bellevue, Washington. She performed a piece from Tchaikovsky’s “Concert Suite on the Nutcracker” arranged by Mikhail Pletnev, titled IV. Intermezzo. Min Joo Yi has a decisively noticeable charisma that augments her disciplined skill set, and both were on display as she performed flawlessly. She also participated in the sixth performance of the night, a Clayton Stephenson & Min Joo Li – Orchestra performance of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 created by Sergey Rachmaninov. Clayton Stephenson, with two Harvard degrees, now hails from the New England Conservatory in Boston, Mass. Together, at a side-by-side concert, Steinway pianos, Clayton Stephenson and Min Joo Yi played together as one with four talented hands, with drama, precision, and emotion. To witness their performance was a very special treat.
For more info about the 2024 Pianofest of the Hamptons performances and acquiring tickets, visit https://www.pianofest.com/store/p/concert-subscription-southampton
