Peter Serkin Tribute Live From Music Mountain

Live From Music Mountain, in partnership with Carnegie Hall, presents a Peter Serkin Tribute, a special length program including highlights of performances by Peter Serkin and original conversations with artists who were close to him, including Emanuel Ax, Jaime Laredo, Jeremy Denk, and Benjamin Hochman; Tashi members Fred Sherry, Ida Kavafian, and Richard Stoltzman; producer Marty Krystall; Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt of the Dover Quartet; composers Derek Bermel and Andreia Pinto-Correia; and one of his last students, Tomoki Park.

“Peter Serkin played the first concert of my tenure as artistic director of Music Mountain, in June 2017,” said Oskar Espina-Ruiz, currently serving as artistic and executive director of Music Mountain. “I remember that concert very well. Nick Gordon was there too. Nick had been president of the Music Mountain board for 45 years then. I felt like I was walking among two giants. Nick passed away a year later, age 89, and Peter performed at his tribute concert in 2018, playing Brahms Piano Quintet with the Shanghai Quartet. What we didn’t expect was to lose Peter less than 2 years after that.” Peter Serkin passed away on February 1, 2020.

The performances in the program include Air, from J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations; Charles Wuorinen Scherzo; J.S. Bach Sinfonia No. 3 in D Major, BWV 789; Beethoven Sonata No. 29 In B Flat, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier" (Allegro); Stefan Wolpe Piece in Three Parts (I mvt) with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; Oliver Knussen Variations, Op. 24; Takemitsu Rain Tree Sketch: Anton Webern Quartet for Violin, Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone and Piano, Op. 22 with Tashi and Marty Krystall, tenor saxophone; and, C.P.E. Bach Sonata No. 1 in C Major (Prestissimo).

Peter Serkin held a singular place among classical music artists, admired equally for his performance of established repertoire and as a consummate interpreter of contemporary music. His music-making demonstrated keen understanding of the masterworks of J.S. Bach as well as an exceptional grasp of diverse musical styles, ranging from Stravinsky to Messiaen, Tōru Takemitsu and Oliver Knussen. Mr. Serkin performed with the world’s major symphony orchestras, led by such eminent conductors as Seiji Ozawa, Daniel Barenboim, Simon Rattle, and Herbert Blomstedt, as well as Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. In chamber music, Serkin collaborated with Alexander Schneider, Pamela Frank, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Budapest, Guarneri, Orion, Shanghai, and Dover String Quartets, among others. He was a founding member of the TASHI Quartet, with violinist Ida Kavafian, cellist Fred Sherry, and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman.

Live From Music Mountain starts at 3 pm EDT on Sunday, September 13, 2020, at musicmountain.org, on YouTube and on Facebook Live.