Nov. 16, 2020 at 7 p.m.
 Hsiang Tu, piano, and Benjamin Wyatt, cello, perform a recital featuring the music of Beethoven, Bridge, Chopin, Higdon, and Prokofiev.

Join us for an evening of classical performance headlined by three beloved works in the repertoire: Beethoven Sonata No. 4 for Cello and Piano, Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2, and Prokofiev Piano Sonata No. 7. These works will be complemented by the music of British composer Frank Bridge and the contemporary American composer Jennifer Higdon.

The recital consists of two parts: 
7 p.m.: Music for cello and piano by Beethoven, Bridge, and Higdon
8 p.m.: Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2 and Prokofiev Piano Sonata No. 7

About the Artists:
Praised by The New York Times for his "eloquent sensitivity" and The Boston Intelligencer for his "impeccable technique," pianist Hsiang Tu has graced the audience with his creative programming and wide range of repertoire. Tu is currently working on the complete cycle of piano solo works by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel and thematic recitals featuring animal-themed music and opus-one compositions. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, he debuted in New York at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center as the winner of The Juilliard School Concerto Competition, and he has performed in venues all over the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, National Museum Cardiff, and National Recital Hall in Taipei. 

Before being appointed as an Assistant Professor of Piano at Virginia Tech, Tu taught at the University of New Hampshire, Utah Valley University, and Snow College. He studied with Hung-Kuan Chen, Jerome Lowenthal, and HaeSun Paik, and holds a B.M. in Piano Performance from the University of Calgary and an M.M. and D.M.A. in Piano Performance from The Juilliard School. His debut solo CD, Bestiary on Ivory, has recently been released by Bridge Records. 

Benjamin Wyatt is cellist of the Avanti Ensemble and teaches at the Renaissance Music Academy in Blacksburg, Virginia. He has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America, and is a regular guest with various ensembles. Wyatt has collaborated with numerous leading artists in recent years, including members of the Guarneri, Vermeer, Pacifica, Vanbrugh, Brentano, Ridge, Meliora, Mendelssohn, Amernet, Chicago and Dover String Quartets, as well as the Eroica and Manhattan Piano Trios, and pianists Elizabeth Jeanne Schumann, Sivan Silver, Gil Garburg, Peter Laul and Milana Strezeva. Also active as a Baroque cellist, he has played with ensembles including Musica Angelica, The American Classical Orchestra, Three Notch’d Road, Columbia Baroque Soloists, and Mountainside Baroque.

After undergraduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, he completed his doctoral studies at the University of Southern California where he was honored as the Outstanding Doctoral Graduate; he studied the Suzuki Method in New York at the School for Strings with Pamela Devenport and has taught at Institutes and workshops around the country. His students have been accepted to prestigious music schools, including The Juilliard School, The Cleveland Institute of Music, The New England Conservatory, and Rice University.