95. Allison Brewster Franzetti, Carlos Franzetti, AnnaLotte Smith, WeiWei Zhai

Sunday, February 11th, 2024 @7pm | “One-Two-Three” - Music for one piano, two pianos, and three pianos

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This concert is brought to you by:

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95.

Salon Concerts at Klavierhaus
Jed Distler, artistic director

presents

“One-Two-Three”
Music for one piano, two pianos, and three pianos

Allison Brewster Franzetti, pianist/arranger
Carlos Franzetti, pianist/composer
AnnaLotte Smith, piano
WeiWei Zhai, piano

Hosted by  Cyrus von Hochstetter

Sunday, February 11th, 2024 @7pm

Live at Klavierhaus
790 11th Avenue
New York, NY 10019

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- ONE -

Allen Shawn (b. 1948)
Three Dance Portraits

Allison Brewster Franzetti & AnnaLotte Smith

- TWO -

Amanda Harberg (b. 1973)
Tenement Rhapsody
Subway
At Home
At Play

Allison Brewster Franzetti, WeiWei Zhai

Carlos Franzetti (b. 1948)
Argentum
Pasacaglia
Tango Final
(arr. Allison Brewster Franzetti)

Allison Brewster Franzetti, Carlos Franzetti

~ Intermission ~

- THREE -

Carlos Franzetti
Minotaur in the Labyrinth
Minotaur and Theseus
Medusa
Icarus
Medea
Daedalus
Orpheus
Odysseus

Allison Brewster Franzetti, AnnaLotte Smith, WeiWei Zhai

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Pianist Allison Brewster Franzetti is a highly acclaimed artist known for her exceptional virtuosity and musicality. She has earned recognition and nominations from prestigious award organizations, including the Latin Grammy and Grammy Awards. Her remarkable career has encompassed solo and chamber performances, international festivals, collaborations with renowned artists, prolific recording output, and contributions as a composer and author.

Franzetti's career highlights include performing at major events like the live Latin Grammy Awards television broadcast and the Grammy Awards Classical Music Tribute to Earl Wild and Lang Lang at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. She has also graced the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. Her solo recital debuts at Merkin Hall in New York and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires received critical acclaim. During her time in London, she performed at the prestigious Wigmore Hall and participated in concerts with the Songmakers Almanac. Additionally, she provided public service concerts at various locations throughout the UK.

Franzetti has been a guest artist with numerous orchestras, including the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Long Island Philharmonic, English Sinfonia, and City of Prague Philharmonic. She has premiered compositions, including Carlos Franzetti's "Piano Concerto No. 2," and her work is featured on the soundtracks of several films.

As a prolific recording artist, Franzetti has released several albums, including her latest solo project, "Pianista," which received a Silver Award for Outstanding Achievement from the Global Music Awards.

She collaborated with violist Brett Deubner on "Bowed Colors 2" and performed Muczynski's Sonata for Flute and Piano with flutist Laurel Zucker. Her recording output continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a diverse range of projects spanning various genres.

Franzetti's career has also involved collaborations with esteemed performers, composers, and directors such as Sir James Galway, John Corigliano, and Paquito D’Rivera. She has performed at renowned venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

In addition to her performing career, Franzetti has contributed as an author, composing synopses for the book "101 Opera Librettos" and writing liner notes for several record labels. She edited Brian Seth Hurst's book, "Whole."

As a composer, Franzetti's compositions have been featured on multiple recordings, and she has collaborated on various projects, including musicals and songs. She co-founded AlliBri Music with Brian Seth Hurst, where they have an extensive song catalog.

Allison Brewster Franzetti's impressive educational background includes degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School, and Rutgers University. She has received several awards and honors throughout her career, including recognition from the Paderewski Foundation and the Piano Teachers Congress of New York. She has been an influential figure in academia, holding positions at Kean University, Rutgers University, and joining the faculty of various music festivals and institutions.

Franzetti's remarkable career and contributions to classical music and the arts have solidified her status as a distinguished pianist and artist of international renown.

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Carlos Franzetti is a musical virtuoso without bounds, traversing genres from symphonies to big band jazz, chamber works to Latin American rhythms, and enchanting film scores. His musical journey has been adorned with accolades, including five Latin Grammy® Awards and a Grammy® Award as a producer for the mesmerizing "Tangos" CD in 2015. This versatile artist has also been nominated for Grammys® and Latin Grammys® multiple times, showcasing his exceptional talent and unwavering dedication to music.

Throughout his illustrious career, Carlos Franzetti has received numerous grants and prestigious awards, cementing his status as a true luminary in the world of music. Notable honors include the New Jersey Council on the Arts Composers' Fellowship in 2002, The Yamaha Composers Award, Clio Award, Prensario Award, ACE Award, and Premio Konex from Argentina. He's been recognized by The Foundation for New American Music, Meet the Composer, and has achieved gold record status.

Franzetti's compositions and arrangements have graced the stages of renowned orchestras, including the Boston Pops, the National Symphony, and the St. Louis Symphony. His collaborations span the globe, from Buenos Aires to Prague, and his music has resonated with audiences worldwide.

But Franzetti's talents extend beyond the classical realm; he has also made indelible marks in the jazz world. His collaborations with jazz luminaries like Arturo Sandoval, Steve Kuhn, and Paquito D'Rivera have yielded remarkable recordings and unforgettable performances.

Film enthusiasts will recognize Carlos Franzetti's work in the scores of iconic movies such as "La Pelicula del Rey," "Q&A," "The Mambo Kings," and "Beat Street," where his compositions added depth and emotion to cinematic storytelling.

As 2023 unfolds, Carlos Franzetti continues to captivate audiences with new releases, including "Legacy" on Amapola Records and the exquisite "Minotaur in the Labyrinth," a 3-piano suite recorded by Allison Brewster Franzetti for Navona Records. His recent jazz trio album, "In the Wee Small Hours," and "Ricordare" have garnered international acclaim, showcasing his enduring passion for jazz.

"Buenos Aires Noir," another gem on Amapola Records, earned a Latin Grammy® Award nomination and was hailed as Classical CD of the Month on Jazz Station, affirming his ability to transcend musical boundaries.

Carlos Franzetti's discography is a testament to his boundless creativity, featuring an array of albums that traverse classical and jazz landscapes. Notable recordings include "Luminosa," "Argentum," "Franzetti Plays Franzetti" with Allison Brewster Franzetti, and "L'Histoire du Tango" with guitarist Berta Rojas.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1948, Carlos Franzetti's musical journey began at the age of six when he embarked on his studies at the National Conservatory. His passion for music led him to private piano lessons and composition studies, further shaping his prodigious talent.

After arriving in the United States in 1974, Franzetti pursued his musical aspirations and studied conducting at the Juilliard School with Vincent LaSelva. His cross-continental journey has made him a true citizen of the world, bridging cultures and uniting hearts through his extraordinary compositions.

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AnnaLotte Smith performed her first solo recital at age 8, performed her first piano concerto with an orchestra at age 12, and began concertizing internationally at age 13. She has successfully competed in multiple international competitions most notably winning the Grand Prix at the Second Baden Württemberg International Piano Competition in Germany that drew competitors from more than 15 countries and placed second in the 5th LISMA International Piano Competition, USA.

AnnaLotte frequently attends international piano festivals around the world such as the Eastern Music Festival, the Classical Bridge Festival hosted by New York Concert Artists, and the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale di Imola. She regularly concertizes on both sides of the Atlantic and completed two solo concert tours in England in 2014 and 2015. Recent performance highlights include performances at Steinway Hall, NYC; the Rinaldi Steinway Westminster Piano Alumni Series, Princeton NJ; and Trinity Church, New Orleans.

During the pandemic, AnnaLotte pivoted from traditional stages to create Spirit of Harmony and performed over 30 live virtual performances for hospital patients and staff across the east coast with repertoire suggestions sent in by audience members from Hawaii to Germany. AnnaLotte is continuing to reimagine performance spaces with her latest multi-disciplinary composition, Rising for 40 artists that was performed in Boston as a public performance art project in May 2021. AnnaLotte earned a Masters Degree in Piano Performance at Boston Conservatory at Berklee with Ya-Fei Chuang in the Class of 2023.

AnnaLotte was accepted into Westminster Choir College of Rider University at age 16 where she received two prestigious Andrew J. Rider Scholar academic awards and studied as an exchange student in the Musicology Department at Princeton University. She lectured at the undergraduate and graduate levels before graduating with a BM in Piano, Summa cum Laude in 2017 at age 20.

Upon graduation, AnnaLotte joined Westminster Conservatory of Music of Rider University in Princeton, NJ where she served on the Faculty in the music theory and history departments as well as the Pre-College Honors Music Program from 2017 to 2020. She also joined the administration as Assistant Director of the Pre-College Division from 2018 to 2020 during which time she implemented educational technology throughout the department and more than doubled student enrollment. Additionally, AnnaLotte actively concertized in the Westminster Conservatory Faculty Series of 2018-19 and 2019-20.

AnnaLotte is a Steinway Educational Partner and has maintained a private piano studio for over a decade with competitively ranked students.

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Pianist Weiwei Zhai has performed throughout Asia, North America, and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. Critics have praised her “enthusiasm and grace” and described her performance as “absolutely gorgeous throughout as to sonority and especially style” (New York Concert Review). Weiwei has played concerts at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, the Harvard Club of New York City, Steinway Hall, Trinity Church Wall Street, the National Opera Center, and the Beijing National Library Performing Arts Center. As the first-prize winner of the Concerto Competition at Manhattan School of Music (MSM), she performed the Scriabin Piano Concerto with conductor Philippe Entremont. In addition, she has played with celebrated conductor Christian Vásquez in Italy. Ms. Zhai won top prizes in the Kazakhstan International Piano Competition and the Five Towns Young Musicians Competition in New York.

An avid chamber musician, Ms. Zhai has collaborated with members of the Grammy-nominated quintet, Imani Winds. Her piano trio has been invited to play for the International Advisory Board at MSM. She has appeared at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the PianoTexas International Festival and Academy, and the InterHarmony International Music Festival.

Weiwei began to take piano lessons at an early age. She won top prizes in major national competitions and graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she studied with Manchun Chen. She moved to New York to study at Manhattan School of Music, where she received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree, studying with Dr. Solomon Mikowsky and Dr. Inesa Sinkevych. Ms. Zhai is a member of the piano faculty at Bloomingdale School of Music and Lindeblad School of Music.