News Article

New York-based pianist Simone Dinnerstein will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 with the Gonzaga Symphony Orchestra, Kevin Hekmatpanah of the Gonzaga University music department, at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 16. This program also will feature the Overture from Johann Strauss II’s "Die Fledermaus," Grieg’s "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46," Ravel’s "Pavane pour une infant defunte," and the Waltz from Tchaikovsky’s "Eugene Onegin." The theater is located at 1001 W. Sprague Ave. Tickets are $9 for general admission, $7 for students and seniors; free for GU students, faculty and staff. A free shuttle from St. Aloysius Church on the GU campus will depart at 6:40 p.m., and 7:10 p.m., with a return trip to St. Aloysius Church after the concert. For more information, please contact the GU music department at (509) 313-6733 or visit its Web site.

Dinnerstein last appeared in Spokane in December 2007 when she performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”) with the Gonzaga (University) Symphony Orchestra. She gained an international following from the remarkable success of her recording of the "Goldberg Variations," released on Telarc in August 2007. The disc earned the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Classical Chart during its first week of sales and appeared on many "Best of 2007" lists including those of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker.

In August 2008, Dinnerstein released her second CD with Telarc, a live recording of her recital debut at the Berlin Philharmonie, performing Bach's French Suite No. 5, Philip Lasser's Variations on a Bach Chorale, and Beethoven's Sonata No. 32, Op. 111. Of the disc, which also ranked No. 1 on the Billboard Chart during its first week of sales, Gramophone reported, "This second CD of a Berlin recital provides ample evidence of gifts above and beyond the ordinary." Dinnerstein’s latest recording, the complete works by Beethoven for piano and cello with cellist Zuill Bailey, received the Classical Recording Foundation Award and was released by Telarc in 2009.