MIDDLEBURY — Back in 2003, the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series (PAS) was the first American series to present world-renowned pianist Paul Lewis, who quickly became a favorite for PAS audiences. Fast-forward 16 years, and the series will host Lewis’s 22nd appearance at the Mahaney Arts Center, on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
For this special concert, Lewis will be joined by internationally acclaimed pianist Steven Osborne, who is also a friend of PAS, having won audience hearts in three previous Middlebury recitals. In this tour-de-force collaborative concert — one of only three U.S. stops on their international duet tour — Lewis and Osborne unite at the keyboard for a four-hand piano program of Fauré’s “Dolly Suite,” Poulenc’s “Sonata for Piano Duet,” Debussy’s “Six épigraphes antiques” and “Petite suite,” Stravinsky’s “Trois pièces faciles,” and Ravel’s “Mother Goose suite.”
“Steven and I began playing duets about 20 years ago,” Lewis said. “It’s always a pleasure to make music with him… This is beautiful music that, on the whole, was written for friends to play together.”
PAUL LEWIS
Paul Lewis is internationally regarded as one of the leading musicians of his generation. His numerous awards have included the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year, two Edison awards, and three Gramophone awards. In 2016 Lewis was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Lewis appears regularly as a soloist with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, London Symphony and New York Philharmonic, and his recital career takes him to major venues across the U.S. and Europe. Lewis is also a frequent guest at festivals, including Tanglewood, Ravinia, Salzburg, Lucerne and the BBC Proms. He is co-Artistic Director of Midsummer Music, an annual chamber music festival held in Buckinghamshire, U.K.
STEVEN OSBORNE
Winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year in 2013, pianist Steven Osborne is one of Britain’s most treasured musicians. His concerto performances take him to major orchestras, concert halls and festivals all over the world.
Osborne’s 28 recordings have accumulated numerous awards in the U.K., France, Germany, and the U.S., including two Gramophone Awards, and three Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Awards, in addition to a clutch of Editor’s Choice picks in Gramophone and several Recordings of the Year from major British publications.
Osborne is a Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music and in March 2014 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Don’t miss this renowned duo in Middlebury on Feb. 19. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m., at the Mahaney Arts Center’s Robison Hall. Professor Emeritus and former series director Paul Nelson will offer a pre-concert lecture at 6:15 p.m. Reserved seating tickets are $30 for the general public; $25 for Middlebury College faculty, staff, alumni, and emeriti; $10 for youth; and $6 for Middlebury College students, and are on sale by calling (802) 443-MIDD (6433) or visiting middlebury.edu/arts.