Past Steinway Piano Series' Concerts

Sun-A Park – Piano 
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Korean-American pianist Sun-A Park presents a program celebrating 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff's birth, along with favorite masterpieces for the keyboard.

Tian Tian – Piano 
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Acclaimed Chinese-American pianist Tian Tian, a prize winner from numerous International piano competitions, will present a program of piano favorites featuring Ravel's La Valse and Rachmaninov's Second Piano Sonata.

Tetiana Shafran - Piano
Sunday, November 5, 2023
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Acclaimed Ukrainian pianist Tetiana Shafran, prize winner from more of 25 International piano competition, presents a program featuring works by Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt.

Eunmi Ko - Piano 
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Pianist Eunmi Ko plays solo piano works with electronics and pieces written for her.

Brancaleoni International Music Festival Gala Concert
Sunday, February 4, 2024
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Featuring the 2023 Steinway and Rutenberg Series Award Winners

Vedrana Subotic - Piano
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Pianist Vedrana Subotic presents the Romantic piano era's biggest fireworks - the two epic sonatas by Franz Liszt. The grand musical arch of the B Minor and the phantasmagorical vision of Dante's Divine Comedy is musical story-telling at its best. Framed by the two Liszt masterpieces is a world premiere of two original arrangements of traditional Balkan melodies, reimagined for solo piano by Christopher O'Riley and Igor Iachimciuc.

Layla Ramezan - Piano
Sunday, March 31, 2024
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Iranian pianist, Layla Ramezan, invites you to an exploration of Persian musical culture and highlights the strong connections between Eastern and Western worlds, a fruitful source of inspiration for many artists.

Jose Lopez - Piano
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Acclaimed Cuban-American pianist Jose Lopez presents "Stars of David" - a program of 19th Century Jewish composers.

Miroslava Panayotova – Piano 
Sunday, September 18, 2022
Barness Recital Hall, 5:00 pm

Acclaimed pianist Miroslava Panayotova returns to USF for an afternoon of musical gems, featuring works by Mozart, Prokofiev, Bolcom, and Osteen-Petreshock.

Arthur Greene – Piano 
Sunday, October 23, 2022 
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Described as “a profound musician” (The Washington Post), and “a masterful pianist” (The New York Times), Arthur Greene is one of the most admired American pianists of today. He will present an afternoon of beloved works by Schubert and Chopin, as well as music by the “father of Ukrainian music” Mykola Lysenko.

Ghadeer Abaido
Sunday, October 30, 2022 
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Palestinian pianist Ghadeer Abaido performs a multimedia recital inspired by childhood themes, with music by Stravinsky, Schumann, Liszt, Hiromi, Matt Mason, and Stormtrap Asifeh.

David Kalhous - Piano 
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

The Czech-American pianist David Kalhous will return to the Steinway Series to perform two great, genre-defining works: J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations and Johannes Brahms' Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Händel.  Piano miniatures by three generations of Czech composers - Miloslav Kabeláč, Ondřej Štochl and Ema Krátká - will complete the program.  

Kemal Gekić – Piano
Sunday, March 5, 2023
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

“Gekić rides the charismatic edge of genius” - Boston Globe; “His playing is transcendental as well as incandescent” - Dallas Morning News. Multiple Grammy nominated pianist Kemal Gekić presents a program of keyboard masterworks.

Grigorios Zamparas  - Piano
Sunday, March 26, 2023
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm 

Greek-born pianist Grigorios Zamparas presents a program featuring Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Appassionata” and Frédéric Chopin’s 24 Preludes.

Cathal Breslin - Piano
Sunday, April 2, 2023 
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Northern Irish pianist Cathal Breslin has been praised worldwide with critical acclaim such as “superb intensity and passion” and “energized and energizing.” His program will feature Schubert’s monumental masterpiece, the final Sonata in B flat major D960, along with exciting music from Ireland for piano and electronics by Linda Buckley and Donnacha Dennehy.

Pascal Rogé and Barbara Binet - Piano
Sunday, April 23, 2023 
USF Concert Hall, 2:00 pm

Pascal Rogé and Barbara Binet perform Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra. USF Symphony Orchestra with William Wiedrich conducting.

"The Banshee" - a collection of multimedia vignettes inspired by Julio Cortazar’s poem “Black the 10”.
Sunday, May 7, 2023
USF Concert Hall, 4:00 pm

Svetozar Ivanov - piano

Sara Elisa Villa - voice, dance

Music by Cowell, Scriabin, Berio, Crumb, Weill, Ustvolskaya, Satie, Saariaho, Rzewski, Villa;

Poetry by Sappho, Borges, Apollinaire, Lorca, Akhmatova, E. E. Cummings, Paz;

Animation by Leslee Smucker; Film Footage by Eisenstein and Kirsanoff.

“Fantasies and Transcriptions”
Sunday, October 17,
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Acclaimed Belgian virtuoso Stijn De Cock presents an afternoon of fantasies and transcriptions by Liszt, Mendelssohn, Busoni, Scriabin, and Copland.

“Fancy – for Two to Play”
Sunday, November 7,
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Palestinian Guest Artist Ghadeer Abaido is joined by Svetozar Ivanov in a program featuring works for piano four-hands by Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Kurtag, and Lang. Special guests include soprano Stephanie Sager and mezzosoprano Sarah Klopfenstein.

“The Collective worlds of Debussy”
Sunday, January 23,
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Prize winner from numerous international piano competitions, Xiting Yang presents a program that explores the influence of French Symbolist poetry, Gamelan music, American Vaudeville and the music of Richard Wagner on Debussy’s music.

“Around the World in 80 Minutes”
Sunday, February 20,
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00 pm

Rising stars Veerle Winkelmolen, Parnian Rezaei, Ryan Senger, and Charles Fernandes take us on a musical journey around the world. Piano music for two, four, six, and eight hands from four centuries and four continents. 

Steinway Series - Arthur Greene

Sunday, April 3,
USF Concert Hall, 4:00 pm 

Described as “a profound musician” (The Washington Post), and “a masterful pianist” (The New York Times), Arthur Greene is one of the most admired American pianists of today. He will present an afternoon of beloved works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninov, and Grant Still.

Jennifer Hayghe
Sunday, October 13
Barness Recital Hall, 7:30pm

Acclaimed American pianist Jennifer Hayghe presents a multimedia program entitled "The Art of Music... and the Music of Art." Music by J.S. Bach, Enrique Granados, Franz Liszt, and Modest Mussorgsky (Pictures at an Exhibition). Art by Paul Klee, Francisco Goya, Raphael and Michele Tremaine. 

David Kalhous
Sunday, October 20
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Czech-born pianist David Kalhous will present a series of musically exquisite and virtuosic piano miniatures spanning three centuries by Scarlatti, Janáček, and Kurtág, as well as the magisterial but rarely performed Polonaise in F-sharp minor by Chopin. The program also features Beethoven's intimate and masterful Variations in F minor, Op. 34, Ladislav Kubík's dramatic Sonata-Portrait, and one of the greatest works by Chopin, his Ballade in F minor.

Svetozar Ivanov
Sunday, November 10
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

USF piano professor and Artistic Director of the Steinway Piano Series Svetozar Ivanov presents Intermissions - a program featuring works by Feldman, Mozart, Berio, and Beethoven.

Liza Stepanova
Sunday, January 26
Barness Recital Hall, 7:30pm

A multi-faceted musician, Dr. Liza Stepanova (University of Georgia) is particularly noted for her recent solo CD "Tones & Colors," featured in BBC Music Magazine and on Performance Today, and her international tours with the Lysander Piano Trio, winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition. Her program includes works by Clara and Robert Schumann, among others.

Jasmin Arakawa
Sunday, February 9
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Acclaimed Japanese pianist Jasmin Arakawa will present a recital featuring Java Suite by Polish-American composer Leopold Godowsky and sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. Arakawa is the assistant professor and piano area coordinator at the University of Florida.

John O'Conor
Sunday, March 8
USF Concert Hall, 4:00pm

Recognized as "the world's premier Beethoven interpreter," Irish pianist John O'Conor celebrates the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth with a concert featuring the composer's last three piano sonatas - op. 109, 110, and 111. 

Ryan Senger
Sunday, April 5
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

American pianist Ryan Senger is this year's recipient of the Steinway Piano Series special award. The award is given annually to promote an exceptional pianist at the beginning of their professional career. The program will feature works by Dussek, Janacek, and Schumann.

Natalia Ehwald
Sunday, April 19
Barness Recital Hall, 7:30pm 

German pianist Natalia Ehwald's playing has been hailed as having "an almost religious quality: never mannered but arising from the deepest, most honest sensibility." She presents a program featuring Beethoven's sonata op. 90, Schumann's Intermezzi, and Schubert's last piano sonata D960.

USF Piano Competition
Saturday, April 25
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Gala concert/competition by the finalists of the 2020 USF Piano Competition. Up to six pianists will be chosen from a preliminary round and Steinway Series guest artists will adjudicate the performances. In addition to the jury prizes (decided and announced at the end of the concert), there will also be a special audience prize – each member of the audience will be able to vote for their favorite performer.

Raffi Besalyan
Sunday, October 28
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

“Rooted and Uprooted: An Armenian-American’s Musical Journey”-music by Armenian composers Komitas, Baghdassarian and Babajanian, Rachmaninoff and Gershwin.

Marco Tezza
Sunday, November 4
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Night has always been the source of great artistic inspiration. With its mysterious appeal it has fascinated some of the most important musicians, especially in the romantic period. As a result, they have composed immortal works particularly roused by nightly sensations.

Night can recall the quietness of a postcard-like moonlight. But it is above all, space-time of the mind; where passions, remembrances, emotions and even nightmares intertwine and move our souls. This magical involvement will emerge with the concert entitled "....about night": Marco Tezza is a complete artist. He is a pianist, a conductor, a well-known teacher and a much sought-after musician all over the world.

Lysinger/McDonald Piano Duo
Sunday, February 3
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Renowned for their dynamic poetry and wide-ranging repertoire, the Lysinger/McDonald duo bring their characteristic sensitivity and humor to the music of Mozart, Ravel, Liszt, and more. 

Alan Huckleberry
Sunday, February 24
Barness Recital Hall, 7:30pm

Frederic Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated- On the Search for a United US American Musical Voice 

Acclaimed American pianist Alan Huckleberry presents a multi-media version of this masterpiece of 20th century piano literature that will explore the current socio-political situation in the USA. Local artists will join Dr. Huckleberry on stage for musical dialogue and improvisation. The audience will be engaged through music and imagery, and is encouraged to participate in a discussion with the artist post-recital.

The Art of Fugue: Keyboard Music of Johann Sebastian Bach
Sunday, March 3
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

The studio of Svetozar Ivanov presents a program of some of J.S. Bach’s most beloved keyboard works performed on harpsichord, piano, and organ. Keyboards: Svetozar Ivanov, Ghadeer Abeido, Mideum Chung, Lirui Xiong, Seyoung Park, Allyson West, Zijie Ma

Strings: Michelle Painter, Karim Ayala Pool, Daphne Waggener, Ashton Wade

James Giles
Sunday, March 24
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

The program’s core is the magisterial final piano sonata of Franz Schubert, written in the last months of his tragically short life. This immense landscape is juxtaposed with shorter works exploring the piano’s diverse repertoire, including a selection of Brahms’s Waltzes and two of Albeniz’s most vivid depictions of Spain. The recital closes with a group of charming salon pieces by Golden Age pianists such as Paderewski, Rosenthal, and Friedman, as well as modern masters Stephen Hough and Earl Wild. 

Réne Lecuona
Sunday, April 7
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

An afternoon of piano favorites: acclaimed pianist Rene Lecuona presents Chopin’s Préludes, Chabrier’s Pièces pittoresques, and Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata.

Richard Goode
Tuesday, April 16
USF Concert Hall, 7:30pm

“Every time we hear him, he impresses us as better than we remembered, surprising us, surpassing our expectations and communicating perceptions that stay in the mind.” – Gramophone Magazine

Richard Goode has been hailed for music-making of tremendous emotional power, depth and expressiveness, and has been acknowledged worldwide as one of today’s leading interpreters of Classical and Romantic music. Works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and Janacek 

Ian Jones
Sunday, April 28
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm 

Acclaimed British pianist Ian Jones, Deputy Head of Keyboard at the Royal College of Music in London, presents an afternoon of favorite masterpieces.

Noel McRobbie
Sunday, September 17
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Masterpieces by Beethoven, Schubert, Shostakovich, and Hetu.

Tatiana Brizhaneva
Sunday, October 15 - Cancelled
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Russian pianist Tatiana Brizhaneva presents "Promenade": the idea of a life journey as it appears in the large-scale masterpiece "Pictures at an exhibition" by Mussorgsky, the piano suites by Poulenc and Barber and the miniatures by Prokofiev and Gershwin.

Annie Jeng
Sunday, October 22
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

The Musical World of Storytelling: Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Annie Jeng will present a delightful program that embraces composers' imaginative way of portraying timeless stories such as "Babar the Elephant" through music.

Arthur Greene
Sunday, October 29
USF Concert Hall, 4:00pm

An afternoon of masterpieces by Bach, Scriabin, Brahms.

Rebecca Penneys
Sunday, November 5
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Spirituality in Music
Works by Soler, Scarlatti, Brahms, Cage, Bolcom and Albright

Franz Mantini
Sunday, January 28
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm 

Pianist and USF Alumnus Franz Mantini will present a program that features Beethoven’s Tempest Sonata as well as a Liszt-Schubert transcription, Scriabin Etude, and a variety of works by Chopin.

Mr. Mantini, a student of the late USF professor Jacques Abram, maintains an active schedule of solo and chamber performances. He has appear thirty times at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts and has performed with current andformer principal members of the Florida Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and Lafayette String Quartet.

Sandra Landini
Sunday, February 4
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm 

Acclaimed Italian pianist Sandra Landini will present an afternoon of piano favorites: Scherzo and Sonata by Chopin, Images by Debussy, and Venezia e Napoli by Liszt.

David Kalhous
Sunday, February 18
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Three great piano sonatas by three great Central European composers will be at the core of the recital presented by the Czech-born pianist David Kalhous. Leoš Janáček's emotionally intense and tragic two-movement Piano Sonata will be followed by Beethoven's Sonata in C Major (Waldstein), one of the most important works of the composer’s so-called "heroic" period, and particularly notable for its daring formal structure and instrumental virtuosity. The magisterial Sonata in B Minor, one of the most dazzling works of the piano repertoire and arguably Franz Liszt’s crowning achievement, will bring the recital to a close. Several miniatures by György Kurtág, one of the most important European composers working today, will complete the program.

Beethoven's Late Piano Sonatas
Monday, March 26
Barness Recital Hall, 7:30pm - Free Event 

"Ah, it seemed impossible to leave the world until I had brought forth all that I felt was within me." Ludwig van Beethoven died on March 26, 1827. This concert features his late piano sonatas (op. 101, 109, 110, 111) performed by Seyoung Park, Ghadeer Abeido, Allyson West, and Lirui Xiong.

Andrea Trovato
Sunday, April 8
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Acclaimed Italian pianist Andrea Trovato will perform works by Chopin, Liszt and Gershwin. Andante Spianato and Polonaise Brillante Op. 22 and Nocturne in C sharp minor by Chopin, two important works by Liszt from “Années de pèlerinage”: Sonetto N° 47 from Petrarca and Venezia e Napoli (dedicated to the character of the two art cities in Italy), and Gershwin’s masterwork Rhapsody in Blue in the original version by the author.

Natalia Ehwald
Sunday, April 15
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Acclaimed German pianist Natalia Ehwald presents her new program "Tête-a-tête" with pieces by Debussy, Chopin, Ravel, and Schubert. An arc is drawn from the intimacy of Schubert’s music to the Preludes of Debussy.

Eunmi Ko
Sunday, September 18
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Eunmi Ko will present John Liberatore's new work "Line Drawings" (dedicated to Eunmi Ko), selections from David Liptak's "Constellations" and music of Ligeti and Chopin.

Paul Orgel
Sunday, October 9
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Mozart in the Year of Trump: Paul Orgel performs an all-Mozart program (Fantasia, Sonata, Rondos, and Variations), music of beauty and consolation. 

Henry Kelder
Sunday, November 6
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm 

Election Concert: Progressive and Conservative Music. The public will enjoy famous, obscure, American, Dutch, old, new, female, male, unpleasant, and alluring composers - written down or improvised.

Daria Kiseleva
Sunday, February 5
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm 

Russian pianist Daria Kiseleva is this year's recipient of the Steinway Piano Series special award. The award is given annually to help the career of an exceptional pianist at the beginning of their professional career. The program will feature Ravel’s “Gaspard de la nuit” and Prokofiev’s Sonata no. 6.

Duo Eleganza
Sunday, February 12
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm 

Duo Eleganza (Yana Subbotina and Philipp Subbotin) presents an afternoon of gems from the duo-piano literature – works by Schubert, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Moszkowski, and Shchedrin. 

Danny Driver
Sunday, February 19
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

British pianist Danny Driver performs piano music by Debussy and Ligeti – a journey into the composers’ unique musical languages.

Michael Lewin
Sunday, March 19
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

American pianist Michael Lewin performs works by Beethoven, Chopin, Ginastera, Villa-Lobos, and Nazareth.

Carles & Sofia Piano Duo
Tuesday, March 28
Barness Recital Hall, 2:00pm

The magic element of success" - talk/master class. The most renowned piano duo in Europe and Steinway Artists Carles Lama and Sofia Cabruja present this talk about talent, discipline, and attitude.

Brian Hsu
Sunday, April 9
Barness Recital Hall, 4:00pm

Taiwanese pianist Brian Hsu presents ‘A Night at the Opera’ - a program of favorite opera transcriptions for piano.