A Grand Prelude to a Grand Season: 24-25 Tutunov Piano Series Opens with World Renowned Pianist Andrey Ponochevny
The upcoming season of the Tutunov Piano Series promises a spectacular start – a grand prelude of prelude music featuring a performance by internationally acclaimed pianist Andrey Ponochevny. On Friday, October 4, 2024, the Southern Oregon University Music Recital Hall in Ashland will come alive with Ponochevny’s artistry, marking the opening of the 2024-2025 season. The concert, presented by the Oregon Center for the Arts, will begin at 7:30 p.m., with both an in-person audience and a live stream available on the Oregon Center for the Arts YouTube channel.
This performance is the first of seven in the season’s lineup. Dr. Alexander Tutunov, the series’ namesake and a cherished artist-in-residence at Southern Oregon University, will personally welcome the audience and offer a sneak peek of the season to come. SOU faculty, staff, and student tickets are free of charge.
“I am thrilled to open our season this year with my dear friend Andrey,” Tutunov shared, setting the tone for what promises to be a memorable night of music.
Ponochevny and Tutunov both hail from Belarus and have been friends for decades. “Andrey is sure to capture the audience’s attention with this vibrant performance. It must be noted that presenting both of the very famous sets of preludes, by Chopin and Scriabin respectively, is an incredibly rare and special treat. These two sets are very closely related, yet playing two in one night is hugely demanding on the performer. This is why these pieces are rarely ever performed during the same concert,” said Tutunov.
“And the cherry on the top will be the four gorgeous gems by Rachmaninoff. This is a grand prelude to a grand season,” Tutunov said.
Ponochevny will travel to Ashland from Texas where he currently teaches piano at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and the University of Dallas in Irving. Mr. Ponochevny is a Yamaha Artist.
The Friday evening program will open with 24 Preludes, Opus 28 by Frédéric Chopin. The entire work is 42 minutes long contiguously. After intermission, Alexander Scriabin’s 24 Preludes, Opus 11, followed by four preludes by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
“Andrey Ponochevny has the ability to transfix and transport an audience, impressing them not just with his prodigious technical feats but through the persuasive power of his music-making… Whereas most performers are content to overwhelm their audiences with spectacular exterior glimpses, Ponochevny – through his fiery, imaginative renderings – manages to illuminate their splendid architectonics from within. He then leads the audience, spellbound, through a breathtaking tour of their richly appointed labyrinthine interiors…” said Anna Crebo, of the Cape Cod Times.
Tickets for the Tutunov Piano Series are available in-person at the OCA Box Office Monday-Friday from Noon-6pm on the Southern Oregon University Campus. Reserved seats are $35 per person/$30 for seniors. Live-stream link is $30/household. Free for SOU Faculty, Staff, and Students. For online tickets: sou.universitytickets.com or call the OCA Box Office at 541.552.6348.
About the Artist: Andrey Ponochevny
Andrey Ponochevny’s career has encompassed the globe as a preeminent talent among performing artists today. Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer has written that, “His performance seized attention from first note to last.” Additionally, The Washington Post stated that his playing had “power and finesse that brought the audience to its feet in a long-standing ovation.”
Ponochevny has received prizes at many international piano competitions including the Bronze Medal at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow, First Prize at the William Kapell International Piano Competition in Maryland and First Prize at the Tomassoni International Piano Competition in Cologne. His other competition accolades include awards at international competitions in Prague, Warsaw (Chopin), Dublin, Hong Kong, Riga and New Orleans.
Among his numerous awards, he was twice named “Outstanding Artist in China” (2009 and 2011), “Honorable Professor” of Jilin College of Arts (China) and “Visiting Professor” at Beihua University (China). In his hometown of Minsk (Belarus), he was awarded the title “Minskovite of the year” in 2002.
In the concert hall, Ponochevny has garnered equal success having performed extensively in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. He has given solo recitals at major venues including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City, The Kennedy Center and Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., Preston Bradley Hall in Chicago, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Philharmonie in Cologne, City Hall in Hong Kong, Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria in Santander, Salle Alfred Cortot in Paris, National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, Stadtcasino in Basel and the Harbin Opera House in China.
Ponochevny’s appearances with orchestras include performances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic, Des Moines Symphony, Irving Symphony, Plano Symphony, Belarusian State Chamber Orchestra, East Texas Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony, Illinois Symphony, Nashua Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Wuhan Philharmonic, Tianjin Symphony, Xinjiang Philharmonic, Belarusian State Symphony and the Orquestra Filarmonica del Municipio de Guayaquil, among others.
His concerts have been broadcast on WGBH Boston, WQXR New York, WFMT Chicago, WDR Cologne (Germany), Kultura Minsk (Belarus), SIRTVS Ljubljana (Slovenia), ROROR Bucharest (Romania), AUABC Adelaide (Australia), and DKDR Copenhagen (Denmark). Ponochevny has also performed at many prestigious festivals including the Ruhr Klavier Festival and International Ludwigsburg Festival (Germany), Serie de los Nuevos Virtuosos (Puerto Rico), Bravissimo Festival (Guatemala), International Keyboard Institute & Festival (New York City, NY), Changchun International Festival (China), Piano Texas (Fort Worth, TX), Music in the Mountains (Durango, CO) and Lanzhou International Piano Festival (China).
