The 2017 Franz Liszt Festival & International Competition comes to the School of Music at Ohio State University, Oct. 13 to 15. All programs, including the competitions rounds, opening concert and final winners' performances, are free and open to the public.
The international piano competition makes a new home at Ohio State after being based in Baltimore for many years. Nancy Roldán, longtime mentor to young artists and the heart of the Liszt competition, is retiring. She has passed the competition and its rich legacy to her former pupil, Caroline Hong.
A pianist, teacher and mentor, Hong is well-known among Central Ohio audiences for her many performances on Ohio State's campus, with the Columbus Symphony in the Ohio and Southern theaters, and internationally.
Hong recently stopped by to invite us all to this weekend's competition on campus:
The music in the interview is Liszt's Reminiscences de Norma for two pianos, played by Hong and the American Liszt Society's Daniel Paul Horn.
The many applicants for the competition come from all over the world. Preliminary selections began last May. This weekend, competitors will each play a work by Liszt and another by an American composer. There are categories for solo artists and collaborative duos.
The competition kicks off with an opening concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13 in Weigel Auditorium. Then at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, Ohio State music professor Arved Ashby will lead a roundtable discussion on the composer Liszt, called "Dangerous ... Yet Angelic." All events this weekend will be held in Weigel Auditorium and are free and open to the public.
