UW Guest Artist Recital: Ursula Oppens, piano

Alexander Scriabin — Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp minor, Op. 19 "Sonata-Fantasy"
Igor Stravinsky — Piano Sonata
Sergei Rachmaninoff — Étude-Tableau in E-flat minor Op. 33 No. 5
Elliott Carter — Two Diversions
John Corigliano — Winging It
Conlon Nancarrow — Two Canons for Ursula

Stravinsky – Sonata
Rachmaninoff – 4 Etudes from Op. 33
Scriabin – Sonata No. 2
Carter – Two Diversions
Corigliano – Winging It
Nancarrow – Two Canons for Ursula

Long recognized as the leading champion of contemporary American piano music, Ursula Oppens’ original and perceptive readings of other music, old and new, have earned her a place among the elect of today’s performing musicians.

About Ursula Oppens

Ursula Oppens, a legend among American pianists, is widely admired particularly for her original and perceptive readings of new music, but also for her knowing interpretations of the standard repertoire. No other artist alive today has commissioned and premiered more new works for the piano that have entered the permanent repertoire.

A prolific and critically acclaimed recording artist with five Grammy nominations to her credit, Ms. Oppens is renowned for her cult classic The People United Will Never Be Defeated by the late iconoclastic composer Frederic Rzewski. That 1979 release, for the Vanguard label, marked her first Grammy nomination. In 2016 she put out a new recording of The People United Will Never Be Defeated, also nominated for a Grammy, and earlier Grammy nominations were for Winging It: Piano Music of John Corigliano; Oppens Plays Carter; a recording of the complete piano works of Elliott Carter for Cedille Records (also named a "Best of the Year" selection by The New York Times' long-time music critic Allan Kozinn); and Piano Music of Our Time featuring compositions by John Adams, Elliott Carter, Julius Hemphill, and Conlon Nancarrow for the Music and Arts label. Ms. Oppens recently added to her extensive discography by releasing Fantasy: Oppens plays Kaminsky in 2021 for the Cedille label. She also recorded Piano Songs, a collaboration with Meredith Monk, as well as a two-piano CD for Cedille Records devoted to Visions de l'Amen of Oliver Messiaen and Debussy's En blanc et noir performed with pianist Jerome Lowenthal.

http://www.colbertartists.com/ursula-oppens/