Charlie Albright - A Concert Pianist's Adventures: Portland Piano International (PPI) - Two Days, Two Concerts, Two Programs. Plus Liberace.

I had the opportunity to perform at Portland Piano International on December 5 and 6.

An amazing series with...get this...the renowned pianist and teacher Arnaldo Cohen as the Artistic Director! I remember attending this series growing up as a kid, when Mrs. Adsit would take me down to hear artists like Richard Goode perform. It's a phenomenal series, and I was and still am extremely honored to have been invited to perform on it!

But, that doesn't mean that I wasn't in for some work! I gave two concerts (Saturday and Sunday), playing two completely different programs. Here they were:

Saturday, December 5:

Janácek Sonata 1.X.1905

Beethoven Eroica Variations

Albright Improvisation

Chopin Etudes, Op. 25

Sunday, December 6:

Mozart Variations on "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"

Chopin Variations on "La Ci Darem La Mano"

Menotti Ricercare and Toccata on a Theme from "The Old Maid and the Thief"

Albright Improvisation

Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition

The audiences were amazing, with the hall about 2/3 full the first day and pretty much completely full the second! I got to give three encores each night, including playing the Liberace Christmas Medley to end. Talk about an ender!

It was an honor to play on the series and to work with Maestro Cohen, as well as everyone involved with PPI. It was a great weekend.