Take one acclaimed violinist and one of the talented piano professors at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music (MSM), and the musical possibilities are limitless.
Audiences will discover this firsthand during MSM’s A.I. Lack Master Series. Each year, this series delivers concerts and master classes from the world’s top musicians. As part of the series’ 2014 events, noted violinist Kristóf Baráti will team with UH’s Timothy Hester, associate professor of piano, for a recital. He also will conduct a master class. Both events are free to the public. Performance times, dates and details are as follows:
- Master Class– 2 p.m., Oct. 31 in Moores School of Music, Room 108.
- Recital – 7:30 p.m., Nov. 1 in Dudley Recital Hall (first floor of UH Fine Arts Building, Entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard). Works performed include pieces by Brahms, Paganini, Saint-Saëns and Sarasate.
The Hungarian-born Baráti has performed alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of Maggio Musicale, Deustches Symphonie Orchester, Russian National Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and many others. Among his many awards is the Kossuth Prize, Hungary’s most prestigious accolade for cultural contributions. He also is the first non-Russian musician to win the Moscow International Paganini Competition. Baráti performs with a 1703 “Lady Harmsworth” made by Antonio Stradivarius. For more details on Baráti, visit his website.
A product of UH and The Juilliard School – where he studied with esteemed piano teacher Adele Marcus – Hester serves as director of MSM’s Keyboard Collaborative Arts. In 2003, he was named Faculty Member of the Year by the Moores Society. This year, the Texas Music Teachers Association named him Collegiate Teacher of the Year. He has performed around the world including venues in Britain, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Colombia, Greece, Singapore and Taiwan. Hester has delivered performances on period instruments including a replica of a 1795 fortepiano and 1832 Bösendorfer fortepiano. To learn more about Hester, visit his faculty page on the MSM website.
“Baráti is a rising star in the world of classical music,” Hester said. “It’s an honor to perform with him, and students will no doubt learn much during his master classes. Houstonians will be dazzled by this violin virtuoso.”
The Moores School of Music is one of the premier music schools in America. Offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, it serves approximately 600 students annually. Areas of study include composition, conducting, performance, theory and musicology. Its faculty consists of internationally recognized performers, composers and scholars. Among its ensembles are the Moores School Symphony Orchestra, Moores Jazz Ensemble, Moores Opera Center, Concert Chorale, Concert Women’s and Men’s Choruses, the Spirit of Houston Cougar Marching Band, Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble. A majority of the school’s concerts are performed in the internationally recognized 800-seat Moores Opera House. For more details on the Moores School of Music, visit http://www.music.uh.edu/.
