Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony

Date and Time for this Past Event

• Friday, Nov 18, 2022  7:30pm - 9:30pm

Location

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Details

The Boulder Symphony takes on Tchaikovsky’s most epic Symphony, bringing the forces of good and evil to a head, enlisting fate to strike the final hammer blow. Tchaikovsky’s music epitomizes movement, even when he’s not writing ballets; the dance is always present.

We also present Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff, featuring Shangru Du, winner of the 2022 International Keyboard Odyssiad® & Festival Competition, and Hans Zimmer's "Interstellar" theme.

Repertoire:
- "Interstellar" Theme by Hans Zimmer
- Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Symphony No. 4 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Shangru Du

Shangru Du is a rising young concert pianist who was once described by the piano legend and scholar Paul Badura-Skoda as “... an extraordinary pianist who is full of musicianship.”

As a sought-after performer, Mr. Du has appeared at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Paul and Morse Recital Hall at Juilliard School, Kilbourn Hall at Eastman School of Music, Finney Chapel and Warner Concert Hall in Oberlin, tour in the Hamptons, Long Island including the Avram Theater for the Pianofest summer festival, Concert Halls of Beijing Central Conservatory of Music and Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Shenzhen Poly Theater, and many other venues across the world.

As a student, Shangru received numerous awards and scholarships for his academic and musical excellence. Recent awards include first prize in the Yamaha Music Scholarship Piano Competition, two first prizes (Solo and Concerto) in the International Keyboard Odyssiad® & Festival Competition, U.S.A. (2022), first prize in the Rubato International Piano Competition (2022), second prize in the Kawai Asian Piano Competition, and first prize in the Yangtze Cup Piano Competition. Scholarships include the Cecilia Felman, Arthur Gold & Robert Fizdale Piano Scholarship from the Juilliard School, the Dean’s Merit Scholarship from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the Pi Kappa Lambda award from Theta Chapter of the National Music Honor Society for the dual achievement of excellent academic work and outstanding musicianship.

Shangru was born in Shandong, China. He began to play the piano at the age of six and studied with Zhaoyi Dan at Shenzhen Art School and with pianist Hong Xu at Wuhan Conservatory of Music (Middle School). Later, Shangru moved to the United States for further education. He studied with Cliburn gold medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in 2020. After that, Shangru went to the Juilliard School and received his Master’s Degree under the tutelage of Professors Matti Raekallio and Jerome Lowenthal. Shangru is currently pursuing his Doctoral degree at the Eastman School of Music with Professor Douglas Humpherys. In addition, he also worked with many distinguished musicians, such as Paul Badura-Skoda, Robert McDonald, Richard Goode, Robert Levin, Emanuel Ax, Peter Frankl, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Cyprien Katsaris, Ursula Oppens, Dang Thai Son, and William Grant Naboré.

Besides studying piano, Shangru is also passionate about composing. He studied composition with composer Phillip Lasser at Juilliard. The most recent compositions include Stillness - Five Pieces for Solo Piano (2021), Prelude - for Solo Piano (2021), River Snow - for Mezzo-soprano and Piano (2021), and Voyage - for chamber orchestra (2022).