Gala Opening Concert
About the Program
Festival Co-Founders and Music Institute Piano Duo in Residence Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem kick off the Festival with Liszt’s Don Juan Fantasy and other works for four hands by Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, and Ravel.
More about Aebersold Neiweem Duo
Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem are among the most accomplished and acclaimed piano duos of their generation. Described as“consummate practitioners of pianism” (The Washington Post) they met in Italy in 1970 as young solo performers at a music festival in Umbria, were married in 1973 and have devoted themselves to the exclusive study of the duo repertoire since 1981. In 2020, Aebersold and Neiweem were awarded the inaugural career achievement award in Piano Duo by the Josef and Rosina Lhévinne Legacy Foundation. The duo are founders and directors of the NEA award-winning Chicago Duo Piano Festival, held annually at the Music Institute of Chicago and the Chicago International Duo Piano Competition..
They have appeared with orchestras internationally, including the Chicago Philharmonic and the Vienna Tonkünstler, and performed in recitals throughout the U.S. and Europe. They have commissioned significant new works for the piano duo, including pieces by Joseph Turrin and Patrick Byers. The duo’s CDs on the Summit label include Four Hand Reflections and music of Brahms and Schubert.
More about the Chicago Duo PIano Festival
Called a “duo piano mecca” by Pioneer Press, the world-renowned Chicago Duo Piano Festival was founded in 1988 by Music Institute of Chicago faculty members and Piano Duo in Residence Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem. Its mission is to foster a deeper interest in the repertoire, performance, and teaching of music for piano, four hands and two pianos, in a fun and supportive atmosphere. The Festival offers summer and winter events, which include coachings, master classes, concerts with special guest artists, and student recitals for students youth through adult. In addition, the festival organizes periodic duo piano competitions that draw young professionals from around the world.