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Renowned piano virtuoso Piotr Folkert to present masterclass at St. Olaf College

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January 9, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Internationally renowned virtuoso pianist Piotr Folkert will present a masterclass at St. Olaf College on Friday, Jan. 12.

Friday?s masterclass, free and open to the public, will be in Urness Recital Hall, Christiansen Hall of Music, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Folkert performs regularly at major concert halls in North America, Europe and the Far East. In 1990 he won the International Chamber of Competition in Caltanisetta, Italy, and in 1995 won the Annual Young Artist International Piano Award in New York.

He has participated in festivals throughout the world, including the Summit Music Festival (New York), Burg Music Festival (Berlin) and Music in Old Cracow (Poland). He was selected to perform a special recital for the King of Malaysia at the Royal Palace in Kuala Lumpur. In 1995 he performed the New York premiere of H.M. Gorecki?s Concerto for Piano and Strings in at Carnegie Hall, New York, earning rave reviews in The New York Times and other newspapers. During the 1996 Centennial Olympics he performed a musical tribute to Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski at Spivey Hall.

Folkert also has performed numerous live concerts for television and radio, including a performance from Ongakonotomo Hall in Tokyo. He has recorded chamber and solo music for both European and American recording companies. His first recording was of J.S Bach?s Keyboard Concertos, performed with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. He has since recorded J.S. Bach?s "Das Wohltemp-erierte Klavier" and Polish piano concertos by Gorecki, Szymanowski and Panufnik. He also is on the international roster of Steinway Artists.

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In addition to The New York Times, he has been critically acclaimed by publications throughout the world. David Diamond said Folkert is "one of the finest pianists to come to my attention in the past five years." The State Journal of Springfield, Ill., described him as "a stunning virtuoso with stellar technique. ? Full of tenderness, passion, joy, sorrow and singing style that made the music come to life ? the stuff that world-class pianists are made of."

Folkert earned a master?s degree from the Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. He did additional study at Yale University, Indiana University and Mannes College of Music in New York City.

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty of approximately 250. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.