Contact: Public Relations
(863) 680-4118

Florida Southern hosts Russian piano festival

LAKELAND, Fla. (Oct. 26, 2001) - Florida Southern College presents a festival of Russian piano music Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Branscomb Auditorium on the campus. The Russian State Symphony Orchestra (RSSO) and guest pianists Valentina Lisitsa and Fazil Say will perform the music of Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev.

Music director Valery Polyansky leads the RSSO, whose full repertoire includes several centuries in Russian and foreign music. Born in Moscow, Polyansky studied at the Moscow Conservatoire where he specialized in choral, operatic and symphonic conducting. He has headed the State Chamber Choir for over 25 years and has also led symphonic companies in Russia and abroad.

Piano soloists Lisitsa and Say are considered brilliant young stars in the music world. Born in Ukraine and Turkey, respectively, both now reside in the United States, Lisitsa in Miami Beach and Say in New York City.

Lisitsa held her first solo recital at the age of six. After graduating from the famed Kiev Conservatory and winning numerous international prizes, she made her New York debut in 1995. She is widely known and respected as a duo-pianist alongside her husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff. Lisitsa has toured the United States several times. She guests frequently at Chicago's Grant Park Festivals, giving performances described by the "Chicago Sun Times" as "jaw-dropping."

Lisitsa's colleague for the Florida Southern performance, Fazil Say, has appeared in sold-out performances around the world, including London, Paris, New York, and Melbourne, Australia. After Say's Washington and New York recital debuts in 1994, the "Washington Post" wrote, "Fazil Say is well on his way to becoming one of the major pianists of the 21st century."

The son of a noted Turkish writer, Say was born in Ankara and studied piano at the State Conservatory. At age 17, he won a German academic scholarship to study in Dusseldorf, where he worked with David Levine at the Robert Schumann Institute for five years.

Tickets are $25. FSC students are admitted free of charge. For ticket information, please contact the Branscomb Auditorium box office at (863) 680-4296.

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.

###