Andrew von Oeyen, frequent guest performer at St. Matthew’s, will present a solo recital as part of the “Music at St. Matthew’s” series on Friday, January 23, 8 p.m. Von Oeyen, who made his solo orchestral debut at 10 and has performed at St. Matthew’s, both in recital and with the Chamber Orchestra, since age 12, is now 23 and has already established himself as one of the most captivating young pianists of his generation. Von Oeyen has performed with the Seattle and Singapore symphonies as well as the Slovak State Philharmonic and was heard at last year’s Spoleto Festival and more recently at the festival “Piano en Vallois” in Angoulýme, France. He made his debut with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1998. His Pacific Palisades recital will include two of the “Petrarch Sonnets” of Liszt, Bartok’s suite “Out of Doors,” and music of Ravel and Mozart. When planning his programs, Von Oeyen begins the process with a large selection of composers and from there hones the program. “I usually don’t play any one piece that are longer than 70 minutes, but the real decisions come in the final stages of planning and depend on making the right connections with the works.” Von Oeyen, home-based in Manhattan, is concentrating on concertizing and has of late been playing Debussy, Ravel, Liszt and Chopin. He also enjoys modern composers such as Ligeti and Massenet and last season played a world premiere. Although one day he would like to compose, his current enthusiasm is conducting, and he will debut at the Spoleto Festival with Mozart’s Piano Concerto K 491 and Ravel’s “Le Tomba de Couperin”. Von Oeyen grew up in Malibu and graduated from Crossroads School. His father is an architect and his mother is a voice teacher and member of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. After graduating from Juilliard in Manhattan, Von Oeyen embarked on his professional career which finds him playing concerts around the world. He enjoys the experience, he says and has his favorite halls, including Powell Hall in St. Louis. While he has been in the audience while the L.A. Philharmonic played at Disney Hall-which fulfilled his high expectations-he has so far not been a performer. He is looking forward to debuting at Wigmore Hall in London this year. Happy and stimulated by life in New York, Von Oeyen nevertheless carves out time for visits west and even had time for some skiing while home for the holidays. Despite having won some prestigious competitions, including the Irving Gilmore International Keyboard Competition, Von Oeyen has cut down on his participation in such contests. “Competitions have lost some of their meaning because there are so many now,” he says. “Truly the most important career enabling factors are the maestros and the managers. If you can catch their attention, you are more likely to get concerts and to have a flourishing career.” The concert takes place at St. Matthew’s Church, 1031 Bienveneda Ave. Admission is $20. Tickets will be available at the door the night of the concert (no advance sales or reservations). For further information or a free 2003-2004 season brochure, contact 573-7787, ext. 2.
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