“Any concerto, anywhere, on stage from memory”, is a quote from a Curtis Institute of Music student that describes the expectation of the school’s students. Pianist Katherine Chi, was fully prepared when she received a call last week to come and play a Beethoven piano concerto in Thunder Bay, Ontario, SO’s opening Masterwork’s concert. In spite of not having played this concerto for several years and having only 5 days notice she was able to live up to the Curtis Institute’s expectation of its graduates. She arrived here from Germany in time to replace the renowned Anton Kuerti at the piano for the Masterworks concert with the TBSO. She played a stellar performance and received a rousing standing ovation for her efforts…
The performance heard last night was worthy of anything that Anton Kuerti would have performed. Katherine has her own style and interpretation of the music of Beethoven, but she played with the same level of confidence and style you would expect from a great pianist. In Kuerti’s generation there were not as many truly gifted pianists and so it was easier for his to become well known. Today places such as the Glenn Gould studio in Toronto join established conservatories such as the Curtis Institute in churning out great performance ready musicians for our concert stages; as a result many Canadian musicians are able to build solid international careers in music.
Lake Superior News | October 26, 2013