Pianist Frederick Moyer will perform on Sunday, March 13, at 4 p.m. at the Unitarian Church, 26 Pleasant St., Newburyport, the third of four concerts in the 2016 Jean C. Wilson Music Series.
During over 30 years as a full-time concert pianist, Moyer has established a vital musical career that has taken him to 43 countries and to such far-flung venues as Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Sydney Opera House, Windsor Castle, Carnegie Recital Hall, Tanglewood, and the Kennedy Center. He has appeared as piano soloist with most of the major orchestras of the United States as well as many orchestras of Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and Australia.
The program will include “Sonata in D Major” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor” by Sergei Rachmaninoff, “East-West Orchestra” by Stephen Ware, and “Two Improvisations” by Oscar Peterson.
Moyer’s far-reaching interests have allowed him to contribute to classical music in unique ways. An avid computer programmer, he often incorporates technology into his concerts. He performs note-for-note transcriptions of such jazz pianists as Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans and Erroll Garner, bringing this great American music onto classical music stages. In July, 2009, Dr. Paul Green and he unveiled an unfinished piano sonata by Robert Schumann, a find that was widely reported in the national news media.
In 1992, Moyer started JRI Recordings, which has since produced CDs by numerous world-class musicians. His many recordings on this and other labels comprise works by over thirty composers and reflect an affinity for a wide variety of styles.
His CD of Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto was the first commercial recording of a large-scale Romantic work using an orchestra created from sampled sounds. His Mussorgsky/Mendelssohn CD was the first using the Bosendorfer 290 SE Recording Piano. Other recordings include David Ott’s “Second Piano Concerto,” which was written for Moyer.
Many other composers have written for Moyer including Pulitzer Prize winners George Walker and Ned Rorem, and Donal Fox, whose Etudes of 2002-2006 were commissioned by the Guggenheim Foundation.
The Jean C. Wilson Music Series is named for one of the founders and the director of the music series for 28 years. Now, under the auspices of the First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist Music Committee, the Music Series typically offers three concerts held during the winter months.
Suggested donations are $20, $10 for seniors, children and students free. For more information about the concert go to frsuu.org/jean-wilson-music-series or call 978-465-0602 x401.
