ERIE PHILHARMONIC ANNOUNCES SOLOIST CHANGE FOR RACHMANINOFF
March 17, 2022 – Renowned pianist George Li is set to make his Erie Philharmonic debut with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 this weekend, replacing the originally scheduled Olga Kern who removed herself from the concert due to illness.
Praised by The Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command, and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses brilliant virtuosity and effortless grace far beyond his years. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition and being named the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation as he performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, such as Gustavo Dudamel, James Gaffigan, Gustavo Gimeno, Manfred Honeck, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Kirill Petrenko, David Robertson, Leonard Slatkin, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Spivakov, Michael Tilson Thomas, Long Yu, and Xian Zhang.
“We are honored to welcome someone of George’s stature to Erie, especially when it comes to performing a work as daunting as Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto,” stated Executive Director Steve Weiser. “If we’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that we have to be ready to adjust, pivot and adapt all hours of the day. This is how we ended up presenting a free season of music on TV during the pandemic and how we’re able to still perform this amazing concerto this weekend.”
All subsequent outreach events originally scheduled with Olga Kern have been canceled, including the piano master class (March 17) and the Live from Studio Q (March 18).
As always, the Philharmonic is looking ahead. "I'm very sad that Olga had to cancel, and our whole Philharmonic family joins me in wishing her a speedy recovery as well as looking forward to introducing her to Erie audiences in the near future," said Music Director Daniel Meyer. "I am however very excited that we could secure this incredibly talented artist to perform Rachmaninoff with us this weekend. Our audiences are in for an amazing treat!”
Considered one of the most challenging pieces ever written for piano and orchestra, Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto was the inspiration for the Academy-Award-Winning film, Shine (1996), starring Geoffrey Rush as pianist David Helfgott. In addition to the Rachmaninoff, the orchestra will also perform Along the Western Shore, by renowned American composer Elinor Remick Warren, as well as Richard Wagner’s tragically beautiful Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde.
Doors open 90 minutes prior to the performance (6:30pm). Tickets are available and range in price $23 - $56. Student tickets are $12. All concert attendees are required to show proof of their COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test, and must wear a mask throughout the entire event.
For more information regarding tickets or our COVID-19 Safety Plan, please visit our website at eriephil.org.
Saturday, March 19, 2022
Warner Theatre, 811 State Street, Erie PA
8:00pm; doors open at 6:30pm
Renowned pianist George Li takes the stage with the Erie Philharmonic in the newly-renovated Warner Theatre. The orchestra will perform Rachmaninoff’s legendary Piano Concerto No. 3 along with works from Wagner and Elinor Remick Warren.