Classical Action’s 2009-10 Michael Palm Series
Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS opens its 2009-10 Michael Palm Series of house concerts in New York on Tuesday, October 6, with a concert by two acclaimed young musicians: cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan. The season continues three short weeks later on October 26, with a performance by longtime friends of Classical Action, soprano Dawn Upshaw and pianist Gilbert Kalish. Classical Action’s Michael Palm Series wraps earlier than usual this year, with a solo recital by world-renowned pianist and Classical Action veteran Emanuel Ax on December 16.
The October 6 performance, along with the others in the series, will take place in the private loft apartment of longtime Classical Action supporters Judy and Steven Gluckstern. Tickets for all concerts in the Michael Palm Series can be purchased online at www.classicalaction.org or by calling (212) 997-7717.
About the performers
At 27 years old, American cellist Alisa Weilerstein is already established as one of today’s circle of internationally active performers. The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote of a local appearance that she “was in peak form technically, poetically, and intellectually… Weilerstein has taken on maturity without losing her youth, an entrancing combination.” Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan, who is her piano partner for October 6’s concert, is the recipient of a 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant. He is curating a three-concert series of Schubert’s music for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall this fall, and recently returned as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony. He has also performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, California’s Music@Menlo, and the Salzburg Festival, among others.
Soprano Dawn Upshaw has achieved worldwide celebrity as a singer of opera and concert repertoire ranging from the sacred works of Bach to the freshest sounds of today. In 2007, she became the first vocal artist to receive a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, the five-year “genius” prize, and in 2008 she was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A four-time Grammy Award-winner, Dawn Upshaw is featured on more than 50 recordings.
Emanuel Ax is one of the most esteemed pianists of his generation. He performs regularly with virtually every major orchestra in the U.S. and abroad. The Grammy Award-winner comes to Classical Action fresh off a tour of Asia with the New York Philharmonic and its new Music Director, Alan Gilbert. He will perform selections from his upcoming U.S. recital tour program, which includes works by Chopin and Schumann.
About Classical Action’s Michael Palm Series
Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS was founded in 1993 by Charles Hamlen, who now serves in a dual capacity as director of the charitable organization and chairman of IMG Artists, the performing arts management company he co-founded in 1984. Classical Action became a fundraising program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in 1997. The not-for-profit organization draws upon the talents, resources, and generosity of the performing arts community to raise vitally needed funds for HIV/AIDS service, education, and prevention programs across the country. Funds are raised through special events, private house concerts, recording and merchandising projects, individual donations, and foundation and corporate support. In the 16 years since Classical Action opened its fundraising doors, it has raised more than $8 million. Additional information is available at www.classicalaction.org.
Michael Palm was a most generous and enthusiastic supporter of Classical Action. He was also the person who spearheaded the concept of private benefit house concerts, hosting several of them himself at his penthouse apartment, 37 floors above Lincoln Center. A supporter of a wide range of performing arts and HIV/AIDS organizations, Michael died in 1998, but his memory thrives in the spirit and name of the Michael Palm Series, to benefit Classical Action.
Classical Action: upcoming events
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Michael Palm Series
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
Inon Barnatan, piano
At the home of Judy and Steven Gluckstern
New York City
Monday, October 26, 2009
Michael Palm Series
Dawn Upshaw, soprano
Gilbert Kalish, piano
At the home of Judy and Steven Gluckstern
New York City
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thomas Meglioranza, baritone
Reiko Uchida, piano
At the home of Simon Yates and Kevin Roon
New York City
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Michael Palm Series
Emanuel Ax, piano
At the home of Judy and Steven Gluckstern
New York City
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