One of the most influential composers of our time, Philip Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact upon the musical and intellectual life of our age, with more than 30 operas, 14 symphonies, 13 concertos, numerous soundtracks to films, nine string quartets, a growing body of work for solo piano and organ, and collaborations with artists from Twyla Tharp to Allen Ginsberg, and Leonard Cohen to David Bowie. He describes himself as a composer of “music with repetitive structures” and says that “If I’m to be remembered for anything, it will probably be for the piano music, because people can play it.” Glass conceived his collection of etudes as a set of 20 works for solo piano written to improve his own performance technique. His most personal body of work, the pieces are a self-portrait of a life’s practice, representing some of the most intimate and inventive music of Glass’s oeuvre. This rare concert performance of all 20 of his etudes is an evening of master piano works for the 21st century, featuring 10 pianists onstage.
The Complete Philip Glass Piano Etudes will feature returning pianists such as Timo Andres, Aaron Diehl, Jenny Lin, and Clara Yang, as well as new collaborators like Lisa Moore, Vicky Chow, Inon Barnatan, Christian Sands, Daniela Liebman, and our very own UNC piano student Benny Yang!
Produced by Pomegranate Arts
TICKET & DISCOUNT INFORMATION
Tickets available starting from $39.
$11 STUDENT TICKETS
For UNC-Chapel Hill students (with valid UNC One Card) and all Triangle-area students K-college (with valid student ID)
- Current UNC-Chapel Hill students: Use promo code UNCST2425 and select the price type “UNC Student”
- Non UNC-Chapel Hill students: Use promo code GENST2425 and use the price type “Student”
15% DISCOUNT
Seniors, Active & Retired Military / First Responders, and Carolina Alumni save on regular price tickets with promo codes:
- Seniors: Use promo code SENIOR2425
- Active & Retired Military / First Responders: Use promo code SERVICE2425
- Carolina Alumni: Use promo code GAA2425
25% DISCOUNT
UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty & Staff / UNC Health Employees save on regular price tickets with promo codes:
- UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty & Staff and UNC Health Staff: Use promo code UNCFS2425
- Retired UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty & Staff: Use promo code UNCRET2425
Watch our video on applying discount codes when checking out!
*Limits apply. All prices include tax. A 6.5% platform fee will apply to all orders. Discounts cannot be combined. Additional exclusions may apply. Visit our FAQ page for more details.
EVENT DETAILS
- Runtime: 2 hours and 30 minutes, including intermission
- Intermission: 15 minutes
- Additional information: Visit our FAQ page
ABOUT TIMO ANDRES
Composer and pianist Timo Andres (b. 1985, Palo Alto, CA) grew up in rural Connecticut and lives in Brooklyn, NY. Recent highlights include a sold-out solo piano recital debut for Carnegie Hall, and a piano concerto composed for Aaron Diehl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by John Adams. Andres’s orchestrations and arrangements for Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury’s new production of Sufjan Stevens’s Illinoise received a 2024 Tony Nomination for Best Orchestration; the show is currently running at the St. James Theater on Broadway after sold-out runs at The Fisher Center at Bard, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and at New York City’s Park Avenue Armory. Andres’s performances of Philip Glass’s Etudes are widely praised; he has toured with them since 2014, performed them for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, and acted as advisor and editor of a new edition of the Etudes published by Artisan Works.
ABOUT AARON DIEHL
Pianist and composer Aaron Diehl mystifies listeners with his layered artistry. At once temporal and ethereal, his expression transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner and Jelly Roll Morton. The American Pianist Association’s 2011 Cole Porter fellow has recorded three critically-acclaimed albums on Mack Avenue Records and appeared live at historic venues from Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Newport Jazz Festival and The Village Vanguard to the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Philharmonie de Paris. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Aaron traveled to New York in 2003, following his success as a finalist in JALC’s Essentially Ellington competition and a subsequent European tour with Wynton Marsalis.
ABOUT JENNY LIN
Jenny Lin, a Steinway Artist, has made a name for herself on the world stage thanks to her “remarkable technical command” and “gift for melodic flow” – New York Times. The Washington Post has extolled her “confident fingers” and “spectacular technique,” while Gramophone has hailed her as “an exceptionally sensitive pianist.” She was born in Taiwan, raised in Austria, and moved to New York, where she resides. At the age of four, with no piano at home, she began playing the instrument at her grandmother’s house. Educated in Europe and the U.S., she has built an international reputation distinguished by inventive collaborations with a breadth of artists, and has performed widely with renowned orchestras and symphonies at the world’s most notable concert halls. Lin has a close affinity with Philip Glass, whose Etudes she performs globally, and which inspired her to embark on a commissioning initiative, The Etudes Project.
ABOUT CLARA YANG
Praised by Fanfare as “a first-rate pianist who isn’t afraid of challenges,” Chinese-American Pianist Clara Yang has performed in notable venues such as Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Forbidden City Concert Hall (Beijing), Auditorio Nacional de Musica (Madrid), Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theater (Rochester), the Sunset Center (California), and on series such as Carolina Performing Arts and Dame Myra Hess (Chicago Cultural Center). She is currently Head of Piano Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
ABOUT LISA MOORE
New York-based Australian musician Lisa Moore is a multifaceted pianist, recording artist, and collaborator. The New York Times has singled out her playing for its “life and freshness” and “fragility and tenderness”, The New Yorker describes her as “visionary” and “New York’s queen of the avant-garde piano” while Pitchfork claims “she’s the best kind of contemporary classical musician, one so fearsomely game that she inspires composers to offer her their most wildly unplayable ideas”. Given a special passion for the music of our time, Moore won the silver medal in the 1981 Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition and has since performed hundreds of commissioned works and world premieres – having worked with hundreds of living composers, while residing in the vibrant new music scene of New York City since 1985.
ABOUT VICKY CHOW
Hong Kong/Canadian/American pianist Vicky Chow has been described as “brilliant” – New York Times and “one of our era’s most brilliant pianists” – Pitchfork. Since joining the Bang on a Can All-Stars in 2009, she has collaborated and worked with artists such as Tania León, Meredith Monk, Julia Wolfe, David Lang, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, John Zorn, George Lewis, as well as organizations such as Bill T. Jones and the Arnie Zane Dance Company, BBC Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, International Contemporary Ensemble, to name a few. She has toured to over 40 countries and performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall (New York), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Muziekgebouw (Amsterdam), Hong Kong Arts Centre, Barbican Centre (London), Royal Albert Hall (London), L’auditori (Barcelona), City Recital Hall (Sydney),POLIN Museum (Warsaw), and the Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires).
ABOUT INON BARNATAN
Inon Barnatan, “one of the most admired pianists of his generation” – New York Times, has received universal acclaim for his “uncommon sensitivity” – The New Yorker, “impeccable musicality and phrasing” – Le Figaro, and his stature as “a true poet of the keyboard: refined, searching, unfailingly communicative” – The Evening Standard. As a soloist, Barnatan is a regular performer with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors, and he was the inaugural Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic. Equally at home as a curator and chamber musician, Barnatan is Music Director of La Jolla Music Society Summerfest in California, one of leading music festivals in the country, and he regularly collaborates with world-class partners such as Renée Fleming and Alisa Weilerstein.
ABOUT CHRISTIAN SANDS
Christian Sands’ star continues to rise with impressive credentials. His piano skills align perfectly with his artistic vision, leading to a fresh perspective on jazz music. Sands’ musical expression is marked by a diverse range of techniques and styles, all executed with a sense of poetic subtlety, and rhythmic flair that has been evident since he first started playing. From a young age, Sands showed a deep passion for music. His education at prestigious institutions like the Manhattan School of Music paved the way for a successful career. Collaborating with jazz legends such as Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater. Kurt Elling, Yo-Yo Ma and Christian McBride, to name a few, Sands has made a name for himself in the jazz world.
ABOUT DANIELA LIEBMAN
Twenty-one-year-old Mexican pianist Daniela Liebman has rapidly established herself as an artist of eloquence, poise, and nuance. Since her debut at age eight with the Aguascalientes Symphony, Ms. Liebman has performed with more than thirty orchestras on four continents. This season, she makes her debut with the Reno Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica del Sodre (OSSODRE), and Orquesta Juvenil Universitaria Eduardo Mata (OJUEM). She will return with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco and recently appeared as soloist with the Orquesta Filarmónica del Desierto, Richmond Symphony, Minas Gerais Philharmonic, Wichita Symphony, Flagstaff Symphony, and Hartford Symphony. This season, Ms. Liebman makes her recital debuts at the Noorda Center at Utah Valley University, the la Sociedad Filarmònica de Lima, and Instrumentos de la Esperanza.
ABOUT BENNY YANG
Benny Yang is a third-year student from Cary, North Carolina. Yang has played piano since he was six years old and has studied primarily under Julia Tsien and Angela Mitchell-Simonson since the third grade. Yang made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 14, after winning the American Protege Piano and Strings Competition. He has also competed and won ISMTA statewide competitions for both junior and senior divisions as well as MTNA. As a freshman, Yang performed in a masterclass conducted by renowned pianist and pedagogue Anton Nel. Additionally, Yang is a Kenan Scholar from the class of 2026, and double majors in psychology and music. He is currently a student of Dr. Clara Yang.
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