Coming Together: 50 Fingers/50 States
U.S. Election Night: Coming Together:
50 Fingers for 50 States
U.S. American Pianists for Democracy
Tuesday, November 5, 2024 | 07:30 p.m. – 2:30 a.m
Altes Pfandhaus | Kartäuserwall 20 | 50678 Köln
On November 5, the people of the United States will cast their vote. The outcome is uncertain as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are neck on neck in the key "battleground" states. But it seems safe to predict that the 2024 election will be decisive for the future of the United States as well as for the transatlantic relationship.
Program:
19:30-20:00: Unity
Heather O’Donnell, pianist
Charles Ives: The Alcotts from the “Concord Sonata”
Samara Rice: Building the Wall
Sidney Corbett: Taos Ladder (in memoriam Georgia O'Keefe)
Frederic Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated (excerpts)
20:00-21:15: Perspectives
Panel discussion by experts from the University of Cologne:
Prof. Dr. Kirk W. Junker, Professor of Law
Prof. Dr. Anke Ortlepp, Professor of North American History
Junior Prof. Dr. Judith Rauscher, Professor for American Literature and Culture
Dr. Philippe Matthew Roy, esq., Professor for U.S. American Law
RECEPTION
21:45-22:15: Civility
Music and Musings by Robin Meloy Goldsby, pianist
Harbor
Three Rivers
Home and Away
Starlings
Peace
(all compositions by Robin Meloy Goldsby)
22:15-22:45 : Vitality
Kristi Becker, pianist
John Cage Ophelia
Frederic Rzewski A Life
Joseph Dangerfield Remnants, German Premiere
Kevin Beavers Blue Beavers, World Premiere
Audrey Call The Duke Takes a Train
Serenade to a Cornstalk Fiddle
The Witch of Harlem
with Geoffry Wharton, violin
22:45-23:15: Beauty
Nina Tichman and Anthony Spiri, pianists
Gershwin Prelude #1
I Got Rhythm
Copland Piano Blues #3 for William Kapell
Piano Variations
Joplin Elite Syncopations
Leonard Bernstein: 'Anniversaries' (1948) , Nr. 2: Johnny Mehegan
Chick Corea: Children's Song Nr. 17 and Nr. 20, 1980
Gershwin Embraceable You
Fascinating Rhythm
Sing Along: Over the Rainbow
You´re the Top
America the Beautiful
0:00-1:00: Moderated Discussion on Psychological Aspects of Processing News Content
Heather O’Donnell, psychologist and artistic-systemic therapist
1:00-2:30: Open Stage
Musicians and other artists are welcome to help span the hours until the polls begin to close on the East Coast of the USA.
Bios:
A native of Iowa, Kristi Becker studied piano with Jean Abramson, James Avery and, as a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, with Carl Seemann in Freiburg Germany. A special interest in music of our time has led to close work with noted composers from Europe, the Amerian Continent and Asia, many of whom have written especially for her. Kristi Becker is a frequent guest at major festivals of contemporary music and has recorded for all major German radio stations as well as in Japan and other countries. Her interest in and engagement for contemporary music is documented by premieres of works by composers such as Iannis Xenakis, Mauricio Kagel, Claude Vivier, Walter Zimermann, Salvatore Sciarrino, Catherine Milliken, Toshio Hosokawa,York Höller, Clarence Barlow, Steve Reich, Giacinto Scelsi, and many others. She performs regularly in orchestras and ensembles in Germany, also with classical music.
Kristi was the co-founder and pianist of Ensemble Köln and worked with them from1980 to 2000. Taught piano at the Musikhochschule in Detmold, Germany.
Robin Meloy Goldsby is the author of Piano Girl: A Memoir and four subsequent books about music and musicians. Goldsby is a Steinway Artist and cultural ambassador with artistic ties to Europe and the USA. A pianist in lounges and lobbies around the world, Robin tells her warm-hearted stories by linking people she has met with the quiet soundtrack of her peripatetic, melodic life. Her autobiographical stories and essays deliver insights into the art and craft of piano playing, the merits of live music, and how the right song at the right moment can add color and depth to a drab, one dimensional world. Music, it turns out, connects us in unpredictable ways.
Robin has performed her compositions for His Majesty, King Charles, at Buckingham Palace, for former Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, and for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court installation of Chief Justice Debra Todd. A popular solo piano recording artist, Robin’s peaceful music has been streamed over 250 million times on various platforms. Robin performs every weekend at Cologne’s Excelsior Hotel Ernst and maintains a summer artist residency at Brenners in Baden Baden.
Heather O'Donnell is a former concert pianist turned psychologist and Artistic-Systemic Therapist (DGSF), and the founding director of TGR The Green Room, a center supporting the health and well-being of performing artists.
As a pianist, Heather performed throughout America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, collaborating with orchestras such as the St. Petersburg State Symphony, the Mendelssohn Kammerorchester in Leipzig, and the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra. She premiered over 30 piano works by acclaimed composers, including Michael Finnissy, John Zorn, Luciano Berio, Frederic Rzewski, Sidney Corbett, and Oliver Schneller.
In addition to her current work as a psychological counselor and therapist, Heather advises organizations on systemic change and leadership. She has lectured and led workshops/masterclasses at institutions like the IArts School in Hangzhou, China, Columbia University, Manhattan School of Music, and was a member of the jury at the Concours international d'piano d'Orléans. Heather was featured in filmmaker Alexander Kluge's film: Nachrichten aus der ideologischen Antike.
Pianist Anthony Spiri is considered one of the most versatile and esteemed song accompanists, chamber musicians and soloists of the present-day music scene. Born in the USA, he received his education in Boston and Cleveland before his artistic development led him to Europe, where he completed his studies at the Salzburg Mozarteum. His extensive repertoire, which ranges from ancient music to compositions of the 21st century has taken Anthony Spiri to piano evenings in many countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas. As soloist he has performed with chamber orchestras of Europe under Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Michael Tilson-Thomas, Camerata Academia Salzburg, Ensemble Wien Modern, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg and others. As song accompanist Anthony Spiri has appeared in concerts with Bernarda Fink, Marjana Lipovšek, Edith Mathis, Peter Schreier and many others. From 1987 to 1993 he was assistant to Nicolaus Harnoncourt at the Salzburger Mozarteum. His extensive discography is further evidence of his flexibility. The pianist directs special attention to works of Johann Sebastian Bach's sons, whose compositions he has preserved with numerous recordings on CD. Currently, Anthony Spiri lives in Munich and is active as professor of piano chamber music at the Cologne University of Music.
American pianist Nina Tichman made her debut at 17, performing Beethoven’s "Emperor" Concerto. Since then, she has graced prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kölner Philharmonie, the Berliner Konzerthaus, and the Salzburg Festspielhaus. Her extensive discography includes the complete piano works of Debussy and Copland, Beethoven’s complete piano trios and cello-piano works, as well as recordings of Chopin, Mendelssohn, Bartók, and others.
Tichman has won major international competitions including the Busoni, Mendelssohn, and Casagrande. She was a Professor of Piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne from 1993 to 2024 and has given masterclasses at esteemed institutions like the Mozarteum Salzburg, Princeton University, and the International Keyboard Institute in New York. She has also served as a juror for major international piano competitions, including the Rachmaninov Competition and Busoni Wettbewerb.
A Juilliard graduate and recipient of the Eduard-Steuermann Prize, Tichman studied with legendary figures such as Ilona Kabos, Wilhelm Kempff, and Dorothy Taubman, whose approach to piano technique she shares in lectures and masterclasses worldwide.
Free tickets available here.
This event is a co-production of :
