Pianist, composer, and arranger Stephen Prutsman makes his Friends debut on the Master Pianists Series. A recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as a medal winner in both the Tchaikovsky and Queen Elisabeth piano competitions, this veteran pianist has performed in venues around the world. Prutsman serves as Artistic Partner with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and his compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by such renowned musicians as Leon Fleisher (his mentor and former teacher), Yo-Yo Ma, and the Kronos Quartet. The Johannesburg Beeld said Prutsman is "technically self-assured, intense .… [He] physically ‘feels’ the music." Prutsman recorded the solo piano work for the film Immortal Beloved which The Friends will present on this season’s FORTE Film Series.

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