This Saturday we have a recital of classical favorites from 11-year-old pianist Sami Gershenhorn of Lake Forest. On this holiday program is music by Chopin’s Fantaisie-Impromptu; Bach’s Italian Concerto; Beethoven’s Tempest Sonata; and pieces by Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and Debussy.
Sami Gershenhorn is an 11-year-old established classical composer and professional pianist, who attends Deerpath Middle School in Lake Forest, and studies piano with Mary Sauer and Francisco Ybarra at the New Music School in Chicago. As a younger child, music reached him on a deeply emotional level. From recreating the classical children’s pieces of Mozart and Beethoven as a toddler, Sami Gershenhorn’s ability to master complex pieces extends well beyond his age. Today, Sami has performed around the world, including in London, New York City, Miami, and Chicago. He won Division II of the Chicago Regionals in the 2020 Steinway & Sons Virtual Piano Competition.
Sami made his Introductions debut on a July 4 American composers special with his original improvisation, Emotions of COVID-19 Lockdown. He is working on his first four-movement symphony, and next year he will give the US premier of Amalgam 2021, a new piano work by Chicago composer Augusta Read Thomas.
Website: samigershenhornmusic.com
Instagram: @samigershenhorn
YouTube: Sami Gershenhorn Music
Video: Emotions of COVID-19 Lockdown, composed and performed by Sami Gershenhorn, as broadcast on Introductions on July 4, 2020: