George Li, Piano

“He is a powerhouse,” wrote The New York Times of pianist George Li, while The Washington Post said, “there was mind-boggling fluency in Li’s fingerings, an effortlessness to his playing, a beguiling fluidity to his phrasing, a precision to his crisp attacks.” The 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition’s silver medalist makes his Carnegie Hall debut in an eagerly anticipated recital.

Alexi Kenney, Violin
Renana Gutman, Piano

The recipient of a 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, violinist Alexi Kenney has been praised by The New York Times for “immediately drawing listeners in with his beautifully phrased and delicate playing.” Kenney has performed chamber music and concertos across the US and abroad, while also appearing on NPR’s Performance Today and From the Top.

Nicolas Altstaedt, Cello
Fazil Say, Piano

Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, called “compelling” (The New York Times) and praised for his “muscular playing” (The Guardian), partners with Fazil Say, one of the most notable pianist-composers of our day. Two 20th-century cello sonatas are featured. Debussy’s is brief but beautiful, while Shostakovich’s has one of his trademark sardonic scherzos, a melancholy Largo, and impish finale. There’s also colorful music by Janáček inspired by a Russo-Turkish fairy tale, and Say’s evocative portrait of the cities on the Anatolian peninsula of his native Turkey.

Michail Lifits, Piano

Michail Lifits’s “cleanly articulated touch and beautiful phrasing” (The New York Times) is showcased in music of Schubert and Shostakovich. A work of great breadth with moderate tempos and a charming minuet, Schumann considered Schubert’s G-Major Sonata his finest. Shostakovich’s preludes are brief works, but are strikingly vivid in mood and character.