Van Cliburn International Bronze Medalist Performs at Wassermann Festival

The first performer of the 2018 Wassermann Festival is Daniel Hsu, winner of the bronze medal at the fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The concert is Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall on the Utah State University campus.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Hsu began his studies at age 6 and made his concert debut with the Fremont Symphony Orchestra at age 8. At age 9, Hsu made his recital debut at the Steinway Society of the Bay Area. He is currently the Richard A. Doran Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music.

“Hsu is remarkably youthful to have achieved this level of recognition,” Dennis Hirst, festival director, said. “It’s amazing to see someone this young be so successful and have such a command of what he does.”

The first piece Hsu will perform as part of his program for the Wassermann Festival is Toccata on L’homme armé by Marc-André Hamelin, commissioned by the Van Cliburn Foundation for the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Every competitor was required to perform the piece in the preliminary stages of the competition.

Hsu will also play crowd favorite, Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky. Audience members will recognize segments of the piece from popular movies and television. Other pieces performed include Chaconne in D Minor by Bach/Busoni, Polonaise No. 6 in A-flat major, Op. 53 and Fantasie, Op. 49, both by Chopin.          

“From the first notes of the Beethoven sonata I heard him play at the Van Cliburn competition, I realized Hsu was a musician of remarkable intellect and extraordinary musicianship,” Hirst said, “I hoped he would be recognized as a prizewinner and thus presented at the Wassermann Festival.”

In addition to Wednesday night’s concert, Hsu will host a masterclass Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. in the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall where he will coach students performing works from Beethoven, as well as a question and answer session. The masterclass is free and open to the public.

In the 2017-18 season, Hsu will release his first solo album and continue recital and concerto tours across the United States.

Tickets for the concert are $24 for adults, $20 for USU faculty and staff and $10 for students ages 8 and older. Tickets are available through the Caine College of the Arts Box Office located in room L101 in the Chase Fine Arts center or online via a link on the Wassermann website.

Writer and contact: Whitney Schulte, whitney.schulte@usu.edu, 435-797-9203