Malcolm Bilson to Head UB November Music Calendar

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Fortepianist Malcolm Bilson, one of the country's most celebrated and refreshing instrumentalists, will perform a long-awaited concert on Friday, Nov. 8, in Slee Concert Hall at the University at Buffalo.

Bilson heads a program of concert performances by the renowned Muir String Quartet and the UB Percussion Ensemble, Trombone Choir, Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble. Also on the agenda are performances by clarinetist John Fullam, organist Wolfgang Rubsam, the resident Amherst Saxophone Quartet and duo-pianists Frina Arschanska and Kenwyn Boldt. Despite the high quality of the performances, ticket prices are low and several concerts are free of charge.

All performances will take place in Slee Concert Hall on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. Tickets for all concerts may be obtained from the UB ticket office, 645-ARTS, or from any Ticketmaster outlet (Kaufmann's, Movies Plus, Music Plus stores), or by calling Ticketmaster at 852-5000.

• Friday, Nov. 8, 8 p.m.: Fortepiano concert by Malcolm Bilson, a performer internationally celebrated as much for his charm, humor, passion and wit as for his virtuosity. For Concert II of the Slee Visiting Artist Series, he will present a program of Viennese classical sonatas by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven: Beethoven's Sonata in D Major, Op. 3/10; Mozart's Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 570; Haydn's Sonata in G Major, Hob. 39, and Beethoven's Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 7.

  Bilson's performances on original five-octave, late 18th-century pianos, principally known as fortepianos, and on their replicas, have been the impetus for the return of the fortepiano to the concert stage and to recordings of the ³mainstream² repertory on that instrument. He has rejuvenated the piano works of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven in solo performance, chamber music and concertos with his fresh insights into their interpretation. Bilson performs, lectures and teaches throughout the world and directs keyboard studies in 18th-century musical performance at Cornell University, where he is Frederick J. Whiton Professor of Music.

  Tickets are $10 for general admission; $8 for UB faculty, staff and alumni; $5 for senior citizens, and $4 for students.

  Friday, Nov. 1, 8 p.m.: The Muir String Quartet, one of the finest string quartets in the world today, will present the second in the six-part Slee Beethoven String Quartet Cycle, one of several programs in music at UB made possible by the generosity of the late Frederick and Alice Slee.

  The program will include Quartet No. 10 in E-flat Major, Op. 74 (Harp); Quartet No 2 in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2, and Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131. Tickets are $10 (general admission), $8 (UB faculty, staff and alumni), $5 (senior citizens) and $4 (students).

  Sunday, Nov. 3, 5 p.m.: Wolfgang Rubsam, an organist known internationally for more than 100 highly acclaimed recordings of organ repertoire from the baroque and romantic periods, will present Concert II in the UB Organ Recital Series. Tickets are $8 (general admission), $6 (UB faculty, staff and alumni), $5 (senior citizens) and $2 (students).

  The program will feature de Grigney's Ave Maria Stella, Bach's Sonata No. 2 in C minor, BWV 526; Reger's Fantasie über den Choral: Hallelujah! and Got zu loben, Op. 52/3, and Vierne's Deuxième Symphonie, Op. 20.

  Rubsam is professor of church music and organ at Northwestern University and University Organist for Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at the University of Chicago. He won the 1973 Grand Prix de Chartres competition for interpretation and has served on juries for Finland's Lahti International Organ Competition, Germany's Speyer International Organ Competition and the Grand Prix de Chartre.

  Wednesday, Nov. 6, 8 p.m.: Concert by the UB Wind Ensemble conducted by Assistant Professor Sarah L. McKoin. All tickets are $3.

  Tuesday, Nov. 12, 8 p.m.: Faculty recital by clarinetist John Fullam, lecturer in the UB Department of Music. Fullam will be accompanied in a program of clarinet quintets by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Samuel Coleridge Taylor by violinists Frances Kaye and Richard Kay, violist Donna Lorenza and cellist Mary Artmann.

  Tickets are $8 (general admission), $6 (UB faculty, staff and alumni), $5 (senior citizens) and $2 (students).

  The Nov. 15 concert by Gothic Voices at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, 3275 Main St., has been canceled.

  Monday, Nov. 18, 8 p.m.: Concert II of the UB Resident Quartet Series by the Amherst Saxophone Quartet. Tickets are $10 (general admission) and $5 (UB community and senior citizens).

  Friday, Nov. 22, 8 p.m.: The Muir String Quartet presents Concert III of the Slee Beethoven String Quartet Cycle. Program : Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3; Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 133 (Grosse Fugue), Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op 59, No. 3. Tickets are $10 (general admission), $8 (UB faculty, staff and alumni), $5 (senior citizens) and $4 (students).

  Saturday, Nov. 23, 8 p.m.: UB Percussion Ensemble conducted by Anthony Miranda. No admission charge.

  Sunday, Nov. 24, 3 p.m.: Duo-pianists Frina Arschanska and Kenwyn Boldt will be accompanied by percussionist Anthony Miranda in a program featuring Béla Bartók's Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion. Tickets are $8 (general admission), $6 (UB faculty, staff and alumni), $5 (senior citizens) and $2 (students).

  Sunday, Nov. 24, 8 p.m.: Concert by the UB Trombone Choir, conducted by Richard Meyers. The 12-to-18-member choir will open its 37th season with a program of literature originally composed for the trombone and works arranged especially for trombones by Meyers, principal trombonist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1955-94 who founded the ensemble in 1960. No admission charge.

  Tuesday, Nov. 26, 8 p.m.: Concert by the UB Symphonic Band conducted by Sarah L. McKoin. No admission charge.