Mackenzie Melemed's Debut Album Concert Tulevaisuus "Bright Shiny Things"

Pianist Mackenzie Melemed originated in Worcester County, MA. A protegé of Emmanuel Ax, Mackenzie won the Avery Fisher Career Grant , one of the highest honors to be bestowed on young American classical musicians, in 2022. He has performed as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Edmonton Symphony, the Polish Radio Orchestra, and other prominent ensembles, and has appeared in recitals at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital, as well as at major venues and festivals across North America, Europe and Asia. Performing publicly In his youth, Melemed's career developed in early studies with pianist Olga Rogach and at the Bancroft School in Worcester, MA. He received his Artist Diploma, Master of Music, and Bachelor of Music degrees from The Julliard School. While in New York, he learned the Finnish language at Columbia University. From his current home in Helsinki, Finland, he travels worldwide to perform and teach. He also teaches piano performance online in his "Pianostics" program. The New York Times called Melemed 'an excellent young pianist.' Other reviewers have remarked about his 'flexible and natural relationship with music' [Harri Hautala of Aamuleht]; his 'dazzling technique...that keeps the audience captivated throughout the performance" [John Falskow of Suburban Times]; and his brilliance and maturity as an artist [Juha Pekka-Peltonen of Satakunnan Kansa].

Mackenzie Melemed's debut album Tulevaisuus "Bright Shiny Things" pairs music that has shaped his artistry with new works by Laura Kaminsky, Stephen Hough, and Avner Dorman, each inspired by Bach, Liszt, or Brahms. Hough's Prelude and Fugue (Aeolian) reimagines Bach's B--flat minor Prelude and Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, weaving the letters of Melemed's name into the fugue subject. Kaminsky's Threnody...October 2024 offers a raw, urgent reflection on Liszt's Funérailles.Dorman's Lament and Variations, dedicated to the victims of October 2023 in Israel, reflects on Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9, moving from sorrow to resilience before finding peace in stillness.

Rooted in the past yet alive in the present, Tulevaisuus explores how memory and tradition can shape the music of the future.

Concert Program

J. S. Bach Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor (WTC Book I) BWV 867

Sir Stephen Hough Prelude and Fugue (Aeolian)

Franz Liszt Funérailles

Laura Kaminsky Threnody...October 2024

Johannes Brahms Variations on a Theme by R. Schumann Op 9

Avner Dorman: Lament and Variations

Major supporters of the production of this project, Youth under 18, and holders of the Massachusetts Card to Culture, are eligible for free admission. For more information, see the Friends of the Stone Church website at www.FriendsoftheStoneChurch.org or contact us by email to Events@FriendsoftheStoneChurch.org.