Fernandina Beach, FL—May 29, 2008—The Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival will continue its tradition of presenting great piano music by providing Festival-goers with the rare opportunity to hear four internationally acclaimed virtuosos.

The Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival runs from May 30 through June 15. Tickets can be purchased via credit card on-line at the Festival’s website, www.aicmf.com, or by calling the Festival office at 904/261-1779.

Ukranian-born pianist Valentina Lisitsa has been described by critics as “positively dazzling” and “one of today’s most coveted ‘starlets’ in the main international circuit.” Born to a family of non-musicians in Kiev, she began playing piano at the age of three and performed her first solo recital at age four, before attending the Kiev Conservatory. Ms. Lisitsa has performed to rave reviews at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. She continues to crisscross the globe, playing with renowned orchestras and musicians.

Valentina Lisitsa will perform a program of Mozart and Beethoven on June 5 at Old St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Jacksonville.

Born in Nuremberg, Germany, pianist Claude Frank traces the educational lineage of his music teachers all the way back to the master himself, Beethoven. He abandoned Nazi Germany in 1937 and went to France, where he studied at the Paris Conservatory. Fleeing France before the advancing German armies in 1940, he ultimately settled in America. A Beethoven specialist, he has appeared with most of the world’s major orchestras, including the Boston, Chicago, National, and Buenos Aires Symphonies, the New York and Berlin Philharmonics, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam.

Claude Frank will perform an all-Beethoven program on June 7 at Macedonia AME Church.

Pianist Andreas Haefliger was born into a distinguished musical family in Switzerland and went on to study at the Juilliard School in New York. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, and Chicago Symphony. In his native Europe, Haefliger regularly plays with such great orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, and the London Symphony.

Andreas Haefliger will perform a program of Schubert and Brahms on June 6 at Macedonia AME Church.

A luminous, boldly emotive pianist who also conveys great sensitivity and spirituality through her playing, Anne-Marie McDermott is widely celebrated for her expressive performances on the world’s most illustrious stages. A highly versatile musician, Ms. McDermott is at home with a wide range of repertory, from Bach and Mozart to Prokofiev and Rachmaninov. As a solo recitalist, soloist with orchestra or as part of a chamber music ensemble, Ms. McDermott conveys the message of the composer in deeply felt, spontaneous playing.

Anne Marie McDermott will perform a program of Dvorak and Dohnanyi on May 31 at Amelia Plantation Chapel. Appearing with Ms. McDermott will be internationally acclaimed cellist Lynn Harrell.

About the Festival
The Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Entering its seventh season, the nationally renowned Festival is dedicated to bringing classical music at the highest level to the general public, schools and senior centers of Amelia Island and surrounding communities of northeastern Florida.

Read our previous post about the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival

Read about the grants received by the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival