This three-day celebration is presented by the Franz Liszt International Piano Festival (2023) and Competition (2024) co-hosted by The Ohio State University and the Ohio Chapter of the American Liszt Society in commemoration of Liszt's 212th birthday (1811–1886).
All events, which are free and open to the public, take place in Timashev Recital Hall.
Caroline Hong
Director, Franz Liszt International Piano Festival and Competition
President, Ohio Chapter of the American Liszt Society
(Photo credit: Tom McKenzie)
Saturday, Oct. 14
SESSION I • 2–4 p.m.
Master class with Spencer Myer — Lauded for “superb playing” and “poised, alert musicianship” by the Boston Globe, and labeled “definitely a man to watch” by London’s The Independent, American pianist Spencer Myer is one of the most respected and sought-after artists on today’s concert stage. Read more
With student pianists Eunji Baik, Grace Ding, Tracy Qian, Clara Rudy, Manuel Vizurraga.
Sunday, Oct. 15
SESSION II • 3:15 p.m.
Lynn Singleton presents "The Healthy Liszt Performer"
SESSION III • 4 p.m.
Ohio State piano students present recital of compositions by Franz Liszt
Grace Ding, Derin Ertin, Kaiwei Guo, Xinying He, Conor Smyth-Small, Liam Utt, Manuel Vizurraga. Selections include Transcendental Etude No. 10, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C minor, Légend No. 2, Rigoletto Paraphrase and more. Ryan Behan, master of ceremonies.
Monday, Oct. 16
PRE-CONCERT TALK • 6:45 p.m.
Arved Ashby, professor of musicology
GUEST ARTISTS CONCERT • 7:30 p.m.
Celebrating the birthdays of Liszt and Rachmaninoff
Ji-Hyang Gwak, 2021 Competition winner
Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
A prizewinner of numerous competitions, pianist Ji-Hyang Gwak has garnered international praise for her versatility, energy and technical mastery. As a performing solo artist, chamber musician and pedagogue, she made appearances across the United States and in Czech, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and Korea. Read more
Sunghwan Kim, 2021 Competition Ohio Call Honorable Mention
Selections from Schubert Song Transcriptions
Franz Liszt
Sunghwan Kim completed his Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance (2022) at Ohio State, where he was honored with the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Associate Award. Kim also received full scholarships for his double master's degrees in piano performance and collaborative piano from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Read more
Ryan Behan, Competition co-director
Selections from Années de pèlerinages: "Suisse"
Franz Liszt
Ryan Behan (DMA, 2009), assistant professor of piano and director of Keyboard Studies at the University of Indianapolis, has performed throughout the U.S., in Europe and China, with radio broadcasts on ORF (Austria), BBC and NPR. Recent performance highlights: concerto soloist with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Franz Liszt’s Années de Pèlerinage, recital appearances with the Indianapolis Quartet, and with sopranos Sumi Jo at the Mozarteum and Jolana Slavíková at the Salzburg Festival. Read more
A digital program link will be provided prior to the festival. No paper programs will be distributed.
All events are subject to change.
