By Eileen Wingard
SAN DIEGO — The excerpts from Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A, heard near the beginning of the current hit movie, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, is performed by Gerald Robbins, with the Moscow Symphony under the direction of Kenneth Klein. Robbins, known to San Diego audiences by his recitals and solo appearances with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, will be presented in a two-piano concert this Friday evening, September 27, 8:00 p.m. at Sherwood Hall in La Jolla. His partner will be the Russian-born pianist, Natasha Marin. Their program will feature works for two pianos by Brahms, Saint-Saens, Arensky and Rachmaninoff.
Robbins, a native of Los Angeles, was a first prize winner of Los Angeles’ Young Musicians Foundation. He went on to be a prize winner at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and has performed in the world’s major music centers, soloing with orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic , the BBC Symphony, and the Royal Liverpool Symphony. He has collaborated with violinists Nathan Milstein, Pinchas Zukerman, Kyung-Wha Chung, Ruggiero Ricci, and Glenn Dicterow, former concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, with whom he co-founded the Lyric Piano Quartet.
Appearing frequently on radio and television, he played Rhapsody in Blue on the Emmy-award-winning Gershwin TV special starring Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. He was also the pianist on the soundtrack for the Academy-Award-winning British film, A Shocking Accident.
Robbins has championed neglected romantic repertoire, recording extensively on the London-Decca, Orion and Genesis labels. One of his highly praised recordings was the world-premiere of concerti by Litolff and Reinecke.
He taught at Queens College and is currently a member of the chamber music faculty of the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.
Natasha Marin was born in Russia where she was accepted into the Special Music School for Gifted Children at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. She graduated that conservatory with honors. Moving to the United States, she attended UCLA. She performs as a soloist, in piano duos, with vocalists and in chamber ensembles. She has recorded and performed in the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall in Russia as well as in Arizona, Florida and California. Her piano duo “Double Sharp,” with Maria Demina, won the Grand Prize at a regional competition and appeared live and on national radio.
She also has appeared with her husband, actor/comedian Cheech Marin. For ticket information, call 619-435-9273 or 619-929-1020.
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Wingard is a freelance writer and former violinist with the San Diego Symphony. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com