For many, classical music evokes images of evening gowns, baroque concert halls and impassioned, white-gloved conductors. Its mood is reverent, its audiences are serious and ever-so-slightly snobbish. But concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky has set out to buck classical piano’s black-tie reputation. The music, he argues, is not only for a knowledgeable few — its beauty can be appreciated by everyone, regardless of whether they know a “madrigal” from a “minuet.”
Rudnytsky, a professional musician and professor emeritus, travels the world performing and teaching audiences how to better understand and appreciate classical music. He will give a concert at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Nolan Center, as part of his Southeast tour.
The recital will feature works from a variety of eras and styles, written by composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Jacques Charlot, Manuel Herrarte and Rudnytsky’s father.
“Over the years, I’ve developed a sense of what balances with what,” he said of his selections. “I have a pretty big program that I’m doing that is quite unusual in some ways.”
He likes to talk to his audiences, explaining any esoteric musical terminology and providing background on composers’ lives and the contexts in which they wrote music.
“I define certain terms which are common in classical music,” he said. “A lot of times you take a look at a program … what does ‘sonata’ mean? What does ‘allegro’ mean? I give basic definitions of terminology.”
During his time at Youngstown State University in Ohio, he taught music appreciation classes to non-musicians, so he has experience helping future chemists or computer scientists understand what makes a piece powerful. He hopes that audiences will “put away old-fashioned notions of what classical music is.”
“They have this image from movies, this old stiff and formal thing,” he continued. “One person said to me, ‘classical music is only for rich people.’ … Some people may have unpleasant experiences with piano lessons, but none of that has anything to do with the music.”
With a resume boasting performances as far afield as New Zealand, Great Britain and Australia, Rudnytsky is a world traveler. The Ohio resident has played in over 100 countries and on 70 cruise lines. He will be visiting Wrangell for the second time — his previous visit was over 10 years ago, before the Nolan Center was constructed. This is his seventh time performing in Alaska.
Growing up, he was surrounded by music. His mother was the late Maria Sokil, a Ukrainian opera singer, and his father, Antin Rudnytsky, was a composer and conductor. The pair met and married in Ukraine before settling in the states at the beginning of World War II.
Rudnytsky gave his first recital at the age of seven in his home, surrounded by family and friends. His brother, Dorian, is also a professional musician. Rudnytsky recalls driving 50 miles to Philadelphia each week with his family for music lessons.
He and Nolan Center Director Cyni Crary have been planning the event for about a year. “He contacted me because he’s done tours in Alaska before and wanted to start a tour this summer,” Crary recalled. “We talked probably a year ago and planned all of this out. … At the Nolan Center, we’re trying to bring different things for the community and thought that this (the concert) would be a really nice treat for Wrangell.”
The event is not ticketed, but there is a suggested donation of $20.
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