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Fall Concert Highlights World-Renowned Pianist Tours Alaska
Fresh from performances in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, Walters performs in Anchorage on October 19 and 21 following concerts in Soldotna on October 13 and Kenai on Oct. 15. Walters says that although she has performed several times in British Columbia, this is her first time in Alaska. “My impression flying into Anchorage is that the scenery just took my breath away,” said Walters, who made her first flight to Alaska on Wednesday. “I saw the diversity, the beauty of the landscape, the mountains, the lakes, the panorama. It’s spectacular! It’s everything I have always heard about and read about.” Alaska’s beauty also fits perfectly with Walters’s program, titled "Celebrating Our World." “The program is a focus on all we have in common as human beings. The music of the great composers belongs to all of us,” she said. “It’s something that unites every historical period beyond politics and religions. It unites the human condition.” “The focus in this day and age can be on what divides us, but there is so much more that we have in common.” Walters believes the power of music should not be limited to all of the great concert halls she has played in cities such as New York, London, Paris, Moscow and Jerusalem. Alaska has been on her radar for a few years. She was able to fit in performances in Kenai and Anchorage into a tour of the Pacific Northwest. The concert is being presented by the Performing Arts Society, an organization started in 1999 and dedicated to bringing classical music and jazz concerts to the central Kenai Peninsula for an affordable price. “For someone of her talent to come here, it’s a tremendous stroke of luck and a tremendous windfall,” said Barb Christian, President of the Performing Arts Society Board. Walters will play five pieces. She said the Chaconne in D minor, written by Johann Sebastian Bach and transcribed for piano by Ferruccio Busoni, begins the concert because Bach’s music represents the human race on the Voyager Golden Record that has been traveling into space on the Voyager 2 spacecraft for decades. The Hymn of Morning by Franz Liszt carries special meaning for Walters. “In the world, it’s always morning somewhere, and with my travels and jet lag I can tell you that firsthand,” Walters said. “People everywhere share the hope that every new day will be a better day.” The Crusader’s March from The Legend of St. Elizabeth by Liszt is a superb fit because it honors the beauty of nature worldwide. The Maiden and the Nightingale by Enrique Granados is special to Walters because of her love of birds and wildlife. She hopes to see some of Alaska’s famous wildlife while here. Finally, the Canticle of the Sun by Liszt references the Canticle of the Sun by St. Francis of Assisi, which praises things like Brother Sun and Sister Moon. Walters said these things unite every time and place through the centuries. “I’m so happy to have the opportunity to play it here because this is certainly one of the most beautiful places on Earth. And I’ve seen a lot of the Earth!” Walters said. One of the hallmarks of the Performing Arts Society is getting performers into the schools, so Walters will present a program at Kenai Middle School on Monday morning. “I believe that it’s very important to introduce students to the best music the world has to offer,” Walters said. “They spend a lot of time listening to pop music which, frankly, comes and goes. The music I’ll play has been around for centuries and is part of the world’s shared heritage.” “My goal is to talk about the music of the great composers, bring them to life, and remind the students that this music belongs to them and to children around the world.” International First Lady of Piano Performs in Ohio
Walters’s program is titled: ‘A Musical Celebration of Our World.’ Her concert is part of a global tour this season which included Europe in the spring with special performances in Rome and Zurich. Her program features a combination of music and commentary for the audience. In recent years, Walters has performed as recitalist and orchestral soloist on six continents and in most of the 50 states. She has played Carnegie Hall and The Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall in London, Salle Cortot in Paris, Moscow’s Great hall, Concert hall in Jerusalem and Australia’s International Conservatorium, Blattner said. She has also performed at international festivals in Vienna, Barcelona and Madrid. She was the first American pianist invited to present three anniversary concerts in honor of Franz Liszt’s birthday. Walters received international renown for her prestigious invitations to perform at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and the Liszt Museum in Budapest and at Liszt’s birthplace in Raiding and at Esterhazy Palace, both in Austria.
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“At first blush, it’s a tad unbelievable that a pianist of such international renown will be playing here in Alaska on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. But talk to Teresa Walters, who has performed on six continents and most of the 50 states to glowing reviews, and her Saturday appearance starts to make sense. 
“Internationally-acclaimed pianist Teresa Walters will perform a classical piano concert Sunday at downtown’s Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Middletown at 4 p.m. “We are so excited to host her here,” said Kitty Blattner. “This is someone who typically performs in Cincinnati or Dayton.”