Piano duo to appear at Franco to play two Steinways

LEWISTON — Concert pianists Igor Lovchinsky and Matthew Graybil will perform at the Gendron Franco Center on Friday, March 8. The program, the third in the center’s 13th Piano Series season, begins at 7 p.m. and will feature two piano and solo pieces, including compositions by Liszt, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Poulenc and Kapustin.

These two artists, favorites of the center’s audiences from their previous appearances in the Performance Hall, met as undergraduates at the Juilliard School, where they were students of Jerome Lowenthal. Their graduate studies took them to different cities, but they stayed in touch and continued their collaboration as performers of two-piano compositions.

Lovchinsky showed extraordinary promise at an early age; by the age of 4 he was giving recitals for family and friends in his native city of Kazan, Russia. His family settled in Columbus, Ohio, when he was 10. After his undergraduate study at the Juilliard School, he obtained his Master’s Degree at the New England Conservatory, where his teachers were Patricia Zander and Wha-Kyung Byun.

His career has taken him to perform with orchestras in Europe and the United States, as well as to give recitals in Eastern Europe, Asia and North and South America. “Mesmerizing and fiery … phenomenal talent,” concluded one critic. His debut CD, released in 2008, was voted one of the top five classical recordings that year by Time Out International.

Following graduate study at the New England Conservatory, Lovchinsky fulfilled a passion for mathematics and science when he enrolled in the graduate physics program at Harvard University. He received his PhD two years ago and considers his dual interests in classical piano performance and scientific research to be most compatible and complementary. Now living and working back in Manhattan, he finds it even easier to continue his collaboration with Graybil.

Graybil stands out among the new generation of American classical pianists. The Southampton Press praised his playing as “hypnotic and compelling,” and following the release of his debut album in 2012, featuring works by Brahms and Schubert, Fanfare Magazine called him “one of the most sensitive, poetic young pianists to debut on record in recent memory.”

The Chopin Project recently released his recording of Chopin’s Études, Op. 10, and he collaborated in the world-première recording of Walter Piston’s Concerto for Two Pianos Solis for Steinway & Sons’ Spirio high-definition player piano system. Steinway Spirio also recorded his album, “Debussy: His Friends and His Enemies,” for the Debussy centennial celebration.

A native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Graybil began his piano studies at age 6 and gave his first recital within a year. He made his orchestral debut, at age 14, with a performance of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1. During master’s degree study at Juilliard, he continued to work with Jerome Lowenthal, as well as Matti Raekallio.

A prizewinner in national and international competitions, he has given solo recitals and performed with orchestras and in chamber groups in the United States, Canada, Mexico and France.

The Gendron Franco Center, with its two Steinway grand pianos, is handicapped accessible and is located on the corner of Cedar and Oxford streets in the “Little Canada” section of Lewiston, just across the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge from New Auburn.

Tickets are $15 and students are admitted for free. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 207-783-1585, at FrancoCenter.org or at the door. Box office hours are from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The doors and bar on the night of the performance open at 6 p.m.