NEWS FROM THE WAGNER SOCIETY

For more information, Thomas Arthur (press)

Aurelius Fernandez, 301.907.2600 (general)

WASHINGTON, D.C., AUGUST 3, 2006 ––– The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. announces a lecture-recital by the renowned concert pianist

Jeffrey Swann

“Chopin as Proto-Wagnerian”

The event will be at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, 4645 Reservoir Road, N.W., on Thursday, September 21st at 7:30 P.M and will be followed by a reception with the artist. The program is free to current Wagner Society members and $20 to non-members. Seating is limited to 200. Reservations must be made no later than September 18th on a form available on the Society’s website at www.wagner-dc.org or by calling the Society at 301.907.2600.

THE All-CHOPIN PROGRAM. Frédéric Chopin was a lynchpin of Romanticism in nineteenth-century music. His technically demanding compositions are among the pinnacles of the piano repertoire. Mr. Swann, a popular and skilled lecturer, brilliant artist, and respected interpreter of Chopin’s music, will introduce and comment at the piano on the Chopin pieces in his program, exploring his belief that Chopin should be considered to be the first Wagnerian. The program will include the Opus 49 Fantasy; two Nocturnes, the C-sharp minor and the E-flat major; the fourth Ballade, Opus 52; and the third Sonata, Opus 58.

JEFFREY SWANN has a world-wide concert career performing with leading conductors. He has won many competitions, including the Dino Ciani Competition sponsored by La Scala in Milan, a gold medal at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and top honors at the Warsaw Chopin, and the Van Cliburn. His repertoire includes more than 50 concertos, solo works ranging from Bach to Boulez, and sonatas of Beethoven, all 32 of which he performed to critical acclaim in New York’s Bargemusic Festival last year. Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times said Mr. Swann’s Beethoven performance “had the sense of total involvement, a willingness to immerse oneself whole in the music.” In a very serious and positive review also in The Times of Mr. Swann’s all-Chopin Bargemusic series this year, Allan Kozinn noted that Mr. Swann’s comments on the music were “consistently illuminating.”

Mr. Swann is a featured lecturer, for the fourth time, at this year’s Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth. Locally, he has performed well-received recitals presented by the Wagner Society, participated in a seminar on Wagner’s Ring jointly sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the Society, and appeared at the Society’s popular weekend retreats. A native of Arizona, Mr. Swann studied at Southern Methodist University and at the Juilliard School, where he received B.M., M.M. and D.M.A. degrees.

The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. is a non-profit organization dedicated to the enjoyment of Richard Wagner’s art. Extensive information about the Society and its activities can be found at its web site at www.wagner-dc.org.

THE WAGNER SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

P.O. Box 58213

Washington, D.C. 20037

Telephone 301.907.2600 ■ Facsimile 301.907.8671