Baytelman will perform two sonatas by Scarlatti and Mozart’s Sonata K. 533/494 in F major on the college’s Anton Walter fortepiano, along with Schubert’s Three Moments Musicaux, Crumb’s Little Suite for Christmas, and Mendelssohn’s Variations sérieuses in D minor, Op. 54.
Known for sparkling articulation reminiscent of the remarkable Alicia de Larrocha, Baytelman is an active recitalist with a broad repertory that covers piano repertoire from the 18th to the 21st centuries.
Born in Chile, Baytelman made her debut with the Chilean Symphony Orchestra at 17, and has since played with numerous orchestras, including the Chilean Symphony and Chilean Philharmonic Orchestras, the Boston Pops as well as other orchestras. She studied at the University of Chile’s National Conservatory before going to the U.S. on a Fulbright grant. In the U.S. she attended the New England Conservatory in Boston, where she studied with Russell Sherman, and later received her doctorate at the University of Texas, Austin, where Nancy Garrett was her teacher. She also worked with Claude Frank and Menahem Pressler.
Baytelman, a Steinway Artist since 1996, has performed with orchestras, in chamber music ensembles, and as recitalist in China, Hong Kong, Europe, South America and across the U.S. She was chosen to present Skidmore’s Edwin M. Moseley Faculty Research Lecture in 2006, the highest honor Skidmore faculty confers on a colleague.
Baytelman especially enjoys playing music by women, and by Spanish and Latin American composers. She has long been associated with the music of Isaac Albéniz and is the author of a book on Albéniz’s piano music published by Harmonie Park Press in Michigan. Baytelman has also performed Albéniz’s monumental Iberia in tours of major US cities, and recorded a groundbreaking CD of Albéniz’s work in 1998 (Elan). Her latest compact disc is From Chile to Cuba: Latin-American Piano Music, available from Albany Records. Baytelman’s recording of Robert Schumann’s Humoreske (2002 Centaur) was listed by American Record Guide as one of the top three performances of the classic work ever made.
Admission for the April 11 Pola Baytelman concert is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. For advance reservations visit www.skidmore.edu/zankel or call the Zankel box office at (518) 580-5321 for more information.
The Zankel Music Center is wheelchair accessible and offers listening devices for the hearing impaired. For more information, please visit www.skidmore.edu/zankel.
