American Scenes Featuring Jiana Peng and Konrad Kowal

About this event

In celebration of America 250 , award-winning pianist Jiana Peng and violinist Konrad Kowal present American Scenes , a special program exploring the richness and diversity of America’s musical identity through the works of composers who experienced and expressed America in different ways. Amy Beach’s Romance reflects a lyrical Romanticism rooted in the European tradition, while Aaron Copland’s Violin Sonata and Samuel Barber's Excursions draw on distinctly American landscape and folk traditions. Maurice Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2 offers an international perspective, exploring the influence of American culture through jazz. The program also celebrates Akron composer Pat Pace who brings classical piano into dialogue with jazz and improvisation. Finally, George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess reveals the profound role of jazz, blues, and African American musical traditions in shaping the American sound.

Program:

Aaron Copland

Sonata for Violin and Piano

Samuel Barber

Excursions, Op. 20:

No. 1 Un poco allegro

No. 3 Allegretto

Amy Beach

Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 23

Maurice Ravel

Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2, M. 77

Pat Pace

Preludes:

Claude and Maurice

Samba

George Gershwin

Porgy and Bess (trans. Jascha Heifetz):

Summertime

A Woman is a Sometime Thing

My Man's Gone Now

It Ain't Necessary So

Bess, You Is My Woman

Tempo di Blues

About the Artists

Praised for her "intelligent and creative sensibility" (Kevin Kenner), “clean and precise articulation” (ClevelandClassical), and "spectacular technique" (South Florida Classical Review), Dr. Jiana Peng is internationally acclaimed for her captivating performances across the Americas and Europe. A versatile pianist, she brings depth, imagination, and virtuosity to a wide range of repertoire.

A specialist in the music of Chopin, Jiana released her debut album of Chopin's complete 24 Preludes in 2022. She is equally drawn to the repertoire outside the canon, most recently premiering the solo piano transcription of Szymanowski's ballet Harnasie at the Frost Chopin Festival in Miami, where it earned acclaim from audiences and critics alike.

Jiana is the first prize winner of the 2020 International Chopin Piano Competition (Corpus Christi) and second prize winner of the 2022 Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition (Washington, D.C.). Additionally, she has taken top prizes at the New York International Piano Competition, Nice Côte d'Azur International Piano Competition, and the Fou Ts’ong International Piano Competition, and was selected to compete in the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw.

Since her orchestral debut at sixteen with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Jiana has appeared with the National Philharmonic, CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, and orchestras of the Oberlin Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, and University of Alicante, performing with conductors including Andrew Grams, Grzegorz Nowak, Uri Segal, Kimbo Ishii, Raphael Jiménez, Piotr Gajewski, Carl Topilow, and Carlos Lopez.

Her partnership with legendary pianist Maria João Pires has brought her to the inaugural Days of Wisdom festival in Spain, the Belgais Center for Arts in Portugal, and the Partitura Residency at the Gilmore International Piano Festival. Other festival appearances include PianoTexas International Festival, Frost Chopin Festival, and Dubrovnik Summer Music Festival (Croatia). She recently made her South America debut at Colombia’s Ibagué Festival , performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor with the Tolima Conservatory Symphony Orchestra.

Jiana has performed in distinguished venues worldwide, from Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Severance Hall, Warsaw Philharmonic, and Chopin's Manor in Duszniki-Zdrój. She appears regularly in concert series presented by the Chopin Foundation of the United States, Chopin Society of Texas, and Culture & Art Foundation in New York.

She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, with previous degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and an Artist Diploma from Oberlin Conservatory. Her artistic development has been shaped by mentorship with Maria João Pires, Kevin Kenner, HaeSun Paik, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, and Stanislav Ioudenitch.

Dr. Konrad Kowal is a Chicago born Polish-American violinist. In May 2024, Konrad received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and was a recipient of the Hope and Stanley Adelstein Prize for Excellence in Orchestral Performance. A committed orchestral musician, Konrad serves as concertmaster of the Canton Symphony Orchestra and the Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra. He frequently performs as a substitute musician with The Cleveland Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and has also played with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Columbus Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Konrad regularly performs recitals across the United States and appears as soloist with orchestras.

As a chamber musician, Konrad is a member of the BKW Trio with pianist Jacob Bernhardt and cellist Nora Willauer, a group that performs recitals around the United States, most recently presenting a recital at the Buffalo Chamber Music Society. He has also collaborated with the Emerson String Quartet and with members of The Cleveland Orchestra.

Konrad’s mentors include Olga Kaler, Ilya Kaler, Malcolm Lowe, Stephen Rose, and William Preucil, and he has had masterclasses with renowned artists Vadim Gluzman, Phil Setzer, and Yo-Yo Ma among others. 26-27 Season highlights include performing Dvorak Romance as soloist at the Lexington Bach Festival and the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Cleveland Philharmonic. Konrad plays on a violin made by Joseph Curtin. He resides in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with his wife, Weronika.