Pianist Neil Rutman to present concert Nov. 18

CONWAY — Neil Rutman, University of Central Arkansas Artist in Residence in piano and professor of music, will perform his annual concert at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 on UCA’s campus.

The concert — a mix of classical, jazz and chamber music — will be in the Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall. It is free and open to the public.

“It makes a change from a traditional piano recital, and I felt like a change was in order this semester,” said Rutman, a California native who graduated from the Eastman School of Music and Peabody Conservatory.

He has won top prizes in several international events such as the Busoni, Kapell, Casadesus, Joanna Hodges, Concert Artist Guild and International Johann Sebastian Bach competitions.

During his career, Rutman has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan and the Schola Cantorum in Paris.

He was invited to give the closing concert at the World Conference of the 2011 European Piano Teachers Association Conference in Serbia.

At 7:15 p.m., Rutman will give a talk containing historical anecdotes and stories about the music he will perform. Rutman’s program will be recorded for UCA-based television station Channel 6.

The program will include the Brahms F Major Cello Sonata with guest artist David Gerstein, a cellist from Chicago.

“Mr. Gerstein is the principal cellist in the Arkansas Symphony [Orchestra], a fine player and a good friend,” Rutman said. “It was on that basis that we decided to collaborate.”

Rutman will play solo during the second half of the UCA program and offer works by Liszt, Gluck and Rachmaninoff, a jazz transcription from Duke Ellington and an American “Hoe Down” folk transcription.

To conclude the concert, he will perform Edvard Grieg’s Ballade, a work considered a transformation for the composer.

Rutman said listening to it and watching its performance is a very moving experience for any audience, along with being a very difficult and showy piece to perform.

“Outside of Scandinavia, the Ballade is practically unknown among professional pianists,” he said. “It is, however, a very important work and needs to be heard.”

In addition to his work as artist in residence, Rutman coaches the UCA boxing team and is a volunteer probation officer for juvenile offenders in Faulkner County.

For more information, contact Rutman at (501) 450-5767 or neilr@uca.edu.