Photo courtesy of the UA School of Music and Dance

Piano professor Nicholas Zumbro celebrates 25 years with the University of Arizona. Zumbro will give a concert Sunday at 3 p.m. in Crowder Hall.

Thursday October 25, 2001

In commemoration of 25 years with the university, piano professor Nicholas Zumbro presents an anniversary concert comprised of some of his favorite musical pieces.

The program will consist of the "Ballade No. 1" by Chopin, "Kleine Prelude" by J.S. Bach, two movements from Stravinsky's "Petrushka," and the complete "Goyescas" by Granados. Zumbro will play "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the beginning of the performance as well.

The pieces were chosen as personal favorites from Zumbro's repertoire over the years.

"I'm crazy about all these pieces," he said. "I wouldn't learn them if I didn't love them."

The "Goyescas" piece is particularly special to Zumbro and has much history behind it.

"Goyescas" is based on the paintings of Francisco Goya. Both the music and the paintings are representative of Spanish life in Madrid in the early nineteenth century.

"It centers on fashionable people - the elaborate clothes they wore, their romantic affairs and other things," Zumbro explained.

"Goyescas" is comprised of seven movements, the longest of which is called "Love and Death." It represents the romantic lifestyle of the time and eventually developed into an opera.

Projections of Goya's paintings will be shown during the performance of "Goyescas."

"I hope it'll bring the music to life," Zumbro said.

The program's other pieces are works Zumbro has been associated with through recordings and performances in Europe, China and South Korea.

In addition to teaching for 25 years at UA, Zumbro has taught at Juilliard, Indiana University, the University of Hawaii and in Greece and England. While studying at Juilliard under Madame Rosina Lhevinne, he was named "one of her most important students" by Piano Magazine.

Zumbro's career has drawn much praise.

Fellow UA piano professor Paula Fan called Zumbro "a virtuoso with a wide range of repertoire. His playing is full of color, passion and imagination," she said.

Early in his career, the New York Times hailed Zumbro's interpretation of Bach as "a masterpiece."

Zumbro has performed with great success throughout the United States and abroad. He presented the "Concord Sonata of Ives" in several European countries, and his solo Listz performances garnered him standing ovations at Lincoln Center. Recently he has toured in Mexico, Vienna, France, Russia and South Korea.

Zumbro has recorded on many labels, and his records have become bestsellers. Some of these include his recording of the Listz "Concerto" with the Royal Philharmonic and his CD of Granados' complete "Goyescas," along with the Sonatas of Barber and Ives.

Zumbro also composed an opera titled "Kassandra," which premiered in Athens in 1990.

Part of the School of Music's Faculty Artist Series, the concert will be held Sunday at 3 p.m. in Crowder Hall. General admission is $10, UA employees and seniors are $8 and students with valid ID are $4.