About the Event

From the heroic polonaise and dreamy nocturnes to the famous Fantaisie-Impromptu and virtuoso études, lose yourself in The Glorious Music of Chopin as performed by Jeffrey Siegel in his signature Keyboard Conversations® series. This concert with commentary combines dynamic performances of Chopin’s music by a versatile pianist with the artist’s encyclopedic knowledge of the composer. 

American pianist Jeffrey Siegel has been a soloist with the world’s great orchestras. Abroad, these include the Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, London Philharmonia, Moscow State Symphony, Munich’s Bayerischer Rundfunk, Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestras, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of La Scala, and NHK Symphony of Japan. In the United States, engagements have included the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Siegel has collaborated with many of the preeminent conductors of our time, including Sir Andrew Davis, Charles Dutoit, Neeme Järvi, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, and David Zinman, as well as legendary maestros of the past, including Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel, Eugene Ormandy, Sir George Solti, William Steinberg, Klaus Tennstedt, and Yevgeny Svetlanov. 

A passionate communicator as well as performer, Siegel also presents Keyboard Conversations®. These brilliantly polished concerts with commentary combine captivating comments with dynamic performances of piano masterpieces. Each concert concludes with a lively Q&A. New listeners discover an informal, entertaining, and instantly accessible introduction to the vast repertoire of the piano and to classical music, in general. Seasoned music lovers discover an enriched, more focused listening experience. Long-running series flourish in London, as well as in numerous American cities, among them New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Palm Desert, Dallas, Denver, and Washington, D. C. The loyalty of Jeffrey Siegel’s audiences is heartwarming. During the 2018–19 season, the Scottsdale series celebrated its 40th consecutive season of Keyboard Conversations® while the Chicago series marked its 50th. 

Siegel has appeared on Oprah Radio’s Dr. Oz Show as guest of host and heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz and author and co-host Dr. Michael Roizen. In addition, he has been a frequent guest on the popular BBC program In Tune in London. Keyboard Conversations® ~ Piano Treasures, a Time Life production, has been broadcast by PBS to more than 150 cities nationwide and is now available on DVD. CD releases include The Romantic Music of Chopin; The Miracle of Mozart, recorded live in London; The Power and Passion of Beethoven; The Romanticism of the Russian Soul and The Romance of the Piano (Random House Audio Publishing Group); Music for the Young – and Young at Heart (WFMT Radio, Chicago); American Pianistic Treasures (WEDU, Tampa), and Spellbinding Bach. 

Born into a musical family, Siegel studied with Rudolf Ganz in his native Chicago, with the legendary Rosina Lhévinne at The Juilliard School, and, as a Fulbright Scholar, with Ilona Kabos in London. Siegel and his wife live in New York City and have two grown children and three grandchildren. 

“An achievement of a sort seldom heard.” — The New York Times 

“A pianist with a bravura technique and a big, gorgeous sound . . . and when the artist himself offers the inside scoop, the musical experience becomes vastly more personal.” — The Denver Post 

“Jeffrey Siegel has everything: massive technique, musical sensitivity and character, wide tonal resources, immense reserves of power, and the ability to communicate.” — Los Angeles Times 

Presenting Sponsor:

David and Joan Goldfarb