By Matthew Young, RealWV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – “Schubert Goes Fishing,” Barbara Nissman’s final performance in the three-part Music Classic series took place at the West Virginia Culture Center on Tuesday. The free concert series was held in conjunction with a similar three-part Spring Concert series at Lewisburg’s Carnegie Hall.
Much like the second Culture Center performance, “Gershwin Meets Brahms,” Schubert Goes Fishing again saw Nissman accompanied on stage by additional string musicians – this time in the form of a piano quintet. Members of the quintet included Ian Jessee on the violin, Stephen Weiss on the viola, Jose Rocha on the cello, and David Messina on the double bass.
Nissman began the show by performing three solo pieces: Marche Militaire, Gretchen at the spinning wheel, and Fantasy in C Minor. For the second portion of the show, the piano quintet joined Nissman to perform “The Trout” – a five-piece movement which included Allegro vivace, Andante, Scherzo: Presto, Andantino-Allegretto, and Allegro giusto.
A resident of the Greenbrier Valley for more than 30 years, Barbara Nissman has earned her place as one of the most celebrated concert pianists in the world today. She has been hailed as “one of the last pianists in the grand romantic tradition of Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Rubinstein,” and has already been chosen as a member of the inaugural class of Steinway Legends. Nissman is a recipient of the Governor’s Distinguished Service to the Arts Award, as well as West Virginia’s Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award.
Barbara Nissman will next perform in Charleston on Saturday, June 3, as part of the 2023 West Virginia Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The 2023 class of Hall of Fame inductees consists of Nissman, Winston Walls, The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, Calvin Simon and Fuzzy Haskins, and Buddy Griffin.
Nissman’s newest recordings, “Beethoven the Visionary,” and “Beethoven Voice of the Future,” are available now on compact disc and for digital download. These titles, as well as Nissman’s complete music catalog can be purchased at threeorangesrecordings.com.
