Contacts:

Gloria Gottschalk, New School University
212-229-5667, ext. 239
[email protected]

Lauren Erlichman, New School University
212-229-5667, ext. 215
[email protected]

Vladimir Valjarevic, Mannes College of Music
212/580-0210, ext. 280
[email protected]

MANNES COLLEGE OF MUSIC ANNOUNCES
"LA BELLE ÉPOQUE"

A year-long festival of concerts, master classes, and symposia featuring
music from the turn of the 20th century

Opening concert on Thursday, January 31, 2002 at 8 PM
at the National Arts Club

(New York, NY – January 7, 2002) Mannes College of Music announced today that it will present a year-long festival of concerts, master classes, and symposia featuring featuring music from the turn of the 20th century. Mannes faculty, students, and alumni, as well as special guest artists, including Vladimir Feltsman, Richard Goode, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet will participate in the festival. "La Belle Époque" will present a broad diversity of composers active between the 1880's and the end of World War I, representing many nations, including Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, England, Russia, and the United States, and many styles, ranging from late romanticism through impressionism and expressionism to modernism. The festival's venues will include many NYC cultural landmarks -- Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, The Jewish Museum, Goethe Institute, the Harvard Club, and others.

For a complete schedule of the festival, call the Mannes at 212/580-0210, ext. 255 or visit www.mannes.edu.

On announcing the festival, Pavlina Dokovska, Chair of the Piano Department and Artistic Director of "La Belle Époque," remarked, "This dynamic era in music history will come to life through concerts and master classes featuring Mannes's young artists, distinguished faculty and guest artists. We want our audiences to explore with us the crowning achievements of musical romanticism and the genesis of the music of our time."

The opening concert of the festival on Thursday, January 31, 2002 at 8 PM at the National Arts Club will feature works by Fauré, Debussy, and Ravel. The National Arts Club is located at 15 Gramercy Park South, NYC. Admission to this concert is by a tax-deductible donation to the Mannes Scholarship Fund ($50 minimum per ticket). For further information on the opening concert, call 212/580-0210, ext. 222.

Other highlights of the festival will be a tribute to the late French pianist and teacher, Gaby Casadesus, on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 at Mannes; "Musical Vienna" on Thursday, February 28, 2002 at The Jewish Museum; "Music and New York's Gilded Age," a symposium and concert at New School University on Saturday, October 5, 2002; master classes by Vladimir Feltsman, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Richard Goode (dates to be announced); and a concluding concert at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in December 2002.

"La Belle Époque" follows three highly successful year-long festivals presented by Mannes College of Music:"Chopin at Mannes 1999," "Bach 2000 Festival," and "The Schumanns and Their Circle, 2001."

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Mannes College of Music, a division of New School University, was founded in 1916. It is one of the world's major conservatories of music. Mannes offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as a Professional Studies Diploma program. Joel Lester is Dean of the College. For further information on Mannes College of Music, call 212-580-0210 or go to the Web site at www.mannes.edu

New School University, with 7,000 matriculated students and 25,000 continuing education students, is comprised of seven academic divisions: The New School, the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, Parsons School of Design, Eugene Lang College, Mannes College of Music, the Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, and the Actors Studio Drama School, as well as the University's B.F.A. in Jazz and Contemporary Music. New School Online University offers one of the largest selections of online courses in the nation. For further information about admission to New School University, call 877-528-3321 or go to the Web site at www.newschool.edu