Garrick Ohlsson makes his Four Arts debut

There’s much to savor in Rachmaninov’s stirring Symphonic Dances: an alto saxophone and pulsating percussion in the first; a dark, eerie waltz in the second; and Russian Orthodox chants, tubular bells and the composer’s go-to Dies irae in the last. On March 6, 7 and 8, Garrick Ohlsson’s virtuosity will be on full display joining the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in Barber’s breathtaking Piano Concerto, praised at its premiere as “the birth of an American classic…a big, splashy, old-fashioned concerto.” Here’s a video of Mr. Ohlsson preparing for Barber’s Piano Concerto.

Taking a small respite from the solo piano works, on March 14 Mr. Ohlsson is joined by his long-time friends and close collaborators, the eminent Takács Quartet, at the Kaufmann Concert Hall in performances of two great chamber works of Brahms. First, his serene, Schubertian A Major Quartet, a work of incredible beauty and heavenly length. After intermission, the Piano Quintet, a turbulent, passionate work imbued with high drama and great verve, will receive a masterful performance from this “dream team” of chamber musicians.

On March 18, Mr. Ohlsson travels to the West Coast, to make his Four Arts debut in Palm Beach in a program featuring Chopin’s Nocturne in B-flat Minor, Op. 9, No. 1 and Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58. Ohlsson will also play Brahms’ Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1 and Pieces, Op. 119.

Lastly, on March 31 Garrick Ohlsson comes back to the Herbst Theatre, finalizing the cycle of his two-year survey of Brahms’ complete solo piano works begun last season. On this occasion, he plays his Scherzo in E-flat minor, Op. 4; Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann in F-sharp minor, Op. 9; Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1; Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39; Four Pieces, Op. 119