August 25, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Pianists José Feghali, Nikolai Lugansky and Tian Ying are the featured performers for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Music's 2008-2009 UAB Piano Series.

The series begins with Feghali at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9. Lugansky will take to the stage at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17. Ying will close the season at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 22. All performances are in the Alys Stephens Center's Reynolds-Kirschbaum Recital Hall, 1200 10th Ave. S., Birmingham. Tickets are $15 for adults; $5 for students. A ticket package for all three performances is $30. Call 205-975-2787.

Winner of the Gold Medal at the Seventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Feghali is a major presence on the concert stage. He has appeared in more than 800 performances worldwide, with such renowned orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, London Symphony and Rotterdam, Royal and BBC philharmonics, and the Chicago, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Atlanta and National Symphony orchestras. Visit www.feghali.com.

Lugansky is one of the world's great interpreters of piano repertoire. His concerts, recitals and chamber music performances throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas have earned him the applause of critics and audiences alike. His recordings include Chopin's "Etudes," as well as Rachmaninov's "Preludes and Moments Musicaux" and Chopin's "Preludes," all of which won Diapason d'Or de L'Annee awards. Visit www.lugansky.homestead.com.

Ying is well known for his eloquent, poetic, dramatically intense performances. Winner of many awards, he was honored at the Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1989. With his reputation for unusually searching and profound interpretations played with virtuoso accomplishment, Ying is distinguished among the most accomplished artists of his generation.