The 26th Athenaeum Summer Festival, a series of four concerts that will feature virtuoso pianist Gustavo Romero. Continuing a beloved tradition, this summer Gustavo Romero will celebrate and focus on the piano music of Sergei Rachmaninoff, including his preludes, etude-tableaux variations, and sonatas, accompanied by select pieces by his Russian contemporaries. For 25 years, the Athenaeum has presented unforgettable festivals featuring Gustavo Romero performing the complete piano repertoire of a specific composer. Whether you have been with us all 25 years or have yet to experience the wonder of this artist-who plays from memory-you will not want to miss our upcoming 26th Summer Festival.

Romero, a native San Diegan, with a heritage in Guadalajara, first performed at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library as a young boy, and it was with him that the Athenaeum planned its first Summer Festival in 1999, the organization's 100th anniversary. Each year, Romero chooses composers to study in depth, sharing the full range of their artistry.

About Gustavo Romero: Concert pianist Gustavo Romero is internationally renowned for his exceptional technical brilliance and interpretive depth and has gained acclaim for his commitment to in-depth exploration of a wide variety of composers. 

Romero discovered his love and gift for the piano at age 5 and gave his first public performances at the age 10, when he also won his first piano competition. By age 13 he was performing with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. Rudolf Serkin recognized his exceptional talent, and at age 14 Romero began attending The Juilliard School.

Romero has won many prizes, including first prize in the prestigious Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland, the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and Musical America’s Young Artist Award. He has performed with the world’s leading orchestras—including the New York, Los Angeles, New Japan, Shanghai, Cape Town, and Liège Philharmonics; Atlanta, Houston, Pittsburgh, Honolulu, and New World Symphonies; and Boston Pops, English Chamber, Radio France, Russian Symphony, and Thailand Philharmonic  Orchestras. With the Philharmonia Hungarica Orchestra he performed in  a concert internationally televised from the United Nations.

Schedule:

Program:

Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
arr. S. Prokofieff

Organ Prélude and Fugue in D Minor, BuxWV 140

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Morceaux de fantaisie, op. 3

No. 3: Mélodie
No. 2: Prélude in C-sharp Minor
No. 1: Élégie
No. 4: Polichinelle

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)

Feuillet d’Album, op. 45, no.1

Poème, op. 32, no. 1, in F-sharp Major

2 Poèmes, op. 69

Sonata no. 4 in F-sharp Major, op. 30                                                               

Andante
Prestissimo volando

Intermission

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Variations on a Theme by Chopin, op.22

Time:
Concerts Begin at 4 pm
Doors open at 3:30 pm

Location: Joan and Irwin Jacobs Music Room

Tickets:
Individual Concerts: 
$50 member / $55 nonmember

Series of 4 Concerts: 
$192 member / $212 nonmember

Individual Concert With Dinner:
$200

Series of 4 Concerts With 2 Dinners (July 6 & 27):
$450

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