Latvian pianist to perform on campus

Latvian pianist Arta Arnicane will perform tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in a free concert event in the Carol A. Carter Recital Hall hosted by the Georgia Southern University Music Department.

Arnicane was born into a family of musicians and has studied under well-renowned pianist Homero Francesch.

“Both of my parents are musicians and have influenced my desire to be one. I am very grateful to my mother for teaching me to play the piano,” Arnicane said.

Arnicane has traveled to many countries to perform during her studies.

“Competitions have not kept me away from learning new repertoire and have never been a reason to change my way of playing,” Arnicane said. “I am loyal to my heart and always make sure that I play exactly as I feel because it is the only way to pass the message to the audience.”

She has constructed a good reputation in many places across the globe through competing in many prestigious international music competitions.

“Students will definitely notice in her playing that she is a polished artist of the highest caliber,” Richard Mercier, head of the GSU Music Department, said.

Arnicane will be playing a diverse program with challenging pieces from both the Classical and Romantic period.

“She is playing a broad program. She will be playing a c, which is a very famous piece of music as it was the first time a composer condensed all of the movements into one. It is a very difficult piece and only top pianists play it,” Mercier said.

“I am very much in love with the Liszt Sonata. For me, it is like an opera for piano,” Arnicane said. “It is a highly intelligent and demanding work.”

In addition to Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178, Arnicane will also be performing a six-part set from Schumann’s Waldzenen Op. 82 and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 7 in D major. Op. 10/3.

In 2010, Arnicane was awarded top prize in The First Sussex International Piano Competition in The United Kingdom.

“I think students will be struck by the concentration, energy, coordination required to perform these great pieces of music written for the piano,” Mercier said.

“I look forward to the recital and encounter with the audience,” Arnicane said. “I always try to find beauty in all the aspects of programming and interpretation and then hand it over to the audience. I hope that people experience something special in my concerts, like a magic journey, and leave with a heart full of positive emotions.”