Bronfman to Visit as Thaler Pianist
	Yefim Bronfman, widely regarded as one of the most talented virtuoso pianists performing today, will visit Ithaca College on Sunday, October 26, for an 8:15 p.m. concert in Ford Hall Auditorium. The concert by Bronfman, this year's Rachel S. Thaler Concert Pianist Series guest artist, is free and open to the public. The concert is the latest in a series that has brought world-class pianists to the Ithaca College stage, free of charge, since 1991. Previous Thaler piainsts include Jeffrey Kahane, Garrick Ohlsson, John Browning, Gilbert Kalish, and Simone Pedroni. Bronfman's commanding technique and exceptional lyrical gifts have won him consistent critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences worldwide. He was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 1991, one of the highest honors given to American instrumentalists. This year, he earned a Grammy award for his recording of three Bartok piano concerti with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Born in Tashkent in the former Soviet Union in 1958, Bronfman emigrated to Israel with his family in 1973. There he studied with pianist Arie Vardi, head of the Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. He also studied in the United States at the Juilliard School, Marlboro, and the Curtis Institute, and with Rudolf Firkusny, Leon Fleisher, and Rudolf Serkin. Bronfman's recent seasons have included numerous solo recitals in the leading halls of North America, Europe, and the Far East, as well as concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, among many other ensembles. A devoted chamber music performer, he has collaborated with such groups as the Emerson, Cleveland, Guarneri, and Juilliard quartets. Bronfman's Ithaca College performance will feature Brahms' Sonata no. 3 in F minor, op. 5; Schedrin's Sonata no. 2; and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. A native Ithacan and talented pianist, Rachel Thaler attended Ithaca public schools and graduated from Ithaca High School. She was awarded a scholarship to attend the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, but her father's unexpected death shortly before classes began required her to change her plans and step in to manage the family's furniture business instead. Although she was never able to formally pursue her studies at the conservatory, Thaler saw to it that her two sons and six grandchildren all had the opportunity to play musical instruments. Her love of music has remained strong, as has her attachment to Ithaca College. Both she and her late husband, Louis K. Thaler, were devoted supporters of the Friends of Ithaca College and members of the Tower Club for many years. In endowing the concert series, Manley H. Thaler said his mother has always had an affinity for music. "We wanted to do something in her honor during her lifetime. Because of her interest in Ithaca College and its outstanding music program, it was clear that the endowment fund should be created here."