September 12, 2005—Oberlin College's Artist Recital Series, one of the oldest continuing concert series in the United States, opens the 2005-2006 season with renowned pianist and Beethoven interpreter Richard Goode Sunday, September 25, at 3 p.m. in Finney Chapel, located on the southwest corner of Lorain St. (Route 511) and N. Professor St., across from Tappan Square. Finney Chapel is wheelchair accessible.

Hailed for music making of tremendous emotional power, depth, and expressiveness, Goode is acknowledged worldwide as one of today's leading interpreters of the music of Beethoven, a fact that Oberlin audiences will appreciate, since Goode's program includes three Beethoven sonatas: Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp Major, Op. 78, Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13, "Pathétique," and Piano Sonata No. 6 in F Major, Op. 10, No. 2. The program concludes with Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. Posth.

David Blum, writing in The New Yorker, says that "what one remembers most from Goode's playing is not its beauty--exceptional as it is--but his way of coming to grips with the composer's central thought, so that a work tends to make sense beyond one's previous perception of it .... The spontaneous formulating process of the creator [becomes] tangible in the concert hall."

Richard Goode has made more than two-dozen recordings, including Mozart Concerti with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas, the complete Partitas by J.S. Bach, and chamber and solo works of Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, and George Perle. Goode is the first American-born pianist to have recorded the complete Beethoven Sonatas, which were nominated for a 1994 Grammy Award. His recordings of the cycle have been hailed as among the finest interpretations of these works and have become a favorite of record buyers around the world.

Over the last few seasons, Goode has appeared with many of the world's greatest orchestras, including the Boston Symphony under Ozawa, the Chicago Symphony under Eschenbach, the Cleveland Orchestra under Zinman, the San Francisco Symphony under Blomstedt, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester under Ashkenazy, and the BBC Symphony under Belohlavek at the London Proms. He has been heard throughout Germany in sold-out concerts with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner.

As a recitalist, Goode has become a favorite throughout Europe as well as the United States, including regular appearances in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Vienna, and the leading cities of Germany and Italy.

Goode serves with Mitsuko Uchida as co-artistic director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival in Marlboro, Vermont.

Single tickets for Richard Goode's performance, as well as all of the concerts in the series, will become available for purchase after September 18. All seats are reserved, and tickets purchased at the door are an additional $3. Prices range from $7 for students, $16 for seniors and those with an Oberlin College I.D. (faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and area educators), and $20 for the public. Tickets are available by calling Oberlin's Central Ticket Service (CTS) 24-hour reservation line at 440-775-8169. The CTS box office is located in the lobby of Hall Auditorium, 67 N. Main St. (Route 58), between the Oberlin Inn and the Allen Memorial Art Museum. Box-office hours are Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m.

Season subscription tickets are still available for the eight-concert series, which includes the Miró String Quartet, the chamber orchestra I Musici de Montréal, the King's Singers, violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, the Wayne Shorter Quartet, the Swedish percussion ensemble Kroumata, and the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Donald Runnicles. All concert performances for the series take place in Oberlin's historic Finney Chapel. Free parking is available throughout the campus. For more information, please visit www.oberlin.edu/arseries.

Two bonus events are available to those who purchase the entire series of eight concerts (Package A): free tickets to a rare public coaching by legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne in Finney Chapel on October 16, and admission to a performance by the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Bridget-Michaele Reischl, at Severance Hall April 18, 2006. Seating for the bonus events is general admission.

In addition, those purchasing either the complete, eight-concert series (Package A) or the six-concert package (Package B) before October 1 will be given the opportunity to purchase a second identical subscription at half price. The six-concert package consists of Richard Goode, the Miró Quartet, I Musici de Montréal, Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg, Kroumata, and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Detailed information about the performers , dates, and times for this year's Artist Recital Series is available online at www.oberlin.edu/arseries. For additional information, please call 440-775-8169. Concert artists, programs, and dates are subject to change.

The Artist Recital Series is sponsored by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College with additional support from the Friends of the Artist Recital Series. There are many benefits to becoming a Friend of the Artist Recital Series, including additional discounts on subscription packages, complimentary recordings, recognition in concert programs, and invitations to receptions with guest artists. Membership fees are tax deductible. For additional information, please call 440-775-8169.

Media sponsorship for the Artist Recital Series is provided by WCLV 104.9-FM, Cleveland's classical music radio station, WVIZ and 90.3-WCPN ideastream, and Northern Ohio Live magazine.