The world is forever indebted to Ludwig van Beethoven for the gift of his compositional legacy. As 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, celebrations of his music have already begun to emerge. To commemorate the composer’s legacy, pianist Dr. Xun Pan, an assistant professor at Millersville, will present a concert series of impressive dimensions. While there have been a few pianists who have tackled the formidable task of performing all of the composers piano sonatas, very few assume the giant task of performing all 32 piano sonatas, plus, the 10 piano and violin sonatas, and the five piano and cello sonatas and three variations. Xun Pan, in partnership with violinist Simon Mauer and cellist Emilio Colón will perform all 50 works over a period of two and a half years at Millersville University’s Ware Center and internationally.
“Beethoven impacted so many musicians from his time to today. You can find things that Beethoven invented and used in many later composers’ work,” Pan says of Beethoven’s legacy.
Pan plays the piano and has been doing so since the age of nine. He learned to play through his parents who were also pianists. He is currently an assistant professor of keyboard studies at Millersville. He is also one of the founding members and artistic director of the Lancaster International Piano Festival.
“After I started this project, I’ve learned more and more through each piece. This will not only impact my performances but will also impact my students when I teach here and worldwide,” Pan says of his opportunity to perform these sonatas.
Pan has one concert left this year where he will be performing Beethoven’s sonatas. The show will take place on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Ware Center.
Pan will embark on an impressive tour of concerts next year with performances at Millersville’s Ware and Winter Centers and also abroad in Europe and China. For more information on his concert schedule and additional information, visit his webpage.
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