WQXR Presents Midday Masterpieces: Pianist Mackenzie Melemed
WQXR's Midday Masterpieces
Pianist Mackenzie Melemed
Take a respite from your busy work day with a free concert presented by WQXR.
Hear rising stars from The Juilliard School perform selections from classical music’s best-loved composers. Leave the emails, phone calls and work behind and settle in for an hour of musical serenity.
Pianist Mackenzie Melemed is today’s featured performer.
PROGRAM
RACHMANINOFF Six Moments Musicaux
SCRIABIN 5 Preludes, Op. 16
MEDTNER Sonata Tragica
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Mackenzie Melemed’s career can be best described as serendipitous. When Melemed was three, his grandfather bought him a keyboard at a yard sale, leading to his enrollment in a beginner piano course. Performance at local senior centers soon became a weekly occurrence, and by the time Melemed turned seven, he had given over 200 concerts for senior citizens and charitable organizations. When Melemed appeared on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, she remarked, “what a bargain!” at the $1 price-tag for the instrument that ignited his passion for music.
Melemed won the 5th Prize at the 2012 Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Piano Competition in Utah and was awarded the 1st Prize and Chamber Music Prize at the 4th Maj Lind International Piano Competition in August 2017.
Accepted into The Juilliard School’s prestigious accelerated five-year-dual-degree program, Melemed recently graduated with his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degree, and was awarded the 2018 Juilliard School Arthur Rubinstein Piano Prize. Melemed is currently in the Artist Diploma program, a highly-selective two-year program at The Juilliard School, studying with Robert McDonald and Emanuel Ax.
