Kobrin will perform Chopin's virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Opus 11. Chopin was the only great composer to write exclusively for the piano, and it is often said that he made the instrument sing; no other composer has been able to make the piano sound as beautiful as he did. The concert concludes with Elgar's Variations on an Original Theme, Opus 36, "Enigma Variations." One of Elgar's most popular works, the Enigma Variations is a series of musical pieces, each one written as an affectionate portrayal of a variety of close friends. Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts.

The concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Learn more about the music at Symphonic Insights, which starts one hour before each concert in the audience chamber. Plus, come early for Lobby Lites starting at 6:45 p.m. on Casual, Chic Friday, for pre-concert entertainment in the lobby. Casual, Chic Friday concerts have no intermission and end at approximately 9 p.m., so patrons are free to enjoy the rest of the evening on the town.

In 2005, Alexander Kobrin was awarded the prestigious Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal at the Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Scott Cantrell of the Dallas Morning News wrote, "Mr. Kobrin's gorgeous, glowing tone ravished the ear…the Cliburn may have a great artist on its hands." Immediately following this announcement, Kobrin began his first tour to the United States including recitals at Bass Hall for the Cliburn Series, the Washington Performing Arts Society and further debuts at La Roque d'Antheron, Ravinia Festival, Beethoven Easter Festival, Hannover Prize Winners Series, Turner Sims and at the renowned Klavier-Festival Ruhr. This season, he returns to the United States for a fifty-date tour.

Last season, Kobrin made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at both Avery Fisher Hall and for the inaugural concert of the Bethel Woods Arts Centre. He was also invited to open the 2006-07 season concerts with both the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

Present and forthcoming engagements include debuts with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Louvre, Wigmore Hall, Esplanade Concert Hall Singapore and Sheung Wan Civic Centre Hong Kong, as well recital tours in Italy. Other appearances include those at the Aspen Music Festival, Daytona Beach, Nashville Symphony, his seasonal tour to Japan, the International Chopin Piano Festival in Duszniki Zdroj, Orchestre de Bretagne, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, and an eleven-date tour of the United Kingdom with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he made his Boston debut in March giving a recital as part of the prestigious Celebrity Series of Boston.

In 1999 Kobrin was named the winner of the Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy and was awarded the special prize in memory of A. Benedetti Michelangeli. Shortly following, Kobrin was second-prize winner of the 2003 Hamamatsu Competition (with no first prize awarded), which led to tours extensively throughout Europe, Asia and South America. Kobrin currently teaches at the Moscow State Gnessins Academy of Music.

These concerts are made possible, in part, by the generous support of American Airlines. Promotional support is provided by the Star-Telegram and WRR Classical 101.1 FM. These concerts are presented in honor of Roz and Manny Rosenthal, who established the Great Performance Fund in 1994 through a major gift to the Orchestra's endowment. -- www.fwsymphony.org