Academy Celebrates 75 Years of Extraordinary Musicians

Steven Isserlis, cellist, and Stephen Hough, pianist, performed for the 75th annual Gratwick Concert on April 14, 2005. The concert series provides students with the rare opportunity to hear and meet world-class artists in a beautiful and accoustically rewarding setting—Straus Library. Recent Gratwick artists have included Garrick Ohlsson, Joshua Bell, Eduardo Fernandez, Lorraine Hunt and the Emerson String Quartet.

Steven Isserlis is acclaimed worldwide for his musicality and technique; he is equally comfortable playing in intimate chamber settings and with the world’s most prestigious orchestras and conductors. He appeared recently with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he played the Strauss Don Quixote. Stephen Hough, on piano, is likewise highly regarded in recital and with the finest orchestras; he performed in early April with the BSO, where he played a Saint-Saens piano concerto.

The musicians’ Milton program included: Hummel’s Variations a la Monferrina, Op. 54; Suk’s Ballade and Serenade, Op. 3; Brahms’ Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38; Martinu’s Variations on a Slovak Theme; Brahms’ Sonata No. 2 in F, Op. 99

Dr. Mitchell Gratwick, a former Milton Academy faculty member, established the series in honor of his wife, Katharine Katharine Perkins, a cellist and 1924 Milton Academy graduate. Recent Gratwick artists have included Garrick Ohlsson, Joshua Bell, Eduardo Fernandez, Lorraine Hunt and the Emerson String Quartet.

Special guests, including relatives of the late Ms. Gratwick, enjoyed a champagne reception prior to the 2005 concert.

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