Legendary Julliard graduate pianist performs at McKinney
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Pollack began his studies at the age of four and made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of nine, performing the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1. (Courtesy of Nina Welch)
Pianist Daniel Pollack visited Saddleback College and performed well-known classical pieces at the McKinney Theatre Sunday.
He performed many classical pieces composed by Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Siloti and Debussy. Some of the compositions included Bach’s “Organ Prelude in G Minor,” Chopin’s “Two Etudes Op. 10 No. 11” and “Op. 25 No. 8” and “Nocturne in C# Minor, Op. Posth.”
“I really liked how it was subtle, but the way he played was lyrical,” said Mani Maleky, who was one of the many in the audience that afternoon.
Pollack graduated from The Julliard School from the class of the legendary Rosina Lhévinne. He has performed for audiences in North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. He has been reviewed by critics all over the globe and featured by newspapers like the Washington Post, New York Times and the French magazine Diapason.
Pollack is a legend in Russia, according to a feature in the New York Times. He appeared in a solo performance with conductor Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra in St. Petersburg. He has also performed as a soloist with major philharmonics such as London’s Royal, Seoul, South Korea and Kiev, Ukraine.
Pollack has held many artist faculty positions from The Julliard School, Columbia University and Yale’s School of Music. He is currently on the faculty of the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
“He’s a genius and had astonishing tune,” said David Falzone said, one of Pollack’s students, who was in the audience.