YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO – Concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky has just returned from an extensive concert tour in Australia, during which he played 28 concerts. This tour – his 19th in that country – commenced in late May and continued over the next three and a half months. It consisted of recitals in every state of Australia plus in the Northern Territory. The locations of the concerts ranged from a number of large regional performing arts venues to small towns.
He played large and challenging recital programs, consisting of the following: the Chopin C sharp minor Nocturne, the Clementi Sonata in B flat, Op. 24 No.2, his own transcription for solo piano of the entire Grieg Piano Concerto, Debussy’s “Reflets Dans l’Eau,” the Samuel Barber Piano Sonata, Op. 26 (1949), Balakirev’s “Islamey (Fantaisie Orientale),” Ravel’s “Ma Mere l’Oye” (“Mother Goose Suite”) – in the transcription for solo performer by Jacques Charlot, the Rachmaninoff Prelude in B minor, Op. 32 No. 10, and the Liszt transcription of Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.”
Mr. Rudnytsky also appeared as soloist with the Cairns Youth Orchestra (something he has done on every Australian tour since 1983), playing with them the Beethoven Concerto No.2 in B flat, Op. 19, and the Liszt one-movement “Fantasia on Beethoven’s ‘The Ruins of Athens.’ ” He also performed as soloist with the Norwood Symphony (a suburban-Adelaide orchestra), playing the Chopin Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21. In addition, he conducted several master classes for local piano students.
Coming to Australia every two years since 1979, the pianist has played more concerts there than in any other of the 100 countries where he has performed. He has now played close to 600 concerts in Australia on those tours, ranging from the Sydney Opera House to small country and Outback towns.
Earlier this year, Mr. Rudnytsky’s concerts took place in Britain, the Portuguese island of Madeira, several Pacific islands (Kwajalein and Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands, Guam and Saipan), and New Zealand. On Guam last March, he was the featured soloist and adjudicator in the Tumon Bay Music Festival, which is the main one on the island. He also served last January as artist-in-residence for several days at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, playing a recital and working with piano students. This was arranged through Prof. Ireneus Zuk of the piano faculty there.
In October, November and December, Mr. Rudnytsky will be playing recitals on five cruises to and from the United Kingdom. Three of these will be on P&O ships and two on Cunard. He has now done close to 60 cruises, performing recitals. He will also play three recitals in the U.K. in-between these cruises.
His performances in 2016 are now in the formative stages and it looks to be as busy as this year. Mr. Rudnytsky will again be the featured performer in the Tumon Bay Music Festival on Guam (in March) and will play again on Saipan and have another New Zealand tour (his 15th) in April. He will be playing recitals on five cruises August through October 2016; pending are performances through several U.S. Embassies.
Roman Rudnytsky is also professor emeritus of Youngstown State University in Ohio (Dana School of Music), where he served on the piano faculty for 39 years and retired in May of 2011.