December 11-17, 2003

musicpicks

Cynthia Raim

Classical

In his half century of teaching at Curtis, Mieczyslaw Horszowski quietly but surely established himself as one of the most influential piano pedagogues of the 20th century. His best-known students include the most important pianists of our time, such as Murray Perahia, Peter Serkin and Richard Goode. By the time of his death in 1993 at the age of 100, he had left a far-reaching legacy of wonderful artists around the globe. The aforementioned superstars are very different artists, but what they share with all other Horszowksi students is a rigorous devotion to craft and a relentless quest for beauty and truth in their music-making. Pianist Cynthia Raim is very much an artist in the mold of her teacher; her playing has been accorded the highest esteem by her colleagues and discerning lovers of the classical repertoire. She seems uninterested in a flashy career, although she has a technique to match many higher-profile players. Monday night she will tackle a typically brainy, brawny and beautiful program, an all-Schumann recital concluding with the magical "Carnaval." The name Cynthia Raim may not be splattered on the Billboard charts, but in this material, her piano playing is about as good as it gets.

Mon., Dec. 15, 8 p.m., $15, Fleisher Art Memorial, 719 Catharine St., 215-922-3456.

—Peter Burwasser