Fifteen year old piano prodigy Avi Durling of Saratoga Springs will present a solo concert featuring works by Bach, Beethoven, Copland, Gershwin and Rachmaninoff at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Zankel Music Center on the campus of Skidmore College. The concert is free.
Durling, a 10th grade student at Saratoga Springs High School, began playing piano at the age of 4. For the last two years he has been working closely with Skidmore College’s new music faculty Evan Mack to perfect his skills.
The concert features works in various styles – baroque, classical, romantic, and early 20th century. Durling particularly loves the rhythms and chords of the three Gershwin Preludes and Copland’s Four Piano Blues. In addition to those pieces, Avi will perform Bach’s Prelude and Fugue #12 in F Minor, Beethoven’s Sonata no. 14 in C sharp Minor (the “Moonlight” sonata) and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude #10 in B Minor, Op. 32.
In addition to piano, Durling also plays soccer, sings with his high school elite singing group, the Choraliers, plays guitar and drums, and enjoys composing and creating musical arrangements for chorus.
