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Crane School of Music Piano Faculty Member Young-Ah Tak Releases Album of Schubert Sonatas on Steinway and Sons Label

Crane School of Music Associate Professor of Piano Dr. Young-Ah Tak Releases Schubert Sonata Album and Hosts Live Spiriocast from Steinway Hall

Potsdam, NY (10/25/2024) — Dr. Young-Ah Tak, an associate professor of piano at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, is set to release a new album of sonatas by Franz Schubert, on the Steinway & Sons label.

The recording will be released worldwide on Nov. 1, available for pre-saving on all download and streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, Tidal and Deezer.

To launch the album, the internationally acclaimed pianist, herself a Steinway Artist, will perform in a Steinway Spiriocast, live from Steinway Hall in New York City on Nov. 7, with subsequent airdates on Nov. 9, 21 and 28. Spiriocast is an unrivaled, unfiltered audio and visual experience on the Steinway Spirio, the world's finest high resolution player piano, accompanied by live video streaming.

"Recording for the Steinway label has been an amazing and very artistically inspiring experience -- everything was top-notch, the engineers and technicians were very supportive, and I was able to work with one of the most respected producers in the industry," Tak said. "I'm very excited about the recording. I learned so much through studying and performing these profound and beautiful masterpieces."

Tak's new album features Schubert's "Sonata in A-Minor, D-784," and "Sonata in G-Major, D-894." The album of Schubert's Sonatas follows Tak's acclaimed 2019 release of Beethoven Piano Sonatas on the Steinway & Sons label and features another composer who is very close to the pianist's heart.

"I have been drawn towards the music of Franz Schubert for as long as I can remember. My first experience studying a Schubert sonata was at age 12, and from then on it has been an important part of my repertoire," she said. "His melodies and musical ideas unfolding so naturally and perfectly within a well-structured classical sonata form is inspirational. I believe Schubert's sonatas resonate with the human spirit -- their beauty, joy, sadness, drama and yearning. There is such an emotional depth reflected in this music. Mastering these two different but equally profound sonatas has been a magnificent journey for me."

About the performer:

Praised for her "thrilling blend of fury and finesse" (San Antonio Express-News) and her "winning combination of passion, imagination, and integrity" (New York Concert Review), pianist Dr. Young-Ah Tak enjoys a remarkable career that has taken her throughout the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, Italy, Korea, and Japan.

Tak made her New York City debut at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Orchestra. She has since appeared with numerous orchestras, including the Roanoke, Lansing, North Arkansas, Orchestra of Northern New York, Venice, Imperial, Filharmonia Pomorska (Poland), and Oltenia Philharmonic (Romania). In her native South Korea, she has appeared with the Korean Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Seongnam, Busan, KNN and Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestras. Other notable performances by Tak have taken place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Jordan Hall in Boston, Columbia University and Ravinia Festival. She has also appeared in Korea at major concert halls such as Seoul Arts Center, and at international music festivals in Busan, Seoul, and Tongyeong. Her performances have been broadcast on WQXR (NYC), WRTI (Philadelphia), WMFT and LOOP (Chicago), WBJC (Baltimore), WCLV (Cleveland), CKWR (Ontario), Korea's KBS, and Arte TV.

Active as a chamber musician, Tak is a member of the Marinus Ensemble, and has collaborated with the late violinist Robert Mann, cellist Paul Katz, Bonnie Hampton and the Ma'alot Quintet. She has been awarded top prizes in numerous international competitions, including the San Antonio International Piano Competition, the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, Korea's ISANGYUN Competition, Germany's Ettlingen International Piano Competition and Italy's Valsesia Musica International Competition.

Tak received her training from The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory and the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her doctorate degree under the tutelage of the legendary pianist Leon Fleisher. She has also studied with Young Ho Kim, Martin Canin, Yong Hi Moon, Wha Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman.

Tak currently serves as an associate professor of piano at The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. She has presented masterclasses at prestigious universities and music festivals around the country and in South Korea, and at the Steinway Festival in Seoul. Tak's debut recording of Judith Zaimont's "Wizards - Three Magic Masters" was released by Albany Records to critical acclaim. Her recordings are also available from MSR Classics and on Steinway Spirio pianos. Tak's recording of works by Beethoven was released on the Steinway & Sons label in 2019 as part of the Steinway & Sons essential series of Steinway Classics. She is a Steinway Artist. For more information, visit youngahtak.com.

About The Crane School of Music:

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution and was one of the first Yamaha Institutions of Excellence. For more information, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

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Media Attachments

Crane School of Music Associate Professor of Piano Dr. Young-Ah Tak is set to release a new album of Schubert Sonatas on the Steinway & Sons label on Nov. 1, followed by a live Spiriocast from Steinway Hall in New York City on Nov. 7.

The album cover for the new Steinway & Sons recording by pianist Young-Ah Tak, of Schubert's "Sonata in A-Minor" and "Sonata in G-Major," to be released on all streaming and download platforms on Nov. 1.

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