The American Record Guide calls Ian Hobson, who will play in Durango on Jan. 18, “one
of the finest pianists of his generation.”

Hobson will perform at the Community Concert Hall as part of the Adams Foundation Piano
Recital program of the San Juan Symphony.

In 1981, Hobson won first prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition, which
launched his international career.

He is a pianist, music director of Sinfonia da Camera in Urbana, Ill., and the Swanlund
professor of Piano at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; he also is co-owner of
Zephyr Records.

“I’m proud to be a conductor (of opera as well as orchestra) and teacher as well as a
pianist, and to feel free to play unusual and provocative programs,” Hobson said in the
biography he provided to the San Juan Symphony.

Hobson did not return calls asking for an interview this week.

“It is often difficult to balance these activities satisfactorily, but … I adore teaching, and,
unlike my own professors, who rarely discussed fundamental keyboard problems, I’m a
stickler when it comes to technique,” he said.

Although he is known as an interpreter of Rachmaninoff, both as a player and conductor,
he will perform works by Haydn, Schumann, Chopin, Brahms and Ravel during his
performance in Durango.

This is a broad repertoire that encompasses works both mammoth and miniature.

The Adams Foundation, founded by Stephen Adams of Santa Barbara, Calif., brings
international-caliber pianists to perform in intimate chamber settings in 30 of America’s
small towns.

Stephen Adams was a Yale classmate of pianists Richard and John Contiguglia, and
together they provide the financial backing, artistic expertise and energy needed to make
the Adams Foundation Piano Series grow each year.

Hobson, who was born in England, studied music at the Royal Academy of Music,
Cambridge University and Yale.

He has performed with the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and the symphony
orchestras of Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Baltimore, Indianapolis and Houston.

artsjournalist@mac.comLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the arts.

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