When one reads about “magical performances” in music commentary, one can assume that a fair amount of hyperbole is being thrown about. After all, music may transport us to a state of enlightenment or bliss, but actual magic is rarely involved. Unless, of course, the performer is Igor Lipinski, a pianist who has managed to blend piano performance with actual sleight-of-hand artistry and is seeking to be “the next Victor Borge.” Lipinski is the third and final recitalist on this season’s Evelyn Miller Young Pianist Series.
Lipinski’s doctoral dissertation at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music was titled “From Liszt to Victor Borge: A Legacy of Unique Piano Performances.” Knowing this, what should one expect from his recital for YPS? Somewhat mysteriously—naturally—Lipinski has offered that he will be performing works of Bach, Chopin, Janáček, Scriabin, and Grünfeld.
Lipinski, who was a piano faculty member at the University of Tennessee School of Music in 2016, but has been an Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Oklahoma since last fall, has earned the reputation as a truly unique performer. While doing his undergraduate work at Eastman School of Music, he developed a concert program that combined piano recital with his lifetime interest in magic performance.
Starting with a collaboration with magician Teller (of the magic duo Penn & Teller), Lipinski then won the WQXR Classical Comedy Contest at Caroline’s on Broadway. Following that win, he premiered an original program of “Piano Illusions,” a concert of music and magic, which he performs at recital halls, with symphony orchestras, and as encores during his classical recitals. Teller has said of Lipinski: “He thrills you on the piano. He mystifies you with magical illusions. And he keeps you laughing with his impudent, charismatic charm.”
A native of Poland, Lipinski graduated from the Paderewski Music High School in Tarnow, Poland where he studied piano with Jaroslaw Iwaneczko. Arriving in the U.S., he earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Musical Arts and Master of Music in Piano Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. Lipinski later continued his graduate studies at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music earning his Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Alan Chow.
Lipinski’s recital is at 2:30 PM, Sunday, March 18, in the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall at the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center on the University of Tennessee campus. Information and tickets
