Van Cliburn Award winner Benedetto Lupo to perform at Western Nov. 1

Western Washington University’s Sanford-Hill Piano Series kicks off the 2013-2014 season with energetic Italian pianist Benedetto Lupo at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1 at Western’s Performing Arts Center.

Lupo has played with the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and other orchestras around Europe.

After winning the bronze medal in 1989 at the Van Cliburn Competition, he gained worldwide recognition and was consequently invited to play at important American orchestras and concert halls, such as New York’s Lincoln Center and the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif.

His recorded repertoire covers the integral works for piano and orchestra by Robert Schumman, and the first recording of the Konzertstück op. 86 for piano. He was awarded the Diapason d’Or in France in 2005 with the release of “Concerto Soirée” for the label Harmonia Mundi.

Tickets for the performance are $24 for general audiences, $18 for seniors and $9 for students with valid I.D. Tickets are available online or through the Western Box Office located in the Performing Arts Center.

The Sanford-Hill Piano Series was founded in 2002 with the mission of providing access to artists through concerts and master classes. All revenue generated from the series go to scholarships for Western’s piano students.