Not too long before Chancellor Irving Shain added “emeritus” to his title, he had a meeting with Eunice Meske, then director of the School of Music.
That meeting turned out to be a propitious moment for the school’s piano area.
Meske challenged Shain to explain his absence from the school’s concerts.
The chancellor replied that he preferred the classics, especially Beethoven, to the contemporary fare being performed during those heady days of the 1980s.
Meske replied, “You want Beethoven, you pay for it!”
From that conversation the idea for a Beethoven piano competition was born.
The School of Music held the 26th annual competition on April 2, 2011, and the three winners will perform one Beethoven sonata each on Saturday, April 9 at 3:30 p.m. in Morphy Hall.
The winners are Hallie Houge, who will graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Science degree and a double major in piano performance and mathematics; Margaret Runaas, who expects to receive the Master of Music degree in piano performance, also in May; and Jeongmin Lee, a first-year doctoral student in piano performance and pedagogy.
Each will receive a check for $1,000, courtesy of Shain’s endowed fund.
Read about this year's winners [pdf].
All who share Shain’s love of Beethoven are invited to hear the latest group of talented pianists and meet and congratulate them at a post-concert reception.
For more information about School of Music concerts, click here.