Albright Makes `Beautifu...d - The Chronicle: News

2/9/2015
Albright Makes 'Beautiful Music' for Hometown Crowd - The Chronicle: News
February 9, 2015
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Albright Makes 'Beautiful Music' for
Hometown Crowd
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Performance: World­Renowned Pianist Takes Corbet Theatre Stage
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Posted: Monday, February 9, 2015 11:26 am
By Luke Kilgore For The Chronicle | After performing in Helsinki, Finland, just two weeks
before, Albright returned to Corbet Theatre on Saturday
night, where both his nine­foot Model D Steinway grand
piano and 475 audience members awaited the virtuoso's
performance.
Charlie Albright Performs in
Centralia
Charlie Albright opens up his performance with Beethoven
Sonata No. 14 Saturday evening at Centralia College's Corbet
Theatre.
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It had been four years since locally raised and world­
renowned pianist Charlie Albright has performed in his
hometown of Centralia.
Jesse Smith / For The Chronicle
The Chronicle
The 23­year­old Albright's homecoming concert — with
all proceeds dedicated to the Charlie Albright Scholarship
fund and the maintenance of the grand piano that bears
his name — did not disappoint.
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Albright set the tone early, telling the audience that a
relaxed mood was more fitting, joking jubilantly to the
delight of the crowd in the process.
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"It's great because you can really go for what the music
is," Albright said about the laid back mood. "You don't
have the worry of people saying 'that's not the right way.'
You can really get to what I believe the core of the music
is. It's really freeing."
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He then went straight to work, opening with a rendition of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," with a video feed
depicting a bird's eye view of Albright's hands doing what they do best.
Albright then followed up with a raw improvised piece, showing off his versatility with both technically­sound sections
and fast­paced play.
"The first thing I think of is what I want to say with a piece," Albright told the audience about his improvisation
process. "I start off slow and build on it from there. Improvisation is really a lost art, but it's starting to make a
comeback for the better."
Albright's performance attracted friends, family and music lovers alike. Friends Jeri Moore — from Centralia — and
Jessie Hoffman, a Chehalis resident, are a part of the latter. Moore and Hoffman, who became blind midway through
her life, try to plan events that they can both equally enjoy.
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Hoffman shared her experience of the show from her perspective.
"It's absolutely amazing," Hoffman said. "The way I'm experiencing this, I can't really put it into words. He's so
talented and the music he makes is beautiful."
Centralia College President Robert Frost was also in attendance, providing the introduction for Albright.
"I was completely blown away," Frost said following the performance. "I expected a master and I really saw a genius.
My wife is a musician herself and I could see her eyebrows go up every now and then. I could tell she was
impressed and I think the crowd was right there with us."
After a brief intermission, Albright continued with other notable pieces, such as Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an
Exhibition," a massive piece divided into numerous sections that depicted Mussorgsky's trip through an art exhibit
and the feelings evoked from viewing each painting.
Toward the end of the concert, Albright exercised his freedom of not being in a criticized element, switching styles
and bursting out with his own version of Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" to the ovation of his listeners.
For an encore, Albright closed out the show with another improvisation, this time basing it off of just four notes of the
audience's choosing.
The concert raised over $14,000, with half dedicated to repairs and maintenance of the Charlie Albright Piano and
the other half going directly toward the scholarship fund. Albright, a Centralia College graduate himself, thoroughly
enjoyed giving back to the school and community that raised him.
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2/9/2015
Albright Makes 'Beautiful Music' for Hometown Crowd - The Chronicle: News
"It's a great feeling," Albright said. "My mom has worked here since I was a little kid and I went here, too. It's a great
thing to give back and support not only the instrument in the hall, but also the students that are coming through that
need financial aid and scholarships. I needed the same and it's good to be able to kind of give back what I've
received."
Albright doesn't have much time to stay and enjoy his homecoming. After a few more performances on the West
Coast, including a performance at the Seattle Art Museum on Feb. 23, he will set out for London — his second time
in Europe in two months — at the end of March to record with the renowned BBC Concert Orchestra, immediately
followed by a tour in the United States with them that spans the East Coast.
Despite all of his high­profile performances that have spanned the globe, Albright still contends that the hometown
crowd is the best.
"It's awesome," Albright said. "It's the best audience, right? You've grown up with so many family and friends, to see
them all and perform for them is absolutely amazing."
Charlie Albright and his 2015 concert season can be followed online at www.charliealbright.com.
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Posted in News, Local on Monday, February 9, 2015 11:26 am.
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