Pianist 'Back to Bach'

Internationally known German pianist Sebastian Knauer takes audiences "Back to Bach" on Tuesday when he takes the stage for the latest installment of the College of Charleston's International Piano Series.

Assaying Johann Sebastian Bach's influence on various composers, the performance is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Sottile Theatre.

Knauer will play selections of songs by George Gershwin, two pieces from Maurice Ravel's "Miroirs," Johannes Brahms' "Intermezzo in A Major," Felix Mendelssohn's "Song Without Words," Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Fantasy in C Minor" and an English Suite by Bach.

Knauer, who previously performed here with Philippe Entremont at a Charleston Concert Association event, is a regular at the Savannah Music Festival. He has performed in concert halls around the world, among them the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Berlin and Munich

Philharmonie, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, the Vienna Musikvereinssaal, Barbican and Wigmore Hall in London, Opera Comique and Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris, Sala Verdi in Milan, La Fenice in Venice, Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center in New York, Performing Arts Center in Hong Kong and Forbidden Concert Hall in Beijing.

More, he has performed and conducted all 27 Mozart Piano Concertos with the Hamburg Philharmonic.

Also a noted chamber musician, Knauer tours extensively with violinist Daniel Hope. Their recording, "East meets West," won the German "ECHO" and was nominated for a 2005 Grammy.

Visit www.sebastianknauer.com.

WHAT: The College of Charleston’s International Piano Series presents Sebastian Knauer.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday.

WHERE: The Sottile Theatre, 44 George St.

TICKETS: $20 for adults, free for College of Charleston students and those under 18. Call 953-6575 or visit www.internationalpianoseries.org.