“A West Virginia native who earned a spot to play piano with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra as a teenager in 1955 never forgot the experience,” writes Monica Orosz in the Charleston Daily Mail (West Virginia). “James Cresce would go on to major in music and play around the country, including at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall.… When his health started failing him in recent months … he decided to give $100,000 to the West Virginia Symphony,” as the orchestra has been known since 1988.” Cresce, who died earlier this month, “made his symphony debut when he was just 11, when he was invited to play Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A. His next performance with the orchestra was a bit more notable since Cresce was selected from a statewide competition. He and another teen, Margaret Krimsky, tied for top honors, and both were invited to perform. In April 1955, Cresce played Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat. When the symphony’s executive director, David Gross, first learned of the intended gift this past spring … he said, ‘We were stunned.’ … The check came with no strings attached—the symphony is free to use it any way it deems best, and Gross said it will go for general operating needs.”
Posted July 29, 2013
