Concert Pianist Daniel Glover Performs “Viva I’Italia” Jan. 24
A Benefit for Valley Concert Chorale
Livermore, Calif. – Did you know that the piano was invented in Italy in the early 1700’s? Though Italian composers were much more known for their operas, a great many pieces of music had a major impact on the history of the piano. Find out more on January 24, when international concert pianist Daniel Glover performs the music of Italy in “Viva I’Italia,” a benefit for the Valley Concert Chorale. Experience a special musical event as Mr. Glover’s programs are always entertaining and educational as he shares the history and analysis of each piece he performs. Event details are as follows:
Viva I’Italia
Saturday, January 24, 2026
7:30 pm
First Presbyterian Church
2020 Fifth St, Livermore
Featured composers include Italians from the Baroque to 20th Century: Alessandro Marcello, Muzio Clementi and Alfredo Casella. Three technically dazzling Etudes by Schumann and Liszt/Busoni will display the tremendous influence Niccolò Paganini’s virtuoso violin playing had on the Romantic virtuoso pianists.
The program will also include works inspired by specific places in Italy: Liszt’s Venezia e Napoli (Venice and Naples), and his unforgettable Dante Sonata, a powerful musical description of Dante’s literary masterpiece (Divine Comedy), Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, will take listeners on a journey from the pleasurable delights of the earthbound terra firma to the horrors of hell and the blissful realm of heaven.
“Mr. Glover’s piano concerts are always a popular event,” says Sarah Allendorf, VCC Board President. “He is an internationally-known concert pianist and has a great following around the world. We are so very fortunate to have him as the Chorale’s accompanist for so many years and we enjoy offering the community an opportunity to experience his great talent each year.”
Come and listen to an informative and educational exploration of the tremendous impact that Italy's literature, art and culture made on the history of the piano.
Tickets
Tickets are $30.00. Advance tickets may be purchased online at www.valleyconcertchorale.org. Proceeds from the performance will benefit the Valley Concert Chorale.
For more information about the Valley Concert Chorale performances, ticket purchases and auditions, visit www.valleyconcertchorale.org or call the general information line at (925) 866-4003.
About Mr. Glover
Pianist Daniel Glover, Valley Concert Chorale’s accompanist since 1998, has performed in 42 states and 28 countries throughout Europe, Asia, South America and the Caribbean. The San Jose Mercury News said, “Glover is an incisive, exciting, and apparently tireless player, a natural for hyper-virtuosic challenge.” He has been hailed for his “extraordinary technique, analytical understanding and determined phrasing from the first to the last bar.” (Südhessische Post, Germany). The San Francisco Classical Voice remarked, “The elegance and civility of Glover’s approach was musically unimpeachable.” “Dazzling…golly can he play! I kept expecting smoke to emerge from the interior of the instrument… a flawless sense of Lisztian style incorporating its emotional depth.”
Mr. Glover has trained with such luminaries as Eugene List, Abbey Simon, Jerome Lowenthal, Nancy Bachus and Thomas LaRatta. He holds a Master’s Degree from New York’s Juilliard School, where he was a scholarship student. Among his numerous competition awards is first prize in the prestigious Liederkranz Competition in 1990. His successful 1992 Carnegie Hall recital in New York was a result of winning the Artist’s International Competition. Mr. Glover also appeared in Washington, D.C.’s Corcoran Gallery and at the St. Petersburg Palaces Festival in Russia. With a repertoire of eighty concerti and other works for piano and orchestra, Mr. Glover has appeared regularly with over twenty Bay Area orchestras, as well as numerous orchestras nationally and internationally. Successful appearances include the critically acclaimed “World Premiere” performance of Eric Zeisl’s Concerto in C major (1952) in May 2005 with the Saratoga Symphony, which was honored as one of the “Top 10 Best Classical Concerts in the Bay Area, 2005” by the San Jose Mercury News. In 2013, Mr. Glover gave the world premiere of the Piano Concerto by Lee Actor, a work specially commissioned for him by the Peninsula Symphony, and recorded the work with the Slovak National Symphony in Bratislava, May 2014.
He performed the complete works by Tchaikovsky for piano and orchestra with the Saratoga Symphony. He recently recorded the world premiere recordings of Felix Borowski’s Piano Concerto in D minor and Beryl Rubinstein’s Concerto in C with the Lithuanian National Symphony in Vilnius, Lithuania. This will be released on the Reference Recordings label in 2026. Mr. Glover has served on the faculties of New York University, the University of the Virgin Islands, University of San Francisco, and Notre Dame de Namur University.
Mr. Glover has recorded ten solo CDs, including Great Transcriptions by Legendary Pianists (2015), Franz Liszt, The Profound and The Profane (2008), Spanish Impressions (2006), Romantic Russian Encores (2005), and a recording of live performances of three works for piano and orchestra by Mozart, Strauss and Prokofiev (2005). Previous recordings include the complete solo piano music by Ravel (2003) and Brahms Sonatas for Violin and Piano with violinist Matthew Reichert (2001).
About Valley Concert Chorale
For over 60 years, Valley Concert Chorale is the Tri-Valley’s premier chorus. The Chorale has offered a variety of musical performances to serve the diverse musical tastes of its audiences.
Valley Concert Chorale’s mission is to inspire our community with the transforming power of music by expressing our passion and joy in live performance. VCC is dedicated to excellence in singing choral music of many genres, nurturing the next generation of singers, and supporting musical endeavors across the Tri‑Valley community.
The all-volunteer, non-profit chorale receives financial support from grants, ticket sales, membership dues, fundraisers and donations.
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