RENSSELAERVILLE — Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Frank Wiens will perform at Conkling Hall in Rensselaerville, Oct.15. His program will include works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninov. Tickets are $15 at the door.  A dessert reception with Wiens will follow the performance.

Rensselaerville’s small size belies both a large cultural appetite and surprising cultural assets, among them Conkling Hall and its fine baby grand piano. The former was a gift to the village by native industrialist Francis Conkling Huyck in 1906 and the latter came to the hall from past town supervisor, Jost Nickelsberg, early in this century.

Thanks to a family connection with a home in Rensselaerville, pianist Frank Wiens was introduced to the hall. In this, his third appearance there, he is representative of the artistic assets the hall shares with the region.

Wiens has performed extensively throughout the United States and abroad, including highly praised recitals in New York and London. He gave his European recital debut in Vienna in 1987 and has twice toured South Korea. In 1991, he toured the Soviet Union as a featured soloist in concerts celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Prokofiev.

In 2006, Wiens appeared as soloist with the "Orchestra Dinu Lipatti" in Romania and gave recitals devoted to the music of Chopin at the Chopin Academy and at the Lazienki Palace on Water in Warsaw, Poland.

With an extensive concerto repertoire of 35 works, Wiens has been a soloist with such orchestras as the Atlanta, Denver, and Detroit Symphonies. A winner of major awards in prestigious competitions — North American Young Artists Competition, Southwest Pianists Foundation Competition, and Three Rivers Piano Competition — he has given annual concert tours across the U.nited States since 1974.

His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio and Public Television, and he has been a touring artist with the Iowa Arts Council and the California Arts Council. His compact disc recording "Rachmaninov," which includes that composer's Third Piano Concerto with the Slovakia National Orchestra, has been described by one reviewer as "dazzling, yet rich in solid detail... brilliant clarity and absolute conviction... truly suave and elegant playing."

A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Wiens studied at the University of Michigan School of Music, where he was the recipient of the Stanley Medal, that school's highest honor for musical excellence.

In addition to his active concert schedule, Wiens has gained renown for his master classes and lectures. He has adjudicated numerous piano competitions and has served as a member of the international jury of the prestigious Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition.

Conkling Hall is located at 8 Methodist Hill Road in the village of Rensselaerville. The Oct. 15 concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door.  A dessert reception with Wiens will follow the performance.

Editor’s note: Mary Ann Ronconi handles publicity for Conkling Hall. Her daughter, Amanda, is married to Frank Wiens’s son.