Florida Catholic | Pianist To Perform On The House

Noted Hungarian pianist to perform on the house

Peter Pertis will perform at St. Joseph Parish for free as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for practice space the parish has shared with him.

PAT LANGFORD | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 02.08.08

World-renowned classical pianist, Peter Pertis, will perform at St. Joseph Parish in Stuart Feb. 10 at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free, however, donations will be accepted following the concert to benefit Carpenter’s Kitchen food ministry.
Courtesy Photo

STUART | Why does an accomplished pianist who performs at concert halls around the world and is paid big bucks for his talents volunteer to stage a free performance at a church where he does not worship and to which he does not belong?

“I’m very grateful that I can go to the church for practicing there,” Peter Pertis told the Florida Catholic in a heavy Hungarian accent about his time spent at St. Joseph Parish’s baby grand piano with parish permission.

The internationally acclaimed pianist is scheduled to perform Sunday, Feb. 10, at the parish in Stuart. After parishioners and church leaders insisted he receive something for his time and talents, he agreed to accept a donation, but it won’t be going into his bank account.

“If people would donate a small amount of money that would go to the Carpenter’s Kitchen, that would be a very, very nice help for those people who can’t really afford to have a good meal,” Pertis said about the parish’s ministry that feeds the poor and hungry.

Throughout his career, he has performed concerts at famous music venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Casals Hall in Tokyo, the great hall of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, to name a few.

Pertis is a native of Hungary and still lives there much of the year. For the past couple of years, he has spent the winter and parts of the spring and fall months in his adopted home, Stuart.

He will treat his concert-goers to compositions by Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and Liszt. Those attending are asked to arrive early. Advance tickets are not available, and once word spreads, “seats will be taken quickly” according to event coordinators.

“We’re not going to do reserved seating. (It will be) first-come, first-served,” said Dolores Esmonde, who is helping organize the event. “We’re doing free-will donations (to the Carpenter’s Kitchen) after the concert is over.”

This is not his first performance at St. Joseph. Pertis is back by popular demand. His concert at St. Joseph’s a year ago was well-attended.

“We had almost 1,000 people in the church,” said Father Noel McGrath, St. Joseph pastor. “The church was almost full to capacity, so (we) expect even more this year. It was such and enjoyable afternoon.”

Parishioners who were there agree last year’s show was quite enjoyable.

“It was a wonderful concert,” Esmonde said. “People were just raving about it.”

Last year, Pertis performed for free, refusing to accept any form of compensation.

“So many people asked, ‘Can we pay?’ said Esmonde. “He didn’t want to accept any money at all. He’s wonderful — very, very personable — very down to earth, humble.”

St. Joseph’s food ministry is popular with the needy in the area. Families, homeless, low-income and the struggling are served every Monday from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Funding the program is a high priority for parishioners of the parish.

“Last night, they served 295 meals to needy people in the area,” Father McGrath said about a typical evening in the winter months.

“This (benefit concert) will help with the serious need that we have in the Carpenter’s Kitchen to respond to the ever-growing number.”

Throughout his 40-plus year career, Pertis has played in more than 50 cities in 22 countries and on five continents. He has drawn rave reviews from critics in publications from London, Tokyo and Munich.

Born to a family of musicians in Hungary, Pertis’ music interests began with the violin at an early age. Piano lessons came a few years later.

“I started the violin from the age of 5 and played until 13,” Pertis said. “I just kept the piano. You can’t do two instruments at the same time, but I love the violin as well.”

In addition to concerts and recordings, Pertis spent time teaching in Hungary, Japan and in Connecticut, where he is a former University of Hartford professor.

His concerts at St. Joseph’s come after a 10-year hiatus from the big stage to make a few changes to his performance — “artistic considerations,” according to his comments.

“I’ve kind of been retired the last couple years,” Pertis said. “I would like to go out and do concerts again.”

In the meantime, Pertis will continue to practice at St. Joseph’s, with Father McGrath’s blessing. In fact, the priest is “absolutely” happy to have Pertis, “who gives up his time and talents without any charge.”

“He brings it alive when he plays,” said Father McGrath.

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Noted Hungarian pianist to perform on the house

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