Morristown lawyer gets more than he bargained for with this concert

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Sometimes, you get more than you bargained for… and it’s good.

That’s what happened to Morristown lawyer Herb Korn on Sunday night, when he collected on a debt.

At a benefit for the Macculloch Hall Historical Museum last year at the Kellogg Club, he had paid $1,000 to have a house concert by Argentine virtuoso Sebastián Forster.

Classical pianist Sebastian Forster, on left, after performing private concert for Herb Korn. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Classical pianist Sebastian Forster, on left, after performing private concert for Herb Korn. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

On Sunday, the pianist delivered, and then some.

Sebastián produced a second pianist, two violinists and a cellist, an ensemble he calls Forster & Friends, and they entertained Herb and 70 of his friends for the better part of two hours.

The dazzling program ranged from Beethoven and Mozart to Balakirev, Elgar, film composer John Williams and Sebastián’s late countryman, Astor Piazzolla.

Sebastián’s presentation floored his patron.

“I’m in total awe of what it takes to do what he does,” Herb said during the intermission, in the Morristown home of Sebastián’s fiancée, Jennifer Hauser.

Sebastián performed in various combinations with Galina Zhdanova (violin), Wendy Law (cello) and Filip Pogády (violin).  He also played four-hands piano with Svetlana Smolina, who sprinkled some of her own magic on the keyboard during a pair of solo pieces.

FORSTER & FRIENDS: From left: Svetlana Smolina, Sebastian Forster, Filip Pogady, Wendy Law and Galina Zhadanova. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
FORSTER & FRIENDS: From left: Svetlana Smolina, Sebastian Forster, Filip Pogady, Wendy Law and Galina Zhadanova. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
PROUD MOM: Lidia Forster with her son, concert pianist Sebastian Forster. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
PROUD MOM: Lidia Forster with her son, concert pianist Sebastian Forster. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Beaming in the audience were Sebastián’s parents, Samuel and Lidia, visiting from Buenos Aires.

“I think this was a very good night!” Sebastián said after the concert. Nobody who was there could possibly disagree.

Stay tuned for proof.  And if you want to meet the maestro, he will be a guest at Great Conversations, a gala for Morris Arts at the Madison Hotel on May 1, 2014.

MORE ABOUT SEBASTIÁN FORSTER

PATRON OF THE ARTS: Herb Korn, lower left, with Svetlana Smolina, Sebastian Forster, Wendy Law, Galina Zhdanova and Filip Pogady. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
PATRON OF THE ARTS: Herb Korn, lower left, with Svetlana Smolina, Sebastian Forster, Wendy Law, Galina Zhdanova and Filip Pogady. They performed a private concert for Herb, to benefit the Kellogg Club in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

 

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