The Liliane Questel Recital Series
Founded in 2003 by SCC board member and pianist, Liliane Questel.
Saturday, September 27, 6:00 pm
Robert Carlson and Mateusz Mikolajczak
Robert Brooks Carlson
Originally from a small town in central Virginia, American pianist Robert Brooks Carlson began playing piano at the age of eight. Currently, Robert resides in New York City where he is a Doctor of Musical Arts student at the CUNY Graduate Center, adjunct faculty of music at Hunter College, and a student of Soyeon Kate Lee. Robert performs extensively throughout the United States and Europe as both a recital soloist and chamber musician.
Recent highlights feature guest appearances at the Seattle International Piano Festival, NYC’s Little Island, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series of Chicago, and numerous appearances for Music in Midtown in Manhattan. Notable recent influences include Jeremy Denk, Conor Hanick, and Julio Elizalde, and previous full-time teachers include Paulo Steinberg, Emily Yap Chua and Nicholas Ross. Prior to his studies in New York City, Robert received degrees from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and James Madison University.
Mateusz Mikolajczak
Mateusz Mikolajczak began music studies at the age of six with Joanna Samelczak. A native of Poland, Mateusz has been awarded top prizes in international competitions, including the Mieczysław Munz Juilliard Piano Competition, Franz Liszt International Piano Competition, Busan Maru International Music Festival Competition, and the Karol Lipiński International Piano Competition. He has performed at the National Forum of Music in Wrocław, the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, and the Chopin Manor in Duszniki-Zdrój. He has performed extensively across Europe, the United States, and Asia. In November 2024, he made his debut at Carnegie Hall, followed by his Lincoln Center debut at Alice Tully Hall in February 2025. He has received scholarships from the Polish Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Santander Bank Polska, the Albeniz Foundation, and the Rafał Brzoska Foundation.
He has refined his artistry through masterclasses with pianists such as Lilya Zilberstein, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Nikolai Demidenko, Robert Levin, Rena Shereshevskaya, Mikhail Voskresensky, and Dmitri Bashkirov, and has appeared at international festivals including PianoFest in the Hamptons, the Duszniki International Chopin Piano Festival, and Piano City Madrid.
He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, studying under Professors Grzegorz Kurzynski and Helena Furmanowicz-Kurzyńska. He later pursued advanced training at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid with Milana Chernyavska, Claudio Martínez Mehner, Denis Lossev, and Marta Gulyás (chamber music). In May 2025, he completed his Master’s degree at The Juilliard School and will continue this fall in the highly selective Artist Diploma program, where he will continue working with Soyeon Kate Lee.
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About The Liliane Questel Recital Series
Founded in 2002 as “The Rising Stars Piano Series” by SCC board member and pianist Liliane Questel, a graduate of the Brussels Conservatory and Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory under the guidance of Leon Fleisher. The series’ mission focuses on performance opportunities primarily for participants and alumni of Pianofest of the Hamptons. These highly talented pianists attract a loyal following. The Tenth Anniversary Season celebrated some of those musicians who were not “Rising Stars” by then but celebrated performers. In 2024, the Series was renamed “The Liliane Questel Recital Series” in memory of its founder and to cement her legacy.
Konstantin Soukhovetski, an award-winning pianist, educator, and composer, is the Artistic Director of The Liliane Questel Recital Series.
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A Tribute to Liliane Questel
by Paul Schenly
Liliane Questel’s journey was not just about her own accomplishments as a concert pianist but about the many lives she touched, the music she brought to the world, and the legacy she leaves behind.
From her early days at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels to her studies at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore under the guidance of the legendary Leon Fleisher, Liliane’s musical journey was one of dedication and brilliance. Her performances, whether it was the Bach Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue or the formidable Liszt Sonata, captivated audiences and left an indelible mark on all who had the privilege of listening to her play.
But Liliane’s impact extended far beyond the concert stage. She was a mentor, a teacher, and a friend to countless young musicians. Her support and guidance helped shape the careers of many aspiring artists, and her commitment to nurturing talent through the Rising Stars Concert Series, which is now renamed The Liliane Questel Recital Series and will continue to inspire generations to come.
Those who knew Liliane remember not only her musical prowess but also her warmth, humor, and generosity of spirit. Whether it was hosting fabulous parties with her beloved husband Arthur or sharing her insights on music interpretation, Liliane brought joy and laughter wherever she went.
Her love for her family, her husband Arthur, their son Remy, and their beloved dogs Maya and Loki, was evident to all who knew her. They were her greatest treasures, and her devotion to them knew no bounds.
Let us celebrate the legacy she leaves behind. Let us carry forward her passion for music, her commitment to nurturing young talent, and her spirit of generosity and kindness. Her music will continue to echo in our hearts, reminding us of the beauty and joy she brought into the world.
In 2005 after a recital at the Southampton Cultural Center, Fred Volkmer in the Southampton Press reviewing the concert wrote: For those in the audience who know Liliane Questel only as a presenter the evening came as a delightful surprise. We heard a pianist of rare ability, not only someone with a razor-sharp technique, but plenty of temperament and interpretive acuity, someone with a profound commitment to the music about which she has thought so long and so deeply before it emerged from her fingers as they touched the keyboard.
We will always remember Liliane.