Russian pianist Alexei Lubimov will perform on campus in a solo recital of classical period and 20th-century music at 8 p.m. Monday, March 20, as part of the F. Ludwig Diehn Concert Series.

He will also jury the university’s Classical Period Piano Competition at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 18, and conduct a master class for winners of the competition at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 19. The concert, competition and master class will be held in Chandler Recital Hall of the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center and are free and open to the public. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.

Lubimov, born in Moscow in 1944, received his musical training at the Central Music School and Moscow Conservatory, where he was one of the last students of Heinrich Neuhaus.

Unique in his extraordinary expertise in a wide variety of styles and periods, Lubimov made his first mark as a champion of contemporary composers in 1968 when he gave the Moscow debuts of works by John Cage and Terry Riley. He is the founder and artistic director of Alternativa, the Moscow festival of the musical avant-garde.

For some years, Lubimov was denied permission to perform outside Russia. During this period he developed an interest in period instruments. In 1976 he formed the Moscow Baroque Quartet and gave the first performances on fortepiano in the USSR of works by Mozart and Haydn. Together with Tatiana Grindenko, he founded a baroque ensemble, the Moscow Chamber Academy.

Lubimov made his North American debut at Lincoln Center in 1991. He has a long-term contract with Erato, for whom he has recorded the complete Mozart sonatas on fortepiano. Recent releases include Schubert impromptus, Beethoven sonatas and works by Chopin and Brahms.

Lubimov’s appearance at Old Dominion is part of the F. Ludwig Diehn Concert and Residency Series, which is funded by an endowment established at the Norfolk Foundation by the late F. Ludwig Diehn and his wife.

For more information call 683-3020.