The second annual Piano Festival Weekend is going to be held at Sacramento State this month on Saturday, Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m., and at 7:30 p.m. in Capistrano Hall.

“The piano festival is a rare event for northern California because the popularity is not as big as it is in southern California,” according to Richard Cionco, a professor at Sac State. Sac State hosted the event last year which featured the world-famous pianist, Abbey Simon. This year the festival is featuring pianist Theodore Edel in their celebration of legendary pianist and composer Franz Liszt’s birthday.

The weekend begins with master classes of musical interpretation and technique for nine local gifted students at 9 a.m. on Saturday in Capistrano Hall, room 151. These students were carefully chosen from out of hundreds of students in the northern California area. The classes are going to be conducted by Sac State professors Richard Cionco, Lorna Peters and Kirsten Smith. They are also going to be held free of charge at 10:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.

The festival will hold a lecture demonstration by Edel in “Piano Music for the Left Hand,” on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Capistrano Hall, room 151.

Edel has been called, “Heroic . . . passionate . . . yet tempered by intellect,” by the New York Times in regards to being a Liszt interpreter. He graduated from Juliard and the Manhattan School of Music, and has played recitals throughout the world as well as written many books including “Piano Music for One Hand.”

The festival will close on Sunday evening with a solo piano recital by Edel featuring music played and composed by Liszt. The recital will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall in Capistrano Hall. For those who want to attend, the charge will be $10 for general admission and $8 for students.

“It’s a truly great moment when Nor-Cal hosts piano recitals,” Cionco said.