Kogan Uses Music to Reveal Brain's Wonders
Dr. Richard Kogan, world renown concert pianist and psychiatrist, performs classical music while sharing his insights into the wonders of the human brain March 23 at 7 p.m. in the Alma College Remick Heritage Center, Presbyterian Hall. This is a free, non-ticketed event open to the public.
His talk "A Window to the Soul: Understanding the Resilience of the Human Mind Through Music" is a powerful lecture that reveals the resilience and creativity of the human brain, referencing the work of classical master Robert Schumann. Kogan performs pieces from the acclaimed composer that illustrate how the manic-depressive illness of 19th century composer may have actually contributed to his musical genius.
Kogan has played regularly in the Harvard Trio with cellist Yo Yo Ma and violinist Lynn Chang and was winner of first prize in international Chopin Competition. A graduate of Juilliard, Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Kogan is a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City and is affiliated with the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center. He regularly gives lectures and performances that focus on the relationship between music and mental illness.
He has investigated the mental disorders of classical musicians, including Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and George Gershwin, exploring the ways in which such conditions affected the composers' music. Nineteenth-century pianist and composer Robert Schumann is known to have suffered from debilitating mental illness. Institutionalized, Schumann died at age 46.
Kogan's talk is sponsored by the Alma College Co-Curricular Committee and the Geriatric Eduction Center of Michigan, a federally funded, statewide consortium administratively located at Michigan State University (MSU) that includes MSU College of Human Medicine and College of Osteopathic Medicine; Wayne State University Institute of Gerontology; Central Michigan University; Alma College; and Michigan Primary Care Association.
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Posted: Sun, March 19th, 2006 at 3:35PM
