Pianist Alan Feinberg, who has forged a career based on musical exploration, will be the guest artist as the Napa Valley Symphony presents its final classical subscription concert of the season April 23 at 3 p.m. and April 25 at 8 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville.

Feinberg will perform "Rhapsody in Blue" by Gershwin and Gottschalk's "Grande Tarantelle" for piano and orchestra. In addition, the symphony will perform "Symphonic Sketches" by Chadwick and "Festival Overture on the American National Air" by Buck.

In addition to the April 23 and 25 concerts, the Napa Valley Symphony offers Words and Music Pre-Concert Talks -- educational lectures one hour before each subscription concert. Lectures are free to ticket holders. The lectures are given by renowned musicians and distinguished music professors from around the state.

Feinberg's intelligence, integrity and affinity for a wide range of repertoire place him among the few artists who are able to build a bridge between the past and the present. From Bach to Babbitt, Feinberg's creative approach to programming has placed him in an unusual position. With more than 300 premieres to his credit (by such composers as John Adams and Charles Wuorinen), he is known for recitals that pair old and new music and put a fresh and provocative perspective on both.

Feinberg has toured several times with the Cleveland Orchestra and Christoph von Dohnanyi, first performing Shulamit Ran's "Concert Piece" (including an appearance in Carnegie Hall). He has also performed the "Brahms Second Piano Concerto" on tour with the Cleveland Orchestra. His most recent collaboration with the orchestra featured the world premiere of Charles Ives' "Emerson Concerto," and subsequent performances in London, Paris and Amsterdam were hailed as a major achievement by Ives scholars.

Feinberg is often on the cutting edge. He was featured on opening night of the San Francisco Symphony's Maverick Festival, at the New Horizons Festival of the New York Philharmonic, the 10th anniversary concert of the American Composers Orchestra, the 92nd Street Y's Berio Sequenza Marathon, the first performance of Act 1 of John Adams' Nixon in China for the Guggenheim's Works in Progress Series, and the Carnegie Hall birthday celebration of George Gershwin with Dick Hyman.

He has performed as soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the BBC Scottish Symphony, the American Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony and the New World Symphony.

Speaking prior to the April 23 and 25 concerts is Richard Williams, the music director of the San Francisco Bohemian Club and director of cultural affairs at Meadowood Napa Valley. Williams produces opera, concerts and lectures for members and guests of the resort hotel and club and has guest conducted many of the world's great orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.

He has also made award-winning recordings with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra. Williams has been an international guest conductor and recording artist since leaving the Virginia Symphony where he served as music director and conductor until 1986.

Tickets for the symphony concert are $22 to $55 for adults and half-price for children/students and are available by calling 226-8742 or visiting ww.napavalleysymphony.org.

For more information on the Napa Valley Symphony, Words and Music Pre-Concert Talks, or on the entire 2005/06 Napa Valley Symphony subscription series and Napa Valley Pops concerts, call 226-8742 or log on to www.napavalleysymphony.org.