The essence of live music will flow though Shryock Auditorium at 8 p.m. Friday when famed Russian pianist Mykola Suk tickles the ebony and ivory for a recital.

There is a mission to live music. It brings people together in a very positive way, Donald Beattie, founder of the Beethoven Society for Pianists, said. There is a certain spiritual energy that is present in a concert hall that is not present on disc.

The recital is one part of the 14th Annual November Beethoven Festival going on this weekend and sponsored by the Beethoven Society for Pianists.

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Beattie said Suk’s amazing piano playing skills is what allows him to captivate the audience with so much spiritual energy.

Mykola has complete piano technique, and he’s better than anyone I’ve ever heard, Beattie said. There is nothing he can’t play.

Just watching and listening to Suk play the keys of the piano, Beattie said, can be a great source for artistic stimulation because of Suk’s ability to command the instrument.

He’s able to achieve things with the instrument that I’ve never heard or thought of, and I’ve been playing for 40 years, he said. This can be enough inspiration for six months. You’ll never forget the performance. I’ve heard him three times before, and I can still easily pull his performances up in my head.

Though the recital is part of the November Beethoven Festival, Suk will not be performing any music composed by Beethoven.

Suk is scheduled to perform, among other composers, music by Franz Liszt, who has been regarded as one of the best pianists of all time.

Beattie said that because of the complexity of Liszt’s music, people are lucky if they hear just one of his compositions at a recital.

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By all accounts, there was just no one that played as well as (Liszt) did, he said. Most agree that (Liszt) is the greatest pianist that ever lived. His music is the most difficult to play, and Mykola makes it look like child’s play.

The Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies No.’s 10, 11 and 12 that close the recital program are what Beattie said will be the highlight of the night.

No one in the world can play Liszt’s music like (Suk) can because he carries on the tradition of how poetically, how fast and how beautifully Liszt could play, he said.

Suk was awarded in 1971 with first prize in the highly prestigious International Liszt and Bartok piano competition.

Beattie said Suk’s piano-playing abilities singled him out in Russia and allowed him to be regarded as the best pianist in his homeland. Suk was able to affirm the claims during a trip to Carbondale in 1989, which happened to be Suk’s first engagement in the United States.

This year’s memorable and inspirational Suk performance is the just one part of the Beethoven Festival taking place this weekend.

Young pianists between kindergarten and grade 12 will perform pieces composed by Beethoven from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The performances will take place at the Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall. Suk will be present for a special program for the young pianists.

Even though the awards recital at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the Mitchell Art Museum in Mt. Vernon will honor the young pianists’ performances, Beattie said Saturday’s event is not a competition but a celebration.

It’s about bringing great music to young people, and, in turn, having them bring great music to the world, he said. That is what great music is about. It takes you to places you’ve never been, and it knows no age limits.

Admission for the Mykola Suk piano recital is $10 for the general public and $5 for students. Admission is half-price for Beethoven Society members.

Admission for the Young Pianist Awards Festival Saturday is $5 for general admission and free for Society patrons and members.

Admission for the Young Pianist Awards Recital Sunday in the Mitchell Art Museum in Mt. Vernon is $12 for the general public and $2 for students.

For more information call 453-5822.