Ian Shapinsky is in his 50th anniversary of performing on the concert stage.

It could be his best year ever.

The Austin pianist has received invitations to perform at two of the premier venues: The National Gallery of Arts and the Beethoven Music Festival.

“It’s an honor and a privilege,” Shapinsky said. “I’m very humbled.”

The National Gallery of the Arts performance will take place in Washington, D.C.

The Beethoven Music Festival will take place at Winona University.

Both are 2010 appearances so booked in advance by the nation’s, even the world’s, best pianists are they.

Shapinsky was recommended to play at both events.

A native of New York City, Shapinsky is the son of a cellist (deceased). His mother lives in California and still teaches 12 cello students.

He is a graduate of the Julliard School at Lincoln Center in New York City.

He has an older brother, Gerald, who lives in Cleveland, OH.

Shapinsky’s wife, Katherine, works at Hormel Foods Corporation’s research and development facility in Austin.

The couple have twin daughters, Ariana and Olivia, each 6 years old.

Shapinsky has criss/crossed the United States, playing the piano for a half century, beginning as a teen-ager.

“It’s always exciting and it has been so since the beginning,” he said.

The venues have been large and small, public and private.

He has performed locally at the Paramount Theatre and will make his debut next spring at the Fairmont Opera House.

Shapinsky says his musical skills are, in part, “a gift from my father.”

And what keeps his appetite for performing fresh is the fact that he continues to “learn new music every year.”