For centuries, touring musicians have used rhythm and melody to record their impressions.
Liszt captured stunning Swiss landscapes and glorious Italian architecture with his dazzling Années de pèlerinage for solo piano. Bartók’s compositions were profoundly impacted by the years he spent researching indigenous folk music in the far reaches of the Balkans. Dvořák’s famous stay in the USA inspired some of his most beloved works, including the charming Sonatina—part of which was sketched while visiting Minnehaha Falls! Ellington’s jazzy Far East Suite is a personal take on the exotic sights and sounds of the Middle East.
To make this musical travelogue truly immersive, each work will be paired with imagery of corresponding landscapes and cultures.
Bartók: Rhapsody #1
Dvořák: Sonatina
Stephanie Arado, violin; Ora Itkin, piano
Liszt: Années de pèlerinage (excerpts)
Richard Tostenson, piano
Ellington: Far East Suite (excerpts)
Gregory Theisen, piano; Greg Keel, saxophone, Paul Babcock, drums; Tom Pieper, bass
Pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m.