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Sounds Fresh: The 20^th Century in Works for Two Pianos

Monday, May 19, 2003 at 8 p.m. at Merkin Concert Hall

Roberto Hidalgo & Marc Peloquin, pianists

On Monday evening, May 19, 2003 at 8 p.m., duo pianists Roberto Hidalgo and Marc Peloquin present Sounds Fresh: The 20^th Century in Works for Two Pianos at Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67^th Street, in Manhattan. Tickets are $20, $10 for seniors/students and may be purchased at the Merkin Hall Box Office or by calling 212.501.3330.

Sounds Fresh explores the scope and diversity of writing for two pianos in the 20^th Century and features works by Igor Stravinsky, Manuel Enriquez, David Lang, William Bolcom and Frederic Rzewski. This program builds on the success of an earlier concert exploring the relationship between American and Mexican compositions of the last century that was hailed as "impressive and beautiful" in the New York Times. This same concert was declared "audaciously fresh and innovative" in the New York Concert Review.

The works presented in Sounds Fresh capture a variety of rhythms, tonalities, color palettes and compositional techniques employed in 20^th Century writing. Igor Stravinsky’s Concerto for Two Solo Pianos (1935) is a magnificent yet rarely heard work that provides both pianists with equally virtuosic voices. Manuel Enriquez’s Modulos for Two Pianos (1967) represents the composer’s style during a period when he was heavily influenced by Cage and Berio, and the work is abstract, atonal and aleatoric in nature. David Lang’s Orpheus Over and Under (1989) employs single note tremolos that mesmerize the listener and build to a thrilling climax. William Bolcom’s Recuerdos or Reminiscences (1991) was inspired by turn-of-the-century Latin American dances. The first is in the style of a Brazilian choros, the second is a paseo in honor of Louis-Moreau Gottschalk, and the third is a waltz inspired by Venezuelan composer Ramon Delgado Palacios. Frederic Rzewski’s Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues is inspired by an American folksong from the 1930s depicting the working conditions of the textile industry.

Roberto Hidalgo and Marc Peloquin have been offering duo programs since the mid-1990s, appearing in Mexico and the United States for presenters including the Council of the Arts of Greater New Haven, Bloomingdale School of Music, the Chappaquiddick Summer Festival and the 20^th Foro Internacional de Musica Nueva Manuel Enriquez in Mexico City. Reforma cited the performance by the duo at the Foro Internacional as one of the "best chamber music events of the year 2002."

For further information on Sounds Fresh: The 20^th Century in Works for Two Pianos, contact Amy Frawley at 212.333.5200, ex. 14.

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SOUNDS FRESH: THE 20^th CENTURY IN WORKS FOR TWO PIANOS

Roberto Hidalgo & Marc Peloquin, pianists

Monday, May 19, 2003 at 8 p.m.

Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67^th Street

Tickets: $20, $10 for students and seniors, 212.501.3330

Concerto for Two Solo Pianos Igor Stravinsky

Modulos for Two Pianos Manuel Enriquez

Orpheus Over and Under David Lang

Recuerdos William Bolcom

Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues Frederic Rzewski

Funding for this concert is provided by the Magowan Family Foundation with support from the Bloomingdale School of Music and the Mexican Cultural Institute.