Sunday Recital Celebrates Brazilian Music with Pianist Paulo Steinberg

The Sunday Recital Series will continue at Mary Baldwin University on Sunday, October 8. Brazilian pianist Paulo Steinberg will perform a lecture-recital of all-Brazilian music, in honor of Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month.  The recital is at 3 pm in Francis Auditorium.

Steinberg’s varied program includes three lively tangos by Ernesto Nazareth.  He will also play a number of appealing pieces by Heitor Villa-Lobos, including the beautiful Impressões Seresteiras (“Impressions of a Serenade Musician”) and the exciting Festa no Sertão (“Jungle Song”).

“Brazilian music is often associated with carnival and samba, performed at lively, energetic tempi, with vibrant rhythms,” explains Steinberg.  “However, melancholy and nostalgia play a big role in the music of Brazil. Therefore, an interesting contrast exists in the Brazilian culture.  Brazilian composers are inspired by the natural exuberance and beauty of their native country, and use lyricism to portray colors, characters, landscapes, and other cultural elements in their music. This lecture-recital is designed take the audience on a musical journey, with examples that show how composers Ernesto Nazareth and Heitor Villa-Lobos let ‘the rivers and seas of this great Brazil sing.’”

Steinberg has performed as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist across the U.S., Canada, South America, and Europe, including venues such as the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo in Brazil, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and the St. Giles’ Cathedral in Scotland. In the spring of 2017 he undertook a European recital tour stretching from the U.K. to Latvia including, Ireland, Scotland, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, and Sweden. He is on the faculty at James Madison University and has recently released two recordings – The Recital Clarinetist in collaboration with clarinetist Dr. Janice Minor, and his solo CD album, Alma Brasileira. For more information: www.paulosteinberg.com.

Tickets for October 8 may be purchased at the door and are $5 for the General Public and $4 for students and seniors (free for MBU students). Season tickets are also available.  To purchase tickets online or find more information, please visit https://go.marybaldwin.edu/arts/music/ or call 540-887-7294.