The Music Department at Mary Baldwin University opens the 2014-15 season of concerts with Brazilian pianist Paulo Steinberg. This Sunday Recital is at 3 p.m. on September 14 in Francis Auditorium.
Steinberg has chosen a program that includes Beethoven’s dramatic Tempest sonata, two sparkling works of Scarlatti, and the beautiful Harmonies du Soir of Franz Liszt.
He will also treat the audience to works of the Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos. “Villa-Lobos portrays so many different aspects of Brazilian daily life,” says Steinberg. He goes on to suggest that these pieces be heard “as if you were in the middle of the Brazilian jungle, imagining the wind blowing on the trees, the heat, and the mist, while there is a party going on.”
He will close the program with Waft, a recent work by American composer Ken Steen. “This is basically a piece for piano and cellphones,” explains Steinberg. “Audiences are always asked to turn off their cellphones during a concert. This is one of the very rare opportunities when the audience will be asked to turn them on, and the contrast will be very obvious!”
Steinberg has performed as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist in Brazil, Canada, Iceland and the United States, including two solo recitals at the Kennedy Center. He is on the faculty at James Madison University.
The prestigious Carl Broman Concert Series will begin soon, with a concert on October 27 featuring pianist Yael Weiss. An artist of international stature, Weiss is a captivating presence on the concert scene and also serves as a faculty member at the Heifetz International Music Institute.
The series continues on November 10 with the brilliant young Armenian clarinetist Narek Arutyunian, and the award-winning Ariel Quartet performs on March 23. The Sunday Recital Series also includes performances by bassoonist Elizabeth Roberts with pianist Lise Keiter on November 23; soprano Anne Wick on January 25; violinist Steffany Shock, cellist Ryan Hoffman, and pianist Luis Gonzalez on February 1; pianist Lise Keiter on March 15; and the Terra Voce duo on April 12.
Single tickets for Paulo Steinberg’s recital on September 14 may be purchased at the door and are $5 for the general public and $4 for students and seniors (free for Mary Baldwin students). Season tickets are also available. To purchase tickets online or find more information, visit go.marybaldwin.edu/arts/musicatmbc/ or call 540-887-7294.