"Principally Poulenc", Program Three for "Musique on the Bluff: The French Seasons II", PNC Recital Hall, Duquense University Four major works by important 20th-century French composer Francis Poulenc will be heard: the lyrical Sonata for Flute and Piano (written for Jean-Pierre Rampal), the sassy Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, the imposing sextet for Piano and Winds and the endearing setting of Jean de Brunhoff's "The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant", narrated by father Dr. David A. Wehr. Also on the program will be saxophone virtuoso James Houlik and Pittsburgh Symphony Principal French Horn William Caballero in unusual works by Koechlin (dedicated to movie star Jean Harlow) and Dukas. At 2:15p. Ann Labounsky will perform French organ music. $10 suggested donation. For more information, www.sites.duq.edu/french-seasons.
"Debussy Diversly" Program Four for "Musique on the Bluff: The French Seasons II", PNC Recital Hall, Duquense University Toward the end of his life, Claude Debussy began writing a projected series of six sonatas for "diverse instruments" and this program contains the three that he completed, for violin and piano, for cello and piano, and for flute, viola and harp, with Gretchen Van Hoesen, Principal Harp of the Pittsburgh Symphony. The program concludes with David Allen Wehr and Duquesne faculty colleagues in Faure's luscious Piano Quartet no. 1. At 2:15p, "MoJoe", jazz artists Maureen Budway and Joe Utterback perform love songs for Valentine's Day. $10 suggested donation. For more information, www.sites.duq.edu/french-seasons.
"Ravel Revue", Program Five for "Musique on the Bluff: The French Seasons II", PNC Recital Hall, Duquense University An all-star cast of Pittsburgh Symphony Concertmaster Andres Cardenes, Principal Cello Anne Martindale Williams and David Allen Wehr headlines this all-Ravel program. Wehr opens with a bouquet of solo piano works: the perennial favorite "Pavane for a Dead Princess" (Ravel's first hit), the sparkling "Fountains" (Jeux d'eau) and the rarely-heard solo piano version of Mother Goose Suite. Then Cardenes and Williams tackle the notoriously difficult Sonata for Violin and Cello, before joining with Wehr for the stunning Piano Trio. At 2:15p, the Director of Education for the Carnegie Museum of Art talks about French Impressionism in art and music. $10 suggested donation. For more information, www.sites.duq.edu/french-seasons.
An all-Chopin recital marking the composer's 200th birthday, with the Sonata no. 2 (Funeral March), Sonata no. 3, Three Nocturnes op. 9 and Three Waltzes op. 64 (including the Minute Waltz). For ticket information and directions, visit www.rodefshalom.org.
Visit www.sunflowermusicfestival.org for program details.
All concerts are free and open to the public, though early arrival is advisable. Performances marked with an * are with pianist Cynthia Raim.
Cynthia Raim joins the Musicfest artist roster this season for some two-piano treats:
All concerts at 8p at Tabor Academy; free admission. For more information, visit www.buzzardsbaymusicfest.org
For more information, visit www.nfmc-music.org.
The opening concert explores the imaginative and joyful way Schumann approaches chamber ensembles, highlighted by the Piano Quintet, the first masterpiece written for the combination of piano and string quartet, and the Piano Quartet, its lesser-known but equally beautiful sibling. The Fantasy-Pieces for Clarinet and Piano and the Adagio and Allegro for French Horn and Piano are deservedly repertory staples, most often played in arrangements, but heard here in Schumann's original instrumentations.
Pre-concert talk at 2:15p: Dr. Benjamin Binder, Assistant Professor of Musicianship. $10 suggested donation. For more information visit www.duq.edu/bicentennials.
Free admission; for more information, visit www.westliberty.edu/music.
The fantasies by Chopin and Schumann are actually highly organized and emotionally satisfying structures that are cornerstones of the Romantic piano literature. In his nocturnes and polonaises, Chopin was able to portray larger-than-life feelings of passion, drama and patriotism in smaller lyrical and dance forms, with the especially popular "Military Polonaise" expressing Chopin's pride in his Polish homeland.
Pre-concert talk at 2:15p: Dr. Benjamin Binder, Assistant Professor of Musicianship. $10 suggested donation. For more information visit www.duq.edu/bicentennials.
Music of Chopin and Schumann performed by Anne Martindale Williams, Principal Cellist, Pittsburgh Symphony and David Allen Wehr. For more information, visit www.chatham.edu.
Chopin and Schumann each wrote only a single work for two pianos, both rarely heard: Chopin, a rondo written when he was eighteen, Schumann, an Andante and Variations heard here in its original, extremely unusual scoring with two cellos and French horn. Schumann was fascinated by the newly invented pedal piano (a piano with a pedal board similar to an organ) and composed some inspired music for it. The instrument became extinct almost immediately, but Debussy's masterly transcription for two pianos of the Canonic Etudes, which breathes the calm spirit of Bach, has allowed the work to remain on the fringes of the repertoire. Two better-known treasures composed near the end of Chopin's life feature guest pianist Cynthia Raim in the Polonaise-Fantasy and PSO Principal Cellist Anne Martindale Williams and David Allen Wehr in the Sonata for Cello and Piano, Chopin's only mature work of chamber music.
Pre-concert talk at 2:15p: Dr. Benjamin Binder, Assistant Professor of Musicianship. $10 suggested donation. For more information visit www.duq.edu/bicentennials.