'Celebration of the New' concert slated Oct. 2
Jan Vinci (Photo by Michael Brooks)
A "Celebration of the New" concert featuring Senior Artist-in-Residence Jan Vinci, flute, and Distinguished Artist-in-Residence Pola Baytelman, piano, is scheduled at the Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College on Sunday, Oct. 2.
The 3 p.m. concert, free and open to the public, will feature works by American composers, including Jennifer Higdon's Flute Poetic (2010), commissioned by the performers for the opening of the Arthur Zankel Music Center. The duo presented the world premiere of the piece last fall.
Individually acclaimed for their solo work, the two performers are collaborating with gusto, developing a program of depth, intrigue and delight. The program featuresLittle Suite for Christmasby George Crumb, Gargoyles by Lowell Liebermann, Crow's Nest by Mark Vinci, An Old Soft Shoe by Joseph Fennimore, Medieval Suite by Katherine Hoover, and the springboard of the program, Higdon's Flute Poetic.
Pola Baytelman
(Photo by Phil Scalia)
A virtuosic and tonally rich sonata, Flute Poetic gives flute and piano equal importance, challenge and prominence. A substantial three-movement sonata for flute and piano, it has a first movement expressly written for Vinci and Baytelman. The middle movement and finale are transcriptions of Higdon's String Poetic for violin and piano (2006). Virtuosic and rhythmically driving outer movements frame a poetic and eloquent center, titled Blue Mist, in which the pianist's muffling of piano strings with the fingers produces a round, vibrant, timbale-like sound with an otherworldly and almost primitive effect.
Pulitzer-prize winner Jennifer Higdonstarted late in music, teaching herself to play flute at the age of 15 and then beginning formal musical studies at 18, with an even later start in composition at the age of 21. She has become a major figure in contemporary classical music and makes her living from commissions, completing between five and 10 pieces a year. These works represent a range of genres, from orchestral to chamber and from choral and vocal to wind ensemble.
