From Sorrow, Hope: a Recital for Cello and Piano
February 21
Towson University Professor of Cello Joseph Gotoff joins forces with pianist Wan-Chi Su to present an emotional and thought-provoking program of works for cello and piano. Centered around the years following World War I, this program explores the dark and moody atmosphere in Europe, particularly amongst French composers such as Gabriel Faure and Yvonne Desportes. The musical style straddles the late Romantic and early Modern period, from the backwards-looking work by the Venezuelan-born composers Reynaldo Hahn, "Variations chantantes sur un air ancien" (1905), to the avant-garde and whimsically named "Adagio for Cello and Thunderstick" by the American composer Henry Cowell. Featuring extensive music by women composers of the 20th century, the program also explores msuic of the Middle East with a work by Palestinian Ud player and composer Issa Boulos titled "Naji" for cello and piano, which in its atmospheric harmonies and singing cello lines connects to the mid-rhapsodic qualities of the Faure and Liszt works. The program concludes on a hopeful note with Jessie Montgomery's "Peace," written in 2020 during the global pandemic.
Towson University Professor of Cello Joseph Gotoff joins forces with pianist Wan-Chi Su to present an emotional and thought-provoking program of works for cello and piano. Centered around the years following World War I, this program explores the dark and moody atmosphere in Europe, particularly amongst French composers such as Gabriel Faure and Yvonne Desportes. The musical style straddles the late Romantic and early Modern period, from the backwards-looking work by the Venezuelan-born composers Reynaldo Hahn, "Variations chantantes sur un air ancien" (1905), to the avant-garde and whimsically named "Adagio for Cello and Thunderstick" by the American composer Henry Cowell. Featuring extensive music by women composers of the 20th century, the program also explores msuic of the Middle East with a work by Palestinian Ud player and composer Issa Boulos titled "Naji" for cello and piano, which in its atmospheric harmonies and singing cello lines connects to the mid-rhapsodic qualities of the Faure and Liszt works. The program concludes on a hopeful note with Jessie Montgomery's "Peace," written in 2020 during the global pandemic.
