Happy Birthday Franz Liszt Sincerely, Mannes
Mannes College The New School for Music celebrated Franz Liszt's 200th birthday yesterday, November 14, with a student recital at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church. Though the composer himself was not in attendance — he died in 1886 — the talented young performers entertained an audience of roughly 50 people with his music for the better part of two hours.
Part of a city-wide festival put on by Mannes, the program, called "Liszt and Bach,” explored the considerable influence Johann Sebastian Bach had on Franz Liszt and featured mostly solo piano works by both composers.
The show began with Monica Han's rousing performance of Bach's “Italian Concerto in F major,” and continued with three pieces by Liszt, including one duet for piano and voice. Rounding out the first half of the concert was Sophia Munoz's spirited solo performance of Liszt's “Fantasia Quasi Sonata,” a challenging piece packed with soaring octave melodies and lavish 16th-note arpeggios that Ms. Munoz executed with precision and gusto.
After the intermission, the show resumed with Bach's “Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major,” featuring Katha Zinn on violin and Illya Filshtynskiy on piano. Filshtynskiy — who seemed to be wearing Weird Al Yankovic’s hairdo — played with a light touch that beautifully complimented Zinn's legato phrasing. That was followed by Timur Mustakimov's rendition of Liszt's “Transcendental Etude No. 11 in D-flat major.” Finally, Jialiang Wu closed the evening with a technically dazzling performance of Liszt's “Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor,” S. 244/2. Her fingers danced their way through countless trills and flourishes, never resting till the final cadence.
At the end, artistic director and teacher Pavlina Dokovska addressed the audience. "Thank you all so much for coming," she said, beaming. "I'm so proud." No doubt the birthday boy would have been as well.
Part of a city-wide festival put on by Mannes, the program, called "Liszt and Bach,” explored the considerable influence Johann Sebastian Bach had on Franz Liszt and featured mostly solo piano works by both composers.
The show began with Monica Han's rousing performance of Bach's “Italian Concerto in F major,” and continued with three pieces by Liszt, including one duet for piano and voice. Rounding out the first half of the concert was Sophia Munoz's spirited solo performance of Liszt's “Fantasia Quasi Sonata,” a challenging piece packed with soaring octave melodies and lavish 16th-note arpeggios that Ms. Munoz executed with precision and gusto.
After the intermission, the show resumed with Bach's “Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major,” featuring Katha Zinn on violin and Illya Filshtynskiy on piano. Filshtynskiy — who seemed to be wearing Weird Al Yankovic’s hairdo — played with a light touch that beautifully complimented Zinn's legato phrasing. That was followed by Timur Mustakimov's rendition of Liszt's “Transcendental Etude No. 11 in D-flat major.” Finally, Jialiang Wu closed the evening with a technically dazzling performance of Liszt's “Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor,” S. 244/2. Her fingers danced their way through countless trills and flourishes, never resting till the final cadence.
At the end, artistic director and teacher Pavlina Dokovska addressed the audience. "Thank you all so much for coming," she said, beaming. "I'm so proud." No doubt the birthday boy would have been as well.
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