Old First Concerts: October 2020

As of this past week, Old First Concerts (O1C) appears to have finalized its plans for next month. Since there has not yet been any sign for when concert venues will once again be opened to accommodate audiences, the five concerts scheduled for October will all be live-streamed through YouTube. As usual, any changes in current plans will be updated through both this Web page and the Facebook shadow site. Specifics are as follows:

[updated 10/8, 4:55 p.m.: This concert has been rescheduled for November 13:

[added 9/10, 2:40 p.m.:

Friday, October 9, 8 p.m.: The Circadian String Quartet, whose members are violinists Monika Gruber and David Ryther, violist Omid Assadi, and cellist David Wishnia, will make their next return visit to Old First. They have prepared what might be called a “Debussy++” program. As will probably be expected, the principal offering will be a performance of that composer’s only string quartet. However, by way of an “overture,” Ryther has prepared string quartet arrangements of three of Debussy's solo piano preludes: “Ondine,” “Des pas sur la neige” (footprints in the snow), and “La danse de Puck.”]]

Sunday, October 11, 4 p.m.: This will be pianist and new music champion Sarah Cahill’s next visit to the Old First Presbyterian Church. She will be joined by the young and adventurous cellist Andrés Vera and flutist David Latulippe. Latulippe will also join Cahill and Vera to serve as narrator in the performance of Robert Starer’s “Remembering Felix.” His flute offerings will include Francis Poulenc’s sonata for flute and piano, and all three musicians will perform a trio by Louise Farrenc. Any additions to this program will be announced at a later date.

Friday, October 16, 8 p.m.: Pianist Stephen Porter will begin his solo recital with the next offering of the season by Ludwig van Beethoven. He will perform the six bagatelles collected in Opus 126. This will be followed by a performance of both of Claude Debussy’s Images collections for piano. The remainder of the program will be devoted to premieres of compositions, some of which have not yet been given titles. The composers to be presented will be Toni Lester, Norberto Oldrini, Andrew List, and Martin Skafte.

Sunday, October 18, 4 p.m.: This will be another solo piano recital, this time performed by Lynn Schugren. The title of the program will be The Sierra Prelude Project. Schugren commissioned ten preludes, all by California composers instructed to evoke the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The contributing composers are (in alphabetical order) Alexis Alrich, Eleanor Armer, Molly Axtmann, Jake Collins, Jerry Grant, Robert Greenberg, Durwynne Hsieh, Dennis Lauderdale, Bruce Nalezny, and Mark Vance.

Friday, October 23, 8 p.m.: Violist Aaron Rosengaus and pianist Jennifer Lee will present a program entitled The English Viola. All of the compositions will be by British composers, and they all were completed during the first half of the twentieth century. Those who know their history know that the two World Wars both took place during that half-century, making it an era during which many of the influences were dark ones. Rebecca Clarke, who moved to the United States in 1916 and eventually became an American citizen, will be represented by two compositions, “Morpheus” (1917) and “Passacaglia on an old English tune” (1941). Even from the United States, she could appreciate the trials of both World Wars. The program will begin with two short pieces by Frank Bridge. There will also be sonatas by Arnold Bax and Julius Harrison.

Sunday, October 25, 4 p.m.: The program will be devoted to music for koto composed by Kimio Eto, who lived from 1924 to 2012. The performers will be Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, Brian Mitsuhiro Wong, and Isabella Kazuai Lew. The individual selections will involve different combinations of kotos and bass kotos.

Each of the above hyperlinks points to the O1C event page for that respective concert. Each event page will provide the necessary link to the YouTube site through which the concert will be streamed. Usually there is also a hyperlink for program notes.