The Next Virtual Performances by Dinnerstein

Simone Dinnerstein performing at her piano in Brooklyn (courtesy of the artist)

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein has announced two upcoming virtual performances taking place, respectively, at the end of this month and the middle of next month. Both of these offerings consist of videos that were professionally recorded in her home in Brooklyn; but both of the host institutions are situated at a significant distance from New York City. The first is in Durham, North Carolina, where the concert will be hosted by Duke Performances on the campus of Duke University. The second will be in Seattle, Washington as part of the Meany On Screen series of performances hosted by the Meany Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Washington.

The Duke program will be structured in two parts, the first of which consists of reflections on chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach. Dinnerstein will begin with Ferruccio Busoni’s solo piano arrangement of the BWV 639 chorale prelude from the Orgelbüchlein (little organ book), “Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ” (I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ). This will be followed by three transcriptions composed by Richard Danielpour, the “Agnus Dei” aria from the BWV 232 Mass setting in B minor and two movements from the BWV 244 setting of the Passion text from the Gospel of Matthew, “Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden” (“if I shall ever be separated,”a chorale setting of the Passion hymn “O Haupt, voll Blut und Wunden”) and the concluding chorus “Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder” (we sit down in tears), noted for what may be Bach’s most heart-rending use of dissonance.

The second part will consist of four selections performed without interruption as a suite. That suite will be framed by two compositions by François Couperin, “Les baricades mistérieuses” (the mysterious barricades) and “Le tic-toc-choc, ou Les maillotins.” They will be separated by Robert Schumann’s Opus 18 “Arabeske” and Philip Glass’ “Mad Rush.”

The Washington program will be Dinnerstein’s latest recital based on her album A Character of Quiet. She will begin with two of the Philip Glass études at the beginning of the CD, the sixteenth and the second. These will then be followed by her performance of Franz Schubert’s D. 960 sonata in B-flat major.

The Duke performance will take place at 5 p.m. (Pacific time) on Saturday, January 30. General admission will be $10, and tickets will be on sale through the event page for this concert up until the time of the performance. The video will be available for viewing for 72 hours.

There will be no charge for the Washington performance, and no pre-registration will be required. Streaming will begin at noon on Friday, February 12 and continue through the end of the day on Friday, February 19. The hyperlink to the video stream will be available through the event page for the concert.