Omni to Stream Guitar-Violin Duo Recital

Guitarist TY Zhang and violinist Strauss Shi (screen shot from the video to be released)

Readers may recall that the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts approached Christmas Eve by releasing two new videos in its Omni On Location series, one of which was recorded at the Villa Falconieri in the Italian city of Frascati. Yesterday Omni announced that it would approach New Years Eve with another video offering, this one from its Live from St. Mark’s series. This will be the latest duo offering, bringing guitarist Tengyue (TY) Zhang together with violinist Strauss Shi.

While last week’s videos were limited to a single composition, this new video will account for a full recital program (including an encore). That program was performed in St. Mark’s Lutheran Church this past October 15. Two of the offerings will be joint arrangements by Strauss and TY. The first of these will be Domenico Scarlatti’s K. 141 keyboard sonata in D minor. The other will be “Tico-Tico no Fubá,” the popular Brazilian choro song written by Zequinha de Abreu.

The program will conclude with Astor Piazzolla’s suite Histoire du Tango, originally composed for flute and guitar but allowing a violin to substitute for the flute. This substitution will also be taken for the “João” movement from Horacio Fernández’ Suite Latino-Americana. The program will begin with Roland Dyens’ solo guitar composition “Triaela.” Other arrangements will include “L’inverno” (winter), the fourth of Antonio Vivaldi’s Opus 8 compositions and the last of the four grouped as The Four Seasons, two selections from stage works by Manuel de Falla, the “Danza Española” from La Vida Breve and the “Ritual Fire Dance” from El amor brujo, and the “Méditation” from Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs, played between the two scenes of the second act and originally scored for violin and orchestra. The encore selection will be the traditional Chinese tune known as “Horse Racing” in English.

This performance will be streamed through the Omni Foundation’s YouTube channel. The premiere will be live-streamed at noon tomorrow, Friday, December 30. The YouTube Web page for viewing has already been created. There is no charge for admission, which means that these performances are made possible only by the viewers’ donations. A Web page has been created for processing contributions, and any visits made prior to the streaming itself will be most welcome.