Music of Bartok Is Theme of Karen Becker and Friends Concert
The SUNY Plattsburgh Department of Music will present a concert featuring the music of Hungarian composer Béla Bartók as part of the “Karen Becker and Friends” series 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15.
Visiting artist, pianist Sonja Thompson from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, and two percussionists from the region, Daryle Redmond and Patrick Burke, will perform with pianist Becker.
The ensemble will present Bartók’s “Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion,” the centerpiece of the concert. Premiered in 1938, “Sonata” is considered one of the key chamber works of the 20th century, although it is not often performed. The score calls for four highly skilled musicians to play two pianos and seven percussion instruments, requiring continuous interaction among the performers.
The program will also include the Bartók piece “Allegro barbaro” for solo piano, which will be performed by Becker. In addition, Thompson and Becker will team up and perform a set of waltzes for two pianos (four hands) composed by Ernő Dohnányi, a contemporary of Bartók. The music was written for Emma Gruber, wife of Hungarian composer, Zoltan Kodály, who was a lifelong friend of Bartók.
The "Karen Becker and Friends" series was started by Becker in 2005. The series includes two concerts per year and showcases local and regional musicians as well as visiting guest performers.
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