The Redfern Arts Center hosted a Faculty Recital Sunday, Oct. 22 composed of American Vignettes for cello and piano.
American Vignettes are small works for cello and piano. The recital consisted of works from six different American composers from all different backgrounds that helped celebrate the American spirit.
“I think it’s a lot of very diverse music, six different composers all tied together with this theme of vignettes and Americana. That’s kind of fascinating, but having this sort of 20th century celebration of American classical music, with also a female lens and a diverse lens is quite unique,” said Dr. Christina WrightIvanova, the pianist for the event. Along with showcasing diversity within the songs performed, the recital included a world premiere of an arrangement for cello and piano composed by Black composer Margaret Bonds.
“In classical music, it’s pretty rare that a composer is as famous as Bonds, she’s very famous in our field,” Wright-Ivanova said. “That is one of the few Black American female composers that you know really has had an important voice. This has just been published literally threeweeks ago. So this cello and piano arrangement that she wrote, that’s very exciting. So Keene State will be the first to hear that.”
The recital consisted of six different sections, one for each composer, that ranged from one movement to six movements per section.
Wright-Ivanova and Aaron Zelkowicz have been performing together for 10 years, and Zelkowicz came up with the idea for the American Vignettes.
“The idea behind the American Vignettes program was his at first and then he invited me to join so this has been in the works for him forseveral years,” Wright-Ivanova said. People from Keene State College and the local community came to see the performance on Sunday.
“I really enjoyed it and was presently surprised by the repertoire,” said first-year Sarah Stagg. “I liked the contrasting style of each piece they played, it wasn’t just slow legato, some had a darker tone to them and it really varied.”
Throughout the six different sections, there was a variety of music styles being showcased to the audience such as blues, jazz, cowboy country music and a musical culture of the spiritual.
“I really loved the second movement within the section “Differences,” the “Air Adagio sereno.” I loved the sorrow within it, it made me feel, like during the performance I felt my eyes tearing up,” said first-year Cailyn Gorman.
In addition to this performance, Wright-Ivanova and Zelkowicz areproducing the American Vignettes into a CD, which will be recorded through WGBH Boston in midNovember.
Amanda Rotigliano can be contacted at
arotigliano@kscequinox.com
