Musician and lecturer Virginia Eskin performed piano selections featured in the writings of Willa Cather, as well as pieces by African American composers at a performance and lecture in the Redfern Arts Center’s Alumni Recital Hall.
Eskin’s performance and lecture was attended by students and community members on Wednesday, Jan. 29 as part of a weekly series of events that are open to the public.
The event was part lecture and part performance with Eskin performing musical selections in order to give examples of what was being discussed.
The event was broken into two separate parts, with the first half-hour focusing on music found in the writings of author and journalist Cather.
Eskin gave a similar performance and lecture during a 2018 anniversary celebration in Jaffrey, N.H. to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Cather’s novel “My Ántonia.”
Cather’s understanding of music was apparent in her writing, but Eskin said she was surprised by how she incorporated music in her work, considering that Cather had no formal musical background, which sparked Eskin’s curiosity.
“What I did was answer my own question. ‘Why did Willa Cather know so much about music?’ It was uncanny because so many novels throw composers around like wallpaper,” said Eskin.
“It’s irritating when you read novels that say things like, ‘The room was awash with Tchaikovsky’ or something like that, and it becomes clear that the author doesn’t really understand the music they’re referencing,” added Eskin.
Eskin said that Cather’s understanding of music and how that music was used in the context of her stories demonstrated a curious insight that was not often seen in literature.
“I found out that Cather had lived in a rooming house with young woman musicians, and she overheard all the gossip. She picked up on what they were talking about, and channeled these young women’s dreams and desires by being a fly on the wall,” said Eskin.
The second half-hour was centered around African American musicians.
“We’re coming into Black History Month, and it echoes because of the incredible tragedy of the slaves, with the diaspora coming here,” said Eskin.
“They brought the spiritual music and rhythms, which turned into rap and jazz and the great American songbag,” added Eskin.
Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies Dr. Christina Wright-Ivanova said Eskin’s lecture and performance is part of a weekly series of Wednesday events that are open to the general public.
“We have our Wednesday workshop series as part of the music department curriculum for our music majors, but it’s also open to anyone who wants to come. We have several guest artists coming in, student and faculty performances and the most robust lineup of guests that we’ve had in a long time coming in this semester,” said Wright-Ivanova.
Junior Benjamin Carter attended the event and said he appreciated the chance to hear from Eskin.
“Other than being a music major, I wanted to hear Eskin speak. I know she’s an expert in topics that aren’t usually covered in the school or broader education community, and she’s one of the few local resources who has a direct connection to some of these composers and is a good source of information,” said Carter.
Junior Emma Hunter said she enjoyed hearing about women composers and said she appreciated Eskin’s insights on composing techniques.
“As a composer, I liked hearing about women composers and how they used different techniques and how I can possibly use some of those techniques in my own work,” said Hunter.
According to Hunter, she was also excited to hear Eskin’s music.
Ryan Pacheco can be contacted at
rpacheco@kscequinox.com
