CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Pianist Arthur Greene will present a multimedia lecture and concert on Charles Ives' Concord Sonata on Sunday, March 19, at Oregon State University.

The event is part of the Corvallis-OSU Piano International "Insights at the Piano" series, and the lecture-recital will explore the heights, depths and hidden beauties of the Concord Sonata. It will be at 4 p.m. in Austin Auditorium at The LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26th St.

Tickets are $10 in advance, or $15 at the door. Tickets are available online at corvallispiano.org or at Grass Roots Books and Music or Rice's Pharmacy in Corvallis. Students ages 8-18 and all college students with valid identification are admitted free. Corvallis Arts for All discounts apply and are valid for purchase of up to two $5 tickets at The LaSells Stewart Center starting one hour prior to the performance, with SNAP card.

Charles Ives' Piano Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass., 1840-1860, often referred to as the Concord Sonata, is a four-movement experimental work that Ives wrote as a personal response to the transcendentalism movement that was popularized during the early and mid-19th century.

The four sections of the work are named after and inspired by figures associated with transcendentalism: "I. Emerson" after Ralph Waldo Emerson; "II. Hawthorne" after Nathaniel Hawthorne; "III. The Alcotts" after Bronson and Louisa May Alcott; and "IV. Thoreau" after Henry David Thoreau.

The Concord Sonata explores a wide-ranging sound world filled with pithy musical quotations, including many references to Beethoven, a highly advanced rhythmic complexity and wild harmonies. The work calls for the use of a Concord Board, a wooden tool precisely 14.75 inches long, that the performer uses to depress the keyboard during the second movement, creating a tone cluster that is not physically possible to play using only the pianists' hands.

Greene is a professor of piano at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance. He has performed with major orchestras around the world: The Philadelphia Orchestra; San Francisco Symphony; Utah Symphony; Washington D.C.'s National Symphony; the Tokyo Symphony; and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Greene is also a gold medal winner of the William Kapell and Gina Bachauer International Piano Competitions.

For accommodations relating to a disability, call 541-758-0036, preferably at least one week in advance.

Source: 

Zachary C. Person, 541-737-4671, [email protected]

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