Bedford Chamber Concerts Presents Music for Cello and Piano
Bedford Chamber Concerts presents the young, dynamic cellist Nathan Vickery and renowned pianist Anthony Newman in an evening of music for piano and cello on Wednesday, March 19 at 8:00pm. The program will include works by Bach, Brahms, Debussy and Schumann.
Mr. Newman has enjoyed a long and successful career as composer and keyboard artist on harpsichord, piano, and organ. The Washington Post said of a recent performance, “Newman’s erudition (in spoken introductions) and fastidious digital clarity have marked his performances for decades, and they were on full display here. His solo offering ….was the concert’s high point, drawing out every possible shade of expression from the instrument through subtle timing and imaginative register change.â€
Mr. Vickery began his musical career at age five and joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2013. He has appeared as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and as a recitalist and chamber musician at premier music festivals and in concert halls across the country and throughout Europe. Mr. Vickery has appeared on NPR’s From the Top and WFMT in Chicago.
The program will include Bach’s C Major Suite for Unaccompanied Cello. This is the third in a collection of six suites composed around 1720 that is now one of the basic foundations of the cello repertoire. These works were mostly overlooked until recorded in 1939 by Pablo Casals, which led to widespread appreciation for these masterpieces.
The program also includes two major sonatas for cello and piano. Brahms’ E Minor Sonata, completed in 1865, is a product of the late Romantic period that also shows the strong influence of Bach on the composer, especially in the fugal finale. It stands in sharp contrast to Debussy’s brief but highly moving Sonata in D Minor written in 1915 at the end of his life. This piece demonstrates the radical changes in musical style that took place over the past half century, as well as the evolution of the composer’s own style.
Additionally the program will include Schumann’s Five Pieces in Folk Style. These small lyrical pieces, written in 1849, were composed toward the end of a highly prolific period in Schumann’s life and demonstrate a style that plays to his greatest strength as a composer.
Bedford Chamber Concerts performances take place in the beautiful and acoustically superior Fellowship Hall of St. Matthew’s Church, 382 Cantitoe Street in Bedford. Wine is served during intermission and is included in the ticket price. Tickets are $35/$10 for student tickets. To purchase tickets or for more information visit www.bedfordchamberconcerts.org or call 914-522-5150.
