Steven R. Gerber's Two Intermezzi for Solo Piano To Be Performed in New
York City and Ashland, Virginia by Pianist Beth Levin
Pianist Beth Levin will present Steven R. Gerber's "Two Intermezzi" for
solo piano in two upcoming concerts - Sunday, April 27, 2003, 7 PM at
Christ and St. Stephen's Church, 120 W. 69th Street in Manhattan and
Thursday, May 8, 7:30 PM at Blackwell Performing Arts Center on the
campus of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. Ms. Levin will
also perform music by Schumann, Chopin and Beethoven.
The April 27 concert has a suggested donation of $10 and the May 8 concert
is free and open to the public. For information about the April 27
concert, please call 212-787-2755 ext 2 and for the May 8 concert, please
call 804-752-7298.
Pianist Beth Levin made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at
the age of 12 and returned at 16 to perform the Beethoven Third Piano
Concerto in C minor, Opus 37. Soon after, she was selected as one of
three students to study with Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of
Music. She has since earned the acclaim of colleagues and critics as
an artist of exceptional talent. Visit her online at
http://www.concertartist.info/bios/levin.html
Composer Steven R. Gerber has written the following, ""Two Intermezzi"
were written, in reverse order, in 1984-1985. The first, "Improvisation,"
is fully notated, but, with its frequent starting and stopping, conveys
a sense of groping for what to do next, as if the pianist (or the composer)
were improvising. I have always disliked a lot of contemporary music
for the way it starts and stops and never gets off the ground, so when
I came up with the first phrase or two of this piece and saw that they
did just that, I thought it would be interesting to try to base the whole
piece on an approach which I usually dislike. Finally, however, the
music explodes in a short coda. The second movement is entitled "Homage."
Homage to what? Perhaps to Copland and Stravinsky, perhaps to something
harder to explain which is expressed by the nostalgic mood of the piece.
Like a lot of my earlier piano music, "Homage" uses the middle pedal to
a degree rare in the piano literature."
Steven R. Gerber's music has gained international attention as a result
of two recent CD releases (on Chandos and KOCH) featuring several of
his major orchestral works, including the Symphony No. 1. Gerber has
achieved also great success in the United States and in his ten tours
of the former Soviet Union, perhaps becoming the most often-played living
American composer in that area. Of the Symphony No. 1, Evening Moscow
declares, "Gerber could serve as an example of American musical
professionalism ...he stands out with the highest of temperaments and
musical taste." Mr. Gerber has written for a number of fine soloists
including Yuri Bashmet for the viola concerto, Kurt Nikkanen for the
violin concerto and Carter Brey for the cello concerto. His work has
been performed by groups such as the Louisville Orchestra, Knoxville
Chamber Orchestra, the Fine Arts Quartet, the National Chamber Orchestra
and the Russian Philharmonic. Steven R. Gerber is the subject of a
recent Electronic Dialogue interview in Sequenza 21 web magazine. Read
the interview at http://www.sequenza21.com/index.html. Visit his website
at http://www.stevengerber.com.
Steven R. Gerber is represented by Jeffrey James Arts Consulting. For
a CD sampler of Steven R. Gerber's orchestral music or further information,
contact them at 516-797-9166 or [log in to unmask]
Jeffrey James Arts Consulting
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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