Free Sunday Series at Rivers
Join us in the intimate Rivera Recital Hall for FREE concerts on Sundays throughout the school year. These 90-minute concerts are free and open to the public and no tickets are required.
The Vocal Impulse
Sunday, October 28, 2018, 3 pm
Beethoven: “Kakadu” Variations Op. 121a
Schumann: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 110
Babadjanian: Piano Trio in F# minor
Heidi Braun-Hill, violin
Ronald Lowry, cello
Lois Shapiro, piano
The primal creative impulse was most likely a vocal one. Some composers, whether writing for voice or instruments, manifest an essentially lyrical impulse in their work. Such a predilection shows itself in certain characteristics, regardless of the particular musical style. The rhythm, compass, flow, and shape of the lines endow them with a natural “singability.” Even more important, by virtue of some ineffable alchemy, music conceived lyrically possesses the eloquent fragility of a direct, individual human utterance, unmediated by mechanistic considerations. Instrumental virtuosity serves a lyrical premise. The landscape is one of human scale, and grandiosity is eschewed.
This program features music which derives from such a vocal impulse. From the “Kakadu” Variations, which Beethoven based on a popular opera tune of the time, to Robert Schumann’s ineffably intimate, lyrical utterance in his last piano trio, to Babadjanian’s songful evocation of his beloved Armenian folk culture, we present instrumental music inspired by the essential spirit of vocal music.
Young Artists Spotlight
Sunday, November 18, 2018, 3 pm
Come celebrate the extraordinary artistry of some of RSC’s most talented students. Check back for a listing of performers and pieces.
Jazz Faculty Feature
Sunday, January 13, 2019, 3 pm
Standards and originals featuring RSC jazz faculty members Philippe Crettien, saxophone; Mike Connors, drums; Sean Farias, bass; Bill Jones, saxophone; Phil Sargent, guitar, and others.
Young Artists Spotlight 2.0
Sunday, February 3, 2019, 3 pm
Join us for another program featuring some of RSC’s most talented students. Check back from a listing of performers and pieces.
Faure & Brahms Piano Quintets
Sunday, March 17, 2019, 3 pm
Haldan Matinson, violin
Danny Kim, viola
Ronald Lowry, cello
Lois Shapiro, piano
RSC faculty members Ronald Lowry and Lois Shapiro are joined by Boston Symphony members Haldan Matinson and Danny Kim in a program of piano quintets by Faure and Brahms.
All Five Beethoven Cello Sonatas
Sunday, March 31, 2019, 3 pm
Ronald Lowry, cello
Lois Shapiro, piano
Many consider Beethoven to have been a visionary – along with Freud, Darwin and Marx. He significantly shaped our sense of ourselves as “human” beings endowed with a rich and complex inner life, a will, and capable of reflection as well as action in the world.
In the case of Beethoven, the way we engage the musical experience has been forever transformed because of his music, which continues to inspire us all to take risks and think “outside the box.”
His five, remarkably diverse, cello sonatas span his entire compositional output, and thereby serve as a microcosm of his entire oeuvre, affording us an opportunity to explore a musical process that seems to “enact its own becoming”.
Rivera Piano Competition Winners
Sunday, April 28, 2019, 2:30 pm
Each year finalists from the A. Ramon Rivera Piano Competition perform two works for an audience and a panel of judges. Winners are announced following the performance and reception.
Faculty Artists Recital #1
Sunday, May 19, 2019, 3 pm
Mozart: Sonata in D Major
Brahms: Haydn Variations
Debussy: En blanc et Noir
Lutoslawski: Paganini Variations
Sandy Hebert, piano
Svetlana Krasnova, piano
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TBA
Faculty Artists Recital #2
Sunday, June 2, 2019, 3 pm
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances for Two Pianos
Erin Lindsey, piano
Ian Lindsey, piano
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Mendelssohn: String Quartet in A minor
Jessie Montgomery: Strum
Craft Ensemble
Colleen Brannen, violin; Amy Sims, violin; Amelia Hollander Ames, viola
Velleda Miragias, cello