MEDIA CONTACT: Polly Burks
561-297-2595, pburks@fau.edu
BOCA RATON, FL (September 28, 2006) – Florida Atlantic University’s department of music will celebrate the 100th birthday of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich with a “Shostakovich Centenary Festival.” Part I of the festival will be presented over the weekend of October 14 and will include a concert on Saturday, October 14 at 3 p.m. in the Harid Conservatory at 2285 Potomac Street in Boca Raton. The same concert will be performed on Sunday, October 15 at 2 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Auditorium on FAU’s Davie Campus, 2912 College Avenue. Part II of the festival will include a concert to be held on Saturday, November 4 at 2 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Auditorium and on Sunday, November 5 at 3 p.m. at the Harid Conservatory. General admission is $15 at the door. FAU students, faculty, staff and alumni may obtain free admission with ID.
Part I will include two of Shostakovich’s most well known works, “String Quartet No. 8” and “Quintet for Piano and String Quartet.” Part II will include Shostakovich’s “Prelude and Fugue in D minor,” a piece inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach, and “Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, Opus 67,” a piece that was dedicated to the memory of Holocaust victims.
Musicians for Part I include Leonid Treer, piano, founder of the FAU Chamber Soloists, and the Biava String Quartet. Treer, who was born and raised in Russia, has developed a loyal following in South Florida with music critics hailing his “striking demonstration of the grand Russian piano manner.” The Biava String, including violinists Austin Hartman and Hyunsu Ko, violist Mary Persin, and cellist Jacob Braun, is recognized as one of today’s top young American quartets. They have established an enthusiastic following in the United States and abroad with performances at major music halls including Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, the Library of Congress and London’s Wigmore Hall. Musicians for Part II include Mei Mei Luo, violin; Ian Maksin, cello; Sarah Lopez and Jonathan Li, piano; and Wendy Reynolds, soprano. The vocal portion of the program will be performed in Russian.
For further information, call FAU’s department of music at 561-297-3820.
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