|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Del Valle Fine Arts is presenting four musicians from the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia for its concert this weekend at the Bankhead Theater in downtown Livermore.
The Curtis on Tour chamber ensemble includes violinist Roberto Díaz, who is president and CEO at the music conservatory, and Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux, who is on the faculty at Curtis. It is the first time the Curtis quartet have performed at the Del Valle Fine Arts Concert Series — although Vieaux did play DVFA concerts in 2016 and 2021.
“It is a privilege for Del Valle to present this chamber group from Curtis, one of the elite music schools in the world,” DVFA President Denise Leddon said in a press release ahead of Saturday’s concert.
“This is an exciting special instrumental combination — with violin, viola, cello and guitar — that our audiences may not have explored before. We invite you to join us to hear Díaz, Vieaux, and two wonderful emerging professional artists,” Leddon added.
Rounding out the quartet are Curtis students Emmalena Huning, a violinist hailing from Perth, Australia, and Cleveland-raised cellist Ania Lewis. The touring effort is part of the school embracing a “learn by doing” philosophy, according to Leddon.
DVFA is also sponsoring the group performing at two local high schools.
Of the concert coming to the Bankhead, Leddon said, “The program is a vibrant collision of global sounds, cultures and sonic textures.”
“It begins with Spanish composer and pianist Manuel de Falla’s ‘Suite populaire espagnole’, followed by a fiery set featuring two selections by Argentinian legend Ástor Piazzolla, ‘Histoire du Tango’ and an arrangement of ‘Oblivion’,” Leddon continued.
“The concert continues with ‘Red Trees, Wrinkled Cliffs’, by acclaimed Curtis alumnus Zhou Tian. The piece is a 10-minute musical journey inspired by classical Chinese landscape paintings,” she added. “To close the event, the group performs Niccolò Paganini’s masterful ‘Guitar Quartet in A minor, No. 15, M.S. 42’, which was inspired by the expressive Romantic lyricism and virtuosity of 18th century Italian opera.”
The Curtis on Tour guitar-string quartet concert is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday (March 22) at the Bankhead. Tickets begin at $35 for adults; students under 18 years old are free and a college student discount is offered. Learn more at delvallefinearts.org.
