ArtsFarmington will host an online Keyboard Festival, a three-performance virtual series featuring the following artists:
Rebecca Pechefsky Contributed photo
All concerts will begin at 7 p.m.
April 10: Harpsichord, Rebecca Pechefsky, affiliated with Brooklyn Baro- que.
April 17: Fortepiano, David Kim, Associate Professor of Music at Whitman College.
April 24: Pianoforte, George Lopez, Beckwith Artist-in-Residence at Bowdoin College.
Pechefsky will present a lecture-recital on five different harpsichords which are reproductions of harpsichords from the 16th through the 18th centuries. She will discuss the different instruments and play several pieces by different composers of the period.
The program will include pieces by J.S. Bach, François Couperin, Girolamo Frescobaldi, and William Byrd, as well as several other composers, some of whom are rarely heard today, such as Christophe Moyreau of Orléans.
A recording of her concert will be available for one month following the initial showing.
David Kim Contributed
Pianist and fortepianist David Hyun-su Kim holds degrees from Harvard, Yale, and Cornell Universities, and a doctorate from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He has performed internationally, with past appearances throughout the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Australia.
Kim will present a lecture-recital introducing us to a 5-octave fortepiano, that would have been familiar to Beethoven, showcasing some of its distinctive technical features. This particular piano was built by world-renowned builder Rodney Regier in Freeport and is a Walter replica ca 1800, Vienna. The fortepiano preceded the development of the modern-day piano (pianoforte), and Kim will illustrate some of the central differences. He will present an all-Beethoven program specifically selected to take advantage of the expressive possibilities unique to the instrument.
George Lopez Contributed
The Beckwith Artist-in-Residence at Bowdoin College, Lopez has been a dynamic performer and educator for over 25 years. He is known on several continents for his performance of the standard repertoire as well as being a champion of newly written works. He recently premiered a piano concerto composed for him here in Maine and is comfortable in styles of music ranging from jazz and ragtime to more contemporary improvisation. He performs regularly to capacity crowds and conducts the Bowdoin Symphony Orchestra
Lopez will present a concert/lecture on the piano and perform the following pieces: Beethoven Eroica Variations op. 35 (1802); Schumann Humoreske op.20 (1839); and Rachmaninov Corelli Variations op. 42 (1931). A brief talk will precede each piece discussing the significant changes that occurred from the time of Cristofori until the beginning of the 20th century. The talks will include a description of the escapement, tuning and fingering, expansion of the keyboard compass, the double escapement, the single iron caste frame, and cross-stringing. Lopez last played in Farmington in 2019 when he presented the wealth of Cuban music to us with “A Night in Havana!” His concert on the 24th is not to be missed.
There also will be a Live Zoom Panel Discussion with the three artists from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, May 2. This will be a time to learn from the artists and ask questions. The discussion will be moderated by Aaron Wyanski, Assistant Professor of Music at UMF.
Tickets cost $10 per household for an individual concert, or $25 for the series.
Each concert will be in the form of a lecture/recital performed on the initial presentation date with viewing available for 30 days. Sign up for the whole series or individual concerts. For tickets, visit artsfarmington.org.
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