Emmanuel Music is proud to announce the return of pianist Simone Dinnerstein, following her immensely successful performance with the ensemble in June 2022. On Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 7pm at Distler Hall at Tufts University (12 Talbot Ave.), Artistic Director Ryan Turner will conduct, in a rare opportunity to experience Bach across space and time, three keyboard concerti by Bach, Mozart, and Glass. The performance will be coupled with a visual counterpoint in the form of an abstract video journey by artist Laurie Olinder. Dinnerstein and Olinder have collaborated before in Dinnerstein’s 2021 production, The Eye is the First Circle.
Of the opportunity to collaborate with Dinnerstein again this season, Artistic Director Ryan Turner says:
“I am incredibly excited to work together again! [Simone Dinnerstein’s] collaborative approach combined with dazzling skill and poetic interpretation make for an ideal musical partner. And, our orchestra relishes playing with Simone!“
Recognized for her appreciation of J.S. Bach’s work, Dinnerstein recorded Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in D Minor BWV 1052 on her 2011 Sony Classical release, Bach: A Strange Beauty. The Grammy-nominated pianist was lauded for her approach to Bach’s music and the resulting beauty and skill of her execution. NPR described Dinnerstein’s recording as a, “wonderfully expressive interpretation.”
Her thoughtful approach to Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C Major, K. 467 can be heard on her 2017 Sony Classical release, Mozart in Havana with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra. Gramophone described Dinnerstein’s performance as offering “heartfelt directness [and] purity of line.”
Dinnerstein has also recorded and extensively performed Philip Glass’s Piano Concerto No. 3, written for her in 2017, but this will be her first time performing Glass’s Piano Concerto No. 1 “Tirol”, a seldom-played work based on traditional Austrian folk music, Volkslied.
Of this unique piece by Glass and the opportunity to work with Laurie Olinder again, Dinnerstein says:
“I am eagerly looking forward to collaborating again with Ryan Turner and Emmanuel Music in this unusual program featuring three of my favorite piano concertos. I have performed Bach’s D Minor and Mozart’s K 467 many times, but this will be my first performance of Glass’s Tirol. The second movement of the Tirol is what first drew me to it. Built almost as a set of variations, the sound is lush and pulsating, and its mood relates to his Symphony No 3 for strings. I love the play between intense lyricism and a feeling of austerity, so reminiscent of Schubert’s writing.
I’m also excited that the visual artist, Laurie Olinder, will be collaborating on this performance with her colorful and dynamic video art. Laurie and I worked together over the pandemic creating The Eye is the First Circle, a devised work using my father, Simon Dinnerstein’s Fulbright Triptych and Charles Ives’s Concord Sonata. I can’t wait to see how she brings this added visual dimension to the music on this program.”
Laurie Olinder says:
“Watching the shadow of leaves trembling on a wall, a current of air fluttering the leaves on a branch or the sun’s reflection rippling on the water’s surface. The rhythm of nature has a music all its own. This is what inspires me. The mind seeks to find connections to these cadences.”
A special evening of music, the program will explore the lasting influence of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, is a soaring and majestic work that showcases the composer’s mastery of counterpoint. Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C Major, K. 467, is a sparkling and elegant work that regularly delights audiences of all ages. A rare treat, Philip Glass’ Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra is a seldom-performed work based on traditional Austrian folk music, Volkslied.
Simone Dinnerstein: Bach | Mozart | Glass
Sept 23, 2023
Simone Dinnerstein with Emmanuel Music
Laurie Olinder, Video Installation
Distler Hall at Tufts University
Bach Keyboard Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052
Mozart Piano Concerto in C Major, K. 467
Glass Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
All ticketed performances are available according to Emmanuel Music’s pay-what-you-wish policy, with a suggested price of $65, Visit emmanuelmusic.org for information about ticketing and COVID-19 policies for the 2023–24 season.
