Student Recital: Lansky, Barrios, Wieniawski, Paganini, Shostakovich

A student recital featuring:

Lansky: “Putative Prelude,” from Semi-Suite
Xiaobo Pu, guitar
“Putative Prelude”, is the first of six solo guitar dances from Semi-Suite by Paul Lansky. The dances are loosely connected and can be played together or alone.

Barrios: Waltz in G major, Op. 8, No. 4
Xiaobo Pu, guitar
Agustín Barrios a Paraguayan that is regarded as one of the greatest composers for the guitar, however his compositions were overlooked for decades.

Wieniawski: Légende, Op. 17
Eric Tsai, violin; Jungeun Kim, piano
Henryk Wieniawski wrote Légende, Op. 17 for the parents of Isabella Hampton. Wieniawski wanted to marry Isabella but her parents were against the engagement. After hearing The Légende, Op. 17 the parents changed their mind and they were married in 1860. Eric Tsai said “This piece can touch people’s heart in a very meaningful way even more then sometimes words can, and so when I perform, I always try to communicate that kind of message to the audience, something that’s from my heart.” Légende, Op. 17 is considered Wieniawski’s most famous work.

Paganini: Caprice in A minor, Op. 1, No. 24
Ania Filochowska, violin
Niccolò Paganini composed 24 Caprices for solo violin between 1802 and 1817.
Caprice No. 24 in A minor is the final Caprice of his 24 Caprices. An interesting fact about Paganini 24 Caprices is that many considered them too difficult to play, until Paganini himself proved them wrong.

Shostakovich: Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 99
Hyun Jae Lim, violin; Jungeun Kim, piano
Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 99 is very challenging for the violinist; it requires the soloist to play without a pause. It was written for a violinist that has great techniques, expressive skill and concentration. It is marked with Nocturne: Moderato; Scherzo: Allegro; Passacaglia: Andante and Burlesque: Allegro con brio.