‘Tabea Zimmermann & Kirill Gerstein’

In 1919, two works tied for first place in Coolidge's Composition Competition. They were Ernest Bloch's Suite and Rebecca Clarke's Sonata for Viola and Piano. This inventive work, by a woman, shook the conservative press of the time. Tabea Zimmermann and Kirill Gerstein produced a vibrant recording of this important page in the history of music in 2010. The duo also performs Hindemith's Sonata Op. 11 No. 4, which is an exact contemporary of Clarke's, and, like Brahms' Op. 120 No. 1, contains seductive, elegant melodies. Shostakovich also tried his hand at composing a sonata for violin, viola and piano, a piece with a pared-down style, influenced by the melodic, harmonic singularity of its composer.

In this recital, Kirill Gerstein will play the Maene-Viñoly Concert Grand. This new instrument, the only one of its kind in the world, was designed by Chris Maene and the Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly and has a curved keyboard for ergonomic piano playing. Kirill Gerstein - the first musician to play this instrument in concert - praises "the unified design, ergonomics and function [that] give the piano a unique sonic signature."