On Sunday, August 30 at 3:00 pm, the Sunrise String Quartet, which has performed at the Kennedy Center and the Corcoran Museum, will join pianist Brian Ganz, one of the leading pianists of his generation,in a free virtual program produced by the Arts in the Woods Concert Series at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis. The program, entitled “Music for Friends,” will mark the resumption of concerts produced by the church after a long hiatus due to the pandemic. The artists have created a virtual program of some of their own favorite solo and duo works, requested of each other. Classical music presented will include works by Bach, Mozart, Chopin, and violist and composer Osman Kivrak. After the program, the artists will join the audience in a Zoom celebration in the spirit of a post concert reception and a Q and A session. Free links to both the concert on YouTube and the post-performance reception via Zoom are at https://www.uuannapolis.org/arts-in-the-woods/ the concert will continue to be available for on-demand viewing following the premiere, but the Zoom conversation with the artists is only available with the August 30 performance.
“I have been so eager to work with the Sunrise String Quartet for so many years,” pianist Ganz said. “But that’s not easy right now with the pandemic. So we thought we would try something new, requesting some of our favorite works for each other to play. We’ll also make short video recordings sharing about our requests.”
Among the pieces on the program are a work composed by Kivrak for violin and viola entitled “Uzun Hava,” movements from Bach suites for solo violin and solo cello, Chopin Scherzo No. 2 for solo piano, and a violin and viola duo composed by Mozart at the request of his friend Michael Haydn, brother of the great composer Franz Joseph Haydn.
The entire program will be offered on-line free of charge, premiering through the church’s website at 3:00 pm on August 30, after which it will be available for future online viewing. Donations will be requested in support of the church and its ministry and programs.
“Musicians without audiences are like teachers without students, restaurants without guests, churches and mosques without congregations,” violist Osman Kivrak said. “The pandemic interrupted our lives so drastically that I started to worry that the music, especially chamber music, might start to disappear. When Brian suggested the idea of collaborating on an online chamber music concert I got very excited. ‘Yes!’ I said ‘this is one way of keeping the pilot light going. Chamber music is music for small groups,” Kivrak continued, “for friends to get together and express their feelings through music.”
The next concert of the Arts in the Woods Concert Series will feature the Annapolis Chamber Music Festival and will be launched virtually on November 1. For more information, visit https://www.uuannapolis.org/arts-in-the-woods/ or call 410-266-8044.
