First Tuesday Concert
The University of Evansville presented its First Tuesday concert this week, as part of the Debussy 100 Symposium. I love these concerts because they let me discover new music- I very rarely hear something presented with which I’m already familiar. This concert was no exception because I have very little Debussy exposure outside of “Clair de Lune” and “Arabesque No.1”.
This particular concert was a really special treat for me, as my cello teacher was one of the performing faculty members. In what I can only describe as a heroic effort, she tackled Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano (1915). Debussy composed the work while he was dying of cancer. Musician Liz Hogg has described the piece as having an atmosphere that is “agitated, anxious, and futile” and I think those are my feelings as well, although watching two professional musicians and music educators perform a technically demanding work is always wonderful.
Soprano Alanna Keenan performed The Songs of Bilitis (1901), based on the poetry of Pierre Louys (1894). This was the first time I’d heard the music or read the poems (which were projected above the soloist on a PowerPoint). Having the text compete with the vocalist for the audience’s attention wasn’t the best staging choice; however, this performance really spurred my interest in the music and the poetry.
Another interesting performance was “Poissons d’Or”, and below I’ve linked to a really great video of this song:
Additionally, I was really disappointed to miss Catherine Kautsky’s lecture and book signing for her “Debussy’s Paris: Piano Portraits of the Belle Epoque” (2017). This book is definitely going on my to-read bookshelf. Below is a link to the book’s website: