Weiss Concert

         Pianist Lisa Weiss will perform at Christ and St. Stephens Church (120 W. 69th Street, NYC) at 3 p.m. Sunday, February 15, 2009. Her program features the 24 Preludes, Op. 28 by Frederic Chopin and contemporary works by American composers Bruce Mahin and James Caldwell, along with a work by Israeli composer Hadas Goldschmidt-Halfon.
            Mahin’s work titled Freedom Lost was written to commemorate the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001. This piece attempts to capture the horror and sense of personal loss caused by these attacks but also reflects on the societal changes wrought by the events. Caldwell’s Éclaircissements presents motives which continually develop and unfold, ultimately reaching a clarity of vision that its title suggests as its goal, It requires both delicacy and imagination to play, and reminds one of the essence of poetry. Echoes by Israeli composer Hadas Goldschmidt-Halfon explores the wide timbral range of the piano in an expressive work that combines traditional forms (fantasia, toccata, passacaglia and fugue) with new ideas and emotions.
            Lisa Weiss is a Professor of Music at Goucher College, Baltimore, Maryland, where she co-directs the opera workshop, directs the chamber music seminar program, teaches piano, and gives a freshman seminar creative writing course on the relationship between sonata form and fiction. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, a Masters in Music from the Yale School of Music, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University, where she studied with Leon Fleisher. She maintains an active concert and recording schedule with recent appearances in Israel, Italy and the United States.
            Admission to the concert is free though freewill donations will be accepted.