This is a past event

The Amherst College Department of Music and the Amherst Center for Russian Culture present "Mythos/Melos — The Intertwining Threads of Music and Narrative," a program featuring two-piano versions of Igor Stravinsky’s seminal ballets Petrushka and Firebird. Alongside these classic ballet suites, pianists Lois Shapiro and Randall Hodgkinson are joined by performance artist Colin Gee for the Pioneer Valley premiere of John McDonald’s Kindling with Subsongs, a compositional reaction to the Firebird Suite. This program also includes True Pete by Martin Brody.

The concert takes place in Buckley Recital Hall in the Arms Music Building and is free and open to the public; seating is by general admission.

Randall Hodgkinson transcribed and arranged the Firebird Suite for two pianos with extra players; Amherst College student pianists will take on selected parts. Hodgkinson and Lois Shapiro have presented previous versions of this Stravinsky celebration at Wellesley College and Tufts University, with companion pieces by Martin Brody and John McDonald premiered with newly commissioned movement pieces by Rome Prize-winning performance artist Colin Gee. Amherst College now receives its new version of the project.

Lois Shapiro “inspires musical magic” –Boston Globe

Randall Hodgkinson’s solo CD “Petrushka and Other Prophecies” received a double five-star rating from BBC Magazine.

Colin Gee was the founding Whitney Live Artist-in-Residence at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Lois Shapiro, piano
Randall Hodgkinson, piano
Colin Gee, performance artist
Amherst College Pianists: Audrey Cheng '20, Phuong-Nghi Pham '18, Charles Smith '19

Performing:
Petrushka (1911/1947) by Igor Stravinsky
Kindling With Subsongs [Two-Part Prequel To Ignite Would-Be Firebirds] (2014-2015) by John McDonald (Valentine Visiting Professor of Music, 2016-2017)
True Pete by Martin Brody
Firebird Suite (1910/1945) by Igor Stravinsky; arranged for two pianos by Randall Hodgkinson

For a complete listing of upcoming Amherst College Department of Music events, visit us at www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/music/events.

Contact Info

Alisa Pearson
(413) 542-2195
Please call the college operator at 413-542-2000 or e-mail info@amherst.edu if you require contact info @amherst.edu