One Hour and 35 Minutes with Intermission
Sunday, February 26, 2023, 3:00 p.m. (pre-concert chat at 2:15)
The George Weston Recital Hall at the Meridian Arts Centre, 5040 Yonge St.
What we love about this concert
- Florence Price, originally composed Dances in the Canebrakes as three piano pieces, with rhythms drawn from the ragtime dances of Joplin.
- Astor Piazzolla’s father gave him a bandoneón (like a small accordion with buttons instead of a piano keyboard) and told him to learn the tango. So he reinvented the national dance of his homeland, Argentina, mixing ideas from classical music, jazz, and popular forms. Aconcagua, his bandoneón concerto, received its nickname from its publisher, who said the composition represented the highest peak of Piazolla’s work. (Aconcagua is the highest mountain peak in South America).
- You’ll recognize the Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story” from last summer’s Spielberg remake of Jerome Robbins’ and Leonard Bernstein’s classic new-world retelling of Romeo and Juliet, arguably some of the best musical theatre writing in the history of the form.
The Program
| Florence Price | Dances in the Canebrakes |
| Arturo Márquez | Danzón No. 2 |
| Astor Piazzolla Bandoneón | Concerto “Aconcagua,” with Denis Plante |
| Leonard Bernstein | Symphonic Dances from West Side Story |
Featured Artists
Michael Newnham, Music Director – more about Michael Newnham ➞
Denis Plante – more about Denis Plante ➞
What you’ll hear
