This continuing series of free concerts by rising stars of the classical music world is organized by Paul and Jennifer Nelson, faculty heads of Ezra Brainerd Commons, with support from the Christian A. Johnson Foundation.
Pianist Olli Mustonen, whose performances throw new light on the shape and sound of everything he plays, will come to us between recitals in New York and Cincinnati. (The Nelsons were delighted to learn that Mustonen would rather spend his extra time in Vermont than in New York—Vermont is more like his home north of Helsinki than Manhattan is.)
A group of the sparkling, flying Scarlatti sonatas and the huge First Sonata by Rachmaninoff highlight his recital. Rarely performed, the First Sonata is vintage Rachmaninoff: a long feast of sound. This concert takes place on Sunday, February 20, at 3:00 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
The next Brainerd Concert of the season is sung by mezzo-soprano Jessica Grigg, with pianist David Holkeboer, on Sunday, March 13, at 3:00 p.m. in the Concert Hall. The highlight of the concert program includes Jorge Martin's cycle A Cuban in Vermont. (Audiences may remember the performance of Martin's earlier cycle The Glass Hammer, sung during the College's bicentennial season by baritone Sanford Sylvan.) Both concerts are free and open to the public.