Holzer to Debut Music by Four Artists in Sept. 23 Piano Recital
Dr. Linda Holzer, university professor of music, will present a piano recital, “Ears Wide Open,” Friday, Sept. 23, at UA Little Rock.
The recital will feature the Arkansas premieres of piano solos by Arkansas composer Florence Price, American composer Gwyneth Walker, Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, and Syrian-American composer Kareem Roustom.
The concert, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building at UA Little Rock.
The concert will open with the Arkansas premiere of “Riddle Variations” by Walker, followed by the premieres of Bagatelle I and Bagatelle II by Silvestrov and “Aleppo Songs,” “How Beautiful the Light of the Rising Son,” and “Antiochian Hymn” by Roustom.
Holzer was inspired to perform pieces by a Ukrainian and Syrian composer after watching a PBS interview of Syrian artists who were offering their support for the people of Ukraine.
“That’s what eventually led me to find Roustom’s piano piece ‘Aleppo Songs,’” Holzer said. “These contemporary pieces are expressive and intriguing, and I predict listeners will be very moved by this music.”
Holzer, who is an expert in the history and music of Arkansas composer Florence Price, will also give the Arkansas premiere of her powerful piano solo, Fantasie Nègre No. 4 in B Minor.
“I’m also looking forward to sharing masterpieces by Bach, Granados, Debussy, Satie, and Chopin,” Holzer said. “This program offers listeners a combination of fresh new works and familiar piano favorites.”
The recital will also include “Sarabande” by Claude Debussy, Gnossienne No. 4 by Erik Satie, “Italian Concerto, BWV 971,” by J.S. Bach, “Andaluza” by Enrique Granados, and Nocturne in F minor, Op. 55 #1 and Ballade in F Major, Op. 38 by Frédéric Chopin.
