On Thursday September 6, 2018, at 7:30 pm in the Martin Luther King Auditorium of the Main Library, the Soundwaves new music series presents pianist Mark Robson, playing selected etudes by Claude Debussy, each paired with a new piece specially commissioned from a contemporary Los Angeles composer.
This is the first concert of Soundwaves' second year of collaboration with PianoSpheres. Each year PianoSpheres presents concerts by a core group of four pianists and invited guest artists. For this, their 25th season, each of the core pianists is organizing a special project.
Robson, who has been a featured soloist with the LA Philharmonic and at the Hollywood Bowl, as well as an assistant conductor for the LA Opera, will use his project to honor the centennial of Debussy's death. While etudes are training pieces to develop technique, some composers such as Debussy have developed them into small works of art suitable for performance. Robson and PianoSpheres commissioned new companion pieces for Debussy's twelve etudes from a dozen Los Angeles composers: Juhi Bansal, Robert Gates, Sarah Gibson, Vera Ivanova, Karl Kohn, Thomas Kotcheff, Anne LeBaron, Bruno Louchouarn, Nick Norton, Vicki Ray, Daniel Rothman, and Robson himself. Selected pairs will be performed at this preview, and he will present all twelve at Zipper Hall on the 11th and at Villa Aurora on the 15th.
Soundwaves is a concert series presenting artists who appear on the DRAM (Database of Recorded American Music) streaming service. The Santa Monica Public Library is the first public library to offer this service to its cardholders. Listings of past and upcoming Soundwaves shows as well as sound and video recordings are at SoundwavesNewMusic.com
This event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and on a first-arrival basis. Soundwaves is sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library. The Santa Monica Public Library is wheelchair accessible. For other disabled services, call Library Administration at (310) 458-8606 at least one week prior to event. For more information, visit smpl.org or contact the Santa Monica Public Library at (310) 458-8600.
Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
Submitted by Jeff Schwartz, Reference Librarian
