Joshua Roman, cello
Conor Hanick, piano
Wine & Food Tasting @ 7pm
Showtime @ 8pm
Thank you to our sponsor Yamaha
Estonian composer Arvo Pärt once made the following light-hearted observation: “the instant and eternity are struggling within us… this is the cause of all our contradictions.” His music reflects that juxtaposition - at once intense and gripping, while at the same time offering us a glimpse of some greater spiritual awareness just beyond our comprehension.
Fratres (Brothers) remains one of the most darkly mesmerizing pieces ever written, while Spiegel im Spiegel (The Mirror in the Mirror) offers an endlessly reflective, profoundly moving meditation on timelessness. Alfred Schnittke’s Sonata for Cello and Piano reminds us of the shortness of time - written months after a devastating stroke, it offers a jarring, disorienting picture of terrifying immediacy.
Guiding us on this spiritual journey of wonder are cellist Joshua Roman (a Crypt Sessions veteran) and pianist Conor Hanick. These two luminous musical souls are at the forefront of a new generation of musical talents, and we couldn’t ask for a more perfect pair to take us to eternity and back again.
Let time stop - at least for an hour or so - and remember that life is lived somewhere in between the single moments, and the spreading infiniteness that surrounds them.
Pärt: Fratres
Schnittke: Sonata for Cello and Piano
Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel
Joshua Roman has earned an international reputation for his wide-ranging repertoire, a commitment to communicating the essence of music in visionary ways, artistic leadership and versatility. As well as being a celebrated performer, he is recognized as an accomplished composer and curator, and was named a TED Senior Fellow in 2015.
Pianist Conor Hanick is regarded as one of his generation’s most inquisitive interpreters of music old and new. With a unique adeptness for contemporary music reinforced by a commitment to music of all ages, Hanick’s interpretations demonstrate a “technical refinement, color, crispness and wondrous variety of articulation that benefit works by any master.” (Anthony Tommasini, New York Times)