Music on the Edge presents Franz Lehar Composer-in-Residence Betsy Jolas. The concert features works for solo and duo pianos by Jolas, and a newly discovered arrangement by Varèse of his composition Ameriques for two pianos, eight hands. Performed by Amy Briggs, Winston Choi, Lisa Kaplan, and Amy Williams.
Bellefield Hall Auditorium
Tickets purchased in advance through ProArts: $10 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors,
Call 412-394-3353 or visit www.proartstickets.org. Service fees apply.
Tickets at the door: $15 and $8
Pitt students: Free with ID.
Press Release
Music on the Edge will present composer Betsy Jolas, an internationally acclaimed and award winning composer, as this year's Franz Lehar Composer-in-Residence. Her compositions will be presented by a team of outstanding pianists, including Amy Briggs, Winston Choi, Lisa Kaplan, and Pitt faculty composer Amy Williams. The program will feature Jolas' music for duo pianos and an arrangement of Edgard Varèse's Amériques for two pianos, eight-hands made by Varèse himself. The lone non-piano moment of the evening will be provided by Roger Zahab performing Jolas' Episode sixième for solo viola. The program will be rounded out with Messiaen's Amen des étoiles, de la planète à l’anneau and Elliot Carter's Diversion #2.
The concert takes place on Sunday, November 2 at Bellefield Hall Auditorium (315 S. Bellefield Avenue) at 8 p.m. Tickets purchased in advance through ProArts are $10 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors. Call 412-394-3353 or visit www.proartstickets.org. Service fees apply. Tickets at the door are $15 and $8. Pitt students are admitted free with ID.
Betsy Jolas was born in Paris in 1926 and came to the U.S. in 1940. She completed her general schooling, then studied composition with Paul Boepple, piano with Helen Schnabel, and organ with Carl Weinrich. After graduating from Bennington College, Jolas returned to Paris in 1946 to continue her studies with Darius Milhaud, Simone Plé-Caussade and Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique of Paris. When Messiaen retired Jolas took over his famous composition class.
Betsy Jolas has taught at Tanglewood, Yale, Harvard, Mills College (Darius Milhaud chair), Berkeley, University of Southern California and San Diego University, to name a few. Her works, written for a great variety of combinations, have been widely performed throughout the world by first class artists such as Elisabeth Chojnacka, Kent Nagano, William Christie, Claude Helffer, Kim Kashkashian and by leading groups such a The Boston Symphony Chamber Players, the Concord Quartet, the Domaine Musical, the Percussions de Strasbourg, the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, the London Sinfonietta, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Philharmonia, etc. Twelve of her works have been recorded for EMI, Adès, CRI, Erato, Barclay, several of which have been the recipients of grand prize gramophone awards.
Music on the Edge is co-directed by Pitt faculty composers Eric Moe and Mathew Rosenblum. The series is devoted to the performance of contemporary music by visiting artists from around the world as well as the Music on the Edge Chamber Orchestra, Roger Zahab, conductor.