Resonance Works Pittsburgh Continues Virtual Resonance Chamber Series With Valentine's Day Recital

Resonance Works announces Amor y Corona as the next performance in the Virtual Resonance Chamber Series, featuring violinist Maureen Conlon Gutiérrez and pianist Karen Jeng Lin, premiering on Valentine's Day, and filmed at The Mansions on Fifth in Pittsburgh. On Sunday, February 14, 2021 at 3:00 pm EST, the virtual recital will include the music of all-female composers: Clara Schumann, Pauline Viardot-García, Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, and Gina Enríquez. A live artist conversation will immediately follow the premiere.

A special highlight is the world premiere of the beautiful Romanza en sol menor by Mexican composer Gina Enríquez. The composition came about through a series of chance encounters and Maureen Conlon Gutiérrez being introduced to Enríquez via the power of social media. The outcome of their correspondence resulted in the Romanza en sol menor being composed for violin and piano. Enríquez was awarded the Mozart Medal in 2019 and is an active composer and orchestral conductor.

Three Romances from the second half of the 19th century round out the program. Amy Marcy Cheney Beach's Romance, Op. 23 came early in her compositional career and was the first piece she wrote for violin and piano. Notably, Beach was the first woman composer in the US to have a successful career writing art music. Clara Schumann's Three Romances for violin and piano (written in 1853) were among the last pieces she composed in her lifetime. The Times of London called them "Lush and poignant; they make one regret that Clara's career as a composer became subordinate to her husband's." The February 14th recital will feature the 2nd of the three Romances, Allegretto, which is in G minor and is wistful in character. Less well known is the work by French/Spanish mezzo-soprano, pedagogue, and composer Pauline Viardot-García. She began composing at a young age but never planned to be a composer, with most of her pieces written privately for her students. Franz Liszt said that in Pauline, "the world had finally found a woman composer of genius." Written in 1867, her Six Morceaux for violin and piano features archetypal examples of specific musical forms: Romance, Bohemienne, Berceuse, Mazurka, Vielle Chanson, and Tarantella.

The Virtual Resonance Chamber Series is the current iteration of Resonance Works' popular Resonance Chamber Series, presented in the digital space. Past on-demand performances from the series have featured flutist Lindsey Goodman, violinist Dawn Posey and pianist Jack Kurutz, the chamber ensemble What is Noise, and violinist Sandro Leal-Santiesteban. All of these performances are currently available on-demand at https://www.resonanceworks.org/vrcs-2021.

Tickets are $9 for each chamber series performance. Patrons are invited to add a donation to support the performing artists (all proceeds directly support each artist on the series). A ticket gives unlimited on-demand access to the performances through the end of the season. To purchase tickets, visit bit.ly/VRCSFeb14.

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