TORONTO, July 16, 2009 -- York University’s Department of Music is hosting an international conference and two public concerts in August in commemoration of the bicentenary of the death of the composer Joseph Haydn. Celebrating Hayden – His times and Legacy will take place August 6-9 at York’s Keele campus. Highlights include a performance by the Penderecki String Quartet on August 6 and a fortepiano recital by Malcolm Bilson on August 7 in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall. Both concerts take place at 8pm and tickets are available to the general public.
With a prodigious output in all of the main genres of classical music of his era, Haydn was the focus of keen interest throughout his life, and serious scholarship continues to the present day. While there is already a wealth of extant research, the Haydn anniversary offers fresh impetus for consideration of his music and its reception. The conference at York will bring together internationally renowned Haydn scholars as well as emerging scholars to share their research, which ranges from musicology, performance practice and theatre to art history, drama and literature.
Plenary speakers include James Webster, Goldwin Smith Professor of Music, Cornell University; Julian Rushton, Professor Emeritus, University of Leeds; Elaine Sisman, Anne Parsons Bender Professor of Music, Columbia University; and dramaturg, choreographer and stage director Sigrid T’Hooft (International Opera Foundation Eszterháza, Belgium).
The conference also includes two lecture-performances. Bilson will address the question: Are We Reading Notation of the 18th and 19th Centuries Correctly? and British composer Geoffrey Palmer will introduce his new string quartet, a work inspired by Haydn. The Toronto-based Windermere Quartet will perform Palmer’s piece, which he composed especially for this occasion.
The evening concerts by the Penderecki String Quartet and Malcolm Bilson offer the public the opportunity to join in the celebration of Haydn’s legacy.
Founded in Poland in 1986, the Penderecki String Quartet has become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of its generation. Hailed by Fanfare Magazine as "an ensemble of formidable power and keen musical sensitivity”, the quartet has graced the major concert stages of four continents and has more than 20 recordings in its critically-acclaimed discography. The Penderecki String Quartet’s concert will feature three Haydn String Quartets: Op. 74, No.1 in C Major; Op. 76, No.5 in D Major; and Op.77, No.2 in F Major.
American pianist and musicologist Malcolm Bilson (Cornell University, Eastman School of Music) is one of the world’s foremost authorities on historical performance practice on period pianos and the music of the Haydn’s time. Through his performances and recordings, he has played a key role in restoring the fortepiano to the concert stage and providing fresh interpretations of European classical repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries. He will perform his York recital on a copy of a 1799 Longman and Clementi fortepiano. The program will include works by Dussek, Cramer, Mozart and three Haydn Sonatas: Sonata in C, Hob. 50; Sonata in D, Hob. 51; and Sonata in Eb, Hob. 52.
More information and a detailed schedule of all the presentations is available on the conference website.
Celebrating Haydn: His Times and Legacy is one of the special events being held this year in celebration of York University's 50th anniversary. Organized jointly by York music Professor Dorothy de Val and Professor Patricia Debly of the Department of Music, Brock University, the conference is co-sponsored by The Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies, University of Alberta and supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
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Celebrating Haydn - His Times and Legacy
When: Conference dates August 6-9, 2009
Where: Accolade East Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street.
Registration & Information: www.brocku.ca/haydnconferenceyork
Public Concerts:
Penderecki String Quartet
When: Thurs. August 6, 8pm
Where: Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street. [Map]
Admission: $20, students & seniors $15.
Box Office and Information: 416-736-5888 | www.yorku.ca/perform/boxoffice
Malcolm Bilson, fortepiano
When: Fri. August 7, 8pm
Where: Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street. [Map]
Admission: $20, students & seniors $15.
Box Office and Information: 416-736-5888 | www.yorku.ca/perform/boxoffice
Media contact:
Amy Stewart, Communications, Faculty of Fine Arts, York U | 416.650.8469 | amy.stewart@yorku.ca
