Michael Houstoun – “The Masterpiece Concert”

How fortunate we have been over many years to welcome Michael Houstoun to our stage.  So many wonderful concerts and now he brings one that holds special meaning for him.   He writes: 

“The Masterpiece Concert – Music to Defy Time”  

“What is hidden in this music that generation after generation can find joy and meaning in it?  How is it that something so ethereal has the strength to survive unreduced by the battering of time?  Let me offer what I have found in my lifetime search to answer such questions” – Michael Houstoun.”

The concert opens with Bach’s longest, most complex keyboard suite, its substantial opening overture followed by a delightful array of dances. Beethoven’s captivating Opus 109 Sonata follows.  Its first two unusually brief movements are followed by a theme and variations of unparalleled beauty.  

Gaspard de la Nuit by Ravel consists of three descriptive pieces – Ondine (a water sprite), Le Gibet (The Gallows) and Scarbo (a malicious dwarf) – making up one of the most challenging works of the piano repertoire.   Finally, the Chaconne from Bach’s D minor Violin Partita (a monumental set of variations) is transformed by master transcriber Ferruccio Busoni into an impressive virtuoso piano piece.