Anthony de Mare

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.) – Anthony de Mare brings his “Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim for the Piano” program to Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall on the Williams College campus on Friday, April 10, 2015, at 8pm. “Liaisons” is based on the songs of legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim, a Williams graduate from the Class of 1950. The project has brought together 36 of the world’s foremost contemporary composers to “re-imagine” one of Sondheim’s songs as a solo piano piece. Among the pieces featured are “Finishing the Hat – Two Pianos” by Steve Reich, based on Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George,” and “That Old Piano Roll” by Wynton Marsalis, based on “Follies.” In all, de Mare will present a dozen works from Sondheim’s repertoire.
“Liaisons” spans the worlds of classical, jazz, opera, pop, musical theater and film. The project brings Sondheim’s music out of the theater and into the concert hall, revealing his influence across various genres and generations and making a strong case for Sondheim as one of the 20th century’s greatest composers.

Praised by The New York Times for his “muscularly virtuosic, remarkably uninhibited performance [and] impressive talents,” Anthony de Mare is recognized as one of the world’s most versatile pianists, a foremost champion of contemporary music, and a pioneer in the speaking-singing pianist genre. He is a member of the music faculty at Manhattan School of Music and New York University.

This free event is open to the public. In addition, de Mare presides over a master class featuring talented student pianists on Thursday, April 9 at 4:15 p.m. in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall.

concert hotline: 413-597-3146