Canadian Violin-Piano Duo to Play Works by Elgar, Sibelius and Karol Szymanowski at Opera House

Benjamin Bowman, concertmaster for American Ballet Theatre, and pianist Peter Longworth (photo by Tara McMullen)

Benjamin Bowman, concertmaster for American Ballet Theatre, and pianist Peter Longworth (photo by Tara McMullen)

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – American-Canadian violinist Benjamin Bowman and Toronto-based pianist Peter Longworth will offer a program featuring Karol Szymanowski’s “Mythes: Three Poems for Violin and Piano,” Edward Elgar’s Violin Sonata, and Jean Sibelius’s Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, at the Hudson Opera House as part of Classics on Hudson’s second season on Saturday, November 21, at 7pm. All three works on the program were written during the First World War, and the second half of the program features Elgar’s Violin Sonata composed in 1918 as the war drew to a close.

Tickets are $25 ($22 for members). For tickets call (518) 822-1438 or visit Hudson Opera House.

The pairing of Bowman and Longworth could not be more suited to Szymanowski’s Mythes. Composed in 1915, the “Three Poems” are an evocative trio of works that demand both players to interact seamlessly and perform with an intuitive telepathy. They are followed by Sibelius’s colorful Four Pieces, drawing from folk-influenced harmonies and romantic musicality.

Pianist Peter Longworth performs as a concert pianist in cities around the world, and is equally comfortable as soloist and chamber musician. He is a founding member of the Duke Piano Trio (with violinist Mark Fewer and cellist Thomas Wiebe), which has performed throughout the United States and Canada, and an active recording artist. He was the winner of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, and World Youth Symphony competitions, a prize winner in the Young Keyboard Artist Competition, and a finalist in the Busoni International Piano Competition. Since 1991, Peter has been on faculty at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. He studied with Marek Jablonski, Marc Durand, and Leon Fleisher. He has also studied at Northwestern University with Arthur Tollefson, and at the University of Michigan with Louis Nagel and Eckhart Sellheim.

American-Canadian violinist Benjamin Bowman performs to critical acclaim throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Benjamin is very active and engaged as a chamber musician and soloist, performing with leading chamber music ensembles internationally, including the twice Grammy-nominated ARC Ensemble. Benjamin was featured on the 2013 Juno-winning album ‘Levant’ and the 2011 Juno-nominated disc ‘Armenian Chamber Music’ with the Amici Chamber Ensemble. Other collaborative work includes extensive immersion in contemporary/new music, improvisation, and performance with singer/songwriters. Benjamin serves as the concertmaster of the American Ballet Theatre orchestra.

Classics on Hudson seeks to enrich the cultural life of the greater Hudson community by presenting concerts that span the classics to the contemporary, performed by internationally celebrated artists.

The Hudson Opera House offers a year-round schedule of arts and cultural programming in the former Hudson City Hall, which houses New York State’s oldest surviving theater. Ongoing programs include concerts, readings, lectures, exhibitions, theater and dance presentations, after-school programs, workshops, classes, and community arts events like the annual Winter Walk on Warren Street.

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