Desert Baroque

Friday, February 15, 7 pm

Church of St. Paul in the Desert

125 W. El Alameda, Palm Springs, CA

​

"A Perfect Match - Music and Instruments"

Monica Jakuc Leverett and

Margaret Irwin-Brandon, fortepianos (based on Viennese models from c. 1800)

​

Works for solo fortepiano by Haydn, von Auenbrugger, CPE Bach, and Mozart's "Sonata in D " for two fortepianos

 

The second festival concert, "A Perfect Match," focuses entirely on the fortepiano and mid-18th-Century repertoire. The young piano, invented by Cristofori, around 1700 in Italy, quickly gained interest among European musicians, as it elbowed into the space occupied for centuries by the harpsichord. Strings struck by small leather-covered hammers replace the pluck of quills, on an instrument resembling the harpsichord in basic appearance and construction, but with its own distinct action, sound and touch. 

​

Performer, Monica Jakuc Leverett, is the Elsie Irwin Sweeney Professor Emerita of Music at Smith College, where she taught from 1969-2008, and is the featured artist in this season's programs. Monica is a frequent solo and chamber music performer in the New England area, and has concertized widely abroad. She is a frequent guest artist at The Frederick Historic Piano Collection in Ashburnham, Massachusetts; she frequently performs with Arcadia Players on her two Paul McNulty fortepianos: a 5½ octave Walter design (c.1803), and a 6½ octave copy of Graf's Op. 318 (c. 1819). Her most recent undertaking is to master the Toy Piano. (see Desert Baroque's Sunday, Feb. 17 concert info). 

​

Performing with Ms Jakuc Leverett, Margaret Irwin-Brandon, Desert Baroque's founder and director continues a career of performing and teaching all historic keyboard instruments, with wide-ranging concert endeavors.

 

Pre-concert talk at 6:15 pm

Randall Love, fortepianist (Duke University)

​

Tickets: $25 general; $35 reserved