New Lens Concert Series feat. the Finisterra Piano Trio April 20, 2012

Friday, April 20th, 8pm to 10pm

We believe that the 20th century witnessed a rift between classical composers and audiences that has still not been fully repaired. While the complete closure of this divide is an ultimate dream, our immediate and obtainable goal is to show today's audiences that there are contemporary composers whose aims and aesthetics align with that lost era. We do this through careful programming of pieces by living and/or obscure composers and selected masterworks by those firmly established in the pantheon.

Though the variety of venues for classical music has been steadily growing over the past few decades, the way the music is presented has remained virtually unchanged for centuries. Our concert series radically alters this by performing two sections of continuous music with only the slightest pause between pieces. Larger pieces are connected by shorter compositions for subsets of the featured ensemble. The result is a pair of seamless wholes that contextually reframes each piece within them.

To the dismay of "new music" musicians, many classical music consumers prefer to attend concerts featuring proven rather than emerging composers. These concertgoers assume that contemporary music has little in common with their beloved repertoire. But what if these listeners struggled to distinguish lesser-known works of the great composers from those of today's composers? What if they weren't informed of the program prior to the performance? We conceal our programs from the audience until after each half has concluded, thus eluding many preconceived notions that the listeners may have based simply upon the composers' names and dates. The audience may then be more receptive to new music, and if they find themselves enjoying it we hope that they will seek out the music of living composers in the future.

This inaugural series will center around Beethoven's "Ghost" Trio.

For information about the Finisterra Piano Trio, please visit www.finisterra.org.

Official Website: http://www.oldfirstconcerts.org/performances/