April in Paris Lecture-Recital

At the Doctorow Center for the Arts

Hunter  – Catskill Mountain Foundation presents April in Paris at the Doctorow Center for the Arts on Saturday, April 13 at 2PM. Musicologist Dr. Jeffrey Langford and pianist Dr. Joanne Polk take a romantic conversation and musical stroll through Paris.  Enjoy performances of songs with the word “Paris” in the title, including “I Love Paris” by Cole Porter and “April in Paris” by Vernon Duke. These songs were transcribed for Dr. Polk by composer David Shenton, who will attend the concert and will be part of the Q&A after the concert. Other composers featured will include Claude Debussy and Cécile Chaminade.

Dr. Polk was catapulted into the public eye with her recordings of the complete piano works of American composer Amy Beach (1867-1944) on the Arabesque Recordings label. She celebrated the centennial of Beach’s Piano Concerto by giving the work its London premiere with the English Chamber Orchestra at the Barbican Center, under the baton of Paul Goodwin, and subsequently performed it with the Women’s Philharmonic in San Francisco, under conductor Apo Hsu, in a performance described as “brilliant” by critic Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Dr. Polk has been described as “…a splendid pianist, sensitive musically, supple in phrase, brilliant in technique.”

Dr. Langford is a retired faculty member, advisor, and associate dean of doctoral studies of Manhattan School of Music. He is the author of an annotated bibliography of research materials on Berlioz titled Hector Berlioz: A Guide to Research. In addition, Dr. Langford has appeared as a preconcert lecturer at the New York Metropolitan Opera, where he presented talks on both French opera and the works of Verdi. His book Evenings at the Opera is a collection of essays addressing the question of the relationship of music to drama in opera from Mozart to Britten.

Questions and interactions with Drs. Langford and Polk after the recital and conversation will be invited and welcome.

Enjoy an inspiring afternoon on Saturday, April 13, 2024 at 2:00 PM at the Doctorow Center for the Arts, 7971 Main Street, Hunter, NY. Tickets are available online at www.catskillmtn.org, by email at boxoffice@catskillmtn.org or by phone at 518 263 2063. For more information, please visit www.catskillmtn.org.