A night for Tchaikovsky lovers

By Dra Lourdes Quijada

Few among us have not warmed to the opening bars of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor,  and the opportunity  to hear it live, is coming soon to Panama

Not only will there be a world famed pianist to  bring you into the heart of the performance but your attendanc will  give a helping hand to talented young Panamanians. And to add  even more to the event, concert goers will be provided with free wine.

Canadian pianist Alexander Panizza, who electrified his audience in May with a Liszt and Chopin recital at the Huaca Theater in Atlapa,  will be returning to the city July 27 to  perform the concerto as part of a Tchaikovsky night withthe Panama National Orchestra, under the direction of Jorge Ledezma Bradley. The other performance will be Symphony  Number 4.

Blind beggar musicians performing in a market In the Ukraine seem a far cry from one of the most popular pieces of music in the repertoire of pianists and orchestras, but it was a melody  they played that gave the great Russian composer the inspiration for the brief but well-known  and loved sequence that begins the piano concerto's first movement but which curiously does not repeat elsewhere in the work.

Equally curious was that  Tchaikovsky’s  pianist of choice, Nikoli Rubinstein was initially heavily critical of the work  although he later recanted  and became an ardent promoter of the composition, which has been regularly performed around the world since its first performance in  Boston in 1875.The Concertowas composed between November 1874 and February 1875. revised in the summer of 1879 and again in December 1888.

The celebration of Tchaikovsky dedicates Argentine-Canadian pianist Panamanian public will step up efforts to education and culture of Panama, to benefit children's programs and projects done by both France and Panama Union and the Danilo Perez Foundation.
The Union's cultural director and producer of this event, Frank Castagnet, said: "After the resounding success of the initiative last May by France Panama, under the auspices of the French Embassy and INAAC we redoubled our commitment to combine musical events and educational activities in order to make cultural and social contributions to Panama. "
Before the concert Panizza and the symphony orchestra musicians will present their repertoire in a special session with children and youths of the Danilo Perez Foundation,and of Union France-Panama and representatives of social and educational projects  developed by TVN.

The concert proceeds will fund teacher training activity taking place at the USMA (Universidad Santa Maria La Antigua) particularly aimed at music and arts teachers but also open to those interested in the relationship between sound and visual  art.

After the interest generated by the first conference / workshop offered in May by  Dr. Cynthia Cristiá,  she will  continue the program on Monday July 25 with a workshop entitled: "Connections between music and painting II: activities for the classroom."

Dr. Cristian trained at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and currently works at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Santa Fe, Argentina) in the field of musicology, dedicated to investigating the relationship of music and arts for over a decade. She is the author of Xul Solar. a visual musician. (Buenos Aires, Gourmet Musical Ediciones).