Schubert and Prokofiev Cello-Piano Recital

You are invited to attend a concert by cellist Agustin Moreno and pianist Matteo Parisi, each of whom is both a classically-trained musician and a professional mathematician. The concert will include works by Franz Schubert and Sergei Prokofiev and will span approximately one hour, including a fifteen-minute intermission.

About the Performers

Agustin Moreno hails from Uruguay and is a Professor of Mathematics at Heidelberg Universität in Germany, a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and a fellow Salmagundian. Classically trained, he has played the cello from a young age and has performed chamber music regularly across Europe, South America, and North America whenever he was not thinking about the chaotic motion of the planets or spaces which live in dimensions greater than 4.

Matteo Parisi is an Italian physicist, mathematician, and classical pianist. He is a Fellow at Harvard, a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, and a Lecturer at Princeton University. At the intersection of high-energy physics and combinatorics, he researches novel geometries that underlie quantum interactions of elementary particles. He has been part of various music ensembles, from orchestras, and chamber duos, to groups focused on southern Italian music and duets performing four-hand piano improvisations at Oxford.

Repertoire

1. Arpeggione Sonata, in A minor, D.821, Franz Schubert, 1824 (20 min)

Most likely commissioned by Schubert’s friend Vincenz Schuster, a virtuoso of the arpeggione, an instrument invented only the previous year. By the time the sonata was published posthumously in 1871, the enthusiasm for the novelty of the arpeggione had long since vanished, together with the instrument itself. Today, the piece is heard almost exclusively in transcriptions for cello–piano or viola-piano, arranged after the posthumous publication, although versions that substitute both instruments are also performed. Transcribers have attempted to address the problems posed by the smaller playing range of these alternative instruments compared to the arpeggione (4 versus 6 strings). Unfortunately, this results in a demanding piece for the performer, who is forced to compensate by playing in a higher range than usual.

2. Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119, Sergei Prokofiev, 1949 (25 min)

The year before this work was composed, Prokofiev was accused of formalism by the Zhdanov Decree, and much of his music was banned. However, he continued writing music, unsure if his new works would ever be performed publicly. In 1949, Prokofiev attended a concert by the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Prokofiev was so impressed by Rostropovich’s performance that he was determined to write a cello sonata for him. The Cello Sonata was published in Moscow in 1951 and premiered on 1 March 1950 in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, performed by Rostropovich and pianist Sviatoslav Richter.

Host or Publisher Salmagundi