This recital and March 5 master class have been canceled.
Guest artist Donald Berman, President of the Charles Ives Society
Called "invaluable" by The New Yorker, "Essential" by The Boston Globe, and "Thorough, exciting, and persuasive by The New York Times, Donald Berman presents an all-Ives recital to commemorate the 150th anniversary of that composer's birth. The concert features Berman's singular versions of The "Concord" Sonata, "St. Gaudens (Black March)" and other works based on his three-volume critical edition "The Complete Shorter Works of Charles E. Ives," including studies, marches and character pieces.
A multidimensional pianist, pedagogue and scholar, Donald Berman has won tremendous acclaim for his "stupendous abilities, both athletic and intellectual" (Boston Sunday Globe) and "deliciously witty" (New York Times) performance style.
With an emphasis on presenting American music of the 20th and 21st centuries, Berman's recital programs have astounded audiences at the United States' biggest venues for contemporary music, from Carnegie's Weill and Zankel Halls to National Sawdust and (Le) Poisson Rouge. An enthusiastic commissioner of new music, he has added more than 200 works to the contemporary canon — many of which he performs alongside classical repertoires to provoke new and fascinating revelations and connections across periods and styles.
Berman's body of work as a recording artist demonstrates the breadth and depth of his engagement with the music of our time. His albums have included numerous world-premiere recordings as well as illuminating performances of previously unknown works of 20th-century American composers, including Charles Ives (The Unknown Ives, Vols. I & II), Carl Ruggles (The Uncovered Ruggles), Samuel Barber, Elliott Carter, and Roger Sessions (Americans in Rome). As concerto soloist and chamber musician, Berman's discography includes collaborations with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (George Perle: Serenades), soprano Susan Narucki (This Island and the Grammy-nominated The Edge of Silence), and the Borromeo Quartet (The Worlds Revolve). Upcoming albums include a survey of Elena Ruehr songs with baritone Stephen Salters and a new recording of Ives' Concord Sonata, to be released during the composer's sesquicentennial celebrations in 2024.
A former fellow of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Berman currently serves as chair of keyboard studies at Longy School of Music of Bard College, and leads Tufts University's New Music Ensemble. He is also the general editor of three volumes of Ives' Shorter Works for Piano — a titanic project representing 30 years of work — and president and treasurer of the Charles Ives Society, for which he is leading an extensive expansion of the Society's digital archives on charlesives.org.
Berman's trajectory as a musician and scholar was set in motion by four important teachers: Mildred Victor, George Barth, John Kirkpatrick (who premiered Ives's Concord Sonata in 1939), and legendary pedagogue Leonard Shure.
All events are subject to change.
GETTING HERE
Park in the Arps Garage (open to visitors M–F after 4 p.m. and on weekends) just north of the Timashev Music building.
The Timashev Recital Hall is located on the ground floor, at the far north end of the building.