Pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico's fingers will be making their way nimbly through selections from Rivers by Ann Southam, one of Canada's foremost composers. An internationally acclaimed pianist and recording artist as well as a York music professor, Petrowska Quilico will perform in McLaughlin Performance Hall today, from 12:30 to 1:30pm, as part of the University’s ongoing Music at Midday Series, presented by the Department of Music, Faculty of Fine Arts.
Right: Christina Petrowska Quilico
"Virtuosic in the tradition of Chopin and Liszt, Rivers is a large collection of related pieces for solo piano which provide the listener with an aural waterfall, effectively calming and exhilarating at the same time," explained Petrowska Quilico. "There are 19 Rivers in all – nine of them fast, two at a medium tempo and eight at a slow cadence."
The entire Rivers suite, with Petrowska Quilico as piano soloist, is scheduled for release in early 2005 on Centrediscs, the record label of the Canadian Music Centre, devoted to Canada's "living" concert repertoire. Produced by the CBC's David Jaeger, this new CD is part of the "Great Composer Portraits" series. Today’s recital by Petrowska Quilico will provide audience members with an exciting, live taste of this forthcoming recording.
Petrowska Quilico has been hailed as one of Canada's pre-eminent interpreters of the music of our time. Renowned for her seamless technique and interpretive clarity, she has been described by critics as "an astonishing pianist" (Toronto Star), and "dynamic…dramatic" (Los Angeles Times). She studied musicology at the Sorbonne in Paris and composition with Gyorgy Ligeti and Karlheinz Stockhausen in Germany, and has devoted her career to bridging the gulf between traditional and contemporary classical keyboard music.
For more information about Christina Petrowska Quilico, click here.