D. Thomas Toner and Nicola Cannizzaro (percussion) and David Feurzeig, Paul Orgel, and Sylvia Parker (piano) are the featured musicians performing on the Lane Series season opener on Saturday, September 24, 7:30pm, at the UVM Recital Hall.

The concert is titled “An Evening of Mozart, Bartók, and Crumb” and is the brainchild of UVM Department of Music and Dance Chair Tom Toner, faculty member Sylvia Parker, and Lane Director Natalie Neuert. Professor Parker, a Bartók specialist (she first grew attached to him after discovering the composer had spent a summer idyll at a property next door to her home in Riverton, VT), teaches a seminar every other fall titled Bela Bartók: Music and Man, and she wanted to be able to present one of his larger works on the Recital Hall stage as a component to her course.

The repertoire of choice is his Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, which was revolutionary in terms of its unique instrumentation. At the time of its premiere in 1938, the sonata was hailed as his most powerful and valuable work yet. Paired on the Lane concert with this significant work is George Crumb’s Makrokosmos III (Music for a Summer Evening), which was written specifically as a companion piece and homage to the Bartók sonata. Mozart’s Andante and Variations in G, KV 501 for piano four-hands will round out the program. “An Evening of Mozart, Bartók, and Crumb” is sponsored by the Lane Series Piano Consortium.

Following the opening performance, the Lane Series will present ten more concerts during the fall semester.  Some highlights include:

  • Guy Mendilow Ensemble

“Tales from the Forgotten Kingdom”

Saturday, October 15, 7:30pm

UVM Recital Hall

“Tales from the Forgotten Kingdom” traces the history of the Sephardic Ladino-speaking people, who were expelled from their homes in Spain and Portugal in the 15th century. The award-winning Guy Mendilow Ensemble performs traditional Jewish Sephardi songs and legends, sung in the endangered Judeo-Spanish language, Ladino.

  • Pacifica Quartet

Friday, October 21, 7:30pm

Pre-concert talk at 6:30pm

UVM Recital Hall

Much loved by the Lane Series audience and recognized for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and daring repertory choices, the Pacifica Quartet has gained international stature as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. The program includes string quartets by Haydn, Beethoven, and Shostakovich.

  • Las Cafeteras

Friday, October 28, 7:30pm

Pre-concert talk at 6:30pm

UVM Recital Hall

Young, energetic, traditional, political, and cutting edge, this East LA band’s sounds derive from Veracruz, Mexico, and the rhythms of the infectious musical form Son Jarocho. Their songs incorporate poetry in English and Spanglish with inspiring lyrics that tell stories of love and the fight for justice and equity in a harsh environment.

  • The Rose Ensemble

Friday, December 2, 7:30pm

UVM Recital Hall

One of our favorite early music groups, The Rose Ensemble brings us a new holiday concert, A Rose in Winter: A Garden of Medieval and Renaissance Music for the Nativity. This program explores the miracle of new life amid the cold of winter through beautiful music honoring the Madonna and Child, including works by William Byrd and Jean Mouton, medieval English ballads, Spanish cantigas, and the beloved German carol, Es ist ein Rose entsprungen.

The UVM Lane Series offers a 20% discount on tickets to individual performances for UVM staff and faculty. To take advantage of the discount, please call the Lane Series office (802-656-4455) or stop by the office at 392 South Prospect Street in Southwick Hall. Student ticket prices to all UVM Recital Hall shows are $5 or $10. For more information on the 2016/2017 season, visit the Lane Series website, www.uvm.edu/laneseries.