Dr. Andrew Parr, professor of piano at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present an all-Brahms program when he performs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
Joining him on the program will be his wife and guest pianist, Linda Parr. The major work to be performed is Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83. Linda, who is a piano instructor in the SFA Music Preparatory Division, will perform the orchestra portion of the work.
“The Brahms 2nd piano concerto is a monumental four-movement work of 50 minutes duration,” Andrew Parr said. “I have wanted to play this piece ever since I was in college, but never had the opportunity or the time to devote to learning it. I finally realized that I might never play it if I were to wait for an invitation from an orchestra to program it with me.
“Since Brahms was known to arrange some of his major works, such as the famous Quintet in F Minor for Piano and Strings, for the two-piano medium, I thought this approach could also work for the concerto,” Parr added. “While the unique French horn opening to the first movement or the beautiful cello solo that begins the slow movement cannot really be matched on a second piano, most of the work balances and sounds surprisingly effective in the two-piano format.”
The recital is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music and is a feature of the Cole Performing Arts Series.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.
