Arts Spotlight: Performing Arts Series

This weekend offers the gamut of classical indulgence, from the sublime brilliance of world-renowned pianist Dubravka Tomsic to the aural majesty of Middlebury’s own student orchestra to a comprehensive lecture by Professor Paul Nelson on the entire 95-year history of the Performing Arts Series.​

Come to the Mahaney Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. this Saturday to support your peers in the Middlebury College Orchestra. Then, on Sunday at 3 p.m., Tomsic will grace the MCA Concert Hall with the same “heroic power and Olympian vision” (LA Times) that has filled the globe’s most prodigious locales.

Our 28-person orchestra will be playing a number of pieces, but a potential highlight will be Beethoven’s 8th Symphony. Written in conjunction with his incredible 7th, Beethoven’s “little symphony” is more peculiar than its monolithic siblings but equally delightful.

A startling blend of classical simplicity and innate progressive power results in a witty composition handled masterfully by the student musicians in the orchestra. Keep an eye out for Annika Win, a German teaching assistant, who will be playing a clarinet solo described as “amazing” by her fellow musicians.

Following the orchestra’s performance on Saturday, the College has the privilege of hosting a musical legend, Dubravka Tomsic, Sunday afternoon. The celebrated Slovenian pianist enjoys “something of a cult status among pianophiles” (Gramophone). The only protégée of fabled pianist Artur Rubinstein, who considered her “a perfect and marvelous pianist,” Tomsic gave her first public recital at age five and later embarked on an international career that took her to all five continents, performing more than 4,000 concerts to date.

Despite her mythical stature in music circles, it was only in 1989, after a hiatus of almost 30 years, that Tomsic was reintroduced to American audiences with a triumphant gala performance at the Newport Music Festival. In the blink of an eye, Tomsic went from stunning the international circuit to absolute radio silence. Three decades later, she reemerged, and just as quickly resumed her dominance at the keys. Such is the nature of Tomsic performances. This particular concert program will include Haydn’s Sonata in E-flat Major, Beethoven’s “Waldstein” sonata, and four Chopin piano works.

When she isn’t serving as a juror for several major international piano competitions, Tomsic is working on CDs and teaching at the Ljubljana University Academy of Music as Full Professor.

Tomsic performs around the globe with the world’s most famous orchestras, including the Vienna Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, the Czech Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic, the Berlin Symphony, the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, the Moscow State Orchestra, the major orchestras of Australia and the symphonies of Boston, Atlanta, Detroit and San Francisco.

Prior to the concert, Performing Arts Series Director Paul Nelson will give a talk on the 95-year history of the series at 2 p.m. in the MCA. This is Nelson’s 30th and final season as series director, and this lecture is part of a suite of events celebrating his leadership. He will review notable moments of the series, discussing artists who have had a significant impact on Middlebury and the world.

In many instances, Nelson’s insight for talent has brought performers such as Yo-Yo Ma to campus before they became household names. Taken within the context of the weekend, sandwiched between an incredible student performance the night before and Tomsic that afternoon, his talk will provide a sense of continuity across time that links all the aspects of art culture at the College.

Come enjoy phenomenal performances from Middlebury’s best, as well as famed pianist Tomsic. Indulge in a weekend of timeless composition and mythical performance. The piano recital is the only ticketed event and will take place on Sunday, April 12, 2015, at 3 p.m., in the MCA Concert Hall. The pre-concert lecture will begin at 2 p.m. Tickets for the concert are $6 for students, $15 for faculty, staff, alumni and other ID card holders, $20 for general public. Check with your commons office for free tickets. Visit go/boxoffice or stop by the offices in McCullough or the MCA.