Livewire 4: Rahilia Hasanova, Profile Concert
A concert featuring the music of Azerbajiani composer, Rahilia Hasanova, whose work is filled "with originality and freshness of intonation," performed by pianists Ruth Rose and Francesca Hurst.
Rahilia Hasanova is an Azerbaijani composer of mostly orchestral and chamber works. Her music has been performed internationally, including performances in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, , Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. In her compositions Hasanova creates a synthesis of Azerbaijanian and European music by using modern composition techniques. The figurative side of her compositions is related to Eastern philosophy and ethics, and the interaction between macro and micro spaces. She describes her compositions as construction of intonations like “a tree grows from a seed”. The characteristic feature of her creations is the dramatic culminations of both register and dynamics, which are expressed by modal-meditative development.
Ruth Rose is a pianist whose repertoire ranges from the Baroque and Romantic to the contemporary. Her playing has been praised by the international press for her "truly memorable performance", "blooming romanticism ... a deep, warm sound ... rich interpretations ... and a smooth singing quality." She has performed extensively in recital, with orchestra and as a chamber musician throughout Europe, the United States and South America, appearing at prestigious venues like Merkin Hall, American University, the San Diego Repertory Theater and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and soloed with such ensembles as the Chamber Orchestra of Florida and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of Peru. Ms Rose is also a committed performer of contemporary music, and many composers have dedicated pieces to her. She is a founding member of the renowned "Concerten tot en met" contemporary series in Amsterdam, and has performed with the Contemporary Music Forum at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC.
A Washington native, Francesca Hurst frequently performs in and around town. Recent appearances include the Kennedy Center, the Italian Embassy, and the Jordan Kitts Community Concert Series in Fairfax, VA. For the 2013-2014 season she has been invited to perform several concerts with the Great Noise Ensemble, a contemporary classical music group based in Washington, DC. She also performs with the Washington Piano Society several times a year offering free concerts to the community. She received the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from The Catholic University of America and also has a degree in Italian from Tulane University. Her teachers have included Dr. Ivo Kaltchev, Faina Lushtak and Maryen Herrett. Dr. Hurst is on the music faculty at Trinity Washington University and an adjunct professor at Catholic University, both in Washington, DC. She maintains a thriving private piano studio, and is often invited to adjudicate various competitions.
$7 general admission, $3 seniors, free for students, free with a UMBC ID. To order tickets in advance, order online through MissionTix.