Masterpieces Reunited by HSO at Wadsworth

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra will present “Reunited Masterpieces,” the second concert of the 2009-2010 Sunday Serenades Chamber Music series, on Feb. 21 at 2 pm in Morgan Great Hall at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum, 600 Main St., Hartford.

This program is inspired by the Wadsworth’s latest exhibition, “Reunited Masterpieces: From Adam and Eve to George and Martha,” and will feature performances of works by Handel, Bach, and Eisler. Sunday Serenades Artistic Director and HSO Concertmaster (principal violinist) Leonid Sigal will join HSO violist Patricia Daly Vance and HSO cellist Peter Zay for this intimate chamber program.

The Wadsworth Athenuem’s “Reunited Masterpieces: From Adam and Eve to George and Martha” exhibition provides a rare opportunity to see several notable paintings in the collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum reunited with their original pendant or mate. Loans have been sent from museums in Europe, Canada, and America so that visitors in Hartford can have a brief period in which to view and appreciate the works the way the artists originally intended, as contrasting or complimentary pairs. In addition, several other reunited pairs already in the museum’s collection will be featured. The works range from the Renaissance era to the eighteenth century and include religious and mythological subjects, portraits, and genres.

Inspired by the theme of this exhibit, chamber players from the HSO will perform three Baroque standards in a new context. The first is a modern take on Bach's signature style by early 20th Century composer and anti-Nazi activist Hanns Eisler. Sigal and Zay will play George Frederic Handel’s "Passacaglia for keyboard" as arranged for violin and cello by the Romantic Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen. The second half of the program will feature one of the quintessential examples of the Baroque style – Bach’s Goldberg Variations – in a new, highly acclaimed arrangement for violin, viola, and cello by prominent conductor and violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky.

Ticket Prices: Single tickets to this performance are $30; $25 for Atheneum Members or HSO Subscribers. Ticket price includes general admission to the Wadsworth Atheneum on the days of the concerts.

Tickets are available in person Monday through Friday between 10 am and 5 pm at Hartford Symphony Orchestra Ticket Services, 99 Pratt St., Suite 50, Hartford, by calling (860) 244-2999, or online at http://www.hartfordsymphony.org/.