Barrymore Scherer to Talk Verdi's Music for 'Faith & Culture' Series, 11/15

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church presents "Faith & Culture," a ministry to inaugurate its first major programming endeavor this fall: a music-based lecture series titled Tastemakers & Pioneers curated by Marina Harrison. Serving to introduce the community to many creative disciplines of the humanities, "Faith & Culture" focuses on music, literature, history, film and theatre, and fine art. Several prominent individuals in the music community, considered innovators and highly-regarded experts, have committed to be a part of this season. All lectures will take place at 7pm and attendees are invited to special Meet-and-Greet Receptions with the artists afterwards

Next up is Wall Street Journal critic and pianist Barrymore Scherer speaking on Strength in Numbers: Tracing Verdi's Musical Development Through His Ensembles on Friday, November 15th at 7.

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, established in 1892, is one of the oldest Greek Orthodox Churches of the United States. They are proud of Annunciation's legacy of caring for their neighbor. "Faith & Culture" is one of many ways they achieve this.

Upcoming:

Dec. 6 Michael Harrison Everything in Good Measure: Ancient Greek Principles of Tuning and

Their Relevance to Music

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
302 West 91st Street, New York, New York 10024
212.724.2070 ANNUNCIATION-NYC.ORG FaithCulture@Annunciation-NYC.org
Subway: 1/2/3 to 96th Street; 1 to 86th Street
Admission: $20 and includes complimentary Greek food and wine at the post-talk reception
courtesy of Yefsi Estiatorio and Gotham Wine and Liquors.
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/450957

Barrymore Scherer

Friday, November 15, 7pm

Strength in Numbers: Tracing Verdi's Musical Development Through His Ensembles

Barrymore Laurence Scherer is a music and fine-art critic for The Wall Street Journal and a contributing editor of the magazines Antiques, and Art & Auction where he specializes in 19th century art & decorative art. He is author of the critically acclaimed book Bravo! A Guide to Opera for the Perplexed (Dutton-Plume), The History of American Classical Music (Naxos/Sourcebooks, 2007), and contributor to the book Giacomo Meyerbeer: A Reader (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008). Named a Speaker for the Humanities by the New York Council for the Humanities, he has taught on "Oscar Wilde and the Belle Epoque" at Sarah Lawrence College, and he has lectured extensively on opera, classical music, and the Victorian age for Lincoln Center Great Performers, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic as well as at venues around the country. On radio, he has been a regular commentator for NPR's "Performance Today," and on the nationally syndicated program, "First Hearing."

Lecture Summary:

Giussepe Verdi was not only Italy's supreme melodist, he was also its greatest musical dramatist. Though Verdi's arias are probably his most familiar excerpts, it is in the ensembles - trio, quartet, even a septet -where Verdi's inventive strength as a composer soars. The interweaving of multiple voices allowed him not just to create beautiful scenes of great musical power, but frequently of psychological insight. We will trace his development as a composer by examining some of Verdi's finest ensembles, from early works like Nabucco and I Lombardi through the great middle period of Rigoletto and on to the blazing genius of Falstaff. Throughout, we'll enjoy a flood of unforgettable melody, musical majesty and sometimes fatal romance.

Photo Credit: Michelle Jacobs