Bach Inspires Pianist Matthew Hagle Will Explore 'Ripples in Time and Music' at Nichols Concert Hall

Music Institute of Chicago piano faculty and respected Chicago artist Matthew Hagle returns to Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue in downtown Evanston, with “Ripples in Time and Music” on Saturday, November 4 at 7:30 p.m.
 
Hagle presents a musical essay exploring the way one piece of music can reverberate through multiple times and cultures. Bach’s C Major Prelude (featured in the 2023 film Tar) acts as a point of departure for a journey that spans some of the most beloved masterpieces of the piano repertoire, including works by Adams, Debussy, Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, Ravel, Bartok, and Schumann.

Hagle said, “In my work as a teacher and performer of music from the distant and recent past, I am constantly moving back and forth through different time periods, trying to keep the past relevant and meaningful in new ways for my students and listeners. I wanted to create a program that would allow listeners to have this experience by letting them follow a musical idea as it diffused through the minds of the great composers of the past and present.”
 
Hagle is a Music Institute alumnus and longtime faculty member, teaching piano, composition, and music theory. He has appeared in concert throughout the United States, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., Symphony Space in New York, in concert at the United States Supreme Court, and at Nichols Concert Hall—last season in a solo concert and two seasons ago with Chicago Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Robert Chen. Outside the U.S., he has performed in England, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Japan. He has collaborated with violinist Rachel Barton Pine on three acclaimed CDs on the Cedille label, and chamber music partners have included the Parker Quartet, the Avalon Quartet, Quintet Attacca, and members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Hagle appears often on radio station WFMT in Chicago and has also been heard on NPR’s Performance Today and Minnesota Public Radio’s St. Paul Sunday Morning programs. He grew up in the Chicago suburb of Northfield and currently lives in Morton Grove.

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