Pianist Hilda Huang (Photo: Maxwell Tiedemann)
Wednesday, November 6 — Pianist Hilda Huang at Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert
Pianist Hilda Huang has been recognized for her “alluring extroversion” (New York Concert Review) and “philosophical depths” (West-Allgemeine Zeitung) in her interpretations of the music of J.S. Bach and Beethoven. By the age of 18, she earned the singular distinction of being awarded the first and highest prizes at all of the world’s most significant Bach competitions. Huang has since appeared in recital at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and both the Leipzig and Montréal Bach Festivals as part of the Steinway Prizewinners’ Concert Network.
Music
Italian Concerto, BWV 971 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Sarabande from Partita in B-Flat Major, BWV 825 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Adagio in B minor, K. 540 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-Sharp Major, Op. 78 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Thursday, November 7 — Demarre and Anthony McGill with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra
Anthony McGill, the New York Philharmonic’s principal clarinetist, and brother Demarre McGill, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra’s principle flutist, return to a beloved training ground, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, for an album of works for flute, clarinet, and orchestra. It features world-premiere recordings of specially commissioned duo concertos. The album’s title track, celebrated African-American composer Michael Abel’s Winged Creatures, was commissioned for the project by Cedille Records. The orchestra originally commissioned Joel Puckett’s Concerto Duo for a 2012 concert with the McGill brothers. The album is rounded out with works by Danzi and Saint-Saëns.
Music
Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat major, Op. 41 by Franz Danzi
Friday, November 8— Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble
Drawn from two years of concerts and sessions celebrating the 500th anniversary of the publication of Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses, this festive album by the Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble follows the development of the hymn Ein’ feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) in the music of Heinrich Schütz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Otto Nicolai, Felix Mendelssohn, and James Curnow. Additional hymns of Martin Luther set by these great composers round out the album in solo organ and brass ensemble concert recordings with three magnificent organs in three great and resonant spaces.
Music
Ecclesiastical Festival Overture on Ein’ feste Burg by Otto Nicolai