The program features the Art Song literature of four women composers from the Baroque era through the 20th Century. Dr. Zenobi and Butler University School of Music Master’s student Austin Sandoval begin the program by presenting songs of love and betrayal by Venetian composer Barbara Strozzi (1619-77). This set includes one of Strozzi’s best known works, the secular lament “Lagrime mie.” In the second set, Dr. Zenobi and pianist Li-Wen Weng share their interpretation of poems on themes of love and romance composed for a salon setting by French composer and virtuoso pianist Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944). Next, pianist Catherine Bringerud joins Dr. Zenobi to perform selections by the sister composers Nadia Boulanger(1887-1979) and Lili Boulanger (1893-1918). The program ends with recently rediscovered pieces by American pianist, educator and composer Margaret A. Bonds (1913-72). We are grateful to Dr. John Michael Cooper of Southwestern University for permission to perform his as-of-yet unpublished editions of Bonds’ Robert Frost poem settings. In between each set, Dr. Zenobi will present program notes in video form to provide translations of the poems, share biographical information about these composers, and focus listeners’ ears on important elements of musical style.
This event is exclusively virtual and will have no in-person availability to the public.