Join Astral for a concert of new music native to Philadelphia, as works of three composers are given their first outing here by Astral and guest artists—nearly all of whom are graduates of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Astral pianist Andrius Zlabys reunites friends and former classmates—violinists Pavel Ilyashov and Yayra Matyakubova, violist Anton Jivaev, and cellist Wendy Warner—to present the new works of their Philadelphia colleagues. Featured are two Astral-commissioned world premières: one by Luis Prado, whose Movement for Oboe Quintet (premièred by Astral in 2003) was praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for its "unexpected harmonic progressions, each one touching off a distinct emotional response," and the second, the first Piano Quartet of prize-winning young composer Yevgeniy Sharlat, a Charles Ives fellow of the Academy of Arts and Letters. Sharlat’s work is followed by the Philadelphia première of Dmitri Levkovich’s Piano Trio. With a final return toward traditional classical repertoire, Zlabys closes with a rarity: Mahler’s unfinished Piano Quartet in a minor.


PROGRAM:

Piano Quartet (unfinished) Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Movement I

Piano Trio (Philadelphia première) Dmitri Levkovich (b. 1979)
Andante
Scherzo: Fugue – Trio
Romance
Finale: Largo – Presto

Piano Quartet (Astral-commissioned world première) Yevgeniy Sharlat (b. 1977)
Toccata
Morceau (violin & piano)
Intermezzo
Morceau (viola & piano)
Tarantella
Cadenza
Chorale Fantasy

Piano Quintet (Astral-commissioned world première) Luis Prado (b. 1968)


Tickets are available by phone, 215-735-6999 until Friday March 28; online at www.astralartisticservices.org, and at the door the day of the performance.