Fort Collins Symphony’s “Winds of Change” Concerts

Fort Collins Symphony’s “Winds of Change” Concert Features the Music of a Rebel and a Maverick

The Fort Collins Symphony (FCS), under the baton of Maestro Wes Kenney, safely kicks off its Season 71 The Sounds of Change Signature Concert Series with The Winds of Change live performance at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 2, 2020 and at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2020 at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins.  Tickets for viewing the concert virtually from your own home are also available.

The Fort Collins Symphony has found a variety of options to help music thrive.  In addition to finding safe places from which to enjoy music in person, we are seizing the opportunity during our Season 71 Signature Concert Series to feature 17 composers who have made and are making instrumental changes to the symphonic landscape for over 250 years.

The Winds of Change – Signature Concert No 1

He was a rebel; she was a maverick.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), responding to both his early hearing loss and the surrounding political unrest of his times, changed the course of the Classical period in symphonic music.  He broadened its emotional range by creating new types of tonality, harmony and texture; adding unexpected accents and syncopation; and establishing what we now recognize as the modern orchestra.

            .  Symphony No 2 in D major, Op. 36 (1801)

            .  Violin Concerto in D major, Op.61  (1806)

            .  Guest Artist: Igor Pikayzen, violin

Louise Farrenc Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) was an extraordinary French composer and world-class concert pianist who railed against the societal constraints placed upon her simply because she was a woman. She was the only female professor appointed by the Paris Conservatory during the 19th century and an early champion of equal pay, which she won. By the way, are you familiar with NPR’s “All Things Considered” theme? Farrenc wrote it in 1840. You will find it embedded in her Piano Quintet No. 2 in E Major, Op. 31.

            .  Overture in Eb, Op. 24  (1834)

Violinist Igor Pikayzen, Guest Artist

Grandson of the legendary Soviet violinist Viktor Pikayzen, Igor was born in Moscow, Russia. After receiving his Bachelor’s Degree from Juilliard and a Master’s Degree and Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music, he was the recipient of the coveted Enhanced Chancellor Fellowship while working on his DMA at the CUNY Graduate Center where he was also on the faculty of Brooklyn Conservatory.  Pikayzen is the 1st prize winner of the 2015 Edition of the International Violin Competition Luis Sigall in Viña del Mar, Chile as well as the Wronski International Violin Competition in Warsaw. In addition, he won the silver medal at the Szeryng and Kloster-Schöntal international violin competitions. A native of Moscow, Mr. Pikayzen shares his time between New York, Denver, and Westport, CT, where he launched an annual summer music festival, Edelio.  In 2019 he was announced as the new Professor of Violin at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver.

Bio details at http://www.igorpikayzen.com/about.html

Tickets to the concerts are limited to no more than 175 per concert, seats are physically distanced, masks are required, and guests will be staggered for admittance to the concert hall.  Live and delayed streaming options are also available for home viewing.  To purchase tickets and view COVID-19 regulations, visit: LCTIX.com. Additional information at www.fcsymphony.org.