Pianist Silvan Negrutiu to Perform at UW Oct. 31

The University of Wyoming Department of Music will host guest pianist Silvan Negruțiu for a free, public recital Friday, Oct. 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts recital hall.

Negruțiu is an internationally acclaimed Romanian pianist, scholar and educator. Praised for his "rich imagination and brilliant vigor" by The Musical News Journal, he has performed at stages that include Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center and is the laureate of numerous international competitions.

Negruțiu is the Michael and Karen Kitt Endowed Professor in Piano at Northern Arizona University, where he also directs the Kitt School of Music's piano studies. He is a frequent presenter at music conferences and an advocate for innovative music pedagogy and arts entrepreneurship, as well as the founder and artistic director of the Flagstaff Piano Festival.

The evening's program, titled "Kaleidoscope," is a dynamic blend of classical cornerstones, contemporary pieces and a selection of music by Romanian composers George Enescu and Constantin Silvestri.

The recital opens with Enescu's "Mélodie," the first of his "Pièces impromptues, Op. 18," an atmospheric piece that highlights Enescu's unique expressive style. Next is American composer Joan Tower's powerful "Sixth Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman," originally commissioned for solo piano. This will be followed by Mozart's iconic, and famously unfinished, "Fantasia in D Minor, K. 397," a piece noted for its free-form, improvisational character.

The second half of the recital will explore contrasting textures and moods. The contemporary work "Black Earth," by Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say, evocatively imitates the sound of the Saz, a Turkish folk instrument, by muting the piano strings. Following is Ludwig van Beethoven's dramatic technical tour de force, "32 Variations in C Minor, WoO 80."

Two more works by Enescu follow, "Carillon nocturne, Op. 18," which vividly evokes bell chimes, and the serene "Sarabande, Op. 10," which reinterprets a traditional dance with lush harmonies and a folk-inspired style.

The recital concludes with Silvestri's spirited "Third Piano Suite, Op. 6, No. 1," a technically demanding Expressionist work from 1933 characterized by improvisatory melody, rhythmic audacity and diverse harmony.