Preview
Shauna Rolston / Heather Schmidt Duo Recital
Saturday, January 31
Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall, Rozsa Centre
It’s not every day that you ge
t to witness a classical music collaboration of this magnitude. Pianist and composer Heather Schmidt and cellist Shauna Rolston come together for a duo recital of classical and contemporary cello and piano works that has been in the works since either of them could play.
Schmidt began piano lessons at age four, began composing at the age of five, and made her first public appearance at the age of six. Rolston was playing cello at two. At 16 she was performing her debut at Town Hall in New York City. Though both hail from Alberta (Schmidt from Calgary and Rolston from Banff) it wasn’t until 1998 that they finally crossed paths.
Their collaboration began when Schmidt was commissioned to write a cello concerto for Rolston to perform with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra. It premiered in June of 1998 and since then the two have kept in contact, promising to connect and collaborate again. They met again in 2001 at Winnipeg’s New Music Festival, but it was the governor general’s Northern Identity Tour, that took them to Russia, Finland and Iceland that sparked the beginnings of Schmidt’s Icicles of Fire.
This work for cello and piano will be premiered by the duo in their upcoming concert. A work of contrasts and extremes, Rolston thinks the piece is indicative of the talent inherent in much of Schmidt’s output. One of the most lauded musicians of our time, Rolston spares nothing when speaking of Schmidt.
"First of all, she’s a fantastic craftsman," says Rolston. "The way she writes for the instrument shows a sensational talent for exploiting an instrument’s capabilities in very creative, interesting and beautiful ways. There’s this element in the way she brings the music to life. She has this tremendous skill but there are things you just can’t explain: beauty of line, great drama, extremes and contrasts. There’s this wide range of possibilities in expression and interpretation. She really has all the elements and a very beautiful way of putting all together."
The two obviously think highly of each other. In fact, they admire and respect each other’s work to such a degree that Schmidt is convinced that audiences can feel it.
"It’s one of those things that’s not really tangible," admits Schmidt. "We have great chemistry, personally and musically and I think the audience can feel that. For me as a composer, Shauna is one of the best things to happen to my music, because she’s just such an amazing, passionate, deep, expressive and lyrical performer. She’s got all the qualities that I would need in a performer." |
Copyright ©2004 FFWD. All rights reserved.