American Double to Perform From “The Bolcom Project” Recording

The violin-piano duo American Double will perform works by William Bolcom in conjunction with the national release of their CD, “The Bolcom Project,” Friday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at Montecito Covenant Church, 671 Cold Springs Road in Santa Barbara. A pre-concert talk at 6 p.m. features violinist Philip Ficsor and pianist Constantine Finehouse discussing and demonstrating examples from Bolcom’s works. The event, sponsored by Westmont, is free and open to the public. Space is limited and seating is on a first come, first served basis.

“The Bolcom Project” is the first recording of William Bolcom’s complete works for violin and piano, including four world-premiere recordings. Bolcom has called the recordings “great benchmarks for other performers, but also great performances on their own merits.” American Double worked closely with the Pulitzer-Prize winning composer while recording the nine works on the album, and he has praised the ensemble as “first-rate musicians in every way, balancing style and taste impeccably.” They will present three of his most popular works in this concert, including “Duo Fantasy,” “Fourth Sonata” and perennial favorite “Graceful Ghost.” They will also play Cesar Franck’s “Sonata in A” and the rarely performed “Sonatensatz” by Johannes Brahms. Their performance in Santa Barbara is part of a tour that includes appearances at Yale University, Steinway Hall in New York City and the Harvard Musical Association in Boston.

American Double was founded in 2001 with a vision to enrich their traditional repertoire with works by composers of American heritage. Ficsor, Westmont assistant professor of violin, wrote his doctoral dissertation on Bolcom’s violin works, while Finehouse, a concert pianist and private instructor in Boston, is recording the complete works for piano for Naxos.