ROOSEVELT — The music of Ludwig van Beethoven, his teachers and his students will fill Borough Hall Feb. 12.
Roosevelt’s Alan Mallach has partnered with the Roosevelt Arts Project to present a solo piano recital with commentary titled “The Beethoven Connection” starting at 8 p.m. The concert will feature the music of Beethoven, as well as music by Joseph Haydn, Johann Albrectsberger, Carl Czery and Ferdinand Ries.
While Beethoven’s teachers came from the classical tradition, his pupils were part of the first generation of romantic composers who took full advantage of the sound of the 19th-century piano. Particularly notable was Czerny whose Eleventh Piano Sonata, which will conclude the concert, is considered to have great scope, power and lyrical beauty. Along with the music of these composers, Mallach will offer comments on their lives and their times.
Mallach began studying piano in his teens in Israel, continuing after his arrival in the United States with the late Michael Field. A pianist and composer, he has performed both in solo recitals and in chamber music, including performances of works by local composers George Antheil and Laurie Altman. He also writes and speaks about Italian opera, with his most recent book on the subject, “The Autumn of Italian Opera: From Verismo to Modernism 1890-1915” published in 2007 by the University Press of New England.
The Roosevelt Arts Project has been presenting artistic and cultural events in Roosevelt and vicinity since 1987. Following this event, the nonprofit will host a curated group art show at the Assifa Space in Roosevelt on March 12 and a retrospective of the work of Jim Hayden at the factory on April 16 and 17.
For more information about the RooseveltArts Project, call Robin Gould at 609- 448-4616.