#2080: Program #2080

New Sounds | May 24, 2010

The innovative American composer/pianist Frederic Rzewski looks back at over 25 years of composing music and performs two recent works in the WNYC studio. From his celebrated 1975 mega-variation set, The People United Will Never Be Defeated, to his eight-hour "novel for piano," The Road, Frederic Rzewski, has used political and social issues as a subtext for breathing new life and vitality into the long dormant composer-pianist tradition. What's more, his piano works never fail to amaze with their sheer virtuosity, stylistic freedom, and elemental force. No lover of contemporary piano music should miss tonight's show.

PROGRAM # 2080, with Frederic Rzewski (First aired on October 4, 2002)

ARTIST(S)	RECORDING	CUT(S)	SOURCE
Frederic Rzewski	Rzewski Plays Rzewski: Piano Works, 1975-1999 7 CD set.	North American Ballads:Dreadful Memories [1:30] 36 Variations on "The People United Will Never Be Defeated!" ("¡El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido!") by Sergio Ortega and Quilapayún, excerpt [7:00]	Nonesuch #79623 www.nonesuch.com
Frederic Rzewski	Live in the WNYC studio	Excerpt from The Road Part V, Mile #38 [5:00]	This performance not commercially available. The Road, Parts I-IV are available on the Nonesuch 7 CD set, Rzewski Plays Rzewski.
Frederic Rzewski	Rzewski Plays Rzewski: Piano Works, 1975-1999 7 CD set.	North American Ballads:The Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues [5:30]	See above.
Frederic Rzewski	Live in the WNYC studio	Excerpt from The Road Part V, Mile #40, "Working it Out" [12:30]	This performance not commercially available. The Road, Parts I-IV are available on the Nonesuch 7 CD set, Rzewski Plays Rzewski.
Frederic Rzewski	Rzewski Plays Rzewski: Piano Works, 1975-1999 7 CD set.	Fougues, excerpt [4:00]	See above.
Frederic Rzewski	Rzewski Plays Rzewski: Piano Works, 1975-1999 7 CD set.	North American Ballads: Dreadful Memories, excerpt[3:00]	See above.

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