Girma Yifrashewa at Carnegie Hall Zankel Hall

Girma Yifrashewa at Carnegie Hall Zankel Hall
June 17. 7:30PM. $54+up.

The Ethiopian pianist Girma Yifrashewa began his music career playing the traditional folk harp known as krar. He didn’t discover the piano until he was 16, and when he did, he immersed himself in the music of Western European classical composers like Chopin and Debussy. Eventually, Yifrashewa began writing his own music, blending the European art music with Ethiopian folk. Some of his music may answer the question of: what would it sound like if Franz Schubert had lived in East Africa and combined the ecstasy of Ethiopian harmony with Romantic compositions? Girma Yifrashewa plays on Monday, June 17 at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall.