Austrian violinist Wolfgang Sengstschmid and composer/pianist David Gompper make their first Denison appearance in a concert titled "American Fiddle Music of the 20th and 21st Centuries" at 3 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 2) in Burke Recital Hall.

Sponsored by the Academic Lecture Fund and the music department, the program features a work by Assistant Professor Ching-chu Hu. The concert is free and open to the public and marks the beginning of a week of workshops and lectures by the guest artists.

The Sunday program includes: Aaron Copland's "Sonata"; Elliott Carter's "Riconoscenza per Goffredo Petrassi" (Remembrance of Goffredo Petrassi); Jeremy Dale Roberts's "Capriccio"; Hu's "Passions"; Morton Feldman's "Spring of Chosroes"; and Gompper's "Finnegan's Wake."

"Besides demonstrating the vitality and appeal of the present day violin and piano repertoire, this program touches upon a number of connecting themes and relationships," says Sengstschmid. "Much of the program is woven through with the pliant but binding thread that links the teacher and pupil." Roberts's piece was written for Sengstschmid's former teacher, violinist Yfrah Neaman.

Of his work, Gompper remarks, "my intention was to transform the music as feet-stomping dance music through a labyrinth of rhythmic manipulations into a series of playful excursions for both instruments."

Hu's works deals with "the intermingling of influences" in his life as an Asian American. He describes these influences as being "the folk tunes that have surrounded me since my childhood, and the western-based education of classical music and 20th-century techniques."

Sengstschmid has performed extensively in his native Austria, including concerts in the major concert halls of Vienna. He has performed in the United States, South Korea, India, Turkey, Egypt, Israel and many countries of Europe. Sengstschmid also appeared as a guest soloist with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Berne Symphony Orchestra and the Kiev Chamber Orchestra, among others. He currently teaches at the Musikhochschule in Vienna.

A Fulbright scholar teaching at the Moscow Conservatory this year, Gompper is a professor of composition at the University of Iowa and director of the Center for New Music. His music has been performed throughout the United States and abroad. Gompper has received numerous prizes and commissions including an NEA grant and the Charles Ives Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is currently working on his third symphony based on Russian Orthodox chants.

Hu joined the Denison faculty in 2000 and teaches classes in composition and theory. Recently his music was performed by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C., where he served as resident composer. Hu's music also has been performed in Sofia, Bulgaria, Moscow and London.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575