Inon Barnatan Brings ‘Musical Moments’ to 92Y

On Saturday, March 3, Inon Barnatan – recently announced as the next artistic director for the La Jolla Music Society – performs a solo recital at the 92nd Street Y, the renowned cultural institution located in New York’s Upper East Side.

Lauded for his “fascinating and rewarding” (New York Times) recital in the Kaufmann Concert Hall at the 92Y in the spring of 2016, in particular for a performance of Ligeti’s Musica ricercata that was declared “superb throughout,” Barnatan returns to the venue this coming spring. Widely recognized as a unique and insightful recital programmer, he performs three works on the program all titled Moments Musicaux by Schubert, Rachmaninoff and contemporary Israeli composer Avner Dorman.

As Barnatan says of the program: “The idea is something that has been brewing in my mind for a while, because even though the Schubert and Rachmaninoff have the same title, in some ways these works are diametrically opposed. These works by Schubert show him at his most ‘Schubertian’ – pure,  intimate and confidential. Rachmaninoff’s set is the opposite – lush, complex and grand.  But that always fascinated me; the only other set of six musical moments before Rachmaninoff was Schubert. The fact that he took this title was not indicative to me of taking the spirit of the actual music, but rather taking the idea of deeply personal musical statements.  In some ways both composers show their most authentic ‘selves’ in these works. Avner Dorman’s two wonderful pieces, one intimate and the other virtuosic, echo these two composers and are in some ways connecting tissue between the two halves.”

A few days earlier, Inon plays the same repertoire in the Aspen Winter Music Recital Series on February 28, after presenting a benefit concert to support the programs of the Aspen Music Festival and School. It was at the Aspen Music Festival last summer that Barnatan premiered the new concerto by festival President and CEO Alan Fletcher under the baton of Robert Spano, and both pianist and conductor will reprise the piece in April with the Atlanta Symphony.

Click here for ticket info/details on Inon’s 92Y recital on Saturday, March 3.