"The tides are much higher in Florida than they used to be, especially in Miami. Even conservatives are talking about climate change. The winter tides in the beaches of southern Brazil, where I’m from, are flooding the streets in cities such as Santos. We’ve included specific music in our programme as a way to engage the audience; we expect people from all ages and backgrounds to come.” (PIANO DUO BEZERRA-GASTESI)
Programme
Join Piano Duo Gastesi-Bezerra for piano duets inspired by the environment. Presented in conjunction with the special exhibition Earth Works, the concert features works by composers Michel Lysight, Ricardo Tacuchian, Lola Perrin, and Fabio Mengozzi. Dr. John Strasswimmer leads a brief, related discussion of current climate issues before the final selections from Claude Debussy’s La Mer.
Internationally acclaimed Duo Gastesi-Bezerra has delighted audiences with exciting programs of traditional and contemporary music. Billed by the American Record Guide, as “a strong combination, playing very well together — often indistinguishable,” pianists Estibaliz Gastesi and Márcio Bezerra are staunch supporters of new music. In recognition of their mission, the duo has been awarded the Encore Grant by the American Composers Forum and the Gene Gutchë Performance Incentive Fund by the Schubert Club. Performances of the duo have been broadcast on National Public Radio station WXEL (Palm Beach), Rádio Cultura (Brazil), Radio Ona Mallorca (Spain), Radio Nacional de España (Radio Clásica), and Radio Beograd (Serbia). Engagements include appearances at Fundação Maria Luiza e Oscar Americano in São Paulo, Brazil; a concert of Brazilian music sponsored by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Brazilian Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia; and a concert of French impressionistic and American post-modern piano duets at the Les Arts George V concert series in Paris. They were featured at Festival Virtuosi de Gravatá (Brazil) and twice at the Festival de Inverno de Guaranhuns (FIG-Brazil), and they collaborated with the Birmingham Art Music Alliance, performing eight new works from Alabama composers to critical acclaim. Most recently, they performed three children’s concerts with members of the Palm Beach Symphony and premiered 2 new piano concerti by Piotr Lachert and Justin Rubin with the PBAU Symphony.Duo Gastesi-Bezerra is the official piano-duo-in-residence of Palm Beach Atlantic University, for more information about their activities, please visit www.duogastesibezerra.com
Guest speaker: Dr John Strasswimmer
