Artist to perform ‘Kafka Fragments’

BOWLING GREEN, O.–Two of the leading proponents of contemporary music will give the final concert of the Music at the Forefront series at Bowling Green State University. Soprano Tony Arnold and violinist Movses Pogossian will perform a single, hour-long work, “Kafka Fragments,” by the Hungarian composer György Kurtág. The work comprises 40 independent settings of short epigrams taken from Jewish-Czech writer Franz Kafka's letters, diaries and notebooks.

The free concert begins at 8 p.m. March 15 in Bryan Recital Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.

Clarity, depth, imagination and vocal beauty mark the performances of Arnold, who is internationally recognized for her interpretation of the contemporary repertoire. In 2001, she became the first vocalist to win the prestigious Gaudeamus International Interpreters Competition, and later that year took top honors at the McMahon International Music Competition. Since those triumphs she has been widely sought as both a concert and recording artist. She is also on the faculty at the University of Buffalo.

A 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition winner and youngest-ever first-prize winner of the 1985 USSR National Violin Competition, Pogossian has since established a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, champion of new music and sought-after teacher. Making his American debut performing the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Boston Pops in 1990, he has since appeared with prominent orchestras worldwide. Pogossian has been frequently featured on National Public Radio and has recorded for several labels. He is a professor of violin at UCLA, and is also the artistic director of the new Dilijan Chamber Music Series at Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

Music at the Forefront, sponsored by BGSU’s MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, is an annual concert series featuring performances by accomplished and innovative performers of contemporary music. For more information, contact the center at 419-372-2685.

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(Posted March 04, 2010 )