American composer/pianist Daniel Pesca has been hailed as the “perfect virtuoso” (All About the Arts). Recently appointed as a Professor of Composition at the famed Eastman School of Music, this April he is embarking on a solo tour of Toronto and New York State.

At Array Toronto on April 21, Daniel invites us to celebrate the piano’s role as a vehicle for expressing a composer’s most intimate thoughts: from the playful to the profound. Alongside his own compositions, Daniel will be premiering works by two leading composers: Canadian Alison Yun-Fei Jiang, and Greek-Australian Aristea Mellos. 

During the pandemic, as many of us retreated into domestic worlds, the piano found new relevance. Several of the works programmed as part of this tour were composed and revised during lockdown. Each work questions what it means to live and experience life, by taking us into colorful musical universes dominated by animals, natural landscapes, and memories. From the virtuosic to the sublime, this recital promises to leave you in awe of Daniel's complete mastery of the piano as both composer and performer.  

PROGRAM

ALISON YUN-FEI JIANG: River Study (world premiere performances; commissioned by the Canadian Arts Council and dedicated to Daniel Pesca)

DANIEL PESCA: Watercolors I: A Pair of Cats & Watercolors III: “The Setting Sun is a Red Lion”

ARISTEA MELLOS: Twelve Preludes (North American premiere performances)

ADMISSION IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC