Fort Worth’s contemporary classical music scene is in much better shape now than it was 10 years ago. It’s not just the universities and specialist groups like Other Arts and Sounds Modern (which held a concert just last week) that are programming challenging music by living composers. Institutions such as Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Opera, and the Cliburn Concerts have all made concerted efforts to perform music written in our lifetimes.
Into this environment comes the first Modern Music Festival, Thursday at the Modern. Composers Timothy Brown and Jake Heggie will be on hand to hear their work and others’ work performed by pianist Eduardo Rojas, flutist Helen Blackburn, and soprano Corrie Donovan. The program leans heavily toward the Latin, with solo piano music by Astor Piazzolla and songs by Villa-Lobos and Jaime León. In addition, there will be songs by TCU music professor Martin Blessinger, whose vocal music is in an accessible, traditional vein. The centerpiece of the evening will be the regional premiere of Heggie’s Fury of Light, a 10-minute work for piano and flute with an enigmatic opening movement and a tenderly lyrical ending.
All of this activity means that our city is in no danger of falling behind the curve when it comes to music. Catch the festival, and you might just be present for the beginning of a new tradition.
[box_info]The Modern Music Festival starts at 7:30pm Thu at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St, FW. Tickets are $5-25.[/box_info]
This will be one of the best musical concerts of the year.