Ellen Schorsch, pianist, piano teacher and writer, will present a multi-media lecture-recital, sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Art Center, “Music Inspired by Art and Artists” on Sunday, March 11 at 3 p.m.. at the P. Buckley Moss Museum, 150 P. Buckley Moss Drive in Waynesboro. Schorsch’s program will be accompanied by a power point presentation illustrating paintings, sculptures and drawings which have inspired composers. Admission is free.
The program will be arranged historically by artwork, from anonymous ancient Greek sculptures to Picasso. Pieces will include Mussorgsky’s Ballet of Unhatched Chicks from Pictures at an Exhibition, inspired by a Viktor Hartmann sketch; Fibich’s Dance of the Blissful, related to Fra Angelico’s painting, The Last Judgment; Liszt’s The Marriage and Il Penseroso, responses to Raphael’s painting, Marriage of the Virgin and Michelangelo’s statue of Lorenzo II de’ Medici, respectively and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in B minor, inspired by Arnold Bocklin’s painting, The Return.
Schorsch has given many recitals as soloist and accompanist, with a specialty in lecture-recitals. She also served as pianist and harpsichordist and performed Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor with the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra. She has taught piano for 40 years.
Schorsch’s article, “The Enchanted World of Piano Fairy Tales” is in the current issue of Clavier Companion. Other articles based on her lecture-recitals have appeared in Clavier. At the invitation of a Clavier reader, she presented her program “Literary Inspirations” in Westport, Connecticut.
Schorsch graduated with honors with a B. A. degree in Music from Brooklyn College, where she served as music editor of the college newspaper. She holds two Master of Music degrees: in Music Education from Boston University and in Piano Performance, with a 4.0 GPA, from James Madison University.
For further information, contact the Shenandoah Valley Art Center: 949-7662 or the P. Buckley Moss Museum: 949-6473.
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Chris Graham
