STRINGS IN THE SPRING

Franz Mantini, piano

Pianist Franz Josef Mantini welcomes Florida Orchestra Principal Cellist James Connors to the 2019 edition of Strings in the Spring at the Carrollwood Cultural Center. This special program features three grand masterpieces that explore the sublime intricacies of both the cello and piano individually, followed by Mr. Mantini and Mr. Connors joining forces in one of the most passionate works ever written for piano and cello.

James Connors, cello

Mr. Connors will begin the program with a Suite No. 1 in G Major for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. Considered some of Bach’s most celebrated musical achievements, the Suites masterfully weave polyphonic counterpoint and harmony with distinctive articulated rhythms in a breathless artistic display that obviates accompaniment. Mr. Mantini will follow with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sonata for Piano in A minor, K. 310. The first of only two of his piano sonatas written in a minor key, the intense pulsing rhythms, chromatic embellishments, and marked contrasts between tempestuous and introspective themes takes the listener on an extraordinary and soulful journey.

The performers will conclude with the monumental Sonata 2 in F major for Cello and Piano by Johannes Brahms. The piece, wrapped within its virtuosic demands, is both exuberant and stormy in the opening and scherzo movements, with a tender and slow expressive movement in between and a rondo finale providing a joyous ending.

ADVANCED TICKETS: $14 member / $18 general admission

DAY-OF-SHOW: $16 member / $20 general admission