Adam Liebert smashes violins. No, he’s not the wealthiest (or most wasteful) man on Earth. He’s a musician who loves contemporary works. The “smashing” piece references Chicago-based Sarah Ritch’s “86 (the) Violins.” (Watch it! At one point, the man with the gray hair to the right of the camera looks extremely worried that Adam is having a public breakdown. Also, we love the calls of “encore” at the end.) It so happened that Adam and fellow violinist Aurelien Pederzoli (pictured above) of the ensemble Anaphora smashed their cheap Chinese violins (e.g. not their real and expensive instruments) at the conclusion of said piece during a 2009 show at the Green Mill. We wish we were in attendance at that concert. What an event!
Luckily, we can see Adam and Aurelien perform live this Thursday at the Noontime Concert. While they won’t be performing that particular “smashing” work (sad face, I know), the duo will be joined by Dorthy White Okpebholo, viola; Paul Ghica, cello; Cory Tiffin, clarinet; and Christopher Ferrer, piano, for a program entitled “Russo-American Classics.”
The ensemble’s program includes:
Glazunov – Oriental Reverie for clarinet and string quartet
Prokofiev – Sonata for 2 violins
Shostakovich – Five Pieces for 2 violins and piano arr. Atovmyan
Muczynski – Fantasy Trio for clarinet, cello and piano