“Roberto Sierra’s music keeps me on my toes!” On March 17, 2023, pianist Marc Peloquin presents a composer portrait concert called “Celebrating Roberto Sierra” at the Bloomingdale School of Music in New York City. Peloquin’s program highlights Sierra as “one of the most important composers of our time,” and features works for solo piano that explore the colorful and virtuosic range of the instrument. Peloquin will perform Sierra’s Album for the Young (Album de la juventud), Piano Sonata No. 7for the left hand alone, and Piano Sonata No. 9.
Peloquin continues. “This program combines three of Roberto’s most recent works for piano. Since 2020, he has been writing sonatas for solo piano that combine incredible rhythmic energy with a fascinating and deeply musical exploration of the expressive and dynamic range of the instrument. Sonata No.9from 2020 will be presented along with the 2022 Sonata No. 7 for left hand alone. His Album for the Young is an imaginative collection of 15 short character pieces written for the advancement and enjoyment of pianists no matter what age.”
“My Album for the Young,” Sierra shares, “was inspired by Schumann’s Album, his Scenes from Childhood, and other similar works written through the ages (from Bach to Stravinsky). These Sonatas are part of an ongoing “sonata project” that I started a few years back. My idea is to reterritorialize the form and transform it into a personal statement. In each sonata, I explore a different approach, as in No. 7, where I explore the possibilities of writing for the left hand alone.” Peloquin adds, “It is my hope by programming Roberto’s brilliant works that they soon become part of the piano cannon, appreciated and enjoyed by many pianists and audiences.”
