Identity A Hit

We went to hear a concert tonight where one of the pieces, Identity, was co-written by a composer friend of ours, Michael Shapiro. Mike was in town, from L.A., to hear it, and I thought it sounded great. The Chicago Sinfonietta played it well, and Symphony Center is a great hall for listening to music. It's kind of a concerto for guzheng ("Chinese zither") and orchestra.

Here's a video of the finale, from another performance of the piece, some years back. It features the same soloist, who I would say was even more "on" tonight:





The crowd ate it up.

Another contemporary composer, Illya Levinson, of Columbia College in Chicago, also provided a couple of very enjoyable pieces: Selections From Shtetl Scenes & Klezmer Rhapsody.

It was a great evening of music, and it was heartwarming to be in the audience while my friend got a well-deserved standing ovation.

Michael Shapiro
my compositional hero
deserved a chance to take a pause
and soak up some applause.