Christopher Parkening Opens Distinguished Artist Series Sept. 14

by Richard Veit

Classical guitarist Christopher Parkening will present the first concert of the 2000-01 Distinguished Artist Series at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, in Jones Concert Hall at Baylor University.
The program titled, "A Celebration of Andrés Segovia," will feature music associated with Parkening's former teacher, the late Spanish maestro who almost singlehandedly brought the guitar to a position of prominence in 20th-century concert halls.
Parkening will open the concert with Segovia's transcriptions of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, John Dowland and Gaspar Sanz, followed by pieces by Sylvius Leopold Weiss and Fernando Sor.
Following intermission, Parkening will play Alexandre Tansman's five-movement tribute to Segovia from 1962, "Suite in Modo Polonico."
The concert will conclude with guitar pieces by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Federico Moreno Torroba, Francisco Tárrega and Isaac Albéniz.
As part of Parkening's "Celebration of Andrés Segovia," a short film recounting the close relationship between the great Spanish mentor and his American protégé will be shown.
Composer Kurt Kaiser, soprano Robin Fisher of the Baylor School of Music and Parkening will then perform one of the pieces that Kaiser wrote for a recent Parkening/Kathleen Battle CD.
Tickets for the concert are $12 with Baylor students, faculty and staff admitted for $8. For more information, call 710-3991.