We were fortunate to see Gabriela Montero in concert Thursday evening at the Flynn. This was her first time in Burlington, which she kindly described as "pretty nice" despite the freezing temperatures outside and the undersized audience inside.
The program "Westwards" featured two pieces by Prokofiev, a Rachmaninov, a Stravinsky, and a screening of Charlie Chaplin's silent film The Immigrant with Montero providing an improvised piano score.
The only Prokofiev I'm familiar with is "Peter and the Wolf", so needless to say I was surprised by the modern sound of his music, and I don't have sufficient musical theory/training to enjoy it.
Rachmaninov is a different story, and his music is more welcoming and invites you in. I enjoyed this section and the Stravinsky very much.
After the Stravinsky, Montero took a few minutes to talk about "Westwards" and the thematic and personal connections between these composers and Chaplin. It was fun to see a silent film with piano accompaniment at the Flynn, though the Flynn opened at the beginning of the talkie era.
After the screening of The Immigrant, Montero once again took to the microphone to ask for a tune or theme from the audience, which she would then improvise upon. She did this twice, and it was awe-inspiring to hear, and perfect for live performance. I would have been delighted for the entire evening to have been her improvised compositions.
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