School of Music presents An Evening of Art Song

Alexander Hurd

An Evening of Art Song with Alexander Hurd
Friday, Oct. 2, 8 p.m., Rosch Recital Hall
Free and open to the public

Hailed as “clearly gifted with intelligence and musicality” by the The New York Concert Review, baritone Alexander Hurd has garnered consistent critical acclaim for his performances of repertoire ranging from Schubert to Ligeti.

Alison D'Amato, co-director of the Florestan Recital Project and visiting professor at SUNY Buffalo, will perform the piano accompaniment.

The first half of the program includes familiar and lesser-known lieder by Schubert, Schumann, and Wolf.

The second half begins with five short, acerbic settings of Brecht texts by Hanns Eisler--- a German, Socialist composer who arrived in Hollywood after fleeing the Nazis. He later settled in East Germany, writing their national anthem. The program concludes with three songs from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

A singer who often appears in recital and in performances of contemporary music, his recent highlights include a lieder recital at the Minato Mirai Hall in Yokohama, Japan; Philip Glass’s Songs of Milarepa as part of the opening concert for the University at Buffalo's Center for 21st Century Music; George Crumb’s A Journey Beyond Time with Speculum Musicae; the New York Premiere of John Musto’s River Songs; Ligeti’s Nouvelles aventures in Chicago under the baton of Ludovic Morlot; the premieres of Paul Brantley’s Rilke Sonnets and Karl Kramer-Johansen’s Askeladden in New York City as part of the Concerts In The Heights series; and Copland’s Old American Songs with the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra under maestro Timothy Weiss.

Hurd’s recording of songs by John Musto for Centaur Records (CRC 3000) was released in September, 2009. It features 24 of the composer’s songs, including nine world-premiere recordings. Another disc, devoted to the vocal works of Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, will be released by Bridge Records, in 2010.

He is the winner of the 2005 Joy In Singing Award. In 2004 he received 2nd prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. A Fulbright Grantee, he studied the lied repertoire in Stuttgart, Germany. He earned Bachelor’s degrees in voice performance and history from Oberlin College. A student of Barbara Honn, he received his master’s degree from The Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He will receive his doctorate from the same institution in December, 2009.

Alison d’Amato, Piano
Praised as “supple” by the New York Times and “an expert pianist” by Boston Globe critic Richard Dyer, Ms. D'Amato has built a reputation as a dynamic and versatile musician.

Equally committed to solo, vocal, and instrumental chamber music, she has been a valued member of several pioneering organizations. Since 2003, Alison has been an Artistic Co-Director of Florestan Recital Project, a unique group devoted to the research and performance of song.

She works closely with several Canadian and American colleagues on the Vancouver International Song Institute (VISI), an innovative program for song performance and study that debuted in June 2007.

She is currently Visiting Assistant Professor at the University at Buffalo, where she is a recitalist and coach for a growing music department.

A passionate advocate of new music, Alison has collaborated with many of today’s major and emerging composers, including John Harbison, Ned Rorem, Lior Navok, and James Rolfe.