Winter Homecoming Concert Julianna Stratton ‘28, cello Robert Gardner, Brooks Scholar ‘28, piano

This concert explores the complex themes of memory, political resistance, and the formation of identity through place and experience. Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata, a classical example of a composer writing music grappling with the political environment of his time, is paired with a selection from his student, Galina Ustvolskaya’s “Grand Duet,” a work that challenges the normative compositional and musical boundaries of her time.

Together, these works take us on a musical journey of resistance and creativity in the face of oppression, ranging from cosmic, soaring melodies, to angry, hammering, defiance. In the words of Ustvolskaya herself: “The important thing is that the music is genuine and strong.”

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