Philip Simmons will conduct music by Dmitri Shostakovich, Pavel Haas, Siegfried Würzburger, and a new work created specifically for this event, “If the pictures could talk…” by Moscow born Chicago composer Ilya Levinson. The performance is given to complement the “Through Soviet Jewish Eyes” photographic exhibit, appearing at the Museum through September 7.
Born in Moscow in 1958, composer Ilya Levinson has been in Chicago since 1988. A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory and the University of Chicago, his music combines the esthetics of the great Soviet school of composition and American modernism. Among his most popular orchestral compositions are Klezmer Rhapsody and Shtetl Scenes. With If the pictures could talk… Mr. Levinson shares his unique experience as an artist from the former Soviet Union with firsthand experience of religious oppression and Stalinist propaganda. He will speak at the concert about his perception of the photographic exhibit, and how it inspired the creation of his new work.
Tickets: $30; $20, museum members