Lyricism in a New Century

The seeds that grew into modern music were planted during the height of 19th-century romanticism. Expressionism, serialism, atonality: the composers who espoused these late 19th- and early 20th-century disciplines thought of them as the natural progression music. But not all relinquished the broad lines, lush textures, and relationship to tonality that defined the music of much of the previous century.

Cellist Guy Fishman returns to the MFA, this time accompanied by pianist Renana Gutman, for a concert exploring the rich, lyrical music composed at the turn of the 20th century. Hear beloved works by modernist composers as well as their predecessors and successors—including Ludwig van Beethoven, Paul Ben-Haim, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Guy Fishman is an early music specialist, soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician on standard cello. Guy has a doctorate from the New England Conservatory of Music and is a Fulbright Fellow. He has recorded for the Olde Focus, Centaur, Coro, Telarc, Titanic, and Newport Classics labels. He plays a rare cello made in Rome in 1704 by David Tecchler.

Renana Gutman has performed across four continents as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and collaborative artist. She is a top prizewinner in international competitions and has premiered newly commissioned music by Paul Schoenfield, Tamar Muskal, Judith Zaimont, and other living composers. She joined the piano faculty of Boston’s Longy School of Music of Bard College in the fall of 2019.