Pianist Simone Dinnerstein Gives Debut Performance with Emmanuel Music

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein will perform with Emmanuel Music on Saturday June 4, 2022 at Emmanuel Church. For her debut with Emmanuel Music, Dinnerstein — who is heralded for her distinctive musical voice and her commitment to sharing classical music with everyone — presents a program featuring Bach’s Keyboard Concertos in G Minor BWV 1058 and E Major, BWV 1053; an arrangement of Bach’s Erbarm dich mein, O Herre Gott, BWV 721 by Philip Lasser, which was commissioned by Dinnerstein, and Jennifer Higdon’s Dance Card.

The Keyboard Concerto in G Minor is just one of many pieces of Bach’s repertoire for which Dinnerstein has developed an impressive proficiency and sense of unique artistry. Found on her 2018 Orange Mountain Music album, Circles, Dinnerstein says “[The Keyboard Concerto in G Minor] is an unusual concerto because, though it’s in a minor key, it’s a very joyful piece of music. And I like that twist to it.” The E Major, like all of Bach’s Keyboard Concertos, is understood to be a transcription of another preexistent work by Bach. For this piece, Bach altered his existent score using a new compositional approach — one that would recur in several concertos that would follow.

Philip Lasser, someone with whom Dinnerstein has often collaborated, was commissioned by Dinnerstein to write an arrangement of Erbarm dich mein, O Herre Gott for piano and strings. Sam Jacobson of quasi-faust described the piece as “yielding a touching gravitas.” Composer Jennifer Higdon explains that her work, Dance Card, is meant as “a celebration of the joy, lyricism and passion of a group of strings playing together!” The piece’s five movements were written in such a way that any of them can also be performed on their own. Higdon explains that the piece “reflects a deep commitment that string players bring to their music making, not only in the many years of learning to play their instruments, but also in the dedication manifested in gorgeous music-making as an ensemble.”