Vermont favorite, Michael Arnowitt, returns to the state to perform a piano concert of lively, evocative, and emotionally moving music. The program will feature a set of pieces by Debussy, including his prelude “The Interrupted Serenade” and a piano transcription of the orchestral music to the opening section of La Mer (The Sea). Other highlights of the program include music from the piano sonatas of the great Black American composer George Walker; Olivier Messiaen’s “The Reed Warbler,” an excerpt from the composer’s Catalogue d’oiseaux (Catalog of Birds) evoking scenes of nature and bird song; music by Prokofiev composed during World War II; and the exciting finale to Bartok’s Piano Sonata, a spirited piece influenced by the folk melodies and rhythms of Bartok’s native Hungary. Arnowitt will also perform music from recent decades by composers from the UK, Ukraine, and Canada, and his own Bach-influenced composition “The Stream.”

 Michael Arnowitt lived in central Vermont from 1985 to 2017 when he immigrated to Canada. He now lives primarily in Toronto but also lives part-time in Marshfield, Vermont.

Michael Arnowitt is one of today’s most creative musicians. His extraordinary sense of touch at the keyboard, his abilities to find new articulations and colors from the piano, and his warm onstage personality have delighted audiences in concert halls around the world. Michael Arnowitt has given seven concert tours of Europe, performing in France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, and he has also given concert tours in Russia and Korea. He is the subject of the documentary film, Beyond 88 Keys, filmed in both the USA and Europe and available on Vimeo. He lives in Toronto, Canada where he moved in 2018 after living in Vermont for over 30 years.

 The Washington Post said of a special piano concert Michael Arnowitt performed at the National Gallery of Art, “He played with an exquisite sense of touch, color and musical imagination.” Michael Arnowitt is currently working on a book of essays about music, What Makes Great Music Great, to be published by the Vermont-based Fomite Press. 

 In 2017, Michael Arnowitt was honored with a special legislative resolution by the Vermont House and Senate and a personal thank you in a meeting with the Governor of Vermont in recognition of his years of contributions to Vermont music. His musical activities in Vermont over the years included being the artistic director of the Vermont Millennium Music Festival, which was a 4-day gala of 24 concerts and special events  presenting music from the year 1000 to the year 2000 in chronological order. During his time in Vermont, Michael Arnowitt was the principal organizer for a number of major fundraisers to benefit humanitarian aid for Balkan and Syrian war refugees and relief efforts after Vermont hurricanes and floods, causing the Barre Times-Argus newspaper to comment in an editorial, “Arnowitt has shown once again that his conscience is every bit as impressive as his cadenzas.”

Music at the Museum programs are presented at no charge, thanks to our generous sponsors,
Alison Nowak and Robert Cane.