A black Steinway Grand piano sits on an otherwise empty stage, Stewart Goodyear enters dressed in black. Without a word, he sits down at the piano and the theater is filled with music, the audience transported to Jennifer Higdon’s Secret and GlassGarden which she describes as “A journey of wonder and discovery, this secret garden reflects the paths of our hearts. It is a place of magical colors and brightly hued glass, where all is in view.”
Proclaimed "a phenomenon" by the Los Angeles Times and "one of the best pianists of his generation" by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Goodyear is an accomplished concert pianist, improviser, and composer. On the program for Stewart Goodyear, Piano: Phoenix are Jennifer Higdon’s Secret and Glass Gardens, Anthony Davis’ Middle Passage, Debussy’s La Cathédrale Engloutie and L’Isle Joyeuse, Beethoven’s Sonata in B-flat Major, and Phoenix, a California premiere by Goodyear himself. The title Phoenix is inspired by the works being performed at this concert: obtaining new life by arising from the sound world, past traditions, and gestures of Franz Lizst, similar to a phoenix, which obtains new life by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. This was an evening where through the artistry of Stewart Goodyear, the music was the star.
Located in the beautiful former Beverly Hills Post Office, The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents wonderfully eclectic programming where local, national, and international artists share their artistry.
For more information and a complete schedule of upcoming shows visit The Wallis.org