Italian organist Alessandro Bianchi will perform at Christ Episcopal Church, 509 Scott Street, at 7:30 pm on Friday, November 10. The concert is co-sponsored by Arts@Christ Church and the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Admission is free, with donations accepted to support expenses associated with the concert. The church is handicapped accessible. In addition there will be a Masterclass, also at the church, and also free, at 10:00 am on Saturday, November 11.

Alessandro Bianchi was born in Como and studied at the Piacenza Conservatoire where he was awarded Diplomas in Organ and Organ Composition, studying with Luigi Toja. Now residing in Cantu, he is Artistic Director of the musical association “Amici dell ’Organo di Cantu” and Organist of St. Edward the Confessor Anglican Church in Lugano.

Known for adventurous programming, Bianchi has given over 2,000 recitals across Europe, the UK, the USA, South America, and Asia. Frequently he complements recitals with master classes and lectures on Italian music, and has undertaken several CD and radio-TV broadcasts and recordings in Europe, the USA and Brazil. He has been an adjudicator in organ competitions, and many composers have dedicated new organ works to him. In 2014, the City of Cantu awarded him the title “Honorable Citizen” for his work in Art and Culture.

For his Little Rock recital on Friday, November 10 at 7:30 pm, Bianchi will perform
• Frigyes Hidas, Organ Sonata
• Charles Marie Widor, Allegro vivace from Symphonie V, Opus 42
• Marco Enrico Bossi, “Beatitude,” from Scenes of the Life of St. Francis, Opus 140, No. 3
• Henry Mulet, “Tu es Petra” (Esquisses Byzantines)
• Marcel Dupré, Zephyrs
• Reginald Porter Brown, Tuba Tune
The recital will also include shorter works by other composers.

For his masterclass on Saturday, November 11 at 10:00 am, Bianchi will discuss Italian organs and organ literature from the 16th through 19th centuries, including the work of Bossi. He will illustrate with performed examples.

Marco Enrico Bossi (1861-1925), though less familiar than his French contemporaries, was the main Italian composer of works for organ in the post-Romantic style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He also wrote symphonic music and toured with concert performances in the United States and Europe. He was a native of Como, and that geographical connection led to Alessandro Bianchi’s interest in his works. Bianchi became aquainted with Bossi’s niece who shared materials with him.

Frigyes Hidas (1928-2007) was a Hungarian composer who was prolific with compositions for opera, ballet, orchestra, and band, serving as musical director of the Budapest’s National Theater and Operetta Theater from 1951 to 1979. His Organ Sonata is in a neoclassical style with very strong influences of folk music, Hungarian dances and rhythms.

Zephyrs by Marcel Dupré is a transcription of an improvisation on a theme by famous conductor Leopold Stokowski first heard at Aeolian Hall, New York City, in 1929. Reginald Porter Brown (1910-82) was one of England’s finest theatre organists, performing in major venues across the country, and on programs produced by the BBC.

Arts@Christ Church presents art exhibits and performing arts events on a regular basis. The church’s architecture, Nichols and Simpson organ, and superb acoustics make it a suitable venue for performers like Alessandro Bianchi. For more information contact Steve Bullock (501-375-2342).