MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Once a month at the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County for the coming season, pianist Birgit Matzerath will give the audience a guided tour through two preludes and fugues from J.S. Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier.” In the course of one year the project will cover all 24 preludes and fugues of Book 1, beginning with an introduction on Sunday, Sept. 15, and ending with a performance of the entire book on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020.
With her project, the artist intends to create a space where people can take a break, refuel and be inspired through the music. There is a great need for this in a time when the struggle for justice, human rights and the preservation of the planet has become more urgent than ever.
“Bach’s compositional technique of counterpoint represents in music what we encounter in life: a network where everything hangs together,” Matzerath said. “What happens in one voice has an impact on the entire system of independent, but not self-sufficient voices that share responsibilities in a common task.”
Matzerath holds a degree in piano and a teaching degree in music and English from Hochschule fur Musik, Cologne, and the University of Cologne in Germany. Additionally she pursued piano studies with Oxana Yablonskaya and Seymour Bernstein, whom she considers her most important teacher. In 2009 she moved to Maplewood, where she maintains a private studio.
The introductory presentation will take place Sunday, Sept. 15, at 11 a.m.; will be followed by monthly Friday evening sessions on Sept. 20, Oct. 18, Nov. 15, Dec. 20, Jan. 17, Feb. 21, March 20, April 24, May 15, June 19, July 17 and Aug. 14; and will culminate in a performance on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. There is a suggested donation for each event; admission for students is free. Proceeds will benefit the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County and the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Essex County. All programs will take place at the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County, 516 Prospect St., Maplewood.
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