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Great Music

There was once an unmusical young man at a musical gathering who was asked whether he played violin. To which he answered: “I don't know; I’ve never tried.” This is doubtless pushing self-confidence a little far. But it is just the right spirit for beginning to listen to so-called classical or serious music. You do not know whether you can till you’ve tried, and trying the right way is very likely to create the ability that you may have doubted you possessed.

Contrary to the clichés that surround this form of art, classical music is not “dry and intellectual.” It was composed not for study but for the listener’s spiritual and sensuous satisfaction. The great secret to getting accustomed to the sounds and forms of classical music is immersion in the medium: play the piece over again—or part of it. Soon the chaos resolves itself into meaning and one wonders how there could have been a time when one could not follow it. The rewards are infinite.

—Jacques Barzun

Music of the Jewish Soul

January, 2015

Trinity College will be hosting a concert of Jewish music for voice, piano/organ and cello on January 31st, 2015, 8 P.M. in the chapel. Peter Dzialo will be joining organist/pianist Natasha Ulyanovsky and mezzo-soprano Monica Krajewska.

The concert will include vocal works by Ellstein, Lewandowski, and Ravel; pieces for cello will include five works by Ernest Bloch — Prayer, Supplication, Jewish Song (From Jewish Life, No. 1–3), Meditation Hebraique, and Nigun (improvisation) from Baal Shem (Three Pictures of Chassidic Life).

For more information contact John Rose at Trinity.

The Art of the Beautiful

The 6 Études of François Servais, re-released after more than 100 years

December, 2013

Lonely Peaks Records is pleased to represent the Servais Society of Halle, Belgium for their release of a new edition of François Servais' 6 Études, edited by Peter C. Dzialo. Virtually unknown within contemporary cello pedagogy, with original scores out of print since the Paris edition released by August Quinzard in 1896, these études may be played with either a piano or second cello accompaniment. Worthwhile as exercises in Servais' cello technique, they are also enjoyable for concert performances and were recently presented in an 'inaugural' concert by Viviane Spanoghe and Didier Poskin of the Brussels Royal Conservatory, accompanied by pianists Anait Karpova and Pierre Brunello.

Preview the edition.

You can purchase the three part set (80 pages) below.
Price: $25.00 in U.S. / $32 international.


6 Études of François Servais

Bachtoberfest Concerts

September, 2013

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra is holding Bachtoberfest: a festival of concerts celebrating Bach and music for organ. The concerts will be held throughout greater Hartford from October 4-12, 2013.

Cellist Peter Dzialo will perform on the Tuesday, October 8th program with organist Natasha Ulyanovsky. Works by Popper, Bach, Joplin, Dubois, Brubeck, and Hubert Léonard's arrangement of the famous 'La Folia' variations by Corelli. This concert will be held at Congregation Beth Israel on Farmington Avenue, West Hartford at 1pm.

The Art of the Beautiful

September, 2013

The Catholic Artists Society, of which Peter Dzialo is a member, is sponsoring a six part lecture series on "The Art of the Beautiful" in conjunction with the Thomistic Institute in NYC. The series features talks by six renowned philosophers, theologians and artists at the Catholic Center at NYU. The topics are:

  • Art: For Whose Sake? (Sept. 14 | Gregory Wolfe)
  • The Responsibility of the Artist (Oct. 12 | Fr. Peter John Cameron, OP)
  • Forming the Artist (Nov. 16 | David Clayton)
  • Beauty and the Real (Dec. 14 | Alice Ramos)
  • Love and Artistic Genesis (Jan. 25 | Anthony Esolen)
  • Virtue and the Artistic Imagination (Feb. 15 | Fr. Joseph Koterski, SJ)

Admission is free and open to the public but space is limited. See here for more information.

The Art of the Beautiful
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Violet Sargent
John Singer Sargent

"Like a good instrument, a good bridge can outlast centuries."

Bridge photos by Gerard KilBride and Mick Quinn, who are known for their passion for stringed instruments.

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