Elizabeth Joy Roe may be best known for the Billboard chart-topping and Emmy-nominated Anderson & Roe Piano Duo, but her solo skills will be on display in the Southland.
Southwest Symphony Orchestra closes its 2016-17 season with “Elizabeth Roe, Rachmaninoff & Sibelius” May 7 at Trinity Christian College’s Ozinga Chapel Auditorium in Palos Heights.
“In general I feel that Rachmaninoff was such a masterful composer for the piano,” said Roe via phone while running personal errands in Chicago, where she currently is based. “He was one of the ultimate pianists of all time but also just an incredibly ingenious composer.
“His music strikes this incredible balance of virtuosity but also emotional immediacy. There’s something incredibly moving and voluptuous about his music whether or not you’re a classical music aficionado or someone who’s totally new to the genre.”
It can “move you and excite you because it’s filled with both this incredible power and excitement but also the gorgeous melodies and luscious harmonies,” she said.
Roe, whose latest album is “John Field: The Complete Nocturnes,” is the featured pianist on “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Considered one of the greatest compositions of the Romantic Period, the piece is based on “Caprice No. 24” for solo violin by Niccolo Paganini.
“The Paganini theme has been revisited many times by different composers throughout history and I feel Rachmaninoff takes such an inventive and visionary approach to manipulating the theme,” said Roe, who began playing piano at age 6.
“He takes the theme to unexpected places and ultimately offers 24 variations that are incredibly cohesive and surprising and the 18th variation, which is perhaps the emotional heart of the epic, is absolutely magical.”
The 18th variation has been featured on several soundtracks including the 1980 romantic fantasy drama “Somewhere in Time” starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour and the 1993 fantasy comedy “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray.
Roe’s performance of “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” marks the third time she has worked with Southwest Symphony Orchestra with which she collaborated in 2012 on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concerto No. 1” and in 2008 on George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”
“It’s great to work with them again on a piece I love,” she said of performing with the orchestra directed by David Crane. “He always is very enthusiastic and seems open to my ideas. It’s always a pleasure to play works from the piano concerto literature.
“It’s some of the greatest pieces ever written from classical music. David does a great job bringing this beautiful and powerful music to the Chicago community at large so I have to praise his love for the music and his wonderful collaborative spirit.”
The Southwest Symphony Orchestra concert begins with a piece inspired by a resort village in the Swiss Alps – “Pastorale d’ete” (Summer Pastoral) by Arthur Honegger – and ends with “Symphony No. 2” by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
“Classical music and arts organizations elevate a community in terms of elevating the spirit of humanity and providing a respite from the nonstop activity of daily life,” said Roe, who released the album “Britten & Barber Piano Concertos; Nocturnes” recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2015.
“I feel that something like the survival of the Southwest Symphony Orchestra and arts organizations in general ensures that we stay in touch with the sufferings and the joys of human experience. That’s what the arts represents.”
Roe follows her performance with Southwest Symphony Orchestra by reuniting with Greg Anderson, of Anderson & Roe Piano Duo, for the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition from May 22-June 10 in Fort Worth, Texas, where they will co-host the webcast for www.cliburn.org.
“We did the junior competition a couple of years ago. This is the first time we’re doing the real thing, which is an exciting opportunity for us,” said Roe, who gave her solo recital debut a decade ago at Lincoln Center in New York.
“They’ll be able to watch us give previews and get reactions to the performances. A lot of people consider the Cliburn to be the piano Olympics. It’s a really big event in the classical world.”
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
‘Elizabeth Roe, Rachmaninoff & Sibelius’
When: 4 p.m. May 7
Where: Trinity Christian College’s Ozinga Chapel Auditorium, 6601 W. College Drive, Palos Heights
Tickets: $26 or $21 adults; $21 or $16 ages 65-plus; $17 or $12 each group of 10 or more; $6 students; free ages younger than 12
Information: 708-802-0686, www.southwestsymphony.com or www.elizabethjoyroe.com
Etc.: presented by Southwest Symphony Orchestra
