Arts & Letters Club Alex Liedtke Oboe Recital with Zsolt Bognár, piano

• Alex Liedtke, oboe Zsolt Bognár, piano The Piper of Dreams, (1940) Ruth Gipps (1921-99) Trois Melodies (1930) Olivier Messiaen (1908-92) “Pourquoi?” Dichterliebe, Op. 48 (1840): Robert Schumann (1810-56) • “Im wunderschönen Monat Mai” Liederkreis, Op. 39 (1840): • “Mondnacht” Incantation pour hautbois et piano, Op. 28 (1978) Jacques Hétu (1938-2010) Twelve Fantasias for Flute without Bass, TWV 40 (1732-3): Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) • Fantasie #7 in D Major: Alla francese, TWV 40:7 • Largo - Allegro - Largo - Presto Quattro monologhi na obój solo (1966) Witold Szalonek (1927-2001) Movements 1 and 2 Fantasie #3 in B minor, TWV 40:3 Georg Philipp Telemann Largo - Vivace - Largo - Vivace - Allegro “Si dolce è’l tormento“ SV 332 (1624) Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) “Exulta filia Sion” SV 303 (1629) • “Go crystal tears” (1597) John Dowland (1563-1626) • “Fine knacks for ladies” (1600) Alex Liedtke is the newly appointed Principal Oboe of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, a position he begins in the 2024-2025 season. He currently serves as Associate Principal Oboe of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and second oboe of the Grant Park Orchestra, a ten-week summer festival each year at Chicago’s Millennium Park. Prior to life in Toronto, Alex was a first-call freelance player in the Chicago area performing with nearly every orchestra in and around the region. Alex was acting/interim Assistant Principal Oboe and English horn with the North Carolina Symphony for two seasons and served as Guest Principal Oboe for one season with the Chilean State Opera and Ballet Orchestra at El Teatro Municipal in Santiago. Alex is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music under Elizabeth Camus and later studied extensively with Robin Driscoll. Alex is passionate about composing and arranging - several new arrangements of early music adapted for the oboe/oboe d’amore are featured on his solo CD “A New Renaissance,” which is available on all streaming platforms. A new video recording featuring Alex will soon be available on the Club’s Youtube Channel. Pianist, host, and author Zsolt Bognár holds a multidimensional career that redefines what it means to be a musician in the 21st century. Mr. Bognár is host of the award-winning film series Living the Classical Life, which seeks to highlight the inner world, artistic output, and vigorous process of famous performers and musical personalities including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Joyce DiDonato, Yuja Wang, Yefim Bronfman, Daniil Trifonov, Joshua Bell, John Corigliano, and Susan Graham. With over 60 episodes, the show continues to grow and feature more outstanding artists discussing the rarely heard stories of how they became who they are today. As concert pianist, Mr. Bognár has toured as recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He has appeared at New York’s Lincoln Center and 92nd Street Y, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with many notable performances across the globe. Zsolt Bognár’s debut album Franz & Franz, recorded in Berlin with Grammy-winning producer Philipp Nedel, has been heralded by the international press for its benchmark status in solo works by Schubert and Liszt