Saturday February 16 8:00 PM

Isaac Albeniz
  Almería from Iberia (1908)
Modest Mussorgsky
  Pictures at an Exhibition (1874)
Peter Tchaikovsky
  Trio in a minor, op. 50 (1882)

Eduardo Delgado, piano
Robert Edward Thies, piano
Joel Pargman, violin
Andrew Shulman, cello

The palpable Spanish atmosphere of Iberia, a musical diary by Albeniz, and Mussorgsky's exhilarating tour of Russian paintings left their imprint on Messiaen’s keyboard style. The town of Almería is the family birthplace of Mr. Delgado, an ("impressive" – The New York Times) Argentine pianist who studied and has played with Alicia De Larrocha. His June 2007 joint recital with tenor Jose Cura for the Mozarteum was recently given an overwhelming reception at the Teatro Astrego in Rosario, Argentina.

The intense emotions of Tchaikovsky's farewell to Mussorgsky and his pianist/composer friend Anton Rubenstein resonated with Messiaen's embrace of melodic sincerity. This profoundly moving tribute is well suited to Mr. Thies, the only American pianist to win a Russian piano competition since Van Cliburn's famed triumph in Moscow. This "gifted and insightful interpreter" (LA Weekly) is joined by the "phenomenal" (LA Weekly) Mr. Pargman, "another important Jacaranda find" (Los Angeles Times), and the "eloquent and passionate" (Los Angeles Times) Mr. Shulman.