The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Cellist Parry Karp plays music by Beethoven, Franck and Sulkan Tsintsadze in a FREE recital this Friday night

By Jacob Stockinger

Cellist Parry Karp (below) will perform a FREE recital this Friday night, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall.

Karp, who is the longtime cellist of the Pro Arte Quartet, heads the chamber music program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.

Karp will be joined by pianist Eli Kalman (below right with Karp), a longtime partner who did his graduate work at the UW-Madison and now teaches at the UW–Oshkosh.

Their program features two well-known works.

Karp will perform his own transcription of the Sonata in A minor for Violin and Piano (1801) by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is the eighth of the 10 violin sonatas by Beethoven that Karp has transcribed, keeping the violin works in their original key on the cello.

The duo will also play the famous Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano (1886) by Cesar Franck. It was transcribed by Jules Delsart with some adjustments from Karp.

Then comes a rarity: the 24 Preludes for Cello and Piano (1980) by Sulkhan Tsintsadze (1925-1991, below).

Here are some remarks about these works by Karp, who likes to explore neglected composers and repertoire:

“The 24 Preludes (1980) by Sulkhan Tsintsadze are a wonderful find. Tsintsadze was a composer and cellist from Georgia in the USSR, and was very taken by the 24 prelude format.

“The piece goes through all of the major and minor Keys in the same order as the do the preludes for solo piano by Chopin.”

“Each Prelude is similar to a short story or vignette, and the emotional range of the entire set is compelling.”

Here is more information about the composer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulkhan_Tsintsadze

And here is a YouTube video – the first of four parts – with samples of the 24 Preludes for Cello and Piano: