This Week in Classical Music -- Mar. 7, 2010

by: Randy Kinkel

March 07, 2010

L.A. Philharmonic Principal Trombone Steve Witser

( Phoenix, AZ )
•New Chopin museum in Warsaw
•Pavane in Memory of Steve

A new museum dedicated to the Polish pianist and composer Frederic Chopin opened last week, just in time for the composer’s 200th birthday anniversary. Located in Warsaw in a 17th-century palace, the museum uses cutting-edge audio-visual and interactive technology to immerse visitors in the 19th-century musician’s world. According to museum curator Alicia Krast, a special card with a computer chip lets visitors access different elements of the exhibit, and a room with cushions and touch-screens allows children to learn about the composer and his era on their level.

Composer and former L.A. Philharmonic maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen gives the world premiere of a new piano piece this month as part of the new music group Piano Spheres's new season. The work, “Pavane in Memory of Steve," was composed in honor of Steve Witser, the L.A. Philharmonic Principal Trombonist who died of a heart attack last April. Principal Philharmonic keyboardist Joanne Pearce Martin will play the piece; she said, "Steve Witser’s untimely death this past spring left the entire L.A. Phil family in utter shock. We were just recovering from all the wonderful celebrations of Esa-Pekka’s last two weeks with us, and then suddenly Steve was gone. Esa-Pekka wanted to make a musical gesture in honor of Steve, and this piece is his way of showing how much this great musician and colleague positively affected the lives of everyone who knew him."

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The Fryderyk Chopin Museum website