Piano concerts to feature Sondheim works reimagined by contemporary composers

Concert pianist Anthony de Mare will be coming to Chicago on April 7 with his LIAISONS Project which features Stephen Sondheim songs arranged by an impressive array of composers from the worlds of jazz, classical, and pop music. The project's first 17 completed works premiered on a 2012 multi-city tour which culminated with a sold-out performance at Symphony Space's Peter Jay Sharp Theater in April 2012. De Mare will premiere 17 more pieces during the 2013 season.

LIASONS marks the first time that Sondheim songs have been formally adapted for solo piano. After receiving the thumbs-up from Sondheim, de Mare contacted 36 composers and asked them to make their own arrangements of the song which compelled them the most. The only requirements were that the compositions could be no more than 10 minutes long and must retain some of the original melodic material. For example, minimalist composer Steve Reich added his own driving rhythms and deconstructed the melody of "Finishing the Hat" from Sundays in the Park with George.

"Each piece represents a totally unique union of the composer's individual style with Sondheim's underlying substance," de Mare explains. "These aren't songs without words-they are complete musical compositions in their own right that reveal Sondheim's unparalleled capacity for melody and musical architecture."

Other works include jazz musician Fred Hersch's "No One Is Alone"; classical composer Mason Bates' "Putting It Together"; pop composer Nico Muhly's "Color and Light", opera composer Mark-Anthony Turnage's "Pretty Women"; and musical theater artists Ricky Ian Gordon's "Every Day a Little Death".

De Mare will present LIAISONS in Chicago on Sunday, April 7 at 3 p.m. at Music in the Loft in Chicago. Tickets are available at musicintheloft.org. Another performance will take place on August 25 at Ravinia Festival; tickets will be available beginning April 25. The complete program is available below.

Program details (subject to change; 12-14 works per concert)

*Andy Akiho (b.1978) Into the Woods

Mason Bates (b. 1979) Putting it Together

*Eve Beglarian (b.1958) Happiness

Derek Bermel (b. 1967) Sorry-Grateful

*Jherek Bischoff (b.1979) TBA

William Bolcom (b. 1938) A Little Night Fughetta

*Jason Robert Brown (b.1970) Green Finch and Linnet Bird

Kenji Bunch (b. 1973) Ballad of Sweeney Todd

*Mary Ellen Childs (b. 1957) Now-Later-Soon

*Michael Daugherty (b. 1954) Everybody’s Got the Right

*Peter Golub (b. 1959) Children and Art