"A formidable pianist with a touch and attack sometimes eerily reminiscent of Glenn Gould." -New York Times

Composer-performer Frederic Rzewski has always been a classical force to be reckoned with, dating to the 1960s pioneering aesthetic of collective improvisation and the 1970s chamber music that imbued elements from both written and open-ended forms. A piano virtuoso, Rzewski never abandoned the masterworks, and his recitals of canonical works remain legendary. For this special event Rzewski brings the very best of both worlds: Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words and his own best-known work, The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, a set of piano variations based on a Latin American revolutionary chant, which the New York Times has called "magisterial" and "an instant classic." $29, CMA members $28.