The Musical Club of Hartford will present a concert of some of the great classical repertoire ending with a selection of music for guitar and mandolin from Ireland and Brazil. The concert will take place on March 2, 2017 at 10:00 am Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2080 Boulevard, West Hartford., CT.

 Mo Tian will be playing five of the six Liszt Consolations. The source of the title Consolations may have been Alphonse de Lamartine’s poem Une larme, ou Consolation from the poetry collection Poetic and Religious Harmonies. These six little piano pieces are among Liszt's best-known works and are comparatively accessible – a rarity amongst the composer's often eccentric and virtuosic works. In 1844 Liszt had already begun work on the cycle that was published in 1850.

Next, Fran Bard, cello, and Carolyn Woodard, piano, will perform two movements of Frederic Chopin’s Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65.  This is a piece full of lovely thematic material and, true to Chopin's style, replete with many fast, fluid passages.  Written in 1846, this piece was one of only nine for instruments other than solo piano. It was dedicated to cellist Augusta Franchomme, who performed with Chopin at the Salle Pleyel on February 16th, 1848.

Following the Chopin, two singers,  Adriana Dal Pra-Chichester, soprano, and Anne Filion, mezzo-soprano, will sing love duets by Handel: "Caro! Bella!" from the opera Giulio Cesare (soprano is Cleopatra and mezzo is Cesare) and “Io t'abbraccio" from the opera Rodelinda (soprano is Rodelinda and mezzo is Bertarido).  In many operas, mezzo-sopranos have played the role of young men in love, with the beautiful young woman of their affection sung by a soprano.

Finally, Judith Handler and Mark Levesque will perform their own arrangements of international music for guitar and mandolin as well as some pieces composed for this combination.

Included in this section of the concert will be

• Carolan's Concerto  and Sheebeg Sheemore by Turlough O'Carolan  (1670-1738).  Turlough O'Carolan, was a blind Irish harper, composer and singer whose fame is due to his gift for melodic composition.
• Noites Cariocas by Jacob Bettincourt (1918-1969). Jacob do Bandolim, born Jacob Pick Bittencourt, (1918–1969) was a Brazilian composer and musician. Born in Rio de Janeiro, his stage name means "Mandolin Jacob", after the instrument he played. In addition to his virtuoso playing, he is famous for his many choro compositions, more than 103 tunes. He also researched and attempted to preserve the older choro tradition, as well as that of other Brazilian music styles.
• Pedacinhos do Ceu and Brasileirinho  by Valdir Azevedo  (1923-1980) who was a choro conductor and performer, considered to be the most successful musician of this genre, Brasileirinho (Little Brazilian) composed in 1947 is considered one of the most successful and influential choros of all time.