Violist Maggie Snyder to present first recital in 2014-2015 Hodgson Faculty Series

Viola professor Maggie Snyder presents the opening recital of the 2014-2015 Hugh Hodgson Faculty Series on Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. in Ramsey Concert Hall. Tickets to the performance, which also features faculty accompanists Anatoly Sheludyakov and Damon Denton, are $10, $5 for UGA students with ID.

    

“It’s a varied program with a wide emotional range,” said Snyder, who has been on faculty at the Hodgson School of Music since 2010. “The deepest piece is probably Dmitri Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano—when he wrote it, he knew he was dying and that it would very likely be the last piece he composed.”

The sonata was indeed Shostakovich’s final composition, completed just weeks prior to his death in summer 1975. It directly borrows melodic material from works throughout his life, a hallmark of Shostakovich’s style, as well as the works of fellow composers, such as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

In addition to the Shostakovich sonata, Snyder’s performance also includes Franz Schubert’s “Arpeggione” sonata, J.S. Bach’s Sonata for Viola de Gamba No. 1 in G major, and Georges Enescu’s Concertpiece for Viola and Piano.

“In my opinion, Enescu’s work is among the most underappreciated and beautiful in the viola repertoire,” Snyder said. “It has a great French Impressionistic character that really appeals to audiences and draws them in.”

Snyder has performed in a variety of domestic and international venues, including the Kennedy Center, the Seoul (South Korea) Arts Center, and concert halls in Russia, Mexico, and Greece. In May 2009 she made her Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Recital Hall with her sister duo, Allemagnetti. In addition to her position at the University of Georgia, Snyder also serves as principal viola of the Chamber Orchestra of New York and artist-faculty member of North Carolina’s Brevard Music Festival.

The next concert in the Hodgson Faculty Series will be feature tuba professor David Zerkel on October 2.