TOWN SQUARE
Greenpoint & Williamsburg
Serving Brooklyn Since 2004
From Chopin to Gershwin:
For Our Freedom and Yours, Za Wolnosc Nasza i Wasza
The Backstory
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Bisaccia will perform selections by Chopin and Gershwin in a program that celebrates freedom and equality.
Bisaccia and other artists were originally scheduled to play this month on October 24th at Carnegie Hall. However, the event was cancelled as one by one, artists backed out upon discovering that the event was sponsored by a Polish newspaper with ties to an ugly anti-LGBTQ campaign in Poland.
Upon discovering this, some members of Greenpoint Polish community reached out to Bisaccia to express support for him and the other artists. The conversations culminated with Bisaccia agreeing to perform in Greenpoint, a Brooklyn neighborhood with strong Polish ties and specifically, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, an official RIC congregation that offers a public space welcoming and affirming for LGBTQ community and led by Pastor Katrina Foster.
We hope this concert will honor the brave sacrifice made by these artists in forgoing a prestigious opportunity at Carnegie Hall. We hope this evening will support members of LGBTQ community in the USA and Poland with a powerful message that freedom and
equality are for all.
Program
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Frederic Chopin, (1810-1849)
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Fantasie-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor Op. 66
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Polonaise in C-Sharp minor Op. 26 No. 1
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Nocturne Op. 9 no. 2 in E-flat Major
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Polonaise in A-Flat Op. 53 “Heroic”
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
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Somebody Loves Me (1924)
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Strike Up The Band (1930)
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The Man I Love (1924)
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Fascinatin’ Rhythm (1924)
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Summertime (1935)
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I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise (1922)
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‘S Wonderful (1927)
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I Got Rhythm(1930)
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Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
Paul Bisaccia
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Paul Bisaccia made his European debut at age 17 and has performed concerts on four continents. He graduated summa cum laude and first in his class from the Hartt School and is a protégé of renowned Brazilian pianist Luiz de Moura Castro. His vast repertoire includes the great piano classics including many works of Beethoven Liszt and Chopin. He was the first artist to record the complete solo piano music of Gershwin. His PBS television show, Gershwin by Bisaccia, has been seen by millions and was dubbed into Mandarin Chinese for broadcast in Asia. Michael Feinstein calls Paul Bisaccia and the Great American Piano, his second television show for PBS, "Imaginative, fun, well played and totally satisfying." His third television show, Chopin by Bisaccia has been included in his DVD release Bisaccia on Television!
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The Hartt School honored Paul with the Alumnus of the Year Award and the Governor of Connecticut proclaimed Paul Bisaccia Day in the State of Connecticut. PBS celebrated the day with a rebroadcast of his television shows. Bisaccia was also honored to perform Rhapsody in Blue in inauguration ceremonies for the new theater on the site of Aeolian Hall in New York, where Gershwin himself first performed his legendary masterpiece.
A prolific and versatile recording artist, Paul has recorded over 400 individual compositions covering a wide range of classical and American composers. Many of his television and film clips can be seen on YouTube. He has been a recurring guest lecturer at Harvard University and has written a book, Piano Player – Memoir and Master Class, describing his life as a concert pianist.
Paul was invited to Carnegie Hall to perform his All Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue concert on October 24th – United Nations Day - in a special Gala recital in which dignitaries and ambassadors from all over the world have been invited. As detailed above, this concert was (happily) cancelled.
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