Soulful Playing
Alexandra Carlson performs at Sanibel’s Community House
Since undergoing recent extensive renovations, The Community House of Sanibel, outfitted with a new stage and spacious auditorium, is expanding its cultural offerings. Both the Gulf Coast Symphony and the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, among other groups, are now offering island residents and visitors the opportunity to hear professionally performed music in a new venue.
One event not to be missed is the concert titled “Mozart in Paradise,” taking place on Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. and featuring piano soloist and local favorite Alexandra Carlson. This event is part of the “Small Stage Symphonies” series offered by the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. Alongside the Jupi
ter symphony and Don Giovanni overture, Carlson performs Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488.
Carlson, who resides in Naples, appears frequently as a soloist and chamber musician and is one of the area’s major musical assets. Trained from early childhood at Russia’s famed N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, she went on to graduate from there with a master of piano performance and doctorate of musical arts.
Carlson is thrilled to be performing the K. 488 concerto by Mozart for the first time. She explains, “I think this piece has it all. It has virtuosity, it has humor and it has this gorgeous, contemplative second movement. Mozart is very theatrical. He falls into the category of classical composers, but at the same time the way he expresses himself is really beyond time, and I think that’s why his music is so popular and speaks to people.”
This year also promises the release of Carlson’s new CD, recorded with violinist Daniela Shtereva of the Naples Philharmonic,
titled Parallax, in which the duo champions lesser-known works by Bulgarian, Russian, Belgian and Spanish composers. The compositions are presented in pairs that play off one another, essentially offering two closely related views of the musical material.
As Carlson notes, “Parallax involves looking at one object from two different angles. So on the CD, for example, we are playing a piece by Albeniz and then pairing it with another piece called In the Style of Albeniz by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin.” Anyone who would like a copy of the CD, or is interested in supporting the project as it nears completion, can visit Carlson’s website at alexandracarlson.org.
When not on stage, in the recording studio or practicing for her next performance, Carlson can often be found working with her piano students and imparting the musical lessons and expertise she has learned since childhood. She says, “I like teaching because as you teach, you come to better understand different aspects of each piece yourself. And I find it very rewarding when you see that it resonates.
“I also teach a lot of adults and think it’s very satisfying because they are motivated. They know why they want to do it, but also each of them brings their own unique perspective and their life experience into what they are doing, and I learn a lot from them as well,” Carlson adds.
Pianist, instructor and musicologist Erik Entwistle received an undergraduate degree in music from Dartmouth College. He earned a post-graduate degree in piano performance at Washington University in St. Louis. He earned his doctorate in musicology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He teaches on Sanibel Island.