BOLIVAR, MO – Southwest Baptist University’s Laura Compton and Melinda Smashey, faculty in the Department of Music, will present a joint recital of the famed Pierrot Lunaire, Op 21 by Arnold Schoenberg. The recital will take place at 7:30 pm on Monday, March 24 in Meyer Recital Hall on the Bolivar campus.  The concert is free to the public. The concert lecture starts at 7:30 p.m. with the performance following immediately afterward.

A work of innovation, expressionism, organization and tonality, Schoenberg’s monodrama Pierrot Lunaire was composed in 1912 and has since come to be regarded as a masterpiece.  Ms. Compton will be performing the piece in the traditional German Sprechstimme, with translations provided for the audience.  Other professional musicians from Springfield include Kirsten Weingartner, violin & viola; Jill Heyboer, flute & piccolo; Allison Storochuck, clarinet & bass clarinet; Peter Rho, cello; and Amy Muchnick, conductor. 

A short pre-concert lecture will cover topics including: the historical character Pierrot, Schoenberg’s compositional techniques, and cultural influences.  The piece is 40 minutes long, and due to its complexity and difficulty it is rarely performed, even in large metropolitan areas. 

“To my knowledge, this is probably the first time Pierrot has been performed in the Southwestern Missouri region,” Compton said.

The second and final performance of the work will be Monday, April 7, at 7:30 pm, Ellis Recital Hall on the campus of Missouri State University. 

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