Welcome to an evening in House of Sweden filled with Swedish National-Romantic Music, performed by Armen Shaomian, pianist, and Janet Hopkins, mezzo-soprano.
Doors open: 6:00pm
Light refreshments will be served
Performance start: 7:00pm
Renowned Swedish pianist Armen Shaomian and special guest mezzo-soprano Janet Hopkins will present a lecture-recital on the music of Swedish composers Wilhelm Peterson-Berger and Wilhelm Stenhammar. The program will include solo piano works and vocal pieces in Swedish. Selected works have been chosen to define and illustrate National Romanticism and to extract from each composer’s body of works the characteristics of their folk music influences.
The National-Romantic music of Sweden sounds so “Swedish” because of its use of melodies derived from generations of folk music and the influence of folk myths. The roots and influences of Swedish folklore stem from troubadour music, vocal songs such as the air or the folk ballad, festival and celebratory music, and the revised Lutheran psalms. By comparing folk songs and the folkloric melodies of contemporaries to two of the foremost composers of Sweden’s National-Romantic period, it can be concluded that National-Romantic music is “Swedish-sounding” primarily due to the incorporation of these folk harmonies, melodies, and dance rhythms in a more classical context.
Dr. Shaomian is an associate professor of entertainment management who grew up on the stage in Sweden and received training at the Royal College of Music (KMH) in Stockholm. He continued his education in the United States, completing degrees at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, and the University of Miami, FL. Janet Hopkins is an associate professor of voice and a 16-year veteran of the MET Opera in NYC. Both Dr. Shaomian and Ms. Hopkins are professors at the University of South Carolina.
