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X-WR-CALNAME:Groupmuses near 
X-WR-NAME:Groupmuses near 
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20261004T215227Z
UID:c5ffa9fb-9963-4d2f-918a-3bdfd4fd8874
DTSTART:20261115T220000Z
DTEND:20261116T003000Z
DESCRIPTION:Hosted by Jonathan D.\nMusicians: Theodora Serbanescu-Martin\n\
 n5 PM Doors & Pre-Reception\n6 PM Performance\n8 PM Post-Reception\n\n____
 _\n\n**Theodora Serbanescu-Martin**: The Romantic Salon: Brahms & the Art 
 of Difficulty\n\n[Gotham Arts](https://gothamarts.net) in collaboration wi
 th [Groupmuse](https://www.groupmuse.com/) is delighted to present *The Ro
 mantic Salon: Brahms & the Art of Difficulty*\, an intimate private lectur
 e and solo recital by pianist [Theodora Serbanescu-Martin](https://www.the
 odoraserbanescumartin.com/) featuring works by Brahms.\n\nWine will be ser
 ved.\n\n**Program**\n\nBACH-BRAHMS  Chaconne from Violin Partita No. 2 in 
 d minor\, BWV 1004 (arranged by Brahms for the left hand alone)\n\nBRAHMS 
  Fantasies\, Op. 116\n\nBRAHMS  Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel\
 , Op. 24\n\nOther selected works by Brahms\n\n__________\n\n**About the Ar
 tist**\n\n[Watch Theodora perform Brahms' Klavierstücke\, Op. 116 on a hi
 storic Streicher piano from 1857](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPRFcyFH
 __8)\n\n**Theodora Serbanescu-Martin** is a pianist\, musicologist\, and i
 nterdisciplinary scholar whose work bridges performance\, literary studies
 \, material culture\, and the history of embodiment. She is completing her
  PhD in Music and Sound Studies at Cornell University (degree expected spr
 ing 2026)\, and holds dual BA degrees in Music and English\, with a minor 
 in German Studies\, from the University of California\, Berkeley.\n\nHer d
 octoral dissertation\, *Fashionable Concealments: Myth\, Material\, and Me
 thod in Nineteenth-Century Pianism*\, reconstructs the piano as a cultural
  instrument situated at the intersection of fashion\, discipline\, literat
 ure\, and technique. Moving beyond genealogical narratives of virtuosity\,
  the project examines how bodies\, clothing\, and technologies shaped Roma
 ntic ideals of expression\, authenticity\, and labor. This research forms 
 the basis of her forthcoming book project\, *Fashioning Pianism: The Media
  of Romantic Virtuosity*. Her scholarship will also appear in the *Oxford 
 Handbook of Arrangement Studies* (Oxford University Press)\, with a chapte
 r titled "Effortful Reductions: Brahms’s Piano Transcriptions and the No
 tation of (Dis)Ability\," and in the *Nineteenth-Century Music Review*. \n
 \nAt Cornell\, Theodora served as assistant curator for the exhibition *So
 unding Fashion* and was the organizer of the conference-festival *Performi
 ng Clara Schumann*. Her research has been supported by the American Musico
 logical Society's Elizabeth C. Bartlet Fund\, the Institute for European S
 tudies\, the Timothy Murray Fellowship\, and the Cornell Council for the A
 rts. She regularly presents lecture-recitals and conference papers that in
 tegrate historicist reading\, performance analysis\, and archival work.\n\
 nAs a performer\, Theodora identifies as a "Romantic pianist" — a term s
 he uses to describe an approach grounded in nineteenth-century aesthetics 
 of flexibility\, virtuosity\, improvisation\, and expressive risk\, while 
 remaining critically aware of Romanticism's afterlives and ideological con
 sequences. Her performances do not claim historical "authenticity\," but i
 nstead treat Romantic materials as living\, mediated practices shaped by c
 ontext\, technology\, and embodiment. She is particularly interested in ho
 w visual\, literary\, and material dimensions—dress\, gesture\, space\, 
 and staging—shape musical meaning.\n\nShe has appeared internationally t
 hroughout Europe and the United States and has performed with ensembles in
 cluding the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra\, the Peninsula Symphony\, the 
 Saratoga Symphony\, the Lublin Philharmonic\,  and the Kostroma Symphony w
 ith repertoire such as Brahms's Second and Prokofiev's Second concertos\, 
 as well as extra-canonical repertoire. Currently\, she is working on a rec
 ording and critical edition of Hélène de Montgeroult's seminal but forgo
 tten method *Cours complet pour l’enseignement du forte piano*\, while p
 reparing performances of Marie Jaëll's rarely heard first concerto\, Lisz
 t's *De Profundis* psalm-concerto\, and other virtuoso repertoire includin
 g Alkan. Her performance work has been recognized with prizes at competiti
 ons such as the International Los Angeles Liszt Competition\, IPC Sussex\,
  and MTAC competitions\, and with scholarships at festivals such as the Du
 blin International\, American Fine Arts Festival\, and Freiburg Internatio
 nal\, and the California Summer Music chamber festival. She collaborates r
 egularly with historical keyboard collections\, including Cornell's Center
  for Historical Keyboards\, the Westfield Center\, and the Ira F. Brillian
 t Beethoven Center\, and is currently in town for the event *The Sociable 
 Fortepiano*\, where she is presenting work on  nineteenth-century finger-s
 trengthening devices\, Romantic virtuosity\, and fashion at the keyboard.
LOCATION:Flatiron\, New York\, 10011
SUMMARY:Theodora Serbanescu-Martin: The Romantic Salon: Brahms & the Art of
  Difficulty
URL:https://www.groupmuse.com/events/17087-theodora-serbanescu-martin-the-r
 omantic-salon-brahms-the-art-of-difficulty
IMAGE;VALUE=URI:https://bunny.groupmuse.com/4cdbac57-063e-4ec9-b384-a77c17c
 67a06/TheodoraSerbanescuMartin-1.875w.png?aspect_ratio=1%3A1&width=1200
X-PRICE:$65 tickets ($55 for Supermusers)
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