Baritone Sanford Sylvan And Pianist David Breitman To Perform At Institute For Advanced Study

Baritone Sanford Sylvan and pianist David Breitman will perform at the Institute for Advanced Study on February 12 and 14. The concerts will take place at 8:00 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall on the Institute campus.

“Sylvan is one of those rare artists whose directness of communication gives each performance an extraordinary degree of immediacy,” notes Institute Artist-in-Residence Jon Magnussen.

Described by the New York Times as "a literate singer who thinks deeply about what words mean," Sylvan, with Breitman, will offer a program of works including Cinq m�lodies de Venise by Gabriel Faur�; Hugo Wolf's Three Songs on Texts of Michelangelo and selections from his M�rike songs; songs by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; and Psalm 21, from Magnussen's recent score for the Jos� Lim�n ballet, Psalm.

An opera singer as well as recitalist, Sylvan’s portrayals of Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte have been seen internationally; he has also sung Leporello in Don Giovanni at the New York City Opera.

Breitman, Sylvan’s collaborator since 1979, has appeared in recent concerts with the St. Petersburg String Quartet, Tulsa Philharmonic orchestra, and Orchestra New England.

The duo has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe. A Grammy and Emmy Award winner, Sylvan has also received three Grammy nominations for Best Classical Vocal Performance for his recordings with Breitman on the Nonesuch label.

There will be a concert discussion on February 13 at 4:30 p.m. in the Dilworth Room on the Institute campus. Sylvan, Breitman, and Magnussen will discuss the works on the program and perform musical examples.

The concert is sponsored by the Institute’s Artist-in-Residence program. For more information on the Institute for Advanced Study’s 2002-03 concert series, or to inquire about tickets, which are free of charge but should be reserved, call 734-8389.