Local pianist Michael Brady will give a performance this New Year’s Eve at 2pm titled “A ‘Recital-Lecture,’ the Subject Being Chopin” at the Merc Playhouse in Twisp.
In addition to performing most of Chopin’s last compositions—his haunting Polonaise-Fantasie, the greatest Barcarolle of all, the deeply moving third Piano Sonata, and others—through readings, recitations, and wry commentary, Mr. Brady will also explore how their irresistible beauty, pathos, and the sweep of their raw emotional power might reflect something of his life when he wrote them, as his strange and weirdly dysfunctional relationship with the notorious writer Madame George Sand began disintegrating into a hell that would leave Chopin behind with little but despair, disease, and a deathless legacy of some of the most beautiful music ever written.
The proceeds from all performances will benefit Room One. A $15 general admission will be charged for the October performances, but the New Year’s Eve performance will be by donation. Keyboard-view seats can be reserved in advance for each performance for $25. Please call 996-5002 for reservations.

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DATE: Friday, January 1, 2pm. TICKETS: Admission by donation. LOCATION: The Merc Playhouse. CONTACT/INFO: Michael Brady, 509.996.5002.