Morenus to Present All-Haydn Recital Sept. 29

Carlyn Morenus, associate professor of Music at Illinois State University, will mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Austrian composer Franz Josef Haydn with an all-Haydn program at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, in the Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall.

Admission is $6 for the general public, $5 for ISU faculty and staff and $4 for students and senior citizens.  Tickets are available at the CPA box office from noon to 5 p.m. weekdays and will be available prior to the recital.

Haydn was a prolific and leading composer of the classical period, having been an important influence for Mozart and Beethoven.  In addition to his contributions to the symphony genre and string quartet genre, Haydn was instrumental in the development of the piano trio and the evolution of the sonata form.

Morenus' program will include two Haydn sonatas.  His C minor sonata is highly expressive and emotional in the "Sturm und Drang" (storm and stress) style. Haydn's C major sonata, in contrast, is one of his most humorous sonatas, full of unexpected stops and starts, sudden dynamic changes and other lighthearted ideas.  It also contains the only damper pedal markings in his entire piano writing.

The second half of Morenus' program will include other works for piano.  The F minor Variations is Haydn's most famous set of variations.  The Divertimento Il maestro e lo scolare for piano-four hands, for which Paul Borg will join her at the piano, is Haydn's only piano duet.  The first movement of "Il maestro e lo scolare," or "the teacher and the student," is a set of variations in which the "teacher" plays a line and the "student" echoes it, gradually increasing in difficulty and complexity.  In the second movement, the student has graduated to playing with the teacher instead of imitating. 

The final work on the program, the Capriccio in C major, is a lively and joyous frolic.

Now in her 11th year at Illinois State, Morenus is the Keyboard Area Coordinator.  She holds degrees from University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Texas at Austin.  Morenus maintains an active performing schedule as a solo pianist, collaborative pianist and chamber musician.

She has appeared in concerts throughout the United States and abroad, performing works from all periods, with a special interest in the piano music of Schubert and Haydn.  A frequent adjudicator, Morenus has lectured and written on piano pedaling, music technology and piano pedagogy.