Pianist Marino Formenti in concert December 11, 2009

San Francisco Performances brings back innovative pianist Marino Formenti in a program entitled "Seven Last Words," featuring Haydn's landmark work, "The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross" paired with contemporary composer Bernhard Lang's response to that piece, "Monadologie V - 7 Last Words of Hasan."

Haydn wrote "The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross" for the 1787 Good Friday ceremonies in Cadiz, Spain: seven slow, meditative pieces that followed the Bishop de Santa Maria's parallel reflections on Christ's final words. "It was no easy task," Haydn noted, "to compose seven adagios lasting ten minutes each, and to succeed one another without fatiguing the listeners."
Says Formenti of the Lang piece: "Now, in order to expose Haydn's wonderful work to the questions of today, I opened a dialogue with composer Bernhard Lang, challenging him to compose music to replace the Bishop of Cadiz's reflections with his sounds, and to place Haydn's work within a living context, beyond religious boundaries."

The Italian pianist is currently Artist-in-Residence at the Weimar Festival, and his career continues to rise. In late November he joins Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Lou Harrison's Piano Concerto. San Francisco Performances presented Formenti's Bay Area debut in April 2007. His mini-series, "The San Francisco Piano Trips," drew sold-out crowds to the newly opened Koret Auditorium at the De Young Museum. His Family Matinee that season was one of SFP's more memorable.

Official Website: http://www.performances.org