Music for COVID-19: ‘The People United Will Never Be Defeated’

Join the 2020 Small Stones Festival of the Arts – COVID-19 Edition for an extraordinary virtual concert with world-renowned pianist Stephen Drury, who will perform Frederic Rzewski’s masterpiece “The People United Will Never Be Defeated” Sunday, Oct. 25, 7 p.m.

The concert, recorded at Apple Tree Arts’ performance venue, The Great Hall, will be streamed free to all participants. Visit http://smallstonesfestival.org to click on the registration link.

Rzewski’s composition “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!” is a set of 36 variations on the Chilean song ”¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido.!”

The Boston Globe has described Stephen Drury as, “A sensitive, highly intelligent musician with fire in his soul . . .Pianism of tremendous intensity. . .” Another accolade from The New York Times said, “This listener cannot imagine more persuasive performances than the ones Drury played…”

The concert will also feature Drury’s world premiere performance of “Apology” by Anthony R. Green, an acclaimed performer, composer and social activist. Behind all of Green’s artistic endeavors are the ideals of equality and freedom, which manifest themselves in diverse ways in a composition, a performance, a collaboration, or social justice work.

Drury is well-known for his performance of music written in the last hundred years, ranging from the piano sonatas of Charles Ives to works by Frederick Rzewski and John Cage. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Barbican Centre and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the Cité de la Musique in Paris, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and from Arkansas to Seoul. Drury is on the piano faculty at New England Conservatory.

The mission of the Small Stones Festival of the Arts is to elevate the practice and appreciation of fine art and photography in the Blackstone Valley and beyond. The Festival is now under the aegis of a new sponsor, Grafton Arts, Inc., a newly formed nonprofit organization. The festival’s printed catalogue will be on sale after October 23. For more information, visit https://smallstonesfestival.org. or contact Chair Ken Crater at ken@smallstonesfestival.org