Pianist Eliza Garth celebrates the John Cage centennial with a performance of Cage’s masterpiece for prepared piano, Sonatas and Interludes. 

Described by the writer James Pritchett as “a big piece with a quiet voice,” Sonatas and Interludes is meditative in its esthetic; the “preparation” of the piano transforms its sound into an ensemble of gongs, chimes, and magical effects.

Although Cage did not invent the instrument he named the “prepared piano,” he was a major force behind its development and is often associated with it.

Branford Marsalis and his quartet will perform an evening of music in conjunction with the opening of a new exhibit at the David C. Driskell Center, highlighting African American artists inspired by jazz.

A man of numerous musical interests — including jazz, blues, funk and modern classical works — Marsalis first gained acclaim through his work with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and his brother Wynton’s quintet before forming his own ensemble.

Choreographer Bill T. Jones and SITI Company’s Anne Bogart have always loved each other’s work, but they had never collaborated until this year, when they brought their formidable creative forces together to create this new piece.

In A Rite, these groundbreaking artists have deconstructed the original score of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring to create a provocative meditation on the power of singular new works of art to alter the way we think.

Theatre lovers and music lovers alike know the works of Stephen Sondheim. But how many fully appreciate the power and complexity of Sondheim’s familiar compositions?

In a multi-year project undertaken with the composer’s blessing, Anthony de Mare has invited 36 of the world’s foremost contemporary composers to each re-imagine a Sondheim song of their choosing, scored for solo piano.

American pianist Benjamin Pasternack presents piano music inspired by African Americans and Native Americans, including two rarities by Arthur Farwell, who as leader of the “Indianists” movement deserves to be known as the American Bartok.

The program includes Dvořák’s Humoresques in F and G-flat and an excerpt from his American Suite; Busoni’s Indian Diary No. 2; Farwell’s Pawnee Horses and Navajo War Dance No. 2; and Bernstein/Pasternack’s On the Town Dances.