Our second Discovers concert, Sunday, November 24, is a journey through Spain and Latin America, highlighting the passionate nature of the tango. Featuring a program specifically curated for Discovers, the featured artists are Aaron Rutter, violin, a Toledo native and currently the orchestra director at Bowsher High School and Susan Bernard, pianist, originally from Miami and now based in Perrysburg. They are familiar to local audiences, as they have been bringing their elegant duo sound to area venues. Their Discovers concert features is a new recital program, showcasing classical works of Spanish and South America composers.

Compositions of the Spanish Romantic and Post-Romantic styles open the recital,featuring works by Sarasate, Granados, Albeniz and Gardel. The “Tango in D” by Albeniz, one of his most popular pieces, originally written for solo piano, is presented here in duet form. “Por Una Cabesa”, possibly the most performed work by Gardel, will be familiar to audiences from the tango scene in the 1992 movie, Scent of a Woman, which starred Al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar.

Music by the incomparable Astor Piazzolla fills the second half of the program. Born in Argentina to Italian parents, raised in New York City and a citizen of the world, Piazzolla was hailed as the creator of the “tango nuevo”. He created new harmonies, experimented with instrumentation and crossed genres throughout his career. Piazzolla’s biographers estimate he composed 3,000 works and recorded 500 selections. Among his several works in the recital, a familiar one may be the 1982 “Oblivion”, which was originally composed for the film, Enrico IV (Henry IV). Toledo audiences may remember Toledo Symphony performances of Piazzolla’s Four Seasons.

Susan Bernard is a first generation American, with Cuban and Spanish roots. She studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and the Frost School of Music at The University of Miami. Susan holds degrees in Piano Performance and Business from Miami and currently studies with Dr. Robert Satterlee at BGSU. Starting in the Suzuki method at age 3, Aaron Rutter has long been active in the Toledo area as a performer, educator and private violin instructor. He performs frequently in the area as s soloist, as a duo with guitar and now with Susan Bernard.