MUSIC alumnus Darren Matias and Russian prodigy Yasa Poleteava combined classical and contemporary music in an intimate concert titled “Contrast Duo” at the UST Museum last Aug. 24.
“This concert is special because this is where I started. I learned to be musical with the help of my professors here,” Matias told the Varsitarian in an interview.
The concert opened with German composer Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Sonata No. 1, Op. 12,” rendered in different layers of allegro or fast tempo.
The audience was then treated to an original arrangement of “Scent of a Woman” composed by Thomas Newman.
The duo shifted to a smoother, more soulful rhythm with their rendition of American composer John Williams’ “Schindler’s List,” the score for the Spielberg film about a German businessman who saved Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust.
Matias and Poleteava capped the concert with “Libertango” by Astor Piazolla’s Matias.
“Contrast Duo” has performed in various countries including the United States, Russia and Finland.
