Horacio Lavandera presents “Star Wars: Piano and Classics,” a concert that blends Baroque music, Romanticism, and live cinema. The performance will take place on February 25th at Café Berlín.

In “Star Wars: Piano and Classics,” Horacio Lavandera proposes a sonic journey where the piano serves as a bridge between classical tradition and the cinematic universe. The program traces an arc from the rigorous architecture of Johann Sebastian Bach to the epic power of John Williams, with stops along the way in the Romantic sensibility of Frédéric Chopin and the contemporary palette of Osvaldo Golijov.

The first part delves into Bach through two monumental works of the repertoire: the “Chromatic Fantasy” and the “Goldberg Variations (BWV 988).” Here, Lavandera unfolds an interpretation that makes visible the harmonic density and formal ingenuity of the Baroque, revealing how this music, at once cerebral and emotive, continues to resonate with surprising relevance. The Goldberg Variations also engage with cinema, having been incorporated into “The English Patient,” where the piano becomes both memory and dramatic pulse.

In the following section, the recital shifts in mood and tempo. With the Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, and the Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31, Chopin introduces sharp contrasts between lyricism, tempest, and virtuosity. The Ballade No. 1 also resonates as an iconic piece of cinema due to its appearance in Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist,” where the music accompanies the protagonist’s survival and resilience.

A Bridge Between Concert and Big Screen

The closing piece looks squarely to the world of cinema. Lavandera performs his own adaptation of John Williams’s “Star Wars Suite,” with passages including “Title Theme,” “Across the Stars,” “Cantina Band,” and the famous “Imperial March.” The result combines cinematic spectacle with the intimacy of a solo piano recital.

The journey culminates with Osvaldo Golijov, a composer linked to film since his work with Francis Ford Coppola on “Youth Without Youth.” Two pieces are performed: “Youth Without Youth” and “Levante,” which expand the sonic horizon toward contemporary, rhythmic, and deeply emotive textures.

With “Star Wars: Piano and Classics,” Horacio Lavandera transforms the stage into a constellation where centuries, styles, and stories converse, demonstrating that music can narrate without words and travel without borders.

lavereda