Reported by Somya Mawrie ’14

Pianist George Lopez, Bowdoin’s Beckwith Artist-in-Residence, performed an evening of Bach-inspired pieces titled “Back to Bach” in a jam-packed Studzinski Recital Hall on Sept. 13.

Lopez opened the night with Bach’s lively Paritita No. 5 in G Major, followed by piano variations by Aaron Copland, a Baroque-influenced composer. As Lopez explained before beginning his rendition, Aaron Copland once performed the very same piece at Bowdoin College in 1939, in Memorial Hall.

Lopez went on to play an expressive version of Variations Sérieuses by Felix Mendelssohn, another Baroque-inspired composer and pianist. After intermission, Lopez concluded the recital with a poignant execution of César Franck’s Prelude, Chorale and Fugue.

The performance was attended by a full house of faculty, staff, students, community members and visitors. “It was really captivating,” said audience member Jasmine Austrie ’17. “I felt like I could get lost in the music.”

Lopez is scheduled to perform next on Oct. 5 alongside clarinetist Peter Jenkins.