Candlelight Concert Series: Echoes of Goya Featuring William Feasley

Award-winning guitarist William Feasley returns to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on October 29 for a live solo guitar performance set against a backdrop of artworks by the Spanish master Francisco Goya. This haunting multimedia presentation will feature masterpieces composed for Spanish guitar along with projected images of paintings and etchings by Goya. 
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A gifted instrumentalist, William Feasley has won numerous awards for his artistry. He was the first recipient of the Peabody Conservatory's coveted Artist Diploma and was chosen to perform for Andres Segovia at the last master class given by the guitar virtuoso in 1986. Feasley maintains an active international touring schedule and has released four critically acclaimed discs.

Francisco Goya, The Parasol, ca. 1777, oil on linen, Museo del Prado, Madrid

Francisco Goya was born in the mid-18th-century when Spain was under Habsburg rule. After studying as an apprentice with a local artist in the city of Zaragosa he eventually came to the attention of the royal family; and received a number of royal commissions. His early work reflected the Rococo tastes of the European aristocracy, however, following the French Revolution of 1789, his paintings and etchings began to reflect the chaos and instability around him.

Goya is primarily known as a painter of the Romantic Period in art. He favored subjects that were often macabre and frightening in nature. Towards the end of his life, he created a series of paintings on the walls of his house that would become known as the "Black Paintings" for their dark and haunting subject matter.  ​

Francisco Goya, The Pilgrimage to San Isidro (detail), 1818-1823, oil mural transferred to canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid

"Echoes of Goya" will feature music from the 18th through the 21st centuries. Artworks will include some of Goya's early paintings for tapestry designs, portraits, and scenes from Los Caprichos, a famous series of etchings intended as social commentary on superstition and corruption in early 19th-century Spain. 

The performance will take place in the Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall on the Campus of Pitt-Bradford. Admission is free. Seating is open and advance reservations are not required. Pitt-Bradford encourages visitors to wear face coverings but it is not required to attend the event. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and the performance will begin at 7:30.  ​