The Periodic Table Live Concert - Chapter 6. Nickel

The Periodic Table Live Concert - Chapter 6. Nickel
Levi’s first job appears in Nickel, in a demonic appearing mine, but which is filled with stories which Levi finds he has a knack for bring out of people. This movement tells these stories in an impish rondo and foreshadows the first stories Levi writes which appear in the next two movements.
Bryn Mawr College • Old Library, Great Hall
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Composer: Jessi Harvey ’09
Pianist: Charles Abramovic
In Memory of Nicholas Patruno, former Professor in the Department of Italian and Italian Studies at Bryn Mawr College
ABSTRACT BY COMPOSER JESSI HARVEY:
The Periodic Table is a piece and a project dedicated to late Nicholas Patruno, former Professor of Italian Studies at Bryn Mawr College, and to Primo Levi, author of the book "The Periodic Table" ("Il sistema periodico"), published by Einaudi in 1975. Of those two people, one who I knew personally as a teacher and one who I only knew through their writing. This is a solo piano work inspired by Primo Levi’s book by the same name with its 21 chapters being recreated in 21 movements. The format and structure of each movement is guided by Nicolas Patruno’s book, "Understanding Primo Levi". Throughout the piece there are references to books Levi read, ancestral migrations, modern collaborators, regional specifics, and more. There are themes running throughout the book of Levi as establishing his identity, the love of his work in the field of chemistry, the women he loved, and the Fascism he endured and fought against his entire life. Most importantly, there is the theme of memory; bearing witness for those lost and the continuation to speak the truth when people wish it suppressed.