Five things you’ll learn at the next Shelter Island Friends of Music

Come hear Michael Stephen Brown, pianist and composer, presented by Shelter Island Friends of Music, on Saturday, May 3, at the Presbyterian Church, at 6 p.m.

Here are five highlights about this free concert:

1. A truly amazing pianist who is an incredible composer; a truly amazing composer who is an incredible pianist.

2. An arrangement by our composer/pianist of Franz Liszt’s virtuosic take on Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March”— there’s a good chance you got married to this tune.

3. An explanation and performance of Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata, considered one of the most demanding solo works ever written for classical piano.

4. Fun fact: Liszt, also a composer/pianist prodigy, performed the “Hammerklavier” for Beethoven when he was only twelve, earning a legendary kiss from the composer.

5. Speaking of kids, the performer’s 2024 Four Lakes for Children, a tribute to the four offspring of the founders of the Yaddo artist retreat in Saratoga, New York — each sadly died before the age of 10 and had a lake named for them on the property.

Donations are welcome, and all are invited to a reception after the concert to meet the artist.