The Eagle Rocker in ‘One Piano, Six Hands’

"The goal of my life is to unify serious music and light music, even if I break my neck in doing so," the Russian composer and musician Alfred Schnittke once wrote. Regarded as one of the most important and prolific musicians of the 20^th century, Schnittke (1934-1998) is known for many works, one of which is the centerpiece of Matryoshka Dolls, a concert on Saturday evening devoted to three classical music masters: Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.

The work by Schnittke is a beguiling 1979 tribute titled Hommage to Stravinsky, Prokofiev & Shostakovich. Also known as “One Piano, Six Hands,” it is a wild piece performed by three pianists seated side by side before a single piano—like nesting Russian dolls.

One of the pianists who will be playing this genre-twisting piece in Santa Monica on Saturday is Eagle Rock resident Vicki Ray. A Cal Arts faculty member and the artistic director of the California E.A.R. Unit, Ray is a longtime champion of “new music” (watch the accompanying YouTube video to get an idea of her work).

Besides “One Piano, Six Hands,” Ray will also play Stravinsky's Sonata, a piece that explores “the tension between refinement and abandon,” according to Patrick Scott, the artistic director of Jacaranda, a classical music series that is behind Saturday’s concert and whose motto is to present “music on the edge” performed by current and rising stars in the world of classical music.

Matryoshka Dolls, Saturday, February 18, 8 p.m., First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 2^nd St., Santa Monica, 90401 (cross street Wilshire). For details and tickets, visit www.jacarandamusic.org.