Composer and Pianist Burnett Thompson has been performing his scores for silent films since 2002 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, the Goethe-Institut German Cultural Center, the Freer Gallery, and Castleton Theater. Please take a moment to review the HISTORY of these performances.

Followed by the great silent film: Richard III , 1912, with Frederick Warde. This was the first significant Shakespearean film produced in the U.S., possibly the first full-length feature film.

Shakespeare Theatre at the Harman Theater in Washington, DC. All original scores composed and performed by pianist Burnett Thompson

Admission is Free.

Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008. 2:00 p.m. As a foretaste of things to come, the National Gallery of Art presents a non-Shakespearean piece, The Last Days of Pompeii with original musical score by Burnett Thompson. Auditiorium of the East Wing. Admission is Free.

March 11, 2009, 6:30 p.m. Othello, 1922, Director: Dmitri Buchowetzki. Cast: Emil Jannings, Lya de Putti, Werner Krauss. Goethe Institute Steinway piano provided by Jordan Kitts Music

March 14, 2009, 1:00 p.m. Julius Caesar Dir: Enrico Guazzoni. Idea: Raffaele Giovagnoli. Cast: Gianna Terribili-Gonzales, Augusto Mastripietri, Ignazio Lupi, Lea Orlandini. National Gallery of Art

March 16, 2009 The Sonnets: 10 Sonnets with newly composed musical settings. Casey Biggs will read the Sonnets. National Arts Club, New York, NY

Wednesday, March 18, 2009, Noon. Silent Shakespeare and the Sonnets: Charley Chase and the Sonnets read by Debra Tidwell. Shakespeare Theatre at the Harman Theater in Washington, DC.

Many thanks to Sylvia Blume at the Goethe-Institut German Cultural Center, John Andrews at the Shakespeare Guild, Rita Venturelli at the Italian Cultural Center, and Peggy Parsons at National Gallery of Art.

Beauty’s Rose

Derived from the Sonnets of William Shakespeare: A collection of improvised pieces for solo piano, composed and performed by Burnett Thompson