Maxfield Parrish (1870–1966) represents an influential place in American art – an illustrator and painter whose luminous worlds bridged fantasy and realism together. Born in Philadelphia to an artistic family, Parrish trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and later at Drexel Institute, where he absorbed both academic rigor and the emerging language of American illustration. Over a career spanning more than half a century, he became one of the most widely reproduced artists of the early twentieth century, his images appearing in magazines, advertisements, murals, calendars, and fine art prints that reached millions.

 

Parrish's style is instantly recognizable consisting of radiant colors, crystalline light, and a fastidious layering technique that produced works with deep, glowing tones that are now synonymous with his art. He often combined classical architecture with dreamlike landscapes with human figures seemingly suspended between myth and modernity.

 

Variations on Scenes by Maxfield Parrish is an attempt to retrieve the musical contents of some select works by the artist, manipulate a theme, and combine them to represent the artworks in a sonic medium. This work draws its impetus from the emotional and visual vocabulary of his paintings. Just as Parrish layered transparent glazes to build depth and radiance, these variations layer rhythm, color, and motivic transformation with sound.​

 

Recorded  April 13, 2026 | Vlahakis Recording Studio, Pittsburgh, PA.

Pittsburgh Symphony String Quintet