A solo piano program
Cosmos:
Three Modern Visions
A journey from Debussy’s sound-images to Bartók’s Mikrokosmos to George Crumb’s Makrokosmos — performed by Madalina Danila.
The program
From the intimate to the infinite
For presenters — ready to print
Three visionaries. Three reinventions of the piano. In Cosmos: Three Modern Visions, internationally acclaimed pianist Madalina Danila traces a journey from the intimate to the infinite: Claude Debussy’s Préludes — shimmering sound-images that dissolved the rules of nineteenth-century harmony; Béla Bartók’s Mikrokosmos — an entire musical world in miniature, from folk song to high modernism; and George Crumb’s Makrokosmos — twelve fantasy-pieces after the zodiac that send the piano’s voice out into the stars. At the center stands Crumb’s cosmos: music of ritual, mystery, and cosmic scale, interpreted by a pianist whose doctoral research at Temple University is devoted to this very repertoire.
Watch
The music, up close
Repertoire
Three masters, one cosmos
George Crumb
Makrokosmos, Vols. I & II
Twelve fantasy-pieces after the zodiac in each volume — Crumb’s landmark cycle for the modern piano, music of ritual, mystery, and cosmic scale.
Béla Bartók
Mikrokosmos
Selections from the 153 progressive pieces — an entire musical world in miniature, from folk song to high modernism.
Claude Debussy
Préludes, Books I & II
Selections from the twenty-four sound-images that reimagined what the piano could paint.
Crumb selections performed at the Ruhr Klavierfestival (at the invitation of Anne-Sophie Mutter): Proteus (Pisces) · Pastorale (Taurus) · Crucifixus (Capricorn) · Spring-Fire (Aries) · Dream Images — Love-Death Music (Gemini). [Exact program movements to be confirmed]
The artist
Madalina Danila
Romanian-born concert pianist Madalina Danila has captivated audiences across Europe and the United States with her profound musicality, technical mastery, and wide-ranging repertoire. Her doctoral research at Temple University — under the guidance of Lambert Orkis and Sara Davis Buechner — is devoted to George Crumb’s Makrokosmos, making this program the center of her artistic life, not an occasional excursion.
In 2024 she received a special prize from legendary violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter at the Ruhr Klavierfestival in Germany, one of Europe’s most prestigious piano festivals, where she gave her solo recital debut. Her competition triumphs include the Best Performance prize at the International Piano Competition in Vigo, Spain, and multiple first-place awards at the Charleston 20th Century Music Competition. As one-half of the celebrated Mada & Hugh Piano Duo, she has won first prizes at the 2023 Charleston and 2024 London International Competitions, and she is a core member of Trio Casals alongside violinist Timothy Schwarz and cellist Ovidiu Marinescu. She has performed Crumb’s complete Makrokosmos, Book I at Rock Hall, Temple University, and introduced the work in her New York debut at the Romanian Cultural Institute.
The composers
Three visionaries
George Crumb
1929 – 2022
American composer, Pulitzer Prize winner (1968), and longtime Pennsylvania resident who taught for decades at the University of Pennsylvania. His Makrokosmos I & II (1972–73) — twelve fantasy-pieces after the zodiac in each volume — are among the most performed works of the American avant-garde: music of ritual, mystery, and cosmic scale, written in Crumb’s famously beautiful symbolic scores.
Béla Bartók
1881 – 1945
Hungarian composer, pianist, and pioneering ethnomusicologist. His Mikrokosmos (1926–39) — 153 progressive pieces — builds an entire musical world in miniature, from a child’s first notes to virtuoso concert works, fusing folk song with high modernism.
Claude Debussy
1862 – 1918
The French composer whose two books of Préludes (1910, 1913) reimagined what the piano could paint: twenty-four fleeting sound-images — drowned cathedrals, footsteps in snow, fireworks — that dissolved the certainties of nineteenth-century harmony.
Practical details
Simple to present
Program length
Approximately 60–75 minutes; performs with or without intermission [confirm]
Instrumentation
Solo piano — a single concert grand. No special piano preparation required beyond tuning; every selection is performable on a standard concert grand with no special staging.
Availability
2026–27 season and beyond [confirm]
Based in
The Philadelphia area
Residency add-ons — Lecture-demonstration: “Inside Crumb’s Makrokosmos” · Piano masterclass · Pre-concert talk / post-concert Q&A
Presenter toolkit — one-sheet PDF, high-resolution press photos, and program notes
PDF in production — link goes live with the finished page
Praise
What people are saying
“Madalina Danila is an immensely gifted and accomplished pianist and musician who has that rare ability to emotionally move audiences through her probing renderings which fuse the musical message with her deeply personal vision.”
Lambert Orkis
“For me Madalina is a symbol of talent and diligence and hard work. She consciously develops her repertoire, which includes both past and present compositions of music literature in all styles. There is no doubt: she is on the right track to success!”
Péter Wolf, composer and pianist
“Madalina is one of the most devoted and passionate musicians I know. Her constant dedication to her art and the mastery of her instrument and of many of music’s secrets, make her one of the most special talents I have witnessed in my lifetime.”
Josu de Solaun, pianist, composer, conductor
Press photos
Available for presenters
High-resolution files available on request for programs, posters, and listings.
Program artwork
The poster
Booking
Bring Cosmos to your stage
To engage Madalina Danila for Cosmos: Three Modern Visions, contact:
Request Booking Information
Fees available on request.