Piano Competition First Prize Winner, Kotaro Fukuma
2003 Cleveland International Piano Competition First Prize Winner, Kotaro Fukuma
JULY 2 0 – AUGUST 2, 2025
JULY 2 0 – AUGUST 2, 2025
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ing pian o in all of its f orms.
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JULY AUGUST 2, 2025
JULY 2 0 – AUGUST 2, 2025
JULY AUGUST 2, 2025
JULY AUGUST 2, 2025
JULY 2 0 – AUGUST 2, 2025
JULY 2 0 – AUGUST 2, 2025
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D o n’t miss our free pr elude concerts at C rocker Park and Van Aken District!
JULY 2 0 – AUGUST 2, 2025 D o n’t miss our free pr elude concerts at C rocker Park and Van Aken District!
n’t miss our free pr elude concerts at rocker Park and Van Aken District!
D o n’t miss our free pr elude concerts at C rocker Park and Van Aken District!
n’t miss our free pr elude concerts at rocker Park and Van Aken District!
D o n’t miss our free pr elude concerts at C rocker Park and Van Aken District!
n’t miss our free pr elude concerts at rocker Park and Van Aken District!
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Evgeny Kissin, piano
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 7:30 PM
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810–1849)
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975)
Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826
I. Sinfonia
II. Allemande
III. Courante
IV. Sarabande
V. Rondeau
VI. Capriccio
Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 1
Nocturne in A-flat major, Op. 32, No. 2
Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54
INTERMISSION
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61
I. Allegretto
II. Largo
III. Moderato
Prelude and Fugue in D-flat major, Op. 87, No. 15
Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Op. 87, No. 24
Generous support for the 2024–25 Recital Series provided by the Art of Beauty Company, Inc. Evgeny Kissin’s performance is generously sponsored by the Art of Beauty Company, Inc.
PARTITA NO. 2 IN C MINOR, BWV 826
By Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Composed: c. 1725
Duration: about 20 minutes
Not much of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music was published in his lifetime, but the six partitas for harpsichord appeared in print in the 1720s at the beginning of his tenure as cantor of the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. If his fame spread rapidly at this time, the freshness, ingenuity, and variety of these pieces contributed greatly to it. Like the English and French suites, the partitas consist of five or six movements, most of which conform to the pattern of two halves, each repeated, the second half a little longer than the first. The sequence of Allemande–Courante–Sarabande was standard, but what came before and after those three movements varied from suite to suite.
In the case of the C-minor Partita, the opening Sinfonia is particularly striking, with its bold and impressive chords and strong dotted rhythm. After such a solemn start comes a beautifully decorative melody for the right hand and then a two-voice fugue with the two hands on equal terms.
The theme of the Rondeau is heard five times, but whereas Bach normally liked to bring his tunes back in different keys, in a rondo (as the French saw it), the key doesn’t change, so Bach follows the rule here. In the Capriccio, the theme is played upsidedown in the second half, an appealingly capricious touch.
NOCTURNE IN C-SHARP MINOR,
OP. 27, NO. 1
NOCTURNE IN A-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 32, NO. 2
By Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
Composed: 1836–37
Duration: about 5 minutes each
These two nocturnes both suggest the serenity of nighttime with a combination of graceful melody and gently rising and falling accompaniment. But Frédéric Chopin by no means confines himself to that mood, since both pieces have middle sections of a quite different character.
In the case of the Nocturne in C-sharp minor (Op. 27, No. 1), the opening accompaniment is a constant flow, up and down, while the melody is truly tranquil and nocturnal. This gives way to great agitation and a faster tempo, building up to something akin to a noisy mazurka, as if dance music breaks into the silence of the night. It takes a declamatory passage of strong octaves in the left hand to bring back the opening theme after such a disturbance.
The Nocturne in A-flat major (Op. 32, No. 2) opens with the kind of brief improvisation that Chopin might have played before other pieces, before immediately giving way to another beautifully crafted melody over a steady left hand. The middle section, once again, is more agitated and builds to a climax, but retains the pulse. A nice touch is the return of the improvised “prelude” at the end.
JACK , JOSEPH AN D MO RTON
SCHERZO NO. 4 IN E MAJOR, OP. 54
By Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
Composed: 1842
Duration: about 10 minutes
Frédéric Chopin’s four scherzos are major works, never suggesting the “joke” that the scherzo’s Italian origin implies. They are not, however, works for novice pianists. Chopin was devoted to triplets and triple time, and if the nocturnes exploit triplets murmuring through the texture at a gentle pace, the scherzos use triple time for fast, brilliant music, with occasional relaxation in central passages.
That is the case in the Fourth Scherzo, where joyously extroverted music in the opening section, with an abundance of short themes, gives way to a middle section with a simpler texture, a slower tempo, and a touch of sadness that the scherzos as a whole rarely offer. It ends, of course, with a display of positive virtuosity.
This last scherzo dates from the 1840s when Chopin’s health was already weakening and when his output had slowed. He lived a secluded life in Paris, courted by aristocrats and wealthy pupils, but rarely performing in public. If the famous love affair with George Sand had not turned sour toward the end of his life, he would surely have produced many more fine piano pieces of this kind.
Blossom Summer Soirée
Sunday, July 27
followed by An Evening with Cynthia Erivo Blossom Music Center
Join us for a magical evening to benefit
The Cleveland Orchestra’s summer home. You’ll enjoy a festive dinner party complete with seasonal summer cocktails and friends in Knight Grove. Then you’ll be treated to a concert by Cynthia Erivo, and your Cleveland Orchestra.
Learn more and reserve your tickets at
Proud Presenting Sponsor of the Blossom Summer Soirée
PIANO SONATA NO. 2 IN B MINOR, OP. 61
By Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)
Composed: 1943
Duration: about 25 minutes
This sonata was written in 1943 at the darkest point of World War II, when the Soviet Union was desperately facing German assault. Dmitri Shostakovich and his family were housed in Kuibyshev, hundreds of miles east of Moscow, where he completed the Seventh Symphony (begun in Leningrad) and started an opera on Gogol’s story The Gamblers. When he heard of the death of his piano teacher Leonid Nikolayev, he abandoned the opera and wrote a piano sonata, his first piano music in 10 years. This occupied him in the early months of 1943, and he himself gave the first performance in Moscow on June 6 of that year. It was dedicated to the memory of Nikolayev.
In the first movement, the main theme is stated early in the left hand against a motoric line in the other hand. A second subject is like a nursery song at a slightly faster tempo. Eventually, the two themes come together in a climax and the original tempo returns.
The slow movement is much more testing on the ear, since both themes and harmony sound random, exposed by the slow tempo and thin texture. As so often in Shostakovich, it is impossible to say whether this reflects the desolation of the world in 1943, a private musing about the language of modern music, or neither.
The finale takes thin texture to the limit by presenting a long, bare theme without accompaniment. A sense of tonality (B minor) is restored, however, and the movement unfolds as a clever series of variations at different tempos that keep the theme always within view.
PRELUDE AND FUGUE IN D-FLAT
MAJOR, OP. 87, NO. 15
PRELUDE AND FUGUE IN D MINOR, OP. 87, NO. 24
By Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)
Composed: 1950–51
Duration: about 5 and 10 minutes, respectively
In 1950, Dmitri Shostakovich visited Leipzig for the bicentennial of J.S. Bach’s death. This spurred him to compose a set of 24 preludes and fugues in emulation of The WellTempered Clavier. Like Bach, Shostakovich allows his preludes to take many shapes and dimensions and to explore different styles, while the fugues are constructed much more strictly.
In No. 15 (in D-flat major), the prelude is like a symphonic scherzo in triple time, with an orchestral feel and a light dance as its central trio. The fugue is fast, chromatic, and loud, with a subject that opens up like that of Bach’s “Wedge” Fugue for organ (BWV 548). The pulse is relentless, and passing references to the prelude do nothing to impede its headlong trajectory.
In No. 24 (in D minor), a stately and strong but unambitious prelude gives way to a full-scale fugue designed as the culmination of the full set of 24. This begins modestly, with a theme taken from the prelude, moving quietly forward with no hint of the power that begins to develop when the pace quickens and a different subject is treated. The first theme comes back in full splendor, making a suitably solid, impressive end.
— Program notes by Hugh Macdonald
Hugh Macdonald is Avis H. Blewett Professor Emeritus of Music at Washington University in St. Louis. He has written books on Beethoven, Berlioz, Bizet, and Scriabin, as well as Music in 1853: The Biography of a Year.
EVGENY KISSIN
Piano
Evgeny Kissin’s musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have earned him the veneration and admiration deserved only by one of the most gifted classical pianists of his generation. He is in demand all over the world and has appeared with many of the world’s great conductors, as well as all the great orchestras of the world.
This season, Kissin returns to tour North America, Europe, and Asia in a recital program featuring works by J.S. Bach , Chopin , and Shostakovich . The tour will culminate with three performances at Carnegie Hall commemorating the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death. Besides a solo recital, he will perform the violin, viola, and cello sonatas with Gidon Kremer, Maxim Rysanov, and Gautier Capuçon , respectively. The third program will present a selection of Shostakovich’s chamber works, including his Four Verses of Captain Lebyadkin , Piano Quintet, and Second Piano Trio.
Kissin’s newest release is an album featuring Beethoven sonatas on the Deutsche Grammophon label. His previous recordings have received numerous awards and accolades, including the Echo Klassik Soloist of the Year and Diapason d’Or. His recording of works by Scriabin , Medtner, and Stravinsky (RCA Red Seal) won him a Grammy in 2006 for Best Instrumental Soloist. His most recent Grammy was awarded in 2010 for his recording of Prokofiev ’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3 with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy (EMI Classics). Kissin’s extraordinary talent inspired Christopher Nupen’s documentary Evgeny Kissin: The Gift of Music, which was released in 2000.
In 1986, Kissin received the Crystal Prize of the Osaka Symphony Hall for Best Performance of the Year. He was a special guest at the 1992 Grammy Awards, broadcast live to an audience estimated at over one billion, and three years later became Musical America ’s youngest Instrumentalist of the Year. Kissin has also received honorary doctorates from the Manhattan School of Music and Hong Kong University, the Shostakovich Award, and an honorary membership of London’s Royal Academy of Music.
LATE SEATING
As a courtesy to the audience members and musicians in the hall, late-arriving patrons are asked to wait quietly until the first convenient break in the program, when ushers will help you to your seats. These seating breaks are at the discretion of the House Manager in consultation with the performing artists.
CELL PHONES, WATCHES & OTHER DEVICES
Please silence any noise-making devices, including cell phones and watches, prior to the start of the concert.
PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEOGRAPHY & RECORDING
Audio recording, photography, and videography are prohibited during performances at Severance. Photographs of the hall and selfies can be taken when the performance is not in progress.
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IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY
Contact an usher or a member of house staff if you require medical assistance. Emergency exits are clearly marked throughout the building. Ushers and house staff will provide instructions in the event of an emergency.
HEARING AIDS & OTHER HEALTH-ASSISTIVE DEVICES
For the comfort of those around you, please reduce the volume on hearing aids and other devices that may produce a noise that would detract from the program. Infrared Assistive-Listening Devices are available. Please see the House Manager or Head Usher for more details.
AGE RESTRICTIONS
Regardless of age, each person must have a ticket and be able to sit quietly in a seat throughout the performance. Classical Season subscription concerts are not recommended for children under the age of 8. However, there are several age-appropriate series designed specifically for children and youth, including Music Explorers (for 3 to 6 years old) and Family Concerts (for ages 7 and older).
Editorial: Kevin McBrien, Publications Manager (kmcbrien@clevelandorchestra.com)
Design: Melissa Leone (melissa@melissaleone.com)
Program books for Cleveland Orchestra concerts are produced by The Cleveland Orchestra and are distributed free to attending audience members. The Cleveland Orchestra is proud to have its home, Severance Music Center, located on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, with whom it has a long history of collaboration and partnership.
