Brad Mehldau, piano - Playbill 03/24/24

MODLIN ARTS PRESENTS

BRAD MEHLDA U, PIANO

March 24, 2024 | 7:30 PM

Camp Concert Hall

UNIVERSITY of RICHMOND

MODLIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS

PHOTO CREDIT: ELENA OLIVO

Thank You

THIS ENGAGEMENT OF BRAD

MEHLDAU, PIANO

IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF

Clinton Webb Fund

THANKS TO OUR 2023 -2024 MODLIN ARTS PRESENTS SEASON SPONSORS & COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Louis S. Booth Arts Fund

E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation

Cultural Affairs Committee

Dewitt Fund for the Arts

Department of Music, University of Richmond

A. Dale Mayo Fund

Virginia B. Modlin Endowment

H. Gerald Quigg Arts Endowment

Norman and Gay Leahy

William and Pamela O’Connor

Welcome

WE ARE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE OUR 2023-2024 SEASON!

At Modlin Center for the Arts, we are committed to providing the University of Richmond campus and our broader community with the best in diverse, thought-provoking, and captivating performances. Each season is cultivated with our attention to showcasing artists who provide insight into our shared humanity. At the University of Richmond, we pledge to you—our patrons and partners, on campus and in our region—that the arts will provide broad access to rich voices, creative passion, and unforgettable experiences.

Modlin is more than our presenting series. We operate as the home for our academic partners within the School of Arts & Sciences, providing spaces for conversation, connection, and collaboration across disciplines. Explore the full range of opportunities from the Department of Music, Department of Theatre & Dance, and University Museums. Don’t miss the extensive calendar of FREE concerts, performances, and exhibits, and make plans to join us.

I hope that you will also consider a contribution to the Modlin Center for the Arts. Your backing is a vital endorsement of the value that Modlin contributes to our cultural landscape. We are deeply grateful to have you include Modlin in your cultural investments. Thank you for being a valued member of our community of the arts. I look forward to seeing you at Modlin performances in 2023-24 and to hearing what moves you this year!

Paul Brohan, Executive Director

MODLIN ARTS

2023/24 Calendar

FALL

 P Ticketed: Paid

 F Free: Tickets/Registration Required

 F Free: No Tickets/Registration Required

 Modlin Arts Presents

 Department of Theatre and Dance

 Department of Music

 University Museums

 Tucker Boatwright Festival

AUGUST 2023

Queer Pioneers: LGBTQ+ History Through the Photographs of Robert Giard

On view 28 Aug - 8 Dec   F

Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection

On view 28 Aug - 8 Dec   F

Crystals: Minerals from the Collection

On view through 4 May   F

Therefore I Am: Portraits from the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center

On view through 30 Jun   F

SEPTEMBER

David Esleck Trio

Thu 7 Sep 7:30pm   F

Marty Stuart

Thu 14 Sep 7:30pm   P

Volcano Theatre, Book of Life

Sat 23 Sep 7:30pm   P

We All Break & Leyla McCalla

Thu 28 Sep 7:30pm   P

Family Weekend Concert

Fri 29 Sep 7:30pm   F

OCTOBER

Rhiannon Giddens & The Legendary Ingramettes

Sun 1 Oct 7pm   P

White Pearl

Thu-Sat 5-7 Oct 7:30pm

Sun 8 Oct 2pm   F

Company SBB // Stephanie Batten Bland, Embarqued: Stories of Soil

Fri Oct 6 7:30pm   P

The Acting Company, Odyssey

Wed 11 Oct 7:30pm   P

Sankai Juku, KŌSA–between two mirrors

Thu 19 Oct 7:30pm   P

Davison Plays Davison

Fri 20 Oct 7:30pm   F

13th Annual Celebration of Dance @ UR!

Sat 21 Oct 7:30pm   F

Family Arts Day:

Barefoot Puppet Theatre, New Squid on the Block

Sun 22 Oct 1pm-4pm   P

Kenny Barron Voyage Trio

Wed 25 Oct 7:30pm   P

Inon Barnatan, Alisa Weilerstein & James Ehnes, Swan Song, The Schubert Project

Fri 27 Oct 7:30pm   P

Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale

Sun 29 Oct 3pm   F

NOVEMBER

ShoutHouse

Fri 3 Nov 7:30pm   P

Jazz & Contemporary Combos

Wed 8 Nov 7:30pm   F

J’Nai Bridges, Mezzo-Soprano

Thu 9 Nov 7:30pm   P

Terence Blanchard, Fire Shut Up in My Bones

Sun 12 Nov 7:30pm   P

Sky Hopinka: Masterclass and Film Screening

Mon-Wed 13–15 Nov   F

Popular Music Ensemble

Tue 14 Nov 7:30pm   F

Jazz Ensembles: Little Big Band with Black & White

Wed 15 Nov 7:30pm   F

Kiara Vigil: Keynote Lecture

Thu 16 Nov 4:30pm   F

Fairview

Thu-Sat 16-18 Nov 7:30pm

Sat 18 - Sun 19 Nov 2pm   F

Global Sounds

Sun 19 Nov 3pm   F

UR Wind Ensemble

Mon 20 Nov 7:30pm   F

Canadian Brass, Holiday Show

Wed 29 Nov 7:30pm   P

DECEMBER

50th Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols

Sun 3 Dec 5pm, 8pm   F

Chamber Ensembles

Mon 4 Dec 7:30pm   F

University Symphony Orchestra Wed 6 Dec 7:30pm   F

MODLIN ARTS

2023/24 Calendar

SPRING

 P Ticketed: Paid

 F Free: Tickets/Registration Required

 F Free: No Tickets/Registration Required

 Modlin Arts Presents

 Department of Theatre and Dance

 Department of Music

 University Museums

 Tucker Boatwright Festival

JANUARY 2024

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Max Roach Centennial

Thu 25 Jan 7:30pm   P

Richard Becker Piano Concert

Wed 31 Jan 7:30pm   F

FEBRUARY

Hamid Rahmanian, Song of the North

Fri 2 Feb 7:30pm   P

Paul Hanson Piano Concert

Sun 4 Feb 3pm   F

Layale Chaker & Sarafand, with Kinan Azmeh

Fri 16 Feb 7:30pm   P

Emily Riggs, soprano

Sun 18 Feb 3:00   F

Zuill Bailey, Cello

Wed 28 Feb 7:30pm   P

Yiman Wang: Keynote Lecture

Tue 20 Feb 12pm   F

Alexa Joubin: Keynote Lecture

Thu 22 Feb 12pm   F

MARCH

MOVING | BODIES

BODIES | MOVING

University Dancers

39th Annual Concert

Fri-Sat 1-2 Mar 7:30pm

Sun 3 Mar 2pm

Doris Wylee-Becker

Piano Concert

Sun 3 Mar 3pm   F

Richmond Piano Trio

Mon 4 Mar 7:30pm   F

Martha Graham

Dance Company

Fri 22 Mar 7:30pm   P

Brad Mehldau, Piano   P

Sun 24 Mar 7:30pm

Chris Thile, Mandolin

Wed 27 Mar 7:30pm   P

APRIL

Emanuel Ax, Piano

Fri 5 Apr 7:30pm   P

UR Wind Ensemble

Mon 8 Apr 7:30pm   F

UR Jazz & Contemporary Combos

Thu 11 Apr 7:30pm   F

Natu Camara

Fri 12 Apr 7:30pm   P

Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale

Sun 14 Apr 3pm   F

Popular Music Ensemble

Tue 16 Apr 7:30pm   F

UR Symphony Orchestra

Wed 17 Apr 7:30pm   F

Everybody

18-20 Apr 7:30pm 21 Apr 2pm   F

Danish String Quartet

Sat 20 Apr 7:30pm   P

Global Sounds

Sun 21 Apr 3pm   F

UR Chamber Ensembles

Mon 22 Apr 7:30pm   F

Cuban Spectacular

Thu 25 Apr 7:30pm   F

MODLIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS PRESENTS

BRAD MEHLDAU, PIANO

Tonight’s performance will run approximately 90 minutes, without intermission, and the program will be announced from the stage.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Grammy Award winning jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has recorded and performed extensively since the early 1990s. Mehldau’s most consistent output over the years has taken place in the trio format. Starting in 1996, his group released a series of five records on Warner Bros. entitled The Art of the Trio (recently re-packaged and re-released as a 5-Disc box set by Nonesuch in late 2011). During that same period, Mehldau also released a solo piano recording entitled Elegiac Cycle, and a record called Places that included both solo piano and trio songs. Elegiac Cycle and Places might be called “concept” albums made up exclusively of original material with central themes that hover over the compositions. Other Mehldau recordings include Largo, a collaborative effort with the innovative musician and producer Jon Brion, and Anything Goes—a trio outing with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy. His first record for Nonesuch, Brad Mehldau Live in Tokyo, was released in September 2004. After ten rewarding years with Rossy playing in Mehldau’s regular trio, drummer Jeff Ballard joined the band in 2005. The label released its first album from the Brad Mehldau Trio—Day is Done—on September 27, 2005. An exciting double live trio recording entitled Brad Mehldau Trio Live was released on March 25th, 2008 (Nonesuch). On March 16, 2010, Nonesuch released a double-disc of original work entitled

PHOTO CREDIT: DAVID BAZEMORE

Highway Rider, the highly anticipated follow up to Largo. The album was Mehldau’s second collaboration with renowned producer Jon Brion and featured performances by Mehldau’s trio—drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier—as well as percussionist Matt Chamberlain, saxophonist Joshua Redman, and a chamber orchestra led by Dan Coleman. In 2011 Nonesuch released Live in Marciac— a two CD release with a companion DVD of the 2006 performance, and Modern Music, a collaboration between pianists Brad Mehldau and Kevin Hays and composer/arranger Patrick Zimmerli. In 2012 Nonesuch released an album of original songs from the Brad Mehldau Trio—Ode—the first from the trio since 2008’s live Village Vanguard disc and the first studio trio recording since 2005’s Day is Done. Ode went on to garner a Grammy nomination. Nonesuch released the Brad Mehldau Trio’s Where Do You Start, a companion disc to the critically acclaimed Ode, in the fall of 2012. Whereas Ode featured 11 songs composed by Mehldau, Where Do You Start was comprised of interpretations of 10 tunes by other composers, along with one Mehldau original. In 2013, Mehldau produced and performed on Walking Shadows, the acclaimed Nonesuch release from Joshua Redman. 2013 also saw a number of collaborative tours including a duo tour with mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile, piano duets with Kevin Hays and a new electric project with prodigious drummer Mark Guiliana entitled “Mehliana.” Mehliana: Taming the Dragon, the debut release by Mehliana, was released in early 2014. Mehldau’s monumental and ambitious 10 Years Solo Live eight-LP vinyl box set was released to unanimous critical acclaim on October 16th, 2015 (with CD and digital versions released in November). The set was culled from 19 live recordings made over a decade of the pianist’s European solo concerts and was divided into four thematic subsets of four sides each: Dark/ Light, The Concert, Intermezzo/Rückblick, and E Minor/E Major. In 2016, Nonesuch Records released the Brad Mehldau Trio’s Blues and Ballads— the ensemble’s first new release since 2012’s Where Do You Start—and the celebrated debut album of the Joshua Redman/Brad Mehldau Duo, Nearness, featuring recordings from their 2011 European tour. Both albums have received universal praise from critics and audiences alike, and both earned a Grammy nomination for Mehldau. After several years of performing live, labelmates Mandolinist/singer Chris Thile and Mehldau released their debut: Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau. In 2018, Nonesuch Records released both After Bach, an album that paired improvisations on Bach and Mehldau’s previously commissioned solo piece Three Pieces After Bach, and the highly anticipated Brad Mehldau Trio studio recording Seymour Reads the Constitution! 2019 saw the release of the critically and commercially acclaimed conceptual recording Finding Gabriel – an

album of harmonically rich vocal layers paired with strings, synthesizers, rock drums, and improvisation - featuring a number of high-profile guests including Ambrose Akinmusire, Kurt Elling, Becca Stevens, Gabriel Kahane, and Mark Guiliana among others. The release won Mehldau his first Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album.

Mehldau’s musical personality forms a dichotomy. He is first and foremost an improviser, and greatly cherishes the surprise and wonder that can occur from a spontaneous musical idea that is expressed directly, in real time. But he also has a deep fascination for the formal architecture of music, and it informs everything he plays. In his most inspired playing, the actual structure of his musical thought serves as an expressive device. As he plays, he listens to how ideas unwind, and the order in which they reveal themselves. Each tune has a strongly felt narrative arch, whether it expresses itself in a beginning, an end, or something left intentionally open-ended. The two sides of Mehldau’s personality—the improviser and the formalist—play off each other, and the effect is often something like controlled chaos.

Mehldau has performed around the world at a steady pace since the mid1990s, with his trio and as a solo pianist. His performances convey a wide range of expression. There is often an intellectual rigor to the continuous process of abstraction that may take place on a given tune, and a certain density of information. That could be followed by a stripped down, emotionally direct ballad. Mehldau favors juxtaposing extremes. He has attracted a sizeable following over the years, one that has grown to expect a singular, intense experience in his performance.

In addition to his trio and solo projects, Mehldau has worked with a number of great jazz musicians, including a rewarding gig with saxophonist Joshua Redman’s band for two years, recordings and concerts with Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden and Lee Konitz, and recording as a sideman with the likes of Michael Brecker, Wayne Shorter, John Scofield, and Charles Lloyd. For more than a decade, he has collaborated with several musicians and peers whom he respects greatly, including the guitarists Peter Bernstein and Kurt Rosenwinkel and tenor saxophonist Mark Turner. Mehldau also has played on a number of recordings outside of the jazz idiom, like Willie Nelson’s Teatro and singer-songwriter Joe Henry’s Scar. His music has appeared in several movies, including Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut and Wim Wender’s Million Dollar Hotel. He also composed an original soundtrack for the French film, Ma Femme Est Une Actrice. Mehldau composed two new works commissioned by Carnegie Hall for voice and piano, The Blue Estuaries and The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God,

which were performed in the spring of 2005 with the acclaimed classical soprano, Renee Fleming. These songs were recorded with Fleming and released in 2006 on the Love Sublime record; simultaneously, Nonesuch released an album of Mehldau’s jazz compositions for trio entitled House on Hill. A 2008 Carnegie Hall commission for a cycle of seven love songs for Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter premiered in 2010. Love Songs, a double album that paired the newly commissioned song cycle, with a selection of French, American, English, and Swedish songs that Mehldau and von Otter performed together, was released in late 2010 (on the Naïve label) to unanimous praise. In 2013, Mehldau premiered and performed Variations on a Melancholy Theme a large format orchestral piece which was performed with both Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Britten Sinfonia. Commissioned by Carnegie Hall, The Royal Conservatory of Music, The National Concert Hall, and Wigmore Hall with the support of Andre Hoffmann (president of the Fondation Hoffmann) in 2015, Mehldau’s Three Pieces After Bach were inspired by selections from Johann Sebastian Bach’s seminal work, The Well-Tempered Clavier. In 2018, Mehldau premiered his Piano Concerto at the Philharmonie de Paris, commissioned by L’Orchestre national d’Île-de-France

and Festival Jazz à la Villette

Paris, L’Auditori de Barcelona, National Forum of Music, Wroclaw, Poland (Jazztopad Festival), The Barbican Centre London and Britten Sinfonia, and Philharmonie Luxembourg and Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Gustavo Dudamel Artistic Director. In 2019, Mehldau premiered his song cycle, The Folly of Desire, with tenor Ian Bostridge. The work was commissioned by Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Wigmore Hall, Stanford Live at Stanford University, and Carnegie Hall.

Mehldau was appointed as curator of an annual four-concert jazz series at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall during its 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons, with Mehldau appearing in at least two of the four annual concerts. In late January 2010 Carnegie Hall announced the 2010-11 season-long residency by Mehldau as holder of the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair at Carnegie Hall—the first jazz artist to hold this position since it was established in 1995. Previous holders include Louis Andriessen (2009–2010), Elliott Carter (2008–2009), and John Adams (2003–2007).

Modlin Arts Presents

CHRIS THILE, MANDOLIN

Wed 27 Mar 2024

Camp Concert Hall

Chris Thile is known for his virtuosic playing and innovative approach to bluegrass and acoustic music. The mandolinist, singer, and songwriter performs Bach partitas, rock covers, and everything in between.

SOLD OUT

EMANUEL AX, PIANO

Fri 5 April 2024

Camp Concert Hall

Emanuel Ax is know for his range of elegance, power and precision. A program of Beethoven, Schoenberg, and Webern is sure to inspire in the intimate Camp Concert Hall.

NATU CAMARA

Fri 12 April 2024

Camp Concert Hall

If you merged Miriam Makeba with Nina Simone, added a dose of Tracy Chapman, and sprinkled in some Tina Turner, you might begin to describe the vibrant singer/ songwriter Natu Camara.

TICKET INFORMATION

MODLIN BOX OFFICE Regular Hours: Monday - Friday 1pm - 5pm & 90 minutes prior to all ticketed events. Contact us at 804-289-8980 or modlinarts@richmond.edu

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PROGRAMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE Sometimes this happens with little notice. In the event of a cancellation or date change, we will announce as early as possible, and attempts will be made to contact all ticket holders in advance of the event. Help us keep you informed by ensuring your contact information is up to date.

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