Decades of Piano
Tuesday
October
Department of Music and Theatre
University at Albany
presents:
L IFCHITZ P LAYS L IFCHITZ
Six Decades of Piano Music
A Lecture/Recital
Max Lifchitz, piano
Concert made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts administered by North/South Consonance, Inc.
Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at 7 PM
Main Theatre UAlbany Performing Arts Center
MAX LIFCHITZ Lonesome Tears (2022)
I. Disquietude
II. Despair/Defiance
III. Grief
B-A-C-H Fantasia (2020)
Is Spring Right? (2022)
Cinco Preludios/Five Preludes (1964)
I. Prólogo (Prologue)
II. Nostalgia (Nostalgic)
III. Remembranza (Remembrance)
IV. Nocturno (Nocturne)
V. Trágico (Tragic)
Tema con variaciones/Theme and Variations (1965)
Affinities (1979)
Three Tango Etudes (2023-24)
I. Bittersweet Tango
II. Grumpy Tango
III. Wedding Cake Tango
Piano Silhouettes (2012)
I. Different Ways to Climb a Mountain
II. Woke Up to Find It Missing
III. Slippery Slope
IV. Low Country
V. Sky, Tree, River
Meet the Artist
The American Record Guide referred to Max Lifchitz as “one of America’s finest exponents of contemporary piano music” while the New York Times praised him for his "clean, measured and sensitive performances.” The San Francisco Chronicle described him as "a composer of brilliant imagination and a stunning, ultra-sensitive pianist."
A graduate of The Juilliard School and Harvard University, Lifchitz was invited to join the teaching staff of the University at Albany in 1986. He has also held teaching appointments at the Schwob School of Music in Columbus, GA; the Manhattan School of Music; and Columbia University in the City of New York.
His creative endeavors have been supported by grants and fellowships from the ASCAP Foundation; the Ford Foundation; the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation; Meet the Composer, Inc.; The University of Michigan Society of Fellows; the CAPS Program of New York State; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The winner of the first prize in the 1976 International Gaudeamus Competition for Performers of Twentieth Century Music held in Holland, Lifchitz’s concert appearances throughout Latin America have been underwritten by the Fund for US Artists at International Festivals.
About the Music
Program Notes Compiled and Edited by Max Lifchitz
Concerning the compositions being heard this evening, Mr. Lifchitz writes:
My musical language is best described as syncretic – an amalgam of diverse trends and conventions. I borrow freely from tradition while incorporating innovations of the recent past. I take pleasure in juxtaposing folk materials of a decidedly diatonic nature with highly chromatic, complex
structures. I enjoy simple rhythmic patterns and accept challenges posed by intricate metrical compounds. I don’t shun any intervallic relationship and regard the entire spectrum of sound as a viable foundation for my musical language. Most importantly, I carefully shape the surface of my music by ear since a clear sense of line and proportion helps me achieve the desired balance between simplicity and complexity, tension and relaxation, abstraction and lyricism.
Lonesome Tears is a lament for those lives lost during the recent Covid pandemic. Written while in forced isolation, the plaintive music mourns, honors, and commemorates the lives of the many relatives, friends and colleagues who departed this world because of the wide-ranging health crisis. In three contrasting but interrelated movements, the music evokes feelings of uncertainty, rage and deep sorrow.
In the manner of a Baroque fantasia, Lifchitz’s B-A-C-H Fantasia consists of twelve quasi-improvisatory episodes based on the pitches implied by the last name of the unsurpassed German master Johann Sebastian Bach. The music is constructed around reiterations and transformations of the pitches B flat, A, C and B natural (H in German). Heard at the outset, these pitches function as the basic fiber in the ensuing varied musical tapestry. Commencing with a single melodic line deployed over the middle octave of the piano, the music progresses inexorably into vivid complex textures, expanding gradually into the extreme registers of the keyboard. The meditative closing section dissipates the tensions engendered previously while recalling the most important musical gestures heard throughout.
Is Spring Right? was written in response to evolving changes in the earth’s climate as well as the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in late February of 2022. Throughout the work snippets from Stravinsky’s The Right of Spring are altered and juxtaposed with echoes of the Ukrainian National Anthem. The somewhat sinister character of the music reflects the fact that it is a work for the left hand alone. All told, sinister manus (sinister hand) means left hand in Latin.
The Cinco Preludios (Five Piano Preludes) are unabashedly eclectic. They were written in 1964, when as an adolescent, the thought of becoming a composer first crossed my mind. Their post-romantic language explores opaque harmonies built around modal and polytonal patterns. Each prelude employs a distinct melodic gesture and is cast around a straightforward formal pattern.
Written in 1965, the Tema con variaciones (Theme and Variations) belongs to a collection of works intended for the novice pianist. A lyrical theme introduced by the left hand is followed by five contrasting variations, each built around a gesture derived from the opening melody and freely elaborated.
Affinities was composed at the request of pianist Adolovni Acosta who premiered it at Carnegie Hall on March 15, 1980. This work was written with funding provided by a grant from the ASCAP Foundation and has been performed throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe and South Korea.
Cast in five contrasting but self-contained movements, each movement built around a single idea. While metered and non-metered rhythms serve as a source of contrast, a series of expanding and contracting intervals generates the melodic and harmonic materials used throughout the work. The moods evoked throughout the work range from the lyrical to the dance-like to the bravura or heroic feeling so often associated with the writing of the 19th century Romantic virtuosi.
As their title implies, the Three Tango-Etudes for the left hand alone, were written to address and master specific technical aspects involved in playing the piano.
Bittersweet Tango involves happy and sad moments alternating between emotions that are sweet with some tinged with sadness. The constant mechanical thumping of the Grumpy Tango conjures images of an irritable, crabby old man. The Wedding Cake Tango belongs to a collection of piano études for the left hand alone. In the manner of the Baroque Chaconne, the work is based on the chord
progression that underlies the ever-popular Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706). This progression became popular after it was used as background music for the Mary Tyler Moore film Ordinary People in the early 1980’s. Just as in Pachelbel’s work, the piece is built around 4 bar phrases that paraphrase (endlessly!) the simple harmonic progression heard at the opening evoking a sense of unstoppable motion.
Inspired by Elisabeth Condon’s exceptional artwork, the five Piano Silhouettes were written in March of 2012 at the request of Korean pianist Sang-Hie Lee with funding provided by the University of South Florida.
Different Ways to Climb a Mountain is built around a melodic line that begins on the middle register and stubbornly makes its way up, eventually reaching the very top notes of the keyboard. The melancholy implied in Woke Up to Find It Missing translated into a chromatic, somewhat fragmented melodic line accompanied by a languid, bluesy “ostinato” pattern. Slippery Slope has the pianist wildly going up and down the keyboard. Gravitating around the lowest notes of the keyboard, Low Country is an unpretentious A-B-A piece for the left hand alone.
Sky, Tree, River is the most complex and technically demanding work of the cycle. Taking a cue from the romantic and impressionistic piano literature, the “river” is depicted by the running succession of fast 32nd notes that serve as background for the piece. The “tree” is pictured by the unpredictable melodic lines that serve as a counterpoint to the fast passage work. A quote of the poignant and moving Korean folk-melody Arirang is used to represent the sky. The appearance of this melody – in contrary-motion counterpoint –signals the climax of the work and leads to the concluding passage where floating 32nd notes reappear fleetingly while vanishing into the distance.”
Music Program (518) 442-4187
www.albany.edu/musicandtheatre
PerformingArts Center (518) 442-3995
www.albany.edu/pac
Theatre Program (518) 442-4200
www.albany.edu/musicandtheatre
HOUSE POLICIES
Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the management and its staff.
The use of photographic or recording devices of any kind during this performance is strictly prohibited.
There is no food or drink allowed in the theatres, nor is smoking allowed in UAlbany buildings.
. To avoid disrupting the performance, kindly disable any noise making electronic devices you may have with you.
Please take time to note the location of the fire exits nearest to you. In the event of an emergency, an announcement will be made from the stage. Please proceed to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion.
The UAlbany Performing Arts Center’s six theatres, three lounges and other spaces are available for rental.
The UAlbany Performing Arts Center’s six theatres, three lounges and other spaces are available for rental.
