Boris Berman, piano

horow itz p ia no s eri es Boris Berman, Artistic Director

Boris Berman piano

morse recital hall

Music by Beethoven, Brahms, Schoenberg, and Schumann.

October 5, 2011 Wednesday at 8 pm

Robert Blocker, Dean

boris berm a n, p ia n o Horowitz Piano Series • Boris Berman, Artistic Director October 5, 2011 • Sprague Memorial Hall Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827

Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31, no. 3 (1802) Allegro Scherzo. Allegreto vivace Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso Presto con fuoco

Robert Schumann 1810–1856

Three Romances, Op. 28 (1839) No. 1 in B-flat minor No. 2 in F-sharp major No. 3 in B minor

Schumann

Three Fantasy Pieces, Op. 111 (1851) 1. Sehr rasch, mit leidenschaftlichem Vortrag 2. Ziemlich langsam 3. Kräftig und sehr markiert intermission

Johannes Brahms 1833–1897

Three Intermezzos, Op. 117 (1892) No. 1 in E-flat major: Andante moderato No. 2 in B-flat minor: Andante non troppo

e con molto espressione No. 3 in C-sharp minor: Andante con moto

Arnold Schoenberg 1874–1951

Five Piano Pieces, Op. 23 (1921) 1. Sehr langsam 2. Sehr rasch 3. Langsam 4. Schwungvoll 5. Walzer

Brahms

Four Piano Pieces, Op. 119 (1893) Intermezzo in B minor: Adagio Intermezzo in E minor: Andantino un poco agitato Intermezzo in C major: Grazioso e giocoso Rhapsody in E-flat major: Allegro risoluto

About the Artist

The artistry of Boris Berman is well known to the audiences of close to fifty countries on six continents. His highly acclaimed performances have included appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (London), Toronto Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and Royal Scottish Orchestra. A frequent performer on major recital series, he has also appeared in important festivals such as Marlboro, Waterloo, Bergen, Israel, and Ravinia.

Born in Moscow, Boris Berman studied at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Lev Oborin. In 1973, he left a flourishing career in the Soviet Union to immigrate to Israel. He quickly established himself as a sought-after keyboard performer and an influential musical personality.

A dedicated teacher of international stature, Boris Berman has served on the faculties of Indiana (Bloomington), Boston, Brandeis and Tel Aviv universities. A professor of piano at Yale School of Music since 1984, he is now the coordinator of piano and director of the Horowitz Piano Series. He conducts master classes throughout the world and is a frequent juror of various national and international competitions. In 2005, he was named an Honorary Professor of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Mr. Berman’s acclaimed releases on Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, and Melodia labels were followed by two CDs of all piano sonatas by Alexander Scriabin (Music and Arts) and a recital of Shostakovich piano works (Ottavo), which received the Edison Classic Award in Holland. The first pianist ever to record the complete Prokofiev solo piano repertoire, Mr. Berman has released it on nine Chandos CDs to great critical acclaim.

Berman’s most recent discography shows the breadth of his repertoire: Debussy for Children (Ottavo); two releases of works for prepared piano by John Cage (Naxos), which was named a Top Recording by the BBC Music Magazine; the Grammy-nominated Piano Quintets of Shostakovich and Schnittke with the Vermeer Quartet (Naxos); and a recording of Scott Joplin’s Ragtimes (Ottavo).

In 2000, Yale University Press published Boris Berman’s Notes from the Pianist’s Bench, which has since been translated into several languages. His book Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas: A Guide for the Listener and the Performer followed in 2008. Mr. Berman is the editor of a new performance edition of Prokofiev’s piano sonatas, published by Shanghai Press.

In the 2011–12 season, Mr. Berman will perform and teach in the United States, China, South Korea, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, and Holland.

As a courtesy to the performers and audience, turn off cell phones and pagers. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.

Upcoming Events

Peter Frankl, Janna Baty, & Friends

Brentano String Quartet

october 9 Morse Recital Hall | Sun | 4 pm Faculty Artist Series Pianist Peter Frankl and soprano Janna Baty perform song cycles by Schumann and de Falla. Violinist Ani Kavafian and cellist Ole Akahoshi join to perform Beethoven songs and Shostakovich’s Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok. The concert also features Ivan Fischer’s A German-Yiddish Cantata with Allan Dean, trumpet. Free.

october 18 Morse Recital Hall | Tue | 8 pm Oneppo Chamber Music Series Haydn: String Quartet in D major, Op. 103; Beethoven: String Quartet in F major, Op. 135; Schubert: Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703; Ginastera: Quintet for piano and strings, with pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn.

Tickets $20–30, Students $10

Lucas Wong, piano october 13 Morse Recital Hall | Thu | 8 pm Doctor of Musical Arts Recital Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, transcribed by Franz Liszt; George Crumb: Makrokosmos, Vol. II: Twelve fantasy pieces after the Zodiac. Free.

Mikhail Rudy, piano october 19 Morse Recital Hall | Weds | 8 pm Horowitz Piano Series A multimedia performance of Musorgky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, with projected animations of Kandinsky’s sketches and watercolors from his original 1928 staging, and music of Scriabin and Stravinsky.

Tickets $12–22, Students $6

Concerts & Public Relations: Dana Astmann, Danielle Heller, Dashon Burton New Media: Monica Ong Reed, Austin Kase Operations: Tara Deming, Chris Melillo Piano Curators: Brian Daley, William Harold Recording Studio: Eugene Kimball WSHU is the media sponsor of the Horowitz Piano Series.

P.O. Box 208236, New Haven, CT · 203 432-4158

Robert Blocker, Dean

music.yale.edu