Marc-André Hamelin, piano, Feb 14, 2018

Robert Blocker, Dean

horowitz piano series

Marc-AndrĂŠ Hamelin

Boris Berman, Artistic Director Wednesday, February 14, 2018 • 7:30 pm Morse Recital Hall

horowitz piano series

Marc-André Hamelin February 14, 2018 • Morse Recital Hall

Franz Liszt 1811–1886 Liszt

Liszt

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 in A minor, S. 244/13 “Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude,” from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S. 173 Fantasy and Fugue on B.A.C.H., S. 529/2 intermission

Samuil Feinberg 1890–1962

Sonata No. 4, Op. 6 (1918)

Claude Debussy 1862–1918

Images, Book I, L. 110 I. Reflets dans l’eau II. Hommage à Rameau III. Mouvement

Leopold Godowsky 1870–1938

Symphonic Metamorphosis on Johann Strauss’s Wine, Women, and Song (1912)

As a courtesy to the performers and audience, silence electronic devices.

Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.

artist profile

Marc-André Hamelin, piano

at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Munich, Moscow, and Vancouver. Orchestra Pianist Marc-André Hamelin is known appearances include the Orchestra de Paris, worldwide for his unrivaled blend of Alan Gilbert conducting the Ravel Left consummate musicianship and brilliant Hand Concerto, the Schoenberg concerto technique in the great works of the estab- with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester lished repertoire, as well as for his intrepid Berlin in the opening weeks of Vladimir exploration of the rarities of the 19th, 20th, Jurowski’s inaugural season as Principal and 21st centuries – in concert and on disc. Conductor and Artistic Director, the Ravel Left Hand Concerto with Juanjo Mena Among his summer 2017 concerts were the and the Toronto Symphony, the Ravel G Brahms D major Concerto with Ludovic major Concerto with the St. Louis SymMorlot at the Aspen Music Festival, a recital phony and John Storgards, Stravinsky at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Haydn with with the Seattle Symphony and Ludovic the Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä, Morlot conducting, Mozart with Nicholas a solo recital and the Trout Quintet at McGegan conducting the Cleveland Austria’s Schubertiade, the Chopin Concerto Orchestra, the two Brahms concerti with No. 2 with Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducting the Moscow Philharmonic, Brahms and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Beethoven concerti with Symphony Nova Edinburgh Festival, Ravel and Gershwin Scotia and Bernhard Gueller conducting, concerti in Montreux with the Royal and the Brahms D major concerto with Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Dutoit Andrew Manze conducting the Royal conducting, and concerts at the Orford Liverpool Philharmonic. and Lanaudiere Festivals in Canada.

Mr. Hamelin records exclusively for He was a distinguished member of the Hyperion Records. His most recent releases jury of the 15th Van Cliburn Competition are Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and in 2017 where each of the 30 competitors Concerto for Two Pianos with Leif Ove in the Preliminary Round were required Andsnes; Morton Feldman’s For Bunita to perform Hamelin’s “L’Homme armé,” Marcus; and Medtner Piano Concerto No. which marked the first time the composer 2 and Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. of the commissioned work was also a 3 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra member of the jury. Although primarily and Vladimir Jurowski. His Hyperion a performer, Mr. Hamelin has composed discography of 57 recordings includes music throughout his career; his works concertos and works for solo piano by are published by Edition Peters. such composers as Alkan, Godowsky, and Medtner, as well as brilliantly reA feature of his 2017–2018 season is a ceived performances of Brahms, Chopin, return to the Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Liszt, Schumann, and Shostakovich.

Hall on the Keyboard Virtuosos series as well as recitals including the Seattle Sym- He was honored with the 2014 ECHO phony, Yale University, Wolf Trap, Denver, Klassik Instrumentalist of Year (Piano), Cincinnati, Savannah, and internationally and Disc of the Year by Diapason magazine

artist profile • notes on the program

and Classica magazine for his three disc and cast their own clothes onto the stage. set Busoni: Late Piano Music; and an Ever the showman, Liszt leaned into this album of his own compositions, Hamelin: “Lisztomania” with his own seductively Études, which received a 2010 Grammy dramatic piano showpieces, replete with nomination (his ninth) and a first prize dazzling fireworks of dexterity. from the German Record Critics’ Association. The Hamelin études are The 13th Hungarian Rhapsody is no exceppublished by Edition Peters. tion; Liszt decorates the would-be simple folk melodies of his native Hungary with Mr. Hamelin makes his home in the a mosaic of pianistic acrobatics. But for Boston area with his wife, Cathy Fuller. all the glitter of virtuosity, the Hungarian Born in Montreal, Marc-André Hamelin Rhapsody is not without substance. The is the recipient of a lifetime achievement meandering, appropriately rhapsodic award from the German Record Critics’ Andante sostenuto opening is peppered Association. He is an Officer of the Order with intervals of an augmented second, of Canada, a Chevalier de l’Ordre du the unmistakable calling card of gypsies Québec, and a member of the Royal and all things eastward. The more rhythSociety of Canada. mic Vivace sections that follow unfold in Liszt’s typical pyrotechnical fashion. A page Marc-André Hamelin appears by of repeated-pitch sixteenth notes passes arrangement with Colbert Artists in a flash, but not before recalling Liszt’s Management, Inc. “La campanella” étude, itself a tribute to the composer’s own inspiration, Paganini.

—Graeme Steele Johnson Franz Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 in A minor Franz Liszt Floored by an 1832 performance by the “Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude,” virtuoso violinist Niccolò Paganini, the from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, young Franz Liszt resolved to become the S. 173 Paganini of the piano. In the process of cultivating an unparalleled pianistic tech- Liszt made no secret of his religious devonique, Liszt also pioneered the modern tion, and this piece, one of a number of piano recital, introducing the theatrical Poetic and Religious Harmonies eventually elements of performing from memory, published as a set for solo piano, is a perfect entering stage from the wings, and posiexample of the emotive, passionate, and tioning the piano perpendicular to the sensuous music through which he expressed stage to display his profile. Unconventional faith. The title of the set may be understood for featuring only one instrument, Liszt’s to refer to the harmony between poetic solo “soliloquies,” as he first called them, expression and religious feeling. Liszt provoked hysterical enthusiasm from included excerpts of poetry throughout audiences, as women clambered for torn the set, which act not as lyrics to songs pieces of his clothing, hair or piano strings, without words, but rather as expressive

Notes on the Program

companions to the music, in the same way that the composer’s instrumental tone poems were often wedded to rich poetic texts and descriptions. A poem from Lamartine is joined to this Benediction: From where does it come, my God, this peace that overwhelms me?

Whence comes this faith in which my heart abounds?

To me, who just now, uncertain, agitated, And tossed by winds on waves of doubt, Sought righteousness and truth in the dreams of the wise, And peace in hearts resounding with fury.

As though overcome with ecstasy, the tempo and dynamic increase dramatically, the formerly subdued accompaniment becomes equal to the melody’s intensity, and the theme is voiced in octaves, later harmonized with rich chords in full fourpart harmony. The lonely song of devotion has been joined by a choir of angels, and solitude becomes a welcome joy.

Franz Liszt Fantasy and Fugue on B.A.C.H., S. 529/2

Though best remembered as a pianist, Franz Liszt’s virtuosity extended well beyond the instrument, including to the When before my face only a few days have organ. This Fantasy and Fugue on the slipped by, B-A-C-H motive is a meta-tribute to the It seems that a century and a world have master, bearing the virtuosic, capricious, passed; and expansive majesty of Bach’s organ And that, separated from them by a great music. The pitch motive from B-flat to A abyss, to C to B-natural was a cryptographic A new man is born again within me and signature of sorts for J.S. Bach. It is a begins anew. uniquely well-balanced and taut collection of tones: two minor second steps down, Though purely instrumental, the work all bound within the frame of a minor bears the undeniable character of vocal third. This cell becomes the core substance music. For much of the opening passage, from which Liszt weaves a fugue in the the melody is rooted deeply in the piano’s vein of the ubiquitous D minor Prelude tenor voice. The tune bears the simplicity and Fugue. The shadow of that precursor and unadorned quality of a folk song is particularly evident in those capricious known by heart. Above it, Liszt casts faint moments in which virtuosic meandering undulating figures which gleam like rays about the keys takes over. Quite unlike of celestial light filtered through mist. A that predecessor, however, is the nearly response-like gesture sounds, surprisingly, obsessive repetition and transfiguration from far above in the soprano range. of that little motive. The result is a dense Marked dolce espressivo, these magical saturation of tones, a thick texture of measures give voice to some new, ethereal chromaticism, and the stark contrast of being. The melody dissolves away moment- juxtaposing that density against the arily, and returns in a higher range. From breadth and expanse of octaves, fifths, each note of the transfigured tune, a gentle and wide intervals. In both Liszt’s original arpeggio floats upward, towards the divine. organ version, and in his subsequent

notes on the program

(inevitable) adaptation for piano, the wide spectrum of dynamics – from a resounding forte to an otherworldly, fragile pianissimo – enhances the composer’s unique Late Romantic harmonic vocabulary.

from that tempestuous place where tonality and formal conventions nearly reach their breaking points.

–Patrick Campbell Jankowski claude debussy Images, Book I, L. 110

Samuil Feinberg Sonata No. 4, Op. 6 (1918) A pianist and composer of formidable artistry, Samuil Feinberg is little known beyond Russia. Much of this is due to the fact that both man and music were unable to leave the country for much of his life.

He lived through two world wars and the rise of Stalinism, composing all the while.

The first piece from Book One of Debussy’s Images, “Reflets dans l’eau,” returns to one of Debussy’s favorite subjects for his impressionistic musical paintings: water.

Rising and falling pianissimo sixteenth notes trace gentle arcs across the opening andantino, their circular motion perhaps suggesting the rhythmic lapping of tidewater against a bank. A pebble shatters the water’s unstained surface, and Debussy paints the ensuing ripples in a shimmering, quasi cadenza cascade of 32nd notes. The increasingly more agitated swells that follow spill over into a mighty fortissimo climax, a wave that crashes just as quickly as it rose, and subsides in a sinking, faraway coda, marked Lent.

The rich chromaticism in Feinberg’s music resembles Scriabin’s harmonic language.

At times, a line or motive will seem to meander through tonal transfigurations almost with no end in sight. That is particularly true of the central funeral march, in which the subtlest changes between chords and repeating figures give the manic impression of moving forward and In his austere second movement, the sarastanding still at the same time. Feinberg bande “Hommage à Rameau,” Debussy also adopts and adapts Scriabin’s formal pays tribute to that French master composer organicism. You may hear the same melodic and harpsichordist of the 18th century. and rhythmic gestures repeated in various Along with Ravel’s later “Le tombeau de guises throughout each movement: an Couperin” and Debussy’s longtime obsessiveness both disorienting and avoidance of the traditionally German captivating. The movements’ titles allude symphonic and sonata genres, this to changes of character and affect that movement points to Debussy’s emphasis these idées fixes will undergo. Feinberg’s on the storied French musical legacy as a sonata might be seen as a necessary and formidable alternative to its “hegemonic” natural subsequent step in the gradual Germanic counterpart. evolution of the solo sonata to greater and greater experimentation with form, Aptly titled “Mouvement,” the final piece melody, and harmony. In his music, we is an effervescent, scurrying tapestry of can hear the immense tension that rises unrelenting triplets. This moto perpetuo

Notes on the Program

could also evoke images of water, but this time with the turbulence of a rolling boil, far from the glassy stillness of the first movement’s scene.

—Graeme Steele Johnson Leopold Godowsky Symphonic Metamorphosis on Johann Strauss’s Wine, Women, and Song (1912) A preternatural gift of melodic invention seemed to emanate effortlessly from Johann Strauss II. Though essentially all of his musical output was in the area of “light” musical genres of dances, marches, and operettas, no one should conflate this with low artistry. The Polish-American pianist Leopold Godowsky recognized the beauty and grace in Strauss’s music, and his grand adaptation of the beloved waltz Wine, Women, and Song magnifies that grace and charm. Like Franz Liszt in the century prior, Godowsky was a master pianist who could transform well-known and beloved compositions for entire orchestras into virtuosic showpieces for the piano. By most accounts, he was, like Liszt, also able to make even those works requiring super-human technique look and sound completely effortless.

The work begins delicately, with broken chords falling gently like a soft rain, dissolving into the climbing chromatic line that forms the “wind up” to the waltz.

Not unlike Ravel’s distorted renderings of the noble dance, Godowsky reveals its subtle nuances – the weighted bar, the quickened second beat beloved of the Viennese, the wandering pulse – in the context of a series of continuous variations, each markedly different in style and

character. From lyricism and expansiveness to percussive, robust heft, Godowsky exploits the full spectrum of the piano’s expressive and timbral capacities: a full orchestra rendered beneath ten fingers.

–Patrick Campbell Jankowski

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A recital by faculty pianist and School of Music Dean Robert Blocker, whom the Los Angeles Times has described as an artist of “great skill and accomplishment.�

Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492, for pianosix hands, with Boris Berman and Wei-Yi Yang Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488, with members of the Yale Philharmonia Mozart: Sonata in B-flat major K.358/186c for piano-four hands, with Melvin Chen Mozart: Concerto No. 10 for Two Pianos in E-flat major, K. 365/316a, with Peter Frankl

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Chien-Kim-Watkins Trio february 27 Oneppo Chamber Music Series Pianist Gloria Chien, violinist Soovin Kim, and cellist Paul Watkins, each of whom enjoys a distinguished career in other contexts, come together in a new trio to perform Beethoven’s Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 70, No. 2; Pierre Jalbert’s Piano Trio No. 2 (2014); and Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87.

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