On behalf of the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton, NY

I’ve created a special recital program on behalf of one of my favorite non-profits, the beloved Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton, NY. This wonderful resource has been a mainstay for the residents of the East End of Long Island, and I’m happy to support them.

This 45 minute program contains selections from Brahms; discoveries from composers from Syria and China; a spiritual written by the black American composer Margaret Bonds; and ends with my own solo transcription of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Notes on each work are below! Hope you enjoy the show.

Johannes Brahms: Klavierstücke Op. 118 (1893), was his second to last work that was published in his lifetime. As with Brahms’s other late keyboard works, the six pieces of Op. 118 are introspective rather than virtuosic – exploring the intimacies of the soul through a kaleidoscope of harmony. Although the collection consists of four Intermezzi, a Romance and a Ballade, these pieces are not explicitly ‘about’ anything; the poetic expression arises from abstract considerations of balance and technical craft. Nonetheless, one need only note that the set is dedicated to Clara Schumann, Brahms’ lifelong muse, to recognize that even here personal history is at the center of his inspiration. 

These pieces are some of the most beloved compositions that Brahms wrote for solo piano. The Intermezzo in A major is just stunning in its beauty. I performed these two pieces during a live interview with Sean MacLean at one of my favorite radio stations – KING FM 98.1 in Seattle, WA (www.king.org). Check them out!

Dia Succari: La Nuit du Destin
Born in Aleppo, Syria, Dia Succari finds inspiration from his homeland and the surrounding “Near-East” – from the native rhythms and traditional folk themes; from indigenous instruments such as the santour (hammer dulcimer); and from melody and sonority derived from maqam, a system of modal music that is based in Persian and Arabian tradition. 

Succari’s La Nuit du Destin (The Night of Destiny, 1978) refers to a night of prayer and spiritual illumination – the night the Heavens sent down the Quran, revealing their verses to the prophet Muhammad. To Muslims, the importance of this night is without equal, and it is celebrated during the last days of Ramadan.

This work combines traditional Western compositional style – where notes and rhythms are specifically notated – with interior sections where the pianist has the library to improvise in a style called, taksim. The timbre of the taksim sections call forth Persian instruments such as the santour – in the soft, left hand of the piano – and the plucked intensity of the ud, a Persian lute. In La Nuit du Destin, emotional power derives not from the development of its lovely themes, but from the repeated incantations and improvisations of the core melodic material.  Performing this piece is deeply personal, and most important is the moment of enlightenment in the middle of this work, where the music just stops and you listen to the silence, as if reaching the apex of understanding. Almost like a ball that’s thrown in the air, and when it reaches its highest point, it just stops and hangs there. That’s the effect.

Margaret Bonds: Troubled Water

Margaret Bonds’s music speaks best for itself. Her interest in Negro spirituals –  the secret form of communication used by slaves during the Civil War – led her to create arrangements of them in a variety of settings. She composed Troubled Water in 1967 for piano, and I recorded it for my solo recital album, West of the Sun. It’s an impressive, beautifully crafted work that expresses a powerful, emotional history, drawing its material from ‘Wade in the Water’. The refrain and verse appear in different ways, some with complex rhythmic accompaniments. A languid tempo builds into a climax that juxtaposes ’Wade in the Water’  with ‘God’s Gonna Trouble the Water’. 

The poet Maya Angelou described “Troubled Water” as one of Margaret Bonds masterpieces. It’s a very spiritual piece, and one of my favorites. Visit my blog to learn more about her, and hear more of her incredible music.  https://joelfanmusic.com/blog/​

Peixun Chen : Autumn Moon

This piano transcription of Autumn Moon Over the Calm Lake was written by the composer Peixun Chen, and is popular in the repertoire of many pianists from China. The original folk song was written in the 1930s on a visit to the famous West Lake in Hangzhou, considered since ancient times as a gorgeous place of tranquility. The music illustrates the atmosphere and feel of the place with placid suppleness, and is a sublime expression of the veneration of the beauty and grace of the scenery. 

Peixun Chen created other popular transcriptions of Cantonese folk songs, and his three symphonies are an important contribution to the Chinese symphonic music of the 20th century.

Qigang Chen: Instants d’un opera de Pekin

Shanghai-born Qigang Chen (b.1951) is a master at synthesizing the Cultures of the East and the West in his compositions. During China’s Cultural Revolution, young Chen was kept in confinement for three years. He became the last student of the iconic composer Oliver Messiaen, who felt that Chen’s work represented “ a total assimilation of Chinese thinking to European musical concepts.”

Most of Chen’s works are larger ensemble pieces combing traditional Chinese instruments and themes with Western orchestra. Instants d’un opera de Pekin is unique in Chen’s oeuvre as a solo piano work – and conjures various instruments used in Chinese music, such as banggu (single headed frame drum), jinghu (bronze cymbals), luo (Chinese gong), the pipa (a plucked instrument resembling a lute) and the sheng (a reedy wind instrument). Two pentatonic motifs, which appear slowly in the introduction to the work, form the basis of the entire composition. These motifs iterate ever-more rapidly in wave-like patterns, with different characters and textures forming a rich tonal palette. The work builds to a soaring, clamorous climax and then disperses, as if all were a dream.

George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

George Gershwin composed his most famous piece at the age of 25, in less than five weeks. Paul Whiteman, a bandleader who had worked with Gershwin, commissioned him to compose the work for a concert titled “An Experiment in Modern Music”. Gershwin began composing his work on January 7, 1924, and the orchestration was completed eight days before the premiere was held on February 12, 1924 in New York City, with the composer at the piano.

Since Gershwin did not have sufficient knowledge of orchestration at that time, it was Ferde Grofe – Paul Whiteman’s pianist and arranger – who played a principal role in arranging various versions of Rhapsody in Blue.

Joel Fan’s transcription of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue draws heavily upon Ferde Grofe’s 1942 orchestration for full symphony orchestra for virtuoso effect. For example, Fan incorporates references to the glockenspiel, adds tremolos to emulate orchestral crescendos, and octave doublings to create a more symphonic effect, while also highlighting parts of the piano cadenza that may be obscured by a symphony orchestra playing at full volume.

As Artistic Director of the Open Source Music Festival in New York City, Joel Fan explores transformations and re-imaginations of music – and Fan’s transcription of Rhapsody in Blue represents a step along his artistic journey. 

I was impressed by this painting while reading an article in the Washington Post about art created during the pandemic. The artist was “Considering life with covid-19 and the future of intimacy”, but I started to consider the myriad of ways that the corona virus has already impacted artists and our culture.

But before we begin to assess the devastating impact that the pandemic has had on the arts and culture, let’s not forget that artists of all kinds have already been reeling from a decades long digital assault. Once their creations became readily accessible and freely transmitted over the internet, their value diminished substantially, erasing traditional revenue sources. In response, artists turned their focus to physical objects and live experiences in their effort to replace the lost income. Musicians sought performance opportunities in new settings and toured more often. Writers and illustrators held more lectures, classes, and workshops. New festivals and art fairs of all kinds were springing up and thriving. However, the pandemic has ended all of those activities, including television, film production, commissions, residencies, as well as income sourced through teaching and even waiting on tables.

The economic impact of the pandemic on the arts has been swift, and Congress acted with an appropriation of $75 million to the National Endowment for the Arts through the CARES Act. Even so, there has been $13.9 billion in lost revenue to date. The average loss to each arts organization has been $28,500, while the MET Opera has lost over $60 million. So far, 96% of them have had to cancel events, suffering a loss in attendance of over 105 million people, which has forced them lay off 62,00 in staff, furlough 50,000 more, and severely impacting donors generosity. What disturbs me most – as long as the public’s safety remains at risk and the need to practice social distancing persists, no-one can predict nor envision the return to any kind of normal cultural environment. 

Artists and cultural organizations have already begun ‘adapting’ to these circumstances, responding with new business models and changing the way they will conduct their businesses over the next year. Their focus has turned to their digital presence, using social media and emails to connect with their communities and promote online concerts, exhibits, workshops and coaching sessions. The Chicago Symphony has launched a new video portal to stream their entire 2020 season and will broadcast a new series of archival performances on radio. The Cleaveland Orchestra has similar plans for their season as have the NY Philharmonic, which has even added outdoor ‘pull up concerts’ as weather permits. Museums have made millions of works of art available digitally and created virtual tours of their collections. Individually, artists are using skills acquired in dealing with the internet to offer online workshops, classes, lessons, and masterclasses on Zoom, Facebook Live, and Google Hangouts.

But while all of these activities might provide much needed revenue to help the arts survive, all of the ‘free content’ that’s being generated will ultimately benefit the tech giants far more. The transfer of wealth from the artist who creates to the Silicon Valley tech distributors is enormous, in the tens of billions of dollars annually. Those who count the clicks and sell the advertising and meta-data collected are being enriched with unparalleled power and money. As our existence and our attention now pivots even more to screens, one can only wonder if audience attendance will ever return to pre-pandemic levels.

In a way, the pandemic may be a catalyst for artists. Not only in making a living, but in understanding their own experience, and then, in how to share that with others. The isolation and downtime has been used by many artists – myself included – to pursue projects that required time and attention previously unavailable. It’s also allowed for the kind of personal inner space for one to reflect and rethink, revisit and re-evaluate, refresh and re-imagine.  

No one should be surprised by the creativity and innovation artists are now employing to continue their craft, build their communities, and support themselves. The role of art has become more important, and the environment in which art is created has changed. But I have no doubt that it will go on, reminded by the words of Leonard Bernstein.

“It is the artists of the world, the feelers and the thinkers who will ultimately save us; who can articulate, educate, defy, insist, sing and shout the big dreams.”

Joel Fan, Solo Recital (LIVE)

The Gretna Music Festival’s season opened with a live solo recital performed by Joel Fan, featuring music of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Prokofiev, Villa-Lobos and much more.

With live concerts cancelled for much of 2020, the Gretna Festival decided to stream concerts recorded from previous seasons. These concerts were previously recorded for broadcast on the local NPR station.

Joel Fan’s solo piano recital was originally presented at Elizabethtown College’s Leffler Chapel and Performance Center on October 6, 2007. Please have a listen to this blockbuster recital program at the video below:

This live recital performance includes the following works:

No. 10, Pentatonic Theme, from 10 Sketches on Aksak Rhythms, Op. 58, Adnan Saygun (1907-1991)

Piano Sonata No. 3 in a minor, Op, 28, Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

La Nuit du Destin, Dia Succari (b. 1938)

Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, Qigang Chen (b. 1951)

Piano Sonata in A-flat Major, Op. 110, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

— intermission —

Cristal, Cesar Mariano (b. 1943)

Choros No. 5, ‘Alma Brasileira,’ Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)

Danca Negra, Carmago Guarnieri (1907-1993)

Nine New Bagatelles, William Bolcom (b. 1938)

Piano Sonata No. 2 in b-flat minor, Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Concert Paraphrase on Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto,’ Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

— end —

Here are the original program notes, written by Carl Kane:

Sergei Prokofiev, Sonata No. 3 in a minor, Op. 28
Spring of 1918 could not have been the best of times to drop in on St. Petersburg, yet that is what Prokofiev did. It wasn’t like he had much choice about it, having fled three times already from the Reds, the Whites, the riots and the civil strife that had enveloped wartime Russia. Concertizing must have been a nightmare then, and heaven only knows (or the masses’ opiate Lenin, depending which side you’re on) how the Classical Symphony, the Third and Fourth Piano Sonatas made it to a stage before a living audience. But make it there they did, the Classical surpassing all expectations, hitting big-time, quickly going international and making the composer’s reputation. And the Third Sonata was no slouch either. One might even say that, if the Classical was a rosebush among revolutionary briars, the Third Sonata was at least a bonus flower.

Fashioned from material first drafted in his student years a decade before (hence its sometime subtitle, ‘From Old Notebooks’), this single-movement, virtuosic work makes the perfect recital showpiece. Erlkönig-like triplets start things with a bang, but Prokofiev quickly passes in steely-nerved intensity anything Schubert conceived. A brief interlude injects some respite for both listener and artist (though even here a neurotic ostinato persists), before the triplets return, more fanatical than ever, sweeping us to an intense, abrupt, inevitable conclusion.

Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110
To compose a theme that, by pure chance, exactly duplicates onepreexisting would be remarkable coincidence. Yet that is what seems to have been done by Beethoven in the Adagio ma non troppo third movement of his Op. 110. Here the first nine notes parallel those exactly of Es Is Vollbracht (It is finished), the aria at the death of Jesus from Bach’s Passion of St. John. Bach’s oeuvre was largely unknown in Beethoven’s lifetime, so it is unlikely that the instance was a deliberate quote. Still the parallel – of purpose just as much as notes – is striking.

In 1822, Beethoven had just gone through an early bout with the systemic illnesses (hepatitis, dropsy, cirrhosis) that would claim him six years on; he had also recently emerged from the low point of his public life, an embarrassing legal battle over custody of his nephew. Thus the third movement theme in question, after a genial first movement and a restive second, can be seen to represent the nadir of the composer’s suffering (Vincent d’Indy places it among “the most poignant expressions of grief conceivable to man”). There follows a fugue which might be termed a resurrection, though the woeful theme is heard one final time before the fugue returns in varied form, this time marked poi a poi di nuovo vivente (“with more and more new life”).

The motif thus of death, or suffering, seems to have caused Beethoven and Bach, two great creative minds, to think alike, fashioning independently a melody from which to pen rebirth.

Frédéric Chopin, Sonata No. 2 in b-flat minor, Op. 35
A consummate master of the musical miniature, Chopin is oftengiven insufficient credit when it comes to the coherence of his larger works. Take for instance the Sonata No. 2 in b-flat minor, of which no less an expert than Robert Schumann wrote, “The notion of calling this a sonata is a caprice, if not a joke, for he has just bound together four of his most reckless children.”This charge may be amusing, but it hardly seems fair. Granted, the work in question may lack the inner logic of a Waldstein, not to mention a Hammerklavier. Still it holds together as well as, say, a Spring or Rhenish symphony. The famous funeral march of the sonata’s third movement, though written two years before the work’s rest (1839), even shares the main theme, played backwards, of its opening movement. And there are other ways, still more boring to discuss, in which Chopin knits his work together. Take the fact that six – six! – major themes start out upon the mediant; and only the finale fails to feature repeated notesin its first subject, although here the octave triplets do trace identically the falling seventh, rising second contour of the work’s head.

But you’re asleep, for I’ve digressed. Suffice it to say, the B-flat minor Sonata, like most of Chopin’s large-scale works, is unified just fine. And best of all, it makes great listening.

No offence, Mr. Schumann.

Franz Liszt, Concert Paraphrase on Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’
The opera paraphrase was a peculiar species of musicalarrangement, wildly popular in its heyday – roughly the mid-19th to early 20th centuries. In it, the latest operatic hits were transcribed for keyboard and given virtuoso treatment. Pre-CD, pre-radio, pre- gramophone, in this way urban audiences got to hear their favorite tunes more often, rural ears got to hear them sometimes for the first time, and pianists got dazzling, if musically vacuous crowd pleasers with which to bring down the curtain.

The supreme master of this form, Franz Liszt, gave the paraphrase treatment to more than half a hundred operas, including 7 by Verdi: I Lombardi, Ernani, Il Trovatore, Simone Boccanegra, Don Carlo, Aida, and Rigoletto. Of these, the Concert Paraphrase on ‘Rigoletto’ (1859) is the most frequently performed. Here Liszt elaborates in brilliant fashion on a group of melodies, all lifted from Bella figlia dell amore, the opera’s familiar Act IV quartet.

Notes by Carl Kane

Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 is one my favorites, and I always welcome the opportunity to perform it whenever asked. I’m also interested in how music is made, how a work comes into being. What usually comes to mind is a composer laboring in solitude, sometimes for a period of years, to realize and perfect their personal vision. But the story of this piece surprised me. Tchaikovsky revised this work three times over a number of years. In this case, it was hearing the work performed, and the criticism and suggestions from prominent pianists that informed the composer.

Tchaikovsky began composing the Piano Concerto No.1 in November of 1874, and had completed an arrangement for two pianos by that December. Hoping that the famed pianist and conductor Nikolai Rubinstein would agree to premiere the work, Tchaikovsky played the first movement for him and a friend just three days after completing it. Their criticism was both detailed and unvarnished, leaving Tchaikovsky to exclaim “I shall not alter a single note,” … “I shall publish the work exactly as it is!”. 

Pianist Hans von Bülow was approached to perform the premiere of the concerto on October 25, 1875 in Boston. It was such a success with the audience that they were obliged to repeat the Finale. But critics disagreed, one writing the piece was “hardly destined… to become classical”. But the work fared better at its next performance under Leopold Damrosch on November 22, in New York City.

The Russian premiere took place in St. Petersburg that November with pianist Gustav Kross as soloist, however Tchaikovsky felt his performance was “an atrocious cacophony “ Only a few weeks later, the Moscow premiere featured pianist Sergei Taneyev, with no other but Nikolai Rubinstein conducting. After being so harshly critical a year earlier, Rubinstein had a complete change of mind about the concerto. He became a champion of the work, performing the piece numerous times throughout Europe.

The piece was published in it’s original form in 1875. However, after hearing numerous performances during 1876, Tchaikovsky began to accept the advice of two prominent pianists who had played it that would improve his writing for the piano. Notably different was the opening of the concerto. Where the piano originally played block chords, they were now arpeggiated. Tchaikovsky was to revise the concerto again in 1879, and once more in 1888.

This is the version that we know and enjoy to this day. Listen to my take on the first and second movements!

The magnitude of the effects of the corona virus pandemic throughout the world are beyond anything I could have dreamed possible. It’s challenging our medical resources and political systems, while laying waste to whole economies across the globe. We all face the risk of exposure, and until a vaccine is available, no one is immune from it’s dangers. Our best hope has become containment of the virus. We must shelter in place, stay at home, and practice strict social distancing. I believe that our well being depends on this, and I practice it diligently. But I like being proactive, usually employing a ‘best defense is a good offense’ kind of mentality. No matter what the challenge, taking purposeful action makes me feel empowered. I’d also like to reinforce the sense of connection and responsibility to ourselves and to each other.

So, are there things we can do while still conforming to social distancing?  There’s plenty.

First of all, let’s stay healthy. Make sure to eat sensibly, exercise, and stay up to date with news about the corona virus. Become a resource for your friends and neighbors, ready with advice and information on everything from it’s symptoms to how to apply for unemployment insurance.

A good start to learn about the corona virus is here: 

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/campaign/stand-together-to-beat-coronavirus/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html

Donate – if you’re able to make a financial donation, organizations that are leaders in their cause can be found in this NY Times article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/smarter-living/coronavirus-charity-donations.html

Consider your local food bank. Feeding America is a network of 200 banks across the country, and 92% of them are experiencing significant increases in demand. They agree that the best way we can support them is with money, but most wouldn’t turn down any donation of non-perishable food. They are also experiencing a crucial need of volunteers. To do whatever you can, go to this website and type in your zip code to find your local food bank.

https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank?mod=article_inline

There is no known end date yet in this fight against the coronavirus, and there are already blood shortages. The Red Cross needs blood and platelet donors to ensure the health of our communities. It’s a safe, easy process that we should consider. Find out more here:

https://www.redcross.org

Or, how about treating the essential workers in your neighborhood to a free lunch or snacks? Think of the risks that medical workers, firemen, policemen, EMT Units, Postal workers and the cashiers and folks who stock our supermarkets are taking every day on our behalf. They are heroes, and they deserve to know how grateful we are. Sending a pizza, sandwiches or anything from your favorite restaurant will let them know that they’re appreciated, and also provide needed help to your local businesses.

Most importantly of all, be a friend to those around you. When you give a little of yourself by just listening to their hopes, fears and frustrations, you give them a sense of caring. It costs nothing to let someone know that they matter. Ask neighbors how they are doing – especially the elderly – and see if they need anything. Maybe you could pick up that prescription or help with shopping. Or make someone a mask. Whatever it is, when we give of ourselves, we are reaffirming our own humanity. Someone once said people may not remember what we said or what we did, but they will never forget how we made them feel.

So those are a just few ideas, but there’s so much more we can do. I hope you’ll send me your suggestions so I can share them with others. Together we make the difference.

Last November, the Open Source Music Festival debuted in New York City to a sold out house, exceeding all of our expectations for success. I want to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to each of the many performers, composers, and panelists who participated, and also to the people who generously contributed their work to make the Open Source Music Festival a reality. It required a tremendous amount of effort, but totally worth it!

I created the Festival to illuminate how composers and performers take inspiration from the music that came before them, and build upon it in new ways. The creativity unleashed by the open source movement of today – in which thousands of creative minds come together to forge great accomplishments – is also present in the music industry, and in the very fabric of musical composition itself, via the infinite derivations of past musical ideas now present in today’s music. Hence, our slogan: “Music Reimagined“.

One of the signature events of this year’s Festival was a panel discussion of experts that explored relevant themes to artists in the open source era. In particular, how creative digital rights are empowered by new innovations, and how in the near future, creators will be able to precisely control how freely their digital content is shared. I hope we will continue to examine and educate our creative community about all of these possibilities.

At the heart of the OSMF was an all day concert event that presented a diverse range of artists from contemporary, electronic and jazz who expressed what open source means to them. The JACK Quartet (“new music super heroes”), jazz guitarist Ben Monder, who improvises upon an original musical concept, electronic artists Teengirl Fantasy and ADR, who performed jointly, singer Jeff Gavett (of loadbang and ekmeles), cellist Jeffrey Zeigler (a pioneering instrumentalist formerly of the Kronos Quartet), the forward-thinking percussion trio TIGUE, and the septet the cellar and point, who seamlessly fuse classical music, jazz, and alt-rock. 

We also commissioned a 45 minute piano suite that I premiered, called Couplets, written by four pairs of married composer couples: Augusta Read Thomas & Bernard Rands, Evan Ziporyn & Christine Southworth, Anthony Cheung & Wang Lu, Julia Wolfe & Michael Gordon. This marvel of 21st century piano composition now takes its place among the significant works of new music that have been recently written.

Each of the four individual works in Couplets is inspired by a pre-existing composition, with influences that ranged from Elliot Carter and Chopin, to pop music. I wanted to explore the tension and interplay of relationships in a collaborative, creative process, and demonstrate the meaning of re-imagination for these acclaimed composers. (For more about Couplets, please read the associated blog post).

My hope is that the Open Source Music Festival is just the beginning, and that in the future, we can expand its theme to include other art forms –  visual art, filmmaking and perhaps even food. Indeed, preparations are now underway for our next Festival, which will focus on the vast lineage of music that is inspired by the master Romantic composer, Frederic Chopin.

My takeaway from our Festival? I will continue creating and performing inspiring and unique recital programs that explore the influences and inspirations of music across history and cultures from around the world. To date, audiences have heard my performances of Couplets paired with the Liszt Sonata, and works of Chopin, Chinese, South American and Middle Eastern composers on WQXR in New York, KING in Seattle, and at my recitals in Washington DC, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, the Ukraine and Eastern Europe, to just name a few places that I’ve performed at recently.

Stay in touch, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

opensourcemusicfestival.com

I’ve always had the goal of bringing 10 new piano compositions to life that would help to elucidate the state of modern pianism. My passion to expand the piano repertoire has to led me to  premiere numerous pieces from composers around the world, and to embark on a multi-year commitment to commission, premiere and record new works. Several years ago, Leon Kirchner’s last piano sonata, ‘The Forbidden’, was the beginning of this sequence.

When the planning of the Open Source Music Festival started, my vision was to bring a new musical work into the world that epitomizes exploration, collaboration, sharing, and ultimately, the reimagination of music. I chose four pairs of married composer couples – Augusta Read Thomas & Bernard Rands, Evan Ziporyn & Christine Southworth, Anthony Cheung & Wang Lu, Julia Wolfe & Michael Gordon – to create a new work, together, that takes it’s inspiration from another influence. The result is a remarkable set of new piano compositions inspired by the concepts underlying open source, and that we have named Couplets.

Don’t Want To Wait: Christine Southworth, Evan Ziporyn. Christine Southworth is a composer and video artist who creates art born of sonic and visual ideas. She’s inspired by intersections of technology and art, nature and machines, and music from cultures around the world. Evan Ziporyn is a composer that draws from classical music, avant-garde, world music traditions, and jazz. He is also a Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT and known for his solo performances on clarinet and bass clarinet.

Julia Wolfe and Michael Gordon created Hand in Hand together, melding their styles while remaining unique and distinctive in this new work. Julia Wolfe is a 2016 MacArthur Fellow and winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in music. She draws inspiration from folk, classical, and rock genres, bringing a modern sensibility to each while simultaneously tearing down the walls between them. Michael Gordon’s music merges subtle rhythmic invention with incredible power embodying, in the words of The New Yorker’s Alex Ross, “the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and the intransigence of classical modernism.”

Recombinant: Wang Lu, Anthony Cheung. This composition combines existing elements in a new combination and draws it’s influences from Chopin. Composer and pianist Wang Lu was born in Xi’an, the ancient capital of China. Being brought up in a musical family with strong Chinese opera and folk music traditions, her works reflect a very natural identification with those influences, through the prism of contemporary instrumental techniques and new sonic possibilities. A Guggenheim Fellow, she has created works for a variety of Western and Chinese ensembles and orchestras that have been performed internationally. Composer and pianist Anthony Cheung has received awards from ASCAP, the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His output ranges from solo to orchestral works, commissioned by leading orchestras and ensembles throughout the world.

Two Thoughts About the Piano: Augusta Read Thomas, Bernard Rands. Actually two separate works intended to be performed without pause, Impromptu #3 and AXIS are based on the Elliott Carter composition, Catenaires. Grammy winner Augusta Read Thomas has created an impressive body of works that embodies unbridled passion and fierce poetry.Her music is nuanced, majestic, elegant, capricious, lyrical, and colorful, and she’s secured a permanent place in the pantheon of American composers. With over a hundred published works and many recordings, Bernard Rands is established as a major figure in contemporary music. Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2004, he has been awarded a Grammy, the Pulitzer Prize in Music, making a wonderful and dedicated contribution to the music of our time.

Margaret Allison Bonds was born on March 3, 1913, and passed away on April 26, 1972. She is of one of my all-time favorite composers, and her extraordinary life that was filled with so much professional success, as well as personal tragedy, remains an inspiration to me.

Born in Chicago in 1913, Bonds was a ground breaking pianist and composer. As a pianist, she became the first black American soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1933. As a composer, she assimilated the sounds of jazz, blues and calypso into classical repertoire in works for orchestra, a Mass, two ballets, musical theater, voice and choir. Legendary artists such as soprano Leontyne Price performed her works, and Zubin Mehta conducted Bond’s Credo, for baritone, chorus and orchestra at the Los Angeles Symphony. I admire Bonds not only for bringing the sounds of traditional gospel stylings and harmonies into the concert hall, but for integrating what were two very separate musical cultures.

As a child, Bonds studied piano with her mother. She wrote her first work, Marquette Street Blues, at the age of five and was influenced by many black intellectuals who were frequent guests in her home. Langston Hughes was to become a life long friend, and Bonds set many of his writings to music. Florence Price taught Bonds composition while she was in high school, and Bonds performed her Concerto for Piano. After completing musical studies at Northwestern University and Julliard, Bonds wanted to continue with Nadia Boulanger. But she declined Bonds, saying she needed no additional training.

Bonds’s music speaks best for itself. Her interest in Negro spirituals –  the secret form of communication used by slaves during the Civil War – led her to create arrangements of them in a variety of settings. She composed Troubled Water in 1967 for piano, and I recorded it for my disc, West of the Sun. It’s an impressive, beautifully crafted work that expresses a powerful, emotional history, drawing it’s material from ‘Wade in the Water’. The refrain and verse appear in different ways, some with complex rhythmic accompaniments. A languid tempo builds into a climax that juxtaposes ’Wade in the Water’  with ‘God’s Gonna Trouble the Water’.  https://youtu.be/ozJXgZjiZf

An example of her larger scale writing is The Ballad of the Brown King,  a nine movement work for chorus, soloists, and orchestra. It’s text, by Langston Hughes, tells the story of the three wise men focusing on Balthazar, the ‘brown’ king. https://youtu.be/Qsdixi0jVSo

Bonds also wrote many pieces for voice and piano, and her Three Dream Portraits again sets the poetry of Langston Hughes to her music. https://youtu.be/mIr1mT4-wKU

I’m excited to be returning to the Boston area this spring! I’ll be performing a blockbuster (or is it fingerbuster?) solo recital in Cambridge at one of our leading educational institutions, the MIT Center for Art, Science and Technology.

MIT works to integrate the arts across their entire curriculum, disciplines and majors. They enrich and encourage artistic collaborations and partnerships, and then share their work in concerts, symposiums, exhibitions and publications. Evan Ziporyn, the Distinguished Professor of Music, Chair, and Faculty Director of MIT CAST invited me along with an incredibly interesting and talented group of artists : Terry Riley, Joe Lavano, the Boston Camerata, Roomful of Teeth, BIC, Jacob Collier, and BMOP.I’m featuring very bold and varied works by some of today’s leading contemporary composers at MIT on my recital. I’m particularly excited by Don’t Want to Wait – a strikingly evocative piece written by Evan and his wife Christine Southworth. I first premiered this work at the Open Source Music Festival last season as part of a larger suite that called COUPLETS.

In addition, I’ll also perform the work written by Bernard Rands and Augusta Read Thomas for COUPLETS, called Two Thoughts About The Piano. This performance – along with the Bernard’s Four Impromptus for Piano – will also mark the occasion of his 85th birthday!

But his is not the only birthday we are celebrating. John Harbison is celebrating his 80th, and I’ll offer his Three Montale Sketches, while his orchestral works will be featured in a separate program by BMOP.

The Three Preludes of Elena Ruehr display her lyrical and rhythmically vibrant music, and her deep reverence and connection to literature and nature. Keeril Makan creates enthralling and provocative music that truly deserves wider appreciation, and I’m excited to perform his composition, Afterglow.

Charles Shadle, a member of the Choctaw Nation, has focused much of his work on vocal music that include 2 operas, and I’ll be performing A Tale of My Native Land (Ballade after Hawthorne). Finally, I’ll perform the marvelous last piano work by Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti – the Etudes Book III which was completed in 2001.

https://arts.mit.edu/cast/about