Recital-conversations programs
Program I
Rachmaninoff: The Last Romantic of the XX Century?
The program consists of Rachmaninoff’s works from his years of exile (1917-1943) in Europe and America. The main focus of discussion is the Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op.42, as an example of new stylistic tendencies and experimental writing of the composer in the new modernistic environment of the West.
Program II
Piano Fantasies
The program consists of Fantasies of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Schumann. The discussion covers the historical development of a fantasy as a genre and is centered around the monumental and innovative Fantasy in C Major, Op.17 by Robert Schumann.
Program III
Années de Pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) by Franz
Liszt
Première anneé: Suisse (First Year: Switzerland)
The program consists of complete Volume I (Switzerland) of Years of Pilgrimage by Franz Liszt. The first “Annee” contains nine numbers representing Swiss scenes, some actual, some imaginary. It is a pure impressionism, attempting to recreate in sound some of the unique beauties that abound in Switzerland’s alpine majesty. In a letter to the writer George Sand, Liszt wrote: “That musician especially who is inspired by nature, without copying her, breathes out in tones the tenderest secrets of his destiny: he thinks, feels, and speaks through her.” This philosophy pervades the first book of Années de Pèlerinage as it never had before in music.
Program IV
Années de Pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) by Franz
Liszt
Deuxième anneé: Italie (Second Year: Italy)
The second book is concerned with Italy, and instead of reactions to Italian landscapes, Liszt provided his responses to Italian literature, art, music, and sculpture. The immediate catalyst for the second Annee may have been the liaison between Liszt and the Countess Marie d'Agoult, whom he met in 1834. Their life was filled with art, music, and literature, particularly the poems of Petrarch and the Divine Comedy of Dante, which they read to each other during evenings at a villa on Lake Como. The second book of the Years of Pelgrimage consists of seven pieces, culminating in the "fantasy in the manner of a sonata," Apres une lecture du Dante (After Reading Dante), a musical depiction of Dante's Inferno. The music of the second volume explores the inner reaches of emotion deeply and challenges the performer to interpret what Sacheverell Sitwell called "the lofty impressions of a sensitive tourist."
Program V
Années de Pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) by Franz
Liszt
Troisiéme anneé: (Third Year)
The third volume, or “year,” is quite different from the
first two. The third year, published three years before Liszt’s
death in 1886, is given mostly to solemn meditations on religious themes
and to scenes connected with the Villa d’Este, the estate near Rome
where Liszt lived during his stays in that city. This volume consists
of seven pieces: three based on religious themes, three related to the
Villa d’Este, and a funeral march. . Here we see an elderly and
introspective Franz Liszt seeking to epitomize the consolations of faith
in a setting of startling beauty and splendor.
Program VI
The Best of Années de Pèlerinage
(Years of Pilgrimage) by Franz Liszt
The program consists of the best selections by artist’s opinion from the entire collection and gives an overall impression of this monumental cycle. Liszt worked on the "Annes de Pelerinage" almost constantly throughout his life. The first pieces were published as early as 1836, when the composer was 25 years old, and the final book was published in 1883, three years before Liszt's death. Thus it is the only work that spans his lifetime, from his years of study in Paris, to his years as a traveling virtuoso, and his later years in Weimar and Rome. In its entirety, the Années de Pèlerinage is considered a musical self portrait that covers many aspects of Liszt's personality.