AdAm GyorGy SUNday, OCT. 3 — 2 p.m. This event is sponsored, in part, by the Lied Performance Fund. This performance was made possible through the generous support of the Lena M. Stranathan Chamber Music Fund. audio description services and recorded program notes are provided through a partnership between the Lied Center and audio-Reader Network. Please turn off or silence cellular phones and other electronic devices during performances. Food and drink are not allowed inside the hall. Cameras and recording devices are strictly prohibited in the auditorium.
Adam Gyorgy Improvisations............................................................................................................................ Adam GYORGY (1982- ) Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23.....................................................................Frédéric François CHOPIN (1810-1849) La Campanella.................................................................................................................................. Franz LISZT (1811-1886) Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2............................................................................................................ Franz LISZT Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (1809-1847) Franz LISZT Vladimir HOROWITZ (1903-1989) Wedding March........................................................................................................................ Adam GYORGY INTERMISSION Piano Sonata in B minor, S178..................................................................................................... Franz LISZT I. Lento assai II. Andante sostenuto III. Allegro energico IV. Allegro energico – Piu mosso V. Andante sostenuto Adam Gyorgy is a Steinway Artist – www.adamgyorgy.com Management: GAMI/SIMONDS, LLC – www.gamisim.com
program notes Improvisations Born on Jan. 28, 1982 in Budapest, Hungary Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 Frédéric François Chopin Born March 1, 1810 in Zelazowa Wola, Poland Died Oct. 17, 1849 in Paris, France Frédéric Chopin was a child prodigy on the piano, but only gave a few public performances in his adult life. He made his living by composing and teaching piano. Chopin experienced poor health for much of his life and died at the young age of 39. His compositions are almost entirely for solo piano, and he is credited with extending the instrument’s repertoire
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by introducing forms such as the ballade and by popularizing the use of Polish dances such as the mazurka, polonaise and many others. Chopin wrote four ballades—one-movement pieces for solo piano—between 1835 and 1842. He was the first composer to introduce the ballade as a musical form; of his compositions, they became some of the most popular. Each of the four ballades is very different and they are rumored to be influenced by the poetry of Adam Mickiewicz, although Chopin provided no concrete evidence of this. The Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23 was composed in Paris during the years of 1835 and 1836. It begins with a brief introduction and then enters into the body of the piece
which consists of two main themes. Throughout the course of the work, the themes are developed and return in different keys, finally ending with a fiery coda. The work does not confine to a particular form, but contains elements of sonata and variation forms. This ballade differs from the others written by Chopin in that it varies its time signatures throughout, including 4/4, 6/4 and 2/2, while the others conform to a strict 6/8. Ballade No. 1 is one of the most popular of Chopin’s works and is reported to have been one of his favorites. La Campanella Franz Liszt Born Oct. 22, 1811 in Raiding, Hungary Died July 31, 1886 in Bayreuth, Germany Franz Liszt was renowned as a solo pianist and as an important composer, teacher and conductor. As a composer, he was associated with the Neudeutsche Schule (New German School) of composition—a group of composers that opposed the compositional ideas and techniques of other German composers such as Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. This piece by Liszt is the third of six Grandes études de Paganini and is given the nickname La Campanella (The Little Bell). The Grandes études de Paganini are some of the most representative works from Liszt’s virtuoso years. These studies are based on the caprices for solo violin by Paganini and each étude focuses on one musical idea or technical aspect for the performer to develop. As with many of Liszt’s études, La Campanella requires great dexterity from the performer and is challenging, featuring large jumps and a brisk tempo. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 Franz Liszt This solo piano work is one of the most famous in piano literature. Liszt originally wrote it for solo piano but it was later orchestrated for piano and orchestra. During a concert tour in 1839, Liszt returned to Hungary for the first time since his childhood. While there, he became reacquainted with the gypsy music and folk songs native to his country. These melodies inspired him to write a number of solo piano pieces that were later published as the Hungarian Rhapsodies between 1851 and 1853. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 is arguably
the most famous in the collection and has been used extensively in popular culture, contributing to its fame. It is probably most well-known as the soundtrack to Bugs Bunny’s Rhapsody Rabbit and Tom and Jerry’s The Cat Concerto cartoons. Both animated shows feature the title characters performing Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 through comedic obstacles. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 is the second in the set of 19. Wedding March Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Born Feb. 3, 1809 in Hamburg, Germany Died Nov. 4, 1847 in Leipzig, Germany Franz Liszt Vladimir Horowitz Born Oct. 1, 1903 in Kiev, Ukraine Died Nov. 5, 1989 in New York, N.Y. Adam Gyorgy Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer, pianist and conductor who was very influential in his time. He wrote a wide variety of works including symphonies, concertos, oratorios, incidental and chamber music. In 1842, he composed the Wedding March as part of his suite of incidental music for Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It is probably the bestknown piece from the work and is frequently used in weddings as a recessional performed on organ. Mendelssohn wrote incidental music for several plays, but the music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the most famous. He wrote the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream 16 years earlier and used much of the material he had already composed when he came back later to write the incidental music. Franz Liszt was friends with Mendelssohn and became familiar with the work while conducting it with his orchestra in Weimar. After Mendelssohn’s death, Liszt transcribed the Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream for solo piano. It has been transcribed by others since then, including the famous pianist, Vladimir Horowitz, and tonight’s performer, Adam Gyorgy. Piano Sonata in B minor, S178 Franz Liszt Liszt completed the Piano Sonata in B minor in 1853, one of the most impressive achievements of his life. It is one of the most unusual manipulations of sonata form from the 19th century. Liszt took the typical four movements
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of a sonata and rolled them together into one long movement, almost 30 minutes in length. He then composed this very long movement as one large sonata form, including an exposition, development and recapitulation—essentially, a sonata within a sonata, a feat not attempted by any composer up until that point and not attempted again until Arnold Schoenberg, more than 50 years later. The Piano Sonata in B minor is the most scholarly of all Liszt’s works and has kept his admirers busy for years attempting to unearth all of its hidden elements. Most notably, Liszt makes no reference to any use of programmatic themes within the piece, very unusual for
a composer whose championing of program music made him one of the leaders of the New German School. Scholars have since argued that the Sonata is a depiction of the Garden of Eden, the Faust story and an autobiographical portrait of Liszt, though there is no substantial proof to support any of these theories. The Sonata was dedicated to Robert Schumann and had its first performance in 1867 by Hans von Bülow. It was not well received and was only performed a handful of times before 1900, after which its popularity grew. Program notes by Mary Elizabeth Thompson-Meyer
Adam Gyorgy When Adam was a young boy, he drew everything upside down. His worried parents took him to a doctor. The doctor decided there was something wrong with him, but was unable to diagnose the problem. His father, who was determined to understand why his son was different, watched Adam. One day he sat opposite Adam and asked him to draw a house. As the house began to take shape, Adam’s father realized that although his son was drawing the house upside-down, he was able to see it right side up. At that moment he realized that Adam was drawing everything in a way that best displayed his drawing to the viewer. This ability to see things from a different perspective was proof of Adam’s natural inclination to perform, and revealed a thoughtful regard for how best to communicate with his audience. Today, Adam communicates through his music in the same way as he drew as a child; with the understanding that the audience—the listener—is an active participant in bringing the music to life. Adam was accepted to the Béla Bartók Conservatory as a prodigy in 1994, at the age of 12. He flourished under the tutelage of his piano teacher, Katalin Halmagyi, who continues to be his mentor and a key member of his creative team. In 1998 he won the National Youth Piano Competition, and two years later won Hungary’s Pianist 2000 award at the age of 18. He was accepted at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 2000 and studied under Professors György Nador and Balazs Reti.
Adam Gyorgy
He graduated in 2006 and is currently doing his doctoral studies at the Liszt Academy with a state scholarship. In 2002 Adam won the Vienna Classics Prize (Wiener-Klassik-Preis) with his outstanding interpretation of Haydn’s Sonata in G major No. 54. In 2003 he won the Special Prize at the San Remo International Piano Competition, and in 2004 he won all prizes (First Prize, Grand Prize and Special Prize) at the First International Chopin Piano Competition in Budapest. That same year, CNN World Report identified him as a “rising star.” In 2005 Adam was invited to the Steinway Artist community, a signal honor that places him in the company of the greatest pianists of all time, including Vladimir Horowitz, Artur Rubinstein and Krystian Zimmerman. Adam tours the world, delighting audiences in Europe and Southeast Asia with his virtuosity, his charm and his improvisations on well-known melodies, all of which invite comparisons to the incomparable Franz Liszt. There is another story about the young Adam Gyorgy that reveals his unique perspective on life. As a boy, he believed he could fly. He would run from room to room, picking up speed, before throwing himself into the air and crashing to the ground. His parents tried to explain to him that it was impossible to fly, but he did not believe them. In the end, though, he has proven that it is possible. He flies on the wings of music without limits and his only wish is to take his audience with him.
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