Emanuel Ax Virtual Program Book - September 24, 2023 by Lied Center for Performing Arts

SEPTEMBER 24, 2023

Mary-Ann K. Clinton

Anabeth H. Cox

Keith Heckman

EMANUEL AX (PIANIST)

Born to Polish parents in what is today Lviv, Ukraine, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. Mr. Ax made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists Series, and in 1974 won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed four years later by the Avery Fisher Prize.

The 2023/24 season will focus on the world premiere of Anders Hillborg’s piano concerto, commissioned for him by the San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen with subsequent performances in Stockhom and New York. A continuation of the ‘Beethoven For 3’ touring and recording project with partners Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma will take them to the mid-west in January. In recital Mr. Ax can be heard on the west coast in the fall and mid-west/east coast in the spring, culminating at Carnegie Hall in April. An extensive European tour will include concerts in Holland, Italy, Germany, France and the Czech Republic.

Mr. Ax has been a Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987 and following the success of the Brahms Trios with Kavakos and Ma, the trio launched an ambitious, multi-year project to record all the Beethoven Trios and Symphonies arranged for trio of which the first two discs have recently been released. He has received GRAMMY® Awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas. He has also made a series of Grammy-winning recordings with cellist Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano. In the 2004/05 season Mr. Ax contributed to an International EMMY® AwardWinning BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust that aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In 2013, Mr. Ax’s recording Variations received the Echo Klassik Award for Solo Recording of the Year (19th Century Music/Piano).

Mr. Ax is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates of music from Skidmore College, New England Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and Columbia University. For more information about Mr. Ax’s career, please visit www.EmanuelAx.com.

E M A N U E L A X

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 Pathetique

SCHOENBERG Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11

Mässige

Bewegte

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 2, No. 2

- INTERMISSION -

SCHOENBERG: Drei Klavierstücke (1894)

SCHOENBERG 6 Little Pieces Op. 19

Leicht, zart

Langsam

Sehr langsame

Rasch, aber leicht

Etwas rasch

Sehr langsam

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 Appassionata

OPUS 3 ARTISTS presents

PIANO

PROGRAM NOTES

PIANO SONATA NO. 8 IN C MINOR, OP. 13, PATHÉTIQUE LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)

Written in 1798 when the composer was just 27 years old, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, commonly known as Pathétique, stands today as one of his most celebrated works and as a cornerstone of the standard piano repertoire. Beethoven himself did not attach the descriptive name Grande sonate pathétique to the work (though he reportedly approved of the moniker). The credit instead goes to the sonata’s publisher, who was struck with the music’s inherent tragedy. The work is indeed among Beethoven’s most emotive, dramatic, and pathosfilled compositions.

Upon the Pathétique’s publication in 1799 Beethoven was standing on the cusp of his middle “heroic” compositional period. His early works had been directly influenced by the preceding era, especially the works of Haydn and Mozart, and with this sonata he began seriously to break away from established Classical conventions. The sonata’s very key is illustrative of this fact: the key of C minor was rarely used for works of this type in the Classical era, and as such it represented a new path forward for Beethoven. Many of his most intense and turbulent pieces center on C minor (his Fifth Symphony is perhaps the most concrete example). In the Pathétique, Romantic-style emotional expression certainly rules the day over Classical structure and reserve. The sonata was an instant success, helping to establish the young Beethoven as an up-and-coming composer in addition to his proven reputation as a gifted pianist.

Sonata No. 8 proceeds in the standard three-movement (fast-slow-fast) sonata structure. The movements each have very different characters, though all are vastly appealing and contain some of Beethoven’s most deft motivic manipulations. The first movement’s extravagant slow introduction sets the tone with palpable gravity, the solemnity of the stately dotted rhythms intensifying the ominous atmosphere. The main Allegro section then kicks off with striking contrast, shifting keys in rapid alteration between major and minor, though always circling around the tempestuous

C minor home. Stark dynamic disparities and abrupt mood shifts abound, all leading toward a crisp ending that calls back to the portentous introduction.

The ensuing Adagio opens with an eight-bar theme so famous it hardly requires description. It is structured as a rondo, the achingly lovely theme repeating several times amidst intervening episodes. The movement’s intensely expressive melodicism foreshadows the Romantic lyricism to come in the works of composers such as Chopin and Verdi.

The opening of the Rondo finale returns to the comparative rigidity of Classical structure and style. However, the overall intensity and agitation continue to build as the movement progresses, the wheels threatening to come off at every melodic turn. At long last, a furiously jubilant coda breaks the final restraining bonds and the music rushes headlong toward its emphatic conclusion.

DREI KLAVIERSTÜCKE, OP. 11 ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874-1951)

One of the most notable musical figures of the twentieth century, Arnold Schoenberg was a groundbreaking composer, music theorist, and teacher. Born in 1874 to a Jewish family in Vienna, Schoenberg fled the rise of the Nazi regime and emigrated to the United States in 1933. Today he is known primarily for pioneering the atonal and twelve-tone compositional techniques and as the leader of the Second Viennese School, a collection of composers led by himself and his students, Alban Berg and Anton Webern, who were dedicated to exploring these innovative compositional methods.

Schoenberg wrote Drei Klavierstücke (“Three Piano Pieces”), Op. 11 between February and August 1909. Until this point he had largely been a devoted student of the late-Romantic idiom. His Opus 11, however, signified a pivotal transition from Romanticism to the evolving musical landscape of the twentieth century. In these pieces we see not only the composer’s abandonment of traditional notions of key structure and tonal harmony, but also the overall shift toward atonality within the western musical world at large. For his part, Schoenberg believed this evolution to be the art form’s natural next step. He pursued the approach with enthusiasm, paving the way for his later explorations into serialism and twelvetone composition.

Schoenberg wrote the three short works that comprise his

Opus 11 with no stated key. Scraps of the old tradition remain, namely the pieces’ lyrical melodies and chordal accompaniments, but there is a distinct lack of the motivic repetition, driving forward motion, and formal balance so common to the preceding era. Instead, Schoenberg presents the pieces as pure emotional expression within a loose stream-of-consciousness framework. Melodic fragmenting, unpredictable textures, and rhythmic and harmonic ambiguity rule the day. In a letter to his friend and fellow musician Ferruccio Busoni, he wrote of the music’s intended effect: “Away with protracted ten-ton scores…my music must be brief. Concise! In two notes: not built, but ‘expressed’!! And the results I wish for: no stylized and sterile protracted emotion. People are not like that: it is impossible for a person to have only one sensation at a time. One has thousands simultaneously…this variegation, this multifariousness, this illogicality which our senses demonstrate…this I should like to have in my music.”

This proclamation of concision and organic emotionalism went on to color all the composer’s future works, which in turn influenced the greater artistic world. Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11 thus stands as a bridge between two epochs; in listening to these three brief yet remarkable pieces, we hear nothing less than the birth of a musical revolution.

PIANO SONATA NO. 2 IN A MAJOR, OP. 2, NO. 2 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)

When the 21-year-old Beethoven arrived in Vienna in November 1792, he did not immediately seek to make a name for himself as a composer. Instead, he applied himself to the analysis and performance of works by musical giants of previous eras. As the student of Haydn and the heir apparent to the recently deceased Mozart, Beethoven spent several years studying the compositional techniques of these two renowned Classical composers, among others. As a result, his earliest works heavily featured the clarity, balance, and restraint these composers favored in their own works. This influence shines through particularly well in Beethoven’s first few piano sonatas.

Beethoven composed his first three piano sonatas, which are grouped together in his Op. 2, in 1795. All three are dedicated to Haydn. Though the stylistic hallmarks of Classical-era piano

sonatas are abundant throughout these works, even Beethoven’s earliest additions to the genre feature distinctly Beethovenian compositional traits. Amidst the even phrasing and crystalline textures can be found striking harmonic shifts, deft motivic manipulation, and a heightened sense of drama. Beethoven also expanded upon the sonata form’s scope: each of the Op. 2 sonatas has four movements rather than the usual three, making for a more symphonic structure. The second of the three, No. 2 in A major, is a striking example of this blend of imitation and originality. The opening movement is all bright agility, beginning with a disjointed theme and moving through several surprisingly modern shifts in key before launching into a brilliant development section. The movement ends gently and unassumingly, setting the tone for the following Largo appassionato. Sustained chords over a pizzicato-like bass line make up the bulk of this slow second movement, calling to mind the tone and texture of a string quartet. The short third movement is lively, light, and graceful, as its Scherzo designation would suggest. The fourth and final movement takes the form of a lyrical rondo with an elaborate opening arpeggio that becomes ever more intricate each time the repeating material returns. A series of pearlescent runs and an elegant cadence bring the work to a close.

DREI KLAVIERSTÜCKE (1894) ARNOLD SCHOENBERG

(1874-1951)

Fifteen years before Schoenberg penned his Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11, the 20-year-old composer wrote another group of short piano pieces by the same name but with very different results. The set constitutes Schoenberg’s first substantial surviving instrumental composition and gives us crucial insight into the largely self-taught composer’s early musical endeavors.

The 1894 Drei Klavierstücke pieces are distinctly late-Romantic in character, relying heavily on later nineteenth-century harmonies, textures, and techniques. They plainly show Schoenberg’s intensive study of the works of Brahms and Wagner in their subtle melodic shapes, symmetrical phrasing, and lush rippling accompaniments. However, though the pieces are clearly not compositionally mature, even in such early works careful listeners can pick up on Schoenberg’s gentle tugging at the threads of Romanticism: within the traditional musical structure and language is couched a complex approach to tonal chromaticism as well as intriguing polyphonic textures.

The pieces are quite succinct, each only about 3 minutes in length. While the opening Andantino remains conventional in harmonics and phrasing, Schoenberg makes ample use of

metric displacement. This technique – which Brahms used extensively – involves shifting beats so that notated and perceived meters are out of sync (in this case, the notated meter is 2/4 while it feels like 6/8). The following Andantino grazioso is a jaunty little tune in ternary form, the middle section slipping into a contrasting minor key. The final piece, Presto, is perhaps the most ambitious of the three, containing a promising seed of the distinctive style Schoenberg would develop in his later career.

SECHS KLEINE KLAVIERSTÜCKE, OP. 19 ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874-1951)

We move once more to the Schoenberg of the early twentieth century, now securely ensconced in atonality but not quite yet moving into twelve-tone serialism. As with Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11, the pieces of Sechs kleine Klavierstücke (“Six Little Piano Pieces”), Op. 19 are emblematic of the composer’s exploration of heightened emotional expression and the dissolution of harmonic conventions.

Schoenberg wrote the first five pieces in a single day in February 1911 and originally intended to cap the set there. The sixth piece came on June 17, shortly after the death of Gustav Mahler, and is widely considered as a musical commemoration of his loss. All six works are extremely short – the entire collection has a performance time of just 5 minutes – yet are nonetheless profoundly impactful. Listeners are immersed in a world of harmonic instability which abandons the gravitational pull of tonal centers entirely. Traditional notions of consonance and dissonance are foregone in favor of a jarring yet captivating landscape of fragmentary motifs and intervallic relationships. The resulting miniatures are fleeting and gestural, a style which Schoenberg saw as a necessary response to the grandiose and drawn-out works common to the Romantic era.

The titles of the individual pieces within the set provide a lens into their unique expressive characters. The first piece, Leicht, zart (“Light, delicate), establishes an ethereal atmosphere of graceful (though disjointed) melodies and subtle shifts in tone color. Langsam (“Slow”) is rhythmic and ruminative, while Sehr langsam (“Very slow”), is fragmented and introspective. Rasch, aber leicht (“Brisk, but light”) features abrupt bursts of sound and juxtaposed musical ideas, followed by Etwas rasch (“Somewhat brisk”) which explores the contrast between motion and stasis. The final piece, Sehr langsam (“Very slow”), is the most melodic of the miniatures and serves as the set’s contemplative conclusion.

SONATA NO. 23 IN F MINOR, OP. 57 ‘APPASSIONATA’ LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)

At the turn of the nineteenth century, Beethoven was in crisis. The composer suffered from gradual hearing loss and by 1802 his worsening condition had become impossible to ignore. Deep in despair, Beethoven penned a letter to his brothers Carl and Johann describing his affliction. Known as the Heiligenstadt Testament after the village in which he was lodging when he wrote it, this letter gives us great insight into how the composer’s hearing loss tortured him: “I would have ended my life,” he wrote, “but my art held me back. It seemed to me impossible to leave the world until I had brought forth all that I felt was within me.” Beethoven never sent the letter – it was found among his possessions after his death – but it appears to have been a turning point in his career. 1802 marks the beginning of Beethoven’s middle period, an era characterized by unprecedented musical scope, intensity, and expressivity. Composed from 1804-1805 with a few final touches in 1806, Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, otherwise known as the ‘Appassionata’ Sonata, clearly exemplifies these new compositional qualities.

Next to the ‘Moonlight,’ the ‘Appassionata’ is perhaps Beethoven’s most famous piano sonata. The nickname – the Italian word for passionate –was not Beethoven’s idea but was attached to the piece by a publisher some years after the composer’s death. Nonetheless, it seems to capture the work’s dramatic nature. The sonata’s opening movement begins with the stark outlining of an F-minor triad, establishing the key in as straightforward a manner as possible. From here on out, the movement explores the possibilities of musical contrast: it is at once both expansive and concentrated, fierce and tender. Unexpected harmonic excursions and abrupt shifts in character, dynamics, and texture form the basis of the movement. Tempestuous roiling is set

alongside light, soaring musicality, but the melody is inevitably pulled downward into the lowest ranges of the piano, and the movement ends on a resounding low F. The second movement offers something of a calm between storms. A simplistic sixteen-bar theme in D-flat major, more a sequence of chords than a true melody, is followed by four variations that exhibit increasing motion and density. The variations remain reserved in character until the movement’s ending, when the contemplative mood comes bursting apart at the seams and sends the player careening down the keyboard and into the dramatic final movement without pause. The finale is a whirlwind of perpetual motion, though always somehow held in check; the performance indicator adds to the allegro tempo the qualifier “but not too much.” All restraint is let loose, however, as the climactic moments rush toward a conclusive and unquestionably Beethovenian extended final cadence. Yet the closing chords carry something unexpected: as musicologist Donald Francis Tovey pointed out, this is one of only a handful of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas that ends not in the triumphant heroism so prevalent in this great composer’s middle period, but rather in tragedy. Despite Beethoven’s victory over his demons in 1802, the listener is left to wonder if the composer meant to communicate some of the despair so apparent in his Heiligenstadt Testament through this striking –and yes, passionate – sonata.

Program notes by Laney Boyd

ANABETH H. COX

As the only member of the Piano Circle without a history on the piano, I must admit that my love of piano performance comes as a result of my sister, MarySue Harris. Her love of the piano, her 40+ years of teaching piano, and her joy in the performance on the piano, have sealed my commitment to perpetuating that love for the children, and the children at heart, in the beauty of the music written for the piano. I’m grateful to be a part of bringing that beauty to the Lincoln community. I can’t play the piano, but I can love it!

MARY-ANN K. CLINTON

My late husband (John) and I have loved music all our lives. However, our passion for classical piano started in 1967 when we learned that our four-year-old son Mark had extraordinary musical talent. From that time, we dedicated our efforts to help him develop his God-given talents. We recently discovered that Mark’s paternal grandmother was such an accomplished pianist that she had been awarded a music scholarship to attend Boston University in the 1930’s. Due to family reasons, she never fulfilled that dream. This made us realize that although God works in wonderful and mysterious ways, family genes may also have been involved. Following our move to Lincoln, John and I soon found a home for all things musical and cultural at the Lied Center. The growth of the Lied Piano Circle allowed us to contribute to having some of the best piano music in the world on the Lied stage. Our musical journey has been wonderful one, and my continued participation in the Piano Circle is an honor and privilege. I look forward to this year’s Piano Circle artists as they provide another season of exciting performances for our Nebraska audiences.

KEITH HECKMAN

Having been a dealer in fine pianos for more than forty years, it gives me great pleasure to continue to provide Lincoln and the surrounding area the opportunity to hear some of the great artists of the world. It is also fulfilling to assist young piano students with interacting with excellent teachers and clinicians. What a treasure the Piano Circle is for the Lied.

CHARLOTTE HEERMANN

The Piano Series initially featured in the 2013–14 season of the Lied Center has enhanced the season program and promises to continue to do so in the 2023–24 season. Our community has had the special opportunity to experience piano performances of the highest quality presented by internationally acclaimed pianists. The response has been enthusiastic and has raised awareness and expectations of even more outstanding performances.

As a performing pianist and teacher for many years, I am particularly excited by the opportunity for students to hear some of the best pianists and performances in the world. What an inspiration! I look forward to another outstanding season with exceptional pianists and performances offered by the Piano Series.

MRS. LARRY H. LUSK

The piano and music have played an important part in my life. From my early childhood piano lessons, through high school, college and beyond, there has always been music and especially the piano. Once again, the Lied Piano Series brings beautiful music and outstanding artists to the Lied stage, showcasing the endless variety, creativity and beauty of this grand and glorious instrument. We welcome these artists to the Lied stage for all to enjoy!

JOAN M. REIST

It’s wonderful that the Piano Series has received such a positive and enthusiastic response, and I’m delighted that is has become a permanent fixture in Lied Center programming. It’s especially gratifying that this program continues to reach out to young people, giving them a unique opportunity to hear great music and observe great artists interact with the instrument. In the end, all who enjoy these concerts will walk away with something new and exciting that can enhance their personal—and positive—relationship with the piano. I really appreciate continuing efforts to engage interested and enthusiastic piano students beyond the concert hall. The initial Piano Academy was a success in 2018 the 2019 and 2020 events followed suit. What a great opportunity for piano students to engage with talented and experienced mentors and with peers who have similar passion for making music at the piano!

RHONDA SEACREST

Since the early 1980’s, a priority of mine has been to provide visual and performing arts to underserved populations in Nebraska. The Piano Series is a wonderful extension of that objective.

LIED CENTER SELECTS NEW 9’ CONCERT GRAND PIANO AT THE STEINWAY FACTORY TO KICK OFF THE 2023-2024 PIANO SERIES

The Lied Center for Performing Arts has built a reputation of presenting the world’s top pianists, and attracting internationally renowned artists requires providing world-class instruments for their performances. Thanks to generous support from the D.F. Dillon Foundation and Rhonda Seacrest, 8-time GRAMMY Award winning pianist Emanuel Ax traveled to the Steinway factory in Queens, New York to select a new 9’ Steinway Model D Concert Grand piano for the Lied. Ax was joined by Lied Center Executive Director Bill Stephan, Glenn Korff School of Music Professor Paul Barnes, UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green, and Lied Center Piano Circle Member Keith Heckman.

Emanuel Ax opens the 2023-2024 Lied Center piano series on September 24 in a performance that will mark the debut of the new piano on the Lied stage. The Lied’s concert grand Steinway piano that has been used in performances since the building opened in 1990 will continue to be available for concerts and other events throughout the year.

Stephan said, “From Emanuel Ax to Yuja Wang, Van Cliburn himself to Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalists, the Lied Center has established itself as one of the world’s top presenters of classical piano concerts and recitals. We could not be more excited to add this spectacular Steinway instrument to Lied Center concert experiences and are so grateful to the wonderful donors who made it possible. Because of their generosity, Nebraskans will continue to experience the world’s greatest classical musicians for many years to come!”