MRU Presents: Jan Lisiecki

M R U C O N S E R VAT O R Y P R E S E N T S

JAN

MUSIC TO YOUR EARS

CONCERT SEASON 2016/17 JAN.20, 2O17 7:3O P.M.

LISIECKI

Message from the

Conservatory

elcome to the Music to Your Ears concert season at the Bella Concert Hall in the Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts! We are so excited to launch our inaugural season featuring seven separate series with over 25 diverse events.

As a world-class centre for arts education and training, we are committed to providing education and performance opportunities for our students as well as showcasing exemplary artistic achievement in music and speech arts. From reggae legends and jazz aficionados to eastern classical masters to Canadian astronauts, this year’s line-up quite literally has something for everyone.

At MRU Conservatory, we're proud of all of our students. But we hold a special place in our hearts for those who graduate into critically-acclaimed musical careers. Jan Lisiecki is a former MRU Conservatory student whom we welcome back with open arms.

Little did we know that, when we invited him to debut at the Bella Concert Hall, it would be following last year's renowned debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York. That's just the latest of his achievements.

The Bella Concert Hall is an award-winning venue with perfect acoustics to amplify the finest artists of our time. For upcoming artists, visit mru.ca/enjoy.

We are so pleased to welcome Jan Lisiecki back to MRU Conservatory and to the Bella.

Mark DeJong Artistic Program Coordinator

Tuned Up and Ready Mount Royal University begins 2017 on a high note with the appointment of Brad Mahon,PhD, as the new Director of its world-renowned Conservatory. Mahon, a classical guitarist and former instructor at the MRU Conservatory, will provide strategic leadership to the largest-of-itskind music and performing arts education organization in Canada.

Jan Lisiecki, Piano

Recital Programme The Bella Concert Hall Jan. 20, 2017 | 7:30 p.m.

I. Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 ­­–­­­­1750) Klavierstücke, Op. 32 Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) Chopin Noturnes Op. 48 Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849) Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)

Intermission II. Impromptus, D. 935, Op. 142 Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)

Jan Lisiecki Just 21, Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki has won acclaim for his extraordinary interpretive maturity, distinctive sound, and poetic sensibility. The New York Times has called him “a pianist who makes every note count”.

Lisiecki’s insightful interpretations, refined technique, and natural affinity for art give him a musical voice that belies his age.

Jan Lisiecki was born to Polish parents in Canada in 1995.

He began piano lessons at the age of five and made his concerto debut four years later, while always rebuffing the label of "child prodigy”. His approach to music is a refreshing combination of dedication, skill, enthusiasm and a realistic perspective on the career of a musician.

"I might be lucky to have talent, but it is also about dedication and hard work." says Jan.

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Lisiecki was brought to international attention in 2010, after the Fryderyk Chopin Institute issued a recording of Chopin’s piano concertos, performed live by Jan at age 13 and 14. BBC Music Magazine wrote of the “mature musicality” of his playing and commended the “sensitively distilled” insights of his Chopin interpretations; the release was awarded the prestigious Diapason Découverte. Confirming his status among the most imaginative and poetic pianists of his generation, Deutsche Grammophon signed an exclusive contract with Jan in 2011, when he was just 15 years old. Lisiecki’s first recording for DG, released in 2012, features Mozart’s Piano Concertos K. 466 and 467. It was followed in 2013

by Chopin’s Etudes Op. 10 and 25, praised by Gramophone magazine for being “played as pure music, given as naturally as breathing”.

His third album was released in January 2016 and features Schumann’s works for piano and orchestra, and as ClassicFM wrote, “he may be young but Jan Lisiecki plays Schumann like a legend”. In early 2017, Jan Lisiecki’s rendition of Chopin’s seldom performed works for piano and orchestra with NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester and Krzysztof Urbański will be published by Deutsche Grammophon.

Jan says his aim is to always perform in a way that carries forward the beauty and brilliance of the original work. He has demonstrated that he is capable of rendering compositions remarkably close to the way they were intended. “Going into a concert hall should be like going into a sanctuary. You’re there to have a moment of reflection, hopefully leaving feeling different, refreshed and inspired.”

"A pianist who makes every note count. " − The New York Times

In March 2013, Lisiecki substituted at short notice for Martha Argerich, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in Bologna with the Orchestra Mozart under Claudio Abbado. He crowned that season with a sensational account of Schumann’s Piano Concerto at the BBC Proms. The following year he performed three Mozart concertos in one week with the Philadelphia Orchestra, making his debuts as concerto soloist with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala in Milan, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, and with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. The same season, Jan gave debut recitals at Wigmore Hall, Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and in San Francisco.

"Played as pure music, given as naturally as breathing." − Gramophone Magazine The pianist’s development has taken place in company with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Orchestre de Paris, New York Philharmonic, and BBC Symphony, at venues such as Suntory Hall, the Kennedy, Lincoln, and Barbican Centres, and Royal Albert Hall. Jan has cultivated relationships with prominent conductors including Sir Antonio Pappano, Yannick NézetSéguin, Daniel Harding, and Pinchas Zukerman.

The remarkable 20-year-old musician made his debut in the main auditorium at New York’s Carnegie Hall in January 2016 with Philadelphia Orchestra.

In its rave review, the New York Times noted that it was an “uncommonly sensitive performance”. Other significant dates in his 2015/16 schedule include performances with the Bamberger Symphoniker in Lucerne, subscription series debuts with the Cleveland Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and multiple tours, including one of Europe with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, which Jan is leading from the piano.

In the 2016-17 season, Jan will perform extensively across the world. Highlights include a tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski and performing in the opening festival of the new Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.

Foremost radio and television networks in Europe and North America have extensively broadcast Lisiecki’s performances, he was also the subject of the CBC National News documentary The Reluctant Prodigy. In 2013 he received the Leonard Bernstein Award at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and was also named as Gramophone magazine’s Young Artist of the Year.

Jan is involved in charity work, donating his time and performance to such organizations as the David Foster Foundation, the Polish Humanitarian Organization and the Wish Upon a Star Foundation. In 2012 he was named UNICEF Ambassador to Canada having been a National Youth Representative since 2008.

"Jan Lisiecki.

Remember the name. " − The Financial Times

403.974.8255

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MRU CONSERVATORY Beginner Guitar 1 & 2 Ages 15+

Adult Beginning Band Ages 18+

Calgary Youth Orchestra Ages 14-24

Piano Instruction All ages

Fiddle Classes Ages 18+

Speech Arts Ages 3+

Jazz Ensemble Ages 13+

MRU Artio Choir Ages 14+

mru.ca/conservatory

Acquisition of our Hamburg Steinway Piano was made possible through generous support from an anonymous donor and The Community Facility Enhancement Program, Alberta Culture and Tourism.

Take Your Seat at the Bella Concert Hall Ensure that you always have the best seat in the house. A tax-deductible donation of $1000 is all it takes to place your name on a seat in Calgary's brand new Bella Concert Hall in the Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts. With only 300 seats left, now is the time to support your arts community by sponsoring in your name, or the name of a loved one. Each seat sponsorship comes with the gift of a pair of concert tickets to an MRU Conservatory event of your choice at the Bella in 2017.

To take your seat, and for more information, contact Heidi Christophel at 403.440.6591.

MUSIC TO YOUR EARS

CONCERT SEASON 2016/17

Brian Blade &

The Fellowship Band

JAN. 29, 2017

Canadian Guitar Quartet FEB. 8, 2017

Wu Man & Friends

MAR. 3, 2017

Zukerman Trio FEB. 17, 2017

Antigona

Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca MAR. 10, 2017

Kronos Quartet

MAR. 22, 2017

Andrés Cárdenes with the CYO

MAY 6, 2017

Tickets at mru.ca/enjoy

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Music to our ears Thank you to our partners and sponsors for helping us bring concerts, community and culture to our hometown through the performing arts.