CANDLER CONCERT SERIES
Zee Zee, piano
Friday, October 18, 2024, 8:00 p.m.
Emerson Concert Hall
Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
This concert is presented by the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts and is made possible by a generous gift from the late Flora Glenn Candler, a friend and patron of music at Emory University.
Program
Tristan und Isolde: Prelude to Act 1 Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
Drei Klavierstücke (Three Piano Pieces), op.11 Arnold Schoenberg
I. Mässige Viertel (1874–1951)
II. Mässige Achtel
III. Bewegte Achtel
Gaspard de la nuit
Maurice Ravel
I. Ondine (1875–1937)
II. Le Gibet
III. Scarbo
Intermission
Selections from Années de pèlerinage Franz Liszt (1811–1886)
S 160, No. 6 — Vallée d’Obermann
S 163, No. 4 — Les Jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este
S 162, No. 3 — Tarantella
Program is subject to change.
Program Notes
The program is built around Années de pèlerinage (Years of pilgrimage) by Franz Liszt. “Liszt is one of the most important pianists and composers for the piano in the history of classical music,” Zee Zee explains. “These pieces deeply influenced both contemporary and later musicians. They either explore the same theme or elaborate on Liszt’s innovative writing style.” Most of the pieces in this concert are also featured in Zee Zee’s latest album, Journey. With the exception of Gaspard de la nuit by Maurice Ravel, the descriptions that follow were written by James Jolly for the album’s liner notes.
Tristan und Isolde
[The program] opens with Liszt’s piano transcription of the Prelude to the opera Tristan und Isolde by his son-in-law Richard Wagner. A key work in Romantic art, its “Tristan chord” (the first chord you hear in the entire opera) also had a profound influence on Liszt.
Drei Klavierstücke (Three Piano Pieces), op.11
If Wagner took harmony almost to dissolution, Arnold Schoenberg took the logical next step. “In 1909, Schoenberg’s piano suite, op. 11 was published,” explains Zee Zee. “This work is extremely important in music history as the first atonal work. Schoenberg became the first composer to abandon tonal music.” The work’s three movements provide an essential link between the world of nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Gaspard de la nuit
Written in 1908, this suite is subtitled Trois poèmes pour piano d’après Aloysius Bertrand (Three poems for piano according to Aloysius Bertrand). The three movement titles are taken from Bertrand’s 1842 collection of poems, with the first telling the tale of the water nymph Ondine who entices the observer to visit her realm in the depths of a lake. The second movement brings the observer to a dark scene in the desert where a lone corpse hangs from a gibbet (Le Gibet) while a tolling bell is heard from a far-off city. The suite’s reputation for difficulty comes from the third movement, Scarbo—depicting the nighttime mischief of a small and diabolic goblin as Ravel presents a profound musical structure and many technical challenges for the pianist.
S 160, No. 6 — Vallée d’Obermann
At the album’s heart is the quintessentially Romantic Vallée d’Obermann from the First Book, Switzerland, of the Annés. Inspired by Étienne Privert de Senancourt’s novel, and with a glance at the tumultuous poetry of Lord Byron, it distils the spiritual turmoil experienced by so many people in the years following the French Revolution. For pianists, its challenges are not just technical but also intellectual and emotional.
S 163, No. 4 — Les Jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este
From the Third Book of the Années, largely inspired by Italy, Zee Zee gives us Liszt’s magical Les Jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este, an evocation of the fountains in the beautiful gardens of this magnificent villa in Tivoli near Rome, which clearly made an enormous impact on Liszt. Few pieces of music have so perfectly captured the sights and sounds of the play of water. “Liszt’s description of water has more or less affected the portrayal of water in music by later French Impressionist composers,” Zee Zee explains.
S 162, No. 3 — Tarantella
The third piece by Liszt comes from the supplement to the Second Year (Italy) and is entitled “Venezia e Napoli.” From it, Zee Zee has chosen the Tarentella, that manic dance that is said to be induced by the bite of a tarantula spider. It starts in the shadows before emerging boisterously into the light, closing with a triumphant flourish.
Zee Zee, piano
An imaginative and electrifying performer, Zee Zee is unique among the young generation of pianists. Described as “full of enthusiasm and glamour, radiating the vigor of youth” (Chinese Gramophone), her interpretations and communicative abilities have been praised as “taking us to another reality . . . bright, expressive and moving to the extreme” (Belgischer Rundfunk), while her creative maturity has been hailed as “a powerful, passionate and compelling representation of pure artistry” (Los Angeles Times).
In the 2023–2024 season, Zee Zee returned to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Ulster Orchestra, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Wigmore Hall, and Macao International Music Festival, among others. She played with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, Oxford Philharmonic, Szczecin Philharmonic, and at Concertgebouw, Prague Spring Festival, Parnu Music Festival, Minnesota Beethoven Festival, and InClassica Dubai International Music Festival. She also played the season-opening concerts of both China Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
Highlights of recent seasons include the season-opening concert with the Estonian National Symphony under Neeme Järvi, with the Philharmonia orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, and a tour in the UK under Paavo Järvi. She has performed three times with the Hong Kong Philharmonic under Christoph Koncz, Paavo Järvi, and Yu Long respectively, as well as the complete piano concertos of Beethoven and of Saint-Saëns with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. She has given recitals at the Aspen Music Festival, Brevard Summer Music Festival, Lucerne Festival, Casa da Musica in Porto, Esplanade in Singapore, and Premiere Performance Hong Kong, among others.
In past seasons, Zee Zee performed with leading orchestras worldwide including the BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Macedonian Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Janacek Philharmonic, Slovakia Philharmonic, Kristiansand Symphony, Turku Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Royal Bangkok Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and Hawaii Symphony, among others. Zee Zee was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2013–2015 and performed at the Royal Albert Hall as a part of the BBC Proms.
Zee Zee has given many notable recitals, including at Wigmore Hall in London, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Lincoln Center in New York, Vancouver Recital Society, and Hong Kong’s Premiere Performances. She has also appeared at festivals such as MiTo Festival, the Gilmore Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Brevard Music Center Summer Festival, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Lucerne Festival, Biarritz Piano Festival, and the SJE Arts Series in Oxford.
Zee Zee regularly works with some of today’s leading conductors, including Marin Alsop, Jonathan Bloxham, Lionel Bringuier, Charles Dutoit, Alondra de la Parra, Domingo Hindoyan, Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Christoph Koncz, Michał Nesterowicz, Jun Märkl, Julian Rachlin, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Roberto Trevino, and Xian Zhang.
A passionate chamber musician, Zee Zee is a founding member of the Z.E.N. Trio, alongside violinist Esther Yoo and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan. The trio released their first album featuring works from Brahms and Dvořák in 2017, and the second album featuring Shostakovich, Babadjanian, and Rachmaninov in 2019, both under Deutsche Grammophon. They tour regularly throughout the world, including the first highly acclaimed tour in North America in October 2019 with presenters such as San Francisco Performances, The Phillips Collection, and Vancouver Recital Society; a 10-concert tour in Australia with Musica Viva in August 2022; and European tours in May and November 2024.
Zee Zee is the founder and the artistic director of the Z+ International Music Festival, which takes place annually in the spring in Shanghai. As one of the biggest and most acclaimed chamber music festivals in Asia, she is in charge of its strategy, vision, and programming—cooperating with the best musicians around the world while contributing to the local community. The artists recently performing at the festival in April 2024 included Narek Hakhnazaryan, Clara-Jumi Kang, Sunwook Kim, Yura Lee, Ning Feng, Louis Schwizgebel, Julian Steckel, Esther Yoo, Haochen Zhang, and Diotima Quartet.
In October 2019, Universal released her first album under Deutsche Grammophon—featuring Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Paavo Järvi and the Philharmonia Orchestra— the second one, a solo album Journey under Decca Classics featuring works from Wagner, Schoenberg, and Liszt, released in May 2022.
Zee Zee began her musical training in Berlin, Germany at the age of five and soon became one of the most sought-after young artists of her generation. Having completed her piano studies with Dan Zhaoyi at the Shenzhen Arts School, Zee Zee continued her artistic development under the mentorship of Nelita True at the Eastman School of Music and Yoheved Kaplinsky and Robert McDonald at The Juilliard School, where she won the coveted Petschek Piano Award. Zee Zee was awarded first prize at China’s First International Piano Concerto Competition, the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, and the Krainev International Piano Competition. She was also a prizewinner at the 2013 Queen Elizabeth Competition. She has studied at the Peabody Institute with Leon Fleisher and continues to receive guidance from Alfred Brendel. She is currently based in Berlin and New York.
“a powerful, passionate, and compelling representation of pure artistry” —Los Angeles Times
Schwartz Center Staff
Rachael Brightwell, Managing Director
Terry Adams, Box Office Coordinator
Kathryn Colegrove, Assoc. Director for Programming and Outreach
Lewis Fuller, Associate Director for Production and Operations
Jennifer Kimball, Assistant Stage Manager
Jeffrey Lenhard, Operations Assistant
Brenda Porter, House Manager
Caroline Renner, Program Coordinator
Bebe Rogers, Communications Specialist
Alan Strange, Box Office Manager
Nicholas Surbey, Senior Graphic Designer
Alexandria Sweatt, Marketing Assistant
Mark Teague, Stage Manager
The Flora Glenn Candler Concerts Committee
Elena Cholakova, Committee Chair | Department of Music
Rachael Brightwell, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
Greg Catelier, Emory Dance and Movement Studies Program
Joseph Crespino, Department of History
Stephen Crist, Department of Music
Sara Culpepper, Theater Emory
Patricia Dinkins-Matthews, Department of Music
Allison Dykes, Vice President and University Secretary
Rosemary Magee, Member Emeritus
Bethany Mamola, Department of Music
Pablo Palomino, Oxford College, Department of Humanities
Emorja Roberson, Oxford College, Department of Humanities
Upcoming Schwartz Center Concerts
Visit schwartz.emory.edu to view complete event information. If a ticket is required for attendance, prices are indicated in the listings below in the following order: Full price/Emory student price (unless otherwise noted).
Sunday, October 20, 4:00 p.m., Emory Wind Ensemble, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free
Saturday, October 26, 8:00 p.m., Emory University Symphony Orchestra, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free, tickets required
Sunday, October 27, 7:00 p.m., Emory Choirs, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free
Friday, November 1, 8:00 p.m., PUBLIQuartet—Rhythm Nation, Schwartz Artist-in-Residence Program, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, $30/$10, tickets required
Saturday, November 2, 8:00 p.m., Friends and Mentors, ECMSA: Emerson Series, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free
Saturday, November 9, 5:00 p.m., Student Recital: Brigid May, harp, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free
Sunday, November 10, 4:00 p.m., Emory Chamber Ensembles, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free
Wednesday, November 13, 8:00 p.m., Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free
Saturday, November 16, 8:00 p.m., American Railroad: Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, $70/$10, tickets required
Friday, November 22, noon, Danielle Hahn Piano Trio, ECMSA: Cooke Noontime Series, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free
The Schwartz Center for Performing Arts offers a variety of classical, jazz, and crossover music each season. Visit schwartz.emory.edu for more event details and up-to-date information.
