2016 INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL
FEBRUARY 5—7, 2016
INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL HISTORY The University of Houston International Piano Festival was founded in 1984 by UH Distinguished Cullen Professor and internationally renowned concert artist, Abbey Simon, to bring the world’s great pianists to Houston for recitals and masterclasses. For over 30 years, the International Piano Festival has presented a weekend of dynamic pianism featuring Simon and:
1984
Claude Frank Eugene Istomin
2000
Misha and Cipa Dichter Ursula Oppens
1985
Lillian Kallir André-Michel Schub
2001
Angela Hewitt Christopher O’Reilly
1986
John Browning Oxana Yablonskaya
2002
Angela Cheng Anton Kuerti
1987
David Bar-Ilan Jerome Lowenthal
2003
Frederic Chiu Stanislav Ioudenitch
1988
Joseph Kalichstein Barry Snyder
2004
Peter Frankl Ruth Slenczynska
1989
Gyorgy Sandor Ilana Vered
2005
Arnaldo Cohen Antonio Pompa-Baldi
1990
Joaquin Achucarro Earl Wild
2006
1991
Philippe Bianconi Arnaldo Cohen
Marc-André Hamelin Alexei Lubimov Anton Nel Nelita True
feb. 2007
Enrique Graf Olga Kern
nov. 2007
Jean-Philippe Collard Ingrid Fliter
2009
Stephen Kovacevich Pascal Rogé
2010
Stephen Hough Gilles Vonsattel
2011
Danny Driver Di Wu
2012
Markus Groh Alberto Reyes
2013
Inon Barnatan Larissa Dedova
2014
Anderson & Roe Piano Duo Sandro Russo
2015
Robert McDonald Roberto Plano
1992
Richard Goode Charles Rosen
1993
Claude Frank Fou T’song
1994
Anton Kuerti Ralph Votapek
1995
Constance Keen Dmitri Raster Arturo Pizarro
1996
Frederic Chiu Ruth Laredo
1997
John Bayless José Feghali
1998
Angela Cheng Horacio Gutiérrez
1999
Yoheved Kaplinsky Evgeny Kissin Stephen Hough
2016 INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
FEBRUARY 5 • 7:30 p.m. Abbey Simon Recital Moores Opera House FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6 • SATURDAY
9 a.m John O'Conor Master Class Dudley Recital Hall
12:30 p.m. Artist Conversations Luncheon Rm. 118 MSM An informal luncheon featuring IPF artists discussing their lives and careers. Audience questions are welcome. Requires advance reservation for lunch. Auditors welcome.
2 p.m. Abbey Simon Master Class Dudley Recital Hall
7:30 p.m. Kirill Gerstein Recital Moores Opera House
FEBRUARY 7 • 11:30 a.m. Kirill Gerstein Master Class Dudley Recital Hall SUNDAY 3 p.m. John O’ Conor Recital Moores Opera House
The festival is grateful for additional support from Moores School of Music Society Steinway Piano Gallery
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2016 INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL MASTER CLASS SERIES DUDLEY RECITAL HALL FINE ARTS BUILDING
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6 JOHN O'CONOR 9 a.m.
Beethoven: Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3 (I) Kenneth Broberg (B) | Minneapolis, MN Brahms: Ballades, Op. 10, Nos. 1, 3 Noah Hardaway (B) | Houston, TX Beethoven: Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109 (I) Ligia Pucci (B) | Dallas, TX Chopin: Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52 Yan Shen (B) | HuNan, China Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Vol. 1, Op. 35 Yije Angela Xue (A) | Brookline, MA
ABBEY SIMON 2 p.m.
Beethoven: Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3 (I) Cynthia Gu (A) | Allen, TX Schubert: Sonata in A Major, Op. 120 (I) Sabrina Koseki (A) | Houston, TX Chopin: Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 35 (I) Daniel Che (A) | Plano, TX Liszt: Études de concert, S. 144, "La leggierezza" Bobby Levinger (B) | La Cross, WI Ravel: Ondine from Gaspard de la Nuit Hanqing Zhou (B) | Chengdu, China
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 7 KIRILL GERSTEIN 11:30 a.m. Dohnányi: Rhapsody No. 3 in C Major, Op. 11
Daniel Chang (A) | Pearland, TX Carl Vine: Sonata No. 1 (I) John Cao (A) | Pearland, TX Barber: Sonata for Piano, Op. 26 (IV) Aditya Deshpande (A) | Houston, TX Prokofiev: Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 14 (I) Linjing Fu (B) | Beijing, China Liszt: Études d'exécution transcendantes d'après Paganini, S. 140, No. 6 Phuong Nguyen (B) | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
STUDENTS PERFORMING IN THE MASTER CLASSES STUDY REGULARLY WITH:
(A) Pre Collegiate (ages 13–18) (B) Collegiate/Young Artist (ages 18+)
Sun Min Kim Indiana University of Pennsylvania Timothy Hester UH Moores School of Music, Houston, TX Alexander Korsantia Boston, MA Cathy Lysinger Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX Tali Morgulis UH Moores School of Music, Houston, TX Robert Roux Rice University Shepherd School of Music, Houston, TX Alicia Shirley Houston, TX Sylvia Strong Houston, TX John Weems Sugar Land, TX Nancy Weems UH Moores School of Music, Houston, TX
ABBEY SIMON has been hailed as a super-virtuoso whose appearances in the concert halls of the world are eagerly anticipated not only by music lovers, but also by professional musicians who come to hear him spin his own particular magic. He is recognized as one of the grand masters of the piano. Boston Globe critic Richard Dyer wrote, “Simon’s recital offered more than a glimpse into the fabled golden age of piano playing… His virtuosity is marked not only by speed, power, lightness, and accuracy but also by intricate interplay of voices and lambent colors.” And critic Scott MacClelland reported from the West coast, “When they’ve written the final chapter on great pianists of the 20th century, the name Abbey Simon will be included. Indeed, that name might well mark the first chapter on 21st-century pianists as well.” Through the years, critics have hailed Simon’s mastery and noted that his playing has its roots in the great pianists of the past. Improvising at the piano at the age of three, he had natural perfect pitch and began taking lessons at the age of five. After studying with David Saperton, the son-in-law of celebrated pianist Leopold Godowsky, Saperton took him to play for the great pianist Josef Hofmann. At the age of eight, Simon was accepted by Hofmann as a scholarship student at the Curtis Institute where he trained with fellow classmates Jorge Bolet and Sidney Foster. Upon graduation from Curtis, Simon went on to win numerous awards. He made his official debut in New York’s Town Hall as winner of the prestigious Naumburg Award. Following this success he performed at Carnegie Hall a number of times before his debut tour to Europe. His success in Europe was so great that he did not return to the U.S. for some 12 years. He has been the recipient of the Federation of Music Clubs Award, the National Orchestral Association Award, and a Ford Foundation Award. Following his debut in Europe, he received the Harriet Cohen Medal and the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Award. Simon’s recordings for Philips, EMI, HMV, and Vox make him one of the most recorded classical artists of all time. He has recorded all the concertos of Rachmaninoff, the complete works of Ravel, and Schumann’s Carnaval and Fantasy. His Chopin collection encompasses some 20 disks. Abbey Simon has served on the faculties of such noted schools as Indiana University and the Juilliard School. He currently holds a Cullen Distinguished Professorship at the University of Houston Moores School of Music, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1977.
ABBEY SIMON RECITAL FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5 • 7:30 p.m. Moores Opera House PROGRAM Muzio Clementi (1752–1832)
Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Sonata in F Minor, Op. 13, No. 6
Allegro agitato Largo e sostenuto Presto
Kreisleriana, Op. 16
AuBerst bewegt Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch Sehr aufgeregt Sehr langsam Sehr lebhaft Sehr langsam Sehr rasch Schnell und spielend
INTERMISSION Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
Four Impromptus
No. 1 in A-flat Major, Op. 29 No. 2 in F-sharp Major, Op. 36 No. 3 in G-flat Major, Op. 51 Fantasie-Impromptu No. 4 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 66
YAMAHA Piano Vox, EMI, HMV, Phillips recordings Mr. Simon is represented by Gurtman and Murtha Associates, Inc.
KIRILL GERSTEIN With a masterful technique, discerning intelligence, and abounding musical curiosity, Kirill Gerstein has proven to be one of today’s most intriguing and versatile musicians. His early training in jazz has contributed an important element to his interpretive style, inspiring an energetic and expressive musical personality that distinguishes his playing. Gerstein is the sixth recipient of the prestigious Gilmore Artist Award, presented every four years to an exceptional pianist who possesses broad and profound musicianship and charisma and who desires, and can sustain, a career as a major international concert artist. Gerstein has also received First Prize at the 2001 Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv, and received a 2002 Gilmore Young Artist Award and a 2010 Avery Fisher Grant. In the US, he is a frequent soloist with orchestra, including those of Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Cleveland, St. Louis, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, New Jersey, Minnesota, San Francisco, and Indianapolis, among others. Gerstein was featured soloist for the Houston Symphony’s Rachmaninov Festival (2012), where he performed the complete Rachmaninov concerti and returned recently for the Ravel Concerto for the Left Hand. Other festival appearances include Aspen, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chicago’s Grant Park, Vail Valley Bravo Festival, Tanglewood, and Blossom. Mr. Gerstein maintains a longtime chamber music collaboration with British cellist Steven Isserlis and has, in recent seasons, performed in recital at the 92nd Street Y and Town Hall in New York, as well as in Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Miami, Vancouver, Toronto, and at Washington’s Kennedy Center. Internationally, Kirill Gerstein plays with such orchestras as the Vienna Philharmonic, London’s Philharmonia and BBC Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Czech, Munich, Dresden Staatskapelle, NDR Sinfonieorchester, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Zurich Tonhalle, and the NHK Symphony (Tokyo). He has performed recitals in Paris, Prague, Hamburg, at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, and at the Liszt Academy in Budapest and made chamber appearances at the Lockenhaus Festival, and Schubertiade in Austria, Schloss Elmau in Germany, and the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. He made his Salzburg Festival debut playing solo and two-piano works with Andras Schiff and has also appeared at the Proms, Lucerne, and Jerusalem Chamber Music festivals. Gerstein’s first solo recording (Schumann, Liszt, Knussen), on the Myrios label, was chosen by The New York Times as one of the best recordings of 2010. Other recordings on Myrios include two recordings of sonatas for viola and piano, released in 2011 and 2012, with Tabea Zimmerman; a solo recording of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Schumann’s Carnaval (2014); and his most recent recording of the 1879 version of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 and Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 2. Born in 1979 in Voronezh, in southwestern Russia, Gerstein studied piano at a special music school for gifted children, and, while studying classical music, taught himself to play jazz by listening to his parents’ extensive record collection. He came to the United States at 14 to study jazz piano, the youngest student ever to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Completing his studies in three years, he turned his focus back to classical music and moved to New York City to attend the Manhattan School of Music, earning both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees by the age of 20. He continued his studies in Madrid with Dmitri Bashkirov and in Budapest with Ferenc Rados. An American citizen since 2003, Gerstein now divides his time between the US and Germany, where he has been a professor at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart since 2006.
KIRILL GERSTEIN RECITAL SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6 • 7:30 p.m. Moores Opera House PROGRAM J.S. Bach (1685–1750)
Sinfonias/Three Part Inventions
C Major, BWV 787 C Minor, BWV 788 D Major, BWV 789 D Minor, BWV 790 E-flat Major, BWV 791 E Major, BWV 792 F Major, BWV 794 F Minor, BWV 795 G Major, BWV 796 G Minor, BWV 797 A Major, BWV 798 A Minor, BWV 799 B-flat Major, BWV 800 B Minor, BWV 801
INTERMISSION Franz Liszt (1811–1886)
Transcendental Études S. 139, (1852)
Preludio Molto vivace Paysage Mazeppa Feux Follets Vision Eroica Wilde Jagd Ricordanza Allegro agitato molto Harmonies du soir Chasse-Neige
Kirill Gerstein appears by arrangement with CM Artists. Recordings available on the Myrios Classics label. Kirill Gerstein is a Steinway Artist.
JOHN O'CONOR The Irish pianist John O’Conor has been gathering wonderful reviews for his masterly playing for over 40 years. Having studied in his native Dublin, in Vienna with Dieter Weber, and received tutoring from the legendary Wilhelm Kempff, O’Conor was chosen unanimously for the First Prize at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna in 1973, which opened the door to a career that has taken him around the world. He has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras including the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, l'Orchestre National de France, the NHK Orchestra in Japan and the Atlanta, Cleveland, San Francisco, Dallas, Montreal and Detroit symphonies in North America. He has given concerts in many of the world's most famous halls including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Wigmore Hall and South Bank Centre in London, Musikverein in Vienna, Dvorak Hall in Prague, and the Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo. He enjoys collaborating in Lieder recitals and performing chamber music with many instrumentalists and ensembles such as the Cleveland, Tokyo, Vanbrugh, Vermeer, Takacs, Vogler, and Ying quartets. O'Conor first gained widespread attention in the USA in 1986 with the release of his first volume of Beethoven Sonatas on the Telarc label. He went on to record the complete sonatas, and these were issued as a box set in 1994. CD Review described O'Conor's performances as "recordings of the highest caliber and Beethoven playing at its best." He has made more than 20 recordings for Telarc, including the complete Beethoven Bagatelles (cited by the New York Times as the best recordings of these works) and Mozart concertos with Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has also recorded the complete Nocturnes, sonatas, and concertos of the Irish composer John Field. In 2007 and 2008 he recorded the complete piano concertos of Beethoven with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andreas Delfs, and these have been greeted with great acclaim. O'Conor is regarded as one of the most important piano teachers in the world today. He is Distinguished Artist in Residence, Professor of Music and Chair of the Piano Division at Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, a faculty member at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, International Visiting Artist at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and Visiting Professor at Showa University in Japan. His students have won many international prizes (most recently First Prizes at the Maria Canals Competition in Barcelona in 2012 and the Beethoven Competition in Bonn in 2013), and he is in great demand for master classes and as a juror at the most prestigious international piano competitions worldwide. For his services to music he has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by the National University of Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin Institute of Technology, and Shenandoah University; the title "Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Government; the "Ehrenkreuz fßr Wissenschaft und Kunst" by the Austrian Government; and the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese Government, among many other awards.
JOHN O'CONOR RECITAL SUNDAY FEBRUARY 7 • 3 p.m. Moores Opera House PROGRAM Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Sonata No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1
Allegro molto e con brio Adagio molto Finale: Prestissimo
Four Impromptus, D. 899
No. 1 in C Minor: Allegro molto moderato No. 2 in E-flat Major: Allegro No. 3 in G-flat Major: Andante No. 4 in A-flat Major: Allegretto
INTERMISSION John Field (1782–1837)
Three Nocturnes
Beethoven
Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 Pathétique
No. 5 in B-flat Major: Andantino No. 6 in F Major: Andante No. 18 in E Major "Le Midi:" Allegretto
Grave: Allegro di molto e con brio Adagio cantabile Rondo: Allegro
John O’Conor appears by exclusive arrangement with Diane Saldick, LLC. www.dianesaldick.com John O’Conor is a Steinway Artist.
T H E EDY T H E BAT E S OL D
MOOR E S OPER A C EN T ER presents
a p r i l . 8 –11 . 2 0 16
ANNA KARENINA by david carlson
Buck Ross producer/director Raymond Harvey conductor In 19th-century Imperial Russia, a woman trapped in a loveless marriage falls for a dashing officer with tragic results. American composer David Carlson has written a sweeping score that seethes with passion and captures the Russian soul of Tolstoy’s famous novel. These will be the first university performance of the opera following its successful professional runs at Florida Grand Opera and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Sung in the original English with English surtitles. Pre-opera lecture 45 minutes prior to curtain. music.edu/opera | 713.743.3313
MADISON ARTIST SERIES presents
Bryn Terfel
OPE R AT IC S U PE R S TA R
BA S S -BA R I TON E
April
26 2016 Moores Opera House
uh.edu/music
HOUSTON RECITAL DEBUT Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel demonstrates a mastery of song in the intimate acoustics of the Moores Opera House in his only Southwestern US appearance this year. Pianist, Natalya Katyukova, joins this vocal legend in a program featuring works by Keel, Ibert, Schumann, Schubert, Welsh songs and folksongs.
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON MOORES SCHOOL OF MUSIC ANDREW DAVIS DIRECTOR
University of Houston Moores School of Music 3333 Cullen Blvd, Rm 120 Houston, TX 77204-4017 uh.edu/music 713 743 3009
The University of Houston’s Moores School of Music is one of the premier music schools in America. Its remarkable faculty of internationally recognized performers, composers, and scholars; outstanding student body; modern facility; and comprehensive programs make the Moores School a natural choice each year for nearly 600 students from throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Mexico, South and Central America, and the Far East. Undergraduate and graduate degrees through the doctoral level are offered with majors in performance, composition, musicology, theory, pedagogy, conducting, and music education. The school’s commitment to academic excellence and the highest performance standards—and nearly 350 public performances annually— has ensured its role as a vital resource in the educational and cultural life of Houston and the State of Texas. KEYBOARD FACULTY: ROBERT BATES organ COURTNEY CRAPPELL piano and pedagogy TIMOTHY HESTER piano, Director of Keyboard Collaborative Arts TALI MORGULIS piano KENNETH PONCHE piano technician ABBEY SIMON piano Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Music BRIAN SUITS accompanying, chamber music NANCY WEEMS piano, area coordinator Madison Endowed Professor of Music
MOORES SCHOOL OF MUSIC SOCIETY
As a member of the Moores Society, you can help support the efforts of the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. The Moores Society supports students through scholarship contribution and receives special invitations and benefits by For More Information, Contact Taylor Harrell 713 743 1304
PIANO INSTITUTE JUNE 18 - 26, 2016
Nancy Weems and Tali Morgulis, directors An intensive solo performance program for students grades 9 - 12 Private Lessons Piano Ensemble Master Classes Guest Recitals Lectures Admission to Festival Concerts Optional Campus Residency Guest Presentation: “Body Awareness for Pianists” by Katie Parr Smith
Application fee: $30 Tuition: $450 Room and board: $440
APPLICATION AND RECORDING DEADLINE: POSTMARKED MAY 2, 2016
www.tmf.uh.edu/tmfinstitutes 713-743-3182 The University of Houston is an EEO/AA institution.
Nancy Weems
John Weems
YiFan Liu
Timothy Hester Katie Parr Smith
Tali Morgulis
Courtney Crappell
Piano Institute Faculty