Program – Summer, 2011
Season's pass is available for $125, must be picked up at farm by July 1
Saturday, July 16
$100
100 mile Gala Dinner
Featuring food of the Pontiac,
by Demeter Catering
&
A 2 piano concert
with artists of Festival Pontiac Enchanté
Hinrich Alpers and Carson Becke
The evening
6:30-7:30 (at the house)
Welcome
Drinks, appetizers
7:30-8:15
Concert in Studio
8:30-11:00
Dinner
Tickets by phone 819 455 2574
$100/person
All funds go towards this year’s festival which runs July 22-31
Four Hands, 176 keys: Music for Two Pianos
Mozart’s sonata for two pianos k. 448 is one of the great pieces written for this combination of instruments. Energetic and high spirited, the two pianos constantly play off of each other, trading themes back and forth and at times interrupting one another.
The piano is often compared to an orchestra, and to evoke “the sound of an orchestra” is a goal for all pianists. There could be no better demonstration of this than two pianists on two pianos playing music originally written for full symphony orchestra, which is what you will hear in Rachmaninov’s powerful “Symphonic Dances”, both transcribed by the composers for two pianos.
W. A. Mozart – Sonata for two pianos in D major, K448
S. Rachmaninov - Symphonic Dances, op. 45 (version for two pianos)
Artists: Hinrich Alpers and Carson Becke
Friday, July 22 - 7:30 pm
$25
Trios at Twilight: the Romantic Piano Trio and the Night
Nighttime and all of its possibilities was a subject that fascinated romantic poets, writers and composers, and here we have a synthesis of all of the above. Schubert's single movement "Notturno" shows us the beautiful, tranquil side of the night, where Beethoven’s famous “ghost” trio was given its nickname for its eerie and ethereal second movement, which had its roots in sketches for an opera based on Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”.
F. Schubert – Notturno for piano trio, D897
W. A. Mozart - Piano Trio in E Major, K 542
L.V. Beethoven - Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70 no.1 “Ghost”
Artists: Nathaniel Anderson-Frank, Carson Becke, and Lauren Steel
Saturday, July 23 - 7:30 pm
$25
Virtuoso Showcase
This concert showcases our three guest artists, Hinrich Alpers, Lauren Steel and Nathaniel Anderson-Frank, featuring music meant to demonstrate, especially in the case of the second part, sheer instrumental wizardry. These composers, Pablo de Sarasate and Fritz Kreisler, were among the greatest violinists of their day, and wrote music meant to show off their incredible instrumental virtuosity.
Prokofiev’s Cello Sonata requires huge physical stamina and precision from both performers. It is one of Prokofiev’s most pure and lyrical compositions, having many things in common with his ballet “Romeo and Juliet”.
S. Prokofiev - Cello Sonata, Op. 119
P. Sarasate - Carmen Fantasy
P. Sarasate – Romanza andalusia
M. De Falla/F. Kreisler - Dance Espanol
P. Sarasate – Navarra for two violins
Artists: Hinrich Alpers, Nathaniel Anderson-Frank, Tait Becke, Carson Becke and Lauren Steel
Sunday, July 24 - 2:30 pm
$25
Hinrich Alpers Solo Piano Recital
Hinrich Alpers is in constantly increasing high demand throughout Europe, having already performed in venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, and the Krakow Philharmonic Hall. He was the winner of the 3rd International Telekom Beethoven Competition in Bonn, and a laureate of Calgary’s Honens International Piano Competition. In this intimate recital, he presents two famous compositions of Robert Schumann alongside some extremely rare pieces by Franz Liszt, and Grieg’s exciting piano sonata.
R. Schumann - Kinderscenen
R. Schumann - Fantasie in C
F. Liszt - Sleepless. Question and answer
Nuages Gris
Bagatelle Sans Tonalite
En Reve
E. Grieg – Piano Sonata in E minor
Artist: Hinrich Alpers
Friday, July 29 - 7:30 pm
$25
From Russia with Love
Russian music is famous for its flaming passion and extreme emotional scale. Under Stalin’s oppressive regime, music became one of the only true realities for the people to hang on to, and Shostakovich’s music, with its stark directness and honesty, stood as a pillar of hope for the people of Russia during this time, both sounding out a truth that no human voice dared speak and describing a human tragedy too great for words. In this concert, his two piano trios frame music for voice piano and cello by four composers who were Shostakovich’s musical ancestors, and in the case of Mussorgsky, the composer Shostakovich felt himself to be most influenced by.
D. Shostakovich - Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 8
M. Mussorgsky – Rajok, for Voice and Piano
P. Tchaikovsky, M. Glinka, A. Borodin – Songs for Voice, Cello and Piano
D. Shostakovich - Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 64
Artists: Carson Becke, Carissa Klopoushak, Robert Pomakov and Lauren Steel
Saturday, July 30 - 7:30 pm
$25
Carson Becke and Lauren Steel Duo Recital
Carson Becke and Scottish cellist Lauren Steel present a program for Cello and Piano.
L.V. Beethoven - Sonata for Piano and Cello no. 3 in A major, op. 69
W. Lutoslawski - "Grave" Metamorphosis for Cello and Piano (1981)
J. Brahms - Piano Sonata no. 3 in F minor, op. 5
Artists: Carson Becke and Lauren Steel
Sunday, July 31 - 2:30 pm
$25
Grand Finale!
The final concert of this year’s festival features Dvorak’s epic and optimistic piano quintet, which, by the time it reaches its joyful conclusion, has cycled through almost every emotional state known to man. It is preceded by Schubert’s stormy single movement for string quartet, and the concert opens with one of Mozart’s very intimate, beautiful duos for violin and viola.
W.A. Mozart - Duo in G Major, K423
F. Schubert - Quartettsatz in C Minor, D703
A. Dvorak - Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81
Artists: Carson Becke, Tait Becke, Carissa Klopoushak, Lauren Steel and David Thies-Thompson