The Fort Lewis College
Artist in Residence Recital Series presents:
John Milbauer, Pianist
"A virtuoso of the first order." --La Republique du Centre, France.
What/When: Recital - Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 3:00pm
Master Class - Monday, February 7, 2011 at 1:25pm
Where: Roshong Recital Hall
Need something great to do while waiting for the super bowl kickoff? How about a piano recital given by an internationally renowned pianist? No, you can’t bring beer and pretzels (many students have asked), but this program is so unusual, diverse and reflective that any member of the Durango audience will be profoundly inspired.
Bach fans will enjoy Partita No. 4 in D Major, BWV 828. This Partita is one of Bach’s most elegant, but I find it fascinating that John says that he usually ads some little pieces by John Cage within the Partita and takes out the Allemande. It is likely that Durango audiences have never and will never again hear Bach played quite the same way!
Dr. Milbauer will perform three movements from Stravinsky’s Petrouchka. A special treat for any audience, Petrouchka is an arrangement of the ballet that Stravinsky composed for the Ballet Russe in the winter of 1910-1911. He arranged these tremendously difficult movements for his friend, the renowned pianist Arthur Rubenstein, and they were completed in France in 1921. The piano arrangement is prohibitively technically difficult, and that is why many pianists prefer to not tackle it. It is also harmonically famous for being bitonal and polyrhythmic.
The story (in brief): At a fair, three puppets are magically conjured to life: Petrushka, a Ballerina, and a Moor. In the second act of the ballet, we find that melancholy Petrushka lives in a dismal cell. He lives a pitiable life, but he professes a deep love for the beautiful ballerina. In the third act, the audience discovers that the Moor lives in a much more substantial home. When the ballerina enters and expresses her affection for the Moor, Petrushka storms in to attack the Moor. Petrushka is much weaker and eventually flees to escape the Moor. In the final scene, at the Shrovetide fair, the Moor chases and kills Petrushka. The police make an inquiry, but the puppeteer dangles Petushka and shakes him to remind the audience that he really is just a puppet. When night falls, the ghoulish ghost of Petrushka rises to defiantly dance, jeering at the puppeteer.
Also on the program is Beethoven’s Sonata in E Major, Op.109, simply one of the greatest and most profound of Beethoven’s late Sonatas. The last movement is quite unusual in that its form is a theme and variations.
Finally, A Little Suite for Christmas, A.D. 1979, written by George Crumb. This set was composed in 1980, and was first performed by Lambert Orkis at the Smithsonian Institution in Washingtno DC in 1980. In these pieces, Crumb uses harmonics, muted tones and pizzicatos, in addition to a conventional method of playing the piano. The overall effect of the music is hushed and deeply contemplative. John says that he has a power point of the original Giotto frescoes that inspired the composition of the music. (Giotto di Bondone, born in Florence, worked primarily in the early 1300s and was thought to be one of the great artists who contributed to the Italian Renaissance.)
“An evening of the highest caliber…a wonderful gift to the people of Santiago." El Mercurio, Chile.
Tickets are general admission, $15 adults and $5 students (Tickets for recital only, master class is free) To purchase tickets call 970-247-7657 or visit www.durangoconcerts.com
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