ABOUTTH

EARTIST

S

18

ABOUTTH

EARTIST

S

18

BACh: PARTiTA in g MAJoR, BWv 829Bach left us a magnificent corpus of instrumentaldance suites for keyboard, cello, and violin. Thesediverse multi-part compositions were not actuallyintended to accompany choreography, but wereinfused with the rhythmic gestures and charactersof various dance types. The core genres of dancethat Bach used across almost all of his suites werethe Allemande (a duple-meter German dance ofmoderate tempo), the Corrente/Courante (triple,Italian or French, spry and “running” as thename suggests), the Sarabande (triple, Spanish-originating, slow and expressive), and the Gigue(a rip-roaring permutation of the jig).

Of Bach’s three sets of keyboard suites, the partitas(composed in Leipzig between 1725 and 1731) arethe most ambitious and elaborate. Each partitafeatures an extensive overture, and unusualmovement titles (burlesca, capriccio, rondeaux)crop up between the more standard offerings. Bachmust have held his partitas in particularly highregard, because these were the first compositionsthat he published—the six partitas comprise theinitial volume of the Clavier-Übung (“keyboardpractice”). The Übung / “practice” aspect of theopus’ title implies that the partitas had aninstructive purpose on top of an aesthetic one: eachsuite presents unique technical and interpretativechallenges while also serving as a compositionalroadmap to a variety of eighteenth-century styles.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2019, 8PM

Segerstrom Center for the Arts | Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert HallPre-concert lecture at 7pm by Brian Lauritzen

RICHARD GOODE, PIANO

Although rare, all dates, times, artists, programs and prices are subject to change.Photographing or recording this performance without permission is prohibited.

Kindly disable pagers, cellular phones and other audible devices.

Partita No. 5 in Gmajor, Johann Sebastian BACHBWV 829 (1730) (1685-1750)

PreambulumAllemandeCorrenteSarabandeTempo di MinuettoPassepiedGigue

In the Mists (1912) Leoš JANACEK(1854-1928)

AndanteMolto adagioAndantinoPresto

Images Book Two (1907) Claude DEBUSSY(1862-1918)

Cloches à travers les feuillesEt la lune descend sur le temple qui futPoissons d'or

- INTERMISSION -

Nocturne in E-flat major, Frederic CHOPINOp. 55, No. 2 (1844) (1810-1849)Four MazurkasOp. 56 No. 2 in C major (1843)Op. 59 No. 1 in A minor (1845)Op. 59 No. 2 in A-flat major (1845)Op. 59 No. 3 in F-sharp minor (1845)

Three Études (1915) Claude DEBUSSY(1862-1918)

Pour les sonorités opposées/For Opposed SonoritiesPour les octaves/For OctavesPour les arpèges composés/For Composed Arpeggios

La Soirée dans Grenade (from Estampes) (1903)L’Isle Joyeuse (1904)

(STEVE RISKIND)

Frank Salomon Associates manages Richard Goode16 West 36th Street, Suite 1205, new York, nY 10018 | www.franksalomon.com

~Richard Goode records for nonesuch~

Please visit Richard Goode online at Facebook (@richardgoodepiano) and hiswebsite (richardgoodepiano.com) for additional information about touring,

recordings, and special projects.

Camera_LAPhil_Goode_PB_FINAL.qxp_PSOC Template 10-12 9/19/19 9:53 AM Page 18

A spirit of unrelenting optimism and exuberancepervades the G major partita (G major, also thekey of the first cello suite and the GoldbergVariations, seemed to invite a particularlybuoyant treatment from Bach). The partita’sopening Praeambulum features a recurring playfulhop-skip-jump motive and a profusion of brillianthand-crossing toccata passagework; the gentleAllemande that follows has a lilting, pastoralquality. Next Bach supplies an Italian Corrente,more fluid and lively than the staunch FrenchCourante that he often favored. The Sarabandethat follows is plainspoken, calling out for improvisational flourishes from the performer.A fleet-footed Minuet movement delights inswerving between subdivisions of two and three,while the subsequent Passepied is a more robustcousin to the minuet.

Up to this point, every movement has featured afairly transparent texture, a conspicuous absenceof dense polyphony—but Bach the mastercontrapuntist struts his stuff in the closing Gigue,a double fugue that is as rollicking as it isfinger-busting.

JAnáček: in The MisTs

Janáček was a true original; efforts toshoehorn his pianistic style into an early 20th-century-ism (Post-romanticism, Impressionism,Expressionism, Modernism) ultimately do it aninjustice. Take the tonal palette of Debussy, fuseit with the somber intensity of Rachmaninoff, andmarinate it all in Moravian folk idioms, and nowwe might be getting close to describing Janáčeksingular aesthetic.

A late bloomer, Janáček did not receivewidespread artistic recognition until the age of62 with the 1916 Prague premiere of his operaJenůfa. The opera had been composed over adecade before as a response to the death ofJanáček’s young daughter Olga. The piano cycle“In the mists” also comes from this period ofpersonal grief and professional disappointment;while Janáček’s score offers no definitive

narrative beyond the atmospheric nature-title,the kaleidoscopic sonorities and emotionaldirectness of the music draw the listenermagnetically into the composer’s inner world.

deBUssY: iMAges, Book ii

Debussy used the title “Images” for two sets ofpiano music and a later orchestral suite—yet heoften bristled when critics drew comparisonsbetween his music and the visual arts. Throughthe medium of sound he sought to transmit directperceptual experience of settings and atmospheresto listeners, rather than rendering scenesquasi-literally to “paint a picture” in the mind’seye.

Debussy’s second book of Images, composed in1907, offers three evocative tableaus that sound asfree and spontaneous as they are meticulouslycrafted and demanding of utmost pianisticcontrol. “Cloches à travers les feuilles” (“Bellsthrough the leaves”) was inspired by Debussy’sfriend Louis Laloy’s description of church bellsringing through the woods of the Jura region. Theeerie ungroundedness of the opening stems fromDebussy’s use of the whole-tone collection, asymmetrical scale made up of only whole steps(i.e., there is no sense of pull to any one pitch).A contrasting middle section shifts to the majormode, expansive and familiar. “Et la lunedescend sur la temple qui fut” (“And the moondescends over the temple that was”) is even moreaustere and mysterious than its predecessor—asfar as we know, Debussy’s title was notreferencing a real location but a mythic idealof ancient ruins. The nocturnal sound-worldalternates between daring, jagged 20th-centuryharmonies and archaic open sonorities that mimicthe Balinese gamelan (an instrument that hadfascinated Debussy since he encountered it atthe World Fair). “Poissons D’Or” (“Goldfish”)continues in the Orientalist vein, supposedlyinspired by a koi-adorned Japanese lacquer panelthat Debussy owned—but the stasis of the visualarts is transcended in this splashy, flashy, freneticfinale.

19

ABOUTTH

EPR

OGRAM

Camera_LAPhil_Goode_PB_FINAL.qxp_PSOC Template 10-12 9/19/19 9:53 AM Page 19

ABOUTTH

EPR

OGRAM

ChoPin: noCTURne in e-FlATMAJoR, oP. 55 no. 2, And FoURMAZURkAs

Chopin pushed Romantic pianism to newvirtuosic heights and crafted large-scalemasterpieces that ambitious students andprofessionals still program with great frequency.Yet we value his more intimate and miniatureworks equally, if not more. The nocturnes, rootedin the bel canto tradition, teach pianists to sing;the mazurkas require rhythmic flexibility anda deep internalization of dance.

The E-flat major nocturne Op. 55, No. 2 isan operatic paragon of ornate, legato lines overstretchy arpeggiated accompaniment. Many ofChopin’s nocturnes involve moments of duettingbetween melodic voices, but Op. 55No. 2 featuresa particularly sustained contrapuntal dialoguebetween the soaring soprano and a pronouncedinner voice.

The bouquet of mazurkas presented on thisconcert have a common thread of triple meter anddotted dance rhythm, but otherwise are a study incontrasts—of character, of texture, of emotionalweight. The C major mazurka, rustic andvigorous, gets an extra dose of folkishness fromthe Lydian mode; the A minor mazurka ischromatic and plaintive. The breezy, waltzy A-flatmazurka closes with a surprising bit ofcounterpoint, while the F-sharp minor mazurkawhirls and churns as if straining to break free ofthe genre’s typical moderation.

deBUssY: ThRee eTUdes; lA soiRéedAns gRenAde, And l’isle JoYeUse

Chopin’s pianistic advancements reverberatedthrough the long nineteenth century, and everyserious pianist-composer contended with hisinfluence in some way. Debussy did this ratherdirectly, composing twelve etudes (1915) forpiano after Chopin’s precedents. Like Chopin,Debussy centered each of his etudes on a technicalchallenge; also like Chopin, Debussy’s etudes all

double as vibrant character-pieces (though theylack the fantastical, associative titles of hisearlier piano works). The mercurial “Pour lesles sonorités opposées” juxtaposes contrastingarticulations and intervals of various spacings;“Pour les octaves” sees Debussy at his mostboisterous and purely physical; and “Pour lesarpèges composés” recalls various “water”-piecesfrom Debussy’s oeuvre, with its undulations andglimmering passagework.

“La Soirée dans Grenade” (Evening in Granada),the second movement of Debussy’s 1903 suiteEstampes, returns us to the scenic and imagisticside of the composer’s piano music. Here Debussyconjures the soundscape of Andalusia via aninsistent habanera rhythm, strummed-guitarsounds, and Moorish-inflected “vocal” figurations.

“L’Isle Joyeuse” (The Isle of Joy), perhapsDebussy’s most extroverted composition, enacts asumptuous journey of expectation and fulfillment.Debussy modelled his work on a Rococo painting,AntoineWatteau’s “Embarkation for Cythera,” inwhich love-struck couples arrive on the Greek islerumored to have been the birthplace of Venus.Coincidentally, or not, Debussy finished drafting“L’Isle Joyeuse” in 1904 while on a secretadulterous holiday on the island of Jersey withEmma Bardac (who would later become hissecond wife).

An extended trill and whole-tone flourish invitesus to the voyage, followed by a brisk but hypnoticLydian-mode section that suggests rowing oars.The whole-tone and Lydian themes alternate,dialogue, and recombine capriciously. A thirdidea, sensual and voluptuous, offers a dream of theblissful destination—but we are not there yet.Martial rhythms erupt, cadenza-waves crash andrecede, and tension ramps up to an unbearabledegree before finally culminating in an apotheosisthat combines all three themes, signifying anecstatic arrival.

—Copyright Alana Murphy 2019

20

Camera_LAPhil_Goode_PB_FINAL.qxp_PSOC Template 10-12 9/19/19 9:53 AM Page 20

RiChARd goode, PiAno

Richard Goode has been hailed for music-makingof tremendous emotional power, depth andexpressiveness, and has been acknowledgedworldwide as one of today’s leading interpretersof Classical and Romantic music. In regularperformances with the major orchestras, recitalsin the world’s music capitals, and through hisextensive and acclaimed Nonesuch recordings,he has won a large and devoted following.

Gramophone magazine recently captured theessence of what makes Richard Goode such anoriginal and compelling artist: '‘Every time wehear him, he impresses us as better thanwe remembered, surprising us, surpassing ourexpectations and communicating perceptions thatstay in the mind.”

One of today's most revered recitalists, RichardGoode will be heard in 2019-20 in London,Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Baltimore,Costa Mesa, Houston, Rockport, Tallahassee,

and at the Ravinia Festival and colleges anduniversities around the country. He will playMozart with Vladimir Jurowski and the BerlinRadio Symphony Orchestra and has recitalsin Italy, Switzerland, and the UK. Hismasterclasses continue to be hailed as trulymemorable events.

In recent seasons, Richard Goode appeared assoloist with Louis Langrée and the MostlyMozart Festival Orchestra in a program filmedas part of a documentary celebrating the50th Anniversary of one of the country's mostpopular summer musical events. He alsotoured in the U.S. with one of the world's mostadmired orchestras and his recording partner,the Budapest Festival Orchestra and IvánFischer. Their recording of the five BeethovenPiano Concertos has won worldwide acclaim;Goode performed Concertos No. 2 and No. 4on the tour, which included performances inFebruary 2017 at the New Jersey PerformingArts Center, Lincoln Center, and with theChicago Symphony, the University Musical

21

ABOUTTH

EARTIST

(STEVE RISKIND)

Camera_LAPhil_Goode_PB_FINAL.qxp_PSOC Template 10-12 9/19/19 9:53 AM Page 21

ABOUTTH

EARTIST

Society in Ann Arbor, and Celebrity Series ofBoston. Other orchestral appearances include theNew York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra,Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York StringOrchestra at Carnegie Hall, and in Europe withthe London Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic,and BBC Philharmonic.

Highlights of recent seasons include the recitals inwhich, for the first time in his career, Mr. Goodeperformed the last three Beethoven Sonatasin one program, drawing capacity audiencesand raves in such cities as New York, London,and Berlin. The New York Times, in reviewinghis Carnegie Hall performance, hailedhis interpretations as “majestic, profoundreadings...Mr. Goode’s playing throughout wasorganic and inspired, the noble, introspectivethemes unfolding with a simplicity that renderedthem all the more moving.” He was also heard assoloist with Andris Nelsons in his first season asMusic Director of the Boston SymphonyOrchestra and at Carnegie Hall, where Goodewas featured in two chamber music concerts withyoung artists from the Marlboro Music Festival,in a master class on Debussy and in a Main Hallrecital. In 2018-19, to mark the 25th anniversaryof the release of Richard Goode’s historicrecordings of the Complete Beethoven Sonatas,Nonesuch Records re-released the acclaimedrecordings.

An exclusive Nonesuch recording artist, Goodehas made more than two dozen recordings overthe years, ranging from solo and chamber worksto lieder and concertos. His recording of the fiveBeethoven concertos with the Budapest FestivalOrchestra and Iván Fischer was released in2009 to exceptional critical acclaim, describedas “a landmark recording” by the Financial Timesand nominated for a Grammy award. His 10-CDset of the complete Beethoven sonatas cycle, thefirst-ever by an American-born pianist, wasnominated for a Grammy and has been rankedamong the most distinguished recordings of hisrepertoire. Other recording highlights include aseries of Bach Partitas, a duo recording with

Dawn Upshaw, and Mozart piano concertos withthe Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

A native of New York, Richard Goode studiedwith Elvira Szigeti and Claude Frank, withNadia Reisenberg at the Mannes College ofMusic, and with Rudolf Serkin at the CurtisInstitute. His numerous prizes over the yearsinclude the Young Concert Artists Award,First Prize in the Clara Haskil Competition, theAvery Fisher Prize, and a Grammy award forhis recording of the Brahms Sonatas withclarinetist Richard Stoltzman. His first publicperformances of the complete cycle of Beethovensonatas at Kansas City’s Folly Theater andNew York’s 92Y in 1987-88 brought him tointernational attention being hailed by theNew York Times as “among the season’smost important and memorable events.” It waslater performed with great success at London’sQueen Elizabeth Hall in 1994 and 1995.

Mr. Goode served, together with MitsukoUchida, as co-Artistic Director of the MarlboroMusic School and Festival in Marlboro, Vermontfrom 1999 through 2013. Participating initiallyat the age of 14, at what the New Yorkermagazine recently described as "the classicalworld's most coveted retreat," he has made anotable contribution to this unique communityover the past summers he has spent there. Heis married to the violinist Marcia Weinfeld,and, when the Goodes are not on tour, theyand their collection of some 5,000 volumes livein New York City.

22

Camera_LAPhil_Goode_PB_FINAL.qxp_PSOC Template 10-12 9/19/19 9:53 AM Page 22