Sergei Babayan, Piano
Performers
Sergei Babayan, Piano
Program
LISZT Ballade No. 2 in B Minor
VLADIMIR RYABOV Fantasia in C Minor, Op. 21, in memory of Maria Yudina
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in E-flat Minor, Op. 39, No. 5
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in C Minor, Op. 39, No. 1
RACHMANINOFF Allegretto in E-flat Minor from Moments musicaux, Op. 16, No. 2
RACHMANINOFF Maestoso in C Major from Moments musicaux, Op. 16, No. 6
LISZT "Der Müller und der Bach" from Müllerlieder von Franz Schubert
LISZT "Aufenthalt" from Lieder aus Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang
LISZT "Auf dem Wasser zu singen" from 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert
LISZT "Die Stadt" from Lieder aus Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang
LISZT "Gretchen am Spinnrade" from 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert
R. SCHUMANN Kreisleriana
Encores:
BABAYAN Nach R. Schumann
BEETHOVEN Presto from Piano Sonata No. 6 in F Major, Op. 10, No. 2
J. S. BACH Aria from Goldberg Variations
Event Duration
The printed program will last approximately two hours, including one 20-minute intermission.At a Glance
LISZT Ballade No. 2 in B Minor
Composed around the same time as Liszt’s monumental Sonata in B Minor, this dramatic and brilliantly virtuosic work illustrates the technique of thematic transformation with which the Hungarian composer is closely identified.
VLADIMIR RYABOV Fantasia in C Minor, Op. 21, in memory of Maria Yudina
The ghost of the remarkable pianist Maria Yudina hovers above this powerful work by contemporary Russian composer Vladimir Ryabov. Aram Khachaturian described Ryabov’s music as a “rare combination of philosophical depth and passionate, almost Romantic emotionality.”
RACHMANINOFF Selections from Études-tableaux and Moments musicaux
Written four years after Rachmaninoff graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, the bravura Moments musicaux foreshadow his weightier Études-tableaux in their distinctive blend of Russian-flavored lyricism and electrifying virtuosity.
LISZT Schubert Song Transcriptions
Over a period of some 50 years, Liszt lovingly annotated, adapted, and transcribed dozens of Schubert’s songs and other works. His reverence for the Viennese master shines through in a letter he wrote to a friend: “O tender, ever-welling genius! … From your soul’s depths and heights pour forth melody, freshness, power, grace, reverie, passion, soothings, tears, and flowers—and such is the enchantment of your world of emotions that we almost forget the greatness of your craftsmanship!” Liszt was careful to draw a line between his transcriptions, which are remarkably faithful to both the letter and the spirit of the originals, and his more freewheeling “paraphrases” of operatic arias and other works.
R. SCHUMANN Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Schumann was an inveterate improviser at the keyboard, as one might suppose from the rhapsodic fluidity that characterizes his piano writing. The German Romantic writer E. T. A. Hoffmann, who created the memorable character of the half-crazed Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler, was the composer’s soulmate and literary counterpart. Kreisleriana pays homage to its namesake in the form of eight fantasy-like pieces that reflect the contrasting personalities of Schumann’s fictional alter egos: the impulsive Florestan and the dreamy Eusebius.