7th SFIPF – Festival Finale – Cycles of Life – Sunday, September 1 at 4 pm
PROGRAM NOTES ARE VIEWABLE ONLINE HERE
7th Annual San Francisco International Piano Festival
Festival Finale: Cycles of Life
Presented in collaboration with Lieder Alive!
Dedicated to the memory of Thomas C. LaDeur (1956-1994)
Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano
Gwendolyn Mok, piano
Jeffrey LaDeur, piano
Jean-Philippe Rameau Tristes apprêts from Castor et Pollux
Gabriel Fauré La Bonne Chanson, Op. 61
Gabriel Fauré Nocturne No. 6 in D-flat major, Op. 61
Claude Debussy Six épigraphes antiques for piano duet
Florent Schmitt Trois Rhapsodies, Op. 53 for two pianos
The Festival comes full circle with a special program of musical cycles that mirror those in nature, joining the glory of the voice with the wonders of the piano. Debussy’s Êpigraphes antiques invoke the god Pan, give voice to an anonymous tomb, conjure a mysterious Egyptian woman, and offer thanks for the morning rain before reprising Pan’s invocation. Emma Bardac, a celebrated French singer who would later become Madame Claude Debussy, inspired Fauré’s passionate and life-affirming La Bonne Chanson. Fauré weaves these 9 songs with subtly recurring motifs while their freshness and apparent spontaneity create the atmosphere of improvisation. The final song, L’hiver a cessé, is one of Fauré’s most inspired and ecstatic creations.
To bring our celebration of Fauré and his circle to a close, the festival concludes with Florent Schmitt’s Trois Rhapsodies (1904) for two pianos. A student of Fauré, Florent Schmitt achieved a masterful blend of wit, infectious charm, and virtuosity in this work. Each rhapsody presents a larger than life tableau of national styles of the period: Française, Polonaise, & Viennoise. Beloved Bay Area artists Kindra Scharich and Gwendloyn Mok join Jeffrey LaDeur to present this finale concert.
Celebrate the unity and joy of these wonderful compositions as we close out season 7!
The San Francisco International Piano Festival is supported, in part, by a grant from the Ross McKee Foundation.
Steingraeber piano generously provided by R. Kassman, purveyor of fine pianos.