San Francisco International Piano Festival – Ravel et Le Jazz – Saturday, August 30 at 8 pm
San Francisco International Piano Festival
Ravel et Le Jazz
Stephen Prutsman, piano
Jeffrey LaDeur, piano
Maurice Ravel Prelude in A minor (1913) & Valses nobles et sentimentales (1911)
Bill Evans / Stephen Prutsman – Original Jazz Compositions
Maurice Ravel Une Barque sur l’océan & Alborada del gracioso
Stephen Prutsman – Original Score to Buster Keaton’s One Week (1920)
The San Francisco International Piano Festival is thrilled to welcome back Stephen Prutsman to the stage for an evening of Ravel, Jazz, and a screening of Buster Keaton’s 1920 comedy classic. Ravel’s admiration for the jazz idiom and its performers went beyond fondness, and he went so far as to say, “You Americans take jazz too lightly… In my opinion, it is bound to lead to the national music of the United States.” This turned out to be a mutual love affair as countless jazz greats have paid homage to Ravel through their voicings, color, refinement, and invention. Tonight, we play back and forth between styles, juxtaposing Ravel originals with jazz played by the peerless Stephen Prutsman and conclude with Mr. Prutsman’s irresistible score to Buster Keaton’s One Week.