Streaming Premiere – Thursday, May 13, 2021, 7pm

Beatrice Rana, piano

Filmed exclusively for Cal Performances at Oratorio del Gonfalone, Rome, on April 6–7, 2021.

PROGRAM

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813 Allemande Courante Saranbande Air Minuet Minuet – Trio Gigue

Claude Debussy (1862–1918) Étude 1 – pour les cinq doigts d'après Monsieur Czerny Étude 2 – pour les tierces Étude 5 – pour les octaves

Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 Scherzo No. 2 in B-Flat minor, Op. 31 Scherzo No. 3 in C Sharp minor, Op. 39 Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54

Beatrice Rana appears courtesy of Warner Classics. For more information on Beatrice Rana, visit beatriceranapiano.com. Management for Beatrice Rana: Primo Artists, New York, NY (www.primoartists.com). The Cal Performances at Home Spring 2021 season is dedicated to Gail and Dan Rubinfeld, leading supporters of Cal Performances and the well-being of our artists for almost 30 years. Note: following its premiere, the video recording of this concert will be available on demand through June 12, 2021.

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PROGRAM NOTES

Johann Sebastian Bach his suites, along with forms, styles, and idioms French Suite No. 2 in C minor, drawn from the broad span of European music. BWV 813 (ca. 1722) Despite its “stern” minor mode, French Suite Keyboard players the world over have cause to No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813 partakes notice- be grateful that Bach was a prodigious teacher ably of the decorative galant manner that was who liked to write custom-tailored material for to become just the thing throughout Europe as his students. Thanks to those hundreds of little Baroque gave way to the early Classical. It offers fingers learning to play, posterity has been an allemande with intricate and complex blessed with a legacy of matchless music that rhythms, followed by a second-place courante serves not only to train the muscles but also to that reflects Bach’s agnosticism concerning enchant the senses, delight the mind, and move dance titles: this is indubitably an Italianate cor- the heart. (And intimidate the lazy.) Amon those rente, its smooth flow quite different from the pedagogical staples we find two collections of rhythmically intricate French version. The sara- suites, or collections of “stylized” dances—i.e., bande is likewise Italianate, its vinelike melody meant for listening rather than dancing. One set, never coming to rest save at cadences. Two dubbed the “little” suites by the Bach family, galanterien follow: an air that can’t help but contains suites that skip the traditional con- conjure up thoughts of Bach’s two-part certo-like opening movement. What it was Inventions—its rhythms don’t suggest any of about the “little” suites that led to their eventual the era’s dances—and an utterly charming little rechristening as the French suites has been lost menuet, a late-addition afterthought that can to history, but the label appears to have been in be negotiated by even the youngest of clavier general circulation as early as 1762. students. The finale is a gigue in the manner of Bach produced the French Suites during his the antique French canarie, its short phrases years in the tiny principality of Anhalt-Cöthen, bouncy and almost breathless. where he had found a welcome sanctuary be- ginning in 1717 after nearly a decade immersed Claude Debussy in the toxic politics of the duchy of Weimar. His Études, Book 1 (selections) (1915) young Prince Leopold was an ardent music As the malignant miasma of World War I lover whose Calvinist court precluded the writ- spread throughout Europe, Claude Debussy ing of concerted sacred music, thus Bach con- was neither a well nor a happy man. He knew centrated his energies on those instrumental he didn’t have much time left. Diagnosed with works that have since become bedrock reper- colorectal cancer in 1909, he underwent a gru- tory. The precise dating of the French Suites is, as eling operation in 1915 that left him severely so often with Bach, difficult to pin down reliably, weakened and barely able to compose. “For the but at the very least we can assign 1722 as a plau- last three months I’ve been able to work again,” sible, if approximate, completion date thanks to he wrote in October 1915. “I spent nearly a year an autograph score of the first five suites. unable to write music… after that I’ve almost Bach organized his suites around four had to re-learn it.” dances—allemande, courante, sarabande, and Nevertheless, in his last few remaining years gigue—with optional galanterien such as Debussy produced a series of dazzling creations gavottes, bourrées, minuets, polonaises, and airs that encapsulate the concentrated essence of his inserted between sarabande and gigue. Since mature style. Emotionally volatile and tonally suites were popular in both France and Italy, a opulent, his distinctly feline musical tempera- fair number of dances had acquired distinct ment begins to hint at an underlying reptilian national accents, such as the complex French menace, suppressed perhaps but palpable courante versus the rambunctious Italian cor- nonetheless. That vaguely disassociated persona rente. Bach’s all-embracing musical culture en- likely accounts for the late works’ relative unfa- sured that he would mix both dialects freely in miliarity—the three chamber sonatas, En blanc

Opposite: Beatrice Rana. Photo by Marie Staggat. 3 PROGRAM NOTES et noir for two pianos, and the 12 piano Études diamond necklace, Debussy fashions a string of remain on the outskirts of the repertory, cher- exquisite black pearls. Finally, Pour les octaves ished by those willing to make the journey but (“For octaves”) transforms those athletic main- terra incognita to many listeners. stays of Lisztian piano technique into an intox- Publisher Jacques Durand had every reason icating (and perhaps intoxicated) waltz. to feel skeptical about Debussy’s stated inten- tion to compose a set of piano studies to com- Frédéric Chopin plement Chopin’s landmark études of the 1830s. Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 (1833) There was no question but that, Chopin Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31 (1837) notwithstanding, traditional piano studies were Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39 (1839) drab and cheerless affairs; consider exercise- Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54 (1843) spinner par excellence Carl Czerny, whose soul- “Mozart encompasses the entire domain of mu- shredding mechanistic drills shrivelled budding sical creation, but I’ve got only the keyboard in young talents hither and yon. “You’ll agree,” my poor head” lamented Frédéric Chopin. We Debussy suggested to Durand, “that there’s no should all be so lucky as to have such a key- need to make technique any gloomier in order board in our own poor heads. Nobody mat- to appear more serious, and that a bit of charm tered more to the history of the instrument than has never spoilt anything.” That was all very well Frédéric Chopin; nobody changed piano writ- and good, but Durand well knew Debussy’s ing as much; nobody more enhanced the penchant for abandoning projects. He may have stature of the instrument, just then coming into considered it just talk, instigated by Debussy’s its maturity. recent editing of Durand’s new edition of the Nor was Chopin’s imagination restricted to complete Chopin études. what could be done with 10 fingers on a key- But Debussy meant it. He fell to work on the board. He was among music’s supreme har- Études with zeal, keeping Durand up to date on monists, a composer who re-thought the very his progress and offering observations about the function of chords and in so doing imbued works as they emerged. He pulled no punches Romantic music with unprecedented harmonic about their gob-smacking technical and musi- color. He brought the lyricism of bel canto opera cal difficulty. “Apart from the question of tech- to an instrument that creates its sounds via an nique, these Études will be a useful warning to act of violence—i.e., whacking a high-tension pianists not to take up the musical profession string with a hammer—and obliged pianists to unless they have remarkable hands.” re-think their entire approach to the instrument That challenge is far more than physical. in order to play his music successfully. These are études of the mind, not only of the And yet this most quietly radical of pianists body, and merely playing the notes will not do; originally aspired to the bread-and-circuses life each étude presents the pianist with a unique of travelling virtuosi, where fustian bombast dreamscape, engendered perhaps by some ruled the roost and artistry was an inhibiting morsel of piano technique (thirds, octaves, re- encumbrance. He even went so far as to con- peated notes, ornaments, etc.) but adventuring sider studying with the spectacularly superficial far beyond such mundane trivialities. Friedrich Kalkbrenner, empty-calorie note- Pour les cinq doigts (“For the five fingers”) spinner par excellence who could have ruined starts with a droll parody of those horrid old- the suggestible young Pole had not horrified school finger drills; it’s even marked “après M. parents and teachers intervened. Czerny.” It isn’t long before it soars into a near- So Chopin backed off that particular cliff and delirious fantasy, concluding with that opening headed towards his true destiny. His piano drill transformed into a shower of pyrotechnics. compositions are mostly short, save three Pour les tierces (“For thirds”) might bear a faint sonatas and a few sets of variations, but each en- resemblance to Chopin’s celebrated study in compasses its own unique and fully realized thirds, but while Chopin aims for a glittering cosmos. Chopin never phoned it in.

4 PROGRAM NOTES

Chopin’s four scherzos date from his peak lightning. Eventually the mood lightens with decade of 1833–43, after he finally abandoned the arrival of the major mode and a decidedly his bid for concert fame but before chronic tu- exuberant demeanor, lyrical and optimistic. The berculosis sapped his creative and physical en- contrasting middle section—by far the longest ergy. In using the title scherzo, he was reaching part of the work—explores a range of affects, back to a Classical-era practice of replacing the from the dignified to the breathless to the ef- usual minuet movement with a supercharged fervescent to the heroic; a fascinating weaving variant that stepped up the tempo, stripped off in of material from the first section eases the the courtly polish, and threw in a goodly dose transition to the reprise, leading to a super- of robust humor. Although Joseph Haydn holds charged bravura finale. pride of place via certain scherzo movements Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39 dates in his string quartets, it was Ludwig van from Chopin’s stay in Majorca, Spain with Beethoven who made the genre really and truly Aurore Dupin, a.k.a. George Sand, with whom his own. Chopin had Beethoven’s models in he had been having an extended affair. Planned mind; he retained the overall A–B–A form as a escape from the damp Parisian winter, the (more or less) but replaced Beethoven boister- trip began well enough but soon devolved into ous athleticism with a demonically-tinged an ordeal as Chopin’s health worsened—it was angst, reflecting the early Romantic penchant at this time he was diagnosed as having tuber- for the Gothic. culosis—combined with local antagonism over Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 dates from the couple’s unmarried state. Eventually they an unsuccessful foray to Vienna, where Chopin settled in a former monastery at Valldemosa, was making what turned out to be a last-gasp where Chopin was able to start work on the effort to establish himself as a popular piano third Scherzo. virtuoso. Physically challenging and emotion- Nothing about the finished work hints at the ally supercharged, the Scherzo confirms that difficulties of its inception. Among the most Chopin dwelled in a realm far beyond the effete complex of Chopin’s works, it departs from salonistes and their oh-so-trendy devotées. the usual A–B–A scherzo layout in favor of in- It begins with what is in effect a primal terleaving the two main ideas—the first turbu- scream: a sharply dissonant chord in the upper lent and expressed in thundering fusillades of register followed by a guttural bellow down octaves, the second comprising a noble below. What follows is a terrified scramble, jets chorale-like theme interspersed with glittering of notes springing repeatedly upwards before cascades. collapsing into roiling surges. Momentary Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54 offers a pauses seem like stopping for breath before the happy ending to the set. Written at George chase resumes. A true respite is found in the Sand’s country villa at Nohant, the work reflects contrasting middle section that quotes a gently the sun-drenched satisfaction of that comfort- rocking Polish Christmas song, but soon able summer of 1842. Surrounded by some of enough the mood of terror returns, and the his friends, including the painter Delacroix, work ends in cataclysmic fury. Chopin wrote with a remarkable freedom, cre- Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31 opens ating a scherzo that channels very little of the in sepulchral menace—“like a house of the demonic but a great deal of the magical world of dead” according to Chopin—lit by flashes of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. —Scott Foglesong

5 ABOUT THE ARTIST

BEATRICE RANA, piano Orozco-Estrada, and the Philharmonia Zurich Beatrice Rana has captured the attention of the and Fabio Luisi. international classical music world, drawing ad- Rana will play recitals at the Berlin Phi - miration and interest from concert presenters, lharmonie, Carnegie Hall, Lisbon’s Gulbenkian conductors, critics, and audiences in many Foundation, Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica, countries. Lugano’s LAC, Paris’ Théâtre des Champs- Rana performs at the world’s most esteemed Elysées, Madrid’s Scherzo Great Performers se- concert halls and festivals and collaborates with ries, the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, Tokyo’s conductors including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kioi Hall, and London’s Wigmore Hall, among Antonio Pappano, Fabio Luisi, Riccardo Chailly, other venues. Yuri Temirkanov, Gianandrea Noseda, Jun An exclusive Warner Classics recording Märkl, Trevor Pinnock, James Gaffigan, Mirga artist, Rana received international acclaim for Gražinytė-Tyla, Lahav Shani, Andrés Orozco- her recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations Estrada, Susanna Mälkki, Leonard Slatkin, Kent and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Nagano, and Zubin Mehta. Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with An - During the upcoming seasons, she will tonio Pappano and Orchestra dell’Accademia debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Or ches tre de Paris, Bayerische Rundfunk Rana came to public attention in 2011, after Sinfo nie orchester, New York Philharmonic, winning First Prize at the Montreal Inter - Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester, Orquesta Nacio - national Competition, and in 2013, when she nal de España, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic won the Silver Medal and the Audience Award Or ches tra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and at the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Or chestre National de Lyon, and will return to Competition. the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Danish Born in Italy into a family of musicians, Rana National Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Sym pho- currently lives in Rome, where she continues ny Orchestra, and Antwerp Symphony Orches- her studies with her lifetime mentor, Benedetto tra. She will also tour with the London Lupo. She studied previously with Arie Vardi at Philhar monic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurow - the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover. ski, the Wiener Symphoniker and Andrés

6 CREDITS

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STUDENT MUSICAL ACTIVITIES Opening fanfare used by permission from Jordi Mark Sumner, Director, UC Choral Ensembles Savall from his 2015 recording of Monteverdi's Bill Ganz, Associate Director, L'Orfeo on Alia Vox. UC Choral Ensembles Matthew Sadowski, Director of Bands/ Major support for the Cal Performances Interim Department Manager Digital Classroom is provided by Wells Fargo. Ted Moore, Director, UC Jazz Ensembles Brittney Nguyen, SMA Coordinator Major support for Beyond the Stage is provided by Bank of America. TICKET OFFICE calperformances.org Liz Baqir, Ticket Services Manager Gordon Young, Assistant Ticket Office Manager © 2021 Regents of the University of California Sherice Jones, Assistant Ticket Office Manager Jeffrey Mason, Patron Services Associate

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