Thursday, November 10, 2016 • 7:00 p.m ​ Kevin Lin Graduate Recital DePaul Recital Hall 804 West Belden Avenue • Chicago Thursday, November 10, 2016 • 7:00 p.m. ​ DePaul Recital Hall Kevin Lin, viola Graduate Recital Beilin Han, piano PROGRAM Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827); ed. & arr. William Primrose Notturno for Viola and Piano, Op. 42 (1796-1797, 1803) Marcia: Allegro Adagio Menuetto and Trio: Allegretto Adagio - Scherzo: Allegro molto Allegretto alla Polacca Theme and Variations: Andante quasi Allegretto Marcia: Allegro Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147 (1975) Moderato Allegretto Adagio Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953); arr. Vadim Borisovsky Selected pieces from the ballet Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 (1935) ​ ​ I. Introduction III. Juliet the Young Girl V. Dance of the Knights Kevin Lin is from the studio of Rami Solomonow. This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the degree Master of Music. As a courtesy to those around you, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. Flash photography is not permitted. Thank you. Kevin Lin • November 10, 2016 PROGRAM NOTES Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827); ed. & arr. William Primrose Notturno for Viola and Piano, Op. 42 (1796-1797, 1803) Duration: 23 minutes The Notturno for Viola and Piano was originally composed by Beethoven as the Serenade for Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 8. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there was growing demand by amateur musicians for arrangements of works that would otherwise require larger number of instrumentalists to perform, and music publishers were more than happy to oblige the demands of the public. The Serenade was arranged by Franz Xaver Kleinheinz in 1803, and when sent to Beethoven for approval, he wrote his publishers, “The arrangements were not made by me, but I have gone through them and made drastic corrects in some passages. So do not dare to state in writing that I have arranged them…I could never have found the time, or even the patience, to do work of that kind.” Despite this, the publishers still gave the credit to Beethoven for the Notturno for Viola and Piano when it came time to be published. The arrangement that will be performed was arranged in the 20th century by Scottish viola virtuoso William Primrose. Primrose’s arrangement showcases the viola, giving the instrument a more prominent and virtuosic role than the original Kleinheinz arrangement. Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147 (1975) Duration: 35 minutes Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano was his final work; it was composed in the last two months preceding his death. To say that Shostakovich had a difficult life would be an understatement as he lived through and witnessed the Russian Revolution of 1917, Civil War in Russia in the years that followed the Revolution, Stalinism of the 1930s that saw his works banned by Stalin’s regime, and the Second World War. The years and months leading up to Shostakovich’s death were not any easier: his deteriorating health forced him to stop playing the piano, as he lost the use of his right hand which was ultimately diagnosed as polio. The compositions during this final period of Shostakovich’s life tend to be sparse in texture and often unaccompanied and this Sonata is no different. Kevin Lin • November 10, 2016 Program Notes The Sonata is dedicated to Fyodor Druzhinin, violist of the Beethoven Quartet, who premiered the piece after Shostakovich’s death. Prior to his death, Shostakovich advised Druzhinin that the first movement was a “novella,” the second movement a scherzo, and the third movement an adagio in memory of Beethoven. The third movement is a vast fantasy that references many of Shostakovich’s own works, but most notably is structured around the opening reference to Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14, ‘Quasi una Fantasia,’ also known as the Moonlight Sonata. And as in each ​ ​ ​ ​ of the previous movements, Shostakovich’s ends the third movement with the instruction of ‘morendo’ or dying away. Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953); arr. Vadim Borisovsky Selected pieces from the ballet Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 ​ ​ (1935) Duration: 12 minutes Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet score was composed for the Bolshoi ​ ​ Theatre in 1935, but selections from the original ballet score were heard as orchestral suites that were selected by Prokofiev and performed by orchestras throughout the world before the premiere of the ballet had ever occurred. The Kirov Theatre originally approached Prokofiev to commission a score for Romeo and Juliet, but backed out due to ​ ​ complications, so Prokofiev signed a contract with the Bolshoi Theatre instead. When the score was complete, the choreographer of the Bolshoi Theatre declared the music impossible to dance to and the contract with Prokofiev was broken. The world premiere of the ballet occurred in Czechoslovakia in 1938, and with the success the orchestral suites received, a revised version of the ballet would eventually be premiere at the Kirov Theatre in 1940 and at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1946. In 1937, with the success of the orchestral suites, Prokofiev reduced the orchestral score of Romeo and Juliet to arrange the Ten Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, ​ ​ ​ ​ Op. 75 for solo piano. Subsequently, when violist Vadim Borisovsky, founder of the Russian Viola School and a founding member of the Beethoven Quartet, approached Prokofiev to ask if he (Borisovsky) could arrange a selection of pieces from the ballet Romeo and Juliet for viola and ​ ​ piano, Borisovsky’s request was met with Prokofiev’s approval. Notes by Kevin Lin. .