Portland Piano International Jon Kimura Parker Sunday, February 17, 2008 • 4:00 pm Monday, February 18, 2008 • 7:30 pm Newmark Theatre • Portland, Oregon PROGRAM Scenes from a Jade Terrace (1987) A. Louie Warrior Memories in an Ancient Garden Southern Sky Carnaval: Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes, Op. 9 Schumann Préambule Chiarina Pierrot Chopin Arlequin Estrella Valse noble Reconnaissance Eusebius Pantalon et Colombine Florestan Valse allemande Coquette Intermezzo: Paganini Réplique Aveu Sphinxes Promenade Papillons Pause ASCH–SCHA Marche des “Davidsbündler” contre les Philistins (Lettres dansantes) INTERM I SS I ON The Rite of Spring Stravinsky Part I: Adoration of the Earth arr. Parker Introduction Dances of the Young Girls Mock Abduction Spring Rounds Games of the Rival Tribes Procession of the Sage Dance of the Earth Part II: The Sacrifice Introduction Mystical Circles of the Young Girls Glorification of the Victim Summoning of the Ancients Ritual Dance of the Ancients Sacred Dance — The Victim Program subject to change Exclusive Management: Opus 3 Artists, 470 Park Ave. South, New York, 10016 Generously Sponsored by Margery Cohn, in memory of Edward Cohn (February 17) and Karan Kuntz (February 18) JON KI MURA PAR K ER Internationally acclaimed concert San Diego’s Mainly Mozart, Seattle, the renowned pedagogue Adele pianist Jon Kimura Parker was born, La Jolla, Sun Valley, and Santa Fe Marcus. raised, and educated in Vancouver. with Pinchas Zukerman and Lynn Mr. Parker has recorded for Telarc His extraordinary career has taken Harrell. Jon Kimura Parker also with Yoel Levi, Andre Previn, him from Carnegie Hall and the collaborates regularly with the and Peter Schickele. He lives in Sydney Opera House to Baffin Tokyo Quartet. Houston with his wife, violin- Island and Zimbabwe. A true ist Aloysia Friedmann, and their An active media personality, Mr. Canadian ambassador of music, daughter Sophie. Parker has hosted two seasons Mr. Parker has given two command of the classical music television performances for Queen Elizabeth series Whole Notes, on Bravo! II, special performances for the Canada. He also hosted CBC United States Supreme Court, Radio Two’s five-part series Up MEET THE ARTIST ! and has performed for the Prime and Coming, which showcases Ministers of Canada and Japan. Join Jon Kimura Parker in the lobby the talents of promising young immediately following the musicians across Canada. He made In the past two seasons, Jon concert where he will be happy to a guest appearance (as himself) Kimura Parker has performed as autograph copies of his recordings, guest soloist with the New York on Disney Channel’s Under the available for purchase courtesy of Philharmonic; the Philadelphia, Umbrella Tree. Mr. Parker was Classical Millennium. Cleveland, Florida, and Minnesota featured on CNN performing in Orchestras; the Baltimore, war-torn Sarajevo, and has been Columbus, Dallas, and Houston documented frequently on CBC, as well as on PBS’s The Visionaries. Symphonies; and every major PROGRAM NOTES orchestra in Canada. This season Jon Kimura Parker is Professor Mr. Parker performs with major of Piano at the Shepherd School ALEX I NA LOU I E orchestras in Atlanta, Boston, of Music at Rice University in (Born July 30, 1949, in Calgary, Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, and this year begins a Vancouver, B.C.) Ottawa, Salt Lake City, San Diego, two-year appointment as the E. Scenes from a Jade Terrace (1987) Tampa, Tokyo, Toronto, Rochester, Stephen Purdom Distinguished and Warsaw. He also returns to Visiting Artist at the Schwob As with a number of my works, the Hollywood Bowl with the School of Music at Columbus State Scenes from a Jade Terrace ex- Los Angeles Philharmonic next University. Parker is Artistic Advisor plores a musical language which summer. of the Orcas Island Chamber Music seeks to fuse Eastern and Western Festival. He is an Officer of The As a member of the outreach influences. Warrior, along with its Order of Canada, his country’s project “PianoPlus,” Mr. Parker more aggressive virtuosic nature, highest civilian honor. toured remote areas including including fanfarish-like material the Canadian Arctic, performing “Jackie” Parker received all of and difficult technical passages, music ranging from Beethoven to his early education in Canada, also explores a vulnerability in its Alanis Morissette on everything training with his uncle, Edward middle section. It is in this move- from upright pianos to electronic Parker and his mother, Keiko ment that I seek to portray the keyboards. He has also jammed Parker. He studied with Lee Kum- artist in a dual role of champion with Doc Severinsen in Sing at the Vancouver Academy and poet. Memories in an Ancient Calgary and Bobby McFerrin in of Music and University of British Garden, an intensely internalized Philadelphia and Baltimore. Recent Columbia, and Marek Jablonski at movement, instructs the pianist to summer festival appearances have the Banff Centre, and in 1979 was play the opening chordal passage included Britt, Green Music, Vail, admitted to the Juilliard School in a rubato style, “as if intoxicated the Hollywood Bowl, Orcas Island, on full scholarship as a student of with the scent of a thousand 2 blossoms.” The mystery of this ROBERT SCHUMANN love again, this time with Wieck’s movement is further enhanced by (Born June 28, 1810, in Zwickau; sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara coloristic playing inside the piano died July 29, 1856, in Endenich) (whom he was to marry five years and use of an ostinato passage in Carnaval: Scènes mignonnes sur later), and the affair with Ernestine the second section. Southern Sky quatre notes, Op. 9 was over. His Symphonic Etudes, closes the work with a flurry of Op. 13, a set of variations on a rapid, repeated chords. In the 1830s, the first decade of his theme that Ernestine’s foster father creative career, Schumann wrote had given him, is one souvenir of Technically and musically de- nothing but piano music: three the time. Carnaval is another. manding, Scenes from a Jade sonatas and a great many infor- Terrace was written especially mal works in which his Romantic Although it resembles a suite, for Jon Kimura Parker, who com- imagination declared itself. Carnaval seemed as difficult for missioned the work through Carnaval dates from 1834, the year the audience as for the performer the assistance of the Canadian in which Schumann fell in love and was considered problematic Broadcasting Corporation and the with a seventeen-year-old pianist “modern” music at the time of its Ontario Arts Council. named Ernestine von Fricken, who composition. In an essay written had come to board with his piano in 1840, Schumann expressed his The work is dedicated to him. teacher, Friedrich Wieck. Within admiration for Liszt’s courage in a few months, the two considered playing it for the general public, — Program Notes by Alexina Louie themselves secretly engaged to who were confused by the music’s marry, but by the end of the year, constantly shifting moods. Liszt family pressure had separated himself said that the opposition to them. In 1835, Schumann was in it came “from musicians and so- 3 called musical experts who were and to actual people. With the Valse noble (Un poco maestoso) wearing ear-muffs that prevented complete work, Schumann aimed has a name perhaps borrowed them from taking in this charming, to create the feeling of a masked from Schubert, whose waltzes imaginative music.” It was finally ball or carnival with many charac- Schumann greatly admired. Clara Clara, who became one of the ters taking part. Although Carnaval later used to say that her husband greatest pianists of the era, who is now always considered an or- danced the waltz “nobly.” persistently played it everywhere ganic whole consisting of closely in Europe until it became known, interrelated parts, Liszt used to Eusebius (Adagio) and Florestan admired, and accepted as one of play a selection of his favorite ex- (Passionato) take their names from her husband’s greatest works. cerpts, and at least a half-dozen the personalities that the composer were published as separate pieces created in the Davidsbündler to Schumann gave the work, laden in the mid-nineteenth century. represent two sides of his char- with extramusical associations, acter: one the spirit of classic a subtitle, Scènes mignonnes sur Schumann reveals the secret of restraint and lofty idealism, and quatre notes (Small scenes on four Carnaval in three letter-and-note the other embodying romantic notes); each of the scenes suggests puzzles, which he presents simul- freedom of expression and flight an aspect of theater, painting, or taneously with their solutions as of fancy. music. He makes references to the lettres dansantes (dancing letters). Italian commedia dell’arte, to his The letters that spell out the name Coquette (Vivo), Réplique Davidsbündler, an imaginary orga- of the Frickens’ hometown, Asch, (L’istesso tempo), and Sphinxes nization with fictitious participants are the names of four notes of the (mystery) make up a lively flirta- whose aim was to uphold music, scale in German: A, E-flat (from tion and response (and possibly the S interpreted as Es), C, and refer to womanly traits). B-natural (called H in German). These are the “four notes” referred Papillons (Butterflies; Prestissimo), to in the subtitle. Schumann also a short dance, contains a refer- uses a three-note group to rep- ence to the title of an earlier work, resent the Frickens’ hometown, Op. 2, or perhaps to the literary in German: As–C–H (A-flat, C, source of its inspiration, a fantastic B-natural). Another riddle consists masked-ball scene in the novel of of the notes E-flat–C–B-natural–A 1805, Flegeljahre (Adolescence), (which spells Schumann’s name in by the German Romantic writer German: S–C–H– [um] A– [nn]).