Aaron Liu A RUSSIAN AFFAIR Friday 27 May 6pm, Salon Presented by Melbourne Recital Centre ARTIST Aaron Liu, piano PROGRAM Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Variations on an Original Theme, Op.19, No.6 Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) and Mily Balakirev (1837-1910) Skylark Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) Pictures at an Exhibition I The Gnome II The Old Castle III Tuileries IV Cattle V The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks in their Shells VI Samuel Goldenberg and Schuÿle VII The Market at Limoges VIII Catacombs IX The Hut on Fowl’s Legs X The Great Gate of Kiev ABOUT THE MUSIC Skylark, otherwise known as L’Alouette was originally No. 10 of a group of twelve songs that Mikhail Glinka composed in 1840. They were titled ‘Farewell to St. Petersburg’. Not only was Mily Balakirev great friends with Glinka, but he was also greatly influenced by the composer. Of the compositions Balakirev paraphrased, Skylark is unequivocally his most famous with its extraordinarily beautiful yet intrinsically sad melody. Whilst teaching at the Moscow Conservatory in 1873, Tchaikovsky completed a collection of six pieces titled, Six Morceaux, Op.19. The last of those six is the ‘Variations on an Original Theme’ in F major. A set of twelve variations, the piece itself is quite compact. Predominantly noteworthy is the eleventh variation which Tchaikovsky titles Alla Schumann, paying homage to one of his favourite composers. Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is nothing short of exciting. Regarded as the composer’s most famous piano work, it has influenced many different orchestrations and arrangements of the piece by other composers. The music itself portrays an imaginary tour of an art collection, heavily inspired by the artist Viktor Hartmann whom produced the drawings and watercolours in his travels abroad. ABOUT THE ARTIST Melbourne-born Aaron Liu completed his Bachelor of Music in Advanced Performance (Honours) at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 2013 with Oleg Stepanov. During his undergraduate degree, he was awarded prizes each year for achieving the highest mark in performance. He is currently completing a Master of Music in Performance at the Queensland Conservatorium. Continued over page... Winner of the 2015 Melbourne Recital Centre Great Romantics Competition, Aaron was also the first prize recipient in the 2015 Australian Society of Keyboard Music National Open Piano Competition. Additionally, he was a finalist in the 2015 ABC Young Performers Awards. Other prizes have included winning the 2014 Australian Youth Classical Music Competition, Yamaha Australian Youth Piano Competition, Queensland Piano Competition, Yamaha Recitals Scholarship, and many other awards. Performance highlights have included concerts in the Tyalgum Music Festival, Karana Downs Hinterland Festival, Theme & Variations Emerging Artists Concert Series, Yamaha Recitals Australia Showcase, and the ANAM Piano! Festival. He has had recitals broadcast on ABC Classic FM and Brisbane’s 4MBS. Recently, Aaron was awarded first place in the 2016 Kawai International Music Competition for Australia and New Zealand. He will now travel to Tokyo later this year for the International finals. ABOUT SALON: SOLO Salon: Solo celebrates the best local and international soloists, all year long. This is your opportunity to hear a diverse range of repertoire by some of the world’s best musicians in the intimacy of the Salon. The Centre’s Salon is inspired by Australian composer Percy Grainger who believed ‘a melody is as free to roam through tonal space as a painter is free to draw and paint free lines’. To share this musical notion, Grainger’s 1937 graphic score, Free Music No.2 is inscribed across the Salon’s diffusing timber panel walls, inspiring musicians and audiences alike. NEXT CONCERT Alice Giles, harp One of the world’s leading harp soloists, Alice Giles performs a rare recital packed with variety and colour. Wednesday 4 May 6pm For more information and tickets, please visit melbournerecital.com.au A note on environmental friendliness: In an effort to commit to greener performances, programs are printed to share one between two people. If you would like to download additional copies of these program notes, please visit melbournerecital.com.au/programs 31 Sturt Street, Southbank, Victoria 3006 PRINCIPAL GOVERNMENT PARTNER P: 03 9699 3333 F: 03 9207 2662 E: [email protected] W: melbournerecital.com.au.