Master final exam of : Thitipol Piseskul Tobias Borsboom, Piano Works by: Debussy, Mantovani, Berio, Lago, Lauba and Albright 9th June 2021, 16h00 at Bernard Haitinkzaal Biography Thitipol Piseskul Was born in 1997, Bangkok, Thailand. His passion of music started at Music Campus for General Public, College of Music, Mahidol University, under the coaching of Promwut Sudtakoo. At the age of 14, he got admitted in Pre-College program at College of Music, Mahidol University where he studied Classical Saxophone with Prof.Shyen Lee and Wisuwat Pruksavanich. He had several masterclasses with Jean-Marie Londeix, Dr.Scott Turpen, Dr.Chiu Huan Wu, Masato Kumoi, Kenneth Tse, Kyle Horch, Hans de Jong, Claude Delangle, Jean-Denis Michat, Timothy Mcallister, Lars Mlekusch and Nobuya Sugawa. As an aspiring young saxophonist, in 2014, his quartet “Fire-Yen Saxophone Quartet” was awarded the top prize (2nd prize) and Takatsuki Mayer Award in the Grand Final by 15th Osaka International Music Competition in Section II, Ensemble Category. In 2016, after he moved to the Netherlands, his other quartet “Lagom Saxophone Quartet” was awarded 1st prize by WMC Kerkrade music competition and a year later, was awarded 1st prize by Princess Christina competition (Local). He graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Classical Saxophone Performance) from Conservatorium van Amsterdam in 2019 under the coaching of Prof.Arno Bornkamp and continued his Master’s in “Classical Saxophone Performance” and “Karnatic rhythm in Western music” at Conservatorium van Amsterdam, under the coaching of Prof.Arno Bornkamp and Prof.Rafael Reina Camara. -1- Biography Tobias Borsboom is one of the best- known young Dutch pianists, performing extensively both as a soloist and in other capacities. In 2015 he made his debut in all the major concert halls of the Netherlands as a soloist in "Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F" with the Dutch Student Orchestra conducted by Quentin Clare. With violinist Piotr Jasiurkowski he played the Masters on Tour series of The International Holland Music Sessions (2013-2014), and in 2015, after being nominated twice, he won the prestigious Dutch Classical Talent Award for his solo performance as well as the audience award with his duo partner Piotr Jasiurkowski. With pianoduo partner Yukiko Hasegawa he recently got chosen as one of the Shizuoka Masters “Shizuoka no meishutachi” in Japan. In recent years, Tobias Borsboom has been successful at several other competitions. With Piotr Jasiurkowski he won the audience award and the Who's Next Award at the Almere Chamber Music Competition (NL, 2015) and he was awarded first prize at the Grand Dominique (NL, 2012). Additionally, he was a prize winner at the Young Pianist Foundation Piano Competition (3rd prize and prize for best interpretation of a Dutch work, NL, 2010), the Concertgebouw Entree Kamermuziek Concours (NL, 2006) and the Prinses Christina Concours (NL, 2005). In 2013, Tobias Borsboom completed his Master's degree at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam, where he studied with Jan Wijn. He has taken lessons with such renowned pianists as Paolo Giacometti, Maria João Pires, Klaus Hellwig, Jan Boguslaw Strobel, Georg Friedrich Schenck and Geoffrey Douglas Madge. -2- Programme Prelude a l'Apres midi d'un faune..................................Claude Debussy (Arranger : Gustave Samazeuilh, Transcriber: Arno Bornkamp and Ivo Janssen) L'incandescence de la Bruine.......................................Bruno Mantovani Sequenza VIIb............................................................................Luciano Berio (Arranger: Claude Delangle) —- intermission —- Consecuencias.........................................................................Guillermo Lago i. de la ignorancia ii. del amor iii. de la violencia Worksong................................................................................Christian Lauba Sonata.....................................................................................William Albright i. Two-Part Invention ii. La follia nuova: a lament for George Cacioppo iii. Scherzo "Will o' the wisp" iv. Recitative and Dance -3- Prelude a l'Apres midi d'un faune, Claude Debussy (1862-1918) ‘Prelude a l'Apres midi d'un faune’ is a symphonic poem for orchestra which was composed by Claude Debussy in 1894. The composition was inspired by the poem L'après-midi d'un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé. It is one of Debussy's most famous works and is considered a turning point in the history of Western art music. Pierre Boulez considered the score to be the beginning of modern music, observing that "the flute of the faun brought new breath to the art of music.” The music of this prelude is a very free illustration of Mallarmé's beautiful poem. By no means does it claim to be a synthesis of it. Rather there is a succession of scenes through which pass the desires and dreams of the faun in the heat of the afternoon. Then, tired of pursuing the timorous flight of nymphs and naiads, he succumbs to intoxicating sleep, in which he can finally realize his dreams of possession in universal Nature. This arrangement was first made for flute and piano by Gustave Samazeuilh and was transcribed for soprano saxophone and piano by the collaboration of Arno Bornkamp and Ivo Janssen. L'incandescence de la Bruine - Bruno Mantovani (1974-present) L’Incandescence de la Bruine was composed by Bruno Mantovani in 1997 for French saxophonist Vincent David and his pianist, Dorothée Bocquet. The title translates roughly to “The Glow of the Drizzle.” As you listen, consider how the sound of the music reflects a vision of the world through the rain. The first note is a concert F, and this note is repeated throughout the piece in both the saxophone and piano parts. Sometimes the note is repeated incessantly, like the pounding of the rain. Other times it is obscured by a quarter-tone, much like the rain can blur the vision of the outside world. Throughout the piece, the musical lines of the piano and saxophone weave in and out of each other, often interacting conversationally. The saxophone frequently imitates sounds that are electronic in nature and features many extended techniques for the instrument such as slap tongue, flutter tongue, and growling. -4- Sequenza VIIb - Luciano Berio (1925-2003) Sequenza VII was written in 1969 for an oboist, Heinz Holliger. At that time, Berio tended to reject traditional musical notation and like his other sequenzas, Berio meant for Sequenza VII to be played by a virtuoso who was not only proficient technically but who had a "virtuosity of the intellect" as well. He claimed this intellectual virtuosity by notating measures in seconds instead of bars although there are some sections of the work that use traditional rhythmic notation. Importantly, the piece is built around a drone played on a B natural, which typically comes from an offstage source. In his instructions on the score, Berio writes: “a B natural must sound throughout the piece. The sound-source should preferably not be visible. This can be an oscillator, a clarinet, a pre-taped oboe, or something else. The intensity should be kept to a minimum with quite small variations. The B natural should give the impression of lending a slight resonance to the oboe” While the drone is sounding, the solo will be the one who narrates the spectral soundscape of this concert pitch by using various forms of advanced and extended technique, including using five alternate fingerings for one note in a single measure, multiphonics, double tonguing, trills on multiple notes at a time, overblowing, flutter-tonguing, traditional harmonics, and microtonal trills. In 1993, this piece was arranged for solo soprano saxophone which Berio gave its name 'Sequenza VIIb' by Claude Delangle. -5- Consecuencias - Guillermo Lago (1960-present) In 2014 Lago was approached by the young Lithuanian saxophonist Rusne Mikiskaite after a concert with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble in the Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan het IJ where he had been performing his arrangement of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet with his colleagues. She had received an invitation by a Festival in Lithuania for concerts with a string quartet and asked Lago if he had suggestions. He decided on the spot to write a piece for her and promised her so. 'Consecuencias' (consequences) is the result of that promise which he completed in 2015. A three-movement piece; the first movement portraying consequences of ignorance, the second consequences of love which dedicated to his wife, Saskia Törnqvist and the third consequences of violence. The version for alto saxophone and strings is dedicated to both Rusne and Lago's long-time friend Arno Bornkamp which later, he also published the piece with piano reduction. Worksong - Christian Lauba (1952-present) “Worksong”(2008), an etude no.15 from Lauba’s big collection for the mastery of side keys and register breaks in which the listener can experience the clever unfolding of an originally simple minor third motive which quoting ‘Work song’. Work song is a piece of music closely connected to a form of work, either sung while conducting a task (usually to coordinate timing). Although that there is not much information about this piece but I strongly believe that it is deeply connected to songs that were developed in the era of slavery, an African- American work song. A common feature of African American songs was the call-and-response format, where a leader would sing a verse or verses and the others would respond with a chorus. This came from African traditions of agricultural