On November 28 at 7:30 p.m. distinguished pianist Yefim Bronfman will perform a program that spans the mainstays of the piano repertoire, from the romance of Beethoven to the fantastical musings of Ravel. The program will begin with Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major followed by Schumann’s Fantasy in C minor. The second half will include Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit and Mily Balakirev’s formidable Islamey.
Yefim Bronfman is widely regarded as one of the most talented virtuoso pianists performing today. The Chicago Tribune has called his playing "...a marvel of digital dexterity, warmly romantic sentiment and jaw-dropping bravura.” Bronfman has performed with the Berlin, London, Vienna, New York and Los Angeles philharmonics; the Cleveland, Philhadelphia, Kirov and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras; the Dresden Staatskapelle, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and many other orchestras under Barenboim, Blomstedt, von Dohnányi, Dutoit, Eschenbach, Gergiev, Jansons, Maazel, Masur, Mehta, Salonen, Temirkanov, Welser-Möst and Zinman. Bronfman has performed in the leading halls of North America, Europe and the Far East, including a series of joint recitals with Isaac Stern in Russia (1991). Bronfman has collaborated with the Emerson, Cleveland, Guarneri and Juilliard quartets and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, as well as with Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, Shlomo Mintz, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Pinchas Zukerman and many other artists. He last appeared in Seattle in a trio recital with Gil Shaham and Lynn Harrell in October 2006.
Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 27, No. 1 in 1801. Eclipsed in popularity by its publication mate, the “Moonlight” Sonata, it is nonetheless an appealing work rich in romance and rhythmic excitement. Robert Schumann’s Fantasy in C major, composed in the mid-1830s, is passionate, mysterious and seemingly improvisatory in nature. Dedicated to Franz Lizst, but clearly aimed at expressing Schumann’s deep and powerful feelings toward his future wife, it remains one of his richest piano works.
Maurice Ravel wrote his extraordinarily challenging Gaspard de la nuit in 1908, inspired by three poems by Aloysius Bertrand. Ravel’s masterly piano writing exults in brilliant and sensitive color, sardonic humor and knuckle-busting virtuosity. Mily Balakirev’s “Oriental fantasy” Islamey has long considered the most difficult piano piece in the repertoire. Based on three exotic themes, it was a favorite display piece of no less than Franz Liszt. -- www.seattlesymphony.org
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