Graduation Recital by Pianist Ashley Hsu

Pianist Ashley Hsu entered Curtis in 2010 from Fremont, CA and studied with Gary Graffman. Ashley describes the pieces in this recital as a representation of the different parts of her. The program:

Debussy: Images, Book II
Ashley Hsu, piano

Debussy: Images, Book II is very different from its predecessor. The first images Cloches à travers les feuilles translate (Bells Through the Leaves), the audience should listen for the bell tones through the rustling of the leaves. The second images is Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut translate (And the Moon Sets over the Temple That Was), the last images is Poissons d’or translate (Goldfish). Debussy wrote this images base off a Japanese lacquer that was in his possession.

Chopin: Mazurkas, Op. 50
Ashley Hsu, piano

In 1842 Chopin wrote a set of three mazurkas titled Mazurkas, Op. 50. It begins with
No. 1 in G major: Vivace which is very chromatic and leaves you with a warm feeling. The shortest of the mazurkas is No. 2 in A-flat major: Allegretto followed by No. 3 in C-sharp minor: Moderato will have you thinking of a Polish dance.

Schumann: Humoresque in B-flat major, Op. 20
Ashley Hsu, piano

Robert Schumann wrote this piece during a very turbulent time in his life. Schumann wrote to his wife, whom he was separated from at the time, “All week I’ve been sitting at the piano and composing and writing and laughing and crying, all at the same time.” Ashley believes it feels melancholy but you are also aware of the humor in it as well.

Rachmaninoff: Waltz in A major, from Two Pieces for Six-Hands
Andrew Hsu, piano; Ashley Hsu, piano; Daniel Hsu, piano

Ashley invited her two brothers for her encore piece, Rachmaninoff: Waltz in A major, from Two Pieces for Six-Hands. Andrew Hsu (Piano ’13; Composition ’15) and Daniel Hsu entered Curtis in 2008 and is a student of Gary Graffman and Eleanor Sokoloff.