A student recital of music by Hsu, Shostakovich, Pujol, Piazzolla, Barrios, Mendelssohn

Air Date: October 9, 2017

The premiere of Season Twelve of On Stage At Curtis begins with a student recital including a piece from Curtis Alumni Andrew Hsu. The program:

Andrew Hsu: dahlianum
Abigail Kent, harp
Abigail Kent (Harp ’17) performs dahlianum a composition by Andrew Hsu (Piano ’13, Composition ’15). The papaver dahlianum is known as the Svalbard poppy and is believed to be the northern most flowering plant. During its life -span the papaver dahlianm will grow, blossom, pollinate and die within two months. Andrew Hsu’s composition takes us through the life span of this extraordinary plant.

Shostakovich: Selections from 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87
Wei Luo, piano
Wei Luo performed No. 5 in D major and No. 24 in D minor from Selections from 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Each piece is in two parts, a prelude and a fugue. No. 24 is Wei Luo’s favor because you can feel the sadness, sorrow and struggles not only by Shostakovick but also by the entire nation. It is describe as “the most blatantly heroic and the more clearly courageous piece he ever composed.”

Pujol: Dos Aires Candombreros
Emma Resmini, flute; Xiaobo Pu, guitar
There are certain instrument combinations that sound pleasing to the ear, the flute and guitar is one of them. Máximo Diego Pujol’s Dos Aires Candombreros demonstrates the complexity of the piece but with easy listening. The movements are marked: Candombe de los buenos tiempos and Nubes de Buenos Aires.

Piazzolla: Oblivion, transcr. Julien Labro and Jason Vieaux
Emma Resmini, flute; Kathryn Epperson, viola; Xiaobo Pu, guitar, William Karns, double bass
Oblivion is one of Ástor Piazzolla’s most popular tangos. Julien Labro and Jason Vieaux transcribed Piazzolla’s Oblivion for flute, viola, guitar and double bass. It is describe as a tango jazz-fusion piece.

Barrios: Waltz in G major, Op. 8, No. 4
Xiaobo Pu, guitar
Agustín Barrios is considered one of the greatest guitar music composers in the world. Waltz in G major, Op. 8, No. 4 is one of the most popular pieces in the guitar repertoire.

Mendelssohn: Fantasy in F-sharp minor, Op. 28
Chelsea Wang, piano
Recent graduate Chelsea Wang performs one of Mendelssohn’s best examples of virtuoso works for piano. The structure of the piece is very much in a fantasy sonata form.

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