This preview has been provided by World Masterwork Series.
Now you can hear it performed live on two pianos.
Mozart’s great opera Don Giovanni,
Reminiscences of Don Juan
The Extravagance of Two Pianos, Two Virtuosos, and Three of the most Colorful Composers of the Romantic Age! Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky. This is another Masterwork Performance by John Cobb & Christopher Tavernier.
Dr. Cobb, a semifinalist in the Third International Van Cliburn Piano Competition, is an international performer and recording artist known for his broad interpretive range and technical command. Dr. Cobb studied with Claudio Arrau, whose teacher was a pupil of Franz Liszt. Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) was renowned throughout the world as one of the supreme keyboard masters of the century. Franz Liszt was a student of Carl Czerny, who was a pupil of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Christopher Tavernier made his debut as a concert pianist in North Carolina at the age of thirteen, performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 in B Flat Minor with the Tar River Philharmonic Orchestra in North Carolina. Christopher’s first love is the piano. He began his studies at the age of six and plans to become a great concert pianist. Although Christopher knows and loves the whole vast piano repertoire, Franz Liszt is his favorite composer. Franz Liszt was probably the greatest pianist who ever lived. He is considered one of the greatest composers of the Nineteenth Century. Among his many innovations was the invention of the solo recital and the development of the symphonic poem. Christopher’s repertoire contains many works by Franz Liszt, of whom he is a direct musical descendant through his teacher, pianist Dr. John Cobb. Hence the musical lineage actually extends from Beethoven to Christopher Tavernier. Studying under Dr. Cobb and performing concerts with him, together, they continue to “Preserve the Musical Lineage of Franz Liszt”.
We are going to take you on a Spectacular Musical Journey!
The first stop is a brilliant operatic fantasy: Mozart’s great opera Don Giovanni transformed by Franz Liszt. It’s been turning heads for 150 years in its piano solo version. Now you get to hear it amplified on two pianos! The second stop is Rachmaninoff’s thrilling Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, full of nonstop excitement and passion! The last stop in our journey is the most popular and powerful concerto ever written: Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 – Complete! Join us for this Spectacular Musical Journey.
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Reminiscences of Don Juan (S.656) from Mozart’s Don Giovanni (1877)
Liszt composed more than 60 operatic fantasies for piano. “Don Juan” is one of only two that he wrote in a two-piano version. He managed to pack three hours of operatic drama into a very intense 15 minute two-piano piece. It is a virtual catalog of Liszt’s famous piano technique innovations.
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Opus 43 (1934)
Although Rachmaninoff composed four large piano concertos, this one-movement “concerto” (written almost as an afterthought) has become his most popular work for piano and orchestra. He used its 24 variations on Paganini’s 24th Caprice for solo violin to explore brand new realms of beauty, pianistic virtuosity and musical structure. Freshness and inspiration leap from every page, even after many hearings.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Piano Concerto No.1 in B-flat minor, Opus 23 (1874)
I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito II. Andantino semplice – Prestissimo III. Allegro con fuoco
One of Tchaikovsky’s fairly early works, his First Piano Concerto was initially fraught with controversy. It was so original that its many striking beauties went unheard, but only for a short time. It achieved its huge popularity following its world premiere in Boston, Massachusetts in October 1875, and a further performance in New York City in the next month. A couple of its unusual musical attributes are 1) the first movement is longer than the second and third movements combined; and 2) the famous and celebrated melody from the first movement is only the introduction and never returns. At 38 minutes, the concerto is a large one. Still, it is a few minutes shorter than Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto – the “Emperor” – and yet seems somehow larger because of the huge orchestral forces and the massive solo piano part.
(View Program Guide) http://issuu.com/levif/docs/worldmasterworkseries2014/1?e=9051862/8194910
(Laurel of Asheville Magazine) http://www.thelaurelofasheville.com/world-masterwork-series-supports-ladies-night-out.html
YouTube video from the August 24 performance at Tryon Fine Arts Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Op7XXaT0M&feature=youtu.be
Freeburg & Perzina Pianos Present
2nd Annual Benefit Concert for the
[Mission Foundation for the] “Ladies Night Out” program.
Freeburg Pianos Website http://www.freeburgpianos.com/
100% of all proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit the “Ladies Night Out”
“Ladies Night Out” is a joint program of Mission and Buncombe County Health Department to ensure that every woman has access to a mammogram. Mission Foundation is the 501(c)(3) philanthropic arm of Mission Hospital and receives grants and donations for the Ladies Night Out program. All ticket proceeds from the World Masterwork Series at the Tryon Fine Arts Center and the Diana Wortham Theatre will be paid directly to the Mission Foundation for their Ladies Night Out program.
Concert Date:
Diana Wortham Theatre – Saturday September 6th at 7:00 pm
2 South Pack Square ▪ Asheville, NC ▪ 828-257-4530 (General Admission $8.00)
(Reserve Tickets Online) http://www.dwtheatre.com/performances/calendar/rentals-2014-2015/freeburg-perzina-pianos-presents-the-2nd-annual-world-masterwork-series?searchterm=world+masterw
