Programs
China to Chopin with Love
In this 90-minute program, Ang Li, selects some of Chopin’s most celebrated compositions for this bi-centennial event. Chopin remains not only as Poland’s greatest composer but perhaps as the most important composer in the history of the piano; he comprehensively utilized the instrument’s capacities for beauty, excitement, variety, and timbral appeal. This program will include Chopin Polonaises, Mazurkas (both Polish dance forms), Waltzes and Ballades.
Chopin & Schumann Favorites
Born in the same year as Chopin, Schumann was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. Schumann’s first written criticism was an essay on Chopin’s Variations on a Theme from Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Schumann is one of the towering innovators of the Romantic period. Imaginary characters created by Schumann himself: Florestan (the embodiment of Schumann’s passionate, voluble side) and Eusebius (his dreamy, introspective side) are shown in Papillons, Op. 2 (Butterflies). Sample selections included in this program are Schumann Papillons, Op. 2 and Chopin’s Nocturne and Scherzo.
Pilgrimage of Liszt
The triology, Années de Pèlerinage (“Years of Pilgrimage” or “Years of Travel”) is one of the most significant outputs of Franz Liszt as a composer. In this 90-minute program, Ang Li has chosen to include three pieces from the trilogy: Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (Petrarch’s Sonnet 104), Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este (The Fountains of the Villa d’Este), and Après une lecture de Dante: Fantasia Quasi Sonata (After Reading Dante: Fantasia Quasi Sonata). The program also includes three other well-known genres by Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody, Consolations and Opera Transcription.
Potpourri Recital
This recital program consists of compositions from the Classical, Romantic, and Impressionistic Eras. Featured composers in this eclectic program are Mozart, Ravel, Chopin and Schubert.
Classical, Progressive & Modern
This recital concentrates on the development of classical piano music. This weighty program includes works by Beethoven, Brahms, and de Falla.
Young People Concert
This recital program features compositions by Scarlatti, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Schumann, Liadov and Granados. Specifically designed for younger audiences, this program includes some of the most popular works in classical music history: Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Schumann’s Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood).