Pairings

The "Lecture/Recital" is something that doesn't come along very often. And today's was not, strictly speaking, a Lecture/Recital, but the pianist Alexander A. Wu did give some spoken insights into the pieces on the program. The program's title was Bach to the Future: Classical and Jazz Piano. I probably won't mention every piece, as some were just single movements of larger pieces.

The curtain raiser was L'Union (1862), Louis Moreau Gottschalk, (Concert Paraphrase on the National Airs). Gottschalk was of British/Creole parentage and supported the North in the Civil War. This was not the ragtime Gottschalk—more the classicist. The Star Spangled Banner and Yankee Doodle made appearances; it was an effective curtain raiser.

Here's where the pairings began:

I.  Italian Concerto BWV 971, First Movement (1735), J.S. Bach; Concerto for Cootie (1940), Edward "Duke" Ellington.

After a brief explanantion of the concerto format, both pieces were played/contrasted. And both were very well played. So, now we have the format.

II.  Two Chopin Etudes were followed by two Earl Wild (1915–2010) Etudes based on George Gershwin songs – Somebody Loves Me and Fascinatin' Rhythm (both 1924). The first Chopin featured the study (étude) of legato, while the second featured molto allegro/presto even-handed control. So did the Earl Wild pieces—it was like listening to a technically brillant cabaret pianist.

III.  Spanish nationalistic/territorial pieces—one movement from Isaac Albéniz' 1896 Cantos de España, followed by "Chick" Corea's 1972 La Fiesta. La Fiesta was my least favorite piece on the program—just a little too formulaic and repetitive for me.

IV.  Evocatory pieces contrasted—Debussy's Clair de Lune (1890) and Bill Evans's B minor Waltz (for Ellaine, 1962). Hel-lo-o-o-o! Look up Clair de Lune in the dictionary and you'll see "evocative piano piece suggesting impressionistic moonlight." Evans was a jazz pianist who changed the shape of jazz piano trios, equalizing the forces and letting each shine individually, as well as forming a real group sound. His piece was quite ethereal—a loving tribute to his common-law wife.

V.  (Gotta Dance! Gotta Dance!) A spiky (1918) Gavotte frome Sergei Prokofiev was paired with "Cool" from West Side Story (1957), Leonard Bernstein. Interestingly, Mr. Bernstein was born in 1918, the same year as the Gavotte's composition. The Gavotte was spiky and dissonant; "Cool" (in an arrangement by jazz pianist Frank Ponzio) was slightly spiky and more jazzy.

VI.  A la Turk (the happening thing in Mozart's time)—Mozart's Sonata no. 11 in A minor, K. 331, Third Movement (1783) is something you'd recognize. Dave Brubeck's (b. 1920) Blue Rondo A la Turk probably less so. Brubeck's was a riff on middle Eastern rhythms (specifically the base rhythm of belly dancing) in a Ravel-like (think Bolero) rondo with a blues-y middle section thrown in.

Throughout, Mr. Wu's playing was just great, and his commentary/stage demeanor are to be commended. An encore of The Girl from Ipanema (also arranged by Mr. Ponzio) rounded out the afternoon. I now see more clearly how current jazz themes are closely connected to the past.

ConcertMeister