Peter Serkin, piano

Program:

Josquin Desprez Ave Christe
(ca. 1440-1521)
Remade for the piano
by Charles Wuorinen b. 1938

Olivier Messiaen Petites Esquisses d’Oiseaux
(1908-1992) I Le Rouge – gorge (Robin)
II Le Merle – noir (Blackbird)
III Le Rouge – gorge (Robin)
IV La Grive – musicienne (Song Thrush)
V Le Rouge – gorge (Robin)
VI L’Alouette des Champs (Sky Lark)

J.S. Bach Capriccio on the departure of the beloved brother, BWV 992
(1685-1750) I. Arioso. Adagio – A coaxing by his friends to dissuade him from his journey.
II. Andante – A description of various calamities that might
overtake him in foreign lands.
III. Adagissimo – An all around lament of the friends.
IV. Here the friends, seeing they cannot alter the brother’s
decision, take their leave of him.
V. Allegro poco – Aria of the Posthorn.
VI. Fugue in imitation of the posthorn.

Intermission

Charles Wuorinen Bagatelle (1987-88)
(b. 1938)

Johannes Brahms Variations and Fugue in B-flat on a Theme by Handel,
(1833-1897) Op. 24

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Mr. Serkin has recorded for Arcana, Boston Records, Bridge, Decca, ECM, Koch Classics, New World Records, RCA/BMG, Telarc and Vanguard Classics.

Peter Serkin appears by arrangement with C/M Artists New York.

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Recognized as an artist of passion and integrity, American pianist Peter Serkin is one of the most thoughtful and individualistic musicians appearing before the public today. Throughout his career he has successfully conveyed the essence of four centuries of musical repertoire, and his performances with symphony orchestras, recital appearances, chamber music collaborations and recordings are respected worldwide. Peter Serkin’s rich musical heritage extends back several generations. His grandfather was violinist Adolf Busch and his father pianist Rudolf Serkin. In 1958, at age eleven, he entered the Curtis Institute of Music where he was a student of Lee Luvisi, Mieczyslaw Horszowski and Rudolf Serkin. He later continued his studies with Ernst Oster, Marcel Moyse and Karl Ulrich Schnabel. Serkin has performed with the world’s major symphony orchestras and has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Alexander Schneider, Pamela Frank, the Guarneri, Budapest and Orion String Quartets, as well as TASHI, of which he was a founding member.

During the 2003-2004 season, Peter Serkin plays recitals in the US and Japan including performances in Tokyo, Chicago and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Orchestral appearances include the Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, NHK and Kyoto Symphonies, as well as a world premiere of Peter Lieberson’s third Piano Concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra. Mr. Serkin performs the complete Bach Piano Concertos for the second consecutive year with Jaime Laredo and the Brandenburg Ensemble. Performances include two appearances in New York at Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series. Collaborations with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson continue this season in Boston, St. Paul and New York’s Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. Their program includes works by Brahms, Handel, Debussy, Mozart and Peter Lieberson’s Rilke Songs. Mr. Serkin participates in the Zankel Hall Opening Festival performing the world premiere of Peter Lieberson’s Piano Quintet and the New York premiere of Alexander Goehr’s Piano Quintet, both with the Orion String Quartet.

Ranging from Bach to Berio, Peter Serkin’s recordings reflect his distinctive musical vision. The Ocean that has no West and no East, released by Koch Records, contains compositions by Webern, Wolpe, Messiaen, Takemitsu, Knussen, Lieberson and Wuorinen. Other recent recordings include Peter Lieberson’s Piano Concerto Red Garuda with the Toronto Symphony and his Rilke Songs with mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson for Bridge Records, the Brahms violin sonatas with Pamela Frank for London Records and Dvorák’s Piano Quintet with the Orion String Quartet for Arabesque.