Craftsman Piano and Crestwood Music Center Presents: Soirées Musicales
(Music Concert Series)
Saturday, June 14th at 7:00 p.m
Yelena Grinberg, Speaker and Pianist
Performing at Craftsman Piano/Crestwood Music Center Across the street from Eastchester Public Library, 453 White Plains Road Eastchester, NY 10709
(914) 476-6704
$15 at the door ($10 for seniors and students)– includes reception afterwards with delicious refreshments.
Celebrating C.P.E. Bach at 300: Sonatas, Fantasias, and Variations
C.P.E. BACH (1714-1788) – Fantasia in C Major, Wq. 61/6 (1786)
J. HAYDN (1732-1809) – Fantasia (Capriccio) in C Major, Hob. XVII: 4 (1789)
***
C.P.E. BACH (1714-1788) – Sonata for keyboard in G minor, H. 47, Wq. 65/17 (1746)
i. Allegro
ii. Adagio
iii. Allegro assai
L. v. BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) – Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat Major
(Quasi una Fantasia), op. 27, no. 1 (1800-01)
i. Andante
ii. Allegro molto e vivace
iii. Adagio con espressione
iv. Allegro vivace
***
C.P.E. BACH (1714-1788) – 12 Variations on Folie d’Espagne for keyboard in D minor,
H. 263, Wq. 118/9 (1778)
C-V. ALKAN (1813-1888) – Le Festin d’Esope (Aesop’s Feast), Theme and Variationsin E minor, op. 39, no. 12 (1857)
About the Program:
This evening’s program, in celebration of the 300th birthday anniversary of Carl Philip Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), will explore a colorful selection of sonatas, fantasies, and variations by C.P.E. Bach and by composers, such as Haydn, Beethoven, and Alkan, who were inspired by his impassioned and unpredictable style. C.P.E. Bach, the second oldest son of J. S. Bach (1685-1750), was a highly prolific and fantastical composer who brought about a revolutionary change of style from his father’s late Baroque style to the Classical and the Romantic styles that followed him. His body of work is filled with bold, quirky, highly original, and expressive music “rich in invention, taste, and learning” (Charles Burney), whose sole purpose was to “first and foremost, stir the heart” (C.P.E. Bach). My program will begin on a light and humorous note with a pair of folkloric fantasies: C.P.E. Bach’s delightful Fantasia in C Major, Wq. 61 / 6 (1786) and Haydn’s witty Fantasia (Capriccio) in C Major, Hob. XVII: 4 (1789). Next, I will explore a pair of experimental “fantasy” sonatas: C.P.E. Bach’s wild and adventurous Sonata in G minor, Wq. 65 / 17, H. 47 (1746) – perhaps one of his most remarkable keyboard sonatas – and Beethoven’s bold and innovative Piano Sonata no. 13 in E-flat Major (“Quasi una Fantasia“), op. 27, no. 1 (1800/01). I will conclude with a pair of brilliant variation sets: C.P.E. Bach’s 12 Variations on Folie d’Espagne, Wq. 118 / 9, H. 263 (1778), one of his most significant, original, and dramatic works inspired by an old, La Folia dance, and Alkan’s Le festin d’Ésope (Aesop’s Feast), op. 39, no. 12 (1857), a thoroughly riveting tour-de-force, which is also one of the most virtuosic variation sets ever written. This C.P.E. Bach-inspired program of Sonatas, Fantasias, and Variations will surely “stir the heart”!!
– Dr. Yelena Grinberg
About the Artist:
Hailed for having “established herself as a very fine interpreter…” (NYCR), the Russian-born pianist Yelena Grinberg is highly regarded for her intellectual depth, keen musical insight, and passionate performances as both a chamber musician and a solo lecture-recitalist with a strong preference for unusual and innovative programming. As a winner of the Artists International Competition (2005), she has performed her sold-out New York Debut recital of the Baroque Reflections program at Carnegie’s Weill Hall and was highly acclaimed for her “grand performance in a grand tradition” (NYCR). Dr. Grinberg has been a regular guest lecture-recitalist at The Harvard Club and The Steinway Hall, where she has showcased a wide array of thematic programs, such as The Bach Project, The Art of Chaconne, Humor in Music, and Music and Dance, as well as a series of lecture-recitals in celebration of 200th birthdays of Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, and Alkan. This season, Dr. Grinberg presents a series of both solo and chamber music recitals dedicated to celebrating C.P.E. Bach at 300. Dr. Grinberg serves on the faculty at Fordham University, where she instructs music history and serves as a chamber music coach, as well as on the piano faculty at the Crestwood Music Education Center in Eastchester, New York. In addition, she is a highly passionate private piano instructor, coordinating student recitals at New York’s Steinway Hall. She is also the founder and the artistic director of the Grinberg Classical Salon Series – an intimate and enlightening series of Classical music home salons on the Upper West Side. Born in Moscow, Dr. Grinberg began her professional piano studies at The Gnessin School of Music for Gifted Children at the age of five. As a student in the joint degree program, she graduated from Barnard College at Columbia University summa cum laude, and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, with a major in English Literature and a minor in Philosophy. She holds both her M.Mus and DMA degrees in Piano Performance from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Jerome Lowenthal and Oxana Yablonskaya, as well as privately with Richard Goode. For more information on Dr. Yelena Grinberg, go to her website: www.yelenagrinberg.com
