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Recreating the 1928 Concert

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

In celebration of his 150th birthday, the 8th annual San Francisco International Piano Festival will honor Maurice Ravel, one of the most influential and beloved composers of the 20th century. In 1928, Ravel toured the United States to great acclaim, and the voyage included a stop in San Francisco. Ravel's concert here featured a mélange of his compositions for solo piano, song cycles, (including the intoxicating Shéhérazade) and his jazz-tinged violin sonata. It is this historic program that the festival recreates tonight as we open our season. Featured artists include pianists Gwendolyn Mok and Jeffrey LaDeur, mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich, and violinist Chili Ekman. Don't miss this slice of history as Monsieur Ravel comes to San Francisco! 

*The festival will celebrate this concert in period style, so feel free to dress in your flapper best, and there will be a prize for the best socks! 

Shéhérazade 

Histoires Naturelles 

Pavane pour une infante défunte 

Habanera

Violin Sonata 

Chansons Grecques 

Tombeau de Couperin (selections)

Artists include

Gwendolyn Mok, piano 

Jeffrey LaDeur, piano 

Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano 

Chili Ekman, violin* 

*Alumnus of Young Chamber Musicians 

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Miroirs (1905)

Noctuelles

Oiseaux tristes 

Une barque sur l'océan 

Alborada del gracioso 

La vallée des cloches 

Gwendolyn Mok, piano

Intermission 

Déodat de Séverac (1872-1921)

Cerdaña (1911)

En Tartane (L'arrivée en Cerdagne) 

Les fêtes (Souvenir de Puigcerda)
Ménétriers et glaneuses (Souvenir d'un pèlerinage à Font-Romeu) 
Les muletiers devant le Christ de Llivia (Complainte) 
Le retour des muletiers

Jeffrey LaDeur, piano

A joint recital between beloved pianist and authoritative Ravel interpreter Gwendolyn Mok and Founder/Artistic Director Jeffrey LaDeur. Miroirs represents a landmark development in the evolution of Ravel's style, and each of the five pieces explores striking tonal and expressive territory that bear Ravel's unique musical signature. The individual pieces are each dedicated to a member of Ravel's circle, a counterculture artistic group known as "Les Apaches". One can imagine heady nights in Paris with the likes of Ravel, Ricardo Viñes, Tristan Klingsor, Emile Vuillermoz, and later, Stravinsky. From the elusive Noctuelles (Night Moths, undoubtedly a reference to the group) to the languid depths of Oiseaux tristes, the hypnotic waves of Une barque sur l'océan and the virtuoso fireworks of Alborada del gracioso, the cycle concludes with the evocative and placid La vallée des cloches. 

The second half of this program will mirror the first with a rarely heard masterpiece, Séverac's Cerdaña. Cast in five evocative pieces, Séverac paints a dazzlingly colorful portrait of the region where France and Spain are separated by the Pyrenees. Debussy once wrote to Séverac saying,"...your music smells good..." and indeed, this work radiates the perfume of citrus, jasmine, and lavender. Parallels to Ravel's Miroirs can be heard in the echo of bells, birdsong, flamenco, and in the works centerpiece (Les muletiers devant le Christ de Llivia) one hears a mystical longing for the divine.  

FREE ADMISSION

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Join us as we feature a range of wonderful artists in a program focusing on Ravel’s poignant evocation of times past. The world of Ravel’s imagination is inextricably linked with childhood and nostalgia, and nowhere is this more touchingly evidenced than in his Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose). Selections from Ravel’s Trio (1914) will also be featured along with rarely heard solo piano gems.

Aveta Trio

Sarah Yuan, piano

Eunseo Oh, violin

Elliott Kim, cello

Additional Artists TBA

FREE RESERVATION

The Festival is proud to reprise its McKee Masterclass Series with Dr. Gwendolyn Mok, celebrated pianist, educator, and authoritative interpreter of Ravel’s works. This class will explore solo piano masterpieces by Ravel and set the stage for the music to come throughout the rest of the festival.

FREE RESERVATION

The second McKee Masterclass will feature founder and artistic director Jeffrey LaDeur working with gifted young artists including the Aveta Trio in selections from Ravel’s monumental Trio (1914).

FREE RESERVATION

The third and final masterclass in this series will be led by Paul Sànchez, renowned pianist and composer. Dr. Sànchez will coach our gifted young pianists in works that illustrate the symbiotic relationship between French and Spanish musical traditions. Don’t miss this special event concluding our McKee Masterclass Series!

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The World of Ravel

Debussy 

Suite Bergamasque
Farrenc 

Valse Brillante Op.51
Franck 

Prelude, Choral, et Fugue
Ravel 

Pavane
Poulenc 

Nocturne in C
Ravel 

Jeux d'eau      

Chaminade 

La Lisonjera
Ravel 

Gaspard de la Nuit  

After her stunning San Francisco debut recital last season, the festival is honored to welcome back Asiya Korepanova who will once again share a spectacular solo recital with us. This program centers around Ravel's demonic masterpiece, Gaspard de la nuit while treating us to gorgeous music from his contemporaries, painting a musical picture of influence and evolution. Within the tradition of French music from this period, the multitude of diverse musical voices comes through each in their own way. From the charm and brilliance of Louise Farrenc and Cecile Chaminade to the imposing solemnity of César Franck's Prelude, Choral et Fugue, this evening offers a deeply satisfying journey through late 19th and early 20th century French piano music. Not to be missed! 

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Ravel et Le Jazz 

Stephen Prutsman, piano 

Jeffrey LaDeur, piano

Maurice Ravel

Prelude in A Minor (1913) 

Valses nobles et sentimentales (1911) 

Bill Evans / Stephen Prutsman 

Original Jazz Compositions

Maurice Ravel 

Une Barque sur l'océan & Alborada del gracioso 

Stephen Prutsman 

Original Score to Buster Keaton's One Week (1920)

The San Francisco International Piano Festival is thrilled to welcome back Stephen Prutsman to the stage for an evening of Ravel, Jazz, and a screening of Buster Keaton's 1920 comedy classic. Ravel's admiration for the jazz idiom and its performers went beyond fondness, and he went so far as to say,“You Americans take jazz too lightly... In my opinion, it is bound to lead to the national music of the United States." This turned out to be a mutual love affair as countless jazz greats have paid homage to Ravel through their voicings, color, refinement, and invention. Tonight, we play back and forth between styles, juxtaposing Ravel originals with jazz played by the peerless Stephen Prutsman and conclude with Mr. Prutsman's irresistible score to Buster Keaton's One Week.

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Festival Finale: 

Maurizio

Ravel's Basque & Spanish Masterpieces 

Manuel de Falla 

Nana 
Maurice Ravel

Vocalise en forme d’étude
Claude Debussy

La Puerto del Vino 

Joaquín Rodrigo

5 Piezas Infantiles for Two Pianos (selections) 
Enrique Granados

Quejas, ó la maja y el ruiseñor 

Emmanuel Chabrier

España for Two Pianos 

Intermission 

Ravel 

Don Quichotte à Dulcinée 
Isaac Albéniz

Zortzico

Ravel 

Trio (1914)

I. Modéré 

Rhapsodie Espagnole for Two Pianos

Paul Sánchez, piano 

Asiya Korepanova, piano 

Simon Barrad, baritone

Aveta Trio*

Eunseo Oh, violin

Eliott Kim, cello 

Sarah Yuan, piano 

* Alumni of Young Chamber Musicians 

The 8th annual San Francisco International piano Festival concludes with a celebration of Maurice Ravel's Basque heritage and inimitable mastery of Spanish musical color. Born to a Swiss father and Basque mother, Ravel thought of himself as more Basque than French, though he spent his entire life in France. Throughout his musical career, he championed folk and popular music from various traditions, and his music in Spanish style forms a significant part of his output. The festival finale highlights some of his most dazzling and colorful works including his Rhapsodie Espagnole, Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, and the opening movement of his Trio (1911) which represents perhaps the most quintessential Basque music we know from Ravel. The program also includes music in the Spanish style by his contemporaries and predecessors such as Chabrier's España, Debussy's La Puerto del vino, and Granados' Quejas, ó la maja y el ruiseñor (Lament, or the Maiden and the Nightingale). 

Festival favorite Paul Sánchez returns to bring his unique understanding and flare for this repertoire. He will be joined by world class baritone Simon Barrad in song and the phenomenal Asiya Korepanova in the 2-piano repertoire. The festival is proud to welcome back our wonderful young artists in the Aveta Trio, including McKee laureate Sarah Yuan. Don't miss this spectacular finale which is guaranteed to conclude your summer with some fireworks!