Pianist Hans Boepple in Carmel Home Concert

by Joe Sekon, D.M.A.
September 18, 2017

     

On Sunday afternoon, September 17, at the elegant home of Lyn and Renee Bronson, an invited audience had the unique pleasure of hearing an intimate recital performed by distinguished Santa Clara University pianist Hans Boepple, who has frequently appeared as a soloist on the Carmel Music Society’s series at Sunset Center in Carmel and as a concerto soloist with the Santa Cruz Symphony. The idyllic setting with views of the Pacific Ocean proved to be perfect for meaty program consisting of the following works: Bach’s Toccata in D Major, BWV 912 (1710), César Franck’s Prelude, Chorale and Fugue (1884), Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in D Major, Op. 23, No. 4 (1903) and Chopin’s Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58 (1844). Read full story →

Archived in these categories: 20th Century, Classical Era, Piano, Romantic Era

Nostalgia and Bells: Sean Chen Opens Steinway Society Season

by Dr. Gary Lemco
September 11, 2017

Pianist Sean Chen inaugurated the 2017-18 season of the Steinway Society the Bay Area Saturday, September 9, with a vigorous and colorful program featuring works that indulged in emotional nostalgia and often sported bells and carillon effects. Mr. Chen, conducting a lecture-recital at Le Petit Trianon Theatre before an enchanted audience, set the tone for the evening, which remained both accessible and musically stupendous. The height of Chen’s personal charisma — already apparent in his gracious, keyboard demonstrations of motifs and connections between the individual works – came in the form of his only encore, a wonderfully inventive improvisation on “Happy Birthday!” for a member of the Steinway staff that managed to align her with such personages as Brunnhilde, Isolde, and Gershwin’s Bess in the course of a jazzy and Lisztian revel that might have made Liberace envious. Read full story →

Archived in these categories: 20th Century, Piano, Romantic Era

Aptos Keyboard Series – Pianist Yoonie Han in a Home Recital

by Lyn Bronson
August 28, 2017

On Sunday afternoon, August 27, at the home of Josef and Maria Sekon an invited audience had the pleasure of hearing an intimate recital of works by Albeniz and Granados performed by Korean pianist Yoonie Han. Ms. Han received her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music studying with Eleanor Sokoloff, her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School as a pupil of Robert McDonald, and her Doctorate at SUNY Stony Brook, studying with pianist Eduardus Halim.

She is the first prize winner of the Washington International Piano Competition, the Fulbright Concerto Competition, Kosciuszko Chopin Competition, Juilliard’s Gina Bachauer Piano Competition, Concorso Pianistico Ettore Pozzoli Internaziole, Valencia/Paterna and Recontre International Piano Competitions. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Piano at Bilkent University in Turkey and has given lectures and masterclasses at Harvard University, New York University, and the San Francisco Conservatory.
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Archived in these categories: 20th Century, Piano

Baritone Peter Tuff & Pianist Lucy Faridany in Recital at All Saints Church

by Heidi Van der Veer
August 15, 2017

Pianist Lucy Faridany & Baritone Peter Tuff

Baritone Peter Tuff and pianist Lucy Faridany performed a recital on Wednesday, August 9, 2017, at 7:30 pm at All Saints’ Church in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The program featured Robert Schumann’s song cycle Dichterliebe, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel. Both Tuff and Faridany are well-known locally for their respective contributions to the performing arts here, and the recital was not the first time Monterey Peninsula audiences have heard them perform together. Their past collaborations here have included recitals of opera, art song, and musical theater selections. Read full story →

Archived in these categories: 20th Century, All Saints' Church, Romantic Era, Vocal

Celebration Choir – August 13, 2017

by MaryClare Martin
August 14, 2017

For the 21st year, and 17th for Director Connie Fortunato, the musical magic of the Celebration Choir again set toes tapping and hands clapping. This community group comes together for six weeks of rehearsal in July and August with August performances at Mt. Herman and the First Presbyterian Church Monterey. During opening announcements, a moment of silence was observed for the recent tragedies of violence as a reminder not to become complacent but to continue to work for peaceful solutions. With music as a universal language, the infectious tone of the program is set with the surround sound of the group’s signature entrance singing the Moses Hogan arrangement of “Music Down In My Soul.” This year’s theme was Down By The Riverside: Finding Peace in our Fractured World. A rare audience member would have a hard time sitting still! Read full story →

Archived in these categories: Choral