Program 3: Identity

Amy Beach: Ballade Op.6

S. Prokofiev: Sonata No.3 Op.28

R. Schumann: Kinderszenen Op.15

Avner Dorman (b.1975): Sonata No.2

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F. Poulenc: Trois Pièces FP 48

J. Sibelius: Valse Triste Op.44 No.1

Jaakko Kuusisto (1974-2022): Jurmo

Einar Englund (1916-1999): Introduction and Toccata

The program follows my own journey through classical music. Amy Beach, having lived in Massachusetts for most of her life, evokes the spirit of my home state in her Ballade Op.6. Prokofiev’s Sonata No.3 is the first major work I was assigned soon after beginning classical training, and served as a first glimpse into music from my ancestral background. Schumann’s Kinderszenen was a work I chose to learn on my own after being inspired early on from Horowitz and Cortôt. Avner Dorman’s Sonata No.2, was a staple piece for me during my late teens, and contributes to my own understanding of my Jewish/American identity.

Intermission represents the point in my life when I started to travel abroad. I would frequently visit my cousin in France, which became a second home to me. Poulenc’s Trois Pieces bring back foggy memories of my first trips over the Atlantic. In 2012, I had a long layover in Helsinki, and I quickly fell in love with the Finnish language. I connected with a penpal online, whose family welcomed me on numerous occasions to visit them. I studied Finnish for two years at Columbia, and eventually applied for and won the 2017 Maj Lind International Piano Competition. Sibelius’ Valse Triste is a work he arranged for piano, and I chose to play it as the compulsory work by Sibelius in the semi-finals. 

Since the competition, I have moved to Finland, started a new chapter of my life in Helsinki, and have had the great pleasure of building friendships and relationships within the Finnish classical music community. Jaakko Kuusisto (1976-2022) was one of the leading violinists, conductors, and composers of his generation. His minimalist composition Jurmo depicts an island with millions of small rocks as well as the evening view of lighthouses whose lights blink at varying speeds and intensities. The final work, Einar Englund’s Introduction and Toccata, is a dramatic work that represents my own introduction to Finland and a turning point in my life. The work sonically represents my decision to move abroad in the middle of a pandemic, yet as the name says, serves only as an introduction to what’s to come.