Alexander Gajev Piano Recital

Gajev depicts
A Drama of Intersecting Lights and Shadows.


Message from Gajev
The opening of this program may be unusual. Corigliano's "Fantasy on Ostinato" begins a "fluid" exploration that eventually heralds the arrival of the main theme of the first half -- the mournful theme of Beethoven's "Allegretto.
-- the mournful theme of Beethoven's "Allegretto. The "Fantasy" explores a simple motif in free form, seeking a stable resolution, and with Beethoven's music of necessity, it reveals what we have been searching for in abstract terms.

　Liszt's "Funeral" follows, a tribute to Chopin's death. Its orchestral expression surpasses the earlier "Allegretto. Beethoven's great legacy has many branches, of which the dramatic character influenced Liszt. Scriabin was undoubtedly greatly influenced by it as well. The first half of the program closes with a few pieces from Scriabin's "Exercises. We are treated to more extreme intimacy, sensuality, and drama, which will expand our emotional range.

　In the second half, Chopin's playful F major prelude first pulls us away from the atmosphere of the first half--no, it is a hopeful illusion. Interrupted by a pastoral scene, the four preludes quickly return to the somber mood. The retrograde movement concludes with the second, the most experimental of the "Preludes," and then we are off on a journey into a world freed from tonality. In Scriabin's "Sonata Black Mass," the forces of evil are mystically revealed. Harmony, melody, and rhythm unite like magma, leaving the listener bewildered and delighted. How does one end such a varied journey? That is where the variety and richness of life comes in.
Beethoven's "Eroica Variations," which affirms the variety and richness of life in all its fullness. The music is composed in the simplest of ways. We have the impression that everything arises from just four notes at the beginning, yet we are guided by the infinite combinations and inventiveness, and feel as if we are responding to something beyond orchestral music.

　The program ends with a rapturous fugue!

Alexander Gajev