CONCERT OUTLINE

First Half

-Choral: This piece refers to the anecdote about the premiere of Brahms' First Symphony.  After the concert, a member of the audience turned to the composer and said:

-Don't you think that your theme sound a bit like Ode to Joy?

Brahms replied:

-An ass would have noticed!

The choral superposes these two themes (Brahms in the soprano line, Beethoven in the alto line), complementary to each other in the beginning, and then almost parallel in the second half.

The orchestra plays the piece alone, then there is an explanation at the piano, then orchestra and piano replay the piece.

-Fugue: A fugue based on Mozart's Sonata no 16, the Sonata Facile.

The solo piano begins a strange fugue over an Alberti base in which the entrance of the fourth voice evokes Mozart's theme.  The orchestra plays the fugue, followed by an explanation of the superposition of this theme with that of the first fugue of the first book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.  The orchestra replays the final passage, bringing out Bach's theme.

-Passion:  This work presents itself as a newly discovered and previously unknown Passion, in which the melody line is nothing other than that of the Violin Concerto by Mendelssohn (himself having discovered the Saint Matthew's Passion)

The pianist plays the whole piece alone, then he plays only the theme, a little bit faster to make it recognizable.  The solo violin plays the whole exposition of the Concerto with the piano accompaniment and finally the orchestra plays the piece again with violin solo as the melody line (8va).

-Fugue on 'J'ai du bon tabac' (an 18th century children's song).

The orchestra plays the fugue, the piano helps to bring out the theme.

-Scene: a Petit Prelude on the theme from Schumann's Reverie.

The piano begins the original piece, then plays the new work.

-Fugue on the Marseillaise (the French national anthem)

Is played by the orchestra.

-Arpeggione: a Fughetto on the theme from the Arpeggione Sonata by Schubert.

Cello and piano play the exposition of the theme in its original form.  A quartet composed of the soloists plays the entire piece.  The piano exposes the introduction to the Unfinished Symphony.  The quartet plays from measure 21 to the end with the piano superposing the afore mentioned introduction.

-Variation: A Choral, this work presents a soprano line which is in fact from the 24th Capriccio by Paganini.

The pianist starts to play alone until the da capo, which is played by only the orchestra; we proceed in the same manner in the second part... then the piano gives the beginning of melody line alone, much faster to make it recognizable... then the solo violin plays the Capriccio (in its entirety or not)... at last piano + orchestra + solo violin (8va) play again the Choral, without the da capo.

-Pavane: Fugue on Fauré's Pavane

Played by piano solo

-Bach Panther:

the video clip is played on the big screen.

*intermission*

Second Half

-Sarabande: This piece is meant to sound like a big prelude to a Passion, somewhere between Bach and Brahms.

The solo piano plays the piece (with repeats), the cello plays the original piece (with the repeats)

-Fugue on 'Au Clair de la Lune' (18th century French folk song)

The solo piano plays the final choral, the orchestra plays the fugue with the piano that joins in when the orchestra arrives at the choral.

-Invention: The beginning of Debussy's Toccata transposed an octave lower and distributed between two voices in the form of an invention.

The piano plays the first measures of the original version, then after a short explanation, plays the whole piece.

-Fugue on a Noël

Played by the orchestra alone.

-Recitatif:

This piece makes believe it is a little Prelude, whose motive is derived from the third movement of the Violin and Piano Sonata by César Franck.

The pianist plays the whole piece alone... then the solo violin plays the cadenza (bars 4 to 10) alone.

-Fugue on the American national anthem:

Played by the orchestra alone.

-Ouverture and Bach Panther:

Detailed explanation of a fugue at the piano using the Pink Panther theme as a reference point, exposition of the second fugue of the Art of Fugue, superposition of both themes, the orchestra plays the Overture alone followed by the fugue.

Encore?

-Fugue on Ravel's Bolero

-Fugue on the Marseillaise (repeat)

-Fugue on "God Save the Queen"