This International Women’s Day, the FEU is delighted to welcome back alumna pianist Natalia Kazaryan (2011-2012). Unlike the majority of Natalia’s programs, which are inclusive of composers of all genders, this program’s sole focus is celebrating the work of women composers of the past 200 years — from Clara Schumann to Joan Tower.
Although Lili Boulanger’s Trois morceaux opens the program, for Natalia, the work is its emotional heart — her discovery of this powerful but largely unknown work a decade ago sparked her passion for championing great works by women. Following the Boulanger are works of Clara Schumann and Grazyna Bacewicz that, although written 100 years apart, share a powerful sense of emotional intimacy and heartbreaking melody.
The program’s second half brings together three of today’s most important women composers. Vivian Fung’s Glimpses explores the kaleidoscope of vivid timbres possible with the prepared piano, while Joan Tower’s Sixth Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman delights in rhythmic and melodic variety to such an extent that it sounds improvisatory.
And Emma Lou Diemer’s Piano Sonata No. 3, with its overtones of Copland and Glass, is always a favorite with Natalia’s audiences thanks to its unstoppable energy and poignant lyricism.
Program:
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), Trois morceaux pour piano
Clara Schumann (1819-1896), Three Romances, Op. 21
Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969), Piano Sonata No. 2
Vivian Fung (1975-), Glimpses
Joan Tower (1938-), Sixth Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman
Emma Lou Diemer (1927-), Piano Sonata No. 3