Great Artists Series '25: Sir Stephen Hough, piano
(Washington University Box Office - 314-935-6543)
*purchases only refundable due to presenter cancellation
Single Tickets
$35-40 general admission
$32-37 Wash U faculty/staff
$15 students/youth
Program:
6 Études de concert, Op. 35 (ca. 1886) by Cécile Chaminade (1857 - 1944)
Automne
6 Pièces humoristiques, Op. 87 by Cécile Chaminade
Autrefois
Les Sylvains, Op. 60 (1892) by Cécile Chaminade
Piano Sonata in B minor, S. 178 (1852-53) by Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886)
Intermission
Sonatina Nostalgica (2019) by Stephen Hough
Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 58 (1844) by Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849)
Allegro maestoso
Scherzo. Molto vivace
Largo
Finale. Presto non tanto
Artist's note about the program:
In my book Rough Ideas there are two chapters comparing these two monumental B minor Sonatas, specifically questions of performing and recording them. Liszt and Chopin were born a year apart and they share so much, yet their personalities could not have been more different - and I find that a fascinating aspect to this programme: what is the essence of a composer’s style and soul; how can you tell one from another; what are they aiming at in their creations. I’ve loved Chaminade from my childhood when the mother of my first piano teacher used to play some of her pieces before making us all a pot of tea and slicing a lovely sponge cake. In the present day when we are paying greater attention to female composers I’m frankly astonished that Chaminade's beautiful pieces are not played more. She has the elegance in her piano writing of Saint-Saens and Moszkowski, and all of the pieces I’ve selected these have tunes in them which an audience will leave the hall singing. So rather than just play one set I wanted to focus and celebrate her in a special way by opening each half with her lovely music. And, of course, all three composers were at home in Paris.
“Stephen Hough is a writer, a painter, a poet and a composer, but above all he is a pianist of great subtlety, playful taste and wisdom worn lightly.” - The New York Times
Biography:
Named by The Economist as one of Twenty Living Polymaths, Sir Stephen Hough combines a distinguished career of a concert pianist with those of a composer and writer. In recognition of his contribution to cultural life, he became the first classical performer to be given a MacArthur Fellowship, and was awarded a Knighthood for Services to Music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022.
In a career spanning over 40 years, Stephen Hough has played regularly with most of the world’s leading orchestras, including televised and filmed appearances with the Berlin, London, China, Seoul, and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Concertgebouw, Budapest Festival and the NHK Symphony Orchestras. He has been a regular guest of recital series and festivals including Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, London’s Royal Festival Hall, Salzburg, Verbier, La Roque-d’Anthéron, Aspen, Tanglewood, Aldeburgh, and Edinburgh.
He begins his 2024/25 concert season with his 30th appearance at the BBC Proms, performing at Last Night of the Proms to a live audience of 6,000 and a televised audience of 3.5 million. Over the course of the following 12 months, Hough performs over 80 concerts on four continents, opening Philharmonia Orchestra’s season at the Royal Festival Hall, performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, performing a solo recital at Barbican Centre, and giving the world premiere of his Willa Cather-inspired Piano Quintet at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. Following the 2024 world premiere of his own Piano Concerto (The World of Yesterday), named after Stefan Zweig’s memoir, Hough brings the work to Adelaide, Bournemouth, Oregon, Singapore, and Vermont Symphony Orchestras.
Hough’s discography of 70 recordings has garnered awards including the Diapason d’Or de l’Année, several Grammy nominations, and eight Gramophone Awards including Record of the Year and the Gold Disc. For Hyperion he has recorded the complete piano concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninov, Saint-Saëns, and Tchaikovsky as well as celebrated solo recordings of the Final Piano Pieces of Brahms, Chopin’s complete nocturnes, waltzes, ballades and scherzi, as well as recitals of Schumann, Schubert, Franck, Debussy, and Mompou. Upcoming releases include a Liszt Album, a recital of encores, including arrangements made for Lang Lang’s Disney project, and Hough’s own Piano Concerto.
As a composer, Hough’s Fanfare Toccata was commissioned for the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and performed by all 30 competitors. His 2021 String Quartet No.1 Les Six Rencontres, was written for and recorded by the Takács Quartet for Hyperion Records. Hough’s body of songs, choral and instrumental works have been commissioned by Musée du Louvre, National Gallery of London, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, the Wigmore Hall, the Genesis Foundation, Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation, BBC Sounds, and the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. His music is published by Josef Weinberger Ltd.
As an author, Hough’s memoir Enough: Scenes from Childhood, was published by Faber & Faber in Spring 2023. It follows his 2019 collection of essays Rough Ideas: Reflections on Music and More which received a Royal Philharmonic Society Award and was named one of the Financial Times’ Books of the Year. His novel The Final Retreat was published in 2018 (Sylph Editions). He has also written for The New York Times, The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian and the Evening Standard. Hough is an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple, an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society, an Honorary Fellow of Cambridge University’s Girton College, the International Chair of Piano Studies, and a Companion of the Royal Northern College of Music, and is on the faculty of The Juilliard School in New York.
**All programs subject to change
Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
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