PIANIST YAEL WEISS TO MAKE NEW YORK RECITAL DEBUT ON MARCH 25, CLOSING THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART'S 2004 ACCOLADES SERIES

Recital Program Includes Works By Beethoven, Schumann, Copland, Berio & World Premiere of Recordatio by Michael Hersch

Hailed by Richard Goode as "one of the most unusual and promising pianists I have known," Yael Weiss makes her New York recital debut at 8 p.m. on March 25, 2004 in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium with a program reflecting her versatility, artistic imagination and commanding pianism. The recital brings to a close the 2004 Accolades series, a part of the 50th anniversary season of concerts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Weiss's program includes the world premiere of American composer Michael Hersch's Recordatio, in memory of Luciano Berio, as well as a performance of Sequenza IV, perhaps Berio's finest work for solo piano. Beginning and ending the program are works of Robert Schumann - Papillons, Op. 2, and Kinderszenen, Op. 15, while the heart of the program features Beethoven's Sonata in C Major, Op. 53 "Waldstein" and Aaron Copland's Piano Variations.

Yael Weiss has been winning acclaim since studying with Leon Fleisher at Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory, and many of the world's greatest pianists have praised her artistry. "At her young age, she is already a remarkable musician and pianist," pianist András Schiff has said of Weiss, adding, "Her sense of the different musical styles, instrumental colors and characters show a rare gift." Pianist Mitsuko Uchida called Weiss "a highly intelligent musician with a curiosity not only for the piano but for music overall."

Weiss wanted her New York recital debut not only to draw upon the wide range of her musical interests, but also to resonate with the museum setting. "The Met is one of my favorite places, and I am thrilled to be playing there in this anniversary season," she says. "My program is filled with references that reach beyond the music itself. There is something inspiring about playing a recital surrounded by centuries of art, and I wanted the program to reflect that.

"I wanted the works to complement each other, heighten each other's strengths and offer variety," Weiss adds. "I've combined works of five different composers, each with a different type of harmonic language and a different musical form. A sonata, a set of variations, two sets of character pieces, and the Berio and Hersch works - each, in its own way, defining a new structure specific to the individual ideas of the piece."

Autobiographical and personal elements make their presence felt throughout Weiss's program. Connecting to the concept of "beginnings" inherent in a debut recital, Weiss chose to open with Schumann's Papillons, which Schumann felt marked his own first personal statement as a composer. In symmetry, the program closes with the Kinderszenen, its concluding segment - Der Dichter Spricht - looking back reflectively not only on the Kinderszenen but on the evening as a whole. The juxtaposition of old world tradition - Beethoven and Schumann - with American innovation echoes Ms. Weiss's personal background as a native of Israel who then studied and made her home in the United States. The Waldstein sonata marked a pivotal point in that journey, as one of the first major works she played upon arrival in the U.S.

Paying homage to a great American composer, Copland's thrusting, dissonant Piano Variations call upon Weiss's powerful mastery of the keyboard. Also American is the brilliant young composer Michael Hersch, who wrote Recordatio in memory of Luciano Berio, shortly after the Italian composer's death last year. Approximately eight minutes in length, Hersch's work utilizes clusters and pitches similar to those in Berio's Sequenza IV, and pays homage to the Italian composer with a contemplative simplicity.

Weiss and Hersch have worked closely together since meeting as students at Peabody Conservatory. "From the start I was impressed with the communicative power of Michael's music, and felt very close to it," she says, "So I was delighted when he suggested writing a short work in Berio's memory for this recital." Weiss's interest in the music of Berio is more recent, and it inspired her and the fellow members of her piano trio to name the group Sequenza, in honor of Berio's innovative series of solo works under that title.

Yael Weiss has already received international acclaim for her orchestral performances, recitals and chamber music collaborations. Her richly varied schedule has included recitals in Japan, Brazil, Russia, Israel, Great Britain and the U.S.; orchestral engagements in the U.S., Israel, the Czech Republic and Brazil; and international tours with her piano trio Sequenza, with violinist Mark Kaplan and cellist Colin Carr. Weiss also participates regularly in prestigious international festivals such as Marlboro, Banff, Caramoor and Ravinia, and she has collaborated with a wide variety of eminent instrumentalists, including Midori, Han-Na Chang, David Shifrin, and the Brentano String Quartet.

Among future bookings are performances with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and the Augusta Symphony, concerts at Oxford University, Princeton University, Los Angeles, Long Island, and 2004 summer appearances at Seattle Chamber Music Festival, "Festival of the Sound" in Parry Sound, Ontario, and "Incontri in Terra di Siena," Italy.

Yael Weiss studied with Richard Goode at the Mannes College and Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory. She was a prizewinner in the 2002 Naumburg International Piano Competition and the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition in New York.

The Accolades series is made possible by the Xerox Foundation.

Contacts:
Rachelle Schlosser Public Relations (Yael Weiss)
(718) 268-8829
Email Rachelle Schlosser
Contact Rachelle Schlosser for press tickets or j-pegs.

Jennifer Wada Communications (Metropolitan Museum Concerts)
(718) 855-7101
Email Jennifer Wada

CONCERT LISTING INFORMATION:
Yael Weiss, Piano

Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 8:00 p.m.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, New York, NY

Program:
Schumann: Papillons, Op. 2
Berio: Sequenza IV
Beethoven: Sonata, Op. 53 "Waldstein"
Copland: Piano Variations
Michael Hersch: Recordatio, In memory of Luciano Berio (world premiere)
Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15

Tickets:
Single tickets: $25
Student tickets: $7

To purchase tickets by telephone, call 212-570-3949, Monday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

The Accolades series has been made possible by the Xerox Foundation.

Printable version | back to last page | top of this page