Clara Schumann Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 20
Margaret Bonds Troubled Water
Mendelssohn Fantasy “Scottish Sonata” in F-sharp minor
Caroline Shaw Gustave le Gray with Chopin Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17, No. 4
Mozart Rondo in A minor, K. 511
Chopin Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise
Those who saw Angie Zhang perform April 18 heard pieces by six composers played on an 1878 Steinway and a 1906 Mason Hamlin.
Constructed 28 years apart, each instrument was tuned differently, following methods of science and historical accuracy.
The composers on Zhang’s program ranged from Mozart to Caroline Shaw, their birth years spanning 226 years. The point was to match the instruments with what the composer heard while performing.
“All pianos have a soul,” Zhang said. Each communicates what I want.”
Needless to say, Zhang’s musicality transcends technical mastery and embodies the minds and souls of these composers.
Yet, “Tonight isn’t about me,” she said. “So please don’t applaud between the pieces. Let’s make tonight about us, here, and the pianos.”
Zhang’s program highlighted three women composers: Clara Schumann (“Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann”), Margaret Bonds (“Troubled Water”), and contemporary composer Caroline Shaw (Gustave le Gray with Chopin Mazurka in A Minor”).
Just as Clara Schumann produced variations on a theme by Robert Schumann, Caroline Shaw composed variations on Chopin’s Mazurka in A Minor Op 17 No 4. Shaw’s take added darker moods.
The young Caroline Shaw, by the way, has a large body of recorded work and is performed frequently. Just the night before, the Madison Symphony had performed her “Entr’acte,” and two nights previously, the Attacca Quartet at Memorial Union theater programmed a number of her songs, with Shaw herself as vocalist.
During the second half, Mozart’s Rondo in A Minor K 511 set the stage for Chopin’s Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brilliante, Op 22. Chopin loved Mozart, and Zhang’s programming deliberately highlighted the continuity.
Zhang graduated from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and The Juilliard School. She credited her teacher Joseph Kalichstein for helping prepare her career that has spanned performance with 40 professional orchestras on four continents.
She frequently thanked the audience for its attention and expressed gratitude for being able to perform in an intimate space.
“Playing on these different instruments is like being in a candy store, and it could only happen at a place like Farley’s,” she said.
Paul Baker
