On Sunday afternoon, June 30th, we had another in a long line of Alumni performances over the years. This one featured three of the greatest talents to have ever risen from the firmament of our studio. Pianists Austin Frohmader, Will Gannon, and Gloriana Wolf gave unforgettable performances of three German Romantic Masterpieces. It was a fortunate happenstance that all three young artists were in the Cities at the same time, all studying major German Romantic works. The program virtually "formed itself" in my mind and our three alums all agreed to present this formidable and magnificent program to the music lovers of the Twin Cities. All three performances were their first public performances of these brand new projects. The result was astonishing.
All three pianists are at the very beginnings of their careers. Austin, a hometown boy who has numerous degrees in composition and piano, has settled into the musical life of the Twin Cities as a composer, pianist, and now teacher. He opened the program with Mendelssohn's Variations serieuses, considered by many to be his greatest work. A gifted composer in his own right, Austin is a powerful and intense performer and delivered a deeply lucid account of this complex and enigmatic work. Jo Anne and I have always prized the serious devotion that he brings to his public performances. Of special note is Austin's rigorous command of contrapuntal textures. We will be watching and listening carefully to Austin's developing career.
Our Will Gannon at just 18, was the youngest contributor to this program. Just completing his freshman year as a piano major at the Frost School of Music of the University of Miami, Will delivered to us one of Schumann's greatest works, the Carnaval, to complete the first half of the program. Will exposed an absolutely brilliant musical mind with a technique, musicality, and artistry to match. Normally not undertaken by one so young, Will brought to life this complex maze of character pieces in a breathtaking organic account. The performance was brilliant, exciting, and vivacious with great freedom in the quirky rhythms and tempo fluctuations. He made it seem easy. It was totally convincing. We will keep in close touch with Will as he begins his second year at the Frost School of Music, University of Miami.
Gloriana closed the recital with Brahms' monumental Concerto No. 1 in D minor. It is a massive undertaking of nearly 50 minutes in duration and one of the greatest epic utterances of our literature. The orchestral reduction for the second piano was provided by Will. They cherished their collaboration as both players are superb ensemble musicians as well as soloists. Gloriana has come off of an unusual and highly productive year. Having completed her Bachelor, Master, and Performer's certificate degrees, she took this year off of academic pursuits to develop and expand her already impressive repertoire, to think, to feel, and to study. In March, Gloriana presented a magnificent and overwhelming solo recital of Bach, Haydn, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, and Prokofiev. This recital catapulted her into acceptance to the Royal Conservatory's Glenn Gould School in Toronto for pursuit of an Artist Diploma. There was only one opening for this prestigious position and Gloriana was selected from an extremely competitive pool of international young artists. She will begin this fall.
As in her recital, Gloriana's Brahms concerto
exhibited all of her greatest musical attributes. Having prepared this work in a matter of some ten weeks reveals an incredible musical mind, work ethic, and sheer desire to bring this work to life. She is a major poet with a musical intuition second to none. She has a gorgeous sound of great depth, feeling, color, and variety. She was able to wed these attributes to a conceptual understanding of the architectural design of this colossal masterwork in a compelling display of amazing power and conviction. We will all miss her terribly, but will be with her as she moves forward to the next exciting phase of her young career.
Yours in Music -
Joe and Jo Anne
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