General Meetings and Other Programs
GENERAL MEETING – March 18
DOUGLAS HUMPHERYS
TEACHING THE MUSIC OF SCHUMANN
Among the most important skills necessary for successful performance is the ability to convey an individual expressive statement to an audience. Usually the best source for expressive interpretation is found by looking at the numerous details of notation in the score. On March 18 Douglas Humpherys will explore the rich variety of notational details and literary associations that can help inspire expressive character in the piano music of Schumann.
Since becoming the Gold Medalist at the inaugural Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, Douglas Humpherys’ career has taken him across Asia, Europe, North America and Argentina.
In high demand as a teacher, he has taught literally hundreds of master classes at universities, conservatories, music academies, and festivals throughout the world. In addition, he has presented lectures to the European Piano Teachers’ Association, the Music Teachers’ National Association, the World Conference on Piano Pedagogy, and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy.
A frequent adjudicator, he has served on the jury of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition eleven times, the Rachmaninoff International Young Artists’ Piano Competition, the Chinese 2005 National Competition, the PTNA National Piano Competition in Tokyo, the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and the Bösendorfer International Piano Competition. He created and directs the Eastman Young Artists’ International Piano Competition, which is held biennially in Rochester, New York.
Mr. Humpherys completed graduate degrees at The Juilliard School (MM) and the Eastman School of Music (DMA), where he is currently a professor of piano and chair of the piano department. In recent years, he served as Visiting Professor of Piano at the University of Michigan and at Yonsei University in Korea.
Mr. Humpherys has traveled to the Czech Republic three times as a faculty member of the South Bohemia Summer Music Festival. During the summer of 2007 he taught at the Chinese-American International Piano Institute.
He has recorded a wide variety of repertoire on compact disc, and has been featured in live broadcasts on affiliates of PBS Television and National Public Radio.
Sophia Agranovich, Program Chair
Ruth Kotik, Hostess
GENERAL MEETING – April 16
JEROME LOWENTHAL
LISZT’S FINAL PILGRIMAGE
Jerome Lowenthal, an artist of rare musical vision and integrity, will address the musical, religious and erotic origins Liszt’s Annéesde Pèlerinage. After speaking briefly about the first two books, he will concentrate on playing and discussing the mysterious third book.
Mr. Lowenthal’s wide-ranging presence in a career spanning more than three decades has made him an important figure on the international music scene.
Born in Philadelphia, Jerome Lowenthal made his debut at the age of 13 with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He studied with three legendary figures: William Kapell, Edward Steuermann, and on a Fullbright Grant with Alfred Cortot at The École Normale de Musique. Alfred Cortot. While in Europe, Mr. Lowenthal won prizes in the international competitions of Brussels, Bolzano and Darmstadt. Moving then to Jerusalem, he became a concert-lecturer at the Jerusalem Academy and performed annually with the Israel Philharmonic,
In 1961, Jerome Lowenthal returned to the United States and has since appeared with virtually every major American orchestra including the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra.s
He has performed with some of the most distinguished conductors of our time including Barenboim, Bernstein, Dorati, Giulini, Mehta, Monteux, Ormandy, Ozawa, Stokowski and Tennstedt, and has recorded with The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and The London Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Lowenthal's voluminous repertoire includes fifty-nine performed concerti. Composers George Rochberg, Jay Reise and Ned Rorem have composed works expressly for him. He has given all-Rochberg recitals and presented the world premiere of Rorem's Piano Concerto in Six Movements with the Pittsburgh Symphony, later recording it with the Louisville Orchestra.
Chamber music is an important part of Jerome Lowenthal's musical life. He has played duo recitals with cellist Nathaniel Rosen and violinist Itzhak Perlman, as well as two piano programs with his late wife, the Israeli pianist, Ronit Air. He is a regular participant in the festivals of Sitka, Alaska, the Reizend Muziekgezelschap in Holland, Chamber Music of Los Angeles, and the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. Jerome Lowenthal is a faculty member of The Juilliard School and resides in New York.
Sophia Agranovich, Program Chair
Beverly Thomson Shea, Hostess
Past Meetings
What You May Have Missed
Julia Lam, Music for Life: Growing Up Through Excellence in Music
Phyllis Alpert Lehrer, Coping With Performance Anxiety
Joan Behrens-Bergman, The Art of Practicing