September 29, Faculty Piano Recital: Dr. Clara Christian

On September 29, Dr. Clara Christian performed a solo piano recital featuring works by Liszt, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Christian, and Bolcom. Dr. Christian is an active performer, and this recital is the first of many this season; during the 2017-2018 school year, Dr. Christian will perform at the Franz Liszt Festival and International Competition for Pianists and Duos Ensembles with Piano held at Ohio State University. She will also give recitals at Harding University, John Brown University, and Springfield’s “Midtown Concert Series.”

Dr. Christian began the concert with three movements from Liszt’s Première année: Suisse ("First Year: Switzerland"). Dr. Christian’s Music History students contributed to the program notes as part of a class project; Lydia Burnett writes that “Liszt incorporates Swiss folklore and the beautiful and pensive qualities of nature.”

Next, Dr. Christian played Mozart’s Sonata in F Major, K. 332. According to Olivia Sowell’s program notes, the sonata is rumored to have been written for the purpose of Mozart introducing his wife to his father. There are three movements, and the second, Adagio, is particularly lovely.

Following Mozart, Dr. Christian introduced the audience to Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Corelli. The variations are based on Arcangelo Corelli’s theme “La Folia.” Dr. Christian brought out the shifting emotions and moods of each variation, playing with nuance and feeling.

Dr. Christian ended her program with selections by two American composers: William Bolcom and her husband, Brian Christian. She played Brian Christian’s “Nougat” from his Six French Sweets, a piece that merges the structure of a Bach suite with the boogie-woogie. Bolcom’s Dance Portraits incorporates elements of his friendships; Rebecca Stephenson writes that Bolcom composed the “second movement Knock-Stuck  based on Curtis Curtis-Smith, a talented composer known for his syncopated rhythms, and the third movement Abbacadabra expresses a talkativeness often associated with Bolcom’s friend Abba Bogin.” For her encore piece, Dr. Christian improvised the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”