Pianist Age Kristoffersen opens matinee concerts
December 28, 2007 San Miguel de Allende
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Sunday Concerts January 6, 13, 20 & 27, 2pm Teatro Santa Ana Biblioteca Pública Insurgentes 25 50 pesos |
Teatro Santa Ana opens the Sunday matinee concert season with acclaimed pianist Age Kristoffersen. The January program will be selections from Edvard Grieg’s Lyric Pieces: Arietta, To the Spring, Butterfly, Erotikon, Little Bird, Solitary Traveller, March of the Trolls, French Serenade, Notturno and Wedding Day at Troldhaugen. The February program is “An Hour of Romantic Classics” and in April, “Personal Favorites.” Tickets are on sale at the theater box office, with limited seating. Program benefits the Library Kids Scholarships.
Kristoffersen has had a lifelong love affair with the piano. He began as a child, even before his family owned a piano, by drawing keyboards on tables and window sills and “playing” to music from the radio. After years of intensive work with leading piano teachers and concert pianists in Europe, he studied at Brandeis University in Massachusetts as a Fulbright scholar.
Today the internationally acclaimed artist gives more than 100 performances around the world every year. He has received prizes and awards on three continents and has met with unanimous praise from critics everywhere:
The New York Times after a Carnegie Hall concert: “...an extraordinarily accomplished pianist ...no technical problems seem to bother him, phrasing and dynamics are carefully planned, and color is his special territory...a lovely, masterly piano recital.”
Reviews from his native Norway: “...Norwegian master-pianist ...fabulous technique ...eminent rapidity, plays with authority and exuberance...poetry and virtuosity...sparkling jewels in elegant interpretations.”
Composer David Monrad Johansen: “I have never heard such a perfect performance of my Sonata.”
(Next week, Interview with Age, January 4 issue.)
Festival de San Miguel de Allende continues…
Chamber music concerts with the Festival de San Miguel de Allende continue this week. All concerts are to be held at the Teatro Ángela Peralta, Mesones 82. Tickets can be purchased in advance, Canal 21, 152-8380.
Friday, December 28, 8pm
Quartet Op. 8 (Weber)
Sonata Op. 6, for cello and piano (Barber)
Trio (Ravel)
Saturday, December 29, 8pm
Violin recital
Suite Italienne (Stravinsky)
Sonata (Debussy)
Sonata Opus 78 (Brahms)
Tzigane (Ravel)
Sunday, December 30, 8pm
Quartet WoO 36, No. 3 (Beethoven)
Sonata, for viola and piano (Rebecca Clarke)
Quintet (Glazounov)
Monday, December 31, 8pm
Bagatelles Op. 47 (Dvorak)
World Premiere, Three Preludes of Jazz (Nolan Gasser)
Quintet (Franck)
Letters from a young violinist
This article first appeared in Atención, September 14, 2007.
| Turkkan Osman Macías was born in San Miguel de Allende in 1989. He began playing the violin at age 9 in the San Miguel Suzuki Children’s String Program. | |
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For the past three years, he has attended high school at the Centro Cultural Ollin Yoliztli Music School in Mexico City, studying with Russian violinist Serguei Gorbenko. He will complete his high school studies there, including violin, piano, and musical composition, this coming year. In early 2007 he was accepted (with a partial scholarship) to the extremely competitive 9–week summer Aspen Music School in Colorado. However, an additional US$8,000 was needed to cover his remaining tuition, room and board and travel expenses. Contributions from 20 full and part time San Miguel residents, plus a grant of US$2,100 from the San Miguel Community Foundation covered the additional expenses. A brief report by Turkkan on his experiences during this 9-week, life-changing adventure follows. More information on the festival and school can be seen at aspenmusicfestival.c
om.
Letter from Turkkan Osman Macías, August 30, 2007
Aspen is magical. It’s one of those places where anything can happen, one of the little paradises left on earth and it’s because of the thousands of people who put their entire soul and heart into making this possible every year. I was so fortunate to be a part of it, and I’m deeply grateful because this was the summer that I’ve enjoyed the most out of my whole life— the summer when I learned as never before about my violin playing, my musical ideas and a bunch of other aspects that surround and make the difference between a violinist and a musician.
New Friends: I remember the first night I spent there, none of my roommates had arrived yet so I grabbed the front room for myself. Everyone told me Aspen was very hot during the summer but I didn’t imagine how cold it could get. That night I had a freezing welcome— ja-ja-ja. After a few days I got used to the climate and began to enjoy this duality. Another big surprise took place in the cafeteria, “my first breakfast.” I was one of the first ones, I grabbed my plate and since I didn’t know anybody I sat by myself. In a few minutes the table was full of strangers talking to me as if we were friends from childhood. I was amazed by the warmth with which everyone welcomed everyone. As the days and weeks passed by, I started to have a new family— people who completely understood what I felt and thought about music, people with whom I could express my feelings without any prejudice. I recall myself saying in the first week, when I was very homesick “I’m going to be so happy when the ninth week arrives, I can’t wa
it to go back home.” When the last week started, I was so sad the festival was coming to an end; I couldn’t believe how fast time went by. I wanted it to be the first week and start all over. The hardest part of the whole summer was to say “good-bye” to this family that shared so much with me, people with whom I shared happiness and sorrow. I’m sure these friendships will last forever.
Our Orchestra and Conductors: I had played in an orchestra a few times before, but doing it in Aspen was incredible, amazing. Having world-wide renowned conductors was an experience out of this world; they shared their stories and knowledge with us.
We had two Latin American conductors, one was Miguel Harth Bedoya and the other was Tito Muñoz. With Miguel, the work I enjoyed the most was “La Noche de los Mayas” by Revueltas. In the first rehearsal I thought he was Mexican, because he had chosen a piece by Revueltas. He had a very Mexican aspect, but no, he was from Peru. From the first day the orchestra knew that it wouldn’t be nice to make him angry. He had a very strong temperament and very little patience, so we always tried to do everything immediately. When we performed “La Noche de los Mayas” the audience was captivated, but mostly by the two variations in which all the percussionists had a solo, but some of them had a more jazzy style and sometimes it didn’t suit the idea that Revueltas wanted to expose. The movements of the work are a battle between the Spanish influence and the indigenous roots, even though we all know that the Spaniards never had contact with the Mayas, except for the two men that ended up in the coast of Yucatan, but that’s an
other story. The music was originally created for a movie of the same name, but Revueltas decided to make it into a symphony.
Chamber Music in Aspen: Listening to chamber music in Aspen was very special, listening to the Emerson String Quartet play again after so many years (the first time being a concert they gave at the San Miguel de Allende Chamber Music Festival) evoked so many memories. In Aspen they gave two recitals, one was the opening concert in which Alan Fletcher, president and CEO, gave a very inspiring speech. This concert was held in the Benedict Tent. We students could only get tickets one hour before the concert and it was always a race to be first in line. When someone important was going to play, there was a line two or three hours before the performance. On many occasions the tickets were sold out, but we managed to sneak in through the back door or by the secret tunnel—it was so much fun doing that.
My Wonderful Teacher: My violin teacher, Ms. Naoko Tanaka (Professor of Violin, Juilliard School of Music, New York City), was marvelous. Before I had my first lesson, I was very nervous. I didn’t know how she was but, to my fortunate surprise she was the nicest, sweetest and most helpful teacher I’ve ever had. I liked her so much, and I think she liked me as a student. Throughout the week I gave my best effort to come back to the next lesson with the homework done as well as possible. She changed some things in my position that made the tension in my back and shoulders disappear. We also worked on mechanical and technical aspects that improved my playing in a big way, it made everything easier. The pieces that we worked on together were Sinfonia Española by Lalo, Partita in E Major by Bach, Sonata No. 5 “Spring” by Beethoven, and Etudes by Rode. Each week, I had a private lesson with her and a studio class. In these classes all of her students gathered and three or four of them played while everyone else com
mented on their playing. This was very helpful because everyone learned from everyone else by their playing and by their observations. The nine lessons I had and the studio classes changed the way I approach the violin technically and musically.
My Dream: For my last lesson, besides playing the pieces I was working on, I played an improvisation. When I finished she was overjoyed and she asked me when and how I began to improvise like that. It was fun telling her how it started. Before the lesson ended, I asked her about schools and teachers in the US because I would love to go to college there. We talked for a while about that, and she said that if I work hard preparing a good audition, she thinks I would be able to get into a good college. I’m very motivated to give my best and prepare a good audition. I want to reach my dream. The last Monday I went hiking with some staff members and friends to the Maroon Bells, a spectacular mountain in the Rockies. After a half an hour of walking, the path divided, one leading to the lake a few feet from there and the other going all the way to the top. Some people decided to stay at the lake, but my friends and I wanted to go all the way to the top. It took us four hours to get there. When we got there, we were
exhausted but the satisfaction made us forget that. No matter how far it looks, no matter how much effort it takes, no matter the exhaustion, I will give everything to get there, to reach my dream.
I want to thank everyone for everything they have done for me. I’m profoundly grateful.
Turkkan Osman Macías