Kariné Poghosyan / “All That Jazz”

Program:

Alberto Ginastera

Piano Sonata no.1, Op.22

I Allegro marcato

II Presto misterioso

III Adagio molto appassionato

IV Ruvido ed ostinato

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Selections from Three-Fours, op.71

No.2 Andante, A-flat Major

No.3 Allegro, G Minor

Tania Léon

Tumbao

Arno Babajanian

Solo Piano Selections

Melody (1970)

Two Selections from Six Pictures (1964):

-No.2 Folk Song

– No.3 Toccatina

Elegie (1978)

Dance of Vagharshapat (1943)

George Gershwin

Rhapsody in Blue (1924)

*in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of its premiere

Program Notes:

What has always impressed me, a classical concert pianist, about George Gershwin (1898-1937) was just how effortlessly he navigated and often combined different styles of classical, jazz, and pop music. This genre-defying approach is one of the reasons why his iconic Rhapsody in Blue is such a unifier, connecting to people of all backgrounds since its premiere on February 12, 1924! As an artist, my mission is indeed to seek ways to unify – to create points of connections, both among compositional styles and among my listeners. And so, what is the point of connection among an Argentine, an Afro-Englishman, a Cuban-American, an Armenian, and the son of Jewish immigrants from Odessa? All five composers reached to go beyond the Western Classical forms and techniques toward something much more ancient, a Paul Gauguinesque desire to embrace primal folk elements. This creates a remarkably cohesive theme among the five of them, with various “cross-pollinations” and commonalities. Both Ginastera and Babajanian embraced their respective folk traditions, while also exploring modernist 20th century elements such as the 12-tone serialist techniques. Both Coleridge-Taylor and Tania León were spurred to return to their roots, embracing rhythmic and melodic elements that could be traced back to African songs and dances. And of course, the overarching theme of Jazz, with spicy dissonant sonorities and Afro-Cuban driving rhythms unify all five composers. Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983), born in Buenos Aires to a Spanish father and an Italian mother, was prolific in all major genres including opera, ballet, symphonic and smaller-scale ensemble works, and even film music. Samuel Coleridge- Taylor (1875-1912) was born in London, and had the most remarkable journey as a composer, fully finding his musical identity only after visiting the United States. My friend, the renowned WQXR host Terrance McKnight remarked “this music sounds like being in Love. Here is a composer who has given himself permission to love himself and be at peace with who he is.” Tania León, born in 1943, in Havana, Cuba, is undoubtedly one of the most impactful composers and musical figures of our time. Her astonishing achievements include Kennedy Center Honors, a Pulitzer Prize, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her father deeply inspired her compositional journey, by asking her one day after, hearing a recent early work, “Where are you in your music?” This question urged her to embrace her roots and proudly incorporate rhythmic and motivic elements of Cuban music. Arno Babajanian (1921-1983) was born in Yerevan, Armenia, and showcased such prodigious talent at the age of 5 as to receive the encouragement and the blessings of Aram Khachaturian himself. Babajanian’s writing is centered around Armenian folk music, however similarly to Ginastera, he easily navigated many different styles, ranging from pop to serialism, as seen in the five selections on the program.

– Kariné Poghosyan

This concert is made possible by AGBU Chicago.

Biography:

“There is such a sense of joy, even ecstasy as she plays.” This is how NY1’s Stephanie Simon describes concert pianist Kariné Poghosyan’s performances. Ms. Poghosyan’s most recent concerts include several sold-out recitals at Carnegie Hall. Her “Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky” CD was praised by the Gramophone for its “masterly textural layering and resounding climaxes,” and the American Record Guide stated that “a more heroic program would be hard to find, and few could play as well as the Armenian- American Poghosyan.” Ms. Poghosyan was featured in WQXR’s “Chopin Marathon” live webcast, and David Osenberg’s award-winning program on WWFM, Cadenza. During the pandemic, she performed 100 weekly virtual concerts, gathering a loyal world-wide following and press coverage from the Pianist Magazine, Katie Couric’s newsletter The Wake-up Call, and ABC’s Rick Rowe. In February 2023, Ms. Poghosyan released her third album Folk Themes on Parma Recordings, available now on Amazon, AppleMusic, Spotify, etc. This past season, she performed solo recitals at Ehrbar Saal in Vienna and the Soraya Performing Arts Center in Northridge, California, as well as concerti performances with the Wallingford Symphony and Evanston Symphony Orchestras. This season, Ms.Poghosyan has made her solo recital debuts in Milan, Italy with a CD Release concert, and the iconic Sheldon Concert Hall in Saint Louis, presented by the Saint Louis University as part of their All-Steinway initiative. Ms. Poghosyan curates and performs her own monthly Lecture-Recital broadcasts on Patreon for a global audience of patrons tuning in on Zoom. She refers to these concert series as one of her proudest artistic achievements, “These inspirational monthly events bring together music-lovers for 3 different experiences – the unique live performances, a chance to learn more about the music and composers, but above all, the feeling of togetherness as they connect with each other in the community. In my own way, I wanted to create a similar experience to Leonard Bernstein’s Young Peoples’ Concerts, except mine would be for people of all ages and backgrounds, tuning in on zoom from all over the world on the last Sunday each month to experience the Joy of live music. My vision is to expand their reach and impact much further, andcreate PBS-worthy monthly productions for the patrons to experience live from the comfort of their homes. For 2024, I have created 3 differently themed series, “Vienna”, “Chopin, ” and “Concerti in D”, with four programs in each.”
For more information on these concerts series, go to www.patreon.com/karinepoghosyan