Everyone knows the impressionist music Debussy is most famous for is typically described as sonorous, colorful, spacious, and atmospheric. But pianist Michael Arnowitt has a theory that Debussy was also very much a “people person.” His extremely entertaining letters reveal his perceptive takes on the various personalities of Paris of his day, and his musical scores are peppered with a surprising number of adjectives referring to human emotions and behaviors, such as pleading, talkative, murmuring, charming, upset, friendly, and babbling. Like Mozart Debussy was a keen observer of human nature and all its foibles.

In a piece like his prelude “The interrupted serenade,” the music vividly depicts personalities in a scene , conversing and displaying all their rash human emotions and impetuous actions. While Debussy’s compositions most of the time project a mature tone, every now and then his music turns unexpectedly child-like. In the eighth etude, one of Michael Arnowitt’s favorite Debussy pieces, we hear musical phrases whose unusual shapes are suggestive of an infant crawling around, while at other moments the music’s spontaneous quicksilver lines sound like a capricious child animatedly rushing this way and that.

Debussy’s diverse influences include his interest in the cultures of Egypt, India, China, and other countries of eastern Asia, and it’s fascinating to hear in his music how he introduces artistic elements from a distant land or time and incorporates them into his personal style. He even likened the visual appearance on the page of some of his piano pieces to the ornate, intricate nature of Japanese prints, and in his piece Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut (And the moon descends over the temple that was), the influence is clear of the meditative Indonesian gamelan music Debussy had heard a group from Java perform live at the World’s Fair in Paris. Debussy also liked very much the paintings of Turner and Whistler and the drawings he had found in several books of the British illustrator Arthur Rackham, which was the starting inspiration for pieces on this program referencing Peter Pan and the character Puck of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Michael Arnowitt’s concert program presents a selection of the pianist’s favorite Debussy compositions, including a nice variety of preludes, etudes, and individual pieces from the Images sets. A highlight of the program is the music to two scenes from the composer’s rarely-heard ballet “La boîte à joujoux” (The box of toys), modestly comic and gently whimsical music about wooden toys and dolls coming to life. Another feature of the program is Debussy’s celebrated piece “From dawn to noon on the sea,” the first movement of La Mer, in a piano transcription of the original orchestral music. Upon hearing the piece performed live, Debussy’s lifelong friend the composer Erik Satie wittily said that he “particularly liked the little bit at a quarter of eleven.”

While this program also explores the delicate, sensitive poetic music Debussy was justly famous for with its depictions of water and outdoor landscape scenes, “The Other Side of Debussy” reveals this interesting added dimension of the composer’s musical personality. Knowing of Debussy’s interest in our emotions, character traits and social behaviors casts a new light of a human element that deepens our appreciation of the music of this great composer.

[Note: more than some of the other offerings listed on this page, this program can be easily adapted to the length of a noontime hour-long concert or an afternoon matinee of shorter concert duration if a program of shorter than standard length is desired.]

Canope (Canopic jar) no. 10 from Préludes, book 2
Premier and deuxième tableaux from the ballet La boîte à joujoux (The box of toys)
“Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir” (The sounds and fragrances swirl in the evening air)
    no. 4 from Préludes, book 1
La sérénade interrompue (The interrupted serenade) no. 9 from Préludes, book 1
La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune (The terrace for moonlit audiences)
    no. 7 from Préludes, book 2
La danse de Puck (Puck’s dance) no. 11 from Préludes, book 1
De l’aube à midi sur la mer (From dawn to noon on the sea), from La Mer,
    transcribed for piano by Lucien Garban
intermission
Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut (And the moon descends over the temple that was)
    no. 2 from Images, book 2
Poissons d’or (Golden fish) no. 3 from Images, book 2
“Les fées sont d’exquises danseuses” (The fairies are exquisite dancers) no. 4 from Préludes, book 2
Études 1, 3, 8, 11
Hommage à Rameau (Homage to Rameau) no. 2 from Images, book 1
Feux d’artifice (Fireworks) no. 12 from Préludes, book 2

Michael Arnowitt will present a variety of classical and jazz piano pieces by Black composers, providing a musical look on the African-American experience. A special feature of the program will be music by the great Black classical musician George Walker, with selections from his Sonatas no. 1 and no. 2 including a highly imaginative theme and variations set based on a Kentucky folk song. These selections showcase the dynamic, sparkling, and powerful music of this outstanding composer whose works have been increasingly discovered and presented by performers in recent decades with an ever-growing number of musicians of note recognizing his status as one of the greatest American composers in history. Walker was the first African-American concert pianist to perform major piano concertos with the greatest American symphony orchestras in the period after World War II and the first Black composer to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

Also performed will be Leslie Adams’ expressive Etude in G minor, music by the African-American Cleveland native who died in 2024 at the age of 91. Adams’ etude beautifully combines romantic melodies with jazz-tinged harmonies in music at turns yearning, dramatic, and consoling. Michael Arnowitt will also play the Nigerian composer Joshua Uzoigwe’s “Ukom” from the composer’s set of piano pieces “Talking Drums,” music evoking the traditional drumming and singing of celebratory memorial music of southeastern Nigeria.

A highlight of the program is a medley of excerpts from William Grant Still’s “Lenox Avenue,” depicting street scenes in Harlem, originally performed in 1937 by the Los Angeles WPA Symphony Orchestra as part of President Roosevelt’s Federal Music Project during the Great Depression. The music, conceived as a ballet, portrays the hustle and bustle and vitality of the Harlem Renaissance in its heyday, with its plotline following the adventures of the neighborhood’s colorful characters alongside some incredibly tender moments as well. Michael Arnowitt will wear his jazz pianist hat to close the program with his original jazz composition “Chicago Avenue” in memory of George Floyd and a performance of “Afro Blue,” the 1959 Mongo Santamaria classic made famous by the saxophonist John Coltrane, a tune incorporating the rhythm of African drumming mixed with the feel of the jazz blues uniquely created by American Black musicians.

Leslie Adams ⋅ Etude no. 1 in G minor
George Walker ⋅ selections from Sonatas for Piano no. 1 and no. 2
Joshua Uzoigwe ⋅ Ukom, from his set of pieces Talking Drums
William Grant Still ⋅ selections from Lenox Avenue (1937)
Michael Arnowitt ⋅ Chicago Avenue (in memory of George Floyd)
Mongo Santamaria/John Coltrane ⋅ Afro Blue

Michael Arnowitt performs a program of deep and emotionally expressive music by the three greatest classical music geniuses of all time: Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. These inspired composers take us on a satisfying journey, revealing through music our innermost humaneness, some goodness that we can all touch in our better moments. In these classic masterpieces that have moved generations of music lovers around the world for now over 200 years, these three composers have gifted us a truly positive vision of humanity which we can all appreciate and embrace.

The program includes Bach’s beautiful and absorbing Partita no. 6 in E minor and two transcriptions for piano by Michael Arnowitt of great works of chamber music: the gentle wanderings of the first movement of Beethoven’s late-period String Quartet in B-flat major and the slow Adagio movement from Mozart’s highly personal and affecting String Quintet in G minor. The centerpiece of the program is Beethoven’s grandest piano sonata, the “Hammerklavier.” This sonata took Beethoven a full year to write and was a breakthrough piece ushering in the Ninth Symphony and the final years of Beethoven’s life, a sonata where he surmounted an extended period of depression and writer’s block which accompanied his now nearly complete deafness. When Beethoven finished the Hammerklavier Sonata, he wrote, “Finally I know now how to compose.”

The Rheinische Post of Düsseldorf, Germany, said, “he played with a striking virtuosity and deeply felt passion.”

Ludwig van Beethoven ⋅ First movement from
    String Quartet no. 13 in B-flat major op. 130,
    transcribed for piano by Michael Arnowitt
J.S. Bach ⋅ Partita no. 6 in E minor
W.A. Mozart ⋅ Adagio ma non troppo from
    String Quintet in G minor K. 516,
    transcribed for piano by Michael Arnowitt
Ludwig van Beethoven ⋅ Sonata no. 29 in
    B-flat major op. 106, “Hammerklavier”

Bach said on the title page of his publication of the six partitas, “composed for music-lovers, to refresh their spirits.” His six partitas are particularly cherished by pianists as topline pieces universally regarded as among Bach’s very best compositions for keyboard. The partitas take as their starting point old dance traditions from different countries of Europe. Bach created musical shapes evocative of not just the arm and leg motions of these dances, but more generally of many aspects of everyday living: walking, running, even the act of thinking and countless human emotions are touched on in these extraordinary pieces. The true achievement of these partitas is how Bach magically transforms these shapes far beyond background music for dance to the pure, spiritual, joyful, and lively music of his own unique soundworld that is some of the most satisfying music ever created.

Michael Arnowitt has throughout his career been gradually learning all six of Bach’s partitas, and he is very excited to be ready now to present the complete set in performance. These partitas, which will also be the music of his next piano recording, each have their own distinct personality and character and are surprisingly different from each other. After a lifetime of reflecting on Bach, gaining insights and developing musically, Michael Arnowitt offers this program of Bach partitas as a wonderful opportunity for audiences to hear the pianist perform live these remarkable and unique masterpieces.

Learn more – click here to read about Michael Arnowitt’s accomplishments as a Bach performer

J.S. Bach ⋅ Six Partitas
    Partita no. 1 in B-flat major
    Partita no. 2 in C minor
    Partita no. 3 in A minor
    Partita no. 4 in D major
    Partita no. 5 in G major
    Partita no. 6 in E minor

Colorful, imaginative music by Bach, Debussy, Lutoslawski, the British composer George Benjamin, and a selection of the widely-praised piano études of Ligeti that have been among the most talked about classical compositions of recent decades. The featured music on the program are four pieces by the present-day Ukrainian composer Victoria Poleva, whose absorbing music Michael Arnowitt is championing and trying to raise awareness of in North America. The pianist will also perform his Burana Bop, a jazz arrangement of musical material drawn from Carl Orff’s famous Carmina Burana, inspired by 13th century medieval secular poetry. Burana Bop has consistently received enthusiastic positive comments from audiences since its premiere in early 2021. Altogether, Kaleidoscope offers a lively concert experience that nicely balances serious and lighter fare with evocative music at turns enchanting, rambunctious, stirring, and joyful.

Learn more – click here to read a full program description

J.S. Bach ⋅ Selections from the 3-Part Sinfonias
    (F major, E minor, A major, D minor, G major, D major)
Claude Debussy ⋅ Selections from 12 Études (1915)
    Étude no. 11 Pour les arpèges composés
    Étude no. 8 Pour les agréments
    Étude no. 3 Pour les quartes
Victoria Poleva ⋅ Excerpt from the music to her ballet
    “Mirror, Dreams” (2021)
Victoria Poleva ⋅ Lacrimosa and Music that is not yet,
    from Marginalia (1998-2008)
Victoria Poleva ⋅ Sonata no. 2 “quasi una fantasia” (2011)
Witold Lutoslawski ⋅ Study for Piano no. 2 (1941)
George Benjamin ⋅ Selections from Piano Figures (2004)
    Spell - Knots - Alone - Hammers - Mosaic
Michael Arnowitt ⋅ Burana Bop (jazz improvisation based on
    music from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana)
Gyorgy Ligeti ⋅ Selections from Études for piano, Book 1 (1985)
    and Book 2 (1988-1994)
    Étude no. 2, Cordes à vide (Open strings)
    Étude no. 4, Fanfares
    Étude no. 5, Arc-en-ciel (Rainbow)
    Étude no. 10, Der Zauberlehrling (The sorcerer’s apprentice)

Encore: Michael Arnowitt ⋅ Bi Bim Bop
(a jazz fugue, mixing Bach and bebop jazz)

medium size program description text Learn more – click here to read a full program description

    J.S. Bach ⋅ Selections from the 3-Part program pieces here

medium size program description text Learn more – click here to read a full program description

    J.S. Bach ⋅ Selections from the 3-Part program pieces here

medium size program description text Learn more – click here to read a full program description

    J.S. Bach ⋅ Selections from the 3-Part program pieces here

medium size program description text Learn more – click here to read a full program description

    J.S. Bach ⋅ Selections from the 3-Part program pieces here

medium size program description text Learn more – click here to read a full program description

    J.S. Bach ⋅ Selections from the 3-Part program pieces here

medium size program description text Learn more – click here to read a full program description

    J.S. Bach ⋅ Selections from the 3-Part program pieces here

medium size program description text Learn more – click here to read a full program description

    J.S. Bach ⋅ Selections from the 3-Part program pieces here

The program opens with a half-dozen of Bach’s miniature 3-Part Sinfonias, companion pieces in 3-part counterpoint to Bach’s more familiar 2-Part Inventions that have been learned by generations of piano students for 200 years. Bach’s Sinfonias are delightful jewels, the music evoking a range of moods at turns spirited, good-humored, lyrical, mysterious, and joyful. The major work on the program is Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn, transcribed for piano from the original orchestral version by Michael Arnowitt. Based on a cheerful melody known as the St. Antoni Chorale, the wide-ranging adventures Brahms takes us on makes this his greatest composition in the theme and variations form. The Hungarian-born composer Gyorgy Ligeti, in the final decades of his life, wrote three books of piano etudes Michael Arnowitt regards as the best piano pieces of the last fifty years. He will perform Open Strings, Rainbow, and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, showcasing the amazing imagination and creativity of these pieces full of beautiful new piano sounds and textures. The program closes with the rousing finale of Alberto Ginastera’s dynamic Piano Sonata no. 1, based on folk music influences from the pampas region of Ginastera’s native Argentina. Altogether, this program of lively, colorful music should make for a congenial time together enjoyable to all.

 

J.S. Bach ⋅ Selections from the 3-Part Sinfonias
    (F major, E minor, A major, D minor, G major, D major)
Johannes Brahms ⋅ Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Gyorgy Ligeti ⋅ Open Strings, Rainbow, and
    The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Alberto Ginastera ⋅ Finale from Piano Sonata no. 1, op. 22 (1952)

From East to West explores the influence on Western classical composition of the music of eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, and southeast Asia. The program includes many pieces by great composers of the past, including Mozart’s well-known “Rondo alla turca,” music by Gustav Mahler based on 8th century Chinese poetry from the Tang Dynasty, and Debussy’s “Pagodas,” influenced by his experience seeing a gamelan group from Java at the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. The program also presents several intriguing and colorful pieces from recent decades, including Peter Feuchtwanger’s “Tariqa 1,” which offers an amazingly realistic evocation of the meditative, mesmeric sounds of the santur, an Iranian dulcimer, and Fazil Say’s “Black Earth,” based on a song for saz, a Turkish lute. The East’s influence on the West in the area of spirituality is featured in Alexander Scriabin’s powerful “Black Mass” Sonata, music strongly affected by Scriabin’s knowledge of Eastern views on mysticism. The program also reveals the flip side of the coin, how the West has influenced the East, through pieces from Japan and China as well as the charming jazz-influenced classical music of the Russian pianist-composer Nikolai Kapustin. Michael Arnowitt is half-Korean, and discovered his mother’s uncle was a leading pianist, conductor, and composer in Korea in the mid-20th century. Like the program’s title, Michael Arnowitt is himself a mixture of East and West.

Learn more – click here to read a full program description

Peter Feuchtwanger ⋅ Study no. 4 in an Eastern Idiom,
    Tariqa 1 (1982)
W.A. Mozart ⋅ Rondo alla turca (1778)
Claude Debussy ⋅ Pagodas, from Prints (1903)
Alexander Scriabin ⋅ Sonata no. 9 “Black Mass,”
    op. 68 (1912-1913)
Toru Takemitsu ⋅ Rain Tree Sketch (1982)
Gustav Mahler ⋅ The Lonely One in Autumn, from
    The Song of the Earth (1908-1909),
    transcribed for piano by Michael Arnowitt
Fazil Say ⋅ Black Earth (1997)
Excerpt from Chinese opera ⋅ Red Lake (transcribed for piano)
Nikolai Kapustin ⋅ Preludes 3 and 13 from 24 Preludes
    in Jazz Style, and Scherzo from Sonata no. 2 (1989)

 

Back to Home Page