NEC-New
England Conservatory
Press Release May 9, 2006
Printed By Permission
NEC Pianist Stephen Drury to Pair Debussy Etudes, John Cage Etudes Australes on May 15 RecitalNEC pianist Stephen Drury, always exploratory in his programming, will juxtapose the Debussy Etudes and John Cage’s Etudes Australes on his May 15 recital at 8 p.m. in NEC’s Jordan Hall. He will also perform Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque.
Written for pianist Grete Sultan, Cage’s Etudes Australes (1974–75), like other sets of etudes he wrote for violin and cello, make use of the I Ching in determining various components of the music. Cage also consulted star charts, in this case those for Australia, to help select the pitches. The music poses extreme demands on the performer. As Cage said, “These are intentionally as difficult as I can make them, because I think we’re now surrounded by very serious problems in the society, and we tend to think that the situation is hopeless and that it’s impossible to do something that will make everything turn out properly. So I think that this music, which is almost impossible, gives an instance of the practicality of the impossible.”
The Cage Etudes Australes, like any collection of piano etudes, inevitably call to mind the sets written by Debussy and, before him, Chopin. Indeed, Debussy dedicated his two sets of Etudes to Chopin and he held out the Polish composer’s example as a model for his own. He wrote to his publisher, "You will agree with me that it is not necessary to load down technique any more just for the sake of making an impression of seriousness, and that a little charm can never do any damage - Chopin proved that..."
Drury’s concert is free and open to the public.
For more information, call the NEC Concert Line at 617-585-1122 or visit NEC on the web at www.newenglandconservatory.edu/concert
ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY
Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 750 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.
The oldest independent school of music in the United States, NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee. Its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions. On the college level, it features training in classical, jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, world and early music. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Collaboration Programs, it provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, adults, and seniors. Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music and jazz.
NEC presents more than 600 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, 100-year old, beautifully restored concert hall. These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz and opera scenes. Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston.
NEC
is co-founder and educational partner of “From the Top,” a weekly
radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the
entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried
by National Public Radio and is heard on 250 stations throughout the United
States.
