Gershwin & More – 4 Piano Pomp
Today's Music
Sunday, 30 July 2017
6 pm, Saanen Church
It began with André Desponds’ passion for improvisation (which he teaches at the Zurich University of the Arts): what better way to have “fun” than with the music of George Gershwin, between classicism and Broadway? 20 years later the Gershwin Piano Quartet is still around and more alive than ever. Not only has Desponds involved Swiss pianists from the young generation, but he has also expanded the repertoire to include not only Anglo-Saxon masters such as Bernstein or Earl Wild but also pillars of the 20th century such as Stravinsky and Prokofiev. The combined efforts of 40 fingers allows their works to be heard as never before.
Gershwin Piano Quartet
1André Desponds, Piano
2Stefan Wirth, Piano
3Benjamin Engeli, Piano
4Mischa Cheung, Piano
| Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) | |
| Petrushka Suite (arranged for 4 pianos by the Gershwin Piano Quartet) | 15' |
| Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) | |
| 1 “Oiseaux tristes” from the “Miroirs” (No. 2) | 4' |
| Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) | |
| 3 Pieces from “Lieutenant Kijé” (arranged by Mischa Cheung) | 10' |
| Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) | |
| 2 “Entretiens de la Belle et la Bête” from “Ma Mère l'Oye” | 4' |
| “La Valse” (arranged for 4 pianos by Stefan Wirth) | 12' |
| – Interval – | |
| George Gershwin (1898-1937) | |
| Fantasy on “Porgy and Bess” (arranged for 4 pianos by Benjamin Engeli and Stefan Wirth) | 15' |
| Earl Wild (1915-2010) | |
| 3 Study No. 4 on “Embraceable” by Gershwin | 4' |
| Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994) | |
| “Corcovado” (arranged for 4 pianos by the Gershwin Piano Quartet) | 4' |
| Earl Wild (1915-2010) | |
| 4 Study No. 6 on “I got Rhythm” by Gershwin | 3' |
| Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) | |
| Songs and Dances from “West Side Story” (arranged for 4 pianos by the Gershwin Piano Quartet) | 15' |
| 110' | |
| CHF 125 / 105 / 65 / 40 |