Pianists Nicky Purser, former resident and Harriet Hale Woolley Scholar (2010-2011), and Emiri Komura combine their talents for a program that explores how composers drew inspiration from the dance genre while pushing the bounds of musical form and expression. Ranging from folk dance and Parisian burlesque to classical ballet, reaching through to the Argentinian tango, and pushing through to early jazz and rock, this ecclectic program pays hommage to dance and musical innovators while revelling in the expressive capabilities of the piano in the hands of two pianists. The ballet Petrouchka was premiered in Paris in 1911 by the Ballet Russes. Maximilien Gremaud, puppeteer and resident of the FEU, will join them to interpret Stravinsky’s celebrated work.
Free admission, sign up here:
Program
Erik Satie (1866-1925)
La belle excentrique—”fantaisie sérieuse”
- Grande ritournelle
- Marche franco-lunaire
- Valse du mystérieux baiser dans l’œil
- Cancan Grand-Mondain
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Petrouchka-scènes burlesques en quatre tableaux
- La foire du mardi gras
- Chez Petrouchka
- Chez le Maure
- La foire du mardi gras (la nuit)
Queen
Bohemian Rhapsody
Arr. Nicky Purser
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Extrait de Ma mère l’oye : no. 4 les entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Danses Hongroises, nos. 6, 7, 8, 10, 5
George Gershwin (1898-1937), Trois Préludes
- Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
- Andante con moto e poco rubato
- Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1990)
Libertango
Arr. les sœurs Buniatishvili
About the Artists
American pianist Nicky Purser holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and performer diploma from Indiana University Bloomington, the Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM), the diplôme supérieur d’enseignement and diplôme supérieur de musique de chambre from the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, and the diplôme d’études musicales (D.E.M) from the Conservatoire of Boulogne-Billancourt. Her primary teachers have been Edmund Battersby, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, Erik Berchot, Pavlos Yallourakis, Valerica Maican, and Julien LePape. She studied counterpoint with Isabelle Duha, earning the prix supérieur at the Conservatoire d’Issy-les- Moulineaux by unanimous vote and special recognition by the jury. During her studies at Indiana University, she was an assistant instructor for the Department of Music Theory. Her studies in Paris were generously supported by the Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship and a scholarship from the Ecole Normale in Paris. In 2015 she received the accompanist prize by a unanimous jury at the Young Soloists Competition of the Sorbonne in Paris. In 2016 she completed a one-year residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts of Paris dedicated to an exploration of the piano music by Toru Takemitsu. Recent concert appearances include the Ensemble Linea summer festival, the Philomuses Association, the International Chamber Orchestra of Washington, and the Festival Impromptu in Chambon-sur-Lignon. She has collaborated with members of TM+, the National Orchestra of France, and the Radio France choir. She has also worked with composers Don Freund, Carlos Grätzer, Alexandros Markeas, Simone Movio, François Rossé, Betsy Jolas, and Denis Levaillant. She is currently on faculty at the Koenig American Conservatory and the association La Leçon de Piano.
Japanese pianist Emiri Komura earned bachelor and master’s degrees from the Aichi University of Fine Arts and Music by a unanimous jury in 2006 and 2009. She continued her professional training at the Ecole Normale de musique of Paris where she received the diplôme supérieur in piano and the diplôme concertiste in chamber music by unanimous vote and special recognition by the jury in 2012 and 2018. Fueled by a passion for chamber music and accompaniment, she holds a Diplôme d’études musicales (D.E.M.) in piano accompaniment from the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional of Boulogne-Billancourt. Her primary teachers have been Kazuko Hirono, Hideto Nishikawa, Davy Erlih, Erik Berchot, Julien Le Pape, and Cantal De Buchy. To further enrich her artistry, Emiri has attended masterclasses at international festivals in Nice, Courcheval, Rouffach and Freiburg, Germany.
Maximilien Gremaud was born in 1994 in Versailles. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Versailles and received a bachelor’s degree in art history from the Ecole du Louvre, followed by a master’s in Arts and Language from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). His studies have always been coupled with an active interest in drawing, painting and sculpture. His work was exhibited at the Salon d’Automne in 2013. His current interest in puppetry allows him to combine forms and narrative.