To close this year’s edition of Printempo, Ian Tomaz presents a program inspired by the life and work of Nadia Boulanger, one of the most important pedagogues and musical figures of the 20th century.
Ian Tomaz is pursuing his research and performance projects in Paris thanks to the generous support of the Société des Professeurs Français et Francophones D’Amérique, the Fondation des États-Unis and the Centre Internationale Nadia et Lili Boulanger. Ian has actively participated in the cultural life of the FEU since his arrival as a Harriet Hale Woolley scholar in 2022.
This program is the second in a cycle of four inspired by the life in work of Nadia Boulanger, one of the most important teachers and musical figures of the twentieth century. J.S. Bach and the traditions of baroque counterpoint were at the center of Nadia Boulanger’s teaching; Bach described the Well Tempered Clavier, a set of 48 preludes and fugues in all major in minor keys, as “for the profit and study of musical youth”, and Boulanger frequently worked on these pieces with her students in addition to lecturing on many of Bach’s larger works in her famous Wednesday afternoon classes. Each concert, therefore, presents part of the Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 with pieces from Boulanger’s lifetime and contemporaries. Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit, a collection of three pieces inspired by the book of fantasy poems by Aloysius Bertrand, is one of the most inspired and original compositions of the twentieth century. Ravel and Boulanger shared a composition teacher, Gabriel Faure, and Boulanger told the reporter Bruno Monsaingeon that she often saw Ravel in counterpoint and fugue classes at the conservatoire. Nadia Boulanger encouraged all of her students to have rigorous training in the fundamentals of music as a base from which to create new, modern works, and Ravel’s Gaspard is a perfect example of this philosophy in action. This program is made possible through the Nguyen Tien Dao grant from the Centre Nadia et Lili Boulanger.
~Ian Tomaz
Practical Information
Date Tuesday, June 25 | Time 7:30pm | Facebook Event
Program
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue in E Flat Major BWV 852
Prelude and Fugue in e flat minor BWV 853
Prelude and Fugue in E Major BWV 854
Prelude and Fugue in e minor BWV 855
Prelude and Fugue in B Flat Major BWV 866
Prelude and Fugue in b flat minor BWV 867
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Gaspard de La Nuit
Ondine
Le Gibet
Scarbo
The Artist
Ian Tomaz is an American pianist. Since 2021 he has been pursuing research and performance projects in Paris thanks to the generous support of the Societe des Professeurs Francais et Francophones D’Amerique, Fondation des États-Unis and Centre Internationale Nadia et Lili Boulanger. As winner of the 2024 CNLB first prize ex aequo, he is currently learning and performing the first book of the Well Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach. As a Harriet Hale Woolley Scholar in 2022-2023, he performed chamber music and rarely played solo pieces by Francis Poulenc with the support of the Poulenc Foundation. Since moving to Paris, he has performed at Musee Petit Palais, Salle Cortot, Musee JJ Henner and around Cite Universitaire. He has also participated in the Saline Royale, Artenetra and Academie de la Musique Francais festivals, playing for distinguished French pianists including Anne Queffelec, Michel Beroff, Jacques Rouvier and Jean Francois Hesser. His principal teachers include Pascal Roge, Martha Fischer and Judit Jaimes.