Keyboard Identities in Flux
The breadth, depth, and diversity of the CCHK’s collections give unique insights into the intersecting and perpetually changing identities of keyboard instruments over time. In a series of snapshots, this semester’s programs present the many kaleidoscopic guises keyboard instruments and their exponents can assume beyond their immediate geographical and cultural origins––from fantasies about Greek antiquity to African American compositional practices, from the music culture of modern Europe to the rich and varied soundscape of Ithaca’s own organs.
Video Highlights
The Taliesin Trio Performs "The Piano Trios of Robert Schumann" at the A. D. White House, Friday, April 1, 2022.
Piano Recitals
Evening piano recitals this semester begin with an impromptu visit from guest artist Tomasz Ritter––the first to have won the prestigious Chopin Piano Competition on historical instruments––followed by a varied slate of programs featuring Cornell pianists.
February 15: Tomasz Ritter, recital featuring works by Chopin and Beethoven. Barnes Hall.
April 15: Andrew Zhou, "Historical Fantasies: Works by Debussy, Ravel and Price." Barnes Hall.
April 26: Mike Cheng-Yu Lee, "Chopin: The Four Scherzi." Barnes Hall.
May 4: Nathan Mondry, "The French Connection." A. D. White House.
May 5: Thomas Reeves, "J. S. Bach, 'Art of the Fugue'." A. D. White House.
May 8: Taliesin Trio (Xak Bjerken, Ellen Jewett, and Elizabeth Simkin), "Afternoon of Schumann." Ithaca Waldorf School.
Evening Organ Recitals
Evening organ recitals feature Cornell faculty and graduate students along with guest artist Olukola Owolabi, in programs spanning four centuries heard on five different instruments including the newly renovated Aeolian-Skinner organ at Sage Chapel.
February 11 & 12: Nathan Mondry with guests Nuova Pratica, "Trios and Duos of the 17th and 18th Century." Sage Chapel (February 11) and Barnes Hall (February 12).
March 4: David Yearsley and Annette Richards, "Environs Franck." St. Luke Lutheran Church.
March 24: Annette Richards, "Bach and the Later 18th Century." Anabel Taylor Chapel.
April 12: Anna Steppler, "Reflections for Lent and Passiontide." Anabel Taylor Chapel. Canceled.
April 29: Olukola Owolabi, Guest Artist Recital. Sage Chapel. Postponed to Spring 2023.
Keyboard Salons
February 18: Mike Cheng-Yu Lee with guest Jonathan Bellman, "Chopin's Temperament." A. D. White House.
March 25: Mike Cheng-Yu Lee, "The Viennese Piano and the Stein-Stretcher Dynasty." A. D. White House.
April 1: Taliesin Trio (Xak Bjerken, Ellen Jewett, and Elizabeth Simkin), "The Piano Trios of Robert Schumann." A. D. White House.
Midday Music for Organ
Midday Music for Organ offers informal 40-minute programs on alternate Wednesdays at 12:30pm, giving busy Cornellians and guests musical respite at the center of the week; events will take place throughout campus and in local Ithaca churches.
February 23: Anna Steppler, "Singing her own Song." First Presbyterian Church.
March 9: Annette Richards, "A Baroque Pot-Pourri." Anabel Taylor Chapel.
March 16: Nathan Mondry, "The Chamber Organist." Barnes Hall.
April 20: David Yearsley and Annette Richards, "In Company, at the King of Instruments." Anabel Taylor Chapel.
May 4: Annette Richards, "Circa 1940." Sage Chapel.