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(Note that this replaced the planned Dan Zhang / Philippe Chao event)
Sunday, December 15, 2024
— a “hybrid” event —
Mark Irchai
Piano
Scenes of Childhood
Kinderszenen/Scènes d’enfants
A Concert Program for Solo Piano Conceived by Mark Irchai
Program Notes
“A painter told me that nobody could draw a tree without in some sort becoming a tree; or draw a child by studying the outlines of its form merely but by watching for a time his motions and plays, the painter enters into his nature and can then draw him at every attitude.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Capturing the passion and wanderlust of childhood is a difficult task for any artist. It is a moment most-fleeting, gone when one makes the mistake of looking away. Yet it remains the subject of artwork across all disciplines. Scores of paintings have been made, depicting childhood from all manner of varying perspectives. Films and books have been written almost continuously on the subject, and we still possess significant poetry from the first writings of man that goes into length about thoughts of childhood.
The most iconic attempt at capturing this moment in our lives in the medium of classical music is perhaps none other than Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen. It’s been made famous by scores of performances, as well as recordings made long after its publication. I personally grew up with a recording of Träumerei/Dreaming, made live at Vladimir Horowitz’s late-in-life performance in Vienna. Yet it is a distinctly unmodern take on childhood, in the lens of the 21st century. It’s a familiar sound-world, one that I have often found myself returning to after a long day spent in the flux of music from other genres or other time periods. And, thus, it concludes, rather than begins, the program.
This concert begins, instead, with selections from Chick Corea’s Childrens Songs. Chick Corea, who passed away in 2021, often performed selections from his set, which is simultaneously conceived as music both jazz and classical in nature, advocating for improvisation and tones alla Bela Bartok on opposite turns of the page. These selections are modeled after a performance Chick Corea gave in ’82 in Munich, albeit with improvisations that far differ from the master jazz pianist’s.
We then turn to Peggy Glanville-Hicks – a composer whose works have been largely overlooked following their premieres, perhaps except for the Prelude for a Pensive Pupil. This is a piece that carries the sounds of a shifting sound world that poise it to sit quite comfortably between the worlds of Corea and Bartok, with all the nuance of whirling color.
In a similar, yet distinctly distant, sonic world lies Bela Bartok’s Mikrokosmos. The Mikrokosmos was conceived as a piano method, beginning with music that can be played by the youngest of piano beginners, and concluding with music, particularly in the final two books, that is intended for professional concert performance. The Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm, which conclude the final book, are intricate, complex folk dances that bloom out of the world of Chick Corea, allowing childlike nature to display in vivid coloration.
To draw us into the world of Schumann, we must make a temporary stop in the impressionism of Federico Mompou, in his own Scènes d’enfants. His own Scenes forms a set that is more vague about the characters involved – leaving, in typical impressionistic flavor, the impression of images of childhood – of play, of excitement, and of discovery.
Schumann’s famous set concludes this program. The titles of each of the movements, curiously, were written as afterthoughts – though they are hardly ever disassociated from their titles in modern conception. One might invite the audience to consider the nature of these titles as an afterthought, and how they influence the adult perception of childhood wonder and life.
It is that invitation that I extend to you, the audience – to consider the adult perception, and the childlike perception, of the music as it is presented. What deeper core it holds for you, and for your youth.
PROGRAM
Chick Corea
Selections from “Children’s Songs” (1971-1984)
I.
II.
III.
V.
VI.
X.
XI.
XIII.
XVII.
XIX.
XX.
Peggy Glanville-Hicks
“Prelude for a Pensive Pupil” (1958)
Bela Bartok
“Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm” from “Mikrokosmos“, Book 6 (1926-1939)
Federico Mompou
“Scènes d’enfants” (1918)
I. Cris dans la rue/Shouting in the Street
II. Jeux sur la place/Games in the Square
I.
II.
III.
III. Jeunes filles au Jardin/Young Girls in the Garden
Robert Schumann
“Kinderszenen” (1838)
Von fremden Ländern und Menschen /From Foreign Lands and Peoples
Kuriose geschichte/A Curious Story
Hasche-Mann/Catch Me
Bittendes kind/Entreating Child
Glückes genug /Perfect Happiness
Wichtige Begebenheit/An Important Event
Träumerei/Dreaming
Am Kamin/By the Fireside
Ritter von Steckenpferd/Knight of the Rocking Horse
Fast zu Ernst/Almost too Serious
Fürchtenmachen /Frightening
Kind im Einschlummern/Child falling asleep
Der Dichter spricht/The Poet Speaks
BIOGRAPHY
Mark Irchai (b. 1996), is an American concert pianist and conductor, hailed as a “virtuoso… who perform[s] with gorgeous balance” (Wednesday Music Club). His concertizing has taken him across the United States and Europe, where he has become known for his diverse musical programming and multi-colored sound. He’s already received numerous awards, including 1st prizes at the XIV International Orfeo Music Competition, the George Mason University Concerto Competition, and the Golden Classical Awards International Music Competition. Most recently, he was awarded the Newton Swift Award in Collaborative Piano by the Mannes School of Music.
As a pianist, Mark regularly concertizes as soloist with ensembles such as the Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, the Mason Symphony Orchestra, and others. He also frequently gives independently organized recitals as part of his Mark Irchai presents concert series. Performance venues have included Carnegie Hall, NYC, Steinway Hall, NYC, the Lyceum in Alexandria, VA, the Embassies of Turkey and Austria to the United States in Washington, DC, the Musikschule Sterzing, Italy, two appearances at DOROT for their inaugural concert series for survivors of the Holocaust, and many others. Additionally, Mark has been presented on numerous concert series, such as the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic’s Lyceum Concerts, the Ocala Symphony Orchestra’s SoundArt series, and George Mason University’s Grand Piano Celebration. He looks forward to his 2024-25 season debut on the prestigious concert series at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington DC. As a pianist, Mark has collaborated with prominent artists such as John Aler, Marlisa Woods, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Kerry Wilkerson, Danielle Talamantes, Jamie Reimer, and Janet Hopkins. He performs regularly with duo partner Amanda Zoe Vest, mezzo-soprano.
As a conductor, Mark frequently collaborates with orchestral and choral musicians of the highest caliber. He has led in performance musicians from the National Philharmonic, the National Symphony, the US Army Orchestra, the US Army Chorus, the Singing Sergeants, the Peabody Institute, and other high-profile institutions of music. He has also worked as an assistant conductor for a number of ensembles, including the George Mason University Singers, Chorale, and Mason Opera. His assistant conductor position with the Mason Symphony Orchestra in the 2018-19 season led him to a performance with soloist Eddie Adams, which was later featured on CBS News and Reuters. In the 2023-24 season, Mark was a finalist for the position of Music Director of the Reston Community Orchestra. In the 2024-25 season, Mark joins the staff of both the Reston Community Orchestra and The McLean Symphony as Cover Conductor. Mark’s conducting equally excels both on the podium, and from the keyboard.
Mark holds a BM in piano performance from George Mason University, where he studied piano and chamber music with Anna Balakerskaia and orchestral, choral, and band conducting with Dennis Layendecker, Stan Engebretson, Mark Camphouse, and Anthony Maiello. He has also studied piano at the International Orfeo Music Festival with Anna Balakerskaia, and at the Summit Music Festival with Efrem Briskin. Additionally, he studied orchestral conducting at the International Academy of Advanced Conducting after Ilya Musin with Oleg Proskurnya and Scott Woodard. He has appeared in masterclasses with artists such as George Li, Pavel Nersessian, Vadim Monastyrski, Awadagin Pratt, Faina Lushtak, Leon Schelhase, Claire Huangci, and Richard Goode. Most recently, he obtained an MM in Piano Performance from the Mannes School of Music, studying under the direction of Simone Dinnerstein, and chamber music with Rebecca Fischer, J.Y. Song, and Cristina Stanescu.
Mark is currently on faculty at the Levine School of Music in Washington DC, at the Berkshire High Peaks Music Festival in Great Barrington, MA, and teaches piano lessons both virtually and in-person from home in Falls Church, VA. He is also in his second season as the Artistic Director, and his first season as General Director, of Loudoun Lyric Opera, Loudoun County’s resident opera company. In Spring 2025, he also joins the faculty at Shenandoah Conservatory.
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