Water Dance (Tanaka), Carnaval Op. 9 (Schumann) -- Devun Amoranto, Solo Piano Recital

Devun Amoranto, Piano

September 21, 2022
Noon Concert Series
Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley

Water Dance (Karen Tanaka, 2008)
I. Very lightly with flow
II. Very softly with shimmering light
III. Very lightly, like a harp

Carnaval Op. 9, (Robert Schumann)
I. Préambule
II. Pierrot
III. Arlequin
IV. Valse noble
V. Eusebius
VI. Florestan
VII. Coquette
VIII. Réplique (Reply)
[Sphinxes]
IX. Papillons (Butterflies)
X. A.S.C.H. - S.C.H.A., "Lettres dansantes" (Dancing Letters)
XI. Chiarina
XII. Chopin
XIII. Estrella
XIV. Reconnaissance (Recognition)
XV. Pantalon et Colombine
XVI. Valse allemande (German Dance)
XVII. Paganini
XVIII. Aveu (Avowal)
XIX. Promenade
XX. Pause
XXI. Marche des "Davidsbündler" contre les Philistins

PERFORMANCE PROGRAM NOTES

Water Dance
Karen Tanaka’s great love for nature and concern for the environment has a strong influence on her work. Each movement of Water Dance evokes a different image of water in its natural state. The first movement, a brisk piece with a repeating figure that evolves throughout, conjures a view of a quick-running stream or brook. The second movement, full of soft tremolos, makes one think of a still pond, with the melody creating tiny ripples that punctuate this stillness and calm. The final movement can be taken to represent a waterfall, full of runs that cascade and roll over each other. Each dance seems to fade into nothing, granting moments of peace throughout an exciting and refreshing experience.

Carnaval, Op. 9
“The Carnaval came into existence incidentally, and is built for the most part on the notes A-S-C-H [‘s’ is German for E-flat, ‘h’ is German for B-natural], the name of a little Bohemian town, where I have a musical girlfriend, but which, strange to say, are the only musical letters in my name. The superscriptions I placed over them afterwards. Is not music itself always enough and sufficiently expressive? Estrella is a name such as is placed under portraits to fix the picture better in one’s memory; Reconnaissance, a scene of reunion, Aveu a declaration of love; Promenade, a walk, such as one takes at a German ball arm-in-arm with one’s partner. All this has no artistic value. The only interest seems to me to lie in the various different spiritual states and moods.”
(Robert Schumann, in a letter to Ignaz Moscheles)

Carnaval is an anthology of images depicting an imaginary masquerade ball. It is entirely centered around the notes A, E, C, and B (and their rearrangements), and consists of twenty-one pieces that each offer a glimpse and impression of the attendees and events of this fantastical party.

BIOS
Karen Tanaka was born in Tokyo, where she studied composition and piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music. In 1986, she studied with Tristan Murail at IRCAM in Paris, and with Luciano Berio in Florence from 1990-1991. In 2016, she served as an orchestrator for BBC’s Planet Earth II, and in 2020 one of the numerous films she scored, Sister, was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards. She currently lives in Los Angeles, where she teaches composition at California Institute of the Arts. Tanaka’s works have been performed by distinguished ensembles worldwide, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the LA Philharmonic.

Devun Amoranto, from Albany, CA, is a senior at UC Berkeley double majoring in Computer Science and Music. He has been playing the piano since he was 5 years old and is currently studying with Jacqueline Chew. He has previously studied with Naomi Sanchez and Hiyas Hila. On September 17th, Devun performed at San Francisco’s Flower Piano, and can next be heard October 18th at Stephen Kovacevich’s masterclass here at UC Berkeley. Devun would like to make a special acknowledgement and thanks to Karen Tanaka for her feedback and critique for Water Dance at the Encountering Unfamiliar Music concert in May 2021, and for the support of Meter Music School in Seattle, WA, where he practiced this past summer.

0:00 Water Dance, Tanaka
10:46 Carnaval Op. 9, Schumann