Saturday, April 24th marked the culmination of the Peabody Institute's Grand Re-Opening Festival called "Music for the World." The best of Peabody was on display for the entire world to see, resulting in a night of amazing artistry and music. The evening began with a curtain-opening ceremony held on the marble stairs outside of the main doors of the Conservatory. Among those participating in the ceremony were Maryland Senator Paul Sarbanes, Johns Hopkins University President William R. Brody, and Peabody's own Director Robert Sirota.
The concert opened with Peabody composer Nicholas Maw's Fanfare for Brass. The buoyant minute of sharp harmonies accentuated the combination of sounds particular to the brass, which Maw had chosen for the piece. Next, the Peabody Symphony Orchestra presented the world premier of another of Maw's works-The Concert Suite from Sophie's Choice (2003)-under the direction of Hajime Teri Murai, and sung by soprano Elizabeth Healy, a Peabody student completing her Master's degree.
Maestro Murai led the orchestra through the work rich with interesting harmonies, lush passages, and rhythmically unpredictable melodies. Although Healy's short solo towards the end was rather unarticulated, her sumptuous voice left a lasting impression until the last sounds of the work slowly vanished.
The focal point of the night, however, was undoubtedly the performance of one of the greatest pianists of our time-Peabody's pride since 1959-Leon Fleisher. After only seven years of serious study with the legendary pianist Artur Schnabel, Fleisher made his debut with the New York Philharmonic.
Soon thereafter, Leon Fleisher became the first American to win the Queen Elisabeth International Competition in Belgium, after which regular appearances with orchestras on the world's most prominent stages followed. "I think the whole essence of being a professional is even if you are not always achieving precisely what you want to achieve, what you are doing is still acceptable, if not more than that," Fleisher told the News-Letter.
However, his extremely successful twenty-year performing career was unfortunately interrupted by focal dystonia, a disease that debilitated his right hand. It was during the thirty years through which he suffered the disease that he proved himself as a devoted pedagogue, and an excellent conductor, leading orchestras such as the Baltimore Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Chicago Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra.
The celebrated pianist, distinguished conductor, and brilliant teacher, performed two concertos written for the left hand, written by Lukas Foss and Maurice Ravel. "Maestro Murai chose [these pieces]," he insisted. "I wanted to do the Foss, because I [think] it's a great piece, and I think it should be played. But he said 'please, please - I've always wanted to conduct the Ravel for you,' so it turned out." In Fleisher's performance of both concertos, his keenness for character and sound were not only obvious, but forced the audience to experience the works just as he did. Furthermore, the powerful communication created moments of extreme, thrilling tension, countered with liberating points of release.
After receiving two standing ovations per concerto, Maestro Murai took the stage once more with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra to perform Maurice Ravel's Daphnis and Chlo??: Suite No.2. The work seemed to be one sweeping flight from the opening melody in the first movement through the final passage of the last. It was an appropriate choice for the orchestra: Murai's interpretive choices were convincing in the orchestra's execution of the work.
After the concert, Fleisher seemed impressed with the performance.
"Maestro Murai knows how to attack a difficult piece of music, and he knows how to present it to young people who are not as experienced," he said. "They call them 'students,' and in a way, they are in that formal stage of learning. But they are all very talented, and it takes a special kind of mind to be able to present the challenges, the problems, and give them the solutions."
