The following Explorations are in Miller Hall, World Forestry Center:

READING FROM REFLECTIONS: THE PIANO MUSIC OF MAURICE RAVEL — PAUL ROBERTS, JULY 16, 2:00 pm (Book reading)
Paul Roberts’ book Images: The Piano Music of Claude Debussy has been a great success on both sides of the Atlantic. It is gorgeous throughout, and “a significant contribution to our understanding of the literary and artistic influences on Debussy's piano works” (Charles Timbrell). Roberts’ next publication will no doubt receive similar praise. Hear him reading excerpts from the upcoming  Reflections: The Piano Music of Maurice Ravel.

NEW MUSIC FOR A NEW GENERATION - SARAH CAHILL,

      JULY 16, 3:15 pm (Workshop)

Recently called "as tenacious ... an advocate as any composer could dream of" by the San Francisco Chronicle, Sarah has commissioned, premiered, and recorded numerous compositions for solo piano. London's Financial Times called Sarah's newest project, A Sweeter Music, "a unique commissioning programme that unites artistic aspirations with moral philosophy," and the New York Times hailed her as "fiercely gifted." In this workshop, Sarah will discuss her work with young composers in the Bay Area, and how contemporary classical music can engage a new generation of listeners.

(Note: this workshop is a replacement for the Beethoven to Hip Hop workshop by Soheil Nasseri.)

MOZART REDISCOVERED — GREG ANDERSON & ELIZABETH JOY ROE, JULY 17, 10:30 pm (Lecture-recital)
Mozart's music may be old, but it can still kick! In this lecture-recital, Greg and Liz discuss their unique, versatile approach to the music of Mozart, demonstrating that 230-year-old music can be a relevant and powerful force in contemporary society. The presentation includes musical demonstrations, videos, performances of Mozart's duo music, and performances of Anderson & Roe transcriptions.           

         Program:

             Mozart/Anderson & Roe:  Grand Scherzo (based on Finale to Act I from Così Fan Tutte)

             Mozart:  Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K. 448 (Allegro con spirito)

             Mozart:  Sonata in A Major, K. 331 (Rondo alla turca)

             Mozart/Anderson & Roe:  Ragtime alla turca

MAKING THE CONTEMPORARY ACCESSIBLE: MODERN MUSIC THAT DOESN'T BITE BACK –

ANDREW RUSSO, JULY 17, 1:45 pm (Lecture-demonstration)
Have you ever had a "bad experience" with contemporary classical music? Or maybe no experience at all? Pianist Andrew Russo takes you on a tour of new music by composers who bring the listener in, bridging the worlds of pop, jazz and various ethnic music within their own highly structured compositions.

BUTTERFLIES, MASKED BALLS, AND METAMORPHOSIS: SCHUMANN'S PAPILLONS AND JEAN PAUL'S FLEGELJAHRE — CATHERINE KAUTSKY, JULY 18, 9:00 am (Lecture-recital)
Learn how Schumann’s own dual personality finds its roots in German literature and most particularly in his two favorite authors, Jean-Paul Richter and E.T. A. Hoffmann. This talk will draw on fairy tales and novels from Schumann’s era and will demonstrate how Schumann's Papillons relates to Jean Paul's novel Flegeljahre, a story of  identical twins and their star-crossed love life, replete with masquerades and multiple disguises.

BEETHOVEN AND THE VOICE OF GOD: BEETHOVEN'S LAST PIANO SONATA, OP. 111 — PAUL ROBERTS, JULY 18, 3:45 pm (Lecture-recital)
Paul Roberts says that "I make no apologies for stealing my title for this lecture-recital from the late Wilfrid Mellers, at whose feet I sat many decades ago when a student at the University of York where he held the chair in music. Subsequently he distilled his memorably inspiring lectures on Beethoven's sonatas in his seminal book, Beethoven and the Voice of God. Last year I was invited to perform Beethoven's final sonata at Wilfrid Mellers' memorial concert, and I rediscovered my love for Beethoven." In this session Roberts will discuss and perform one of the masterworks of the repertoire.

WWI: THE MUSICAL WARS — CATHERINE KAUTSKY, JULY 19, 12:45 pm (Lecture-recital)
Satie sought "music without sauerkraut," and Debussy's Golliwog giggled at Wagner in the years when the French still felt bruised by the Franco-Prussian War. Ravel's waltzes evoked the charms of old Vienna and ignored the new Vienna just before the start of World War I. Janacek's 1905 Sonata stopped smiling entirely and commemorated a slain worker as the Czech proletariat confronted the rulers of a dying Empire. How had politics become so intertwined with composition? This lecture-recital will look at the ways in which music reflected a world cracking apart.  Humor, nostalgia, and bitterness all played a role as the antagonisms between nations and classes were played out on the musical stage.

THINK DENK — JEREMY DENK, JULY 19, 2:30 pm (Lecture-demonstration)
Jeremy Denk's weblog (Think Denk) is a mixture of musical and extramusical observations. Alex Ross, the music critic of The New Yorker, wrote of it: "besides being a brilliant musician, Denk is simply one of the most interesting writiers I know." Join Jeremy for a lecture-demonstration on one of the many topics that peaks his interest.

Check Schedule for times and locations.