Fingers will fly, with air traffic control required at the two keyboards when faculty pianists Robin McCabe, Cristina Valdés and Craig Sheppard join forces with guest artist Rachelle McCabe to present dynamic and festive arrangements for Two Pianos, Eight Hands.
Program
W.A. Mozart (1756-1791): Overture to The Magic Flute
Piano 1: Cristina Valdés, Rachelle McCabe
Piano 2: Craig Sheppard, Robin McCabe
Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Grand Rondo in A major, D. 951
Rachelle McCabe and Craig Sheppard
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): The Firebird Suite (Transcribed by Joo-Hye Lee)
Danse Infernale
Berceuse
Finale
Piano 1: Robin McCabe, Rachelle McCabe
Piano 2: Craig Sheppard, Cristina Valdés
Intermission
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990): Overture to Candide
Transcribed by Laurent Beeckmans
Piano 1: Cristina Valdés, Craig Sheppard
Piano 2: Robin McCabe, Rachelle McCabe
Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944): Pièces Romantiques, Opus 55
Primavera
La Chaise à Porteurs
Idylle Arabe
Sérénade d’Automne
Rigaudon
Danse Hindoue
Cristina Valdés and Robin McCabe
Georges Bizet (1838-1875): Fantasy on Themes from Carmen
Transcribed by Mack Wilberg
Piano 1: Craig Sheppard, Rachelle McCabe
Piano 2: Robin McCabe, Cristina Valdés
Program Note
Thoughts on Tonight’s Program
We pianists spend a LOT of time alone at the keyboard. Unlike members of an orchestra or opera company, for example, we work almost entirely alone, honing our craft. So, imagine the joy and elation that comes in partnering with others of our same species, to celebrate and relish the power of the piano!!
This, then, is the spirit of tonight’s program. Now why, you might ask, are we trespassing on and poaching from the repertoire of opera, symphony and musical theater? Don’t we have enough of our own piano literature to keep us contented?
The answer to this lies in our conviction that the piano as an instrument has the power to evoke limitless possibilities of timbre, color and texture. Through the piano we can conjure up the world of different instrumental “voices” and atmospheres. “The piano possesses its own occult powers,” said critic Alex Ross in a recent New Yorker review of transcriptions performed by Igor Levit at Carnegie Hall.
Through the piano, and in the hands of a good pianist, our instrument can be a “virtual” orchestra. The cleverly-constructed transcriptions we bring you this evening will hopefully affirm this. And, most importantly, we hope that you will enjoy your immersion into this enticing world, with the four of us.
—Program notes ©2024, Robin McCabe
Biographies
Rachelle McCabe
Rachelle McCabe, professor emerita of music at Oregon State University, enjoys an international career as a concert pianist and artist teacher. She has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as in China, Canada, Southeast Asia, and France. She has held teaching residencies in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and British Columbia.
Rachelle McCabe is the artistic director of Corvallis-OSU Piano International with its prestigious Steinway Piano Series, workshops, and educational outreach programs. In lieu of live concerts during the pandemic lockdown, Rachelle directed an exciting virtual piano festival presenting more than 20 world-renowned pianists in exclusive performances. The festival is available at Corvallispiano.org. Rachelle also directs the OSU Chamber Music Workshop and the OSU Piano Institute, both summer programs.
Believing in the power of collaborative arts to help bring about change, Rachelle has created innovative programs and videos with writer/philosopher Kathleen Dean Moore and various other poets, artists, and scientists to address the global crisis of climate change and extinction. McCabe and Moore have performed their compelling program, Variations on a Theme of Extinction, in many cities across the USA, Canada, and Scotland, and a film version which weaves Rachelle’s studio performance of Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Corelli with Kathleen’s spoken narrative in various Oregon locations is found on YouTube.
Rachelle McCabe is a highly respected teacher and since completing her 35-year professorship at Oregon State in 2021, she keeps an independent studio of highly motivated students. In demand as a guest artist teacher and adjudicator, her current schedule includes master classes and festivals as well as concerts in Hong Kong, Atlanta, Portland, Eugene, and Seattle.
Rachelle holds a doctorate (DMA) from The University of Michigan, a master's degree from The Juilliard School, and a bachelor’s degree from The University of Washington. Her teachers were Willard Schultz, Bela Siki, Ania Dorfmann, Gyorgy Sandor, and Theodore Lettvin.