An intimate evening of world-class classical piano, drinks, and dessert
You are invited to a private concert by Rachel Breen, who will take us on a highly curated and innovative musical journey. Rachel has been described as “an extraordinarily skilled pianist with a gift for memorization,” and having “a beautiful piano sound and original detail.”
100% OF THE PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE PIANIST. Please be generous.
Rachel has won top prizes in numerous international competitions, including, among others, the Georges Cziffra International Competition, the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artists’ Competition, and the Beethoven International Competition in 2021.
Rachel has performed with orchestra, most recently at Lincoln Center and in Madrid, Spain, and given masterclasses around the globe. She was featured in the 2021 podcast 30 Bach alongside Jeremy Denk, Angela Hewitt, Tim Page, and Simone Dinnerstein in a discussion and performance of the Goldberg Variations.
As a self-taught pianist until the age of 10, when she began to study with Dr. Sharon Mann at the San Francisco Conservatory, Rachel is currently pursuing dual master’s degrees at the Hannover Hochschule fur Musik and Yale School of Music, after earning her bachelor’s degree with academic honors from the Juilliard School.
For a taster, here is a video of Rachel’s performance of Bach’s French Suite No. 1.
The program
J.S. Bach
French Suite No. 2 in C minor BWV 813
- Allemande
- Courante
- Sarabande
- Air
- Minuet
- Gigue
A Suite of Short Pieces
G. KURTAG: Prelude and Waltz in C major
A. SCRIABIN: Prelude Op. 11 No. 23 in F major
S. PROKOFIEV: Intermezzo from “Cinderella” Op. 95 in B-flat major
L. BEETHOVEN: Bagatelle Op. 126 No. 3 in E-flat major
F. CHOPIN: Impromptu No. 1 in A-flat major
L. BERIO: Encores No. 3 “Wasserklavier”
F. CHOPIN: Impromptu No. 2, Op. 36 in F-sharp major
N. MEDTNER: Fairy Tale Op. 51 No. 5 in F-sharp minor
S. RACHMANINOFF: Etude-tableaux Op. 39 No. 4 in B minor
L. DESYATNIKOV: Prelude No. 4 in E minor from “Songs of Bukovina”
F. MENDELSSOHN: Song Without Words Op. 62 No. 6
J.S. BACH: Prelude and Fugue in D major, WTK I
C. DEBUSSY: Prelude No. 12, Book I
KREISLER-RACHMANINOFF: Liebesfreud
L. Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 32, Op. 111 in C minor
- Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
- Arietta – Adagio molto semplice e cantabile
In the pianist’s own words
Music is one of the most direct forms of empathy, not requiring mediation of belief or reason. We immediately experience how much is shared with other individuals: the composers, the audiences who listen with us and have listened for generations past, and the performers.
Tonight’s program includes two suites, the first by Bach, one of the giants of Western civilization. The second suite of miniatures is on the surface scattered with differences—cultures, time periods, geography, religions—but is deeply linked by the humanity of its composers and by our humanity as listeners. On another level, I as a performer am able to program my own story. The suite is held together on a technical level by key relations that allow the works to proceed without pause.
Beethoven’s Op. 111 is one of the most poetic examples of key relations in the standard repertoire. Usually notated as a sonata in C minor, it is in fact a sonata in C, with a hellish first movement in C minor that transforms into a second movement in C major.