Piano Recital: Cheryl Meadows

As a part of Detroit Public Library's Music, Arts, and Literature Department's Friday Concert Series, accomplished pianist Cheryl Meadows will perform a recital of Rachmaninov, Ravel, Chopin, Joplin, Debussy, and Florence Price.

About the Artist:

Cheryl Meadows is a pianist, vocalist, and organist who was educated through the Detroit Public Schools. She began her piano studies at the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts at the age of six. She attended Cass Technical High School and after graduation continued the study of music at Wayne State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music degree and most recently, a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance. Her private teachers at Wayne State University consisted of Mischa Kottler, Majorie Gordon, Ray Ferguson, Robert Conway and Kazimierz Brzozowski. She is a retired accompanist from the Detroit Public School Community District after 30 years of service. Ms. Meadows also performed as a soloist in recital and as a collaborative pianist in both competitions and music education festivals. In addition, she also sings with the award-winning Brazeal Dennard Chorale as well as other local groups. As a church musician, she has been affiliated with and worked at Second Baptist Church of Detroit, Grace CME Church, Plymouth United Church of Christ, Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, Bethel AME Church. and presently Detroit’s Afro American Mission.

PROGRAM

Preludes for Piano Op. 32 No. 6 in F minor

Preludes for Piano Op. 32 No. 12 in G# minor

Sergei Rachmaninov

Jeux d’eau (Fountains)

Maurice Ravel

Sonata no. 2 in Bb minor Op. 35 Grave/Doppio movimento

Frederick Chopin

Intermission (ten minutes)

Maple Leaf Rag

Scott Joplin

Reflet dans l’eau (from Images series 1)

Claude Debussy

Sonata in E minor

Andante-Allegro

Andante

Scherzo: Allegro

Florence B. Price

PROGRAM NOTES

The Preludes of Sergei Rachmaninov Op. 32 # 6 in F minor and # 12 in G# minor were composed within a set of thirteen works written in 1910 at his family’s country house in Ivanoka. Although both written in minor keys, they vary in mood and intensity, The F minor is dark and brash. The G# minor is mystical and fluent. Both selections will be performed without interruption.

Jeux D’eau (Fountains) was composed in 1901. It was inspired by a composition written by Franz Liszt entitled Les jeux d’eau a la Villa d’Este (Fountains of the Villa of Este from the Years of Pilgrimage) Fountains was dedicated to his teacher Gabriel Faure. The work is considered by scholars as the first example of impressionism in piano music and one of Ravel’s most important works for piano.

Sonata no 2 in Bb minor Op. 35 was written by Frederick Chopin in 1839, It was one the three Sonatas written between 1828 and 1844. There are four movements to this work. Only the first movement will be performed by the artist on this program. The first movement is one of depth and agility.

Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag was written in 1899. It is one of his most famous rags. Both lively and articulate and full of syncopation and prominent left-hand octaves, it is a tour de force.

Claude Debussy’s Reflet dans l’eau, is the first from a series of pieces entitled "Images” series 1. Reflections on the water was written in 1905. It is a dreamy and doting work with characteristics like Ravel’s jeux D’eau, but more simplistic.

The Sonata in E minor by Florence Price is a large-scale work written in the Romantic tradition of composers such as Chopin, Schumann and Rachnamimov. Completed in 1932, Price received the Rodman Wanamaker prize for this work. It follows the traditional three movement format and contains subdivisions in the first and third movements The second movement features a folk song like melody and jazz influenced nuances throughout. Having written several hundred compositions, Price’s works have recently gained prominence in the last few decades.

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