Paul andre bempechat biography for kids
Biography for Paul-André Bempéchat
First Parish Music Event
Sponsored by the Music Committee
Beethoven Birthday Celebration!
Paul-André Bempéchat, piano
Friday, December 16, 2022 @ 7:00 p.m.
PROGRAM
Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, “Waldstein”, Op. 53 (1804)
Piano Sonata No. 23 in f minor, Op. 57, “Appassionata” (1804-1805)
Piano Sonata No. 27 in e minor, Op. 90 (1814)
Net proceeds to benefit First Parish in Bedford & The Shelf
Suggested donations (collected at the door):
Adults $20
Seniors & Students $15
For on-line streaming, pay via this link: https://app.onechurchsoftware.com/uubedford/forms/31
First Parish in Bedford
On the Common
75 The Great Road, Bedford, MA 01730 (Rtes. 4/62/225)
Church Office: 781-275-7994
Renowned for his interpretations of the First Viennese School, Brahms, Schumann and Chopin, Paul-André Bempéchat is a self-styled, eclectic product of the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School, where he worked with the legendary performer-teachers Artur Balsam, Nadia Reisenberg in piano and chamber music, and Martin Isepp in vocal accompanying. Bempéchat has toured in virtually every country in Europe, including major appearances at the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Barbican Centre London, the Philharmonics in Meiningen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Rotterdam and Belgrade; he has also appeared at the Wiener Festwochen, the Husum Festival of Rarities for the Piano, the Caramoor and Holland Festivals, and most recently Uppsala University. Colleagues and critics alike have hailed him as a singularly lucid, introspective interpreter capable of drawing audiences into a near-palpable relationship with the select composers he performs. Bempéchat records for Danacord Records, Copenhagen and is available for masterclasses, lecture-recitals and lectures in several languages.
For more information about M. Bempéchat, please visit his webstie: http://www. P A U L A N D R É B E M P É C H A T C U R R I C U L U M V I T A E Education D.M.A. (Piano/Musicology), Boston University, 2000 M. Mus. (Piano), The Juilliard School M. Mus. (Piano), B. Mus. (Piano), Manhattan School of Music Languages: English, French, German, Swedish (written); conversational Dutch, Italian, and Spanish Professional Appointments 2011-2013: Harvard University, Center for Jewish Studies, Visiting Research Fellow MUSEDU had the opportunity to speak to the concert pianist, teacher and researcher Paul-André Bempéchat who is Music Scholar at Cabot House, after having served for four years as Artist-in-Residence at Leverett House, Harvard University. Please tell us a few words about your background. I was born in Egypt and raised in Canada by French and Italian parents, which makes for quite a hybrid existence. At seventeen, I went to New York to study at the Manhattan School of Music with the fantastic chamber musician Artur Balsam, the pianist for the world’s greatest violinists and cellists, such as Yehudi Menuhin and Mstislav Rostropovich. We used to fight between the piano students about who would turn pages for him at the next Carnegie Hall concert. From there, I went to Juilliard for my Master’s degree. Then I went to Europe and studied literature at the Sorbonne and after my M. Phil. Degree, returned to North America and later to Europe to launch my pianistic career. My mother worked for a major airline which meant I could fly for free for auditions. While doing my doctorate in music history, I discovered the French impressionist Jean Cras, on whom I wrote my dissertation. My post-doc years were at Harvard, where I was able to enhance it for its eventual publication in 2009. I must admit, I have never heard of Jean Cras. No wonder! Back then, even professors at Harvard didn’t know about him. A wonderful composer and the only pupil of Henri Duparc. The songs and chamber music of the 1920s and his piano quintet – which is not played often – are marvellous. His string trio is a masterpiece. He also wrote a suite for piano 6 hands for his daughters, three little girls. These pieces are fun to play and not difficult. After a great deal of research and a 600-page book (Jean Cras, Polymath of Music and Letters), I have become the authority on him. Nowadays, he has become more popular. There are conferences on impressionism and his work to which I have been invited .Institut Universitaire Elie Wiesel
- Dissertation: The Life and Works of Jean Cras (1879-1932)
- Professors: Isabelle Cazeaux, John Daverio, Musicology
Diplôme d'études approfondies (Comparative Literature/Musicology)
Université de Paris Sorbonne
- Professors: Marie-Claire Beltrando-Patier, Musicology ; Pierre Brunel, Comparative Literature
- Professors: Nadia Reisenberg, piano; Felix Galimir, chamber music
- Professors: Artur Balsam, Piano, Chamber Music; Isabelle Cazeaux, Musicology
Spring 2012: Rutgers University, Mason Gross School for the Arts, Seminar on Nationalism in Music
2009-date: Westminster College of the Arts, Rider University, Adjunct Associate Professor of Music
2009-2010: Harvard Divinity School, Visiting Scholar
2007-2008: Harvard University, Adjunct Lecturer, Division of Continuing Education
2005-2007: Harvard University, Associate/Visiting Scholar, Department of Romance Languages
2004-2005: Pennsylvania State University, Visiting Professor of Music and Artist-in-Residence
2004 to date: Lyrica Society for Word-Music Relations, President
2002 to date: Harvard University, Affiliate, Center for European Studies
2002-2005: Harvard University, Associate, Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures
2000-2010: Institut Culturel de Bretagne, Research Fellow
1986 to date: Private studio piano instruction; masterclasses at universities and conservatories, in conjunction with concertizing; 2010-2012, Instructor at The Hun School of Princeton