Professor Peter Takács to Perform Concert V of a Two-Year, Eight-Recital Traversal of Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas
	PROGRAM V: November 18, 1999 Sonata No. 13 in E-flat Major, Op. 27 No. 1 Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op 27 No. 2, "Moonlight" Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, Op. 106, "Hammerklavier" "The Mind of Beethoven," by Peter Takács		Exactly 365 days after Peter Takács, Professor of Pianoforte at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, sat down to perform Beethoven's first published sonatas, Op.2, he will begin the second half of a two-year, eight-recital cycle of 32 Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven on Thursday, November 18. The concert begins at 8 p.m. in Finney Chapel on the Oberlin College campus. It is free and open to the public. "In any Beethoven sonata cycle," says Takács, "the moment comes when the pianist must face the fearsome Hammerklavier sonata. The aging composer, feeling somehow neglected by his contemporaries, decided to write a piece that will 'keep pianists busy 50 years hence.' Beethoven said that 1819. 180 years later, his prediction still holds true." Takács continues, "Concerned with issues of deep, almost religious expressivity, as exemplified in the Missa Solemnis, and with a renewed interest in counterpoint, Beethoven wrote a piece that tests the limits of the performer's technical, musical and spiritual resources. While the first two movements of the Hammerklavier sonata are relatively classical in scope, the third and fourth movements combine to almost triple the size of any previous adagio and finale. The closing fugue is an essay in dizzyingly cumulative energy in which Beethoven works out a monumental structure with, as he modestly states, 'in a rather free manner (con alcune licenze).' " When asked why he initiated this ambitious project, Takács replied: "I have lived with these magnificent works, as performer and teacher, for many years. I find in them a record of a great composer's development from his youth as a brilliant virtuoso to the peaks of musical maturity. One recurrent aspect of these sonatas is their strikingly modern relevance as universal statements about the human condition--about struggle and suffering, healing and transcendence. In them one gleans a mind intent on surprising and delighting the listener, pushing the envelope of accepted rules, and being inspired by nature both in its pastoral serenity and its turbulence (reflecting his inner turmoil as well)." Concerning the programming, Takács said, "Programming is a primary challenge of this project. I have tried to organize each program around a strong scheme, with interesting contrasts in character. I also wanted to end each recital with what I consider to be one of the major sonatas." ABOUT PETER TAKACS: Takács was born in 1946 in Bucharest, Romania, and began his musical studies at the age of four. From the age of seven, he appeared in numerous recitals in his native country until his performances were banned due to his family's request for emigration. Upon arriving in France in 1961, he was accepted to the Conservatoire National de Paris, one of the three places available for foreign students. Upon his arrival in the United States in 1962, his remarkable talents continued to be recognized with full scholarships to Northwestern University and the University of Illinois, and a three-year doctoral grant to the Peabody Conservatory where he completed his artistic training with the great pianist Leon Fleisher. Takács has received many prizes and awards, including First Prize in the William Kapell International Piano Competition, the C.D. Jackson Award at the Tanglewood Festival, and a Special Award in the American Music - Rockefeller Foundation International Competition. As a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist grant, he recorded a number of Mozart Piano Concertos, acting as both soloist and conductor. Takács has appeared as a recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral soloist throughout North America and abroad, in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the 92nd St "Y", Kennedy Center, the Philips Collection, the National Gallery of Art, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. He has participated in summer festivals such as Chautauqua, Tanglewood, Skaneateles, Brandeis, and Music Mountain. Nationally known as a piano pedagogue, Takács has been a member of the jury for several international competitions. His performances of Gershwin song arrangements have been featured on NPR's "Performance Today." UPCOMING CONCERTS IN THE BEETHOVEN CYCLE: PROGRAM VI: JANUARY 20, 2000 Sonatas Op 7, Op. 49/1, 2, Op. 90, Op. 110 PROGRAM VII: MARCH 16, 2000 Sonatas Op. 26 "Funeral March", Op. 13 "Pathétique", Op. 78, Op. 79, Op. 109 PROGRAM VIII: GRAND FINALE: APRIL 27, 2000 Sonatas Op. 28 "Pastorale", Op. 54, Op. 111
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