SCOTT WATKINS: NEWS

Jacksonville University's first feature film!

December 3, 7:30pm
Swisher Theater

Music composed and conducted by Scott Watkins, performed by Jacksonville University Orchestra and Chorus

BEETHOVEN Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
BRAHMS Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83
BARTOK Concerto No. 3
CHOPIN Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11*
CHOPIN Variations on "La ci darem la mano, from Mozart's Don Giovanni," Op. 2*
LISZT Concerto No. 2 in A major
KHATCHATURIAN Concerto in D-flat major
GRIEG Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
GERSHWIN Second Rhapsody

*2010 only

My holiday recording called "CHRISTMAS CARDS" will be restocked in time for Christmas!

Terry Concert Hall has been host to some amazing music-making since September.

September 17
Pre-New York recital (Enesco, Bach, Chopin) - this was a fund-raising event for the Otis Smith Kids Foundation

January 21
Chamber music performance to celebrate Mozart's 250th birthday anniversary (Mozart and Grieg). My colleague, soprano Peggy Ezell, and my student Samuel Welsh joined me.

January 28
A solo recital of all-Mozart

February 4
An all-student performance featuring the Bryan Singers, and JU's Percussion Ensemble

March 4
A Lecture/Performance of the Mozart Sonata in A minor, K310

March 11
Actor Devlin Mann gave a spectacular reading of Tennyson's Enoch Arden, with piano music by Richard Strauss. Also on the program were pieces by Franz Liszt.

THANKS TO ALL WHO MADE THIS YEAR OF BEAUTIFUL MUSIC A REALITY!

This web-site has been visited from Norway, The Slovak Republic, France, Sweden, The Netherlands, israel, Russian Federation, Singapore, Argentina, Canada, Seychelles, and the United Kingdom.

Thanks, and welcome!

The great Cuban pianist, Jorge Bolet, has a living legacy in Jacksonville! His name is Nico Bolet, and today, Nico visited with the piano students and faculty at Jacksonville University.

After viewing a video of Jorge Bolet performing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, from a broadcast in 1961 (the Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra was conducted by Paul Whiteman, who gave, with Gershwin himself, the first ever performance of Rhapsody in Blue in 1925), we were treated to stories and memories of "Uncle Jorge."

I'll be posting photos soon.

REVIEW:
SRI LANKAN PIANIST AT JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY

Pianist HARSHA ABEYARATNE stunned the audience at Jacksonville University's Terry Concert Hall, Saturday Evening, April 9th. His ambitions program included the chilling Sonata in A minor by Franz Schubert, and other works by Brahms, Debussy, Liszt, and Prokofiev.

The hightlight of the recital has to have been his masterfully compelling reading of the Third Piano Sonata of American composer Robert Muczynski. His total command of the work, with all of its intracacies and complexities, made for a stunned and appreciative response. His handling of the extreme sonorities was exact and scientific in a way which made this work easy to hear and comprehend. His playing was clear, and the work's monumental technical challenges proved to be child's play under the skillful hands of this musical craftsman.

Abeyaratne also showed musicianship and taste in his reading of Schubert's Sonata in A minor, a work with a tragic and emotional core. His care in the Sonata's first movement was heartfelt. His second movement was graceful and lyrical, and the third movement's often treacherous technical challenges proved no match for Abeyaratne's pianism. He handled all of Schubert's pianistic challenges with ease, especially the closing octaves which were as fast and clear as they deserve to be heard.

Abeyaratne opened his sophisticated program with three of Debussy's Preludes which were performed with charm and wit. While his reading of General Lavine was perhaps over-romanticized in its use of rubato, the message of the quirky clown was unmistakably clear. Liszt's Sonetto 123 del Petrarca, as well as Brahms Fantasy (Op. 116) got a warm, romantic, full-bodied performance.

Abeyaratne capped his recital with Prokofiev's Toccata. A thrilling conclusion to a wonderfully presented performance.

Harsha Abeyaratne offered one of his own compositions as an encore to a greatful audience which did not want him to end his performance ... his simple work base on a Sri Lankan folksong. The piece was charming and delightful.

Abeyaratne is on the faculty of Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio - they are lucky to have him, and those who attended his recital at Jacksonville University know precisely why.

Just follow the link to MSN music in LINKS at left to hear and download music from Watkins' debut solo disc.