Masques explores the piano as a stage on which personalities appear, transform, and disappear. The program moves between fantasy, volatility, elegance, irony, and intimate confession.

Schumann’s Kreisleriana, inspired by E. T. A. Hoffmann’s eccentric Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler, forms the emotional centre of the recital. Debussy distils gesture and motion into the concentrated brilliance of Masques. Szymanowski turns literary figures into richly colored musical personae, while Poulenc closes the program with affectionate and sharply drawn portraits of friends.

The one-hour recital brings together Kreisleriana, Debussy’s Masques, and selections from Szymanowski and Poulenc. Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso may be added after Kreisleriana, with the other selections adjusted accordingly. Its theatrical energy and Spanish character fit naturally into the program’s world of masks and changing personalities.

In the full recital, the first half brings together Schumann, Debussy, and Ravel. After an intermission, Szymanowski’s Masques and Poulenc’s Les Soirées de Nazelles are performed in full.

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Repertoire:

• Schumann — Kreisleriana, Op. 16
• Debussy — Masques
• Ravel — Alborada del gracioso (optional in the one-hour recital; included in the full recital)
• Szymanowski — Masques, Op. 34 (complete or selected movements)
• Poulenc — Les Soirées de Nazelles (complete or selected movements)