UW News

October 10, 2011

Pianist to present lecture-recital on Ravel, Debussy

Paul Roberts of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, a renowned concert pianist and specialist in French Impressionism, presents “Impressionist Landscapes,” a lecture-recital on the piano music of Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13 in Brechemin Auditorium.

Along with performing seminal Impressionist piano works, he will illustrate how descriptive and pictorial music became especially associated with the piano.

On the program are Estampes, Images Book II and Lisle Joyeuse, by Debussy and Jeux deau and Oiseaux Tristes, by Ravel.

As a specialist in French Impressionism, Roberts has recorded two discs of Debussy’s piano music, and a DVD for Amadeus Press on Debussy’s Preludes, recorded in Steinway Hall, New York.

He is the author of a celebrated book on Debussy’s piano music, and its relation to visual art and literature, Images: The Piano Music of Claude Debussy (Amadeus Press); and is currently working on a companion volume Reflections: The Piano Music of Maurice Ravel.

Roberts will lead a master class with UW piano students at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12, in Brechemin Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public for observation.

Tickets for the concert are $15, cash or check at the door. For further information, call 206-685-8384 or consult the School of Music website.