Dual Keyboards - Featuring Internationally Acclaimed Marimbist Makoto Nakura
Saturday, April 15, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Forest Hills resident and international superstar of the marimba, Makoto Nakura, joins pianist Barbara Podgurski for an evening of commissioned works for the duo including new music by David Conte and Philip Lasser along with transcriptions of beloved classical works.
Artists: Makoto Nakura, marimba, Barbara Podgurski, piano
Program:
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Solo Suite in E-flat Major, BWV1010 for solo marimba*
I. Prelude
II. Allemande
III. Courante
IV. Sarabande
V. Bourrée I & II
VI. Gigue
Philip Lasser (b. 1963):
Chorale Prelude and Passacaillesque for marimba and piano (2023) ** World Premiere
Shin Kawabe (b. 1949)
Ever Green for solo marimba (2020) ** U.S. Premiere
Intermission
Benjamin C.S. Boyle (b. 1979)
Variations on a Bach Chorale for solo marimba (2016) ** NY Premiere
I. Thema: Chorale “Christ ist erstanden, BWV 276”
II. Intermezzo
III. Chorale Prelude
IV. Courante
V. Caprice
VI. Chorale
VII. Recitative and Aria
VIII. Jeux
IX. Berceuse
X. Bacchanale
XI. Alleluia
David Conte (b. 1955)
Partita for marimba and piano (2023) ** World Premiere
I. Prelude
II. Canon
III. Chorale Prelude
IV. Gigue
*indicates the works were transcribed by Makoto Nakura
**indicates the works were composed for Makoto Nakura
Marimbist Makoto Nakura is a musician whose artistry and astonishing virtuosity has been mesmerizing audiences for a quarter of a century. In 1994, Makoto moved from his native Japan to New York City, becoming the first marimbist to win first prize in the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions. His critically acclaimed performances around the world have included venues in London, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Montreal, Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.
In the U.S., he has performed for audiences in 41 of the 50 states, with orchestras such as the New York Chamber Symphony, the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and, as a recital soloist, his long list of appearances includes Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and Washington’s Kennedy Center. A television portrait of Mr. Nakura was shown on CBS News Sunday Morning throughout the U.S.
Born in Kobe, Japan, Mr. Nakura began to play the marimba at the age of eight. He earned both Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Musashino College in Tokyo and continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London from which he was named an Associate.
His latest album “Bach Parallels” was released in 2020 to critical acclaim and a collection of his concert favorites, the CD “Tears and Prayers”, won the “New Prominent Master” award from the Japan Association of Professional Recording Studios in 2019. His other CDs include three discs devoted to works especially written for him (“Ritual Protocol”, “Triple Jump” and “Wood and Forest”) and two discs of the transcriptions of Bach (“Bach Beat” and “Bach Beat II”). The volumes of his marimba transcriptions, “Bach Chorales” and “Concert Favorites” have been published by Kazenone Music Publications.
A native of New York, pianist and teaching artist Barbara Podgurski holds a DMA in piano performance from The Graduate Center (CUNY) as well as a BM in piano performance and an MM in both piano performance and music theory from the Mannes College of Music. Dr. Podgurski has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean and Europe and has performed at many of the world’s finest venues including a number of performances at Carnegie Hall. She has been featured in numerous television and radio broadcasts, including appearances on WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase, WNYC’s “Soundcheck”, NPR, WPLN Nashville’s “Live from Studio C”, WQED and numerous others. Ms. Podgurski was recently featured on a television documentary for NHK in Japan with her touring partner violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn and the famed “Red” Mendelssohn Stradivarius. Ms. Podgurski was a special guest in March 2015 performing for the National Association of Broadcasters at the 2015 Golden Mike Awards with Grammy-nominated violinist Jenny Oaks Baker. Past collaborations with renowned artists including violinists Philippe Graffin and the late Lorand Fenyves, flutist Harold Jones, clarinetist Charles Neidich, pianists Diane Walsh and Seymour Lipkin, and cellists Manfred Stilz, Marcy Rosen and the late Paul Tobias.
Dr. Podgurski has premiered numerous new works including a commission of a concerto by Pulitzer-Prize winning composer George Walker which she premiered with the Queens Symphony Orchestra. She is a dedicated proponent of new music, focusing on premiering works of NYC based composers and programming such works each season. Barbara has been working for a number of years with the Department of Cultural Affairs as a contact for organizing and contracting musicians for the 9-11 Commemoration Memorial (live televised broadcast from Ground Zero in NYC) and in 2015 was invited with her colleagues to perform at a private ceremony for Pope Francis and members of the United Nations in an interfaith prayer service during the Papal visit to NYC.
Dr. Podgurski is currently the Executive and Artistic Director of Musica Reginae Productions in Queens, NY. She is also a member of the Pitcairn-Podgurski-Drachman Piano Trio which just completed its first US tour. A former faculty member at The Mannes College of Music (The New School), Hunter College (CUNY) and Mercy College (NY), she is currently on the faculty of the RiverArts Music Program in Hudson Valley and is a consultant for the Board of Education for both New York City and New York State. By invitation in 2014, Dr. Podgurski became a Steinway Teaching Artist.
Recent performances include concerts at Carnegie Hall (NY), at the Luzerne Summer Music Festival (NY) and at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, Trinity Church (NYC), concerts in Palm Beach (FL) and St. Croix (USVI), as well as performing Mozart Piano Concerto in c minor K.491 as soloist with the Astoria Symphony Orchestra in NYC. Barbara is currently a contributing writer to Cambridge’s Nineteenth Century Music Review, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at BMCC (CUNY) and is a staff pianist in the Strings Department at NYU, Barbara performed with rock band Evanescence on their 2017-18 Synthesis Tour and recently performed with legendary vocal group Il Divo their 2019 and 2022 US tours. Barbara is an Arts Commissioner Advisor for the Queens Council on the Arts. In November 2020 Barbara accepted the position of organist/music director at Trinity St. Andrews Evangelical Lutheran Church in Maspeth, Queens. Her most recent performance was at Carnegie Hall in May 2022 celebrating the release of the album Song of the Redwood Tree..