Christina Dahl

Mills Music Now
Dewing Piano Recital
Sunday, February 21, 2021 | 4:00 PM PST
Presented by the Mills College Music Department

Pianist Christina Dahl performs music by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann and Schubert.

TRANSCRIPT

Program

Franz Schubert:
Sonata in D major, opus 53 D 850
     Allegro
     Con moto
     Scherzo—Allegro vivace
     Rondo—Allegro moderato

Felix Mendelssohn:
Variations sérieuses in d minor, opus 54

- Intermission -

Clara Schumann:
Romance opus 11 #1 in eb minor
Romance opus 21 #1 in a minor
Romance opus 21#2 in F major

Johannes Brahms:
Seven Fantasies, opus 116
     Capriccio in d minor
     Intermezzo in a minor
     Capriccio in g minor
     Intermezzo in E major
     Intermezzo in e minor
     Intermezzo in E major
     Capriccio in d minor

Christina Dahl is a chamber musician, soloist and teacher who has been on the piano faculty at Stony Brook University for twenty-six years.  She has spent summers at the Aspen Music Festival, been a collaborating artist at the Steans Institute of the Ravinia Festival, and was a fellow both at the Tanglewood Center and at the Banff Center.  Christina was both a faculty member and chair of the piano department at the Eastern Music Festival for nine years, and subsequently joined the faculty at the Icicle Creek Music Center and Yellow Barn Festival and School. She has been a visiting faculty member variously at the Cleveland Institute, Peabody Conservatory and Ithaca College. She has twice been a cultural ambassador for the US State Department.  She is in frequent demand as a master class teacher, regularly appearing on such distinguished series as the Steinhardt Piano Series at NYU and the Art of the Piano at CCM.

She is a core member of Ensemble HD, which was founded by Joshua Smith. And which includes members of the Cleveland Orchestra. The Ensemble performs in concert halls as well as nontraditional venues, including bars, parks, festivals and schools. Ensemble HD released its first double vinyl album in May 2013, Live at the Happy Dog. It was recorded at The Happy Dog, a local bar/restaurant in Cleveland’s Gordon Square Arts District, which has provided both an inspiring home base and an enthusiastic crowd for many appearances. The album was hailed by Audiophile Review as “a recording of lovingly performed chamber music” and by the Economist, which noted that the “challenging, ambitious pieces by 20th-century composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Anton Webern and Arvo Part divert the crowd from their beers and the awed silence after a piece, before the applause, can be as beautiful as the music itself.” Ensemble HD has been featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, BBC and PBS, and in The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer, among others.

Her work with Gilbert Kalish at Stony Brook, crafting an artisanal graduate program for pianists that emphasizes collaboration, immersion in new music and a comprehensive performance outlook has yielded a staggering number of successful pianists who have gone into the profession as university professors, chamber music players and members of new music ensembles such as Yarn/Wire and Bang on a Can.  Despite the versatility of the pianists coming out of Stony Brook in a steady stream, the program has steadfastly adhered to a performance emphasis, and does not offer specific degrees in collaboration or education, focusing instead on a holistic approach to both performance and teaching.

Christina has recently taken the position of Graduate Program Director in the Music Department at Stony Brook, and helps to oversee and run that distinguished graduate program in addition to her work on the piano faculty. Administrative work has proven intensely interesting during a year when most work must be done from home and at the computer.

Christina Dahl is married to trombonist Richard Stout, a member of the Cleveland Orchestra.

The Dewing Piano Recital Series is made possible by a legacy gift from pianist Janet Dewing, a Mills graduate of the class of 1927.

More Information on Mills Music Now.