A Berklee Rhapsody

In late March, celebrated classical piano virtuoso Kirill Gerstein ’96 returned to Berklee for a concert that drew the classical and jazz worlds closer together. Gerstein’s program seamlessly integrated selections by Gyorgy Ligeti, George Gershwin, and Earl Wild with premieres of new works by Brad Mehldau, and Chick Corea before a full house in the Berklee Performance Center.

Also spotlighted during the con- cert were vibraphonist Gary Burton, clarinetist Anat Cohen ’98, and cel- list Eugene Friesen. Burton joined Gerstein to premiere the new Corea piece “The Visitors,” and Cohen played with an ensemble perform- ing pieces from her Noir CD, and playing the famous clarinet part in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, for which Gerstein was the soloist and Friesen the conductor.

For Gerstein, who is featured regularly as a soloist on concert stag- es with the world’s top orchestras, this was a homecoming of sorts. It was his first concert appearance at Berklee since he left in 1996 and his first opportunity to share the stage with Burton.

Gerstein became the youngest student ever to enroll at Berklee when he left his native Russia at 14 to explore jazz at Berklee with Gary Burton, Phil Wilson, and others. After finishing his jazz studies, he returned to his classical roots earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Manhattan School of Music and pursuing directed piano studies in Spain and Hungary. He subsequently won international piano competitions as well as the prestigious Gilmore Artist Award. Gerstein used a portion of the Gilmore prize money to commission the new works by Mehldau and Corea heard at the Berklee concert.

Gerstein opened with a set of four solo pieces juxtaposing the counterpoint and piquant dissonances of Ligeti’s etudes 4 and 5 with pianist Earl Wild’s virtuosic etudes based on the Gershwin songs “Somebody Loves Me” and “I Got Rhythm.” Cohen took the stage next with a 16-piece ensemble to play Oded Lev-Ari’s Latin-jazz arrangements of music by Ernesto Lecuona, Pixinguinha, and Pedro Rodriguez. Friesen’s elegant cello figures on “La Comparsa” (Lecuona) and “Ingênuo” (Pixinguinha) supported Cohen’s melodies and fluid improvisations.

Gerstein opened the second half with the premiere of Brad Mehldau’s substantial piano composition Variations on a Melancholy Theme. In the 30-minute work, Mehldau’s 14 variations on a chromatic theme contrasted somber moments of classical chordal density with jazzy improvisatory flights. After much harmonic exploration, the piece came to a satisfying end on a major triad.

Chick Corea’s “The Visitors” featured Gerstein and Burton playing a mix of complex written passages, improvised solos over notated vamps, and segments of free improvisation. The two effortlessly swapped roles of accompanist and soloist cycling through the work’s alternating rhythmic and introspective portions. Afterward, Gerstein took the mic to thank President Roger Brown for creating the opportunity for him to return and play with jazz musicians and reunite with his former mentors and friends. Burton confided to the audience that in recent years he hadn’t practiced any piece as much as he had Corea’s new opus. The duo then played a thoughtful rendition of the jazz standard “Blame It on My Youth.”

The concert finale was Gershwin’s famous piano concerto Rhapsody in Blue in its original 1924 version scored for Paul Whiteman’s jazz band. Anat Cohen began the piece with the iconic wail- ing clarinet intro. A minute later, Gerstein entered with the dazzling piano exposition of the themes. Throughout, the piece sparkled with Gerstein’s crisp rhythms and clean ensemble work by the orchestra led by Eugene Friesen. After the concluding notes, the audience erupted with a long and vigorous standing ovation. The concert offered a look backward and forward at a century of classical and jazz music and gave a glimpse of the divergent musical trib- utaries that have shaped Gerstein’s remarkable artistry.

For more on Gerstein, visit www. berklee.edu/bt/222/coverstory.html.