Paul Jacobs, the chairman of the Juilliard organ department and one of today’s most formidable organists, will be joined by a trio of Juilliard string students—violinist Noah Geller, violist Lisa Steltenpohl, and cellist David Huckaby—in The Juilliard School’s sixth annual Jerome L. Greene concert, to take place on Wednesday, November 28 at 8 p.m. at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church (Lexington Avenue and 54th Street). This free concert, which begins with a pre-concert talk by Mr. Jacobs at 7:30 p.m., is part of the first endowed series at Juilliard dedicated to the performance of Baroque music and honors the memory of Juilliard’s late trustee and supporter Jerome L. Greene, who gave generously to the arts and to his alma mater Columbia University throughout his life and via his estate. His gifts have provided scholarships for Juilliard students in all three of its divisions -- dance, drama, and in particular, music.
The program of Bach’s keyboard and organ music was conceived by Paul Jacobs and consists of several works arranged for string trio by W. A. Mozart alternating with performances of four of Bach’s great organ Preludes and Fugues by Mr. Jacobs on the church’s Klais organ, situated within the sanctuary in full sight of the audience. The organ, built by Johannes Klais Orgelbau of Bonn, Germany, is similar to those instruments Bach would have played.
The program opens with Bach/Mozart: Prelude and Fugue in D Minor, KV 404a, No. 1 (string trio); and is followed by Bach: Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543 (organ); Bach/Mozart: Prelude and Fugue in F Major, KV 404a, No. 4 (string trio); Bach: Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541 (organ); Bach/Mozart: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major, KV 404a, No. 5 (string trio); Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 548, The Wedge (organ); Bach/Mozart: Prelude and Fugue in F Major, K 404a, No. 3 (string trio); and Bach: Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532 (organ).
Bach’s organ works have inspired generations of composers, among them, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, and Franck, among others. By adding Mozart’s arrangements to the concert, audience members will experience a rare side of Mozart, who himself was a virtuoso organist. Mozart’s works are a reminder that composers in the Baroque and Classical periods adapted not only their own music, but also music by other composers.
A limited number of FREE tickets are available for this concert beginning November 14 at the Juilliard Box Office, located at 60 Lincoln Center Plaza. Juilliard Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 11 AM to 6 PM. For more information, call (212) 769-7406 or see www.juilliard.edu
Paul Jacobs is well known for his performances of Bach’s music and has performed Bach’s entire organ output (some 200 works) several times, including an 18-hour marathon in 2000 on the 250th anniversary of the death of the composer. Today, the 30-year-old chairman of Juilliard’s organ department since 2004 has reinvigorated the American organ scene with a fresh performance style in repertoire that ranges from the 16th century to contemporary times. In addition to his work at Juilliard, where he has become the leader of a new generation of organists, Mr. Jacobs gives about 40 concerts a year and has performed on five continents. Mr. Jacobs is the most recent, and youngest, recipient of Juilliard’s William Schuman Scholar’s Chair.
Wednesday, November 28, at 8 p.m.
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Lexington Avenue and 54th Street
String Trio--violinist Noah Geller/violist Lisa Steltenpohl/cellist David Huckaby
Paul Jacobs, organ
Bach/Mozart: Prelude and Fugue in D Minor, KV 404a, No. 1 (string trio)
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543 (organ)
Bach/Mozart: Prelude and Fugue in F Major, KV 404a, No. 4 (string trio)
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541 (organ)
Bach/Mozart: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major, KV 404a, No. 5 (string trio)
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 548, The Wedge (organ)
Bach/Mozart: Prelude and Fugue in F Major, K 404a, No. 3 (string trio)
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532 (organ)
Pre-concert talk by Paul Jacobs begins at 7:30 p.m.
