Jonathan Mak | House Program | May 21, 2024

WINNER
CLASSICAL / SPECIAL EVENT
JONATHAN MAK, piano
MAY 21, 2024 AT 7:30 PM
CLASSICAL / SPECIAL EVENT
JONATHAN MAK, piano
MAY 21, 2024 AT 7:30 PM

JONATHAN MAK, piano
PROGRAM
BACH Partita No. 1 in B Flat Major, BWV 825
Praeludium
Allemande
Corrente
Sarabande
Menuet I & Menuet II
Gigue
SCHUMANN Piano Sonata No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22
So rasch wie möglich [As quickly as possible]
Andantino – Getragen [Solemnly]
Scherzo – Sehr rasch und markiert [Very quickly and marked]
Rondo – Presto possible
INTERMISSION
BACH-BUSONI Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004
PROKOFIEV Piano Sonata No. 8 in B Flat Major, Op. 84
Andante dolce – Allegro moderato
Andante sognando
Vivace

ABOUT TONIGHT’S PERFORMANCE
Johann Sebastien Bach (1685-1750) repeatedly
turned to the Baroque dance suite in his
instrumental music, with the six Partitas
composed for harpsichord being superb
examples of his craft and originality in writing
these highly stylized dance movements. By
convention, the standard Baroque suite consists
of four dances: the refined duple-metered
Allemande; the faster triple-metered Corrente;
the slow Sarabande with its emphasis on the
second beat; and the spirited Gigue. To these
movements, other dances could be inserted
before the Gigue and a non-dance movement,
such as a Praeludium, could also be included.
The dance movements are always structured in
binary form with both sections being repeated.
Many performers embellish their interpretation
by adding highly distinctive ornamentation in
the repeated sections..
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) composed
three piano sonatas, with No. 2 being the most
compact. This Sonata’s outer movements are
particularly virtuosic and memorable, with
tempos indicating that the music is to be
played as quickly as possible. Yet, in both cases,
Schumann then asks the performer to play
even faster as the music builds towards the
ending. Interestingly, the very expressive slow
movements of both his First and Second Piano
Sonatas, began as unpublished songs composed
to words written by Justinus Kerner.
J.S. Bach composed three extraordinary Partitas
for solo violin. In the second one, following the
four standard dance movements, Bach adds a
Chaconne built entirely on a simple descending
four-bar harmonic pattern. Taking longer to
perform than the previous four dances combined,
this Chaconne is such a monumental achievement
that it is often extracted to be played alone. It
has also been transcribed for numerous other
instruments. While many of these transcriptions
stay very close to the original, others, like the
one created by Italian/German pianist, Ferruccio
Busoni (1866-1924), reinterpret Bach’s harmonies
and textures in a highly virtuosic fashion that
captures the full range of resources available
to the instrumentalist. In one sense, Busoni is
simply doing what Bach did himself in writing a
work that remains one of most difficult pieces
for a violinist to perform on both a technical and
spiritual level.
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), born in the Ukraine
and educated at the St. Petersburg Conservatory,
left Russia after the 1917 revolution to work in the
United States and Europe. Over time though, he
tired of having to devote so much of his energies
to performing as a pianist and conductor to
supplement his income. With an offer of state
support to simply compose, he returned to the
Soviet Union in 1936. Prokofiev’s nine Piano
Sonatas date from his student days to the end
of his life. Numbers 6-8 are often referred to as
“The War Sonatas,” since he composed them
as a set from 1939-1944. Sonata No. 8 is the
longest of the three, in part because the first
movement makes extensive use of two themes
that are differentiated by a slow and fast tempo.
Providing much relief to the dramatic intensity
of the outer movements, the middle movement
has a gentle waltz meter, with an expressively
tonal melody that is constantly reinterpreted in
different keys and textures.
©2024 by John Burge for the Isabel
ABOUT JONATHAN MAK
Winner of the Isabel’s 2023 inaugural Bader &
Overton Canadian Piano Competition, pianist
Jonathan Mak made his orchestra debut at the
age of four. Since then, he has been a guest
soloist with numerous orchestras, most notably
the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orpheus
Chamber Orchestra in Bulgaria, Manchester
Camerata, Orchestra Filarmonica di Udine, and
Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra.
In addition to his win at the Bader competition,
Jonathan’s recent accomplishments include the
Grand Prize at the Plowman Chamber Music
Competition with Trio Menil, and the third prize in
the OSM competition. Jonathan received special
prizes at the Ljubljana Festival International
Piano Competition in Slovenia, and the Maj Lind
International Piano Competition in Finland. He has
also participated in the Van Cliburn and Dublin
International Piano Competitions.​

Named as one of CBC’s 30 hot Canadian classical
musicians under 30, Jonathan is a recipient of the
Canada Council for the Arts-Michael Measures
award. He is also the recipient of the 2021 and
2023 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award,
along with the 2023 Walter Prsytawski Prize.
Jonathan has been invited to perform at various
festivals including the Bravo! Vail Festival in
Colorado, the Festival of the Sound in Ontario,
Ottawa Chamberfest, and the Edinburgh
International Festival. He has attended various
summer festivals, including the Aspen Summer
Music Festival, Kneisel Hall Music Festival, and
the Sarasota Music Festival.
An advocate for community outreach, Jonathan is
a member of DACAMERA’s Young Artist Program,
a fellowship program for emerging professional
instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers that
serves the Houston community.
Jonathan is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical
Arts at Rice University with Jon Kimura Parker.
He began his studies with Aster Lai in Toronto,
and holds a Master’s of Music and a Master’s
of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of
Music, studying with Boris Slutsky. He received
his Bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute
of Music with Dr. Daniel Shapiro.
Fazil Say
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