Recital – Chiaroscuro

Following her successful debut in 2024, Young Steinway Artist Jessie M. returns with Chiaroscuro, a recital of works inspired by paintings of Goya, Raphael, Böcklin and Watteau.

Taking its title from the artistic technique of dramatic contrasts between brightness and darkness, Chiaroscuro sees a first half that journeys from Granados’s haunting Quejas, o la maja y el ruiseñor through the shimmering brilliance of L’Isle joyeuse by Debussy to the spiritual stillness of Liszt’s Sposalizio and Rachmaninoff’s introspective depth of Prelude in B minor, Op. 32 No. 10.

In the second half, Liszt’s Ricordanza (Transcendental Étude No. 9) offers a moment of poetic nostalgia and delicate lyricism before culminating in the sweeping emotional and technical breadth of Rachmaninoff’s passionate and dramatic Piano Sonata No. 2 with its crashing sonorities that recall the sound of tolling bells.

Praised for her artistic maturity, tonal sensitivity, and commanding virtuosity, Jessie continues to establish herself as one of the most compelling young pianists of her generation. Her performances have captivated audiences in major venues including Carnegie Hall in New York and the Paris Opera Bastille, while earning recognition from leading figures in the international piano scene.

Through Chiaroscuro, Jessie invites you to join her in  a world where music and visual art converge—where sound becomes colour, and shadows give shape to light.

Programme

Enrique Granados

“Quejas, o La Maja y el ruiseñor” from Goyescas

Claude Debussy

L’Isle Joyeuse, L.106

Franz Liszt

Sposalizio from Années de Pèlerinage II, S.161

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Prelude in B minor, Op. 32 No. 10

Franz Liszt

Transcendental Etude No. 9 “Ricordanza”

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 36 (1913)