Musicologist and author Michael Beckerman will present the remarkable Czech composer, phenomenal pianist and elemental musician Jaroslav Ježek (1906-1942) and his last years in New York where he lived in exile after fleeing the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Professor Beckerman will discuss Ježek’s final composition, the Piano Sonata, which he completed shortly before his death in 1942 in New York. Michael Beckerman is Carroll and Milton Petrie Chair and Collegiate Professor of Music at New York University and a Vice-President of the Dvořak American Heritage Association.
Musical Guests
The brilliant pianist Siyumeng Wang, a native of Beijing and current student at The Juilliard School will play selections from Ježek’s Piano Sonata. Jazz singer Martina Barta from Prague and based in Berlin will perform a few of Ježek's songs in Czech accompanied by Francesco Pollon from Italy. Both accomplished artists are currently students at the Manhattan School of Music.
Free and open to the public. Suggested donation $5.00.
Proof of vaccination is required.
This event is organized by the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU), New York Chapter, in association with the Dvorak American Heritage Association (DAHA) and with the support the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA).
Michael Beckerman is Carroll and Milton Petrie Chair and Collegiate Professor of Music at New York University and a Vice-President of the Dvořák American Heritage Association (DAHA). He has written many studies and several books on Czech music topics, including New Worlds of Dvořák (W.W. Norton, 2003), Dvořák and His World (Princeton University Press, 1993), Janáček and His World (Princeton, 2004), Janáček as Theorist (Pendragon Press, 1994), and Martinů's Mysterious Accident (Pendragon, 2007), as well as articles on subjects such as Mozart, Brahms, film scoring, music of the Roma (Gypsies), exiled composers, and music in the camps. Dr. Beckerman has been a frequent contributor to The New York Times and was a regular guest on Live from Lincoln Center and other radio and television programs in the United States, Europe, and Japan. He is a recipient of the Dvořák Medal and the Janáček Medal by the Czech Ministry of Culture, and is also a Laureate of the Czech Music Council; he has twice received the Deems Taylor Award. He served as a Distinguished Professor at Lancaster University (2011–2015) and was The Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic (2016-17). In 2014, Dr. Beckerman received an honorary doctorate from Palacký University in the Czech Republic. This year, he was awarded the Gratias Agit Award from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Harrison Medal from the Society for Musicology in Ireland.
SIYUMENG WANG, piano
Born in Beijing, China, pianist Siyumeng Wang is a rising star in the international music scene. A winner of the Gina Bachauer Competition, Leonore Kraeuter Scholarship award, and Kovner Fellowship, Siyumeng studies with Veda Kaplinsky and Julian Martin at Juilliard. Currently working towards the Master in Music degree, Siyumeng earned the B.M. degree in 2021, won prizes at Oberlin International Piano Competition, Beijing All-Star Cup Piano Competition, Hope Cup Piano Competition, studied at Music Academy of the West, Manchester Music , Piano Texas, and Belvoir Terrace. Siyumeng performed at Alice Tully Hall, David H. Koch Theater Lincoln Center, Bohemian National Hall NYC, and throughout China. She performs for audiences in health care facilities and community-based organizations as a member of the Gluck Community Service Fellowship Program. www.siyumeng.com
MARTINA BARTA, voice
Martina Barta is a multitalented singer and musician born in Prague, based in Berlin and performing in diverse music projects at national and international music festivals and venues worldwide. In 2016, she received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Jazz Institute at the Universität der Künste in Berlin, where she took vocal lessons from Prof. Judy Niemack and Prof. David Friedman. In 2017, Martina represented the Czech Republic at the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv. Currently, Martina is pursuing a Master of Music degree at Manhattan School of Music, where she takes classes in the Jazz Arts Masters Program with Prof. Theo Bleckmann.
FRANCESCO POLLON, piano
Francesco Pollon is a pianist, composer, and educator born in Treviso, Italy. Since the age of fifteen, he has been on stage as a musician, performing throughout Italy and in Poland, Croatia, Romania, Qatar, Israel, and Palestine. He played with the jazz legend Chick Corea in Vicenza and with the resident band at the prestigious jazz club The Club at St.Regis in Doha, Qatar. Francesco is also an accomplished classical guitar player. Francesco received his M.A. in Jazz Piano Performance from the Conservatory of Venice in 2018 and received the Best Instrumentalist Award at the 2019 Sibiu Jazz Competition. In 2020, he published his debut solo piano album Catch Me. Since September 2021, Francesco has pursued his studies at Manhattan School of Music in New York. www.francescopollon.com
