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Vol. 6, No. 1 - September 1, 2006
| Moseley Spotlight to Shine on Pianist Pola Baytelman Pola Baytelman, senior artist-in-residence in the Department of Music, will present this fall's Edwin M. Moseley Faculty Research Lecture. "An Evening of Latin American and European Piano Music" — a recital with commentary by Baytelman — will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, in Filene Recital Hall. A reception will follow in the Filene lobby. Admission is free and open to the public. The program features music by Robert Schumann as well as four Latin American composers: Heitor Villa-Lobos, Pedro Humberto Allende, Ileana Perez-Velazquez, and Alberto Ginastera. In addition, Baytelman will perform "Evocación," a selection from Isaac Albéniz's Iberia, the monumental composition written by Albéniz just before his death in 1909. Rarely performed in its entirety by any but the most accomplished pianists, the five-part, 85-minute work incorporates a number of Spanish dance rhythms. Baytelman performed Iberia at Weil Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall in 1993 and recorded a CD of Albéniz's work in 1998 (Elan) that was well received by critics. She first encountered Albéniz and Iberia while completing doctoral studies at the University of Texas at Austin. "I found a lot of confusion about his work," she said, so she undertook the task of cataloging his piano library. The result was Isaac Albéniz: Chronological List and Thematic Catalog of His Piano Works (1993, Harmonie Park Press), the first catalog of the composer's piano works. Baytelman still receives questions about Albéniz's compositions and gets a thrill when she finds her book on the shelves of libraries that she visits when touring. Although Albéniz has remained an enduring influence on Baytelman, she welcomes the challenge of performing a wide range of composers and is especially excited about presenting a piece by Williams College composer Ileana Perez-Velazquez at the Moseley event. Baytelman explained that the two met a few years ago at a conference and a friendship was formed. Perez-Velazquez's Encantamiento, written in 2002, is an "intoxicating" composition, said Baytelman, adding that Perez-Velazquez told her the title "relates to a performer that has been enchanted by the power of the rhythmic gestures of the piece." The European portion of Baytelman's program features Robert Schumann's Humoreske, Op. 20, which she recorded for a 2002 CD (Centaur). American Record Guide called it one of the top three performances ever made of the piece, comparing it favorably to Sviatoslav Richter's 1956 rendition of the composition. Baytelman's career as a recitalist with chamber music groups and as a soloist with orchestras has taken her throughout South America, Europe, and the United States — even to the People's Republic of China. A native of Santiago, Chile, she received her formal training at the University of Chile's National Conservatory. She came to the U.S. under a Fulbright grant and attended the New England Conservatory in Boston, where she studied with Russell Sherman. She studied with Nancy Garrett at the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a doctorate in music. Baytelman joined the Skidmore faculty in 1986. Baytelman has played the piano repertoire — from 17th to 20th centuries — throughout her life and takes a special interest in helping students discover new composers and new aspects of familiar composers. "I always try to help students complement their knowledge with something new to explore," she explained, to increase their knowledge of the piano literature and strengthen their technique. Each year Skidmore's faculty chooses one of its own to deliver the Moseley Lecture. Selection as the Moseley Lecturer is considered the highest honor the Skidmore faculty can confer upon a colleague.
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