It is no secret that BYU’s faculty members maintain exceptional performance schedules. Dr. Stephen Beus recently presented a solo recital, captivating the audience (as always) with his artistry and providing an inspiring example for the students.
The first half of the program demonstrated Dr. Beus’s characteristically clever programming, juxtaposing two minimalist Schoenberg pieces between three progressively dense fugues by (respectively) Bach, Händel, and Beethoven. In what he called “a conversation across centuries”, Dr. Beus explored a demanding spectrum of fugues broken up by modernist interruptions. Typical of his focused performance, Dr. Beus unified the seemingly (at least traditionally) conflicting styles by both careful attention to musicality and visual engagement.
The second half of the program featured a variety of songs arranged for solo piano by Liszt. Between each of the pieces, Dr. Beus explained the driving storyline and previewed (on the piano) significant musical themes, inviting the audience to participate in a more educated listening experience.
As an encore, Dr. Beus performed the Bach-Siloti transcription of Prelude in B Minor, a simultaneously cooling and entrancing selection after the energetic virtuosity of the Liszt songs.