Interviews / Features

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra is extremely proud to present pianist Nadia Shpachenko in concert with principal members of the orchestra on April 15 at 7:30 p.m. the Sturges Center for the Fine Arts. This performance is part of the Symphony’s Chamber Series curated – and at this event also performed in – by Music Director and Conductor Anthony Parnther.

Maestro Parnther, who has previously collaborated on several projects with Ms. Shpachenko, explained, “I was deeply honored when acclaimed, Grammy®-winning pianist Nadia Shpachenko asked me to conduct the premiere performance and lead the recording sessions for Invasion composed by Pulitzer-prize winner Lewis Spratlan. Spratlan wrote this jarring work for a chamber ensemble of piano, percussion, saxophone, horn, trombone, and mandolin in response to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Working alongside Nadia and Lewis to bring Invasion to life was a life-affirming and moving experience.”

Lewis Spratlan passed away on February 9th of this year, just over a month ago, at age 82, shortly after recording a dedication video to the San Bernardino Symphony in anticipation of our performance of the work. Shared Maestro Parnther, “Nadia, the SBSO, and I will dedicate our performance of Invasion to this revered and dedicated composer.”

In addition to Mr. Spratlan’s work, Ms. Shpachenko will perform a variety of music from Beethoven, to Joplin, and including a new work by Los Angeles-based composer Dana Kaufman.

The show will showcase Shpachenko's hugely dramatic range delivered with remarkably expressive precision through a number of transformative dances, as well as pieces connected to the war in Ukraine.

She will perform solo piano works by Scott Joplin, Dana Kaufman (a world premiere), Evgeni Orkin (a world premiere), and Myroslav Skoryk, a duet by Astor Piazzolla (“3 Tangos”) with Maestro Anthony Parnther on bassoon, and a new chamber work (“Invasion”) by Pulitzer-Prize winning composer Lewis Spratlan, for solo piano and SBSO's principal players.

"I was deeply honored when acclaimed, Grammy award-winning pianist Nadia Shpachenko asked me to conduct the premiere performance and lead the recording sessions for ‘Invasion,’” Parnther said. “Spratlan wrote this jarring work for a chamber ensemble of piano, percussion, saxophone, horn, trombone, and mandolin in response to Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine. Working alongside Nadia and Lewis to bring ‘Invasion’ to life was a life-affirming and moving experience."

Spratlan died on Feb. 9, just over a month ago, at age 82, shortly after recording a dedication video to the San Bernardino Symphony in anticipation of the upcoming concert.

Parnther said: "Nadia, the SBSO, and I will dedicate our performance of ‘Invasion’ to this revered and dedicated composer."

"The Legendary Lowenthal"

"Piano faculty member Jerome Lowenthal figured he’d wrapped up his half-century at the Music Academy when he was the star of MA’s 2019 Opening Night Gala, “Honoring a Legend,” a densely packed evening that featured a cocktail reception, a performance at Hahn Hall curated by Lowenthal that featured a series of MA alumni pianists from his studio, and a dinner in the Miraflores courtyard with a special al fresco encore performance from the honoree. 

Indeed, the pianist has not been back to the Music Academy in his normal capacity ever since, that being full-time during the summer festival as one of the most popular presences on campus, a performer of particular precision and personal flair, and a purveyor of masterclass wizardry with pedagogue’s knowledge and a mischievous panache.

It’s not because Lowenthal was wanting to let up on his career, despite entering his late 80s – at that point a half-century after Maurice Abravanel first hired him at the academy as a replacement for Leon Fleisher. Indeed, Lowenthal had just wrapped up another nine-hour day auditioning another batch of the 200 young pianists vying for a spot in next year’s piano studio at Juilliard, when he explained over the phone that it was more than having felt “a change in the air” with the new MA administration that the pianist had finally indulged in accepting an invitation to visit another summer festival. It was in Iceland, as it turned out, which the pianist recalled “broke the ice” on those endeavors.

“After that, we developed a different understanding of my role” at the Music Academy, he said, explaining that he only spent a couple of weeks in Montecito for the next couple of seasons, and since the pandemic hit in 2020, hadn’t been back at all. 

That was not OK with Teresa McWilliams, a realtor and well-known supporter of the arts in Montecito, and a patron of the Music Academy in particular who decades ago befriended Lowenthal and had produced previous concerts with the pianist outside the purview of MA. 

“I hadn’t seen Jerry for a while, and he wasn’t playing here anymore,” recalled McWilliams, whose tenure in town goes back more than 70 years as her father, the famed Polish pianist Tomasz Glinski, brought his family to Montecito back in 1949. Among other pursuits, he played regularly at the San Ysidro Ranch, and Teresa started attending Music Academy events when Lotte Lehmann was still giving masterclasses. “So, I told him I’d produce a concert here.” 

A planned “Jerry & His Friends” celebration with some big-name colleagues instead, by Lowenthal’s suggestion, eventually turned into something smaller and more intimate, though the concert’s new title of “Lowenthal’s Legend” came from MA. The event on Thursday, March 9, will feature a single piano on stage played four-hands style for one selection each by Lowenthal and his longtime partner Ursula Oppens, as well as daughter Carmel Lowenthal, plus solo works performed by Evan Shinners, Vassily Primakov, and Nadia Shpachenko – each an MA alumni and Lowenthal favorite. Shpachenko will even be offering the world premiere of a new piece by Harold Meltzer called “Dribble.” 

Lowenthal will wrap up the night – which not surprisingly sold out instantly – performing two Chopin Impromptus, representing some of his favorite works in one of his favorite places to play on the planet, even if he now is operating on the equivalent of emeritus status. 

“It wasn’t my choice (to leave MA), but I’m so busy with festivals and Juilliard and other performances,” he said, adding that he’ll be making his off-Broadway debut performing the music for several previews and opening night of a pandemic-delayed revival of Chekhov’s Three Sisters starring Greta Gerwig and Oscar Isaac, and directed by Sam Gold, later this spring before jetting off for another festival. “But I do have my memories of Santa Barbara. It is like a second home for me, and it was strange to me to think of not going back. I had such lovely friendships with my colleagues and the faculty, but also with people in the community like Teresa, as I still do. So, I’m thrilled and really very grateful.”

As for contemplating actual retirement, given that he’s 91, don’t hold your breath. 

“It’s my limitations that keep me going, because I can’t think of anything else to do,” Lowenthal said, with his trademark understated sense of humor. “This is my life, and I still feel very happy doing every aspect. I keep doing it because I love it.”

"Music Academy to Honor Faculty Emeritus Jerome Lowenthal"

GREAT INSTRUCTORS ACCOMPLISH MORE THAN TEACHING CLASSES — they guide, support, and above all, inspire their students to pursue their goals with passion. Embodying this mindset, Music Academy faculty emeritus Jerome Lowenthal has served scores of Academy pianists for 50 years.

Jerry has done everything for me musically, poetically, paternally, professionally, personally... I can scarcely think of a person who had a greater singular influence on my life. My mother? Beethoven?” remarked pianist Evan Shinners. At 7pm on Thursday, March 9th, Music Academy and Santa Barbara music lovers will honor Jerome Lowenthal’s remarkable legacy with a sold-out concert and champagne reception. Community members can request to be put on the concert’s waitlist. Curated by Lowenthal himself, the concert will celebrate the piano’s versatility as an instrument through performances by Lowenthal and five critically-acclaimed pianists: Ursula Oppens, Vassily Primakov, Evan Shinners, Nadia Shpachenko, and Lowenthal’s daughter, Carmel Lowenthal. “I thought of the program not as roast beef (Beethoven or Reger) but as hors d’oeuvres, dessert, and champagne,” explained Jerome Lowenthal. “I wanted each person to play a light version of his or her favorite music.”

These festive samplings will include pieces written for two and four hands, spanning piano favorites by Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt, Couperin, and American composer Lewis Spratlan, who died just earlier this month. Pianist Evan Shinners will also perform works by Johann Sebastian Bach and his son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Additional highlights will include the world premiere of composer Harold Meltzer’s piece Dribble, and a joint performance of Gabriel Fauré’s Dolly Suite by Lowenthal and his daughter. “My father has been the greatest musical influence in my life,” shared Carmel Lowenthal. “He inspires me with his brilliant and poetic playing, fearless and energetic approach to learning new scores, excitement about musical projects, commitment to practicing, and dedication to teaching and mentoring young musicians.”

Lowenthal, who is a student of piano greats William Kapell, Eduard Steuermann, and Alfred Cortot, has held a prestigious career as a classical pianist. He has performed at chamber music festivals worldwide, shining as a solo and duet artist by playing with musicians such as violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Nathaniel Rosen, and many of the pianists participating in Thursday’s concert.

“Having been together for 26 years now, I feel each day with Jerry is a musical learning experience,” said Ursula Oppens. His skill as a performer is rivaled by his capabilities as an instructor. In addition to teaching at the Music Academy for 50 summers, Lowenthal has taught at The Juilliard School since 1991. His Music Academy alumni have expressed sincere gratitude and anticipation in preparing to honor him during their March 9th concert. “He teaches as he plays, with an intense attention to line, counterpoint, inner voicing, structure, sound, artistic vision and, of course, pianism,” said Carmel.

“Jerry has been a continuous source of inspiration for me - musically, artistically, spiritually, and emotionally,” voiced Vassily Primakov. “I consider myself incredibly lucky to have him as a teacher and a mentor, and definitely a father figure in my life. I can’t imagine my life without him...”

“One of my favorite activities at the Music Academy was performing for and watching Jerry teach masterclasses. He always involved the audience in the process, and both performers and audience members walked away from the classes inspired, having learned something new,” said Nadia Shpachenko. “Jerry’s knowledge, kindness, sense of humor, imagination, energy, and dedication to his students are legendary.”

(interview and article)

(audio interview, available for listening on multiple platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and 16 others)

(audio interview)

(live broadcast video interview, English subtitles)

(audio interview, 5 minute and 27 minute versions at this link)

“Listen to Invasion: Music and Art for Ukraine by Nadia Shpachenko. Masterpiece! A pianist who grew up in Soviet Ukraine, the California-based artist partnered with composer (& Pulitzer winner) Lewis Spratlan. She commissioned Ukrainian artists to make paintings inspired by the music. A “very personal album,” Nadia said. My favorite tracks: “Speck Pond Rag” & title track. Nadia’s practice routine (8 hours/day growing up but now…)”