Renowned Pianist Will Play Mentor's Work at Elon Recital

By Charity Apple, Times-News, Burlington, N.C.

Oct. 22--ELON -- For renowned pianist Jeanne Stark, performing Olivier Messiaen's compositions is more than another recital; it's like visiting an old friend.

Stark got to know the late great composer and his wife, Yvonne Loriod, in the early 1980s when the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra performed his "Turangalila," a 90-minute piece with Kent Nagano as conductor. Stark played the piano parts, which were originally created for Loriod, a fact she obviously was nervous about at first.

"It (the concert) created quite a stir here," Stark said in a phone interview from Berkeley last Wednesday afternoon. "Everyone was so excited about it."

After the concert, Messiaen, who had heard a tape of the performance, sent a note to Stark that read "thank you for playing 'Turangalila' so beautifully, with all affection and feelings from my wife and myself."

In 1981, Messiaen met with Nagano and Stark called it"a beautiful meeting. It made Kent's career." While the couple was in town, Stark took them to dinner and to church. "They became lovely friends of mine. I have beautiful photos of that time," she said.

Messiaen died on April 27, 1992, and Stark is still affected by the death of her old friend.

"I loved the man," she said."I love his wife, too." Stark called him "the last of the great French composers."

During Tuesday's Adams Foundation Piano Recital Series, she will perform Messiaen's "Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jesus" (20 gazes/contemplations on the child Jesus),"Regard des Anges (Gaze of the Angels)" and "Le baiser de l'enfant-Jesus (The kiss of the child Jesus)," along with works by Beethoven, Chopin and Scarlatti. Tickets are $15 at (336) 278-5610.

The Adams Foundation Piano Recital Series is organized by Richard and John Contiguglia, New York musicians with Alamance County ties.

"They've made a big mark in the music world. They've inspired a lot of musicians. Everything they do is done with such care. It's not like being hired for a concert." Stark said of the Contiguglias. She met the brothers four years ago at a festival in Oregon and said they plan to attend Tuesday's concert.

Stark grew up in Brussels, Belgium, and from the age of four, she can remember both playing and listening to piano compositions.

"I remember my father saying 'I think she has perfect pitch. She can play anything.' She can hear it and play it," she said.

But for Stark, music lessons weren't the answer.

"I felt it was drudgery," she said. "They got me out of bed early for lessons, too."

One of her fondest memories was of Sunday dinner, usually at 2 in the afternoon, and "we would just sit at the table listening to opera ... always with tears in our eyes; the music was so beautiful. I guess that may sound a little strange to some people, but that's how the music made us feel."

After lessons, specialized schools and recitals, Stark went on to attend the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with the highest honors bestowed to a pianist in the previous 20 years and received the most coveted award The Prix de Virtuosite avec Grande Distinction. She also was selected to represent Belgium at an international modern music festival.

Stark came to the United States to study with Mieczyslaw Horszowski and Edwine Behre, thanks to an international Queen Elisabeth scholarship. She debuted at Carnegie Recital Hall and has performed throughout France, Canada, Mexico, Belgium and the United States.

Messiaen, Darius Milhaud and Lou Harrison taught Stark that "it's not just moving your fingers. Playing piano is so much more than that."

Stark has two children, a son and a daughter, and three grandchildren (two boys and a girl). Although her children haven't pursued musical careers, she said "both loved to fall asleep to music. They asked me to practice before bedtime."

For the last three years, she has performed recitals as part of the Adams Foundation Piano Recital Series.

"I go wherever they send me," she said. "Sometimes it's a community center, sometimes it's a college or university. But wherever it is, I always feel welcome and I'm happy to see the audience enjoying the music."

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