Around the World in One Evening

If you haven’t had a chance to listen to Joel Fan’s 2006 CD, World Music, you’re missing a wonderful introduction to contemporary classical music from around the globe. You’ll still have a chance to hear large parts of it live when he performs at Holy Names University in Oakland on March 20. It’s a musical world tour of 20th-century composers, with a German composer who straddled the 18th and 19th centuries thrown in for good measure.

Fan is making a name for himself both as an incredibly gifted pianist and as a champion of classical music from all corners of the Earth. Not only is he a part of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project, he has also made a point of championing lesser-known and non-Western composers. The result is a blend that helps listeners discover how well music from distinctly different cultures can work together.

The program starts with a piece by the prolific Turkish composer Ahmed Adnan Saygun (1907-1991). After studying in Paris, Saygun returned to his native country where he was inspired to incorporate into his works traditional Turkish modal construction, as well as folk melodies and stories. The result is a smooth blend between the two forms, as heard on Sketch on AksakThythm.

Next on the itinerary will be a trip north to Russia, as Fan performs Prokofiev’s more familiar Sonata No. 3 in A Minor, Op 28. Then it’s over to Syria, with Le Nuit de destin by Dia Succari, another Fan favorite.

Following that, it’s on to China, with a French overlay. Shanghai-born composer Qigang Chen, who now lives in France, seamlessly combines Chinese and European music in his compositions. As on the CD, Fan will be performing Instants d’un Opera de Pekin, a piece commissioned by the Olivier Messiaen International Piano Competition in 2000 (Chen himself studied with Messiaen from 1984 to 1988). While much of the world outside of classical music may have first taken notice of Chen’s work when he was music director of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, his professional life extends back to the 1970s. His works include Yuan, Wu Xing, and the four-act ballet Raise the Red Lantern, based on the film of the same name.

Finally, Fan returns to Europe, rounding out his program with Beethoven’s Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 1. This is the only piece that is not on the CD, but it marks a fitting end to the world tour.

The concert, presented by Four Seasons Arts, offers a chance to hear an extremely gifted and lively pianist, as well as an opportunity to learn more about music you won’t hear every day.