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Show U's 'Fireball' the featured soloist in Symphony concert tonight I I Hi- l - ,i ? I jin:af tf s ... v 4 l mi in 11 it" '"1 I.. ... ,j ... ., J By DAN WATKISS Chronicle Staff "The first time I saw him, I was enthralled with the dynamic power with which he played," proclaimed an exuberant Maestro Maurice Abravanel, sublimating tonight's guest soloist, 21-year-old Alan Ball. "His power is so great," continued the maestro, "that I have given him the name 'fireball'." Alan, a senior at the University, is the first student to ever be featured as a guest soloist with the symphony in' a subscription sub-scription concert. Tonight's concert will also be a first in that the piano concerto Alan will perform, Prokofief's Second, has never before been performed by the Utah Symphony. In recognition of the honor bestowed on Alan in that he is one of few students to perform as a guest soloist with an orchestra orches-tra as widely acclaimed as the Utah symphony, sym-phony, the Institutional Council has designated Wednesday as "Alan Ball Day." Maestro Abravanel suggested the Prokofief concerto for Alan's debut because of the intricacy and power which the demands of a pianist. "Among other reasons, I thought it would offer Alan an outlet through which he could exploit his ability." This most difficult piece is characterized by a powerfully defiant piano which aspires to Herculean power and intensity while at other times decends to illusive delicacy. The work is unique in that it has four movements in lieu of the regular three and supplies the performer with no break. i ' I , - 1 . i ,. - , : I J v ; : : r- ' 1 V S i J . s bi estro Maurice Abravanel watches his "fireball," University senior Alan Ball play on. r,r: young pianist will be featured tonight with the Utah Symphony as he performs eftAofief's'Second" 6n "Alan Ball Day" declared Monday by the Institutional Council. Above and beyond the obvious difficulties involved in playing the piece, claims Alan, the absence of any breaks makes the work a test of the pianist's endurance. The concerto finds its real notoriety, however, in a radically copius cadenza (piano solo in the first movement), which usurps over half the first movement. The cadenza resounds with the air of im-provization im-provization that inspired such solos when the composer was likewise the performer. "I have been working on the concerto now for near six months," said Alan, "and it wasn't until but two weeks ago that I felt confident of my performance of it." He continued to explain that to play the music, it must become a part of him, constantly being performed within his mind. "I am often playing a piece with my mind, but this is really too complex a subject for the mind to grasp and is only to be mastered by my hands' affinity with the notes." Alan, a native of Mount Pleasant, first toyed with the piano at about the age of four. "I would create melodies by ear," Alan recalls. He was five when his mother, who was then teaching piano, began directing the young artist's talents. At the age of eight, Alan came under the tutelage of Prof. Gladys Gladstone, who now heads the University's piano studies. Alan has since been her ardent pupil. While attending East High School, Alan took part in the school orchestra and other musical groups. Alan entered the State Fair Piano Competition when he was thirteen. It was at this competition that Alan caught the attention of a man who was to exert a significant influence on the boy's musical career. The man, Maestro Abravanel, was spell-bound by the young artist's dynamic power. The competition gave way to close comradship between the two, which was to see Alan perform with the maestro in three "Salute to Youth" concerts. At these concerts he was soloist on Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, Rachmaninoff's First and Prokofief's Third, respectively. "During my senior year at high school," said Alan, "I planned to enter a music academy in the East." The following summer Alan journeyed to Santa Barbara to take part in the Maestro Abravanel's Summer Camp at the Music Academy of the West. It was here that Alan crossed paths with the pianist he had long enamored, Leon Fleischer. Soon Fleischer enticed Alan to enroll at the Peabody Academy of Music, where Fleischer was then located. Prior to his arrival at Peabody, Alan had often been oppressed with the fear that he would eventually have to abandon his music and pursue another career if he hoped to support himself. "With this fear gnawing at me, I told Mr. Fleischer that I would soon leave Peabody to become a lumberjack," reflected Alan as his agile fingers twisted his beard. A recluse life as a lumberjack has always been romantically (continued on page 7) "U senior spotlighted at Tabernacle concert from page 1) ippealing, admits Alan. Alan has since found solace, however, in abondoning these fears, casting he whole of his lot with his ntisic. 'he renowned Fleischer, Alan oon discovered, was more eductive than Peabody, which Jan left after one year. On his ' ;turn he entered the University, ihere he has- remained for the list three years, pursuing his ludies under his life-long teacher -of. Gladstone. Alan explains his turn in terms of the greater jrsonal advancement he sees ijfailable at the University. 0,'cne his return, he has made veral public performances. At e all-Tchaikovsky concert idicating the Special Events ' inter, Alan played that com-, com-, c iser's First Piano Concerto, and j :er that year accompanied a fl3dern dance group associated th the Repertory Dance Thea tre, playing Prokofief's "Vissions Fugitives." In 1970 he played in Texas at the Midland-Oddesa Young Artists Festival, where he was requested to return for a guest performance with the Midland-Oddesa Orchestra. Or-chestra. The following spring he accepted the offer performing Schubert's "Wanderers' Fantasy." On graduating from the University, Alan plans to locate himself in either New York or Philadelphia. "Only there will I be able to attract men like Bernstein and Ormandy," believes Alan. Alan further stated the desire to enter the Dealy Competition in Dallas this March and undertake a recital at the University in May. Wednesday's concert will also include the orchestral works "Swan of Tuonda" by Sibelius and the "Symphony No. 9 in C Major" by Schubert. |
