Whimsical Birdsong
Whimsical Birdsong is a self-curated concert series presenting the complete works of Ravel that include piano. I had wanted to play the complete solo piano works by Ravel for a long time—I’ve always felt drawn to the beauty of Ravel’s works and the precision placed into each note. He was a huge perfectionist—he believed that there was a perfect state of each work he wrote, and he did not want to publish a piece unless he believed it had reached that state. For this reason, his catalog of works is not enormous in comparison to composers like Beethoven or Chopin. This was another draw for me to want to play all his works—it wouldn’t take me a lifetime!
When I decided to attend graduate school at the Mannes School of Music, I was discussing some of my future goals and ideas for creative recitals with my teacher, Simone Dinnerstein. I mentioned wanting to play all of Ravel’s solo piano works and she said that was admirable, but it had been done before, so she suggested taking it a step further and not just playing his solo piano works, but playing everything he wrote for and with piano, including chamber music and art songs. No pianist has ever undertaken a project like this with Ravel, so if I pulled it off it would be something incredible and unique to me.
Thus the project began. I set the goal for myself to learn and perform everything Ravel wrote including piano over the course of five years. However, the project wasn’t just for me, it was also for the classical music community. I wanted people to be able to come to the concerts and understand Ravel better. To help achieve this, I don’t just program Ravel at each concert, I also program other works by other composers that are able to be compared and contrasted to see those who had influence on him, those he influenced, those who had similar or different upbringings, etc. so we can gain a deeper understanding of how his and others’ music is shaped by culture, experience, and history.
Ultimately I hope to present the concerts of this series all over the country and perhaps the world, and perhaps to even find a venue to perform the entire series in just one year. Sign up for my email list to stay in the loop!
When I decided to attend graduate school at the Mannes School of Music, I was discussing some of my future goals and ideas for creative recitals with my teacher, Simone Dinnerstein. I mentioned wanting to play all of Ravel’s solo piano works and she said that was admirable, but it had been done before, so she suggested taking it a step further and not just playing his solo piano works, but playing everything he wrote for and with piano, including chamber music and art songs. No pianist has ever undertaken a project like this with Ravel, so if I pulled it off it would be something incredible and unique to me.
Thus the project began. I set the goal for myself to learn and perform everything Ravel wrote including piano over the course of five years. However, the project wasn’t just for me, it was also for the classical music community. I wanted people to be able to come to the concerts and understand Ravel better. To help achieve this, I don’t just program Ravel at each concert, I also program other works by other composers that are able to be compared and contrasted to see those who had influence on him, those he influenced, those who had similar or different upbringings, etc. so we can gain a deeper understanding of how his and others’ music is shaped by culture, experience, and history.
Ultimately I hope to present the concerts of this series all over the country and perhaps the world, and perhaps to even find a venue to perform the entire series in just one year. Sign up for my email list to stay in the loop!
Whimsical Birdsong Concerts
Beyond France
5:30pm, April 15th, 2019
Stiefel Hall, Mannes School of Music
55 W 13th Street, New York, NY 10011
Program
Ravel — Chansons Madécasses
Kessa Mefford, piano
Cloe SanAntonio, mezzo-soprano
Luisa Mei Bressan, flute
Jihwon Na, cello
Lasser — 12 Variations on a Chorale by J.S. Bach
Kessa Mefford, piano
Ravel — Piano Trio in A minor
Kessa Mefford, piano
Laura Pereira del Rio, violin
Jihwon Na, cello
5:30pm, April 15th, 2019
Stiefel Hall, Mannes School of Music
55 W 13th Street, New York, NY 10011
Program
Ravel — Chansons Madécasses
Kessa Mefford, piano
Cloe SanAntonio, mezzo-soprano
Luisa Mei Bressan, flute
Jihwon Na, cello
Lasser — 12 Variations on a Chorale by J.S. Bach
Kessa Mefford, piano
Ravel — Piano Trio in A minor
Kessa Mefford, piano
Laura Pereira del Rio, violin
Jihwon Na, cello
Luisa Mei Bressan, Kessa Mefford, Cloe SanAntonio, and Jihwon Na after the performance of Beyond France
Laura Pereira del Rio, Kessa Mefford, and Jihwon Na in a still from a recording session of Ravel's Piano Trio
Stars of Tomorrow
3:00pm, December 7th, 2019
Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco
605 Millwood Road, Mount Kisco, NY 10549
Program
Montez — Red Sea Trio
Kessa Mefford, piano
Laura Pereira del Rio, violin
Michelle Hromin, clarinet
Couperin — Les folies Françaises
Kessa Mefford, piano
Ravel — Le tombeau de Couperin
Kessa Mefford, piano
Ravel — Shéhérazade
Kessa Mefford, piano
Kristina Cook, soprano
Ravel — Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano
Kessa Mefford, piano
Laura Pereira del Rio, violin
Laura Pereira del Rio, Kessa Mefford, and Michelle Hromin in a still from the live recording of the Red Sea Trio
Masters of Impression
1:00pm, May 15th, 2021
Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco
605 Millwood Road, Mount Kisco, NY 10549
Program
Ravel — Valses nobles et sentimentales
Kessa Mefford, piano
Ravel — Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano
Kessa Mefford, piano
Olga Dusheina, violin
Ravel — Cinq mélodies populaires grecques, Tripatos
Kessa Mefford, piano
Kristina Cook, soprano
Montez — Violin Sonata No. 1
Kessa Mefford, piano
Olga Dusheina, violin
Ravel — Vocalise-étude
Kessa Mefford, piano
Kristina Cook, soprano
Ravel — Berceuse sur le nom de Fauré
Kessa Mefford, piano
Olga Dusheina, violin
Fauré — Nocturne No. 6 in D-flat Major, Op. 63
Kessa Mefford, piano
Olga Dusheina, Kessa Mefford, and Kristina Cook at the end of the concert
Kessa performing the Faure nocturne
Gaspard de la nuit
3:00pm, January 15th, 2022
Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco
605 Millwood Road, Mount Kisco, NY 10549
Program
Kessa Mefford, piano
Ravel — Menuet in C-sharp Minor
Ravel — Prelude in A Minor
Ravel — Pavane pour une infante défunte
Andres — Old Ground
Bach — Prelude and Fugue in B-flat Minor, BWV 867
Montez — Resurgence
Ravel — Gaspard de la nuit
Ravel: All of It
The Complete Art Songs
7:30pm, December 14th, 2022
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
154 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019
Program
Ravel — The Complete 32 Art Songs for Voice and Piano
Kristina Cook, soprano
Kessa Mefford, piano
Two Piano Concertos
2:00pm, May 11th, 2024
Tarrytown Music Hall
13 Main Street, Tarrytown, NY 10591
Program
Montez — Piano Concerto in C minor
Ravel — Piano Concerto in G Major
Jun Nakabayashi, conductor
Kessa Mefford, piano
Taconic Opera Chamber Orchestra
Whimsical Birdsong: Miroirs
1:00pm, September 21st, 2024
Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco
605 Millwood Road, Mount Kisco, NY 10549
Program
Ravel — Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn
Ravel — Ma mére l'Oye
Ravel — Jeux d'eau
Liszt — Les jeux d'eaux à la villa d'est
Ravel — À la maniere de Borodine
Borodin — Serenade and Notturno from Petite Suite
Ravel — À la maniere de Chabrier
Chabrier — Bourée fantasque
Ravel — Trois Chansons
Ravel — Don Quichotte a Dulcinée
Ravel — Miroirs
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