Sunday Salon Mini-Series I: Small Pieces | Big Statements — Exploring Chopin's Nationalistic Piano Works

• Diana Gao, piano
• Larry Starr, speaker

Frédéric Chopin — Four Mazurkas, Op. 17
Frédéric Chopin — Four Mazurkas, Op. 24
Frédéric Chopin — Polonaise No. 6 in A-flat major, Op. 53 "Héroïque"

The music of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) has captured the hearts, ears, and emotions of music lovers across generations and geographies. Though many of his works are familiar to broad audiences, Chopin's mastery and volume of music present even the most avid Chopin enthusiast with beautifully-bottomless intrigue. In part I of our II-part Chopin Sunday Salon Series, Dr. Larry Starr, UW Professor Emeritus of Music History, explores some of Chopin's nationalistic piano works. LMC pianist Diana Gao will play illustrative musical highlights throughout the talk, followed by a full performance of two sets of Mazurkas, Op. 17 and Op.24, and Polonaise No. 6 in A-flat Major, Op. 53 ("Heroic"), and a Q&A with both Larry and Diana.

Made up of musicians and music advocates, the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle (LMC) is a 501(c)3 organization that has been fostering classical music in the community through education, performance, and awards since 1891. We do this by offering music and education programs to people of all ages and diverse backgrounds across the region and throughout Washington State.

About Ladies Musical Club of Seattle

http://www.lmcseattle.org/

About Diana Gao, piano

Diana Gao began studying piano at age 4. She moved to the U.S. from China in 2013 to pursue her MBA at the University of Washington (UW), and is currently a Senior Marketing Manager at Microsoft. Although she has pursued a career outside of music, the piano has remained a significant mainstay in her life. She has consistently cultivated her passion through regular lessons and performances. She’s been studying with Dr. Robin McCabe from UW and is a prizewinner in many competitions, including Gold Medalist of the Seattle International Competition and First Prize of the "Golden Classical Music Awards" International Competition. She also performed at the prestigious Piano Texas International Festival. Since 2020, she has presented annual fundraising recitals through the Microsoft Give campaign, raising thousands of dollars in support of local organizations. Those events reinforced her belief that music has the power to inspire change and make the world a better place.

https://pianotexas.tcu.edu/artists/profile/teachers_amateurs/diana-gao.php

About Larry Starr, speaker

Larry Starr holds the title Professor Emeritus of American Music Studies at the University of Washington School of Music, where he taught for more than four decades. He retired from university teaching in 2018, but he continues to speak on music at the Seattle Symphony (pre-concert talks), the Women's University Club (Seattle), and now the Ladies Musical Club. He has written books on Charles Ives's music, Aaron Copland's songs, George Gershwin's Broadway musicals, and most recently Listening to Bob Dylan, and is the coauthor of a textbook on American popular music. Larry's advisees have gone on to distinguished careers in teaching, research, and arts administration—a noteworthy recent example being Whitney Henderson, LMC's own Executive Director.