holly roadfeldt, piano

Program Notes

Holly Roadfeldt once received a bouquet of yellow roses, each bloom containing layer upon layer upon layer of petals. And after their turn as live, radiant flowers, Holly hung the bouquet to dry. To this day, she feels that "of all the bouquets I've ever received this is the one I most want to keep". For my own part, my grandfather proposed to my grandmother with a yellow rose and in turn that's how my father also proposed to my mother. So when Holly—who by now has become such a dear friend and confidant as well as a master interpreter of my work, decided to commission this piece—I couldn't imagine an artist and a soul I'd rather write this piece with. I'd like to think that Yellow Rose is a symbol of our mutual trust in each other to hold dearly these tender, personal memories.

I am grateful to Holly for taking Lilac on her concert tour in 2019 and bringing such a gorgeous interpretation to that piece, and I am so honored that Holly has commissioned two flowers in this collection: Daffodil and Yellow Rose.

Flower Catalog is a book of twelve preludes for piano, inspired by Debussy’s Preludes in terms of scope and structure. The idea for this project started with a short work, Lilac, commissioned by Jenny Lin in 2018. The other eleven preludes have been commissioned by other piano soloists, each about her own favorite flower, and are all between 2.5-5 minutes in length so that the entire collection can live and breath as a full concert set but each prelude can also be utilized as a uniquely personal encore.

Flower Catalog is a commission by Lise de la Salle, Marianne Parker, Diane Katzenberg Braun, Eunbi Kim, Holly Roadfeldt, Adrienne Park, Susie Maddocks, Sarah Bob, Marta Aznavoorian, Jenny Lin, and Lucille Chung.

More about flower catalog

About the Artist

Few musicians balance the new opposite the old quite like American pianist Holly Roadfeldt. Recently deemed a “perfect pairing of technical prowess and innate sensitivity” (American Record Guide), Roadfeldt has established herself as one of contemporary music’s most prolific ambassadors—to date, she has made over 150 world premieres by more than four dozen composers. Recognized by audiences and critics for both her technical facility and distinctive interpretation of music from all eras, Roadfeldt has appeared on stages and venues across Canada, Europe, Asia, and over 30 U.S. states.

Roadfeldt tirelessly searches for like-minded composers who share her obsession with creating opportunities for listeners to relate to the music they hear. Best demonstrating this ethos is her three-year artistic flagship, “The Preludes Project,” which saw Holly premiere 65 new preludes by 16 composers. In touring the concept across 17 states, her lecture-recitals connected the present and the past, pairing the newly composed preludes with curated works within the standard repertoire. The concept drew rave reviews and attention across the industry, leading to Holly’s debut album, a collaboration with multi-GRAMMY® award winning producer Andreas Meyer. The Preludes Project CD (2016) released on PARMA Recordings, pairing Chopin’s Op. 28 Preludes with composer Kirk O’Riordan’s Twenty-Six Preludes for Solo Piano (2014). The album complements her numerous PARMA album collaborations with composers, including Mara Gibson’s Sky-Born (2017), and two other albums with O’Riordan: Strange Flowers (2013) and the recent release of Autumn Winds (2020), her second collaboration with Andreas Meyer.

Music critics across the United States, Canada, Italy, U.K., and Spain have taken notice, including American Record Guide, whose Autumn Winds review simply remarked that “Holly Roadfeldt is on fire.” Gramophone’s Donald Rosenberg praised her as “a vivid pianist” with “beautiful playing”, while for The Preludes Project CD, she received accolades from World Music Report for an “utterly convincing, breathtaking sense of elation” with “a varied touch that perfectly matches the mood of each piece.” Sonograma deemed the album worthy of “all of our highest praise,” joining other colorful superlatives like “jaw-dropping” (Mainly Piano) and “exquisite” (Cinemusical).

Known for premiering an eclectic array of exciting music, much of Roadfeldt’s recent pedagogical and artistic philosophy can be credited to Lisa, a 13-year old student who wondered why she “was only studying music written by men.” Driven to make that lesson the last time she heard that question, Holly has since prioritized including composers across the gender spectrum in her pedagogy. As a performer, composers she has commissioned span a number of the field’s most innovative voices, including Rasa Daukus, Mara Gibson, Michelle McQuade Dewhirst, Kala Pierson, Jessica Rudman, Julia Seeholzer, Stephanie Ann Boyd, and many others. With Lisa in mind, Roadfeldt hopes to encourage young female students to walk fearlessly down the road of self-expression and creativity. 

Now a veteran of collaborating during the composition process, Holly pays her experience forward in masterclasses across the United States, teaching effective piano writing to university level composers. Her recurring lecture series “Classical Café” and “Classical Conversations” intersects Roadfeldt’s equal comfort with both performing and relating music to audiences. Taking place since 2017, each event explores themes like darkness, virtuosity, and even Bob Dylan, showing their direct influence on iconic repertoire throughout history using live musical examples. 

Holly has taken the stage in myriad contexts and remains in high demand as a performer. Among her fondest memories are her performances of Chopin’s complete catalog of Preludes with revered Montréal-based dance troupe Compagnie Marie Chouinard. As a chamber musician, Holly has performed with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Frankfurt Opera, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Brussels Philharmonic as well as with concert artists Alexa Still, Bonita Boyd, and Marcia Baldwin. 

Holly’s first professional performance came at 13 years old, performing with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. Her fire in pursuing contemporary music ignited at the Eastman School of Music, where she was first able to collaborate with composers—Roadfeldt would go on to win First Prize in the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition in its Contemporary Music category.

Holly is currently the Director of Keyboard Studies at Lafayette College. Previously, she taught at the University of Delaware, Susquehanna University, Muhlenberg College, Gettysburg College, the University of Colorado-Boulder, Indiana University, and was Artist Faculty with Distinction at The Music School of Delaware. 

www.hollyroadfeldt.com

About the Composer

Michigan-born, Manhattan-based American composer Stephanie Ann Boyd (b. 1990) writes melodic music about women’s memoirs and the natural world for symphonic and chamber ensembles. Her work has been performed in nearly all 50 states and has been commissioned by musicians and organizations in 37 countries. Boyd’s five ballets include works choreographed by New York City Ballet principal dancers Lauren Lovette, Ashley Bouder, NYCB soloist Peter Walker, and XAOC Contemporary Ballet’s Eryn Renee Young. Eero, a ballet commissioned by Access Contemporary Music and Open House New York, was written for the grand opening of the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport. Stephanie’s music has been praised as “a racing, brassy score” (New York Times), “attractive lyricism” (Gramophone), “[with] ethereal dissonances” (Boston Globe), “[music that] didn’t let itself be eclipsed” (Texas Classical Review), “arrestingly poetic” (BMOP), and “wide ranging, imaginative” (Portland Press Herald). 

Boyd is the 2021/2022 Peoria Symphony Orchestra Composer in Residence, a position culminating in an entire concert of her works, including her violin concerto Sybil, her cantata Sheltering Voices, and a new work inspired by Betty Friedan entitled Everywoman, with Deborah Rutter, Michelle DeYoung, and Sirena Huang as soloists. The 2021/2022 season also includes the premiere of Julia Louisa Esther: a Suffragette Symphony with the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Christopher Dragon; Alleluia Olora commissioned by Astral Artists for cellist Tommy Mesa; Aurora, commissioned by the Kurganov-Finehouse Duo, and others. 

Boyd’s music has been commissioned and performed by concertmasters of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, the Des Moines Symphony, the Faroe Islands Symphony, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Smith Symphony, the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, and principal players in the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.  Her music has been commissioned and/or played by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the New England Conservatory Philharmonic, the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, the New York Jazzharmonic, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, the Roosevelt University Orchestra, the Eureka Ensemble, the JVL Festival Orchestra, the Texas State University Symphony, the Cremona International Academy Orchestra, the UW La Crosse Symphony, the Detroit Civic Orchestra, and the El Paso Youth Symphony. Her work has been presented by the Thalia and her Sisters concert series, the Moirae Ensemble, and Sandcastle New Music in New York City; Æpex Contemporary Music in Michigan; Juventas New Music, Collage New Music, and the New Gallery Concert Series in Boston; Cincinnati Soundbox, and others. Stephanie has worked with conductors such as Andrew Litton, Lina Gonzales, Earl Lee, Nathan Aspinall, Cliff Colnot, Gill Rose, Julian Benichou, Kristo Kondakci, and Kevin Fitzgerald.

stephanieannboyd.com