Piano masters to play at Husson Solo works include Scarlatti, Haydn, Ravel, Scriabin and others

BANGOR – When Fabio Parrini, the pianist, skipped down the 13 steps from the back of Husson College’s Kominsky Auditorium to the front where a Steinway grand was waiting, the breeze from his body brushed past audience members. For his recital, Parrini played three sonatas by Scarlatti, a Beethoven sonata, etudes by Chopin and several modern works. The room is so small, every seat was privileged. Listeners were close enough to see the small bead of sweat leap off his forehead, or the light moving off his Italian loafers as his feet pressed the pedals of the instrument.

But the real treasure of the concert was the closeness and clarity of the music itself. The sound was all right there: 12 feet away, house lights up, artist in motion. Except for the starkness of the academic setting, the recital was every bit in the friendly tradition of the chamber concert.

That’s exactly what organizers for the Husson Piano Recital Series were shooting for.

“I thought it would be very nice to have a series of musicians playing standard works for solo piano in that venue because it is almost like having someone play in your living room,” said John Kilgore, a retired venture capitalist who created a $100,000 endowment two years ago for the annual piano series at Husson College.

The late summer-early fall concerts began last year and kicked off again last week with Parrini’s performance. The series continues Monday, Aug. 27, with a performance by Anthony di Bonaventura, the esteemed pianist who is considered the foremost interpreter of the music of Scarlatti.

And Scarlatti is a significant player in this series. Or significantly played, as the case may be. Scarlatti, the prolific Italian composer who was a contemporary of Handel, was well known in his day for the operas he wrote. But he also created a remarkable series of keyboard sonatas for which he is famous. These virtuoso works, which number more than 500, dynamically employ the techniques of hand-crossing, rapidly repeated notes, and broad leaps along the keyboard. All piano students encounter Scarlatti at some point in their training. They love him. They hate him. They know he is essential.

A lifelong lover of classical music, Kilgore encountered the Scarlatti sonatas while in the military and stationed in Alaska in the 1940s. At a local general store, he purchased a recording of Scarlatti’s Sonata in B Minor K. 27, and it changed his life.

“It was beautiful,” said Kilgore, who lives in Surry with his wife Annie. “I started learning about Scarlatti, whose works were very hard to come by in those days.”

A few years ago, Kilgore wrote to di Bonaventura, who has made several recordings of Scarlatti’s works, and asked if he would consider a trip to Maine to kick-off the piano recitals at Husson. Kilgore ended up visiting di Bonaventura at Boston University, where he is a professor of music. The two hit it off, and di Bonaventura agreed to play at Husson.

Now, when pianists agree to play for the series, Kilgore, who also donated his family piano to the college, always invites them to play a work by Scarlatti. It’s not a requirement, Kilgore says, and it would be wrong to label the concerts a Scarlatti series. Indeed, this year’s programming includes Chopin, Haydn, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Schumann, Scriabin and others.

But of the six pianists scheduled to perform between now and October, only one declined to play Scarlatti. So it’s fair to say the recitals are quietly dedicated to Kilgore’s favorite composer.

“As far as we can, I want to keep pushing the Scarlatti,” said Kilgore. “But that depends on the good will of the performers. The love I have for piano music – whether it’s Bach or modern stuff – is the basis for the series. But I’d like audiences to have a chance to hear Scarlatti and then decide for themselves. It may not grow on you in one performance, but perhaps over time, his esteemed idiom will interest audiences.”

The Husson Piano Recital Series take place on selected Mondays at 7 p.m. in Kominsky Auditorium located in Peabody Hall. Admission is $15. This year’s series will feature Anthony di Bonaventura (Aug. 27), Konstantinos Papadakis (Sept. 10), Horia Mihail (Sept. 24), Walter Nowick (Oct. 8) and Patricia Stowell (Oct. 22). For information, call 941-7129.