'Funky Rhythms' in Oct. 7 piano concert in Barnes

Xak Bjerken

Xak Bjerken, assistant professor of music, presents "Funky Rhythms," an evening of modern and classical piano music today, Oct. 7, at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall. He will be playing Barbara White's "Reliquary" and Stephen Hartke's piano sonata, as well as Beethoven's Piano Sonatas in D Major (op. 10, no. 3) and A-flat Major (op. 110). This concert is free and open to the public.

White is a composer, clarinetist and scholar on jazz analysis and the role of gender in composition. She holds degrees from Harvard University and the University of Pittsburgh and is currently a member of the faculty at Princeton University. Hartke is a professor of composition at the University of Southern California. His compositions have been performed by, among others, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Hilliard Ensemble. His 1998 piano sonata is in three movements, with the somber outer movements balanced by a lighter, dancelike middle movement.

Beethoven's piano sonatas, famous for their intensity and immense length, are masterpieces of the genre. The Sonata in D Major, written when Beethoven was just 28, shows a mature compositional style capable of emotions ranging from the deepest pathos to light wit. The Sonata in A-flat Major, published in 1821, is one of the last sonatas Beethoven ever wrote. Its final movement contains a famous example of the massive fugues that typify his later works.

Bjerken has given numerous solo and chamber music recitals in Europe and the United States and has appeared as soloist with, among others, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Spoleto Festival Orchestra. He has held a chamber music residency at the Tanglewood Music Center and is the pianist of the Los Angeles Piano Quartet.

Bjerken earned his bachelor's degree cum laude at the University of California-Los Angeles and his master's and doctoral degrees from the Peabody Institute.