Themes and Variations
◴ Friday, July 5th • 7PM
⚲ Oakland Hills, Oakland
Artist Max Thill shares the creative process behind his original works, drawn on paper he hand-makes himself according to Renaissance Era techniques, accompanied by music from Franz Schubert and Edward MacDowell, performed by acclaimed pianists Christopher Goodpasture and Audrey Vardanega. The evening explored the interrelated elements between the two mediums within the context of specific themes and variations.
Listen to Recordings from the Performance
Program
Chris Goodpasture
Pianist Christopher Goodpasture has distinguished himself as an adventurous programmer and a refined interpreter of classical repertoire. A Steinway Young Artist, Christopher holds degrees from the Yale School of Music, The Juilliard School, and the Peabody Conservatory. He serves on the piano faculty at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.
Max Thill
Max Thill is an artist, papermaker, and art conservator from Berkeley, California. He is a self-taught artist and a graduate of the University of Chicago, with a degree in philosophy.
His work in oil paint and drawing seeks to recover the in-person, fleshy actuality of the world on handmade, Renaissance-style paper. His work combines control and mastery with the uncontrollable beauty of traditional materials. Unlike the perfect smoothness of a modern paper, the textured surface of handmade paper (a permanent feature from its birth between coarse woolen felts) can never disappear for the artist. Turning away from the ersatz perfection of the machinic, Max’s work seeks to draw out those features that are essential and irreducible in his materials and subjects.
Audrey Vardanega
Praised as a “[musically] eloquent” (San Francisco Classical Voice) player “with the kind of freedom, authority, and strength…that one expects from the world’s finest pianists” and a “bewitching musical presence,” American pianist and arts entrepreneur Audrey Vardanega has performed as a solo and collaborative pianist across Europe, China, and the United States.
In response to her passion for bringing artists together for opportunities for performance, the creation of new work, and interdisciplinary collaboration, Audrey founded Musaics of the Bay in 2019.