Dr. Fabiana Claure has pursued internationally her career as a concert pianist, performing extensively not only in the United States, but also in Bolivia, Cuba, and Spain. She has performed as a soloist with various orchestras and has been featured in several international music festivals in the US and abroad. Dr. Claure won First Prize in the 2008 University of Miami Concerto Competition, Second Prize in the 2003 Southeastern Piano Competition in North Carolina and was a winner in the 2002 Arthur Fraser Young Artists Piano Competition in South Carolina. In Bolivia, she won First Prize in the 1997 "Mus-Art" Young Pianists National Competition and First Prize in the 1993 "Franklin Anaya" Piano Competition. Dr. Claure began her musical studies in Cochabamba, Bolivia, graduating from the Instituto Laredo. She continued her studies in Havana, Cuba, where she graduated from the National School of Music. She then entered the Higher Institute of Arts in Havana and after one year of studies, she won a full piano scholarship to continue her undergraduate studies at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. After graduating Cum Laude from the College of Charleston, she received a full scholarship at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where she earned both a Masters of Music and an Artist Certificate degree in piano performance. In 2011, she received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the University of Miami, where she studied under a full scholarship and was also a teaching assistant. During her graduate studies, she was the recipient of prestigious academic awards such as the P.E.O. Scholar Award, where she was selected as one of the 80 fellows from over 800 applications in the US and Canada. She also won the Yamaha In-Residence Award from the College Music Society—one of five awards given nationally to graduate music students majoring in performance to pursue a community outreach and engagement program. In addition to being a pianist and educator, Dr. Claure is also an entrepreneur. She is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Superior Academy of Music in Miami, FL. She was the winner of the “Entrepreneurial Spirit Award” in the University of Miami’s 2011 Business Plan Competition and she received 2nd prize and Best Written Plan for her Superior Academy of Music Business Plan. As an entrepreneur, she has been featured on numerous media outlets including National Television (PBS’s Nightly Business Report). Dr. Claure is a multi-faceted concert artist with a passion for performing, educating, and using music to make a difference in the community. CD Program Notes: Bach’s six English Suites were composed around 1715 while Bach was living in Weimar (Germany), and were not published until after his death. His original manuscript was never found. A manuscript copy made by one of his sons, Johann Christian Bach, suggested the title with its inscription, “fait pour les Anglois” (‘made for the English’). Their underlying structure and compositional characteristics, however, are closer to French music than they are English. The traditional Baroque Suite usually contains four dances: Allemande (German), Courante (French), Sarabande (Spanish), and Gigue (from the English Jig). Bach’s Suite No. 3 opens with a Prelude in Italian concerto style and creates an orchestral sound through varied textures and the use of the whole range of the keyboard. Aside from the traditional four dances, Bach also inserts additional popular dances from the time, as can be found in this Suite’s Gavottes I & II. Beethoven’s Sonata No. 28 Op. 101 was composed in 1816 in Baden, south of Vienna (Austria). It is the first piano sonata from what is considered his “late” period of composition. At this point in his life, Beethoven was almost totally deaf. His works were characterized by intimate and contemplative moods, the free use of musical forms, and the incorporation of contrapuntal genres. This sonata’s first movement has a pastoral feel, with its peaceful and reflective mood. The contrasting second movement has a martial character and is full of technical difficulties—particularly with the rapid figuration and swift changes of registers within the piano. The third movement has an elegiac feel through its somber and improvisatory melodic line. It is briefly interrupted towards the end with a fragment of the first movement’s opening theme, only to segue directly into the fourth movement. This final movement is very brilliant and ends with a technically challenging and complex fugue. Alén’s Theme and Variations were composed in 1999 in Havana (Cuba). Dr. Claure was a pupil of the composer during that time and she performed these variations as part of a recital in Havana shortly after its premiere. The original theme is based on a song called “La Vida (Life)” by Cuban singer/songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, and is followed by ten variations. Alén’s unique harmonic language is characterized by the blending of jazz and popular music sonorities with conventional harmonies. His variations incorporate traditional European genres — such as Prelude (Var. I), Etude (Var. II), Fuguetta (Var. III), Nocturne (Var. VII), Toccatina (Var. IX) — and Cuban dances including the Habanera (Var. IV) and Cha-Cha-Chá (Var. VIII). After the final variation where a beautiful climax is achieved, the theme re-appears once again to give a sense of closure to the entire work. Rachmaninov’s Piano Sonata No. 2 was first composed in 1913 in Russia and was later revised in 1931 when the composer was living in the US. Rachmaninov was an incredible pianist and this sonata reflects his profound understanding of the piano and its infinite possibilities. The sonata is filled with great emotional content and is very virtuosic and technically demanding. Rachmaninov’s characteristic bell-like sonorities can be heard throughout the different themes, particularly in the first and second movements. There are also choral elements in some themes that create a calm and contemplative atmosphere, contrasting the more grandiose and brilliant passages. This sonata is one of Rachmaninov’s most popular piano compositions; pianists all over the world have been performing it and recording it endlessly since its composition. One can never get tired of playing and listening to this sonata, as it is one of the gems of Neo-Romanic piano literature. —Dr. Fabiana Claure