Guest Pianist to Perform at Baylor Sept. 27

September 15, 1997

by Richard Veit

Dr. James Oakes, who teaches piano and music theory at Xavier University in New Orleans, will present a guest recital at Baylor University at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, in Roxy Grove Hall.
The program-titled "Centenaires d'Allemagne et Galanteries d'Espagne" - will consist of music by Domenico Scarlatti, Franz Schubert, Joaquín Turina and Johannes Brahms. This year is the bicentennial of Schubert's birth (1797-1828) and the centennial of Brahms' death (1833-1897). Turina was a Spanish composer, and Scarlatti, though Italian-born, spent much of his creative life in Spain.
Oakes will open the recital with a performance of Scarlatti's "Sonata in C Minor, K. 84," composed in Madrid around 1753. Then he will present Schubert's "Sonata in A Major, D. 664," which dates from the year 1819. The piano suite "El Castillo de Almodóvar" ("The Castle of Almodóvar") was written by Turina in 1931. It is in three movements: "Nocturnal Silhouette," "Medieval Evocation" and "In Full Daylight." The "Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5" of Brahms is the last of that composer's three piano sonatas. It is a youthful work, written in 1854 when Brahms was still in his early twenties.
A native of Everett, Wash., Oakes holds degrees in piano performance from Wheaton College, the Juilliard School of Music and the Catholic University of America. He has performed throughout North America and Europe, and he is a specialist in 20th-century music, particularly that of American composer George Walker.
The recital is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Baylor School of Music at 710-3991.