On Thursday evening, pianist Hans Boepple performed at the Haslam Music Center. With deft hand movements and elegant melodies, Boepple displayed for the crowd both the skill and the splendor that comes with proficiency of the historic instrument.
Boepple has had a long and storied career within the music industry, and has garnered fans along the way.
“I’ve always loved Hans, and well, I couldn’t resist coming down for tonight,” Tyler Clifton, a local music enthusiast, said.
Boepple began his career at a young age, earning the right to play piano alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the mere age of 10. Although this was not the end of his symphonic career, as Boepple proceeded to play for distinguished organizations such as the Metropolitan Opera House Orchestra and the Santa Rosa Symphony.
Boepple continues to push his career further by earning honors and awards including, but not limited to, the Kosciuszko Chopin Piano Competition, the Coleman Chamber Music Award and the prestigious International J.S. Bach Competition.
While Boepple is in high demand as a performer, he also remains adamant about spreading his knowledge of the ivories to younger generations. As a professor who is known for challenging his students, Boepple has enabled many of his students to become professional musicians and to bring Santa Clara University more than 150 accolades between them all. This sentiment of helping the younger generation express themselves was echoed by the amount of parents who brought their children to see Boepple.
“Music stimulates their mind and creativity, and is just a really awesome form of discipline,” Mantaz Palmer, a parent at the event, said.
As the lights dimmed and a hush fell over the crowd, Boepple strode out, and without uttering a word, lowered onto his chair and began to play. He showcased his talent as his fingers moved precisely across the keys, easily switching between pieces of high intensity to calmer, more somber pieces. One of his great moments in the concert was during César Franck’s “Prelude, Chorale and Fugue.”
Boepple played the quiet, softer elements of the first half, and expertly finished the aggressive and bombastic nature of the second half. Throughout the show, he violently slammed his foot or shook his arms in a display of his passion for the music.
As the performance winded down to a close and the curtain fell, the audience erupted into a sea of sound, all applauding the musician. The acclaim was so great, that Boepple returned to the stage to perform one more piece before retiring for the night.
Despite the applause from the audience, Boepple said nothing. He bowed, and walked away quietly. While guests mingled and raved about Boepple’s performance, their adoration for the classical instrument’s sound seemed paramount.
