Distinguished Hess Alumni: Clayton Stephenson, piano

Clayton Stephenson, piano

  • J.S. Bach arr. Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924) - Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004 (1892) (16')
  • Bill Evans (1929–1980) - Peace Piece (1958) (5')
  • Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) - Piano Sonata No. 7 (1942) (17')
  • Allegro inquieto
  • Andante caloroso
  • Precipitato
  • J.S. Bach arr. Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924) - Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004 (1892) (16')
  • Originally composed as the monumental final movement of Bach's Partita No. 2 for solo violin, the Chaconne is one of the greatest achievements in Western music. Built upon a repeating harmonic progression, it unfolds as a vast set of 31 continuous variations, transforming a single musical idea into an extraordinary journey of drama, introspection, and triumph. The legendary pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni, deeply inspired by the grandeur of the organ, transcribed many of Bach's organ works for the piano. To Busoni, however, the Chaconne seemed to demand an even larger sonic canvas. Rather than producing a note-for-note transcription, he sought to imagine what Bach himself might have written had the modern concert grand piano been his instrument. The result expands the violin's singular voice into something almost symphonic in scale. Rich sonorities, monumental textures, and organ-like sonorities amplify Bach's contrapuntal writing while preserving the spiritual depth and emotional power of the original.
  • Bill Evans (1929–1980) - Peace Piece (1958) (5')
  • Though celebrated as one of jazz's most influential pianists, Bill Evans was classically trained, studying works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff before devoting himself to jazz. Evans carries his classical background through improvisations like Peace Piece, where we smell faint hints of Chopin’s Berceuse, which also features a simple two-chord bass ostinato that remains unchanged throughout the entire piece. The harmony remains anchored while the upper voice searches, wanders, and meditates, creating a weightless and reflective atmosphere. Peace Piece also mirrors Bach's concept of creating an entire musical universe from a single unchanging idea, replacing strict variation with the freedom of jazz improvisation to create a work of remarkable stillness, beauty, and emotional depth.
  • Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) - Piano Sonata No. 7 (1942) (17')
  • Composed during the darkest years of the Second World War, Prokofiev's Seventh Sonata stands as a masterpiece of compositional imagination in which traditional musical language gives way to the sounds, emotions, and psychological realities of war. The opening movement challenges the conventions of Western harmony as Prokofiev constructs a landscape of fractured rhythms, violent dissonances, abrupt interruptions, and relentless tension. Marked Allegro inquieto ("restless"), it depicts the machinery, anxiety, and emotional devastation of conflict, with every gesture charged with danger. Only in the second movement does the sonata reveal its first true lyrical melody over a stable harmonic foundation. Yet this moment of refuge proves fleeting, as ominous bell-like sonorities and a bleak landscape of death gradually overtake its serenity. The famous final movement, Precipitato ("hurried"), surges forward with unstoppable momentum. Driven by relentless motor rhythms and clashing 7/8 polyrhythms, it propels the work toward one of the most exhilarating and hard-won conclusions in the piano repertoire. Program notes by Clayton Stephenson

American pianist Clayton Stephenson’s love for music is immediately apparent in his joyous charisma onstage, expressive power, and natural ease at the instrument. Hailed for “extraordinary narrative and poetic gifts” and interpretations that are “fresh, incisive and characterfully alive” (Gramophone), he is committed to making an impact on the world through his music-making.

Growing up in New York City, Clayton started piano lessons at age 7, and the next year was accepted into The Julliard School’s Music Advancement Program—a full scholarship program for disadvantaged students—where he lingered to watch student recitals and fell in love with music. Clayton practiced on a synthesizer at home until he found an old upright piano on the street. For the next six years that would be his practice piano, until, at the age of 17, he received a new piano from the Lang Lang Foundation.

He credits the generous support of community programs with providing him musical inspiration and resources along the way. As he describes it, the “Third Street Music School jump-started my music education; the Young People’s Choir taught me phrasing and voicing; Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program introduced me to formal and rigorous piano training, which enabled me to get into Juilliard Pre-College; the Morningside Music Bridge validated my talent and elevated my self-confidence; the Boy’s Club of New York exposed me to jazz; and the Lang Lang Foundation brought me to stages worldwide and transformed me from a piano student to a young artist.”

Highlights of his 2025-26 season include a performance of the Brahms Concerto # 2 with the Cincinnati Orchestra, performances of Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Saratoga Arts Festival, Festival Internazionale Palermo (Italy), Boston Pops and Sarasota Orchestra. He will play the Ravel Concerto in G with the Nashville and Portland (Maine) Symphonies as well as the Stuttgart Philharmonic (Germany). In addition he gives recitals at the Jacobins Festival (Toulouse, France), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Isabella Gardner Museum (Boston) and Crystal Bridges Museum (Arkansas). Clayton finishes his season in spring 2026 on tour with the Stuttgart Philharmonic in Italy.

Recent seasons have included concerto performances with the Houston, North Carolina, Virginia and Cincinnati Symphonies; festival appearances at Grand Teton, Grant Park, and Tippet Rise; recitals at the Kennedy Center for Washington Performing Arts and the 92nd Street Y in New York City; and gala performances with the New York and Las Vegas Philharmonics. He also served as the 2024-25 Artist-in-Residence at the Hartford Symphony.

Clayton Stephenson graduated from the Harvard-New England Conservatory (NEC) dual degree program in spring 2023 with a BA in economics from Harvard and a Masters degree in piano performance from NEC under Wha Kyung Byun. In addition to being the first Black finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022, he has been a recipient of a 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, won the inaugural Nina Simone Piano Competition in 2024 and received a Sphinx Medal of Excellence in 2025.

Clayton Stephenson appears by arrangement with the Cliburn Agency.

About the Dame Myra Hess Concerts

The concerts are generously sponsored by the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council and by individual donors.

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