Students were given the opportunity to name their group’s recital, make a trailer, and set themes posted on the DSOA Piano Instagram. Wang played in the first of four Klavier recitals, naming the first recital “Da Capo,” a musical term meaning “from the beginning.” She performed alongside piano freshman Winnie Huang, piano freshman Joanne Choi, and piano juniors Christopher Linson and Karen Zhao. This recital marked not only the end for Wang, but also the beginning for the two freshmen, adding significance to the name. 

“I went to one of the Klavier recitals (before I went to this school) with a lot of the current  students, like the juniors and seniors now, and I was really inspired by how much they played,” Choi said. “I think when I first went to class this year, I was very nervous. There (were) only two freshmen, me and my friend, and it was very nerve wracking at first, but after my first recital and being alongside all these people, I feel like I really fit in there, and I feel very comfortable being around them (and) working with them.”

Choi worked with Ms. Katz Shear and her personal piano teacher to form her repertoire for the ten minutes she was allotted on stage, choosing to play Scarlatti’s “Sonata K. 531” in E major, Beethoven’s “Sonata Op. 28 No. 15” in D major “Pastoral” IV. Rondo, and “Ballade Op. 118 No. 3” in G minor by Brahms.

“I wanted to showcase as much as I could, so I didn’t really want to play such a long piece that would take up my whole program,” Choi said. “I ended up playing three pieces, and I feel like all those three pieces showcased a different part of my playing, and I felt really proud of that. What I always had trouble on was having a really solid tone, sound, and articulation, and I feel like I really overcame that during the recital.”

Wang has played in Klavier for all four years. For her final year in the recital, she chose to play her conservatory audition pieces, such as “Sonata for Violin and Piano Op. 108 No. 3” in D minor, I. Allegro by Brahms. Wang’s repertoire also consisted of “Sonata Op. 109 No. 30” in E Major, III. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung, or “Songful, with utmost feeling” in English, by Beethoven. This was Beethoven’s third to last piano sonata, dedicated to his close friend’s daughter, Maximiliane Brentano, and one he considered the best he had written, according to the Parlance Chamber Concerts. Finally, Wang ended with the “Prokofiev Sonata.”

“When I was a freshman, I was the only freshman in Klavier, and I think that the most intimidating thing was not only keeping up with the fact I was in a really difficult class, but also creating community because everyone was an upperclassman, so I didn’t really know anyone,” Wang said. “I’ve had the chance to create bonds with every single senior class because I had all those interactions with the upperclassmen. I think that’s really fun that I got to form those connections, not just in music but as people because we saw each other so often. It’s been really bittersweet to think now that I’m in the senior class, and I hope that I leave a good legacy.”

Going into a class full of advanced students created pressure for some, such as Huang.

“I think the most difficult part is keeping up with everyone and trying not to become worse in piano (than is needed for the class),” Huang said. “I don’t want to disappoint anyone after I got all the way to Klavier.”

Huang chose to play the “Chopin Scherzo Op. 31 No.2.” Scherzos encompassed playful composition, and Chopin brought technical challenges as each section had to be played with different dynamics. Dynamic control means having control over the volume and length of each note to establish different tones, telling the story of a song.

“Sometimes while playing a piece, I told Winnie to try and make a story about the piece, like what she felt throughout the piece,” Linson said. “In the beginning of ‘Chopin Scherzo No. 2,’ I told Winnie she could imagine (…) two rabbits talking quietly. Then, the loud chord after could be a predator chasing the rabbits.”

In the second recital, “Infinite Keys,” Linson helped pull chairs on and off stage, fist-bumping the musicians as they came in the Brandt Black Box Theater before their performance and exchanging smiles. He also performed in the “Da Capo” recital with Huang.

“I was really nervous since everyone was going to listen to me, and I had really high expectations for myself because I wanted to play really well,” Huang said. “I thought everyone performed really well on stage, and I want to be just like them and perform just as well next time without being as nervous.”

Peer intimidation and stage fright may have challenged the freshmen, but Linson had strategies to coach them to overcome their fears. From folding origami swans to personal conversations about the future, the piano department’s mentor program tasks upperclassmen like Linson with guiding underclassmen without the presence of a piano. 

“I always tell (the freshmen), ‘You have to think that you’re the best. You have to think that you’re the greatest,’” Linson said. “It’s just me and the piano. I don’t overthink it (by) worrying about the mistakes I might make. If I think that, that’s what’ll end me.”

On Ms. Katz Shear’s whiteboard, the dates Jan. 27 and Jan. 29 were drawn in a box with a pink Expo marker under the words “Studio Class,” which was the mock recital where the “Da Capo” students played their full repertoire and rushed in the students from the chamber orchestra they duetted with to perfectly mimic the actual performance. Ms. Katz Shear left personal critiques and final comments before the students played Feb. 6 in the Brandt Black Box Theater from 6 to 8 p.m. Under the spotlight, they were watched by family, friends, and peers for their year’s work, playing for ten to twenty-two minutes from memory. 

“It was a very supportive environment,” Huang said. “In groups or in studio classes, although I didn’t think I played well, my classmates still encouraged me and said that I would do well when I actually performed, so I think that encouraged me to practice more and hopefully play better at the recital.”

Since the beginning of the year, the “Da Capo” group met with Ms. Katz Shear, who listened to their playing and instructed on how to improve. Piano department vice president and piano junior Karen Zhao said she noticed growth as these sessions progressed.

“I’ve seen throughout the year leading up to the recital how much we’ve all become better with our pieces, more musical, and got our memorization better,” Zhao said. “We’ve also become closer as a group. At first, I wasn’t really close with the freshmen because I never really met them before. But now, we say, ‘Hi,’ to each other in the hallways and talk to each other and make jokes.”

The Klavier recital came with the challenges of choosing advanced pieces. Zhao chose to play many technically challenging pieces, such as “Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 5,” or the “Black Key Sonata.” This étude, or piece made to practice musical technique, transformed into one to be performed, was named for the right hand only playing on black keys of the piano besides one note. This hand is also playing in constant legato, a technique where notes are slurred together, one after another. This technique can be demanding on the wrist when used throughout the entire song. Another intricate piece Zhao played was “Prelude Op. 32 No. 10” in B Minor by Rachmaninoff, or “The Return,” inspired by the painting The Homecoming by Arnold Böcklin. 

“I think one difficulty for me was the Rachmaninoff piece because my hand is supposed to stretch over the octave, which is eight notes,” Zhao said.” That’s kind of hard for me because my hand’s a little bit small, so I missed the notes quite a lot when practicing, but after slow practice, I got it more often than not even though it’s still not totally accurate.” 

Ms. Katz Shear had the students play at senior homes before their recitals in the Brandt Black Box Theater in preparation. 

“That was the first time I actually played my pieces in front of a large audience,” piano senior Hannah Zimmerman said. “It’s gonna feel a little nerve-wracking at first, but I got more comfortable towards the end, and it gave me a boost of confidence to prepare myself for the recital. Normally, my leg would kind of shake on the piano a little bit, but this year I felt very calm, so I feel like a lot of the efforts that Ms. Katz (Shear) is doing to improve our confidence are working.”

Hannah Zimmerman’s pieces were centered around her memories surrounding piano in her childhood, such as in “Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1” in C minor by Chopin, which used the technically challenging doppio movimento agitato, meaning twice as fast and hurried playing.

“(My) mom would put (on) Symphony Hall, which is a radio station, in the car, and they would play nocturnes, symphony sonatas, all this kind of stuff,” Hannah Zimmerman said. “So I would hear these pieces all the time. I remember things like, when I was younger, that Chopin nocturne was one of the most beautiful nocturnes I ever heard. It has a really great chorus section. I mainly chose it because I thought it was incredibly beautiful and also technically challenging. I like a technically challenging piece.”

Her brother, piano senior Jeffrey Zimmerman, also had his final performance, playing songs by composers such as Haydn, Liszt, Martinu, and Rachmaninoff, which he played as a child. He gave a speech of gratitude for his parents and piano instructor before he performed the Rachmaninoff piece.

“Instead of picking pieces just to get (the recital) over with, I picked pieces that I actually enjoyed playing because I knew I would be more confident and practice more if I enjoyed them,” Jeffrey  Zimmerman said. “I played a lot when I was younger, so it was really nostalgic for me to revisit them.”

Although most of the recital was focused on solo performance, duets were implemented between the upperclassmen, whether between a violinist from the chamber group orchestra or another student in Klavier. In Hannah and Jeffrey Zimmerman’s case, they were able to play a duet together, sitting on the same chair as they played the “Grand Galop Chromatique S. 219” by Liszt.

“It just felt very natural,” Jeffrey Zimmerman said. “My sister’s easy to get along with, and (I) thought that (since) it was my senior year, I might as well do one with my sister, and I feel like it’d be easier because we could practice at home.”

With Klavier being the last high school piano class for some, it can be a testament to the pianist’s growth since freshman year. Ms. Katz Shear noted the significance of the Zimmermans from when she first met them, recalling the video of their auditions to the school. 

“When they come in as freshmen and when they leave as seniors, that’s where I really see the growth and how they become wonderful, well-rounded musicians,” Ms. Katz Shear said. “I remember their (the Zimmerman’s) audition during the pandemic and where the piano was placed in the video. I have a very clear memory of that. It’s such a privilege to be able to witness the growth, first of all, mostly as people and then as musicians, over the course of four years. I’m very fond of my students and all the work that they have put in over these years, not just in the art area, but all around.”

Before their last performances, the seniors in the “Infinite Keys” group thanked who they found most noteworthy: their parents, who held up their phones to the students throughout the show as personal spotlights, and their music teachers, who listened along in the audience. Figures ran from their seats as the stars stood together on stage, new faces glowing as they passed bouquets of roses and held the musicians in a tight hug, exchanging smiles before the pianists took their final bow.

Klavier is holding another recital April 28 at 6 p.m. in the Norton Museum.