Jonathan Mak
Winner of the 2023 inaugural Bader & Overton Canadian Piano Competition, pianist Jonathan Mak first made his orchestra debut at the age of four. Since then, he has been a guest soloist with numerous orchestras, most notably the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Jonathan’s recent accomplishments include the First Prize at the 2024 San Antonio Tuesday Musical Club Young Artists Competition, the Third Prize in the 2022 OSM Competition, as well as special prizes at the Ljubljana Festival International Piano Competition in Slovenia, and the Maj Lind International Piano Competition in Finland. He has also participated in the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and the Dublin International Piano Competition, to name a few. Named as one of CBC’s 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30, Jonathan is a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts – Michael Measures Award and the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award, along with the 2023 Walter Prystawski Prize.
In June 2024, Jonathan will be competing in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in Salt Lake City, Utah as one of 37 pianists chosen for the quarterfinal round from the live preliminary rounds. As a recipient of the 2023/2024 IMAGINE Arts Incubator program, Jonathan will be returning to the Isabel Arts Centre for the Performing Arts in August 2024 to record an audio and video album of solo piano pieces by BIPOC composers revolving around the theme of war and the musical response to it. The program supports artists and their projects through the granting of venue space, production staffing, and artist honoraria.
For the 2024/2025 season, Jonathan will be performing Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Kingston Symphony, and Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 with the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra at Rice. Jonathan has been invited to perform at various festivals including the Bravo! Vail Festival in Colorado, the Festival of the Sound in Ontario, Ottawa Chamberfest, and the Edinburgh International Festival. He has attended various summer festivals, including the Aspen Summer Music Festival, Kneisel Hall Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music, and the Sarasota Music Festival. Jonathan has performed with artists such as Martin Beaver, Yura Lee, Joel Link, and the Viano String Quartet. An advocate for community outreach, Jonathan is a second-year member of DACAMERA’s Young Artist Program, a fellowship program for emerging professional instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers that serves the Houston community.
As a founding member of Trio Menil, Jonathan performs in a Houston-based piano trio formed at Rice University. Trio Menil received the Grand Prize at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition in 2023. Their 2024 season includes performances at the Aperio Concert Series, as well as competing in the 2024 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in South Bend, Indiana.
Jonathan is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the guidance of Jon Kimura Parker. He holds a Master’s of Music and a Master’s of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music, studying with Boris Slutsky. He received his Bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Dr. Daniel Shapiro, as well as minors in Viola and German. For more information visit www.jonathan makpiano.com.
Concert Program
The Enchanted Night is a journey into the mysterious worlds that emerge when night falls and imagination begins to wander. From the quiet stillness of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata to the shifting dreamscapes of Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, the music unfolds like fragments of memory, reverie, and fantasy. These works invite us into realms where the boundaries between reality and imagination dissolve, and where the mind drifts freely between wonder and unease.
As the night deepens, the atmosphere grows more vivid and dramatic. In the legendary tale of Erlkönig, the listener is drawn into a supernatural ride through darkness, where fear, illusion, and fate intertwine. Even the most virtuosic moments carry an undercurrent of storytelling and transformation, reflecting the Romantic fascination with myth, legend, and the unseen.
The program concludes with Brahms’ Third Piano Sonata, a youthful and passionate work. The slow movement yearns reminisces about love under the moonlight, while a familiar fate motif obsessively persists within the other movements.
The Enchanted Night is a reflection on the power of imagination. Dreams, stories, and music allow us to glimpse worlds both beautiful and haunting, hidden just beyond the edge of night.
« La Nuit enchantée » est un voyage au cœur des mondes mystérieux qui se dévoilent lorsque la nuit tombe et que l’imagination commence à vagabonder. Du calme de la Sonate « au clair de lune » de Beethoven aux contrastes changeants des Fantasiestücke de Schumann, la musique évoque des atmosphères de rêverie et de fantaisie. Ces œuvres nous invitent dans des univers où les frontières entre réalité et imagination s’estompent, et où l’esprit flotte librement entre émerveillement et inquiétude.
À mesure que la nuit s’approfondit, l’atmosphère devient plus vive et dramatique. Dans le conte légendaire de l’Erlkönig, l’auditeur est entraîné dans une chevauchée surnaturelle à travers les ténèbres, où la peur, l’illusion et le destin s’entremêlent. Même les moments les plus virtuoses sont empreints d’une narration et d’une transformation sous-jacentes, reflétant la fascination de la période Romantique pour les mythes, les légendes et l’invisible.
Le programme se termine par la Troisième Sonate pour piano de Brahms, une œuvre jeune et passionnée. Le mouvement lent évoque l’amour au clair de lune, tandis qu’un motif familier du destin persiste de manière obsessionnelle dans les autres mouvements.
La Nuit enchantée est une réflexion sur les rêves, les histoires et la musique, nous permettant d’entrevoir des mondes magnifiques et envoûtants, cachés juste au-delà des confins de la nuit.