HEART ON MY SLEEVE HEART ON MY SLEEVE
INCOLLABORATIONWITH:
INCOLLABORATIONWITH:
APRIL2,2025
APRIL2,2025
7:30PM
7:30PM
UTSARECITAL HALL
UTSARECITAL HALL
Heart on my Sleeve A senior recital Andrew
Ramirez, Horn Dr. Jeong-Eun Lee, Piano
Nocturno, Op. 7
Rondo, K. 371
Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578
La La Land
Franz Strauss (1822 - 1905)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) arr. Ronald Romm (1946)
Daniel Vazquez, trumpet
Raymond Saldaña, trumpet
Eva Ayala, trombone
Kenyon McCrary, tuba
Intermission
Justin Hurwitz (1985) arr. Brandon Ridenour (1985)
Concerto for Horn in B-flat Major, Op. 91
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Moderato
Reinhold Glière (1875 - 1956)
Andrew Ramirez is a student of Professor Peter Rubins. This recital is in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Bachelor in Music Studies with a concentration in Education and a distinction in performance.
Program Notes
Nocturno, op. 7
Nocturnes, pieces that are evocative of night, gained popularity during the romantic period. This is ironic considering Franz Strauss’ disdain for romantic era music. However, the piece is a comprehensive exhibition of the wide musical range of the horn, featuring lyrical passages contrasted by the horn’s operatic heroism. The many differing aspects of such a short piece has cemented it as a favorite among horn players.
Rondo, K. 371
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s four horn concertos are staple pieces in horn solo literature. However, it appears he had been working on a 5th concerto beginning in March of 1781, but did not get further than the closing rondo movement. This rondo came into possession of Karl Thomas Mozart, his eldest surviving son who gave away parts of it to his friends as souvenirs. By the end of the 1800s, enough of the rondo had been recovered to publish a performable edition, but another missing page was discovered in 1988.
Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578
Fugue in G Minor (popularly known as Little Fugue) is originally an organ piece written by Johann Sebastian Bach between 1703 and 1707. Its subject is four and a half measures long and is one of Bach’s most recognizable tunes. For this reason the Little Fugue still carries cultural significance today. Aside from being arranged for brass quintet, it has been adapted for many mediums, including other chamber groups, orchestra, drum and bugle corps, and even heavy metal bands.
La La Land
Writing an original musical movie in the modern age is a tall order, as most musical movies today are adaptations of broadway productions. Because of this, director Damien Chazelle struggled to find a studio to finance this dream, which he conceptualized alongside composer Justin Hurwitz, who he has a long partnership with. This partnership began when they were roommates while they both attended Harvard University.
La La Land tells the story of Sebastian, a jazz pianist, and Mia, an aspiring actress, as they fall in love in the show biz of Los Angeles and brave its struggles and the decision of having to choose between their love and their professions.
This arrangement for brass quintet features two songs from the musical, Mia and Sebastian’s Theme, and City of Stars. The 7-note motive of the former is so culturally significant that it is recognizable to many just by hearing it.
Program Notes, cont.
Concerto for Horn in B-flat Major, op. 91
Although he was a lesser known composer at the time, Reinhold Glière was in the same circles as other famous Russian composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich. His only horn concerto was informally commissioned for Valery Polekh, who met Glière at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1950. Glière wrote the concerto in his free time at Polekh’s suggestion and was premiered by Polekh and the Leningrad Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1951.
The concerto, although written at the beginning of the contemporary period, possesses Romanticera traits. Examples of this include a nocturne-like second movement, strong emotional moments throughout all three movements, and chromatic chord progressions.
Valery Polekh read the concerto for the first time and became emotionally overwhelmed by what he had just read. He wrote, “For a few days I did not touch nor try to play the concerto. I was still living through the moment of its birth. It was only when I had somewhat cooled down that I began to study the piece which was so dear to me.”
Glière’s horn concerto is a challenge to even the strongest professional players due to the sheer length required to conquer a near-half-hour long concerto, high expressive demands, and long passages that give little room to breathe.