“…a few weeks ago I read an English critic’s notice of an early work by Frank Bridge: ‘irredeemably old-fashioned’. How a work written in 1903 could sound anything else than old-fashioned in 1990, it’s hard to understand. Of course what the critic meant to say was, ‘what is the point of digging out an early work by a minor composer, in this day and age?’ And that is the question you might well ask, here and now.”
- Aloys Fleischmann, 1990, before a performance of his Piano Quintet
SonataNo.15inDmajor,“Pastorale”,Op.28– Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
When most musicians think of Beethoven, myself included, we tend to first conjure up a very dark and stormy image. Rarely do we imagine a composer of serene and lyrical pieces, as with this sonata movement. Although Beethoven did not actually give it the title of ‘Pastorale,’ one can see why it ended up with this name. The simple textures make this movement feel grounded, and combined with the blissful harmonies, this piece can make one completely forget their dark and stormy image of Beethoven.
StalhamRiver– Ernest John Moeran (1894-1950)
On to the lesser-known composers. The tumultuous life of Ernest John Moeran is not at all reflected in his music Instead, his works are often peaceful, idyllic presentations of his East English and Irish roots, as well as his love for rural England and folksong, as you will hear in Stalham River He attended the Royal College of Music in London, though his studies were interrupted by World War I. After the war, he was able to return to complete his studies. He flourished during this early period, composing and premiering many works in many genres, including Stalham River
Unfortunately, Moeran later fell into a period of depression and alcoholism, largely due to negative influence from his peers, especially the composer Peter Warlock, whom he lived with for a time. Though Moeran never stopped composing, critics notice that his later works are not as fluent as his works right after the war. After Warlock’s death, a period of homelessness, and a failed, empty marriage, Moeran settled in the town of Kenmare, Ireland, where he finally found a renewed vigor for composition.
SreathdoPhiano
– Aloys Fleischmann (1910-1992)
Irish is a language rarely encountered in music, so coming across a piano piece incorporating Irish piqued my curiosity. Aloys Fleischmann, despite his name, was an Irish composer largely responsible for popularizing classical music in Ireland. In the vein of Moeran (who he had a personal friendship with), his own music largely reflects his Irish background, mixing the characteristics of Irish folk music with the modernist sensibilities of his time. He was a lifetime conductor and held a long tenure as the chair of music at University College Cork, founding the Cork Symphony Orchestra. As a director, he championed Irish music at a time when English colonialism made such a move controversial.
The Sreath do Phiano contains five contrasting movements. As mentioned above, the movement markings are all given in Irish. The piece is one of Fleischmann’s first published compositions, and as such, he wanted to give it a distinctly Irish identity, evident in its sound. The work was also published under a pseudonym, Muiris Ó Rónáin, in order to make it seem more authentically Irish. Fleischmann recalled that Moeran had, by chance, come across the suite and told Fleischmann that he was surprised to see the Irish language used – but due to the pseudonym, had no idea it was Fleischmann who wrote it!
EmbraceableYou(Etudeno.4) – George Gershwin/Earl Wild (1898-1937)/(1915-2010)
Earl Wild had successful and prolific careers as both a performer and composer. In his compositions and transcriptions, he effortlessly blends the worlds of jazz and classical music into a new, unique entity. This etude is from a set of ‘Seven Virtuoso Etudes after George Gershwin,’ which are essentially exactly what they sound like –
virtuosic transcriptions of some of Gershwin’s most popular jazz standards. ‘Embraceable You’ was originally written for one of Gershwin’s musicals, but has remained quite a popular tune in its own right. Earl Wild’s transcription of it transforms the sultry love song into a shimmering and eventually explosive ballad, that dare I say sounds more sincere than the original.
PianoSonataNo.1,Op.22– Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)
I believe this was the first piece I ever performed in this hall. When this piece was first introduced to me, I immediately knew I wanted to play it as I’d never heard any piano music like it before. Alberto Ginastera divided his own music into three periods based on style, and this sonata belongs to his middle period of ‘subjective nationalism.’ Virtually all of his pieces are strongly influenced by his home country of Argentina; the term subjective nationalism refers to these elements being present, though not always in a straightforward way. However, this movement in particular features very clear use of mixed meter, folk-inspired lyrical melodies, and high, enthusiastic energy taken from Argentinian dance.
DownbytheRiverside(fromFourNorthAmericanBallads)– Frederic Rzewski (1938-2021)
Frederic Rzewski is notable for the themes and messages he incorporates into his music, often quite explicitly. ‘Down by the Riverside’ is a fairly well-known spiritual with an anti-war message. The other pieces in the set of Four North American Ballads have similar backgrounds, being based on North American folk songs with social themes, often involving the early 20th-century labor movement.
Rzewski’s music itself is quite difficult to define; this piece alone moves through many genres, though the tune of ‘Down by the Riverside’ can always be heard. I find myself drawn to the strange and unique tonality in his pieces, pushing the limits of tonality as far as they can go while never quite fully breaking away – though, this piece has quite a few tame and tonal moments for Rzewski. His music (including this piece) often calls for improvisation, as well.
Ballade,Op.6– Amy Beach (1867-1944)
I hadn’t heard of Amy Beach until I was part of a concert held here, performing her Grand Mass in E-flat, Op. 5 in 2022. I’m grateful we did, as experiencing her music and learning more about her story and voice was one of the key motivators for me to seek out and share composers with less-heard voices. Beach’s voice in particular has quite a story behind it; she had a strong piano performance career in childhood, but a sudden marriage at age eighteen placed many restrictions on her career. Her husband (of more than twice her age) necessitated that she focus on composing rather than performing, and although she did not remain married to him her whole life, she continued to compose.
Beach’s Ballade is an apocalyptic love story. It is essentially a piano transcription of a song she wrote previously, titled My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose. The text of the song has the singer expressing their love for another, “till the seas gang dry… and the rocks melt with the sun.” Although this piano rendition has no text, Beach still highlights this apocalyptic imagery with a sudden and dramatic shift in tone in the middle of the piece. This feeling carries until the piece’s climax, where in the text, the narrator’s love is reaffirmed – “and I will come again, my love, though it were ten thousand mile.”