University of Cincinnati

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Date:______

I, ______, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in:

It is entitled:

This work and its defense approved by:

Chair: ______

Tracing the Stylistic Elements of Robert Starer’s Pedagogical Works to the Twilight Fantasies and Sonata for Piano, No. 3

Document

Division of Graduate Studies At the University of Cincinnati

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

in the Keyboard Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music

August 2007

by Richard G. Van Dyke 7636 Yorkshire Place Cincinnati, OH 45237 [email protected]

M.M. University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music, 1988 B.S. University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, 1976

Committee Chair, Dr. Michelle Conda Advisor: Professor Michelle Conda University of Cincinnati College – Conservatory of Music

Abstract

Tracing the Stylistic Elements of Robert Starer’s Pedagogical Works to the Twilight Fantasies and Sonata for Piano, No. 3 by Richard Gerard Van Dyke

Chairperson of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Michelle Conda, Keyboard Division

This document’s primary function is to trace the twentieth-century stylistic elements present in Robert Starer’s music, including lyricism, rhythm, atonality and technique. It includes the discussion and grading of the four pedagogical sets, Games with Names, Notes and Numbers, Sketches in Color-Set One, Sketches in Color-Set Two and At Home Alone, providing a resource in selecting repertoire for the National Music Certificate Program. Three advanced works, Excursions for a Pianist, Twilight Fantasies, and Sonata for Piano, No. 3, are discussed, outlining their formal design and structure. The document draws together the selected compositions by Starer, tracing the stylistic elements common in the elementary, intermediate, and advanced works.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

I wish to convey my heartfelt appreciation to the following for their assistance and support in completing this project.

Michelle Conda, my advisor and mentor. Thank you for the encouragement and support that was pivotal in completing this project. I am especially grateful for your meticulous review and patience in preparing both the lecture recital and document on this topic.

Elizabeth Pridonoff, my private piano instructor and friend. I am especially grateful for your support and coaching at lessons over the years. I may have never returned to complete this final requirement without your guidance and encouragement to look at twentieth-century music.

Michael Chertok, member of document review committee. Thank you for agreeing to be on the committee responsible for reviewing this document. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Trudi Gaurke and Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation for their cooperation to grant permission to print the musical examples, promoting further research in pedagogical and twentieth-century music.

Michelle Greenlaw and Marcia Lee Goldberg at MMB Music Inc. for their cooperation to grant permission to print the musical examples from Twilight Fantasies, promoting further research in pedagogical and twentieth-century music.

Justin Kolb and Gail Lew for sharing their personal experiences with Robert Starer.

Amy Immerman, Sheila Vail and Atarah Jablonsky, colleagues and fellow members of MTNA. Thank you for welcoming me as a member of the Ohio Music Teachers National Association and getting me involved as an independent music teacher.

Lenore Wilkinson, colleague and friend (in memoriam). Thank you for your support in helping me to build my private studio. It was you who introduced me to the music of Robert Starer.

Eugene Pridonoff, Richard Morris, Carolyn Britton, Beverly Hassel, Sister Mary Ambrosine (in memoriam), and Sister Mary Aloise (in memoriam), previous piano instructors. Thank you for inspiring me to study the piano throughout the years. Your guidance has been instrumental in my musical education that is shared with my fellow teachers and students.

My Piano Students. I especially need to thank my students. Their inquisitive minds push me to continue research and to seek out new and different music.

Alice Hampson, Edith Phillips, Mary Athen, Elizabeth Driessen, JoAnne Greenwood, Thomas Kersten, and Robert Van Leeuwe, close friends and family. Thank you for your support and encouragement over the years.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract......

Acknowledgements......

Table of Contents...... i

List of Musical Examples...... iii

List of Tables and Graphs...... vi

Chapters

I. Introduction...... 2 Recent Reasearch...... 6 Rationale...... 8

II. Biographical Summary...... 11 Musical Output ...... 13

III. Pedagogical Works...... 16 Games with Names, Notes, and Numbers...... 19 Sketches in Color-Set One...... 21 Sketches in Color-Set Two...... 23 At Home Alone...... 26

IV. Excursions for a Pianist...... 31

V. Twilight Fantasies...... 38

VI. Sonata for Piano, No. 3...... 46 First Movement...... 46 Second Movement...... 49 Third Movement...... 53

VII. Starer’s Stylistic Elements ...... 58 Lyricism ...... 58 Rhythm ...... 61 Tonality vs. Atonality...... 69 Serialism...... 74

Other Technical Similarities...... 77

VIII. Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations...... 81 Summary...... 81 Conclusion ...... 82 Recommended Research...... 86

Bibliography ...... 90

Appendices...... 96 Appendix A - Permissions ...... 96

MUSICAL EXAMPLES

Number Page

4-1 Excursions for a Pianist, mm. 1-4 34

4-2 Excursions for a Pianist, mm. 78-86 35

4-3 Excursions for a Pianist, mm. 234-247 37

5-1 Twilight Fantasies, m. 1 39

5-2A Twilight Fantasies, “cello” motive, m. 1 40

5-2B Twilight Fantasies, “minor 6th” motive, m. 1 41

5-2C Twilight Fantasies, “rhythm” motive, m.1 41

5-3 Twilight Fantasies, mm. 2-13 42

5-4 Twilight Fantasies, mm. 15-29 43

5-5A Twilight Fantasies, “march” motive, mm. 53-56 44

5-5B Twilight Fantasies, “fireworks” motive, m. 63 44

6-1A Sonata for Piano, No. 3, “A Theme,” 1st Movement, mm. 1-8 48

6-1B Sonata for Piano, No. 3, “B Theme,” 1st Movement, mm. 10-19 48

6-2 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 1st Movement, mm. 24-26 49

6-3 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, “A Theme,” 2nd Movement, mm. 1-15 50

6-4A Sonata for Piano, No. 3, “B Theme,” 2nd Movement, mm. 25-29 51

iii

6-4B Sonata for Piano, No. 3, “B Theme,” 1st Movement, mm. 10-11 51

6-5 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, “C Theme,” 2nd Movement, mm. 67-75 52

6-6 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 3rd Movement, mm. 1-3 53

6-7 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 3rd Movement, mm. 19-27 54

6-8 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 3rd Movement, mm. 60-73 55

6-9 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 3rd Movement, mm. 137-146 56

6-10 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 3rd Movement, mm. 267-274 57

7-1 Traditional Jewish Melody 58

7-2 Games with Names, Notes, and Numbers, “Countdown,” mm. 1-4 59

7-3 Sketches in Color-Set One, “Pink,” mm. 1-10 60

7-4 At Home Alone, “In the Birdcage,” mm. 1-4 60

7-5 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 1st Movement, mm. 1-7 61

7-6 Games with Names, Notes and Numbers, “Sliding into the Keys” 62

7-7 Sketches in Color-Set Two, “Aquamarine,” mm. 1-2 62

7-8 At Home Alone, “Pop-time,” mm. 1-4 63

7-9 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 3rd Movement, mm. 60-63 63

7-10 Games with Names, Notes and Numbers, “Evens and Odds” 64

7-11 Sketches in Color-Set One, “Crimson,” mm. 1-4 64

7-12 At Home Alone, “Dancing Next Door,” mm. 10-15 65

7-13 Excursions for a Pianist, “Fast with a light touch,” mm. 83-91 66

7-14 Twilight Fantasies, mm. 15-29 67

7-15 At Home Alone, “Dancing Next Door,” mm. 54-67 68

7-16 Twilight Fantasies, mm. 39-52 69

7-17 Excursions for a Pianist, mm. 243-247 73

7-18 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 3rd Movement, mm. 275-279 73

7-19 Twilight Fantasies, mm. 201-203 74

7-20 Games with Names, Notes and Numbers, “Twelve Notes, Twelve Times” 74

7-21 Sketches in Color-Set One, “Grey,” mm. 1-18 75

7-22 Sketches in Color-Set Two, “Silver and Gold,” mm. 1-7 76

7-23 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 2nd Movement, mm. 1-15 77

7-24 At Home Alone, “Shadows on the Wall,” mm. 1-12 78

7-25 Twilight Fantasies, m. 63 79

7-26 At Home Alone, “Pop-Time,” mm. 25-34 80

7-27 Sonata for Piano, No. 3, 3rd Movement, mm. 85-90 80

TABLES AND GRAPHS

3-1 Music of Robert Starer; Sets of Graded Pedagogical Pieces 18

3-2 Games with Name, Notes and Numbers 20

3-3 Sketches in Color-Set One 23

3-4 Sketches in Color-Set Two 26

3-5 At Home Alone 30

4-1 Excursions for a Pianist 33

7-1 Tonality of Individual Pieces from Sketches in Color-Sets One and Two 71

7-2 Tonality of Individual Pieces from At Home Alone 72

8-1 OhioMTA Southwest District Pre-Collegiate Buckeye Auditions Graph 84

8-2 Table OhioMTA Southwest District Pre-Collegiate Buckeye Data 84

TRACING THE STYLISTIC ELEMENTS OF ROBERT STARER’S PEDAGOGICAL WORKS TO THE TWILIGHT FANTASIES AND SONATA FOR PIANO, NO. 3

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Robert Starer composed a wealth of literature for the piano that may

be incorporated into the repertoire of advancing students, introducing them to

the performance practices of twentieth-century music. Many teachers are

familiar with the Sketches in Color-Set One because they appear in numerous

publications, including the Celebration Series; The Piano Odyssey. “Purple,”

“Black and White,” “Bright Orange,” “Pink,” and “Crimson” appear in the

Royal Conservatory of Music, Piano Syllabus1 and the Piano Syllabus 2004:

National Music Certificate Program.2 These works are frequently chosen by

students when taking the Grade 6 and Grade 8 National Music Certificate

Examinations. Unfortunately, few teachers are familiar with the quantity and

quality of Starer’s other collections, as well as his more advanced literature.

Starer states in his autobiography, “I have probably selected what

suited me from all the cultures that have touched me, and rejected or ignored

what was incompatible with my nature. In my music, I have been told, there

1 Royal Conservatory of Music, Piano Syllabus (Mississauga, Ontario, Frederic Harris Music, 2001), 49, 60.

2 Royal Conservatory of Music, Piano Syllabus 2004: National Music Certificate Program (Mississauga, Ontario, Frederic Harris Music, 2007), 49, 60.

are elements of Viennese sentiment, Jewish melisma, Near Eastern

playfulness and American jazz. These elements must have been compatible

with my nature to have become part of my style and musical personality.”3

This personal statement is validated by his teacher and mentor, Joseph Tal, in

a letter to Dorothy Lewis, “I remember with great delight his devoted work

both to the pianistic development as well as his sincere approach to the

problems of composition. He is certainly one of those musicians who learn not only from their teacher but from their whole professional environment, and therefore never stop to learn [sic].”4 Although Starer describes the style

of his music as a blend of “Jewish melisma, Near Eastern playfulness and

American jazz,”5 it presents an important challenge as we try to classify the

various compositional techniques incorporated.

The twentieth century opened with divergent compositional styles,

influencing music in all genres. The impressionism of Debussy incorporated

the use of whole tone and pentatonic scales that, when combined with parallel

harmonies, created a collage of different hues in sound. Stravinsky

incorporated driving rhythms with polytonal harmonies and dissonance in his

early ballets, most notably Petrushka and The Rite of Spring. Bartok

3 Robert Starer, Continuo: A Life in Music (New York, Random House, 1987), 205-206.

4 Dorothy Lewis, The Major Piano Solo Works of Robert Starer, a Style Analysis, DMA Dissertation (Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 1978), 140.

5 Robert Starer, Continuo: A Life in Music (New York, Random House, 1987), 205-206.

researched Hungarian folk music, quoting many folk tunes in his works for

piano to incorporate a renewed sense of nationalism. The popularity of

George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Aaron Copland’s Music for the

Theater sets the stage for the incorporation of American jazz style in classical

compositions.6

Neoclassicism also played an important role also in the first quarter of

the twentieth century. As early as 1905 with Ravel’s Sonatine, we see a

resurgence of classical form.7 Stravinsky’s middle period is best known for its classical revival. Prokofiev embraces this style, as represented by nine piano sonatas, five piano concertos, and five symphonies.8

Expressionism, characterized by the emergence of the twelve-tone

row in classical music after World War I, became a strong influence in

composition during the first half of the twentieth century. Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern provided the roots of the serial movement by placing the twelve chromatic pitches in a specified order to create a “row” of pitches. Post

World War II, serial music begins to expand beyond pitch to include rhythm,

dynamics, and articulation. Strict serialists include Pierre Boulez, Luigi

Dallapiccola, Milton Babbitt, and Ross Lee Finney. This strict serialism

6 Donald Jay Grout, A History of Western Music, third edition (New York, W.W. Norton and Company, 1980), 697, 698.

7 Robert P. Morgan, Twentieth-Century Music: A History of Musical Style in Modern Europe and America (New York, W.W. Norton and Company, 1991), 124, 125.

8 Ibid., 240.

began to lose favor in the 1960s as composers chose to look for a

characteristic sound without limitations.9

Robert P. Morgan describes the Post-Serial Age (music composed

after 1960) in Twentieth-Century Music as “The New Pluralism.”10 He

discusses how some composers began to view indeterminacy and serialism as

“the two extremes of a virtually unlimited range of compositional options, all

equally available for exploration.”11

Though some composers may be identified with a specific style, many have experimented with the different compositional techniques presented in the twentieth century. Stefan Kostka gives an excellent summary describing the frustrations one feels when attempting to categorize the music of this era,

“And so the twentieth-century music continues as it has always been – a

maddening but fascinating collage of approaches and materials, a period

without a style. It may be, of course, that the differences among composers

and techniques that seem so blatant to us now will appear to be only matters

of detail to later generations and that the music of the twentieth century will

have a characteristic ‘sound’ that will be easily identified …. But those who

9 Judith Lang Zaimont, “Twentieth-Century Music: An Analysis and Appreciation,” in The Art of Teaching Piano: The Classic Guide and Reference Book for all Piano Teachers, ed. Denes Agay, 350-351 (New York, Yorktown Music Press, Inc., 2004).

10 Robert P. Morgan, Twentieth Century Music (New York, W. W. Norton and Company, 1991), 407-422.

11 Ibid., 408.

struggle to understand twentieth-century music are generally more impressed by its contrasts than by its consistencies.”12

It is necessary to understand the many different approaches to musical composition in the twentieth century to ascertain how Robert Starer’s music fits into the Post Serial Age, representing the “New Pluralism.” In an effort to understand his approach to composition, Excursions for a Pianist, Twilight

Fantasies, and Piano Sonata, No. 3, Games with Names, Notes, and

Numbers, Sketches in Color-Set One, Sketches in Color-Set Two, At Home

Alone, and select pedagogical works will be discussed. The stylistic elements appear in the pedagogical works in the simplest form. These elements, as they become more complex, can be traced from the elementary to the advanced works.

RECENT RESEARCH

Four recent dissertations on the piano music of Robert Starer include:

The Solo Piano Music of Robert Starer (1990) by Kevin Bradley Ayesh, 13

Selected Intermediate-level Solo Piano Music of Robert Starer: a

12 Stefan Kostka, Materials and Techniques of Twentieth-Century Music, 2nd Ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall, 1999), 309.

13 Kevin Bradley Ayesh, The Solo Piano Music of Robert Starer, DMA Dissertation (University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 1990), 1.

Pedagogical and Performance Analysis (1995) by Nancy Mei-Ling Tye, 14

The Major Piano Solo Works of Robert Starer, a Style Analysis (1978) by

Dorothy Lewis, 15 and Similarities Between Two Dissimilar American Piano

Sonatas of the 1960s: The Second Piano Sonatas of Robert Muczynski and

Robert Starer (1994) by Karen Marie Fosheim. 16 These dissertations discuss

Starer’s music composed prior to 1986 and exclude the three large scale

works, Twilight Fantasies, Excursions for a Pianist, and Sonata for Piano,

No. 3.

Nancy Mei-Ling Tye provides a detailed analysis of At Home Alone,

Four Seasonal Pieces and Mountain Calls. This analysis provides

comprehensive theoretical and pedagogical information for each movement

along with suggested performance practices. Though limited to intermediate repertoire, this document is a very useful guide in the analysis of Starer’s

miniature pieces. Her dissertation also provides an annotated description of

each of Starer’s published works through 1995, divided into elementary,

14 Nancy Mei Ling Tye, Selected Intermediate-Level Solo Piano Music of Robert Starer: A Pedagogical and Performance Analysis, DMA Dissertation (Norman, University of Oklahoma, 1995), 28-53.

15 Dorothy Lewis, The Major Piano Solo Works of Robert Starer: A Style Analysis, DMA Dissertation (Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 1978), 1.

16 Karen Marie Fosheim, Similarities between two dissimilar American Piano Sonatas of the 1900s: The Second Piano Sonatas of Robert Muczynski and Robert Starer, DMA Dissertation (University of Arizona, 1994), 1.

intermediate, and advanced repertoire, giving the teacher the opportunity to

choose literature appropriate for a variety of students.

Dorothy Lewis focused on the large scale works, Evanescents, Sonata

for Piano No. 1, and Sonata for Piano No. 2. Her dissertation provides a

detailed biographical sketch of Robert Starer, including direct

correspondence with Starer and Joseph Tal, Starer’s composition teacher at

the Jerusalem Conservatory.17 The analysis of these complex works includes

a discussion of the cyclical nature of the major piano works.18 Such analysis

is directly applicable to the Sonata for Piano, No. 3, and indirectly to the

Twilight Fantasies, and to the Excursions for a Pianist.

Kevin Bradley Ayesh completed the formidable task of recording and

discussing the complete piano works of Robert Starer through 1985. His dissertation provides a general description of these works.

In Karen Marie Fosheim’s dissertation, the discussion is limited to

Starer’s Sonata No. 2, and focuses on its similarities with the Sonata No. 2 by

Robert Muczynski.

RATIONALE

Why study the music of Robert Starer? Can it inspire other musicians to perform more twentieth-century music? Since Starer’s music is a blend of

17Dorothy Lewis, The Major Piano Solo Works of Robert Starer: A Style Analysis, DMA Dissertation (Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 1978), 140.

18 Ibid., 89.

many different styles, it provides an ideal starting point to begin the

exploration of innovative music from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Few composers have such a diverse output that can be performed by students

at all levels, allowing the pedagogue the opportunity to introduce twentieth-

century music early in their students’ curriculum. Starer’s piano music covers

the complete spectrum of compositional form from the miniature to the full

scale sonata.

A thorough study of many of Starer’s shorter pedagogical pieces

enhances the performer’s understanding of his longer complex and

technically challenging works. Starer states: “Pieces composed for young

people are usually not too long. If they are for a single instrument or chorus,

they can sometimes be completed in a single sitting, a session that stretches

in the mind from the moment of initial conception to the final notated musical

shape. Writing like that is a joy and I seem to have had some of my better

ideas in just such short works, ideas that often get expanded into larger

forms.”19

The composition of pedagogical pieces frequently occurred in the

past. The Album for the Young by Robert Schumann is a set of forty-three short pieces clearly designed to prepare students for the more difficult compositions to be studied in the future. There are thirty-eight individual

19 Robert Starer, “Music for the Young,”, Music Journal 31, no. 8 (1973): 18.

pieces collectively in Robert Starer’s Games with Names, Notes, and

Numbers (12 pieces), Sketches in Color-Set One (7 pieces), Sketches in

Color-Set Two (7 pieces), and At Home Alone (12 pieces). These pieces also prepare students for more advanced repertoire.

Other composers considered the pedagogical nature of their compositions. Album for the Young by Lowell Liebermann contains eighteen short pieces that are in a progressive order of difficulty, spanning grades one through eight. J.S. Bach, W. A. Mozart, Robert Muczynski and Bartok also composed progressively difficult repertoire. Pyotr Il’ych Tchaikovsky and

David Diamond are among the many composers that have written sets titled

Album for the Young.

In Starer’s easier pedagogical works we can see the stylistic elements in their most basic form. Chapter Three, devoted to the pedagogical works, levels the difficulty of the pedagogical pieces from Games with Names,

Notes, and Numbers, Sketches in Color-Set One, Sketches in Color-Set Two, and At Home Alone. Chapters Four through Six are dedicated to the analysis of Excursions for a Pianist, Twilight Fantasies, and Sonata for Piano, No. 3.

In Chapter Seven, the stylistic elements are traced from the pedagogical pieces through the more advanced repertoire, focusing on lyricism, rhythm, tonality and atonality, and technical development. Concluding statements and recommended research complete the dissertation in Chapter Eight.

CHAPTER 2

BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY

A discussion of Starer’s personal life is essential to understand his

music and trace the stylistic elements from the elementary through advanced

piano literature. Robert was exposed to dramatically different cultures

throughout his youth that clearly influenced his musical development.

Robert Starer was born in Vienna in 1924 and died in New York in

2004. He was a gifted young musician, entering the State Academy of Music

in Vienna at the age of 13. Because of his Jewish heritage, he was expelled

from the Academy in 1938 with the onset of the Anschluss, just prior to

Hitler’s triumphal entry into Vienna. He then auditioned for Emil Hauser, the

Director of the Jerusalem Conservatory, where ultimately he matriculated.

His primary composition teacher was Joseph Tal from 1938 -1943. At the

encouragement of Joseph Tal, Starer studied Arabic music with Ezra

Aharoni, an oud player from Baghdad. He then notated many of Aharoni’s

improvisations. It was during this period that Starer composed his Concerto

for Two Ouds and Orchestra.20 Because of his experience working with

Aharoni, Starer assisted an Arab colleague who attended the Palestine

Conservatory in the notation of an opera. The operatic melodies often varied in pitch even when repeated notes of varying rhythms occurred, making it

20 Robert Starer, Continuo; a Life in Music (New York, Random House, 1987), 47.

very challenging to notate these mideastern melismatic melodies into

traditional western music.21

After leaving the conservatory, he volunteered to serve in the Royal

British Air Force from 1943-1946. It was the custom of the British to assist enlisted soldiers in completing their studies when they interrupted their education to serve in the armed forces for more than three years. His original intent was to study in London at the Royal Academy of Music, but there were no openings. He was given alternate choices to study in New York or Paris.22

Hence, upon completion of his service in 1946, he attended the Berkshire

Music Center as a student of Aaron Copland. In 1947, he entered the Julliard

School of Music for post-graduate work to study with Frederick Jacobi.23 As a student at Julliard, Starer worked as an assistant to Sergius Kagen, the famous collaborative pianist who specialized in vocal music.24

Starer’s teaching career spans forty-two years, from 1949 to 1991,

including appointments at the Julliard School (1949 – 1974), City University

of New York – Graduate Center, and Brooklyn College (1963 – 1991).

During that time he was honored with two Guggenheim Fellowships, and

21 Robert Starer, Continuo; a Life in Music (New York, Random House, 1987), 47.

22 Ibid., 72-73.

23 Lewis Stevens, Composers of Classical Music of Jewish Descent (Portland, OR, Vallentine Mitchell, 2003), 335.

24 Robert Starer, Continuo, A Life in Music (New York, Random House, 1987), 77.

grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ford Foundation.

Starer became a U.S. citizen in 1957, and was elected a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1994. Starer also had two literary

books published; Continuo: A Life in Music, his autobiography, and The

Music Teacher, a novel.25

Conductors who championed Starer’s works include Gerhard

Schwarz, William Steinberg and Dimitri Metropolis. Major orchestras that

have performed his works include the New York Philharmonic Orchestra,

Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony and the Pittsburg Symphony.

Interpreters of his music include Itzhak Perlman, David Bar-Illan, Justin

Kolb, Jaime Laredo, Leontyne Price, Janos Starker, and Paula Robison.

Itzhak Perlman’s recording of Starer’s Violin Concerto with the Boston

Symphony was nominated for a Grammy Award.26

MUSICAL OUTPUT

Composing more that 150 works, Robert Starer’s musical output includes works for solo piano, piano ensemble, solo strings and winds, chamber music, band, orchestra, operas, ballets, voice and choir. The works for piano can be divided into four groups; solo pedagogical works, solo advanced works, duo piano, piano duet literature, and concertos. The solo

25 Robert Starer, http://www.robertstarer.com./music_by_instrument.htm (accessed June 3,2007).

26 Ibid.

pedagogical works are predominantly miniatures composed in sets from three

to twelve individual pieces. The three sets that include twelve individual

pieces are Twelve Pieces for Ten Fingers, Games with Names, Notes, and

Numbers, and At Home Alone. There are also three sets that have seven

pieces, including Sketches in Color-Set One, Sketches in Color-Set Two and

Seven Vignettes. Other pedagogical pieces include Four Seasonal Pieces,

Three Israeli Sketches, Five Preludes, Mountaincalls, Hexahedron (A Figure

Having Six Faces), and Three Works for Solo Piano.27

The more complex advanced pieces include three piano sonatas,

Evanescents, Prelude and Toccata, Excursions for a Pianist, The Ideal Self

(Fantasy, Variations, and Fugue on a Song), The Seven Faces of Fernando

(Harpsichord or Piano), and Electric Church and the Wall of Jerusalem.

Piano duet and duo literature include Five Duets for a Young Pianist,

Synergy, The Fringes of a Ball, and Sonata for Two Pianos. Starer also composed three concertos for solo piano and one for two pianos.28

Starer’s output for other instruments includes many works for flute,

oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, saxophone,

percussion, harp and organ. His chamber music output includes three string

quartets, two piano quintets, a string trio, four brass quintets, two brass

27 Robert Starer, http://www.robertstarer.com./music_by_instrument.htm (accessed June 3,2007).

28 Ibid.

quartets, as well as other combinations of instruments. There are eight

additional concertos for instruments other than piano including Concerto a

tre for Clarinet, Trumpet, Trombone and Strings, Concerto a Quattro for

Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn and Strings, and concertos for violin, viola,

and cello. Additional instrumental works include numerous works for band

and orchestra, most notably the Hudson Valley Suite. 29

Several stage works were written, including the opera Apollina with

librettist Gail Godwin and the ballet Samson Agonistes for choreographer

Martha Graham.30 Other collaborations with Gail Godwin, his life partner

who he met at Yaddo in the summer of 1972, include The Last Lover,

Journals of a Songmaker, Anna Margarita’s Will, Transformations, and

Letter to a Composer. There are at least fifteen choral works, both a cappella

and with instrumental accompaniment, including The Ideal Self (text by Gail

Godwin).31

29 Robert Starer, http://www.robertstarer.com./music_by_instrument.htm (accessed June 3,2007).

30 Sigma Alpha Iota, Philanthropies Inc., Composers Bureau. Robert Starer, http://www.sai- national.org/phil/composers/rstarer.html (accessed April 4, 2004).

31 Robert Starer, http://www.robertstarer.com./music_by_instrument.htm (accessed June 3,2007).

CHAPTER 3

PEDAGOGICAL WORKS

Many composers have written pieces specifically for the advancing

pianist. Selections from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, the

Sonatinas Op. 36 by Muzio Clementi, the Album for the Young Op. 68 by

Robert Schumann, Children’s Pieces Op. 27 and 24 Pieces for Children Op.

39 by Dmitri Kabalevsky and the Mikrokosmos by Bela Bartok are among the

most popular classical literature published in numerous collections for

elementary and intermediate students. New music for the advancing student

continues to be written today, as demonstrated in collections such as the

Album for the Young by Lowell Liebermann, Fables Op. 21 and Diversions

Op. 23 by Robert Muczynski, Amusements by Stephen Chatman and Time

Pictures and Sound Pictures by Emma Lou Diemer. The pedagogical pieces

of Robert Starer can be included as a major resource for the development of the advancing pianist at all technical levels.

Games with Names, Notes and Numbers, Sketches in Color-Set One,

Sketches in Color-Set Two and At Home Alone will be graded and discussed regarding the compositional style of Robert Starer. Two resources were used to determine the grading of specific literature discussed; The Pianists Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature by Jane Magrath,32 and

32 Jane Magrath, The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature (Van Nuys, CA, Alfred Publishing, 1995), xi.

the Piano Syllabus 2004 National Music Certificate Program (NCMP).33

Examples that are graded on the same level in both listings include

Mikrokosmos Vol. 1 by Bartok at Grade 1, “Bright Orange” from Sketches in

Color-Set One by Robert Starer at Grade 6 and Sonata in c minor Op. 10 #1 by Ludwig van Beethoven at Grade 10. Where the grading of a specific piece was not available, it was compared to literature on both lists and a recommended grade was assigned to the specific piece as it could be utilized for a Teacher’s Choice selection in the National Music Certificate Program.34

Starer’s pedagogical pieces can be defined as those pieces of literature that do not exceed the difficulty of the Beethoven Sonata Op. 10 #1.

As demonstrated in the descriptions of the selected sets, it can be determined that Starer’s pedagogical works are appropriate for the elementary through the advanced pianist. A summary of all of the pedagogical sets are represented in Table 3-1, where many are graded 1 through 10 by Jane Magrath in The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching

and Performance Literature. 35 The NCMP grading can be used as a guide for

33 Royal Conservatory of Music, Piano Syllabus 2004: National Music Certificate Program (Mississauga, Ontario, Frederic Harris Music, 2007), 59.

34 Ibid., 16-17.

35 Jane Magrath, The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature (Van Nuys, CA, Alfred Publishing, 1995), 503-509.

the Teacher’s Choice Selection based on the criteria established in the

National Music Certificate Program.36

Table 3-1 Music of Robert Starer; Sets of Graded Pedagogical Pieces Composition Mvts. NMCP Pianist’s General Guide Level 12 Pieces for 10 Fingers 12 Prep – 1 1 – 2 Early Elem. Games with Names, Notes, and 12 4 (#12 only) 1 – 2 Elementary Numbers Sketches in Color-Set One 7 5 – 8 5 – 7 Intermediate The Contemporary Virtuoso 5 5 – 6 Not Graded Intermediate Seven Vignettes 7 7 7 Intermediate Four Seasonal Pieces 4 6 – 7 7 Intermediate Sketches in Color-Set Two 7 8 7 – 8 Late Int. Three Israeli Sketches 3 8 7 – 8 Late Int. At Home Alone 12 8 – 9 7 – 9 Late Int. Hexahedron 6 9 9 Early Adv Five Caprices 5 9-10 Not Graded Early Adv Five Preludes 5 10 Not Graded Advanced Excursions for a Pianist 1 10 10 Early Adv

The pedagogical sets, Games with Names, Notes and Numbers,

Sketches in Color-Sets One, Sketches in Color-Set Two, and At Home Alone, combined with the Excursions for a Pianist, encompass examples from

Grades 1 – 10 in both The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and

Performing Repertoire and Piano Syllabus 2004.

Starer offers a description of what to expect preceding each of these sets of pieces. The pedagogical works of Starer tend to be short one or two page pieces, predominantly in A-B, A-B-A or through composed forms with

36 Royal Conservatory of Music, Piano Syllabus 2004: National Music Certificate Program (Mississauga, Ontario, Frederick Harris Music, 2007), 16.

descriptive titles. Some titles may represent an impression, while others may

directly relate to a skill presented in the particular set.

Games with Names, Notes and Numbers

In Games with Names, Notes and Numbers, Starer writes: “These

pieces move from the easy to the more complex. They are like all games,

quite serious. Each of them can be studied by itself.” 37 In each of the pieces

the title offers the student a clue regarding what to expect. “Abe, Gabe, Ada,

Fae and Ed” has phrases that are based on the spelling of each of the described names. “In the Mirror” is a study in contrary motion. “Echo

Chamber” is a canon with the left hand starting two octaves lower one beat

later. The pedal is kept down for a true echo effect. “Turn-me-around” can be

played with the book in an upright position or turned upside down.

“Countdown” begins with a nine beat measure. Each subsequent measure

decreases by 1 until the ending. “Evens and Odds” alternates measures with

odd meters and even meters. “Up and Down, Right and Left, Over and

Across” has your hands doing exactly the same motion as the title implies.

“Darkness and Lightness” introduces high and low tones, and consonance

and dissonance. “Giving and Taking Away” is a long crescendo, with notes

being added for a thicker texture and followed by a diminuendo and taking

notes away for a leaner texture. “Walking with Fingers” utilizes the second

37 Robert Starer, Games with Names, Notes and Numbers (MCA Music Publishing, Milwaukee, WI, 1992), 7.

and third fingers of both the right and left hands always moving in stepwise motion between the two fingers. “Sliding into Keys” changes from one key to the next without traditional modulation. “Twelve Notes Twelve Times” uses all twelve tones in succession twelve times.38 These are fun pieces for the elementary pianist, while breaking away from traditional harmonic progressions. Teachers may find the grading in Table 3-2 useful in assigning the individual pieces from this set. The final column lists the basic skills addressed in each movement.

Table 3-2 Games with Names, Notes and Numbers Mvt. Title NMCP Pianist’s Basic Skill Teacher’s Choice Guide 1 Abe, Gabe, Ada, Fae, and Preparatory B Level 1 Note-Reading Ed 2 In the Mirror Preparatory B Level 1 Contrary Motion 3 Echo-Chamber Grade 1 Level 1 Playing in Canon 4 Turn-Me-Around Grade 1 Level 1 Playing in Canon 5 Countdown Grade 1 Level 1 Meter Changes 6 Evens and Odds Grade 1 Level 1 Meter Changes 7 Up and Down, Right and Grade 2 Level 2 Changing Positions Left, Over and Across 8 Darkness and Light Grade 1 Level 2 Changing Positions 9 Adding and Taking Away Grade 1 Level 2 Dynamic Contrast 10 Walking with Two Fingers Grade 2 Level 2 Changing Positions 11 Sliding into the Keys Grade 3 Level 2 Jazz Style 12* Twelve Notes, Twelve Grade 4 Level 2 Solid and Broken Times Chords

* Indicates selection listed in the 2004 NMCP Syllabus

38 Robert Starer, Games with Names, Notes and Numbers (MCA Music Publishing, Milwaukee, WI, 1992), 7.

Sketches in Color-Set One

Robert Starer composed the Sketches in Color: Seven Pieces for

Piano, Set One in 1963, the year his son Dan took piano lessons. He

comments about these pieces, “While looking for sounds to match colors, I

observed Dan in order to discover what children like and dislike. Children do

not like bombast or boredom and they see through pretentiousness much

better than adults do.”39

These little miniatures are quite appealing and popular to all students.

Starer prefaces these pieces on the first page, “Sketches in Color (Seven

Pieces for Piano) are intended for study as well as for performance. The titles are obviously rather personal, since associations between sounds and colors are arbitrary at best. The pieces employ different 20th century techniques to

create their different moods.”40 The seven movements include “Purple,”

“Shades of Blue,” “Black and White,” “Bright Orange,” “Grey,” “Pink,” and

“Crimson.” These are for students prepared to play literature at the

intermediate level.

“Purple,” a slow and colorful piece, is a bitonal piece with the right hand playing solid triads over open fourths or fifths in the left hand.

Intermittent passages occur with the right hand and left hand playing the same melodic line three octaves apart.

39 Robert Starer, Continuo: A life in Music (New York, Random House, 1987), 200.

40 Robert Starer, Sketches in Color, Set One (New York, MCA Music Publishing, 1964), 1.

“Shades of Blue” has appeal as a jazzy blues piece. It is performed at a moderately fast tempo. The melodic line is played by the right hand over a perfect fifth in the left hand that moves mostly in stepwise motion.

“Black and White” is also bitonal, but this time the left hand is playing broken chords. The hands take turns playing on all white or all black keys. The left hand opens playing on the white keys while the right hand plays on the black keys. This pattern continues throughout the piece, alternating sections where the hands switch back and forth from white to black, and black to white keys. The right and left hand never play on the same “color” of keys simultaneously.

“Bright Orange,” perhaps one of the most popular pieces in this set, is a fast driving piece with jazzy syncopations. The right hand melody drives to the ff climax on a strong dissonance. The melody is played over root position triads with the final cadence ending in C major.

“Grey” is an excellent choice to study the creation of a twelve-tone row. The series is defined in the score as well as the inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion. This is also an excellent choice to develop pp playing.

“Pink” represents one of the finest examples of Starer’s lyrical style.

The melody is written in the right hand, with frequent changes between duple and triplet eighth notes. Meter changes occur intermittently, requiring a good

sense of rhythm and pulse. The frequent change of tonal centers supports a beautiful melody with well rounded phrases.

“Crimson” is another driving and exciting piece. Starer utilizes asymmetrical rhythms to enhance the energy that defines this bright color.

Written in 7/8 time, the rhythm is grouped by 4+3 eighth notes. This asymmetric pulse is constant throughout the piece, providing the driving force which culminates in an authentic cadence.

The pieces of this set are summarized in Table 3-3. This guide may be useful to choose which piece of the set works best for the individual student and the particular skill required.

Table 3-3 Sketches in Color-Set One Mvt. Title Teacher’s Pianist’s Basic Skill Choice Guide 1* Purple Grade 6 Level 6-7 Polytonality 2 Shades of Blue Grade 5 Level 5 Jazz Style, Parallel Motion 3* Black and White Grade 6 Level 5 Bitonality 4* Bright Orange Grade 6 Level 6-7 Jazz Syncopation 5 Grey Grade 7 Level 6 12 Tone Row 6* Pink Grade 8 Level 6 Lyricism 7* Crimson Grade 8 Level 7 Asymmetric Rhythms (7/8)

* Indicates selection in the 2007 NMCP Syllabus

Sketches in Color-Set Two

This set also has seven movements with each named after a different color. Starer describes these as “… more advanced than Set One, both in the

demands they make on the player and in the compositional techniques

employed.”41 In Gail Lew’s edition of the Sketches in Color-Set Two, she

comments on Starer’s works, “Robert Starer has developed an individual

style marked by innovative tonalities and energetic rhythms. Sketches in

Color- Set One and Sketches in Color-Set Two are imaginative, refined,

interesting, vital, and musically alive. This music retains and sharpens the

student’s musical interest, whether he is a child or an adult. This is done

while developing the techniques necessary for mastery of the instrument.”42

The individual movements are titled “Maroon,” “Aluminum,” “Silver

and Gold,” “Khaki,” “Pepper and Salt,” “Aquamarine,” and “Chrome

Yellow.” This set is considerably more dissonant and rhythmically more complex than the first set.

“Maroon” is characterized by dramatic changes in dynamics with dissonant tone clusters, colored by the imaginative use of the pedal. The tempo is moderate, with dynamic ranges from pp to ff. The blending of the sounds and rhythm create a timeless aura without melody. This piece is truly an experiment in sound and texture.

“Aluminum” is a fast and clearly articulated piece. Successful performance requires big dynamic contrasts and articulated staccato eighth

41 Robert Starer, Sketches in Color- Set Two (New York, MCA Music Publishing, 1973), 1.

42 Robert Starer, Sketches in Color, Set Two ed. Gail Lew (Miami, Universal-MCA Publishing, 2001), 3.

notes. The polytonal harmonic structure is clearly defined with right hand and left hand alternating white and black keys.

“Silver and Gold” presents a very imaginative legato melody in the right hand played against a detached twelve tone ostinato. This slow and unique piece is one of the more eclectic pieces in this set.

“Khaki,” a short march, requires close attention to articulation and pulse. The left hand grace notes act as a drum roll on the strong beats. This is especially effective when performed with precise rests and a strong marked beat.

“Salt and Pepper” presents the listener with great contrasts. Changes in dynamics are extreme and sudden. This piece requires an excellent sense of pulse and the ability to cleanly articulate changes in register quickly.

“Aquamarine” most closely resembles a jazzy blues style even though it is written in 15/8 time. The melody is written in the right hand, with third inversion seventh chords moving in parallel motion in the left hand.

Though this is a sedate piece, it does require a strong lyrical style and the ability to control a crescendo over three fifteen beat measures.

“Chrome Yellow” demands a strong sense of rhythm. The frequent meter changes require a steady eighth note pulse that must be maintained throughout the piece. With small tone clusters in the right hand, this is the most dissonant in this set.

Sketches in Color-Set Two is summarized in Table 3-4. The suggestions in grading may be applied when assigning these to a student.

Table 3-4 Sketches in Color-Set Two Mvt. Title NMCP Pianist’s Basic Skills Guide 1 Maroon Grade 7 Level 7-8 Sharp Dynamic Contrasts and Pedaling 2 Aluminum Grade 7 Level 8 Articulation, Dynamics 3 Silver and Gold Grade 7 Level 7-8 Lyricism and Balance 4 Khaki Grade 7 Level 7-8 Tone Clusters, Articulation 5 Pepper and Salt Grade 7 Level 7-8 Contrasts in Dynamics and Articulation 6 Aquamarine Grade 8 Grade 7-8 Lyricism, Jazz Style, Rhythm 7 Chrome Yellow Grade 8 Level 8 Changing Meters

At Home Alone

At Home Alone is a set of twelve pieces that present additional challenges that will develop twentieth-century performance skills. The technical demands become more challenging with an expanded use of the keyboard, dynamics, range and articulation. Rhythm becomes more important in this set as students are introduced to more complex meters and measures with no meter. This set may appeal to the more sophisticated student who is looking for something different to play. The set is prefaced with a comment by Starer, “These are dedicated to people who play the piano when they are at home alone. This does not mean that they cannot be played for others, in private or in public, of course they can. It only means that the images, views,

sounds, and thoughts will come, as they did to me, when you are at home

alone.”43 The titles of the twelve pieces are “Dialogue with the Self,”

“Opening Petals,” “Dreams of Glory,” “In the Birdcage,” “A Faded Old

Photograph,” “Pop-Time,” “Herman the Brown Mouse,” “A Small Oriental

Vase,” “Steps to the Attic,” “Shadows on the Wall,” “Deep Down the Soul,”

and “Dancing Next Door.”

“Dialogue with the Self” has extreme changes in register, character and dynamics. Three different ideas are presented; a scale like passage of sixteenth notes, dissonant chords, and a cross hand passage similar to what would be expected in a Scarlatti sonata. The three ideas present themselves as different arguments present themselves when making an important decision.

The tempo marking is ‘Deliberate.’

“Opening Petals” unfolds as the opening of a flower. With a tempo marking of ‘Flowing with rubato,’ it presents an image of the daily opening of a flower as the sun rises. The piece is characterized by chromatism and colorful harmonies, and is a useful study for lyrical playing with a good sense of balance.

“Dreams of Glory” represents the rush one feels imagining their personal success if they were to win a competition. This little march requires

43 Robert Starer, At Home Alone (New York, MCA Music Publishing, 1980), 1.

a strong sense of pulse with close attention paid to the length of rests. The

piece fades away as “reality returns.”

“In the Birdcage” is a dreamy piece with a plaintive melody that

portrays a melancholy feeling. One can imagine that the bird singing this may

wish to fly free. Middle east influences shape this little piece with the

melismatic style of writing that is elongated with two ametric measures.

“A Faded Old Photograph” reminisces about the pleasant memories of

loved ones in the past. Changing meters create a sense of fleeting memories.

This pleasant little waltz has a big crescendo to a ff that fades away at the

end, as the photo album is closed.

“Pop-Time,” composed in 6/8 time, is a fun little piece with jazz

influences. The tempo is marked “Relaxed, with a bounce.” A playful mood

dominates this piece. The piece requires a good sense of pulse and a facile

right hand.

“Herman the Brown Mouse” portrays Herman scurrying around. With

intermittent fermatas and one measure without meter, it is possible to imagine

the little mouse darting across the floor and under the furniture. This piece

requires clean articulation and a good dynamic range.

“A Small Oriental Vase” describes the vivid colors seen when gazing

at an old heirloom. This very chromatic piece requires a good sense of

balance between the right and left hands. Ending on two notes one half step

apart, this piece is one of the most dissonant in the set.

“Steps to the Attic” has tone clusters in parallel motion in the left

hand, creating a sound that mimics hard soled shoes running up a wooden

stairway. A strong sense of pulse, solid chords, crisp articulation, and close

attention to rests are required for a fine performance.

“Shadows on the Wall” presents the creepy side of being at home

alone when you see and hear strange things when the lights are out. Starer writes ‘Slowly, creepily’ as the tempo designation. Coupled with writing in

the extreme registers of the piano and pp dynamics, this piece requires the

ability to play pianissimo and a fluid technique.

“Deep Down the Soul” opens in the lower registers of the piano with

seventh chords spread over 2 octaves, creating the mood of reflection.

Sudden shifts to the higher register in both hands seem to depict an

interrupting thought. Solid chordal technique combined with a broad dynamic

range enhances the performance.

“Dancing Next Door” is a wonderful closing piece. It has driving

asymmetric rhythms with frequent meter changes. This is the most

demanding piece of the set, requiring a huge dynamic range, pp to fff. An

effective performance requires a solid pulse, meticulous articulation, and the

ability to suddenly change the dynamics.

See Table 3-5 for a summary on the grading and pedagogical skills addressed in the twelve piece set, At Home Alone.

Table 3-5 At Home Alone Mvt. Title NMCP Pianist’s Basic Skills Guide 1 Dialogue with the Self Grade 8 Level 8 Dynamic Contrast, Pedaling and Crossing Hands 2 Opening Petals Grade 7 Level 7 Lyricism and Balance 3 Dreams of Glory Grade 7 Level 8 Dynamic Contrast and Articulation 4 In the Birdcage Grade 8 Level 8 Lyricism, Balance, Extreme Ranges 5 A Faded Old Grade 7 Level 8 Lyricism, Balance, Rhythm Photograph 6 Pop-Time Grade 8 Level 9 Dynamic Range, Jazz Style 7 Herman the Brown Grade 8 Level 8 Ametric vs metric measures Mouse 8 A Small Oriental Vase Grade 8 Level 8 Lyricism, Legato Style and Balance 9 Steps to the Attic Grade 8 Level 8 Dynamic Contrasts and Articulation 10 Shadows on the Wall Grade 8 Level 8 Soft Dynamics, Extreme Registers 11 Deep Down the Soul Grade 8 Level 8 Voicing, Dynamic Contrast 12 Dancing Next Door Grade 9 Level 9 Frequent Meter Changes, Asymmetric Rhythms, Pulse

CHAPTER 4

EXCURSIONS FOR A PIANIST

The advanced pieces chosen in this document contrast with the

pedagogical pieces not only by the technical difficulties related to

performance, but also with regard to the actual length. The Excursions for a

Pianist is a continuous one movement work, divided into eight ideas or

“excursions.” Recurring thematic material from the first “excursion” connects

the excursions, providing unity to the composition.

In Excursions for a Pianist, we find a complex and structured piece

that is markedly more advanced than the pedagogical pieces. This early

advanced work is an excellent choice for the student that is not quite ready

for the technical requirements of more advanced twentieth-century

compositions. Gerald Berthiaume gives a vivid description of this work in the notes accompanying his recording Robert Starer: Excursions for a Pianist and other Solo Piano Works. “The sonic explorations in this work have immediate appeal and charm from the dramatic opening to the jazzy feel of swing, to the exciting closing march and finally to the return of the opening material.”44 This impressive work is nearly nine minutes in length, and is

suitable for a hand that can only span an octave. Its greatest technical

difficulties lie in rhythmic complexities, articulation, and the use of the

44 Gerald Berthiaume, Robert Starer: Excursions for a Pianist & Other Solo Piano Works, (Albany, NY, Albany Records, 1996), 3.

extreme registers of the piano. With frequent chromatic alterations, each excursion has a changing tonality or modality. This often occurs by altering a single tone in the melodic line. Individual excursions are titled by the tempo indication. Successively they are titled: “Broadly with power,” “Faster with vigor,” “Slower with tenderness,” “Fast with a light touch,” “Steadily with intensity,” “Relaxed with a jazzy feel,” “Faster with a lilt,” and “Quite fast march-like.”

The general structure of the piece with the variations of the first excursion that connect each of the subsequent excursions can be described in

Table 4-1. Variations of this excursion are denoted by 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F,

1G and 1H. For the purpose of this document numbers will be used to represent the individual excursions, such as “Faster with vigor” is excursion number 2.

Table 4-1 Excursions for a Pianist

Excursion Title Measure Tonal Center 1 Broadly, with power 1 C 2 Faster, with vigor 21 G 1B Like the beginning 55 C-E 3 Slowly, with tenderness 61 E 1C 81 G-D 4 Fast, with a light touch 87 D 1D 111 D - A 5 Steadily, with intensity 120 A 1E 141 A-D-A 6 Relaxed, with a jazzy feel 151 A 1F 164 A-D-A 7 Faster, with a lilt 169 Modulating 1G Tempo of the beginning 182 C 8 Quite fast, march-like 198 Modulating Coda Majestically, tempo of the 233 C 1H beginning

“Broadly with power” opens the set with fortissimo octaves and big leaps in both hands followed by “with freedom,” a passage of triplets played between the hands. A crescendo to fortissimo begins the repeat of the opening octaves. This excursion is used to connect the subsequent excursions with variations corresponding to the character of each subsequent variation

(Example 4-1).

Excursion 1

Example 4-1. Starer, Excursions for a Pianist, mm. 1-4

The second excursion, “Faster with vigor,” opens with dissonant chords in a closed position that are repeated and expanded to the extreme ranges of the keyboard in contrary motion. This is immediately followed by a driving melody, played in both hands but three octaves apart. It energetically gets louder with tone clusters, played by the right hand alternating with single notes in the left hand on the strong beats, until the opening excursion repeats in abbreviated form.

The third excursion, “Slowly, with tenderness,” is quite lyrical, and is a fine example of Starer’s more lyrical writing. The flowing melody changes from duple to triplet to quartal note groups, coupled with frequent meter changes. The excursion ends with a variation of the opening excursion.

Notice the descending line beginning in measure 80, representing variation

1C. This melodic line is reminiscent of the opening line, while setting up the

transition into the fourth excursion (Example 4-2).

Excursion Variation 1C

Example 4-2. Starer, Excursions for a Pianist, “Slowly with tenderness,” 1c, mm. 78-86

The fourth excursion, “Fast, with a light touch,” is characterized by asymmetric rhythm patterns written in 11/8 time. Eighth notes groups of 6+5

and 5+6 occur in an indeterminate order, creating a light fleeting sound

played legato. The section ultimately concludes with a reminiscence of the

first excursion, but in 3/4 time.

The fifth excursion, “Steadily with intensity,” is one big crescendo to

a variation of the opening excursion. It begins softly and is performed in a

marked 2/4 time. The intensity of this excursion is accentuated when performed with strict adherence to the articulation and rests written in the score.

The sixth excursion, “Relaxed, with a jazzy feel,” composed in compound meters, represents Starer’s jazz style. This “laid back” excursion uses the feeling of swing eighth notes in combination with very soft dynamics. The variation form of the first excursion is represented by whole note chords played pianissimo.

The seventh excursion, “Faster, with a lilt,” moves quickly with steady notes in the left hand that accompany ascending scale-like syncopated passages. The right hand frequently crosses over the left hand to create textural contrasts. This moves quickly to a more complete restatement of the opening excursion that is performed pianissimo instead of fortissimo.

The eighth excursion, “Quite fast, march-like,” is the final excursion.

This excursion begins pianissimo with an ostinato bass. The whole movement is characterized by a fast march that acts as one long crescendo to the final repetition of the first excursion. The crescendo explodes at the end with repeated chords played with the hands three octaves apart.

The final statement of the opening excursion, variation 1H, occurs as the coda or “Majestically, tempo of the beginning.” Though the chords do not require a large hand, a substantial sound can be produced because of the wide

space between individual notes in the right and left hands. The performer

increase the volume to a fff whole note chord and ends on an abrupt sffz final

C chord, with hands stretched to the extreme registers of the keyboard

(Example 4-3).

Excursion Variation 1H

Example 4-3. Starer. Excursions for a Pianist, “Majestically, tempo of the beginning,” mm. 234-247

CHAPTER 5

TWILIGHT FANTASIES

The discussion of Starer’s work progressively leads to the Twilight

Fantasies. Starer extracts the title from Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of

John Keats by Percy Bysshe Shelly. He footnotes this at the bottom of the

score as “…hopes and fears, and Twilight Fantasies.”45 The derivation of

the title is from the thirteenth verse of the elegy, which reads in entirety:

And others came… Desires and Adorations Winged Persuasions and veil’d Destinies Splendours, and Glooms, and Glimmering Incarnations Of hopes and fears, and Twilight Phantasies; And Sorrow, with her family of Sighs, And Pleasure, blind with tears, led by the gleam Of her own dying smile instead of eyes, Came in slow pomp; the moving pomp might seem Like pageantry of mist on an autumnal stream.46

The vivid imagery described in this verse is translated to music with imaginative colors and technical flourishes to create a virtuoso programmatic work.

The opening measure covers one full page plus the first system of the second page. This measure is without meter, but it is clearly indicated where

to play slower or faster (Example 5-1).

45 Robert Starer, Twilight Fantasies (St. Louis, MO, MMB Music Inc., 1985), 2.

46 Percy Bysshe Shelley, Adonais, An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/1879.html (accessed December 8, 2006)

Example 5-1. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, mm. 1

Similar ametric measures appear between each rhythmic section and get successively shorter on each return. Starer states in the CD notes that he wrote on Justin Kolb’s performance of the Twilight Fantasies, “The work follows the wanderings of a musical mind rather than a preconceived

structure. The opening chords recur in various guises throughout the piece, other musical ideas appear only as if in passing. The work ends as it begins in the midst of twilight.”47 As the composer suggests in his program notes, the piece does wander. The wandering is enhanced by incorporating ametric measures intermingled with markedly rhythmic sections.

The tonal and rhythmic language does not fit a defined classical form.

However, this imaginative work is best discussed in terms of recurring motives. Extracted from the first measure are three motives described in

Examples 5-2A (“cello” Motive A), 5-2B (“minor 6th” Motive B), and 5-2C

(“rhythmic” Motive C).

“cello” Motive A

Example 5-2A. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, m.1

47 Justin Kolb, Robert Starer: Solo Piano Music, 1946-1996 (Albany, NY, Albany Records, 1997) 3.

minor 6th

5-2B “minor 6th” Motive B 5-2C “rhythm” Motive C

Examples 5-2B and 5-2C. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, m. 1

These three motives recur transposed and altered in a seemingly random order throughout the piece. “Cello” Motive A appears three additional times, with the final variation merely a transposition up one whole step near the end of the piece in measure 201.

The “minor 6th” Motive B is only present in measures 1 and 13, but implies the outline of a minor sixth, which is the same interval outlined in the lyrical section, starting in mm. 2-13 (Example 5-3) and recurring in mm. 67-

78 and mm. 146-149.

minor 6th

Example 5-3. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, mm. 2-13

“Rhythmic” Motive C is repeated the most, setting up the fast sections that are in asymmetric time signatures. The group of five eighth notes that appear in measure 15 is transposed up a fifth and placed in 5/8 time with a tempo marking of ‘very fast.’ Notice how the group of five eighth notes stay together in the alternating 7/8 (5+2) and 9/8 (5+4) time signatures in measures 25-29 (Example 5-4).

5 + 2

5 + 4

Example 5-4. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, mm. 15-29

This section drives to measure 52 for a climactic return of the opening measure, but with a dynamic marking of ff instead of ppp.

After measure 53, two additional musical ideas play an important role in this piece that wanders. The first “march” Motive D (Example 5-5A) begins at the Moderate in measure 53. Motive D slowly gets louder, until the

“fireworks” Motive E (Example 5-5B).

“march” Motive D

Example 5-5A. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, mm. 53-56

“fireworks” Motive E

Example 5-5B. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, m. 63

Motive D returns a little faster in measure 78 and drives to Motive E, this time with an accelerando added to the crescendo. After Motive E, a return to

Motive C occurs, but this time it begins in the lowest register of the piano.

Starting with a pp in measure 87, the return slowly gets louder to a fff in measure 130. This time a fragment of Motive E returns to set up another climax. As the piece begins to wind down, there are various fragments of all motives, until we see a return of the Motive D at measure 174. Another crescendo is started from p to a third fff in measure 194. From Measure 194 to the end we hear a gradual fading away, with reminiscences of the “cello”

Motive A from measure 1.

CHAPTER 6

SONATA FOR PIANO, NO. 3

First Movement

Sonata for Piano, No. 3, a three movement work, is dedicated to

Justin Kolb, a personal friend and colleague of Robert Starer. Starer comments regarding this work, “The opening movement is rather gentle and I thought of calling the work ‘sonata lirica.’ … By that time I had added a delicately lighthearted second movement and a finale which opens with

‘declamatory strength’ and continues ‘very fast with a bounce.’ The work has become too vigorous to be called lyrical and was published simply as Sonata

No. 3.”48 The lyrical first movement has the tempo marking “Gently

flowing.” It is followed by a playful exuberant movement, “Moderately fast,”

that has a strong pulse. The final movement, “Slow, with declamatory strength,” is the most dramatic, and is composed on a large scale.

“Gently flowing,” the opening tempo marking, aptly describes the

character of the first movement. It is in sonata form, with two contrasting

themes in the exposition, a development that has a big climax, a

recapitulation with both themes returning, and ending with a coda. This work

is fairly symmetrical, with a nineteen measure exposition, a twenty-seven

measure development, a twenty-two measure recapitulation, and a seven

48 Justin Kolb, Robert Starer: Solo Piano Music, 1946-1996 (Albany, NY, Albany Records, 1997), 3.

measure coda at the end. The sonata form of this movement may be described as follows:

Exposition Development Recapitulation

A B B Transposed A B Coda mm. 1 10 20 46 56 69

The movement may be cast in the key of C, though the standard key relationships of a classical sonata are absent. The thematic material may have chromatic alterations and frequently alternates between duplet and triplet note values. This sort of lyrical writing is commonly found in many of Starer’s pedagogical works. The exposition spans from mm. 1-19 with the A theme represented in measures 1-8 (Example 6-1A), and the B theme in measures

10-19 (Example 6-1B). The opening two measures of the A theme incorporate a prominent seventh in the lyrical design. This can be contrasted with the opening of the B theme in measures 9 and 10, with all notes fitting within the interval of a major third (Example 6-2).

A theme mm 1-8

Example 6-1A. Starer, Sonata No 3, first movement mm. 1-8

B theme. mm 10-19.

Example 6-1B. Starer, Sonata, No. 3, first movement, mm. 10-19

The development begins at measure 20, with a repetition of the

rhythmic triplets in the extreme registers of the keyboard to set up the

development of the B theme that begins in measure 24 (Example 6-2).

B theme in the development

Example 6-2. Starer, Sonata No. 3, first movement mm. 24-26

Subsequent repetition of the development material at successively higher pitches leads to the climax in measure 36, which is immediately followed by a long diminuendo that sets up the return to the A theme in measure 46. Both themes are presented in the recapitulation, followed by a coda starting in measure 67. The movement fades away on a C major chord.

Second Movement

The second movement is marked “Moderately Fast.” This quirky

movement demonstrates the composer’s sense of humor. The opening notes,

hinting toward the beginning of a twelve tone row, ascend to the high B.

Starer then follows immediately with the twelve tones of the scale

descending. In both situations, there is a delay before the twelfth note is

played. This curiously completes the twelve tones of the chromatic scale

(Example 6-3).

Ascending

Descending

A theme from the second movement

Example 6-3. Starer, Sonata No. 3, second movement, mm. 1-15

The row is stated again in measure 119, similar to the beginning of the

movement. Toward the end of the movement, in measure 163, the left hand

and right hand play all twelve tones in contrary motion simultaneously. The

levity and grace of this movement provides its major contrast between the first and third movement.

The right hand motive in measure 25 has a small range, with the interval of a third, playing an important role at the ends of phrases and in melodic construction (Example 6-4A). A second source of parody occurs with the entrance of the right hand. The melodic line is remarkably similar to the second theme of the first movement

(Example 6-4B).

B theme from the second movement

Example 6-4A. Starer, Sonata, No. 3, second movement, mm. 25-29

B theme from the first movement

Example 6-4B. Starer, Sonata, No. 3, first movement, mm. 10-11

This movement is in a modified rondo form, using the following structure:

A B C B C A B C A

mm. 1 23 70 94 107 119 134 155 163

The C section is in 5/8 time, and is introduced in measure 70. The chordal

notes in the right hand are accompanied by an ostinato bass (Example 6-5).

C Section in 5/8.

Example 6-5. Starer, Sonata No. 3, second movement, mm. 67-75

The eighth note pulse is kept steady throughout the movement, until the music fades away as it ends with the A theme played in both hands in contrary motion, fading away in the middle register of the piano.

Third Movement

The third movement opens with ff chords that span the extreme ranges of the piano (Example 6-6). It is an abrupt beginning when contrasted with the pp ending of the second movement.

Example 6-6. Starer, Sonata, No. 3, third movement, mm. 1-3

Within this introduction (A section), we hear the return of the opening theme of the Sonata with only a very slight alteration, beginning in measure 21

(Example 6-7). The return of the Sonata’s opening theme from movement one and its prominence demonstrates the cyclical nature of this piece, pulling the three movements into a single unified work.

Example 6-7. Starer, Sonata, No. 3, third movement, mm. 19-27

The opening measures of the first movement serve as an introduction to

“Very fast, with a bounce,” which has two main sections, the B and C sections respectively. The structural design is quite similar to the second

movement and may be described;

A1 B1 C1 B2 C2 A2 B3 C3 Coda.

mm. 1 60 130 176 196 208 226 240 267

Each repetition of a major section is diminished in length. The A sections all end softly, while the B and C sections drive to a climax.

B1 section

Example 6-8. Starer, Sonata, No. 3, third movement, mm. 60-73

The B1 section has a playful theme in 6/8 time with precise articulation (Example 6-8). It works into a frenzy that climaxes with a grand pause in measure 129.

The C1 section alternates time signatures and melodic construction.

The 6/8 section is always softer and legato, while the 4/4 section is crisply articulated with defined accents, staccato, and slurred notes (Example 6-9).

Example 6-9. Starer, Sonata, No.3, third movement, mm. 137-146

The Coda, “Much slower,” recalls the opening theme in canon beginning with the middle voices in the left hand followed by the right hand (Example

6-10). The climax fades to p then a sudden ff is heard with a return of the B section. The last chords, preceded by a crescendo, reach the extreme ranges of the piano.

Example 6-10. Starer, Sonata, No. 3, third movement, mm. 267-274

CHAPTER 7

STARER’S STYLISTIC ELEMENTS

Lyricism

Starer’s melodies are well constructed and have a beautiful lyrical

quality. They can be melismatic and mysterious. Starer states, “Quarter tones

are an essential part of Near Eastern music. The trained ear distinguishes one scale from another by the position of its quarter tones, and each scale has a symbolic significance….When I began to understand this, I realized that systems other than our major-minor, modal, and twelve-tone can have validity.”49 This influence is quite apparent in many of Starer’s melodies. An important characteristic of the melodic construction occurring in many of

Starer’s pieces involves the switch from two to three notes per pulse, also typical in Hebrew Music (Example 7-1).50

22 3

Example 7-1. Traditional Jewish Melody, I Samuel 20:35

49 Robert Starer, Continuo: A Life in Music (New York, Random House, 1987), 38.

50 Judith Kaplan Eisenstein, Heritage of Music; The Music of the Jewish People (New York, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1972), 78.

It is quite common to find melodic lines that often include changes from even to odd numbers of notes in phrases or within a given pulse. At the most elementary stage we find an example of two note and three note phrases in “Countdown” from Games with Names, Notes, and Numbers (Example 7-

2).

33 3 22 22

3 22 222

Example 7-2. Starer. Games with Names, Notes and Numbers, “Countdown,” mm. 1-4

As we progress into the intermediate works, the melodic construction becomes more involved, utilizing eighth note triplets intermixed with duple eighth notes. Additional variations in melodic construction include an increased use of chromatic note alterations and wider intervals up to a major sixth (Example 7-3).

Example 7-3. Starer, Sketches in Color-Set One, “Pink,” mm. 1-10

“In the Birdcage” from At Home Alone demonstrates Starer’s

melismatic style. Here the variation in the rhythm of the melodic line from

duplet to triplet and back becomes more complex. The addition of repeated

notes and increased use of accidentals gives a stronger feeling of a Near

Eastern tonality (Example 7-4).

Example 7-4. Starer, At Home Alone, “In a Birdcage,” mm. 1-4

In the first four measures of the first movement of Sonata for Piano,

No. 3, the melody is expanded even further with the addition of a group of five sixteenth notes in a beat plus the melodic interval of a minor seventh. As in the other examples, we find a mixture of triple and duple note groupings and frequent use of chromatically altered tones (Example 7-5).

Example 7-5. Starer, Sonata for Piano, No. 3, first movement, mm. 1-7

Rhythm

One characteristic of Robert Starer’s music is the complexity of

rhythm. These complexities include frequent meter changes, asymmetric time

signatures, ametric measures without time signatures, and the mixing of even

and odd numbers of notes per pulse. Jazz influences present themselves in a swing style that is most often written in compound meters, as demonstrated in

“Sliding into the Keys” from Games With Names, Notes, and Numbers

(Example 7-6), “Aquamarine” from Sketches in Color-Set Two (Example 7-

7), “Pop-time” from At Home Alone Set (Example 7-8), the B1 Section from the final movement of the Sonata for Piano, No. 3 (Example 7-9).

Example 7-6. Starer, Games With Names, Notes and Numbers, “Sliding into the Keys,” mm. 1-5

Example 7-7. Starer, Sketches in Color-Set Two, “Aquamarine,” mm. 1-2

Example 7-8. Starer, At Home Alone, “Pop-time,” mm. 1-4

Example 7-9. Starer, Sonata for Piano, No.3, third movement, mm. 60-63

Even the most elementary pieces composed by Starer use meter changes often reserved for more advanced literature. In “Evens and Odds” from Games with Names, Notes, and Numbers,” the student is introduced to multiple meters and asymmetric rhythms with quarter notes (Example 7-10).

Example 7-10. Starer, Games With Names, Notes, and Numbers, “Evens and Odds,” mm. 1-6

As the pieces progress in difficulty, the rhythm becomes more complex. In “Crimson” from the Sketches in Color-Set One, the introduction to 7/8 time provides the performer with technical challenges at an increased tempo (Example 7-11).

Example 7-11. Starer, Sketches in Color-Set One, “Crimson,” mm. 1-4

The complexities increase when studying the early advanced and advanced literature. Asymmetric rhythms begin to alternate and go beyond

5/8, and 7/8 to other combinations. Even 9/8 time may not be viewed in a typical grouping of 3 + 3 + 3 but may appear as 2 + 2 + 3 + 2, as in “Dancing

Next Door” from At Home Alone (Example 7-12).

2 + 2 + 3 + 2

2 + 2 + 3 2 + 2 + 3 + 2

Example 7-12. Starer, At Home Alone, “Dancing Next Door,” mm. 10-15

Asymmetric rhythms become even more complex in the fourth excursion from Excursions for a Pianist. In this example there are groups of five and six eighth notes in 11/8 time. To make this even more complex,

Starer alternates the groups of eighth notes between 6 + 5 and 5 + 6 (Example

7-13).

6 + 5

5 + 6 6 + 5 5 + 6 6 + 5

Example 7-13. Starer, Excursions for a Pianist, “Fast with a light touch,” mm. 83-91

The most complex use of asymmetric rhythms in the compositions reviewed for this document occurs in the Twilight Fantasies. At measure 25, after 10 measures in 5/8 time, the meter alternates between 7/8 and 9/8. The integrity of the 5/8 time is maintained because the eighth notes are grouped

5 + 2 in the 7/8 measures and 5 + 4 in the 9/8 measures (Example 7-14).

. 5 5 + 2 8

5 + 2 5 + 4 5 + 4

Example 7-14. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, mm. 15-29

Rhythmic devices energize the climaxes of Starer’s more advanced works. A diminution of the time signature is used to increase the speed of the pulse at the end of “Dancing Next Door” from At Home Alone (Example 7-

15).

9 8

3 + 4

Example 7-15. Starer, At Home Alone, “Dancing Next Door,” mm. 54-67

A similar climax occurs in the Twilight Fantasies. The alternating time signatures of 7/8 and 9/8 decreases to 5/8 and ultimately 3/8 as the climax in this section approaches (Example 7-16).

Example 7-16. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, mm. 39-52

Tonality vs. Atonality

Music of the twentieth century tends to be more atonal than that of the preceding eras. How one defines atonality can be somewhat subjective and personal. Stefan Koska states “There are several characteristics of atonal

music that set it apart from other styles. The first is that is lacks a tonal

center…. This atonality is achieved by avoiding the conventional melodic,

harmonic, and rhythmic patterns that help to establish a tonality in traditional

music.”51 Starer’s keyboard music may be tonal, atonal, or tonal with added dissonance. Within a given set of pieces his harmonies may be well defined at cadence points or have an elusive ending with a fading dissonance.

Tonality may be obscured with a dissonant note, tonal cluster or atypical cadence. In Games with Names, Notes and Numbers, nearly all pieces end with a well defined tonal center. 52 The exceptions are “Darkness and Light” and “Adding and Taking Away.”

In Sketches in Color-Set One53 and Sketches in Color-Set Two54 there is an increased use of atonality, while the use of conventional tonality with authentic cadences diminishes. In table 7-1, the individual pieces from both sets of sketches in color are categorized by the final cadence and basic tonality. Ambiguous cadences represent the most atonal. Bitonal pieces are

51 Stefan Kostka, Materials and Techniques of Twentieth-Century Music, 2nd ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall, 1999), 177.

52 Robert Starer, Robert Starer Album for Piano; Games with Names, Notes and Numbers (Milwaukee, WI, MCA Music Publishing, 1992), 8-23.

53 Robert Starer, Sketches in Color-Set One, ed. Gail Lew (Miami, Universal Music Publishing Group, 2001), 3-16.

54 Robert Starer, Sketches in Color-Set Two, ed. Gail Lew (Miami, Universal Music Publishing Group, 2001), 3-16.

written with more than one tonal center played simultaneously. Those ending in authentic, plagal or imperfect cadences are characterized as traditional.

Table 7-1

Tonality of Individual Pieces from Sketches in Color Sets One and Two

Set Piece Tonality Cadence 1 “Purple” Bitonal Non-traditional 1 “Shades of Blue” C Non-traditional 1 “Black and White” Bitonal Non-traditional 1 “Bright Orange” C Non-traditional 1 “Grey” Serial Ambiguous 1 “Pink” F Traditional 1 “Crimson” C Traditional 2 “Maroon” Atonal Ambiguous 2 “Aluminum” Atonal Ambiguous 2 “Silver and Gold” D Non-traditional 2 “Khaki” C Traditional 2 “Aquamarine” Atonal Ambiguous 2 “Chrome Yellow” C Non-traditional 2 “Pepper and Salt” Atonal Ambiguous

Examination of the final cadences from the set of pieces, At Home

Alone,55 displays some interesting characteristics. Often the final cadences are not traditional authentic cadences. The tonality in some of the pieces shifts from the beginning to the end. While in others, the tonality is ambiguous.

55 Robert Starer, At Home Alone (New York, MCA Music Publishing, 1980), 2-23.

Table 7-2

Tonality of Individual Pieces from At Home Alone

Piece Tonality Cadence “Dialogue with the Self” A Non-traditional “Opening Petals” Atonal Ambiguous “Dreams of Glory C Traditional “In the Birdcage” G to C Non-Traditional “A Faded Old Photograph C to G Traditional “Pop-Time” G to D Traditional “Herman the Brown Mouse” Atonal Ambiguous “A Small Oriental Vase” Atonal Ambiguous “Steps to the Attic” G Non-traditional “Shadows on the Wall” Atonal Ambiguous “Deep Down the Soul” D Non-traditional “Dancing Next Door” C Traditional

Looking forward to the Excursions for a Pianist, Twilight Fantasies and the Piano Sonata, No. 3, we see a similar approach to atonality. All three pieces are quite dissonant and therefore atonal in many sections. However the

Piano Sonata, No. 3 and Excursions for a Pianist are more tonal than the

Twilight Fantasies. The Sonata and Excursions end on a clearly defined C

major chord with the ninth added. The question may be raised with regard to whether or not this is a C ninth chord or the dissonance is just added. Starer

consistently adds seconds and sevenths to chords unrelated to functional

harmonies. It is safe to conclude that the dissonance of the ninth scale degree

is added to create a more effective ending (Example 7-17 and 7-18).

Example 7-17. Starer. Excursions for a Pianist, mm. 243-247

Example 7-18. Starer, Sonata for Piano, No. 3, third movement, mm. 275-279

The Twilight Fantasies is a more improvisatory piece with many different themes incorporated. Though sections may have a tonal center, there is no clear harmonic outline that defines the key of this composition. The ending is atmospheric, with dissonant chords in the highest range of the piano

(Example 7-19).

Example 7-19. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, mm. 201-203

Serialism

Though Starer did apply the twelve-tone technique to some of his

music, it did not dominate his compositional style. He does offer a good

introduction to the very basic concept in “Twelve Notes, Twelve Times”

from Games with Names, Notes, and Numbers (Example 7-20). and “Grey” from Sketches in Color, Set 1 (Example 7-21). All twelve notes are randomly notated before the next series begins This occurs twelve different times in a

different order.

Example 7-20. Starer, Games with Names, Notes, and Numbers, “Twelve Notes, Twelve Times,” mm. 1-6

The key elements of a twelve tone row are defined in “Grey.” They include the Series (S), Inversion (I), Retrograde (R) and Retrograde Inversion

(RI), providing an excellent guide for the analysis of twelve-tone music by intermediate students. Starer even notates in the original edition where each of these occur. This is the most serial and atonal of the individual movements represented in the Sketches in Color-Set One.

Example 7-21. Starer, Sketches in Color-Set One, “Grey”

Two additional examples where Starer hints at the twelve tone row include the left hand ostinato in “Silver and Gold” from Sketches in Color,

Set 2 and the second movement of the Sonata for Piano, No. 3. In “Silver and

Gold” the left hand ostinato, a twelve tone row, is repeated six times with the right hand playing a legato melismatic melody with D as the tonal center

(Example 7-22).

Example 7-22. Starer, Sketches in Color, Set 2, “Silver and Gold,” mm. 1-7

Starer also uses a similar technique in the Sonata for Piano, No. 3, where the right hand spells out the twelve tones of a chromatic scale in the opening of the A section of the second movement (Example 7-23)

A theme from the second movement

Example 7-23. Starer, Sonata No. 3, second movement, mm. 1-15

Regardless of the composition or an individual’s concept of tonality, it is evident that dissonance plays an important role in Starer’s music. Though there are a few instances where serialism is apparent, Starer’s music tends more toward non-serial atonality. As the compositions of Robert Starer progress in difficulty, the dissonance expands to create greater variation in sound and color.

Other Technical Similarities

In the more advanced pieces there are similarities in the construction of several technical passages from the late intermediate to the advanced works. In “Shadows on the Wall” from At Home Alone, both hands begin in

the extreme ranges of the piano. In measures one to five, the right hand

playing 16th notes descends from the top register toward the middle of the keyboard. Simultaneously the left hand plays a single quarter note, and ascends in contrary motion toward the right hand. In measure 7, a descending broken seventh figuration occurs playing 16th notes

(Example 7-24).

Example 7-24. Starer, At Home Alone, “Shadows on the Wall,” mm. 1-12

A similar technical challenge occurs in the Twilight Fantasies in the

“fireworks motive.” The difficulty is expanded in the right hand by playing

the second inversion triad on the beat followed by a single note a semi-tone lower. Meanwhile, the left hand is playing octaves in the lowest register of the piano (Example 7-25).

“Fireworks” Motive E

Example 7-25. Starer, Twilight Fantasies, m. 63

The two passages are remarkably similar though the passage from the

Twilight Fantasies is considerably more difficult.

In “Pop Time” from At Home Alone, the descending right hand pattern appears to be related to a pattern that occurs in the B Section of the third movement of the Sonata for Piano, No. 3. There is a marked difference in tempo between “Pop-Time,” “relaxed with a bounce,” and the B Section from the third movement of the Sonata, “Very fast with a bounce.” The greater speed in the sonata coupled with octaves in the left hand requires a

greater facility. The passages are remarkably similar on the page though their effect is dramatically quite different (Examples 7-26 and 7-27).

Example 7-26. Starer, At Home Alone, “Pop-Time,” mm. 25-34

Example 7-27. Starer, Sonata for Piano, No. 3, third movement mm. 85-90

CHAPTER 8

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

The music of Robert Starer offers the opportunity to study twentieth- century music accessible to many students and pedagogues regardless of the individual’s technical capabilities. His blend of “Viennese sentiment, Jewish melisma, Near Eastern playfulness and American jazz”56 creates a musical style that can be appreciated by the general public. The compositions discussed in this document, Games, with Names, Notes and Numbers,

Sketches in Color-Set One, Sketches in Color-Set Two, At Home Alone,

Excursions for a Pianist, Twilight Fantasies, and Sonata for Piano,

No. 3, provide excellent examples of Starer’s music for the advancing pianist.

Examples were selected from the thirty-eight pedagogical pieces to discuss key stylistic elements present in all of Starer’s solo piano music. The pedagogical purposes of these pieces can be as simple as a game to spell out names with notes in “Abe, Gabe, Ada, Fae, and Ed” from Games with

Names, Notes, and Numbers or as complicated as the frequent asymmetric meter changes in “Dancing Next Door” from At Home Alone. The grading of the selected pieces was discussed to benefit those who participate in the available certificate programs, especially the National Music Certificate

56 Robert Starer, Continuo: A Life in Music (New York, Random House, 1987), 205-206.

Program with its “Teacher’s Choice” Option.57 The guide is also useful to

pedagogues that may be creating repertoire lists for music festivals and

contests.

The more complex advanced works, Excursions for a Pianist,

Twilight Fantasies and Sonata for Piano, No. 3, were discussed separately to

provide the background information regarding the thematic design and formal

structure that is necessary to comprehend the twentieth-century

compositional techniques that were utilized.

Conclusion

Creative melodies, rhythmic challenges and imaginative harmonies

are utilized in Starer’s music written for the elementary through the advanced

student. The examples illustrated in this document explain how Starer

enhances and develops his style to accommodate student musicians. Tracing

melodic construction, rhythm, atonality and technical demands from Games

with Names, Notes, and Numbers through the Sketches in Color-Set One,

Sketches in Color-Set Two and At Home Alone to the Excursions for a

Pianist, Twilight Fantasies and Sonata for Piano, No. 3, familiarizes the pedagogue with repertoire that introduces twentieth-century musical style to advancing students regardless of their technical ability.

57 Royal Conservatory of Music, Piano Syllabus 2004: National Music Certificate Program (Mississauga, Ontario, Frederic Harris Music, 2007), 16-17.

Many musical patrons, students and teachers may avoid twentieth-

century music, finding it cacophonous and “hard on the ears.” Starer creates a

fictional character in his autobiography named Mr. X.58 He describes a

hypothetical encounter toward the end of this chapter where he confronts Mr.

X, a character who walks out of a performance of his third piano concerto,

with the questions that teachers should ask of themselves: “Is it really that bad? Does it not deserve a chance to be heard? ... What sort of future can we

have, Mr. X if we listen only to the past?”59

How many independent music teachers fit the profile of Mr. X? Is the music of the twentieth century unjustly ignored because pedagogues lack the desire to interpret the many different styles of music composed after

Debussy? A short survey of the number of compositions performed at the

Ohio Music Teachers Association Buckeye Competition held at the

Southwest District Competition in Cincinnati, Ohio60 annually from 2003 –

2006 suggests that the percentage of selected works performed that are

composed after 1950 is dramatically disproportionate to music of the other

eras. In this competition students must play at least two pieces from different

stylistic periods. This study involved 121 students performing 314 different

58 Robert Starer, Continuo; a Life in Music (New York, Random House, 1987), 142.

59 Ibid., 157.

60 Richard Van Dyke, OMTA Southwest District Buckeye Competition Programs 2003-2006 (Cincinnati, OH, 2006).

compositions. The Buckeye Competition is geared toward the early advanced

through the advanced students. Competition selections were divided into

groups by stylistic period as depicted in Graph 1-1.

Graph 1-1

OhioMTA Southwest District Pre-collegiate Buckeye Auditions

Buckeye Competition 2003 - 2006

100 91 90 82 80 71 70 60 55 50 40 30 20 9 Number ofNumber Seletions 10 6 0 123456 Musical Era

1 = Baroque 2 = Classical 3 = Romantic

4 = 1895 – 1950 5 = Post 1950 Classical 6 = Post 1950 Pedagogy

Table 1-2

OhioMTA Southwest District Pre-collegiate Buckeye Auditions

Year Baroque Classical Romantic 1895-1950 1950-2007 Pedagogy 2003 8 17 17 15 2 2004 14 20 16 13 2 2005 16 27 23 20 3 5 2006 17 27 26 23 2 1 Totals 55 91 82 71 9 6 Percent 18% 29% 26% 23% 3% 2%

Each stylistic period ranges from fifty to seventy-five years and can be classified as Late Baroque from 1685 – 1750, Classical from 1750 to

1825, Romantic from 1825 to 1895, Impressionism/Early Twentieth-Century from 1895 to 1950 and late Twentieth Century from 1950 to 2007. The twentieth-century pedagogical pieces are predominantly written in a romantic style with little connection to the techniques of the twentieth century and were extracted from the total to more clearly define the works utilizing twentieth-century composition techniques. The graph clearly indicates a preference for the classical and romantic eras in this competition with twentieth-century works composed after 1950 rarely performed. Reviewing the repertoire lists of other competitions produces similar results. These simple observations sow the seed to explore good twentieth-century music composed for the advancing pianist. The data suggest students and teachers are more interested in the standard repertoire of the past and therefore lack exposure to more recent literature composed for the piano.

Exploring new music for students is a fulfilling adventure for the teacher and student. The different sounds presented in Starer’s music stimulate the desire to learn something different. Games with Names, Notes, and Numbers, Sketches in Color- Set One, Sketches in Color-Set Two, At

Home Alone, Excursions for a Pianist, Twilight Fantasies and Sonata for

Piano, No. 3 provide an extraordinary composite of this composer’s output,

encompassing expanded harmonies and atonality, lyricism, and rhythmic

challenges.

Starer suggests that elements from the pedagogical pieces work their

way into the larger more advanced works. By studying the melodic line,

rhythms, and atonal characteristics of Starer’s music we become more aware

of the multi-cultural influences on his works. The expansion of these ideas

progressively becomes more complex as the level of difficulty increases, but

the basic underlying style is easily traced from his elementary to his

advanced repertoire.

Recommended Research

Additional research is warranted in two different directions; direct

research of the music of Robert Starer, and pedagogical literature that addresses twentieth-century compositional techniques in classical music.

Suggested research for Robert Starer’s music includes:

1. Rhythm is exceptionally developed in all of Starer’s music. Starer wrote

Rhythmic Training,61 a workbook to develop rhythmic skills. Further

research is encouraged to discuss the application of rhythm in his music.

2. Starer composed three full scale sonatas at different times in his life. All

three are major works for the piano. A comparison and contrast of the

61 Robert Starer, Rhythmic Training (Miami, Warner Brothers, 1969).

three would facilitate discussion of changes in style that may have

occurred from his earliest to his final works.

3. Lyricism plays an important role in the music of Robert Starer. A more

complete discussion regarding melodic creation and development in his

music may offer insight into the lyricism of future music.

4. Additional studies regarding the late intermediate and early advanced

works; Five Caprices62, Five Preludes63 and Hexahedron (A Figure

Having Six Faces), 64 would be useful in promoting twentieth-century

music for the pre-collegiate student.

5. Starer frequently uses counterpoint in his compositions. A study

regarding counterpoint in his music using The Ideal Self: Fantasy,

Variations and Fugue65 as the centerpiece may offer an interesting

theoretical discussion.

Additional topics that discuss other pedagogical works for the advancing student focusing on living composers or music composed since

1950 are highly suggested and may include;

62 Robert Starer, Five Caprices (New York, Peer International Corporation, 1950).

63 ______, Five Preludes (New York, MCA Music Publishing, 1965).

64 ______, Hexahedron (A Figure Having Six Faces) (New York, MCA Music Publishing, 1971).

65 ______, The Ideal Self (Fantasy, Variations and a Fugue on a Song) (New York, MCA Music Publishing, 1983).

1. An examination and discussion of the eighteen pieces from Lowell

Liebermann’s Album for the Young66 is highly recommended. These

progressive pieces range in difficulty from Grade 1 (elementary) through

Grade 8 (Late Intermediate).

2. A progressive study that discusses the music of Robert Muczynski

beginning with Fables67 and Diversions68 through the Six Preludes for

Piano Op. 6 69 and concluding with one of the three sonatas parallels this

discussion and would provide useful information to the pedagogue.

3. Samuel Adler’s Gradus, Books I, II, and III encompasses 60 pedagogical

pieces Graded 3 to 8 by Jane Magrath in The Pianist’s Guide to Standard

Teaching and Performance Literature.70 A thorough examination of these

sets is warranted.

4. Other composers that should be researched because of their contributions

to pedagogical literature that embraces twentieth-century composition

66 Lowell Liebermann, Album for the Young (King of Prussis, PA, Theodore Presser Company, 1994).

67 Robert Muczynski, Fables: Nine Pieces for the Young (New York, G. Schirmer, Inc. 1967).

68 ______, Diversions: Nine Pieces for Students Op. 23 (New York, G. Schirmer, Inc., 1970).

69 ______, Six Preludes for Piano Op. 6 (New York, G. Schirmer, Inc., 1961).

70 Jane Magrath, The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature (Van Nuys, CA, Alfred Publishing, 1995), 257.

technique include Seymour Bernstein, Emma Lou Diemer, Stephen

Chatman, Vincent Persichetti, Alexina Louie and Ross Lee Finney.

5. Evaluation and discussion of select literature of some of the most popular

pedagogical composers. Dennis Alexander, Martha Meir, Catherine

Rollin, Carolyn Miller, Kevin Olson and Tony Caramia are very popular

among the average teacher and have composed numerous teaching pieces

at all technical teaching levels. The topic could focus on how they address

twentieth-century techniques in their pedagogical literature.

6. Additional composers to study may be obtained from Jane Magrath’s The

Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature.71

71 Jane Magrath, The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature (Van Nuys, CA, Alfred Publishing, 1995).

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Appendix A - Permissions

From Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation 7777 West Bluemound Road, Milwaukee, WI 53213

Games with Names, Notes, and Numbers “Countdown,” “Sliding Into Keys,” “Evens And Odds,” “Twelve Notes, Twelve Times” By Robert Starer Copyright © 1979 UNIVERSAL MUSIC CORP. All Rights Reserved Used by Permission

From MMB Music Inc, 3526 Washington Avenue, Contemporary Arts Building, St. Louis, MO 63103