Sunday, June 4, 2017 • 4:00 p.m ​

Meghan Henson

Graduate Recital

DePaul Recital Hall 804 West Belden Avenue •

Sunday, June 4, 2017 • 4:00 p.m. ​ DePaul Recital Hall

Meghan Henson, violin Graduate Recital Beilin Han, piano

PROGRAM

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) in C Major (1939) Lebhaft Langsam - Lebhaft - Langsam, wie zuerst Fuge: Ruhig bewegt

Beilin Han, piano

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Violin Sonata in A Major, D. 574, “Grand Duo” (1817) Allegro moderato Scherzo. Presto Andantino Allegro vivace

Beilin Han, piano

Meghan Henson • June 4, 2017 Program

Richard Wagner (1813-1883); arr. by August Wilhelmj Albumblatt: Romanze, WWV. 94

Beilin Han, piano

Claude Debussy (1862-1918); arr. by Golliwog’s Cakewalk

Beilin Han, piano

Leopold Godowsky (1870-1938); arr. by Jascha Heifetz Alt Wien, No. 11 from Triakontameron

Beilin Han, piano

Meghan Henson is from the studio of Olga Dubossarskaya Kaler. This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the degree Master of Music.

As a courtesy to those around you, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. Flash photography is not permitted. Thank you.

Meghan Henson • June 4, 2017

PROGRAM NOTES

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) Violin Sonata in C Major (1939) Duration: 14 minutes After the performance of his third Violin Sonata in E-flat Major in 1936, Hindemith was condemned by the Nazi regime and fled Germany for Switzerland. It was during this period of exile that he composed his fourth and final Violin Sonata in C Major, completing the work only one year before his arrival to America. This sonata is a fitting example of Hindemith’s compositional philosophy, which freely utilizes all twelve musical pitches without centering on a specific scale. The music remains tonal, but answers to a hierarchy of intervals ranked by dissonance in Hindemith’s The Craft of Musical Composition, a theoretical work begun ​ ​ in the 1930s that described his stylistic techniques. Melody is also embraced in this style, but the outlining of major and minor triads is avoided.

The first movement, Lebhaft, opens with an aggressive fanfare-like theme shared by the violin and piano. This theme acts as an opening “cell” upon which Hindemith constructs the remainder of the movement. The Langsam-Lebhaft-Langsam references a canon, with the instruments in imitation of one another and the outer two sections derived from the same material. In contrast, the middle Lebhaft sustains a playful, lilting dance-like quality despite its unusual metric division. The final movement is a three-voice Fuge, where Hindemith displays his powers of contrapuntal technique combined with a unique treatment of dissonance and melody. It is a movement packed with gesture and color that culminates in an imposing climax.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Violin Sonata in A Major, D. 574, “Grand Duo” (1817) Duration: 20 minutes Although Schubert composed his Violin Sonata in A Major at the age of twenty, the work did not receive its public premiere until 1864, some 36 years after his death. The nickname “Grand Duo” was added posthumously by Schubert’s publisher, likely to separate it from his previous set of sonatas for violin and piano. However the moniker “Grand Duo” is a just one; the sonata is more expansive

Meghan Henson • June 4, 2017 Program Notes than his earlier set, with a demanding dialogue that puts the violin and piano on equal footing.

Primarily a song composer, Schubert was also a great admirer of his contemporary Beethoven. His influence can be seen in the rhythmic and harmonic drama of the “Grand Duo” Sonata, as well as in the thematic link between movements. There is also Schubert’s choice to insert a lively Scherzo after the first movement - a format typical of Beethoven’s sonatas. Yet, it in the end it is the sweeping lyricism of the “Grand Duo” that captivates performers and audiences alike. Its graceful, intimate melodies capture the vocal qualities of the instrument, soaring between violin and piano to create music of great elegance and charm.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883); arr. by August Wilhelmj Albumblatt: Romanze, WWV. 94 Duration: 5 minutes Albumblatt, or “Album Leaf” was a popular term among nineteenth century composers for a short expressive work, typically written for the piano. It was common for the piece to carry a dedication to a friend or loved one, composed as a gift or intended to be transcribed or inserted into another’s album (a concept similar to a scrapbook). This Romanze comes from the album of Pauline von Metternich, a Viennese socialite known for her great charm and staunch support for the works of Richard Wagner and Bedřich Smetana. Originally composed for ​ solo piano, it was arranged by German violinist August Wilhelmj, a personal friend of Wagner’s. An arrangement for cello and piano, edited by David Popper, also exists. ​

The Romanze is short in length but relentlessly passionate; following a brief piano introduction, the violin sings unhindered until the final beat. It is reminiscent of Wagner’s operatic writing, with an endless melody that is constantly building and moving forward. While the exact date of the arrangement is unknown, Wagner composed this Albumblatt 1861, with Wilhelmj’s version first published by E.W. Fritzsch in 1873.

Meghan Henson • June 4, 2017 Program Notes

Claude Debussy (1862-1918); arr. by Jascha Heifetz Golliwog’s Cakewalk Duration: 3 minutes Golliwog’s Cakewalk is the sixth and final movement of Debussy’s intimate suite for piano, the Children’s Corner, a set composed between 1906-1908 to ​ ​ commemorate the birth of his daughter, Claude-Emma. It is dedicated to her with a “father’s loving apologies for what follows.” Golliwog’s Cakewalk is perhaps the best known of the set, comically combining inspiration from the golliwog, cakewalk, ragtime, and the music of Richard Wagner.

“Golliwog” refers to a fictional rag doll created by American author and cartoonist Florence Kate Upton. The doll was the protagonist of her immensely popular children’s books published between 1894 and 1909. The cakewalk developed from a pre-Civil War American dance in which plantation slaves danced “as in mimicry of the white man’s attitudes and manners.” Perhaps blind to the mockery, plantation owners judged the competition, awarding an elaborately decorated cake to the winning couple. The American phrase “takes the cake” derives from this practice.

March-like beats and dotted rhythms create a charming effect inspired by American ragtime and jazz, all which paint a comic scene of the Golliwog doll’s clumsy dance. The middle section also parodies the opening phrase of Tristan and Isolde, a brazen ​ ​ choice given the anti-Wagnerian sentiment in France at that time. Once an admirer of Wagner, Debussy had become ardently nationalistic by the turn of the century, and to contemporary audiences this grotesque parody would have been heard as a jeer to the German Romantic. It is unknown when Jascha Heifetz transcribed this melody for violin and piano, but it was first published by Durand in 1942 ().

Leopold Godowsky (1870-1938); arr. by Jascha Heifetz (1931) Alt Wien (Old Vienna), No. 11 from Triakontameron Duration: 3 minutes A virtuoso pianist, Godowsky composed Triakontameron in thirty days - one piece ​ ​ per day to create a suite of thirty works. The collection carries the inscription “30 Moods and Scenes in Triple Measure,” and was inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th century work The Decameron. The literary masterpiece contains one hundred ​ ​

Meghan Henson • June 4, 2017 Program Notes stories as told by a group of young men and women escaping the Black Plague outside of Florence, Italy. The tales range from those of love and tragedy to ones of wit, jest, and daily living. Triakontameron follows this pattern, presenting a broad ​ ​ spectrum of musical scenes depicting various cities, cultures, and personas. Some examples of Godowsky’s selection of moods and places include “Ethiopian Serenade” (No. 12), “The Temptress” (No. 15), “A Little Tango Rag” (No. 19), and “The Salon” (No. 21). “Alt Wien,” one of the most popular of the set, carries the subtitle “Whose yesterdays look backwards with a smile through tears.” It is a melancholic waltz that reminisces on the bygone glory of Old Vienna, conjuring imagery of previous elegance before the economic and political aftermath of World War I. Violinist Jascha Heifetz transcribed this gem for violin and piano in March of 1931, and it was first published by Carl Fischer in 1932 (New York).

Notes by Meghan Henson.

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