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Desperate Measures: Recording of the Complete Piano Works of Robert Muczynski

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Desperate Measures: Recording of the Complete Piano Works of Robert Muczynski ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: DESPERATE MEASURES: RECORDING OF THE COMPLETE PIANO WORKS OF ROBERT MUCZYNSKI Dmitry Aleksandr Samogray, Doctor of Musical Arts, 2019 Dissertation directed by: Professor Larissa Dedova, School of Music The aim of this dissertation is to help assimilate the solo piano works of Robert Muczynski into the active 20th century piano repertoire, by providing pianists, musicologists, and listeners with the composer’s complete solo piano output on CD, for the first time. Of the fifteen compositions contained therein, only eight can be found on commercial CDs, with another two available on out-of-print LPs, and the last five never recorded on any recording medium. This circumstance diminishes Muczynski's piano music - the largest part of his catalogue - to a footnote in the American chapter of this instrument’s history. The ultimate goal is to have these recordings commercially released as a two-disk set. This release will follow an earlier disk of Muczynski's chamber music with piano, recorded for Brilliant Classics and released in the spring of 2017. DESPERATE MEASURES: RECORDING OF THE COMPLETE PIANO WORKS OF ROBERT MUCZYNSKI by Dmitry Aleksandr Samogray Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts 2019 Advisory Committee: Professor Larissa Dedova, Chair Professor Kira Gor, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Mr. Donald Manildi, IPAM Professor Rita Sloan, School of Music Professor Mikhail Volchok, School of Music © Copyright by Dmitry Aleksandr Samogray 2019 Preface This is a document of supplementary biographical and descriptive material. Presented as program notes, it is intended to help contextualize the recordings within the larger sphere of 20th-century piano music. These recordings were made on the stage of the Dekelboum Concert Hall at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, Maryland, across eight recording sessions in an eighteen-month period, with the first session taking place on December 17, 2017, and the last on May 13, 2019. To ensure a consistent, industry- standard sound quality and overall production value, the same Steinway Model D-274 Concert Grand Piano was used in every session of this project, along with an identical Sennheiser microphone setup and configuration. ii Dedication To Dora and mama. Your love is my most precious treasure. iii Acknowledgements I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Professor Larissa Dedova and Professor Rita Sloan for the years of invaluable help and mentorship I received from them as a graduate student at the University of Maryland. This project would be impossible without them. iv Table of Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... v Track Listings .............................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1: Biography and Summary of Style ............................................................... 1 Biography .................................................................................................................. 1 Summary of Style ..................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 2: CD 1 ............................................................................................................ 4 Desperate Measures (Paganini Variations) Op.48 (1994) ........................................ 4 Second Piano Sonata Op.22 (1966) .......................................................................... 5 Maverick Pieces Op.37 (1977) ................................................................................. 6 Sonatina Op.1 (1950) ................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 3: CD 2 ............................................................................................................ 9 Third Piano Sonata Op.35 (1974) ............................................................................. 9 Suite for Piano Op.13 (1960) .................................................................................. 10 Toccata Op.15 (1961) ............................................................................................. 10 Six Preludes Op.6 (1953) ........................................................................................ 11 Seven Op.30 (1971) ................................................................................................ 12 Fables Op.21 (1965) ................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 4: CD 3 .......................................................................................................... 14 First Piano Sonata Op.9 (1956) ............................................................................... 14 Masks Op.40 (1980) ................................................................................................ 15 Dream Cycle Op.44 (1983) ..................................................................................... 15 A Summer Journal Op.19 (1964) ............................................................................ 16 Diversions Op.23 (1967) ......................................................................................... 17 Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 18 v Track Listings CD 1 Desperate Measures Op.48 I. Theme: Allegro ma non troppo 1 II. Variation 1: Allegro moderato 2 III. Variation 2: Poco piu mosso 3 IV. Variation 3: L'istesso tempo 4 V. Variation 4: Scherzando 5 VI. Variation 5: Andante tranquillo 6 VII. Variation 6: Allegro ma non troppo 7 VIII. Variation 7: Allegretto 8 IX. Variation 8: Tango: Moderato 9 X. Variation 9: Slow waltz tempo 10 XI. Variation 10: Andante e sempre accelerando 11 XII. Variation 11: Andante 12 XIII. Variation 12: Allegro energico 13 Second Piano Sonata Op.22 I. Allegro – Andante con espressione – Allegro 14 II. Con moto, ma non tanto 15 III. Molto andante 16 IV. Allegro molto 17 vi Maverick Pieces Op.37 I. Allegro marcato 18 II. Andante sostenuto 19 III. Allegro ma non troppo 20 IV. Moderato 21 V. Allegro 22 VI. Andante sostenuto 23 VII. Allegro grazioso 24 VIII. Allegro brillante 25 IX. Andante molto 26 X. Allegro ma non troppo 27 XI. Adagio 28 XII. Allegro con spirit 29 Sonatina Op.1 I. Allegro con spirito 30 II. Andante con espressione 31 III. Allegro vivace 32 vii CD 2 Third Piano Sonata Op.35 I. Allegro moderato 1 II. Allegro grazioso 2 III. Andante sostenuto - Allegro 3 Suite for Piano Op.13 I. Festival: Allegro alla marcia 4 II. Flight: Allegro moderato – Presto 5 III. Vision: Molto moderato 6 IV. Labyrinth: Molto allegro 7 V. Phantom: Lento assai 8 VI. Scherzo: Allegro vivace 9 Toccata Op.15 I. Presto 10 Six Preludes Op.6 I. Vivace 11 II. Lento 12 III. Allegro giocoso 13 IV. Allegretto meno mosso 14 V. Moderato 15 VI. Allegro moderato 16 viii Seven Op.30 I. Allegro giocoso 17 II. Allegro moderato 18 III. Andante espressivo 19 IV. Animato 20 V. Allegro vivace 21 VI. Adagio 22 VII. Allegro con brio 23 Fables Op.21 I. Allegro-Andante moderato-Allegro molto-Waltz tempo- Adagio-Presto-Moderato-Allegretto-Allegro 24 ix CD 3 First Piano Sonata Op.9 I. Moderato 1 II. Allegro giocoso 2 Masks Op.40 I. Andante maestoso 3 Dream Cycle Op.44 I. Allegro moderato - Andante molto 4 II. Allegro risoluto 5 III. Andante molto 6 IV. Allegro 7 A Summer Journal Op.19 I. Morning Promenade: Allegro moderato 8 II. Park Scene: Allegro 9 III. Midday: Andante con espressione 10 IV. Birds: Vivace 11 V. Solitude: Andante 12 VI. Night Rain: Tempo giusto 13 VII. Jubilee: Allegro con spirito 14 x Diversions Op.23 I. Allegro 15 II. Animato 16 III. Andante molto e espressivo 17 IV. Allegro moderato 18 V. Allegro risoluto 19 VI. Lento 20 VII. Allegro ma non troppo 21 VIII. Andante tranquillo 22 IX. Allegro molto 23 xi Chapter 1: Biography and Summary of Style Biography Robert Muczynski was born in Chicago on March 19, 1929, to immigrants of Polish and Slovak origin. Displaying an early sensitivity to music, he began to study piano at the age of five. In 1947, he began his Bachelor of Music degree in piano, as a student of German pianist and pedagogue, Walter Knupfer. In 1949, he began to study composition with Alexander Tcherepnin. Muczynski earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano from DePaul, in 1950 and 1952, respectively. In 1958, Muczynski made his New York recital debut playing a program of his own works. Later that year, he appeared as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, performing his own Piano Concerto, Op.7. In 1965, Muczynski joined the composition faculty at the University of Arizona, remaining there until his retirement in 1988. A list of honors and achievements includes a Pulitzer Prize nomination for the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, Op.41. He died in Tucson on May 25, 2010, at the age of 81. 1 Summary of
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