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' (3 " *, Q LIST OF EXAMPLES ' I / , -,

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Example 7 violin part,

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32 .* ,I I- EqmpleExample 1312 .violinviolin part, Firstntiid Sonata,Sonata, Firs1 Third Movement, Movement, 312-317 mm. 47 -50. ' 3332 ,* 0 P . 1' ; First Sonata: Second'Movemeh , Example 14 mm. 1-6 of 1564 v .a Example 15 mm. 17-19 of 1984 version ** Example 16 mm. 33-36 of 1984 versio Example 17 Second Sonata, S Example 18 mird Sonata, Fo

First Sonata: Third Movement Example 19 mm. 181-196 of '1956 version, Fugat , Example 20 mm. 146-150 of 1956 version mm. 142-195 of 1984 versio \ mm. 151-154 of 1956 version ,nS Example 23 mm. 147-150 of 1984 versio i

'Ex,z$ple 24 mm. 173-180.of 1956 versio% 42 . \ Example 24 ' mm. 162-166 o€ 1984 version 42 .

Example 26 hm. 315-3ZO of 1956 version' 43 . I Example 27 mm. 220-224 of 1984 version 1 ,43 Example 28 mm. 357-366 of 1956 versio 44

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1 i ird Sonata: First Movement 1 /' mple 61 : m. li I mple 62 m. r'l mple63 m. 1

0 I, Example64 mm, A . I .>88 e- 3 Example65 mm. 21-24 .. ,'- Example 66 ' mm. C. -1 ..-89.

* Example67' mmi I. -z Example 68, mm. 40-46 I a

Exa le69 mm. 100-103 I I f 92 ' Ex ple 70 mm: ,,104-108 93 2 1 .94 Example 71 mm. 11411 18 ', Example 72 mm.. 155-15(1. d Example 73 mm. 160-165 B Example 74 . mm. 166-171 8

Example 75 violin part, mm. 1-10 a Example 76 mm. 1-5 .

' Example.80 -mm. 2

I Example 81 mm. 3

mird Sonata: Third Movement -

-4. - Example 82 '#l, a single repeated note 106 r

f Example 87 .- #6, a sh

% Example 90 . rnm. 42-4 Example91 mm. 1-2

1 110 Example 94 mm. 36-40

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t 8. I Bol’com has written thirteen wor

professes a special affiiity for the violin.

hiGh were dedicated to Ser

Following that achievement, there occurs a gap of nine iears between the Violin

. .. Concerto in D (1983) and the Third Sonata (1992). During that span, Bolcorrf

* 0 L ,. . lWilliam.Bolcom, 1iner.note.s to Second Sonata, Duo Fantasy, and Gracefur Ghost, Nonesuch 79058-1. ... k ,o -2, 2-

.* * -. L d, .1 * T I 1 ', \ 1 <'. ir L 6- - . - F1' I1 , 0. 8. I. . , ,e I < 7' ir I _. .' .(. _- .- 5. . 1%

, Vehall. He graduated cum la~deiq o \ .' CI. ?. In hotels and'nightc!ubs. Later in We .I

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** - . pia94pr. a fenpie impersonators' CiUb.3-, .. - L- ' *L ., 1. man year:at the: .-

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fo? violin &d pian6 and dedicatd edfriends; *, ' ...

*. ). i' I 1 1. * . ' ' Peter and joanna Marsh, ;in 1984-it was revised (an - .rn ,.- r, ,. -. . 1 -I ~ J* . Daws, associatezconcertmasterpf the St.. Paul Cham '. ,.

. . '. and Senior y&s; Bolcom'studied at,the Aspeni L-.Music-pesti -- ,-.. . Milhaud warned him to. "slow down and bk more careful," ,. g d. '*

Bolcom's pen to'be as quick as hi>.own. ,Undaunted; Bolcom asiounded his teacher and ' ' "b 1 <

fellow students 6y produding a.cornplete symphony (the First Symphony) and a set of 5 * .> nly five weeks.' It w,as pr@nierd'by the hestra on August - t under the baton of Carl Eberl. New York Times critic Howard Taubman was 7 .. ... -, "helps himself to bits and pieces of styles from ' .I \ to "a young Shostakovich when he was writing n $ v ertos ip.his late 'teens. "5 Thirty-four years later, this Fint -. .,.

I.- ony was recorded by the Louisiille Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Leighton .-

for First Edition Recordings. , ->

. Milhaud was much.impressed with Bolcom's ,. pursue'a Master of Arts in 'Composition at Milk Col California. Bolcom had /. Bc. cholarship offer to study. wit aul Hindemith at ich his friends,and .- - teachers urged' hi

. zenith of his rep lhaud would not I#

/ '7 -. 3Steven Wigler, "To Bolcom,. mwic is music," Baltimore Morning Sun, 16 December 1986, d f. f. william Bolcom, "Reminiscences of Darius Milhaud," Musical Navsleffe~;Sunbrier, 1977, 3. SWilliamBolcom, liner notes t9 William Bolcom's Symphonies Nos.' I and 3, First EditionR

Recordings, CD LCD 007. 'L 6Bolcom, ,"Reminiscences of Dana I -

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1 /- $ .4 P I- t, c a *u 1 ?- I

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when tonality was commody considered dead for composition and process was king, this was not what some students want 'They wanted ce ..want&i gurus. "8 Milhaud had a/l teaching arrangement with Mills lege which allowed I

c him to teach one year i fornia and the next at the Paris Conservatory. Through I' Milhaud' s influence, Bolcom obtained the Bourse du Gouvemement Franqaise grant, which. provided an opportunity to study at the famed Conse rvatoire. and take advantage of certain privileges such as 6 1 discount subway tokens and student concert,tickets, Bolcom decided to take the , .-- grueling exams that would allow him to enter the Conservatory as an kkve rkgufier. He passed.and embarked on a two ym course of study, Olivier-Messiaen's **J course in musical aesthetics and studying composition w Milhaud returned to *California. Recognition of Bolcorn's talent came , % -]Bolcom, "Reminiscences of Darius Milhaud," 4. 8William Bolcom, "An Appreciation of Darius Milhaud, " (unpublished essay, collection of William Bolcom, 2 Au@t 1992.)

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P 4 I ' rFh 0,. .. 4, .A r,

. dL \% '.f- .' b . -. ., \ \ 1- r' . .,. 7 2 fi in the form of the Harriett Hale Woolley Stipend, ahheKurt WeillFouildakion # I *J . 1: J f , ' Award in 1960, followed by the William aaN$ha Copley Abard in 1.961. -c # c', -While in Paris, Bolcom became frknds with fellow chposer Phillip G -P .> * . - with t ndefatigabiky of fun-loving students; the two of them once attend@ h .. , 4- L' (" -I c, ' '- . twenty;four-hour movie kthon. Though Bolcom s&ms to have enjoy4 dthe culture I .. .. I .4 , ,- of P&s, he chafed*againstits musical scene. Parisian listeners were fascinated by'the I .new sounds of Berio,. Boulez, and Stockhausen while Bolcom's own teacher, Milhaud," * * c . was iaored as passk. Bolcom admired their mhsic, though in his gwn music he only ' ; . \ ,o ; .experimenpd briefly ,with rialxtechnique. He remembers with distaste, however,

' conferenceshr Darmstadt cerned with "Logarithmic Procedure

Technique."- He says of his Paris musical experience: "I began to feel kind of 'I

,- I* might call the Composer's Concert S '. hen I went to avant-garde performances, and then led to outrighi P

.I D i- .r , ' - boredom with much of what I was hearing."9 *. olcom's uneasiness with the Post-Schoenberg school led to self-reflection +. ,

ver the entire problem of modem style. He was not alone, however. G 5 .: -' .- + Rochberg, his mentor and tache glewood Festival, also renounced serialism for his own reasons and wrote s s cathartic) articles on the subject, following. the premiere,of his Third String Quartet. Bolcom was not so public about he continuedxto"write in his eclectic style, throwing in bits of twelve-, r as a nod to the prevailing academic at es or as yet another resource to be tapped.. In later years he de riation practices, ci

\ -- Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven as fellow b m popular culture: "1'11~ .idiom if I can make music out of it. The trick ivto make them connect, to vibrate ,/ , *. f-

David Coker, "WiIliamBolcom Wants to Go Easy on You." Reader 3, 9 January 1981, 9. ' . 4

0 .. b I 4 4 * .-

.+f s. 8 , I ,. against one another in a meaningful waykh&ervathe right.to be both private and

4

r) \ accessible, to not be stuck in one kind of music Gen Idhave more to say."IO

I,.. .. Bolcom found a useful (though not permanent) solution to his stylistic dilemma .I c when Mkxiudpposed !ha$, he should write ,the musi; for an opera written by the .* 1. / .-. c .,.

k. '_young poet; Arnold Weinstein. Whilestudying in Italy on' Fulbright fellow+ip, OL 1 Weinstein had met Milhaud and ask& him to collaborate on his libretto. Milhaud io 1 - A', declined, saying the subject was too American for hh, but he,. knew a young virtuoso '\ '* composer who could do it." ' , t Bolcoq and Weinstein em on the project in'1963 without even rrkting-

the whole thing was done throug 1. The libretto, originally etltitled Comedy of ' % as comple& in thrk honths and renamed Dynamite Tonight! Bolcom r, \ * U <.. describes the satirical anti-war story this way:< The prisoner from the opposite country -

" ' r sings in Woueck-schtyle, but everybody else is singing in this 1912-1915 popular music - I kind of style. ''I2 The-, premiere was given off-Broadway .on December 2 1, 1963 by the. I, I 1 ' . * Actors Studio in New York, funded in part by a Rockefeller Foundation grant. Its 0 9 initial performance was so poorly received sthat the remaining perfor

'canceled. Nevertheless, Bolcom and Weins later received the Marc Blitzstein ' ,I i 1

Award in 1965 for excellence in musical th . Dynamite Tonight was later revived , I

I by'the Yale Drama,School in 1966 (two years before Bolcom served there as visiting

' criticl3) and several other times by various companies. # The anti-war subject matter of Dynarniie Tonight! reflected both Bolcom's . . interest in theater and his objections to the Vietn War. Students enrolled in post-

_. I .- I'

loJohn Rockwell, "Mysic Every Which Way," New York Times Mugmine, 16 August i987, 54. -1.- Rockwell, 5 1 I 12Jack Hiemenz, "Musician of the Month: William Bolcom, " 'High Fidelify/Musicul America, September 1976,'MA-4. p3Thisodd title, "visiting critic" is explained by Bolcom in Appendix A, pf 144. 'His duties .

were that of composer-in-residence. I

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/ graduate programs were exempt from the-draft, so between 1961 and 1964, Bolcom c, . returned tolhe United States to pursue his Doctorate with Leland Smith at Stanford

t University on a Stanford Futures Scholarship. His 1ast;year,* as adoctoral student was .,n \1 spent prepafing DMamite Tonight!, and two days following its piemikre, he marri >5- I b .. 4 ,%,f

8,pianist Fay Levine, a Juilliarh graduate. , Y' 1 -. -. ,I 4- I In the summer of 1964, Bolcom returned to the Aspen Music'Festival and . I 4 I, a. . '\ composed a four movement workfor violin and string orchestra entitled Concerto 1 \ > Serenade which received its only performance that following note i-n the score: "MovementJI is watten in homage to R.W. [Richard

I as a cousin of my ndfatheqs (on my mother's side). It is not a joke . but a serious use of some of Wagner's thematic material, The quotations'should not be'

.. r outside of the general dynamic range, but discreetly; they are used only as part 0 3 . . of the contrapuntal fabric of this piece and should not be brought*f , ,AThis .* , ,represents one of thaew.instance{ of melodic quotation in Bolcorlh's music. 1, - In the fall of 19 ife returned to P,aris where

'i. re-entered the Paris C on a Guggenheim Fellowship. ". Eighth String Quartet won only second plah in acomposition contest at the P ,. I = atoire in 1965 because it "had s thingyinit that sound@ like vari

y Soul in the Bosom of Abraharp.' " He says, "Believe me, faces fell. " l5 .

-7 ', Upon returning to the United States, ,Bblcom was invited to teach at the !

University of Washington as an Adjunct Assistant PrdfessorI. .for. . the acad .* . , 1965-66. In the Fall of 1966, he was hired by Queens College inNewv-YorkCity, fir

. as a Lecturer, then is an ASS Professor. He held Queens College positions

0 until his resignation in 1968. t,

1 14William Bolcom, note i rro Serenade score, (New York: E.B. Marks Music ebrg., 1964), 19. 15John Bridges, "William Bolcom Profil,e,"BMI Music World, Summer.1988, 28.

II- '* .-.-, 1 \ In 1968, bolcom receivd a second Guggenheim grant to serve,as visiting critic .I -. (composer-io-residence) to theRaJe School ma for one year. At Yale, he . ,, *

-I .I -- collaborated with Arnold Weinstein on an " actors" i'xlled Greatshot which

' "describes an in dent>.inthe life,of William Buzoug " l6 Ai offer to be Composer, .I .

<'* 'in Residence*toqkBol& ta+$w York Upivlrsity rehis salary was daid by'a 1 ' ' Rockefeller Foundation grant. 4e held a full time position from 1969-70, and a-part-"'; * ' time position for two additional years. 'r To the'outsider, it would seem that Bolcom was hitting hisstrid . .. New York music world., i Recognition for his compositions and piano playing came */ J. 8 from a variety of enviable soufces, and he was making a living as a professional t -, P* composer. New York, however, is full of duplicities, and while on the one hand.

I' Bolcom was successful, he "fouqd himself increasingly alienated from the Upper West

Side contempdrary-music establishment's'clojstered concerts,. .. " l7 Bolcom s doubts about his entire vocation as a classical composer, " according to 'C * 11.18 Hind-sightled Bolcom to offer the following observations in 1977: "After I got my degree, and had gone through a few teaching jobs and various personal

' reverses I won't mention, I ended up in New .York as a '. ngs, which horrified Milhaud: I still wo why, when it'! the sort of

\ .. ight have done in my place-somuch of his own music stems from the .

n I begah writing concert music again, he wrote a warm ', 4

7 . congratulatory.le

I

' In addition to these questions of musical direction, Bolcom's personal life to \ * 'Z turn for the worse. Bolcom and-Fay Levine were divorced in 1967, though he was

0 16SuSan Elliot, "William Bolcom," in Nay Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sa . (London: MacMillan, 1992), 530.'

. 17Rockwell, 50. T 18Rockwell, 50. z- I- lgBolcom, "Reminiscences of Darius Milhaud," 7.

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-* .1 1 . ,. I soon re-married to Catherine Agee Ling, niece of the film critic and nov 5 . Agee. To quote Bolcom, the second mpriage was 'heilish: they were separated a- , t- .. -I I. ? , _B yV.later.2O The effect of these personal ieverses was overwheihing, and headmits ti. *. *. .. , , .1 f - '* *. *I . %\ *. ' " I ' a brief siruggle wit4 alcoholi'dm. -.I- . , I. 6 ' * .. 5 of this'post-Doctoral period show the hfluence of Berio and (1

et in 1960 while studying in Dkmspdt. a For ,example, , . a'Oracles the Eighth String Quaftet Sessions.. I, III, and-IV( are (1964), (1963, 1965-67) ,I ,, .* early attehpts to fuse.his own brand of twelve-tone technique with other idioms. As . . -, -l .. ;e"<%J oned earlier, the Eighth String Quartet contains a gospel tune, ?ession I (for .

) edploys jazz and a twelve-tone row, while Session IV (for nonet) contains

.. , tions 'from Beethoven's Eroica Variations and Schubert waltzes together with a

,pseudo James Scott rag., .. "2' Listeners at the International Music Festival in France ,.\ 2 i- 7 ,- 1) reacted violently to Session 111 (for clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion), '3 ...+

' forcing lhe performers to over several times. i 0

'. Two encounters with ragtime music sparked a new direction in Bolcom's music .< and in the national resurgkce of interest 'i"n the ks of Scott Jopjin. His initial -_

I .... ' flirtation with ragtime was in Black Host (1967 organ, percussion and p

* 0 - <'A tape in which atonality~and ragtime are juxtapos&. At the time he was also ." experimenting with microtonal music and his ow; form of seriali"sm,22so th Y * of ragtime initially seemed merely another resource. In an.interview for Musical - .> America, Jack Heimenz summarizes and quotes. Bolcom: "One peculiarity of his

progress, he [Bolcom] has noticed, is the way heanticipates himself. 'In my piece . Black Hosts.. .there's a little ragtime spot-but I wrote that piece before actually .. -

1 - 20Michael Morgolin, :A-Man of Note," Derroh Monthly, June 1987, 11 1.

. 21David Ewen, Americun Composers: A Biographical Dicrionary (New York: G.P. Putnam's , Sons, 1992), 84. 4 . 22Ewen. 84. ._ I

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I .*. .*L. \ . -12 started getting ihto iagtime. Or in iyI Whisper Moon, I.bave,quotations q' ' .B, c'

'1 from such, old pop tunes-as Blue Moon a ittle Breeze eems to Whisper Love.

2. 9 *',& - * , It'was six months later that Joan Moms and,'I first met and s ed doiqg our History of ..

If a,' I I' ' ' ,American~PopularSong programs. ' n23 1- ,I . \ I' I L. v The second ,encounter involved Joplin's only opera, Treertzonisha. While :i$4 .. - *. . seel$ng out the score, Bolcom was introduced to other Joplin fans, and together they I I I. began the revival of Jopin's popularity. -Bolcdm describes these events in the program

notes to his albu .*

I&e director of the music divis'ion of the Rockefeller ~ J Foundation, had heard of a ragtime opera by Scott Joplin; "Who is that?" I asked him inJ967, and, intrigued, tried to track the piece down with no - ,:&& success. Even the Library of Congress asked please to let them know if I found, 1 5. ' ' 'o 'I out anything. Finally, I asked one of 'my maily office-mates at Queens College r if he'd any id& where to find Treemonisha. "I have a copy at home. Want to see it?" replied Rudi Blesh, who would turn out to be the world authority on I. Scott Joplin and ragtime. Which started a long friendship and odyssey into the ' world of Scott Joplin. Another new friend, the wonderful actor-singer-pianist " Max Morath, had many rags by Joplin and Fther turn-of-the-century ragtime. . composeis for me to learn and play. That Christmas, at Eric Salzman's party, I + played a series of the most important and beautiful Joplin rags for Jpshua Rifkin. Thus were born the Rif4cin Joplin recordings, which ewere t6 give Joplin serious attention in the musical world. The rest is history, and today no one can remember that, barely twenty years ago, the name and music of Scott Joplin

were almost totally unknowti.24 f

' (r' His intensive study of the genre led to friendships with' other aficionados: M

Morath, Rudi Blesh, and Eubie Blake. Bolcom credits Blake for his'belief that "there's , 5 no real line between improvising and composing, or between composing and .. -A . b ? performing. n25 Bolcom later'collaborated with Robert Kimball on an authoritative .. .- i // + 23Heimenz, MA4 24William Bolcom, liner notes for Euphbnic Sounds (The Scott Joplin Album),, Omega OCD 3001. =Mark Wait, "Meet the Composer-Pianist: Wil Bolcom; " The Piano Quarterly, . Summer 1988, 33.

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-t biogrqphy of the famous vaudeville partners: Reminiscing with Sissle and Blake .. t ". (1973).26 ' r e. .e q. - , After immersing himsetkin the style; he perfoFmed a seriesof "marathon . .

I. ' ragtime, bashes". for WBAI in New' fourteen of hi;own piano . a. I . rags.27 The most famous of these, ther, is entitld The > .. Graceful.Ghost. Mu& critic Gighton Kerner ranks it along with "the finest of .- * . ' * Gershwih,,Kern, and Ellington."28 It has sincc been arranged for lin and piano, . .:

I. marimba ensemble, arld string quartet. Composing rags relieved e of the pressures 0 of writing serious music. Bolcom said, "It was such an amazing feeling, to put four

:I flats'and 2/4 time at the head of a score after being an mic composer. "29 . Ragtime and other popular styles influenced his pieces of the 1970s, notably the Duo Fantasy and Second Sonata. The' Duo Fan

I *- kautiful waltz and a ragtime sectian, whereas the last mov (1978) eulogizes the great violinist, Joe Venuti. Between jazz .. BoQm wrote Session 11 (1976) and t Suite for Solo Viol .. ' - austere in nature and dedicated to violinists Mark So

.In,1970, Bolcom's position at New York University,pl became part time, and he egan to freelance in New York by composing rhusic for isational theater, doing L . -+..1 hestrations on commission,.publishing articles on music, and working ,. Records both as consulbnt and pianist. .Not all of his time, however, wa its-he once played a simple arpeggio Est& Lauder com

' I,

- " .< 26Robert kimball and William Bolcom, Reminiscing wirh Side and Blake, (New York: Viking Press, 1973). 27Charles Moritz, ed., 1!296+!Currenr Bi&ro& Yearbook. (New Yorkf H. W. Wilcm CO., 1990). S.V. ."Bolcom. William Elden, 72. 281990Current Biogrnphy Yearbook, 72. 29Rockwell, 5 1. B . ,,'

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'* 14.

I . help pay the bills. It was a good move, siuce residual checks for $183 came every

,I three weeks for as long as the commercial ran. 8 A personal turning point for Bolcom came in 1971 w n he met Joan Moms, a *. ,, ' n.* - t.": I * mezzo-soprho wh9 making a living as a Mew York nightclub efltertainer., Not ' e. was, , ,, ' only did they share the.sqm erests in popuiw son ut they-also had4.g deep I ' appreciation fo literature. , eiher, trey ernbGked on a red@ career of populq ,- songs from the11 late ninetee nd early twentieth century, including works by .I Gershwin, Kern, Berlin, and lesser wn song-writers.

?h When Bolcom met' Ms. Mo he &as negotiating for a position at the *. t University of Michigan. Moms decided to give upher career in New York'and join him in Ann Arbor, despite the fact that he and Katherine Ling were se =n divorced.30 When Katherine was tracked down ippie commune, . ,/ :p /' divorce and Bolcom and Moms were free to un kir careers as husband and wife. , / \- ' They were married on tlie 28th vember, 1975, with Eubie Blake "playing a $

ragtime version of the Wedding March for their ceremony. "31 In 1974, they released their first album for Nonesu h records-ABer the Ball-which earned Joan Morrisa

L Grammy,Award nominatio Since then, they have recorded fifteen more albums, th 1' most recent of which was released by Omega Record Classics in 1989 called Let's Do ' , It-Bolcom hnd Morris at Asp The'Bolcom and Morris duo has been in great <., .demand since the firstfconcerttour, and the couple maintains an active concert career of ._- thirty to fifty concerts per year in the U. S: and Europe. I fa university position gave Bolcom the time he needed to s setting of William Blake,'~Songs of Innoce s'i 1 J Bolcom began working on the project in 1956, he says, n.. .thk

L.

w

3oBenson, 56. c, Morgolin, 1 11.

6

.C ik ",-_ 3 -.

I 15, I! . .? P I. work remained in my mind until 1973, when Iymoved .to Ann Arbor to teach at the .'a

University of Michigan. I felt that I could thus simplify my life enough to be able to I

realize the cycle I'had dreamed of for's9 Ibng. "32 In an interview with Nancy Malitz, ? i" _I1 1. 3

,I he said, "There were so many different moods and style and types of poetry.in the , D" ' thing, there really was a feeling of the whole wbrl4 by the time you were d~ne."3~, ., Diversity of. tofie- and style had discourag any composers such as Virgil Thomson,

Beiijamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and John SykGs from setting"al1 foky:$ix,I , pl,

1' I I 'of the poems. Bolcom's eclectic.style was ideally suited for the taski however, aficl,h@ . c &. 4, ,- U , saw the-project as ideal r overcoming "the latent tension between th :cultivated and ' ~ 1, , . qk !&! th8 vernacular partly b noring the problem, paky by confronting it, and pat.tl$by ', \ . J overwhelming it.. .. "34 TQ,provehis point, Bok glides effortlessly tze

including a.,regg tribute to the late Bob the finale. Organizing the whole '

P Yiece was a different matter Altogether, since a is not obliged to make connections the way a composer must, Bolcom discovered a clue in "the'appendi

I of Blake's poems: the poet's suggestion for a new order in ,. Innocence and of-Experience,' should there be another edition. Bolqom divided the poetry into nine sections and chose to rest 2- .l I in the final edition)'as thexnale. "All the me, because I saw the emotional curves could begin to happen.

25' Songs of Innocence an '6 still considered by;many to be

32William Bolcom, progra season): 26a.

.e- 33Nancy Malitz, "Poetic . 1' 72. ., cs . . 34JohnRockwell, "A Grand Achievement," New York Times, 15 September 1985, C19. 3sMalitz, 27. -\ II e1 *. 36Malitz, 27. \ - -

;-*

e i 1 \ -0 16 \ Times pronounced it as having -"a -very good chance of being a ,masterpiece of our time b. and place, "37 The score is massive: *. it calls for nine vocal soloists, three choirs, a rock combo, organ; and a full symphony orchestra including-triple winds, two saxophones, .,3 *A<. L a- ?.

~ euphonium, and flugelhorns, for alotal of 250 performers. The premier was-given by *. . Dennis Russell Davies with the stuttgart Opera Company in January of 1984. Three

months later, GustavMeikj9r introduc& the work at University of Michigan's Hill \ '.

Auditorium, while-Lucas Fossconductir. it at the Bro&n Academy of Music in I, / i 1986. A BMG recordingcontract with Leonard Slatkin conducting the BBC S;mphony' hasi been approved for a November 1996 release. i :'i . The Violin'Conckrto irt D (1983)' was written one year after Songs of Innocence " '-. -* . .'I-4;. i jand ojExperience, and'yvasprZmiered in 1984 by violinist Sergiu Lucdand2 the S'mbriicken Radio Orches nducted by Dennis Russell Davies: While Songs of .I P - 1% Innocence and of immediately introduced to American audiences, the Y "L 1' !-

May 16, ,1986 for its premiere-this time with Luca il

and Dennis Russeil leading the Pittsburgh Symphony estra. Carl Apone ' If .. \ reviewed the Pittsb hiere and said, "There was muc ike in the 25-minute I* L ,. iolin cancerto, es n the happy and upbeat themes, and. those sections ab

'throughout4, the piece where t ng flavor of American, music keeps reapp I( Bolimm's program notes. tp rding explaina great about th -6 lassical works'such as thebFantasia Concertante ,md the

., ~

411 three of the works on this recording owe much to Classical-period , . . music:*l don't however consider them Neo-elassical in the 1920s - 30s sense . s,.usually real19 Neo-Baroque,i: here I am using somc of the formal ' Classical harmonic construction,' gotably the abili6 to steer a whole ' -'

.'# 37Rocku;;ell,A -Grand Achieveienr, 19

-I 4 38Carl Apone, "Davies shows promise-in S phony concert," The Pittsburgh Press, 17 May

1986, C6. ', # n - - R -\ 3 .* \ b.. 17 form in a new direction on the turn of a musical card-something not usually discernible in a totally chromatic context.. .. t I The Concerto's beginning movement is a fantasia in the Classical sense, k ,in which the careful jqtaposing of vafious types of music is the paramount concern. The solems 5/4 second movement is in memory of the great pianist Paul Jacobs, a close friend who died in 1982; the long Adagio line includes a . ghostly discourse between the solo violinist and an off-stage D trumpet. This leads aftacca to th'e Rondo-Finale, where the Venuti influence is most apparent. Several styles from popular music (notably ragtime and rhythm-and-blues) are alternated rondo-fashion, up to the soloist's brilliant passsagework (stretta) which ends the Concerto.39

Bolcom also tells us that he has written- this-concerto in the key of D major-minor. This is important because nowhere else in his prose does he express his fascination with the duality'lof major and minor keys. Furthermore, the Violin Concerto in D,like the -+.+-. -. 1 Second Sonata exhibits a multiple dedication-it was written for violinist Sergiu Luca, 7 #, . and contains a portrait of pianist Paul Jacobs in the second movement and elements of Joe Venuti's styleain the fourth movement. Lastly, Bolcom claims this piece owes a. debt to Classical-period music. This is another example of Bolcom' s "anticipating" himself since thirteen years later, he is still using Classical &vices. His most recent . works (1995-96) are the Gaea Piano ncerti (Numbers I, 2, and 3) for Piano Lefr

9. Hand, written for pianists Gary Graffman and Leon FIeisher. Bolcom wrote the / following note for the premiere performance on April 1 1, 1996 with the Baltimore Symphony conducted by David Zinman: " 'This music is strongly .neo-classical-by which I don't mean that it sounds like Stravinsky-with a traditional three-movement

I nding in a fugue. I have become more of a classicist as I get older ..

a Fourth Symphony (1986) similarly failed to'win the Pulitzer, but Bolcom

*qfi

k gold in 1988"withnYelve New Etfide:.' Richard Dyer speculated that 0 Bolcom's "failure to follow approved academic paths" cost him the awards*> .pr&iously.

39William Bolcom, liner r,ot,ss to Violin Conceio in D. Fantasia Concertante, Fifrh Symphony, Argo CD 433 077-2. 40Janet E. Bedell, "Earthly Delights," Uverture (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's program

guide), 8 Mar~h-26April, 1996, 8. I

i -4

d. -a

I" ..

,

18

I The same argument could not be used against the Etudes: "the genre itself requires a

I tighter, more stringent compositional style and is by definition 'academic. ' "41 I I Bolcom composed t~eEtudes for Paul Jacobs and in?ended to take full advantage of Jacobs' prodigious piano technique and champion'ship of modern music. Jacobs, unfortunately, died three years before the work's completion.and'S0 the torch was handed to Marc-Andre Hamelin who brought to the Etudes his own exceptional technical and interpretive powers. New York Times critic Allan Kozinn remarked that "...each of the dozen, whether rumbling and ostentatiously virtuosic, or more ake daunting demands on the pianist's agility and sense of color. In

eautifully etched, transparent renderings, even the least programmatic 1

of the pieces leave distinct afid almost visual impressions. "42

The last of these etudes-Hymne a 1 'amour-was re-orchestrated to serve-as the * last movement.. of Symphony No. 5 (1992). Bolcorn explains that both versions treat "the Love-Death axis fro another more tragiq viewpoint:- Death generated by Love. In the Etudes, the Hymn 1s like the triumph of the Ewigweibliche; here it is in

I ironic contrast to the rest of the work, particularly to the conclud

movement of Symphony No. 51. "43 Literature has played a significant role in all of Bolcom's 1 ' fascination with B1 oetry led to studies with Theodore Roethke at the University of Washhgton. Bolcom said of the experi

I

I did not study with him with any on to become a practicing poet, only to , try to learn how to set words to music. Roethke was not an easy man to know, bh hi; artistic struggle and evolution seem familiar to me-pejhaps even similar to my own. In hjs earlier years, Roethke adopted an avant-garde, almost stream-of-consciousness 'Freudian' style;. ..later, he w to become more and

12- hlRichard Dyer, "Bolcom's Pulitzer: a well deserved prize," Bos Globe, 24 April 1988, 87. . i42Allan Kozinn, "Bolcom's Twelve New Etudes," New Yo& Times, 31 July, 1988, C28. / 43William Bolcom, liner notes for Violin Concerto in D, Fantasia Concertatnte, Fifrh Symphony, Argo CD,433 077-2, 6. a .

';z ......

.. "- 20 of barbershop quartet with paired expressionist modernism, robust turn-of-the-century , . street music along with extended classical forms like the passacaglia. The results were

Y, as mixed as the style$ but the event had a celebratory quality. "48 -- d Critical response to Bolcom's early music was mixed. Since the late 1970~~~. ' however, his works have increasingly gained acceptance. Most importantly, Bolcom's > music is being performed, recorded, and enjoyed. Much of the criticalldebate concerns Bolcom's mixing of classical and popularstyles. The line between serious and popular .. i ' ..' -1- music often concerns commercial rather than aesthetic issues, though some critics and . '. /. composers would like to believe otherwise. As many composers in addition to Bolcom have demonstratedithe two need no mutually exclusive. The objection raised by 3 composer Charles Wuorinen is that "our celebration of compositional pluralism has led to an inability to conceive of any absolute,musical values ~hatever"4~ignores the

traditions of American composers esbblished by Charles Ives. Gerald Groemer' s dissertation on the piano music of Rochberg, Bolcorp, and Albright defends the eclectic d aesthetic in the following comment:

I 1 The style which a composer utilizes has alwGs been largely determined by preference. Mozart's Overture in the Stvle"oHande1 K. 399, Spohr's 0, -- Svmphonv No. 6 "Historische Sinfonie im Stil und Geschmack vier verschiedenet Zeitabschnitte, " and other such works demonstrate that, even before our present "pluralistic" age, radical shifts of style were possible; even if 7 a composer's choices were clearly modkled after the musical language of . another composer. What is new to the twentieth century is the attempt by composers such as George Rochberg to endow radical stylistic fluctuations within a work an almost structural importance. The element of choice is thus . elevated to a much more functional and "foreground" level.50

\

48Edward Rothstein, "A Musical Slice of Grim American Life," New York Times, 2 November, /-7 -- I 1992, C13. 49Tom Manoff, "Run into Any I&ozarts Lately?" New York Times, 17 November 1991, H28. SoGeraldH. Groemer, "Paths to the New Romanticism: Aesthetic and Thought of the American . " Post-Avant-Garde as Exemplifiedin Selected TOM~Piano Mu&. (D.M.A.dissertation., Peabody + Institute of the Johns Hopkins Univeyity, 1985), 7

I I I . 88 , L

Bolcom's program note for the U. S. premiere of Songs of Innocence and of Experience clearly explains his compositional approach and may in fact be his

(r manifesto:

The, Blakean principle of contraries: "Without Contraries is no - progression. Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are P necessary to Human existence, " (me Marriage of Heaven and Hell) would also dominate my approach to the work, particularly in matters of style. Current Blake research has tended to confirm what I had assumed from the first, that at \ every point Blake used his whole culture, past and present, highflown and vernaculars as ,sources for his many poetic styles. Throughout the entire Songs of Innocence and of Eqerience, exercises in elegant Drydenesque diction are "J' I placed cheek by jowl by ballads that could have come from one of the songsters of his day; it is as if many different people were spealung, from all walks of . life, each in a different way. The apparent disharmony of each clash and juxtaposition eventually produces a deeper and more universal harmony, once the whole cycle is rbed. All I did was to use the same stylistic point of departure Blake di my musical settings. If I could say that any one work of mine has been the chief source and progenitor of the other, ,I would have to say that this is it. My fascination with the synthesis of the most unlikkstylistic elements dates from my knowledge and application of Blake's princijle of contraries, and I have spent most of my artistic life in pursuit of this higher'synthesis. In this work, through my, settings, I have tried my best to make everything clear; I have used music in the same way as Blake did line and colordn order to i1luminate the poems.s1 nd employing hi n musical takes, Bolcom refle$s the cultural divehty s nation, the "presence of the past" in art, and the richness of his *' t compositipn@ method. - ., '.

1'

I

.* I k .>. 0

*

GC ,

'. William Bolcom, program notes to the University of Michigan School of Music's premiere performance of Songs of Qnocence and offiperience, 11 April 1984. .,

HRSTSONATA *' The First Sonata was,wfitten in 1956 while Bolcom was a seventeen-year-old freshman at the Univerqityof Washington. He was hardly a typical student composer, having studied co sition with George McKay and'John Verrall at the University of Washington since as eIeven years old. re writing the First Sonata, he had already composed three sting quartets and study pieces for his teachers. 9) The Sonata (originally Op. 4) was written as a wedding present for violinist Peter Marsh and his new wife,'pianist Joanna Voles. Unfortunately e Marshes never

.'o perfbrmed the piwe b$fore ir divorce, so the premiere was in fac spring of 1957 during a composition recital at the J The sonata then lang wrote Commedia for (Almost) Eighteenth Centu for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. During rehearsals he met its Associ aster, Hanley Daws, who was drawn to Bolcom's music and asked him-to compose a violin sonata. Nothaving time to write a completely ne ork, Bolcom decided instead to revise his First Sonata. . The revision was commissioned by the College of St. Thomas for its centennial celebration and was premiered by faculty members Hanley Daws and Katherine Faricy. Their performance at'Minneaklis' Ordway Theater on April 21, 1984 was legitimately billed as the world premiere since it resen!& a revised version. he program was '. I, r, .

22 repeated in New York on January 13, 1985,. Dennis Rooney of ?'%eSfrad said of the .. New York debut, "The duo were always convincing in their performance of the work and occasionally brilliant although the violinstJsic) was disinciined to embrace

t enthusiastically the music's vulgar aspects. "52

Bolcom says in'his note to the revised edition:

3 I have rewritten only slightly, mostly tightenln'g, but trying not to be "close-footed, " not preventing-I hope-the youthful energy ,of the original from flowing. At times I found that my memory of the piece - , had changed some details, and I took these changes into accourit, sometimes respecting them, sometimes going toward the first version. ' Every note has bken rethought, but many are unchanged. I have' not . 4. destroyed the first version, but I would not have undertaken the revision had I not felt that reworking the sonata would reflect more accurately what I'd first intended than the earlier version had, or at least what I remember of it. (As it now stands, more than 200 rqeasures have been cut; the only really new matekl is three measures in the second movement, which fill in a link I always felt missing.) I have always felt

' an affection for this sonata and am glad for. the opportunity to present it in this newwersion. " 53 A comparison of the two versions verifies Bolcom's claim that the revisions do 7% not change the sonata's ovepll posture. The most sig ant alterations occur in the last movement where an entire fugue was cut (the "20 ures" referred to above). The other two movements have been re-touched: repetitions are pruned, rhythms are clarified, treble clef notations have been exchanged for ones in bass clef. and a chord is restructured. Some harmonies and rhythms have been re- ,. notational eccentricities have been tamed ,and microtones eliminated. . ..- Although these. ch&ges represent signi6cant ktructural improvements, the emotional content of the music is unaffected.

52DennisRooney, "Concert Notes," The Strad, March 1986, 824. 53WilliamBolcom, note to First Violin Sonata, (New York, E.B. Marks Music Corporation), 1956hev. 1984. p. 42 of Piano score. *

I 0

L 24

.I . Sinc.e each movement presents unigpe problems, the analysis will be correspondingly diverse. The first movement presents an o rtunity to study his use ' of dissonance, while 21 three-bar addition to the second m nt initiates a discussion r concerning its effectiveness as a transition. Finally; the significant changes to the third movement call into question Bolcom's original title of "variations. " First Movement: Legend

The firstrmbvement-* is cast in two large sections (A-B-C-D

' separated by a g,rahd pause and concluded by aCoda. Though the memorable. melodies, Bolcom achieves unity through melodic accompanimental i

I 'figures which rely heavily on ostinato and motivic sequencing d through the large- 0 .,*\- scale repetition of A, B, and D. 1

The A section (marked adagio) is characterized by slow melodic lines in the ~

' violin which are created from chains of perfect fourths or major and minor thirds.' .. Within qch phrase these chains are usually unidirectional. The B section (marked piu rnosso, energico) is derived from inte'rv f the previous melody, but the mood is

somewhat unpredictable as the violin e s a number of different sounds including a

waltz and country fiddling. A lyrical third section (C) acts as a transition to a sardonic c 1

F .jig in the D section. After a grand p , the opening tune ret B', but neither sec eloped. Bolcom skips the lyrical C section and goes directly section, giving it new pitch . center and makin ly complex. The whole movement ends with a Copland-inspired coda. Linear counterpoint plays a significant role in the harmonic and melodic structures of the first movement. Later we will see how dissonance treatment can be explained as a functicn of melody. The opening of the movement, however, - demonstrates the interrelationship between the piano's chords and the intervallic

. -A I I -< t

i 3 "I.

', 25 made in the violin melody. In the first four measures of Example 1 below, the violin L

melodyIC rises by fourths and the.piano's block harmonies are largely quintal.

e. L the piano initiates the interval of a third (through a scale harmonized in

s) that is reflected in the violin part of measure 9. , r:"

0

.

Example 1 (m.1 -11) ,All examples of Will ''Bolcom!s music are used with from Marks MusidHal E.B. .- r IntervGlic agreeme Iodic. or harmonic between the two ins movement in a "follow the leaderh arrangement.' As in Example 2, the q and tertian element

. simultaneously.~. .. PO a -3 I

<: , .I?= 'C ,'"r

h 26

,^

-' re?-

ExamDle 2 (mm. 35-38) a

..* . In Example 2, the violin melody is constructed of minor thirds and perfect fifths, T!ie piano imitates with the bass/alto and tenor/soprano voices moving in parallel thirds while p fths occur between the other pairs. In measure 38, the

violin lqps down tw s quintal harmonies. This . > . indicates that while both tertl onies can be used simultaneously, one instrument often initiates the use of one or the other. Looking at the vertical arrangement of pitches, we could analyze .' imultenaeties as a syuence of minor-minor seventh chords, but the strong int draws the 'ear to the horizontal rather than vertical aspects,of the wpoint is further strengthen y what occurs in th ymwtune section c -> % (measures 54-63) shown in Example '3 below. I

, -p:' ..

4

.4 .4

J,

c.

i - 1 4

1-

-.

P .*

ExahDie 3 (mm. 54-63) %

a

certain clues pint to a 1ogka.I (ad linear) set of rule Example 3 (measure 54) contains a Bb major triad i hand and.B in the bass.’ If the Bb/B discrepancy had affected the third of the chord ,. r ‘; Bolcom’s favored major/minor tonality; since ?is is not-the c .I- I,_ . be at work. The E on the second beat of the following mqs possible clue. Bolcom goe t of his way to contrast Bb w

‘. measure 55. It is’quite reasonable to suppose that he has e I ich result in bi-tonality: C major in the left hand and Bb major in the right.

,. \ I- I

,? * 4 Y.. ” .z+ 1, ,Y i’ ," .. . . ;,i (I

28 ' .

Therefore, while a chordal analysis is problenlatic,-theintentional dissonances are more . 0 easily explained when viewed from a horizontal, meTodic perspective. I 0 * i al tones that are dissonant to the harmonies provide'further evidence of horizontal priorities. Beginning in measure 56, the Bb the top voiceis a pedal that lasts for four measures. Then in measure 60, F ta&s over as the repeated pitch for five I,,' I consecutive measures. For a while, .both Bb8and F dr-e h .a tonic and dominant relationship (measures 60-61). The other pitches in harmonizing the ascending scale in thirds or sirnulhn 1 t 'There are,' however, other notes xilain4 differently. In

'I ' measure 55, the G in the top voice; been replaced with an A to + .

avoid a dissonance with the violin!\: In thatlcase, the ascending scale would be complete I w / \ / .. from D to Bb: Instead; Bolcom retains the G.in the piano (from the second beat of . measure 55) as a dissonance, r than anticipate (and'spoil) the violin's passing tone .. (A): A similar situation'occurs in measu 8 where an E could have fundtion passing tone in the tenor voice between d F. Here again Bolcom creates a' - , ,'4 dissonance (this time as an anticipation figL re) tli'erepy preventing pardlel octaves between the hands and the rather ordinary sL nority of a diminished triad. s mentioned earlier, ostinatos are t YLically used to maintain coherence from

thmic and melodic vi point or for a psychological effect. An example of . *' ostinattr"occu$s-. when Bolcom uses a hypnotic four note fi at measure 19 (circled in Example 4) to cross cut the 314 meter and prepare t transition to@e Su . .. L. mosso, energico at,measure 29. These ev.ents are shown in Example-4 below: 0

tl n ,. ..

I

*

*

Q I,

I. ,c .

..I

,b *I I. 1 Two related ostinatos ‘(Exam ) serve ;he opposite, fund ’.’

I-

’ Example 5 (mm. 72-78)

t- .. I '......

.. .

Example 13 (violin'part. First Sonata. I. mm. 312-3171 "

I -. 4

I. c Thus we see that Bolcom uses quintal and tertian harmonies which are highly II .. "a e$b, , linear in their -orientation. 'I .,

Second Movement: Nocturne P .. . .-. The-Nocturne is a through-composed form. It opens with a deep and lonesome

'. piano melody stated in three octaves and lightly colored by a four-note descending scale . ,. SI .. in the bass shown bel2 w in Example 14. Bolcom plays with the listener's metric ., expectations by cxtending the piano's second phrase (measure 3) by one quarter note, . .. - necessitating the 5/4 meter. ..- I c

I ...... '. P *. .. .'

, ...... ,

...

.. ." . . 1 ......

..

' I pronounced. The meldic structure is thical Bolcom: minor thirds are linked together . , .:' by half;steps, creating a perpetually minor-sounding line. The piano', however. works

.. ,, I

,. ..

35 semitone between violin andxight-hand of the piano, which is punctuated by two

sforzando notes in a mock cadential arrangement'of dominant and tonic. 3%. Bolcom's reputation as an eclectic might imply that dil his works shift constantly '

-\ from -one type of musical expression to another. Indeed, some of Bolcom's music delights in shocking juxtapositions. For example, the Fantasia Concertante (1985-86) shifts among elements derived from Mozart, Rossini, Weber, and the blues. Here in

-a this early sonata there are indeed a number of influe

P'i Ives. Neverthc$ess, these stylistic shifts are worked skillfully and non-obtrusively so ' s that the listener is only vaguely aware of the technique. In the 1984 revision, Bolcom I added three bars of- trar)sition, thus making an exception to this "rule" of smooth stylistic shifts. The result sounds more like the daring juxtapositions found'in Songs of .- n ,r Innocence and of Experience, and also resembles passages from the Secortd,and mird' - \ .. ) a- . sonatas. ExaGple 16 below reproduces measures 33-36 of the 1984 revidon.

t /---

I

I + < -.

..

9 0

d 0

. Lib. ..

,I ,I *

7-

d

*

50 A n I t; t F;+;:-i- =ww\- z- ff. dim molro p ,*. t

J

s which descend in a surrounding textures and

in each case are initiated"in a drama way, either by a glissand Sonatas) or by a driving "kale and ble-stop chords (mird So resemblance exists between the piano parts of the First and Third So

/ . accompaniments are ass lin fiin dotted rhyt dissonant harmonies th he violin line. The piano part of the Second Sonata is not of the same texture, though it d s demonstrate the same sense of 1 independent harmony and thematic content. \ These comparisons suggest that Bolcom drew from his twenty eight y

experience to "fill in a link [he] alw felt missing, "55 Certainly, the new t

'< effectivebecause it adds some drama to an\otherwise placid movement. Fuherrhore, it counteracts the overall q6ietude of the second mayement by foreshadowin intense sections of the third movement

.

SsWilliam Bolcom, note to FhSonata, (New York, E.B. Marks Music Corporation),1956/rev. , ' 1984. p. 42,of the piano score. 5

!. Third Movement: Quasi-Van'ations: Scenes from a Young Life The movement opens with a nursery-rhyme melody accompanied by an Alberti

.bass and is reminiscent of an elementary piano piece (hence the "Young Life" , iolin imitates the line an octave higher before the piano introduces a second tune. Here, Bolcom intentionally misaligns the melody and accompaniment, almost as if to imitate a confused student's performance. The texture then suddenly changes, harmonies become dissonant, and the whole mood darkens. Out of this grows I" a highly animated interplay of sixteenth notes between the two instrum *$ temporariiy inte-pted by a melody reminiscent of the first movemen 5 ,beautiful hymn tune. A rnisten'oso section full of shimmers and shivers leads into a

.(r scherzando'with jazzy rhythms and undulating half-steps, A brief coda sums up all.of.

the material, and the movement clohith a reassuring return of thechild'sI, .tune. ''.@7* . The title of the final movement was changed from "Variations" to '@as' Variations: seines from a Young Life. " men as what the revised title &hnt Bolcom replied: ..when Iwas going over and king at it again, I th were variations, but they weren't. They were q vakations. " However, the changes made to this last movement are far more significant than just nomeqclature. He cut an entire fugue (some 200 measures) because he said it was, "temble! And it certainly was outsized for the rest of the sonata."56 Its theme was a six-bar subject with entrances on the submediant"(an bnusual pitch level) and dominant as shown below.

I

c

5

56William Bolcom, interview by the author, 11 May_-_- 19.95. See Appendix, A, p. 124.

- .- _j- f ..I ..

1 39

‘E,

\ Y 40 Several changes to the misterioso Secti.on (which preceded the fugato) make it

J more eerily effective. In' the first place, Bolcom has added a measured tremolo to the piano part to match the violin more effectively as shown in the comparison below.

9

0 b

,Example' 20 (mm. 146-150 of 1956 version) I i .' +'

.I

octave displacement, thereby chiseling a stronger profile and better imitating the '

leaping violin line. Moreover, he changes some pitches. A comparison of measure ,

' I- 152 of the 1956 version to measure 148 of the 1984 version (Examples 22 and 23

s that Bolcom has rethought the harmonization. Similarly, in'the Y following bar (measures I53 versus 149), the final three notes in the piano (L.H.) have been cbanged from D-G-C#to.Bb -AT#. In Example 23 below, circled pitches" .- *I represent a change in octave or pitch-class from Example 22.

I F 1 I I

I

I

\ \ \ Example 22 (mm. 15 1 - 154 of 1956 version) \

Example 23 (mm. 147-150 of 1984 version). .r A comparison of Examples 24 and 25 (be1ow)demonstrates how Bolcom has c- , ' recomposed bafs 162 to 1.66 (J9 scherzando. It is clear that {he 1984 chanies maintain motivic and contrapuntal y while simplifying the rhy.thmic complexity of,3 against 4. Additionally, the .- .. , and motivic continuity have been altered in the 1984 edition \ The latter displays on the one hand greater consistency .bf the transparent texture; on the other hand, the melodic lines are more chromatic and the , I harmonies are completely changed. Furthermore, we see some. of Bolcom's later I. chord mirroring in the piano's right hand (circled notes in measures 164

57F0r a further discussion of this technique, see the discussion of the Second Sonata in Chapter

2

... .- .. ,......

I...... _.. 'I , . \

I

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1

..

-. . ..

-. , .

.. ,. ..

..

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*- ,_I : 1 / ,@ ' .i *' I,,. 1. I> k, 7' 43 , Bolcom also re-harmanizes measures 220-224 of the 1984 edition, avoiping the 'I I ,

..

(The F# and Eb in the lowest register create a "th

I \ I \ 3 I

,

' Example 26 (mm.315 -320 of,1956 version). -';I

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' r?- / c *I .4\- , '-1 1 ..r' c I, .t

' CHAPTERIV I .I

L 'b SECO~SONATBFOR VIOLIN AND PIANO ,. .% .. Many of the great works in the violin literature arose from collaborativeI' \ I , '4, *I I ' friendships between composer and violinist: Stiavinsky and Dushkin, IBart6k and a. I .f\ i I and Joachim are famous examples. Such a relationship exists ' > and violinist Sergiu Luca, for whom the SecondI Sonata was >:

4 written. Bolcom and Luca first performed together in 1973 at the Pd , . Concerts held College i

1. f " I.

I instruments. told by Bolcom.,

I I I ,. . Sergiu Luca climbed the five flights up,to my New York apartment for .I -the first time in.early 1973. A mutual friend in Israel had recommended that he i . come see he in connection with Serge's just-forrhi Oregon-would I come out that summer with Joan

I 'residence and pianist? He want4 two wdrks to be w .. . - ' Chamber Music Northwest group (then called Portla .- r"',' .one a piece for the ensemble (the 'SummerBive i .Y to 6e played by us, for violin and piano. 'This i recording, beguo in New York and,finished at Lake Oswego, Oregon; that . ,June., It was a warm, muggy summer; I mwon'this because the other maj work on this album, the Second Sonata, so a summer gomposition, ad may have something to do with the'basic relaxed mood of both pieces,i My favorite violin-and-piano music in' any event, tends less toward the grand than -

I( I , \ \I I I ' S8HilmarGrondahl, "Bolcom Work Fascinating in Concert Finale, " The FA)@-eg?hian. 8 =~ .August 1973, 12. n I 8 .> 45 I f> .. '- -, -- I I. 1.

1,

'-

I 46 toward the intime-I prefer the Beethoven Tenth Sonata to the Kreutzer, .for example-and I feel the Ives' fay.sonatas share this modest f0rmat.5~ '4 After summer of 1973, Bolcom-undoubtedly had to devote-time to.his duties as . the ,# new - \A. - 8 'r , -- Assistant Professor of compositi&dt thd ,University of Michi ; his co&positions - I, during the next few-years ere limited to a solo-guitar piece for tenor Paul Speny call Open House. Mwnwhile, the political climate darkened as 8'

the Vietnam War, the war in Cambodia, and Watergate captured the nation's attention, , (. creating discontent on every level and dampening the nation"s bicentennial spirits. His . productivity increased dramatically in 1976-Pallydue to t

politics colored his wrifing. In that year, he composed A Sh

. Revelation Stdes (for two carillon players), Mysteries (orgaa), ' Concerto for Pianojand Orchestra which was premiered at Aspen that summer." Unlike "

his contemporary ederick Rzewski, Bolcom is not usually considered a polhxil 0 u composer. However did use the occasion of the American Bicentennial to air his 1 anti-war feelings. If hared the sentiments of other University of Mic

\

.L and students who protested Henry Kissin c \ (Kissinger withdrew), then it is quite reas0 that his anti-war feelings a -4 were expressed thiough'his music. Th

c mind, including Bolcom's, whose'program notes to the feco

.i -_ iqclude the following explanation: .. r' \ major commissions for the 1976 bicenten ,obsehance'&k , * for their themes what I think of as a tragic flaw in the American psyche that seems to lead inexorably towards violence. Wile the Piano Concerto's last \' movement was a cavalcade of brutal clichks and naivetk in constant juxtaposition, the'impulse that lads the Piano Quaget toa (to me) terrifying conclusion is internal and psychlogical,' having as mdi to do with the irfner . forces of the previous movements as with the'oveniding contrary .principle. 1;

~ /I- .Y 59William Bolcom, liner notes for Se 1 H-79058-1. \

I A f

/ \ * . 28 h 6 , I) -1 *I \ .l

\ -\ 3 I -1 a

n t 47.. I plead guilty here'tr, wfiting 'program music. ' ...The contrary principle in t&'l '

.r ' quartet derives as much from my own emotional fix on our nation's spiritual , I state as from Blakean philosophy.60 . As the nation grew less somber, so did Bolcom's compositional style. In 1978,

Q Bolcom began to write in a much lighter vein. He completed Darius Milhaud's 1937

1 Q ' adaptation of John'Gay's Beggar's Opera. Other pieces included the Three Irish Songs . I

I (for medium voice, flute, violin, viola, cello and piano) and Cabdret Songs. I. Bolcom's friendship wit uca had rece-ntly borne fruit in the Suite for Solo

I Violin (1977), and they were eager to do another piece in the violin sonata format. The P

\ opportunity and motive came early.' in 1978. Bolcom's program notes ag@n provide the

/' \ j details: ,/ I 1 It need not be emphasized that Joe Venuti was incontestably the greatest jazzviolinist of'his (and OUT-$time, who coupled an extremely developed

- classic@technique with a Yoiderful, nuanced, swinging style that was copied

I by edryone el% in detail. Peihaps the Art Tatum of the violin, Joe kept his - technique and flawless intonation up to his death in the eighties. When Sergiu I told me that he had become close friends with the grand old renegade from the

, petroit Symphony, I was overjoyed-findry I wouldn't have to explain what I meant to a violinist when4 wanted this or that kind of slur'or smear, or that sp'ecially throwaway quality Joe so often had-and one evening in Apd'1978 at New York Michael's Pub, first Serge,,then Joan and I, were invited t&t in ' .' with the master. An unforgettable experience! The McKim Fund of the Library of Congress had given Sergiu a .. commisshn for me-a piece for us to play-and that June I began the Second Sonata (the First is a juvenile effort that I still like and want to revise someda in Ann Arbor and New York. While working on the Sonata at Aspen later that

received a newspaper clipping and a note from Serge: Joe Venuti , .fi ust before he was to play at Chamber Music Northwest in Portbnd. The Second Sonuta became in part a farewell to Joe; although there is little in it . ! that refers directly to his playing sty14 it is necessary for the violinist and have well-root@ in the ear, the special world of VenutP

i 60William Bolcom. liner notes for Piano Quartet. CRI SD 447. ". 1 61WilliamBolcom, li notes for Second Sonata, Duo Fantasy, Cracejkl Ghost Rag, Nonesuch ' H779058-1.-

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48 Overall, the circumstances and mood of its composition are remiriiscent of the

Brahms' Sonata in G major: it too was composed at a resort town during the suqmer '

months, exactly one hundred years previously, and was written with a.particula

"Apollonian, "Q a characterization that also applies 'to Bolcom's delightful work. The

' Second Sonata is (oddly enough) not dedicated to Luca; instead it bears a dedication to

1 ' John Verrall, Bolcom's composition teacher at the University of Washington. .. ,. First Movement: Summer Dreams The first movement "is built on a modified Mues format with a contrasting

' middle section," according to the composer.63 This analysis is accurate when .. considering the outer sections-of the piano part only, which create an A-B-A' form. <. .; The violin part follows an A-B-C format and will be discussed in detail momentarily. , 1 For the sake of clarity, the three sections are'identified with roman numerals rather r b - than letters in the following discussion. . Section I Q Th'e movement opens. with a j influencd bass line which [allows the typical -c

" blues or boogie-woogie progression- V-1. Bolcom labels the piano part :smooth; 6 I no dynamic or rh outline are intend a dreamy, disembodied thm, calliqg for an unusual time thus facilitating the sixteenth-note triplets in ar, q

e f

For the purpose of differentiating the lines, Bolcom

piano to share the same pitch in tl& same measure, the obvious

4' 9 62Melvin Berger, Guide ro'Sona@s, (New York Anchor Books, 1991), 75. - 63WilliamBolcom, liner notes foqecond Sonata, Duo Funfasyi ceful Ghost Rag, No H-79058-1. I *. z \

3 , t ( . ?- I- 1 4 I' 1

49 L i- rule;: the piano is simply in F-major with a some chromatic alterations while the violin .3. is non-tonal as discussed below. A fortuitous compositional accident64 creates a perfect twelve-tone row .in measures 4 through 8, with the instruments sharing equally the twelve pitches. I

t I . * r. 50 Table 1. Secondsonata: Pitch Content and Frquencv in Measures 1-22. L

(.

'* 5 .<

(Example 33) where the .vikin enters. ,A three pitches &e not'shared'be Y I , two instnjmqnts: the vi careful avoidance of es that Bolcom w to preserve the

d er between the .two parts, bile B and F# would be found only in r.

. 'secondary dominants to the piano's key of F major, I Additionally, he avoids rhythmic

- *'-

*- .. 1 . .. 51

. . It is noteworthy that Bolcom begins the violin part in unison with the piano part, but in

, the next measure, the C and C# are not struck together, thus setting a precedent for

t ”. * ndn..-unison rhythms thit will continue throughout the section.

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f I 53 ’

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“ 63), the violin relinquishes its bravura as the piano-resumes the blu& figuration’from s. SectiOn I. Again, the two instruments seem to be at odds: the violin stubbornly plays - in D major as the’piano slips back into an F’major tonalit comprehensible because the listener recognizes the separate melodic functions of each c

- instrument. I . . ‘Finally, in measure 68, the violin accepts tlie pianist’s invitation and joins in by scraping out the sly and dirty blues tune shown below in Example 35.

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' .% " part as shown above in Example 35. The violin comes to rest on a high C in measure A 77 (not shown) before embarking another cadenza. The conflicting tonalities in the f % cadenza have been reconciled to a single key of F-major. Measure 81 shown

2 .A "1 below in Example 36 restates measure 22 and signals the start of the coda. ' Here, the . * -.? chords of the caderg combine with one last violin blues slide into the root

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56 > ', 3...,: 5. time meter. As the statements pile up on each other, the music brhks its motiviC bonds in measure 22, only to be captured by another ostinato that builds to an even ..

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1 .' ; I. 0' '* I nr i D- 58 9 L. @ . ,I 'I .The. rnkc in measur& 3 1 through 36 of.the previous example continubs for five * .I. \ more measures. buring that time, we are lulled into a'false quietude so that the con .. 51 8

I . ' fona section at measure 42 (Example.38 below) catches us oif-guard. Here, the , .y. . r .. '3, ' pianistJs hands repel each other in contrary motion while the violin serves a rhythmic, L 0 *. @) . 0 but hprmonically stationaty role. h"the peak of'this bii lima (misure 46); the . I I violin leips-morethan amoctave out of rts nakow tessitura, and followsrwith a . pianissimo vFrsion of the ostinato eigMh-note motive (measurps 46-49). I 0. < I' 8 previbus section, kiX pitches i easure 23 becarneethebasis for the'next

'. six pitches. 'In this present section, six chords (labeled A, 8,C, D, E, and F on I ' I. Example 38) substitute for individual pitches.. Bolcorn thkn repeats the sequence and * ., 1

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rhythms frombhe$ st section, A single pizzicato played "close to the bridge" ends the / ' ' ?:2;:, 'P- movement. '&ne, $@$tquestion ,:* Boicom' s rrieasure shown in Example 44 below.

I., , rhythmic subtlety'bf th performer might interpret '\ \ '\. . w\ " 63 'y 'y \ .'*\ ._Third Movement: Adugio 241 "-, A dramatic statement by the solo violin opens the thirhovemehdt is 4 4' \ Bolcom to write atofid 'jnelodies with jagged *I . 'av ges, and this one is no exception. At the end of the first phrase, the piano joins the

6 violin with a single chord marked espressivo, indicating a supportiL 2 rather than competitive role i is movement. The two chords in the third bar encourage the I violin to continue, while introducing set-tR? -24 (a whole-tone collection) and 4-27 . d which are prominent sonorities' in the atonal portion4of this movement.65 As in the n

second,* movement, these two sonorities alternate i e piano pa but are not picked up .: - by the violin. * The 4-24 chord is then transpos pward four chromatic tones as . d shown below. 0

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R d theory analysis was ,develop& by American theorist Allen Forte to classify groups of notes. These,groups are callkd "sets" and contain from three to nine discrete members. Collections wGch are transpositions ofiinvers!ons ofboneanother are considered equivalent The s"eas are numbered in . a consistent manner wi~the first number describing how many notes are in the set while the second number acts as an'identifier. Sets can be transposed or inverted without losing'their identity. In Example 13, %he four note hollections ,uf pitches I am describing are called 4-24 and 4-27 set-types

ccording to Forte's nomenclature:' !:have chosen this method of classification because it provides a I &* onvenienf labeling system.for disso,hant chords in the same way that a C major chord identifies a collection of three not?: C. E, and'G. However, I do n,ot mean to imply that Bolcom's musik is. I deliberately based on this technique per se. -. ". I 'L

, 64

111. Adagio ~ 1'

6 I

3 .I IP ./ I 0 - 65 I L This 4-24 sonority makes two more extended apkances later in the movement. In

measure 15 it begins rising chromatically in .the context of a written-out accelerando, ,., creating the necessary tension and momenhm to drive the violin to the extreme end of the fingerboard.

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'ExamDle 46 (mm. 15-19) ' 0

During the violin's descent in measures 19 through 23 (Examp \ piano arpeggiates three chords (and introduces a new- texture) before and final repetition of the 4-24 so ority in measure 21-22. This'one

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\\ " 66 1. 4 triplets to syncopated duplets while getting softer and lighter. The violin completes its -.1

. ' phrase in an unmetefed solitude. 1. 4,

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Not hl of the sonorities in this movement are reducible to set-types 4-24 and 4- rd ,27, and therefore they present a wider palette of.ipterv"alliccolors. For instance, the I 18

~ piano part shown in could be described as the modern countdrpart to a baroque continuo rds are presented i isty arpeggios, without ...

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'h d 67 c or substance, and well deserving of Bolcom's performance directions, liquid and. '

r delicate, smooth. Their gossamer lightness is due to the tessitura, which lies above middle C on the keyboard. When combined with mercurial rhythms, they serve as a

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I '< ' " enters at measure 24, it transpork us to the world of sensuous jazz tonality.

\\ Stubbornly, $e violin ,tries to continue.its free tonality but is overwhelmed (after two statements) in a sea of Db- major sonorities. The beautiful melody ifinaily shared by < . the two instfiments in measure 34 with-an added obbligato in the piazzist's righrhand. e

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n 4 F 1. I. 68 . / it

The movement comes 10 rest in measure 44, at which point the tonal harmonies a ,

dissolve as the violiv descends an F major and A major/minor arpeggio against the L1

a 3- ,> ' ' . G bbb/D /A quintal harmonies'in the piano, thus ending Venuti's requiem with a gentle ' '" reminder of the opening free tonality. -.

1- Very calm. slow I zc.4~1 4 J c(l

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* 1. .' y\ - -5 , ' + 7 k6, r , . Fourth Movement: In Memory of Joe Venuti 1. ... 'd lks movement shkres many .id&s.i&th the3irst movem I y. .: \ a with tlie bass'line'and regular phrase structure t*ical of the blues plqyed by Joe

-0. c. ' Venuti, Conventions such as circles of fifths, third relatjorkhips, bi-tonality , 8.

0 , and hemiola are' used throughout in ways that- b& Bolcbm's signature. The I 1 *I -* - .I - 'J form can be broken into eight sections: A-B-C-D-A',-E '-Coda. The A sections .+ * share.the I-IV-V blues ppgr$si"on in a,vqiety of Feys, while the melody becomes a . r' . .,

source of improvisational:mate The B aid C sectionsae atonal, with touch& of ' f,. Sartok's?violence and Debussy it.- nemovemen! concludes with a brief repqtition G .i and a coda based on the coda of the first I

I 4 e three blues sections (A, "A', aqd A"). and secondly,the ., . 1 e , D . '\ \ \ 4 '* '* I 7 I %. 5 \ 11

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4 #

! THIRD SONATA (SONATA STRAMB~) -. * \ .!, . $1 Written in 1992, the Third Sonata commemorates the seventy-fifth birthday of I 7 ,,violin .pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. In her half-century 'career,., she ha$ trained some of - '. * f the world's leading violinists, includrfig Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg who c and premiered the sonata at Aspenon 'Jul 12, 1993, with the *compose; a . .<. F In this remarkable sonata, I3olcom's well-known eclecticism combines with I.,

' highly idiomatic writing 'for both instruments, to 'a significant and , challenge fs performers and liste re is no particulh , L forms of its four mov t perhaps, the third), the thematic and hqrmonic / ". cogtent is full of aurai challenge ng dissonances bul is e

- iiis own notes for the Aspen premiere, Bolcom'offers the foliowi .

.. Ilam t y longtime-librettist and collaborator Arnold Weinstein' . ., that "stramba'i'means something like "weird"% Italian, and this is'certdinly a weird Sonatd! Its uncanny mood possessed me throughout its creation: , , ,-, 'I . The first moxement; after a long and highiy theatrical introduction, intones "guerra, guerra" in its principal motive, obsessively -and, implacably, ' like w,ar in human history. The Andante seems hardly a relief.fr'om the tragic ' - mood. ,"Like a shiver" is a scherzino leading directly'into the la$ movement od somewhere between the darker tangos of Astor Piazzolla .

$.metal rock. . But none of these moods is quite," on the nose; "

is "stramba."66 I

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7. 3.

' illiam Bolcom. progxpm notes for Lincoin Center's Srugebill: hfarch 1992. 12D.~ ' 4 82 .D '.

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* ., ., A 4 \ -1 83 ' 'I: Yt , i ' This work 6xcmplifics the brkdth of Bolcom's eclectic vision. For example,

' 1, nothing could seem moreincompatible than a.dramAtic, atonal monologue and a '- .d .. wntella with its strict triplet'rhythm a.nd major/mhor tonality. Yet the first , 4 ' movement amalgamates the two through motives and harmonic ihnkes. '.

.l Bolcom calls this pieqe "a portrait L

. . SalernqTSonnenberg, aqd has said that so ersity is "all pari of the wildness that . 4 '9 , she would reipond.- to. 'm The prob1em"with musical portraiture is that the composer. . - I,# n must 'create continuity without sacrificing each movement's. individual character. H r by holding' ome traits in common throughout the $- , 8.

~, 0 for chords that con@" both a major aid minorOthix-d is'.Lvid -I < y. (sometimes called polythnal harmonies) . . . hromatic, whole-tone, and the Second Sonata, Bdcom >.

k. free-tonaliiy 'where dissonances result from linear counterpoint and where, I a 'set-class analysis'seemi an appropriate analytical method. Chains of thirgs (

elodic shuctures and orgaI.rize the vertical7sononties in the thi t q , as,they did'in the First Sonata. Bolcom's catholic taste in harmony is match

0- * strucks.-$The three ,violiri.qonatascould be t '. dances are replaced Sonata, the moveme eledttegend, Nocturne_;ced Scenes from#a Young Life. *'

ne%econd Sonata also has't e,desc&ptive .titles-Summer Dreams, Brutal-Fast, and . : ' :

' In Memory'6 of iJcie venuti-ai ne'traditional titie. Adagio. The nird Sonata Y one descriptive title-Like a Shiver. T other three moGernents hqve performanc .' I_ dirations such as A piacere, drommat ; Andun&: and Moderato,.risoluto, all' # 67Diane EagIe Kataoka, Sa1erno:Sdn berg premieres vio[in soflat&, The Aspen (CO) Times,

. 68Williarn BoIcom, intervi ay 1995. See Appendix A, p.. 129

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' tempo and temperament, though ,not form. ' ' ,

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* I First Movement: A piucere; ,drummutica v .f I .. ' first movement alternates between a recitatiye thepe and a tarantella,

'I creating the impression of rondo farm which is dhgrammed below ;?.Table 3.

* Table 3. Third Sotzafa: Musical Form of the First Movement ,' ' . R

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t P I a piacgre. When ,the piano enters in the second bar, a time signature of 4/4 is inserted, \ , though Bolcom deliberately maintains a recitative-like feeling. A new section marked ./ . nfuoco begins in measure 24 and utilizes a tarantella rhythm in the key of A

I - . minor. A transi n to the opening matend begins in measure 82 *. I 7

, rhythm o.verlaps with the atonal harmonies from measure 2. An o 1

. accompanies the violin's developmen; of opening matelrial,, arrd th .e rather demonic tangoi 'Heralding the =turn of the tarantella at m&sure 110 is an . 'I , -., I arpeggiated figure accompanied by a descending octatonic scale in parallel minor

thirds. "The recitative in measure 117 begins on E and corresponds to measures 5 ' .. I. through 18, The kntella returns in measure! 133and continues &he end of the

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' appoggiatura figure that. occurs in measure 34-35 (Example 67). He kso uses a perfect fifth relationship between triplet figures as a harmonic identity.that will be picked up in C measure 41 (Example 68).

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the-right hand and C# pitches inihe left. From this point forward, the music becomes

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In the violin p& at measure 35 (Example 671, Bolcom inverts the chromatic appoggiatura figure from measure lii (Example 62) so that it resolves upward.

, the piano part offers a bi-modal accompaniment: the left hand always * presents the upper two pitches of a major chord, while the arpeggios in the kght hafid *

are always minor, though:based'on the same root. -The dis:onwce created'by this . ' , ' . arrangement lends a. sinister power to this tarantella marked Allegro 'con fuoco, ,

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36 ,

84 -E. loco

. ' Examok 67 (mm. 34-38) , 'I./ *Thissection also introduces two other devices: linear constructions which result 'I in dissonant harmoqies and chains offierfect intervals. In measures 41 through 45 -. I 1 / Lf / L I 1 I h '-9

d. .

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3

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Example 69 (mm.100 -103) .. '. 0

, 1 93 ' I This arrangement is not without effect on the piano part: through a similar progression, the tessitura rises in both pws until a climax in measure 104 (Example .? p, -* 70) where the piano's D minor harmonies are overlaid with a circle-of-fifths r/ .' / progression (Ebbbb /A /D /G ) leading to the violin "cadenza" a lu.Mendelssohn Violin \

Concerto in E minor, @,.' 64. ' ., 0 0

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, Example70 (mm. 104-1081 7

In measurks 114-*115,shown on Example 71, the violin's arpeggios alternate @d

n between A minor a'ld D minor as the o invents a new kind of descending. , accompaniment based on the oc'tatoni e harmonized in thirds. Neither part is ompromised thro this com6ination,'and the tw nal systems maintain their 0 4 udible integrity, A momentary sufge on the last beat of m.easure 116, shown in Exarhple 71, serves up a shocking reminder of the work's opening. It is almost as if

the preceding section were the eye of a storm and could thus be only momentarily , c

t t .\ a 3.

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' 95 The pattern of these tetrachords follows the triadic soprano voice. However, since not all of the tetrachords are transpositions of the 4-18 set type, the other voices do not

a I yield either a linear or vertical pattern. - I

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Example 72 * (mm. 155-159) I

bars (measures 160-165) shown onkcample 73. The pianist's left and right hands rb i- converge along the strands of adimfnished arpeggio and are harmonized with,

transpositions of the tetrachord A, Eb , G, and G#in the right hand, and inversions of

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, .. 96 I e the same sonority in the left hand. The narrowest point occurs in which the lin& repel each other to' the extreme ends of the keybo the finale.

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'> e 9 b I , 16 .PThe finale begins in measure own below in Example 74. Here, Bolcom exchanges the previous sonority for di minor triads -(bi-tondity of A minor and P

0 * . Bb minor): Through repeti of themchords and sonorities which ryall measure 2, 1. 5 .. ' Bolcom concludes the movement with tremendous energy exercising .' compositional economy. L I 4-

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' 97

,. \ keys (from F# to B), while the ostinqto figure descends a whole-tone scale. Using I,+' -* * major thiid relationships, Bolcom transposes the downward' to the original -1 find motive . a. I. 1 L kFy,of Db major. 1. ik .. r - ' 5 Bolcom creates a mournful and haunting m@ out of elements which, when re- c 3. ' Mnged, could have produced a simple hymn. The violin*melody (Example 75): for .# 9 A. 1 instance, is little more an a Db'imajor scale and arpeggio that migrates brj$ly into

the key of E major (measures 6 and 7) before returnlinglto its home key at measure 9. Two components of thi melody create a neighbor-kme motive and an arpeggio motive. .I 2 , --' i\

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.d The traditional harmonies implied by this simple tune are indicated below the staff, buk - com avoids a through the use of neighbor chords and a stereotypicalsaccompaniment .. copated ostinato rhythm. The ostinato rh eled A in Example 76) is

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I a mofkically linked to the figure'in the violin part (la ,

dialogue between violin and piano. In measure 1 of Example 76, thecsubdomiriant I ,

harmonies simply function as neighbor chords to the tonic harmony. -This neighbor + ,. chord pattern continues until measure 4 after which the harmonic rate accelerates ' .Example 76 below shows the chord progressions and ostinatos of the 9 of-this movement. , c \ * I/ - w Y ,/

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As the first section closes on Db major in measures 9-10 (shown b$ow in Y

Example 77), Bolcom suppohs the violin's repeatgd appoggiatura figure with answering . ' L < \ appoggiaturas in descending tenths between the; outer two voices of the piano part. ' ' Also in this section, Bolcom dispenses with the neighbor chord relationship of the opening syncopated. figure (measures 1-5, Example 76): now the syncopated half-note .. chords ~ollowacadential pattern of vi-IV-16-V: -I. . ?

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>- Example 77 (mm. q:ll) .- .. .* -. .. ' A development section begins in measure 13, shown in Example-78 below.

I 1 Using the arpeggio motive, the violin ascends through a number of keys (Bb minor, , nharmonic spelling o ajar, and C minor); When the piano enters at measure 14, '

briefly imitates the s melody 'before shifting to .free tonality and

.> syncopated rhythmic opening. Meanwhile, the violin assumes an > accompanimena role by temporarily moving in haif-notes, thus allowing 1.

line to come through. ,

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1 . .lo2 .. In measure 17 of Example 78 above, the piano's syncopated rhythm pauses for .. I' an eighth note to establish a new idea. "his "hiccup: establishes a non-syncopated

', a accompanimental figure in the piano and a new violh'melody at measure 19 shown below.

.. .

P

Example 79 (mm. 19-20) .. .

. .'

i. A transition at mkasure 23 returns us to the opening tune in the ong measure 25. The recapitulation (shown in Example 80) initiates a new rhyt o2tinato and new harmonies in the piano. Triplets add20 the rhythmic palette of the who plays an octave higher to compensate for the thicker accompanimental re. Even though the phrasc is identical in length to the opening, the movement

.. .. seems to pick up momentum with this return. Passing tones in the soprano, alto, and

..'I .. Cthe piano and triplets in the violin add some forward motion to the line

/

//Thelast section (Example 81) is a display of Bojcom's technical mastery, using eighteenth century techniques to produce twentieth century harmonic structures. The ,

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D 106 Third Movement: Like a shiver . Like a shiver is the tit1 Webern's vaporous textures. harmonic and melodic building blocks consist i- primarily of major, minor, and diqi@shed arpeggios with aq occasion&,quintal harniony in the piano. After a Quick arpeggio up to th %. . fingerbokd, the mov

. One of the more remarkable aspects of this movement*E is-its complicated formal

4 , , structure, whose mac rm is A-transition-B-transition-h'-Development-A-Coda,and whose micro-form c s e!ements of rondo. Bolcom weaves his formal magic in \, ' c. ' miniature: single measure motives substitute for entire phrases and are used .. .. individually, in sequence, or in combination to serve a variety of purposes. Seven 4 shapes aie used throug'freut the movement in different groupings t.0 create. the form. -.I ' They are shown below in the order of appearance and at their original tknspositional

level. \ *.

I P

I 4. 4. Y \ .,

r' &-

<- 4

Example 83: #2, an ascending arpem

'7.

. 61 r

.\ 0 \ y *I I 1

11'. . 1). I J I \ I " 1 fJ I 1 r t

I 1 'I d 6 I I 108 '* I 1 independent Imotivks or in groups. This tschnique relates to' t& mosaic patterns Sl . . discussed in \the sdond movemen f the &&d Sonata. If we identify the motives by, . I. -I I I in Examples 82-88) as they occ!qn the movement, they can be graphed

''< and grouped into fordal sections as follows: .

'$* Table 4. mird Sonata: Musical korm of the Third Moviment

I

.' L '

/

.:

d -

.. 'r

I'

1

i

I

1

' I.

\ i Example 89 (mm.38 -40)

e 24 ,. .- a + 0. 1.

d I

9

t % i I

: 109 "b 1 To help delineate the form, some melpdic fragmentg.hAve a correspbn 9 Ad>.? :' accbmpaniment that maintains its infervallic distance and voicing particulars, even . ' . 5 $, 0 I , when the motive is transposed. Others,. such as the principle tune, are distinctively re- , harmorrljzed when they leave their original pitch level. In Example 90 (from the . developmentltransitipn section) we see how Bolcom simply sequences his material . , upbard by step?' i

1 \ *. ; c

crcsc. '

'3. .. f

.i

I

_.. . , 7 -t- i--'

4* Example 90 Imm.42 -44) . .. \ - ' When the principle motive'is transposedto function as.a trapition, Bolcom does not . ,I *. retain the original accomp

1 92) below share-the the latter rhythm is Ir compressed into a single beat. The second transposition (Example,93) does .not congin '*

.* rests and is consequently continuous and smooth. **

J

. I: i ,,

.P .

I 0

(-2 \-L - 'C . .-

..

r'

,I I 8, 111 6, 1: Examples 92 and 93 each initiate develdpment sections, signaled by a new 4 transposition level and accompanipent. However, the continuation of Example 93 I contains a false recapitulation where,the-original tune reappears at the opening pitch

level, shown be1o.w in Example 94. Several items seem to prevent us from hearing it , -- , as a true "A section: first, its harbinger,(the repeated-note motive) does not appear. 'I

, Second, while the notes are identical to the bfiginal, the melodic line is shared between-. 0 ,/ \ / Lastly, the section , the piano and violin, thereby upsetting our sonic exptxtations. .f .* continues with transit rial (motives Seven pd1 one as identified above) leading into a true appearance o at measure 51 (not shown). It is quite possible

\ that the false recapitulation at measure 38 is simply.Bolcom's sense of humor showing \ through the wispy textures of this moyement. st ...-.--. \

, * 10 ..'

P

-- I

__e===

I

Example 94 (mm. 36-40) the last. As Bolcom describes it, the movement.-"sharesa mood somewhere between \

.6b

, .I. '\

I a P- .I 113 * .. unflagging energy and unity of &pression th h a simple ternary (A-B-A') form, ." 'identical to the Paganini model. The fit.st.se rJ1' ', is litefally nothing more than an- elaboration of an A-minor scale and arpeggio.' Th'e krst half of the section ;urges from the tonic toward the fifth scale degree in its search

<

.I .

1'. ' IV c ' After a rapidly ascending scale, a second in measure 13, shown on Example 96. This time it slopes scale degree a. toward the tonic.

d'

.ur

ea

Q

...

*, 1 .- Examale 96 (mm. -13 -16) -

Throughout this first section,.- the only chromatic interpolation comes when two scales (Aeolian on,? and,I?Pi&gian on B) are used, resulting in F-natu ' as seen above in Example 96. Not ufitil measure 3 to the dominant key (a combinatiqn** of - E major; and minor). With this dramatic change I

in cotor, Bo,com prepares for his J at'masure 44. He sequences I the oGe.ning tune.downward- in thirds from to c# minor aid on.to B b minor in measure 41 (Exa

.C ,'

-T. SA.* * ,' 3 > .=z -. .,-

.J .

I'

I __ -_ I ., After a synthetic scale in measure 42 (Example 97), the piano resurfaces in -- 1 more dissonant harkonies as theviolin slides down in minor sixths shown below in , I Example 98. Unlike the A section, this B sectioh shares many techniques with the other movements. In particular, sequences of minor sixths have been a prominent sonority throughout the sonata. Measures 44 and 45 of the violin pah (Example 98), combine the descending minot sixth figure with the majodminor chord to- give the line a simultaneous linear and vertical aspect. This figure is one of several imitations of an electric guitar giissahdo that was the trademark of rock guitarist JimiOHendrix.

a \ i

a 3h

@" I ff prormnent 'I Example 98 (mm. 44-45)

*. At the recapitulatioa in measure 50, we return to th fortable world of A minor, almost as if the middle section were a nightmare that subsided into peaceful of dissonant and consonant music is also a contrast between century virtuoso styles. Whereas the previous section imitates . p - Jimi Hendrix, the arpeggiated figures between measures 60 and 70 are loosely derived from PaganiG's Fifrh Caprice.'* Exa P - ..

0. 72William Bolcom, inte

I,

,. ” I 117 similarities between the Fifth Caprice and the Third Sonata which.are both. arpeggiations of an A-minor tiad: .. .. h

1

I 118

?

60

,\ - -,. I

11.9 In the Fifth Cuprice, Paganini begins in the minor mode and ends in major (not, shown). Bolcom imitates this arrangement by beginning in minor (measure 60) and *I later introducing t Y remains stubbornly in the minor mode until the violin capitulates and joins the piano in a last unison statement of the opening theme shown in Example 101. r-"

..

. .. \ CHAPTER 1 I VI J$

.I -* ! CONCLUSION Bolcom's contribution to the twentieth century literature is important not because he invents a new system of pitch organization as Schoenbetg'did, nor because r-- . he pioheers new rhythmic systems like Messiaen or Nancarrow. Bolcom has repeatedly rejected such' self-conscious "systems" and has embraced eclecticism as their ideological opposite. His music, while innovative, is a reflection of his attitude that the heritage of Western musical language is meant to be explored.and employed, not mummified. Bolcom's comments in an interview with David Patrick Stearns illustrate this point of view:

. I'm interested in how different things relate t b' each,other; But I'm just doing what the old guys did up until the twentieth century-mixing classical and popular music. The more we know about the inner workings of the great . classics, the more we realize we're dealing with music written with popular elements. People used to yell at Mozart because he was doing so many 'I different styles. In the first bars of one of his string quartets, you hear "church" , . style, contra dances.. .. So I'm really a traditi~nalist.~~ Despite the reference to Mozart in the previoos quote, the roots

1 eclectic art are better traced to Charles Ives, whose, unorthodox music c quotations from an amazingly wide variety of sources including Beethoven, ragtime, and.popular songs. Milhaud exerted another stiong influence on Bolcom's development of eclectic technique, an like,Milhaud, Bolcom joins his diverse *-

73DavidPatrick Steam, "A Musical Bag of Trick hpen Magaine, Midsummer 1989, 5 1. 120

... *.

d d

t

\

*

\ APPENDIX A

c Jg

, INTERhEW WITHEWILLIAM BOLCOM: MAY 11,1995 . a You've often said that you write with a particular performer in mind.

8 / -... William Bolcom: Well, I try to when I can.

.I. PB: What sod of peop4e were Peter and Joanna Marsh, for whom you wrote the First

Sonata? . 2-

I WB: Well, Peter is still around and so is Joanna, but they are no longer married. $

Peter Makh was then I believe at the time, head of the Lennox Quartet which was a I : very prominent quaitet in the 50's and early 60's if I rememti'er rightly. I think they gave the Carter Second Quarter its premiere-or maybe they record& it. Anyway, 'they were a wonderful quartet. And Peter was out in Seattle, as was I, and he had-hi' own quartet (actually, this was before the Lennox Quartet-they got formed a little I later). I did write a quartet for them. PB: That's one of your unpublished quattets. . WB: Yes, that's one of the published ones, number five I think. They played remember, at one of the art Anyway, the whole id was'@ write a piece for Peter and Joanna Voles (for she w& *I ' + unmarried): Then she married Peter and that didn't work out so I think she married I

I actually the violist of the quartet, Scott Nickrem. They are now broken up, but her daughter, Erika Nickrenz is part of amew trio &lled the Eroica Trio, and is a -.

I wonderful pianist. Well, anyway, Pete

I. '-$ First Sonata with another student: I thi 'have not seen- Joy since then. We did d iece that one time and I guess ;he rest of

L -\- 124 it is pretty much what you already know [ke the notes which accompany the 1984

&ition]. 'I PB: Was there anything specific about their relationship or those two peopleLPeter

Iand Joanna-that you reflected in the music. WB: Oh, I don't know about the relationship, but in a way it was like an epithalamium-they were getting married, or were married, or just married. w PB: It wasa wedding present in a sense. fi WB: Yes. \ PB: Through Carol Wargelin's help, I was able to look through tpe score of the first

version ofthe First Sonata. I've compared them pretty carefully, and one of the . largest sections you've cut from the last movement was a fugue. WB: Oh yes, it was terrible! And it certainly was outsized for the rest of the sonata.

I PB:' Yes, that's what I thought-t the last movement was almost twice as long

as.... ., WB: Well I know, and th was a major part of it. And there were a lot of repeats ere that I cut a ou might have noticed. I made the misde that a lot of younger people do (and I find it in m students, too), and that is they're a

won't get it the first time so they do a second time. Well, if you don't get- it the first

I time, you won't get it the secdnd time; either. But that takes a littl And those are the mistakes you when you're ,18: But they're 18L)lear-old . mistakes. I have a couple of kids right now who are just finishing up theifyear. here '. absolutely bursting with talent and it remin

e First Sonata ofwhat I was doing. Mozart, was after all, a professional musician .at the age of six! So learned things that wedidn't learn .'

I---.~~use we were all hayseeds, more fi less mean, even though you might be B

I 125 ,. I rasonably experiencgd, you haven't learned the things that somebody like that will

Q .hive learned'at the age of 181

1.

PB: Well, Mozart made many mistakes which his father corrected fa? him, but . . $,' i perhaps he learned faster than the rest of us. * ;:. WB: Well, he had to-he was out there in the professional world. We were in school!

PB: You've entitled the last movement "Quasi-Variations: Scenes from a Young V,

' Life.' What does that mean! I WB: That means when I was going over and looking at it again, I thought they were variations, but they weren't. They were quasi-variations. 1 PB: So the title didn't go with the original version? I couldn't tell from the copy I have of the ,manuscript which markings were added- after the fact.

WB: No, I added that'in when I looked back. It sort of brought me back to being 18! - All the feelings and changes and the kind of naive simplicity of trying t know, when you're yokg you try everything. PB: 'well, it's a lovely sonata. , , .' WB;- It's gota certain kind of feeling about it-for a young picce. )r PB: W2h regard to the Second Sofuiu: I analyzed that a cou ' performed it as well. In my analysis,i I could movement. You may be completely unaware of it, but I wanted your official opinion. -WB: Well, I can't remem used to do things like that, and I stijl do 4 here and there. They have a wonderful'tdnsitional effect. But I don't use classical . ', row technique-not anymore, anyway. I don't know if I ever did, except just to try it.

It's a good discipline like many things, but I am not a row composer. I have used 5 \ series and rows in unorthodox'ways, and I never could see any reason not to use the tonal side of it as in late Schoenberg or Berg. *<, 1. , I1 1.f n '*, *I I

'j , 126 * t PB: Well, the way I found it was by comparing the blues piano opening of the sonata

, against the violin part, which doesnjt match any of the piano's pitcbe In doing that, noticed that there were twelve pitbhes between the two instruments and each instrument ~

-I only got half the pitches. * .' 4 " 'I +" ;r.r - w.. ,17;* 4 WB: Isn't that interesting! It breaks into hexachords.' Oh my heavens-how thqse I

things get in there subconsciously! That's fun. .. 9 PB: Let me jump to the 172it-d Sonata just for a minute then. There's"a'who1esection

I where one sonority predominates: I think its a set-type 4-24 whioh keeps being transposed, and I'm wondering if there's any set-technihue going on right there. WB: Well, I %id all of that in the '50's'and '60's like everybod involved with inteival series than I was with a closed row syste little bit ridiculous.

L PB: So you think perhaps that in this instance it subcons I * WB: Oh, certainly. And I think . all the time ends up m&ng the harmonie rhythm'ridiculously fast,

I it. So, what is it for? Any of these tbhniqu . be used for what they are an4 the effect that . -?

without making ajkitical point out of it. he problem with that jtahbique- '

madiinto a political statement. But if you can use if for the effect it has, I .. then it's another story entirely. Every techni starts out with a certain point of view,'. ,. and then it falls away over time. -v PB: You mean that at it begins rather s WB: Yes, and so What ticks and some of it doesn't> sticks becomes part ..of the musical langu t doesn't stick; doesn't. I was certainly schooled in it and

t

1fh -dealt with it a little bit. I mean, couldn't not do so. ,

. PB: Not in thatperiodof time. I.

. ,... _I

", ? v:*, ., 127 WB: I never felt as if I could becomG part of'the crowd. But of course it did make *\"' you feel like the odd man out if yo; were interested in tonal effects. Everybody else

was tqing to get rid of tonality. ' ' f PB: If I have 'my chronology straight, you were'in Paris when Stock ,. .I , were giving lectures, and I know you were thrown into that Scene.

WB:. It's funny. I feel very comfortable with Berio's and Boul s music in % .1 I'-- . '4c, : particular. I think they're'both wonderful composers, and I've been close friends with Luciaho [Berio] for many years.. We, don't get to see each othes,very rnuch,,but we're -. .. still friends. And Boulez has always been very mice to me-he's played my music and - came to McTeague and was very complimenw., I don't write like him, but I guess he -

>. ' . . thinks I sound all right. It's really just a different point of viewl He has a certain *. artistic credo, and it has resulted in his in Some very beautiful music. And it's

. J.i, really not a matter of whether y6'u beli ".;. r

1 wrote him a letterand J little upset by that. It had harmonic rhythm, so I pulled out Tombeau and I & him how you could read these things in a new tonal field, bu nal ways. I think he wa

.< onata] there's a hexachordal relationship Getween the piano and d violin, then there it is! .It' ed by now that I don't think about it. c* Sometimes I'll find a pattern a it out; or 1'11 use serial plans for a large tonal

b scheme.

i PB:' Can you think of any pieces in particular. where you did this? t 1 can't remember how I did it. I don't to me with graphs of all kinds, and I say to forget all that. Graph afterwards. If you4getstuck and you know something's wrong you can . d L < B * . -. r 1 0 - I

7- b ' 128 0, . .*'I 3 check it by graphing what you've done. But don't follow a graph because you'll fight /II A 0. \ I' t, your own intuition all the time.

PB: Let me direct the topic back io the Sonata. Where did you meet Joe' I Venuti? > i WB: Well, that's kind of a fun ! 'I had always b&n an admirer of J0;e and then . Sergiu LQca'(for whom I wrote the Second Sonata) became friends with Joe Venuti. That WAS a rarity among classical violinists who bften look down their noses at that kind of terrific technique and terrific ideas because it's not in their camp. In the last

, movement of my Concord Quartet, the Ninth Quartet, I remember asking Mark Sokol

I (who had been my student out'in Seattle) to play like 3oe Venuti and he said, "Who?" PB: Oh, so that's who you were talking about secretly in your liner notes to the c, SecondSonuta. . r .... WB: Well, I ,didn't'want to-embarrasshim, but he's one of the people who either

,>2*?'7 __,

0' wasn't interested in or had no knowledge of jazz. This was sort of the attitude amongst [classical] violinists. 'Although, I think fiddlers1 within the last twenty years have made 1:

a big change in thei iation and incorporation of jazz techniques'. I think the

Kronos Quartet hav a lot to do with it. A lot of people have played my [SecondJ . P .- e Sqnafa,'which I donlt thin > \ It [the Second Son "In memory of Joe Venuti" because it was du,ging that time that I got acall from Sergiu [that Venuti had died]. How I met

Venuti was just as I described it on, the back of the record jacket I' to play a jazz set.with Joe and he invited me up to play with hi '1 , : foe Venuti was one of those people who just- sat t

-I f interesting, slightly acerbic, funny comments about violin playing and about

0 ' everybody else arid people he'd like to settle scores with. you $ow that,Venuti wrote-a violin concerto?

?I

..

L I, I 129 I/ I WB: No! But it,\Couldbe fun to find it.

PB: You've mentioned in the scDre somethi about Venuti's special slides. Did you / use any other yenuti "licks?" e'. rJ' WB: Oh, yes. That trick where he alternates, A\ ght and left*, hand. pizzicato and the way

he slides'up on n 1- I \ PB: Tell me about the mird Sonata. You'veentitled it Sonata Stramba, which ' reminds me af Nadja SalernoSonnenberg. Did-;o y u have her in mind when you wrote

the piece? . ) \, .-

WB: Very Much! (laughs). . \ 1. PB: ,What ca1 you tell me about the experience. Dib you work with her at all when

writing it,.or did Stephen Shipps help test it out? b J

' WB: Well, I didrl't have to work with either of them much. But I did meet with Nadja for lunch in which I think she consumed about ten cigGettes and about three

/ bites of lunch-and we talked about this and' that. I don't think she had ever had a * piece written ?or her before, and I had this strong impression that this was all very new ,

P to her. ..And she was a little bit nervous, The idea had come from somebody at Aspen '4 [Music Festival] and they were going to do it [provide the commission] and w going to play together. I kept thinking,' "He

b and is really a whiz at.' e standard repertory a people like the way she plays. She's

a wild personality. But she's a wild personality p all those things that ate standafd stuff. And of c

I Caprices got in there [into,the piece]'too: And 1 was fascinated by taking simple stuff

\ like the &minor triads in the last movement which makes it like the Fifth Caprice [of

Paganini] as you might have noticed; And that's all part of it-I felt I couldhy with . t. It's all part of the wildness that she would respond to. She did ask for a tape, so

4-

.,

a 130 Steve [Shipps] and I put together one. Really, there was very little [that needed to be changed to make it idiomatic]. I've been writing for the violiq since I was twelve, and I have some idea of what I want. ,*

PB: Yes, you write beautifully for the violin. t

WB: I love writing for it. But it's always a new experience for me. ' The violin and

4, voice are so, so quirky. Even cellists aren't as quirky. I think it iseither the long

0 history of the violin, or the mentality of violinists. But I love working with it. If you get the person on your side, then it's just so exciting. Like working with a singer. I . did a piece for Marilyn Horne [I Will Breathe u Mountain], and her voice is going through a change-it happens when you get to a certain age. She's no longer a mezzo.

She said herself that she's a contralto now. And so I have to think of the old Marilyn . u as a voice which is gone and the new Marilyn who has this wonderful new, buttery-rich thing. But it's a different atmosphere-entirely, and so there were things that involve a strain or difficulty and30 of course Y rewrite. I rewrite a lot for singers, especially

j female voices. ale singers ask for things, too. I had to re

when I wrote a cycle.for him some twenty years ago [Open House]. But I

I .'., little rewriting to do for McTeague for example. There I think the rewrite involved text. Although I had considerable re-writes for Cath T'ne [Malfitano, who sings the part of Trina in McTeague] an that's just the way it is, Of course it pays off in the end. You have to ge sed to that. And I've rewritten for exampl D Concerto21 did with Sergiu [Luca] on that one. 'It'sjust o 9 things: some pieces require it and others don't, I don't know why. . c..

~ -/- . . PB: In your program notes you mention guerra, guerra and I'm wondering what that's

4 a reference to. WB: Guerru,..guerru which means war, war. 'In one of the Monteverdi madrigals they're making war all over the place and it's really wonderful. So I wrote in a little 131 bit of the same atmosphere. There's a famous painting of a big battle by [Paulo] Uccel10~~which if you go into the Uffizi and turn left there's this huge thing with white horses that look like toy horses falling in battle. And they're fat. And there's all these guys [knights] running each other through. It's a fantastic painting of the early Renaissance and I thought of it very much when I was writing this piece. . .- . - PB: Does that have anything to do with the Arabesque texture at all? WB: In a way, I suppose. PB: Well, in thesense that it's continually evolving and making use of the same

materials in it Byzantine way; .i ? I WB: Yes, and I don't hw.ifthat's her [Nadjal-she's half Jewish-but I really

be [Middle Easter But I don't know why: ' there was something

I about that absoluteness [of the last movement]. Also we [Bolcom and Joan Morris] had / spent some time in the Middle East a few years ago and it really struck me. n Particularly Istanbul-it was an amazing.place. We played in Cairo and down- the Nile, - .- 'f

and I have.a very strong attraction to the Moorish things we saw in Spain. I have no I F idea why: I have no background in my 'family for that. I have no idea why it draws

me so. # I n that it's the opposite of your Norwegian ancestry.

solutism. , I felt a little bit about her [Nadja]

I. ,' . that way for some mad reason. I think that's why all that I piece. Even that big war scene by Uccello, with its absolute carnage, is absolute d gorgeous, too. If you ever go to the Uffizi, have a look at it. Certain paintings I've stood in front of for hours, and s one of them. 'Another is the big Train;, Triu B

75Paulo Uccello (h3 of San Romano. c 455. Tempera on wood, Uffizi,' Florence.

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0 d

9

133 WB: It will go, but we're still trying to figure out when to premiere it. I thought -/ maybe of trying to do a concert of all my sonatas, either with Henry; or as the Lincoln Center people have suggested, a concert where I play with four different violinists. I may-even get Peter Marsh out for the First Sonata.78 And the Second of course I'd do with Sergiu, and the Third I'd do with Nadja, and the Fourth I'd do with Henry. 1'11 see if that works out-at least that was an idea that was bandied about. PB: I will be there if if works out! WB: I have no idea whether we'll be able to pull it off or not. The second one [second movement of the Fourth Sonata] is a piece about somebody who can't sleep- and how srimetimes a tune from your past comes.into your head. 'And it's an early tune .

that I found in my papers somewhere-I save all my papers. . You never know, something might be usef 11. And, this damn tune would come back to me when I . couldn't sleep. So I wrote a piece about having this tune come back, and when you try 4 ' to push it back'out of yotir hea& you can't. So th rabic and goes into this very fast triple

piece for Henry. WB: Well it should be .... I don't know him personally, but I've heard his playing on I tape, and I know his wife because she.was our concertmistress here-[in Ann Arbor].

So it's a case of two fiddlers marrying and being' happy I guess! ' e get back to somg more mundane questions. In analyzing your music, I've . you like Chords with both the major minor'third present. Is that just a sonority you like, or do you e n think of it that *

78PeterMarsh was the violinist for whom the First Sonata was originally intended. He never performed the piece.

...... , ...... 134

3- WB: Well, it's someth ng I've Lane since I was so young I rat I can't remember when 2,. it started: You'll find it in my earlier stuff. It's just so much part of me, and I guess that I've always been involved with the ambivalence between major and minor,

anyway. Lots of pieces do that. Sometimes it becomes a structural principle. In Frescoes (that piece for two pianos) it's basically a major versus a minor triadtand everything just grows out of there. 11guess I've always done that. Some people like it, r - some don't. I understand that Elliot Carter alwayssaid he hated major and minor. PB: .Well, you don't always do it in an obvious way, since it's often in an open spacing. Another,tendency I've noticed in your musiLpecially in the third movement of the Third Sonuta, is to use strings of tertian harmonies, such as a major/minor/aug m arpeggio which just keeps going. Do you think of it that way t when you write? Or is it again something that's just innate. ,' 1, I don't think! Everybody has this impression that "now I'm going to use ony,, now I think I'lldo a row." I never could do that, and I think. t

' of the problems we have had with compoder/theorists is that they are trying to d

. sides of tk p em at once. 'I think it sometimes ends up killing them as composers. .), made that comment about Hindemith.. . , well I think it killed him. Good and dead, too. That's why I didn't go study with him in the en& I couldn't have told you consciously, but I'd gotten to really dislike those sona [of his], having to accompany several of them in a row. (1 suddenly thought, "This is so formulaic, I don't think I'll be happy wfBh already met Mihaud, and he seemed like such an open person and we g

L well,' personally.

PB: Well, I think you two make a good spiritual match. .. G WB: We are so much more of the same kind of mind. As I say, I'm still sort of

4 family to them-Danielle, Madeleine'and me. They are just that way: he was a very ..

r

A 135 c

L embracing person and had an embracing family. If you were of their ilk, you were "family." I still am after all this man'! years, and I'm sure that would never have happened with Hindemith. PB: I noticed certain Hindemith-isms in your early music. ~Q WB: Well, there was so much of it in the air that it was pretty hard to get away from I '. b it. At that point in the '50%you realize that everyone pretty much throughout " -. 'I Academe was convinced,that Hindemith was the greatest composer. And I was playing lots of it in chamber music. Hearing wall-to-wall Hindemith, you can't help but to [pick it up]. It was either that or Bartbk. Bartbk was probably a better composer than , Hindemith, but the problem was that people became ersatz Hungarians all over the ' place. If you heard a composers' concert in the 1950's anywhere in the United States, , in the ColumbidPri'nceton area, you would have heard everyone J-* . . suddenly becoming Hungarian even though their last name might have been O'Toole. :- 1 - People go for the surface things. Even in Schubert you can detect influences of Weberi!?

and Rossini because they were the hot tickets. Schubert was either very influenced b; ,c what he h&d-or trying to hit the same button. Sometimes'y.oucan't be conscious

.. about these things. If it t ns out that I've used these things, or somebody's described ' them as such, I didn't apply them [on purpose]. You do just stick them in. What , happens is that they'rk

course you are awk0 of how they operate, and rathar than.calling,. the9.up by name, as

I

9 in some kind of computer search and zappi PB: I've know several c9m t how little thought e given to their own technique. They do what they do on the bas ,+ . hear, and they do it subconsciously. Those of us listening are trying to categorize

things, so when something familiar pops up, we say, "Oh, that's like so and so." We .

*..

1 A-

,!

.I .. \ 136 .ir d leap for that because I think we're.loaking for a seme of security through familiarity

and categories. e,

WB: ' I think a composer who expands a musical vocabulary is partly doing so either by what he or she has heard, but then is thinking what the next implication is. That's what the mindikks. I think that the mind operates with all of these functions in an entirely different way than theori-sts seem to think. Even Sctienker was aware of the limitations __ " of his systems. E think it was meant to provide chamber musicians with an idea of the overall tonal plan of a movement so that they'd be able to play with more cohereme. Are there any theorists who you think do a goad job-not necessarily with your music, but in general. ., WB: Well, I think the new semiological approach by various people, having to do with the humanist roots of things, is probably of some use, because it is'basickly an aid to playing. But [analysis] is not really an aid to composition. The danger was that it became an aid to composition. The Allen Fofie approach, for example, had so much

'logical positivism in it that ple became attracted to using this as application rather ' than as a study guide. This tied lots of folks into knots. And it also en [producing] an awful lot of unlistenable music! I think today it's hard formalist people are hanging on with their t

Some defiant moves in Some cases. At McGill, for instance, they've decided to cut outth raditional harmonic cumculu~,c and go straight to set-theory. Well, that's obviously somebody on the faculty fighting for this point of.vieW he only danger is that it's going to leave a whole bunch of -: students without any g'idea of how harmonic practices in the nineteenth century

worked. -<

PB: And it's amazingly confining to a small body of music. > WB: Whenever you're dealing with people who have this partisan point of view it's ' very ruinous. I certainly have never objected to anyone using any of these things , whenever they wanted.. *Right now,. I don't see much of it [serial compos/.\ tion] amongst

the students here [at the University of Michigan], but I have in the past and I'm sure it ' might happen again. It has a certain use and I think that you.should have some expehence with row technique and I think it doesn't hurt to have aiy of those [capabilities]. It's like learning how to write a fugue. Knowing how it [serialism] works explains a lot of twentieth century music and to a ce&n extent, some things in the nineteenth. It's important to know how to do it and absorb the technique, but then

** you just put$ in your head and forget about it. Let the subcoisc'ious absorb what it *

,, will and that will become part of language. -.

. PB: I want to ask you about your relationship with George Rochberg. WB: Ijust got a letter from him.

PB: He's a wonderful composer too.. . 4

$. hat you said in your introduction to The Aesthefic of Survival. I'm going,to\quoteyou: "I'm grateful to him for sh to me when I was still i%overing from my ex

movement.. .. " 79 He had abandoned serialis 3,.and I'm wondering what advice 8 <'

urses" he gave yo .I mportant point w at it's ridiculous to try to cut off the past. And I that. But I think that with George's music, people sometimes feel that . ., not only did he decide to embrace the past, but close the door to the future. In some of his pieces, I felt he did do that, frankly. But. the implicatio

79WilliamBo!com, foreword to The Aesthetics of~uiurvival,by George Rochberg (Ann Arbor: >( *- University of Michigan Press, 1984), vii.

.I P

I

I c. I I ..l 138 ..* ,org+nic thing that has continuity-a past, a present, and a future. He tried to tie all

>I these things together rather than make these things an absolute fiat, which is what a lot thereby cutting down any.possibility of coherence, I thinJ<, Language

.r alyays grows, and this won't be the only time when people throw in someFing arbitrary just to see,'what happens. It's happened a good half-doze of Western music, and ever, in Eastern music. People have always tried various

'

i.rnposed orders and 'something Survivg from it, but not generally the whole order. .I What happens is that either it made some kind of sense and 'didn't. There's just too much part p'anship'involved in the'cha ., century, and we all were under that terrific pressu Then here comes this guy,

, Rochberg. We got dong well as people, but what struck me was advocating that you didn't h line in those days. Most composer age will tell you '.what it was like-you felt terr@c pressure-peer pressure. I ., the expectations, and I think his

anglewood Music Festival? \ -.I

st.at..Tanglewdod.-.. Both Bill Albright and I studied with him a little ..

' Was that in 1966? I PB: . _. 1966.' That's when I met Bil1,'tqo. I don . them as real lesson Within a short time it ias clear that it was just a matt to know kach oker. I was pretty old and didn't want to study with anybod

; had to study with somebody.' So if there was anybody I wanted to deet, it was George, We found .we had a lot in, com I I - when I was'still teaching at the4Jnivers Washington. He had been out talking about his..music, and som.ething abou is whole attitude (and his music, too) really -Y

I. _' . .. .. ' 139 attracted me because I felt this was a nice way to move out of what II felt was an

extremely closed situation. In that type of [seri music, things hadL really felt, / -.claustrophobic. But also in that time I had become involved in ydgtime and got familiar / r . with Scott Joplin's work, and began to find some cdnnections detween my interest in / Amefican popular music (which I wasn't supposed to have)hd my serious' / . -I , 'composition. You'had an enormous number of pple lodking at you and siiying, "Oh, 1 he only do& sho7 music. " They would use these things as an easy way to knock you - .-down. ,

PB: I thihk some Wple think.of composdrs as belonging 'in strict categories. . . WB: Oh, I think it happens still. And t 's an absolutism about it. Milhaud himself . .. rebelled against it-the idea thqt there's

never the twain shall meet. But the whole histo usic is full of people who didn't believe in those' categories. Sometimes the resu humorous, and sometimes not, but you find it throughout music. And it wasn't a problem before, and never was until

now. Peer pressure-becomes very strong in a university atmosphere, and it becomes I* y strong when the triple equation of artist/composer/piece gets destroyed and 4 e. ..I have any audience any more; then your peers really loom large. B: Well, then you start composing for each other. .. .. WB: Except that's not even the case, You're not writi that other person, you're f ' A writing to sno& that 0th person! You're writing to destroythem! 1 . for their apireciation! 1 I are there only to substantiate, confirm; or corroborate something that happens to be

( I their own particular point of view. Then there are a lot of people are guru-cum-. teachers. I've run into students who have studied with guru tekhers and they are often incurable.- They know that what they want'to do is not what their teacher has inculcated, but they are sp influenced by thisprson that they can't move out of it. 6 140 i PB: I want to clear up one piece of information which conflicts in different sources.80 Did you study piano with' Rochberg at all? WB: No. '. PB: Did you see each other when you were teaching in New York and he was at the

$ University of Pennsylvania? "

WB: It wasn't that kind of relationship, but it was easy enough. Sometimes I would a take a train and.I'd stay with him overnight and we would talk about this and that. I

t

did that several hmes over the years and we still see each other occasionally. I really 0

7 had to' sit on him a lot to make that series of essays into something coherent.

he would come back on the same nt and'sm haranguing. And when he got all hot about somethifig, the sentence structure would suddenly go out the window., So I really had to sit on him to try and be a good editor. He came here [to Ann Arbor] and stayed sevekl days, and we really chopped away. ' I. PB: . It's a terrific collection of essays, and really demonstrates the growth of h philosophy. ' WB: Well', he's a wonderful writer, and he's one of the very few people I know in the musical world who actually has e Some reading and shown an interest in the rest of '. the world and has a-strong bac nd in literature and the sciences. .- culture point of view and that's such a rarity. Peopleare often so on PB: He reminds me of FUuard Hanslick or Nicolas Slonimsky, except of course that

Rochberg composes. , WB: In a way, yes. He was one of uys whojreally did have back ound in 9 I .w ?' music. God knows the critics these can't even read a score. Even ppl \ New York Times can't read score, I' tty sure. Well, compared to Miriam.Boland, -:

*%e source of this'misinfomation comes from Brian Morton and Pamela Collins, +., Contemporary Composers, (Chicago: St. James Press, 1992), S.V. "Bolcom, William (Elden , " by Eleanor Caldwell. The article contains other unreliable information. 2 . ,

I e* . L 2

141 - who was able, for example, to'do a chamber orchestra reduction of one of Michael 1 Tippett's operas for a theater performance himself. Now this is a'crificwho can do . ,. this. ' I don't think there is any critic in the United States who has had that level of .' # L* experience. There are a few in England who could, and a few on the Coritinent.

Boulez says the same thing-the ddly critics don't know anything about music. ' : PB: Let me ask you about your ragtime assocj@ions. I met T.J. AnderSon last'year .2 ,o -. ' I t, ' I. when 1 was playing a piece of his. He mentioned some squabbling over the premiere h J 9 of Treemonisha. .. 1 WB: Oh, that wasan ugly situation. Whatd- append was this: I had a lot' lo do with .

getting hold of a very prominent music editor named Vera'.Brodsky +awrence who had ' I - -, - + I. put together the reprint editions of various things such as the complete 'Gottschalk. ,

I And I mentioned to her that a complete edition of Joplin would be a great project. So, 8'

a. shesaid fine. The blem was (and I didn't realize it) was'that she also saw a few

.I dollar signs. She?managed somehow to accrue the rights for Joplin'

%, %,

' in some very devious way. I, of c'ourse, had no idea that she would even try to do such a thing. So, T.J. and I put together a performing edition of Treemonisha, which was . '

I done byRohert'Shaw in Atlanta at Morehouse College. We decided on a small theater

orchestra which I thought sounded sensible. -Both he 1 had Aked with, Rudi Blesh, ,

I and T.J. and I had worked out a '.. the overture, etc. He [Joplin] wasn't a very experienced operazompokr (it w& sort .of a home-made opera) which was fine. We didn't slick it up,' but kep L . '7.

small, and I think it was lovely. Well, Vera.Lawrence decided that she didn't like it, ' and-in the meantime she had acquired all the rights. -So she cornered mepd said "I

'0' want to do another orchestrati ." So I asked what was wrong "Well, it should be a fuller o stra." I said, "Well, daybe I -I . xpand on it.," She said, "N I want it to be completely different. " I didn't

, ..

1

1 *

4 143 PB: Well, it says that Weinstein had written an opera libretto and you-.had a score and

1. 1 then somehow magic'ally you put the two together). t ,

I WB: No, see what I mean. That just goes to,show you. 8

* PB: So, can you tell me the whole story? It souods like Mil'haud had fiitroduced you -_ I +"' , ..tg each other. t

'WB: Well, I didn't meet him weinstein] in person until after thifirst draft of the

$ . operacewascomplete. I PB: But deinstein had proposed originally that Milhaud shquld do the music.. . * * WB: He -had given it to Milhaud to look at, and he said, "Well, I like it but it's too

.* ' American for me.": So he showed it to me after class and I said that I wanted to do it.

So, we wrote to.. Weinstein and he said let's go ahead. I came to New York not too *e long after that and we started working on revisions and got it produced. .

." PB: The earliest date I +ave that meeting is 1960. Is that correct? WB: 'I actuzhly didn't meet him until 1961 in April. I actually had to leave the Conservatory because the draft got after .It was March or April,

I and iuddenly I was in the middle of,the le New York painting a

9. . meeting everybody. was broke and

w. Everybody sort of baby-sat me: I was this kid, twenty-one or twenty-two years ' a' /

#* ut ten or fifteen years older than I. But they all took care of '8 . llcB ., Cure I was OK. So 1 was very quietly and .very i J

e.yrhole New York school of the arts. 9 nt New York' than what you described later that -decade. I e I \ WB: Oh, of course. Those were the years when everybody did know everybody and ght you would go'out w'ith frieilds. F p from his office at the -1 .. I.

.A .A

B .@ 8 :3 -- . r ,, 1::44

I Museum of Modern Art and tell everyone ,-"Hey, such and such is happening-be .. there," and we'd all show up. It would be a poetry,

.%' , the night before so we could see the exhibit before the crowds came. . PB: Can you tell me, then, a little about the chronology of your activities in the late sixties. You resigned, I believe, from Queens College in 1968. What kind of free- h, . lancing did you do after that? WB: I did-resign in 1968. I free-lanced until 1973, but I was still orking for other I colleges. In 1968-69 I spent a year at Yale working on another show cailed Gr*eeafsb'.

We put it 00, but it was a chaotic mess-as was my life at that particular point. I went' n bad marriage. But it was also 1968, and schools everywhere were very unstable time anyway. 0 PB: Your position was funded by a Guggenheim fellowship, but your title was "visiting critic." How did that work?

That was the only title they could find that would fit the situation. The drama , and music schools don't fit the original Yale chafter, and-they've had the most -.

' interesting time trying to finagle around the original charters so they can even have a

school. Therefore the titles available to them are the weirdestthings I've ever seen. ,. c . I've never been a critic and I certai-nly'wasn't a visiting critic and I wasn't.sitting there making qjticisms. t. b. < PB: Well that struck me as odd, tod.

. WB: That's w4at they named me because that was theonly thing that wouid work! I ' d .I,4 about 'your first teacher, Jo e e wasn't really, my first t y major early teacher. My

-16 at I workedrwith when I s a man named George ' //

-Frederick McKay. He and Verrall both'kugh the University of Washington. I went\

1 B

D / >, . 4 .1 \ d 145 .- to George first for a little while, just as baby steps when I was eight or nine, but at about the age of eleven I began going consistently (once a w&k) to John Verrall. He

.. gave me composition lessons and also counterpoint, harmony, and orchestration. f had , ! ,. - .. all that essentially under my belt by the time I got to college. So, I could actually test d - out of a whole year of school. I did that at the University of Washington because I wanted to be able to study'with Milhaud, He was one year here [in the U. S. at Mills

..*' . College], one year in Paris. I went to Mills after my University time. .. .. PB: Can you explain one story I heard about the disturbance that Session I11 caused at the International Music Festival in France?81 WB: It was actual ion IV . This happened in 1968, I think. Dennis Russell t. Davies had just from the Juilliard School and got together with Luciano

Berio who was al( the time. Luciano and he put together a thing called 8 I the Juilliard Repertory Ensemble with a number a hot players and they began to tour. .. So they went to Rouen to this festival, which is on the Atlantic coast of France. I used 0 ' 1 .. quotations of stuff including a little Beethoven and a rag piece and a few other things

.. ... , .. thrown in. And it touched off a riot was sorry to miss it! I wanted to be at my own riot!, On the third,>try,they actually got through the piece. And I guess at one point,

according to Dennis, some woman came out of the audience during the piece, went up -- . PJb to the bass drum, picked'up the mallet, and whacked the bass drum player over the '2 c head. I wish I'd been t ! This tape sounds like a ma football game with people .

<. yelling, screamini, and ping, and absolutely acting ,' PB: Well, at least there's a certain audience participation in a French.perforrgance!

s from the "William Bolcom" entry in David Ewen's American Composers: A Biographical Dl'dionnry, (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1992). 84.. Based on the fact that Session N does contain qu from Beethoven, I am'inclined to trust William Bolcom's . memory.

+ ;??\ . *- I *. __- s- 146 .

WB: They let you know what they think. People here are rather churchy aboutfitand ,

-, 8 well behaved. I'd rather know what they thought! '3 -i

...... I ,.

148

I. music, but he said,he only had this one piece but that he had written Session II and a 1 couple of other things. I said, "I've got to meet this guy." PB: Did you ever play Session Il? It's written for violin and viola.. .. SL: No, I never did. But that's how it came about. This guy got me Bill's number in t New York, and I went to meet. him because I'd, this tape of S&sion IIf. We hit it off, and so he showed me some more of his music. Then I said, "Come out to Portland, and in return for your fee there you will have to write a piece. for anything you want. " He chose to write for violin and piano. PB: I've listened to the Duo Fantasy several times and it strikes me as a v piece. SL: It.was very hard for me. ,. PB: Well, it changes styles so frequently and rapidly. SL: And that was so avantY arde then. All that stuff was just beginning. One of the things that I got from Bilf.(who was at the forefront of that ragtime revival which got

4 too big for its own good) was that Stephen Foster secti of the-Duo Fantbsy. That's what I had the most trouble with was that part, actual1 Bill s&d, "Y0t.1 -7 it straight and with dignity. " When Classically trained violinists see that kind of stuff they just mess around with it. Finally he said that.the way t play this music is to play

like Joe Venuti. I said, "Who's Joe Venuti?" At that time, I didn't know. So he made ' n to some records, and eventually we saw him play live in New York,

why I also invith Joe Venuti to come out to Psrtland. I .. PB: ,I sek! That was a little unclear from Bolcom's program notes. of YOUT recording. I wasn't sure if Joe Venuti was headed out there. L.

, SL: Well, I met Joe Venuti because he was Bolcom's ideal of what violir, playing should sound like. In fact, after I heard Joe Venuti (which was after the premiere of - -0 I ,I c'

, ,

* 149

' the Duo Fantasy) it became much easier.to play these sections because I'knew where Bolcom was coming from. PB: When did you meet Venuti? Was it much before the'second Sonata? SL: Yes. I met Joe Venuti shortly after I played the Duo Fantasy. Then we became friends,,and Joe came to the festival and stayed in my house. We were supposed to

, * make a record together. It was dux& the Second Soma that Joe Venuti died. ext piece that Bolcom wrote for you was the Suite for Solo Violin. Did you

SL: That was a very hard iece. I didn't play it right away. I premiered it many years later at the New Little Festival in Oregon. It was probably about ten years ago. PB: I'm curious about the diffetences between the Duo Fantusy and the Suite for Solo

0 Violin. The latter seems much more serious in n

I SL: Well, with Bill, the word "serious" is always dangerous. Because what may not

.a appear serious on the surface to some people (who are used to a different kind of serious music) is in fact extremely,serious. You see, I think that stuff in the Duo d Fantasy is very serious. PB: I didn't mean to imply that Bolcom's music is not serious. I am thinking that the Suite shifts styles les frequently and each vement is cut from a single cloth. Would you agree? SL: Yes, thereare f er les. But there's that wonderful WaltdTango which is . \.

' really hard to do right.

PB: . Did audiences react diffe ly to the two pieces? SL: I don't really remember, audiences have always reacted favorably to his

music. The Suite is more austere, having only a solo- violin. But in a way, the Duo , Fantasy caused more of a reaction-people started giggling. That always bothered Bill

a lot! 1' 1so PB: I'm, sure that his style changes are not meant as jokes. -To SL: I think that the giggling is the audience's discomfort-not knowing whether to take the music seriously. It has nothing to do.with the music's intention.. It's the ,baggage that.the audience brings with it to that concert. That kiid of reaction has changed some, at least recently, and it's made music like Bill's stand on its own more .. easily. i PB: I know you've played the SecQnd Sonata many, many times. Other violinists seem to be playing it more and more. What do you think of that?

. SL:' Well, it's becoming a'repertoire piece, pieces which include violin are the String Quartets and the Piano , Qfiartet. Havk you played any of them? ayed the Ninth and Tenth String Quartets. The Tenth has been recorded,

but the Ninth he hadn't heard since he wrote it. We did a concert of his music at Rice I University, and he was here for that. He played some Milhaud and then Briw Connelly] and I surprispl him. A friend of mine at Mills foued his very early natina. Do you know that piece?

PB: Yes, I have a ccjpy of it that I found at the University of Michigan library. I also . have an unlabeled 'recording of it that Mr. Bolcom sent me. SL: That must bk our performance. Bill forgot that he wrote it and it wasn't on the ' program. After Bill played, 'Brian and I came out and said we would like to surprise Mr. Bolcom a little bit and we played this piece. It was a really gr&t moment to watch Bill go nuts! He had coiripletely forgotten about it!

? o my redording is of you and Bean Connelly then? SL: Probably, since I don't think anyone else has played it.

C-. PB: Who were your colleagues for the Ninth and Tenth Qudmts?

e

*-

J i

a t

SL: Ken Goldsm h was the other violinist, Maria Lambert' was the violist, and

:t :t 9 Norman Fischer was the 'cellist. C PB: , Norman Fischer was in the Concord Quartet, who I believe gave the premiere of \ the Ninth Quartet. . SL: That's a great piece! PB: Mr. Bolcom told me that he did some re-writing of the Violin Concerto in D at your request. What kinds of changes did you recommend to him?

' SL: I don't remember the specifics, but I remember that he did some re-orchestrating. . 4: %* 'U .d ,We also re-wrote a couple of violin passages and cadential places. But I've played it so

1. many times since then, it has become standard the way it is. I don't think there were any radical change erything I've ever played of his has been very idiomatically written for the o when you' say that the changes were minor, you are implying that Bolcom does not make the mistakes that you might expect from a non-violini SL: No, the changes had more to do w the flow of the part. We

' . .octaves, and we also eliminated about five bars which wouldn't have been heard over

the orchestra anyway. - ' I' PB: I want to ask you about grant iromgthe m Foundation "which allowed you

to commission the Second Sonata. I'm unclear that sequence of events. J - . SL: I had played three or four concerts at the Library of Congress-at least four, 2

\ because two of them I played on the Krksler del G&u-that was an incredible experience. Anoth-er recital was with Bill. After that cert, I suggested to the ager that I'd liketo'do-*o of Sill's pieces. At the time, Bill wasn't very r, . ,,well known.

* 'A

,- . 152 v'- PB: .,.especially not in the instrumental world. His operatic pieces such as Casino

e Paradise had received some attention, but even his Piano Concerto went rather

' , unnoticed. SL:- I asked i'f there were any funds for commissioning a'new work, and this manager I - said, "Well, we have this McKim Fund, and'if you really like'. this guy's music, then i? -4. perhaps we could just pay,for that." .Also,.the fundprovided for recording and ' publishing the music. It .was all together. I , .x PB: Have you played his mird Sonata yet? ~

9 SL: No. I have the music-he sent it to me-but I haven't had time. \ ently, and it%see ery-differentfrom the Second. But, there is e some similarity between the second ement.of the nird Sonata apd the little coda to the third movement of the Second Sonata. t SL: That's a re&em for Joe.Venuti. He was writing the third movement when he 4 out from me that Joe had died: That's where t piece stopped and he wrote the

m .requiem. Then, the last movement became the Joe Venuti memory. * .- 's incrd.ible. NOthat~ ending makes sense to me.

beautiful, beautiful section. . .. .__ W

you f&l Bolcom by.his critics the press, ~ Many times the , mments simply d , rather than ciitique the music. I never get the . . .. - sense that they know what to make of Bolcom's music. SL: Wel1,'I haven't sekn that many reviews of his musib: I don' impression is'that yours is a very good - 'L_ probably, is that they n't know what to PB: I suppose that hi

SL: They have been ve I never comfortable sh werful.' When he was not

0

. known, they shot at it like crazy: "Why write these trite tunes?" Nbw, of course, they

shoot at him from the other angle: '"Why is a man of his importance writing like this- * , $- .. it doesn't hold together." In fact, none of us know. All we can do is play the music' if

we like it and believe in it, and people enjoy it, Hiitory will decide. D PB: When I heard Lev Polyakin play the Second Sonata in reciy, I immediately fell F: in love with the piece. \

SL: If a piece of music does that to you, then it's good. Even if posterity judges it not , to be so good, who cares? I remember all these iflterview in which people asked me if I thought the Violin Concerto would take its place alongside Brahms and Beethoven. I said, "1.don't know, and I don't care, I won't be around at that time."

;$ " that people get excited when I play it. There aren't many pieces thiit.1 know^ that can t / do that. So, who cares what happens later. PB: Can you think of anything else you'd like to say about Bolcom's violin"pieces? 1 SL: Do you know about the variations on The Graceful Ghost? Every time Bill would -. -- write a piece for me, Iaskk him if he could in a little quote from Graceful Ghost. That was one of the first es I knew of Bill's, and oved it. And you could never

ays, and. the reason was he had written it in memory ,

r. It was a very personal piece to o he wouldn't play it just any time. (1 ' - He wouldn't play it just to show off. But I u o nuts when he played it. So I ,\ im, "Couldn't you just p t three bars of it into the piece. It

'3 even have to be in the violin part! " ' n he wrote the Violin Concerfo, I said, "Bill, -I c. put it'in the bassoon if you don't want to let me play it." I'd @t- the scores every time . ., d look for somethi from the Graceful Ghost, and there would be nothing. Finally,

4

ed to Anne Epperson (my first wife came in the mail c ,'I g something to the effect: "Here it bugging iTe aboutr

L f>

n. 154 PB: So that's why he wrote the transcription,for you in 1979.

. SL: Yes, thst was to take-care of my need to have something from the Gruceful Ghost. t. .. , ..

d

I

I LIST OF REFERENCES u..

, Apone, Carl. “Davies shows promise in Symphony &oncert. ” Pittsburgh (PA) Preis,

17May 1986, C6: I I Baxter, Robert. “In Review: Philadelphia. ” Opera News 55, No. ‘3: September I . % ..1990: 56,

Be‘dell, Janet E,. “Earthly Delights.” Overture (Ba Symphony Orchestra’s . program guide), 8 Mhch126 April 1996, 6- 8 ’\, <

‘ Benson, Linda R. “Taking Bill Bolcom Seriously.” Ann Arbor 51, 53-59. ’_

Benson, Linda Rt “William Bolcom-Deigns Grand $ns. “ Th L e No. 1, Spring 1990: 4-5. 4

* Berger, Melvin. Guide to Sorptas. New York: Anchor Books, 1991. .

L t n ,* -- i Bermel, .Derek. “Interview: William Bolcom. ” ‘ParisNew Music Review, February / 1994: 4-5. . ,. BernhGimer, Martin. “Violin Sonata Under a Green Umbrella. ” Los Angeles sl I, 16 December 1987, VI, .- d .- Glcorn, William. “Re s of D’arius Milhaud,” ikical Newsletter 7, No. 3, Summer 1977: 3-1 1. 11 .,

-.‘ Foreword to. The Aesthetics of Survivz, by George Rochberg. Annt . , . Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1984. _-

I’ ) ’6’

“Trouble in the Music World.” HiFi/Musical Amenca 110,’ I . , bruq 1990: 20-24. .I .I .* . t-.. . Prop& notes for Lincoln Center’s Stdgebill.. Mkch 1992. - ’. .-

I_

L *I .*

. 155 . 4

1. i.

Cohn, Arthur. Recorded Classical Music. New York:: Schirmer Books, 1981. dr -* ,I Colker, David. "William Bolcom Wants to Go Easy on You. " Reader 3;:No. 11; '

*-.* a+ 9 January'1981: 9. ' ' *.

Commanday, Robert. "Bolcom's a Down-toyEarth Composer. " San Francisco

' Chronicle, 7 May 1989, Reviews, 12. , .c .. a Crutchfield, *Will. "Bolcom Sek Blake to Several Kinds of Music. " New York Times,

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I as. "From the American'West. " Opera, Oct

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