proudly presents the 2020-2021 Artist Series

“Halloween Recital”

Daryl Shay, piano

Saturday, October 24, 2020 7:30 p.m., Online

Program

Fantasie in F-sharp Minor, op. 28 Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Theme fromHalloween John Carpenter (b. 1948)

Funérailles Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

“In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt Suite no. 1 Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)

~ Intermission ~

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 Johann Sebastion Bach (1685-1750) / Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)

Danse macabre (“Dance of Death”) Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) / Franz Liszt

Daryl Shay, piano

Please turn off or silence all electronic devices. Unauthorized audio and video recordings are prohibited. Program Notes by Daryl Shay (2020)

INTRODUZIONE

Do you want to be scared? Perhaps scarred for life?? Try a career in piano. Terrifying, perhaps? Good luck playing the works of musical geniuses of the last 400 years from memory (a concept set in stone by Clara Schumann after torturously running around Europe performing her husband’s works . . . a standard mantained by today’s pianists). It’s probably a a good thing, as playing hundreds of pages of carefully transcribed sheet music in front of you is a risky business, as if you can even turn the molded bindings of paper carefully or successfully . . . Are you willing to risk death itself? Scared yet? How about placing your finger on an incorrect key. Are you ready to feel to torment? Do you know how bad wrong notes sound???? REALLY BAD :O. Well I hope every one of you in the audience feels my intense pain of a mis-struck note or incorrect rhythm of an amateur musician. The greatest risk of live performance can destroy your soul. FEEL THE PAIN. And try to enjoy the recital. Just remember you cannot escape your own death you can only prolong it . . .

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)

Grandson of an eminent Jewish philosopher and son of a successful banker, Mendelssohn enjoyed all the comforts of a middle-class household and all the benefits of a high-cultured society. He was the second of four children, of whom the eldest, Fanny, was almost as accomplished a pianist as her brother. Mendelssohn was a remarkable child prodigy, and his works reveal an inexhaustible harmonic and melodic invention. He wrote music to charm the ear, which helped him to win great critical acclaim throughout Europe. Among his triumphs are the oratorio Elijah, the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “Scottish” and “Italian” symphonies, forty-eight Songs without Words, and the celebrated violin concerto. Success followed success, but years of overwork took their toll. In 1847, when he heard news of his sister’s Fanny’s death, Felix died a few months later.

Fantasie in F-sharp Minor, op. 28

Referred to by Mendelssohn as his “Scottish sonata,” he shows off his impeccable improvisation skill with this incredible tale of struggle against inevitable darkness in this musical story. What is a musical fantasy? TheHarvard Dictionary of Music lists a “fantasia” as “An ingenious and imaginative instrumental composition with distortion, exaggeration and elusiveness resulting in its departure from current stylistic and structural norms. Many great composers have toyed with the idea—Bach (Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue), Mozart, Beethoven (Choral Fantasy, G-minor Fantasy), Chopin (Fantasy Impromptu), Liszt (the connoisseur of the fantasy), Schubert (Wanderer Fantasy), and Disney’s Fantasia . . . just kidding! Did Mendelssohn master it with his thought-out ideas, smoothly flowing melodies, symmetrical designs, highly individualized scherzo style, and complete familiarity with the piano? The first movement’s slow theme is preceded and several times interrupted by a rhapsodical introductory passage, followed by a grandiose return of the main theme. The second movementscherzo is somewhat Schubertian. The fiery and tempestuous third movement concludes the piece in sonata- allegro design.

FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886)

Born in what is now Hungary, Liszt came from a German-speaking family, his father being a minor official in the service of Prince Esterházy. After setting up piano instruction in Paris, he heard Paganini play violin and was determined to be his piano equivalent. His meeting with Chopin, with whom he became friends, was also influential. Like his Romantic contemporaries Wagner and Berlioz, there is an epic quality about his music, often inspired by grand subjects. Although he could write delicate, intimate miniatures, some of his greatest keyboard music storms the heights of virtuosity. Schumann called his Transcendental Études “studies of storm and DREAD for at most ten to twelve players in the world.” Music such as the Mephisto Waltz and Totentanz have a touch of diabolic, but his Harmonies Poetic and Religious and The Legend of St. Elizabeth show a more sacred side of his music. Liszt established the symphonic poem as a musical form, as with Les prélude, and developed cyclic form, with its transformation of themes as a work progressed. He often ended pieces on a dissonance, and one of his pupils asked, “Is one allowed to write such a thing and even listen to it?” Bartok believed his contribution to music was more important even that of Wagner. Eventually he died . . .

Funérailles

A somber and epic piece dedicated to the heroes killed in 1848-1849 Hungarian Revolution. Harmonic clashes, stark fanfares, and the savage abruptness of the close are quintessential Liszt. After a dark, horror movie-esque F-minor intro, Liszt moves into a dark haunting melody only capably played by a zombie. Eternal darkness is interrupted by a beautiful but straining relative A-flat major melody that pulls on the constraint on the power of the listeners. The dead become resurrected in the heroic middle section where you can hear the march of the dead overlapped by the resonance of too much pedal (indicated by Liszt). After the torrential left-hand octaves, the F-minor theme returns in devastating horror with everything doubled in octaves. Liszt hints at a pathetic return to the tender theme before succumbing to the destructive ending leaving everyone in distress. EDWARD GRIEG (1843-1907)

A descendant of a Scotsman who settled in Norway, Grieg acquired a fishing fleet, twice married Norwegian girls, and became British consul. Like many composers, Grieg was first taught music by his mother, who sent him to Leipzig, where he found the teachings pedantic and dull. Returning to Scandinavia, Grieg embarked on his life’s mission. He married his cousin, Nina Hagerup, who became the inspirer and interpreter of many of his songs, and for nearly forty years they were to travel and perform throughout Europe. His work was admired my Liszt, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky and he influenced close personal friends, notably Sibelius, Nielsen, Delius, and Percy Grainger. Grieg’s piano concerto still stands at the top of classical charts, enchanting audiences all over the world. Such universal appeal would have delighted Grieg, who wrote music to reach the widest possible audience. “The world of harmonies was always my dream world,” Grieg said, and he had “discovered the hidden harmonies” of Norwegian folk music. Grieg is known as a nationalist composer whose originality was firmly rooted in his own background and tradition. His enticing Lyric Pieces and Peer Gynt Suite invoke wild images of fairies, gnomes, trolls, and mountain kings of Scandinavian folklore.

“In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt Suite no. 1

Grieg himself wrote, “For ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King,’ I have written something that so reeks of cowpats, ultra-Norwegianism, and ‘to-thyself-be-enough-ness’ that I can’t bear to hear it, though I hope that the irony will make itself felt. The piece is played as the title character, Peer Gynt, in a dream-like fantasy, enters Dovregubbens (the troll Mountain King’s) Hall.” The scene’s introduction continues: “There is a great crowd of troll courtiers, gnomes and goblins. Dovregubben sits on his throne, with crown and scepter, surrounded by his children and relatives. Peer Gynt stands before him. There is a tremendous uproar in the hall.”

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)

The Bach family history shows a line of musical talent stretching back for some 400 years and musical Bachs were abundant in Saxony when J.S. was born in Eisenach. Success as an organist and composer landed him opportunities in Arnstadt, Weimar, Cothen, and Leipzig, where he perfected the art of counterpoint and wrote famous works such as the Six Brandenburg Concertos, St. Matthew Passion, Mass in B Minor, and Anna Magdelena Notebook. Although he wrote such masterpieces such as the Goldberg Variations, The Art of Fugue, and Well-Tempered Clavier, a mere handful of his works were published in his lifetime. Although Bach wrote music without pause all his life, he did it with no wish for fame, his one desire being to serve the church. Bach’s concertos and their strangely emotive slow movements seem to anticipate a future world of Romanticism, and influenced composers for generations to come. Bach’s organ works challenge us today, where his exalted spirit and technical genius arose from years of experience as a practical musician. Later in life, his eyesight grew increasingly poor and, after an operation, he became totally blind. Like Mozart, he was buried in an unmarked grave.

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BVW 565

Someone once said to me, “Can you play the greatest piece ever written”? Dumbfounded, I tried to think of an acceptable composition. Years later, I have spent hours trying to find a way to perfect this organ masterpiece on piano. My grandfather, Henry Fokens, always wanted me to play the organ. I failed to live up to his expectations, but thank goodness for Ferruccio Busoni, whose piano realizations of Bach’s organ, choral, and violin works have taken a new character and power. Busoni’s skillful use of the piano’s resources give this work a wholly new personality, without in any way betraying Bach’s intentions and without fundamentally altering the thematic and rhythmic contents.

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921)

Internationally famous as a virtuoso pianist, organist, and conductor, Saint-Saëns claimed he lived in music “like a fish in water.” He composed over 300 works, including thirteen operas, and he was the first major composer to write for cinema. Blessed with perfect pitch, a prodigious memory, and tireless energy, he began composing when he was three, and at ten he was dazzling Parisian audiences with brilliant recitals of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. His music won the admiration of Berlioz, Rossini, Bizet, Liszt, and Fauré, all of whom subsequently became his friends. Though he was a much- admired figure in Europe, his private life was less happy. His marriage to Marie-Laure Truffot was a failure, and their two sons died in infancy. He contemplated suicide when his mother died in 1888, and he became a solitary wanderer, spending his days in lonely flats and hotel rooms. Five piano concertos reflected his characteristics as a composer: technical ease, fluency in performance, elegance, brilliance, and—it has to be said—lack of emotional depth. In his own words, he pursued “the chimera of purity of style and perfection of form,” while Berlioz said of him, “He knows everything, but lacks inexperience.” Saint-Saëns’s musical triumphs include masterpieces such as the opera Samson and Delilah, the “Organ Symphony,” several concertos, and the Carnival of the Animals, all of which are full of invention, gaiety, charm, and Gallic wit.

Danse macabre (“Dance of Death”)

The “Dance of Death” is a symphonic tone poem of epic proportions based on a poem of the same name by Henri Cazalis. Saint-Saëns’s work depicts Death playing the violin and dancing in a graveyard at midnight. The music incorporated the famous Gregorian chant “Dies irae,” which Stanley Kubrick used in the movie version of Steven King’s The Shining. This haunting theme has been used by Liszt and Berlioz to invoke the preparation of your inevitable death in Totentanz and the Symphonie fantastique. Artist Profile

DARYL SHAY is an educator, accompanist, and performer in the Flagstaff community. His experience in piano, trumpet, and guitar includes classical, jazz, pop, and rock & roll. With over twenty-five years of experience in the Flagstaff community, Shay has appeared in performances with Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, Flagstaff Musical Theatre, and NAU Theatre. He has taught music at Thomas Elementary School, Killip Elementary School, Mountain School, and Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy. Shay is currently a staff accompanist in the NAU School of Music, teaches in the NAU Community Music and Dance Academy and Curry Summer Music Camp at NAU, and plays piano at Black Bart’s Steakhouse.