WRITING STYLES AND PERFORMANCE GUIDELINES OF CARL VINE’S PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1
D.M.A DOCUMENT
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Jiyoung Park, M.M.
Graduate Program in Music *****
The Ohio State University 2012
Document Committee:
Dr. Caroline Hong, Advisor
Dr. Arved Ashby
Professor Joseph Duchi
Copyright by
Jiyoung Park
2012
ABSTRACT
There are several problems facing the pianist who wishes to study and/or perform Carl Vine’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Since the work is not widely known, it is difficult to perform with an orchestra, as was originally intended. There is just one recording of the work available, and the full orchestral score is located only in
Australia. The piano reduction lacks instrumentation indications, making performing with a second pianist difficult because of problems related to tone quality and balance between the two pianists. The soloist faces challenges including frequent tempo changes and multi-tiered textural sections that could not be found in earlier musical periods.
The main purpose of this document is to serve as a resource for better understanding Vine’s Piano Concerto No. 1. I studied the orchestral score and gained detailed knowledge of the piece and clues to the instrumentation in the piano reduction. I also studied Vine’s piano sonatas for further insight into his pianistic writing. Performance guidelines are offered at the conclusion, to aid in successful technical performance and execution of one’s interpretation.
The work has various complex rhythmic passages, a wide melodic range, chordal gestures, and sections which call for percussive sounds and various other tone colors. Though this piece can be difficult to perform and understand initially, it would be a great choice for the adventurous piano soloist who is given the opportunity ii to perform with a symphony orchestra, because one can showcase his/her technique and pianistic ability.
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Dedicated to my family
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Caroline
Hong, for always supporting and encouraging me in my performance and study at The
Ohio State University. I could get her advisement not only regarding school life, but also on my individual situation. As a professor with great experience and knowledge of life, she provides generous advice. Without her effort and assistance, I could not complete my doctoral degree program.
I want to express my deep appreciation to Dr. Arved Ashby for his kindness and assistance throughout the required recitals and general examination. I wish to say thanks to Professor Joseph Duchi for his encouragement and support for my document.
Finally, my parents and younger sister always believe in me and support me with love. I could never have studied abroad for a number of years without their devotion. I could get courage from them when I had a moment of weakness. They are my first treasure and I have a firm belief that we love each other the most in the world.
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VITA
May 7th, 1982…………………………………...... Born in Seoul, Korea
2005 ………………………………………………………….B.A., Piano Performance, Kyeong Won University Seoul, Korea
2008 ………………………………………………………….M.M., Piano Performance, Indiana University Bloomington, IN
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Music
Piano Performance ………………………………………….Dr. Caroline Hong
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………..ii
Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………….v
Vita……………………………………………………………………………………vi
Field of Study…………………………………………………………………………vi
Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………….vii
List of Tables………………………………………………………………………….x
List of Diagrams………………………………………………………………………xi
List of Figures……………………………………………………………………...... xii
Chapter
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………….1
2. Biographical background………………………………………………….4
3. Carl Vine’s Piano Concerto No. 1…………………………..……………..8 3.1 Brief Survey of Piano Concerto No. 1………………………………...8 3.2 Compositional Style…………………………………………………10 3.2.1 Texture…………………………………………………10 3.2.2 Melody………………...…………………………………10 3.2.3 Rhythm……………………………………………..……10 3.2.4 Harmony and Structure…………………………………..11 3.2.4.1 First Movement…………………………………..11 3.2.4.2 Second Movement……………………………….16 3.2.4.3 Third Movement…………………………………19
4. Writing Style of Piano Concerto No.1 Compared with His PianoSonatas…………………………………….………………….……22 4.1 Repeated Rhythmic Passages………………………………………..23 4.2 Accented Note……………………………………………………… 27
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4.3 Triple Rhythmic Motive……………………………………………..30 4.4 Tone Cluster………………………………………………………….33
5. Instrumentation of Piano Concerto No.1………………………………...35 5.1 First Movement……………………………………………..………37 5.2 Second Movement…………………………………………………...44 5.3 Third Movement………………………………………….…...……..48
6. Performance Guidelines……………………………………………….....54 6.1 Piano Concerto No.1………………………………………………...54 6.2 Solo Performance Guidelines………………………………………..55 6.2.1 Tempo Changes…………………………………………....55 6.2.1.1 First Movement…………………………………..55 6.2.1.2 Second Movement……………………………….57 6.2.1.3 Third Movement………………………………....58 6.2.2 Beat Counting and Timing………………………………...58 6.2.2.1 First Movement…………………………………..58 6.2.2.2 Second Movement……………………………….61 6.2.2.3 Third Movement…………………………………64 6.2.3 Voicing and Phrasing……………………………………...65 6.2.3.1 First Movement…………………………………..65 6.2.3.2 Second Movement………………………………..69 6.2.3.3 Third Movement………………………………….70 6.2.4 Fingering…………………………………………………..75 6.2.4.1 First Movement…………………………………..75 6.2.4.2 Second Movement………………………………..76 6.2.4.3 Third Movement………………………………….79 6.2.5 Pedaling……………………………………………………81 6.2.5.1 First Movement…………………………………..81 6.2.5.2 Second Movement………………………………..82 6.2.5.3 Third Movement………………………………….83 6.2.6 Divisi………………………………………………………83 6.2.6.1 Second Movement………………………………..83 6.2.6.2 Third Movement………………………………….84 6.2.7 Dynamics…………………………………………………..86 5.2.8.1 Second Movement……………………………….86 6.2.8 Tone Quality……………………………………………….87 5.2.9.1 Third Movement…………………………………87 6.2.9 Tone Cluster……………………………………………….88 5.2.10.1Third Movement………………………………...88 6.2.10 Practice for the Climax…………………………………….88 6.2.10.1 First Movement………………………………….88 6.2.11 Posture……………………………………………………..91 6.2.11.1 Third Movement………………………………..91 6.2.12 Memorization……………………………………………...92 6.2.12.1 First Movement…………………………………92
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6.3 Ensemble Performance Guidelines………………………………….93 6.3.1 Rhythmic Timing…………………………………………..93 6.3.1.1 First Movement…………………………………..94 6.3.1.2 Second Movement………………………………..97 6.3.1.3 Third Movement………………………………….98 6.3.2 Melody Alternation………………………………………100 6.3.2.1 First Movement…………………………………100 6.3.2.2 Second Movement………………………………103 6.3.2.3 Third Movement………………………………103
7 Conclusion………………………………………………………….………105
Bibliography………………………………………………………………...………107
Appendix A: Carl Vine’s Piano Works…………...…………………………………109
Appendix B: Front Page of Orchestral Score…….…………………………………112
Appendix C: First Page of Orchestral Score…...……………...……………………113
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LIST OF TABLES
Tables
Table 3.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, Overall Style……………………………..9
Table 3.2 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, First movement…………………………15
Table 3.3 Sub-Sections of the first movement……………………………………….15
Table 3.4 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, Second Movement ……………………18
Table 3.5 Sub-Sections of the second movement ……………………………………18
Table 3.6 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, Third Movement ……………………….20
Table 3.7 Sub-Sections of the third movement ……………………………………...20
Table 5.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, Instrumentation…………………………35
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LIST OF DIAGRAMS
Diagrams
Diagram 4.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov…………………………….28
Diagram 4.2 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 3, Presto, m. 281-292 ……………………29
Diagram 6.1 12 counts within one measure………………………………………….59
Diagram 6.2 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 9………………………..60
Diagram 6.3 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 124-127……………...…89
Diagram 6.4 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 9, rhythmic timing……..95
Diagram 6.5 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 227…………………….97
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figures
Figure 3.1 beginning of the Motive I in pitch center D, from measure 1………. …12
Figure 3.2 beginning of the Motive I in pitch center A, from measure 13…...………12
Figure 3.3 beginning of the Motive I in pitch center Ab, from measure 96 …………12
Figure 3.4 beginning of the Motive I in pitch center Bb, from measure 104……….. 12
Figure 3.5 beginning of the Motive II in pitch center G, from measure 58 ………..13
Figure 3.6 beginning of the Motive II in pitch center G, from measure 74 ………..13
Figure 3.7 beginning of the Motive III in pitch center G, from measure 112 ……14
Figure 3.8 beginning of the Motive III in pitch center E7, from measure 116 ……..14
Figure 4.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 326-329…………………..23
Figure 4.2 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 1, 1st mov., m. 105-119……………………..24
Figure 4.3 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 430-431…………………..25
Figure 4.4 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 434-435…………………..25
Figure 4.5 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 436-437…………………..26
Figure 4.6 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 1, 1st mov., m. 114-121……………………..26
Figure 4.7 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 405-407…………………..27
Figure 4.8 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 3, Presto, m. 281-292……………………….28
Figure 4.9 Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 124-126………………………..29
Figure 4.10 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 2, 2nd mov., m. 426-429…………………....30
Figure 4.11 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 318……………………30 xii
Figure 4.12 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 2, 1st mov., m. 19…………………………..31
Figure 4.13 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 307……………………...31
Figure 4.14 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 2, 1st mov., m. 9……………………………31
Figure 4.15 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 24-25……………………32
Figure 4.16 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 215-217………………...32
Figure 4.17 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 555-556…………………33
Figure 4.18 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 1, 1st mov., m. 104 and 160………………..34
Figure 5.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 32-39………. ………..…..39
Figure 5.2 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 74-77……………………..41
Figure 5.3 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 1-3 and m. 96-97………... 42
Figure 5.4 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 173-175………………….43
Figure 5.5 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 214-217…………………..45
Figure 5.6 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 219-222……………….46
Figure 5.7 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 236-237…………………..47
Figure 5.8 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 236-238…………………..47
Figure 5.9 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 306-310…………………..49
Figure 5.10 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 363…………………….50
Figure 5.11 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 364-365…………………51
Figure 5.12 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 425-429…………………52
Figure 5.13 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 425-428…………………52
Figure 6.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 40-41……………………..61
Figure 6.2 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 173-174…………………..62
Figure 6.3 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 181-182…………………..62
Figure 6.4 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 174 and 191…………...63
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Figure 6.5 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 261-262………………….64
Figure 6.6 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 307……………………….65
Figure 6.7 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 1-8………………………..66
Figure 6.8 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 104-107…………………..67
Figure 6.9 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 33-35……………………..68
Figure 6.10 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 254-255…………………69
Figure 6.11 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 326………………………70
Figure 6.12 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 348……………………...71
Figure 6.13 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 350-351…………………72
Figure 6.14 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 374-375…………………73
Figure 6.15 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 484-485…………………73
Figure 6.16 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 551-553…………………74
Figure 6.17 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 1-464……………………75
Figure 6.18 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 120-123…………………76
Figure 6.19 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 194……………………..77
Figure 6.20 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 178……………………...78
Figure 6.21 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 214……………………...78
Figure 6.22 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 257-260…………………79
Figure 6.23 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 393……………………...80
Figure 6.24 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 395……………………...80
Figure 6.25 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 397……………………...80
Figure 6.26 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 399……………………...81
Figure 6.27 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 13-15……………………82
Figure 6.28 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 264 and 267…………….84
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Figure 6.29 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 306……………………...85
Figure 6.30 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 401……………………...86
Figure 6.31 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 555-556…………………88
Figure 6.32 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 124………………………90
Figure 6.33 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 124-126…………………90
Figure 6.34 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 171………………………93
Figure 6.35 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 9…………………………94
Figure 6.36 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 33………………………..96
Figure 6.37 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 35………………………..96
Figure 6.38 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 375……………………..99
Figure 6.39 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 323-324……………….99
Figure 6.40 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 23-31…………………101
Figure 6.41 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 54-56…………………102
Figure 6.42 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 57-59…………………102
Figure 6.43 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 74-77…………………103
Figure 6.44 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 312-313………………104
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
A piano concerto is a piece written for piano soloist, with accompaniment by an orchestra. The overall form is very different today than it was originally. The harpsichord, and later the pianoforte, became the most popular instruments for solo concertos due to their ability to match an orchestra in range and textural complexity in the Classical period. The keyboard instruments were also capable of producing their own accompaniment. Composers could thereby have larger orchestras with winds and percussion, and could compose using virtuosic solo writing for balance between the orchestra and keyboard instrument.1 Woodwind instruments gained a new prominence in this period as well. For example, the opening thirteen measures of
Mozart’s Piano Concerto K. 450 were played with winds alone. The concerto begins with pairs of bassoons, oboes, and horns. This is the first instance of a concerto starting in this way. The concertos of Ludwig Van Beethoven
(1770-1827) represent important stages in the development of the form during the early Romantic period. His concertos were the model for much of what became characteristic of the Romantic era concerto.2 Beethoven linked the slow movement directly to the final movement and placed the second episode in a minor key in the
1 Roeder, A history of the concerto, 104. 2 Ibid, 178. 1
rondo.3 He wanted to develop new levels of virtuosity in the solo parts without diminishing the important role of the orchestra. He wished to cast the soloist as an heroic figure and demanded more of the orchestra. Consequently, the concerto became quite symphonic in nature.
The most significant difference between the Romantic and Classical period concertos can be seen in the cadenzas. The cadenza had originally existed to show the soloist’s ability to improvise. Composers in the Romantic period, however, increasingly wrote the cadenza to maintain control over the final product, and particularly to display a virtuosic element in the work. The old tension between orchestra and soloist was replaced by a brilliant solo part set against a generally subdued orchestra.4 The solo instrument has the roles of presenting both thematic material and virtuoso figuration. On the other hand, the orchestra provided accompaniment as well as presentation of thematic material.5
Toward the start of the twentieth century, the domination of the Germanic style decreased and a fascinating array of new approaches to composition evolved.
Composers tried a variety of stylistic approaches and aimed for compositions that focused on creating a wide range of tone colors and distinct forms. Many pianists may be reluctant to approach twentieth-century music because they are unfamiliar with the style. Joel Lester has asserted that “all tonal compositions share the basic language of harmonies and voice leading,”6 while one can face unfamiliar chords and harmonies in twentieth-century music. Since twentieth-century music often uses
3 Ibid, 196. 4 Ibid, 199. 5 Simon P, Keefe. The Cambridge companion to the concerto (Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 93. 6 Joel Lester,. Analytic Approaches to Twentieth-Century Music (New York and London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1989), 6. 2
non-tertiary and non-diatonic harmony and melody, it can be heard as a totally new sound, and in certain ways breaks away from earlier traditions in music. However, one can overcome fear towards twentieth-century compositions through listening to recordings repeatedly, and cultivating an interest in the music.
This document provides performer’s instruction to Carl Vine’s Piano
Concerto No. 1 (1997). The next chapter gives a brief biography of Carl Vine, and introduces his first piano concerto. Successive chapters look at the instrumentation of Piano Concerto No. 1, as well as the similar pianistic writing between the first piano concerto and his three piano sonatas. This document also suggests practice and performance guidelines for Piano Concerto No. 1 so that the piece can be mastered more easily and the best possible interpretation of this work can be presented.
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CHAPTER 2
BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND
Carl Vine (b.1954) was born in Perth, Australia. His musical education began at the age of five when he started to play the cornet. Although he was forced to stop playing after a near fatal accident caused him to fracture three vertebrae, he resumed lessons on the piano five years after a hiatus, at the age of eleven. In 1967, he began studying the pipe organ with Choral Director, Kathleen Wood as a student at the Guildford Grammar Secondary School in Perth. Soon he served as a pianist and organist for school church services, assemblies, and assorted performances.7
By the age of sixteen, he won the First Prize in the Australian Society for
Music Education Composer’s Competition with his first complete electronic work,
Unwritten Divertimento, in 1970.8 Although this was his first competition prize,
Carl Vine continued to garner prizes throughout young adulthood and later became one of the most widely performed and commissioned composers in Australia.
In 1972, Vine was a winner in the Open Instrumental Solo division of the
Perth Music Festival. In the same year, he enrolled at the University of Western
7 Carl Vine. March. 2012. http://carlvine.com. 8 Carl Vine. March. 2012. http://carlvine.com. 4
Australia in the Bachelor of Science degree course, majoring in Physics. However, it was not long before he transferred to the Bachelor of Music degree course, majoring in composition in 1974. There, at the University of Western Australia, he studied piano with Stephen Dornan and composition with John Exton. After participating in the inaugural Young Composer’s Training Scheme organized by the Australian
Council in 1975, he moved to Sydney to commence his professional career.
Once in Sydney, Vine worked as a freelance pianist and composer with a wide variety of ensembles, theatre, and dance companies. In the years between 1975 and
1978, Carl Vine was a collaborative accompanist and rehearsal pianist for the Sydney
Dance Company. Many of his works have a strong element of rhythm, possibly as a result of this position. His close connections with dance continued through his residency for the London Contemporary Dance Company where he served as a conductor, pianist and composer beginning in 1979. That same year, he co-founded
Flederman, a contemporary music performance ensemble. The ensemble averaged
30 concerts each year on the Australian eastern seaboard from 1980 to 1982, and presented many of Vine’s own works with trombonist Simon de Haan in Sydney. He remained as pianist, composer, conductor and director for the Flederman ensemble until 1989.9 Between 1980 and 1982, he held the position of lecturer in electronic music composition at the Queensland Conservatorium, and in 1983 he received the
Adams award for outstanding contribution to Music for Dance in Australia. In 1985, he began his post as resident composer at the New South Wales State Conservatorium.
From 1985 to 1987, Vine was invited for occasional conducting appearances with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. In 1989, he was a guest artist at EVOS
9 Hanna Cyba, “A Performer’s Guide to the Piano Sonatas by Carl Vine” (D.M.A.diss., University of Miami, 2002), 6 5
Music (Perth), Western Australia University, and the Western Australia Academy for the Performing Arts. Also that year, Vine was awarded the Sounds Australian
National Music Critics’ Award for Miniature IV as the best instrumental or ensemble work of 1989. He was awarded the John Bishop Commission to compose
Symphony No. 3 in 1991. In 1992, a CD of Vine’s chamber music was released, featuring the Piano Sonata performed by Michael Harvey. The Sydney Dance
Company commissioned the Piano Sonata with financial assistance from the
Performing Arts Unit of the Australia Council
Since November of 2000, Vine has also been the Artistic Director of Musica
Viva Australia, which is the largest entrepreneurial organization that promotes chamber music in the world. In 2006, he served as Artistic Director of the
Huntington Estate Music Festival, an annual chamber music festival in Australia, as part of his continuing duties as director of Musica Viva Australia.10 Vine was granted an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Western
Australia in 2010. He is a freelance composer living in Sydney at present.
Carl Vine’s works are among the most widely performed in Australia and now may be heard around the world. On February 18th, 2012, Vine was awarded the Sir
Bernard Heinze Memorial Award. The award, presented annually by the Melbourne
Conservatorium of Music and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Friends, is for outstanding contribution to music in Australia. It was presented to Carl Vine during a Sidney Myer Music Bowl concert of the Melbourne Symphony. From February
10th to March 3rd, the West Australian Ballet presented Ballet at the Quarry, a triple bill including two world premieres, at the Quarry Amphitheatre, City Beach in Perth.
10 Carl Vine. March. 2012. http://carlvine.com 6
Terence Kohler, who is a resident choreographer at the State Theatre in Munich, will return to Australia to create a major new work for the show using Vine’s Percussion
Symphony. Also in 2012, the Australian Chamber Orchestra will premiere a new work by Vine for soprano and strings titled “The Tree of Man”. The soloist is the
Australian-born soprano Danielle de Niese, and the work uses texts by Australian novelist Patrick White. The performances will take place across Australia from June
7th-25th, 2012.11 Vine’s Piano Solo “Toccatissimo” (2011) was commissioned by the
Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia for first performance in Stage III of the 2012 competition. It will not be available for general release until 11th July
2012, after the competition. His Piano Concerto No. 2 will premiere from 22 to 25
August, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Concert Hall of the Sydney
Opera House. The brilliant Australian expatriate Piers Lane will be the soloist, and the concerto will be conducted by Paris-born American Hugh Wolff. The London
Philharmonic Orchestra, which co-commissioned the second piano concerto, presents the Northern Hemisphere premiere at the Royal Festival Hall in London on the 17th of
October. The soloist is again Piers Lane, with conductor Vassily Sinaisky. Also, the 2012 concert season of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra includes a further performance of the second piano concerto, in a performance branded TSO MAX in
Hobart on 7 September, 2012. The performance will feature the TSO’s new chief conductor, Marko Letonja, with pianist Piers Lane and a large orchestra, specially augmented by members of the Australian Youth Orchestra.
11 Carl Vine. March. 2012. http://carlvine.com 7
CHAPTER 3
CARL VINE’S PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1
3.1 Brief Survey of Piano Concerto No. 1
Vine’s Piano Concerto No. 1 was composed in 1997 and is dedicated to
Michael Kieran Harvey. It was commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and published by Farber Music in 1997. The concerto was premiered by Harvey and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edo de Waart, and took place in the
Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House on July 23, 1997. Piano Concerto No. 1 has been recorded by the same ensemble, soloist and conductor, and was released on an ABC Classics compact disc. This recording appears on three compact discs, Carl
Vine-Choral Symphony, Eternity, and The Classic 100 Concerto. The concerto has three movements and its duration is approximately twenty-five minutes. Table 3.1 shows the overall compositional style of the concerto.
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Table 3.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, Overall Style
Melody 1.Lyrical Melodies
1. Themes on different pitch centers 2.VI-iv harmonic progression in minor Harmony key (2nd movement) 3.Harmonic sequence 1.Homophony; melody and accompaniment Texture 2.Thick textures; chordal passages
3.Thin textures; single note passages 4. Chordal, arpeggio and scale passages 1.Repetitive rhythmic figures 2.Triplet rhythms 3.Compound meter rhythms Rhythm/ Meter 4.Chordal passages use of hemiola 5.Duplet against triplet rhythms 6. 4/4, 2/4, 2/2, 6/4, 3/4 1.Themes in the 1st and 2nd movements are quoted in the 3rd movement Thematic growth process 2.Different pitch levels 3.Different pitch center 4.Different rhythmic/melodic motifs 1.Sudden changes Dynamics 2.Dynamic range; ’ppp’-‘fff’ 1.Frequent changes Tempo 2.Wide range of tempos 1.Arpeggiation 2.Triplet figuration Idiomatic writing 3.Octave passages 4.Fast sixteenth note passages 5.Large intervals
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3.2 Compositional Style 3.2.1 Texture
Piano Concerto No. 1 contains both thick textures with block chord passages and phrases in thin textures, some in single notes. The work is constructed from rhythmic or melodic motifs. Each movement can be divided into sections based on these motifs with tempo and/or meter changes. Vine unifies the piece by using similar motifs which reappear in other movements. He develops the motifs through extension, reduction, repetition throughout the concerto. Vine achieves variety by changing the time signature, tempo, and dynamics.
3.2.2 Melody
Arpeggio, scale, and chordal passages dominate in the first piano concerto.
Vine uses melodic sequence which is the repetition of a melodic phrase at different pitch levels with the succession of pitch levels rising or falling by the same or similar intervals.12 Melodies within a progression transpose exactly, retaining their precise interval content and thus likely effecting a change of key, especially in the second movement.
3.2.3 Rhythm/Meter
Repetitive rhythmic patterns and triplet rhythmic figures are characteristics of
Vine’s compositional style. Piano Concerto No. 1 has frequent meter changes and repetitive rhythmic figures, including duplet and triplet rhythms in each movement.
12 William W. Austin, John Vinton, and Eric Salzman, The New Harvard Dictionary of Music, ed. Don Michael Randel (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1999), 768.
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Repetitive rhythmic motifs that have different pitch centers are particularly used in the first movement. He often uses compound meter including triplets; thus, duple against triple rhythmic figures are the most commonly represented figure in the first piano concerto.
3.2.4 Harmony and Structure
3.2.4.1 First movement
Vine uses complex harmonic progressions with mixed chords in the first movement. He often uses parallel intervals of thirds, sixths, and octaves through not only single notes but also block chords. In the first movement, the analysis is based in part on larger sections demarcated by rhythmic motifs played by the piano and orchestra. A number of rhythmic motifs compose a theme and the themes each have different pitch centers.
Theme I:
Theme I consists mainly of longer note values such as half notes and quarter notes involving syncopations. The theme appears two times each in the piano and orchestra parts. At first, it appears with D as the pitch center from measure 1 in the piano part (Figure 3.1). It is taken up from measure 13 by the orchestra with A as the pitch center (Figure 3.2). The theme returns at measure 96 in the piano part with Ab as the pitch center (Figure 3.3), followed by the orchestra which takes up the theme centered at Bb from measure 104 (Figure 3.4).
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Figure 3.1 beginning of the Theme I in pitch center D, from measure 1
Figure 3.2 beginning of the Theme I in pitch center A, from measure 13
Figure 3.3 beginning of the Theme I in pitch center Ab, from measure 96
Figure 3.4 beginning of the Theme I in pitch center Bb, from measure 104
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Theme II;
Theme II is composed mainly of triplet rhythms that last for two beats. It first appears with a pitch center of G from measure 58 in the orchestra part (Figure 3.5) and returns with the same pitch center from measure 74 in the piano part (Figure 3.6).
Figure 3.5 beginning of the Theme II in pitch center G, from measure 58
Figure 3.6 beginning of the Theme II in pitch center G, from measure 74
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Theme III;
Theme III is composed of staccato sixteenth notes with irregularly placed accents. It is centered on G from measure 112 in the piano part, and then around E7 from measure 116 in the orchestra part.
Figure 3.7 beginning of the Theme III in pitch center G, from measure 112
Figure 3.8 beginning of the Theme III in pitch center E7, from measure 116
Thus:
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Table 3.2 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, First Movement
Section A B A’ C Coda
Measure m. 1-51 m. 52-91 m. 92-111 m. 112-135 m. 136-172 Number Theme Theme I Theme II Theme I Theme III Pitch D-A G-G Ab-Bb G-E7 D center
Table 3.3 Sub-Sections of the first movement Section Measure Texture m.1-12 Theme I in the piano part m.13-24 Theme I played in the orchestra part Section A ♩=104, triplet rhythm with sustained m. 25-32 melody in upper voice ♩=100, arpeggio passages between both m. 33-51 hands and ‘poco rallentando’ at the end Theme II played in the orchestra part, ♩ m. 52-73 =90, legatissimo and repeated sixteenth
notes Section B Theme II played in the piano part, quarter m. 74-85 note triplets m. 86-91 ♩=96, short note arpeggios Theme I played in the piano part, first Section A’ from measures 96 to 103, and then re- m. 92-111 played in the orchestra part from measures 104 to 111
(continued)
15
(Table 3.3 continued)
Theme III played in the piano part first from measures 112 to 116 and then re- m. 112-119 played in the orchestra part from measures 116, ♩=104, staccato sixteenth
Section C notes with accents ♩=108, legato sixteenth passages and the m. 120-123 same note with both hands ♩=112, octave with accents m. 124-135 tempo changes from♩=120 to 136, broken chords with big crescendo m. 136-145 ♩=144, legato sixteenth note passages Combination of legato and staccato Coda sixteenth notes and chords at the end, 3/4 m. 146-172 from measures 164 to 166, 2/4 in measure 167
3.2.4. 2 Second Movement
The measure numbers of the second movement are continued from the first movement; however, the second movement has a slower tempo than the first. The second movement is in C minor. A remarkable character of the movement is the contrast between the “flexible” rhythmic passages in the right hand and the sustained chordal passages in the left hand. Vine standardizes the melody in the right hand with the same rhythm; therefore, flexible melodies in the right hand can be heard as
‘free rubato’.
In the second movement, the bass pattern can be thought of as one melodic 16
theme and one reduced melodic theme. The first theme is made up of ten notes and repeats three times. The harmonic sequence follows a VI-iv progression with the first theme in the minor key.
Theme I:
Note C Ab F C F Db Bb Gb Eb F Harmonic I VI Iv I Iv VI iv VI iv V progression /Cm /Fm /Bbm
The reduced theme (Theme II) is composed of six notes and it appears after the first theme.
Theme II:
Note C Gb Eb Cb Fb Ab
Thus:
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Table 3.4 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, Second Movement
Section A B Solo A
Measure m. 173-214 m. 215-244 m. 245-277 m. 278-303 number Theme Theme I&II Theme I&II
Pitch center C B-Bb C
Table 3.5 Sub-Sections of the second movement Section Measure Texture
m. 173-189 Theme I Section A m.190-206 Theme I
m.207-214 Theme II Minor triad, 2/2, ♩=84, triplet m.215-222 with sustained upper voice Decrescendo from ‘ff’ to ‘p’, meter changes (5/4 in measure m.223-234 Section B 232, 2/2 from measures 233 to 235) ♩=72, frequent metric m.235-244 modulations from 4/4 to 5/4, 4/4, 3/4, and returning to 4/4
Solo m.245-277 Solo, sustained with pedal
Section A m.278-294 Theme I
m.295-303 Theme II
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3.2.4.3 Third Movement
Measure numbers are again continued in the third movement. The third movement includes motifs from the first and second movements. Arpeggios and chordal passages are found in the first movement. Scale passages and contrasting textures with long and short note values between the soloist and orchestra are found in the second movement.
The third movement is the longest of the three movements. Vine uses motifs which are included in the former two movements and builds the motives toward the climax. As the movement progresses, he develops and expands those motifs.
Finally, he uses all his expressive ability in the climactic section, which uses a wide range of the keyboard with the harmonic sequence. The third movement structure is divided by texture into sections separated by double bars.
Table 3.6 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, Third Movement
Bridge Bridge Section A B Solo B C Coda I II
Measure m.304 m.326 m.360 m.384 m.408 m.442 m.468 m.492
Number -325 -359 -383 -407 -441 -467 -491 -556
Pitch G F-C-G Bb-Gb E F-C-G D F# G-C Center
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Table 3.7 Sub-Sections of the third movement Section Measure Texture ♩=84, short note arpeggio Section A m.304-325 passages in the upper voice, ending in ‘rallentando’ ♩=128, sixteenth notes with m.326-343 Section B accents octaves in quarter note m.344-359 triplets and sixteenths faster harmonic rhythm and Bridge I m.360-383 quarter note triplet octaves and arpeggios solo, tempo modulation from ♩=80 to 116. chord Solo and arpeggio passages with m.384-407 both hands, scale passages in the left hand, ending in ‘molto rallentando’ ♩=128, return to the material m.408-425 Section B from measures 326 to 343 return to the material from m.426-441 measures 344 to 359 m.442-451 half and quarter note chord Bridge II m.452-467 octave and single note ending in ‘poco rallentando’ ♩=108, triplets with
Section C sustained bass and upper m.468-475 voice (continued)
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(Table 3.7 continued) triplets with quarter note m.476-483 ending
triplets with sustained top m.484-491 voice m.492-499 chord alternation fast arpeggio passages with m.500-507 sustained upper voice single arpeggios and octave m.508-518 alternation single notes alternation with m.519-530 accents and beginning Coda octave alternation
octave alternation in high m.531-546 range of keyboard chords and tempo change to ♩=72 in measure 549, driven m.547-556 alternated chords and forearm cluster in measure 555
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CHAPTER 4
WRITING STYLE OF VINE’S PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1
COMPARED WITH HIS PIANO SONATAS
Carl Vine composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1997, and wrote his three piano sonatas in 1990, 1997, and 2007, respectively. His piano concerto and sonatas are easier to listen to and comprehensible than other twentieth-century music because
Vine uses repeated passages with scales and arpeggios, presents the melody line among the many continuous notes by an accent or longer note value. Also, he uses the same or similar motives such as triplet rhythms, and develops these motives throughout the work.
This chapter focuses on Vine’s pianistic writing in his first piano concerto and the similar pianistic writing found in his three piano sonatas. Several common characteristics of the compositional style of his piano concerto and piano sonatas will be discussed. These characteristics will help performers to comprehend his music more easily.
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4.1 Repeated Rhythmic Passages
Repeated rhythmic patterns are one characteristic of Vine’s compositional style. He uses repeated rhythmic patterns not only in his first concerto, but also in his three piano sonatas. Through these repetitions, performers and audiences can understand his music rather easily. Repeated rhythms can be more easily noticed than melody and harmony, therefore rhythmic repetition is very effective for showing the characteristic of the music. These passages sometimes have the exact same melody and harmony, while at other times they undergo melodic and harmonic transformation. In the case of passages which have identical melody and harmony,
Vine wants to express a ‘percussive sound’ through the piano. This can produce a dramatic effect leading toward a climax.
In the third movement of the concerto, the repeated rhythmic passages having identical melody and harmony are present from measure 326 (Figure 4.1). With those same rhythms and harmonies as an accompaniment, Vine wants to hear the melody come out clearly in the orchestra.
Figure 4.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 326-329
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Like the piano concerto, the first movement of Piano Sonata No. 1 has repeated rhythmic passages which use melody and harmony from earlier in the work.
In figure 4.2, the brackets show the exact same pattern through four measures that are repeated twice throughout eight measures (mm. 105-112). Next, two passages are each repeated once from measures 113 to 116 and measures 117 and 120. Figure 4.2 shows this repeated pattern in the first sonata.
1-1
1-2
2-1
2-2 3-1
3-2
Figure 4.2 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 1, 1st mov., m. 105-119 24
(repeated rhythmic pattern with same melody and harmony)
One can also find repeated rhythmic patterns that have melodic and harmonic transformation. In the third movement of Piano Concerto No. 1, the rhythmic shape can be thought of as a ‘3+3+3+3+2+2 pattern’ within one measure, beginning in measure 430. This rhythmic shape goes through transformation, first appearing with the combination of a single sixteenth note and sixteenth rest from measure 430.
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2
Figure 4.3 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 430-431
In measure 433, the idea develops into octaves for both hands.
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2
Figure 4.4 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 434-435
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From measure 436, the figure loses its rest and includes an octave, single tone, and chord, thus the texture becomes more complex producing a richer sound.
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2
Figure 4.5 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No.1, 3rd mov., m. 436-437
The same 3+3+3+3+2+2 rhythmic pattern can be found in the first movement of his first piano sonata. While the pattern lasts one measure in the concerto, Vine uses this figure over two measures in the sonata. Figure 4.6 below shows the passage from the sonata:
3 + 3 + 3
+ 3 + 2 + 2 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2
Figure 4.6 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 1, 1st mov., m. 114-121
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4.2 Accented Notes
Vine uses complex rhythms throughout his piano works. However, the reason why his music is comprehensible than other twentieth-century music is that he extracts the melody by use of accents among numerous repeated notes. By including an accent, the texture can be separated distinctly between melody and accompaniment within the contrapuntal structure. In continuous single note passages where one may have trouble finding the main melody, Vine shows the melodic content by placing accents on individual tones.
In the third movement of the concerto, single note passages appear over four octaves with the melody note indicated by an accent (Figure 4.7).
Figure 4.7 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 405-407
Thus, the melody can be extracted as below:
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Diagram 4.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov.,
The Presto movement of the 3rd piano sonata contains short note figuration for both hands; the left hand has the bass continuously, and the right hand has the same repeated pitches. It would be difficult to find the main melody if the composer had not indicated accents. One has to voice out the melody and follow the direction according to pitch placement. Figure 4.8 shows the linear progression with an accented main melody. Diagram 5.2 shows the melody extracted.
Figure 4.8 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 3, Presto, m. 281-292
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Diagram 4.2 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 3, Presto, m. 281-292
In the first movement of Vine’s Piano Concerto No. 1, complex rhythmic passages which contain eighth and sixteenth notes, as well as sixteenth rests, appear from measure 124. One can gain an understanding of the rhythm by way of analyzing the accents (Figure 4.9).
1 3 2 1 4 2 1 4 1 3 2 1 1 3 2 1 4 2
Figure 4.9 Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 124-126
Accents are used to clarify irregular rhythmic patterns in the 2nd piano sonata as well.
In the second movement, the left hand has steady sixteenth notes, meanwhile, the right hand has chords in irregular sixteenth note configurations in 4/4 meter, from measure 426. Vine makes this passage easier to understand by placing accents on each of the numbered notes of the left hand. Therefore, one has a steady reference
29
point, even though the right hand has irregular rhythms (Figure 4.10).
2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3
1 4 3 2 1 4
Figure 4.10 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 2, 2nd mov., m. 426-429
4.3 Triplet Rhythmic Motive
Vine uses triplet rhythms in various ways throughout his piano compositions.
He uses triplet rhythms ranging from eighths to half notes, in both single note and chordal passages. Vine uses the same triplet motives in both his Piano Concerto
No.1 and Piano Sonata No. 2, both composed in 1997.
First, I will examine the triplet rhythm with chords. Figures 4.11 and 4.12 illustrate the common rhythmic figure of the triplet motive in both works.
Figure 4.11 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 318
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Figure 4.12 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 2, 1st mov., m. 19
Vine also applies the triplet rhythm in arpeggio passages with the same pattern. In
4/4 meter, one quarter note triplet group followed by two quarter notes are used as the top voice, and arpeggio passages fill in between the top voices in both the first piano concerto and the second piano sonata.
Figure 4.13 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 307
Figure 4.14 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 2, 1st mov., m. 9
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Vine also applies the triple rhythm to help delineate melodic lines. Among the three notes in each triplet grouping, he designates the melody line by using notes with longer values. Triplet rhythmic figures in which the top note is held longer are used from measure 24 in the first movement of the piano concerto. Also, one can find the same figure in the second movement. Figures 5.15 and 5.16 show the same rhythmic repetition in both movements.
Figure 4.15 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 24-25
Figure 4.16 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 215-217
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4.4 Tone Cluster
Doris Harrel states that “the cluster is probably one of the most universally- used non-traditional devices in piano music today.”13 Vine demonstrates this non- traditional device well, including clusters in both hands. The forearm cluster was pioneered by Henry Cowell (1897-1965) in his own composition, The Tides of
Manaunaum, in 1912.14 Vine uses the forearm cluster in both his first piano sonata
(1990) and first piano concerto (1997).
At the end of the third movement of the concerto, Vine uses the forearm cluster for a dramatic close. The right hand has 11 notes and the left hand has 10 notes at the same time, obviously impossible for one person to individually finger.
Vine notes ‘black note, fore-arm cluster’ and indicates the black keys from Bb to Bb through two octaves in the right hand and from Db to Gb over one octave in the left hand. The left hand cluster sound is not exact because he adds only 8 flats among 10 notes; however, he wants a big motion to show that this section is going to end with this cluster.
Figure 4.17 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 555-556
13 Doris Leland Harrel, “New Techniques in Twentieth-Century Solo Piano Music-An Expansion of Pianistic Resources from Cowell to the Present” (D.M.A.diss., The University of Texas Austin, 1976),3.
14 Harrel. p.2. 33
Prior to composing the first concerto, Vine used the forearm cluster in his Piano
Sonata No.1 at measures 104 and 160. The two measures are exactly the same and the forearm cluster appears after a glissando. The glissando uses only white keys through five octaves and is followed by the forearm cluster using only black keys.
Vine wants to use the full range of the keyboard through tone clusters and this is part of his voicing.
Figure 4.18 Carl Vine Piano Sonata No. 1, 1st mov., m. 104
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CHAPTER 5
INSTRUMENTATION OF PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1
Carl Vine’s Piano Concerto No. 1 was commissioned by the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra and dedicated to Michael Kieran Harvey. It was first performed on July 23rd, 1997 by Michael Kieran Harvey and the Sydney Symphony
Orchestra, conducted by Edo de Waart at the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House.
The orchestration of the concerto includes woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion instruments. Table 4.1 shows in detail the instrumentation of Vine’s first piano concerto.
Table 5.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, Instrumentation
Woodwind Instruments Piccolo Flute doubling Piccolo Oboe Oboe doubling Cor Anglais Clarinet in Bb Bass Clarinet doubling Clarinet in Bb Bassoon Contra Bassoon Brass Instruments 4 Horns in F 2 Trumpets in C 2 Tenor Trombones Tuba Timpani
(continued)
35
(Table 5.1 continued) Percussion 1 Tamtam, Glockenspiel, 2 Bongos, Crash Cymbals, Bass Drum Percussion 2 3 Low Tomtoms, Bass Drum, Crash Cymbals, Xylophone Harp Strings Violin I Violin II Viola Violincello Double Bass
It is traditional to reduce the orchestral score to facilitate performing the piece with two pianos: one soloist, and one accompanist representing the orchestra. It is impossible for one pianist to perform all the notes played by the orchestral instruments, therefore, Vine arranged the orchestral score according to harmony and melody. Vine combined different orchestral instruments’ single notes into one chord on the piano for harmony. When he arranged for a specific instrument to play a melodic line in the orchestra score, he sometimes specifies which instrument is used in the piano reduction, however, the indications are scarce. It is important to study the orchestra score because this allows both pianists to find the appropriate tone color.
Vine does give dynamic markings to help with the balance between the soloist and the second pianist. Usually, the part which performs the melody has a louder dynamic level than the other parts. However, in sections where dynamic markings are absent, the second pianist might confuse the balance and compete with the soloist. This chapter will discuss how Vine reduced the orchestra score, and which instruments of the orchestra are designated on the piano reduction for the second pianist. The second pianist playing the reduction should find balance with the soloist and emulate the appropriate tone color of each specific orchestral instrument. (The measure
36
numbering is continued throughout the three movements).
5.1 First Movement
Vine begins the first movement with all types of orchestral instruments including woodwinds, brass, percussion, harp, and strings. However, as the piece progresses, the woodwind and string instruments are used regularly while the brass and percussion instruments are used irregularly. In particular, no percussion instruments are used between measures 21 and 91 and from measures 112 to 135.
Vine compresses different instruments’ notes into one chord on the piano if they are a part of the same harmony. Vine also compiles several different melodic lines into one in the piano reduction. Even though he compresses various instruments’ melody on the piano reduction, he still desires the individual sounds of string, brass, and woodwind instruments represented through the piano.
In Section A, one can find the melody which is played by different kind of instruments in the orchestral score. At first, from measures 33 to 34, a brass instrument, the horn, has the melody. Secondly, from measures 35 to 36, the melody is carried by woodwind instruments, the piccolo and clarinet. Lastly, the melody is designated by a string instrument, the violin, from measures 37 to 38. Each time, string instruments fill in the bass. In this section, the orchestral score has the answer to why the dynamic level of the piano solo changes. When the horn has the melody at a ‘mf’ dynamic level, the piano soloist also plays at ‘mf’’. However, the level of the piano soloist changes from ‘mf’ to ‘mp’ when the melody is played by the woodwind and string instruments from measure 35. The orchestral instruments that play the melody have ‘mf,’ however, the piano soloist has less sound since the melody
37
has to be more prominent than the piano part. Figure 5.1 shows which instrument’s melody is represented in the piano reduction and the dynamics.
Horn
String
Horn
Piccolo, Clarinet
(continued)
38
(Figure 5.1 continued)
Violin I and II
Violin I and II
Figure 5.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 32-39,
(for dynamic range and used instruments in the piano reduction)
In section B, one can also find the melody played by different groups of instruments in the orchestral score. When the melody is played by an orchestral instrument from measure 52, the order of instruments is: violin from measure 54,
39
oboe from measure 58, piccolo and trumpet from measure 66, and bassoon from measure 70. While the orchestra plays the melody, the piano soloist plays the same repeated pattern of sixteenth notes as an accompaniment. However, from measure
74, the piano soloist gets the melody and the percussion instruments are not used until the beginning of the movement returns. It becomes evident that orchestral instruments are omitted from the piano reduction. In the orchestral score, when the piano soloist gets the melody, the percussion instruments, which are the glockenspiel, xylophone and also harp have short notes. The harp gets the pattern of sixteenth notes previously played by the piano soloist from measure 52. However, those instruments are omitted in the piano reduction. The piano reduction has only the chords which are played by the woodwind and string instruments. Figure 5.2 shows the percussion instruments and harp which are omitted in the piano reduction when the piano soloist gets the melody from measure 74.
Cl B.Cl Bsn
Glockenspiel Xylophone
Piano Solo
Harp
Vlc
D.B (continued)
40
(Figure 5.2 continued)
Figure 5.2 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 74-77, piano reduction
(orchestral and piano reduction scores for omitted instruments)
When section A’ begins in measure 92, the instrumentation is different compared with the former A section. The instrumentation of the A section is composed of chords, however, continuous sixteenth notes are heard in the A’ section through section C and the Coda when the piano soloist and orchestra play together. The sixteenth notes are sometimes alternated between the piano and orchestra, and sometimes played together with both the piano and orchestra until measure 165. The brass and percussion instruments, including horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, timpani and bass drum make strong ‘ff’ accents four measures from measure 92. The woodwind and string instruments enter next at measure 95. At this time, from measure 95, the violin and viola perform the sixteenth notes without break until measure 111. However, the woodwind instruments alternate sixteenth notes each beat between one group of piccolo and flute, and another group comprised of oboe and clarinet. Only the brass, percussion, remaining woodwinds such as bass clarinet, bassoon, and contrabassoon and the remaining string instruments such as violoncello and double bass play eighth notes with accents. Figure 5.3 shows the different instrumentation
41
between A and A’ sections.
Picc Fl Ob1 Ob2 Cl B.Cl Bsn C.Bsn Hn Hn Tpt Tbn Tba
Timp Perc2 PF
Vln 1 Vin 2 Vla Vlc D.B
st
Figure 5.3 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1 mov., m. 1-3 and m. 96-97
(different instrumentation between A and A’ sections)
From the C section, starting at measure 112, the piano solo consists of staccato sixteenth notes. After these continuous sixteenth notes create tension, beginning in measure 92, single notes turn to chords right before the end (m. 165).
The chords alternate between the soloist and orchestra and the movement finishes at a
42
‘fff’’ dynamic level.
5.2 Second Movement
The instrumentation of the second movement is not complicated compared with the first and third movements. The melody is presented almost entirely by the piano soloist while the orchestra serves as accompaniment. Therefore, it is very clear how the balance between the soloist and the orchestra should be.
Through sections A and B, from the beginning to measure 214, the instrumentation is composed of only the harp and string instruments and the brass and woodwind instruments are added starting from measure 215 when the bridge begins.
From the beginning, the piano reduction has three staves; the first stave represents the harp and the second and third staves designate the string instruments, which include the violin, viola, violincello, and double bass (Figure 5.4)
Figure 5.4 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 173-175
43
(instrumentation of three staves in piano reduction)
The percussion instruments are not used during the whole movement and among brass instruments, the horn is used for a few measures while the trumpet is used for only one measure (m.225). The brass and woodwind instruments are present at the bridge section, from measures 215 to 244. In this section, there are not any dynamic indications. The second pianist might decide that the chords should have a bigger sound than the soloist, because the solo part has ‘mf’ in the upper voice and ‘mp’ for the other notes. However, one has to find an appropriate dynamic level for balance from the orchestral score. These chords are played by the brass and woodwind instruments, which usually have a bigger sound than the string instruments.
However, here they have ‘pp’ and ‘p’ dynamic markings. Therefore, the second pianist has to be careful to have less sound than the soloist. Figure 5.5 shows the two-piano and the orchestral score for those measures.
(continued) 44
(Figure 5.5 continued)
Figure 5.5 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 214-217
(omitted dynamic in the piano reduction for balance between two pianists)
In the orchestral score, the woodwind and brass instruments are present in
Section B from measure 215. At first, the horns plays four measures from measure
215, and the clarinet, bass clarinet, and bassoon are added for the next four measures.
When the strings have the melody, the flute, oboe, and contrabass are finally added from measure 223. From measures 215 to 218, the chords of the piano reduction are formed by the horn and string parts. The first beat of each measure is represented by the strings and then four horns fill in the remaining notes of measure. However, woodwind instruments including the clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, and contrabassoon make up the harmony from measure 219. Figure 5.6 shows how the
45
woodwind instruments are reduced into one chord for piano.
Figure 5.6 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 219-222
(several instrumentations reduced into one chord)
The sound of the woodwind instruments disappears suddenly, and only string instruments within the orchestra are played from measure 236. Five groups of string instruments each play one note of the same chord. Therefore, all the notes of the five string instrument groups are compressed into one chord in the piano reduction until measure 244, prior to the cadenza. The piano soloist has a dynamic level of ‘p’ from measure 236, and the second pianist does not have any dynamic indication in the low register of the keyboard. When considering the balance, one may decide that the chord should be played more quietly than the soloist, but it is unclear. In the orchestral score, the performer can find that the chords have a dynamic marking of
‘pp’, indicating that they should be quieter than the soloist.
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Figure 5.7 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 236-237, two piano score
Figure 5.8 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 236-238, orchestral score
(finding dynamic marking through orchestral score for balance between two pianists)
After the cadenza, from measure 278, the B section returns. The same instrumentation used during the former B section is represented again. Only the harp and string instruments are used in the orchestration at the end of the movement.
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4.3 Third Movement
At the beginning of the third movement, the brass alternating with woodwinds play short notes with a bigger sound than the other instruments, while the strings form the chords and bass in the orchestra. Thus, the brass and woodwind instruments stand out more clearly than the string instruments in this movement.
For example, while the string instrument parts form chords from the beginning, the horn plays C-Bb-A at measure 306, while the trumpet and flute play E-
F-F#-A# and B-F# respectively at measures 307 and 308, with ‘mf’’ marked in the orchestra score. The clarinet and bassoon play at measure 310. Figure 5.9 shows which instruments are used in the piano reduction for the beginning of the third movement.
‘mp’
‘mf’
‘mp’ ‘mf’
‘mf’
‘p’
(continued)
48
(Figure 5.9 continued)
Figure 5.9 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 304-310, two piano score
(finding instrumentation for tone color and dynamic for balance between two pianists)
The brass instruments have a significant role in the third movement as they play while the soloist rests. In section B, from measures 332 to 340 and from measures 414 to 422, the string instruments play the role of accompaniment under the soloist. Subsequently, the trumpet plays as the solo instrument among measures where the soloist is tacet. Meanwhile, the brass instruments produce big sounds such as ‘fff’, which disappear suddenly at measure 360 when the bridge begins.
Only the woodwind and string instruments are played within the orchestra, and the orchestra sound drops to a ‘p’ or ‘mp’ level. Among those instruments, the melody is divided into two groups of instrumentation each measure. Performers should notice that different instruments play for even only one measure and attempt to recognize the character of each instrument. In the four measures between 359 and
363, the woodwind instruments, piccolo and flute, play the melody for three and one beats respectively, within one measure (Figure 5.10). However, from measure 364, the string and woodwind instruments play two beats each. The first two beats are played by the violin and viola and the last two beats are played by the clarinet, bass clarinet, and bassoon (Figure 5.11). This instrumentation lasts until measure 383, before the cadenza. At the end of the cadenza, the dynamic level becomes ‘fff’
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through a crescendo at measure 408 where the brass, timpani, and cymbals are added.
Figure 5.10 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m.363
(divided melody according to tone color with woodwind instruments)
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Figure 5.11 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m.364-365
(divided melody according to instrumentation with strings and woodwinds)
From measure 426, the second pianist might want to make a percussive sound because the piano reduction has staccato eighth note chords. Additionally, the left hand has accents on the chords. The piano soloist also has chords but with ‘tenuto’ markings. Therefore, they may compete with each other to be heard. The piano soloist has a ‘ff’ dynamic level which is continued from the former section. In the orchestral score, one can find a marking of ‘mp’ for those chords. Even though the woodwind instruments have ‘mf’’, Vine omitted those notes in the piano reduction.
As a result, the second pianist has less sound than the soloist to achieve the correct balance.
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Figure 5.12 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 425-429
mp
Figure 5.13 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m.425-428 orchestral score
The dynamic level drops to ‘p’ through a ‘diminuendo’ at measure 451. When the piano has a triplet accompaniment figure in section C, the flute, oboe, and horn play the melody from measure 468, and only the strings, part of the woodwinds, and brass instruments are used as an accompaniment at the dynamic level ‘p’. Thus, the sounds are very lyrical and songful. However, as the music progresses to the end, the timpani (m. 518), tamtam and bass drum (m. 534), and cymbals (m. 546) are added again, producing their unique percussive sounds. All the instruments which
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Vine uses at the beginning of the movement, including the harp, return in the last three measures of the final movement and the piece ends at a ‘ff’ dynamic level.
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CHAPTER 6
PERFORMANCE GUIDELINES
6.1 Piano Concerto No. 1
Composed in 1997, Carl Vine’s Piano Concerto No. 1 features many characteristics. These include frequent tempo changes, fast virtuosic passages, octave leaps that cover the full range of the keyboard, and multi-tiered textural sections.
The biggest challenge in playing this piano concerto is the frequent occurrence of tempo changes. Even though Vine indicates a tempo marking each time, it is difficult to set each time because the soloist must have the same tempo as the orchestra. Therefore, the soloist should be as accurate as possible with the tempo and give clear direction to the orchestra. According to Hyekyung Yoon’s interview with Carl Vine, he suggests that performers should follow his indications to performers.
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15
15
One should also consider the complex rhythmic passages related to counting within the beat and timing throughout the concerto. For example, there are odd rhythmic groupings from three to ten within one beat, i.e. triplets to 10-tuplets. Also, one measure has groupings of different numbers in each beat. In this case, one has to decide which notes should be played together and which notes have to enter between other notes.
One can be faced with voicing and phrasing problems because Vine’s Piano
Concerto No. 1 has complex rhythmic passages as mentioned above. One has to find which notes make the melodic line, focusing on those and considering the other notes as accompaniment or resonance.
In addition, Vine does not indicate any fingering in this piece. One has to try various ways to determine the most appropriate fingerings to fit the scalar or chordal passages, since the hand shape and length of fingers will differ for each performer.
15 Carl Vine, interview by Hyekyung Yoon, “An Introduction of Carl Vine’s three piano sonatas with emphasis on performance and practice suggestions for Sonata No. 2” (D.M.A. diss., The Ohio State University, 2003), 92. 55
Also, as a concerto piece is played with a solo performer and orchestra which has different kinds of instruments, the soloist and orchestral musicians need to follow accurate rhythmic timing and the melodic line between players.
This chapter will help performers by giving performance guidelines, and is divided into the solo part and the ensemble part, which has several categories in order to make practice or performance easier. (The measure numbering is continued throughout the three movements though those movements are not connected.)
6.2 Solo Performance Guidelines
6.2.1 Tempo Changes
6.2.1.1 First Movement
Even though the first movement is in 4/4 meter throughout, the tempo changes thirteen times. Seymour Bernstein mentioned that ensemble playing, including the performance of a concerto, calls for a tempo mutually agreed upon by the conductor.
This means they should follow the metronome markings strictly. Thus, a specific tempo can actually be memorized. He suggested the following method:
1. Go to the piano and find your own metronome number of a piece you are
studying, write it down at the beginning of the piece.
2. On the following day, play the piece without the metronome and try to
remember the tempo of the previous day. Check yourself with the
metronome when you have finished playing to see if your tempo has matched
it. If it hasn’t, keep trying. With patience you will eventually come close
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to remembering your tempo. After you have mastered this discipline, you
then have the right to change your mind.16
The first movement starts with quarter note=112 from the beginning to measure 24, and changes to ♩=104 at measure 25 and ♩=100 at measure 33 through two ‘poco rallentando’. The tempo quarter note=112 slows down through ‘poco rallentanto’ and then stays at quarter note=90 until measure 85. From measure 86, the tempo gets faster, starting with quarter note=96 and increasing to 104, 108, 112,
120, 128, 132, 136, and finally, quarter note=144 at measure 136. This tempo, quarter note=144 which starts at measure 136, stays to the end. To practice these frequent tempo changes, one must use a metronome from the beginning of practice and get used to the right tempo.
6.2.1.2 Second Movement
The second movement is written primarily in 2/2 meter, though it changes to
3/2, 4/4, and 6/4. It starts at quarter note=80 until the ‘poco rallentando’ in measure
184. With the ‘poco rallentando,’ the tempo slows from quarter note=72 to 66, while the melody notes in the right hand descend. The tempo then returns to quarter note=80 with a crescendo and an ascending scale until measure 214. When the
‘poco rallentando’ occurs, one should find the appropriate timing when the tempo changes from quarter note=72 to 66, since this part must also be in time with the orchestra.
16 Seymour Bernstein, With your own two hands: self-discovery through music (New York: Schirmer Books, 1981), 82. 57
The passage from measure 215 is similar to measure 24 of the first movement in terms of the triplet in which the top notes become the melody. The tempo of this passage is slightly faster than the beginning; the quarter note equals 84 beats per minute. Before the cadenza, the tempo slows to quarter note=72 then picks up again to quarter note =100. Vine designates both quarter note=60 and ‘freely’ at the same time in measure 250. This means he wants the section to be played both with a free feeling, but also with the quarter note pulse close to 60 beats per minute. This is possible because it includes the cadenza which the soloist performs without the orchestra.
Vine indicates ‘come prima’ in measure 278 after the cadenza, which is actually the exact same passage that occurs at measure 190. Thus, the tempo starts at quarter note=80, slows down gradually from measure 269 to the quarter note=72, then 66, and finishes at quarter note=60.
6.2.1.3 Third Movement
The third movement starts in 2/4 meter, however, it also contains 4/4, 3/4, 7/8, and 6/4 time signatures. At the beginning of the movement, no one meter lasts for more than three measures. The time signature shifts from 2/4 in measures 304-306 to 4/4 in measures 307-309, and then to 3/4 in measures 310-311. However, at measure 312, 4/4 meter takes over for the majority of the rest of the movement with the exception of some measures of 7/8 and 6/4.
This movement starts with the quarter note at 84bpm, however, the first change occurs in measure 326, going from quarter note=84 to quarter note=128. The tempo, quarter note=128, suddenly falls down to quarter note=80 at measure 384, and then changes to quarter note=108 at measure 389. As this indicates, the tempo 58
changes are more dramatic in the third movement than in the first and second movements. Even though it has large leaps, it is not hard to set the tempo since the performer can set these tempos alone, without the orchestra.
6.2.2 Beat Counting and Timing
6.2.2.1 First Movement
Usually one considers a quarter note as one beat in a 4/4 meter. For the opening measures of the piece this is natural, however, it proves more difficult as the movement progresses. One may run into problems in measures 9 and 10 because the right hand has triplets through four beats and the left hand has both triplets in two beats and one half note in one measure. Triplet rhythm groups are one of the characteristics of Vine’s writing. He uses triplet rhythms and combinations of triple and duple rhythms between the soloist and orchestra frequently and freely over the measure or the beat, throughout the whole piece. One should decide how best to subdivide. Also, one should analyze the exact timing when both the triple and duple rhythms are together.
To figure this out in measures 9 and 10, one can divide the four beats of one measure into 12 counts starting from 0 on the down beat to the next 0 on the next down beat.
Diagram 6.1, 12 counts within one measure
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One beat has 3 small counts among 12 counts in the measure, and each of the half note triplets has 4 counts. For the F clef, the third beat which is tied to the former note is located in the 6th count among 12 counts. The triplet which is composed of one quarter rest and one half note has a ratio of 1:2. The third beat is located in the 6th count, 1:2 ratio should be calculated in the 6 counts. Thus, the quarter rest has 2 counts and the half note has 4 counts. As a result, the half note in the triplet in the F clef is located in the middle of the fist and the second chord in the
G clef. Diagram 6.2 shows the example of the subdivision beat and timing between both hands.
Diagram 6.2 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 9 (note subdivision for beat counting)
The half note becomes the basic beat when two triplet rhythmic groups are in one measure. From measures 40 to 41, measure 40 has two quarter notes and one half note. The quarter note can become the basic beat, as in counting “1, 2, 3, and 4”.
However, it can become confusing for the performer at measure 41 because that measure has two triplets. In this case, one can count two half notes, at the first and third beats in 4/4 meter, while the second and the fourth beats are treated as
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subdivided beats, i.e. 1, (2), 3, and (4). Thus, the second and the fourth beats in measure 41 are located between the second and the third note in the triplet.
Figure 6.1 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 40-41,
(timing between duple and triplet rhythm)
6.2.2.2 Second Movement
The counting of the first movement changes from beat to beat. For example, one beat contains eighth notes, while the next beat has triplets. Nonetheless, the rhythmic groups within that one beat are the same. For instance, one beat contains all quarter notes and another beat has all eighth notes. However, the second movement has various rhythmic changes within one beat.
From the beginning, there are various rhythmic values such as the quarter note, eighth note, thirty-second note, dotted eighth note, sixteenth note, and triplet in one beat. Thus, one always thinks about the tempo as one beat equal to the quarter note in 2/2 meter and subdivides the beat into smaller beats in the first step of the practice.
The division of the beat can be changed according to the measure, based on the smallest note value, often the sixteenth note or eighth note. Figures 6.2 and 6.3 show how one beat can be subdivided.
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1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Figure 6.2 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 173-174
( timing for complex rhythmic passages)
Figure 6.3 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 181-182
The second movement has a quintuplet such as . This quintuplet is comprised of five notes in two beats; therefore, the third note of the quintuplet should be played just before the second beat. The quintuplet that occurs in measures 174 and 191 has the second beat in the orchestra, thus, one should play the fourth note after hearing the orchestra’s second beat. Figure 6.4 shows the right timing of the quintuplet.
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Figure 6.4 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 174 and 191
(timing for quintuplet between the soloist and orchestra)
Tied notes are used in almost all measures of the second movement. The ties usually connect the last note of the former measure and the first note of next measure.
This is made easier for the performer when playing with an orchestra, since the orchestra will play on the downbeat. However, one should work out this timing through practice alone as well. As a first step in practicing, one can play all notes with the subdivisions ignoring the tie. Once accustomed to this, one can then include the tie in her practice.
From measure 261 in the cadenza, the right hand has triplet half notes and the left hand has 20 notes which are composed of five notes in one beat in 4/4 meter until measure 268. Thus, one must find the appropriate timing between both hands.
Figure 6.5 indicates the right timing for those passages.
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Figure 6.5 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 261-262
(timing between duple note triple and small note passages)
6.2.2.3 Third Movement
The counting of beats follows the top voice in the third movement. Generally, the top notes lead the melodic line, and thus, the notes in between these can be considered accompaniment. One should set the tempo with the main top voices and fill in the duration between top voices with the other notes.
The third movement contains both duple and triple rhythmic groupings. One may be confused when the counting changes from duple to triple or from triple to duple. It is more difficult when one counts each beat as a quarter note only to have the rhythm change to triplets during two beats. One can figure out four smaller quarter note beats and two bigger half note beats in 4/4 meter. From the beginning of practice, one should keep in mind the tempo that Vine designated, but practice with a metronome at a slow tempo. Then, one can switch the beat freely from duple to triple and from triple to duple. Usually, Vine uses triplets during two beats followed by two quarter notes in one measure, like measure 307. In measure 307, the first quarter note triplets have short thirty-second notes between the triplets. Therefore,
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the second beat occurs with the thirteenth thirty-second note. Figure 6.6 shows how to count this measure.
Figure 6.6 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 307
(timing between duple and triplet rhythm)
6.2.3 Voicing and Phrasing
6.2.3.1 First Movement
The phrasing in Vine’s Piano Concerto No. 1 changes according to the bass.
The beginning starts with two measure phrases, however, it changes beginning in measure 5. Figure 6.7 shows the phrase lengths changing according to the bass in the left hand.
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\
Figure 6.7 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 1-8
(phrasing according to the bass)
Vine indicates the melodic line either with an accent or as a longer note and this determines the phrases. Usually, both hands play the same notes when both hands have block chords in this movement. When both hands have the same notes,
Vine expresses the phrase with an accent. From measure 104, both hands have the same octave passages and the accents are located on the emphasized octave. Those accented octaves make a four note phrase or three and two note phrases. To play those octaves with an accent, one needs a firm fingertip and relaxed forearm and upper arm. With the forearm and upper arm relaxed, one can play heavy chords and octaves with the appropriate strength. One cannot play all chords with the same strength, therefore one should control the strength of the wrist and forearm by moving up and down. Usually, the first and the fifth fingers are used in octave playing and a perfomer rolls his or her upper arm forward for the black keys (the wrist will be higher) and toward him or her for the white keys (the wrist will be lower). However, 66
for an accented octave, one may find it easier when the wrist and forearm are falling down with power, and the rest of the octaves which do not have accents should be played with one’s remaining strength.
Figure 6.8 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 104-107
(practice for accented staccato octaves)
Both hands are divided between melody notes and accompaniment when they have arpeggios or scales, wherein the main notes are those with longer time values such as whole and half notes. From measure 33, there are from six to eight notes within one beat. Both hands play arpeggios together, starting with the left hand and followed by the right hand continuing the arpeggio from the middle. For the main melodic line, one must avoid putting unnecessary accents in the middle.
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Figure 6.9 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 33-35
(arpeggio passages for main note and rest accompaniment)
In the middle of the section from measure 112, both hands have staccato passages three octaves apart, starting with ‘mp’ and ending with ‘f’’. Newman has said, “the essential point in playing crisp staccatos is to get off the key in a hurry as if it were a hot coal that had been touched.”17 There are two preferred means of leaving the key instantly. One is to start from above the key, drop the hand on a finger locked from knuckle to tip, and rebound from the wrist for playing a succession
17 Wiliam S Newman, The pianist’s problem; a modern approach to efficient practice and musicianly performance (New York: Harper 1956), 57.
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of staccato notes.18 Therefore, one needs a light wrist and a firm finger tips for those accented staccato notes.
6.2.3.2 Second Movement
While arpeggio passages are divided between both hands from measure 254,
Vine expresses the main melody in the right hand (Figure 6.10). To play those arpeggio passages, one should pay attention to not giving accents in the middle of the passages. One arpeggio passage from bottom to top has four beats and hand crossing occurs three times, starting from the left hand. Therefore, it is very easy to give an accent on the strong beat, such as the second and third beat, or the moment when the hands are switching. One has to make one line of arpeggio passages from bottom to top to connect the top voices.
Figure 6.10 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 254-255
(extraction of the main melody in arpeggio passages)
18 Newman, the pianist’s problem, 58. 69
6.2.3.3 Third Movement
The third movement is divided clearly into a main melody and accompaniment.
The main melody notes are indicated with an accent and longer note values than the other shorter notes which follow the main melody notes. Those small notes are considered the accompaniment. Usually, the top voice becomes the melodic line, thus it is not complicated to separate the two. However, the phrasing of the melody is not exactly located on the downbeat. Vine creates melodies ignoring the downbeat or the bar line. For example, he uses sixteenth notes between both hands from measure 326. Even though this section has the same note values, which are four sixteenth note groups in one measure, the left hand is in charge of the bass. One can be faced with a problem if he or she thinks of the four sixteenth notes as one phrase.
If one thinks of the group of four sixteenth notes as one phrase, one may accent the second and third beats. However, this would not be appropriate because the third beat is the end of the phrase. The pattern can be considered according to the bass in the left hand and two chords in the right hand in this case, because there is a steady bass figure in the left hand. Vine clearly shows this by using an ostinato bass in the left hand. The phrasing becomes groupings of 3+3+3+3+2+2 in one measure.
Figure 6.11 suggests how the phrasing can be thought of in measure 326.
Figure 6.11 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 326
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(phrasing ignoring the downbeat)
One should start practice at a slow tempo, thinking about three note phrases with a slur between the second and third notes. This 3+3+3+3+2+2 pattern comes out several times. Vine indicates an accent at the beginning of the slur in measures
342 and 343. Similarly, the three note group composed of two sixteenth notes and one sixteenth rest can be thought of as one phrase in measure 348. The two notes relate with a slur, thus one can produce the slur with a down and up motion of the wrist. Figure 6.12 shows one pattern of ‘3’ which consists of two notes and one rest.
Figure 6.12 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 348
(practice one phrase composed of three note group)
In measure 524, the thirty-second notes also become one phrase in the same way. There are two 3+3+3+3+2+2 patterns in one measure, where the last 2+2 pattern is formed with an octave in the right hand. This pattern begins with the top note in a descending passage, therefore one should take care not to rush.
When two voices move away from each other, the intervals between them gradually become larger. A performer should move his or her hands with accurate position and clear recognition of those intervals. Both measures 350 and 351 have
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octaves in both hands moving in different directions. The direction that the notes move can be thought of as odd and even numbered. The odd numbered notes likes the first, third, and fifth move down in semitones, while the even numbered notes such as the second, fourth, and sixth go up by semitones (Figure 6.13)
Figure 6.13 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 350-351
(different directions between odd and even numbered notes)
The most difficult phrasing section in the third movement starts in measure
374. This section consists of two triplet rhythmic groups in one measure, which are considered ostinato figuration, and one triplet rhythmic group that has three groupings of sixteenth notes. Thus, one measure has six sixteenth note groups. Even though one measure has two triplet rhythmic groups, one has to consider the phrasing over the bar line because the top note, which becomes a melody note, shows up in every four sixteenth- note groups. The top note starts with Bb and descends through Ab-
Gb-F-Eb-Db-C-Bb-Ab-Gb-F-Eb-Db to C. These sixteenth note groups are played alternating between both hands, and the top voice is played by the right hand. One should think of four sixteenth note groups as one phrase according to the top note and clearly express the top note as the melody. Figure 6.14 shows how one consider the phrasing, depending on the top voice.
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Figure 6.14 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 374-375
(phrasing over the bar line with top notes)
Starting in measure 484, one measure is made up of four groups of eighth-note triplets. However, the three notes on top last one beat each, and the three notes that occur between each top note are the same pitch but over four different octaves. One should think of four notes starting from the top note as one phrase even though it occurs over one triplet.
Figure 6.15 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 484-485
(main notes over beat)
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In the case of chordal passages, one needs to practice phrasing. From measures 551 to 553, there are eight chords within one beat and those are alternated every time between both hands. At first, the chord starts with two notes. Then one note is added at a time until the two note chord becomes a four note chord by the end of the section. Even though one beat has eight chords, one thinks one phrase according to the syllable names. One beat in the top notes of the right hand has C-C-
E-E/ G#-G#-C-C/ E-E-G#G#/ C-C-E-E/ G#-G#-C-C/ E-E-G#G#. However, one can make one phrase by following syllable names over the beat, i.e. C-C-E-E-G#G#/ C-C-
E-E-G#G#. Therefore, six phrases are present within nine beats. Figure 6.16 shows how a pianist can think of one phrase in this section.
Figure 6.16 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 551-553
(phrasing for chordal passages which have repeated notes)
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6.2.4 Fingering
6.2.4.1 First Movement
For the performer, finding the most appropriate fingering is important for learning and playing the piece as naturally and efficiently as possible. Of course, the fingering can be different according to one’s hand shape. Thus, it is essential for each performer to find his or her own most appropriate fingering for the piece. One should try several options from the beginning of practice. Newman refers to the result of a poor fingering as a very common jogging or bouncing motion of the hand and arm, along with reduced speed and control. Loss of control is most evident in a sacrifice of legato to detached playing.19 In the first movement, the main materials are chords, octaves, and legato passages over large intervals. Mostly the chords have the same shape from the beginning, having the sixth note from the bottom within one octave. Thus, the right hand fingering could be 1, 3 and 5 and the left hand fingering becomes 5, 2, and 1(Figure 6.17).
.
Figure 6.17 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 1-4
(fingering for block chords)
19 Newman, the pianist’s problem, 50. 75
The most difficult passage in the first movement with regard to fingering is from measures 120 to 123. This passage comes up again several times later, however, the performer is faced with difficulties because he or she should express the phrases which Vine designates with appropriate fingerings. Figure 6.18 suggests a fingering for this passage.
Figure 6.18 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 120-123
(fingering for sixteenth notes with slur and accent)
6.2.4.2 Second Movement
The most difficult fingerings in the second movement are the scalar passages.
In the second movement, it is not an exaggeration to say that every measure has scale passages. These scale passages are not too long because they are contained to one 76
measure, however, one should practice the scale with strong and firm fingertips.
Descending scale passages in this movement usually start with B-flat, making it easy to begin with the fourth finger, moving down in serial order, alternating 4-3-2-1-3-2-1.
Figure 6.19 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 194
(fingering for descending scale)
Ascending scale passages generally start with the thumb, when beginning on a white key, going up in consecutive order. However, it should be switched after the third finger to either the fourth or again the thumb. This choice depends on whether that key is a white key or a black key. If the key after the third finger in the passage is a white key, the performer should use the thumb. However, if it is a black key, one can use the fourth finger, changing to the thumb on the next note. Figures 6.20 and
6.21 are an example of how the finger number can be changed on the scale whether the key after the third finger is white or black. When ascending scale passages start on a black key, one should start with the second finger and change to the thumb on the second note of the scale. Figure 6.21 also shows the fingering for a scale starting on a black key. The transition after the third finger is the same as mentioned above.
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Figure 6.20 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 178
(fingering on a black key after the third finger for a scale passage )
Figure 6.21 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 214
(fingering on a white key after the third finger for a scale passage)
The cadenza in the second movement has arpeggio passages from measures
254 to 268. The first three measures alternate between both hands, but from measure
257, only the left hand plays the arpeggios. Because this passage has from five to six notes in one beat and the tempo is very fast (quarter note=100), one should find the appropriate fingerings for his or her own hand. Even though a firm finger is needed for this passage, these short notes do not need to be played too clearly because
Vine wants the effects of resonance and sonority. He shows this clearly while indicating an accent on the third beat in the left hand. Figure 6.22 suggests fingerings for the left hand from measures 257 to measure 260. 78
Figure 6.22 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 257-260
(fingering for arpeggio passages by the left hand)
6.2.4.3 Third Movement
In the same manner of the cadenza in the second movement, the third movement also has arpeggio passages alternating between both hands, until measure
392. However, the right hand has a melodic line and the left hand has an accompaniment from measure 393. Arpeggio passages make up the accompaniment of the second movement, however the third movement’s accompaniment contains scale passages. These passages do not have any order, therefore one must find the most suitable fingering for memorization and performance. The scale passages are hard if the fingering is disconnected in the middle of the passages, in contrast with the arpeggio passages in the second movement. Fingerings can be different according to each performer’s hand shape and length of fingers. However, I would like to suggest appropriate fingerings for those passages. The left hand has exactly the same notes
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every two measures, so repeated sections are not included.
Figure 6.23 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 393
(fingering for scale passages by the left hand)
Figure 6.24 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 395
(fingering for scale passages by the left hand)
Figure 6.25 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 397
(fingering for wide range scale passages by the left hand)
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Figure 6.26 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 399
(fingering for wide range scale passages by the left hand)
6.2.5 Pedaling
6.2.5.1 First Movement
Vine gives pedal markings at the beginning of the movement until measure 12.
Generally, he wants to change pedaling in accordance with the bass. The pedal could be covering from two to four beats. However, he uses only the indication ‘con pedale’ from measure 13 onward. In twentieth-century music, pedaling is often used for timbre rather than the relationship between notes as done in the Classic and
Romantic periods. From measure 13, one has no choice but to change the pedaling with each note. Otherwise, dissonance will occur from the octaves moving up and down by whole or half steps in both hands. However, it cannot be changed for each note and still preserve the same timbre and atmosphere. Thus, I want to suggest that one should change pedaling at every two beats until measure 20.
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Figure 6.27 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 13-15
(pedaling indicated by composer)
Also, Vine does not indicate the use of the damper pedal on the staccato passages and fast fluid sixteenth note passages for obvious melodic contour. This is the reason for the pedal markings in the chordal passage during measures 96 and 103, and why it is absent from measure 104, which has sixteenth note octaves with an accent in both hands.
6.2.5.2 Second Movement
The first note in the bass of each measure holds throughout the whole measure, or over two measures. The second movement has 2/2 meter, therefore, the first note in the bass holds two or four beats and the half note is located above the bass by the left hand. It is impossible to play half notes while the bass is holding, thus Vine indicates “with pedal & sostenuto” at the beginning. Vine wants to keep the bass with the ‘sostenuto pedal’ and other chord resonances with the ‘damper pedal’ at the same time. From measures 236 to 244, Vine does not designate detailed information for the damper pedal, only indicating ‘poco pedale’. The right hand plays short notes with detailed rhythms in a high register. The interval between both hands is a fifth at a dynamic level of ‘p’. Thus, he wants a bright, bell-like resonance from
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adding the damper pedal slightly.
In the cadenza, Vine again designates pedal markings. At the beginning of the cadenza, pedal changes occur in the bass during eight measures, from measures
245 to 253. Thus, the pedal holds one whole measure and lasts when the arpeggio passages come up from measures 254 to 268.
6.2.5.3 Third Movement
Vine indicates ‘con pedale’ at the beginning of the movement and designates pedal markings at points. When the composer gives a pedal marking, one can follow the direction, which is usually for an entire measure; however, it can be changed depending on the top voice, bass, or phrasing. From measure 326, the bass plays staccato, thus, it does not need the pedal. However, Vine wants the performer to use the damper pedal for the whole of measure 356 for resonance. Vine indicates ‘con pedale’ from measure 374, therefore, one can use the damper pedal as needed according to the composer’s indication.
6.2.6 Divisi
6.2.6.1 Second Movement
Arpeggio passages in the left hand from measure 261 are played over three octaves. Even though these passages cannot be divided evenly between both hands when the right hand has notes, the right hand can help the left hand when there is just one chord on the first beat in the right hand, such as in measures 264, 267, and 268.
The interval between the first two notes is an octave, therefore the arpeggio passage in 83
the left hand can be separated by groupings of two notes, four sets four notes, and the last two notes, as in: Gb-Eb, F-Gb-Bb-Eb, F-Gb-Bb-Eb, F-Eb-Bb-Gb, F-Eb-Bb-Gb,
F-Eb. It would be difficult to play the first group of four notes with the right hand, because the right hand would need to move a large interval immediately after playing a chord on the first beat. Considering the timing, the second group of four notes can be played by the right hand. Therefore, those groupings of notes can be played with the following fingering: 5-1(l.h), 5-4-2-1(l.h), 1-2-3-5(r.h), 1-2-4-5(l.h), 1-2-4-5(l.h),
1-2(l.h). Figure 6.28 shows how to divide the arpeggio between both hands.
Figure 6.28 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 264 and 267
(division arpeggio passages between both hands)
6.2.6.2 Third Movement
Carl Vine indicates which hand should be used through the direction of the note’s stems. Therefore, it is not hard even though one scale or arpeggio has many
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notes which cross over one hand position because a performer can divide the notes into both hands. Additionally, when one hand holds a long note and the other hand has short note passages, the performer needs to divide the passages between both hands in order to play them more easily. In measure 306, the right hand has a quarter note and the left hand has a scale passage containing eleven notes in one beat.
Thus, the right hand can help play the scale passage. The first five notes of the passage can be played by the left hand with the fingering 5-4-3-2-1. The right hand can then play the notes C-Db-F-A with the fingering 1-2-3-5, finishing with the last two notes played by the left hand. The same pattern occurs again in measure 401.
The right hand holds F during four beats; therefore, the second beat of the scale passage in the left hand can be played by the right hand. Figures 6.29 and 6.30 show how it may be divided between both hands for measures 306 and 401.
Figure 6.29 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 306
(division scale passage between both hands)
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Figure 6.30 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 401
(division between both hands)
6.2.7 Dynamics
6.2.7.1 Second Movement
Vine writes separate dynamic markings on the right and left hands in the second movement. He designates ‘pp’ in the left hand in the beginning, lasting until measure 215 which has the dynamic marking ‘mp’. However, the right hand starts at
‘mp’, changing to ‘mf’ and ‘f’’, and also has ‘crescendo’ and ‘diminuendo’ markings.
When a passage moves up in pitch, Vine indicates ‘crescendo’ and conversely,
‘decrescendo’ when a passage goes down. One has to pay attention to express the strong dynamic with firm fingertips in the high register, and a relatively weak sound in the low register on the keyboard. The left hand has ‘f’ and alternates with ‘p’ during four measures in the cadenza. There is a long diminuendo starting at ‘f’ in measure 254 and passing through ‘mf’, ‘mp’, ‘p’. Finally the left hand arrives at ‘pp’ in measure 261, where it stays until measure 268.
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6.2.8 Tone Quality
6.2.8.1 Third Movement
Carl Vine uses the high register of the G clef in both hands for many sections in the third movement. In fact, he uses the G clef for both hands from measure 334 on. Both hands have irregularly placed accents so a performer needs firm fifth fingertips to express those accents in the high register. The performer also must move his or her arms according to the direction of slurs and accents. Vine wants to achieve a ‘bell sound’ through those high register sections.
Before the climax, Vine changes from chords at ‘fortissimo’ to a single line played at the dynamic level ‘piano’. From measure 451, both hands play the interval of a 3rd apart before moving to the exact same pitches from measure 460. From measure 468, the main melody is accompanied by an ostinato figure. One needs to bring out the bass and the top voices of the ostinato pattern, and the rest of the harmonies must be lower than the melody at ‘p’.
In the cadenza, the arpeggio section starting from measure 389 is played by alternating both hands. This section starts with ‘pp’ and has the same pattern during four measures before turning into a scale passage in the left hand and melodic line in the right hand. Until the ‘crescendo’ and ‘fff’ in measure 407, a calm and shallow sound is desired to be expressed with pedaling. In measure 407, the left hand bass has an accent with ‘crescendo’ and Vine writes ‘molto rallentando’ through one measure. It starts at a dynamic level of ‘p’ and crescendos finally to marking of ‘fff’.
Through the ‘molto rallentando’ and crescendo, Vine demonstrates a dramatic effect going into the climax.
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6.2.9 Tone Cluster
6.2.9.1 Third Movement
At the end of the third movement, both hands have some pitch clusters from measure 547, including eight notes marked ‘fff’. Vine wants a rich and full sound in this section, so one should have firm fingers, especially on the fifth fingertips, but without tension in the arms. If there is tension in the arms, one will not be able to finish the section at a ‘fff’ dynamic. One should relax the torso and arm to avoid tension, and use a firm hand position in order to get a full and clear sonority.
Figure 6.31 shows the tone cluster which Vine uses.
Figure 6.31 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 555-556
(tone cluster which Vine used)
6.2.10 Practice for the Climax
6.2.10.1 First Movement
After the orchestra’s tutti section from measures 116 to 119, the tempo changes seven times and gets faster from measure 120. The tempo starts from quarter note=108 at measure 120, increasing to quarter note=144 from measure 136
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until the end. From measures 120 to 123, a performer starts with the sixteenth notes in both hands which have the same phrases and notes, three octaves apart. From measures 124 to 127, both hands also have the same pitches but they turn to octave passages and the rhythm changes according to the accents including syncopation.
The basic beat is the same as the previous section with sixteenth notes, however, it has three types of rhythmic groups. The first is one eighth note and two sixteenth notes, the second is one sixteenth rest, one sixteenth note, and one eighth note, and the third is one sixteenth note, one eighth note, and one sixteenth note within one beat.
Diagram 6.3 shows the shape of the rhythms from measures 124 to 127.
Diagram 6.3 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 124-127
Vine gives an accent on the first sixteenth note when the note has a slur with another sixteenth note or an eighth note. One should start by practicing at a slow tempo to count the sixteenth note rhythms and play the passage with the proper accent marking (Figure 6.32). When performing with an orchestra, the soloist can figure this out more easily than by playing alone because the orchestra gives a steady eighth note beat starting in measure 124. Figure 6.33 shows the counting relationship between the soloist and orchestra.
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Figure 6.32 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 124
(practice for complex rhythmic passages with accents)
Figure 6.33 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 124-126
(practice for complex rhythmic passages with an orchestra)
The four measures from 124 to 127 are played at quarter note=112. However, the tempo increases every two measures starting at measure 128, from quarter note=120
(m.128-129), 128 (m.130-131), 132 (m.132-133), 136 (m.134-135), to 144 (m. 136 to the end). Steady sixteenth notes continue from measure 127, thus, it is not hard
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rhythmically. The difficulty lies in the gradually increasing tempo within these measures. One can feel the right tempo after getting used to the hand position on the keyboard. As a result, this passage goes to the climax with an increasingly fast tempo, a dramatic effect which listeners can feel.
6.2.11 Posture
6.2.11.1 Third Movement
The third movement is composed almost entirely of arpeggio and scale passages which alternate between both hands. Thus, it must be played with free and relaxed whole arm movement to avoid arm fatigue. Almost the first note of the right hand has an accent and arpeggio passage. Therefore, the relationship between wrist and arm is important. The right hand has to down with firm fingertips on the accented first note and moves toward the direction according to the shape of the last notes. If the note direction is going down, one’s wrist and forearm can be moved to the left side, or if the direction is going up, they can be moved to the right side. The left hand connects the next note by raising the arm because one phrase is finished.
Finally, it becomes a wave shape between both hands.
From measure 527, both hands have fast and short octaves while chords are at a dynamic level of ‘ff’ until to the end. This section can very easily cause tension as one plays octaves in both hands for 20 measures, without pause. If one gets any tension in her arm or wrist, this section cannot be played through to the end with a full sound and clear sonority. One should practice with a relaxed posture. In practicing this section, one needs free shoulders, arms and wrists, and a free torso. Also, one needs a strong fifth fingertip in order to play octaves with the main note clearly and 91
loudly enough. To play octaves, one does not need to rotate the wrist widely. If the hands rotate too much, it becomes difficult to play all the octaves fast enough. Thus, one needs a strong fifth finger and firm knuckle without any tension at the same time.
6.2.12 Memorization
6.2.12.1 First Movement
According to Bernstein, the right fingering, the right technical facts, the right physical movements, and natural musical feeling, must all be absorbed into that mental, muscular, and sensory axis that governs your reflex system. Fed the right information, the automatic pilot does two things: it safeguards your memory, supporting it with a backup system, as it were, of well-organized reflexes, and it frees you to concentrate on musical issues only.20
One may not find it hard to memorize the 1st movement of Piano Concerto No.
1 because both hands have the same patterns and Vine indicates the main melody with accents or longer notes. However, one should memorize which notes have accents and which notes become the melody. While the first movement as a whole is easier to memorize than the second or the third movements, the last measure of the first movement is very unique. It appears for the first time through the whole movement that five notes are divided into both hands over each beat. Meanwhile, the melody ascends with a crescendo but there is not any order between the notes. Thus, one needs to memorize the passage note by note with the correct fingering and the correct physical movement for the wrists, forearms, and torso.
20 Bernstein, With your own two hands, 227. 92
Figure 6.34 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 171
(chordal passages which has not any order)
6.3 ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE GUIDELINES
Before playing with an orchestra, the piano concerto soloist should practice with a second pianist who substitutes for the role of orchestra. The second pianist plays with a piano reduction score for two pianos, which is sheet music for piano that was reduced to its most basic components within two staves. It is easier to practice with the piano reduction in the beginning and more efficient for the solo player than performing with an orchestra directly. Therefore, I suggest the ensemble part practice guidelines with two pianos in the following sections.
6.3.1 Rhythmic timing
When the first and the second pianists play notes that fall on a beat together, timing is not a problem. However, if the two pianists have different lengths of notes, they need to calculate which notes have to be played at the same time and which notes have to be entered between them. The case in which two pianists have different length notes often occurs because Vine uses triplet rhythms frequently. This section
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focus on the rhythmic timing related to triplet rhythms between the first and the second pianists.
6.3.1.1 First Movement
The most common rhythmic combination in the first movement is the duplet against triplet figure. This combination occurs first from measure 9. The piano reduction has a half rest then a half note on the third beat. At the same time, the first piano does not have a note on the third beat, only half note triplets through the measure. Thus, the second note of the triplet figure in the soloist part is played before the half note on beat three in the reduction. Figure 6.35 shows the relationship between the triplet and duplet and Diagram 6.4 shows the detailed relationship between the two pianos which are mentioned earlier in the piano part performance guidelines.
Figure 6.35 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m.9
(rhythmic timing between the soloist and the second pianist)
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Diagram 6.4 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 9 rhythmic timing
The second rhythmic combination is short note lengths in the first piano and triplets in the second piano, starting from measure 33. From measure 33, the soloist part plays six or eight notes in one beat. While the solo soloist part has 24 or 32 notes in one measure of 4/4 meter, the piano reduction has two groups of quarter note triplets in one measure. In this case, the two pianists should determine which notes can be played at the same time, and then calculate the timing of the other notes. Two groups of quarter note triplets fit in one measure, therefore, one set of quarter note triplets occupies two beats. Thus, the first note of the second set of quarter note triplets should be played exactly on the third beat. When the solo part has 24 notes in one measure, the piano reduction has a total of 6. Therefore, in this case, there are four notes in the soloist part for every quarter note triplet (Figure 6.36). When the solo part has 32 notes during four beats, there are 16 notes during two beats.
Meanwhile, the piano reduction again has quarter note triplets throughout the measure.
Therefore, the first notes start at the same time but the second note of the quarter note triplet is played right after the sixth note of the solo part, and the third note of the quarter note triplet is played between the eleventh and twelfth note of the solo part
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(Figure 6.37).
Figure 6.36 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 33
(rhythmic timing between the soloist and the second pianist)
Figure 6.37 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 35
(rhythmic timing between triplets and small note values)
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6.3.1.2 Second Movement
The second movement has a piano reduction part composed mainly of quarter, half, and whole notes. Therefore, the timing is not too difficult to calculate. Also, even though the right hand of the solo part has rhythmic complexity, it keeps a steady beat and the left hand has common rhythmic values like the piano reduction.
Therefore, the piano reduction part can be played together with the left hand of the solo part. In the second movement, only three measures have rhythmic complexity with triple and duple rhythms between the soloist and the reduction. From measure
227, the solo part has two groups of quarter note triplets in one measure and the reduction has eighth and quarter notes. Like the first movement, 2 beats can be subdivided into 12 counts, meaning that one note of the quarter note triplets would have 4 subdivided counts. Therefore, the three notes of the triplet group are located on counts 0, 4, and 8. The piano reduction part should be subdivided into 12 counts as well. Here, the quarter note on the second beat is counted on 6, and the eighth notes occur on 0 and 3 (Diagram 6.5).
Diagram 6.5 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd mov., m. 227
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6.3.1.3 Third Movement
In the third movement, the piano reduction part has the same rhythm with the main melody of the solo part. The main melody of the solo part is indicated by an accent mark or notes which have longer length than the accompaniment. Therefore, it is not difficult to play together if the soloist keeps the right tempo. The third movement also has the combination of duple and triple rhythmic figures between parts; however, they can be calculated with the same method used in the first and second movements. For instance, when the combination of duple and triple rhythmic groups occur, find the rate of notes between two pianos first and search which notes can be played at the same time. Then, calculate the timing of the notes that do not occur simultaneously between the two pianos. From measure 376, the solo part has a half note triplet and a half note which become the melodic line, and shorter notes between the melodic lines within one measure. The reduction part has
16th notes in the right hand and 8th notes in the left hand. Therefore, the ratio between the short-length notes of the solo part and the 16th notes of the reduction is
3:2. Figure 6.38 shows the right timing between two pianos.
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Figure 6.38 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 375
(rhythmic timing between triple and duple rhythmic groups)
There are some measures which can cause confusion because notes which happen in the same measure count are not always printed vertically. Those measures are in 7/8 meter and Figure 6.39 shows which notes are to be played at the same time.
Figure 6.39 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 323-324
(confusion for printing error)
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6.3.2 Melody alternation
In Vine’s Piano Concerto No. 1, the melody alternates between soloist and orchestra frequently in the first movement. But in the second movement, the melody is mainly found in the piano soloist part. The orchestra part in the second movement is very similar or the same as the left hand of the piano part, therefore, the texture is quite simple. The texture of the third movement is more complex than the second movement, however, the melodic line is also found in the solo part mostly.
6.3.2.1 First Movement
At first, the melody starts with the chordal passages in the piano from the beginning to measure 12. These passages move to the orchestral instruments at measure 13. At measure 24, the solo part has the melody with top notes in the right hand for four measures, and the melody alternates between the piano and orchestra.
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Figure 6.40 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 23-31
(melody alternation between the soloist and the orchestra)
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From measure 54, the orchestra takes over the melody and the piano becomes the accompaniment. When the orchestra part is played with the piano reduction, the melody is played by the right hand at first (Figure 6.41)
Figure 6.41 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 54-56
(melody shows by the right hand of the second pianist)
And then succeeded by the left hand at measure 58 (Figure 6.42). This melody which is played by the left hand in the reduction is transferred to the soloist with the same pitches at measure 74 (Figure 6.43).
Figure 6.42 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 57-59
(melody shows by the left hand of the second pianist)
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Figure 6.43 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mov., m. 74-77
(melody shows in the soloist part)
6.3.2.2 Second Movement
The orchestra part has the same rhythmic figures with the left hand of the piano soloist during most measures. Therefore, the soloist leads the melody with the right hand playing throughout the whole second movement, except between measures
223 and 226. The orchestra has the role of accompaniment until measure 222, but switches to the melody during these four measures. After a cadenza in the middle, the previous pattern returns. The soloist again has the melody in the right hand, and the orchestra and left hand of the soloist have the same note lengths until the end.
6.3.2.3 Third Movement
Like the second movement, the melody is found in the top voice of the soloist part primarily. However, some sections contain alternation of the melody between 103
the soloist and the orchestra in a few measures. One can easily find the melodic line when the orchestra has the melody because the soloist has an arpeggio or the same pattern of passages when the orchestra has the melody. From measure 312, while the soloist has arpeggio passages through four octaves alternating between both hands, the orchestra has the melody (Figure 6.44). The orchestra again has the melody from measure 468 when the soloist has broken chord figures between both hands, which serve as accompaniment until measure 484.
Figure 6.44 Carl Vine Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mov., m. 312-313
(shows the melody by the second pianist)
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CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
The previous chapters provide a comparison of the pianistic writing of Carl
Vine’s significant piano work Piano Concerto No.1 (1997) and his three piano sonatas and suggest performance guidelines for the performer. As in reference to twentieth- century music, there “has been the return in recent years to more traditional conceptions of tonality, melody, harmony, and form.”21 In the same manner of the twentieth-century music, Carl Vine’s first piano concerto has the common elements for the traditional term “concerto” and other various techniques such as fast fluid passages, chordal gestures, wide octave leaps, and extreme dynamic changes. One needs to acquire the necessary technique and interpretation to understand the music and play in ‘style’. Also, Carl Vine shows his own unique piano style in his piano concerto and sonatas. They are mostly about sound and momentum as achieved through rhythmic energy. In these four piano works, he uses repeated rhythmic passages, accents on the melodic notes, triplet rhythmic motives and tone clusters.
To study Vine’s Piano Concerto No.1, one can be faced with difficulty because the orchestra music has not been widely released outside of Australia. It is absolutely true that the author had many times to get the orchestral score of the first
21 William W. Austin, John Vinton, and Eric Salzman, The New Harvard Dictionary of Music, ed. Don Michael Randel (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1999), 890. 105
concerto. One may have trouble studying the music because of a lack of experience in the interpretation. They must also find the appropriate tone quality for each section. For these reasons, this document can be used to understand and more easily interpret Vine’s piano concerto for those pianists who are interested in performing this work with performance and practice guidelines based on the author’s own experience.
Through the artistic process and discovering their own interpretation of a piece, it is hoped that performers will see the benefits of contemporary music as a showcase for pianistic ability. As many pianists and musicians have become interested in Vine’s music, it is hoped that his music will give wider publicity to a broader repertoire.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bernstein, Seymour. With your own two hands: self-discovery through music. New York: Schirmer Books, c 1981.
Hanna, Cyba. “A Performance guideline to the Piano Sonatas by Carl Vine.” D.M.A. diss., University of Miami. 2002.
Harrel, Doris Leland. “New Techniques in Twentieth-Century Solo Piano Music-An Expansion of Pianistic Resources from Cowell to the Present.” D.M.A. diss., The University of Texas Austin, 1976.
Keefe, Simon P. “The Cambridge companion to the concerto.” Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Lester, Joel. Analytic Approaches to Twentieth-Century Music. New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1989.
Newman, William S. The pianist’s problem; a modern approach to efficient practice and musicianly performanace. New York: Harper, 1956.
Roeder, Michael Thomas. A history of the concerto. Portland, Or.: Amadeus Press, c1994.
Vine, Carl. Carl Vine website Accessed March 7th 2012. http://www.carlvine.com.
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Vine, Carl. Program Notes. Piano Sonata No.1 (1990). http://www.carlvine.com.
Vine, Carl. Program Note. “Piano Sonata No.2 (1998).” http://www.carlvine.com
William W. Austin, John Vinton, and Eric Salzman. The New Harvard Dictionary of Music, ed. Don Michael Randel. Cambridge: The Belknap press of Harvard university press, 2003.
Yang, Eun-Kyoung. “The piano sonatas by Carl Vine: a guideline to performance and style analysis.” D.M.A. diss., The Ohio State University, 2003.
Yoon, Hyekyung. “An Introduction of Carl Vine’s three piano sonatas with emphasis on performance and practice suggestions for Sonata no. 2.” D.M.A. diss., The Ohio State University, 2010.
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APPENDIX A
Carl Vine’s Piano Works
Anne Landa Preludes (The) solo piano duration c. 22 minutes © 2006 Farber Music Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the Tall Poppies CD Carl Vine: The Piano Music (1990-2006) Performed by Benjamin Boren on the Enharmonic Records CD Benjamin Boren plays Carl Vine In Australia and New Zealand, copies of this score are available from the Australian Music Centre
Five Bagatelles solo piano duration 9:00 © 1994 Faber Music Available on CD Carl Vine: Chamber Music Volume 2 Available on CD Mere Bagatelles Available on CD Threnody Available on CD Chinese Whispers Available on CD Carl Vine: The Piano Music (1990-2006) Available on CD Veiled Virtuosity Available on CD International Neo Classical Competition
Piano Concerto No. 1 solo piano and orchestra 2.2.2.2-4.2.2.1-timp, 2pc, hp, strings duration 25:00 © 1997 Farber Music Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey and the Sydney Symphony conducted by Edo de Waart on the ABC Classics CD Carl Vine-Choral Symphony Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey and the Sydney Symphony conducted by Edo de Waart on the ABC Classics CD Eternity Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on the ABC Classics CD The Classic 100 Concerto
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Piano Sonata No. solo piano duration 19:00 © 1990 Chester Music Choreographed by Graeme Murphy for the Sydney Dance Company Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the Tall Poppies CD Carl Vine: Chamber Music Volume 1 Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the Program Promotions CD Inspired 20th Century Piano Music Performed by Sergei Babayan on the ProPiano CD Sergei Babayan Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the Tall Poppies CD Graeme Murphy's Body of Work Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the ABC Classics CD Storm Sight Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the Move Records CD Tensile Flame Performed by Joyce Yang on the Harmonia Mundi CD Van Cliburn Piano Competition (12th) Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the Tall Poppies CD Carl Vine: The Piano Music (1990-2006) Performed by Rohan Murray on the Move Records CD Schimmel Concert Grand Piano Performed by Caroline Hong on the Fleur de Son Classics CD Caroline Hong Plays Corigliano Performed by on the CD International Neo Classical Competition Performed by Benjamin Boren on the Enharmonic Records CD Benjamin Boren plays Carl Vine Play a sample performed by Michael Kieran Harvey
Piano Sonata No. 2 solo piano duration 22:00 © 1998 Faber Music Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the Tall Poppies CD Carl Vine: Chamber Music Volume 2 Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the ABC Classics CD Storm Sight Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the Tall Poppies CD Carl Vine: The Piano Music (1990-2006) Performed by Benjamin Boren on the Enharmonic Records CD Benjamin Boren plays Carl Vine
Piano Sonata No. 3 solo piano duration 22 min © 2007 Faber Music Performed by Adam Herd on the Master Performers CD From Shadows Performed by Benjamin Boren on the Enharmonic Records CD Benjamin Boren plays Carl Vine
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Rash solo piano with CD accompaniment duration 3:00 © 1997 Faber Music Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the Move Records CD Rabid Bay
Red Blues (four intermediate piano pieces) solo piano duration 10:00 © 1999 Faber Music Performed by Elpis Liossatos on the Tall Poppies CD Lift Off Performed by Jeanell Carrigan on the Australian Music Centre CD Spin Performed by Michael Kieran Harvey on the Tall Poppies CD Carl Vine: The Piano Music (1990-2006) Performed by Anna Goldsworthy on the ABC Classics CD Come With Us
Sonata for Piano Four Hands two pianists, one piano duration 23:00 © 2009 Faber Music In Australia and New Zealand, copies of this score are available from the Australian Music Centre
Toccatissimo Solo piano Duration 5:30 © 2011 Faber Music
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APPENDIX B
Front Page of Orchestral Score
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APPENDIX C
First Page of Orchestral Score
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