DOCSLIB.ORG

The Analysis of Three Impromptus for Piano Op

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Analysis of Three Impromptus for Piano Op An Analysis of Three Impromptus for Piano Op. 68 by Lowell Liebermann Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Uchino, Tomoko Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 02/10/2021 22:39:25 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/195000 AN ANALYSIS OF THREE IMPROMPTUS FOR PIANO OP. 68 BY LOWELL LIEBERMANN by Tomoko Uchino ________________________ Copyright © Tomoko Uchino 2007 A Document Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF MUSIC In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2007 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the document prepared by Tomoko Uchino entitled An Analysis of Three Impromptus for Piano Op. 68 by Lowell Liebermann and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the document requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts. Date: 6/15/07 Rex Woods Date: 6/15/07 Paula Fan Date: 6/15/07 Janet Sturman Final approval and acceptance of this document is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the document to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this document prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the document requirement. Date: 6/15/07 Document Director: Rex Woods STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR This document has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this document are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copy right holder. Signed:________________________________________ Tomoko Uchino ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This document could not have been made possible without those who assisted me over the course of research, writing and endless editing: Dr. Rex Woods, for his patience, guidance and expertise in critical writing; Dr. Paula Fan, for her advice and support during the years of my degree; and Dr. Janet Sturman who kindly stepped in at the last minute to fill in for Prof. Nicholas Zumbro. I am also greatly in debt to Academic Student adviser Lyneen Elmore who guided me through the process. I thank the publishers who gave me permissions to use their music as examples in this document. Theodore Presser, G. Henle Verlag and Dover Editions. I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards Lowell Liebermann, David Korevaar and Antonio Pompa-Baldi for taking their time to answer my questions regarding the Three Impromptus and issues related to the work. Finally and most importantly, special thanks to my family and especially to my husband Greg for his never-ending support and encouragement through the years of working on this project. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... 6 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... 11 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION..................................................................... 13 CHAPTER II BACKGROUND INFORMATION A Brief Biography of Lowell Liebermann...................... 16 Liebermann as Pianist..................................................... 21 CHAPTER III A BRIEF HISTORY OF IMPROMPTUS Voříšek’s Impromptus.................................................... 24 Schubert’s Impromptus................................................... 28 Later Composers’ Impromptus....................................... 34 CHAPTER IV AN ANALYSIS OF THREE IMPROMPTUS, Op. 68 Impromptu I.................................................................... 52 Impromptu II................................................................... 64 Impromptu III.................................................................. 74 CHAPTER V SUMMARY.............................................................................. 83 APPENDIX A INTERVIEW WITH LOWELL LIEBERMANN.................... 86 APPENDIX B ONLINE INTERVIEW WITH DAVID KOREVAAR............ 93 APPENDIX C ONLINE INTERVIEW WITH ANTONIO POMPA-BALDI.. 95 REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 97 6 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 3.1.1a Voříšek Impromptu in C major, Op. 7 No. 1, Bars 1-3............... 25 FIGURE 3.1.1b Voříšek Impromptu in G major, Op. 7 No. 2, Bars 1-3............... 25 FIGURE 3.1.1c Voříšek Impromptu in D major, Op. 7 No. 3, Bars 1-4............... 26 FIGURE 3.1.1d Voříšek Impromptu in A major, Op. 7 No. 4, Bars 1-4............... 26 FIGURE 3.1.1e Voříšek Impromptu in E major, Op. 7 No. 5, Bars 1-4............... 26 FIGURE 3.1.1f Voříšek Impromptu in B major, Op. 7 No. 6, Bars 1-6............... 26 FIGURE 3.2.1 Schubert Impromptu in C minor, D 899 No. 1, Bars 1-9............ 30 FIGURE 3.2.2 Reichardt Erlkönig, Bars 1-16..................................................... 32 FIGURE 3.2.3 Schubert Erlkönig, Bars 123-125................................................ 33 FIGURE 3.2.4a Schubert Impromptu in E-flat major, D 899 No. 2, Bars 1-4...... 33 FIGURE 3.2.4b Schubert Impromptu in E-flat major, D 899 No. 2, Bars 83-86.. 34 FIGURE 3.3.1 Schumann Impromptus Op. 5, Theme, Bars 1-16....................... 35 FIGURE 3.3.2a Schumann Impromptus Op. 5, Variation I, Bars 1-8................... 36 FIGURE 3.3.2b Schumann Impromptus Op. 5, Variation II, Bars 1-8................. 36 FIGURE 3.3.3 Schumann Impromptus Op. 5, Variation VII, Bars 1-4.............. 37 FIGURE 3.3.4a Schumann Albumblätter Op. 124 No. 1, Bars 1-4...................... 37 FIGURE 3.3.4b Schumann Albumblätter Op. 124 No. 9, Bars 1-4...................... 38 FIGURE 3.3.5 Chopin Fantasy-Impromptu in C-sharp minor, Op. 66, Bars 1-8.................................................. 39 FIGURE 3.3.6 Chopin Impromptu in A-flat major, Op. 29, Bars 1-4................. 40 7 LIST OF FIGURES – Continued FIGURE 3.3.7a Chopin Impromptu in F-sharp major, Op. 36, Bars 1-4.............. 40 FIGURE 3.3.7b Chopin Impromptu in A-flat major, Op. 29, Bars 35-40............. 41 FIGURE 3.3.8 Glazunov Impromptu in D-flat major, Op. 54 No. 1, Bars 1-7.................................................. 42 FIGURE 3.3.9 Glazunov Impromptu Op. 54 No.2, Bars 49-57.......................... 43 FIGURE 3.3.10a Scriabin Impromptu, Op. 7 No. 1, Bars 1-6................................ 43 FIGURE 3.3.10b Scriabin Impromptu, Op. 7 No. 2, Bars 1-12.............................. 44 FIGURE 3.3.10c Scriabin Impromptu, Op. 7 No. 2, Bars 37-41............................ 44 FIGURE 3.3.11 Poulenc Impromptu II, Bars 1-16................................................ 45 FIGURE 3.3.12 Poulenc Le Dramadaire from Le Bestiaire, Bars 1-7................. 46 FIGURE 3.3.13 Poulenc La Carpe from Le Bestiaire, Bars 1-5........................... 47 FIGURE 3.3.14a Fauré Impromptu No. 2 in F minor, Op. 31, Bars 1-10............... 48 FIGURE 3.3.14b Fauré Impromptu No. 2 in F minor, Op. 31, Bars 86-95............. 49 FIGURE 3.3.15 Fauré Impromptu No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 34, Bars 1-10........ 49 FIGURE 4.1.1 Liebermann Three Impromptus Op. 68, Impromptu I, Bars 1-7.................................................. 53 FIGURE 4.1.2 Schubert Impromptu in G-flat major, D 899 No. 3, Bars 1-4..... 54 FIGURE 4.1.3 Schubert Impromptu in E-flat major, D 899 No. 2, Bars 1-9...... 55 FIGURE 4.1.4 Schubert Nacht und Träume, Bars 1-8........................................ 55 FIGURE 4.1.5 Fauré Impromptu No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 25, Bars 35-37...... 57 8 LIST OF FIGURES – Continued FIGURE 4.1.6 Liebermann Three Impromptus Op. 68, Impromptu I Bars 23-30.............................................. 58 FIGURE 4.1.7 Liebermann Variations on Theme by Anton Bruckner, Op. 19 Variation III, Bars 1-4............................ 59 FIGURE 4.1.8 Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19 Violin Solo Line, Bars 1-6..................... 59 FIGURE 4.1.9a Liebermann Three Impromptus Op. 68, Impromptu I Bars 36-38.............................................. 60 FIGURE 4.1.9b Liebermann Three Impromptus Op. 68, Impromptu I Bars 43-50.............................................. 61 FIGURE 4.1.10 Liebermann Three Impromptus Op. 68, Impromptu I Bars 59-60.............................................. 62 FIGURE 4.1.11 Liebermann Three Impromptus Op. 68, Impromptu I Bars 63-65.............................................. 63 FIGURE 4.1.12 Liebermann Three Impromptus Op. 68, Impromptu I Bars 63-72.............................................. 63 FIGURE 4.1.13 Liebermann Three Impromptus Op. 68, Impromptu I Bars 63-78.............................................. 63 FIGURE 4.2.1 Schumann Im wunderschönen Monat Mai from Dichterliebe Bars 23-26.............................................. 65 FIGURE 4.2.2 Schumann Aus meinen Tränen spriessen from Dichterliebe Bars 1-3.................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 8002-Cedille-On-The-Move-Booklet.Pdf
    INTRODUCTION 1 JOHN ADAMS (b. 1946) I. Relaxed Groove from Road Movies (4:37) Cedille Records is devoted to promoting the finest musicians in and from Chicago by re- Jennifer Koh, violin leasing their efforts on high quality recordings. Our recording ideas come from the artists themselves, which is why we have such a widely varied catalog of innovatively programmed Reiko Uchida, piano recordings. From In 2004, Cedille released a sampler CD of calming compositions titled Serenely Cedille (Ce- String Poetic — dille Records CDR 8001). Now, five years later, we present a disc of high-energy selections st from our catalog, ideal for keeping you “on the move,” whether walking, running, biking, American Works: A 21 Century Perspective driving, exercising, or just enjoying the music’s rhythmic drive. The tracks run the gamut CDR 90000 103 from a Vivaldi flute concerto, to symphonic works by late-Classical era composers from Bohemia (Krommer and Voříšek), to (later) 19th century concertos and chamber works, to seven selections by contemporary or very recent composers. All feature propulsive rhyth- mic energy designed to keep the music (and you) moving forward. This is the piece that inspired the idea for this sampler CD. About it, the iconic American I hope you enjoy this disc, and that it inspires you to want to learn more about and hear composer writes, “Road Movies is travel music, music that is comfortably settled in a pulse more from the wonderful Chicago artists represented on this CD. Toward that end, the track groove and passes through harmonic and textural regions as one would pass through a listing in this booklet includes a short statement about each selection and its respective landscape on a car trip.” Although titled, “Relaxed Grove,” the opening movement conveys disc.
    [Show full text]
  • Piano Trio, Op. 1, No. 1 · Divertimento for Cello and Orchestra
    LSC-2770 STEREO HEIFETZ-PIATIGORSKY CONCERTS with Jacob Lateiner and Guests BEETHOVEN Piano Trio, Op. 1, No. 1 HAYDN Divertimento for Cello and Orchestra ROZSA Tema con Vatiazioni (for Violin, Cello and Orchestra RCA VICTOR RED SEALE DYNAGROOVE RECORDING Si a ee vsti eta Aha Sic CYL Sen a «Rese OOP ET ED RI OE eee” SL ORE RO SE rises MP OR tet et ee Mono LM-2770 Stereo LSC-2770 HEIFETZ-PIATIGORSKY CONCERTS with Jacob Lateiner and Guests BEETHOVEN Piano Trio, Op. 1, No. 1 HAYDN Divertimento for Cello and Orchestra ROZSA Tema con Variazioni (For Violin, Cello and Orchestra) Jascha Heifetz, Violinist + Gregor Piatigorsky, Cellist Jacob Lateiner, Pianist Recording Director: John F. Pfeiffer « Recording Engineers: Ivan Fisher and John Norman several isolated movements from the Divertimenti. For the 1963 Heifetz- For many years Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky Piatigorsky Concerts in Los Angeles, Mr. Piatigorsky requested Ingolf Dahl had enjoyed playing chamber music in the privacy of their to orchestrate three of these movements to form a little concerto for cello homes, a happy and noble form of music-making in which and orchestra. Mr. Dahl made only minor changes in the solo part except they were often joined by similarly addicted colleagues. to delete a few measures in the last movement to form an orchestral tutti. Eventually, in the summer of 1961, they decided to share He orchestrated in the Haydn manner for oboes and strings and in the their musical experiences and pleasures with music-lovers of second movement restored Haydn’s original harmonization. If this perform- the surrounding communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Programs, Season
    // BOSTON T /?, SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA THURSDAY B SERIES EIGHTY-SEVENTH SEASON 1967-1968 wgm _«9M wsBt Exquisite Sound From the palace of ancient Egyp to the concert hal of our moder cities, the wondroi music of the harp hi compelled attentio from all peoples and a countries. Through th passage of time man changes have been mac in the original design. Tl early instruments shown i drawings on the tomb < Rameses II (1292-1225 B.C were richly decorated bv lacked the fore-pillar. Lato the "Kinner" developed by tl Hebrews took the form as m know it today. The pedal hai was invented about 1720 by Bavarian named Hochbrucker an through this ingenious device it b came possible to play in eight maj< and five minor scales complete. Tods the harp is an important and familij instrument providing the "Exquisi* Sound" and special effects so importai to modern orchestration and arrang ment. The certainty of change mak< necessary a continuous review of yoi insurance protection. We welcome tl opportunity of providing this service f< your business or personal needs. We respectfully invite your inquiry CHARLES H. WATKINS & CO. Richard P. Nyquist — Charles G. Carleton 147 Milk Street Boston, Massachusetts Telephone 542-1250 OBRION, RUSSELL & CO. Insurance of Every Description EIGHTY-SEVENTH SEASON 1967-1968 BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ERICH LEINSDORF Music Director CHARLES WILSON Assistant Conductor THE TRUSTEES OF THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC. HENRY B. CABOT President TALCOTT M. BANKS Vice-President JOHN L. THORNDIKE Treasurer PHILIP K. ALLEN E. MORTON JENNINGS JR ABRAM BERKOWITZ EDWARD M. KENNEDY THEODORE P.
    [Show full text]
  • Summer 2014 Boston Symphony Orchestra
    boston symphony orchestra summer 2014 Andris Nelsons, Ray and Maria Stata Music Director Designate Bernard Haitink, LaCroix Family Fund Conductor Emeritus, Endowed in Perpetuity Seiji Ozawa, Music Director Laureate 133rd season, 2013–2014 Trustees of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc. Edmund Kelly, Chair • William F. Achtmeyer, Vice-Chair • Carmine A. Martignetti, Vice-Chair • Stephen R. Weber, Vice-Chair • Theresa M. Stone, Treasurer David Altshuler • George D. Behrakis • Jan Brett • Paul Buttenwieser • Ronald G. Casty • Susan Bredhoff Cohen, ex-officio • Richard F. Connolly, Jr. • Diddy Cullinane • Cynthia Curme • Alan J. Dworsky • William R. Elfers • Thomas E. Faust, Jr. • Michael Gordon • Brent L. Henry • Charles W. Jack, ex-officio • Stephen B. Kay • Joyce Linde • John M. Loder • Nancy K. Lubin • Robert J. Mayer, M.D. • Robert P. O’Block • Susan W. Paine • Peter Palandjian, ex-officio • John Reed • Carol Reich • Arthur I. Segel • Roger T. Servison • Wendy Shattuck • Caroline Taylor • Roberta S. Weiner • Robert C. Winters Life Trustees Vernon R. Alden • Harlan E. Anderson • David B. Arnold, Jr. • J.P. Barger • Gabriella Beranek • Leo L. Beranek • Deborah Davis Berman • Peter A. Brooke • John F. Cogan, Jr. • Mrs. Edith L. Dabney • Nelson J. Darling, Jr. • Nina L. Doggett • Mrs. John H. Fitzpatrick† • Nancy J. Fitzpatrick • Thelma E. Goldberg • Charles H. Jenkins, Jr. • Mrs. Béla T. Kalman • George Krupp • Mrs. Henrietta N. Meyer • Richard P. Morse • David Mugar • Mary S. Newman • Vincent M. O’Reilly • William J. Poorvu • Peter C. Read • Edward I. Rudman • Richard A. Smith • Ray Stata • Thomas G. Stemberg • John Hoyt Stookey • Wilmer J. Thomas, Jr. • John L. Thorndike • Stephen R.
    [Show full text]
  • Franz Schubert's Impromptus D. 899 and D. 935: An
    FRANZ SCHUBERT’S IMPROMPTUS D. 899 AND D. 935: AN HISTORICAL AND STYLISTIC STUDY A doctoral document submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS In the Keyboard Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music 2005 by Ina Ham M.M., Cleveland Institute of Music, 1999 M.M., Seoul National University, 1996 B.M., Seoul National University, 1994 Committee Chair: Dr. Melinda Boyd ABSTRACT The impromptu is one of the new genres that was conceived in the early nineteenth century. Schubert’s two sets of impromptus D. 899 and D. 935 are among the most important examples to define this new genre and to represent the composer’s piano writing style. Although his two sets of four impromptus have been favored in concerts by both the pianists and the audience, there has been a lack of comprehensive study of them as continuous sets. Since the tonal interdependence between the impromptus of each set suggests their cyclic aspects, Schubert’s impromptus need to be considered and be performed as continuous sets. The purpose of this document is to provide useful resources and performance guidelines to Schubert’s two sets of impromptus D. 899 and D. 935 by examining their historical and stylistic features. The document is organized into three chapters. The first chapter traces a brief history of the impromptu as a genre of piano music, including the impromptus by Jan Hugo Voŕišek as the first pieces in this genre.
    [Show full text]
  • ARIANE GRAY HUBERT Concert Pianist, Singer & Composer Www
    ARIANE GRAY HUBERT Concert Pianist, Singer & Composer www.arianegrayhubert.com A concert pianist, singer and composer, Ariane Gray Hubert is a much acclaimed and innovative artist in several fields. Over the years, she has delighted audiences and critics all over the world with her performances, be it a piano solo recital, a piano-vocal world music program or with various music ensembles. In her orchestral works, she blends both eastern and western music traditions in a unique manner—an absolutely visionary approach. Born in Paris with a French-American double nationality, the artist started her musical journey at the age of four. She was largely influenced by her American mother, Tamara Gray, and her great- aunt, who received her training from Alfred Cortot in Switzerland. The classical training Ariane Gray Hubert received is fascinating and ranged from the renowned Russian, Austrian and French piano traditions to the rich, oral music of the east. The distinctive characteristics of this French-American artist combine playing and singing together in expressive scales, her unique improvisation, powerful rhythmical ideas and inspiration from ancient musical traditions. In the west, the artist performs for major international festivals as well as for many productions in opera and dance. She played for Radio France, Musée d’Orsay, Opera Bastille & Garnier, the Vatican, the UNESCO, the European Delegation in India on the occasion of the 50 years of the EU Treaty, the French Alliances abroad (Austria, Germany, Italy, Baltic countries, India) and for various South American festivals. In 2010, in collaboration with various festivals abroad, she played “La Note Bleue” at the closing ceremony of the Festival “Bonjour India” to commemorate the bicentenary birth anniversary of F.
    [Show full text]
  • Focus 2020 Pioneering Women Composers of the 20Th Century
    Focus 2020 Trailblazers Pioneering Women Composers of the 20th Century The Juilliard School presents 36th Annual Focus Festival Focus 2020 Trailblazers: Pioneering Women Composers of the 20th Century Joel Sachs, Director Odaline de la Martinez and Joel Sachs, Co-curators TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction to Focus 2020 3 For the Benefit of Women Composers 4 The 19th-Century Precursors 6 Acknowledgments 7 Program I Friday, January 24, 7:30pm 18 Program II Monday, January 27, 7:30pm 25 Program III Tuesday, January 28 Preconcert Roundtable, 6:30pm; Concert, 7:30pm 34 Program IV Wednesday, January 29, 7:30pm 44 Program V Thursday, January 30, 7:30pm 56 Program VI Friday, January 31, 7:30pm 67 Focus 2020 Staff These performances are supported in part by the Muriel Gluck Production Fund. Please make certain that all electronic devices are turned off during the performance. The taking of photographs and use of recording equipment are not permitted in the auditorium. Introduction to Focus 2020 by Joel Sachs The seed for this year’s Focus Festival was planted in December 2018 at a Juilliard doctoral recital by the Chilean violist Sergio Muñoz Leiva. I was especially struck by the sonata of Rebecca Clarke, an Anglo-American composer of the early 20th century who has been known largely by that one piece, now a staple of the viola repertory. Thinking about the challenges she faced in establishing her credibility as a professional composer, my mind went to a group of women in that period, roughly 1885 to 1930, who struggled to be accepted as professional composers rather than as professional performers writing as a secondary activity or as amateur composers.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Oklahoma Graduate College the Violin Works of Ruth Schonthal
    UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE THE VIOLIN WORKS OF RUTH SCHONTHAL: A MUSICAL ANALYSIS AND GUIDE TO PERMORMANCE A DOCUMENT SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS By KATRIN STAMATIS Norman, Oklahoma 2019 THE VIOLIN WORKS OF RUTH SCHONTHAL: A MUSICAL ANALYSIS AND GUIDE TO PERMORMANCE A DOCUMENT APPROVED FOR THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC BY THE COMMITTEE CONSISTING OF Dr. Anthony Stoops, Chair Dr. Ronnie Grinberg Dr. Sarah Ellis Dr. Min-Jeong Koh Dr. Gregory Lee © Copyright by KATRIN STAMATIS 2019 All Rights Reserved CONTENTS List of Musical Examples v List of Tables vii Abstract viii Chapter One: Introduction and Review of Literature 1 Chapter Two: Sonata in e (1961/62) 9 Chapter Three: Improvisations (1994) 51 Chapter Four: Little Suite for 2 Violins. (2002) 75 Epilogue: Ode to a Departing Swan (1964) 97 Conclusion 99 Bibliography 100 iv List of Musical Examples Example 2.1: Sonata in e, Moderato, mm. 1-2. 15 Example 2.2: Sonata in e, Moderato, mm. 15-17. 16 Example 2.3: Sonata in e, Moderato, mm. 17-22. 17 Example 2.4: Sonata in e, Moderato, mm. 33-34. 18 Example 2.5: Philippe Gaubert Violin Sonata no. 1, mm. 75-81. 19 Example 2.6: Moderato, mm. 22-25. 21 Example 2.7: Moderato, mm. 33-34. 23 Example 2.8: Moderato, mm. 44-46. 24 Example 2.9: Moderato, mm. 71-73. 25 Example 2.10: Moderato, mm. 76-81. 26 Example 2.11: Very slowly and with much expression, mm.
    [Show full text]
  • Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji's Quintet for Piano and Four Stringed Instruments and Its Intended Performance by Norah Drewett and the Hart House String Quartet
    91 Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji's Quintet for Piano and Four Stringed Instruments and its intended performance by Norah Drewett and the Hart House String Quartet Marc-AndrC Roberge Abstract This article attempts to reconstruct the history of what was to be the first per- formance of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji's Quintet for Piano and Four Stringed Instruments (1919-20), which was scheduled to be given on 29 November 1925 at Aeolian Hall in New York by the pianist Norah Drewett and the University of Toronto's Hart House String Quartet as part of a concert sponsored by Edgard Varese's International Composers' Guild. The performance never took place for reasons that are not entirely clear but have to do mostly with the work's difficul- ties. The article also provides an introduction to the work itself, which Sorabji dedicated to his friend, the composer Philip Heseltine. Most people who have heard of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892-1988), the Parsi composer and pianist active who lived as a recluse in England for most of his career, know that performances of his often massive and extremely difficult works have been extremely rare as a result of a so-called ban.l The thirteen scores that Sorabji published between 1921 and 1931 contain the following warning: "All rights including that of performance, reserved for all countries by the composer." The score of his 248-page Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30), his longest and most often cited work, contains the additional admonition: "Public performance prohibited unless by express consent of the composer." Various statements in letters make it possible to say that, in the late thirties, Sorabji had decided to turn down all requests for public performance either by himself or by others.
    [Show full text]
  • Der Vampyr De Heinrich Marschner
    DESCUBRIMIENTOS Der Vampyr de Heinrich Marschner por Carlos Fuentes y Espinosa ay momentos extraordinarios Polidori creó ahí su obra más famosa y trascendente, pues introdujo en un breve cuento de en la historia de la Humanidad horror gótico, por vez primera, una concreción significativa de las creencias folclóricas sobre que, con todo gusto, el vampirismo, dibujando así el prototipo de la concepción que se ha tenido del monstruo uno querría contemplar, desde entonces, al que glorias de la narrativa fantástica como E.T.A. Hoffmann, Edgar Allan dada la importancia de la Poe, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Jules Verne y el ineludible Abraham Stoker aprovecharían y Hproducción que en ellos se generara. ampliarían magistralmente. Sin duda, un momento especial para la literatura fantástica fue aquella reunión En su relato, Polidori presenta al vampiro, Lord Ruthven, como un antihéroe integrado, a de espléndidos escritores en Ginebra, su manera, a la sociedad, y no es difícil identificar la descripción de Lord Byron en él (sin Suiza, a mediados de junio de 1816 (el mencionar que con ese nombre ya una escritora amante de Byron, Caroline Lamb, nombraba “año sin verano”), cuando en la residencia como Lord Ruthven un personaje con las características del escritor). Precisamente por del célebre George Gordon, Lord Byron, eso, por la publicación anónima original, por la notoria emulación de las obras de Byron y a orillas del lago Lemán, departieron el su fama, las primeras ediciones del cuento se atribuyeron a él, aunque con el tiempo y una baronet Percy Bysshe Shelley, notable incómoda cantidad de disputas, terminara por dársele el crédito al verdadero escritor, que poeta y escritor, su futura esposa Mary fuera tío del poeta y pintor inglés Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
    [Show full text]
  • Andras Schiff Franz Schubert Sonatas & Impromptus
    Andras Schiff Franz Schubert Sonatas & Impromptus -• ECM NEW SERIES Franz Schubert Vier Impromptus D 899 Sonate in c-Moll D 958 Drei Klavierstücke D 946 Sonate in A-Dur D 959 Andräs Schiff Fortepiano Franz Schubert (1797-1828) II 1-4 Vier Impromptus D899 1-3 Drei Klavierstücke D 946 Allegro molto moderato in c-Moll 9:32 Allegro assai in es-Moll 9:12 Allegro in Es-Dur 4:39 Allegretto in Es-Dur 11 :46 Andante in Ges-Dur 4:59 Allegro in C-Dur 5:31 Allegretto in As-Dur 7: 21 4-7 Sonate in A-Dur D959 5-8 Sonate in c-Moll D958 Allegro 15:45 Allegro 10:35 Andantino 7:13 Adagio 7:00 Scherzo. Allegro vivace - Trio 5:30 Menuett. Allegretto - Trio 3:04 Rondo. Allegretto 12:35 Allegro 9:13 Beethoven's sphere "Secretly, I hope to be able to make something of myself, but who can do any­ thing after Beethoven?" Schubert's remark, allegedly made to his childhood friendJosef von Spaun, gives us an indication of how strongly he feit himself to be in the shadow of the great composer he was too inhibited ever to approach. For his part, Beethoven cannot have been unaware of Schubert's presence in Vienna. The younger composer's first piano sonata to appear in print - the Sonata in A minor D 845 - bore a dedication to Beethoven's most generous and ardent pa­ tron, Archduke Rudolph of Austria. Moreover, the work was favourably reviewed in the Leipzig Al/gemeine musikalische Zeitung - a journal which Beethoven is known to have read.
    [Show full text]
  • The Functions of Harmonic Motives in Schubert's Sonata Forms1 Brian
    The Functions of Harmonic Motives in Schubert’s Sonata Forms1 Brian Black Schubert’s sonata forms often seem to be animated by some hidden process that breaks to the surface at significant moments, only to subside again as suddenly and enigmatically as it first appeared. Such intrusions usually highlight a specific harmonic motive—either a single chord or a larger multi-chord cell—each return of which draws in the listener, like a veiled prophecy or the distant recall of a thought from the depths of memory. The effect is summed up by Joseph Kerman in his remarks on the unsettling trill on Gß and its repeated appearances throughout the first movement of the Piano Sonata in Bß major, D. 960: “But the figure does not develop, certainly not in any Beethovenian sense. The passage... is superb, but the figure remains essentially what it was at the beginning: a mysterious, impressive, cryptic, Romantic gesture.”2 The allusive way in which Schubert conjures up recurring harmonic motives stamps his music with the mystery and yearning that are the hallmarks of his style. Yet these motives amount to much more than oracular pronouncements, arising without any apparent cause and disappearing without any tangible effect. Quite the contrary—they are actively involved in the unfolding of the 1 This article is dedicated to William E. Caplin. I would also like to thank two of my colleagues at the University of Lethbridge, Deanna Oye and Edward Jurkowski, for their many helpful suggestions during the article’s preparation. 2 Joseph Kerman “A Romantic Detail in Schubert’s Schwanengesang,” in Walter Frisch (ed.), Schubert: Critical and Analytical Perspectives, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986): 59.
    [Show full text]