VANESSA Composer: Samuel Barber Libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti After a Story by Isak Dinesen in Seven Gothic Tales

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

VANESSA Composer: Samuel Barber Libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti after a story by Isak Dinesen in Seven Gothic Tales Vanessa has spent twenty years in her country house after being left by her lover, Anatol; she has kept the house shut up, with all of the mirrors covered. Her mother, the Old Baroness, will not speak to her; her only companion is her niece, Erika. As the opera opens, they are preparing for the arrival of Anatol. He is sighted coming towards the house, and Vanessa sends everyone else away; as soon as he arrives at the door, she declares her love for him--then faints when she discovers that the man on the doorstep is not her lover. He is, he explains to Erika, that Anatol's son; he has come to meet the woman whose name haunted his father and mother. The Anatol that Vanessa knew has died. Anatol, left alone with Erika, seduces her; the next day, after Erika learns that he has been making advances to Vanessa, she confronts him; he offers to marry her, but, offended by the flippancy with which he has proposed, and worried about Vanessa, rejects him. At the party where Vanessa and Anatol's engagement is announced, Erika reveals to the Old Baroness that she is pregnant with Anatol's child. She runs away from the house and causes herself to miscarry; a search party sent out by Vanessa brings her back. Vanessa, still unaware of Anatol's liason with Erika, marries him, and they leave together. Erika, left alone in the house with her grandmother, who now will not speak to her, orders the mirrors covered again and the gates closed and locked, just as before. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Barber Piano Sonata in E-Flat Minor, Opus 26
Barber Piano Sonata In E-flat Minor, Opus 26 Comparative Survey: 29 performances evaluated, September 2014 Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981) is most famous for his Adagio for Strings which achieved iconic status when it was played at F.D.R’s funeral procession and at subsequent solemn occasions of state. But he also wrote many wonderful songs, a symphony, a dramatic Sonata for Cello and Piano, and much more. He also contributed one of the most important 20th Century works written for the piano: The Piano Sonata, Op. 26. Written between 1947 and 1949, Barber’s Sonata vies, in terms of popularity, with Copland’s Piano Variations as one of the most frequently programmed and recorded works by an American composer. Despite snide remarks from Barber’s terminally insular academic contemporaries, the Sonata has been well received by audiences ever since its first flamboyant premier by Vladimir Horowitz. Barber’s unique brand of mid-20th Century post-romantic modernism is in full creative flower here with four well-contrasted movements that offer a full range of textures and techniques. Each of the strongly characterized movements offers a corresponding range of moods from jagged defiance, wistful nostalgia and dark despondency, to self-generating optimism, all of which is generously wrapped with Barber’s own soaring lyricism. The first movement, Allegro energico, is tough and angular, the most ‘modern’ of the movements in terms of aggressive dissonance. Yet it is not unremittingly pugilistic, for Barber provides the listener with alternating sections of dreamy introspection and moments of expansive optimism. The opening theme is stern and severe with jagged and dotted rhythms that give a sense of propelling physicality of gesture and a mood of angry defiance.
[Show full text]
A Formal Analytical Approach Was Utilized to Develop Chart Analyses Of
^ DOCUMENT RESUME ED 026 970 24 HE 000 764 .By-Hanson, John R. Form in Selected Twentieth-Century Piano Concertos. Final Report. Carroll Coll., Waukesha, Wis. Spons Agency-Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C. Bureauof Research. Bureau No-BR-7-E-157 Pub Date Nov 68 Crant OEC -0 -8 -000157-1803(010) Note-60p. EDRS Price tvw-s,ctso HC-$3.10 Descriptors-Charts, Educational Facilities, *Higher Education, *Music,*Music Techniques, Research A formal analytical approach was utilized to developchart analyses of all movements within 33 selected piano concertoscomposed in the twentieth century. The macroform, or overall structure, of each movement wasdetermined by the initial statement, frequency of use, andorder of each main thematic elementidentified. Theme groupings were then classified underformal classical prototypes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (ternary,sonata-allegro, 5-part or 7-part rondo, theme and variations, and others), modified versionsof these forms (three-part design), or a variety of free sectionalforms. The chart and thematic illustrations are followed by a commentary discussing each movement aswell as the entire concerto. No correlation exists between styles andforms of the 33 concertos--the 26 composers usetraditional,individualistic,classical,and dissonant formsina combination of ways. Almost all works contain commonunifying thematic elements, and cyclicism (identical theme occurring in more than1 movement) is used to a great degree. None of the movements in sonata-allegroform contain double expositions, but 22 concertos have 3 movements, and21 have cadenzas, suggesting that the composers havelargely respected standards established in theClassical-Romantic period. Appendix A is the complete form diagramof Samuel Barber's Piano Concerto, Appendix B has concentrated analyses of all the concertos,and Appendix C lists each movement accordog to its design.(WM) DE:802 FINAL REPORT Project No.
[Show full text]
Bach, Barber, and Brahms: Masters of Emotive Violin Composition Edward Charity Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected]
Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Research Papers Graduate School Summer 6-30-2014 Bach, Barber, and Brahms: Masters of Emotive Violin Composition Edward Charity Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/gs_rp Recommended Citation Charity, Edward, "Bach, Barber, and Brahms: Masters of Emotive Violin Composition" (2014). Research Papers. Paper 551. http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/gs_rp/551 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Research Papers by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BACH, BARBER, AND BRAHMS: MASTERS OF EMOTIVE VIOLIN COMPOSITION by Edward Charity B.M., Northwestern State University, 2011. A Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Music Department of Music in the Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale August 2014 RESEARCH PAPER APPROVAL BACH, BARBER, AND BRAHMS: MASTERS OF EMOTIVE VIOLIN COMPOSITION By Edward Charity A Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Music in the field of Music Performance Approved by: Michael Barta, Chair Eric Lenz Jacob Tews Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale June 28, 2014 AN ABSTRACT OF THE RESEARCH PAPER OF Edward Charity, for the Master of Music degree in Music Performance, presented on June 30, 2014, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: BACH, BARBER, AND BRAHMS: MASTERS OF EMOTIVE VIOLIN COMPOSITION MAJOR PROFESSOR: Michael Barta Three seminal works of the violin repertory will be examined: J.S.
[Show full text]
Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Programs, Summer, 1963-1964
TANGLEWOOD Festival of Contemporary American Music August 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 1964 Sponsored by the Berkshire Music Center In Cooperation with the Fromm Music Foundation RCA Victor R£D SEAL festival of Contemporary American Composers DELLO JOIO: Fantasy and Variations/Ravel: Concerto in G Hollander/Boston Symphony Orchestra/Leinsdorf LM/LSC-2667 COPLAND: El Salon Mexico Grofe-. Grand Canyon Suite Boston Pops/ Fiedler LM-1928 COPLAND: Appalachian Spring The Tender Land Boston Symphony Orchestra/ Copland LM/LSC-240i HOVHANESS: BARBER: Mysterious Mountain Vanessa (Complete Opera) Stravinsky: Le Baiser de la Fee (Divertimento) Steber, Gedda, Elias, Mitropoulos, Chicago Symphony/Reiner Met. Opera Orch. and Chorus LM/LSC-2251 LM/LSC-6i38 FOSS: IMPROVISATION CHAMBER ENSEMBLE Studies in Improvisation Includes: Fantasy & Fugue Music for Clarinet, Percussion and Piano Variations on a Theme in Unison Quintet Encore I, II, III LM/LSC-2558 RCA Victor § © The most trusted name in sound BERKSHIRE MUSIC CENTER ERICH Leinsdorf, Director Aaron Copland, Chairman of the Faculty Richard Burgin, Associate Chairman of the Faculty Harry J. Kraut, Administrator FESTIVAL of CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN MUSIC presented in cooperation with THE FROMM MUSIC FOUNDATION Paul Fromm, President Alexander Schneider, Associate Director DEPARTMENT OF COMPOSITION Aaron Copland, Head Gunther Schuller, Acting Head Arthur Berger and Lukas Foss, Guest Teachers Paul Jacobs, Fromm Instructor in Contemporary Music Stanley Silverman and David Walker, Administrative Assistants The Berkshire Music Center is the center for advanced study in music sponsored by the BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Erich Leinsdorf, Music Director Thomas D. Perry, Jr., Manager BALDWIN PIANO RCA VICTOR RECORDS — 1 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC Participants in this year's Festival are invited to subscribe to the American journal devoted to im- portant issues of contemporary music.
[Show full text]
Knoxville: Summer of 1915” Danielle E
Undergraduate Research Journal Volume 19 Article 12 2015 Musical and Cultural Significance in Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” Danielle E. Kluver University of Nebraska at Kearney Follow this and additional works at: https://openspaces.unk.edu/undergraduate-research-journal Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Kluver, Danielle E. (2015) "Musical and Cultural Significance in Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915”," Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 19 , Article 12. Available at: https://openspaces.unk.edu/undergraduate-research-journal/vol19/iss1/12 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity at OpenSPACES@UNK: Scholarship, Preservation, and Creative Endeavors. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Research Journal by an authorized editor of OpenSPACES@UNK: Scholarship, Preservation, and Creative Endeavors. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Musical and Cultural Significance in Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” Danielle E. Kluver INTRODUCTION “We are talking now of summer evenings in Knoxville, Tennessee in the time that I lived there so successfully disguised to myself as a child” (Agee 3). These first words of James Agee’s prose poem “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” introduce the reader to a world of his youth – rural Tennessee in the early part of the century. Agee’s highly descriptive and lyrical language in phrases such as “these sweet pale streamings in the light out their pallors,” (Agee 5) invites the reader to use all his senses and become enveloped in the inherent music of the language. Is it any wonder that upon reading Agee’s words, composer Samuel Barber should be drawn into this narrative that enlivens the senses and touches the heart with its complexity of human emotions told through the recollections of childhood from a time of youth and innocence.
[Show full text]
SINCE 1945: a SURVEY May, 1971
/A/8 THE SOLO PIANO SONATA IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1945: A SURVEY THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF MUSIC By Rebecca Jane Edge, B. M. Denton, Texas May, 1971 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ........... ..... iv Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . * * . History of the Term "Sonata" Problems of the Modern Sonata II. THE PIANO SONATA IN THE UNITED STATES . 8 Before 1900 1900-1945 1945-1970 Trends in the Contemporary Sonata III. BRIEF ANALYSES OF EIGHT REPRESENTATIVE PIANO SONATAS WRITTEN BETWEEN 1945-1970 . 19 Samuel Barber, Sonata, Op. 26 John Cage, Sonatas and Interludes Elliott Carter, Piano Sonata Paul Creston, Sonata, Op. 9 Norman Dello Joio, Piano Sonata #L Alan Hovhaness, Poseidon Sonata Peter Mennin, Sonata for Piano Vincent Persichetti, Piano Sonata #2 APPENDIXA . 157 BIBLIOGRAPHY .0 ..9.. 0.. 0.. 9.. 0.. 0.61 iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Beethoven Sonata in CM, Op. 53, first movement, measures 1-4 . 16 2. Roger Sessions Second Piano Sonata, first movement, measures 1-4W. .17 3. Samuel Barber Sonata, Op. 26, first move- ment, measures 1, 21, 17, 45-. 20 4. Samuel Barber Sonata, Op. 26, first move- ment, measure 9 . 21 5. Samuel Barber Sonata, Op. 26, third move- ment, measures1-5 . 23 6. Samuel Barber Sonata, Op. 26, fourth move- ment, measures 1-3*. 23 7. John Cage Sonatas and Interludes, "Sonata VIII," measures 2, 8-10 .... *. ... .*. .. 28 8. John Cage Sonatas and Interludes, "Sonata IV" . 29 9. Elliott Carter Piano Sonata, first movement, measures1-3, 15, 83o..
[Show full text]
Aaron Copland (1910-90), and Charles Ives (1874-1954) – December 11, 2017
AAP: Music American nostalgia: Samuel Barber (1910-81), Aaron Copland (1910-90), and Charles Ives (1874-1954) – December 11, 2017 Aaron Copland • Parents immigrated to the US and opened a furniture store in Brooklyn • Youngest of five children • Began studying piano at age 13 • Studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) • The school of music at CUNY Queens College is named after him: Aaron Copland School of Music Career: • Composed – musical style incorporates Latin American (Brazilian, Cuban, Mexican), Jewish, Anglo-American, and African-American (jazz) sources • Conducted (1958-78) • Wrote essays about music • Visiting teaching positions (New School for Social Research, Henry Street Settlement, Harvard University) • Public lectures (Harvard’s Norton Professor of Poetics, 1951-52) Copland organized concerts that promoted the music of his peers: Marc Blitzstein (1905-64) Roy Harris (1898-1979) Paul Bowles (1910-99) Charles Ives (1874-1954) Henry Brant (1913-2008) Walter Piston (1894-1976) Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) Carl Ruggles (1876-1971) Israel Citkowitz (1909-74) Roger Sessions (1896-1985) Vivian Fine (1913-2000) Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) Copland was a mentor to younger composers: Leonard Bernstein (1918-90) Irving Fine (1914-62) David del Tredici (b. 1937) Lukas Foss (1922-2009) David Diamond (1915-2005) Barbara Kolb (b. 1939) Jacob Druckman (1928-96) William Schuman (1910-92) Elliott Carter (1908-2012) AAP: Music Selected works Orchestra Ballets (also published as orchestral suites) Music for the Theatre (1925) Billy the Kid
[Show full text]
06 20 PROGRAM FULL PAGE.Pdf
About the festival The New Music For Strings Festival (NMFS) is delighted to announce the launch of its second annual season from June 21 to July 1, 2017. Hosted by Stony Brook University in 2017, NMFS brings together performers and composers of contemporary classical music from across the Atlantic. NMFS showcases a roster of world-class musicians, ranging from members of the Grammy Award- winning Emerson String Quartet to faculty from Stony Brook University (NY) and Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark. Resident faculty and artists of NMFS 2017 will be showcased alongside accomplished student participants that include graduate students from top conservatories and universities in the U.S. and Europe. The 10-day festival features fourteen events—including six concerts, three masterclasses, five lectures and a composition pre-festival workshop for high-school students. The season will culminate with a tour de force festival performance at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, which will highlight the full roster of 27 festival artists from America and Scandinavia. As the first festival concept of its kind in the world, NMFS seeks to explore the intersections between string playing and composition. NMFS boasts an elite artist faculty for participants to work with, many of whom have established themselves as leaders in their field in the dual role of performer-composer. By highlighting this intersectional perspective throughout the festival, NMFS offers a variety of lectures, masterclasses and concerts on the dynamic interactions between these two intertwined fields of creation and interpretation. Music has the power of bridging cultures and enlightening minds. NMFS is dedicated to sustaining and enriching the vibrant classical music community in Long Island.
[Show full text]
MUS434-571.3 Music of the Modern Era WWII Exodus to USA – Feb
MUS434-571.3 Music of the Modern Era WWII Exodus to USA – Feb. 19, 2013 Olivier Messiaen – Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps (1941) • Drafted into French Army • Written while imprisoned in Stalag VII-A at Görlitz prisoner-of-war camp (1940–41) • Interest in birdsong • Evasion of meter / rhythmic freedom • Intense personal experience informs music • Taught at Paris Conservatoire after being released 1941 Escaping WWII • Schoenberg – UCLA (1932) • Stravinsky – LA (1940) • Bartók – New York (1940) • Rachmaninov – New York / LA (performing) • Weill – New York (Broadway) • Milhaud – Mills College (CA) + Paris Conservatoire • Hindemith – Yale (1940) • Krenek + Eisler Born in the USA • Aaron Copland – Among the first class to study with Nadia Boulanger at American Conservatory at Fontainebleu • Virgil Thomson – Outspoken music critic, also studied at Fontainebleu • Roger Sessions – studied with Schoenberg, more modernist – “Composers should obey only an inner creative urge – an ‘essential innerlich notwendig’ [inwardly necessary] musical impulse” not a political or commercial obligation • Roy Harris – From humble roots in OK, also studied at Fontainbleu with help from Aaron Copland • Walter Piston – Neoclassicism • Samuel Barber – Long melodies, lush orchestration = considered more traditional League of Composers • Founded 1923 as alternative to International Composers’ Guild, which was more modernist and bigoted (against Jewish folks and others) • Championed works of composers listed on previous slide • Organizational attempt to advocate for new
[Show full text]
Incorporation of the Vernacular Into the Work of Five American Composers
Men and Women Get the Blues: Incorporation of the Vernacular Into the Work of Five American Composers Jan Harasim T.H. Rogers K-8 School INTRODUCTION So often we pay homage to the great European composers without considering the enormous contributions of men and women from our own country. There is no doubt that composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart should be regarded as master composers, but typically, education about American composers and the influence of our own cultural traditions are too often neglected. In addition, when we focus on composers, the contributions of American women are especially overlooked. The unique characteristics of American culture have provided a wealth of material for 20th century composers to draw upon, from the folksongs of Appalachia and the work songs and sea chanteys of many generations, to the vibrant tapestry of jazz and the blues. This curriculum unit will delve into our broad American heritage of sounds, consider our unique cultural experiences, explore the influence of folk music, and examine the perspective of gender on 20th century American music. The people and events in the United States have created a richly diverse society that expresses itself in a myriad of musical styles. The student population at my urban district school exemplifies this diversity. Our students speak as many as six languages, including American Sign Language (ASL). Our population includes multiply impaired, deaf, and gifted-and-talented (G/T) elementary and middle school students. This curriculum unit will be developed specifically with the gifted-and-talented in mind, but ultimately, the end product of their creativity will be shared with the entire school population.
[Show full text]
Defining Musical Americanism: a Reductive Style Study of the Piano Sonatas of Samuel Barber, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, and Charles Ives
Defining Musical Americanism: A Reductive Style Study of the Piano Sonatas of Samuel Barber, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, and Charles Ives A document submitted to the Graduate School 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 by Brendan Jacklin BM, Brandon University, 2011 MM, Bowling Green State University, 2013 Committee Chair: bruce d. mcclung, PhD Abstract This document includes a reductive style study of four American piano sonatas premiered between 1939 and 1949: Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord” by Charles Ives, Piano Sonata by Aaron Copland, Piano Sonata by Elliott Carter, and Piano Sonata, Op. 26 by Samuel Barber. Each of these sonatas represents a different musical style and synthesizes traditional compositional techniques with native elements. A reductive analysis ascertains those musical features with identifiable European origins, such as sonata-allegro principle and fugue, and in doing so will reveal which musical features and influences contribute to make each sonata stylistically American. While such American style elements, such as jazz-inspired rhythms and harmonies, are not unique to the works of American composers, I demonstrate how the combination of these elements, along with the extent each composer’s aesthetic intent in creating an American work, contributed to the creation of an American piano style. i Copyright © 2017 by Brendan Jacklin. All rights reserved. ii Acknowledgments I would first like to offer my wholehearted thanks to my advisor, Dr. bruce mcclung, whose keen suggestions and criticisms have been essential at every stage of this document.
[Show full text]
ALBAN Gerhardt ANNE-Marie Mcdermott
THE KINDLER FOUNDATION TRUST FUND iN tHE LIBRARY oF CONGRESS ALBAN GERHARDT ANNE-MARIE MCDERMOTT Saturday, January 16, 2016 ~ 2 pm Coolidge Auditorium Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building In 1983 the KINDLER FOUNDATION TRUST FUND in the Library of Congress was established to honor cellist Hans Kindler, founder and first director of the National Symphony Orchestra, through concert presentations and commissioning of new works. Please request ASL and ADA accommodations five days in advance of the concert at 202-707-6362 or [email protected]. Latecomers will be seated at a time determined by the artists for each concert. Children must be at least seven years old for admittance to the concerts. Other events are open to all ages. • Please take note: Unauthorized use of photographic and sound recording equipment is strictly prohibited. Patrons are requested to turn off their cellular phones, alarm watches, and any other noise-making devices that would disrupt the performance. Reserved tickets not claimed by five minutes before the beginning of the event will be distributed to stand-by patrons. Please recycle your programs at the conclusion of the concert. The Library of Congress Coolidge Auditorium Saturday, January 16, 2016 — 2 pm THE KINDLER FOUNDATION TRUST FUND iN tHE LIBRARY oF CONGRESS ALBAN GERHARDT, CELLO ANNE-MARIE MCDERMOTT, PIANO • Program SAMUEL BARBER (1910-1981) Sonata for cello and piano, op. 6 (1932) Allegro ma non troppo Adagio—Presto—Adagio Allegro appassionato BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976) Sonata in C major for cello and piano, op. 65 (1960-1961) Dialogo Scherzo-pizzicato Elegia Marcia Moto perpetuo LUKAS FOSS (1922-2009) Capriccio (1946) iNtermission 1 LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990) Three Meditations from Mass for cello and piano (1971) Meditation no.
[Show full text]