KENNY BROBERG PIANO Initial Stream: January 24, 2021

Home , Carl Maria von Weber, Nikolai Medtner

PROGRAM NOTES by Kenny Broberg

Introduction

The genesis for this program came from a desire to combine works by well-known composers with some music that has been somewhat unjustly neglected. I discovered the Weber Sonata a few years ago while researching Franz Liszt's editorial work – he published an edition of all the Weber sonatas – and I immediately loved it, particularly the first movement. It makes sense to me to program this music to go with Chopin, for I think that Weber's operatic style and pianistic writing bear much in common with Chopin. Of course, Scriabin started his career imitating Chopin before veering off into a more complex harmonic direction. Medtner was from the same school as Scriabin, and they were undoubtedly influenced by one another. I enjoy making these stylistic connections; it is like getting a glimpse into the minds of these composers, and I hope that hearing these pieces side by side can offer some insight into their meaning.

Sonata No. 4 in E minor, Op. 70 Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826)

The works of Carl Maria von Weber are largely forgotten in the repertoire, with a few exceptions, but he was an important link between the Classical and Romantic eras. His operas, particularly Der Freischütz, paved the way for Wagner, and his piano works were a staple of the repertoire throughout the 19th century.

The Sonata in E minor, Op. 70 is the last of four piano sonatas that Weber wrote. It is a four- movement work with a large-scale first movement followed by a scherzo, slow movement, and a tarantella finale. The writing style is reminiscent of both Mozart and Beethoven, with the former's operatic sensibilities and the latter's harmonic and structural complexity, but it also anticipates the virtuoso works of Liszt and Chopin. It is a dramatic, convincing piece that is surely worthy of a place in the modern concert repertoire.

Selected Skazki Nikolai Medtner (1880–1951)

Nikolai Medtner was a contemporary of many of the most famous Russian composers, such as Rachmaninov, Scriabin, and Prokofiev. While he did not achieve the worldwide recognition that these composers enjoyed, he was well-regarded by them; Rachmaninoff said Medtner was the greatest composer of his lifetime. His music has justly experienced a renaissance in the past few decades. Born to a German family that immigrated to Russia before he was born, his music is often described as the fusion of German and Russian Romantic traditions.

Medtner wrote 45 Skazki for piano in all, and they represent some of his most accessible music. The name of the pieces has led to some confusion, as they were also known during his lifetime in English as Fairy Tales, in German as Märchen, and in French as Contes. All of these roughly translate to "fairy tales," or perhaps more accurately, "folk tales." They are generally shorter works, but they abound with musical imagination and storytelling. The Skazki included in this program all contrast from each other in an effort to illustrate the wide range of Medtner's capabilities. We are lucky enough to have recordings of Medtner performing all of the works presented here, with the exception of Op. 26 No. 1.

Barcarolle Kenny Broberg (b. 1993)

Last year, after the coronavirus pandemic began and all concerts were cancelled, I was faced with a lot more free time on my hands. I had been reading about Artur Schnabel and learned that he took a sabbatical from concertizing for several years in order to focus on composition; he described these years as the happiest of his life. Since I was already taking a sabbatical from performing (for very different reasons!) I decided I should learn to compose. While I cannot say this past year has been the happiest of my life, I can say composing has helped me get through a lot of the things we have all had to deal with, and I am thankful it is now a part of my life. While this is still very much a new skill for me, I decided I would like to share a piece I worked on from about August to October 2020. I entitled this piece Barcarolle, and it is very much influenced by Chopin and Fauré, among other composers. 2

Polonaise-Fantasy in A-flat major, Op. 61 Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)

Frederic Chopin began work on the Polonaise, Op. 61 in 1845 at the same time as his Cello Sonata and Barcarolle in F-sharp major, making it one of his last compositions. He wrote to his family in December of that year, saying he was unsure what to name the piece, eventually publishing it as the Polonaise-Fantasy. When comparing with Chopin's previous Polonaises, it becomes apparent that the "fantasy" is perhaps more prevalent; the material itself is suggestive of a polonaise, but the rhapsodic structure that the material is developed into has more in common with the F-minor Fantasy or the Ballades than with the other Polonaises.

To me, this is simultaneously one of Chopin's most difficult, frustrating, ambiguous, and ultimately rewarding works. Chopin's aesthetic of constant continuation and development is in full display; the piece hardly ever settles in one place, and even the ending is barely a resolution. The performer is tasked with walking a tightrope balancing the need for continuity without sacrificing the many beautiful moments along the way. The result is a kaleidoscope of nostalgia, hopefulness, tragedy, resignation, and ultimately a love for life that is a summation of Chopin's artistic output.

Sonata No. 5, Op. 53 Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915)

Scriabin's Sonata No. 5, Op. 53 is the last in a series of pieces he wrote based on his literary poem, “The Poem of Ecstasy.” Written in 1907–1908, it came at a crucial juncture in Scriabin's writing style, as he started to move away from conventional tonality and structure. It is heavily influenced by his interest in theosophy and Nietzsche, as well as his synesthesia, a condition that caused him to associate music with color.

Scriabin's main goal, or perhaps delusion, was a rebirth of the human race into a higher level of existence through a synthesis of all the arts in an unfinished piece he called Mysterium, and the Fifth Sonata contains many of the same ideas. In the Sonata, it is instead through sexuality that Nietzsche's concept of Übermensch (the Superman) is attained. The music itself is not atonal, as is sometimes claimed, but the harmony is stretched to the point of breaking; perhaps this is the goal of the piece, as the ending breaks the bonds of the tonal structure in what Scriabin described as a blinding white light. It is technically an extremely virtuosic and acrobatic piece – Sviatislav Richter considered the most difficult piece ever written – but this has not stopped it from being one of Scriabin's most popular and well-performed pieces.