CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Concerto and Recital Works by Tausig, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Turina and Mozart A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music in Music, Performance by Tianhui Zhang May 2018 The graduate project of Tianhui Zhang is approved: _____________________________________________ __________ Dr. Tali Tadmor Date _____________________________________________ __________ Dr. Lorenz Gamma Date _____________________________________________ __________ Dr. Dmitry Rachmanov, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii Acknowledgement Thank you to Dr. Dmitry Rachmanov, Dr. Gayle Kowalchyk, Dr. Tali Tadmor, Dr. Pei-Shan Lee, Professor Edward Francis, and Dr. Lorenz Gamma for your guidance, wisdom, and encouragement. Thank you to my lovely family and my sweet friends whose support made this possible. iii Table of Contents Signature Page ii Acknowledgement iii Abstract v Section 1: Scarlatti sonata “Pastorale & Capriccio” 1 arranged by Carl Tausig Section 2: Sonata Op.10 No.3 by Ludwig van Beethoven 3 Section 3: Rondo in C minor, Op.1 by Frederic Chopin 5 Section 4: Papillons, Op.2 by Robert Schumann 7 Section 5: Zapateado by Joaquin Turina 9 Section 6: Piano Concerto No.24 in C Minor, K491. 10 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Appendix A: Program I (Concerto) 12 Appendix B: Program II (Solo Recital) 13 iv Abstract CONCERTO AND RECITAL WORKS BY TAUSIG, BEETHOVEN, CHOPIN, SCHUMANN, TURINA and MOZART By Tianhui Zhang Master of Music in Music, Performance In this paper, I will analyze and discuss the works that I performed on my Master Degree solo recital and concerto concert. My recital and concerto repertoire consisted of works by Carl Tausig, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franciszek Chopin, Robert Schumann, Joaquin Turina and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The goal of this paper is to write about an analysis of the form, harmonic structure, and history of these pieces. And I also will show my personal ideas and experience about how to play and work on these pieces. For my solo recital program, I performed a range of styles representing each of the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Spanish music. The variety of these styles gives the pianist an opportunity and big challenge to play a full variety of techniques, articulations, and v interpretive approaches on the piano. Different periods of music have different musical styles. Pianists needs to show the musical characteristics of the different periods to the audience in a concert. For my concerto recital, I chose the Mozart piano concerto No.24 in C minor. This piece is one of the only two minor-key piano concertos that Mozart composed. I played a contemporary cadenza composed by Alfred Schnittke, which made this classical piece sound more interesting. vi Section 1: Scarlatti sonata “Pastorale & Capriccio” arranged by Carl Tausig These two Scarlatti sonatas were arranged by Carl Tausig (1841-1871). Carl Tausig was born in Poland. He was not only one of the greatest pianists but was also a great arranger and composer. When Carl was 14 years old, his father let him study with Franz Liszt. He became one of the most adored and respected pupils of Franz Liszt. He was known for his exemplary technique, and, alongside Liszt and Anton Rubinstein, is considered one of the three greatest pianists of the 19th century. These two sonatas are not well-known to the world, and there is not a lot of information on them available. The “Pastorale” is in the key of e minor, 6/8, Allegretto. Tausig added more colorful harmonies and long melodic legato lines in this sonata, which made it sounds more colorful and rich than the original edition. Although it is a work from the baroque period, I think pianists could play this with a more romantic style. Tausig added a lot of markings in the music, which are clear to tell performer how to add the dynamics to in the music. At the beginning of section A, the left and right hands both have legato lines, I recommend that the performer try to use finger legato to play the beautiful melody as smoothly as possible. For some bars that have the same harmony throughout, one we could add some pedal, in order to make the sonority richer. When the right hand (finger 1,4 and 2,5) play the interval of a sixth, the fingers should be very relaxed and the wrist should do a little rotation, which could make the notes sound more equally. At the beginning of section B, each phrase is two bars long. We should play the melody more dolce. When the harmony changes, we should take time to feel the color changes. Then, a similar motive which is like the one in section A shows itself again. At the end of the piece, the damper pedal should be utilized. The “Capriccio” is in the key of E major, 2/4, Vivace. This sonata needs to be played in a style full of energy and also very fast. Each and every note needs to be clean, so when we 1 practice, we need to use a slow and moderate tempo, in order to make sure that every finger needs to be strong enough. At the beginning of this piece, measure 1 to 4 are the same with measures 5 to 8. So the first phrase should be played forte and second phrase should be played piano, which will make the two phrases sound like an echo of each other. In the following part, Tausig arranged a lot of slusr and staccatos, and pianists should play staccato like a “mean” notes, which makes a big contrast with the slurs. This can make the music sounds more interesting. In the section B, the performer’s fingers should focus on the top notes, which has more of the melody, and less on the right thumb. At the end of the piece, there is a long string of running sixteenth notes that should be played strongly and clearly. Pianists can divide them into some groups and also practice them with the dotted rhythm. 2 Section 2: Sonata Op.10 No.3 by Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was born in Bonn. He is regarded as one of the greatest composers and pianists in the history of music. He was considered as a Classical composer, but he was also the important turning point in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classic music. When he was young, he studied with Joseph Haydn, and this is also when Beethoven became a virtuoso pianist. Among his greatest masterpieces, Beethoven’s compositions include 5 piano concertos, 9 symphonies, 32 piano sonatas and innumerable other works of chamber music. In my solo recital, I selected the piano sonata No.7 in D major, Op. 10, No. 3. This sonata was written in 1798; and there are four movements in this sonata. The first movement: Presto, D Major, 2/2. This movement is written in sonata form. The structure is more compact here than in his previous sonatas, and the music feels brilliant, clear, fast, powerful and rich in the music. The first theme begins with an octave scale in D major, which feels like an implied motivation. After that, a beautiful melody in b minor suddenly changes the musical atmosphere. After this theme gradually increases in tension, the second theme appeares in a minor. The development begins with the first theme from piano to forte, then a development of the theme. In the recapitulation, everything is similar to the exposition, except the key change. At the end of the first movement, there is a gorgeous ending with a technically challenging and virtuosic display closing the movement. The second movement: Largo e mesto, d minor, 6/8. This movement is written in sonata form. Although the second movement is very slow, it demonstrates strong profound emotion and expression. In addition, this is Beethoven’s last 3 time to compose a Largo e mesto movement in a sonata. The movement opens with the first theme which can be characterized as melancholy. The second theme is a beautifully soft melody in a minor with deep sadness. After the second theme, a new musical theme is introduced that contrasts greatly with the previous sad themes. A musical dialogue then ensues between the left hand and the right hand. This is followed by a small coda of a three-bar melody that echoes the second theme. After a little break, the development appears in F major, and the color of the music changes. The impressive sixty-fourth notes continues to float. The Recapitulation is similar to the first part. The third movement: Allegro, D Major, 3/4. This movement is a Minuet. From the gloomy atmosphere of the previous movement, the mood has now shifted to a bright dance. One of the characteristics of Beethoven is the sudden change of musical color. The theme of the minuet is extremely soft. The middle section is in G major. The right hand plays the accompanying triplets, while the left hand plays the melody. Then, the A section is restated. The fourth movement: Allegro, D Major, 4/4. This movement is a Rondo. The main theme of the Rondo begins with the questioning motive, and it has been said Beethoven used this motive to express a feeling of anxiety. The first theme starts in D major. The first two bars must be phrased like a question, repeated twice, then followed by an answer which played like a cadenza. At the end of the movement, the main theme is still going on. At the end of music, the right hand plays chromatic running notes and the left hand plays the melody.