CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Concerto and Recital Works by Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Poulenc and Rachmaninoff A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Music in Music, Performance by Peter Shannon May 2016 The graduate project of Peter Shannon is approved: _____________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Soo-Yeon Chang Date _____________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Alexandra Monchick Date _____________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Dmitry Rachmanov, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii Table of Contents Signature Page ii Abstract iv Section 1: Toccata in F-sharp Minor BWV 910 by J.S. Bach 1 Section 2: Piano Sonata Op. 109 in E major by L.V. Beethoven 4 Section 3: Variations Sérieuses in D minor by Felix Mendelssohn 7 Section 4: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor by Frédéric Chopin 9 Section 5: Barcarolle in F-sharp major by Frédéric Chopin 10 Section 6: Napoli Suite, FP 40 by Francis Poulenc 13 Section 7: Etude-Tableau Op. 39 no. 9 by Sergei Rachmaninoff 17 Bibliography 20 Appendix A: Program I (Concerto) 21 Appendix B: Program II (Solo Recital) 22 iii Abstract Recital and Concerto Works by Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Poulenc and Rachmaninoff By Peter Shannon Master of Music in Music, Performance Johann Sebastien Bach (1685-1750) explored the genres and forms of the Baroque period with astonishing complexity and originality. Bach used the form of the toccata to couple the rigorous logic of Baroque counterpoint to the fantastic possibilities of improvisational harmony. The Piano Sonata Op. 109 in E major is the first of the final three piano sonatas by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. It summarizes the conventions of the Classical period, and anticipates the textures and moods of the Romantic period. Mendelssohn lived and composed in the shadow of his predecessor, and like Beethoven’s Op. 109 and 111 the Variations Sérieuses open a gateway to the music of the past, present, and future. As in the late sonatas of Beethoven, the Variations Sérieuses suggest spiritual reflection and transcendence through the unity of diverse compositional styles and the transformation of a single theme. Chopin’s Concerto in F minor is written in the stile brillante, showcasing the skills of the soloist within the traditions of Classical form. The Barcarolle in F-sharp major is a late work by the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, written between 1845 and 1846. The Barcarolle was a popular genre of character piece in the Romantic period, which usually sought to depict a Venetian gondola ride. Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) conceived of Napoli after a trip to Italy in 1922. The suite is composed of three movements, and represents the transition from the composer’s early style to his middle period of composition. Rachmaninoff wrote the second set of Etudes-Tableaux from 1916 to 1917, after experiencing several tragic events. The first eight etudes in the set have a dark and brooding character, while the final etude in D major has a more optimistic and life-affirming message. v Section 1: Toccata in F-sharp Minor BWV 910 by Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastien Bach (1685-1750) explored the genres and forms of the Baroque period with astonishing complexity and originality. His seven keyboard toccatas were written in the middle period of his output, from before 1710 to 1719. The genre of the toccata emerged in Italy in the sixteenth century, and quickly came to be associated with rhythmic and harmonic complexity. Toccatas specifically sought to showcase the performer’s abilities, often through rapid runs or dense polyphony: “the Toccata seems always to have implied a certain amount of brilliance and bravura, and to have made considerable demands on the player’s technique.”1 By the time J.S. Bach wrote his seven keyboard toccatas in the early 18th century, the genre had become more specifically associated with improvisatory phrasing and virtuosic keyboard writing. Bach used the form of the toccata to couple the rigorous logic of Baroque counterpoint to the fantastic possibilities of improvisational harmony. Although he incorporates fugue into the keyboard toccatas, the fugal process sometimes gives way to free counterpoint: “Their spirit is the Toccata spirit of energy, emotional directness, and poetic freedom. They are not perfect examples of Fugue as Bach established the Fugue in the period of his latest maturity.”2 Indeed, the fugues in Bach’s toccatas occasionally seem to gather so much energy that they organically spin out of strict fugal form. While the F-sharp minor and C minor toccatas are respectively numbered 1 and 2 in published editions, they were actually completed around 1717-19, about ten years later than nos. 2-6. 3 Sydney Grew considers the first 4/4 fugue of the F- sharp minor Toccata to be one of the most technically demanding sections in all of the keyboard toccatas, 4 perhaps because the contrapuntal implications of the subject leads to dense intervallic passages in later entries. The 4/4 fugue is preceded by an 1 J. A. Fuller-Maitland, “The Toccatas of Bach,” Proceedings of the Musical Association 39th Sess. (1912-1913): 46. 2 Sydney Grew, “The Clavier Toccatas of Bach,” The Musical Times, 60 no. 915 (1919): 206-207. 3 Maurice Hinson and Wesley Roberts, Guide to the Pianist’s Repertoire (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2014), 68. 4 Grew, 206. improvisatory introduction and 3/4 adagio, which prepares the F-sharp minor tonality through tonicizations of the C-sharp minor dominant, B-minor subdominant, and A-major mediant. While these modulations might sound like the most basic harmonic possibilities, the cadences in the opening adagio consistently resolve into second inversion sonorities that are perceived as 4-3 suspensions in the following phrase. The lack of authentic cadences creates a sense of harmonic restlessness and instability, and contributes to a general air of mystery in the opening adagio. The first 4/4 fugue affects an abrupt shift in mood with an assertive and diatonic subject. The opening statement of the subject implies a clear dominant- tonic cadence in the home key of F# minor. The consistent eighth note rhythm of the subject seems simplistic until the countersubject is introduced, which is composed almost entirely of sixteenth notes. The running sixteenth note texture is sustained throughout the fugue, and some of the passages require rapid sixths or thirds to be taken in one hand by the performer. The final climax ruptures the fugal structure, using the B# diminished seven of the C# dominant to intensify the drama. A transitional sequence links the first fugue to the second fugue. It is based on a single measure of musical material: a dominant-tonic cadence. The first cadence tonicizes the G# minor supertonic, before moving upwards by step in sequential motion. After moving up three steps to G#, the melody of the material is switched from the right hand to the left, and the sequence begins to move downwards by step. The sequence starts to become slightly less predictable: it occasionally jumps steps, emphasizing some unexpected harmonies. After tonicizing the relative major in the low register, the sequence changes direction and moves upward once again. After a third change in direction, the sequence gives way to cadential patterns that culminate in the tonicization of F# minor and the initiation of the final fugue. Extensive sequential passages can be found throughout Bach’s keyboard toccatas, and some performers criticize these sections for their lack of originality. On the other hand, such sequences also demonstrate that much can be achieved with a single musical idea, which is admittedly subjected to several harmonic and contrapuntal transformations over the course of the passage. 2 The final fugue is written in 6/8 time, and has a dance-like character. The subject repeats the first scale step on beats 2, 3, and 4, before moving downwards in chromatic motion towards the fifth scale step, which it reaches on beat 4 of the following measure. The subject concludes with a sixteenth note turn that enlivens the texture and suggests dancing. The second fugue is not particularly harmonically adventurous, although a fourth voice is introduced in the middle of the fugue, intensifying the mood and making it technically denser than the first fugue. A fermata held on E dominant seven dramatizes a modulation to the relative major, anticipating the harmonic and dramatic patterns later found throughout the Mozart piano concertos. The remainder of the fugue is freer in form, and exhibits fluid melodic counterpoint. The final climax temporarily abandons the fugal structure entirely for a long arpeggiation of the F# minor tonic, recalling the athleticism and improvisatory qualities of the introduction. A final cadence restates the second fugue’s subject, bringing the Toccata to a close. 3 Section 2: Piano Sonata Opus 109 in E major by Ludwig van Beethoven The Piano Sonata Op. 109 in E major is the first of the final three piano sonatas by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Written during the first months of 1820, the first movement likely existed first as part of a series of Bagatelles written for the musician and editor Friedrich Starke.5 1820 proved a difficult year for Beethoven: he fought and lost the battle for custody over his nephew Karl, and began to experience the first symptoms of the liver disease that eventually claimed his life.6