Tuesday November 24, 2009

Strings in the Mountains Music Festival
Claude Debussy: Piano Trio in G major
Katherine Collier, piano; Joseph Lin, violin; David Hardy, cello (7/29/06) 22:52
Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op.10
Joseph Lin, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Yizhak Schotten, viola; Marc Johnson, cello (7/29/06) 26:03
Also, Charley anticipates the Denver Brass concert this Saturday.
Johann Sebastian Bach (arr. Michael Allen): Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 (Little(
Giacomo Puccini (arr.Andrew Wolfe): "Nessun dorma" from Act III of Turandot
Denver Brass/ Kenneth Singleton
"Epics in Brass" 7,5 6:20


Claude Debussy (1862-1918): Piano Trio in G major
Andantino con moto allegro--Allegro appasssionato--Tempo primo
Scherzo. Intermezzo: Moderato con allegro
Andante espressivo
Finale: Appassionato

Debussy was still a student at the Paris Conservatory when a rich foreigner inquired if there was a pianist at the school who would be willing to accompany her on a tour. Nadezhda von Meck had married a noble Lithuanian engineer, whose death in 1876 left her a considerable income, enough to become Tchaikovsky's patroness. Debussy joined her at Interlaken, traveled with the family for four months and later lived with them in Russia. "He is going to bring life to the entire household," she wrote to Tchaikovsky. "He is Parisian to his fingertips. He is a true gamin, witty, and an excellent mimic. His imitations of Gounod and Ambroise Thomas are perfect and most amusing."
Debussy's job description included piano duet partner with Madame von Meck, piano teacher to her eleven children, and pianist in her household trio, which included violinist Heinrich Pachulsky and a cellist named Danilchenko. It was for this group that he composed the Trio in G major. He finished it in Fiesole, Italy, during the summer of 1880. It was dedicated to his harmony teacher at the Paris Conservatory, Émile Durand, "with many friendly thoughts."
A hundred years would pass before the Trio would make another appearance. Around 1980, an autograph score of the first movement and an autograph cello part of the entire work showed up in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York. In 1982 Ellwood Derr found autograph scores of the last three movements in Maurice Dumesnil's papers at the School of Music at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dumesnil, a pupil of Debussy, had given the last four measures of the autograph to James Francis Cooke, a former president of Theodore Presser Co. in Philadelphia. Fortunately he copied the measures first, as the autograph version of those four measures has disappeared. 
Derr reconciled all these sources for the present performing edition.
In his book The Piano Trio, Basil Smallman writes, "The trio is a substantial four-movement work, somehat in the style of Massenet, but with features derived also from Schumann and from César Franck, whose class at the Paris Conservatory Debussy was then attending. Skillfully scored, it is an effective piece and has considerable melodic charm." Likewise, Susan Cable says the work "is full of beautiful themes and fresh interplay of the three instruments," especially in the opening movement. She notes "the pizzicato whimsy" in the Scherzo, the expressive writing for the strings in the slow movement and the excitement of the finale.

Claude Debussy (1862-1910): String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10
I. Animé et très décidée
II. Assez vif et bien rythmé
III. Andantino, doucement expressif
IV. Très modéré--Très movementé et avec passion

Debussy started his only string quartet in 1892, about the same time as the Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. He had trouble with the last movement, as he confided to Ernest Chausson: “I can’t get it into the shape I want, and that’s the third time of trying.” He finished the work the following year and dedicated it to the Ysaÿe Quartet, which gave the first performance in Paris on December 29, 1893.
The audience, accustomed to the quartets of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, was bewildered. One critic mentioned “orgies of modulation” from a composer “rotten with talent.” One of the quartet’s champions was Paul Dukas, who hailed Debussy as “one of the most gifted and original artists of the young generation of musicians…a lyricist in the full sense of the term.” Despite being consulted in the composition of the quartet, Chausson disliked it. Debussy promised to write a second quartet, which would “bring more dignity to the form,” but never finished a second quartet.
The first quartet owes a debut to Alexander Borodin and César Frank, especially the latter’s “cyclical form.” Accordingly Debussy begins his quartet with a germinal theme, which figures in all the other movements. The second movement is a scherzo with rhythmic plucked strings and guitar-like effects. Manuel de Falla said “most of it could pass for one of the finest Andalusian dances ever written.” The third movement begins and ends with muted strings, with an increasingly intense climax in between. The finale starts with a fugue-like slow introduction, then launches into a whirlwind summary of the previous movements.

Monday November 23, 2009

Charley anticipates Catherine Peterson's appearance at Englewood Arts this Sunday.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita in A minor, BWV 1013 11:59
Catherine Peterson, flute
KVOD Performance Studio 093008 MS
Ludwig van Beethoven: Variations on “La ci darem la mano” from Mozart's Don Giovanni, WoO 28
Ivy Street Ensemble (Catherine Peterson, flute; Erik Peterson, violin; Phillip Stevens, viola)
KVOD Performance Studio 011508 MS
David Mullikin: The Frozen Castle (Trio for flutes, violin and viola)
Ivy Street Ensemble (Catherine Peterson, flutes, alto flute, piccolo; Erik Peterson, violin; Phillip Stevens, viola) 13:30
KVOD Performance Studio 6/1/06 MS
Also, Charley anticipates the Colorado Symphony's "Drums of the World" concert this Sunday.
William Hill: Simple Waltz
William Hill, vibraphone & piano; Iggy Jang, violin
"Rhythms of Innocence" Track 10 3:51
Moreover, Charley talks with the Playground Ensemble's Conrad Kehn about their call for scores.
Anthony Green: String Quartet (Chance)
Playground Ensemble
NCA 6:55

Friday November 20, 2009

Colorado College Summer Music Festival
Pietro Bottesini: Andante and Variations
Michael Parloff, flute; Jon Manasse, clarinet; Steven Copes, violin; Mark Fewer, violin; Virginia Barron, viola; Bion Tsang, cello (6/30/05)
Franz Doppler: Rigoletto Fantasy
Marina Piccinini, flute; Michael Parloff, flute; Susan Grace, piano (6/30/05)
Franz Liszt: La Sonnambula Fantasy
John Novacek and Susan Grace, piano (6/30/05)
Hector Berlioz: Rêverie and Caprice
Robert Walters, English horn; Susan Grace, piano (7/3/05)
Also, Charley talks with Paul Primus about the Colorado Chamber Players concert at RedLine Denver Art Gallery Sunday.
D'Arcy Reynolds: "The Camel Yard" (opening section) from Cloven Dreams (2:34)
Gordon Jacob: "Gavotte" (2nd movement) from Four Fancies
Colorado Chamber Players (Paul Nagem, Flute; Paul Primus, Violin; Barbara Hamilton-Primus, Viola; Judith McIntyre, Cello)
CPR Performance Studio 1/16/09 MS

Thursday November 19, 2009

Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Augustin Hadelich, violin
Jimmy López: Fiesta!
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K.219 (Turkish) (10/2-4/09)
Also, Charley anticipates Christine Brewer's appearances with the Colorado Symphony this weekend.
Richard Strauss: "Im Abendrot" (At Sunset) from Four Last Songs
Christine Brewer, soprano; Atlanta Symphony Orchesstra/ Donald Runnicles
Telarc 80661 Track 6 7:41


Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K.219 (Turkish)
I. Allegro aperto
II. Adagio
III. Rondeau: Tempo di menuetto

``You have no idea how well you play the violin,'' wrote Mozart's father to his son. ``If only you would do yourself justice and play with boldness, spirit and fire, you would be the first violinist in Europe.''
Within a period of nine months in 1775, Mozart wrote five violin concertos, either for his own use as concertmaster of the Salzburg orchestra, or for his successor in the post, Antonio Brunetti. The fifth of the set was finished on December 20. It is subtitled Turkish because of the so-called ``Turkish music'' in the last movement, which Mozart lifted from his own opera Lucio Silla.
Alfred Einstein considers the Fifth Concerto ``unsurpassed for brilliance, tenderness and wit.'' Describing all five violin conertos, H.C. Robbins Landon writes: ``Melody is piled upon melody, and new ideas succeed each other in blissful insouciance of each other and of any strict formal pattern. What immediately captivates the listener is the matchless elegance of conception and execution, the suavity of orchestration--which even at this comparatively early stage has that natural brilliance which is so characteristic of mature Mozart--and the luxurious delight in pure melody.''
The score calls for solo violin, 2 oboes, 2 horns and strings.

Wednesday November 18, 2009

Colorado Music Festival Orchestra
Michael Christie, conductor
Ottorino Respighi: The Fountains of Rome 16:46
Ottorino Respighi: The Pines of Rome 24:22 (6/29/07)
Also, Charley talks with Barbara Hamilton-Primus and Paul Primus about the Colorado Chamber Players concert at RedLine Denver Art Gallery Sunday.
Gordon Jacob: "Gavotte" (2nd movement) from Four Fancies
Mark Fish: "Self-Portrait" (7th movement), "The Escape Ladder" (8th movement) & "The Red Sun Gnaws at the Spider" (10th movement) from Pictures of Miró
D'Arcy Reynolds: "The Camel Yard" (opening section) from Cloven Dreams (2:34)
Colorado Chamber Players (Paul Nagem, Flute; Paul Primus, Violin; Barbara Hamilton-Primus, Viola; Judith McIntyre, Cello)
CPR Performance Studio 1/16/09 MS
And, Charley anticipates Alex Komodore's appearance with the Denver Philharmonic this Friday.
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Prelude No. 1
Alex Komodore, guitar
Passport 1002 Track 8 4:04


Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): Fontane di Roma (The Fountains of Rome)
I. The Fountain of Valle Giulia at Dawn
II. The Triton Fountain in the Morning
III. The Fountain of Trevi at Midday
IV. The Villa Medici Fountain at Sunset

``Take your umbrella and galoshes'' was Respighi's advice to listeners of The Fountains of Rome. The work is the first of the so-called ``Roman trilogy'' of symphonic poems, the others being The Pines of Rome and Roman Festivals.
As early as 1902, Respighi wondered why no one had yet written music about Rome's fountains, which he felt were ``the very voice of this city.'' Spurred by Arturo Toscanini's promise of a performance, The Fountains of Rome was completed in 1916. ``The Maestro,'' said Respighi, ``is very pleased with the work and is sure of its success.''
By the time of the concert, the audience was tense. Toscanini had programmed two Wagner pieces at a time when Italy and Germany were at war. In Padua, many women and children had been killed by a direct hit on an air-raid shelter. As Toscanini conducted the Funeral March from Die Götterdämmerung, a voice shouted from the balcony, ``This is for the Paduan dead.'' At this, the conductor hurled his baton at the floor, left the stage and cancelled his remaining concerts, leaving Fountains unperformed.
The première of The Fountains of Rome had to wait until March 11, 1917, when Antonio Guarnieri conducted it in Rome. ``My Fountains of Rome is being given today,'' Respighi wrote to a friend. ``They'll open the taps and drench the Roman audience with water--fetid water. Let's hope they don't protest by hissing too much.''
After the performance, Respighi's wife Elsa noted in her diary: ``Rather cold reception with some hissing at the end of the work. I am delighted with it and have a violent argument with someone who does not share my view. Almost all the press notices poor, yet there is unreserved praise for the orchestration.'' For his part, Respighi threw the score on the bed and exclaimed, ``Bah! This has been a failure! I'll write another.'' It was Toscanini who rescued the music in 1918 with a wildly successful performance in Milan.
Respighi was fairly specific about the program of the work. In the preface to the score, he wrote: ``In this symphonic poem, the composer has endeavored to give expression to the sentiments and visions suggested to him by four of Rome's fountains, contemplated at the hour in which their character is most in harmony with the surrounding landscape, or in which their beauty appears most impressive to the observer.
``The first part of the poem, inspired by the Fountain of Valle Giulia, depicts a pastoral landscape. Droves of cattle pass and disappear in the fresh, damp mists of a Roman dawn. A sudden loud and insistent blast above the trills of the whole orchestra introduces the second part. It is like a joyous call, summoning troops of naiads and tritons, who come running up pursuing each other and mingling in a frenzied dance between the jets of water.
``Next there appears a solemn theme, borne on the undulations of the orchestra. It is the Fountain of Trevi at midday. The solemn theme, passing from the wood to the brass instruments, assumes a triumphal character. Trumpets peal; across the radiant surface of the water there passes Neptune's chariot, drawn by sea-horses and followed by a train of sirens and tritons. The procession then vanishes, while faint trumpet blasts sound in the distance.
``The fourth part is announced by a sad theme which rises above a subdued warbling. It is the nostalgic hour of sunset. The air is full of the sound of tolling bells, birds twittering, leaves rustling. Then all dies peacefully into the silence of the night.''
The score calls for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, cymbals, carillon, celeste, bells, 2 harps, piano, organ and strings.

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): Pini di Roma (The Pines of Rome)
I. The Pines of Villa Borghese: Allegretto vivace
II. The Pines near a Catacomb: Lento
III. The Pines of the Janiculum: Lento
IV. The Pines of the Appian Way: Tempo di marcia

Elsa Respighi records that in 1920 her husband ``asked me to sing for him the songs I sang as a child at play....The request surprised me and I was most amused to see Ottorino taking down the simple tunes that Italian children have sung for centuries.'' Four years later, those same melodies would surface in the opening section of The Pines of Rome. It is the second of the ``Roman trilogy'' of symphonic poems, the others being The Fountains of Rome and Roman Festivals.
Bernardino Molinari conducted the first performance of The Pines of Rome on December 14, 1924 in Rome. Despite some isolated booing, the work was a success. ``Let them boo,'' said Respighi, ``what do I care?''
For performances in the United States, Respighi provided his own program note: ``While in The Fountains of Rome the composer sought to reproduce by means of tone an impression of nature, in The Pines of Rome he uses nature as a point of departure, to recall memories and visions. The century-old trees which dominate so characteristically the Roman landscape become testimony for the principal events in Roman life.''
Respighi and Claudio Guastalla developed a program for the work, which is printed in the score:
``1. `The Pines of the Villa Borghese:' Children are at play in the pine grove of the Villa Borghese, dancing the Italian equivalent of `Ring around the Rosy;' mimicking marching soldiers and battles; twittering and shrieking like swallows at evening; and they disappear. Suddenly the scene changes to...
``2. `The Pines near a Catacomb:' We see the shadows of the pines, which overhang the entrance of a catacomb. From the depths rises a chant which reechoes solemnly, like a hymn, and is then mysteriously silenced.
``3. `The Pines of the Janiculum:' There is a thrill in the air. The full moon reveals the profile of the pines of Janiculum Hill. A nightingale sings.
``4. `The Pines of the Appian Way:' Misty dawn on the Appian Way. The tragic country is guarded by solitary pines. Indistinctly, incessantly, the rhythm of innumerable steps. To the poet's fantasy appears a vision of past glories; trumpets blare, and the army of the Consul advances brilliantly in the grandeur of a newly risen sun toward the Sacred Way, mounting the Capitoline Hill.''
A recording of a real nightingale is used in the third section because Respighi ``simply realized that no combination of wind instruments could quite counterfeit the real bird's song. Not even a coloratura soprano could have produced an effect other than artificial.'' The English critic Ernest Newman disapproved. ``Musical realism of the Respighi type could be extended indefinitely,'' he wrote. ``We may live to see the evening when (Beethoven's) Pastoral Symphony will be given with real running water in the slow movement.''
The work is scored for piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 4 trombones, 6 Flügel horns, timpani, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, rattle, bass drum, tam-tam, bells, celesta, organ, harp, piano and strings.

Tuesday November 17, 2009

Friends of Chamber Music
Sejong
Antonín Dvořák: Waltz in A major, Op.54 No. 1 4:09
Antonín Dvořák: Serenade in E major, Op.22 26:36 (9/23/08)
Also, Charley talks with The Playground's Conrad Kehn about their event Friday and their call for scores.
Steve Snowden: The Devil's Nine Tails
The Playground Ensemble
NCA 11:07
And, Charley anticipates Opus Two's appearance with the Boulder Chamber Orchestra this weekend.
Aaron Copland: "Andante semplice" (1st movement) from Sonata for Violin and Piano
Opus Two (William Terwilliger, violin; Andrew Cooperstock, piano)
Azica Track 10 7:50


Antonin Dvorák (1841-1904): Serenade for Winds in D minor,
Opus 44 (B.77)
I. Moderato quasi marcia
II. Minuetto: Tempo di minuetto
III. Andante con moto
IV. Finale: Larghetto molto

Early in January, 1878, Dvorák moved into a new apartment, rented a piano, and set to work on a Serenade for winds. He finished it on January 18. The first performance took place at the National Theater in Prague on November 17, 1878. Dvorák was making his conducting debut at that concert, which consisted entirely of his own works.
The Serenade is dedicated to Louis Erhlert, a German pianist, composer and critic, whose enthusiasm for Dvorák's music contributed to its popularity outside of Bohemia. Another promoter was the Budapest critic Max Schütz, who said ``only a master writes like this; only a poet by God's grace has such inspiration.''
Biographer Alec Robertson writes: ``This good-humoured work opens with a spirited march--repeated in the finale--and continues with a minuet in the form of a Sousedská (a national dance form for elderly folk). Then comes the most considerable number, a long and romantic slow movement preceding a gay finale.''
The score calls for 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 3 horns, cello and double bass.

Monday November 16, 2009

Charley talks with Boulder Chamber Orchestra music director Bahman Saless about their concerts with Opus Two (William Terwilliger, violin; Andrew Cooperstock, piano) Friday and Saturday.
University of Colorado at Boulder Faculty Recital
William Terwilliger, violin; Andrew Cooperstock, piano
Manuel de Falla: Popular Spanish Suite
Luis Jorge González: Wanderer’s Songs
Astor Piazzolla: Tanguano
Paul Schoenfield: “Samba” & “Tango” from Four Souvenirs
Also, Charley anticipates the Newman Center Presents concert by Rebel tomorrow.
Georg Philipp Telemann: Suite in E flat major
Matthias Maute, recorder; Rebel/ Jörg-Michael Schwarz
Dorian 90302 1-7 21:15