Let’s celebrate the arrival of spring with a performance of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Opus 24. Sometime after this music was published in 1801 it became know as the “Spring” sonata. Can you hear anything “springy” in the music?
As you listen, pay attention to the sense of dialogue between the violin and piano. What kind of a conversation are they having? Listen to the musical cat and mouse game that takes place in the Scherzo. The word “scherzo” translates as “joke.” I think you’ll hear the humor in this movement. A Rondo is a musical form in which a main theme keeps recurring, interspersed with short musical “adventures” into new territory.
This performance is by German violinist Anne Sophie Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis:
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Allegro -begins at 1:00
Adagio molto espressivo –begins at 11:45
Scherzo: Allegro molto -begins at 18:04
Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo –begins at 19:29
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If you would like to hear a slightly different interpretation, listen to these recordings by Szeryng and Rubinstein, Oistrakh and Milstein. Is there one performance that stands out for you? If so, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.
Suzuki violin students learn the theme from Witches’ Dance in Book 2. Here is the original piece by Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840).
Through his virtuosity, Paganini transformed violin playing. Audiences at the time were shocked by the new sounds and dazzling effects which he employed. He toured Europe garnering celebrity comparable to a modern day rock star.
Listen to this spectacular performance by Eugene Fodor. This clip is taken from his 1990’s recording, Witches’ Brew which features a collection of violin show pieces. You’ll recognize the Witches’ Dance theme at 3:20, followed by a series of variations featuring double stops (two pitches played at the same time) harmonics (a whistle-like sound effect produced by the finger touching the string lightly) left hand pizzicato, up bow staccato and more. It’s amazing how many different voices can be produced by a single violin, each bringing to life a unique personality.
Paganini’s music is infused with an elegance and Bel canto (“beautiful singing”) quality that may remind you of Italian opera.
In honor of Presidents’ Day, here is Lincoln Portrait by twentieth century American composer Aaron Copland. Listen to the way Copland combines music and Lincoln’s eloquent words to create a monument to the 16th president. Besides the use of popular early American songs like Camptown Races and Springfield Mountain, do you hear anything else in the music that seems distinctly American?
Listen to Copland talk about Lincoln Portrait and get some background on the piece here. You can find a recording on iTunes and Amazon.
Here is a great old recording with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Adlai Stevenson is the narrator:
Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen, Opus 15(“Scenes from Childhood”) supports the adage that good things can come in small packages. Schumann wrote this set of thirteen short pieces for solo piano in 1838 as adult memories of childhood. Rooted in an ethos of Romanticism, each piece evokes a distinct mood. In this highly economic music a single chord can create great drama and every note seems perfect.
Let’s listen to the first piece in the collection, Of Foreign Lands and Peoples. It’s performed here by Lang Lang:
Did you notice how the music plays with our expectations? It constantly searches for the right notes and chords that will lead to an ultimate goal. The fun lies in how we get to the moment of resolution.
Schumann starts with a five note motive that leaps up in pitch and then falls back (B, G, F-sharp, E, D). The bass line, which mirrors the melody in contour and the harmony combine to give us a sense of “moving away and coming home.” Increasing our expectation, the same motive and harmony are repeated (0:05). Then, trying a third time (0:09) the music finds a solution to its own resolution (B, G, E, D, C) and returns home (0:16).
This “A” section repeats. Then a contrasting “B” section starts at 0:34. You’ll notice that the five note rhythmic motive is the same, but now it’s in the bass line. At 0:48 listen to the way the music seems to be completely “lost”-unable to find its way back to the “A” section. Like the dreamlike haze of a distant memory, it evaporates and we are suddenly back in the “A” section.
The most famous piece in the Kinderszenen cycle is the seventh, entitled Traumerei or “Dreaming.” Composer and pianist Rob Kapilow provides a great analysis here. Here is Vladamir Horowitz performing Traumereiin concert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYdQbyim9hY
You can find a recording of Lang Lang performing Schumann’s complete Kinderszenen atiTunes and Amazon. Here is a clip of Horowitz performing it in concert.
Listen to this amazing performance of the final movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto played by Itzhak Perlman. You probably know Tchaikovsky as a Romantic composer of lush, fiery, emotionally charged music, but don’t forget that he was also a ballet composer. You may notice a grace and elegance in the rhythm that suggests dance.
After you listen, consider what makes Perlman’s performance so exciting. The piece is a tight rope walk but Perlman is always in control. Notice his sense of timing and the precision of his rhythm. The music never rushes. Also pay attention to his highly expressive and often roaring tone. Does this expand your perspective on what type of tone is “beautiful”? Do you hear tone colors that you didn’t know the violin could produce?
Notice how the orchestra interacts with the solo, sometimes supporting and other times conversing. Pay attention to each instrument’s unique personality and color. For instance in the interlude at 5:54 notice how the melody is passed back and forth between the oboe and clarinet and then the flute and bassoon. Each voice brings a unique color.
You can find a live recording of this performance with Perlman, Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic at iTunes or Amazon.
Now that you’ve enjoyed the clip, you may want to hear Perlman perform the First and Second Movements of the concerto. Perlman has some interesting things to say about the Tchaikovsky concerto here.
In celebration of the holiday season, here is music by the twentieth century English composer Benjamin Britten. A Ceremony of Carols is scored for three part treble chorus, solo voices and harp. The text, from Gerald Bullett’s The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems is Middle English.
Listen to the uniquely pure timbre produced by the boys’ choirs in these recordings. This is a sound that has been heard for centuries in cathedrals across England.
Listen to the way Britten uses harmony to highlight a certain word or phrase in the text. How does he evoke the mood of the text? In the last clip (In Freezing Winter Night) what atmosphere is created musically?
A Ceremony of Carols, Op.28…Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
In the early decades of the twentieth century, American composer Charles Ives was stretching musical boundaries. Ives created exciting collages of sound by layering fragments of folk songs, hymn tunes and other music, often simultaneously in different keys and tempos. The result was a musical melting pot that was uniquely American and anticipated compositional techniques used later by The Beatles, John Cage and others.
Thanksgiving and Forefathers’ Day from Ives’s Holidays Symphony musically evokes memories of Thanksgivings past. As you listen, consider the atmosphere Ives creates with sound. Throughout the piece you’ll hear fragments of two Thanksgiving hymn tunes, The Shining Shore and Duke Street. Is there anything else that gives the music a distinctly American sound? Listen to the way Ives pulls out all the stops at the end, creating a climax of glorious cacophony and then notice the surprising way the piece ends. What mood do you feel?
For more on Charles Ives and the Holidays Symphony watch this excellent episode of Keeping Score with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas.
A Symphony: New England Holidays, IV. Thanksgiving and Forefathers’ Day…Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Following up on last month’s post, let’s return to the music of Franz Schubert. Now we’ll hear how Schubert cleverly turned the melody of one of his songs into the second movement of a string quartet.
Let’s start by listening to the song Death and the Maiden, written in 1817. It’s performed here by the legendary contralto, Marian Anderson. The text is from a poem by Matthias Claudius. Follow the English translation below.
Death and the Maiden D.531…Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
The Maiden:
Pass me by! Oh, pass me by! Go, fierce man of bones! I am still young! Go, rather, And do not touch me. And do not touch me.
Death:
Give me your hand, you beautiful and tender form! I am a friend, and come not to punish. Be of good cheer! I am not fierce, Softly shall you sleep in my arms!
Did you notice all the ways Schubert musically evokes the mood of the poem? The repeated rhythm suggests a solemn funeral procession, perhaps a march towards inevitability. We hold our breath in anticipation as the same note is repeated in the melody, while the harmony underneath changes. One interesting aspect of the melody is that it modulates from the key of D minor to F major (1:39) and then slides back again. These keys are related because they both have B-flat as their only accidental. Did you notice the sudden and transformative shift to D major at the end? Consider the significance of Schubert’s choice to turn minor into major at this moment. What emotional impact does this create?
Eight years after writing this song, at a time when Schubert was confronting his own mortality, he returned to this melody for the second movement of a string quartet. First you will hear the melody played simply, without embellishment. Then, Schubert launches into a series of brilliant variations that feature different instruments of the quartet. It’s amazing how many new musical ideas and contrasting moods can spring from this simple tune!
String Quartet No. 14 in D minor(Death and the Maiden) D.810…Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Now that you have heard this excerpt you may be inspired to listen to the other three movements of the quartet. Pay attention to the exciting interplay between the four voices (two violins, a viola and a cello) as musical ideas are passed back and forth. I think you’ll agree that from the fiery opening of the first movement to the fast and wild Presto it’s an exhilarating and sometimes terrifying musical roller coaster ride. Here are links to the rest of the piece: I. Allegro, III. Scherzo Allegro molto, IV. Presto.
Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the music.
