|
recitals Becoming (or, is there life after opera?)
|
prelude & variation
21 April 2002 | 4:00 PM
"Music & Arts" series @ Holy Triniy Lutheran
28 April 2002 | 4:00 PM
Bethany Lutheran (abridged)
Stephen Chen, PianoI.
Ravel, Prelude
Bartok, Evening in the Country (Ten Easy Pieces)
Copland, Four Piano Blues, no. 1 & 3Ravel, Bartok, and Copland wrote music that reflected the culture of their home countries. Copland's later works did not rely on jazz textures as his earlier works did, though many are infused with rhythms suggesting jazz. The 1949 Four Piano Blues, uses 'blues' to suggest an informal music of American sound, his equivalent of intermezzi or impromptus.
II.
Mompou, Impresiones Intimas, (selections - Quatro Quejas 1 & 3, La Barca, Secreto)
Ives, The Alcotts ('Concord' Sonata)Mompou's quiet and introspective Catalonian-infused music as exemplified by his first piano suite, Impresiones Intimas (Intimate Impressions), contrasts with Ive's brash experimentalism. The third movement of Ive's 'Concord' Sonata, The Alcotts, has frequent stops and starts, changes from one idea to another, and has great contrasts in dynamics and texture. Ives was not interested in 'pure' music but in piecing together bits and pieces of musical ideas that are varied and changed, yet The Alcotts has a logical development that is almost Classical in form.