No April Fools foolishness today. But a little fun.
I hope everyone is staying home and staying safe out there. After a while though, you might be wondering what to do with your time. Here’s one idea. This is pianist Igor Levit. The caption is “And what’s Corona doing to you?” If you go to his Twitter feed, you can check out his wonderful mini-concerts.
In other news, now that all the pesky humans are staying inside in Llandudno, the goats have taken over the streets. Boars are strolling through Bergamo. What could be next? Could there be trouble brewing?
The Llandudno goats are so much better with a West Side Story soundtrack.
Flashing fingers fly
And dance across the keyboard
Weaving their magic.
Feet too join the dance
Executing bass figures,
Sliding as on ice.
The word toccata
Means to touch—fingers, yes, and
Heart and soul and mind.
The toccata is by nature a flashy piece of music. It typically includes fast runs of notes, and can sound like an improvisation. It is a showcase for a musician’s skills. Toccatas are typically written for a keyboard instrument, but that’s not a requirement—toccatas have been written for string instruments, and even for orchestra (the prelude to Monteverdi’s opera L’Orfeo is a toccata). While the form had its heyday in the Baroque period, with Bach, master improviser, at the summit (Toccata in D Minor, the toccata everyone knows), the form never entirely went away.
Khachaturian wrote a toccata that became very popular (the suite it came from is nearly forgotten). The link features pianist Lev Oborin, who was the first to perform it.
The pianist Paul Wittgenstein lost his right arm in World War I. He approached a number of composers, commissioning works written for the piano using the left hand alone. Ravel wrote the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. Erich Korngold wrote a piano concerto that Wittgenstein liked so much (Op. 17), he commissioned a second, a suite for two violins, cello, and piano (Op. 23). Benjamin Britten’s Diversions for piano left hand and orchestra (Op. 21) was also written for Wittgenstein, as was Prokofiev’s Concerto No 4. In all, Wittgenstein commissioned around 40 pieces for piano left hand.
Frank Bridge wrote Three Improvisations for his friend Douglas Fox who lost his arm in World War I.
The music I want to feature today is by George Butterworth, considered one of the promising composers of the early 20th century. I was surprised in my research to find film of Butterworth dancing—he was a Morris dancer. The film dates from 1912. Butterworth was cut down by a sniper’s bullet during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Here is Butterworth’s The Banks of Green Willow.
A heartfelt thank you to all those who have served, and may all those who now serve come home safely.
The concert has been made available in the Berlin Philharmonic’s archive at digitalconcerthall.com. Once you sign up for a free account, you may watch the concert, as well as an array of concerts for children (typically with a Christmas seasonal theme), and a large number of interviews with guest artists and conductors. Also available for free is a concert of Symphony No 1 by Brahms and Symphony No 1 by Schumann.
On Tuesday, 1 March 2016 at 12 noon EST, the Berlin Philharmonic will present a free live webcast of a concert for refugees, their families, and those helping refugees, “Welcome Among Us.” Register for a free account to see the concert at digitalconcerthall.com. Here’s the program:
Mozart: Piano Concerto in D Minor K 466, Daniel Barenboim conductor and piano, Staatskapelle Berlin
Prokofiev: Symphony No 1 in D Major Symphonie classique, Iván Fischer conductor, Konzerthausorkester Berlin
Beethoven: Symphony No 7 in A Major, movements 2 and 4, Sir Simon Rattle conductor, Berlin Philharmonic
Here’s a non-musical resource: if you are considering making a donation to help refugees (or for any other cause), you may find the Charity Navigator website useful. It provides detailed information on the performance of a large number of charities, many in the US, but some with an international component (for example, the International Rescue Committee or UNICEF). The information on the website can help you to make sure your donation is being used efficiently and effectively. Here is their listing of highly-rated charities focusing on the refugee crisis.
First up is Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 (“Classical”). He said, “If Haydn had lived to our era, he would have retained his compositional style but would also have absorbed something from what was new.”1 So what we have is a classical era symphony with unmistakably modern harmonies and voicings (some way higher than Haydn would have dared,2 and 2-octave leaps!3). This symphony has been called “intentionally rude but wonderful fun” and a “joyous romp.”4 Sounds like a great Friday night symphony!
Next on the program is Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Mendelssohn wrote it in 1831 after falling in love with a beautiful young pianist while traveling to Italy.5 It’s youthful, flashy music, and a delight to hear (and watch!). The piano can’t wait to get the party started–it jumps right in before the orchestra can even state the first theme!6
The tempos of the movements tell the whole story: Molto allegro con fuoco [fiery!]; Andante (a sweet theme); Presto; Molto allegro e vivace [lively]. It’s a fun bit of music!
The concert will conclude with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, written in 1813. The words used to describe this symphony sound more like rock than Beethoven: “hard-driving,”7 “loud, ferocious outbursts alternating with soft, light responses,” and “raging demonic energy.”8 Wow! Listen for the rhythm patterns that give the symphony that driving sound (heavy/light/light in movement 1 and long, short/short, long, long in movement 2).9
Can you imagine Beethoven conducting it? Here’s a firsthand account by violinist Ludwig Spohr:
At this concert I first saw Beethoven conduct. As often as I had heard about it, it still surprised me very much. He was accustomed to convey the marks of expression to the orchestra by the most peculiar motions of his body. Thus at a sforzando [strong accent] he tore his arms, which until then had been crossed on his breast, violently apart. He crouched down at a piano [soft section], bending lower as the tone decreased. At a crescendo [gradual increase in loudness] he raised himself by degrees until at the forte [loud section] he leapt to his full height; and often without being conscious of it, would shout aloud at the same time.10
Mosh pit Beethoven!
Even without the shouting, I’m sure it’s going to be a great concert, and I hope you’ll be there online. If you can’t be there, DSO offers their DSO Replay program.
If you can’t make it, or if you can’t wait to hear this music, here are some performances to watch.
Catapulting into Classical 