Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO Presents ADRIAN SANCHEZ IN A SENIOR PIANO RECITAL May 9, 2007 Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall 7:30 p.m. Program French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814 Allemande Courante Sarabande Anglaise Minuet Gigue Sonata in F Major Op. 10, Allegro Allegretto Presto J. S. Bach (1685-1750) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Intermission Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 25, No.7 Intermezzo Arrulladora Mexicana Mephisto Waltz Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) Manuel M. Ponce (1882-1948) Franz Liszt (1811-1886) This recital is held in partial requirement for the Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance degree PROGRAM NOTES German Baroque composer J.S. Bach was born in 1685. He is one of the most prolific composers in the history of music, writing for virtually every instrument and ensemble known in his lifetime. Besides his well–known cantatas and concertos, Bach offered great contributions to keyboard music. Some of his best-known keyboard works include the Well Tempered Clavier (containing sets of preludes and fugues), the Goldberg Variations, the partitas and the suites, among others. A suite is a work consisting of six movements, each one being a different dance. These dances vary in character, texture, and harmonic structure. Most of the suites have an opening movement, like a prelude or fantasia, but none of the six French Suites have such movements. Each movement of a suite is divided into two sections. Each section is played twice, and it is traditional to Baroque performance practice that the second time, the performer adds ornaments of his or her own to the piece. The French Suite in B minor was composed in 1722, and it is full of different emotions; from the fast, energetic character of the Courante, the sad and slow expressiveness of the Sarabande, and the dance–like joy of the Gigue. Ludwig van Beethoven was born Germany in 1770. During his lifetime Beethoven wrote several works for piano, being the most important of them his 32 sonatas. Several historians have called Beethoven's 32 sonatas the “crown jewel” of piano literature. It is well known that Beethoven wrote passionate, beautiful music. In his piano sonatas, Beethoven poured out his most inner feelings, his desperation while becoming deaf and the love he had for music. The Sonata in F Major was composed from 1796-1798. In the first movement, Beethoven wrote joyful music. Its texture is varied, suggesting that Beethoven used a more orchestral approach to the piano. The Allegretto opens with a longing, sad ascending scale that flourishes into beautiful chords. The first section is dark, full of a feeling of agony and being lost. The middle section of the work opens into a beautiful progression of chords. This section is very romantic and a feeling of hope can be sensed. Then the movement goes back to the dark feeling of the beginning. The last movement Presto is an exiting fugue. The opening theme keeps coming back throughout the movement in different textures and ranges. This is one of Beethoven's early sonatas, but it contains glimpses of what his later works would be. If there is a composer so peculiar in style that he couldn’t be mistaken for any other, that would be Frederic Chopin. This Polish composer was born in 1810, and he wrote almost exclusively for the piano. His music constitutes the “golden era” for piano music. His style is exuberantly romantic. No other composer wrote piano music like he did. Chopin declared once, “The piano is my second self.” He wrote in several forms for the piano; short character pieces (as the waltzes), nocturnes and preludes, and big scale works, like the Ballades and the scherzos. But there are some works that Chopin wrote—works that are of great transcendence—that changed the technique of piano playing. These works are the etudes. Before Chopin, most etudes for piano were small, quite boring pieces, focused only on the technical aspects of playing. In his etudes, Chopin wrote dramatic music, full of passion and expressiveness. Each one of the 24 etudes deals with different aspects of piano technique. The etude in C# minor, Op. 25, No.7 belongs to the second set of 12 etudes. This etude has been nicknamed the “cello” etude, since the melody is played by the left hand in the lower register of the piano. Besides the virtuosic scales in the left hand that this work presents, there is another aspect that has to be mastered to play this etude successfully: the ability of the performer to control different layers of melody in both hands. This is one of the few slow etudes that Chopin wrote, and there is a feeling of sorrow throughout the piece, ending in a dark, sinking series of chords. Manuel M. Ponce is considered the first nationalistic composer of Mexico, and one of the greatest of this country. He was born in Zacatecas, Mexico in 1882. Ponce studied music in Mexico, as well as Italy and France. Ponce researched diligently and rescued a lot of Mexican folkloric music, which had been forgotten by the composers of Mexico. Incorporating this ethnological study into his own compositional style, Ponce used several Mexican folk tunes in his art music. When asked why he composed using these elements, and why he sometimes used simple chord progressions in his writing, Ponce expressed, “Mexican folk music is melancholic and passionate, capturing the pain, love and humility of the people who created it.” These characteristics can be heard in both the Intermezzo and the Arrulladora Mexicana. The first work on tonight’s program is a short, romantic piece—maybe the most famous piano piece by Ponce. Its melody, in thirds, is lyrical, nostalgic and passionate. The second piece, the Arrulladora, is what in Mexico is called a “Cancion Ranchera,” or countryside song. Not as nearly as famous as the Intermezzo but as beautiful, it is full of Mexican folk tunes. Arrulladora literally means lullaby. There is something about this piece that makes it sound very, very Mexican. Maybe it is the melody in thirds, the “Ranchera” rhythm that pervades throughout, or the simple tonic-subdominant-dominant chord progression that underlies its basic, harmonic structure. Whatever it is, this piece, as Mexicans would say: “tastes like Mexico.” Franz Liszt was born in Hungary in 1811. Besides being one of the greatest composers of his time, he was one of the best, if not the best pianist alive. The fact that Liszt gave the most virtuosic piano performances is well known to the musical world. Liszt, among other composers like Berlioz, was known for composing what was known to his time as “music of the future.” Although Liszt’s music is romantic in inspiration, he started using more exotic elements in his compositions. Strange modulations, highly chromatic melodies and harmonies and extremely virtuosic passages are commonly found in Liszt’s music. As a result of his active solo performance days, solo piano literature has become highly favored because of Liszt’s compositions. He composed in several forms for the piano, including concertos, etudes, transcriptions and character pieces, among others. One of his most famous compositions is the Mephisto Waltz No. 1. This piece depicts the story of Faust, a man who sold his soul to the devil (Mephisto). Faust’s love theme can be heard, as well as Mephisto’s sardonic laughter and sarcasm. Liszt successfully manages to tell the story in his music. Passages representing Faust and Mephisto can be easily differentiated. This work, as many of Liszt’s others, is virtuosic and epic in scope. It calls for high technical training, as well as the capability of understanding the whole work from the performer. This piece is one of Liszt's most successful pieces in the concert halls. UTEP MUSIC DEPARTMENT Friends of the Department The Huthsteiner Fine Arts Trust Endowed Faculty The Abraham Chavez, Jr. Professorship in Music Endowed Scholarship Laura Beard and Sarah Reiser Memorial Endowed Scholarship William K. Hill Endowed Scholarship for Music Hannah Atkin Spitz Memorial Endowed Scholarship Reverend Dr. Charles C.G. Manker Memorial Endowed Scholarship Martha M. McDonald/Rainbo Banking Scholarship Fund Phoebe and Ruben Mutnick Scholarship Fund Roderick Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund John and Vida White Endowment Fund Endowment Ruby V. Burns Endowed Fund for Music Julie Dittmer Hart Endowed Fund for Music Michael Salzman Endowment for Piano Performance Schillinger Rho Sigma Tau Endowed Music Gift Fund Patricia Hewitt Silence Memorial Trust Scholarships Marian Meaker Apteckar Fund for Piano Studies Ballet Scholarship Fund Dodson Scholarship Fund for Music Hervey Foundation Award Lanward Scholarship for Music Music Department Scholarship Fund Marguerite Loya Pearson Scholarship Fund for the Arts Dorrance D. Roderick Music Scholarship Fund The Presser Foundation Scholarship Award The Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award John Herbert Shanblum Scholarship for Fine Arts The Marlene and J.O. Stewart, Jr. Foundation Scholarship