Franz Liszt, Born 22 October 1811: The “Other” Works for Piano and Orchestra

by Georg Predota, Interlude 

The two concertos for piano and orchestra by Franz Liszt belong to the standard concerto repertoire. A serious challenge for every pianist, they have been audience favourites for well over one hundred years. As a critic wrote, “these concertos are written in the best idiomatic keyboard style, a style that came naturally to a man who intoxicated his audiences with his triumphant conquest of the piano.”

Apparently, Liszt also composed a 3rd Piano Concerto, possibly before the first two. This concerto was basically unknown until 1989, but it was identified and assembled from multiple sources by Jay Rosenblatt. It had long been assumed that they were early drafts of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, but since Liszt never mentioned a third concerto in his writing, the existence was unknown. That work premiered in 1990, but it remains little known and little played.

Franz Liszt

Concertos aside, Liszt wrote a number of works for solo piano and orchestra, mostly during his teenage years. In fact, these pieces are probably his first attempts at orchestral writing, combining the forces of the piano and the orchestra. As we celebrate Liszt’s birthday on 22 October, we thought it might be fun to listen to these pieces rarely featured on concert programs today.

Malédiction, S121/R452 

Liszt wrote at least two concerti for piano and orchestra in his teens. However, they were never published, and the manuscripts were presumed lost or ignored. Such is the case with the single-movement concerto for piano and strings known as Malédiction. It was started in 1833, revised in 1840, then forgotten and published only in 1915. Actually, the origins of the work might be traced back to 1827, when sixteen-year-old Liszt played a concerto in London. The great pianist Ignaz Moscheles described it as having “chaotic beauties,” but all traces seem to have been lost.

Liszt did not provide a title for the work, but when the composer received the manuscript from the copyist, he inserted certain descriptive romantic phrases over different sections of the music. The opening theme, which was later taken over in the Années de pèlerinage, is labelled “Malédiction” (Curse), while the second theme area is marked “Orgueil” (Pride).

Liszt would later reuse this theme in his Faust Symphony. A calmer section carries the direction “Pleurs, angoisse” (Tears, anguish), and he identifies the codetta as “Raillerie.” The work is unusual as it features only strings in the orchestra, but as John Lade writes, it is “a remarkable succession mood sketches showing a striking, even unexpected unity in performance.”

Grande Fantaisie Symphonique (on themes from Berlioz Lélio)

The young Liszt

Franz Liszt and Hector Berlioz first met a few months after the July Revolution, when Liszt attended the first performance of the Symphonie fantastique in the company of the composer on December 5 1830. Berlioz and Liszt developed a warm friendship that lasted the better part of 20 years. Berlioz does speak of Liszt with a good deal of affection in his Mémoires, and he clearly regarded him unrivalled as a pianist. However, he was much more guarded about Liszt’s orchestral compositions.

Liszt did fashion a piano transcription of the Symphonie fantastique, and when Berlioz produced the sequel Lélio, for reciting actors, choruses with orchestra, and voices featuring dramatic monologues, Liszt decided to use two themes to construct a large-scale work in two parts. He titled it “Grande Fantaisie Symphonique,” featuring a full orchestra and a piano part fully integrated into the orchestral texture.

For his fantasy, Liszt uses the ballad for tenor and piano Le pêcheur, and the song for baritone, men’s chorus and orchestra called Chanson de brigands. Liszt writes an imaginative introduction before the first expansive melody finally appears as a piano solo. This theme is developed at length in dramatic fashion and into far-reaching tonalities, and a pianistic explosion leads to the “Brigands’ Song.” Here, Liszt preserves the Berlioz orchestration for a couple of measures before the piano takes over. The theme is developed, and new themes, not from Lélio, appear before a reworked reprise concludes a very confident work by the 23-year-old Liszt.

Fantasy on Themes from Beethoven’s “Ruins of Athens” 

Franz Liszt met Beethoven at the age of 11 when he was introduced by his teacher Carl Czerny. The young Liszt played a piece of Ries and a fugue by Bach, which Beethoven told him to transpose. Beethoven apparently told him, “You are one of the lucky ones, as it is your destiny to bring joy and delight to many people.” For Liszt, “it was the proudest moment in my life.” It is hardly surprising that Liszt was to become a tireless champion of Beethoven and his music.

Franz Liszt: Fantasy on Themes from Beethoven’s “Ruins of Athens” music score

Once Liszt had completed the final revisions for his E-flat Major Concerto, he issued his Fantasy on Beethoven’s the “Ruins of Athens” in three different versions: one for solo piano, one for two pianos, and one for piano and orchestra. All three versions are dedicated to Nikolay Rubinstein, and Liszt extracts three Beethoven themes to fashion his Fantasy.

The introduction, exclusively sounded by the orchestra, uses material from the “March and Chorus” section of the original music blended with Liszt’s own “Capriccio alla turca.” The piano takes the lead in the “Chorus of the Dervishes,” while the final section is based on the famous “Turkish March.” Introduced in a very gentle way, with the orchestration, volume and tempo gradually increasing, the coda resounds the other themes. An annotator writes, “For some inscrutable reason, this excellent work is almost never encountered in concert, a fate which seems to have befallen Beethoven’s original, too.”

Fantasia on Hungarian Folk Melodies

Franz Liszt at around 14-15 years old

During Liszt’s lifetime, his Hungarian Rhapsodies were among his most popular works. Liszt writes, “by using the word Rhapsody, I wanted to describe the fantastical-epical nature I believed I had found therein. Each of these works seems to me to form part of a series of poems in which the unity of national enthusiasm is most striking; it is a kind of enthusiasm which can only belong to a single people, whose soul and innermost feelings it represents.”

Originally written for solo piano, Liszt decided to produce a version for piano and orchestra of his Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14. The structure is based on contrasting Hungarian folk tunes, a slow “lassan,” followed by a rapid “czifra” and a whirling “friska.” These individual sections are not strictly delineated but are subjected to constant permutations and the introduction of elements taken from improvisation.

The primary theme is based on a Hungarian folk song entitled “The battle of Mohács,” a melody that Liszt knew rather well. Interestingly, as in the piano concertos, Liszt returns to the opening theme to conclude the work. As he reported with a good deal of pride, “this way of summarising and rounding off an entire piece at its conclusion is really quite characteristic of me.”

De Profundis 

Liszt never completed his 3rd Piano Concerto, and his De profundis “Psaume instrumental” belongs in that unfinished category as well. Composed in 1834/35, this elaborated piano concerto was inspired by Liszt’s friendship with the Abbe Felicite de Lamennais, and his rejection of the right-wing aspects of Roman Catholicism. The text clearly references Psalm 130, but the chant itself was composed by Liszt.

Franz Liszt: De Profundis music score

Out of the depths I have cried unto thee:
O Lord, hear my voice:
Let thine ears be attentive,
to the voice of my supplications.

This early concerto already outlines the way Liszt would subsequently formulate his structural ideas. All sections are presented in a single movement, containing a slow passage, a scherzo and a finale based on the transformation of the material used in previous sections. Liszt treated the orchestra with subtlety and sensitivity, and scholars have found “music of stunning originality and a striking instance of Liszt’s early genius.” Liszt had always wanted to complete the work, but life got in the way. It has since been completed by a number of scholars and performers.

Totentanz

Although Liszt never completed his “Psaume instrumental,” he did recycle the chant melody in his first version of the Totentanz. However, the inspiration for Totentanz (Dance of Death) was probably pictorial rather than literary or musical. In 1839, Liszt and Marie d’Agoult visited Pisa and admired the fresco of the Last Judgement. Liszt might have found additional inspiration in a series of wood engravings by Hans Holbein, which Liszt references in a letter to his son-in-law Hans von Bülow, to whom the work is dedicated.

The work is a series of variations on the “Dies irae” theme which Berlioz had famously used in his Symphonie fantastique to portray the sabbath of the witches. A contemporary critic writes, “Its shuddering, clanking rhythms, its sounds as of dancing bones, are of the weirdest achievement possible.” Liszt achieves astonishing dramatic power interspersed by moments of unexpected peace.” And Béla Bartók wrote, “…the work has such a phantasmagorical, dream-like quality that one feels one is in a world in which the strangest things could happen, and no juxtaposition is too bizarre.”

Totentanz​ was to be Liszt’s final work for piano and orchestra. Shortly after the premiere, Liszt was ready to join a clerical order, and he was thus known as Abbé Liszt for the remainder of his life. I trust you enjoyed this little excursion into the repertoire for solo piano and orchestra by Franz Liszt, a repertoire that combines the extraordinary accomplishments of his pianism with his visionary imagination as an orchestral composer. Happy Birthday!

15 Pieces of Classical Music About Trains

by Emily E. Hogstad, Interlude

Composers have always been inspired by trains, and it’s easy to understand why: the rhythmic chugging of steam engines, the sweeping landscapes viewed from a train window, and the sense of adventure and nostalgia associated with rail travel…

All of these sounds, sights, and feelings have inspired composers to create music that continues to resonate with audiences today.

All aboard as we chug through fifteen pieces of classical music about trains!

Eisenbahn-Lust Waltz by Johann Strauss I (1836) 

Johann Strauss I (the father of the composer of The Blue Danube) was a well-known composer and orchestra leader who wrote many pieces for various dances and celebrations.

In 1836, he wrote this ebullient waltz (which translates into “Train Ride Fun”) to celebrate the construction of early railroads. They were just beginning to connect communities near Vienna to the city proper.

Mikhail Glinka: Travelling Song from A Farewell to Saint Petersburg (1840) 

This work comes from a larger suite of works called A Farewell to St. Petersburg.

Glinka was going through a tough patch at the time, as his marriage was disintegrating (his wife would ultimately leave him for another man). He poured some of his personal feelings about turmoil and transition into this set of songs.

The frantic Travelling Song takes inspiration from the perpetual motion of steam locomotives – and probably the composer’s desire to escape his difficult circumstances!

Charles-Valentin Alkan: Le Chemin de Fer (1844) 

Charles-Valentin Alkan was once viewed as one of the greatest pianists of the nineteenth century, but after being passed over for a prestigious teaching position at the Paris Conservatoire, he largely withdrew from public life.

Today, he is best known for his personal eccentricity and the wonderfully original and staggeringly challenging piano music he left behind.

Although Strauss and Glinka’s works came earlier, this is the first work to graphically portray the sounds and motions of a train. It’s sometimes characterized as banal, but no one can deny that it’s fun!

Hector Berlioz: Le Chant des chemins de fer (1846) 

Le Chant des chemins de fer translates into Railroad Song.

Somewhat amusingly to modern ears, it’s a whole cantata for orchestra and voices dedicated to glorifying the French railroad (as well as a celebration of the labour of all those who made its construction possible).

The occasion of its composition was the opening of the Gare de Lille, the main railroad station in Lille, France.

Berlioz wrote this work over the course of three nights for the money. He wanted a cannonade to go off in the final chords for maximum drama, but unfortunately, one couldn’t be located in time for his grand artistic vision.

Hans Christian Lumbye: Copenaghen Steam Railway Galop (1847) 

Here’s another work composed to celebrate the opening of a railroad. This time, it was the opening of the first railroad in Denmark, which ran between Copenhagen and Roskilde.

Lumbye, a well-known composer of light music, pulled out all the train-based stops here. A bell clangs; whistles go off; percussion instruments unite to imitate the huff and puff of a steam-powered train rushing off to its new destination.

Lustfahrten, Walzer by Eduard Strauss (1879-80) 

Like father, like son! Eduard Strauss, like his father Johann Strauss I, also wrote a work to honour the railroad, this one called Lustfahrten, or “Pleasure Trips.”

It was dedicated to the “Comité des Eisenbahnballes” (The Railway Ball Committee). Presumably, every attendee present found it transporting.

The Great Crush Collision March by Scott Joplin (1896) 

Here’s one of the stranger entries on this list.

In 1896, a man named William George Crush, an agent with the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad decided it would be a good idea to get rid of two of the railroad’s old locomotives by staging a massive trainwreck and selling train tickets to transport eager spectators directly to the scene of the crash.

A bespoke temporary town was built to accommodate the expected crowds. In the end, forty thousand people showed up!

Unfortunately, the crash turned into a disaster. The locomotives’ boilers exploded on impact, and two spectators died in the aftermath.

This extraordinary event was memorialized by up-and-coming composer Scott Joplin, who wrote a strangely upbeat piano piece portraying the deadly disaster.

Of special note are the notes he wrote in the score: “the noise of the trains while running at the rate of ninety miles an hour” and “the collision” (marked fortissimo, of course).

Pacific 231 by Arthur Honegger (1923) 

French composer Arthur Honegger was obsessed with trains. “I have always loved locomotives passionately,” he wrote. “For me, they are living creatures, and I love them as others love women or horses.”

So it makes sense that one of his first big successes was Pacific 231, an imaginative orchestral work that gives the impression of an ever-accelerating train.

It’s easy to tell from moment to moment what stage of its journey the train is in. Six boisterous minutes in, the train decelerates and arrives safely at the station.

Charles Ives: The Celestial Railroad (ca 1924) 

New England composer Charles Ives based his piano work The Celestial Railroad on the work of another New Englander: Nathaniel Hawthorne, and his short story of the same name.

In Hawthorne’s story, the narrator takes a train from the city of Destruction to the Celestial City. He begins talking with Mr. Smooth-It-Away, who is an expert on all things Celestial City, despite having never been there before. The story ends with Mr. Smooth-It-Away revealing his true form as a kind of demon. Luckily, in the end, it turns out to be a dream.

This work satirises the utopian and religious movements common in Hawethorne’s day, and Ives clearly enjoyed exploring the story’s themes in his own music.

When Ives wrote his fourth symphony, he adapted The Celestial Railroad into the symphony’s second movement.

Vladimir Deshevov: Rails (1926) 

There’s not a lot of information available online about composer Vladimir Deshevov besides the fact that he was born in 1889 and died in 1955.

However, this evocative fleeting portrait of a speeding train deserves a spot on this list, anyway!

Heitor Villa-Lobos: The Little Train of Caipira from Bachianas brasileiras No. 2 (1930) 

Translated into rough English, “Bachianas brasileiras” means “Bach-inspired Brazilian pieces.”

Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos wrote a series of them, combining the European classical tradition with folk music influences from South America.

The finale of the second Bachiana Brasileira is called The Little Train of the Caipira. (A caipira is a person from a more rural area in Brazil.)

This piece follows the caipira’s journey through the countryside of Brazil. It’s up to listeners to decide what happens once the train decelerates and pulls into the station.

Benjamin Britten: Night Mail (1936) 

In 1935, British directors Harry Watt and Basil Wright created a twenty-minute documentary about the distribution of mail in Britain. It may have been an unassuming subject, but the work turned into a classic.

Poet and author W.H. Auden was involved with the production and wrote poetry for it. Meanwhile, his creative partner, composer Benjamin Britten, wrote the score.

The two men fused their efforts in this unusual spoken-word piece featuring both Auden’s poetry and Britten’s music.

Bohuslav Martinů: Le Train Hanté (1937) 

Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů wrote Le Train hante, or The Haunted Train, in 1937 for that year’s World Exhibition in Paris.

The work isn’t about passenger trains but rather an amusement park train ride, which explains the music’s manic, fairground-like qualities.

Steve Reich: Different Trains (1988) 

Steve Reich’s Different Trains was inspired by the fact that, as a Jewish American boy born in 1936, Reich often took train rides across the country to see his relatives. Once he got older, he realised that if he’d been born in Europe at the same time, he might have been forced to ride a train to another destination: a concentration camp.

The work is scored for string quartet and tape. The tapes include interviews with Americans reminiscing about their train journeys and Europeans describing their experiences on trains during the Holocaust. The sounds of sirens, whistles, trains, and even a string quartet were also recorded and woven into the music.

Ian Clarke: The Great Train Race (1993) 

Composer Ian Clarke describes this train-inspired showstopper for flute-like so:

Techniques include residual/breathy fast tonguing, multiphonics, singing & playing, lip bending, explosive harmonics and an optional circular breathing section. A forward with explanations of the techniques is given along with fingerings in the score for easy reference. The multiphonics used are of the more friendly variety; seven from only four different fingerings.

It is astonishing to hear how a talented flutist can evoke an entire train with no other instruments present!

Conclusion

These fifteen pieces of classical music about trains have taken us on quite a musical journey. We hope you’ve enjoyed it. Mind the gap as you disembark onto the platform!

ANDRÉ RIEU WORLD TOUR

 

ANDRÉ RIEU WORLD TOUR

Waltzes, film scores, opera and musicals

André Rieu is quite simply a musical phenomenon like no other, a true King of Romance, having sold a massive 40 million CDs and DVDs and notched 30 Nr. 1 chart positions worldwide. Along with his 60-piece Johann Strauss Orchestra (the largest private orchestra in the world), André has created a global revival in waltz music, staging spectacular extravaganzas which are second to none. Having received over 480 Platinum Awards, three Classical Brit Awards for “Album of the Year” and billions of Youtube views, André is one of the biggest solo male touring artists in the world. Each year his passionate live shows attract more than 600.000 fans and outsell mega artists such as Coldplay, AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen.

 

„My concerts are about joy and love!“ says André Rieu. „We should make decisions in our lives with our hearts, not our heads. People often ask me ‘how do you choose your program?’ – the answer is: with my heart. I love Johann Strauss but I am also fascinated by Andrew Lloyd Webber or Bruce Springsteen. We should stop limiting ourselves with categories and boundaries – not just in terms of music but in our lives in general” – says André Rieu.

 

Waltzes, film scores, opera and musicals

On stage André’s incredible musical prowess, passion and charisma make for a magical spectacle. His romantic and fun concerts are the only ones where people regularly jump to their feet and dance in the aisles. It’s not uncommon to see devoted American fans laughing, weeping, clapping, dancing and embracing when they listen to the beautiful waltzes, film scores, spirituals, musicals, folk songs and marches and André’s precious Stradivarius violin from 1732; his concerts are a perfect mix of thrilling, romantic, festive and emotional melodies combined with surprises, balloons, beautiful soloists and of course André’s great sense of humor. It’s all about emotions!

World Tour

Known to millions around the world as the “King of the Waltz” André is also a true “King of Romance”. He has been married for 49 years and lives with his wife Marjorie in a romantic castle, built in 1492 in his hometown of Maastricht/Netherlands. The couple has  two sons and five grandchildren. Don’t miss your chance to see André Rieu LIVE!

I Will Survive – André Rieu & Dorona Alberti

Ravel: Klavierkonzert D-Dur ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Jean-Efflam Bavouze...

Maurice Ravel: Klavierkonzert D-Dur ∙ »Konzert für die linke Hand« ∙ (Auftritt) 00:00 ∙ Lento – Andante – Allegro – Tempo 1o – Allegro 00:36 ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester – Frankfurt Radio Symphony ∙ Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Klavier ∙ Juraj Valčuha, Dirigent ∙ Alte Oper Frankfurt, 30. September 2016 ∙

Philippine theater gets funding support from ‘Music, Movies, Magic’

Gracing the presscon launching the ‘Music, Movies, Magic’ fundraiser are (standing, from left) Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Society, Inc (PPOSI) vice president Nes Jardin, chairman Anton Huang, Dio Saraza Jr., and ‘Music, Movies, Magic’ director Alex Cortez. Seated are (from left) PPOSI president Margie Moran Floirendo, CCP president Kaye Tinga and Camille Lopez-Molina.

Charmie Joy Pagulong - The Philippine Star 

MANILA, Philippines — Funding is the “greatest challenge” that the theater landscape is facing today, according to Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Society, Inc. (PPOSI) president Margie Moran Floirendo.

“It’s always funding,” Floirendo remarked during the “Music, Movies, Magic” presscon. Slated on Nov. 22 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati City, the fundraising show is presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the PPOSI.

“In the case of the CCP, our building is not yet finished. It’s still under construction and we need more funding to finish it. And so, we need help, of course, from the government and the private sector to finish it,” she continued.

“And then also, I speak about other theaters in the country that are funded by LGUs (local government units). They also need more funding to maintain (them) and to have content so that performers can perform in those theaters as well.”

Floirendo also stressed the importance of audience education. “Because we’re losing the young generation to watch theater. One, because in the past, I remember that the Department of Education (DepEd) would send students and pay for their tickets and fill up our theaters. There’s so many restrictions now with DepEd. So, that doesn’t happen anymore. So, they come on their own, with their parents. But you don’t see the masses of students watching the performances,” she explained.

“And then also, marketing budgets,” she pointed out. “We need to announce what’s happening. Many people don’t realize there are good shows in Quezon City or in Pasay or in Makati. So, things like that, aside from traffic.”

Amidst such challenges, the country still has a lot of talents to offer here and abroad, cited Floirendo. “If you watch the PPO, there were 100 musicians on stage. It was really a delight to watch them. Those performing in ‘Music, Movies, Magic’ are top performers as well. So, there are a lot of talents in the state and the country. And you have a lot of talents in the world who are performing.”

Kaye Tinga, president of CCP, echoed Floirendo, stating: “As a lot of you might know, PPO (Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra) is actually the resident orchestra of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. And like Margie was saying, the problem is funding. And as a government institution, we’re always lacking funds.

“And we would like to grow our orchestra. Presently, we have 40 regular players. We would like to grow it to 70. And this production will go a long way in helping us raise funds, provide instruments to make sure that we have the PPO that the Philippines deserves.”

Moreover, the “Music, Movies, Magic” show will transport audiences to worlds created by iconic songs and melodies that have defined many timeless films cherished throughout generations and will also feature both international and local hits.

The event will highlight Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus Overture, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations: IX to be performed by PPO; Umberto Giordano’s La Mamma Morta to be staged by opera singer Camille Lopez-Molina; Jules Massenet’s Thaïs: Meditation to be mounted by concert violinist Diomedes Saraza Jr.; and Mozart’s The Magic Flute: Queen of the Night to be played by award-winning soprano Lara Maigue.

The other performers also include Arman Ferrer, Cris Villonco, Jonathan Velasco, Alice Reyes Dance Philippines, Philippine Madrigal Singers, among others. The show’s music director and conductor is Gerard Salonga with Alexander Cortez as the director.

The “Music, Movies, Magic” aims to support the growth and development of the PPO and its various initiatives, including the training and development of orchestra members, the promotion of international performances, and the expansion of outreach programs to build a supportive national audience. It is made possible by SSI Group, Inc., LCS Group of Companies, Sta. Elena Construction & Development Corporation, Megaworld Corporation, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Rustan Coffee Corporation, and San Miguel Corporation.

(Tickets start at P8,000 for Orchestra Center seats; P6,000 for Orchestra Side; P4,000 for Loge Center; P3,000 for Loge Side; P2,000 for Balcony 1; and P500 for Balcony 2. Secure your spot via TicketWorld at ticketworld.com.ph or 0917-5506997, the CCP TIG Box Office (0931-0330880), or through Lulu Casas (0917-5708301).

The Sound of Music: From Fact to Phenomenon (1994) - Julie Andrews

867,380 views Jun 29, 2020

(Extra of the DVD release from 1994.) Narrated by Claire Bloom. Interviewees include: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Robert Wise, Saul Chaplin, Ernest Lehman, Charmian Carr, Nicholas Hammond, Eleonore von Trapp-Campbell, Johannes von Trapp, Rosmarie von Trapp, Elisabeth Von Trapp-Hall, Dee Dee Wood, Irwin Kostal, Portia Nelson, Marni Nixon

The Harry Potter Theme You Forgot About

76,606 views Oct 15, 2024

igor stravi- i mean john williams is a genius and wrote some incredible music for the harry potter movies, and in particular the prisoner of azkaban. this is my analysis of one of the themes he wrote for the movie which i think is a masterclass in melody writing and film scoring

Nina - Love Moves In Mysterious Ways | Live!

11,497,026 views Nov 8, 2020

Nina - Love Moves In Mysterious Ways | Live! SUBSCRIBE TO WARNER MUSIC PHILIPPINES https://wmp.lnk.to/youtube ABOUT WARNER MUSIC PHILIPPINES Warner Music Philippines wants to connect you with the artists that you love. See exclusive interviews, live performances, fun challenges, fan moments and other original content from top musicians all over the world.

Regine Velasquez - You've Made Me Stronger

2,825,344 views Sep 19, 2013

"Like" the ONLY Official Fanpage of Ms. Regine Velasquez-Alcasid: www.facebook.com/RVFriendsOfficial

Top 10 metal moments in classical music

My personal list. There's so many more of these moments out there, it was tough to choose 10. Honorable mention for Bach, in part because he really started it all. To me, these pieces evoke intensity, speed, rhythmic energy, dark chromatic harmonies, and/or general loudness characteristic of metal music. 0:00 - Bach - Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052, pf. Jean Rondeau 0:36 - Scriabin - Étude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8 No. 12, pf. Vladimir Horowitz 1:10 - Vivaldi - La follia, pf. Il Giardino Armonico 1:44 - Schubert - Erlkönig, arr. for solo piano by Liszt, pf. Evgeny Kissin 2:18 - Bartók - The Miraculous Mandarin, pf. Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic 2:55 - Royer - Pièces de clavecin, No. 11: Le vertigo, pf. Jean Rondeau 3:40 - Holst - The Planets, Mars, pf. London Symphony, cond. André Previn 4:14 - Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance, pf. musicAeterna, cond. Teodor Currentzis 5:04 - Vivaldi - Summer, pf. Dover Quartet 6:15 - Bartók - String Quartet No. 4, pf. Belenus Quartett 7:29 - Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 8, pf. Dover Quartet

Searching for a Button, Searching for Life: George Benjamin’s Picture a Day Like This

by Maureen Buja

English composer George Benjamin (b. 1960) started working with British playwright Martin Crimp (b.1956) in 2006, resulting in four operas: Into the Little Hill (2006), Written on Skin (2012), Lessons in Love and Violence (2018), and Picture a Day Like This (2023).

George Benjamin (Photo by Matthew Lloyd)

Martin Crimp

The first is a chamber opera based on the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Written on the Skin is set in 13th -century Provence and tells the legend told by the troubadour Guillaume de Cabestanh, where an unfaithful wife is served a dinner of the heart of her lover. When she’s told what she’s eaten, she turns the tables on her murderous husband by declaring that nothing can now remove the taste of her lover’s heart from her. As her husband rushes at her to kill her, she jumps off the balcony to her death.

Miniature of Guillem de Cabestany / Guillaume de Cabestanh, 13th century (Gallica: BnF ms. 12473: btv1b60007960, folio 89v)

Lessons in Love and Violence is about the relationship between King Edward II (1284–1327) and Piers Gaveston (1284–1312). Gaveston impressed Edward I, who assigned him to the household of his son, Edward of Caernafon. Edward I kept separating the two because Edward of Caernafon was so extreme in his partiality to Piers. What is unclear is the relationship, variously described with them being friends, lovers, or sworn brothers.

Edward II receiving the English Crown, 1350 (British Library, Royal MS 20 A ii, folio 10)

For the 2023 Aix-en-Provence Festival, the new text was for another chamber opera with 5 singers and a 22-member orchestra. The setting is a kind of never-when and fairy-tale like; the characters occupy separate worlds and operate on a kind of ‘dream-like logic’.

Marianne Crebassa in Picture a Day Like This at the Aix-en-Provence festival, 2023 (Photograph by Jean-Louis Fernandez)

A woman’s child dies, and, wrapping the boy in silk, she prepares the body for cremation. People in black arrive to take the body and one tells her: ‘Find one happy person in this world and cut one button from their sleeve – do it before night and your child will live’. She gives the mother (called simply Woman in the opera) a paper list that tells her where to look.

Picture a Day Like This: Scene 1, The Woman and the Death Attendants, 2023 (Festival-d’Aix-En-Provence) (photo by Jean-Louis-Fernandez)

George Benjamin: Picture a Day Like This – Scene 1: The Page (Marianne Crebass, Woman)

It’s Quest Opera, but with a dark and sombre center. The Woman goes off, and first finds 2 lovers, clothes discarded to the side. She asks for a button, as they’re clearly happy in themselves. They agree but then get into an argument about past and current lovers, and jealousy and happiness flee. So does the mother when one of the lovers looks to her to add to his list.

Next, she finds an Artisan. He’s retired and sitting happily in the sun. He confirms he’s happy, but when she asks for a button, he refuses. He was a button maker, and all the buttons on his suit were made with his hands. What he wants is the knife that she should use to cut off the button. What he also wants is chlorpromazine, used to treat psychiatric disorders. As he rolls up his sleeves, she sees all the cuts on his skin from all the times he’s tried to commit suicide. The woman leaves as the nurse leads the unhappy man away.

The Woman (Marianne Crebassa) and the Artisan (John Brancy)

The Composer and her assistant arrive next. The Composer is so busy that happiness has no part in her life.

In the middle, in an Aria, the woman reflects on the hopeless people she’s just met: ‘fools – vain fools – the insane’ when what she wanted was miracles. If dead flowers can come to life, why not her son? She throws away the paper list she was given.

The Collector enters. He says he’s on her list and shows her his collection of paintings: Warhol’s Gold Marilyn, Manet’s last vase of flowers, a book of hours, a Matisse….

Warhol: Gold Marilyn Monroe, 1962
(New York: Museum of Modern Art)

He refers to his rooms of artworks as his rooms of miracles. He invites her to take anything that will make her happy…but she must love him. And, he doesn’t have any buttons. She continues her search, paper list back in her hand.

Her last meeting is with Zabelle, a woman seemingly like herself. In a beautiful garden, Zabelle appears when the Woman reads her description on the paper list. She has 2 children playing on the swings; her husband lies half-asleep in the rose garden…can the mother share in this happy and beautiful life? Zabelle says to look again at the garden: shadows are falling, men are at the gate to occupy the park and destroy things, she’s dropped the baby boy, and he seems cold…it’s all an illusion. There is no happiness. Zabelle says that just because her name is on a list doesn’t mean she’s happy because she, in fact doesn’t exist. As she disappears, she twists a button off her sleeve and holds it out, but an invisible barrier separates the two characters.

Picture a Day Like This: Scene 7, The Woman and the Death Attendants, 2023 (Festival-d’Aix-En-Provence) (photo by Jean-Louis-Fernandez)

At the end, the Woman finds herself back where she started, the death attendants are still in the room. They tell her the quest was in vain because

The page is torn from the vast book of the dead –
punched through by grief –
sewn with a human thread –
no one can alter it.
Now do you understand?

The woman smiles at them and bids them to look at ‘the bright button in my hand’.

It’s an intriguing and puzzling story – how things appear on the surface do not survive closer scrutiny. New characters bring different definitions of happiness and different pictures of their hope and despair – lovers are unfaithful, the artisan was broken, the composer was self-obsessed, the collector was lonely, and even the beautiful Zabelle is happy only when it’s not dark. The Woman goes through an impossible journey but still emerges victorious at the end. It was about her own happiness, not others.

The composer said the sequential scenes made it feel like he was writing a new opera for each scene – but, on the other hand, he welcomed the challenge. Another part of the challenge the composer and writer set each other is to find something new and different for each work: fairy tales to stories of the troubadours to royal scandals, and now a dream quest – they couldn’t be more different in the subject if they tried!

The opera closes ambiguously. In the final scene, Zabelle describes the change from the day’s beauty to the night’s horrors, the Woman confronts the women who gave her the impossible quest and shows them her button. Does she get her son back? It’s not clear.

George Benjamin: Picture a Day Like This – Scene VII: III. Picture a Day Like This (Anna Prohaska, Zabelle; Marianne Crebass, Woman)

George Benjamin: Picture a Day Like This
Nimbus Records: NI 8116
Release date: 6 September 2024

Official Website