We never know what pieces we will draw from the hat. Compilers of program
notes just hope that the works they’re asked to unmask are not so strange
that they’re beyond description. We also wish for an entire menu to be
appetizing. Sometimes we hit the jackpot. Such is the case with
tonight’s bill of fare. Take the first half of the program for instance,
Beethoven is always nourishing, and two of his sonatas spiced with
different flavors should be both filling and thrilling. And what about
that set of variations based on the famous “Ruins of Athens March?” You
won’t find that entrée on too many menus. Watch for clarification.
And hot dog! Thank you Mr. Weiss for satisfying this writer’s craving
for Grieg’s delectable Lyric Pieces. These short, enchanting plums are
served far too seldom. The thing about these smaller servings is that
they go down a little sweeter and leave you hungry for more. Some of
them are as simple as simple syrup, and others are so artistically
elegant and poetically tasty you’ll want to feast on every note.
SONATA IN F-SHARP MAJOR, OP. 78 BY BEETHOVEN (written in 1809 before
severe deafness)
We are guessing that to other composers, Beethoven was the most revered
and feared. That would be true in his time and long after. Once upon a
time in the middle of the 19th century, Beethoven’s popularity eclipsed
Mozart’s. The time was ripe for Beethoven’s heroic passions to topple
Mozart’s tidy and decorous music. Fortunately for us, both reputations
survived. They influenced more composers than we care to name.
Beethoven even influenced babes in cradles, or so claimed Sergey
Prokofiev, who credited his own classical elements to hearing his mother
play Beethoven sonatas when he was an infant.
Just for a moment let’s forget Beethoven’s symphonies, string quartets,
choral masterpieces, and whatever that made him so famous. Let’s look at
the man, the intellect who read volumes of Shakespeare, Roman and Greek
Classics, and contemporaries such as Goethe and Schiller. Let’s look at
the talented child, born in a musical family and weaned on string
instruments and the keyboard. Let’s look at his diverse group of
followers. Some discovered Beethoven’s keyboard genius in churches where
he played on wheezy organs and harpsichords, and others discovered him in
homes and joints where he played on parlor pianos. All agreed he was an
unequaled keyboard virtuoso. His improvisations blew them away. In his
composing and in his playing he stirred the passions of his audiences.
“Reckless emotionalism” some cried, but what they meant is that they
loved it. One critic, who didn’t want to be ordinary for such an
extraordinary pianist, wrote that “his playing tore along like a wildly
forming cataract.”
The thirty-two piano sonata collection represents just one of
Beethoven’s colossal achievements. Out of the mass, seven of them
contained only two-movements. Here we have one in the unlikely key of
F-Sharp Major. But this unique sonata was reportedly Beethoven’s
favorite, rated much higher than his popular “Moonlight” Sonata. It
opens with a slow four-bar introduction - a warm intimate sound that
pulls us in immediately. The first subject sustains the warmth but picks
up the tempo. The second half of the development is longer and also
repeated. By the time the coda with its fragments of the familiar
subject comes bouncing in, we are ready for the contrast. It’s a good
one too with the melody dancing around and atop a flowing left-hand
counterpoint.
Capricious in tonality, phrasing, and dynamics, the second movement
demands precision and a tricky hand-crossing co-ordination. Slurred
semi-quavers (1/16th the time value of the whole note) spotlight the
composer and performer.
SIX VARIATIONS ON AN ORIGINAL THEME IN D MAJOR, Op. 76 by Beethoven
If there is any such thing as low-brow Beethoven, the six-minute set of
variations might qualify, or so say the long-haired snobs. It would seem
our artist likes short, likes variety, and likes to play outside the box.
A gut feeling tells us that Weiss is going to color these variations
with merriment. He may even be laughing when he tackles that frisky
sixth variation. We can’t wait!
THE PIANO SONATA IN D, OPUS 28 (PASTORAL) by Beethoven, written in1801 (before
deafness).
It opens with a ten-bar passage whose closing figure is the
brainstorm for a brilliant development. The first and last movements
share a common theme that hangs low over a repeated tonic pedal tone.
The developments in both movements shake up the pastoral feel
occasionally, but Beethoven reins it all back in smoothly and skillfully.
Are you ready for another Beethoven favorite? He was parcel to the
Andante movement, which moves to the key of D minor. Are we beginning to
see an emotional predilection with Beethoven? Suits us! This lovely
movement features a plaintive tune over a staccato bass. Let’s not kid
ourselves. The “slighter” staccato accompaniment is what makes the
melody shine with such importance. And just wait until that same tune is
decorated. A scherzo is a musical joke, right? But this simple one
plays out more like a spoof of a scherzo, and its sardonic charm will
surely make you smile.
BONUS FACT: AT 5 FEET FOUR INCHES, BEETHOVEN WAS THE SAME HEIGHT AS
NAPOLEON. AND TO THE VIENNESE WHO ADORED THE MUSICAL GIANT, HIS
PROVINCIAL ACCENT SOUNDED UNCOUTH. VIVA UNCOUTH SHORTIES!
LYRIC PIECES (16) BY EDVARD GRIEG.
If music is the international language, then it’s a sure thing that
Grieg speaks it with a Norwegian accent. Grieg is not anything if not a
gung ho nationalist - the most popular of the late 19th century.
Grieg’s growing sympathy with the Norwegian nationalist movement and his
love for the Norwegian mountain melodies steered him away from his German
symphonic training. At the request of Henrik Ibsen, Grieg scored the
play “Peer Gynt” for which he is most famous, and of course his piano
concerto was so popular it suffered from over exposure.
“The Chopin of the North” is a fitting label for Grieg. Like Chopin, his
piano music sparkles like sunlight dancing on water, and his
ornamentations, though not as insistent as Chopin’s, have the same easy
fall-in-place feeling. Grieg’s preferences for shorter pieces with
story-book titles found an audience of loyal followers. Pianists tend to
smile when you mention his incidental music. And one of the things they
love is the melancholy that permeates all his music.
Think of his ten sets of Lyric Pieces (66 total) as a musical diary.
You may want to put that diary on your listening list. The selections
here are good representatives. We will hear all styles, beginning with
“Arietta,” a pretty sketch that sounds deceptively easy in its two-handed
flow. We will hear subtle wonders as in the expressive “Berceuse” with
its fetching cradle-rocking rhythm. We will hear the rapid undercurrent
of the “Brooklet,” and the scintillations of “Little Bird” which may
cheer up “The Lonely Wanderer.” We will hear the strong persistent
melody of “Elegy,” and the vibrant ornamentations of the beautiful
“Notturno.” We will want to clog dance to the “Wedding Day at
Troldhaugen and flit peacefully away with the “Butterfly.”
Oh heck, we will hear them all, each with its individual charm, whether
etched in pastels, stretched in rubatos, or spiced with gourmet
harmonies. And we will be so glad we did. If you liked the lyrical
treats from these Lyric Pieces, remember there’s plenty more where they
came from.
BONUS FACT: GREIG’S MUSIC IS SO CONNECTED WITH THE SIGHTS, SMELLS AND
FOLKLORE OF NORWAY, IT PROMPTED HIM TO SAY “MY MUSIC HAS A TATSE OF
CODFISH IN IT"