Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Suite for Flute and Piano Op. 34 | Charles-Marie Widor (1844 - 1937) |
| I. Moderato II. Scherzo | |
| Stephanie Jackson, Flute | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| Principally known for his large catalogue of organ compositions, Charles Marie Widor composed the Suite for Flute and Piano for Paul Taffanel in 1877. A characteristic example of late nineteenth century flute music, the four movement suite showcases both the flute and piano equally, through its virtuosic display and varied tonal nuances. The first movement, a Moderato, embodies the Romantic style with weeping scalic passages and dramatic cadenzas. The Scherzo opens with a heralding leap before rollicking along in a part dance, part virtuosic flute display which is interspersed throughout with a lyrical nocturne in the piano part. | |
| Three romances, for oboe and piano, op. 94 | Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856) |
| Romance no. 3 | |
| Eddy Chen, Oboe | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Schumann wrote these three pieces in December 1849. The third piece marked Nicht schnell is quite rugged and colorful-sounding in its main theme. There is more than a hint of Brahms here, a composer who was just beginning to make his mark. The middle section is lovely, similar in character to the opening melodies of the first two pieces. The piano accompaniment is deftly wrought throughout, never overwhelming the oboe, yet always making its supportive presence felt. | |
| Concerto for oboe and small orchestra | Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949) |
| Andante | |
| Eddy Chen, Oboe | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Strauss' Oboe Concerto (1945-1946) dates from the final stages of the composer's career. As a product of his lifetime of experience, it ranks as one of the finest works ever composed for the instrument. Following the classical model, the concerto is cast in a fast-slow-fast three-movement form. The elegiac Andante echoes the more meditative moods of the composer's later operas. While the harmonic language is essentially diatonic, Strauss makes full use of colorful chromatic inflections. The movement is remarkable for its intensity and seamlessness, in contrast to the more motivic and episodic nature of some of Strauss' music. | |
| Sonata for Flute and Piano | Jindrich Feld (1925 - 2007) |
| Allegro Giocoso | |
| Lauren Gorman, Flute | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| The three movement sonata by Jindrich Feld was dedicated to one of the best known flautist's of the mid-twentieth century, Jean-Pierre Rampal and has become an important part of the flute repertoire. The first movement is flamboyant in style with challenging virtuosic lines that are passed between both the flute and piano. The recurrent legato passage adds an element of contrast between Feld's cheeky and articulated theme which is the essence of the first movement. | |
| Neuf études pour saxophone | Christian Lauba (1952 - ) |
| Balafon | |
| Michellina Chan, Alto Saxophone | |
| Christian Lauba wrote the piece imitating the balafon, a West African wooden key percussion idiophone. The balafon usually has between 17 to 27 keys and a tuning system that is distinctive to the various ethnic groups. In order to master the instrument, the player goes through long, intense hours perfecting complex rhythms and techniques. Lauba integrates extended saxophone techniques to accurately imitate the balafon. Circular breathing is employed to give the piece an uninterrupted flow as with percussion music. Also, he uses multiphonics to produce multiple notes like hitting two keys or more on the balafon simultaneously. | |
| Pezzo Capriccioso Op. 62 | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893) |
| Jovan Pantelich, Cello | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| \"This piece is the single fruit of my musical spirit from the whole summer,” wrote Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to his publisher in 1887, referring to the Pezzo capriccioso. Tchaikovsky completed the work in just over a week in August of that year, while maintaining a deathbed vigil for his friend Nikolay Kondratyev. Understandably distracted and upset by Kondratyev’s illness, the music of this seven-minute work, the last composition Tchaikovsky completed for solo instrument and orchestra, reflects his troubled spirit. - Elizabeth Schwartz | |
| Rhapsody for tenor trombone and piano | Barry Mckimm (1941 - ) |
| Ming Yeung LI, Tenor Trombone | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Barry McKimm, (born Melbourne 1941) commenced his professional music career in 1958 as a trumpet player working in theatre and jazz. McKimm\\\'s early compositions were in the form of jazz and non-jazz improvised music. Throughout the1960s he gained a reputation for innovative jazz. In 1968 he was appointed third trumpet with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra ( MSO). This piece was performed in ABC live broadcast in 1981 by trombonist, Ian Perry. | |
| String Quartet No. 12 'American' | Antonín Dvořák (1841 - 1904) |
| Movement 1 - Allegro ma non troppo | |
| Joshua Dema, Cello | |
| Marrianne Liu, Emma Martin, Lucas Levin and Joshua Dema | |
| Dvořák composed the Quartet during a summer vacation from his position as Director of the National Conservatory in New York. He composed the quartet shortly after the New World Symphony, sketching the manuscript in three days and completing it in three weeks. Listeners have tried to identify specific American motifs in the quartet.Most analysts, however, fail to see specific American influences in the quartet, aside perhaps from its use of pentatonic scales. "In fact the only American thing about the work is that it was written," writes Paul Griffiths. | |
| Graúna | João Pernambuco (1883 - 1947) |
| Transcribed by Villa-Lobos | |
| Phillip Cortes, Contemporary Guitar | |
| Grauna which translates into Blackbird, is a standard usually played as a duo with another guitarist. It incorporates the traditioinal Choro rhythm into it\'s melodic and chordal lines | |
| Cordão de Ouro (Lundu de Capoeira) | Paulo Bellinati (1950 - -) |
| Phillip Cortes, Contemporary Guitar | |
| Bellinati captures the rhythms of the Brazilian dance form known as Capoeira and writes a more contemporary style of Brazilian piece with it\'s slight dissonance and odd voicings | |