Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Violin Concerto, Op. 14 | Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981) |
| I. Allegro II. Andante | |
| Peiyi Ng, Violin | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Commissioned in 1939 by Samuel Fels for his ward Iso Briselli, the collaboration dissolved when Barber refused to make changes after Briselli declared the final movement too difficult. Other accounts reveal that Briselli’s objection was only about the finale’s musical appropriateness in relation to the first two movements. In any case, Albert Spalding gave the work's premiere in 1941. The opening contains an overall mood of sentimentality which carries on in the slow second movement, with an added overlay of melancholy. Marked Presto in moto perpetuo, the last is a stunning contrast of relentless triplets and rhythmic drive. | |
| Étude 1 pour les cinq doigts d'après Monsieur Czerny (five fingers, "after Monsieur Czerny") | Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) |
| - | |
| Melinda Seaw, Piano | |
| Debussy's Études are his last major piano works. They are a result of the maturation and crystallization of his style that appear to reflect the course of his life and are thus sublimated into an abstract and emotionally controlled language. Written in August and September 1915 at Pourville, they were dedicated "to the memory of Chopin", but Debussy had at one time also considered a dedication to Couperin. The twelve Études are divided into two books of six numbers each: the first set broaches traditional problems of technique; the second, matters of musical figurations. | |
| Sull'aria from The Marriage of Figaro, K.492 | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) |
| Sheridan Hughes, Voice | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Madeleine Crombie - Voice , Sheridan Hughes - Voice | |
| “Sull’aria”(How gentle the breeze) is a duettino from Act 3 of Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro. The Countess Almaviva dictates to Susanna, the invitation to a tryst addressed to the Countess's husband, in a plot to expose his infidelity.‘How sweet the evening breezes are’, runs the cryptic message, ‘in the pinewood’… Both women agree the rest the Count will understand. Susanna echoes her mistress’s phrases, until their voices entwine in a sensual evocation of a summer night. | |
| Duetto buffo di due gatti | Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868) |
| Sheridan Hughes, Voice | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Madeleine Crombie - Voice , Sheridan Hughes - Voice | |
| "Duetto buffo di due gatti"(Humorous duet for two cats),is a popular performance piece for two sopranos which is often performed as a concert encore. The “lyrics” consist entirely of the repeated word “miau” or “meow”. Sometimes it is also performed by a soprano and a tenor, or a soprano and a bass. | |
| Je Suis encore étourdie | Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912) |
| Rhian Tuohy , Voice | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| This aria is sung by Manon in Massenet's opera 'Manon'. She has just arrived in Paris and is incredibly excited to be on her very first voyage in the company of her cousin. | |
| La romance d'Ariel | Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) |
| Helen Ling, Voice | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Debussy wrote this song in 1884 to poetry by Paul Bourget (1852-1935), better known for 'Romance', 'Beau soir' & 'Les Cloches'. The poem is set in the mountains, alluding to the love story of Ariel and Miranda from Greek mythology. The symbolism of the excessive delight and pain of being in love is characterized by many triplets and heady melismatic phrases. | |
| Les filles de Cadix (The Maids of Cadiz) | Léo Delibes (1836 - 1891) |
| Helen Ling, Voice | |
| Amir Farid, piano | |
| Interestingly Delibes learnt to sing as well as compose much ballet and opera music. One of his most well known songs is 'Les filles de Cadix', in French, but with an obvious Spanish flavour. Three girlfriends go out a-flirting to the bullfights and encounter some eager gentlemen. The trills, triplets and short florid phrases mimmick well the fun of the girls. | |
| Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major Op. 81 | Antonin Dvorak (1841 - 1904) |
| Allegro ma non tanto | |
| Kevin Suherman, Piano | |
| Kevin Suherman (Piano), Rebecca Wang (Violin), Larissa Ng (Violin), Han Hsiang Ong (Viola) & Young Ye (Cello) | |
| Dvorák’s Piano Quintet in A Major, Op.81 was actually the result of the composer’s attempt to revise an earlier work, his Piano Quintet Op.5, also in A major. Despite the fact that the Op.5 quintet was well received at its premiere in Prague in 1872, the composer became dissatisfied with the work and destroyed the manuscript. Fortunately, one of his friends had kept the parts, so the work was saved from oblivion. Fifteen years later, he made extensive revisions to Op.5, however decided to compose an entirely new work instead. The first movement ranges from gentle lyrical sections, to panicky and lively tutti sections throughout the work. | |
| Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor, L 140 | Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) |
| Allegro vivo Intermède: Fantasque et léger Finale: Très animé | |
| Emma Williams, Violin | |
| Stefan Cassomenos, piano | |
| Debussy's Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor, L 140, was composed in 1917. It was the composer's last major composition and the third work in what had originally been conceived as a cycle of six sonatas for various instruments (the first two being the cello sonata, L 135, and the sonata for flute, viola and harp, L 137). The work is notable for its brevity; a typical performance lasts about 13 minutes. The premiere took place on 5 May 1917, the violin part played by Gaston Poulet, with Debussy himself at the piano. It was his last public performance. | |
| Prelude in C# minor Op. 3 No. 2 | Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) |
| Connor Taylor, Piano | |
| Although Rachmaninoff denied that he had any descriptive idea in his mind when he wrote this prelude, it is not surprising that people have thought so, immediately establishing a serious mood. This prelude was written when the composer had just left Moscow conservatory and it brought him early international fame. Rachmaninoff eventually completed a prelude for each of the 24 major and minor keys. However, unlike the preludes of Chopin, Rachmaninoff’s are longer, were published at three different times and are not arranged in one orderly key sequence. Prelude in C# minor was the first prelude written and is one of his most renowned piano works | |
| Prelude in E major Op. 53 No. 9 | Nikolai Kapustin (1937 - ) |
| Connor Taylor, Piano | |
| Ukrainian born Nikolai Kapustin has Medtner, Rachmaninoff, and Scriabin in his veins, yet his jazz side is equally authentic. Naming Oscar Peterson as an influence and with the harmonic volatility and technical exuberance of Art Tatum, Kapustin’s compositional style is engaging and unique. The 24 Preludes in Jazz Style (1988) are among the most significant such cycles in the modern piano repertory, not least in their traversing the same key-sequence established by Chopin and later followed by Russian composers Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. No. 9 is the longest and exudes a nocturnal spirit of deep expression. | |
| Quintet in G minor, Op.39 | Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) |
| I. Tema con variazioni III. Allegro sostenuto, ma con brio V. Allegro precipitato, ma non troppo presto VI. Andantino | |
| Jasper Ly, Oboe | |
| Jasper Ly, Oboe; Cameron Smith, Clarinet; Estelita Rae, Violin; Eunise Cheng, Viola; Rob Nichols, Double Bass. | |
| This quintet is highly chromatic, melodically angular, rhythmically irregular, and filled with Stravinskyan ostinatos (rhythmic or melodic figures that are frequently repeated ad nauseum). Let's be honest, there's nothing lovable about this music. It's determinedly abrasive, intimidating, and unapologetic in its dissonance and unrelenting grimacing. It has attitude, but it's of a whole cloth and is compelling for those very qualities. And one can have nothing but admiration for the instrumentalists who must surmount the ensemble difficulties but also maintain the kind of acerbic point that Prokofiev demands throughout. - Orrin Howard | |