Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Marimba Spiritual | Minoru Miki (1930 - 2011) |
| I & II | |
| Therese Ng, Marimba and multiple percussion | |
| Alison Fane, Oliver Iacono, Peter Neville | |
| In late 1983, Minoru MIKI received the request from Japanese percussionist Keiko Abe to compose new marimba piece with three percussionists. This was also the year that many people died in Africa from starvation. As a person who had experienced similar suffering before and after the end of World War II, Miki could not be silent. Rather he felt that he must express his condolences and anger for that situation. He therefore composed the first slow section as a static requiem, and the second fast section as lively resurrection. The title "Marimba Spiritual" is as expression of the total process. | |
| Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano | Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963) |
| I. Lent - Presto II. Andante con moto III. Rondo. Très vif | |
| Michellina Chan, Alto Saxophone | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| Michellina Chan - Soprano Saxophone, Audrey Moore - Bassoon, Leigh Harrold - Piano | |
| Parisian composer and pianist, Francis Poulenc, had composed for a variety of genres including solo piano works, ballets and operas. He was part of the group of composers call Les Six whose compositional styles were set against that of the German Romanticism and impressionist music. The first movement of his Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano begins with features of each wind instrument in a rather free, cadenza-like style. The second movement is lyrical and described by Poulenc himself as “sweet and melancholic". The concluding movement is Poulenc's take on a Baroque French gigue; it is exciting and joyful. | |
| Sonata No 1 in G major, Op. 78 | Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) |
| 1. Vivace, ma non troppo | |
| Nathan Juriansz, Violin | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| The Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78, for violin and piano was composed by Johannes Brahms during the summers of 1878 and 1879 in Pörtschach am Wörthersee. It was first performed on 8 November 1879 in Bonn, by the husband and wife Robert Heckmann (violin) and Marie Heckmann-Hertig (piano). | |
| Scherzo in C# minor, opus 53 | Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| Louis Nicoll, Piano | |
| Chopin’s third scherzo was written in 1839, in the abandoned monastery of Valldemossa in Majorca, a favourite holiday destination of Chopin’s. Chopin’s 4 scherzi are dramatic pieces, far from the character of many of his parlour miniatures. Their powerful content contrasts with their unusual title, leading Robert Schumann to comment that in these pieces, ‘jest goes about in dark veils’. The first subject is brilliant gripping, whereas the second subject is a tender chorale interspersed with shimmering falling arpeggios. The contrast and tension between these two themes must be reconciled, and finds a final ending in a brilliant coda. | |
| Rhapsodie pour Orchestre et Saxophone | Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) |
| Anthony Vouliotis, Alto Saxophone | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| Claude Debussy is the most prominent composer to have written for the saxophone, however, his Rhapsodie is little appreciated amongst both saxophonists and musicians globally. In 1901, an amateur American saxophonist by the name of Elise Hall requested a piece from Debussy for saxophone, although it took him some ten years to complete the score (where over this period numerous "reminders" were made by Ms. Hall). Although it is one movement, the piece is broken into two main parts: a very moderate opening by the piano followed by a solo saxophone dialogue, which then moves into a light hearted 6/8 Allegretto Scherzando section. | |
| Waitin\\\' | William Bolcom, Poetry by Arnold Weinstein (1938 - ) |
| Louise Keye, Voice | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| Arnold Weinstein was an American poet, playwright and librettist, who referred to himself as a \"theatre poet\". Weinstein is best known for his collaborations with composer William Bolcom who described his work with Weinstein as a \"true collaboration\", and said about him that \"He had such a gift for writing words that were singable, and that gave character. He was more influential on a lot of other people than people have taken He was more influential on a lot of other people than people have taken into account.\" | |
| Black Max | William Bolcom, Poetry by Arnold Weinstein (1936 - ) |
| Louise Keye, Voice | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| see above | |
| Concert Etude Op 40 No 1 \ | Nikolai Kapustin (1937 - ) |
| Henry Lee, Piano | |
| After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory in 1961, Nikolai Kapustin worked extensively as a jazz pianist. His compositions hence combine this virtuoso classical pianism with a knowledge of improvisatory jazz. The Eight Concert Études, initially named Jazz Études for Piano, were written in 1984 and recorded by Kapustin in the following year. The Prelude is an energetic opening to the set, and intersperses strongly rhythmic passages with Art Tatum-like improvisatory lines. Kapustin states: 'The rhythm of this piece is reminiscent of Latin American music. The style of the theme and of the variation section in particular is jazz rock.' | |
| Variationen über ein Anatolisches Volkslied | Carlo Domeniconi (1947 - ) |
| Deniz Kaplan, Classical Guitar | |
| Born in Italy, guitarist and composer Carlo Domeniconi studied in Berlin. After finishing his studies, he visited Turkey and fell in love with its people and culture. Praised for initiating the development of the guitar department at the Istanbul Conservatory, he developed a compositional style for the guitar that reflected the regional folk influence. Perhaps he is most well known for his piece "Koyunbaba" (literally "sheep-father" in Turkish) composed in 1985. The piece I am performing today, a theme and variations, is based on a famous folk song by Turkish poet Aşık Veysel Şatıroğlu from the Anatolian region. | |
| The Sorcerer's Apprentice | Paul Dukas (1865 - 1935) |
| Paul Ton, Piano | |
| Kevin Lam, Piano | |
| L'apprenti sorcier is a symphonic poem, written in 1896–97. Subtitled 'Scherzo after a ballad by Goethe', the piece was based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1797 poem of the same name. By far the most performed and recorded of Dukas's works, its notable appearance in the Walt Disney 1940 animated film Fantasia has led to the piece becoming widely known to audiences outside the classical concert hall. | |
| Four Fictions | Mike Mower (1982 - -) |
| I Whirlpool II Drought | |
| Hank Clifton-Williamson, Flute | |
| Alyse Faith, Georgia Williams, Hank Clifton-Williamson & Lina Park | |
| Fictions, as the name suggests are four descriptive pieces for flute quartet. Movement 1, entitled Whirlpool, evokes a swirling maelstrom with the four voices interacting canonically and with chromatically slipping harmonies. Movement 2, Drought, is a slow harmonically stark piece which builds from independent lines to block movement whilst keeping an arid feel throughout. | |