CAB Notes 

     Vol. 2 Issue 3                                              The Electronic Newsletter for Concert Artists of Baltimore
                                                                 Edward Polochick, Artistic Director

Message from the Maestro

I always find it rather curious, that the “average” concert-goer tends to shy away from “20^th Century Music.”  This is probably the result of decades of orchestras and other music organizations programming contemporary 20^th century music and telling us that it is great music. And, it may be great music either in its structure, or bizarre harmonies, or fascinating rhythmic innovations, or even all kinds of combinations of “great” innovations. Much of it, however, is not necessarily appealing music. Many composers come to mind:  Stockhausen, Webern, Wuorinen, Carter, Dallapiccolo, Boulez, to name a few. The fact of the matter is that the 20^th Century has an over-abundance of great music which is very appealing, by composers such as: Menotti, Gershwin, Bernstein, Vaughan Williams, Copland, Stravinsky, Sondheim or even John Adams, to name a few. And, let’s face it, times change, tastes and trends change; a piece like Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring would hardly cause the riots and scandals today as it did in Paris back in 1913.

I was very pleased at the response (both audience and performers) to John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music we presented last December 2. I think most found it very appealing, and in addition I personally found it a very satisfying and exciting work. There is another 20^th Century composer whose music I find just as exciting and riveting as Adams’; he was a Czech composer who was extremely prolific, and yet is relatively unknown. For me, he falls into this “great, yet appealing” category. His name is Bohuslav Martinů and his Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra is a featured work on our Classy Classics series program, Eastern Sky, February 19^th at 8pm at the Gordon Center.

Martinů was born in 1890 in Policka (a village now in the Czech Republic) in a room at the top of a church tower. He lived the first 12 years of his childhood with the view and sound of that room, an extraordinary environment to which he, himself, attributed much of the unusual character of his music. Throughout his life he strove to recapture in sound the “sense of space” and “pure forms” of nature in which he was immersed. Early on he also experienced periods of his musical life in which he was greatly influenced by certain composers and styles: French Impressionism (Debussy, in particular), Jazz, Stravinsky, neo-classicism and the English madrigal. Yet despite such diverse influences, his music is infused with his own distinctive voice and personality.

Fleeing Nazi terrorism in 1940-41, Martinů and his wife emigrated to the United States. He gained much recognition from his Concerto Grosso (written in 1937 for two pianos within an orchestral context), and as a result of this success he began to receive commissions from American musicians. He soon began to make a name for himself in this country and significantly furthered his international acclaim. During the summer of 1942, while teaching composition at Tanglewood, he was commissioned by the piano duo Luboschutz/Nemenoff to compose a concerto for two pianos and orchestra. It was completed in 1943 and premiered to rave reviews with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy.  It is a phenomenal work, fiendishly difficult for the two soloists, and is characterized by fast toccata–like outer movements and an Adagio fantasy middle movement. The writing throughout the work for the two pianos is noteworthy for its bravura passages (particularly fast, fleeting scale and arpeggio passages, toccata—like!) and strong, rhythmic drive. Yet there is also a lyricism and a catchy, humorous side, which contrasts strongly with the tumultuous, dramatic and rhapsodic slow movement.

Concert Artists is most fortunate to have as soloists the two-piano duo of Mark Clinton and Nicole Narboni (many of you may remember Mark when he elicited a standing ovation for his performance of the Grieg Piano Concerto two seasons ago). They are both supreme artists, whose extraordinary musical sensitivity, pianistic virtuosity and phenomenal ensemble playing have won them outstanding critical acclaim. They are also our featured artists on our Music at the Mansion Series, Sunday, February 13^th, 2:30pm at the Engineers Club.

Another feature of our February 19^th program is a beautiful and unusual set of a cappella works by two Eastern European composers.  Veni Creator by Polish composer, Krzysztof Penderecki, is a fine example by this 20^th Century master of vocal music. Exceedingly demanding in its vocal technique and expert musicianship, this work is a rather straightforward approach for Penderecki. Known for his avant-garde tendencies which utilize such techniques as hissing, whistling, screeching, etc., Penderecki is more “tame” in this piece and achieves a wonderful choral effect to underscore the text with his own tonal palette.

Next in the set are two works Morning and Night, by Hungarian composer, György Ligeti (who gained popular international prominence when his music was included as part of the firm score to 2001: A Space Odyssey). These two pieces, sung in Hungarian, are wonderful examples of the 20^th Century use of tonal music, with effects which are mesmerizing and which beautifully paint a tonal picture of the text.

Two works by Russian composers will conclude the set: Winter Road by Shebalin and Neapolitan Dance Song by Tchaikovsky.  Winter Road is an exquisite setting for four-part chorus, which embodies that “Russian” choral sound. Neapolitan Dance Song will probably be immediately recognized either as a piano piece Tchaikovsky composed for his Album for the Young, or as a dance he included in his Swan Lake Ballet score. It is brilliantly arranged for wordless chorus by our local composer/arranger, Robert Lichtenberger.

The last work featured on our Classy Classics concert is a somewhat obscure work by Tchaikovsky for orchestra alone, Suite #1 in D.  It is a fascinating composition in that its structure allowed Tchaikovsky a certain freedom of expression which he did not find in writing symphonies, and it offers a glimpse of the greatness we uncover in his later ballet scores, in particular Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.  Written between August 1878 and April 1879, the suite endured several re-workings before finally settling into six movements.

The first movement, Introduction and Fugue, opens with a plaintive melody in the bassoon and introduces an episodic dialogue between the woodwinds and strings culminating in a rather somber, Baroque-like fugue.  Movement 2, Divertimento, is really a lovely waltz which was inserted at a later date, mainly to contrast the duple meters in the suite's remaining parts. (You will note some unusual writing for three flutes, and you may be reminded of “Dance of the Mirlitons” from The Nutcracker!)  Following the Intermezzo, with its dark, atmospheric writing for the strings, is the Marche Miniature, perhaps the most famous movement of the suite which, even at the premiere, garnered such rousing applause that it had to be repeated.  It is a curious movement of mainly the higher pitched instruments which may remind the listener (if I may once again use the analogy) of the “Ouverture” to The Nutcracker.  The last two movements are rather tour de forces for the orchestra and leave the listener breathless and exuberant (not to mention the performers!).

Mark Clinton and Nicole Narboni excel with this kind of repertoire.  Both the Mansion and the Gordon Center concerts are events which Baltimore audiences should not miss.  I look forward to seeing you at these programs, and even more to greeting you afterwards.

Edward Polochick

Artistic Director

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