Music by Anna Clyne, Maurice Ravel, and Aaron Copland was featured in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra’s Masterworks Series concert at Purdue Fort Wayne on March 8, with Andrew Constantine conducting. Johanna Bourkova-Morunov was concertmaster for this performance.
English composer Anna Clyne (born 1980) has worked in both acoustic and electroacoustic music. She wrote “This Midnight Hour” in 2015 as a tribute to the French National Orchestra, for whom she served as composer-in-residence between 2014 and 2016. The music is largely inspired by poems by Juan Ramon Jimenez (1881-1958) and Charles Beaudelaire (1821-1867) .
Specifically, Jimenez’s Spanish text translates: “Music – a naked woman running mad through the pure night.” Beaudelaire’s French next translates “The season is at hand when swaying on its stern Every flower exhales perfume like a censer; Sound and perfumes turn in the evening air; Melancholy waltz and languid vertigo!” The composer wrote, “Whilst it is not intended to depict a specific narrative, my intention is that it will evoke a visual journey for the listener.”
Cellos and basses begin a march-like rhythm that is joined by the winds and then the violins and violas. It is a very strong and fascinating sound with dignity, which becomes very dramatic and intense. The music takes on somewhat menacing and frightening and then mysterious and intriguing. Clyne uses pizzicato violins and strumming cellos and basses. The winds emerge with a more lyrical passage. The music is searching as if one is lost and confused. There are interesting effects from the brass, which reminded me of a science fiction epic, where all is strange and uncertain. The music then shifts to chase-like qualities with very animated strings. Then, there is a very lyrical and poignant melody with lush strings and winds that leads to a slow dance. The music switches to an agitated section, followed by a slow and serene passage. There was impressive trumpet playing with a sustained and strong statement, followed by a lyrical and serene part that ended a loud bang.
The music is likely unfamiliar to most listeners and probably deserves a second listening, which would be possible through a recording. This performance was exceptionally fine with a number of impressive musical contributions by the musicians. It is yet another indication of Constantine’s ability to guide the orchestra through complex and complicated modern music.
In 1928, the American composer and pianist George Gershwin (1898-1937) visited Paris, France, and arranged to meet with the French composer and pianist Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). George wanted to study with Ravel, hoping to improve his classical compositions. However, Ravel reportedly said to Gershwin, “Why become a second-rate Ravel when you are already a first-rate Gershwin?” Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), who was living in Paris at the time, also declined Gershwin’s request for guidance. However, Gershwin helped to stimulate Ravel’s interest in American jazz, especially when Ravel came to the United States to conduct concerts, and visited jazz clubs.
Ravel’s love of jazz led to the composition of two piano concertos between 1929 and 1931, one in D major for the left hand (as a piece for pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right hand in the First World War) and the other in G major. Both concertos were influenced by jazz, but the G major concerto clearly is the jazzier of the two. Ravel still maintained his unique French style in the G major concerto, which is in three movements. It was premiered in Paris in January 1932 with Marguerite Long as the soloist and Ravel himself conducting. Ravel was asked to also conduct the first recording of the concerto, but he ultimately served only as a supervisor and Pedro de Freitas Branco actually conducted. It was released through the EMI organization, which then included RCA Victor in the United States.
The concerto was the last major composition by Ravel, who was injured in an automobile accident in October 1932 and was generally unable to write anything after completing a few songs for a 1933 film version of “Don Quixote” starring the famous Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin. He died on Dec. 28, 1937, at the age of 62, about five months after the death of Gershwin, who was only 38 years old.
The soloist in the Philharmonic’s performances of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major was American pianist Orli Shaham (born 1975), who has previously played with the orchestra. She studied at the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, New York, and at Columbia University and the Julliard School. For this performance, Shaham (who has shoulder length light blonde hair) wore a floor length, mostly black dress with a sequined top and a slit on one side of the skirt.
In the concerto, the piano begins immediately with the orchestra in a syncopated and jazzy manner that definitely has Ravel’s characteristic jaunty and exuberant style. This is jazz as Ravel interpreted it. There are some sad and introspective moments. Shaham played with a very sensitive approach to the challenging solos, which include jazz with more traditional playing. The music becomes very joyful and happy. There are also slower parts in which Shaham played with great feeling. Ravel wrote a magical harp solo, which creates a special atmosphere to the overall effect. There were some challenging solos by wind players during the slower sections. Shaham had very delicate and intense solos herself. Ravel uses some dissonance in the chords which the strings echo. It is basically a “summing up” of Ravel’s long and successful career with suggestions of earlier works. The movement ends jubilantly.
The second movement begins with an extended piano solo. This is a slower and sadder movement which avoids obvious jazz movement influences, but I have always felt it may have been influenced by blues, which Ravel came to appreciate. This music is more in spirit of his famous “Pavane for a Dead Princess,” a work composed in 1899 for solo piano and then orchestrated by Ravel in 1910. Shaham played this music with precision and sensitivity. She was joined by the winds and strings, who played with beauty and feeling. The music grows slowly and steadily without becoming faster. There is a memorable English horn solo that adds to the mood. This movement is sad without being depressing. It actually becomes very moving and serene.
The jazz returns in the third movement with even more animation and musical delights. The solos are more challenging and playful. Shaham played with such excitement and joy. Ravel again builds up the intensity and demands on the pianist. This part was fun to watch as Shaham played with such finesse and dexterity.
Shaham responded to the tremendous standing ovation by playing a solo piano piece by Ravel. The music was more typical of his lyrical and delightful style. It reflects the composer’s own significant abilities as a concert pianist. As Shaham herself said, you can also enjoy more music by Ravel. This was definitely a musical treat.
In 1942, the American composer and conductor Aaron Copland (1900-1990) wrote one of his most popular pieces, “Fanfare for the Common Man.” When Copland composed his third symphony, between 1944 and 1946, he included fragments of that music throughout the first three movements of the symphony. Then, in the fourth and final movement, he developed the themes in a grand and spectacular manner. The symphony was premiered on October 18, 1946, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Serge Koussevitzky conducting. The first recording of the symphony was taken from a concert performance by George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra on Dec. 18, 1947, released by Classical Roots. Copland himself conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in a 1959 stereo recording originally issued by Everest Records; there are at least two additional recordings of the symphony with the composer conducting.
Copland’s third symphony (which may actually be his fourth symphony if his “Dance Symphony” of 1929 is included) begins rather simply and slowly. The violins provide the lyrical melody, which becomes more intense and brooding. Copland builds up the drama by adding dissonance and anguish. There are hints already of his famous fanfare. This is followed by another lyrical, sustained passage. The Philharmonic performance featured very fine string playing with significant contributions by the winds and brass.
In the second movement, the brass section introduces a more animated and agitated theme. Copland uses some of his characteristic “chattering” winds, which were played with skill. The brass players continue to dominate the music, which has a “western” quality found in a number of Copland scores, notably “Billy the Kid” and “Rodeo.” The music becomes very jubilant and hopeful. Then, the music slows down. There were fine wind performances during this “happier” music. We heard colorful percussion performances and an impressive piano solo, all of which added to the colorful blend. The music intensifies and becomes march-like before it suddenly ends.
The third movement begins with the violins playing mysterious music that uses their upper ranges. This is very sad and tragic music, perhaps a reflection of the terrible Second World War. The cellos play pizzicato and then legato with contributions from the winds. This music is very moving and then anguishing. Copland includes a prayer-like passage, as if to ask for divine help after such terrible times. This was played pristinely and poignantly, especially by the violins. The music becomes more hopeful and upbeat; this part reminded me of the slower sections of Copland’s 1944 ballet score “Appalachian Spring.” However, the sadness returns with more use of the high notes in the violins.
There is a bridge, again using a hymn-like tune, that leads to the fourth movement. Now, we finally hear a direct quotation of the “Fanfare for the Common Man” by the winds. Copland builds up this triumphant music. The brass players have a major part in the growing joy in the score. The music shifts and becomes more upbeat and intricate. The fanfare returns, this time led by the brass with the rest of the orchestra responding joyfully and enthusiastically. The music then shifts to a menacing passage, as if someone were challenging the optimism. The musical challenge subsides and there is a reflection on the fanfare. The music then becomes a slow and triumphant march that finally proclaims the fanfare without any challenges. Copland produces bell-like qualities in the score that lead to a final celebration, perhaps reflecting the end of the war.
There were many fine performances by the Philharmonic musicians and it may have been challenging for Constantine to acknowledge all of the contributions by the orchestra. It was definitely a “team effort” throughout the performance.
The next Masterworks Series concert by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, under Andrew Constantine, will feature just two works: “Dona Nobis Pacem” by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), which includes soprano and baritone solos and mixed chorus, and Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Opus 74, “Pathetique,” by Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). The 1893 symphony is seen by many as a musical memoir and, after a triumphal third movement that often “fools” audiences as the finale, concludes with a slow and sad fourth movement. This concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 5 in the Purdue Fort Wayne Music Center.