Contemporary Classics September 5, 2017 Solo Piano

Tonight we are featuring the another evening of contemporary solo piano music.  First this evening we open with the music of Judith Lang Zaimont.  This is inspired by the comment last week by Kirsten Volness that she studied with Judith Lang Zaimont at the University of Minnesota and was inspired by that instruction to become a composer.  Tonight we will feature one of her most popular works    “A Calendar Set”.   A Calendar Set written in 1978 charts the 12 months of the year with an imaginative flair.  The main compositional impulse for each of these monthly etudes is descriptive, although one can admire very sturdy architecture throughout. Many of these months are almost Ives-ain with several well-known tunes sounding simultaneously. "July" pits the trio tune of Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" against "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" and "Yankee Doodle."  And "December" gives us "Adeste fideles," "Joy to the World," "God rest ye, merry gentlemen," "Bring a torch, Jeannette, Isabella," and "Silent Night."  Here we have Christopher Atzinger performing “A Calendar Set” from the album Zaimont: Sonata - A Calendar Set     

Next we have Erwin Schulhoff’s Piano Sonata No. 3, WV. 88.  This work is in five movements I. Moderato cantabile II. Improvisazione            III. Allegro molto  IV. Marcia funèbre  V. Retrospectivo  here performed by   Michal Tal from the album Erwin Schulhoff: Music for Piano Solo 

First hour ended with a live performance of  Meredith Monk’s St. Petersburg Waltz which was performed live at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival August 4, 2017 by Nadezda Filippova, piano           

The second hour of contemporary solo piano music on Contemporary Classics.  We will open this hour with Olivier Messiaen”s Catalogue d'Oiseaux - Le Merle Bleu (The Bluebird).  This performance by Elizabeth Dorman was recorded live at "Tanglewood Takes Flight" Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary July 29, 2017 

Next is the solo piano piece by Luciano Berio entitled Sequenza IV for Piano.  The Sequenzas are 14 pieces written each for a different solo instrument.  Each is associated with a line of poetry form Italian poet Edoardo Sanguineti.  Here preceded by the Edoardo Sanguineti Verse 4 associated with this Sequenza.  The English translation of the line of poetry is “I draw myself against your many mirrors, I change with my veins / with my feet: I close in all your eyes:” Enzo Salomone reads the poetic line followed by Aki Takahashi on the piano.  This is from the album Berio: The Complete Sequenzas, Alternate Sequenzas.

You have been listening to Aki Takahashi performing Luciano Berio entitled Sequenza IV for Piano from the album Berio: The Complete Sequenzas, Alternate Sequenzas

Next are two pieces from  Charles Ives "From Four Transcriptions from "Emerson": II. Moderato"  & "Study No. 9: The Anti-Abolitionist Riots in the 1830's and 1840's" with a performance by Heather O'Donnell from the album Reponses to Ives - Music of Ives With Zimmermann, Finnissy, Tenney, Corbett & Schneller

End tonight’s Contemporary Classics with two more works by Meredith Monk from the Bang on a Can Summer Festival performed live at a concert on August 4, 2017.  First Paris featuring Georgia Mills, piano and then Railroad Song with Vicki Ray, piano.