PROGRAM NOTES “…a few weeks ago I read an English critic’s notice of an early work by Frank Bridge: ‘irredeemably old-fashioned’. How a work written in 1903 could sound anything else than old-fashioned in 1990, it’s hard to understand. Of course what the critic meant to say was, ‘what is the point of digging out an early work by a minor composer, in this day and age?’ And that is the question you might well ask, here and now.” - Aloys Fleischmann, 1990, before a performance of his Piano Quintet
Sonata No. 15 in D major, “Pastorale”, Op. 28 – Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) When most musicians think of Beethoven, myself included, we tend to first conjure up a very dark and stormy image. Rarely do we imagine a composer of serene and lyrical pieces, as with this sonata movement. Although Beethoven did not actually give it the title of ‘Pastorale,’ one can see why it ended up with this name. The simple textures make this movement feel grounded, and combined with the blissful harmonies, this piece can make one completely forget their dark and stormy image of Beethoven.
Stalham River – Ernest John Moeran (1894-1950) On to the lesser-known composers. The tumultuous life of Ernest John Moeran is not at all reflected in his music. Instead, his works are often peaceful, idyllic presentations of his East English and Irish roots, as well as his love for rural England and folksong, as you will hear in Stalham River. He attended the Royal College of Music in London, though his studies were interrupted by World War I. After the war, he was able to return to complete his studies. He flourished during this early period, composing and premiering many works in many genres, including Stalham River. Unfortunately, Moeran later fell into a period of depression and alcoholism, largely due to negative influence from his peers, especially the composer Peter Warlock, whom he lived with for a time. Though Moeran never stopped composing, critics notice that his later works are not as fluent as his works right after the war. After Warlock’s death, a period of homelessness, and a failed, empty marriage, Moeran settled in the town of Kenmare, Ireland, where he finally found a renewed vigor for composition.
Sreath do Phiano – Aloys Fleischmann (1910-1992) Irish is a language rarely encountered in music, so coming across a piano piece incorporating Irish piqued my curiosity. Aloys Fleischmann, despite his name, was an Irish composer largely responsible for popularizing classical music in Ireland. In the vein of Moeran (who he had a personal friendship with), his own music largely reflects his Irish background, mixing the characteristics of Irish folk music with the modernist sensibilities of his time. He was a lifetime conductor and held a long tenure as the chair of music at University College Cork, founding the Cork Symphony Orchestra. As a director, he championed Irish music at a time when English colonialism made such a move controversial. The Sreath do Phiano contains five contrasting movements. As mentioned above, the movement markings are all given in Irish. The piece is one of Fleischmann’s first published compositions, and as such, he wanted to give it a distinctly Irish identity, evident in its sound. The work was also published under a pseudonym, Muiris Ó Rónáin, in order to make it seem more authentically Irish. Fleischmann recalled that Moeran had, by chance, come across the suite and told Fleischmann that he was surprised to see the Irish language used – but due to the pseudonym, had no idea it was Fleischmann who wrote it!
Embraceable You (Etude no. 4) – George Gershwin/Earl Wild (1898-1937)/(1915-2010) Earl Wild had successful and prolific careers as both a performer and composer. In his compositions and transcriptions, he effortlessly blends the worlds of jazz and classical music into a new, unique entity. This etude is from a set of ‘Seven Virtuoso Etudes after George Gershwin,’ which are essentially exactly what they sound like –