M A Y 2 0 0 5
CIRCA 1900
Monday, May 2, 2005 |
|
Entrata No. 1 (1983) |
William Thomas McKinley for solo clarinet |
Sonata (1941) |
Paul Hindemith for English horn and piano |
| Moments Musicaux (1970) Andante Animato |
Wilfried Kratzschmar for English horn and piano |
| Derivations (1955) Warm-Up, Contrapuntal Blues, Rag, Ride Out |
Morton Gould (arr. Brunetti/True) for clarinet and piano |
COMPOSERS’ BIOGRAPHIES & PROGRAM NOTES
Imaginative American composer William Thomas McKinley demonstrated his musical talents early, becoming a member of the Pittsburgh musiciansí union at age 11. He received his training at the Carnegie institute of Technology, Yale University and the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood. He has received numerous honors and awards and is currently composer-in-residence at New England Conservatory of Music and is active as a jazz pianist. Entrata No. 1 was written for Richard Stoltzmanís Weill Recital Hall debut after winning an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1982.
-Notes from Nicolas Slonimsky.
Paul Hindemithís Sonata for English Horn and Piano was not available in print until after World War II. It is the seventh in Hindemithís series of wind/brass sonatas and represents a distinct departure from earlier works which follow the traditional sonata form (slow movement, fast movement, slow movement). The English horn work is a theme and variations, with two themes, one slow, one fast, and two variations, in succession and reflective of, in terms of tempi (speed), each theme/slow variations, fast theme/fast variations.
-From notes by Thomas Stevens.
Wilfried Kratzschmar studied at the Conservatory for Music in Dresden. Starting in 1971 he taught at the Dresden Conservatory, and during the same year he won a grant at the Carl Maria Von Weber Competition. His compositions include works for the orchestral, choral and chamber music genres. With Moments Musicaux, he submits an interesting and welcome addition to the contemporary catalog of English horn literature, primarily through the departure from the usual sentimental and elegiac literature for this instrument.
-Notes translated from German by Claus Thiele.
Morton Gould wrote his Derivations for Clarinet and Band for Benny Goodman in November 1955. Mr. Gould said of the piece: ìThe first movement, called Warm-up, is an abstract opening where the instruments sort of flex their muscles. The second, Contrapuntal Blues, is a slow, attenuated, linear section with the instruments weaving in, out, about and across each other in different blues modes. The third, Rag, represents a stylization of a Twenties period idea, a nostalgic, rhythmically asymmetric evocation of ragtime. The last movement, Ride-Out, is a galvanizing movement meant to go like a shot. Its accumulating barrage of jazz-oriented ostinatos and motifs attempts to give the drive and feel of jazz improvisation.
-From notes by Edward Cole.