Music for Violin, Piano, Voice and Guitar
A student recital of music for violin, piano, voice and guitar. The program:
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 12, No. 3
Hannah Ji, violin; Chang-Yong Shin, piano
This is the last of a group of three violin sonatas published in 1798 and dedicated to Beethoven's teacher, Antonio Salieri. Beethoven was still in his twenties at this point, and followed the custom of the day in tailoring these sonatas to the piano first, with the violin taking on a more subsidiary role. Beethoven here is still very much the classicist, and has not yet become the iconoclastic figure who would turn the music world on its head in the next decades.
Liszt: Étude d’exécution transcendante no. 11
Liszt: Grande étude de Paganini no 6
Alexander Ullman, piano
The 1852 set of these twelve etudes marks Liszt's third version of the scores, and simplifies what had been devilishly difficult writing. This particular etude is subtitled "Harmonies du soir."
The Paganini etudes offer no such technical solace for the pianist; these six finger-busters are based on the Caprices of Niccolo Paganini, whose virtuosity on the violin mirrored that of Liszt's at the keyboard.
Gounod: Jewel Song from Faust
Elizabeth Zharoff, soprano; Bonnie Wagner, piano
Along with the Soldiers' Chorus, the "Jewel Song" is the most famous excerpt from Gounod's 1859 take on the venerable legend of Faust, the man who sold his soul to the devil. Here, Faust's beloved Marguerite admires a box of jewels left for her by the villainous devil Mephistofeles.
Ginastera: Sonata for Guitar, Op. 47
Jiyeon Kim, guitar
Jiyeon Kim is one of two young guitarists studying with Jason Vieaux and David Starobin during the inaugural season of the Curtis Institute's new classical guitar program.
By far the newest work on this program, Ginastera's Sonata was written in 1976 for the virtuoso Carlos Barbosa-Lima, and abounds with Argentine folk elements. It also calls for unusual effects utilizing every corner of the instrument.
Musical Word of the Week: Etude
noun
1. a musical composition, usually instrumental, intended mainly for the practice of some point of technique.
2. study.
(from Dictionary.com)
