Student Recital for Piano, Voice and Wind Instruments
The program features:
Schumann: Fantasiestuecke, Op.12
Andrew Hsu, piano
These eight "fantasy pieces" are based on writings of E.T.A. Hoffmann. We also meet "Florestan" and "Eusebius", the two sides of Schumann's personality, in these brief pieces; Florestan represents Schumann's bolder, more passionate side, with Eusebius taking the role of the dreamer. The eight pieces are titled:
1. Des Abends "In the Evening" (Eusebius)
2. Aufschwung "Soaring" (Florestan)
3. Warum? "Why?" (Eusebius)
4. Grillen "Whims" (Florestan)
5. In der Nacht "In the Night" (Florestan & Eusebius)
6. Fabel "Fable" (Florestan & Eusebius)
7. Traumes Wirren "Dream's Confusions" (Florestan & Eusebius)
8. Ende vom Lied "End of the Song" (Eusebius)
Andrew Hsu: Sketches
Jessica T. Chang, viola; Andrew Hsu, piano
Yes, it's the same Andrew Hsu from the Schumann pieces, this time showing his skill at composition. These Sketches were written with his close friend at Curtis, Jessica T. Chang, in mind.
Stravinsky: Octet for Winds
Diondre McKinney, flute; Juyong You, clarinet
Catherine Chen & Wade Coufal, bassoons
George Goad & Nozomi Imamura, trumpets
Alexander Walden, trombone; Nathan Lodge, bass trombone
Completed in 1923, this three-movement chamber work marks a departure from the neo-Primitive scores that had made Stravinsky's name. In doing so, Stravinsky turned the music world on its ear yet again, paying homage to the objective Classical style that he and others had done so much to destroy. It was in this period that Stravinsky returned to such Classical forms as the fugue and the symphony.
Musical Word of the Week: Fugue
A polyphonic composition based upon one, two, or more themes, which are enunciated by several voices or parts in turn, subjected to contrapuntal treatment, and gradually built up into a complex form having somewhat distinct divisions or stages of development and a marked climax at the end. (from Dictionary.com)
