THE DEPARTMENT OF

MEMORIAL UN/VERSilQNEIW'mLAND

GRADUATION RECITAL

KELLY ANN BURTON PIANO

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Bachelor of Music

Thursday, 30 July 1981, at 8:30p.m. The Little Theatre

KELLY ANN BURTON

Piano

Sonata in A minor

Phantasie in D minor

Sonata in C minor, Op. 13 ("Pathetique")

Grave - Allegro con B'Pio

Adagio aan:tabi Ze

Rondo

Arabesque in C Major, op. 18

INTERMISSION

Three Pieces from Children's Corner

Dr. Gx»adus ad Parnassum

The LittZe ShephePd

GOZZiwog's CakewaZk

Impromptu in Ab Major, Op. 142

Etude in E Major, Op. 10

Prelude in G minor, Op. 23, No. 5

Domenico Scarlatti ( 1685-1757)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . (1756-1791)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Robert Schumann (1810-1846)

Claude Debussy {1862-1918)

Franz Schubert {1797-1828)

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Sergei Rachmaninoff {1873-1943)

Progranme Notes

Sonata in A minor Domenico Scarlatti

By 1715, Domenico Scarlatti had established a reputation as a composer and performer (in his native Italy) and in that year moved to Lisbon to enter the service of King John V. His duties there included teaching the King's daughter, Maria Barbara. Scarlatti had achieved a con­siderable reputation as a keyboard teacher and no doubt he taught the Princess to play some of his more than 500 sonatas, most of them composed for didactic purposes. Each sonata is in binary form, and explores a mood or affection. Scarlatti referred to them as "an ingenious jesting with art". Each sonata is a study in the coordination and control of a particular problem, such as an unusual harmonic progression, or as in the case of Sona~a in A minor, the virtuoso technique of crossing hands. In this sonata, the extended arpeggios cover the length of the keyboard, and the performer is required to cross hands frequently. Another distinguishing feature is Scarlatti's departure from the regularity of the usual four or eight-bar phrase; a technique which enhances the expressiveness of his music.

Phantasie in D minor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

In the Classical period, the fantasia was a relatively unusual and rarely used musical form. It was an improvisatory piece in which structure and symmetry were not the essential features. Its form was largely determined by the mood or sentiment that the composer wished to convey.

Mozart's Phan~sie in D minor, K. 397, composed in 1782 demon­strates the elegance and grace so characteristic of his style. Its expressiveness is not hindered by rigid, formal structure, which allows for a freshness and spontaneity. The introduction, with its slow, majestic arpeggios, creates an air of expentancy. This is followed by a plaintive theme in the tonic key. A large section of the piece consists of this theme repeated in various keys, often interrupted by brief, improvisatory passages. The coda is in D major, and it brings the work to a lighthearted finish.

Sonata in .C minor, Op. 13 ( 11 Pathetique 11) Ludwig van Beethoven

Noted for his fiery temper and impetuous nature, Ludwig van Beethoven was a member of the generation that felt the full impact of the French Revolution. Beethoven was a staunch believer in the freedom and dignity of the individual; his music is Romantic in concept yet Classical in structure. He studied basic musical forms with Haydn, but expands these dimensions, particularly in the sonata. Beethoven•s themes offer almost limitless opportunity for expansion and development; thus it is his development sections which separate his sonatas from those of his contemporaries.

As Joseph Machlis (The Enjoymen~ of MUsia) observes: 11 A youthful exhuberance pervades the first decade of his career, an

almost arrogant consciousness of his strength ...

However, before he reached the age of thirty, Beethoven began to lose his hearing, and from this point onward his music seems to characterize man•s constant struggle against fate, as he himself struggled against deafness.

This conflict can be seen in Beethoven•s Opus 13, the only sonata to which he gave a title -.- Fa~he~ique. An element of pathos is present throughout the sonata, but is particularly evident in the first movement. The introduction Grave, sets an atmosphere of suspense and drama, and its appearance twice more within the movement acts as a unifying device. It is effective, though perhaps unusual, that Beethoven choses to set the second theme in Eb minor rather than major.

The adagio movement is in ternary form, and begins with a hymn-like melody which in the recapitulation, is intensified by a more elaborate accompaniment. Beethoven described this movement as a dialogue between man and his fate.

The final movement, a rondO in C minor, contains a dark, defient quality which separates it from the usual cheerful rondos of Haydn and Mozart. The choice of mode and .driving rhythm preserve the ominous mood of this movement, and contribute to the unsettling, tragic element of the sonata as a whole.

Arabesque in C Major, Op. 18 Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann, composer and music critic, was forced to give up a promising career as a concert pianist when he permanently damaged his fourth ffnger. He then turned his attention to composing, and between 1833 and 1834 ·also edited"the Leipzig Neue Zei~sahPif~ fur Musik. Almost all of his works for piano were performed by his wife Clara Wieck, the daughter of his former piano teacher. ·

Deeply affected by such traumatic incidents as the death of his eldest sister, the early death of his father and the abrupt termination of his pianistic career, Schumann eventually suffered a nervous breakdown. As a result, his mature compositions are introspective, in contrast to the whimsical ardent expressiveness which characterizes his early piano miniatures such as the Scenes from Ch£~hood, Opus t5 and the Arabesque £n C Major, Opus tB.

The Arabesque demonstrates Schumann•s great imagination and ability to capture the•Florestan versus Eusebius• element which pervades so much of his music. Florestan and Eusebius were two contrasting figures in Romantic literature, the former being an extrovert and the latter a somewhat dreamy, philosophical character. Schumann, a probable schizophrenic, easily identified with these fictional characters and in later-years he even signed his literary pieces as either Florestan or Eusebius. In the arabesque the conflict between the two is conveyed by the alternating sections of wistful, improvisatory passages, (Eusebius) and the fiery, forte sections (Florestan) in which the rhythm is the driving force.

Three Pieces from Children•s Corner Claude Debussy .

Claude Debussy began studies at the Paris Conservatoire when he was only ten years old. By 1880 he had established a reputation as a gifted, although somewhat unorthodox pianist. He won the coveted •Prix de Rome• in 1882, which required him to study in Rome for two years. -

By 1907, when Debussy began to compose Children•s Corner, he was already established as a leading Parisienne composer. He dedicated this collection to his daughter Chou-Chou. It contains six pieces which are usually performed as a group; however they are equally effective as individual pieces. Tonight•s program includes three of them:

Debussy•s dislike of finger exercises is well-known, and in Doc~or Gradus ad Parnassum he satirizes those pianists who over-emphasize the practice of technique.

The L£~~te Shepherd opens with a free, unaccompanied tune, imitative of a shepherd•s pipe. The atmosphere is pastoral and introspective. The free melody is gradually caught up in a web of colorful harmonies, and settles into a defined metre.

In GOttiwog's Cakewalk Debussy employs ragtime to capture the image of a golliwog- the effect is comical. The middle section of the work contains brief references to Wagner•s Overture to Tris~ und Isolde. The cakewalk is colorful and shows Debussy•s sense of humour and vivid imagination.

Impromptu in Ab Major~ Op. 142 Franz Schubert

Schubert was born into a musical family and as the son of a schoolmaster was exposed to a wide variety of music and poetry. Although educated to follow in his father's profession~ after three years of teaching~ Schubert decided to devote himself entirely to composing. His gift of lyricism in music, and his affinity for poetry are evident in his lieder and in the two sets of Impromp~s for Piano, (Opus 90 and Opus 142).

Impromp~ in Ab Major~ opus 142, was composed in 1827, and is a fine example of this. It is in ternary form, and it opens with a simple~ chorale-like melody supported by rich harmonies. The middle section contains a series of rippling arpeggios in Db, stated first in the major and then in the minor. A crescendo leads back to the original melody, and the work concludes with a repetition of the theme~ played pianissimo.

Etudes in E Major~ Op. 10 Frederic Chopin

At the age of twenty-one~ Frederic Chopin left Warsaw and went to Paris~ where his talent as a pianist and composer made him popular in the salons of the aristocracy. It was in these surroundings that he met Franz Liszt, as well as such great literary figures as Victor Hugo and Georges Sand (Mme. Aurore Dudevant). Madame Sands had a profound effect on both his music and his life~ and for the next eigh~ years the young Chopin spent his summers composing at her Chateau in Nohant. Here they regularly entertained French writers and musicians, and in this creative environment Chopin composed some of his greatest masterpieces, includes the E~s for Piano~ opus lO. These Etudes are studies in technical problems such as trills~ rapid arpeggios and scales~ but they are also musical gems, containing lyrical, expressive melodies and rich chromatic harmonies. Etude in E Major approaches the problem of producing a smooth, cantabile line~ using only three fingers of the right hand. The remaining two fingers join with the left hand in a flowing, harmonic accompaniment. The middle section contains brilliant descending chromatic passages~ particularly difficult for pianists with small hands. This gives way to a return of the opening theme now played, pianissimo.

Prelude in G minor~ Op. 23, No. 5 Sergei Rachmaninoff

The premiere of Rachmaninoff's first symphony in 1887 was a disaster. In the same year, his friend and mentor Peter Tchaikovsky died. The combination of these events deeply affected Rachmaninoff~ who suffered from severe depression and as a result composed very little during this time. His wife Natalia Satin~ and his psychiatrist Dr. Dahl finally persuaded Rachmaninoff to resume his work~ and within the next two years he completed the Cel'lo Sonat;a Opus l9, Twelve Songs Opus 2l~ Varia:tions on a Theme by Chopin opus 22, and the Preludes for ~, Opus 32. This set of twenty-four

was based on the model of Chopin's Preludes, although they are more similar to Chopin Etudes in terms of technique and interpretation.

PreLude £n G M~nor, Opus 23, is march-like in character, and its heroic theme is driven forward by a relentless rhythm. The middle section contains an expressive melody which first appears in the right hand and is then passed on to the inner parts. A return of the opening march theme builds in intensity to bring the piece to a close.