Angela HewittMay 18, 2015

Angela Hewitt

206-543-4880uwworldseries.org

President's Piano Series

May 18, 2015

Thanks the following donors for their

support of this evening’s program

Anonymous

Nancy D. Alvord

Linda Armstrong

Katharyn Alvord Gerlich

Lynn and Brian Grant Family

Kim and Randy Kerr

Mina B. Person

Eric and Margaret Rothchild

Dave and Marcie Stone

Donald and Gloria Swisher

David Vaskevtich

Mark and Amy Worthington

Support for this event comes from

Roland M. TraftonEndowment Fund

Bach Italian Concerto, BWV 971

Scarlatti Sonatas

    D Minor, K. 9 C Major, K. 159     B Minor, K. 87    G Major, K. 427   G Minor, K. 8 D Major, K. 96

Bach Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903

Intermission

Beethoven PianoSonatainE-flatmajor,Op.81a,“LesAdieux”

Das Lebewohl: Adagio – Allegro Das Abwesenheit: Andante espressivo Das Wiedersehen: Vivacissimamente

Liszt Après une Lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata (from Années de pèlerinage: Italie)

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

“Italian” Concerto, BWV 971 Johann SebaStian bach (1685–1750)

Although ridiculed by Igor Stravinsky (few composers escaped the Russian/American’s caustic and dismissive wit) the music of Antonio Vivaldi greatly impressed and influenced Johann Sebastian Bach. He adopted the Italian composer’s preference for three-movement concertos laid out as fast—slow—fast, and also transcribed for organ a number of Vivaldi’s concertos. In 1735, Bach composed his “Italian” Concerto for solo keyboard, utilizing the two manuals of a harpsichord to distinguish between the textures of the ripieno (large orchestral groups) and the soloist. He adopted the ritornello style for the outer movements, in which a recurrent theme alternates with episodes dominated by the soloist. The middle movement is akin to a floridly embellished aria. The challenge for a pianist in playing the “Italian” Concerto is to use that instrument’s sole keyboard to suggest the richer textures of the ripieno and the linearity of a solo instrument.

The festive and energetic opening movement, which lacks a tempo indication, is clearly intended to be played Allegro. To aid the performer Bach adds dynamic markings in the score, forte and piano, a rare case for the composer. These instructions reflect the use of a two-manual harpsichord; a pianist must find the appropriate level of respective forte and piano dynamic levels, a problem not faced by harpsichordists since that instrument

lacks graduated sound levels, hence the traditional description of Baroque music in terms of “terraced dynamics.”

In contrast to the F-major harmonic locus of the outer movements Bach casts the Andante in D minor, the relative minor of F-major (i.e., same key signature of one flat). The slow yet rhapsodic “solo” part (in imitation of the violin or oboe part of a typical Vivaldian concerto) floats above nearly constant obbligato figuration in the left hand.

Bach concludes with a breathless Presto to end this popular work with appropriate gusto. The ritornello theme in the right hand leaps forward after an initial octave drop, joining the scurrying scales of the left hand.

SonatasDomenico Scarlatti (1685–1757)

During his youth, Domenico Scarlatti was truly peripatetic, traveling widely before spending a decade in Lisbon in the employ of Princess Maria Barbara of Portugal. When the nobly born maiden married the heir to the Spanish throne in 1729, prompting her move to Madrid, Scarlatti remained in her service and spent the rest of his life in the Spanish capital where he absorbed the rich Moorish-derived musical language into his own lengthy catalog of works. A prolific composer, he wrote more than 500 (!) keyboard sonatas, often dashingly brilliant and infused with Spanish accents.

Before the advent of the Classical sonata, with its standard though flexible layout consisting of exposition, development

and recapitulation, the term meant little more than a composition that was to be played by instruments as opposed to being sung. Scarlatti’s sonatas bear little resemblance to those of his post-Baroque counterparts Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven (to name but the three greatest of the era). Generally brief, Scarlatti’s sonatas abound in sectional contrasts in dynamics, textures and mood. The Spanish element has endeared many of these keyboard works to guitarists, many of which have transcribed them successfully to the plucked six-string instrument. One finds many virtuosic touches in his keyboard works: rapid-fire finger-work with equally fast hand-crossings abound. Harmonically, Scarlatti occasionally indulged in strikingly dissonant chords fashioned from adjacent tones; they are strangely redolent of Henry Cowell’s 20th century “tone clusters.” Though shorter than the myriad keyboard sonatas of the next two centuries Scarlatti’s contribution to the keyboard literature ranges from frankly virtuosic and festive works to tender, probing and subtle but touching explorations of Romantic feeling.

The Sonata in D minor, K. 9 opens with a slowly rocking theme redolent of a barcarolle. By contrast, K. 159 leaps forward with “hunting fifth” harmonies in the left hand. The central section departs the major for a brief excursion into the minor.

Another gently paced number is K. 87 with simple chords in the left hand under a spare unhurried theme in the right hand. The effect calls to mind the ambience of Chopin’s Nocturnes,

William Gerberding’s legacy as the longest-serving president of the University of Washington is well-known. Here at the UW World Series, we have our own reasons for being grateful to President Gerberding, whose support of the performing arts on campus and in the community was generous and unstinting.

The President’s Piano Series was named for President Gerberding because, in a way, it really was his piano—he supported the UW’s purchase of the beautiful Bösendorfer Grand Imperial that graced our stage for more than two decades. Over the years, some of the world’s leading pianists played the President’s piano; and for most of those performances, Bill Gerberding and his wife, Ruth, were in the audience. They loved the genre, and didn’t hesitate to let us know what they thought of a particular recital—Murray Perahia, Alicia de Larrocha, Garrick Ohlsson, and Evgeny Kissin were among their favorites.

William Gerberding passed away on December 27, 2014. We dedicate this Season’s President’s Piano Series to him to honor his memory and his many contributions to the UW World Series.

A dedication

though obviously not the overall style. A deeply expressive work, K. 87 quietly revels in rich polyphony of an almost Bachian persuasion.

Slow and elegiac, K. 8 is gently prodded forward by dotted rhythms. The concluding Sonata, K. 96 also opens with “hunting fifth” harmonies. Fast and skittish, the work abounds in rapidly repeated notes that evoke the plucking of a guitar, no surprise given the composer’s ample knowledge of Spanish musical conventions. As elsewhere a bright opening passage and rapid-fire scales alternate with light-textured lyrical episodes.

Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major, Op. 81a, "Les Adieux" luDwig van beethoven (1770-1827)

After initially embracing the republican ideals of Napoleon, Beethoven recoiled in horror when he learned that the French leader had himself declared emperor. The image of the composer tearing up the title page to his “Eroica” Symphony, which bore a dedication to Napoleon, is a well-known tale much cited. By 1809 Beethoven’s disillusionment increased as French troops prepared to attack Vienna. Austrian aristocrats fled the city, including the composer’s close friend and patron Archduke Rudolf, and therein lay the genesis of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E-flat, Op. 81a, given the sobriquet “Lebewohl” or “Les Adieux,” i.e., “Farewell” in English.

The composer’s animus toward Napoleon inspired Beethoven to adopt

German movement titles and tempo markings, but his publisher—perhaps fearing retribution from the French overlords—replaced the original German terminology with French titles and Italian tempo indications; hence the oft-found programmatic title for the entire sonata, “Les Adieux.”

More than most of his 32 piano sonatas, the Op. 81a work had a specific and personal program perfectly expressed in the published dedication, “On the departure of his Imperial Highness, for the Archduke Ferdinand in admiration.” Beethoven’s famous sketchbooks reveal that the opening movement, Das Lebewohl, came “from the heart.” The opening motive, a three-note descending figure long-used by composers to suggest a farewell, clearly reflects the composer’s sense of sorrow at the departure of the Archduke. Lest anyone fail to understand the reference, Beethoven actually wrote the word Le-be-wohl over these three tones. To stress the emotion, the third note ends not on a perhaps-to-be expected E-flat chord (the “tonic,” i.e., the home key of the movement), but on a C-minor chord (a so-called deceptive cadence) which lends a sense of sudden sadness that permeates the entire movement in many guises. Yet the music is by no means monochromatically muted or sad. Scintillating and engagingly rhythmic episodes suggest fond reminiscence rather than unfettered grief.

Beethoven composed the second and third movements upon the return of the Archduke and his courtiers in January of 1810. The opening theme of movement two, "Abwesenheit"

("Absence")—beginning with another three-note fragment that anticipates the “Must it be” theme found in his Op. 132 Quartet in A minor—immediately establishes his sense of loss experienced during his patron’s absence. A second more optimistic theme lightens but does not erase heartfelt loneliness. As in the opening movement, numerous deceptive cadences heighten the implicit tension, brilliantly setting the stage for the manic excitement of the concluding Das Wiedersehen (“The Return”). This ebullient finale rejoices in high-jinx enthusiasm, conveying a playful vigor boosted by a final passage marked vivacissimamente (“extremely fast”).

Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903Johann SebaStian bach

Bach demonstrated the efficacy of tempered tuning in the two books of the Well-tempered Clavier, each of which contains 24 pieces that traverse all of the minor and major keys. Tempered tuning is a compromise arrangement that allows music to sound more-or-less “in tune” regardless of what key is being utilized. The switch from mean or “perfect” tuning was a historical necessity because as composers modulated from the tonic to increasingly remote keys, keyboard instruments sound painfully out-of-tune. Yet as early as 1720, Bach had already composed his Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor.

Wild toccata-like up and down sequences of chromatic arpeggios boldly open the Fantasia before an

ornamented recitative-like section provides contrasts of color and an ambience of introspective musing. Virtuosic, indeed dazzling, the entire improvisatory Fantasia is filled with dramatic chordal outbursts and tension-enhancing silences between phrases. The equally chromatic fugue launches from a theme constructed from rising half-notes whose development is enhanced by dotted rhythms and an inexorable sense of motion. Before long Bach frees himself from initial contrapuntal strictness and breaks into another improvisatory concoction of rich chords and dramatic octaves while continuing the toccata-like character of the opening Fantasia. After an upward rush the work ends nobly.

Après une Lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata (from Années de pèlerinage: Italie)Franz liSzt (1811–1886)

Like much of Franz Liszt’s piano music, Années de Pelerinage, Deuxieme Année: Italie (“Years of Pilgrimage, Second Year: Italy”) embraces contrasting aspects of the composer’s temperament. The music abounds in stunning examples of keyboard fireworks as well as greatly contrasting moments of deep and emotional introspection. Similarly, it exists both as unmistakably programmatic in inspiration and intent, but also as brilliantly conceived piano music in the “absolute” sense.

The work’s title derives from Goethe’s novel, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, thereby placing the

seven-movement work squarely in the tradition of Romantic-era music wedded to literature.

To underline that connection Liszt prefaces most of the individual numbers with passages from Schiller, Byron et al, further defining the music with this artistic manifesto: “Having recently travelled to many new countries, through different settings and places consecrated by history and poetry; having felt that the phenomena of nature and their attendant sights did not pass before my eyes as pointless images but stirred deep emotions in my soul, and that between us a vague but immediate relationship had established itself, an undefined but real rapport, an inexplicable but undeniable communication, I have tried to portray in music a few of my strongest sensations and most lively impressions.”

Most of the pieces date from 1838–39. All three of the volumes that comprise the Années de Pelerinage—of which Italie is the second set—underwent revision and publication in 1858. Italie blossomed after Liszt’s first visit to Italy, and he was obviously smitten the nation’s natural beauty and glorious artistic achievement.

The seventh and concluding number of Italie, Après une lecture de Dante commands attention in part by its greater length and scope. It begins with a fiercely emphatic and largely unison theme stated in the piano’s bass regions and galvanized by forceful chords. The musical interval of a diminished fifth, known as the “devil in music”

during the medieval period, figures prominently in the main theme.

The noted Liszt biographer (and composer in his own right) Humphrey Searle noted that Liszt “was expressing his own reaction to the ‘strange tongues, horrible cries words of pain, tones of anger’ that Dante describes in “Inferno,” the first book of The Divine Comedy. Liszt composed this strongly evocative pianistic tone poem in 1849. Though there is no avowed and specific program, the vastness of the score and its widely ranging mood states amply recalls the powerful imagery of Dante’s magnum opus with great emotional breadth and pianistic brilliance.

© 2015 Steven Lowe

ABOUT ANGELA HEWITT

One of the world’s leading pianists, Angela Hewitt regularly appears in recital and with major orchestras throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia. Her performances and recordings of Bach have drawn particular praise, marking her out as one of the composer's foremost interpreters of our time.

Angela Hewitt has recently performed with orchestras including The Cleveland, Toronto Symphony, Philharmonia, and Oslo Philharmonic orchestras and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. She has also appeared with kammerorchesterbasel, Camerata Salzburg, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic and City of Birmingham Symphony orchestras, as well as the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra.

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to the President’s Piano and International Chamber Music Series, up to two Free Youth

Tickets are available.

Ages 5-17 only.

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Recent and future highlights include concerts with the Finnish Radio Symphony and London Philharmonic orchestras, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Brussels Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, RAI Torino, Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms and a return to Verbier Festival.

Recital highlights of the 2013-14 season include concerts at Seoul Arts Centre, Tokyo’s Oji Hall and Nagoya’s Shirakawa Hall; Glasgow’s City Halls and The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh; Wimbledon Music Festival, Sociedad Filarmónica de Bilbao, the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, and De Doelen, Rotterdam; as well as several appearances at Wigmore Hall, London. Angela Hewitt also undertook a tour of Australia for Musica Viva, performing recitals in cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.

In 2012-13, Angela Hewitt began a project to perform Bach’s The Art of Fugue in two programmes in major halls worldwide, based around concerts at the Royal Festival Hall in London as part of the International Piano Series. This follows on from the celebrated project 'Angela Hewitt's Bach Book' in 2010, where Ms Hewitt gave world premieres of six newly-commissioned works by leading composers at Wigmore Hall. 

Angela Hewitt's award-winning recordings for Hyperion have garnered praise from around the world. Her ten-year project to record

all the major keyboard works of Bach has been described as “one of the record glories of our age” (The Sunday Times) and has won her a huge following. She has been hailed as “the pre-eminent Bach pianist of our time” (The Guardian) and “the pianist who will define Bach performance on the piano for years to come” (Stereophile). Her discography also includes CDs of Beethoven, Schumann, Messiaen, Ravel, Chopin, Couperin, Rameau and Chabrier. Recent releases include a third album of Mozart concertos, a live recording of Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, solo discs of Debussy and Fauré, as well as the Schumann Concerto with the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Hannu Lintu. Her recording of The Art of Fugue by Bach, released by Hyperion in October 2014, immediately hit the billboard charts in the USA and UK. 

Born into a musical family, Angela Hewitt began her piano studies aged three, performing in public at four and a year later winning her first scholarship. She then went on to learn with French pianist, Jean-Paul Sévilla. In 1985 she won the Toronto International Bach Piano Competition.

In July 2005, Angela Hewitt launched her own Trasimeno Music Festival in the heart of Umbria near Perugia. An annual event, it draws an international audience to the Castle of the Knights of Malta in Magione, on the shores

of Lake Trasimeno. Seven concerts in seven days feature Hewitt as a recitalist, chamber musician, song accompanist, and conductor, working with both established and young artists of her choosing. 

Angela Hewitt is an Ambassador for The Leading Note Foundation's "Orkidstra": a Sistema-inspired, social development program in Ottawa's inner city which, through the joy of learning and playing music together, teaches children life-skills such as commitment, teamwork and tolerance.

Angela Hewitt was named ‘Artist of the Year’ at the 2006 Gramophone Awards. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000 and was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2006. Peterhouse College in Cambridge made her an Honorary Fellow in 2014. She lives in London but also has homes in Ottawa and in Italy.