Post by erik on Sept 18, 2021 17:09:07 GMT -5
An actual piano concerto, in all but name, from the composer who never liked to be called an "impressionist" is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Debussy: FANTASY FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
Whereas the biggest composers in history, from Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert to Mahler, Bruckner, and Brahms were known for their symphonies, once the 20th century was underway, the idea of painting through music was what took shape, especially in France. Claude Debussy was arguably the best-known of those composers (with Maurice Ravel not too far behind), but the idea of being called a musical painter, an “impressionist”, if you will, was enormously abhorrent for him, despite the fact that such works as “La Mer”, “Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun”, and “Nocturnes” all definitely fit into that realm, and all became a standard part of the repertoire while the composer himself was still alive. Oddly, however, early on, Debussy also dabbled a bit in the more conventional form of works for solo instrument and orchestra, though he never referred to them as “concertos”. Such was the case for his Fantasy For Piano And Orchestra, composed in a six-month span between October 1889 and April 1890. Unlike most piano concertos, particularly those of Mozart and Beethoven, and even Ravel, this is a three-movement work in a cyclical form, with only two themes prevailing throughout its twenty-five minute running time. And even more uniquely, despite the composer’s penchant for sizable orchestrations (as in “La Mer”), the Fantasy avoids that kind of orchestration, instead utilizing three trumpets (but no timpani), plus harp, and a surprisingly neo-Classical orchestral component. The work was scheduled to be performed in 1890 by pianist Rene Chanserel but it was cancelled when the conductor (and Debussy’s fellow French composer) Vincent D’Indy claimed he didn’t have nearly enough time to rehearse it. The self-critical Debussy made several revisions, but then abandoned further attempts, and vowed that it would never be performed while he was still alive. Indeed, the work’s premiere took place not in Paris, but in London, on November 20, 1919, with Alfred Corlot as the soloist and conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Piano: MARTHA ARGERICH
Berlin State Orchestra/DANIEL BARENBOIM (Deutsche Grammophon)
Included:
SONATA FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO (Violin: MICHAEL BARENBOIM) (Piano: DANIEL BARENBOIM)
SONATA FOR CELLO AND PIANO (Cello: KIM SOLTANI) (Piano: DANIEL BARENBOIM)
LA MER
Debussy: FANTASY FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
Whereas the biggest composers in history, from Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert to Mahler, Bruckner, and Brahms were known for their symphonies, once the 20th century was underway, the idea of painting through music was what took shape, especially in France. Claude Debussy was arguably the best-known of those composers (with Maurice Ravel not too far behind), but the idea of being called a musical painter, an “impressionist”, if you will, was enormously abhorrent for him, despite the fact that such works as “La Mer”, “Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun”, and “Nocturnes” all definitely fit into that realm, and all became a standard part of the repertoire while the composer himself was still alive. Oddly, however, early on, Debussy also dabbled a bit in the more conventional form of works for solo instrument and orchestra, though he never referred to them as “concertos”. Such was the case for his Fantasy For Piano And Orchestra, composed in a six-month span between October 1889 and April 1890. Unlike most piano concertos, particularly those of Mozart and Beethoven, and even Ravel, this is a three-movement work in a cyclical form, with only two themes prevailing throughout its twenty-five minute running time. And even more uniquely, despite the composer’s penchant for sizable orchestrations (as in “La Mer”), the Fantasy avoids that kind of orchestration, instead utilizing three trumpets (but no timpani), plus harp, and a surprisingly neo-Classical orchestral component. The work was scheduled to be performed in 1890 by pianist Rene Chanserel but it was cancelled when the conductor (and Debussy’s fellow French composer) Vincent D’Indy claimed he didn’t have nearly enough time to rehearse it. The self-critical Debussy made several revisions, but then abandoned further attempts, and vowed that it would never be performed while he was still alive. Indeed, the work’s premiere took place not in Paris, but in London, on November 20, 1919, with Alfred Corlot as the soloist and conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Piano: MARTHA ARGERICH
Berlin State Orchestra/DANIEL BARENBOIM (Deutsche Grammophon)
Included:
SONATA FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO (Violin: MICHAEL BARENBOIM) (Piano: DANIEL BARENBOIM)
SONATA FOR CELLO AND PIANO (Cello: KIM SOLTANI) (Piano: DANIEL BARENBOIM)
LA MER