Fruitful Music

 

Fruit probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about piano music – except maybe the advice of the piano teacher who recommends playing the piano with hands curved as if holding an orange. Nevertheless, piano composers have been inspired by fruit, as evidenced in the following pieces.

Speaking of oranges, Prokofiev wrote the farcical fairy tale opera For the Love of Three Oranges. In this story, the cursed prince has to search for three oranges and finds love in the process. In one production, the audience received “scratch'n'sniff” cards to get more engaged. Piano arrangements are available, but not while sniffing....

It's a bit of a stretch, but Tchaikovsky's “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from his Nutcracker Suite does have a sweet sound. In this case, plums have been “dressed up” for the holidays as was the suite itself.

Plums, especially within the context of cooking, also inspired Bernstein. His work La Bonne Cuisine (Four Recipes) has as its fist “Plum Pudding,” which was composed for voice and piano. The lyrics were adapted from Emile Dumont's 1899 cookbook

Satie took a tongue-in-cheek approach to incorporating fruit in his piano suite Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear. There are actually seven pieces, and they have surprising features. As for the pear, the suite was compased for a piano duet: a pair of performers. So not really about fruit – but maybe he sounds a bit fruity.

Obviously, grapes consitute the basis for wine, which then led to several other music, but we'll let that vein age for now...

If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On

 In the play "Twelfth Night," Shakespeare wrote: "If music be the food of love, play on." In reality, food can inspire composers. Tomoko appreciated good food herself, and likely played to fuel her own soul Here is a sampling for you to taste.

Probably the most famous food-related piece -- and comic opera -- is Bach's Coffee Cantata. Bach himself liked coffee, and it is told that this piece was performed in a coffee house. The underlying story tells of a young woman's obsession with coffee, which her father wants to curb. 

Prokofiev's opera (which has been arranged for piano) Love for Three Oranges tells a fanciful tale of a prince cursed by a witch to search for three oranges, and finds love on the way.

Another performance piece, in this case a ballet, that food inspired is Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, especially "The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies." The then new piano-like instrument the celeste, with its high-pitched glittery tone, evoked the crystalline texture of sugar plums.

Schubert was inspired by the unlikely food-related song "The Trout", which used the metaphor of fishing as a girl "hooked" a mate. He transformed the piece into The Trout Quartet, which is performed by a piano and four stringed instruments. The work is rather melancholy, as was Schubert at the time. 

Want to play a piano duet about food? Taste-test Satie's piano suite Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear (which actually includes ten morsels). It's a very playful set of miniatures with a surprising variety of moods. Get you get the joke about pears and (piano) pairs?

The (food) take-away? Food-inspired music can be a buffet of delight to feed the soul.

New Year in Japan

Tomoko remembers how people celebrated the new year in Japan. 

In Japan, Tomoko grew up in a Protestant family, and she converted to Catholicism when in college. On New Year's Eve, Catholics remember St. Sylvester:  the 34th pope who died on December 31st. More known is January 1: the solemnity of Mary. Traditionally, many Japanese families visit shrines to give respect to their ancestors and to with for a happy new year: a practice called Hatsumode. As with Lunar New Year, families might give their children a red envelope with some money: otoshidama. 

Tomoko likes to get up early, so she may have watched the first sunrise of the year: a practice known as Hatsuhinode.

Tomoko also remembers her mother cleaning the house. New Year has been a time to fresh starts, so Tomoko's mother probably followed the tradition of oosouji: big cleaning. 

Food hold special meaning for Tomoko On New Year's Eve her family would likely have eaten soba (buckwheat noodle soup) on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Day they might have eaten ozoni: a vegetable and chicken soup that is associated with long life. Mikan, a citrus fruit that resembles a tangerine, might also have been eaten at that time.  

Regardless of the culture, Tomoko agrees that New Year's a good time to start out right -- with MUSIC! May 2023 be harmonious. 

Food for Thought

Tomoko knows the value of food, both in her professional and personal life.

In Japan, where Tomoko was born, food has ceremonial importance, starting almost from birth. About a hundred days after a child is born, families celebrate with the ceremony of okuizome. Parents buy black dishes, and serve they baby with the wish of abundance of food throughout her life. At baby’s first birthday, there is a usually a red-and-white birthday rice cake. P:arents also have the baby walk and carry four pounds of mochi (a sticky rice cake, which is a sacred food in Shintoism) in a little bag on her back to wish food, health and harmony – even when one is burdened in life.

Speaking of burden, food had a heavy meaning for Tomoko as she was growing up in Japan in war time. Food was rationed, and people had to be creative to find ways to cook with the food that was available, even grasshoppers. They would also grow their own food to deal with food shortages. After the war, when the U.S. shipped food to Japan, people still experienced shortages. People at that time were more anxious about food than politics.

So it is no surprise that Tomoko values food. She provides yummy food at home and knows how to choose a good restaurant based on its food. And she has great taste.

As part of preparing for her recitals, Tomoko likes to have food as part of the event. Her students’ families and Tomoko’s friends bring wonderful dishes and beverages. The smorgasbord of food reflects the many cultures of the families: it is a global potluck. 

And music is food for the soul. It fills humanity’s emotional and psychological needs. Tomoko provides for both kinds of food. And we all benefit from her expertise and care.

The Secret Facts of Composers

Piano teachers need to know their music, and it’s useful to know about the composers themselves. Tomoko likes to read biographies – especially those of composers. And she relates stories about them to her students, providing context for the compositions as well as making those composers more human. Here are some of the lesser known facts about some of them.

Vivaldi became a priest when he was 25, and served as a master of violin at an orphanage. Vivaldi suffered from bronchial asthma throughout his life, which kept him from playing wind instruments.

Liszt was very popular when young, and he was quite the playboy. One of his illegitimate daughters become Richard Wagner’s wife. Nevertheless, throughout his life he considered becoming a priest, and took four minor religious orders when 54.

Schubert was famous for his musical parties, which sometimes lasted until dawn. Yet he was very prolific; he wrote more than 20,000 bars of music, including 600 songs. He wrote 8 songs in one day. 

Rachmaninoff's fingers could span 12 keys.  On the other hand 😉, Schumann ruined his performing career by practicing with a homemade finger-stretching device; then he would plunge his hands into slaughtered animals’ entrails to heal himself.

Frederic Handel loved rich food and wine. He would order enough food for three people – for himself. The food caused him gout, and the wine may have caused him lead poisoning. 

Johann Sebastian Bach frequented Leipzig’s Café Zimmermann where he would drink several cups of coffee (which was a luxury beverage at the time). He liked coffee so much he wrote the Coffee Cantata about a woman who was trying to stop her coffee drinking habit.  Bach was also an amateur mathematician, which is evident in his compositions, especially his canons.

Speaking of coffee, Beethoven was so meticulous that he would measure exactly 60 beans when making coffee.

Mozart’s life included many interesting facts. He could write music before he could write words. He could listen to a piece of music just once and be able to write it down from memory perfectly. He wrote half of his symphonies between the age of 8 and 19. was a big cat fan. He would imitate cats when bored during rehearsals. In fact, he liked cats so much that he wrote a song called "The Cat Duet,” in which the husband asks his wife questions and she answers back in meows.

Music as Food for the Soul

               If you attend a recital planned by Tomoko, you will find that it is a bountiful event. Her recitals reflect a strong sense of community and of giving. All the performers give their all as they try to respect the composer, and give life to the composition. The audience are both lovers of music and friends of Tomoko and the performers.

               Long before the recital comes to life, Tomoko has carefully planted the seeds. As in a good banquet, she chooses the piano pieces based on the performers, and she looks for a stimulating balance of the various compositions. She looks for complementary textures that play off each other, without overloading the sensory experience.

Tomoko also integrates families and friends into the recital planning. They provide food and flowers, produce the playbill, manage set-up and clean-up, and often record the performance for later enjoyment and analysis.

On the day of the recital, people may arrive hours ahead in order to set up the welcoming area, and bring in refreshments. Tomoko graciously greets them, and like a conductor, helps each of them to play their role. Of course, Tomoko’s main focus are the performers and their instruments. She gives last-minute comments, and lets her students take center stage.  The performers and audience all aim for the same goal: to appreciate great music.  To experience its bounty.

The music lingers on in everyone’s memory, and that sense of musical togetherness echoes as tables of food are shared. Music is indeed food for the soul, and recitals make that experience indeed a sensual banquet of life.