Labor Day celebrates workers, which includes pianists and other musicians. Here is a sampling of classical music that honors labor. While most of these pieces were not originally composed for the piano, arrangements for piano are usually available.
Probably the most renown piece that celebrates labor is Copland’s
Fanfare for the Common Man, which honors those who fought in WWII. In
response, Joan Tower wrote Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman, which is
scored identically to Copland’s Fanfare. Copland also honored cowboys in
his ballet Rodeo; the selection “Hoe-Down” is frequently performed on
the piano.
For most of civilization, farming has been the job of the
majority of people. Schumann's “The Happy Farmer” is one piece from his collection
Album for the Young, which was
written for his own children to teach them about the piano. All the pieces are
relatively easy to play, unlike the work of the farmer.
Traditionally, learning a job was done through apprenticeships.
Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice musically demonstrates how a little knowledge can
do damage.
Satie's Sonatine Bureaucratique is a humorous parody
of Clementi's Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1. It musically depicts the daily life
of the Parisian bureaucrat.
Another pointed message about labor is conveyed in Antheil’s
Ballet Mecanique. It was written the same year as Gershwin’s Rhapsody
in Blue, and focuses on urban labor. In this case, the repetitiveness of factory
work is emphasized.
On the other hand, Verdi’s Il Trovatore is best known
through its “Anvil Chorus”, sung by gypsies who are proud of their hard work.
The sometimes-troubling life of the worker is depicted in
music as well. Mozart’s Figaro, a valet, has trouble with his Count master in The
Marriage of Figaro. Later, in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Figaro
becomes a barber, but still has troubles with the Count. Bizet’s Carmen follows the deeper troubles
of a seductive cigarette worker.
Workers’ hard labor often led to unionization. Arnold’s Peterloo
Overture was written for the 1968 centenary of the Trade Union Congress.
This Labor Day, we honor the labor of pianists and other
musicians everywhere who make our labor a little easier to bear.
