Celebrate August's Composers' Birthdays

 

While August may seem shy in terms of holidays – except for Europeans who take a month-long holiday-like vacation – August celebrates several distinguished piano composers who were born that month.

Chronologically, one of the first to remember is Antonio Salieri, born on August 18, 1750, in Legnago, Italy. At this point in history, he is probably most associated (sadly) with Mozart. Unlike Mozart, he was considered an important teacher (including of one of Mozart’s sons!) Salieri mainly wrote operas and orchestral works, but he also wrote piano and organ concertos.

One of Tomoko’s favorite composers, Claude Debussy, was born on August 22, 1862, in Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, France. He wrote 24 piano preludes and 12 études, and he was called an early impressionist composer because of his focus on nature’s beauty, represented by nuanced musical color and texture.  He was influenced by Chopin and, in turn, influenced Bartok, another favorite composer of Tomoko.

George Enescu was born on August 19, 1881, in Liveni-Varnav, Romania. He is considered one of the great musicians in Romania. Tomoko thinks most child prodigies may be harmed by early exposure, Enescu might be an exception. He composed his first piece, for piano and violin, at age vie, and was the youngest student admitted to the Vienna Conservatory – at age seven. He was productive as a composer, conductor and teacher all his life.  Much of his music was influenced by Romanian folk music (Bartok’s appreciation of Romanian folk dances).

A more recent composer, Leonard Bernstein, was born on August 25, 1918, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Wildly popular for his musicals, he wrote in many genres, including piano pieces, and was an excellent pianist. Bernstein is also known for his teaching about classical music on television.

Any of their works can make your August special.

 

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...

Getting to Know Composers and Performers on a Personal Basis

As much as she loves music, Tomoko loves people. “I enjoy other people’s lives and challenges.”

Tomoko also has a strong familiarity with piano composers, noting each one’s characteristics.

“You respect every composer. They have their idea what is best for them. Each composer  has a  different sound and interpretation. It is very complicated.”

“Chopin was a good pianist; both he and Liszt started as performers.”

“Schumann can be hard to play because of the expertise needed by both hand. He himself didn’t play the piano; his wife did. His wife was accomplished in everything.”

“Bernstein was also a good pianist; he has a wonderful touch.”

“Beethoven’s emotions were so strong inside. He couldn’t reach their full depth. Even though he became deaf, his mind could orchestrate.”

“Mozart’s sounds was not of this world. His life was all dreams, and he was very holy. He had a real connection between this life and the next life, perhaps because his mother passed away while he was in Paris.”

She also has inside knowledge of musical performers.

“I met Pablo Casals when he was performing in Arizona in celebration of a library being dedicated to him. He had a young wife, but there was no problem with the age gap.”

“Yo Yo Ma was a math major. He didn’t practice forty hours a week in college, but did play noon concerts while at Harvard. After he graduated then he become a professional musician. That break was a smart idea.”

“Andre Watts was fantastic at one time. He is known for the polished quality of his tone. He had a deeper interpretation than other performers. However, he burned out after starting so young.”

Tomoko comments on the difficulties of performing early. Menuhin was a protégé, and then collapsed. In contrast, Isaac Stern lasted a long time because he delayed professional performance while he was young.”

“Did you know that Horowitz sang? He made mistakes when he performed on the piano, but he was all natural in his approach so it worked. “

“Claudio Arrau was a child protégé, but played even in his late eighties. He played the Emperor’s Concerto almost 2000 times. He is a great inspiration.”

Tomoko concludes, "I meet so many people, and learn from them.It's my education."