Dogged Music

 Dogs are sometimes called human’s best friend, and they can inspire music composers as well. The following pieces reflect that connection between “man and beast” in several cultures.

Composer Emil Sjögren is known mainly in his home country Sweden. His piano composition “Portrait of Donnie” is a sweet homage to his favorite pet dog.

Vietnamese composer Chiayu Hsu create a musical zodiac cycle 12 Signs. Movement number 11 is “Dog,” which captures the animal’s impulsive nature.

Similarly, Chinee composer Bright Sheng wrote the orchestra concerto Zodiac Tales. His fifth movement echoes the style of a Buddhist chant to tell the story of a dog who sacrificed himself by putting out enemy fire to save Emperor Liu Bang’s army.

George Gershwin’s composition “Promenade” is sometimes called “Walking the Dog.” That’s because the piece was written for his and his brother’s first score for RKO: the 1937 movie “Shall We Dance?” The scene depicts Fred Astaire trying to woo Ginger Rogers by telling hoer how many dogs he walks. Later, Ira Gershwin scored “Promenade” as a piano solo.

Contemporary Austrian composer Bernd Richard Deutsch was commissioned to write a work imagining 24 hours in the life of a dog. That piece became Mad Dog.  The music imagines a dog’s lively activity, its dreams, and its emotions.

And remember Elvis Presley’s rendition of “You Ain’t Nothin’ but a Hound Dog?” Composer Peter Breinder reconceptualized that song as a Baroque piece in his Concerto Grosso No. 4; V. Hound Dog.

Perhaps your dog will hound you for these pieces: their own pet sounds.

Fall for these September Composers

 It is the start of the school year in many countries, and it is the month that several famous piano composers were born. Here are six examples, each with unique experiences.

Anton Bruckner was born on September 4, 1824, in Ansfelden, Austria. Most of his piano compositions were written for teaching purposes. Besides composing, Bruckner was a well-known organist and taught organ performance.

Antonin Dvorak was born on September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, Czech Republic. Known for his Romantic era nationalism in his music, he later became the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in the U.S.

Arnold Schoenberg was born on September 13, 1874, in Vienna. He is known for transforming how musical harmony is treated. Not only did he compose music, but also he taught and wrote, and was a music theorist. Although a teacher, he himself was largely self-taught in terms of learning about music and composition.

Gustav Holst was born on September 21, 1874, in Cheltenham, UK. Like Dvorak, Holst was inspired by—and promoted—English folk songs. He started composing at age 12, but his father wanted him to become a professional pianist; with his poor eyesight and asthma, Holst found piano playing difficult so he stayed with composing.

Dmitri Shostakovich was born on September 25, 1906 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His mother started giving him piano lessons when he was nine years old. Four years later he composed a funeral march in memory of political murders. He started his professional career as a concert pianist and composer, but was more successful in the latter arena.

George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898, in New York City. He began as a song plugger and recorded piano rolls, where he discovered jazz. However, he was also influenced by neo-classical composers, including the September composers Shostakovich, and Schoenberg.

Laboring Music

 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.

Try to Remember the Piano Composers of September

 September is known as the typical month to start the school year. It’s also a popular month for piano composers to be born. Here is a sampling.

September 1, 1854: Engelbert Humperdinck. Known for his opera Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck first composed it as a set of songs, with piano accompaniment, for his nieces’ puppet show.

September 1, 1661: Georg Bohm. This German organist and composer wrote for the keyboard, and is known for his improvisational style of playing. Bohn and Bach were close friends.

September 4, 1824: Antonin Bruckner. Austrian composer Anton Bruckner starting playing the organ as a child, and gave organ lessons as an adult. He didn’t start composing seriously until almost in his 40s, and was not widely recognized until his 60s. Most of his piano works were written for teaching purposes.

September 8, 1841: Antonin Dvorak. Czech composer Antonin Dvorak also drew on his native Slavic folk dance forms in his piano duet piece Slavonic Dances. Moravian and other Eastern European traditional music forms also inspired him.

September 13, 1819: Clara Schumann. Besides being an accomplished composer, Clara Schumann was the professional pianist in the family. She was also a great business partner and confidante for Schuman, and edited his work after he died.  

September 13, 1874: Arnold Schoenberg. Born to a Jewish family in Austria, Schoenberg largely taught himself how to play the piano, even though his mother was a piano teacher. Later on he too became a music teacher even though he is more known for developing the twelve-tone method of composition.

September 16, 1887: Nadia Boulanger. While she did not think she was an accomplished composer, Boulanger was a gifted composer teacher. Gershwin wanted to study under her, but she refused as she didn’t want to stifle his more popular style. She also performed on the organ and piano.

September 25, 1906: Dmitri Shostakovich. Even as a child, Dmitra showed a gift for the piano and music in general. At age 13 he entered the Petrograd Music Conservatory, and he wrote his first symphony at age 19. Much of his work was theatrical, and he was known for his film music. Nevertheless, he also wrote for the piano, including waltzes.

September 26, 1898: George Gershwin. Like Schoenberg, Gershwin’s family was Jewish. Interestingly, Gershwin and Schoenberg were friends and tennis partners in the States. His first compositions were Broadway theater works, but he composed and performed popular, jazz and classical genres.

A Little Travel Music

 

Tomoko has a lifetime love of driving. She bought her first car when she was studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and she kept driving to the school during her fifty+ years teaching there.

Composers have also loved cars and used them to inspire their compositions. Here is a sampling of those works.

Probably the best known composition, which has been arranged for piano, is George Gershwin’s 1928 “An American in Paris.” Not surprisingly, the piece was inspired by Gershwin’s time in Paris when he studied with Ravel. The original composition was a jazz-influenced orchestral piece, which even imitated street noises such as taxi horns.

Another French-inspired piano composition, “L’omnibus automobile,” was written by Eric Satie.  This cabaret song, with piano accompaniment, evokes a Bastille Day when an empty bus carrying plaster drove through a crowd.

Frederick Converse was inspired by the early Ford cards in his imagined “The 10 millionth Ford Flivver” orchestral piece. Most of instruments are wind and percussion ones, but an organ is also played.

Even car companies have used classical compositions when naming their models. For instance, Bach’s “24 Preludes” was the inspiration for the Honda Prelude.

Of course, lots of rock and roll music featured cars, such as the Beach Boys and Chuck Berry, but car-inspired music is as class as the cars themselves.

Lullabies for a Good Night

Tomoko’s daughter Beata is a new mother. Her son Kai was born May 11, 2017. Not surprisingly, Tomoko loves her grandson, and sings lullabies to him. “He likes Brahms,” Tomoko says.

Kia has good taste: Brahm’s lullaby is probably the most well known one, usually called “Cradle Song” – “Lullaby and goodnight, with roses bedight” (you can hear it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lullaby_wound_up_clock_guten_abend_gute_nacht.ogg) . Published in 1868, the lullaby was dedicated to Brahms’ friend Bertha Faber to honor the birth of her second son.  Variations of that melody were woven into Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D major Opus 73 first movement.

Other famous composers have written lullabies – or songs resembling lullabies, such as 6/8 time berceuses, which Chopin pioneered. Ravel wrote Berceuses sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré, Benjamin Godard wrote a berceuse from his opera Jocelyn, Stravinsky’s berceuse is part of his Firebird ballet, and Gershwin wrote Lullaby for String Quartet.

Lullabies play an important role in young children’s development. The simple, repetitive melody helps little ones go to sleep. Lullabies are also an early form of communication; they are usually sung with emotion that conveys warmth and tenderness, and can hold a child’s undivided attention. The rhythm of lullabies also helps a child learn the rhythm of language. 

Additionally, lullabies serve as a way to pass down societal traditions, and have been sung for centuries around the world. Tomoko and Beata sometimes sing Japanese lullabies together, bringing back memories when Beata herself was a baby. It's a lovely way to start a musical life.