Classical Piano June Composers

 Happy June birthday to the following classical composers of piano music who were born in June! Tomoko has played the pieces of several of these famous musicians.

Mikhail Glinka was born June 1, 1804, in Novospasskoye, Russia. He is known as the father of Russian classical music. As a child, the first music he heard were church bells (which he didn’t like) and folk songs, which influenced his compositional style, particularly his art songs.

Robert Schumann was born June 8, 1810, in Zwickau, Germany. He wanted to have a career as a virtuoso pianist, but a hand injury dashed that dream. The musical world benefitted as he became a renown composer for piano; in fact, he wrote exclusively for the piano until 1840.

Richard Strauss was born June 11, 1864, in Munich, Germany. He bridged the late Romantic and early modern styles. He is famous for his lieder tone poems piano compositions.

Edward Grieg was born June 15, 1843, in Bergen, Norway. He was both a concert pianist and composer of the Romantic era. His mother was his first piano teacher.

Igor Stravinsky was born June 17, 1882, in Lomonosov, Russia. He is most known for his Firebird suite, The Rite of Spring, Petrushka, and is 1924 Sonata for piano. After his Russian phase, her transitioned to a more austere neoclassical style.

Charles Gounod was born June 18, 1818, in Paris, France. He is best known for his Ave Maria and his “Funeral March of a Marionette,” which was used as the theme song for the TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach was born June 21, 1732, in Leipzig, Germany. He was Johann Sebastian Bach’s ninth son. He wrote mainly keyboard compositions: for sonatas, choir pieces, oratorios, motels, operas, and songs.

the Dog Days of Piano Music

 

The phrase “the dog days of summer” has a surprising meaning; it refers to the dog star Sirius that appears at that time of the year just before dawn. Apropos of dogs, though, classical music can have a calming effect on dogs. Here is a sampling.

Starting on a somber note – and one of Tomoko’s favorite composers – Chopin’s Prelude in E minor uses a descending melody line that can act as a way to move a dog to slumberland.

Another one of Tomoko’s favorite composers is Bach. His Air on the G String, with its sustained notes, can soothe a savage beast.

While some movements, such as “Fossils,” of Saint-Saën’s Carnival of the Animals might wake up a sleeping day, to let sleeping dogs lie, “The Swan” movement can work well with its tone of gently rippling water.

Similarly, the “Lullaby” movement from Stravinsky’s 1945 Firebird Suite can put a pooch to sleep – unlike the spritely “Scherzo Dance of the Princesses” movement.

A more recent addition to the composer line-up is Ludovico Einaudi, whose music can remind one of the classics. His piece L’Onde, which was inspired by Virginia Woolf’s novel The Wave (hence the musical title) has a softly flowing rhythm that may seem like a lullaby for your wagging pal.

These lovely pieces can also work on humans….

Animated Piano

Tomoko enjoys films, and appreciates the music that is incorporated into them. 

One specialized type of film is animated films, which started almost as early as “real life” films. As examples,, Gertie the Dinosaur in 1914 and the first feature-length animated film el Apostol in 1917 greatly attracted audiences. These silent films were often accompanied by piano and organ music, and classical pieces were sometimes used because of their familiarity. Even modern animated films, especially cartoons, continue to incorporate classical pieces. Here is a sampling.

One of most well known cartoons that used classical music was Bugs Bunny’s What’s Opera Doc?, which featured Wagner’s Tannhӓuser chorus. Wagner is less well known for his piano compositions. For instance, his Wesendonck Lieder for piano and voice were studies for Tristan and Isolde.

Several other classical piano pieces have become tropes for cartoons because of their vivid connotations:

·         Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C# Minor

·         Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody

·         Mendelssohn’s “Spring Song” from Leider ohne Worter

·         Rimsky’ Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumble Bee

Probably the first full-length animated movie that comes to mind when linked to classical music is Disney’s 1940 Fantasia. Piano composers who were featured in that movie included:

·         Johann Sebastian Bach with his organ music Toccata and Fugue in D minor

·         Tchaikovsky with his Nutcracker Suite; Percy Grainger arranged the Flower Waltz for piano, and Mikhail Pletnev adapted seven segments of the Nutcracker into a concert suite for piano

·         Paul Dukas with his Sorcerer’s Apprentice, which he also transcribed for two pianos

·         Stravinski with his Rite of Spring, which was also composed as a two-hand and four-hand arrangement

·         Mussorgsky with his Night on Bald Mountain, for which he had written a version for piano and orchestra

·         Franz Schubert with his Ave Maria, for which Franz Liszt arranged in three versions for piano.

 Animated films have helped to popularize classical piano, including exposing children at an early age, to animate their interest. Tomoko would approve.

Stravinsky as Modern Classic

What is classical music? Even some 20^th century music and composers are already considered classics, such as Stravinsky. As Tomoko says, “I like to keep up with new music.” She and her students performed the first of half of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, for instance, which was a far cry from Tomoko’s typical repertoire of romantics and earlier composers. 

 

So what makes Stravinsky a modern classic? His revolutionary musical design, which might reflect his Russian background. 

Stravinsky was born in 1882 near Saint Petersburg to a musical family. However, his parents wanted him to study law. Because of the 1905 Russian Revolution, the law school shut down, and Stravinsky focused on music, studying with composer Rimsky-Korsakov. 

Rite of Spring was one of his early compositions, written for the Ballet Russes. Its premier in 1913 was greeted demonstrations, largely because of Nijinsky’s shocking dance moves. Nevertheless, the ballet style did reflect the primitive Russian tone and clashing rhythms of the piece.

Stravinsky then moved to France, which marked his neoclassical period, both in terms of compositional style and mythological themes. 

At the start of World War II, Stravinsky settled in the U.S.  He especially enjoyed the cultural life in Los Angeles, and even has a story on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During this time he began incorporating twelve-tone and other serial techniques in his compositions. Stravinsky was also a successful pianist and conductor. 

Stravinsky, who died in 1971, was known for his stylistic diversity; he kept exploring different ways to create music. One can be both classic and modern. In that respect, he echoes Tomoko’s philosophy: “All performers have responsibility to keep up.”

Keeping Fresh in Rites of Spring

Tomoko keeps fresh – by continuing to performing, including duets with her students and musical friends. She also adds to her repertoire with 20^th century composers alongside earlier masters. As Tomoko assert, “All performers have responsibility to keep up.”

One example of combining those freshening actions? Performing a duet of the first part of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring: “Adoration of the Earth.”

Back in 1913 when it was first performed publicly, The Rite of Spring was very controversial. The French audience even tossed things into the orchestra pit. 

The piece was commissioned for the Ballets Russes, and was supposed to depict primitive rituals. The underlying tone recalled Russian folk music but the composition also including several novel aspects of rhythm, meter, and especially dissonance. The choreography was also experimental, created by Nijinsky. 

While composing this piece, Stravinsky made a four-hand piano arrangement, which was the first published version of The Rite of Spring. Stravinsky and Claude Debussy played it as a duet in June 1912: the first public performance of the work. 

So it is exciting to follow in the steps of these avantgarde composers to play forward-thinking music. And Tomoko continues to model a fresh attitude to music. It’s her own rite of spring, which she continues throughout the year. As she says, “All performers look for a keen sense of the music.” Part of that sensibility is its freshness, which can be timeless. 

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.