For Freedom and Independence

 

In July several countries celebrate the spirit of freedom and independence: National Canada Day on July 1, the U.S. Independence Day on July 4, France’s Bastille Day on July 14, to name a few. Such patriotic fervor has long time roots. And it reverberates today as much as ever in our hearts.

 Tomoko places a high value on freedom and independence. She was a very brave young woman seeking opportunity when she left Japan for the United States, and she was worked hard as an independent woman, breaking ground as the first Asian woman teacher at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, for instance.

Composers have also revered freedom and independence through their piano music.

One of Tomoko’s favorite composers, Frederic Chopin, was one of the first composers to incorporate nationalistic elements into his compositions: mainly through the folk idiom of his mazurkas and polonaises.

Another Polish composer, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, was also inspirited by Polish folk music such as his Polish Fantasy for piano and orchestra. Paderewski became a diplomat and spokesman for Polish independence.

The founder of the Russian national school of composition, Mikhail Glinka highlighted Russian culture in his subjects and melodies, as exemplified in his Capriccio on Russian themes for piano duet.

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.

Another one of Tomoko’s favorite composers, Franz Liszt, was known as a Hungarian nationalist. In that vein, he based his Hungarian Rhapsodies for piano  on traditional  art songs performed by Romani band.

Following Liszt’s model, Hungarian Bela Bartok, was inspired by Magyar folk melodies, which were well times with his society’s interested in traditional nature culture. An interesting example are 80 folk tunes collected in the two-volume set For Children.

Edvard Grieg helped create a national identity through his compositions, which were inspired by Norwegian folk music. Grieg recorded many of his own piano works.  

Finlandia is the ultimate patriotic song, composed by Jean Sibelius.

Tomoko enjoys the freedom and independence that are expressed in these European piano composers. In that respect, their value of traditional musical form expresses a sense of communal  culture and independence that transcends any nationalism.

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Skating to the Music

Tomoko's daughter Beata performs and coaches ice dancing, echoing Tomoko's double professional life as piano performer and teacher. Both of them have a long-long love of music. Both choose their music pieces carefully to showcase their own performance expertise.

Among Beata's accomplishments was her -- and husband Charles' -- performances at the 2002 Olympics. That year their show performances included: "Tango: Fugata" by Astor Piazzolla and "Samson and Delilah" by Camille Saint-Saëns.

 Astor Piazzolla was a 20th century Argentinian tango composer, possibly the world's greatest. He created a new style of tango, which incorporated classical music and jazz. His new sound was controversial in his country, but his music was accepted in North America and Europe.. Written in the 1980s for a virtuoso guitar duo, Piazzolla's Tango Suite includes Fugata (meaning "fugue"), Milonga, and Libertango. "Fugata" introduces a short melody that is developed by interweaving several parts. The piece offered a suspenseful way to build up dance drama and showcase final bravura performance by Beata and Charles.

French composer Saint-Saëns wrote the opera "Sanson and Delilah" as choral music was experiencing high interest, although Biblical subjects were not popular on the French stage. Instead, in 1877 the opera opened in Weimar, Germany, thanks to Liszt's support. The work is framed as a duet between the protagonists, which Beata and Charles leveraged in their dance routine.  

The pieces also echo Beata's and Charles' -- as well as Tomoko's -- years of work to be accepted and applauded.

Gleaning Glinka

On her CD Touria, Tomoko plays a mazurka composed by Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka. Not as well known as other Russian composers, Glinka significantly influenced the famous Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, and later Tchaikovsky.

Mikhail Glinka was born in 1804 to a noble family who lived near Belarus. He grew up listening to local folk songs, church choirs, and serf orchestras. While at boarding school in St. Petersburg, Glink studied piano and violin, and he networked with orchestral musicians. Glinka entered civil service, but due to an illness, his doctor recommended spending time in Italy. That time extended to three years as Glinka became more acquainted with Italian opera and began composing operatic airs. From there he traveled to Berlin and Vienna, discovering his need to write in his own Russian musical vernacular. Thereafter, Glinka returned to Russia, where he was commissioned to write a Russian opera, which featured peasant folk song motifs. The opera’s success led to his appointment at the Court Chapel Choir, during which time he composed church music, a set of twelve songs, incidental music, and piano pieces. In 1842 he composed his second opera Ruslan and Lyudmila, which had a magical theme and tone that became an evocative mainstay up to Stravinsky’s Firebird. Later, Glinka would travel to Paris where he worked with Berlioz and then to Spain where he was influenced by that country’s folk music.  He continued to travel in Europe, dying in 1857.

Glinka’s musical legacy consists of laying the groundwork for Russian musical nationalism. He soaked up a variety of European techniques and assimilated them into a Russian idiom. 

Glinka’s “Mazurka in C minor” was influenced by Chopin, one of Tomoko’s favorite composers. This piece, written in 1843, is more refined and intimate than his earlier mazurkas, with its sinuous sensibility. His lifelong thread of songs and music for solo piano plays well to Tomoko’s own predilections.

The Dance of Music

When Tomoko was a child, she saw her mother dance to music as she worked around the home. She remembers dancing at a party with a Hungarian young man, who would become her husband. And Tomoko has watched her own daughter dance to music as she skates during practice and in the Olympic ring. In short, dance and music have always played an important role in Tomoko’s musical life.

Tomoko notes how Bartok’s compositions often built on folk music, particularly Rumanian folk dances. Chopin and Liszt also used folk dance tunes. The communal spirit of dance responds to the spirit of the music. “Music and dance are natural parts of human community celebrations such as weddings.”

Performance involves the whole body, much like dance, asserts Tomoko. “The music starts from the heart and comes out through the fingers.” She continues, “Like the neck in singing, the wrist is very important; the fingers follow the wrist action.” Of course, performance requires high eye-hand coordination. The whole body needs to be in a good position ergonomically to play optimally.

In addition, dance, like piano performance, involves practice and discipline. “Look at Dancing with the Stars.” They spend hours and days training and practicing so that it looks natural and easy when they perform on TV.”

Dance and music combine artistry and discipline. Both build upon pattern, yet offer variations. Both come from the heart and express individuality. And both bring people together. You can hear Tomoko’s piano performances that can make your heart dance – at http://www.tomokohagiwara.com/recordings.html