The Flowering Piano

It's summertime: the prime time to see flowers in gardens and fields. Piano composers have been inspired by flowers, as these examples demonstrate. 

• Debussy's "Bruyères":

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  This piece from Debussy's "Préludes, Book II" is a tone painting of the French word for heather, capturing the flower's delicate beauty and subtle fragrance, according to Interlude.hk.
• MacDowell's "To a Wild Rose":

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  A quintessential example of a piece inspired by a single flower, this work is cherished for its simple, elegant melody and its evocation of the wild rose's natural charm. 
• Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers":

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  Originally part of the ballet The Nutcracker, this piece is a grand and celebratory waltz, often arranged for piano and admired for its lively and joyous character. 
• Schumann's "Blumenstück":

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  This "Flower Piece" for piano is a collection of short, contrasting sections, each suggesting a different aspect or mood of flowers. 
• Rachmaninoff's "Lilacs":

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  Op. 21, No. 5, is a lyrical and expressive piece for piano, capturing the delicate beauty and romanticism associated with the flower. 
• Debussy's "Jardins sous la pluie" (Gardens under the rain):

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  This piece from the "Estampes" suite is a depiction of gardens buffeted by a downpour, showcasing Debussy's mastery of creating evocative soundscapes, according to Musicnotes.com. 

May the piano pedals make the musical petals to help your summer blossom!

Flowery Performances

 

When Tomoko performs publicly, she is often given flowers. This gesture is a common one for musicians, and shows the audience’s appreciation for the music. Here are some details.

The tradition of giving musical performers started over 150 years ago in European aristocratic courts.

Choice of flowers.

• Long-stemmed red roses are the most traditional bouquet. Pink roses convey thanks, and yellow roses convey friendship.
• Irises are sometime given to young performers, and purple ones are especially favored because they connote admiration.
• Carnations are particularly favored because they last a long time. They represent pride and admiration.
• Lilies can be a somber choice, so as a performance bouquet should probably have bright colors, such as red, orange, yellow and pink which all convey imagination and aspiration. 

·       How to give flowers. It is best to check first with the performance venue to find out what protocols should be observed. Find out what the pianist’s favorite colors are or play it safe with red flowers.  There are several ways to present the flowers: backstage afterwards, in a public area (even the stage if appropriate), having a staff person or event planner present them, or have a floral company deliver them. If you are going to several performances, you might give one flower after each performance, and a bouquet for the final performance.

But don’t give flowers BEFORE the performance as it tempts fate and may bring bad luck!

             

 

Piano Music for Gardening

 

The adage “April showers bring May flowers” signals the time for gardening, a favorite pastime of Tomoko. She considers it as a way to wake up, to recharge her psychic batteries. “It’s a fresh feeling.”

Refresh yourself with these ten piano pieces inspired by gardens, with a little information about each piece.

In the 1930s Hungarian Bela Bartok wrote a collection of 85 short pieces entitled For Children. One of those compositions is "Rose Garden." These pieces attest to his belief in the importance to educating youngsters in contemporary musical styles.

Amy Beach was the first major American female composer of large-scale art music. Her 1922 Opus 97, Grandmother’s Garden, consists of five parts, each capturing a different flower.

Aaron Copland’s Down a Country Lane was commissioned by Life magazine to be featured in a 1962 issue, which includes photographs and an article explaining that this piano piece was one of the few compositions written express for young students by a major composer.

Claude Debussy’s “Jardins sur la pluie” (Gardens in the rain) is part of his 1903 composition Estampes (Prints). It captures the round of raindrops that storm a French garden. 

As a gift to his mother, Australian Percy Aldridge Grainger arranged an English folk tune into the 1918 piano piece “Country Gardens.” The piece was his greatest success financially, selling over 40,000 copies yearly in the United States. However, Grainger came to resent having to perform it constantly.

A visit to a monastic garden inspired English composer Albert Ketelbey to write “In a Monastery Garde.” In 1915. Ketelbey was known for light orchestral music, and wrote music for silent films.

Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu’s 1938 suite Window on the Garden consists of four lyrical movements. The piece reflects his short stay in Paris just before escaping from the forthcoming Nazi invasion.

Edward McDowell was America’s best known composer at the beginning of the 20^th century. His 1902 piano New England Idyls combines classical European harmonic elements and American textual imagery, as exemplified in the piece "An Old Garden."

Rachmaninoff became known for his lyrical inspiration, where the piano captures the sentiments of the text. Lilacs, Op 21, No. 5 “Lilacs, along with Daisies” was composed in 1902 as a song with accompaniment, but was later transcribed as a sensitive piano solo miniature.

In 1893 Tchaikowsky wrote his last solo piano work, 18 Pieces, one a day. Value-bluette, No. 11, was dedicated to the daughter of his lawyer and friend Nikolay Kondratyev.

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