Tempests & Nocturnes Piano Recital Program Notes Joel Rusch - All content and research Context: I created this for my own senior piano recital in 2008. I referenced a few examples from other recitals before creating this. Unlike other examples, I chose to write longer prose for each of the performed pieces. Improvements: Looking at it now, I would consider including a headshot of the performers, and possibly the college seal on the final page. Also, I would change the blocks of text into paragraphs for easier digestion. Cover Page 13 Mar 2017
Tempests and Nocturnes a Senior Recital by Joel Rusch, Piano with Jessica Cooper, Voice Schwan Concert Hall Wisconsin Lutheran College August 1, 2008 7:00 pm
Sonata in D minor Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) One of Scarlatti s finest and most challenging pieces, this sonata for keyboard in D minor mimics that of a Spanish dance. The toccata-style repeating notes overlaying the left hand s guitar-like chords and bass imitate that of the rapid-fire tremolo on a Spanish mandolin. Playing it demands particular finger dexterity and some hand-crossing keyboard acrobatics. The mandolin theme develops in a contrasting section of the second half, but the second subject returns the same as in the first half; it focuses rather on conflict and resolve, but ends in a very elegant baroque style. Nocturne No.12 in G major Nocturne No. 2 in C minor John Field (1782-1837) Field s charming romances are called Nocturnes, meaning night music. The Irish composer spent much of his life in St. Petersburg, after following his teacher, Clementi, there in 1801. Franz Liszt said, Are not [Field's] Nocturnes half-waking dreams, in a night without gloom, like the summer nights in St Petersburg, whose return he so often saw? A secret harmony dispels the apparent disparity between nocturnal shades and the clear brilliancy of day; and we experience no surprise, so fully does the vagueness of the images let us feel, that they live and move only in the dreamy imagination of the poet, and not in waking reality. His nocturnes are hailed by many critics as some of the most influential songs without words of the romantic era. Chopin especially loved Field's nocturnes, calling them a short elegy of great lyric intensity, writing many of his own nocturnes as well. The Tempest Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Opus 31 No. 2 Mvt I.& II. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Written in 1802, this Sonata was never called The Tempest during Beethoven s lifetime. The name is from Anton Schindler, one of the earliest biographers of Beethoven, who claimed he had been inspired by the Shakespeare play. The first movement teeters between restless tranquility and eruptions of passionate fury, slowly expanding into a lingering storm. The second movement, in Bb Major, is more reserved and dignified, reflecting many of the ideas of the first movement, yet lacking the same degree of development the other movements possess. After returning to D minor, Beethoven saturates the third movement with heavy, flowing emotion that builds into a climax, and leads into a meandering, development section that focuses on the first theme and cycles through many keys and dynamics. A very substantial and emotional recapitulation and coda bring closure to the sonata. Revolutionary Étude Op. 10, No. 12 Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) Though he was a very proud Polish nationalist, his physical frailty kept Chopin from participating in the November Uprising of 1831 in the Polish-Russian Wars. Instead, Chopin expressed himself by writing many pieces, of which his revolutionary etude is perhaps best noted. When Poland failed to resist the Russian forces, Chopin exclaimed, "All this has caused me much pain. Who could have foreseen it!" The piece features a repeated long, descending C harmonic minor scale pattern that falls into a rapid, pulsing bass pattern. The appassionato melody develops with more complexity as the piece arrives at its climax, becoming progressively more independent from its original form. The finale chords bring a brilliant C Major as closure to the piece.
Au Privave Charlie Parker Best known as the father of bebop, Charlie Parker was well know for his fast tempos, unique melodies, and improvisation based on harmonic structure. Not much is known about the name Au Privave; it uses the French word in and a non-sense word Privave. While Privave may have been a place, it's more likely that Parker invented the word to sound French. The song is a 12 bar blues. The melody leaps into and away from a tritone, making parts of the melody feel skewed or bizarre. In a Sentimental Mood Duke Ellington One of the Duke's best known songs, In a Sentimental Mood, was written in 1935, in Durham, North Carolina. Ellington said about the piece, We had played a big dance in a tobacco warehouse, and afterwards a friend of mine, an executive in the North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company, threw a party for us. I was playing piano when another one of our friends had some trouble with two chicks. To pacify them, I composed this there and then, with one chick standing on each side of the piano. Harmonically, the piece is very unique. The dark, descending bass line at the beginning leads into a subtle modulation into the relative major, giving the song a fresher sound before sharply returning to the original key. The melody is especially unique by its inclusion of coloristic chord extensions the major (raised) seventh, the ninth, and the eleventh in the on-beats of the song instead of using the primary scale tones. Harlem Nocturne Earle Hagen Jessica Cooper, Vocalist Earle Hagen originally wrote Harlem Nocturne as a tribute to the famous saxophonist, Johnny Earle Hodges, the same night he watched Duke Ellington's Band perform in 1940. The first name for it was Duke's Soup, but the publisher changed it to Harlem Nocturne in order to help sales. Thirteen years later, it became a hit on a recording by Herbie Fields in 1953. Ever since, it's been considered a jazz standard. The song was also used as a theme for many movies and TV shows, including Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer. There are at least two different sets of lyrics, possibly because it is difficult to find words that rhyme with Nocturne.
Joel Rusch is a recent graduate of WLC, having completed his Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Philosophy this past May. This recital will complete his second course of study, Music. Having a vast array of interests, Joel has studied composition with Craig Hirschman, classical piano with Dr. Juanita Becker, jazz piano with Mark Davis, and saxophone with John Hibler while at WLC. On August 25, he will be traveling to Wuhan, China to teach English at a foreign language high school for one year. Joel would like to thank his family and friends for their support. Jessica Cooper is also a graduate of WLC, having majored in Communications and Vocal Music. She has performed with Joel on previous occasions, but this is their first time performing together in the Schwan Concert Hall. She is currently an elementary school music teacher. Acknowledgments: Thanks to the faculty and staff at WLC and all the people who made this recital possible. Special thanks to Dr. Juanita Becker and Mark Davis. This recital is given in conjunction with the Wisconsin Lutheran College department of Fine Arts in partial fulfillment of a Bachelor of Arts in Music.