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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240719T193000
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SUMMARY:Fujikura\, Prokofiev\, & Mozart
DESCRIPTION:Fujikura\, Prokofiev\, & Mozart \nDAI FUJIKURA\nFloating Fireflies \nJune Han\, harp \n  \nSERGEI PROKOFIEV\nSonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in F Minor\, Op. 80 \nI. Andante assai\nII. Allegro brusco\nIII. Andante\nIV. Allegrissimo \nNelson Lee\, violin • Pei-Shan Lee\, piano \n  \nWOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART\nClarinet Quintet in A Major\, K. 581\, “Stadler” \nI. Allegro\nII. Larghetto\nIII. Menuetto — Trio I — Trio II\nIV. Allegretto con variazioni \nStephen Williamson\, clarinet • YooJin Jang\, Meg Freivogel\, violin • Liz Freivogel\, viola • Denise Djokic\, cello \n\nDAI FUJIKURA‬\nFloating Fireflies (2021) \nDai Fujikura has provided the following note to accompany‬ Floating Fireflies‬‭:‬ \nThe harp has always been a mysterious instrument for me.‬ I knew the function of the instrument\, but I always knew there‬ must be more than how the instrument works.‬ \n  \nWhen I received a passionate email from the harpist Stef Van‬ Vynckt asking me to write a new harp piece\, I was delighted. Also\, another harpist\, Mai Fukui\, was happy to co-commission‬ the work with Stef; I felt that at last the long awaited time‬ had come for me to research the instrument.‬ \n  \nIt turned out to be more research into the harpists — the‬ musicians who decided to dedicate their lives to the‬ instrument — rather than research into the harp itself. Why‬ did they choose this instrument? Why do they become so‬ obsessed by it? What is so great about it?‬ \n  \nI was composing this work during the pandemic\, so I could‬ spend a long time with them remotely\, trying out many‬ different things. It was more as if I was trying to get into the‬ harpists’ minds rather than just focusing on what is‬ technically possible on the harp.‬ \n  \nAfter all these experiences with the two harpists\, the music‬ material I came up with was something that appeared to float\,‬ hovering without a particular direction. Or maybe there IS an‬ overall direction. Or maybe it is something between the two‬ states….‬ \n  \nSERGEI PROKOFIEV‬\nSonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in F Minor\, Op. 80 (1946)‬ \nHaving spent much of the interwar period in the United States‬ and Paris\, by the time of the Great Depression Prokofiev‬ increasingly found work in the Soviet Union. The state\, relatively‬ shielded from the economic freefall\, took an active part in‬ funding cultural production. After a few years of shuttling‬ between Paris and Moscow\, however\, Prokofiev was made to‬ understand he could no longer have his cake and eat it. Either he‬ should return to the USSR and become an “official” composer\, or‬ revoke the right to return to Russia altogether. With his wife and‬ sons\, therefore\, Prokofiev moved back to Moscow in 1935. For the first few years\, he retained an “external passport” allowing him to‬ tour abroad; in 1938\, he sent his passport to the authorities for a‬ bureaucratic formality\, never to have it returned.‬ \n  \nIt was that same year\, 1938\, that Prokofiev began his First Violin‬ Sonata\, alongside a large number of official projects — a work to‭ celebrate the 60th birthday of Stalin\, a score and cantata for‭ Sergei Eistenstein’s‬‭ Alexander Nevsky‬‭\, and an opera‬‭ project‬ Semyon Kotko‬‭\, based on Valentin Kateyev’s novel\,‬‭ I\,‬‭ Son of‭ Working People‬‭. In contrast to these politically sanctioned‬‭ works\,‭ Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata strikes a somber and searching tone\, a‭ far cry from the brash confidence of the Socialist Realist‭ aesthetic doctrine made official under Stalin. Listen in particular‭ for the chilling passage at the end of the first movement where‭ the muted violin swirls in nimble runs around bell-like chords in‭ the piano\, a passage Prokofiev described as “autumn evening‭ wind blowing across a neglected cemetery grave.” It is not hard to‬‭ imagine this sonata harboring some of the apprehension and‬ uncertitude the composer faced during these transitional years.‬ \n  \nFeeling unable to complete the work in 1938\, Prokofiev set it‬ aside\, returning to it only after the War. By that time\,‬ Prokofiev had secured his reputation as a reliably patriotic‬ composer: in 1943 he achieved the prestigious title of Honored‬ Artist of the Russian Soviet Republic\, and in 1946 he was‬ consecrated with three Stalin Prizes (for his Fifth Symphony\,‬ Eighth Piano Sonata\, and the‬‭ Cinderella‬‭ ballet). It was violinist‬ David Oistrakh\, a friend of Prokofiev’s\, who induced the composer‭ to complete the sonata\, premiering it later that year. Given the‭ sonata’s anxious and tormented character\, it may seem surprising‭ that the work earned Prokofiev yet another Stalin Prize in 1947 — proof\, perhaps\, that as far as the regime was concerned\,‭ Prokofiev’s solid track record counted for more than scrutiny of‭ his style. After Prokofiev died in 1953 — on the same day as Stalin‭ himself — Oistrakh chose to reprise the slow movements of the‭ Sonata at his funeral.‬‭ \n  \nWOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART‬\n‭Clarinet Quintet in A Major\, K. 581\, “Stadler” (1789)‬ \nMozart’s Clarinet Quintet exhibits the seemingly magical synergy‬ that can occur when a composer writes with an outstanding‭ instrumentalist in mind. In this case\, it was the clarinetist and‭ basset hornist Anton Stadler\, one of Mozart’s earliest musical‭ contacts following his arrival to Vienna in 1781. Over the years\,‭ the two grew to be close comrades: both became Freemasons\,‭ and even hatched plans to form their own secret society (called‭ Die Grotte\, or “The Grotto”)\, although this never came to fruition.‭ Their friendship brought about a large number of works\, including‭ a handful of Masonic compositions for basset horn\, little‭ remembered today. Stadler’s lasting artistic legacy came through‭ his contributions to clarinet performance. At a time when the‭ clarinet was mostly heard as a component in a “harmonie” (a‭ wind ensemble used for light or ceremonial music)\, Stadler‭ distinguished himself as an exceptional soloist. As Mozart wrote‭ to his friend\, “Never could I have imagined that a clarinet could‭ imitate the human voice as you did. Indeed\, your instrument has‭ so soft and lovely a tone that nobody can resist it.”\n‬ \n‭Mozart made the most of Stadler’s skill. His so-called‬ “Kegelstatt” Trio\, K. 498 for piano\, clarinet and viola\, composed in‬ 1786\, was among the first chamber works composed for the‬ instrument. The publisher\, aware of the peculiarity of the‬ configuration\, indicated that the clarinet part could be performed‭ by a violinist instead. By the time Mozart composed the clarinet‭ quintet in 1789\, there was no doubt: this was “Stadler’s Quintet\,” and a new paradigm of clarinet performance was in place. Two‬ years after the quintet\, Mozart followed up with another clarinet‭ masterpiece for Stadler: his concerto\, K. 622‚ completed a few‭ weeks before his death.‭ While the quintet was composed originally for the “basset‬‭ clarinet\,” a woodwind of Stadler’s invention combining his two‭ instruments of choice and featuring an extended lower register\,‬‭ today it is typically performed using a standard clarinet in A.‬ \n  \nProgram Notes by Peter Asimov‬\n‭\n‭
URL:https://www.bowdoinfestival.org/event/fujikura-prokofiev-mozart/
LOCATION:Studzinski Recital Hall\, 12 Campus Road S\, Brunswick\, ME\, 04011
CATEGORIES:Concert,Ticketed Events,Fridays,Livestream
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