Classically Speaking

I knew that the music had to represent the characters and the worlds in which they originate. As I described earlier, Sr. Dorothy’s musical language begins as very “Western” (i.e. religious and classical) and gradually becomes influenced by the Brazilian landscape. By the end of the first act, her music sounds more Brazilian than Western. In the second act, her musical language turns into one of transcendence as her role of martyr becomes more evident.

Other characters, including Luiz, begin with Brazilian rhythms and harmonies and are influenced by Sr. Dorothy’s musical language, reflecting her influence on the Brazilian people.

I chose serial techniques for Vito. My treatment of the 12-tone practice is not extreme, and it affects how the character is portrayed. Regardless of the universe around him, Vito is unchanged. By treating his music more mathematically, the result reflects the selfishness in his character. Regardless if the Brazilian people are succeeding and the land grants are helping the poor, Vito does not care. His land = his land, so his music = no change.

I use an inversion of the tone row when any other character acts corrupt, greedy, or apathetic to signify that Vito’s influence is everywhere!

As the plot unfolds, certain motives reoccur to drive the message home. The “inevitability motive” and the “beatitudes motive are the most prevalent, yet the opera is filled with many, many layers.

Once the music was written, then the hard part began ... getting it off the page and onto the stage.  More about that next week in Part Four.

Related links:

* From Idea to Opera: Part I
* From Idea to Opera: Part II, Building the Story
* You can also find out more about Angel of the Amazon by becoming a fan on Facebook

Congratulations and thank you for meeting the Chocolate Challenge, by helping West Virginia Public Radio reach our fundraising goal a day early!  Friday night, right before we reached the goal, I learned about a neat musical story.  

Tom Burger, who in 1974 was the first Charleston producer for public radio, returned to the air to help out with fund drive Friday night.  His wife Bettijane and daughter Renee were helping out by answering phones, while the volunteers were being coordinated by Renee’s husband, Todd Frymyer, who works here at WV Public Broadcasting in the development department. 

During a brief lull in the calls, Bettijane told me a story about one of their musical relatives:

My aunt, the late Esther Dickey of Georgia, was the oldest surviving alumna of Eastman School of Music when she died at the age of 97 a few years ago. At 97, she was still playing the piano for her retirement community and by ear! Esther was a classmate of composer and conductor Frederick Fennell, and her diploma was signed by composer Howard Hanson. 

The family has kept that diploma under glass, and Bettijane very kindly agreed to share a picture of it with me:

You can also see Howard Hanson’s signature up close:

From Bettijane's description and from what I've read online, Esther was a remarkable woman.  Hearing about her and seeing these pictures of her diploma has had me thinking about music history and personal connections. It's special, even if I can't quite put together the right words to describe why I'm now so drawn to this story. I just know that I wanted to share some of her story, and these pictures, with others who might interested too.

Feb 3: Met Opera HD Encore: Carmen (Barboursville, Morgantown, Ashland) 

Feb 4: Carol Ann Barry, piano (Marshall University Guest Recital)

Feb 4-6: Opera “Summer & Smoke” by Lee Holby  (West Virginia University)

Feb 5-7, 12-14: Big River (Shepherd University) 

Feb 5-7: Pirates of Penzance (Charleston Light Opera Guild)

Feb 6: Met Opera HD: Simon Boccanegra (Barboursville, Morgantown, Ashland) 

Feb 7: Montclaire String Quartet “Bold Strokes” 

Feb 9: Quique Sinesi, guitarist and composer (Marshall University Guest Recital)

Feb 10: West Liberty University Bands Concert

Feb 10: Stephen Lawson, horn (Marshall University Faculty Recital)

Feb 10-12: The Tender Land (Concord University Opera Studio) 

Feb 11: Opera in Cinema: Otello (Huntington, Charleston, Beckley) 

Feb 12: WVU Wind Symphony 

Feb 12: WV Wesleyan College Opera Workshop 

Feb 12-13: WV Symphony with Mark McVey “A Night on Broadway” 

Feb 13: Rumplestiltzkin: Straw Into Gold (WV Symphony Family Concert) 
 
Feb 13: Huntington Symphony “Dreams of America” 

Feb 13: Connie Edwards, bassoon; Patrick Joyce, guitar (Fairmont State University Faculty Recital)

Feb 14: Opera in Cinema: Otello (Huntington, Charleston, Beckley) 

Feb 14: Marshall University Opera Workshop 

Feb 17: Wendell Dobbs, flute (interview); Branita Holbrook-Bratka, voice (Marshall University Faculty Recital)

Feb 18: Gerald Lee, Piano (West Liberty University Faculty Recital)

Feb 19: Wheeling Symphony “Baroque Jewels” 

Feb 19: Shepherd University Wind Ensemble 

Feb 21: River Cities Symphony and Marietta College Chorus with Andrea DiGregorio, cello (Parkersburg)

Feb 21: Geoffrey Thomas, “Haydn Sonatas and Stories” (Fairmont Chamber Music Society)

Feb 21: Concord University Composers 

Feb 21: WVU Choral Concert, Mozart’s Requiem 

Feb 21: Garth Newel Piano Quartet (interview) (Carnegie Hall Lewisburg)

Feb 23: WVU Faculty Chamber Recital 

Feb 23: UpBeat Brass (Concord University Guest Artist/Lecture)

Feb 23: Hot 8 Brass (WV Wesleyan)

Feb 24: WV Symphony Young People’s Concerts “Romeo and Juliet” 

Feb 24: Donald George, tenor (interview); Lucy Mauro, piano (WVU Faculty/Guest Artist Recital)

Feb 25: WVU Symphony Orchestra

Feb 25: Christopher Barrick, clarinet/saxophone (West Liberty University Faculty Recital )

Feb 25: Becky Billock, piano (WVU Guest Artist Recital)

Feb 25: Opera in Cinema: Don Giovanni  (Huntington, Charleston, Beckley) 

Feb 26: Richmond Ballet (Chuck Mathena Center, Princeton)

Feb 28: WVU Chamber Winds Concert 

Feb 28: George Palton, tuba (Marshall University Faculty Recital)

Feb 28: Opera in Cinema: Don Giovanni (Huntington, Charleston, Beckley) 

Feb 28: Fairmont State University Collegiate Singers and Chamber Choir 

Nobuyuki Tsujii has become a worldwide sensation in the past year, most notably winning the Gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Nobuyuki was born on September 13, 1988 in Tokyo, Japan. He began taking lessons at the age of 4. He was also born blind but with a gift in music as well. Here’s a great quote that pretty much sums up the skill of Nobuyuki’s performances at the Cliburn Competition:

It's almost beyond imagining that he has learned scores as formidable as Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto and Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata by ear…Through all three rounds, he played with unfailing assurance, and his unforced, utterly natural Chopin E-minor Piano Concerto was an oasis of loveliness…He brought delicate expressivity to Debussy's first book of Images and admirable proportion to the first movement of Beethoven's Appassionata, and he managed to make Liszt's La Campanella fun but not vulgar.

–Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, June 2009

Now I’ve learned pieces on guitar that topped out at about 8 minutes, of varying difficulties, but to learn a Piano Concerto by Rachmaninoff by ear?  That’s pretty spectacular!  Rachmaninoff was pretty well known for writing some of the most technically challenging pieces ever, and I read that he could reach from C to G past the octave on his left hand (that stretch seems superhuman to me).

Nobuyuki's performance of Franz Liszt’s “La Campanella” (the third piece of the six ‘Grandes Etudes de Paganini’) is one of the best interpretations I have yet heard. 

For more about Nobuyuki Tsujii, check out:
* Nobu Piano: Official Site 
* Cliburn TV

Aran Jenkins is a recent graduate of WV State University.  He plays piano and guitar, writes for the Charleston Gazette, and is working on a novel.

Previous posts by Aran Jenkins:

* The Master Segovia
* Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff
* Finding Connections
* B is for Beautiful? 
* The Passion of Julian Bream
* Ana Vidovic and Julian Bream