Twentieth Century

Ravel’s “Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn”: An Homage in Code

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In 1909, the Revue musicale mensuelle de la Société Internationale de Musique commissioned six French composers to write pieces in commemoration of the centenary of the death of Franz Joseph Haydn. Ravel’s 54-bar-long minuet is built on a five-note motif outlining Haydn’s name. The French system for musical cryptograms involves the entire alphabet, with H-N, O-U, and V-Z in lines under the original diatonic notes A-G. In Ravel’s score, H is represented by B natural, A and …

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Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony: Alain Altinoglu and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony

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Composed during the war-torn summer of 1943, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8 in C minor attempts to take a journey from tragedy to triumph. It is the same C minor to C major trajectory we encounter in Beethoven’s Fifth, Brahms’ First, Bruckner’s Eighth, and Mahler’s Second. Yet for many listeners, the victory feels hollow. Perhaps there is even a hint of sarcasm. Shostakovich described his Seventh and Eighth Symphonies as “requiems,” written amid …

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Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin”: Jaime Martín and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony

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Composed in 1917, initially as a suite for solo piano, Le Tombeau de Couperin was Maurice Ravel’s musical response to the devastation of the First World War. The 17th century word, tombeau, refers to “a piece written as a memorial.” Ravel dedicated each of the suite’s movements to the memory of a friend who was lost in the war. The title references the French Baroque composer, François Couperin (1668-1733), yet according to Ravel, …

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Ives’ “Hallowe’en”: Mischief Around a Polytonal Bonfire

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Composed in 1906, Charles Ives’ Hallowe’en evokes childhood memories of a growing bonfire and playful mischief. Ives wrote, It is a take-off of a Halloween party and bonfire – the elfishness of the little boys throwing wood on the fire, etc, etc… it is a joke even Herbert Hoover could get. Scored for “string quartet, piano and optional drum,” the work begins as a whisper, with only two voices, the second violin and …

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Prokofiev’s “The Love for Three Oranges” Suite: Music from a Surrealist Opera

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Sergei Prokofiev’s satirical 1921 opera tells the fairytale story of a young prince who is cursed by a witch to fall in love with three oranges. The prince travels to far off lands in search of the citrus fruits, each of which, when peeled, contains a princess. The first two princesses die instantly when exposed to the elements. The third survives and marries the prince. The libretto, written by the composer, is …

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Hindemith’s Harp Sonata: Songs and Images

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German composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) had a deep fascination for the colors and technical capabilities of musical instruments. Principally a violinist and violist, Hindemith was proficient on numerous other instruments, including the piano, bassoon, clarinet, and cello. He composed more than forty sonatas which encompassed nearly every standard orchestral instrument. His orchestral music unfolds with a sonorous majesty. The composer considered many of the sonatas to be technical exercises, written concurrently with …

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Hindemith’s Six Chansons: An Ode to Nature, Harmony, and Community

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Composed in 1939, Paul Hindemith’s Six Chansons for a cappella choir are an ode to nature, harmony, and community. Set to French-language poems by the Austrian writer, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), they offer a dreamy remembrance of the music of the Renaissance and the French chanson. Brief, simple, and serene, this is music of escape. Having fled the Nazis, Hindemith was living amid the Alpine splendor of Valais, Switzerland. Months later, he …

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