Twentieth Century

Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite: Unused Music for a “Barbaric” Ballet

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In 1915, the 23-year-old Sergei Prokofiev set to work on his first ballet score. Commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes, the work, which was given the title Ala and Lolli, moved deep into Slavic mythology. It depicted an epic battle between the forces of light and darkness, represented by the sun god, Veles, and the grotesque monster, Chuzbog. The ballet’s setting centered around the Scythians, a prehistoric nomadic tribe which, beginning around …

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George Crumb’s “Dream Sequence (Images II)”: A Spectral Soundscape

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The American composer George Crumb passed away yesterday at his home in Media, Pennsylvania. He was 92. Crumb was one of the twentieth century’s most innovative colorists. His exploration of timbre led to the use of numerous extended instrumental and vocal techniques, such as a strummed or prepared piano and electronic amplification. He experimented with alternative forms of notation and theatrical performance elements. Throughout his music, the influence of Mahler, Debussy, and Bartók …

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Sviatoslav Richter Plays Rachmaninov: Prelude in D Major, Op. 23, No. 4

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Sergei Rachmaninov’s Prelude in D Major, Op. 23, No. 4 (Andante cantabile) is a dreamy nocturne in triple meter. Its sensuous melody floats above continuous eighth note waves which rise and fall gently. Moving from intimacy to soaring passion, it takes us on a journey filled with revelatory harmonic turns. Rachmaninov’s Ten Preludes, Op. 23 were composed between 1901 and 1903. “How well he hears the silence,” observed the writer, Maxim Gorky, after …

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Rachmaninov’s “The Bells”: A Choral Symphony Inspired by Poe

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During a vacation in Rome in 1907, Sergei Rachmaninov received an anonymous letter which contained an intriguing text. It was Edgar Allan Poe’s 1849 poem, The Bells, freely translated and adapted by the Russian symbolist poet, Konstantin Balmont. Included was a note from the mysterious sender which suggested that the verses were ripe for a musical setting and that they were well-suited to the composer’s temperament. After Rachmaninov’s death, it was revealed that the …

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Berg’s “Altenberg Lieder”: Five Orchestral Songs on Postcard Texts

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The year 1913 was infamous for riotous musical premieres. The May 29, 1913 premiere of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring in Paris remains the most famous example. Yet, an equally scandalous event occurred two months earlier on March 31 at Vienna’s Musikverein. The program, conducted by Arnold Schoenberg, included Webern’s Six Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6, Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9, and two of Alban Berg’s Five Orchestral Songs after Postcards …

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Samuel Barber’s Nocturne, Op. 33: Aftertones of Chopin

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Samuel Barber gave his Nocturne, Op. 33 for solo piano the subtitle, “Homage to John Field.” Field (1782-1837) was the Irish pianist and composer who is credited with inventing the nocturne. Barber’s piece, written in 1959, is as much a dreamy reflection on the Romantic nocturne itself, with all of its atmospheric allusions to the poetry of the night. Perhaps it is the spirit of Frédéric Chopin, whose twenty-one nocturnes pushed the …

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Clara Andrada de la Calle Plays Ibert

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The twentieth century French composer, Jacques Ibert (1890-1962), did not adhere to a single stylistic “school.” Instead, famously he declared that “all systems are valid so long as one derives music from them.” Ibert’s Flute Concerto, written in 1932 for Marcel Moyse, is filled with sparkling, effervescent humor and a jazzy, midcentury Parisian elegance. Set in three movements (fast-slow-fast), it is a work of cheerful, frolicking Neoclassicism. The first movement (Allegro) begins with …

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