Gershwin, Hancock, Dudamel: Rhapsody in blue

Before the crisis of 1929, all Americans were happy. The First World War had resulted in the transformation of the US into an influential military, industrial and financial power and the American dream was presented as an alternative to decrepit Europe, in all areas. In that of culture, the nascent art of 24 frames-per-second and a novel music called jazz – practised by people of color, usually black –, were attracting people's attention, of any color.

In this relaxed atmosphere, it was considered appropriate and quite fair to integrate these new rhythms into symphonic music, also cultivated by people of color, in this case, white. This is how it emerges a short, light and melodious piece called Rhapsody in blue, for solo piano and jazz band, by the composer George Gershwin, and released in February 1924.

There are at least four different versions of the work. The original, for jazz orchestra; a reduction for solo piano; a transcription for two pianos; finally, the one that is heard most frequently in the concert halls and that here we host, in full version, adding to it a humble listening guide:

The clarinet initiates the piece with a trill that is followed by a long glissando (a note that goes up, or goes down, continuously, like sliding your fingers through the bow of a violin, which in the clarinet is, clearly , much more difficult, because it works by covering and uncovering dimples), glissando, we said, which leads to the exposition of the first theme, which is repeated three times, accompanied by the orchestra, until the piano enters, responsible for providing the variations, occasion for the soloist to show off, mischief included.

The second theme, more festive, is taken on by the orchestra and then by the piano, which will soon perform a fairly extensive reexposure of the two themes to finally introduce the third and final, the best known and closest to the blues of the entire composition, in the 13:42 minute. Then the orchestra re-exposes it with greater vigor, then the piano comes up, and together, they promptly quote all the themes before the coda, which will quickly lead to a resounding finale, in a tutti, or what is the same, when nobody is left without playing.

The soloist, this time, is the prominent musician, jazz legend and pianist Herbie Hancock, author of dozens of highly celebrated albums and composer of the soundtrack of a good number of films. His performance here is quite a wise move.

The conductor is the young Venezuelan musician Gustavo Dudamel, leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, as his principal conductor. Dudamel is a brilliant musician born in Lara state, Venezuela, 41 years ago, captured by music thanks to the commendable task of the Foundation for Youth Orchestras of that country, a multi-voice invention led by maestro José Antonio Abreu, over forty years ago.
In 2004, Dudamel won first prize in the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition, which takes place in Germany, every three years. Since that date, he has conducted countless first-world orchestras, including the Gothenburg Symphony, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, to name a handful of prominent orchestral groups that have been in his charge.

Luigi Boccherini, Minuetto

The enlightened despot Carlos III of Bourbon was king of Spain from 1759 until his death, in 1788. During his term, he reformulated the laws, created the National Lottery, made important changes in the layout of the big cities, and expelled the Jesuits.
Unfortunately, and in spite of how enlightened he was – his reign reveals an important resurgence of culture – the king was deaf. Because of this, the celebration of musical shows in court was scarce, being permitted by the monarch only in case of ceremonies of great solemnity, which he would attend, stoic, juggling so as not to fall asleep.

Boccherini, the cellist
Thus, it is surprising that the ambassador of Spain in Paris has convinced Italian cellist Luigi Boccherini to move to Madrid, where he was expected by, according to the intrepid ambassador, major successes and possibilities. Luigi, 24, originally from the Italian city of Lucca, after passing through Rome and Milan was by then installed in the French capital, enjoying some fame, mainly as an interpreter, along with his partner, the violinist Filippo Manfredi.

Shortly after arriving both in Madrid, in 1767, Filippo secured a position in the private orchestra of Infante Luis de Borbon, brother of the deaf and who, unlike him, used to cultivate some interest in music. Luigi didn't share the same luck and had to settle for occasional concerts that reported very little money. Fortunately, Filippo moved his influences and in November 1770 Luigi was accepted as a chamber cellist and composer of the infant's house. The salary was good and allowed Luigi to continue his activity as a chamber music composer, free from material concerns, even when the compositions became the property of Infante Luis as soon as they came from Boccherini's creative imagination.

Luigi Boccherini (1743 - 1805)

Boccherini, to "exile"
But, since everything doesn't last forever, six years later, in 1776, the Infante Luis, almost 50 years old, found love where he should not. He fell in love with a commoner and got married after the king authorized the morganatic marriage. Fuck! And what is that? the Infante asked. My consent for you to get married to a non-royal person, replied the king.

This is how the Infante was separated from the court and sent, with his wife, to reside in Arenas de San Pedro, a small town one hundred and sixty kilometers from Madrid. Nevertheless, he did not abandon his musicians. Luigi and his friend Filippo left with him, then actively engaging in the musical evenings of the Infante and his wife, in exile. Luigi was able to continue composing, but in complete isolation from Madrid's musical circles, although the infant allowed him to send some compositions to be published in the rest of Europe. Upon the death of his protector, Boccherini was helpless again but Carlos III, the deaf one, came to his aid by granting him a pension as a sign of the affection he had had for his wayward brother.

Quintet for strings in E major - Minueto
Luigi Boccherini wrote neither more nor less than 124 quintets for string, in which –as was obvious being him a cellist–, he folded the cello instead of the viola, that is, they are pieces for two violins, viola and two cellos. The Quintet for strings in E major, opus 11, published in Paris in 1775, is one of the most applauded because it includes the minuet that still holds Boccherini on stage, the popularly known "Boccherini minuet".

Mariss Jansons conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Brahms, an Intermezzo for Clara

Johannes Brahms was twenty years old when he met the Schumann's, visiting their home in Düsseldorf. Robert Schumann and his wife Clara welcome him with the affection they used to, they listened to his music and encouraged him to continue composing. Robert, who at that time was running a music magazine, praised Brahms by writing: "Here is a chosen one" in an October article of that year 1853, a very fortunate fact since the sense of reality was sadly about to abandon the composer Robert Schumann. In March of the following year, he was admitted to a mental hospital, from which he will not leave until his death, two years later.

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)

So the tradition which states that from that meeting Brahms began a long friendship with the Schumann's must be downplayed. If there was an extended friendship, it was with Clara Schumann, whom Brahms continued to see, support and to protect for many years.
Regarding Robert, the affection was not less great, but their encounters took place in the mental asylum, during Robert's few moments of lucidity. Later, Brahms would tell Clara in detail about these meetings since she could not see her husband because the doctors advised against her visit.

Clara Schumann (1819 - 1896)

Clara Schumann, a remarkable pianist, owner of a virtuosity in parallel to that of Liszt or Thalberg, and who, like them, was permanently on tour throughout Europe, was fourteen years older than Brahms. From 1854, the year of Robert's confinement, the young Brahms began to spend long time periods at Clara's house and, despite the age difference, they forged a relationship that until today is unknown if it went beyond friendship, an attachment that will last until Clara's death, a year before that of the enraptured Johannes.

In his last years, Brahms exacerbated his bad behaviour in front of women, whom, at least publicly, he pretended to look over his shoulder. But that was Brahms, the man. Brahms the artist was still the sensitive, tender and delicate boy that Clara met, in whose company, exclusively, the man and the musician could emerge simultaneously.

This is shown in the Six Pieces for Piano – four intermezzi, a ballad and a romanza –, composed in the final stage of his life, in 1892, and dedicated to Clara Schumann –as well a good part of his work. With a successful career accomplished as a pianist and composer, this is a period in which Brahms is offered to us in pieces of an intimate character, pieces for which "one listener is already too much", in his own words.

The Intermezzo No 2 oozes this look backwards, towards himself, in a simple piece without external displays of piano technique. Perhaps he only needed to recall the words he wrote to Clara, in a letter dated almost twenty years earlier, on March 19, 1874:

"Let my deep love comfort you, because I love you more than myself, more than anyone or anything in the world."

The rendition is by the Russian pianist Nikolai Luganski.

 

Händel: Sarabande, from Suite No 2

The family of the German composer Georg Friederich Händel had no musical tradition. Moreover, his father made a living as a hairdresser and barber, a job he skillfully combined with the practice of surgery, when, according to the customs of the age, his science was required.
However, this did not prevent the barber-surgeon from observing early the expressions of talent of his son, who, at age 17, became the organist of Halle, his hometown, after the organist Zachow passed him on everything he knew in the only lessons the composer attended in his entire life.

Händel, an entrepreneur
Against the usual practice of the age, George Friederich Händel was not a musician financially depending on a prince or a high ecclesiastical hierarchy. On the contrary, throughout his existence, he retained complete control over his artistic work by organizing his own musical activities. He was an enterprising person of the eighteenth century, a music entrepreneur, although he never refused the support – with allowances that sometimes had to be negotiated – of the monarchs he frequented.

George Friederich Händel (1685 - 1759)

After making a name for himself in Rome, Naples and Hannover, he traveled to England, where he settled, taking part in three musical societies, either as a musical director, or shareholder, or openly as the sole partner and manager, devoted to the composition and representation of operas and oratories, standing out Messiah, his masterpiece, among the latter.
He achieved success and experienced failures, more of the last than of the first, and yet, he forged a life of fruitful good passing, to the point that Bach tried to meet him, several times, to be told how he did it.

George Friederich never married, although he had the opportunity to do so when he was eighteen. The old Buxtehude left his position as organist in Hamburg and decided that his successor should also take care of his daughter, already quite old, by marrying her. Haendel declined the offer.
He lived his last years almost blind, like Bach. Both were treated by English medical eminences. Apparently, it would be a little while before barbers-surgeons began to dominate the eye chapter.

Suite in D minor – Sarabande
The harpsichord, was a privileged instrument in Haendel's time, along with other related instruments, such as the virginal or the clavichord. It was considered the most suitable for teaching, due to its technical possibilities and because, as a solo instrument, it did not require anyone else for its practice. Haendel, attentive to the needs of this embryonic market, wrote many pieces for the study of the harpsichord, which were published in two editions entitled as "Suites". The piece we hear, in an orchestral version, belongs to the Suite in D minor, its fourth movement, Sarabande, used prominently by Stanley Kubrik in his film "Barry Lyndon". The video is built with images taken from the movie.

Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No 1

The first version of Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra by Piotr Ilich Tchaikovski dates from 1874. At that point in his life, 34 years, and despite his nervous breakdowns, Piotr had already established himself as a composer. So he didn't like the comments he received from keyboard virtuoso Nikolai Rubinstein when he played his first piano concerto before him. Nikolai was his friend, he was the one who had accompanied the provincial Piotr Ilich in his early years in Moscow, showing him the city and opening to him, later, many non-easy doors to cross.

It was Christmas of 1874, and Piotr and Nikolai had been invited to welcome the Russian Santa in the house of a common friend. Nikolai asked Piotr to take his new score so that, on his way to the friend's house, they would go to the Conservatory to examine the just-ended concerto. Piotr agreed with pleasure because he wanted to hear the opinion of a virtuoso, and learn his technical thinking about the many arduous passages the concerto had at that time, and still has. (Interestingly enough, Tchaikovsky was not a piano virtuoso).

When he finished playing the initial movement, Nikolai remained mute, without saying a word. Piotr was not daunted and continued with the other movements.
–Well...? –He asked at the end of the full concerto.
Nikolai spared no irreverence. He said that the concerto was worthless, that it was unenforceable, that the themes were unfortunate, in short, he treated Piotr as an inexperienced and incapable beginner. This, at least, was what Piotr Ilich understood. Three years later Tchaikovsky shared what happened with his patroness, Nadezhda von Meck:

"I was not only astounded but outraged by the whole scene. I am no longer a boy trying his hand at composition, and I no longer need lessons from anyone, especially when they are delivered so harshly and unfriendlily."

But all this was not easy for Nikolai. Piotr had planned to dedicate the concerto to this virtuoso of his time but, having cooled the relations as a result of the rude incident, he finally dedicated it to the pianist and director Hans von Büllow, a great admirer of the Russian composer, and who premiered the concerto with him as a soloist in Boston, USA, in 1875, and then conducted it everywhere to great success. Nevertheless, Nikolai's suggestions didn't fall on deaf ears because fifteen years later Tchaikovski redrafted completely the piano part, making the concerto, since then, a favorite piece of piano virtuosos, Nikolai Rubinstein included.

Movements:
I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso - Allegro con spirito
The movement, unusually long (20 min), is opened by the entire orchestra, then enters the main theme carried by the strings accompanied by the magnificent piano chords that have made the entire concerto famous. The movement, a kind of duel between the piano and the orchestra, presents a number of major challenges for the soloist.
II. Andantino semplice - Prestissimo (20:45)
It begins with a theme of great delicacy that first exposes the flute being picked up later by the piano. A central part – prestissimo – serves as a contrast for its lightness and its three-four time.
III. Allegro con fuoco (27:19)
It is built on themes based on Russian dances or folk rhythms. The first theme, rhythmically, shows a strong Russian character. In the final coda, the first theme is heard again, to lead to a thunderous and enormously vigorous ending, which requires the pianist to perform the famous "octave passage" that only some virtuosos manage to address successfully. Anna Fedorova is one of them.

The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie led by Yves Abel.