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THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
AT EL PASO
Presents
ADRIAN
SANCHEZ
IN A SENIOR PIANO
RECITAL
May 9, 2007
Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall
7:30 p.m.
Program
French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Anglaise
Minuet
Gigue
Sonata in F Major Op. 10,
Allegro
Allegretto
Presto
J. S. Bach
(1685-1750)
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
Intermission
Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 25, No.7
Intermezzo
Arrulladora Mexicana
Mephisto Waltz
Frederic Chopin
(1810-1849)
Manuel M. Ponce
(1882-1948)
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
This recital is held in partial requirement for
the Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance degree
PROGRAM NOTES
German Baroque composer J.S. Bach was born in 1685. He is one of
the most prolific composers in the history of music, writing for
virtually every instrument and ensemble known in his lifetime.
Besides his well–known cantatas and concertos, Bach offered great
contributions to keyboard music. Some of his best-known keyboard
works include the Well Tempered Clavier (containing sets of
preludes and fugues), the Goldberg Variations, the partitas and the
suites, among others. A suite is a work consisting of six movements,
each one being a different dance. These dances vary in character,
texture, and harmonic structure. Most of the suites have an opening
movement, like a prelude or fantasia, but none of the six French
Suites have such movements. Each movement of a suite is divided
into two sections. Each section is played twice, and it is traditional to
Baroque performance practice that the second time, the performer
adds ornaments of his or her own to the piece. The French Suite in B
minor was composed in 1722, and it is full of different emotions;
from the fast, energetic character of the Courante, the sad and slow
expressiveness of the Sarabande, and the dance–like joy of the Gigue.
Ludwig van Beethoven was born Germany in 1770. During his
lifetime Beethoven wrote several works for piano, being the most
important of them his 32 sonatas. Several historians have called
Beethoven's 32 sonatas the “crown jewel” of piano literature. It is
well known that Beethoven wrote passionate, beautiful music. In his
piano sonatas, Beethoven poured out his most inner feelings, his
desperation while becoming deaf and the love he had for music. The
Sonata in F Major was composed from 1796-1798. In the first
movement, Beethoven wrote joyful music. Its texture is varied,
suggesting that Beethoven used a more orchestral approach to the
piano. The Allegretto opens with a longing, sad ascending scale that
flourishes into beautiful chords. The first section is dark, full of a
feeling of agony and being lost. The middle section of the work
opens into a beautiful progression of chords. This section is very
romantic and a feeling of hope can be sensed. Then the movement
goes back to the dark feeling of the beginning. The last movement
Presto is an exiting fugue. The opening theme keeps coming back
throughout the movement in different textures and ranges. This is
one of Beethoven's early sonatas, but it contains glimpses of what his
later works would be.
If there is a composer so peculiar in style that he couldn’t be mistaken
for any other, that would be Frederic Chopin. This Polish composer
was born in 1810, and he wrote almost exclusively for the piano. His
music constitutes the “golden era” for piano music. His style is
exuberantly romantic. No other composer wrote piano music like he
did. Chopin declared once, “The piano is my second self.” He wrote
in several forms for the piano; short character pieces (as the waltzes),
nocturnes and preludes, and big scale works, like the Ballades and
the scherzos. But there are some works that Chopin wrote—works
that are of great transcendence—that changed the technique of piano
playing. These works are the etudes. Before Chopin, most etudes for
piano were small, quite boring pieces, focused only on the technical
aspects of playing. In his etudes, Chopin wrote dramatic music, full
of passion and expressiveness. Each one of the 24 etudes deals with
different aspects of piano technique. The etude in C# minor, Op. 25,
No.7 belongs to the second set of 12 etudes. This etude has been
nicknamed the “cello” etude, since the melody is played by the left
hand in the lower register of the piano. Besides the virtuosic scales in
the left hand that this work presents, there is another aspect that has
to be mastered to play this etude successfully: the ability of the
performer to control different layers of melody in both hands. This is
one of the few slow etudes that Chopin wrote, and there is a feeling
of sorrow throughout the piece, ending in a dark, sinking series of
chords.
Manuel M. Ponce is considered the first nationalistic composer of
Mexico, and one of the greatest of this country. He was born in
Zacatecas, Mexico in 1882. Ponce studied music in Mexico, as well as
Italy and France. Ponce researched diligently and rescued a lot of
Mexican folkloric music, which had been forgotten by the composers
of Mexico. Incorporating this ethnological study into his own
compositional style, Ponce used several Mexican folk tunes in his art
music. When asked why he composed using these elements, and why
he sometimes used simple chord progressions in his writing,
Ponce expressed, “Mexican folk music is melancholic and
passionate, capturing the pain, love and humility of the people
who created it.” These characteristics can be heard in both the
Intermezzo and the Arrulladora Mexicana. The first work on
tonight’s program is a short, romantic piece—maybe the most
famous piano piece by Ponce. Its melody, in thirds, is lyrical,
nostalgic and passionate. The second piece, the Arrulladora, is
what in Mexico is called a “Cancion Ranchera,” or countryside
song. Not as nearly as famous as the Intermezzo but as
beautiful, it is full of Mexican folk tunes. Arrulladora literally
means lullaby. There is something about this piece that makes it
sound very, very Mexican. Maybe it is the melody in thirds, the
“Ranchera” rhythm that pervades throughout, or the simple
tonic-subdominant-dominant chord progression that underlies
its basic, harmonic structure. Whatever it is, this piece, as
Mexicans would say: “tastes like Mexico.”
Franz Liszt was born in Hungary in 1811. Besides being one of
the greatest composers of his time, he was one of the best, if not
the best pianist alive. The fact that Liszt gave the most virtuosic
piano performances is well known to the musical world. Liszt,
among other composers like Berlioz, was known for composing
what was known to his time as “music of the future.” Although
Liszt’s music is romantic in inspiration, he started using more
exotic elements in his compositions. Strange modulations,
highly chromatic melodies and harmonies and extremely
virtuosic passages are commonly found in Liszt’s music. As a
result of his active solo performance days, solo piano literature
has become highly favored because of Liszt’s compositions. He
composed in several forms for the piano, including concertos,
etudes, transcriptions and character pieces, among others. One
of his most famous compositions is the Mephisto Waltz No. 1.
This piece depicts the story of Faust, a man who sold his soul to
the devil (Mephisto). Faust’s love theme can be heard, as well
as Mephisto’s sardonic laughter and sarcasm. Liszt successfully
manages to tell the story in his music. Passages representing
Faust and Mephisto can be easily differentiated. This work, as
many of Liszt’s others, is virtuosic and epic in scope. It calls for
high technical training, as well as the capability of
understanding the whole work from the performer. This piece is
one of Liszt's most successful pieces in the concert halls.
UTEP MUSIC DEPARTMENT
Friends of the Department
The Huthsteiner Fine Arts Trust
Endowed Faculty
The Abraham Chavez, Jr. Professorship in Music
Endowed Scholarship
Laura Beard and Sarah Reiser Memorial Endowed Scholarship
William K. Hill Endowed Scholarship for Music
Hannah Atkin Spitz Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Reverend Dr. Charles C.G. Manker Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Martha M. McDonald/Rainbo Banking Scholarship Fund
Phoebe and Ruben Mutnick Scholarship Fund
Roderick Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund
John and Vida White Endowment Fund
Endowment
Ruby V. Burns Endowed Fund for Music
Julie Dittmer Hart Endowed Fund for Music
Michael Salzman Endowment for Piano Performance
Schillinger Rho Sigma Tau Endowed Music Gift Fund
Patricia Hewitt Silence Memorial Trust
Scholarships
Marian Meaker Apteckar Fund for Piano Studies
Ballet Scholarship Fund
Dodson Scholarship Fund for Music
Hervey Foundation Award
Lanward Scholarship for Music
Music Department Scholarship Fund
Marguerite Loya Pearson Scholarship Fund for the Arts
Dorrance D. Roderick Music Scholarship Fund
The Presser Foundation Scholarship Award
The Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award
John Herbert Shanblum Scholarship for Fine Arts
The Marlene and J.O. Stewart, Jr. Foundation Scholarship