{"id":3546,"date":"2009-12-04T00:55:47","date_gmt":"2009-12-04T08:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/?p=3546"},"modified":"2009-12-04T00:55:47","modified_gmt":"2009-12-04T08:55:47","slug":"bartok-and-ives-a-tale-of-two-nationalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/04\/bartok-and-ives-a-tale-of-two-nationalists\/","title":{"rendered":"bart\u00f3k and ives: a tale of two nationalists"},"content":{"rendered":"

On this coming weekend’s performances there are two seminal works of two major composers who blazed a trail for their respective nation’s modern musical heritage: the composers are Charles Ives and B\u00e9la Bart\u00f3k, and the works are Ives’ Three Places in New England<\/em> and Bart\u00f3k’s Second Piano Concerto.\u00a0 To round out the theme (intended or not) of musical progenitors, the father of the symphony, Joseph “Papa” Haydn is represented by his First and 104th Symphonies.<\/p>\n

I’m not a big fan of Ives.\u00a0 I think that comes from the fact that I took a 20th century music history course from a professor who had produced a bio\/bibliography of Ives, and our unit on him was rather prolonged and intense.\u00a0 I think I liked Ives at the time, but later got turned off by his apparent tinkering with his early works later in his life in order to make them seem more radical.\u00a0 They hardly needed to be made more radical – they seem strikingly modern to this day, never mind 70 odd years ago.<\/p>\n

Copland has often been referred to as the Dean of American Composers, and if that’s true, then Ives is the Provost.\u00a0 He pioneered the use of folk and popular materials in American classical music, as well as using such novel techniques as tuning two pianos a quarter-tone apart, writing in several keys at once, and developing a distinctly Yankee-American sound world and point of view.\u00a0 While rehearsing the Three Places in New England (each movement represents a different location or activity in early 20th century New England: I. The Saint-Gaudens in Boston Common (Col.\u00a0Shaw and \t\t\t\this Colored Regiment), II. <\/em>Putnam’s Camp, Redding, Connecticut,<\/em> and III. From the Housatonic at Stockbridge), <\/em>I realized with a start how much a composer like John Adams owes to Ives.\u00a0 Adams, like Ives, incorporates non-classical elements into his compositions, specifically popular music of the present day.\u00a0 Adams also specializes in taking relatively simple rhythmic hooks and then jerking them off-kilter in mid-stream, resulting in some delightfully ear-tugging and toe-defying rhythms (delightful to hear, hard as hell to play!), just as Ives does, making a Yankee folk tune sound suddenly modern and hip by starting it on the wrong beat.\u00a0 It’s interesting, because as I listen to the Ives, I hear nearly everything that was to come in the rest of the 20th century foreshadowed (either directly or indirectly) in his compositional techniques.\u00a0 Ives could be thorny and cantankerous (both personally and in his music), but there is almost always an element of sardonic humor in the mix as well.\u00a0 It’s worth noting that this work was given its Oregon Symphony premiere in 1976 under Lawrence Leighton Smith, and this weekend’s performances are only the second in the history of the orchestra.<\/p>\n

Bart\u00f3k was intensely interested in the native folk music of what is now present-day Hungary and Romania.\u00a0 He traveled into the isolated enclaves of people who still sang the old songs, and painstakingly transcribed their music from the recordings he made on those journeys.\u00a0 In the process, he absorbed the rhythmic and harmonic shifts of the Hungarian folk world into his more formalistic early works, resulting in a musical style which is at once both rustic and urbane.\u00a0 His Second Piano Concerto is one of his crowning masterpieces.\u00a0 His command of both the technical intricacies of both the solo piano and the orchestra is complete, and his use of just a wind and brass ensemble in the first movement is an innovative choice.\u00a0 We have the incredible treat and honor of getting to collaborate with the great pianist Yefim Bronfman for this piece, a piece which he indisputably owns with his mastery of both color and the highest level of virtuosity.\u00a0 Even if you see Bart\u00f3k on the program and want to run screaming from the hall, I predict that you will find yourself enjoying this piece in the hands of a great pianist and a great orchestra.\u00a0 The Bart\u00f3k was last performed with the OSO in 1982 with pianist Joseph Kalichstein.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On this coming weekend’s performances there are two seminal works of two major composers who blazed a trail for their respective nation’s modern musical heritage: the composers are Charles Ives and B\u00e9la Bart\u00f3k, and the works are Ives’ Three Places in New England and Bart\u00f3k’s Second Piano Concerto.\u00a0 To round out the theme (intended or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1027,135,2],"tags":[2015,3668,53],"class_list":["post-3546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-piano-music","category-soloists-recitals","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-bartok-second-piano-concerto","tag-oregon-symphony","tag-piano"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-Vc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3553,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/04\/kicking-ass-and-taking-names\/","url_meta":{"origin":3546,"position":0},"title":"kicking ass and taking names","author":"Charles Noble","date":"December 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"If you don't have your ticket to see Yefim Bronfman play the Bart\u00f3k Second Piano Concerto this weekend (Sat, Sun, Mon), get it now - Fima is kicking some serious ass. He has one of the most clear and precise touches of any pianist, but couples it with a tremendous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "piano"","block_context":{"text":"piano","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/instruments\/piano-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6982,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/10\/12\/principal-cellist-ives-solos-with-portland-columbia-symphony\/","url_meta":{"origin":3546,"position":1},"title":"principal cellist ives solos with Portland Columbia Symphony","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon Symphony principal cellist Nancy Ives will be playing Elgar's Cello Concerto with the Portland Columbia Symphony under the direction of Huw Edwards. The Elgar is probably my favorite of the many great concertos for the cello. I regret that it's always immediately identified with the late Jacqueline du Pre.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "soloists & recitals"","block_context":{"text":"soloists & recitals","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/soloists-recitals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/10135092-large.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14135,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2016\/06\/19\/its-the-people-stupid\/","url_meta":{"origin":3546,"position":2},"title":"it’s the people, stupid","author":"Charles Noble","date":"June 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This past week I've been rehearsing and performing at the Portland Piano International Festival as part of the Festival String Quartet. The quartet is quite a collection of people to play with! Violinists Alex Kerr, concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony and professor of violin at Indiana University, Sarah Kwak, concertmaster\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/1464811465411.jpeg?fit=750%2C238&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/1464811465411.jpeg?fit=750%2C238&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/1464811465411.jpeg?fit=750%2C238&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/1464811465411.jpeg?fit=750%2C238&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3290,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/10\/24\/nancy-ives-plays-dvorak\/","url_meta":{"origin":3546,"position":3},"title":"nancy ives plays dvorak","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Nancy Ives\/Photo \u00a9 Charles Noble I had the pleasure of venturing North into the wilds of Vancouver, Washington to hear Nancy Ives, principal cellist of the Oregon Symphony, perform the great Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Vancouver Symphony under the direction of Salvator Brotons.\u00a0 I don't really want to write\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "cello"","block_context":{"text":"cello","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/instruments\/cello\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CRW_1653","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/3811818687_ef01fecabb_o-200x290.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1706,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/01\/14\/this-weeks-concert\/","url_meta":{"origin":3546,"position":4},"title":"this week’s concert","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"This week we're doing an immensely interesting classical series set that features four excellent pieces that I'll bet you've never heard before.\u00c2\u00a0 I certainly hadn't played any of them before, and that's becoming increasingly rare as I traverse my 13th season in the OSO. Here's the lineup: Classical Bass January\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"cives.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/b-maerzmusik1-400x548.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14140,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2016\/06\/20\/the-learning-continues\/","url_meta":{"origin":3546,"position":5},"title":"the learning continues","author":"Charles Noble","date":"June 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"After this past week's rehearsing and performing at the Portland Piano International Festival, I learned, or re-learned several things. First, I learned what the Dutch expression \"mierenneuken\" means (nit-picking is the least offensive way I can explain it) from former Concertgebouw Orchestra concertmaster Alex Kerr. (It came up in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo: Portland Piano International","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/13490732_10154297682423383_6484095375776235960_o-500x333.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}