Suite bergamasque                                                        Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel are considered to be the two dominant pillars of French music during the early part of the twentieth century.  Their music is now called Impressionism, andcorresponded to the movement in painting which bears the same name. Like the French painters Monet, Renoir and Degas, these composers wanted to convey moods and impressions, rather than exacting and straightforward renderings.  Their music is often very sensuous, and must be performed emphasizing the many colors inherent in the writing.  In Debussy’s case, he constantly repeated little phrases, so as to blur the over all forms of the compositions, and to make the listener concentrate more on the individual phrases, than on the composition’s overall structure. Most of Claude Debussy’s output was for the piano. The Suite bergamasque is a set of four piano pieces, originally composed in 1890 and then later revised in 1905.  The title may refer to something old, which makes sense given that two of the movements are set in the dance forms of the 17th and 18th centuries, and in the case of the menuet, it at least take the name of one of those historic forms. The third movement, Claire de lune, is the exception, and does not take its cue from tradition. In its first version, it was called Promenade Sentimentale, and not until the revision of 1905 did it take on its now familiar title, and association with the moon. This piece often is played alone, and is arguably Debussy’s most famous and popular work. It has been transcribed for almost every conceivable instrumental combination. Although overshadowed, the other movements of this suite are excellent examples of Debussy’s writing and style, and when performed as a whole, they offer a very satisfying foray into his creative world. Debussy created few works for orchestra. They all were very successful and continue to be performed regularly in today’s concert repertoire, but their lack of numbers has been frustrating to the concert music stage.  Because of this imbalance, many of the piano works have been transcribed for orchestra, or other instrumental combinations. Although the Suite bergamasque has been arranged for larger orchestra, I took the liberty of creating a new arrangement for the Sinfonia, which of course is a small (chamber) orchestra. jf

Suite in e mnor, opus 20                                                  Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Edward Elgar, who is generally regarded as England’s most prominent romantic composer, is best known for only a handful of orchestral works. The Enigma Variations, The Cello Concerto and The Pomp and Circumstance Marches are undoubtedly the most popular and recognizable from his output.

At the onset of his career, aside from violin lessons from a local teacher, he was largely self taught. He had ambitions to study in Leipzig, but because of family financial limitations, those dreams went unfulfilled.  Consequently, his early works were not particularly well crafted, and even though they were performed in his native Worcester and surrounding communities, they have been generally dismissed as being undistinguished.  In those early years, he made his living by teaching, playing organ in the local churches and violin in the area orchestras, one of which was conducted by Antonin Dvorak.

As Elgar developed his compositional skills, and even after he became famous (largely because of The Enigma Variations), his music seemed to be out of touch with English critics. A quote from E.J. Dent on modern English music stated,

For English ears, Elgar’s music is too emotional and not quite free of vulgarity.

Even though a number of well-known composers and critics (including George Bernard Shaw) came to his defense, and the British Broadcasting Corporation continued to play his music on the radio, Elgar’s popularity in the concert hall diminished.

Violin Concert No. 1 in D Major, opus 6                        Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840)

Italian master violinist, Nicolo Paganini was considered to be the greatest violinist of his day, and his reputation is such, that many consider him to be the best of all time. One of his contemporaries, and the great poet Goethe said of Paganini,

I lack a base for this column of sunbeams and cloud… I heard something simply meteoric and was unable to understand it. 

During his London debut, the critic for the London Times wrote;

You may not believe half of what I am telling you, and I am not telling you half of what there is to be told

Nicolo started violin lessons before age six with his father, and later received training from the best violinists in Genoa. By the time he was thirteen and went to Parma for further study, the teachers claimed that they could not teach him anything that he did not already know. So he started an intense self- education program, often practicing up to fifteen hours a day!  According to research explained in Philip Sandblom’s book, Creativity and Disease, Paganini had Ehlers-Dalos syndrome, which manifested itself in great flexibility in his joints. This allowed him to double his reach on the violin as compared to normal and mere mortal violinists, and he was therefore able to develop a technical prowess that was so amazing, that it was rumored he must have made a pact with the devil.

Like so many contemporary and past virtuoso performers, he composed solo works for his own performances. History is full of great instrumentalists and composers who did the same – Mozart and Beethoven to name but a few.  But none had the technical where-with-all as Paganini and in fact much of the music that he wrote was so difficult that it was unplayable by any of his contemporaries. His performances of these works were so stunning that they brought him great fame and fortune.

After listening to some of his creations, one might guess that he played with a flair and abandonment  (how could he not?), and that this same attitude might carry over to his personal life  - which it did! He was a reckless gambler, and on one occasion, he had to pawn his violin to cover gambling debts. He then had to borrow a violin from a French merchant so that he could make one of his performances. That violin was a Guarnerius – one of the greatest violins ever made, and the concert was such a success, that the Frenchman gave the violin to the performer. Paganini played this instrument for the rest of his life, and upon his death, bequeathed it to the citizens of Genoa, where it remains to this day.