February 10 and 12
Bad Things Happen (to Tiny Toy Wind-ups) by Randall Davidson (b. 1953)
Bad Things Happen (to tiny toy wind-ups) is the musical equivalent of a graphic novel. There are no words and instead of pictures, sounds describe the action. You, the reader-listener, must interpret the signs and symbols and construct the story based on what you see-hear. The title will start you looking for what bad things are happening, but don’t be too quick to identify the “bad” person. Good stories always have at least one surprise. And like all good stories, you can find a bit of wisdom to take home with you. This story is a comedy, a tragedy and a melodrama. Randall Davidson
Concerto No. 1 in a minor by Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Camille Saint-Saens was one of Frances most important romantic composers and performers. His prolific output included symphonies, the opera Samson and Delilah, The Carnival of the Animals, chamber music, and ten concerti, five of which were for piano, and two for cello. The a minor concerto heard on this set of performances was composed in 1872, and even though an early work, it helped to cement Saint-Saens’ public reputation as an important composer. This concerto was composed for and dedicated to the Belgian cellist, August Tolbecque, who taught at the Paris conservatory.
In many ways this concerto is similar to Mendelssohn’s e minor violin concerto. It was created as a one movement, non-stop work, with three distinct sections, that in a normal setting would be considered the three typical movements of a regular concerto. It also breaks away from other standard practices, and again mimics Mendelssohn by having the soloist begin after a very brief (in this case, two beat) introduction, The harmonic construction is conservative, which allows the concerto’s charm to be defined by the solo line and its interaction with and between the orchestra, the latter having several prominent sections. jf
Two Minuets and Crisaantemi by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Giacomo Puccini was one of Italy’s greatest romantic composers. Known of course for Madama Butterfly, Tosca, La Boheme, and several other great operas, his chamber music and orchestral outputs were very limited, and are not well known. For string quartet, there were only a few fugues, three minuets, one quartet, a few miscellaneous works and the Crisantemi. Of these, only the Crisantemi receives much public performance today, and it is now generally played by string orchestra. Puccini claimed that he wrote the Crisantemi (which means “chrysanthemums”) in one night as an elegy for the recently deceased Duke of Savoy. Although not one of his famous works, he thought enough of its material to use two of its melodies in the last act of his opera, Manon Lescaut.
Of the two minuets accompanying the Crisantemi on this set of performances, they are charming pieces in their own right, but clearly overshadowed by the composer’s works for the stage. That being said, they make a nice compliment to the Crisantemi, and bring to light a little known aspect of Puccini’s compositions. jf
Suite from the Comedians by Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987)
Dmitri Kabalevsky was one of Russia’s most prominent composers of the 20th century. More conservative than his contemporaries of Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich, he none-the-less turned out several very popular works, many of which remain in today’s repertoire. Film music, patriotic songs created during World War II, several concertos and the suite from The Comedians, heard on this set of performances fall into this category. The Comedians is a short ten-movement suite of music that was originally composed for the children’s play, Inventor and Comedian, a theater piece about a group of traveling entertainers. The movements are all short and unrelated to one another, and there is a great deal of variety between them.
Dmitri Kabalevsky was also a respected teacher, and was very interested in the development of children’s music education. To this end, he composed many works for children, and created a music education system that was supported by the Soviet government, and influenced children for decades. There was some controversy about the system, as it was a bit of a “one size fits all” approach, and has been accused of stifling children’s creativity.
His political standing and maneuvering are of interest, because they not only influenced his career, but also those of his famous counterparts. In 1946 he was included in a list of “anti-Soviet” composers – composers who were too adventuresome, and did not follow a “Soviet” path of creativity. Two years later he repented, and in 1952 was named the Secretary of the Soviet Composers – a position he held for thirty-five years. In 1956 he became chairman of the committee that had control over music that was banned in Russia. He kept Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsens on the list, even after it already had 140 successful performances. The reason he gave was that the music dealt with murder and infidelity – activities that went against the moral code of the Soviet society. Because of this and other hypocrisies, Kabalevsky was and still is often looked down upon by contemporary Russian musicians. However, his standing in the Soviet government circles was always good, and during his lifetime, he was awarded the Stalin Prize two times and the Order of Lenin for distinguished service to the Russian people, and he was also made the People’s Artist of the USSR. jf
