Spring Piano Recital Program

Presented by
Brianne Lundberg’s Music Studio

May 26, 2017

 Spring Piano Recital Program
Presented by Brianne Lundberg’s Music Studio
May 26, 2017

Scarlett Aceves Turkish March from “The Ruins of Athens”

by Ludwig van Beethoven
Hayden Butcher Finale from “Carnival of the Animals”
by Camille Saint-Saëns
Ruth Willis Ode to Joy (Ninth Symphony)
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Bristol Nemrow Largo from New World Symphony
by Antonín Dvořák
Calvin Willis Rondalla Aragonesa
by Enrique Granados
Charles Willis Egyptian Dance from “Samson and Delilah”
by Camille Saint-Saëns
Arianna Kopp Wooden Shoe Dance from “Hansel and Gretel”
by Engelbert Humperdinck
John Kirkpatrick Marche Militaire
by Franz Schubert
Genevieve Kopp Minuet in G Major
by Johann Sebastian Bach
Adam Kirkpatrick Polovetsian Dance
by Aleksandr Borodin
Marlene Murillo Habanera from “Carmen”
by Georges Bizet
Rowan Tucker The Blue Danube Waltz
by Johann Strauss II
Bruce Piquet March of the Toreadors from “Carmen”
by Georges Bizet
Joseph Tran Für Elise
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Jason Wen Tales from the Vienna Woods Waltz
by Johann Strauss II
Isabella Piquet Rondo Alla Turca (“Turkish March”)
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Maxwell Ulicny Hungarian Dance No. 5
by Johannes Brahms
Leo Wen Invention No. 1 in C Major
by Johann Sebastian Bach
Elias Tucker WTC Prelude No. 1 in C Major
by Johann Sebastian Bach
Amanda Waite Sonatina in C Major
by Muzio Clementi
Owen Gunnell Sonata in C Major: Allegro
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

~ Refreshments will be served after the program. ~

 Composer Notes
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): German composer of the
Baroque era. He was a master of counterpoint with a profound
understanding of harmonic progression. There are over 1000 known
compositions by Bach. His influence on the music world is widespread;
he has even inspired metal band Skid Row lead singer “Sebastian Bach”
and the indie rock band Muse.
Key works: Well-Tempered Clavier (48 Preludes and Fugues), Goldberg
Variations, the Brandenburg Concertos, Mass in B Minor, two Passions.
Fun fact: When Bach quit one composing job to accept another, his
former employer was angry because he didn’t want him to leave. So he
threw Bach in prison for a month.
“All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the
instrument plays itself.”
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): German composer of the
Classical era. A self-proclaimed “poet in sound,” he emphasized
personal expression and emotion over traditional form. He elevated the
scope and form of the symphony. Gradual hearing loss lead to
depression and isolation, but he wrote some of his most inspiring music
while completely deaf. A popular story is that when going deaf, he
removed the legs of his piano and pressed his ear to the floor to hear
the sound vibrations.
Key works: Für Elise, Piano Sonata in F minor “Appassionata,”
Symphony No. 3 “Eroica,” Symphony No. 9 “Choral – Ode to Joy,”
Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral,” Moonlight Piano Sonata, Violin Concerto
Op. 61.
Fun fact: Beethoven wrote his iconic Ninth symphony (“Ode to Joy”)
when he was deaf.
“Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from
the eyes of woman.”
Georges Bizet (1838-1875): French composer of Romantic opera.
Bizet could read music at age 4 and play piano at age 6. His opera
Carmen is one of the most popular operas of all time. Filled with lifelike
drama and impassioned music, it is about a passionate Spanish gypsy,
bullfighters, smugglers, and a battle over love.
Key works: opera Les Pêcheurs de Perles, opera Carmen, Jeux D’Enfants
Suite Op. 22 Duo.
Fun fact: Young Bizet was so talented that he was admitted to the Paris
Conservatory at age 9 (before their minimum age).
“Ah, music! What a beautiful art! But what a wretched profession!”
Aleksandr Borodin (1833-1887): Russian nationalist composer. He
belonged to a group known as “the five” or “the mighty handful,”
intent on creating a distinctly Russian classical music style. Influenced
by Romantic style, choral, and chamber music, he filled his
compositions with orchestral color, exotic motifs, unusual harmonies,
and old Russian flavor.
Key works: opera Prince Igor (Polovetsian dances), In the Steppes of
Central Asia.
Fun fact: Borodin only wrote music on the side. He was first and
foremost a chemist, doctor, professor, and an active advocate of
women’s rights.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): German composer of the Romantic

era with an “old-fashioned” Classical style. Brahms innovated the
“developing variation,” a musical theme that was constantly reworked.
This paved the way for future music writing, in which all parts of a
song arise from the same theme. He was a close friend of Clara
Schumann (renowned pianist) and felt the heavy weight of composing
under Beethoven’s shadow.
Key Works: A German Requiem, Variations on themes by various
composers, Op. 49 No. 4 Lullaby (“Cradle Song”), Clarinet Quintet,
Hungarian Dances.
Fun fact: As a teen, Brahms contributed to his poor family’s income by
performing piano tricks in bars.
“It is not hard to compose, but it is wonderfully hard to let the
superfluous notes fall under the table.”
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832): Italian/English composer of the
Classical era, one of the first piano virtuosos and a child prodigy. He
initiated the 3-movement Sonata and was a successful performer,
teacher, music director, publisher, and piano manufacturer. His
epitaph reads, “The Father of the Pianoforte.” He was highly admired
by Beethoven, who gave him full publishing rights to all Beethoven’s
music in England.
Key Works: Over 100 classical piano sonatas/sonatinas.
Fun Fact: In 1781, he engaged in a piano duel with Mozart.

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904): Bohemian nationalist composer. He

was a versatile composer of many musical forms: symphonies,
concertos, string quartets, operas, chamber music, and more. Bohemian
folk music and his many travels in Europe and America strongly
influenced his compositions.
Key Works: Cello concerto Op. 104, Slavonic Dances, Dumky Piano
Trio, American String Quartet, Symphony No. 9 Op. 95 “From the New
World.”
Fun Fact: Dvořák did not use actual folk tunes in his compositions but
often mimicked traditional folk music style and rhythms.
“All the great musicians have borrowed from the songs of the common
people.”
Enrique Granados (1867-1916): Spanish nationalist composer. He
blended Spanish folk music with Romantic style for a distinctly Spanish
form of art music. He and his wife died tragically from drowning when
their passenger ferry was torpedoed by a German U-boat.
Key Works: opera and piano solo Goyescas, Spanish Dances, opera
María del Carmen.
Fun Fact: Goyescas was inspired by the emotions conveyed in the
paintings of Francisco Goya.
“I have a whole world of ideas. I am only now starting my work.”
(sadly, spoken shortly before his death)

Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921): German composer of

Romantic opera. He discovered his original voice through children’s
songs. Hansel and Gretel began as a few simple songs he wrote for a
puppet show for his nieces. His opera Königskinder had the first
compositional use of Sprechstimme or “spoken voice,” an expressionist
vocal technique between speaking and singing. Humperdinck was a
friend and assistant to Wagner.
Key Works: opera Hänsel und Gretel (“Hansel and Gretel”), opera
Königskinder (“The King’s Children”).
Fun Fact: Humperdinck studied architecture before pursuing music.
“At first, I thought I should be a second Beethoven; presently I found
that to be another Schubert would be good; then gradually, satisfied
with less and less, I was resigned to be a Humperdinck.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Austrian composer of the
Classical era. A true prodigy, the child Mozart performed for kings and
queens all over Europe. He began composing at age 5 and wrote his
first symphony at age 8. He refined the concerto and assimilated
contemporary musical styles into the epitome of Classical refinement.
Mozart had an astonishing level of compositional fluency across all
forms and genres. He completed over 600 works in his short life.
Key Works: opera The Marriage of Figaro, opera Don Giovanni, opera
The Magic Flute, orchestral Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Symphony No. 41
“Jupiter,” Requiem, symphonies, piano concertos, and sonatas.
Fun Fact: Mozart was the first major composer to attempt a “freelance”
musical career.
“It is a mistake to think that the practice of my art has become easy to
me.”
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921): French nationalist composer. He
was admired for his technical fluency, elegance, and clarity of form as
well as imagination, charm, and melodic inspiration. After studying at
the Paris Conservatory, he became a church organist and then
ultimately a successful freelance composer and pianist. He loved
modern music of his day but wrote his own music in a conventional
classical tradition.
Key Works: opera Samson et Dalila (“Samson and Delilah”), Le
Carnaval des Animaux (“Carnival of the Animals”), Danse Macabre.
Fun Fact: Worried that it would compromise his reputation as a serious
composer, Saint-Saëns banned “The Carnival of the Animals” from all
concert performances until after his death.
“One must practice slowly, then more slowly, and finally, slowly.”
Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Austrian composer of the Romantic
era. His extraordinarily rich and varied musical imagination led him to
compose an astonishing 1,000 works in his short 31 years of life. His
music is invariably Classical in form but adopts a more hedonistic
melody and spontaneous imagination. Schubert was the central figure
in creating the German art-song, or Lied.
Key Works: Piano Quintet Di Forelle (“The Trout”), “Unfinished”
Symphony, Symphony No. 9 “The Great,” Die Winterreise (“The
Winter Journey”) song cycle, Marche Militaire.
Fun Fact: Shubert was so short and squat that his friends nicknamed
him Schwammerl (“little mushroom”).
“My music is the product of my talent and my misery. And that which I
have written in my greatest distress is what the world seems to like
best.”
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899): Austrian composer of the Romantic
era. His father was also a musician and forbade him from going into
music due to the insecurity of the profession, but the younger Strauss
was dedicated to music at a young age. Nicknamed the “Waltz King,”
Strauss took the waltz form and gave it a Romantic style with
symphonic coherence that was worthy of a concert performance.
Key Works: operetta Die Fledermaus, Tales from the Vienna Woods
Waltz, The Blue Danube Waltz, Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Emperor Waltz.
Fun Fact: Even though he wrote such beautiful dance music, Strauss
himself was a terrible dancer.
Thank You for your appreciation of the
musical arts and for supporting these
students in their music education.

www.MusicalBri.com