Encore Livestream: Kodaly & Schubert - Listen Notes - New Listener

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ZOLTÁN KODÁLY (1882 – 1967) COMPOSER PROFILE • Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music educator and linguist • Played a prominent role in Hungarian public life, held several public posts and was a member or head of numerous boards and committees • Much of the music he composed was based on folksongs he collected on his travels around Hungary • He formed the ethnomusicological branch of the Hungarian Academy of Arts and Sciences THE DANCES OF GALÁNTA Inspired by his pleasant childhood experiences, Kodály returned to Galánta as an adult in 1905 and transcribed at least 150 melodies from the region. These songs, together with an album of old Hungarian folk music that was compiled in the 1800s, comprise the main source material for the Dances of Galánta. They were written as a follow-up to the successful Dances of Marosszék of a year before, which were composed initially for piano and then orchestrated. On one level, the Dances of Galánta are a medley of folk tunes, skilfully wrought into a suite lasting around 15 minutes, making it the perfect filler for a typical concert programme. On another, more symbolic level, they form a unified musical celebration of the resurgence of a Hungarian nation after years of Austrian oppression. The Dances of Galánta unfolds in five sections, typically lasting about fifteen minutes. As a device to build tension, the violins often play busy stepwise fast notes over a sustained note. As with any folk music, there is much repetition of melodic and rhythmic ideas, and the main solos are given to the violin or clarinet/tárogató. DID YOU KNOW? A typical Google search for ‘Kodály’ will yield the top results for him as an educator, not a composer. He is often referred to as the most important and influential music educationalist of the 20th century. OTHER FOLK INSPIRED MUSIC YOU MIGHT ENJOY: Aaron Copland excerpts from Rodeo (Western folk tunes) Frederic Chopin various mazurkas (Polish folk dances) Bela Bartok Three Rondos or excerpts from 15 Hungarian Peasant Songs A common misunderstanding is to attribute Kodály with the creation of the hand signs that accompany pitch and singing. These signs were actually developed by John Curwen, a British priest and music educator. Kodály made use of them along with other physicalisations of musical language to help young children understand pitch and embody rhythm. 2
FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797 – 1828) COMPOSER PROFILE • An Austrian composer from the Romantic period • Won a place in the Vienna Imperial Court chapel choir at age 10 • After leaving school in 1815, Schubert followed his father into teaching. He did not enjoy this job, and he spent all of his free time composing. • The same year he started teaching, he wrote his famous ‘Gretchen am Spinnrade’ (‘Gretchen at her spinning wheel’) • He composed 145 lieder (songs), his Second and Third Symphonies, two sonatas and a series of miniatures for solo piano, two mass settings and other shorter choral works, four stage works, and a string quartet • The only public concert Schubert gave was on 26 March, 1828. It was such an artistic and financial success that Schubert at last purchased a piano • He died in 1828 at age 31, of typhoid from drinking tainted water SYMPHONY NO.9 ‘THE GREAT’ A symphony is a musical composition for full orchestra; typically in four movements or sections. The title ‘The Great’ was applied by a 19th-century publisher to distinguish between this symphony and Schubert’s earlier work of 1818. Today, ‘The Great’ has become an accepted part of the work’s title. Schubert’s Ninth Symphony has four movements: I. Andante II. Andante con moto III. Scherzo (Allegro vivace) IV. Allegro vivace The first movement, Andante (At an easy walking pace, Allegro – fast) starts with a theme from the horns. This is followed by the strings playing a rhythmic triple figure. The theme is then passed around the orchestra. The section continues to explore themes and assembled rhythmic material. Finally, as the Andante moves towards its close, you can hear a fragment of what is to become the Allegro section’s theme. As the Andante is brought to a full orchestral close, the Allegro (fast) section follows immediately. Strings, trumpets, and timpani introduce the Allegro’s first theme. Schubert introduces a second theme – rising and falling, with the woodwinds and horns playing a triple rhythm. Finally, the movement’s third theme is introduced by oboes and bassoons, accompanied by violin. The final section is marked ‘Piu Moto’ (more movement). It starts with the second theme in the strings, with an accompanying triple figure. The movement ends with the introductory horn theme played by the full orchestra. The second movement, Andante con moto (At an easy walking pace with motion) is slow, however the ‘con moto’ direction creates a march-like character. It is possible that Schubert was influenced by the Allegretto movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. This movement has four sections and four main themes. The oboes play the theme first, followed by the clarinets, violins, and violas, moving to an orchestral climax. Next, the oboes and clarinets enter with the second theme. This theme is slightly slower, and the strings break in with a third theme, with a military feel. The second and third themes are developed, and the lower strings introduce the fourth theme. Lyrical and more sonorous, this theme is played by the bassoons, second violins and basses. The movement ends quietly, with harmony from the three trombones. 3
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