Robert Blocker, piano 10/23/13

robert blocker Horowitz Piano Series

Yale School of Music • October 23, 2013 Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall

Horowitz Piano Series

robert blocker October 23, 2013 • Morse Recital Hall • Boris Berman, Artistic Director

W. A. Mozart 1756–1791

Rondo in D major, K. 485 Rondo in A minor, K. 511

Franz Schubert 1797–1828

Piano Sonata in A minor, D. 537 I. Allegro ma non troppo II. Allegretto quasi andantino III. Allegro vivace

intermission

Joannes Brahms 1833–1897

Four Serious Songs, Op. 121 I. Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh II. Ich wandte mich und sahe III. O Tod, wie bitter bist du IV. Wenn ich mit Menschen—und mit

Engelzungen redete David Pershall ’10mm, ’11ad, baritone

As a courtesy to the performers and audience, silence all electronic devices.

Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.

Robert Blocker · piano

Brahms

Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52 1. Rede, Mädchen 2. Am Gesteine rauscht die Flut 3. O die Frauen 4. Wie des Abends schöne Röte 5. Die grüne Hopfenranke 6. Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel 7. Wohl schön bewandt 8. Wenn so lind dein Auge 9. Am Donaustrande 10. O wie sanft die Quelle 11. Nein, es ist nicht auszukommen 12. Schlösser auf!

13. Vöglein durchrauschet die Luft 14. Sieh, wie ist die Welle klar 15. Nachtigall, sie singt so schön 16. Ein dunkeler Schacht ist Liebe 17. Nicht wandle, mein Licht 18. Es bebet das Gesträuche Sherezade Panthaki ’11ad, soprano Annie Rosen ’08ba, ’12mm, mezzo-soprano* James Taylor, tenor ‡ Dashon Burton ’11mm, bass Wei-Yi Yang ’95mm, ’96ad, ’99mma, ’04dma, piano ‡

* Appearance courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera. ‡ Yale Faculty

Robert Blocker · piano

Robert Blocker is highly regarded internationally for his artistry as a pianist, his leadership as an advocate for the arts, and his extraordinary contributions to music education. In 1995 he was appointed the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music and Professor of Piano at Yale University.

At the age of five, Robert Blocker began his study in piano, presenting his first recital two years later. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, his public debut was at historic Dock Street Theater (now home to the Spoleto Chamber Music Series). His advanced degree studies were under the tutelage of the eminent American pianist, Richard Cass. He later studied with George Bolet on a post-doctoral fellowship.

Today, he concertizes throughout the world.

Recent orchestral engagements range from appearances with the Beijing and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras to the Prague and Moscow Chamber Orchestras. His appearances at the Beethoven Festival (Warsaw) and the Great Mountains International Music Festival add to the critical acclaim as noted in the Los Angeles Times review: “…great skill and accomplishment, a measurable virtuoso bent and considerable musical sensitivity…mesmerizing moments.”

In 2006 Blocker was named Honorary Professor of Piano at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and in November of 2007 he was the keynote speaker on the occasion of the 80 th anniversary of the Shanghai Conservatory. His many contributions to the music community include service on the advisory boards for the Avery Fisher Artist Program and the Stoeger Prize at Lincoln Center, the Gilmore Artist Advisory Board, and the Curatorium of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest.

He is a member of the Van Cliburn Foundation Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

Robert Blocker appears regularly on national radio and television as an artist and commentator and is active as a consultant to major educational institutions and government agencies. In 2000, Steinway and Sons featured him in a film commemorating the tercentennial year of the piano. His recording of three Mozart concerti with the Biava Quartet, released by Naxos in 2009, was praised as “utterly charming” by Fanfare Magazine. In November 2004, Yale University Press published The Robert Shaw Reader, a collection of Shaw’s writings edited

by Dean Blocker. The volume is now in its third printing.

Texts & Translations

Four Serious Songs Text by Martin Luther from the Bible 1.

Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh; wie dies stirbt, so stirbt er auch; und haben alle einerlei Odem; und der Mensch hat nichts mehr denn das Vieh: denn es ist alles eitel.

Translated Text

Es fährt alles an einem Ort; es ist alles von Staub gemacht, und wird wieder zu Staub.

Wer weiß, ob der Geist des Menschen aufwärts fahre, und der Odem des Viehes unterwärts unter die Erde fahre?

They go all to one place, For they all are of the dust, And to dust they return.

Who knoweth if a man’s spirit goeth upwards?

And who knoweth if the spirit of the beast goeth downward into the earth?

Darum sahe ich, daß nichts bessers ist, denn daß der Mensch fröhlich sei in seiner Arbeit, denn das ist sein Teil.

Denn wer will ihn dahinbringen, daß er sehe, was nach ihm geschehen wird?

Therefore I perceive there is no better thing than for a man to rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion.

For who shall ever show him what will happen after him?

2.

Ich wandte mich und sahe an Alle, die Unrecht leiden unter der Sonne; Und siehe, da waren Tränen derer, Die Unrecht litten und hatten keinen Tröster; Und die ihnen Unrecht täten, waren zu mächtig, Daß sie keinen Tröster haben konnten.

So I returned and did consider all the oppressions done beneath the sun; And there were from those who were oppressed and had no comfort; for with their oppressors there was power, so that no one came to comfort them.

Da lobte ich die Toten, Die schon gestorben waren Mehr als die Lebendigen, Die noch das Leben hatten; Und der noch nicht ist, ist besser, als alle beide, Und des Bösen nicht inne wird, Das unter der Sonne geschieht.

Then I did praise the dead, Which are already dead, More than the living, which linger still in life; yea, that he is not, is better than dead or living; for he is not aware of the evil, that happens under the sun.

One thing befalleth the beasts and the sons of men; The beast must die, the man dieth also, and both must die; And the man hath no more than the beast; for all things are but vanity.

Texts & Translations

3.

O Tod, wie bitter bist du, Wenn an dich gedenket ein Mensch, Der gute Tage und genug hat Und ohne Sorge lebet; Und dem es wohl geht in allen Dingen

O death, how bitter art thou, Unto him that dwelleth in peace, To him that hath joy in his possessions, and liveth free from trouble, To him whose ways are prosperous in all things,

Und noch wohl essen mag!

O Tod, wie bitter bist du.

to him that still may eat!

O death, how bitter art thou.

O Tod, wie wohl tust du dem Dürftigen, Der da schwach und alt ist, Der in allen Sorgen steckt, Und nichts Bessers zu hoffen, Noch zu erwarten hat!

O Tod, wie wohl tust du!

O death, how welcome is thy call to them, that are in want and those whose strength, doth fail them, and whose life is but a pain, who hath nothing to hope for, and cannot look for relief.

O death, how welcome is they call.

4.

Wenn ich mit Menschen - und mit Engelzungen redete und hätte der Liebe nicht, so wär’ ich ein tönend Erz oder eine klingende Schelle.

Und wenn ich weissagen könnte und wüßte alle Geheimnisse und alle Erkenntnis und hätte allen Glauben, also daß ich Berge versetzte, und hätte der Liebe nicht, so wäre ich nichts.

Und wenn ich alle meine Habe den Armen gäbe und ließe meinen Leib brennen und hätte der Liebe nicht, so wäre mir’s nichts nütze.

When I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, then I become as a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I can prophesize, and understand all mysteries, and am powerful in knowledge and though I have the gift of faith, And can move the mountains, and have not charity, yet I am worth nothing, yet I am worth nothing.

And though I give my worldly goods to feed the poor, and though I give my fleshly body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Wir sehen jetzt durch einen Spiegel in einem dunkeln Worte, dann aber von Angesicht zu Angesichte.

Jetzt erkenne ich’s stückweise; dann aber wird’ ich’s erkennen, gleich wie ich erkennet bin.

Nun aber bleibt Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe, diese drei; aber die Liebe ist die größeste unter ihnen.

For now we see the word darkly as through a glass, by then we shall see it face to face.

Here I know but partly, but there I surely shall know it, even as I am also known.

Now abideth faith, and hope, and charity, But the greatest of these is love.

Texts & Translations

Liebeslieder Waltzes Text by Georg Friedrich Daumer

Translated Text Used with permission from the San Francisco Bach Choir

1.

Rede, Mädchen, allzu liebes, das mir in die Brust, die kühle, hat geschleudert mit dem Blicke diese wilden Glutgefühle!

Speak, maiden, whom I love all too much, who hurled into my once aloof heart, with only one glance, these wild, ardent feelings!

Willst du nicht dein Herz erweichen, willst du, eine Überfromme, rasten ohne traute Wonne, oder willst du, daß ich komme?

Will you not soften your heart?

Do you wish to be chaste and remain without sweet bliss, or do you want me to come to you?

Rasten ohne traute Wonne, nicht so bitter will ich büßen.

Komme nur, du schwarzes Auge.

Komme, wenn die Sterne grüßen.

To remain without sweet bliss – I would never make such a bitter penance.

So come, dark-eyes, come when the stars greet you.

2.

Am Gesteine rauscht die Flut, heftig angetrieben: wer da nicht zu seufzen weiß, lernt es unterm Lieben.

Against the stones the stream rushes, powerfully driven; those who do not know to sigh there, will learn it when they fall in love.

3.

O die Frauen, o die Frauen, wie sie Wonne tauen!

Wäre lang ein Mönch geworden, wären night die Frauen!

O women, O women, how they melt one with bliss!

I would have become a monk long ago if it were not for women!

4.

Wie des Abends schöne Röte möcht’ ich arme Dirne glühn, Einem, Einem zu gefallen, sonder Ende Wonne sprühn.

Like the evening’s lovely red, would I, a poor maiden, like to glow, to please one, one boy and to then radiate bliss forever.

Texts & Translations

5.

Die grüne Hopfenranke, sie schlängelt auf der Erde hin.

Die junge, schöne Dirne, so traurig ist ihr Sinn!

Du höre, grüne Ranke!

Was hebst du dich nicht himmelwärts?

Du höre, schöne Dirne!

Was ist so schwer dein Herz?

Wie höbe sich die Ranke, der keine Stütze Kraft verleiht?

Wie wäre die Dirne fröhlich, wenn ihr das Liebste weit?

The green hops vine, it winds along the ground.

The young, fair maiden so mournful are her thoughts!

You – listen, green vine!

Why do you not raise yourself heavenwards?

You – listen, fair maiden!

Why is your heart so heavy? how can the vine raise itself when no prop lends it strength?

How can the girl be happy when the boy she loves best is far away?

6.

Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel nahm den Flug zum Garten hin, da gab es Obst genug.

Wenn ich ein hübscher, kleiner Vogel wär, ich säumte nicht, ich täte so wie der.

Leimruten-Arglist lauert an dem Ort; der arme Vogel konnte nicht mehr fort.

Wenn ich ein hübscher, kleiner Vogel wär, ich säumte doch, ich täte nicht wie der.

A little pretty bird took flight to the garden, where there was fruit in plenty.

If I were a pretty little bird, I wouldn’t hesitate, I’d do the same thing he did.

Treacherous birdlime-smeared twigs were lying in ambush there; the poor bird could no longer get away.

If I were a pretty little bird, I would have hesitated, I wouldn’t do what he did.

Der Vogel kam in eine schöne Hand, da tat es ihm, dem Glücklichen, nicht and.

Wenn ich ein hübscher, kleiner Vogel wär, ich säumte nicht, ich täte doch wie der.

The bird fell into a beautiful girl’s hand; there the lucky fellow had nothing to complain of.

If I were a pretty little bird, I wouldn’t hesitate, I would do just what he did.

Texts & Translations

7.

Wohl schön bewandt war es vorehe mit meinem Leben, mit meiner Liebe; durch eine Wand, ja, durch zehn Wände erkannte mich des Freundes Sehe; doch jetzo, wehe, wenn ich dem Kalten auch noch so dicht vorm Auge stehe, es merkt’s sein Auge, sein Herze nicht.

Previously my life was a quite pleasant one, and so was my love; through a wall, yes, through ten walls my sweetheart’s eyes recognized me; but now, alas, no matter how close I stand to the eyes of that cold boy, neither his eyes nor his heart will take notice.

8.

Wenn so lind dein Auge mir und so lieblich schauet jede letze Trübe flieht, welche mich umgrauet.

Dieser Liebe schöne Glut, laß sie nicht verstieben!

Nimmer wird, wie ich, so treu dich ein And’rer lieben.

When your eyes look at me so mildly and so lovingly, every last shadow that had darkened my life vanishes.

The beautiful flame of this love, don’t let it go out in sparks!

No one else will ever love you as faithfully as I do.

9.

Am Donaustrande, da steht ein Haus, da schaut ein rosiges Mädchen aus.

Das Mädchen, es ist wohl gut gehegt, zehn eiserne Riegel sind vor die Türe gelegt.

Zehn eiserne Riegel das ist ein Spaß; die spreng ich, als wären sie nur von Glas.

On the banks of the Danube there stands a house, a pink-complexioned girl looks out from it.

The girl is well protected, ten iron bolts are placed before the door.

Ten iron bolts are just a joke; I’ll snap them as if they were only made of glass.

Texts & Translations

10.

O wie sanft die Quelle sich durch die Wiese windet; O wie schön, wenn Liebe sich zu der Liebe findet!

Oh, how gently the stream winds its way through the meadow!

Oh, how beautiful it is when a lover finds his way to his beloved!

11.

Nein, es ist nicht auszukommen mit den Leuten; Alles wissen sie so giftig auszudeuten.

Bin ich heiter, hegen soll ich lose Triebe; bin ich still, so heißt’s, ich wäre irr aus Liebe.

No, there’s just no dealing with people; they manage to put such an evil interpretation on everything.

If I’m jolly, they say I harbor wayward lusts; if I’m calm, the story is I’m out of my mind with love.

12.

Schlosser auf, und mache Schlösser, Schlösser ohne Zahl!

Denn die bösen Mäuler will ich schließen allzumal.

Locksmith, come, and make locks, locks without number!

For I want to lock up all the spiteful mouths.

13.

Vögelein durchrauscht die Luft, sucht nach einem Aste; und das Herz, ein Herz, ein Herz begehrt’s, wo es selig raste.

The little bird flutters through the air, it looks for a branch; and my heart desires a heart on which it can rest blissfully.

14.

Sieh, wie ist die Welle klar, blickt der Mond hernieder!

Die du meine Liebe bist, liebe du mich wieder!

See how clear the waters are when the moon shines down!

You who are my love, love me in return!

15.

Nachtigall, sie singt so schön, wenn die Sterne funkeln.

Liebe mich, geliebtes Herz, kÄsse mich im Dunkeln!

The nightingale sings so beautifully when the stars twinkle.

Love me, my beloved sweetheart, kiss me in the dark!

Texts & Translations

16.

Ein dunkeler Schacht ist Liebe, ein gar zu gefährlicher Bronnen; da fiel ich hinein, ich Armer, kann weder hören noch sehn, nur denken an meine Wonnen, nur stöhnen in meinen Wehn.

Love is a dark shaft, a highly dangerous well; and I, poor fool, fell in; I can’t hear or see, I can only think about my bliss, I can only moan in my sorrow.

17.

Nicht wandle, mein Licht, dort außen im Flurbereich!

Die Fübe würden dir, die zarten, zu nab, zu weich.

All überströmt sind dort die Wege, die Stege dir; so überreichlich tränte dorten das Auge mir.

Light of my life, don’t walk out there in the meadows!

Your tender feet would get too wet, too soaked.

The paths there are all flooded, and so are the trails, because my eyes wept so copiously there.

18.

Es bebet das Gesträuche; gestreift hat es im Fluge ein Vögelein.

In gleicher Art erbebet die Seele mir, erschüttert von Liebe, Lust und Leide, gedenkt sie dein.

The bushes are quivering; a little bird brushed them as it flew by.

In the same way my soul trembles, overcome by love, pleasure and pain, whenever it thinks of you.

Notes on the Program

wolfgang amadeus mozart Rondo in D major, K. 485 Rondo in A minor, K. 511

once in its original octave and then an octave higher before the piece concludes with two soft chords.

The years 1786 and 1787 saw Mozart achieve resounding success in Prague, with acclaimed performances of The Marriage of Figaro and his “Prague” Symphony. He did not compose any piano sonatas during this time, instead writing several smaller works including the Rondos K. 485, 494, and 511. Mozart’s Rondo in D major, K. 485 was written around the same time as his piano concertos in A major (K. 488) and C minor (K. 491). Although the work is entitled a “rondo,” the principal theme appears in various keys: D, A, G, D minor, F, and B-flat. In a traditional rondo, the theme would always return in the tonic; the rondo in Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C major, K. 309, is an example. In fact, despite being called a Rondo, K. 485 is in a loose sonata form, with repeat marks delineating the exposition, a clear development, and a reprise.

Mozart previously used the theme of this Rondo in the Finale of his Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478.

franz schubert Sonata in A minor, D. 537

Mozart’s Rondo in A minor, K. 511 was most likely first performed by Mozart himself in one of his Viennese concerts, and anticipates both Schubert and Chopin in its harmonic daring.

The pervasive chromaticism and rich harmonies are characteristic of Mozart’s late period, endowing the Rondo with a pathos that few of his works possess. The piece consists of a principal theme in A minor and two contrasting episodes in F and A. While the principal theme occupies a rather high tessitura, the episodes range freely over the whole keyboard. The final iteration of the opening theme is highly embellished, and the contrapuntal coda concludes with a poignant A pedal point in the left hand as the principal theme is reiterated

Schubert’s Sonata in A minor, D. 537 was the first of six sonatas written in the space of one year. Composed in March of 1817, it is his earliest surviving complete sonata. Each of its three movements is different in construction from any of his previous works, as Schubert was experimenting outside of the realm of traditional form. The first movement introduces two themes and makes such extensive use of them in the exposition that they are virtually excluded from the shortened development, and are consequently replaced by an episode in the remote key of A-flat. The Allegretto quasi Andantino is in rondo form and is notable because the second appearance of the refrain is in a different key than the first (F instead of E). Schubert later used the main theme from this song-like movement for the Rondo Finale of his A major Sonata, D. 959.

The finale is unique among Schubert’s works as he employs a sort of binary form. The first half begins in A minor and closes in E, the dominant major, while the second half presents the same material but in reverse: the dominant major precedes the tonic minor. The movement concludes with a coda that acts like a recapitulation in the tonic minor before reverting to A major in the last ten bars, which Schubert marks pianissimo (very soft) and punctuates with a sforzando (strong emphasis) on the final chord. johannes brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52 Brahms composed two sets of Liebeslieder Waltzes: Op. 52 in in 1869 and Op. 65 in 1875.

Notes on the Program

In both sets he drew on a wide range of ethnic and national sources for the texts, and placed them in the distinctly Viennese waltz form.

Brahms set poems from Georg Friedrich Daumer’s Polydora anthology in which Daumer translated and paraphrased Russian, Polish, and Hungarian poems (especially from east and north Austria) into German. The first set of Liebeslieder Waltzes is scored for four singers and two pianists, and was composed in the midst of Brahms’s infatuation with Clara and Robert Schumann’s daughter Julie. However, as these are Viennese waltzes, the pieces embody a mood of innocent desire and frivolity rather than despair.

It is no coincidence that Brahms decided to write waltzes during this time. In 1875, the Ringstrasse, a circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, was virtually complete. The Ringstraße and the planned buildings were intended to showcase the glory of the Habsburg Empire. Thus its construction elicited a local nostalgia for Alt-Wien (Old Vienna), which was in essence an idealized vision of the city’s pre-1848 past, In 1875, that earlier era seemed a much simpler and more appealing time.

Despite the overt nationalist references in the Liebeslieder Waltzes, Brahms poked fun at the newly fashionable Viennese pride and nostalgia.

He combined the local Viennese waltz with the universal concept of human tribulations in the pursuit of love, and in so doing removed any uniquely nationalist sentiment.

near death. It is thus unsurprising that Brahms chose to set biblical texts that serve to console those in mourning. Collectively the songs contain melodies that combine recitative and lyricism; an accompaniement that evokes the orchestra whith its lush texture; and an overarching symphonic conception.

The first song is from Ecclesiastes 3:19–22 and states that in death, man is no different than the beasts: “as the one dieth, so dieth the other.”

Brahms’s setting alternates a mournful Andante with a tempestuous Allegro. The second song, based on Ecclesiastes 4:1–3, is even bleaker, stating that those “who have not seen the evil work that is done under the sun,” are better off than both the living and the dead. However, the song seems to offers a glimmer of hope in its turn from minor to major at the end.

Based on Ecclesiastes 41:1–2, the third song juxtaposes the despair of one whose death comes in his prime with the solace it offers to one disillusioned with life. In the first half, Brahms utilizes rhythmic vitality depicts the man who “hath prosperity in all things,” and in the second, a majestic torpor characterizes the “feeble old man.”

The fourth song stands apart from the others in its major-mode optimism. The text is from St Paul’s discourse on Christian charity in Chapter Thirteen of I Corinthians. The final verse, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three” turns into a coda as Brahms’s setting provides a sublime and uplifting conclusion to the cycle.

Four Serious Songs, Op. 121 — Michael Noble Brahms composed his Four Serious Songs in 1896 shortly after his lifelong friend and confidante, Clara Schumann, had suffered a stroke and was

Horowitz Piano Series: 2013–2014 Season

Leon Fleisher november 13 Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 8 pm Music of Bach, Takács, Kirchner, Brahms, Schubert, and more With Katherine Jacobson Fleisher, piano

Beethoven Concertos december 11 Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 8 pm Piano Concerto No. 1, with Wei-Yi Yang Piano Concerto No. 2, with Hung Kuan Chen Violin Concerto (arranged by the composer) with Melvin Chen Yale Philharmonia • Shinik Hahm, conductor

Pascal Rogé january 29 Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 8 pm Debussy: Suite Bergamasque and Preludes, Book I Poulenc: Les Soirées de Nazelles

Boris Berman • Peter Frankl • Wei-Yi Yang february 19 Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 8 pm Music by Brahms and Schumann for piano four hands and two pianos, including Schumann’s Ghost Variations and Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56b, and Sonata in F minor, Op. 34b

Boris Berman march 26 Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 8 pm Late piano pieces of Brahms, including Opp. 79, 116, 117, 118, and 119 tickets

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Robert Blocker, Dean