Robert Blocker, Dean
doctor of musical arts degree recital
Yevgeny Yontov, piano Thursday, September 19, 2019 | 7:30 pm | Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall
Nikolai Medtner 1880–1951
Four Skazki, Op. 35 I. Andante maestoso II. Capriccioso, con grazia III. Cantabile, narrante IV. Allegro appassionato e tempestoso
Sergei Prokofiev 1891–1953
Visions fugitives, Op. 22 I. Lentamente II. Andante III. Allegretto IV. Animato V. Molto giocoso VI. Con eleganza VII. Pittoresco (Arpa) VIII. Commodo IX. Allegretto tranquillo X. Ridicolosamente XI. Con vivacità XII. Assai moderato XIII. Allegretto XIV. Feroce XV. Inquieto XVI. Dolente XVII. Poetico XVIII. Con una dolce lentezza XIX. Presto agitatissimo e molto accentuato XX. Lento
intermission
Program, cont. Béla Bartók 1881–1945
Suite, Op. 14 I. Allegretto II. Scherzo III. Allegro molto IV. Sostenuto
Claude Debussy 1862–1918
12 Etudes, L. 136 VII. Pour les degrés chromatiques VIII. Pour les agréments IX. Pour les notes répétées X. Pour les sonorités opposées XI. Pour les arpèges composés XII. Pour les accords
This performance is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree. As a courtesy to others, please silence all devices. Photography and recording of any kind is strictly prohibited. Please do not leave the hall during musical selections. Thank you.
Artist Profile Yevgeny Yontov has established himself as one of the most promising Israeli pianists of his generation. As finalist in the 2017 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, he received the Prize for Best Performance of Chamber Music, and the Prize for the Best Israeli Pianist. Other international top prizes include gold medals at the Wideman International Piano Competition and Berliner International Music Competition. A founding member of icarus Quartet, a two-piano/two-percussion chamber group, Mr. Yontov holds chamber music close to heart. He has performed chamber music across five continents in venues that include Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Mr. Yontov received his bachelor of music degree summa cum laude from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel-Aviv University, where he studied with Professor Arie Vardi. He then moved to the United States to study with Professor Boris Berman at the Yale School of Music, where he received his master of music degree and is currently pursuing his doctor of musical arts degree. Mr. Yontov has given masterclasses across the United States, Israel, and China, and in 2018 joined the distinguished piano faculty of Bowling Green State University.
Program Notes by Yevgeny Yontov Four Skazki Medtner Nikolai Medtner composed over thirty Fairy-Tales for Piano in his lifetime. Originally published as Märchen in German and Skazki in Russian, these pieces reflect Medtner’s approach to character pieces, much like Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words or Brahms’s Intermezzi and Cappricci. Medtner was born and raised in Russia to parents of German descent, and one can clearly hear the influences of both his Russian and German heritage in his music, including the Four Fairy-Tales, Op. 35. The first Fairy-Tale of Op. 35 opens with a wild and unexpected chord progression, which quickly subsides into a simple and quiet cadence in C major. This unanticipated four-measure introduction ends with a double bar line, and a tempo change brings with it the main theme of the piece. The main theme features a long melodic line, rich harmonies, and sequences filled with lush suspensions, all set in a chorale-like fashion with deep basses. The listener is left wondering how the introduction relates to the piece, and if it was, in fact, necessary. The middle section of the piece is characterized by a new tempo and a completely new contrapuntal fragmentary texture. Through imitation and sequencing, it becomes clear that this seemingly “new” thematic material is actually closely related to the piece’s introduction. As the middle section approaches a climax, fragments of the main theme suddenly appear, now over a dominant pedal. The key of C major returns as the piece finally climaxes with a restatement of the main theme, now in forte, paired
with virtuosic hand crossings. The first Fairy-Tale concludes with a sped-up statement of the four introductory measures, confirming that they are, in fact, a crucial part of the musical structure. The last Fairy-Tale in the set features a short epigraph, a quote from Shakespeare’s King Lear: “Blow, winds, [rage] and crack your cheeks!” This epigraph sets the tone for the fourth Fairy-Tale, which is indeed stormy and tumultuous. Compared to the other Fairy-Tales in this set, this last piece is most reflective of Medtner’s Russian heritage. Imitating Shakespeare’s storm in the epigraph, this last Fairy-Tale brings forth the unrestrained “over-the-top” expression for which Russian music is often known. By demonstrating Germanstyle thematic development and counterpoint in the first Fairy-Tale, and Russian hyperpassionate expression in the fourth, Medtner exhibits the full spectrum of his heritage. Visions fugitives Prokofiev Sergei Prokofiev’s approach to character pieces in Visions fugitives, Op. 22 differs greatly from the one used by Medtner in his Fairy-Tales. While Medtner’s model for character pieces might have come from Mendelssohn or Brahms, Prokofiev seems to have drawn inspiration from the Preludes of Debussy. Visions fugitives is a collection of 20 miniature pieces, each lasting roughly between 30 seconds and two minutes. The term “Visions fugitives,” meaning “Fleeting (or Fugitive) Visions,” was coined by Konstantin Balmont, a friend of Prokofiev, in one of his poems. Thus, each miniature
aims to evoke an image rather than tell a story, as we had previously seen in the longer “Tales” of Medtner. While many of the pieces have standard tempo titles, such as the opening Lentamente (Slowly) or closing Lento (Slow), some have quite descriptive titles, as fitting for character pieces: Molto giocoso (Very playful, No. 5), Dolente (Painful or Sorrowful, No. 16), Poetico (Poetic, No. 17), etc. Two especially unique titles are Ridicolosamente (Ridiculously, No. 10), a seemingly absurd yet surprisingly accurate and evocative title, and Pittoresco (Picturesque, No. 7), which also has a secondary title, Harp. The compositional techniques and harmonic languages in this set of pieces are as diverse as the various characters in it. For instance, Commodo (No. 8) opens with a simple texture of melody and accompaniment. The melody in the right hand is lyrical and diatonic. Four measures into the piece, a quick anacrusis leads us to a different key, but we find ourselves rooted in stable diatonic tonality yet again as we hear a soothingly familiar sequence of descending fifths. In contrast to this lyricism and serenity, Feroce (No. 14) is an almost aggressive show of force, filled with angular rhythms and sharp dissonances, demonstrating the diversity of character Prokofiev uses in this set. The last piece of the set, Lento (No. 20), is noteworthy. After a wild and clap-inducing ending to No. 19, this final piece is slow and contemplative. It wanders from harmony to harmony, featuring wide melodic leaps and repetitive gestures that have no clear
direction. Finally, the piece reaches one more unstable chord and lingers on it. Thus, the piece, and the set as a whole, end with a question mark, fitting for a fleeting vision. Suite bartók In the first decade of the 20th century, Béla Bartók’s fascination with folk-music led him to travel, collect, and transcribe folk tunes in various regions of Eastern Europe. Bartók’s interest in folk-music inspired him to compose and publish multiple collections of Hungarian and Romanian Folksongs and Folk Dances for piano between 1905 and 1915. Given Bartók’s passion for folk-music, it is surprising that the Suite Op. 14 has no folk tunes in it whatsoever. According to Bartók himself, “It is based entirely on original themes of [his] own invention.” Although this piece has no folk tunes, it does have folk influences. According to Benjamin Suchoff, author of Béla Bartók: Life and Work, the first movement of the Suite uses the dance rhythm of the Romanian Ardeleana, while the third movement has Arabic and North African influences in its scalar patterns. One of the most remarkable features of the Suite is its overall trajectory. The first movement, a light dance-like Allegretto with a metronome marking of 120 beats per minute, is followed by a Scherzo, a highly dissonant movement, even atonal at times, with a slightly faster metronome marking of 122 beats per minute. The metronome marking continues to increase to 124 beats per minute in the piece’s third movement, a virtuosic perpetuum mobile
Program Notes, cont. with a dramatic ostinato in the bass. It is important to note that the surface rhythm accelerates throughout the piece as well. The beat is subdivided into two eighth notes in the first movement, three quarter notes in the second movement, and four eighthth notes in the third movement. As the rhythmic values accelerate, the tension and the energy rise with the progression of the piece. At the end of the third movement, everything comes to a halt. After a dramatic and extreme push in tempo and volume, Bartók instructs the performer to slow down the last measure of the movement and hold the last chord for a long time. With no break, the last movement, Sostenuto, begins slowly and quietly, born out of the echo of the preceding movement. The dissonances in this movement are not threatening or biting; rather, they are painful and mournful. Instead of alternating fast and slow movements and finishing with a brilliant Finale, as is common in multi-movement works, Bartók chose to linearly increase the tempo and tension throughout the first three movements and end with a slow elegy. 12 Etudes debussy Frédéric Chopin published his first set of 12 Etudes, Op. 10, in 1833, and dedicated the opus to Franz Liszt. Roughly 20 years later, Liszt himself published a set of 12 Etudes, Études d’exécution transcendante, and dedicated them to Czerny, his teacher and one of the most prolific composers of etudes for piano. Most of Czerny’s Etudes, however, are mere exercises meant for private practice, while the Etudes of Chopin
and Liszt are early examples of a new genre – the Concert Etude. The Etudes of Chopin and Liszt were still designed to improve technique; however, unlike the earlier Etudes of Czerny, they are full musical compositions meant for the stage. When Claude Debussy composed his set of 12 Etudes in 1915, he chose to dedicate them to Chopin, a very telling decision. In many ways, Debussy’s Etudes are more similar to Chopin’s Etudes than Liszt’s. Both Chopin and Debussy, for instance, prefer to focus on only one technical aspect in each etude. While Chopin has separate etudes for certain intervals or certain kinds of arpeggios or scales, Debussy goes further and even names his Etudes after particular technical challenges: “For thirds,” “For octaves,” “For repeated notes,” “For chords,” etc. In addition, Liszt’s Etudes are often programmatic, as seen in examples such as Mazeppa and Chasse neige, while Chopin and Debussy prefer to stay away from program music in their Etudes. Although it is evident that Chopin had a clear influence on Debussy’s Etudes, there are some significant differences between the Etudes of the two composers. When compared to Chopin, Debussy’s Etudes are much more sectional, often featuring quickly changing textures and characters. In addition, Debussy is more likely to demonstrate different aspects of the same technical issue in each etude. An example of this is Debussy’s use of chromatic motion in the opening etude of Book II, Pour les degrés chromatiques. In this etude, he uses chromatic motion in short outbursts, in
long lines, in each hand separately, in parallel and opposite motion between the hands, as well as within different dynamic contexts. Most importantly, Debussy’s Etudes are unique in that they are not merely short musical compositions that help improve speed and accuracy. Rather, they are little musical gems that double as exercises for timbre, layering of sonorities, and control of tone. The real challenge in these Etudes is producing a wide variety of sounds and expressing an extensive color palette using only one instrument.
Upcoming Events Peter Oundjian, principal conductor Yale Philharmonia A performance of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major, featuring YSM faculty members. 7:30 p.m. | Woolsey Hall Tickets start at $12, Yale faculty/ staff $8, students $5 $3 surcharge at the door sep 20
sep 24 Brentano String Quartet Oneppo Chamber Music Series New music by Martin Bresnick, and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $28, students $13 Michael Noble, piano DMA Recitals Music by Brahms, Nico Muhly, and Frederic Rzewski. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall free sep 26
sep 27 Ignacio Berroa Trio Ellington Jazz Series “The only Latin drummer in the world in the history of American music who intimately knows both worlds: his native Afro Cuban music as well as jazz.”— Dizzy Gillespie 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $22, students $10 Robert Blocker, piano Horowitz Piano Series Bach’s Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme and works by faculty composer Christopher Theofanidis, Brahms, Mozart, and Ravel. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $15, students $7 oct 2
OCT 3 Hannah Lash & Christopher Theofanidis, faculty composers New Music New Haven Lash’s Folksongs for piccolo, harp and percussion, and two movements from Theofanidis’ Quintet for B-flat clarinet and string quartet. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall free
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