Robert Blocker, Dean
doctor of musical arts degree recital
Sam Suggs, double bass Thursday, October 17, 2019 | 7:30 pm | Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685–1750 arr. Suggs
“Sinfonia” from Cantata No. 29, BWV 29 after “Prelude” from Violin Partita No. 3, BWV 1006 Suliman Tekalli, violin
Sam Suggs b. 1990
Petrichor-Postlude (2015)
Bach arr. Suggs
“Sarabande” from Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008
Suggs
“Il Drago” Waltz-Variations (2017)
Franz Schubert 1797–1828 arr. Suggs
“Menuetto” from Octet in F major, D. 803
Gioacchino Rossini 1792–1868 arr. Suggs
“Allegro zingarese” from Duet in D major for cello and bass (1824)
Suliman Tekalli, violin
Suliman Tekalli, violin
intermission
Program, cont. Suggs
EDM Caprices for solo bass (2016) I. Chaconne (after Daft Punk) II. Downtempo (after Deadmau5) III. Finale (on original Dubstep theme)
Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst 1812–1865 arr. Bottesini
Élégie “sur la mort d’un objet cheri,” Op. 10
Suggs
Zhenni Li, piano
Apple Tree (2019) Zhenni Li, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven 1797–1828 arr. Dragonetti
Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47, “Kreutzer” I. Adagio sostenuto – Presto Zhenni Li, piano
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 Sam Suggs, double bass Sam Suggs is the first solo bassist in 36 years to join the Concert Artists Guild roster, and was recently recognized with an award for Extraordinary Creativity at the 2017 Bradetich Foundation International Double Bass Competition. A paradigm-shifting bassist-composer, Sam was named ‘New Artist of the Month’ (October 2015) by Musical America after winning First Place at the 2015 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition while performing many original works. Applauded by The Strad for his “brilliant and compelling programming,” in recital, he gathers musical materials through composition, re-composition, and improvisation, melting barriers of genre and style with fresh interpretations and deft transitions between old and new worlds of sound, colored by the unique physicality and haunting resonance of the double bass and guiding audiences through unfamiliar territory with the soft palette of his voice. As a collaborative bassist, he has performed at the Mostly Mozart Festival, Yellow Barn, Chamber Music Northwest, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and with the Argus Quartet, PUBLIQuartet, Founders, Frisson Ensemble (composerin-residence), and his contemporary jazz trio Triplepoint. A native of Buffalo, NY and doctor of musical arts candidate at the Yale School of Music, Sam spends his time between the Northeast and the Shenandoah Valley
performing with various chamber, crossover, and contemporary groups, giving recitals and masterclasses, and teaching full-time as Assistant Professor of Bass at James Madison University, as well as at the Heifetz Institute, Peabody Bass Works, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, and the Juilliard Summer Strings Program in Shanghai.
Program Notes by Sam Suggs, unless otherwise noted Sinfonia-Prelude Bach
Petrichor-Postlude Suggs
For the 1732 celebration of Ratwechsel (the inauguration of the new town council in Leipzig), the ever-resourceful Bach recycled and re-orchestrated the popular Prelude from his Violin Partita No. 3, BWV 1006, as the overture to Cantata No. 29, “Wir danken dir Gott, wir danken.”
Like a stoic human figure uncovered from a block of marble, Postlude (2015) is sculpted from the interaction of the physics of the strings and the tuning of the instrument. I imagine the improvised introduction Petrichor (referring to the particular scent rising from fresh rain on dry soil) to act as the initial melting away of excess material revealing the rough shape of the figure.
Previously having transcribed the same Prelude in a wedding cantata in 1729 for organ and strings (BWV 120a), Bach fortifies this triumphant new version with trumpets, timpani, and oboes. He had the opportunity to impress many of the local officials that would be present for the event; and he build upon previous successes so that this Sinfonia would showcase his best work. In Bach’s Ratwechsel transcription, the organ soloist plays the role of the violin replacing agile string crossings with toccatastyle keyboard technique. He explodes the familiar moto perpetuo tune with fanfares, pedal points, and drumming bass. In the present transcription for violin and bass duo, the violin part from the Partita is untouched. The double bass takes on a reduction of the trumpets, strings, and basso continuo with imitative episodes in a virtuosic concertante style.
Inspired by J.S. Bach’s idiomatic transcriptions which beautifully navigate the puzzle of each instrument’s challenges, the consonance of this composition is a by-product of the consonance of the instrument’s tuning and technical affordances. For example, depressing the index finger and lifting the pinky to a harmonic on adjacent strings – in a very particular location on the string – will reveal a major tenth, and switching fingers in the same spot reveals its complementary minor tenth. Emerging from this simple see-saw motion of the hand is the primitive division of relative major and minor harmonies. Sarabande Bach “At first he danced with a totally charming grace, with a serious and circumspect air, with an equal and slow rhythm [cadence], and with such a noble, beautiful, free and easy carriage that he had all the majesty of a king, and inspired as much respect as he gave pleasure.
Then, standing taller and more assertively, and raising his arms to half-height and keeping them partly extended, he performed the most beautiful steps ever invented for the dance. Sometimes he would glide imperceptibly, with no apparent movement of his feet and legs, and seemed to slide rather than step. Sometimes, with the most beautiful timing in the world, he would remain suspended, immobile, and half leaning to the side with one foot in the air; and then, compensating for the rhythmic unit [cadence] that had gone by, with another more precipitous unit he would almost fly, so rapid was his motion… But all this was nothing compared to what was observed when this gallant began to express the emotions of his soul through the motions of his body, and reveal them in his face, his eyes, his steps and all his actions.” — “The solo sarabande” from Pomey’s French and Latin dictionary (1671)
with a large knife, he hacked off pieces of any shape and size. He collected musical instruments and took snuff. He had a large collection of dolls whom he considered his family. One he called his “wife” and he would take the dolls out with him one by one on musical trips to the theaters.”
“Il Drago” Waltz-Variations Suggs
“Il Drago” Waltz-Variations are based on the third of the Dragonetti’s Twelve Waltzes for Solo Bass. Technique and range have changed drastically since the 20th century revolution in steel strings, and these WaltzVariations unfold in the style of a Paganini caprice with the quirky, tour de force spirit of Il Drago.
Born in Venice with a distinguished career as a double bassist in London, Domenico “Il Drago” Dragonetti spoke a strange dialect of Venetian, French, English, and Italian, and was constantly concerned about concert fees. Backstage while the audience applauded wildly for a solo encore, the “Paganini of the Double Bass” once said to the manager, “Das I play encora, mais si paye encora?” According to biographer Raymond Elgar, “He was most eccentric and when wanting some handkerchiefs was seen taking from an old chest a length of silk from which,
Dragonetti had a brown dog named Carlo who would sleep under his stool at the King’s Theater during performances. Elgar continues with another anecdote, “On one occasion Carlo accompanied a long sustained note from the singer Grisi with a melancholy whine. Grisi looked daggers and muttered a few words to the conductor… The musicians were convulsed with laughter (sotto voce), the occupants of the stalls were indignant, and the Prince Consort was annoyed. Dragonetti was so upset that he shed tears. This outrage on the feelings of the prima donna deprived Carlo of his free admission ticket.”
Menuetto Schubert “…Schubert’s [Menuetto] is a stylized, faintly nostalgic re-creation of the classical courtly dance…The first section closes with a naggingly memorable cadential phrase featuring both triplets and dotted
Program Notes, cont. rhythms; in the second part, after a poetic dip [in tonality]… the music dissolves in a chromatic haze. The lolloping Ländler trio (whose opening phrase inverts the minuet’s dotted upbeat) again conjures up village band associations. After a repeat of the minuet the hushed, twilit coda introduces a romantically evocative horn solo that inevitably calls to mind the close of the first movement.” – Richard Wigmore (Hyperion Records, 2002) Allegro zingarese Rossini “The first time I undertook to accompany at one of those soirées [in London] I was told that …the famous contrabass player Domenico Dragonetti would also be present. I thought that they would play solos. Not in the least! They were to support my accompaniment. ‘But do you have separate scores for all the pieces?’ I asked them. ‘God forbid!’ was the answer, ‘but we get well paid to accompany as we think best.’ Well those improvised attempts at instrumentation seemed to me a little too dangerous, and so I begged Dragonetti to satisfy himself with a few pizzicati each time I winked at him… Consequently, there were no bad accidents and everyone was satisfied.” – Rossini correspondence after meeting “Il Drago,” 1824 According to music broadcaster Richard Osborne, Domenico Dragonetti was “a man as keen on good food and high fees as Rossini himself.” The Duetto was commissioned soon after the “no bad accidents” soirée for fifty guineas by the wealthy London banker and amateur cellist David
Salomons (whose son took lessons with “Il Drago” three days a week for double London’s normal lesson rate at the time). Written the morning of the performance for a summer house concert in 1824, this duo was performed once that evening, never to see the light of day again until 1968, when the manuscript was rediscovered among the possessions of the Salomons family. EDM Caprices Suggs Although Bach was an extremely practical craftsman, there is not substantial evidence that the dance-titled movements of the Violin Sonatas or Cello Suites were crafted towards the practical purpose of accompanying dancers. Instead, Bach builds upon the framework of popular courtly styles to create dance music with aesthetic value independent of movement. EDM Caprices carry the spirit of Baroque dance suites by using different styles of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) as frameworks for tour de force instrumental compositions. Implied harmony, counterpoint, double-stops, and bariolage intersect with modern techniques to evoke the physicality, resonance, and colors of EDM producers without the aid of looping pedals or other special effects. The Chaconne after Daft Punk’s “Around The World” takes the four-chord pattern of the French electronic music duo as a “ground bass” against variations in high harmonics. The pizzicato Downtempo after Deadmau5’s “I Remember” utilizes
harp and guitar techniques to weave rich polyphony. The “wobbly” deep bass of the dubstep genre is emulated acoustically in the Finale when two low neighboring tones throb at near-unisons. Élégie ‘sur la mort d’un objet cheri’ Ernst “The Élégie will ever form the best monument of Ernst. It is known in every part of the world; it is played by the finished artist and the stumbling tiro, and, like the music of Mozart, even the clumsiest rendering fails to rob it altogether of its beauties. Vast audiences sit breathless while it takes form under the master bow of an artist... Ernst has written other compositions... but long before the Élégie will cease to rank as a stock piece in the repertoire… his other works will be buried in oblivion.” — The World of Music: The Great Virtuosi (1892) Note: this melody overcomes oblivion in concert programs principally by virtue of a transcription by bassist Giovanni Bottesini under the separate title “Adagio Melanconico ed Appassionato.” “When Wieniawski was in Paris… [the people] continually begged him to play at soirées. One Baroness in particular… would take no refusal… The Baroness, who was receiving her visitors at the head of the grand staircase, welcomed him with effusion, enchanted, delighted to receive such a distinguished guest and she begged Wieniawski to favor them by playing something.
“He glanced around, the Baroness had gone back to the head of the staircase, and there were present a few shriveled up old gentlemen and three or four young girls. ‘Bah!’ he said to his accompanist, shrugging his shoulders. ‘Let us play Ernst’s Élégie.’ (Now, you know that Ernst’s Élégie is of all compositions the most dull and uninteresting. It is tedious enough to drive a hearer to commit suicide.) “They played Ernst’s Élégie, and the Baroness, who had been out of hearing during the performance, came beaming into the room soon after. ‘Ah! monsieur, how beautiful! I cannot thank you enough, but might I dare to ask you to play once again? Yes?’ and she hastened away to welcome more guests. ‘What shall we play?’ asked the accompanist. ‘Let’s play Ernst’s Élégie again,’ Wieniawski said. “…Absolutely no one listened, but a little later in the evening the Baroness entered the room, more ecstatic in her admiration than ever. ‘Monsieur, the powers of the French language fail to express the beauty of that last work. Each of your selections is more exquisite than the one that preceded it. What! Going so soon?’ “…[And] as Wieniawski was leaving... one of the guests, a little shriveled old gentleman, who had been present from the beginning of the soirée, came up to the violinist, ‘M. Wieniawski,’ he piped, ‘I have felt the most profound admiration for your playing tonight. Indeed I have never missed a concert that you have given in Paris.’
Program Notes, cont. “Wieniawski bowed and the old gentleman continued: “There is one piece in your repertory that once made the most profound impression on me and I desire ardently to hear it again. Come with your violin, to my house tomorrow or the day after, and name your own terms, for before I die I must hear you play Ernst’s Élégie.’” — “As told by Rubinstein” in Music: A Monthly Magazine, Devoted to the Art, Science, Technic and Literature of Music, Volume 9 January 1, 1896 Apple Tree Suggs Apple Tree (2019) suggests the allegory of Eden; the performer-composer’s journey through spirals of self-consciousness; the grafting together of two instruments by shared resonance; and the trellising metronome of Nature around which ungovernable hands wind. Apple Tree was commissioned by the International Society of Bassists for the 2019 convention at Indiana University. “Kreutzer” Sonata Beethoven/Dragonetti In his sketchbook, Beethoven distinguishes this concerto-like sonata from his earlier sonatas scrawling out the title, “Sonata per il Pianoforte ed un Violino obligato in uno stilo molto concertante quasi come d’un Concerto.” On another draft of the score, he writes a pun based on the sonata’s (original) dedicatee George Bridgetower in quasi-Italian, “Sonata mulattica composta per il mulatto Brischdauer, gran pazzo e compositore
mulattico,” which could roughly mean: “A sonata of mixed colors, for the mulatto Bridgetower, a big crazy person and mixedup composer.” Bridgetower, a violinist and member of the London Philharmonic Society (colleagues with Dragonetti) was a son of an African father and Polish mother. He describes improvising during the premiere of the sonata in 1803, “When I accompanied him in this Sonata-Concertante at Wien, at the repetition of the first part of the Presto, I imitated the flight [wild arpeggiations of the piano]… He jumped up, embraced me, saying: “Noch einmal, mein lieber Bursch!” (“Once again, my dear boy!”). On the first copy, the sonata carried a dedication to Bridgetower – the two were very close during the violinist’s first trip to Vienna for the premiere, however, before he left Vienna the two had an argument “about a girl”, and Beethoven re-dedicated the work to violinist Rudolph Kreutzer in Paris who in turn… never performed the work. Meanwhile, Dragonetti went to Vienna to see Beethoven in 1799. Although many of his manuscripts are preserved in The British Library, a handwritten transcription Il Drago made of the Kreutzer Sonata was kept in a private collection by Raymond Elgar. With no accounts of other performances, tonight’s performance constitutes a revival – possibly even a modern premiere – of this transcription. According to Elgar, at the first meeting of the two artists, “[Beethoven] put before him the cello accompaniment to a piece
displaying a forest of notes. After Dragonetti had played this, Beethoven leapt up from the piano and could not refrain from embracing him.” The sheer physicality of Dragonetti’s tone must have pleased Beethoven since signs of the composer’s hearing loss began as early as 1798. Imagine Beethoven at more advanced stages of deafness clenching a stick in his teeth in order to hear the keyboard through bone conduction. Taking advantage of the deep voice of the double bass – which you listen to with your gut as much as your ears – this low transcription embraces its challenges.
Upcoming Events oct 22 Akropolis Reed Quintet Oneppo Chamber Music Series New works by Jeff Scott and Steven Snowden, as well as arrangements of Rameau and Gershwin. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $28, students $13
oct 26 Yale Choral Artists YSM Ensembles An all-Brahms vocal and piano four-hands program, with faculty pianists Robert Blocker and Melvin Chen. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall free
oct 24 YSM Alumni Concert YSM Special Events 3:00 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall free
oct 28 Omer String Quartet: Preview Concert Yale in New York The School of Music’s fellowship quartet-in-residence performs Blueprint, by YSM alumna Caroline Shaw ’07MM, Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 8, and Schumann’s Piano Quintet, with faculty pianist Melvin Chen. 7:30 p.m. | Sudler Recital Hall free
oct 25 Ludovic Morlot, guest conductor Yale Philharmonia Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony, Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, and Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition winner Jung Eun Kang. 7:30 p.m. | Woolsey Hall Tickets start at $12, Yale faculty/ staff $8, students free* $3 surcharge at the door
oct 30 Lunchtime Chamber Music 12:00 p.m. | Center for British Art free
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