Rhapsodie Macabre
| Rhapsodie Macabre | |
|---|---|
| Piano quintetbyGraham Waterhouse | |
 The composer in 2011 | |
| Year | 2011 |
| Period | contemporary |
| Occasion | centenary ofFranz Liszt |
| Movements | 1 in 5 sections |
| Scoring | piano,twoviolins,viola,cello |
Rhapsodie Macabreis a composition for piano andstring quartetin one movement byGraham Waterhouse,written in 2011 as a homage toFranz Liszt.It was first performed at a Liszt festival of theGasteig,Munich, with the composer playing the cello part.
History, structure and music
[edit]Waterhouse composed the work as the closing work of the 2011 Liszt Festival at the Gasteig, Munich, played in a concert of works by Liszt and Waterhouse.[1]He combined elements of Liszt's music such as "virtuosic piano writing", "characteristic harmonic colour through the piling up of similar intervals", "timbre as a structural device, delineating form by extremes of high and low texture, as well as by the return of percussive elements" and "recurrence and transformation of idees fixes"themes,notably theDies irae theme.[1]The work developed to a "scaled down piano concerto", combining concertante elements for the piano with chamber music writing for the strings.[2]
The work is in one movement, structured in five sections:
- Allegro alla toccata
- Presto precipitando
- Adagio lusingando
- Vivace
- Con moto giusto[1]
The first section, like atoccata,is based on two themes, one of them the "Dies irae". In the second section, this theme "appears both in lyrical as well as in satirical guise". The third section introduces acantabileline in the strings and leads to a dialogue of piano and first violin. The fourth section is a "demonic scherzo in 6/8 time". The finale combines the material of all previous sections and ends with a fastcoda.[2]
A review in theSüddeutsche Zeitungcompares the music to a dreamlike ride through surreal territory, full of surprising events and turns.[3]A reviewer inDas Orchesternoted that the work has gestural moments ( "gestische Momente)" and that it refers to music from the past, including the "Dies irae", discreetly woven in the texture. He described a theatrical danse macabre led by the first violin, using thetritone.[4]
Performances and recording
[edit]The premiere was played at the Liszt Festival 2011 of the Gasteig by pianistValentina Babor,string players of theMünchner PhilharmonikerClément Courtin, Namiko Fuse andKonstantin Sellheim,and the composer as the cellist.[5]The same ensemble played several concerts in the Munich area, for example on 20 March 2012 at theHochschule für Musik München,combining works of Waterhouse, includingThree Pieces for Solo Cello,with piano quartets of Beethoven. They performed the premiere in the UK on 9 October 2012 atHighgate School,London, the composer's former school, in a concert dedicated to works by Waterhouse.[2]The reviewer termed the work a mini-piano concerto.[6]
Rhapsodie Macabreis part of a CDSkylla und Charybdisof the composer's works for piano and strings. It was released in 2020 by Farao Classics, and introduced by a concert at the Munich Gasteig on 6 March 2021.[7][8][4]
References
[edit]- ^abc"Rhapsodie Macabre".Graham Waterhouse.2011.Retrieved9 October2012.
- ^abc"A Recital of Music by Graham Waterhouse (OC)"(PDF).Highgate School.2012. pp. 3, 4.Retrieved11 October2012.
- ^"Frisch und wild / Packende Kammermusik in Gilching"(PDF)(in German).Süddeutsche Zeitung.13 February 2012.Retrieved18 February2012.
- ^abDrees, Stefan (May 2021)."Graham Waterhouse / Skylla und Charybdis – Kammermusik".Das Orchester(in German): 91.Retrieved5 May2021.
- ^"Hommage à Liszt".Gasteig.2011. Archived fromthe originalon 4 April 2012.Retrieved9 October2012.
- ^Woolf, Peter Grahame (9 October 2012)."Graham Waterhouse Portrait Concert".musicalpointers.co.uk.Retrieved10 October2012.
- ^"Skylla und Charybdis".Farao Classics. 2020.Retrieved8 February2021.
- ^""Skylla und Charybdis" / Kammermusik von Graham Waterhouse und Ludwig van Beethoven ".Gasteig.March 2021.Retrieved5 March2021.
External links
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