Rhapsody Macabre
Rhapsodie Macabre is a composition for piano and string quartet by Graham Waterhouse . He wrote it in 2011 as a homage to Franz Liszt and played the cello part in the world premiere at the Liszt Festival 2011 in Gasteig , Munich.
History, structure and music
Waterhouse composed the work for the final concert of the Liszt Festival in Gasteig, which, on the occasion of its 200th birthday, under the title “Hommage à Liszt”, contrasted its chamber music with works by Waterhouse. The composer's title already ties in with works by Liszt, his rhapsodies , the dance of death he began in 1849 - a paraphrase on Dies irae for piano and orchestra and his arrangement for piano of the Danse macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns . Waterhouse also quotes the Gregorian theme “ Dies irae ” several times and uses elements that he found in Liszt's music: virtuoso piano music, “harmonious colors through chord formations with predominantly thirds or fourths ”, “timbre as a structuring medium, extreme registers in the piano, percussive interjections ”As well as the transformation of“ main theme in the course of the work ”, with the“ Dies irae ”theme playing a special role. The piece, a "chamber music with concertante elements", is composed through, but divided into five sections:
- Allegro alla toccata
- Presto precipitando
- Adagio lusingando
- Vivace
- Con moto giusto
The toccata- style section is based on two themes, including the “Dies irae”. In the second section, this theme appears both lyrical and ironic. In the third section, the strings introduce a vocal melody that the piano takes over and leads to dialogue. The fourth section is a “demonic” Scherzo in 6/8 time . The finale brings together all the threads and ends with a coda that with Presto is called.
A review in the Süddeutsche Zeitung compares the music with a “ghostly dreamlike ride through unreal landscapes, full of surprising twists and turns and events”.
Performances
The world premiere was played on October 23, 2011 as part of the Liszt Festival by the pianist Valentina Babor , strings of the Munich Philharmonic , Clément Courtin, Namiko Fuse and Konstantin Sellheim, and the composer as cellist. The ensemble played a number of concerts in the Munich area, for example on March 20, 2012 at the Munich University of Music in a juxtaposition to Beethoven's piano quartets and Waterhouse 's Three Pieces for Solo Cello . The musicians played the first performance in England on October 9, 2012 in London at the Highgate School , of which the composer was a student, in a portrait concert. The reviewer described the work as a mini piano concerto .
Web links
- Rhapsody Macabre on the Graham Waterhouse website
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Rhapsody Macabre . Graham Waterhouse . 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ a b Homage to Liszt . Gasteig . 2011. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ Fresh and wild / exciting chamber music in Gilching (PDF; 52 kB) Süddeutsche Zeitung . February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
- ↑ A Recital of Music by Graham Waterhouse (OC) ( English , PDF; 59 kB) Highgate School. P. 3, 4. 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- ^ Peter Grahame Woolf: Graham Waterhouse Portrait Concert ( English ) musicalpointers.co.uk. October 9, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
