a Scottish folk song. The text was from Bishop Percy’s Reliques of Ancient
English Poetry. The story was about a son who killed his father, and accused his
mother as the instigator. It begins with an Andante opening in D minor, with the
mother addressing her son, “Dein Schwert, wie ist’s von Blut so rot?” – “Your
sword, why is it so red with blood?” – the son responds – “ O ich hab’
geschlagen meinen Geier tot.” – “I have beaten my vulture to death.” Brahms
used this text again later in his Op. 75, No.1 duet for contralto and tenor. The
dramatic realization of “Edward” is indeed a great drama which unfolds without
the need of words.
The second of the ballades is the best example of Rubinstein’s description of the
young Brahms – full of optimistic vigor and a Schubertian gift of song. The
opening also begins andante, spinning out one of the most heart-felt themes; the
majestic second theme sandwiched by a graceful pizzicato middle section offers
a glimpse of Brahms as an orchestral composer. Finally we are indulged one last
time by the returning first theme, enriched with a cello and bass line. The third
of the set, titled Intermezzo, is a ghostly reminiscence of Brahms’ Scherzo, Op.4.
An allegro opening leads to a cantabile angelic middle section, in which
Brahms explores the upper register of the piano. The last of the set is also
reminiscent, but in this case of a later work – the Intermezzo Op.119, No. 1. The
middle section, which marked Col intimissimo sentimento, echoes his intimate
and sentimental late piano style. Brahms displays his mastery of imitative
devices in the interchanging figurations of the hands; he also displays the daring
harmonization and rich sonorities, which already reveal the unmistakable voice
of Brahms as a young man.
— Carmen Li
Even if a composer deliberately writes music to follow a story line, the ultimate
meaning of great music is not the story but the sounds themselves – and all the
underlying emotions and feelings that the composer has worked to express.
Those emotions are not ‘extras’, but an integral part of the music. In fact, they
are what the music is all about.
— Leonard Bernstein
Personal Thanks:
I would like to thank my parents, who supported my decision in pursuing music
in the middle of my college career. Thank you for believing in me; to the
Stanfords and the Walkers, many thanks to your love and support; to all my
friends here at UNCG, your friendship is greatly appreciated; and last but not
least, my teacher Dr. Willis, thank you for your wonderful guidance and
continual inspiration.
Huayin Carmen Li
piano
Senior Recital
Sunday, May 5, 2002
1:30 pm
Recital Hall, School of Music
Program
Images, Book II Claude Debussy
Cloches à travers les feuilles. (1862–1918)
Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut.
Poissons d’or.
Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI: 20 Franz Joseph Haydn
Moderato (1732–1809)
Andante con moto
Allegro
intermission
Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 860 Johann Sebastian Bach
from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier I (1685–1750)
Ballades, Op. 10 Johannes Brahms
Andante (1833–1897)
Andante; Allegro non troppo
Intermezzo: Allegro
Andante con moto; Più lento
Etude in G# minor, Op. 25, No. 6 Frédéric Chopin
Etude in C minor, Op. 25, No. 12 (1810–1849)
In partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the
Bachelor of Music in Performance
Music paints everything, even objects that are perceived only by the ear.
— Henri Rousseau
Claude Debussy’s fascination with painting is evident in the titles he gave to
many of his compositions, among them Estampes (1903), the two sets of Images
(1905 & 1907) and the Images for Orchestra (1912). Cloches à travers les
feuilles (Bells through the leaves) evokes an ambiguous mixture of chimes
sounding from far and near, through the leaves of an ancient forest. In the
second piece Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut, Debussy further explores
the diverse sonority of the high and low registers of the keyboard. The use of the
pentatonic scale and parallel chords suggest the oriental influence of the Arabian
enchantment One Thousand and One Nights. The title means “And the moon
descends on the temple that was,” full of mystery and antiquity, was given by
Louis Laloy (author of Debussy’s first French biography). The third piece
Poissons d’or does not refer to a goldfish in a bowl, but a coy fish (Poisson
rouge) from an oriental lacquer painting in Debussy’s collection. The bright,
sparkly image of the coy fish is hardly a static contemplation of the painting.
The musical depiction of flashes of sunlight and gleams of moving fins suggest
that musical thoughts should have our attention rather than the pictorial titles.
C.P.E. Bach was one of Joseph Haydn’s idols even though the two had never
met. Haydn incorporated many of Bach’s ideas in his keyboard sonatas. This
sonata was one of the first in which Haydn used dynamic markings in his
manuscript (due to the emergence of the forte piano). It was included in a set of
six sonatas (Hob. XVI: 35 – 39, 20) dedicated to the Auenbrugger sisters in
1780. In a letter Haydn referred to it as “the longest and most difficult of the
six.” Haydn’s love for surprises shared the stylistic ideals of the Emfindsamkeit
(the sensitive style) of C.P.E. Bach.
The contrast of sudden harmonic changes and dynamic outbursts with elegance
and humor make up the duality of this sonata. The first movement has an
expressive and melancholy opening followed by a march-like middle section;
the second movement is a dignified and reserved Handelian aria with walking
bass offset by syncopated rhythms – an ingenious touch by Haydn; the tranquil
slow movement leads to the finale, full of Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress),
with rapid sixteenth notes and delicious dissonance. The sonata ends in an
undulating cadenza-like coda.
“The 21-year-old composer of the four Ballades, Op.10 (1854) was full of
optimistic vigor and an almost Schubertian gift of song.” This was a remark by
the legendary Artur Rubinstein, who put the entire Op.10 on his recording titled
“The Brahms I Love.” The first of the Ballades, titled “Edward,” was originally
Huayin Carmen Li
piano
Senior Recital
Sunday, May 5, 2002
1:30 pm
Recital Hall, School of Music
Program
Images, Book II Claude Debussy
Cloches à travers les feuilles. (1862–1918)
Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut.
Poissons d’or.
Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI: 20 Franz Joseph Haydn
Moderato (1732–1809)
Andante con moto
Allegro
intermission
Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 860 Johann Sebastian Bach
from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier I (1685–1750)
Ballades, Op. 10 Johannes Brahms
Andante (1833–1897)
Andante; Allegro non troppo
Intermezzo: Allegro
Andante con moto; Più lento
Etude in G# minor, Op. 25, No. 6 Frédéric Chopin
Etude in C minor, Op. 25, No. 12 (1810–1849)
In partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the
Bachelor of Music in Performance
