Summary of Dissertation Recitals: Three Programs of Collaborative Piano Repertoire
Natalie Sherer · Deep Blue (University of Michigan) · 2022
Three recitals of collaborative piano repertoire form the culminating body of work described in this dissertation. These recitals represented a wide range of collaborative piano repertoire and included a balance of vocal and instrumental music. The first recital explored music of Norwegian and Russian composers who are often described as “nationalistic” in style through the performance of Edvard Grieg’s song cycle Haugtussa, Op. 67 and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 19. The second recital, “Sorrow & Ecstasy,” featured the complete songs of Henri Duparc. This performance was semi-staged and further enhanced by video projections with translations. The interactions of the four singers and the order of the songs helped create a loose narrative for the audience to follow; two of the singers became a couple and the other two singers had separate story lines. The final recital was a lecture and performance entitled “Metamorphosis” which centered on the macro- and micro-level transformations in Johannes Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34. On the macro level, the instrumentation of the piece morphed from a string quintet with two cellos to a sonata for two pianos to the final piano quintet version—essentially a hybrid of the two earlier versions. On the micro-level, Brahms’ use of developing variation technique means that he was constantly manipulating tiny motives to create new, yet highly related material and the majority of the piece generates from the motives, basic shapes, and intervals of the opening measures. Excerpts were incorporated into the lecture to allow the audience to compare the three versions of the piece and to hear examples of the developing motivic material before the piece was performed in its entirety. Saturday, December 11, 2021, 5:30 PM; Moore Building, Britton Recital Hall, University of Michigan. Antona Yost, mezzo-soprano; Anne Richardson, cello. Edvard Grieg, Haugtussa, op. 67; Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano, op. 19. Friday, February 25, 2022, 5:30 PM; Moore Building, Britton Recital Hall, University of Michigan. Megan Warburton, soprano; Aria Minasian, mezzo-soprano; Nicholas Music, tenor; Taewon Sohn, baritone. The Complete Vocal Music of Henri Duparc. Saturday, April 16, 2022, 3:00 PM, Moore Building, Britton Recital Hall, University of Michigan. Anna Black & William Thain, violins; Joshua Thaver, viola; Jacqueline Hager, cello. Johannes Brahms, Piano Quintet in F Minor, op. 34.