Molly Page

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Publication Date

Fall 11-15-2014

Year of Release

2014

Note(s)

Molly Page, violin

assisted by:

William Murphy, piano

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Music Performance. Ms. Page is a violin student in the studio of Dr. Elizabeth Reed Smith, and is a double major in Music Performance and Music Education.

Program Notes

Georg Philipp Telemann was a composer of the Baroque era and a contemporary to J.S. Bach. Telemann studied at Leipzig University and founded the Collegium Musicum for students. He worked in Hamburg as the Kantor of the Johanneum where he composed two cantatas per week and had the opportunity to work with the Hamburg Opera.

Telemann composed 12 Fantasias for Solo Violin in 1735 in Hamburg. The seventh Fantasia demonstrates the use of multiple voicings by using the different strings on the violin. The first movement, Dolce, has a sweet and flowing melody with a clear bass line that is played on the lowest string of the violin. The melodic line soars above on the higher strings. Allegro, the second movement, also has a clear distinction between the bass and treble line. The Largo has a slow melody that welcomes improvisations as the player repeats each section. Improvisation and the adding of ornamentation was a typical occurrence of the Baroque period. The last movement, Presto, includes the elements of different voicings, double stops, and the opportunity for the addition of improvisation and ornamentation as each section repeats.

Edvard Grieg composed his first violin sonata in the summer of 1865 near Copenhagen. Violin Sonata No. 1 was premiered in Leipzig at the Gewandhaus in November of 1865 during a recital by Anders Petersson, a Swedish violinist, and Edvard Grieg. The piece was praised by the Leipzig journal and Franz Liszt, which brought about the publication of more editions.

This piece was composed using themes from Norwegian folk music and is nationalistic in style. This Sonata has been called the "Spring Sonata" due to the thrilled sounds that are reminiscent of young love. The first movement, Allegro con brio, is in sonata form but includes harmonies that leave the listener unsure of how the movement will unfold. The second movement, Allegro quasi Andantino, uses themes from a folk dance called Springar in the Trio section. This folk tune was typically played on a Hardanger fiddle that has a flat bridge to allow the player to play double-stops at ease. The third movement, Allegro mo/to vivace, is in sonata form and has repetitious phrases that bring the piece to a close.

Lukas Foss was born in Berlin as Lukas Fuchs. Due to the rapidly changing political climate in Germany, the Foss family fled to Paris. Lukas began studying at the Paris Conservatoire and composed his first piece at the age of seven. In 1937 the Foss family moved to the United States, and Lukas continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia.

Foss received the Pulitzer Prize and became a citizen of the United States in 1942. This, combined with an increase in patriotism from the war effort, was the inspiration for Three American Pieces which was composed in 1945. The work was premiered the same year by violinist Roman Totenberg at Carnegie Hall. Totenberg was born in Poland and had also recently become an American citizen. In 1990 the piece was orchestrated for Itzhak Perlman. Early Song; the first movement, uses a repeated melodious theme representative of American nationalism. This theme gives a feeling of hope for the future and longing for the way things used to be, the early years. The double-stops and changing time signatures are dancelike and give the feeling of moving forward. Fragments of the main theme reappear at the ending of the movement with the last fragment played sul ponticello, meaning over the bridge, to create a metallic sound and a feeling of closure to the movement.

Gwyneth Walker was born in New York City and grew up in the town of New Canaan, Connecticut. She has a B.A, M.M., and D.M.A. in Composition from Brown University and the Hartt School of Music. Walker became a professor at the Oberlin College Conservatory but stepped clown in 1982 to become a full time composer and live on a dairy farm in Vermont. She now lives in her hometown of New Canaan Connecticut and spends much time in Sarasota, Florida and Randolph, Vermont.

The Fantasy Etudes for Violin and Piano is a programmatic work that was composed in 1992. It was premiered in Syracuse, New York in May of that year. These etudes were originally composed for the pianist Margery Connor and Pamela Connor, her 13-year-old violinist daughter. These etudes were composed with the idea that they would be fun for all ages and skill levels. The first movement is called Countdown and acts as an introduction to the set of etudes. Lyric, the second movement, incorporates a melody that is traded off between the violin and piano. At the end of the movement, the violin is given the figure again but it is rhythmically free. The following movement is called Rough Rhythms, which incorporates changing meters of 5/8 and 3/4. Romance is a waltz in the romantic style with many tempo changes. The last movement, Strolling on Fredrick Street, was inspired by Fredrick Street m San Francisco and composed while Gwyneth Walker lived there. This movement has a jazz feel and welcomes the incorporation of slides.

Jenö Hubay was born in Pest, Hungary and studied violin with his father until he moved to Berlin to study with famous violinist Joseph Joachim. Hubay became a virtuosic traveling musician after moving to Paris. During his time in Paris, he was given the position of Professor of Violin at the renowned Brussels Conservatoire. Hubay eventually moved back to Hungary after 1890 to live his life as a composer and a teacher. Hubay became the Director of Music at the Budapest Academy of Music in 1919 and continued work there until a few years before his death in 1937,

In 1890 Hubay composed Hejre Kati, or "Hello Katie". This work is considered the most popular of the many Csárda that Hubay composed. A Csárda is a traditional Hungarian folk dance. Hejre Kati uses traditional Hungarian folk tunes such as The Yellow Stallion and The love of a Young Baron. This piece was originally intended for Hubay to perform himself, but he eventually orchestrated and dedicated this piece to other violinists. -notes by Molly Page

Note

Smith Recital Hall

Library of Congress Authorities

Grieg, Edvard, 1843-1907. Sonatas, violin, piano, no. 1, op. 8, F major

Telemann, Georg Philipp, 1681-1767. Fantasie, violin, TWV 40:14-25. N. 7

Foss, Lukas, 1922-2009. American pieces. Early song

Hubay, Jenő, 1858-1937. Szenen aus der Czárda, no. 4

Keywords

recitals, violin and piano music, violin

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Fine Arts | Music | Music Performance

Marshall University Music Department Presents a Senior Recital, Molly Page, violin

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