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Publication Date

Spring 4-27-2007

Year of Release

2007

Note(s)

Rebecca Marie Murphy, double bass

Minna Aminzadeh, violin

accompanied by:

Yesim Dikener, piano

These recitals are presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education. Ms. Murphy is a student in the studio of Dr. Solen Dikener and Ms. Aminzadeh is a student in the studio of Dr. Elizabeth Reed Smith.

Program Notes

Serge Rachmaninoff is perhaps best known for his piano music, characterized by an unmistakable Russian melancholy. A similar yearning pervades the beautiful wordless song "Vocalise." Originally for voice and piano, bassist Oscar Zimmerman has arranged it in D minor for double bass. As the long, expressive melody unfolds over gently shifting harmonies, the most important considerations for the soloist are phrasing, dynamics and tone color.

Austrian composer and violinist Karl Ditters was born in 1739 in Vienna to imperial court and theatre costumer Paul Ditters. He began taking violin lessons at age seven and by age thirteen was playing professionally. While still in his early twenties he was hired to play in a court orchestra and later became a court composer. His new post as court composer required a noble title so Ditters was sent to Vienna and received a title, von Dittersdorf.

With the exception of his pieces for the double bass, his works are seldom performed today. Although he has almost been forgotten, he was well-known in his time and an influential composer of the Classical period. The Concerto in E Major for Double Bass and Orchestra contains comedic innuendos reminiscent of opera buffa. The Cadenza you will hear tonight was composed jointly by Mrs. Murphy and Dr. Şőlen Dikener.

Italian composer Benedetto Marcello was the youngest child of a Venetian nobleman. His father taught him to play the violin, but later discouraged his developing interest in singing and counterpoint, wanting him to pursue a legal career. Marcello composed approximately 700 works including secular works for one or two voices and continue, instrumental works, the Psalms of David and four oratorios. Marcello's "Sonata No. 4" is one in a series of six sonatas for violoncello and piano.

Chanson de Matin is one of a pair of songs by the English composer Edward Elgar. Originally for violin and small orchestra, Chanson de Matin was premiered at Queen's Hall in London September 14, 1901. The first song of this set was originally titled Evensong but Elgar's publisher decided French titles sold better and renamed it "Chanson de Nuit." Therefore, when Elgar finished the second, he named it "Chanson de Matin" (Morning Song). This piece exhibits many folk-like qualities found in English compositions at the tum of the century.

Robert Schumann wrote his first Violin Sonata in one week in mid-September of 1851. During the time from September to early November, he wrote many works for other instruments, totaling around 150. After the debut of this sonata, Schumann was displeased with it, so he wrote the second sonata for violin. The first movement is in a minor in a modified sonata form. The recapitulation delves into A major until the coda that explores different tonalities. The second movement is a gentle rondo in F major alternating between lyrical and forward moving sections. The third movement is fast with a driving sixteenth note motif, and briefly revisits the theme from the first movement.

Alfred Schnittke was a Russian composer born to Jewish parents. He studied composition in Moscow, and composed film scores for financial support. The Suite in the Olden Style originated from a film score for The Adventures of a Dentist. Schnittke took Baroque themes and transformed them by adding neo-classical elements such as atonal chords. This use of more than one style is a term he coined "polystylism," in which the past and present styles juxtapose one another. Schnittke stated, "the goal of my life is to unify serious music and light music, even if I break my neck in doing so."

Pablo de Sarasate was a Spanish violinist who wrote many pieces for his own public performances. Displaying virtuosic technique at the age of eight, Sarasate's playing has been characterized by Carl Flesch as "aesthetic moderation, euphony, and technical perfection ... he represented a completely new type of violinist." Because of his impact in the violin world, many significant works were dedicated to him, such as Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, as well as Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole. Spanish folk melodies are very evident in his works, along with flashy passages, including the use of artificial harmonics and fast runs.

Note

Jomie Jazz Forum

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Fine Arts | Music | Music Performance

Marshall University Music Department Presents a Senior Recitals, Rebecca Marie Murphy, double bass, and, Minna Aminzadeh, violin

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