Yuri McCoy

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Publication Date

1-29-2008

Year of Release

2008

Note(s)

Yuri McCoy

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in performance. Mr. McCoy is a student in the studio of Dr. Leslie Petteys.

Program Notes

Well-Tempered Clavier

Bach was born in the small town of Eisenach, in what was then Saxony. He did not travel to Italy, France, or England to study music, in fact, he never once left Germany. Although Bach's list of catalogued works numbers over a thousand his early reputation was made as an organist. He traveled extensively throughout southern Saxony, but never too far from his birthplace in central Germany.

The Prelude in A major from Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier actually more closely resembles the structure of a fugue. The three-bar subject is light and song-like, and is first stated by the soprano voice m the tome key. Altogether there are six entries of the subject, and four of them use the same countersubjects which accompany the first statement.

The Fugue in A major is very playful in character. The Subject enters on a single eighth note, followed by three eighth rests. This silence is wholly unexpected, as most of Bach fugues have a perpetual motion about them. The fugue is interesting because of Bach's use of hemiolas, syncopations, and other unexpected rhythmic devices. Metric ambiguity often occurs between the voices.

Although the preludes and fugues that make up the Well-Tempered Clavier were composed not for the concert hall, but for the private study of musicians, they have nonetheless become a staple of the pianist's repertoire.

Piano Sonata op. 2, no. 3

Beethoven's Piano Sonata op. 2, no. 3 was composed two years after he moved to Vienna in 1793. The Op. 2 piano sonatas (published in 1796) and the Op. 10, No. 1 piano sonatas are the only works that date from 1795. He was studying with Franz Joseph Haydn at the time, but grew increasingly dissatisfied with the tutelage be provided.

Nevertheless, Beethoven's Op. 2 piano sonatas were dedicated to Haydn. The third of the set, in C major, is an unconventional four-movement form. The first movement is clear structurally. It is a sonata process, but right before the closing there is a short cadenza, an element seen most often in the classical concerto.

The second movement begins with a slow chorale that strictly adheres to the rules of voice-leading. There is not only a great contrast in mood from the first movement, but a great shift in tonality to the unusually distant key of E major. Typically there is a strong emphasis of the tonic dominant relationships between movements.

The third movement is short, witty, and full of life. The opening motive consists of three slurred eighth notes followed by three short quarter notes. These two ideas are to be played with a small, nearly indistinguishable break in between. This gives the scherzo a sense of playfulness throughout.

The last movement begins in the tonic, C major. Beethoven provides mainly challenges for the performer in this movement, such as blocked arpeggio accompaniments fast leaps of more than an octave, and triple note trills.

The sonatas of Op. 2 are much longer than any sonatas by Beethoven’s predecessors. Unusual syncopations, rhythms, and distant key tonicizations pervade these three early sonatas. The Op. 2 sonatas are the first clue Beethoven gives us that suggest he is not content to remain an expositor of Haydn and Mozart's great tradition.

Etude Tableaux op. 33, No. 6

Rachmaninoff’s Etude-Tableaux in E-flat minor from Nine Etudes, Op. 33 was composed in 1911 during an extremely productive point in his career. It dates from the same period his Second Symphony and symphonic work, The Isle of the Dead, were composed. His mature style is clearly represented within the set of Nine Etudes, op. 33.

The Etude in E flat minor from op. 33 has many challenges, some of which are obvious upon first hearing this piece. Some of the more apparent technical issues this piece addresses include: velocity, large leaps, control, legato, and playing very soft, very fast. Beyond the surface, the piece trains the pianist to be able to change the shape of the hand very quickly, and to be able to switch moods, articulations, and character, from one beat to the next. A great deal can be learned from the study of Rachmaninoff’s Etudes Tableaux op. 33. Along with being a great training tool, they can also provide a good cornerstone to any pianist's repertoire.

Polonaise Fantasie op. 61

The Polonaise Fantasie, Op. 61, dedicated to Mme A. Veyret, was composed during Chopin's last decline of health. It was to be his last polonaise. The Polonaise Fantasie, Op. 61 was published m 1846 after all hopes of returning to his native Poland were lost due to ill health. It bears Fantastic in the title because it is highly improvisatory and because the three mam sections are linked together by various transitions to form one large work. The very opening of the work foreshadows the eventual entrance of the main polonaise theme, which is delayed until the third page. The middle section in B major is lyrical and begins with much more harmonic stability, than the previous section. Soon, the calm B major section becomes extremely chromatic, however, as the transition is made into the last section of the work. This finale requires much virtuosity and bravura playing. The closing is marked with many dotted rhythms and triplets, which eventually come to a docile close. The work is draped with an aura of longing and unrest due to unstable harmonies and seemingly endless transitions, but still manages to retain the majestic character typical of the polonaise.

Piano Sonata No. 1 (1990)

Carl Vine's First Piano Sonata was dedicated to Michael Harvey, an Australian pianist who also premiered the work in May of 1992. The Sonata was modeled after, and inspired by the Elliot Carter Piano Sonata. of 1942, this being the source of Vine's unusual two-movement form. Carl Vine sought to explore the many sonorities of the instrument, and to create sounds that the listener does not expect to hear in a piano sonata.

The two movements are similar in form; they both have three distinct sections. However, the order of tempi is opposite. The first movement is slow, fast slow but the second movement is fast, slow, fast, followed by a coda.

After the brilliant climax near the end of the second movement, the piece ends as it began. The chord progression from the opening of movement one descends to the keyboard's lowest register and remains there for the final bars.

Note

Smith Recital Hall

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Fine Arts | Music | Music Performance

Marshall University Music Department Presents a Senior Piano Recital, Yuri McCoy

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