This program is a journey that alternates between the romantic and impressionist styles, two of my favorite genres of classical music. Every piece on this program evokes vivid soundscapes and each composer uses descriptive titles to help guide both the listener and the performer. I invite you to unlock your creative minds and imagine how these pieces might translate onto your own personal mental canvases.
The ‘naturesque’ journey of the first half begins with the impressions of nature and sceneries in Claude Debussy’s evocative Estampes, to the intimate but slightly less serene Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), Op. 82 by Robert Schumann. Estampes transports us firstly to South Asia in the movement “Pagodes (Pagodas)”, then to Spain with the sensual Habanera rhythms in La Soirée dans Grenade (The Evening in Granada), and finally to some Normandy gardens in the final movement, Jardins sous la pluie (Gardens in the Rain). Waldszenen follows, which is one of Schumann’s final major piano work. With movements so defined like “Lonely Flowers”, “Hunting Song”, and “Bird as Prophet”, to name a few, Schumann brilliantly brings these settings to life. Schumann, though not quite 40 years old when Op. 82 was written, was already fighting many personal demons during his mental decline; as stunningly beautiful as these movements are, there is much darkness that exists veiled throughout the work as a whole.
The second half begins in a much more cheerful manner, with Maurice Ravel’s Valses Nobles et Sentimentales. In Ravel’s own autobiographical sketch, he writes “The title Valses nobles et sentimentales sufficiently indicates my intention of composing a series of waltzes in imitation of Schubert. Here we have a markedly clearer kind of writing, which crystallizes the harmony and sharpens the profile of the music.” It is sometimes sentimental as the title suggests, and all the while elegant, sensual and even joking at times. The waltz rhythm is consistent even when moods are contrasting throughout the different movements.
Finally, the program ends with the incredible Ballade no. 4 in F minor, by Frederic Chopin. One of my favorite pieces in the piano repertoire, this ‘ballad’ or story is an epic dramatic journey of very intimate moments of introspection to moments of profound transcendental emotions.
Chelsea Wang
