It took composer William Bolcom over 40 years to compose his second piano concerto after his first.
When Volcom was putting the finishing touches its first concertoin 1976, where he had already achieved fame as part of the ragtime revival of the era. , contributed to a new wave of writing in the form. “Heliotrope Bouquet”
The milestone came after the premiere of the Concerto. Volcom’s prismatic ’12 new etudes for piano’—which contained a significant drop of lagging energy— won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1988.In his decade, William Blake’s “Song of Innocence and Experience” It was a multilingual achievement, full of music that might take over the style of Reggae and Tin Pan Alley.
As a symphony and other works for soloist and orchestra While continuing to emerge from Volcom’s workshop, no new piano concertos followed – a peculiar development given his own status as a keyboardist. But that streak came to an end this April when Igor Levitt and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra gave the world premiere of Volcom’s Piano Concerto No.
Never mind if the premiere took place in America, the major presentation of the music by Volcom, an American, has become obsolete. Heidelberger Frühling FestivalThat organization, which commissioned a new Volcom concerto with Levitt in mind, thankfully recorded the performance.and recently it was posted a video on youtube.
In a phone interview, Levitt described Volcom as one of the “very important composers of our time” and was delighted to see how the composer, now 84, was included in the rehearsal process. I’m talking Ann Arbor, Michigan “You can see that writing this piece and the music, whatever the music, really means the world to him,” Levitt said. “He was happy like a child in the most beautiful way.”
In a joint interview from home with Joan Morris, his wife and collaborator, Volcom completed several sentences and added cabaret-style jokes. Kalamazoo Festival 2018.
“I said,” added Volcom.
“I’m interested in dialogue,” he said, describing the ideal relationship between pianist and orchestra.
Volcom’s second piano concerto, with a running time of 24 minutes, reflects the balance while integrating different musical traditions. In the early days, there are some gentle yet mystical motifs reminiscent of the song-filled colorism of Olivier Messiaen. But before long, pianistic marching leads the orchestra into a punchy environment of percussive Americana, in a shift few composers have handled so well.
and Accompanying documentary For the festival to produce and post online, Levitt says that Volcom described the concerto to him as “a serene piece for an unsound age.” Therein lies a hint of Volcom’s penchant for political commentary. He described the 2017 trio finale for horn, violin and piano as a “decisive march of resistance” to the 2016 presidential election. As far back as the first piano concerto written for the 200th anniversary of the post-Watergate independence of the United States, Volcom wrote: “One of the most bitter works” he was ever pregnant.
But such constant disillusionment never wavered Bolcom’s imagination. His first concerto is an ironic heap of melodic sentiment presumed to be patriotic, whereas it ends with an Ives-like riotous parade of quotes. but also fermented by some vibrant twists, all of which are nicely served by the Levitt and Mahler Chamber Orchestra conducted by Elim Chan.
This blend of joy and almost painful romantic longing comes to the fore in another recent recording of Volcom’s music as well. It is by pianist Marc-André Hamelin, who first recorded “12 new etudes” and also released his first piano album. concerto.
Hamelin’s new recording, “Bolcom: The Complete Rags” is — the truth of the title! — the only survey of this catalog that has managed to sweep away some of the syncopated pieces that the composer has ventured into this century. Hamelin’s interpretation is a wonderful, moving account of this lush and complex music, even if it lacks a bit of the rambunctious energy he brings to rags like “Seabiscuits Rag.”
Volcom’s ability to move between emotional poles in rags and concertos is part of the great appeal of his music. When I asked him about the surprising appearance of his part electric his keyboard in his Third Symphony, I thought it sounded like a mid-century parody of his American modernism, or a fusion era. ‘s Miles explained that it is sometimes reminiscent of his Davis. He held his stomach and laughed.
“First of all, what’s not fun for me is being able to fully explain everything,” he said. “It’s inexplicable to me. I mean, musically it’s flying in the seat of my pants. And although he declined to specify any musical references, he said, ‘From the beginning, I love theater. It was,” he admitted.
You can see it in comic operas such as Lucrezia, but also in the wild transitions incorporated into instrumental pieces. The new Piano Concerto also manages to surprise, although it’s not just about shock value.
For Levitt, the concerto has “excellent writing and a level of seriousness and dedication to every detail.” But in all its sophistication, Levitt said it shares key characteristics with the music of American artists such as Esperanza Spalding, Fred Hirsch and Frederick Jehusky. .
“They never lost touch with the people who listened to their music,” Levitt said. “This wire to the audience, the wire to the dimension of the hall, is what really inspires me deeply.”