GUILLAUME CONNESSON (b.1970): Techno-Parade (2002)
“Techno-Parade was written with a continuous pulsation, from start to finish. There are two decisive motives, swirling and colliding together, giving the piece its character, festive and disquieting at the same time. The wailing of the clarinet and the obsessive patterns of the piano seek to recapture the fierce energy of techno music. … The three instruments seem drawn into a rhythmic trance that carries the piece to its conclusion in a frenetic tempo.”
—Guillaume Connesson
Originally composed for flute, clarinet, and piano, Guillaume Connesson’s Techno Parade is an exhilarating showcase of rhythmic vitality and virtuosic flair. The piece is driven by a relentless techno beat, featuring a percussion break in the middle where the piano explores extended techniques involving a brush and 15 sheets of paper. Overflowing with vibrant energy, Techno Parade celebrates contemporary classical music’s fusion with electronic influences.
AKANE TSUJI-NAKANISHI (b.1964): Songs (2004)
poem analyses written by Elsa Verdehr
“This work consists of twelve songs inspired by Japanese haiku, waka, and other poetry from the ancient era to the 20th century. Starting from the early spring’s sparkle, the twelve songs circle around the seasons and return with the first introduction of the next spring’s sparkle. I would like to acknowledge the instrumentation—violin, clarinet, piano—which is so inspiring, talkative without words, and dynamic enough to tell the story of a whole year !!”
—Akane Tsuji-Nakanishi
I. It is spring!
“The waterfall rushes down over rocks and nearby the small bracken have put forth their shoots. It is spring!” —Prince Shiki
This famous poem about spring has long been loved. Winter is gone, spring is here; let’s go out to the fields. Prince Shiki was the son of Emperor Tenji.
II. My heart at fifteen
“Sprawled out on the grass at Kozukata Castle, sucked up into the sky—my heart at fifteen.” —Ishikawa Takuboku
From Ichiaku no Suna (A Handful of Sand), 1910, this is a nostalgic self-portrait of Takuboku as a young man still full of dreams. Kozukata was the ruins of the castle of the 200,000-koku fief of Nambu Han. Today it is Iwate Park in Morioka City.
III. If I did not exist
“If I did not exist, my world would not exist, he would not exist—and then there would be no passion to burn my soul.” —Yanagihara Byakuren
From Fumie (Treading Pictures), 1915. Byakuren was the daughter of a count who married twice but then fell in love with someone else and ran away with him. Her life was a continuing battle to honor her own feelings and for a woman’s right to live freely in spite of society’s strictures.
IV. White Bird
“White bird, are you not sad? You drift, never dyed by the blue of the sea or the sky’s azure.” —Wakayama Bokusui
From Umi no Koe (Sea Voices), 1908, Bokusui’s first volume of tanka. Contrasting the white of the bird (a seagull) with the blue of the sea and sky, the poet grieves over the bird, alive in the midst of nature’s vastness, and over his own youthful loneliness.
V. The first breeze of summer!
“Let me become the breeze! Let me become the first breeze of summer!” —Kawakami Sumio
From Kawakami Sumio Zenshu, Vol. I, 1979. This is the beginning of a poem he wrote and carved into his woodblock print The First Breeze of Summer. It shows a fresh and lively scene with an embarrassed young woman at the center, her skirt being blown up by a mischievous green breeze.
VI. In the sea of heaven
“In the sea of heaven, cloud waves rise and the moon boat sails into a forest of stars, then is seen no more.” —Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
From Book VII, Miscellaneous Poems of the Man’yoshu. The vast sea of heaven and the clouds floating in it are high, foaming waves. The moon—a boat—crosses them and disappears into a forest of stars.
VII. As I wait for you
“As I wait for you, full of yearning, the bamboo blind on my front door swings in a puff of autumn breeze.” —Princess Nukata
Man’yoshu, Scroll 4, Love is a poem Princess Nukata wrote in longing for Emperor Tenji. Princess Nukata is one of the most famous of the women poets of the Man’yoshu.
VIII. The moon alone
“It walks the sky, cloudless, clear: the moon alone.” —Ogiwara Seisensui
From Gensen (The Wellspring), 1960. Seisensui, a haiku poet, with his teacher began the magazine Soun (Stratus Clouds) for publishing “new tendency” haiku. The poem dates from 1920.
IX. In five hundred million years
“Say I’m out. Say no one’s here. In five hundred million years I’ll come home.” —Takahashi Shinkichi
From Takahashi Sinkichi no Shihu, 1949. When young, he was a monk in a Shingon Buddhist temple, but later turned passionately to Zen Buddhism. This three-line poem is one of his most famous.
X. I send you home in the morning
“I send you home in the morning, the snowy path crunches under your feet. Oh snow, fall with the scent of apples!” —Kitahara Hakushu
From Kiri no Hana (Paulowina Flowers), 1913. In the late Meiji period, Hakushu defined a new era in modern poetry. With Kiri no Hanna, he also became a central figure to tanka.
XI. Home is
“Home is what you think of when you’re far away. And what you sadly sing of.” —Muro Saisei
The beginning of the 10-line verse “Shokei ijo 2,” part of the poems which open Short Lyrics, 1918. These are famous lines but sometimes misunderstood, for the poem is not about longing for home when far away. For a young man with no one to rely on for help, attachment to home is hard to forget, but by the same token, cold treatment there hurts all the more.
XII. One plum blossom |
“One plum blossom—one blossom’s worth of warmth.” —Hattori Ranetsu
From Genposhu. A famous haiku—only one plum flower has blossomed, but you feel the warmth of that flower, the early herald of spring, almost more than if there were many.
BRIGHT SHENG (b.1955): Tibetan Dance (2000)
“The work is anchored on the last movement, the longest of the three. The first two movements are reminiscent, as if one is hearing songs from a distant memory. And the music becomes real in the last movement. Its material is based on the rhythm and melodic motive of a Tibetan folk dance from Qinghai, a Chinese province by the border of Tibet, where I lived during my teenage years.”
—Bright Sheng
Bright Sheng’s Tibetan Dance is a vivid musical journey that reflects the composer’s childhood memories of growing up near Tibet, and is infused with rich Tibetan folk elements. The composition unfolds in three distinct movements, each capturing a different aspect of Sheng’s experiences. The first movement evokes the serene and expansive environment of his youth, painting a musical landscape that mirrors the natural beauty of the Tibetan region. The second movement features textures reminiscent of the erhu (二胡), a traditional Chinese string instrument, incorporating its characteristic phrasing and stylistic nuances. The final movement bursts into a vibrant dance, characterized by rhythmic stomping and the clang of gongs, emulating the energy and dynamism of traditional Tibetan dance. Through these movements, Sheng weaves a tapestry of memory and tradition, offering listeners a glimpse into the rich cultural heritage of his formative years.
LIBBY LARSEN (b.1950): Slang (1993)
“Slang is a one-movement work in three sections. Its title refers to the use of both jazz and boogie slang and 20th-century ‘new music’ slang throughout the composition. I got the idea for Slang while I was working on a ballet for the Ohio Ballet. I was thinking about our American culture with its vast array of musical languages. I’m fascinated by the idea that just as we have developed slang in our speaking language, we have also developed a lexicon of musical slang. This composition explores the idea, asking the performers to freely change performance styles as the musical language dictates.”
—Libby Larsen
Libby Larsen’s Slang is a dynamic exploration of rhythm and genre, merging the vibrant energy of jazz with the relaxed groove of boogie and contemporary classical elements. The piece journeys through a rich tapestry of rhythmic textures, eventually exploding into a rock concert. In this conclusion, the piano drives a grooving bassline, adding a compelling edge to the work’s energetic climax. Slang captures Larsen’s innovative spirit and her ability to blend diverse musical influences into a cohesive and exciting composition.
FANNY MENDELSSOHN HENSEL (1805–1847), arr. ARMAND RUSSELL: Three Pieces for Piano Four Hands (1844)
Fanny Mendelssohn’s Three Pieces for Four Hands, composed towards the end of her life, reveal the depth of her artistry in melodic writing. Seattle-born composer and virtuoso bass player Armand Russell arranged these three pieces for the Verdehr Trio in the 1990s. Although Mendelssohn’s family discouraged her from pursuing a public career, Fanny organized salon concerts to share her music with private audiences. The first piece has a lyrical quality reminiscent of German lieder, while the second piece dives into a dramatic C minor, capturing a stormy, intense atmosphere. The final piece blends the voices of clarinet and violin in a tender love song.
PAUL SCHOENFELD (b.1947): Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (1990)
Paul Schoenfield’s Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano emerges as a vivid homage to the world of Jewish klezmer music, a testament to the American composer’s deep engagement with his own cultural roots. Drawing upon the essence of klezmer, the piece intricately weaves dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations—elements quintessential to klezmer’s role in weddings and social gatherings. The clarinet part, in particular, employs techniques that mimic the human voice in expressive and unconventional ways, including crying, singing, yelling, and laughing. The addition of the klezmer scale introduces a chromatic complexity that infuses the melodies with a distinctive, folk-like quality. The trio unfolds in four movements, beginning with Freylahk, a lively Klezmer dance characterized by its spirited, communal energy, typically performed at social festivities. This is followed by a March of more subdued tempo, where a lyrical and melancholic melody unfolds with expressive depth. The third movement, titled Nigun, is a contemplative Jewish religious song, while the finale rejoices in the festive spirit of klezmer with exuberant folk tunes and vibrant, irregular rhythmic sections, bringing the work to a jubilant conclusion.
