Yeuk Sen Chan (M.M. '23) presents a viola recital.
Program Information
Repertoire
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009
I. Prelude
IV. Sarabande
VI. Gigue
PAUL HINDEMITH: Der Schwanendreher
I. Zwischen Berg und Tiefen Tal
II. Nun laube, Lindein laube
Peipei Song, piano
— INTERMISSION —
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008
I. Prelude
JOSÉ PABLO MONCAYO: Viola Sonata
I. Allegro Moderato
II. Lento
III. Allegro
Peipei Song, piano
Program Notes
JOSÉ PABLO MONCAYO (1912-1958): Viola Sonata (1934)
José Pablo Moncayo is a Mexican composer. He began his musical career in 1931 as a percussionist at the Mexican Symphony Orchestra and as a conductor from 1949 to 1954. His performances and compositions are primarily aimed at rekindling the spirit of nationalism in Mexican music. Moncayo's modernist style is perfectly combined with the poetry of the text to create one of the finest Mexican operas of the 20th century.
Moncayo's sonatas for viola and piano show us an attempt to take advantage of the “Nationalist Period” in Mexico, which is characterized by ancient Mexican music. He also uses these quotations in an attempt to give his music a unique personality and to recreate his own musical identity. When he composed, he used a large number of diatonic structures in dissonant combinations, without traditional resolution, and chord progressions that ignored the traditional rules of voice leading—such as the beginning of the piano part in the second movement. It is also possible that Moncayo's viola sonata was influenced by the fact that he was a percussionist early in his career. Moncayo delivers a crisp balladic tune in the sonata's creation, with blocky chords arranged in parallel for harsh percussion.
The sonata primarily uses minor thirds and perfect fifths, as can be seen in the way Moncayo articulates the themes of the three movements. These intervals are the raw material for expanding motives and longer structures into melodies, thus achieving unity between their movements. This cohesive identity permeates the entire composition.
Concert Services Staff
Senior Manager of Concert Services – Luis Herrera
Concert Production Coordinator – Matthew Carey
Concert Production Manager – Kendall Floyd
Manager of Performance Technology – Wes Fowler
Performance Technology Technicians – Sara Pagiaro, Goran Daskalov
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