Student Recital: Hannah Elizabeth Tobias, Flute

ANNA BON DI VENEZIA: Flute Sonata No. 1 in C Major, op. 1 (1756)
I. Adagio
II. Allegro
III. Presto

Hannah Elizabeth Tobias (M.M. '23), flute
Enrique Hernandez de Tejada III, cello
Julian Gau, harpsichord

ALBERT ROUSSEL: Joueurs de flûte, op. 27 (1924)
I. Pan
II. Tityre
III. Krishna
III. Mr. de la Péjaudie

VALERIE COLEMAN: Amazonia (2020) 

Hannah Elizabeth Tobias (M.M. '23), flute
Julian Gau, piano

— INTERMISSION —

DANIEL WHITWORTH: Not Our Kids (2018)

Hannah Elizabeth Tobias (M.M. '23), flute

Adam Moxness, baritone
Harry Pershing, alto saxophone
Christian Arroyo Castillo, tenor saxophone
Julian Gau, piano
Jacob Slater, double bass
Eric Puente, percussion

SERGEI PROKOFIEV: Sonata for Flute and Piano in D Major, op. 94 (1943)
I. Moderato
II. Allegretto scherzando
III. Andante
IV. Allegro con brio

Hannah Elizabeth Tobias (M.M. '23), flute
Julian Gau, piano

EVE BEGLARIAN: I will not be sad in this world (2006)

Hannah Elizabeth Tobias (M.M. '23), alto flute
Anna Fisher-Roberts, flute

ANNA BON DI VENEZIA: Flute Sonata No. 1 in C Major, op. 1 (1756)

“What makes the Pietà so famous is not just that all of the instrumentalists are truly excellent musicians, but an even rarer fact, which is that all of the instruments are being played by females without any males in the ensemble at all.” Anna Bon di Venezia was one of the fortunate women whose talent was supported and cultivated at Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà, a charitable institution offering refuge and education to orphaned children. In 1743, at age 4, Bon was admitted to the Pietà as a paying student; her musical family saw this as one of the only routes for their daughter to attain a comprehensive musical education. Leading musicians such as Antonio Vivaldi and Guiseppi Sarti trained the girls to such a high degree that they were known throughout Europe. However, musical talent was often eclipsed by the novelty and intrigue of young female musicians performing behind curtains, as to maintain their modesty. After 11 years at the Pietà, Bon joined her family at the Esterhazy court, where Haydn had been appointed kapellmeister one year prior. Unfortunately, Bon ceased performing and publishing her work after marrying in 1767, a sad fate for many female musicians of the day.

Bon’s output is small, but her premier opus, Sonate da Camera per il Flauto Traversiere e Violencello o Cembalo (1756), is her most famous work. Sonata No. 1 in C Major is in three binary movements: slow, fast, fast, a format she adopts for the majority of the collection. Bon employs song-like melodies, sequences, light textures, and regular phrasing, associated with the vogue galant style. Variety is created through Bon’s intense use of ornamentation in the Adagio. In contrast, she leaves ornamentation up to the performer entirely in the final Presto.
 

ALBERT ROUSSEL: Joueurs de flûte, op. 27 (1924)

Albert Roussel’s Joueurs de Flûte (1924) provides a world tour of history, literature, and music. His seven years in the French navy resulted in extended stays in Vietnam, China, and India. He drew inspiration from his travels in his mid-life turn to composition. Roussel’s evocative music is greatly influenced by the tonal and timbral explorations of Debussy and Ravel. A classicist, Roussel’s high regard for ancient culture is evident in Joueurs de Flûte. In each of the four movements, Roussel melds the ancient with the modern and unites his local French life with his global experience by naming each movement after a famous flute player from history and dedicating it to one of his flutist contemporaries.

The Greek god of nature, Pan, is named after the half-goat, half-man who is often depicted playing the flute. Roussel evokes the pastoral at the onset, layering a perfect-fifth piano drone under an improvisatory-like flute melody; a shepherd calling to their flock. Pan’s lust is revealed as the improvisation becomes more impassioned. The mischievous god turns on a dime, performing an off-kilter goat dance, which is promptly abandoned for a luxurious rest. “Pan” is dedicated to Marcel Moyse, one of the most famous flute alumni of the Paris Conservatoire. Tityrus is a character in Eclogues, the first of three major works written by the Latin poet Virgil. Tityrus reclaimed his land after the government attempted to take it away, and he explains his fortune to a farmer facing a similar conflict. This brief movement celebrates the farmer’s stroke of luck in meeting Tityrus with a lively scherzo. An arpeggiated fanfare ensues with ascending runs expressing explosive elation. Tityre is dedicated to Gaston Blaquart, a flutist who taught at the Paris Conservatoire and was a favorite flutist of Ravel and Stravinsky. 

The Hindu god of love, Krishna, is regarded as a divine herdsman, mesmerizing people and animals with his flute. The chromatic, sneaky flute melody is enchanting, and the quicking repetition of pitches dazzles listeners into a trance. The movement is built on the Hindu Shree raga (A, Bb, C#, D#, E, F, G#, A), popular in the region of India that Roussel visited in 1909. Like Claude Debussy’s “Syrinx,” Roussel’s “Krishna” is dedicated to one of Paul Taffanel’s students, Louis Fleury.

Henri de Regnier’s novel La Pécheresse (The Sinful Woman) presents the protagonist, Monsieur de la Péjaudie, a womanizer who seduces his victims through sensual flute playing. He dies playing an invisible flute, leaving a final request to be buried near the Sicilian coast, so the flutes of shepherds can forever serenade him. Roussel writes an unpredictable flute melody in “Mr. de la Péjaudie,” with constant shifts in register, tempo, and rhythm. A flamboyant display of virtuosity is apparent in the cadenza, giving way to a solemn harmonic note, echoing Péjaudie’s fate. This final movement was dedicated to the great flutist, composer, and pedagogue Philippe Gaubert.

VALERIE COLEMAN: Amazonia (2020)

 On August 22, 2022, 3,358 fires were detected in the Brazilian Amazon. These fires are not a natural phenomenon but rather set in illegal deforestation efforts. It is in tribute to the Amazon rainforest, often referred to as “the lungs of the earth,” that Valerie Coleman wrote Amazonia for flute and piano in 2020. This piece is the product of a co-commission by the New Music Consortium, spearheaded by renowned flutist Carole Winsence.

This through-composed, programmatic work begins at sunrise as gentle dewdrops fall amid the morning calls of tamarin monkeys, tree frogs, and macaws. The scene is enlivened by Amazonian children playing in their homeland until sunset, upon which they are overtaken by poachers and mercenaries who set an untamable fire to the land. This devolution is manifested in the note E natural. E is the first note of the piece, sounding like an innocent insect’s buzz. This note is dominant in the playful flute cadenzas, but soon overtakes the texture, becoming menacing in the low range of the piano. The intensity of this moment is exacerbated as the flute sharply articulates a low E, rhythmically spelling the word “fire” in morse code. The fire rages, growing in dynamic and range, culminating in a panicked frenzy of screams.

The idiomatic flute writing in Amazonia is entirely indebted to the dually talented composer/flutist Valerie Coleman. The diversity of her skillset is best exemplified through her work with Imani Winds, a Grammy-nominated woodwind quintet, for which Coleman founded and composed many works. Her piece Umoja was chosen as Chamber Music America’s “Top 101 Great American Ensemble Works,” and Coleman herself was deemed one of the “Top 35 Woman Composers” by the Washington Post in 2017. Her artistry has been sought after for masterclasses in 49 states and over five continents. She has performed at some of the most prestigious venues, such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. In the fall of 2023, Coleman will join the faculty of Manhattan School of Music teaching flute, composition, and chamber music. 

DANIEL WHITWORTH: Not Our Kids (2018)

Program note by the composer: "On May 7, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Thomas Homan announced that under the administration of Donald Trump, the United States would adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward anyone caught crossing the U.S. border illegally. Part of this policy included separating any accompanying children from their parents (even those legally seeking asylum under international law) and detaining them in ‘detention facilities’ in order to deter additional immigrants from trying to enter the country. Over the following few weeks, details of the appalling conditions at these facilities were brought to light, as well as the traumatic experiences that the detained children and babies have been suffering. Many children have also been lost, likely to never be returned to their parents.

“No matter what your political views are, separating children from their families is objectively evil. It’s a black and white issue, and it transcends any form of justification. However, conservative media outlets have been attempting to spin the Trump administration’s child separation policy as some kind of positive. Fox News, in particular, (known for being the most watched news network in America) has been methodically shielding its viewers from the issue through a series of weak justifications, gaslighting, and shifting blame to ‘democrats’ and ‘liberals.’

Not Our Kids is a satirical commentary of the right-wing media’s role in normalizing the Trump administration’s child separation policy. For the piece’s text, I compiled a series of quotes from Fox News personalities, anchors, and newscasters that demonstrate how the network is rewriting the immigration narrative. These quotes are then sung and spoken by the vocalist, at times sounding mechanical and abrasive to reflect the propaganda machine of right-wing media, and at times resembling a work of deranged musical theater. My goal is to highlight the insidious and untruthful rhetoric that is being masqueraded as ‘news’ and draw attention to the fact that this propaganda works. Millions of Americans watch Fox News, and consequently, we are facing a disturbing lack of empathy regarding immigration in this country.” 

SERGEI PROKOFIEV: Sonata for Flute and Piano in D Major, op. 94 (1943)

Sergei Prokofiev was born in Ukraine in 1891 and showed early musical promise by starting piano lessons with his mother at 4; he later honed his craft by studying at St. Petersburg Conservatory. Prokofiev spent the first half of his life abroad, but returned to the Soviet Union in 1936. This was a tumultuous time for Prokofiev, who faced intense scrutiny from the government’s artistic policies, forcing him to heavily censor his music, which was often deemed too “avant-garde.” Consequently, he prioritized melody and used genres favored by official Soviet cultural policy, such as Russian folk music, marches, and music for children. Prokofiev died the same day as Joseph Stalin on March 5, 1953.

Prokofiev began composing his flute sonata during his evacuation from Moscow in 1942. The onset of World War II and his forced displacement allowed Prokofiev more artistic freedom, due to less strict state supervision. His financial advisor, Levon Atovmyan, commissioned the flute sonata, which premiered on December 7, 1943, by flutist Nikolay Ivanovich Kharkovsky, principal of the Russian state symphony orchestra.

The flute sonata is rooted in tonality and maintains conventional musical forms throughout its four movements, reflecting the government’s preference for accessible music. The first movement begins with a contemplative theme played by the flute and is accompanied by a pensive piano. The development introduces a more definitive, martial motive. Set as a minuet and trio, the second movement is more rhythmic and energetic, with both instruments trading virtuosic lines. The introspective third movement introduces a haunting flute melody over a brooding piano accompaniment. Prokofiev’s use of chromaticism and dissonant harmonies may suggest the psychological trauma of living through the traumatic events of the war. The final rondo employs an array of unconventional harmonic and rhythmic techniques, creating a sense of tension and dissonance that is ultimately resolved in a triumphant and celebratory conclusion.

EVE BEGLARIAN: I will not be sad in this world (2006)

"I will not be sad in this world" is a poignant and introspective piece composed by Eve Beglarian, an acclaimed American composer and musician. The work is based on a song titled "Ashkharhums Akh Chim Kashil" by the Armenian troubadour Sayat Nova and incorporates elements of traditional Armenian music, including ornamentation, intonation, and vibrato, which are heard in the traditional duduk playing. The piece is part of Beglarian's ongoing project, A Book of Days, and was commissioned by flutist Marya Martin for the Flute Book for the 21st Century.

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