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Old Instruments, New Music: SEHKS 2004

May 21, 2004
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Martha Novak Clinkscale is the author of Makers of the Piano: 1700-1860, 2 vols. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993 and 1999). She is Adjunct Professor of Fortepiano at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Beautiful weather and a warm welcome greeted the nearly 100 registrants for the Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society's conclave, held March 11-13 at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Those interested in the early piano found a wealth of historical pianos in the G. Norman and Ruth G. Eddy Collection, and the University also boasts the Franz and Willemina de Hen Collection of Musical Instruments.  Many of these treasures were attractively, if compactly, displayed, in the lobby of the Music Building.

Brenda Neece, curator of the entire Duke musical instrument collection, opened the proceedings with a description and short history. Edwin Good then described his adventures in preparing the first checklist of the Eddy Collection. He pointed out that, besides the thirteen Eddy pianos (eleven of which are now at Duke), collector Norman Eddy owned a number of other instruments, including several horns, a tuba and an ophicleide. Among the Eddy acquisitions displayed are an upright grand piano by William Stodart (ca. 1810-18), a small Broadwood square "playing-card piano," and a splendid square by Alpheus Babcock. To illustrate the beautiful, singing tone of the Babcock, Ted played the two-movement Haydn Sonata in D major (Hob. XVI:51). Following Good's presentation, Maria Rose described and demonstrated the "singing tone" of the early French Romantic piano with works by Hérold and Boëly--electrifying discoveries--on a Clementi grand (ca. 1805-10). Although written in 1816, the Hérold sonata already shows the rhapsodic melody and rippling virtuosic style of French opera arias of the 1820s. These fluid and expressive pieces are dramatic, yet sensitive, and immediately suggest that they and pieces like them had a powerful effect on the young Chopin. Maria explained the similarities between the Clementi's English action and the mécanisme à étrier (repetition action) of the 1808 Érard grand piano. Indeed, Sandra Soderlund, in her presentation on pianist-composer Ignaz Moscheles, stated that even he preferred Clementi's pianos to those of  Érard for their "more subtle mechanism," although Moscheles later admitted his admiration for the Érard 1822 double escapement action.

To close this first session Gail Olszewski played a program of piano music by late 18th- and early 19th-century English women composers. She proved that these works possess irresistible charm and vivacity, especially noted in the Sophia Corri Dussek (1775-1847) sonata movement and two movements from a sonata by Cecilia Maria Barthélémon (ca. 1770-after 1840).

Friday afternoon's events took place at the inner-city home of instrument collector Steve Barrell. The host himself introduced the instruments with amusing accounts of his start as a collector of instruments and early keyboard music. Playing several of his antique clavichords, Steve demonstrated their differences as well as the sweetness of their tone. His presentation was followed by a vigorous and technically impressive program of fortepiano music by Haydn, C. P. E. Bach, and Mozart played by Kristian Bezuidenhout on a 1794 Dulcken instrument. Bezuidenhout's ornamentation of the repeated sections was imaginative and engaging, and sometimes even whimsical.

For the Friday evening concert, John Pruett, classical violin; Brent Wissick, classical cello; and Randall Love, fortepiano, gave an all-Beethoven program: a sonata for piano solo and duo sonatas with violin and cello, ending with a spirited performance of the "Ghost" Trio. Love played a replica by Thomas and Barbara Wolf of a six-octave Nannette Streicher piano from 1815.

Saturday morning's session began with Margaret Hood's introduction of her own handsome replica of the six-and-a-half-octave Nannette Streicher grand at Yale. Interestingly, Margaret pointed out that in all pianos that she has seen containing both bassoon stops and moderators, the bassoon stop is coupled to the moderator; this phenomenon convinces her that it may have been the norm to use them together. The Eddy Clementi was brought into play again by Karyl Louwenaar and her colleague, violinist Karen Clarke, in stunning performances of two sonatas by Clementi, the G major, op. 2, no. 3, with "the accompaniment of a violin or flute," and the solo piano sonata in G minor, op. 14, no. 2.

Andrew Willis was next with a tour de force presentation of the Chopin G-flat Impromptu (op. 51, 1842), which he played--with the help of computer editing and merging--on six different mid-19th-century Pleyel grands from European collections. An ultimate surprise was the inclusion of Andrew's own recently acquired instrument: the Willis-Greensboro Pleyel (1848).

Harpsichords and organs also were a spectacular part of this conclave. Duke University Organist Robert Parkins opened the conference on Thursday evening with a thrilling program of Frescobaldi, Bruna, Cabanilles, Guilain, and Bach works played on the Italianate meantone Brombaugh organ (1997) in a small side chapel and the monumental, soaring Flentrop organ (1976) in the nave of the Gothic-style Duke Chapel.

Before an elegant Saturday lunch in the University Faculty Commons, David Chung's glowing recital of works by Froberger, Weckmann, Reincken, and Böhm in the stylus phantasticus rang out on a splendid William Dowd Mietke harpsichord in the same small side chapel that houses the Brombaugh organ.

Saturday afternoon offerings included Joseph Butler's paper entitled "Grigny, Bach, and Walther: Revision of the Premier Livre d'Orgue." Bonnie Choi followed with a smattering of virtuoso 20th-century harpsichord works by Ligeti, Hakim, Penn, and the outrageous and hilarious Bird-Boogie (1973) by Franspeter Goebels. Larry Palmer, never to be outdone, gave a lecture-recital comprising some of his many "Sins of Commission," including Neely Bruce's Nine Variations on an Original Theme (1961); Glenn Spring's Images after Wallace Stevens (2003), in which he was joined by violinist Kathleen Spring; two movements from Serenade 15 (1987) by Persichetti; and Gerald Near's Triptych (1982). This program included brief recorded excerpts from works by Rudy Shackelford, Ross Lee Finney, and Rudy Davenport. The entire afternoon served as a stimulating warm-up for the Aliénor Competition finalists' concert that evening.

Five prize-winning solo harpsichord works had been selected by judges Joyce Lindorff, Keith Paulson-Thorp, and Max Yount as finalists in this year's competition. Three additional monetary awards were to be bestowed by vote of the audience. The program began with two exceptionally attractive and engaging suites, Idée Prix Fixe by Kari Henrik Juusela of Stetson University and Trifles by Glenn Spring of Denver. These were followed by multi-movement works by Stefan Thomas and Stephen Francis Yates, the Bulgarian Dance and Fantasy by Paul Whetstone, and the Sonatina No. 2 by Asako Hirabayashi, whom the audience selected as the top winner (several men in the audience were overheard to admit voting for her startling attire).

In a Chamber Music category, new to this competition, second prize went to Robert Greenlee's intriguing and inventive Sonata Rondo, while Andriy Zymenko's over-extended and occasionally whimsical Happy Spider was awarded third place. Jukka Tiensuu's interminable--and boring--Lots was inexplicably given first prize. This piece expanded minimalism to the maximum and diminished this listener's patience to sub-zero. One sympathized with the players.

In addition to composers and presenters, the event planners deserve accolades, especially for the magnificent Saturday meals. The luncheon banquet tempted eye as well as palate, and the final reception, a triumphant buffet, was prepared by sixteen-year-old Eric Love, son of Elaine Funaro and Randall Love. Eric already enjoys a wide local reputation as a master chef; for the celebratory reception he shopped, cooked, baked, and served--all to great acclaim.

Congratulations go to program co-chairs Elaine Funaro and Randall Love, and their local arrangements committee members for one of the best SEHKS conclaves ever.

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