20th Century Piano Music; 5

Oh. From Cincinnati you are hearing form for piano by the play which will be played and discussed by Gene Christine on today's program. Twentieth century music for piano playing Christine is a member of the artist faculty of the University of Cincinnati and an internationally known interpreter of contemporary piano music. I'm Myron Bennett and on this program I talk with Jean Kirstein about the music you will hear and the composers. Stephane of all pay was born in 1900 and two he was a protege of the great personae a student of French records and later a bunch and they burned him and she I can integrate it from Germany to Palestine in 1934 and then came to America in 1938. That's the biography we have on him. It seems to me that for a composer of his

generation he's not as well-known as some of the people about about the same age such as Elliott Carter. Does he have a reputation as a very great reputation as a teacher at this point. How many composition students going to New York to study with him. I know he's written many compositions Yet few are recorded few are available on commercial recordings. That's true but he has been performed by major symphonies and has written violin sonata Thank you. Why would you put him on the spectrum of the wide spectrum of composition today is he very experimental or very structured. He's not very experimental and I don't believe he's ever done any work with the tonic machines or computers. And I guess the serial composer would be the place you would put him because the work you're in a play serial. Yes it is the first six notes provide the material for most of the piece. There is some additional connecting material which he doesn't

develop. It's a very free piece rhythmically and the texture of it is a very very open contrapuntal writing mostly two voices against each other. I don't think there are any chords in the piece as such you know blocks of sound. The piece is quite conventional with the exception of plucking the strings inside the piano briefly towards the end of the piece. What's the name of this piece you're going to play no form for piano. I. Do. But.

Oh. Oh. But. And. Why. But. Form for piano by the LP played by Jean Osteen and now we continue with

our next conversation. The composition that we're going to hear next is titled bizarre and the composer as you look there are a my when I first played his eyes I met the composer. He and Italian who was like touring at the university in Cologne at the time. What he's doing now I'm not too familiar with I know he's working in electronic music. This particular piece starts out with great distances between the sounds of the opening and out and a long silence another note. And it gets more and more complex as the piece goes on both in rhythm and in texture gets thicker and thicker. Looking at the music for this piece it seems to me that it would be a very difficult piece to learn and a very difficult piece to play. Is this the case. Yes. Once again this is a virtuoso type piece with a piano not easy.

Oh. Yeah. Cool. Thanks. You're.

On. But. Well.

The. Oh. Oh. Well. These are just by. I thought he played by Jean Kirstein. The next work that Mrs Christine will play is by Jack Kirsteen who happens to be the husband of Jean Kirstein also the cellist with a world famous LaSalle string quartet. It's a composition titled sketch and its main feature is that the right hand and the left hand are in different

tempos. Oh. I am. Oh.

Sketch by Jack Kirsty and I will once again I talk with Gene casting about the next piece of music that we will hear the next pieces by the young of Italian composer Franco evangelist Steve

gene could you tell us about this piece. This is almost a pure study of sound of the instrument. You play clusters of notes high like short phrases and the directions are to hold the notes as long as possible until the sound dies out. And the interesting thing is that the acoustics of the piano or the hall combination of both makes this piece different every time you live a very long piano. My big piano. You would hit the at one point with the lowest note on the piano and I timed this note has lasted almost a minute. What happens to the sound is fascinating. It starts out in one shape and actually changes shape and sometimes pitch as it is held as it dies. And so it's really just a study of sound you even when you play it.

You're listening yourself to the changes of said you played various holding onto his piano. He has I have no how about the reaction of the audience to work like this. Well it's been very interesting one could do a psychological study of audiences either embarrassment or hypnosis. Some get the giggles. It's very funny because I don't know what to expect. They don't know what you're waiting for. And if you if they capture the mood of it then it becomes a very fascinating for them. Otherwise they're kind of floored me. You know what is she doing. Waiting for her to play the next note. What is she going to play the next note. So now our audience has been warned that the main idea of this piece is that the military held until they go away. And so we hope that they can take it on that basis as a very interesting work that it is going on.

Whew. Oh. Oh. Oh. Yeah. I am. I am. I am.

Were. Were you. A.

That was GREAT see only son of a bi evangelist and this has been a program of 20th century music for piano played and discussed by Gene Christine an internationally known interpreter of contemporary piano music and of earlier works. Mrs. Christine is a member of the artist faculty of the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music Research for the series by Walter Mays. It was recorded and produced at WG you see the University of Cincinnati station by your announcer Byron Bennett and made possible by the Friends of WG U.S..

This is the national educational radio network.