Pianophilia

"Stevenson's monumental work takes more than an hour and a quarter to perform and may be the longest unbroken single movement composed for piano."

I just posted the complete 'Passacaglia on DSCH' by Stevenson on youtube in 8 parts (I had to split it up because of the new 10 minute rule). I thought it a good idea as it gives the piece a wider hearing. I set it to some pretty radical images, from the bizarre (cheesburgers, video games, riots / American consumerism gone mad) to flying in through the rings of saturn to earth in the final section. I kept it contemporary in feel to attract a wider audience as it is difficult to listen to without seeing the performer and whilst all the images are stolen from lots of sources it would have (literally) cost millions if I had to do it myself. Most of the images are from Phillip Glass' Koyaanisqatsi and BBC archives on Natural History. The editing of the movie to fit with the music took ages.... Friends I have shown it to think it works well and the images help keep the viewers attention.

I would be interested to know what people think of it and would be grateful if it is passed on to anyone who would like to hear it. The performance is a live one from the Weill Hall of Carnegie Hall. I used a facsimile (handwritten) of the original which Stevenson has which is available from the Ronald Stevenson Society. (it is not too expensive) There is an edition on OUP but the page turns are in awkward places and I am familiar with reading Ronald's manuscripts - he has beautiful handwriting / musical handwriting and STILL uses a quill pen! I have been playing the work for well over a decade and have known / worked with Ronald for almost 20 years. He is one of the strongest influences on my pianism in all genres / repertoire.

I know (Sir) Murray MClachlan uses the OUP but myself, John Ogdon, Stevenson and Richard Black all used the facsimile edition. For academic researchers The Ogdon has many additional markings in the working score by the composer and has been donated to the National Library of Scotland as does mine (which I obviously still use). There are a few recordings out there but I am sure all my distinguished colleagues who have performed it would agree that the best by far is Stevensons own - available on Altarus. It is still untouchable.

kind regards from Australia
Mark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9APjl2NME0


Wiki says.......

"Stevenson's monumental work takes more than an hour and a quarter to perform and may be the longest unbroken single movement composed for piano.

The Passacaglia on DSCH is a large-scale composition for solo piano by the British composer Ronald Stevenson. It was composed between 24 December 1960 and 18 May 1962, except for two sections added on the day of the first performance on 10 December 1963. The composer presented a copy of the score to Dmitri Shostakovich, its dedicatee, at the 1962 Edinburgh Festival.

The work takes the principle of passacaglia or chaconne - namely, strict variations on an unchanging subject, usually a ground bass, and applies it across a very large single-movement structure that divides into a cumulative design of many different musical styles and forms."

The plan of the work is as follows: - I have added labels in the video so that one can keep track of where the performance is up to - as the DSCH is untransposed for 80 mins it is often difficult to pinpoint for the listener)

PLAN OF WORK

Pars Prima Sonata Allegro
Pars Prima Waltz In Rondo-Form
Pars Prima Episode 1. Presto
Pars Prima Suite. Prelude.
Pars Prima Suite. Sarabande.
Pars Prima Suite. Jig.
Pars Prima Suite. Sarabande.
Pars Prima Suite. Minuet.
Pars Prima Suite. Jig.
Pars Prima Suite. Gavotte.
Pars Prima Suite. Polonaise.
Pars Prima Pibroch (Lament For Children).
Pars Prima Episode 2. Abaresque Variations.
Pars Prima Nocturne.
Pars Altera Reverie-Fantasy.
Pars Altera Fanfare.flac
Pars Altera Forebodings. Alarm.
Pars Altera Glimpse Of A War Vision.
Pars Altera Untitled.
Pars Altera Variations On 'Peace, Bread And The Land' (1917).
Pars Altera Symphonic March.
Pars Altera Episode 3. Volante Scherzoso.
Pars Altera Fandango.
Pars Altera Pedal Point. 'To Emergant Africa'.
Pars Altera Central Episode. Etudes.
Pars Altera Variations In C Minor
Pars Tertia Adagio. Tribute To Bach
Pars Tertia Triple Fugue Over Ground Bass: Subject 1. Andamento
Pars Tertia Triple Fugue Over Ground Bass. Subject 2. Bach.
Pars Tertia Triple Fugue Over Ground Bass. Subject 3. Dies Irae
Pars Tertia Final Variations On A Theme Derived From Ground (Adagissimo Barocco).
********************************************************************************************************************

I have listened to this, and Mark's performance is quite stunning - I would urge everyone to sit through the whole thing, it will be quite worth it.

I am very pleased that Mark Gasser has joined our pianistic community. He has a huge reputation, particularly in modern repertoire, and I know for a fact that his recital of the Vingt Regards by Messaien on a Stuart & Sons piano is regarded by people in the know to be as near to a definitive performance as makes no odds.

Regards
Fred

He's also a very nice bloke, and it's a great pity he left the UK.

Can I just add that, as well as the composer's own performance on Altarus, APR have reissued, with Stevenson's enthusiastic support, his earlier, hitherto very rare, recording made in South Africa in 1964. It is quite different from the later version and about six minutes shorter!
http://www.aprrecordings.co.uk/apr2/sho ... php?id=134

Mike

Scharwenka790 wrote:Can I just add that, as well as the composer's own performance on Altarus, APR have reissued, with Stevenson's enthusiastic support, his earlier, hitherto very rare, recording made in South Africa in 1964. It is quite different from the later version and about six minutes shorter!
http://www.aprrecordings.co.uk/apr2/sho ... php?id=134

Mike

The original was limited to 100 copies on LP and the transfer onto CD is fantastic and thankfully not limited to 100 copies. Stevenson is a fantastic, generous bloke, and a good friend of a friend who has known him for years. I can heartily recommend this new (old) recording.
Brian

I haven't heard it but have always wanted to. I had the old LP's of the Ogdon performance given to me by John Humphreys whilst I was a student and have all of the other recordings which are great. I was speaking to Marjorie Stevenson the other night on the telephone and she said technically the early recording is amazing but she still thinks that the latter recording (by Chris Rice - a genius of a producer / technician) on Altarus is more poetic which only comes with maturity. Ronald always quotes Marx "Youth is Truth" and he rightly points out at that we can't recapture how we were in the past. I hope the work gets more performances. I think Ronald's SA premier recording was on a huge Petrof and the Altarus was on a Bosendorfer - in fact it must have been as there are several sub contra notes in it and he ends on a very low (practically sub vocal) D.

I am planning to rework it in the next few months and give it another airing. Hey and by the way don't you think my username Gassernova is cool? One of my students in QLD came up with it and I had never thought of it before....

GasserNova wrote:Hey and by the way don't you think my username Gassernova is cool? One of my students in QLD came up with it and I had never thought of it before....

Well, it's certainly more logical than Brian's

Regards
Fred

fredbucket wrote:

GasserNova wrote:Hey and by the way don't you think my username Gassernova is cool? One of my students in QLD came up with it and I had never thought of it before....

Well, it's certainly more logical than Brian's

Regards
Fred

Dear Fred, ye of the uncouth thoughts, I will have you know that my monicker is a direct quote from a poem by Taylor the water poet, at least thats what Brewer says in his famous Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and is therefore far more elite than being called after a receptacle for water.... what would Taylor say perhaps.
From Hull, Hell and Halifax
and holes in our fredbucket,
Good Lord deliver us.

regards
Brian

HullandHellandHalifax wrote:Dear Fred, ye of the uncouth thoughts, I will have you know that my monicker is a direct quote from a poem by Taylor the water poet, at least thats what Brewer says in his famous Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and is therefore far more elite than being called after a receptacle for water....

and mine, strangely enough, has nothing to do with aqueous receptacles but is steeped in personal and academic history far too long and complex for me to attempt to elucidate

Regards
Fred

fredbucket wrote:

HullandHellandHalifax wrote:Dear Fred, ye of the uncouth thoughts, I will have you know that my monicker is a direct quote from a poem by Taylor the water poet, at least thats what Brewer says in his famous Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and is therefore far more elite than being called after a receptacle for water....

and mine, strangely enough, has nothing to do with aqueous receptacles but is steeped in personal and academic history far too long and complex for me to attempt to elucidate

Regards
Fred

I know!

Brian