Filed under: Reviews | Tags: BWV 1004, Chaconne, Entrata Records, Eugène Ysaÿe, Fantasia for Solo Violin, J. S. Bach, Lawrence Golan, Partita Nr. 2, Sonata Nr. 4 in e minor Op. 27 for Violin
Sometimes, it is made clear that we here in Denver are not in such an artistic wasteland after all. And I use that potentially offensive choice of words only because I know several people who sometimes sigh heavily, and tell me that Denver is still a ‘cow town.’ That term is offensive to me, not only because it is such a ridiculous cliché, but because it simply isn’t true. We have a remarkable symphony orchestra, a remarkable ballet company, a very good opera company, and in the Colorado Springs – Denver – Boulder area, we have four truly remarkable composers. We also have at least two truly fine choral conductors in the area, and at least three superb orchestral conductors. It is my strong opinion that many people in the city need to attend more performances so they will know just how fortunate we are, and therefore, not feel as though they need to quote clichés.
I listened, today, to a CD recorded in 1995 by Lawrence Golan who, as most of you surely must know by now, is on the faculty at the Lamont School of Music at DU. However, on this CD he does not conduct, he plays the violin. And he is superb.
In 1984, he entered the Indiana University School of Music majoring in violin performance. Lawrence went on to become concertmaster of the school’s top orchestra and to receive both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with high honors. In the summer of 1989, he shared the first stand of violins in the Indiana University Festival Orchestra with his teacher—Distinguished Professor of Music, Josef Gingold. Lawrence has also studied with several other outstanding musicians including Yuval Yaron, James Buswell, Ruben Gonzalez, George Perlman, and of course his father, Joseph Golan, Principal Second Violinist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As a matter of fact, Lawrence Golan soloed with his father, Joseph Golan, in three performances of the Bach Double Violin Concerto, conducted by Daniel Barenboim with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. What a thrill that must have been for both of them.
Dr. Golan opens the CD with J. S. Bach’s formidable Partita Nr. 2 in D minor for solo violin (BWV 1004). This, of course, is one of the works in violin repertoire by which violinists are measured, particularly, because of the Ciaccona (Chaconne) which comes at the end of the Partita. But you must understand that none of the dance movements in this partita which precede the Ciaccona are easy. The Allemanda, Corrente, Sarabanda, and Giga, all have their special difficulties. Golan gives all of these a wonderful and convincing rhythmic structure which irrevocably leads to the Ciaccona. Golan brings out the first few notes of the Allemanda, as they are important to the opening of the Ciaccona, which is a set of thirty-two variations. Of the first four stylized dance movements, my personal favorite is the Giga. Golan gives it such an incredible vivacity combined with warmth of tone that one wants to listen to it over and over again. His playing displays such an easy virtuosity that the compound meter never interferes with the flow of the melodic line. In recordings of other violinists, it sometimes seems as though the meter wants to pull the melodic line apart. This never happens in the Golan recording – it is absolutely exquisite.
In the program notes, Golan states that the Ciaccona, or Chaconne, is “Perhaps the greatest single piece of music ever written for the violin.” I have absolutely no doubt that this is true. Brahms transcribed this for the piano, as did other composers, for the left hand alone. He did this because he admired the piece very much, and he wanted the pianist to use his left hand because the violinist has to use his left hand (primarily) in order to play it. And it certainly does give the pianist a good idea of the agonies that the violinist has to go through. Brahms was so smitten with the piece, that in a letter to Clara Schumann he states that “On one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind.” Golan never departs from the baroque style of playing, and yet gives this piece absolutely remarkable expression. He does this by very subtly changing the voicing, that is to say changing the characteristics of each variation as necessary, because each variation has its own character. He accomplishes this through dynamics, phrasing, and understanding the three-part structure of this work. Keep in mind that this is a set of variations, and that implies a certain lack of architectural structure that, for example, a sonata form would have. But the three-part structure in this Chaconne is a harmonic structure – D minor, D major, D minor, and it is clear that Golan is entirely capable of emphasizing the structure (which some violinists have difficulty with). It is wonderful to hear musicality that emphasizes and makes clear, the aspects of the overall form and the development of each variation. It is my sincere hope that we here in Denver can hear Golan perform this work live in concert.
After the Bach, Dr. Golan performs the fourth of six sonatas by Eugène Ysaÿe. Ysaÿe (1858-1931), one of the finest violinists to have ever lived, dedicated one each of the six sonatas to six remarkable violinists. In order of the sonatas, they are Joseph Szigeti, Jacques Thibaud, George Enesco, Fritz Kreisler, Mathieu Crickboom, and Manuel Quiroga. Each sonata was composed so as to emphasize the particular violinist’s performance skill. Sonata Nr. 4, written for Fritz Kreisler, emphasizes the need for warmth of tone, and, I think, a deep understanding of Bach. But it contains much more that is technically demanding than just those two facets. There are some astounding difficulties in the sonata, such as five and sometimes six-note chords – and this on an instrument with only four strings (!) – remarkable polyphonic and contrapuntal demands, and difficult string-crossings, not to mention the double stops in rapid 16th notes. However, keep in mind that Lawrence Golan studied with Josef Gingold at Indiana University, and that Gingold studied with Ysaÿe. But that simple fact, and its attendant insight into the technical difficulties, most certainly does not mean that this Sonata automatically becomes easy. It’s technical demands keep less gifted violinists at bay. But in this recording, Golan simply soars. This is a remarkable recording that clearly demonstrates that Golan is a virtuoso of the highest caliber who has the stamina and courage, emotional intensity, and exuberance to perform such a difficult piece as this. His tone is lush where it needs to be lush, and his playing is fiery where it needs to be fiery. I truly found that in his performance of this terrific sonata, there wasn’t anything else to ask for.
The last work on this CD is a short piece entitled “Fantasia for Solo Violin,” which Golan composed. The Fantasia opens with the dissonant tones of Eb and G#, after which, and here I quote from the liner notes accompanying the CD:
“Three motives, each with programmatic implications, form the basis of the work. The opening’s tonal ambiguity and eventual presentation of the first motive, Bb-G#-A, project an aimless, wandering feeling-the slough of despond. The second motive, D-F-E-D, is meant to express a sense of finality. When the two motives are combined, they represent the finality and ceaseless nature of the despondency. An almost religious (Hebraic/Gypsy) chant or prayer is eventually answered with the final motive at the D Major section where triumph prevails. A final utterance of the opening’s Eb-G# in the penultimate measure is wiped out by the soaring D harmonic and the resolute final note.”
Again, this work as the others discussed above, is full of astonishing technical demands. However, it is not a shallow piece used only for the display of technical proficiency. You must understand that Golan always has a distinct musical purpose as his goal, and never uses his remarkable technique for its own sake. That also seems to be the underlying aesthetic for this composition. The music always comes first. I do not know how often Golan has performed this piece in public, but it is a solid piece that I think the public would enjoy hearing.
Lawrence Golan is ample proof that there is no artistic wasteland here in Denver, as I stated in the opening paragraph of this article. He is a world-class violinist, as he is a first-rate conductor. I sincerely hope that his duties at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music do not take away from his time to practice and perform. We, here in Denver, need his art, and we need to give him our support as much as possible.
This performance was recorded by Entrata Records and the catalog number is ER1195.
Filed under: Commentary | Tags: Alberto Gutierrez, Conrad Kehn, KVOD, Monika Vischer
Friday evening, April 23, the Curious Theatre hosted a panel discussion on the future of classical music. It was called The Next Generation and it featured Conrad Kehn, the Founding Director of the Playground Ensemble at the Lamont School of Music, Alberto Gutierrez, Vice President for Artistic Administration of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and Monika Vischer of Colorado Public Radio – KVOD. As I am quite concerned with the future of classical music, I thought this would be an interesting panel to attend even though it was only scheduled for forty-five minutes. Keep in mind that there have been one and two-day conferences scheduled across the nation dealing with the same topic.
The panel discussion opened with Conrad Kehn and Alberto Gutierrez making the statement that the younger generation must be introduced to serious music. Both of these gentlemen are serious themselves about music, and are in a position to have a direct influence on the younger generation. Unfortunately, Monika Vischer, whose degrees are in journalism, but who plays the flute, offered a few platitudes, such as, “Great music does not need to be explained.” (Does this also apply to literature and art, I wonder?) I point out that Ms. Vischer is a radio announcer for the local classical music station, KVOD. While she does play the flute, and has had piano lessons, her music education would seem to be “on-the-job training” acquired from reading CD liner notes. She also expressed the opinion that it seemed to her that many contemporary composers were determined to write music that had no melody whatsoever. When it was pointed out that “great music” of all ages and periods needed to be explained to individuals who lived in those periods, and when it was also pointed out that KVOD is in a unique teaching position concerning all periods of music, she stated that they had to be extremely careful with their programming or they would lose listenership. That reasoning certainly does explain KVOD’s programming which does not contain much music that is new (they have even discontinued an hour of organ music which was called “Pipe Dreams”), and they have no comment about the music that is being played other than what is read from the liner notes. While this criticism may sound quite harsh, and while there are some announcers on KVOD who do have degrees in music, it is baffling to me why they do not have a program similar to that which was done by the late Karl Haas on National Public Radio. The lack of information, and the lack of an intelligent discussion of music, sells the public short, and certainly does not do anything for the future of serious music. It is also unfortunate that the public seems to believe that everyone who works as an announcer on any radio station that plays serious music is an expert. Therefore, I think that such music programs should try to help the public understand various kinds of music in more detail. At the same time, it will certainly increase the intelligence of the listeners, and therefore they will listen more, and it will also increase the public’s understanding of what is good music criticism and what is bad music criticism, when they read it in the newspapers, or hear music being discussed on the radio.
One of the reasons that the future of serious music seems to some to be on shaky ground – aside from the fact that music is no longer offered in the public schools – is that the younger generation is not taught at any level how to think about music, or what to think about music. Some, and I emphasize some, representatives of the media have even offered glib statements, and I quote from about five years ago, “In spite of his small stature, he gets a large sound from the orchestra.” That kind of nonsense insults everyone’s intelligence, and is indicative of the writers uncaring attitude towards music, and of their own inability to understand what a critic writes about.
I have often taken to task the requirement by funding organizations that make it necessary for music organizations to become involved in outreach. It seems obvious, now, that outreach is necessary, if we are to educate the younger generations in the art of music. The reason that I have been against outreach as a funding requirement, is because it forces the organization to take time away from performing their initial obligation. But, since so many institutions that have the ability to be a platform for the arts, and for music, are abrogating that responsibility, then outreach does become a necessity, though I still do not believe it should be a funding requirement.
Those of us who are serious musicians can easily make music understood by the younger generation if we have a platform to reach them. But that platform must not be controlled by those who can see only dollar signs and ratings. Apparently those individuals also need to be educated in the value of music as an art.