Xinghai "Yellow River Concerto,"

Transcript Xinghai "Yellow River Concerto,"

Serge Prokovief

 Russian Composer, pianist, and conductor  One of the major composers of the 20 th century  Born in Sontsovka, a rural estate of the Russian Empire  After the Russian Revolution, Prokovief left Russia and lived in the U.S., Germany, then Paris.  Returned back Soviet Union in 1936, became apart of Union of Soviet Composers (isolation of Soviet Composers)

Symphony Classique

 Prokovief ’s Symphony Classique is a piece filled with ambiguous irony and admiration of the 18 th century’s classical music  Composed in 1916  Four movement form: Allegro, Larghetto, Gavotte:Non Troppo Allegro, Finale: Molto Vivace  Two fast outer movement which bracket the two slow movements.

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 Gavotto movement inspired by a stylized dance  The piece has a lighthearted and humorous character  Sharply dissonant and maintains a steadfastly tonal base  The Classical tone is shone through the harmonic language  Sudden shifts between tonal centers

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 First movement, Allegro, is in Sonata form  The Gavotte sounds very Mozartean  The piece ends with an exuberant finale  Constant shifts of tone implements suspense and excitement

Xian Xinghai

 One of the earliest generation of Chinese Composers  Influenced by western classical music  Has influenced generations of Chinese musicians  Wrote vocal works that encouraged people to fight Japanese invaders  Composed over 300 works: Composed in major musical forms: two symphonies, a violin concierto, choral works  Won the title “People’s Composer”

Yellow River Piano Concerto

 The piece Xian Xinghai is best known for  Piano and Orchestra  Composed in 1939, Premiere in 1969 during Cultural Revolution  8 movement piece originally, rearranged to 4 movements: Prelude, Ode, The Yellow River In Anger, Defend the Yellow River  Used traditional folk melodies

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 Yellow River Piano Concerto was banished from the Chinese concert stage at the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976  Remained popular outside of China  Late 1980’s filtered back into Chinese mainstream and performed by Chinese and Western artists

The Movements

 Prelude: The Song of the Yellow River Boatman: Momentum of Waves- Rapid chromatic crescendo and use of cymbals  Ode to the Yellow River: Praise of the Yellow River- Deep and rich timbre of the cello  The Wrath of the Yellow River: Brings out melody  Defend the Yellow River: Finale, polyphonic canon, thematic writing(popular in traditional Chinese), first phase played by trumpet