Rhapsodie Macabre
Rhapsodie Macabre | |
---|---|
Piano quintet by Graham Waterhouse | |
Year | 2011 |
Period | contemporary |
Occasion | centenary of Franz Liszt |
Movements | 1 in 5 sections |
Scoring | piano, two violins, viola, cello |
Rhapsodie Macabre is a composition for piano and string quartet in one movement by Graham Waterhouse, written in 2011 as a homage to Franz Liszt. It was first performed at a Liszt festival of the Gasteig, Munich, with the composer playing the cello part.
History, structure and music
Waterhouse composed the work as the closing work of the 2011 Liszt Festival at the Gasteig, Munich, played in a concert of works by Liszt and Waterhouse.
The work is in one movement, structured in five sections:
- Allegro alla toccata
- Presto precipitando
- Adagio lusingando
- Vivace
- Con moto giusto[1]
The first section, like a toccata, is based on two themes, one of them the "Dies irae". In the second section, this theme "appears both in lyrical as well as in satirical guise". The third section introduces a cantabile line in the strings and leads to a dialogue of piano and first violin. The fourth section is a "demonic scherzo in 6/8 time". The finale combines the material of all previous sections and ends with a fast coda.[2]
A review in the Süddeutsche Zeitung compares the music to a dreamlike ride through surreal territory, full of surprising events and turns.[3] A reviewer in Das Orchester noted that the work has gestural moments ("gestische Momente)" and that it refers to music from the past, including the "Dies irae", discreetly woven in the texture. He described a theatrical danse macabre led by the first violin, using the tritone.[4]
Performances and recording
The premiere was played at the Liszt Festival 2011 of the Gasteig by pianist
Rhapsodie Macabre is part of a CD Skylla und Charybdis of the composer's works for piano and strings. It was released in 2020 by Farao Classics, and introduced by a concert at the Munich Gasteig on 6 March 2021.[7][8][4]
References
- ^ a b c "Rhapsodie Macabre". Graham Waterhouse. 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- ^ a b c "A Recital of Music by Graham Waterhouse (OC)" (PDF). Highgate School. 2012. pp. 3, 4. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ "Frisch und wild / Packende Kammermusik in Gilching" (PDF) (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- ^ a b Drees, Stefan (May 2021). "Graham Waterhouse / Skylla und Charybdis – Kammermusik". Das Orchester (in German): 91. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ "Hommage à Liszt". Gasteig. 2011. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- ^ Woolf, Peter Grahame (9 October 2012). "Graham Waterhouse Portrait Concert". musicalpointers.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- ^ "Skylla und Charybdis". Farao Classics. 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ ""Skylla und Charybdis" / Kammermusik von Graham Waterhouse und Ludwig van Beethoven". Gasteig. March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
External links
- Graham Waterhouse website
- Graham Waterhouse: Skylla und Charybdis (2021) on YouTube