Corigliano

’s Fantasia on an Ostinato, written as test piece for

the Seventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, is a compelling work that appears frequently on recital programs

and in an orchestral transcription. The title Ostinato comes

from the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.

Corigliano says of his work:“Beethoven’s near-minimalistic use

of his material and my own desire to writea piece in which the

performer is responsible for decisions concerning the duration

ofrepeated patterns led me to my first experiment in so-called

minimalist techniques.” Although having“mixed feelings”

about the minimalist style, Corigliano unequivocally states that

his aim is to use these techniques with“convincing structure

and emotional expression.” The overall formal impression is

that ofa colossal arch.

John Field is universally accepted as the originator ofthe noc­

turne, with Chopin undoubtedly being Field’s most illustrious

and unique successor in this genre. The Nocturnes, Opus 9, No.1

and Opus 55, No. ^represent the opposite ends ofChopin’s cre­

ative life. The first nocturne, with its belcanto influence, and

the second, with its expressive duet overa rolling accompa­

niment, possess operatic qualities that are unexcelled in

Chopin’s works.

Liszt’s piano transcriptions functioned in his day in much

the same way that recorded music functions today, allowing

the general public to enjoy music in the home that was other­

wise available only in concert halls, or fora select few in the

castles ofthe wealthy. As an example ofmusic“made for home

listening,” the Paraphrasefrom Verdi's Rigoletto isa perfect ex­

ample of Liszt’s genius at transcribing opera scores for the pi­

ano. It offers great tunes, kaleidoscopic colors, anda pianistic

virtuosity of inimitable quality, all withina tidy formal pack­

age. The coda is especially stirring witha cascade of octaves

that brings the work toa brilliant close.

-Program notes by Gregory Sioles, 

adapted and edited by Elmer Booze

The Fifty-seventh Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

2294th Concert

GREGORY SIOLES, pianist

Sunday Evening, January 17, 1999

SevenO’clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admissionfree
Claude Debussy

(1862-1918)

PROGRAM

Images, Book II

(1907-1908)

Cloches a travers les feuilles

Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut

Poissons d’or

Johann Sebastian Bach Partita in B-flat Major

(1685-1750) BWV825 (1735)

Praeludium

Corrente

Sarabande

Menuet I

Menuet II

Giga

INTERMISSION

John Corigliano

(b. 1938)

Fantasia on an Ostinato

(1985)

Frederic Chopin Nocturne in B-flat Minor

(1810-1849) Opus 9, No. 1 (1830-1831)

Nocturne in E-flat Major

Opus 55, No. 2 (1843)

Franz Liszt

(1811-1886)

Concert Paraphrase from

Verdi’s “Rigoletto”

(1860)

Pianist Gregory Sides has been the recipient of numerous

honors and awards, including an Atwater Kent Grand Prize and a

Fulbright scholarship for study in London. Sioles has performed

on three continents, in such venues as the Kennedy Center,

London’s South Bank, and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music

in China. Following his London debut in 1983, Sioles made recital appearances in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and Scotland. 

He has performed frequently and extensively in the United

States and has been featured on National Public Radio. In addition to his activities as a soloist with orchestras and as a recitalist, he has appeared in chamber music concerts with many artists, including Edgar Meyer, Barry Tuckwell, and the Guarneri 

String Quartet. Sioles holds degrees from the University ofCalifornia at Los Angeles and from Indiana University, where he was

both a fellowship recipient and a guest lecturer in piano. He

currently serves on the faculties of the Peabody Conservatory in

Baltimore and the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C.

Composed in 1907, the three pieces that make up Images, Book

II present some of Debussy’s most evocative, translucent, and

poetically sophisticated musical impressions for the piano. Cloches

a traverslesfeuilles (Bells Through the Leaves) employs a layered texture reminiscent of Javanese gamelan music, similar to that of

Pagodas from Debussy’s suite Estampes (1903). Et la lune descend

surle temple quifut {Andthe Moon Descends on the Temple Ruins) is, by

turn, austerely sparse and harmonically lush, giving the listener

a sense of a mysteriously lost world. Recurring throughout the

piece is a snatch of plain chant melody that hangs over the ruins 

like an atmospheric mist. Initially inspired by painted goldfish 

on a Japanese lacquered box, Poissons d'or (Goldfish) is as naturalistic a picture as Debussy ever painted, with its lively wit and

caprice, as well as the lightning-quick, cinematic changes of direction and flashes of color.

The Partita in B-flat Major, BIW825 is the first of six partitas in

Bach’s Clavieriibung (Keyboard Practice), Part /. Made available to

the public in 1731, the Clavieriibung is among the few works of

Bach published during his lifetime. The first partita is a work of

pristine beauty, combining emotional directness, structural clarity, and elegance in extraordinary balance. The Praeludium is a

most engaging “invitation to the dance,” followed by traditional 

baroque dances: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Minuet, and a

virtuosic Gigue that dares the performer to cross hands repeatedly.