work is perhaps the most passionate of all I have ever composed—a deep

yearning for you.” At the conclusion of that movement, one can hear 

strains reminiscent of Beethoven's song cycle An die feme Geliebte (To

the Loved One Who is Far Away). The second movement is a march that

is infamous among pianists for the treacherous leaps in its coda. The

finale is a slow movement of divine and poetic beauty.

Hadjidakis’ Six Sketches: Ballet for Piano Based on Greek Folk

Melodies, Op. 5, stems from a particular genre of Greek songs called 

rebetiko. This was the name given to underground music played in

smoke-filled dens of ill repute in the early morning hours, far from the

salons and concert halls of the established musical circles. Improvising 

on the bouzouki, a traditional Greek stringed instrument of the lute

family, folk musicians expressed their pain, sufferings, and revolt 

through rebetiko songs in much the same manner as the practitioners of

the blues and soul songs in the United States.

El amor brujo (Love, the Magician), a ballet with songs, is one of

Falla’s most popular works. The story of the ballet concerns two young

gypsy lovers, Candelas and Carmelo. The ghost of Candelas’ dead lover 

haunts her and does not let her return the love of her new suitor,

Carmelo. The suite for piano that is extracted from the ballet contains 

five movements: Pantomime is a savage flamenco theme that symbolizes 

the fury of the ghost who will not release its victim; the slow section in

7/8 time that follows is one of Falla’s most beautiful melodies, full of

tenderness and evoking the languorous charms of the Cadiz region; Song

of the Will-o'-the-wisp, with its strong flamenco rhythm, has an

accompaniment that imitates a guitar’s varied styles and techniques; 

Dance of Terror is based on the ancient gypsy dance, Baile de la

tarantula, which has the same origin as the Italian tarantella; The Magic

Circle, marked Andante molto tranquillo, conjures up the spirit of

exorcism with the muttering of incantations over a smoking cauldron;

and Ritual Fire Dance represents Candelas, who is possessed by the

ghost, dancing to exhaustion in a state of frenzy.

Program notes on Hadjidakis and Falla by Vinia Tsopela, 

edited and adapted by Elmer Booze.

Program notes on Mozart and Schumann by Elmer Booze.

The Fifty-ninth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

2359th Concert

VINIA TSOPELA, pianist

Sunday Evening, 29 October 2000

Seven O'clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admission free
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 

(1756-1791)

PROGRAM

Rondo in D Major, K. 485

(1786)

Robert Schumann 

(1810-1856)

Phantasie in C Major, Op. 17

(1836-1838)

Durchaus phantastisch und

leidenschaftlich vorzutragen 

Massig

Langsam getragen

INTERMISSION

Manos Hadjidakis Six Sketches: Ballet for Piano

(1925-1994) Based on Greek Folk Melodies

Op. 5 (1950)

United States premiere performance

Manuel de Falla Suite from “El amor brujo” (Love, the Magician) 

(1876-1946) (1914-1915)

Pantomime

Song of the Will-o’-the-wisp 

Dance of Terror

The Magic Circle

Ritual Fire Dance

The use ofcameras or recording equipment during

the performance is not allowed.

For the convenience ofconcertgoers

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:30 p.m.

After attending a recital given by Greek pianist Vinia Tsopela, the

reviewer for The San Francisco Chronicle wrote: “I cannot remember 

having enjoyed Beethoven’s Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, so fully

in my lifetime. Her very large width of dynamics hinted at the late

Arthur Rubinstein.” Such accolades are not uncommon for Tsopela, who

has received international acclaim for her pianistic passion, sensitivity,

and dynamism. Tsopela studied at the Athens Conservatory in Paris with

Yvonne Lefebure on a grant from the French government, and at the

Juilliard School of Music with Nadia Reisenberg. After winning the Gina 

Bachauer International Competition for distinguished young pianists in

1979, she toured extensively in the United States, playing with the

Philadelphia, Saint Louis, Dallas, Sacramento, Phoenix, and Santa 

Barbara Orchestras and performing recitals in Lincoln Center’s Alice

Tully Hall, the Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles, and the Legion

of Honor Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco.

In Greece, Tsopela was the soloist at the inaugural concert in the

Megaron Concert Hall of Athens, one of the most prominent in Europe,

and since then has performed there repeatedly. In Thessalonike she

garnered a medal of honor for her appearance with the Philharmonic 

Orchestra of Prague. She represented Greece in the 1998 Gina Bachauer 

International Piano Competition in Salt Lake City as a member of the

distinguished jury. In recognition of her exceptional contribution to the

arts, the Senate of California conferred on her a diploma of honor and

honorary U.S. citizenship. Vinia Tsopela makes her home in Athens,

Greece, with her husband and young son.

Mozart completed his Rondo in D Major, K. 485, in Vienna. Its basic

characteristic is that of a question and answer sequence, developed from

a theme with captivating appeal. The melodic tag is one that Mozart used

many times. It appears in the same configuration in Johann Christian 

Bach’s music, but it is unclear whether Mozart consciously copied it

from Bach or came up with the same melodic fragment by chance.

Dedicated to Franz Liszt, the monumental Phantasie in C Major, Op.

17, contains some of Schumann’s most powerful and vivid music. Upon

completing the opening movement, Schumann wrote to Clara Wieck 

(whom he was impatiently waiting to marry): “The first movement of the