University Place

Welcome to University Place Presents. I'm Norman Gilliland in the parlor at Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien on the Mississippi River, an historic site run by the Wisconsin Historical Society. And we have not just a historic setting for our University Place Presents today, but also a historic instrument that we'll be hearing generously, an 1879 Centennial Steinway Grand restored by Farley's House of Pianos, but it was in this very parlor for many years, beginning in 1885. And performing on this piano a combination of classical pieces and some Americana is my guest for University Place Presents. Welcome to University Place Presents, Christopher Taylor. He's a Professor of Piano Performance at the UW-Madison. Thank you. You're going to begin with the "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven, and this might be called the Mona Lisa of piano sonatas. It's so famous, and perhaps in some ways, mysteriously. What do you think explains this incredible popularity and familiarity with the "Moonlight Sonata"? Well, I think the nickname has been a selling point in its favor. Of course, the funny thing about this nickname is that it does not originate with Beethoven, in fact, only arose after his death. Sometime in the 1830s, a poet named Rellstab said that he thought the first movement reminded him of the moonlight reflected on Lake Lucerne. So, you know, it's not a bad nickname, all in all, I would say. And it captures something of the evocative and mysterious atmosphere of the first movement, which is a very unusual thing. I mean, it was really the first such sonata ever written that begins in this very hushed and subdued way, and then gradually as the three movements progress, it becomes more and more agitated. So even in Beethoven's lifetime, before it had its nickname, it was extremely popular, and in fact, Beethoven got a little annoyed about it, saying, "Surely I've written "better sonatas than this." But I'm not sure if he was right. It's a wonderful piece despite its overuse and abuse. The "Moonlight Sonata" on the 1879 Centennial Steinway Grand. (Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Moonlight" by Beethoven) (audience applauds) When a young Felix Mendelssohn played part of Beethoven's Fifth on the piano for the poet Goethe, Goethe said something to the effect of, "Wow, the ceiling must come down." (laughs) And you get some idea from your performance there as to the Olympian power that burst upon the world in 1801 with that sonata. Yes. We're going to go forward some 93 years and hear a piece that actually could have been played on this piano during the composer's lifetime. Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer who was influenced to a great extent, especially early on, by Frederic Chopin who was writing back in the 1830s and '40s. When we hear these six etudes by Scriabin, what do we hear that Chopin wouldn't have given us? Well, as you indicated, they're quite early works, and so the Chopin influence is extremely strong. But already we're starting to see some hints of the later Scriabin who was an extremely experimental and adventurous composer and who specialized in creating these dreamy and ecstatic types of moods. So we see hints of that, and you see some, you know, quite massive sonorities in these pieces. Tremendous amount of strength, for instance, coming from the left hand that maybe is moving beyond what Chopin did, and a little closer perhaps to what Liszt had done in the previous generation. But it's clear this is a young composer who's going places. And despite the clearness of his influences, his own musical personality is coming through pretty clearly. So we'll be hearing the Opus 8 Etudes, numbers seven through 12, by Alexander Scriabin. Right. ("Op. 8 No. 7 in B-flat minor" by Scriabin) ("Op. 8 No. 8 in A-flat major" by Scriabin) ("Op. 8 No. 9 in G-sharp major" by Scriabin) ("Op. 8 No. 10 in D-flat major" by Scriabin) ("Op. 8 No. 11 in B-flat minor" by Scriabin) ("Op. 8 No. 12 in D-sharp minor" by Scriabin) (audience applauds) Six etudes, Opus 8, numbers seven through 12 by clearly a very robust Alexander Scriabin, and a very robust Christopher Taylor playing them on our 1879 Centennial Steinway here in the parlor of Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Now for some Americana. Right. We'll go forward not that many years, from 1894 to 1909, and then to 1915. Things were happening very quickly in the music world at that time, particularly in America. Right, right. So, I'll be playing two rags by two of the pioneers of that particular genre, Scott Joplin, of course, and then his student, Joseph Lamb. So the Joplin rag I'm playing is the "Wall Street Rag," which is a somewhat whimsical sort of title. It's a very lyrical and beautiful rag. It also has a little whimsical headings at the beginning of each of the four sections of the piece. So the first one is entitled, "Panic on Wall Street, Brokers Feeling Melancholy." (laughs) The second one, second section is "Good Times are Coming," and then the third section, "Good Times have Come." And then in the final section, we hear that "Listening to the Strains of Genuine Ragtime, "Brokers Forget their Cares." (laughs) More bad times. (laughs) And then the other, the second rag then, is by Joseph Lamb written a few years later. The "Ragtime Nightingale," which is a particularly sophisticated and beautiful example of the type and features a run in the left hand at the beginning that appears to be a slowed down version of Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude." So again, we hear Chopin's influence-- Right, thesis. And are unavoidable. Thank you. ("Wall Street Rag" by Scott Joplin) ("Ragtime Nightingale" by Joseph Lamb) (audience applauds) "Ragtime Nightingale" by Mr. Lamb, and before that, Scott Joplin's "Wall Street Rag." A good pairing. - Indeed. Well, as long as we're in the parlor of Villa Louis, the Dousman home, we're going to end our concert with something actually written by one of the family. I should add that over Christopher Taylor's left shoulder, two of the Dousman family members who have, after a fashion, been attending our concert today. They are Judith Dousman Skidmore and her daughter, Nina. They're the daughter and granddaughter, respectively, of Louis Dousman and his wife, Nina, Louis being, of course, the person for whom Villa Louis is named and the person who built it. But on the wall next to them is Virginia Dousman, who was one of several people who wrote pieces of music about Villa Louis, wrote songs celebrating this grand house. And Virginia Dousman wrote "Villa Louis, Beloved Home," which we'll hear now in an arrangement by Christopher Taylor. ("Villa Louis, Beloved Home" by Virginia Dousman) (audience applauds) "Villa Louis, Beloved Home" by Virginia Dousman, played by Christopher Taylor. (audience applauds) A great pleasure hearing you in this great hall, the parlor of Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. I'm Norman Gilliland. I hope you can join me next time around for University Place Presents. (audience applauds)