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Peaceful Reflections

J. S. Bach's Mass in B minor is generally thought to have been completed on July 27, 1733 as a gift to the new King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, Augustus III. The Lutheran Bach gave the Catholic King the only parts of the Mass that didn't offend the sensibilities of either religious persuasion: the Kyrie and Gloria. Bach wouldn't finish the remainder of the Mass until just a year and a half before his death. Peaceful Reflections commemorates this important anniversary by playing the parts of the Mass Bach gave the King. Also scheduled are Vitezslav Novak's South Bohemian Suite and Heitor Villa-Lobos' Brazilian Popular Suite performed by guitarist Pepe Romero.

Every Monday evening, you can soak in two hours of performances by world-renown orchestras with WCPE’s Monday Night at the Symphony. Tune in August 2nd at 8 pm, and hear three great American orchestras — the Seattle Symphony, the Nashville Symphony, and the Buffalo Philharmonic.

Join us Monday at 8 ET for Monday Night at the Symphony, -locally at 89.7 FM, or anywhere in the world at theclassicalstation.org.

John Field (July 26, 1782 – January 23, 1837)

John Field was born in Dublin on July 26, 1782. Named for his organist grandfather, who gave him his first music lessons, young John demonstrated his own talent for the keyboard by giving a public piano recital at age nine. The following year the family moved to London, where John was apprenticed to Muzio Clementi. In addition to his activities as a keyboard virtuoso and composer, Clementi was a partner with John Longman in a lucrative music publishing firm and piano factory. Field was pressed into service demonstrating the firm’s products while continuing his own studies under Clementi’s tutelage.

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In 1801, Field published his Opus 1, a set of piano sonatas dedicated to Clementi. When Clementi began a major concert tour of Europe in the following year, he took Field along. They reached Russia in 1803, and the outcome is a topic of debate among music historians. Some claim that Field had grown tired of living in Clementi’s shadow, while others insist that Longman and Clementi wanted a sales representative in Russia. In any case, Field stayed in St. Petersburg. Except for a major concert tour during the years 1831 through 1834, he spent the rest of his life as a Russian resident, dividing his time between St. Petersburg and Moscow. He died of cancer in Moscow in 1837.

Like Beethoven, who was twelve years his senior, Field represents the transition between the classical and romantic style periods in music. He is credited with inventing the nocturne, a rhapsodic form that allows the performer a much wider range of expression than the rigid structure of a sonata. It’s a form often associated with Chopin, but Field’s nocturnes anticipate Chopin’s by 20 years. Field’s influence can also be heard in the “Songs Without Words” of Felix Mendelssohn.

— Contribution by WCPE volunteer announcer Lyle Adley- Warrick
Host for Music in the Night, Tuesdays

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Enrique Granados (July 27, 1867 - March 24, 1916)

What occurs at that moment when you discover a new work or a new artist? Isn't it one of the biggest thrills in classical music? Can you remember that feeling, when you first heard something by Schubert, Ravel, Prokofiev or Mahler that you deeply craved to hear again - and realized that this wide world of music has a lifetime of joys to offer? I know when I had that first moment with a work by composer Enrique Granados.

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I like to think I've heard everything (but, of course, I know better - gee, didn't Bach himself write enough to fill a lifetime?), but I actively try to seek out the vast tracts I've missed. Where? Radio, concerts, discs, recommendations of friends. I thought I knew about "Spanish music," and had unfortunately lumped it together, with a low priority. I do, however, tend to buy odd discs with collections of familiar and unfamiliar works. My breakthrough occurred with a disc of classical piano music about animals, played by a Dutch pianist named Marius van Paassen (with the badly translated album title: "The animal in the 20th century piano music"). Works by Debussy, Stravinsky and others I knew; works by obscure Dutch composers, I didn't. Why not? But hidden in the hour of van Paassen's music was a gem by Granados - a discovery, a piece of magic, a masterpiece. How could I have missed this? The piece: "The Complaint, or The Maiden and the Nightingale" (in Spanish, "Quejas ó La maja y el ruiseñor"). I listened to it over and over. I bought the sheet music (but, too hard for me). Who was this composer, Granados, and how did he come to write this?

Enrique Granados was a triple-threat - a superb composer, pianist and painter. I think about Sergei Rachmaninoff, also a master in three areas: composer, pianist and conductor (Rachmaninoff was twice offered the post of conductor of the Boston Symphony, but declined). Both gentleman, born within a few years of the American Civil War, are known to us today primarily as composers, because it's the form in which their art can be re-created and re-interpreted by others. But, we're also fortunate that they lived long enough into the 20th century that we have actual recordings of their performances as pianists - incalculable treasures of our cultural heritage.

Granados' life as a painter changed when he discovered the paintings of Goya. It was a level of art and emotion he aspired to portray. He painted canvases in the manner of Goya - one never paints just like another artist, but more in the sense of lineage.

Through this, the moment of creative inspiration occurred. He composed a set of piano pieces in homage to Goya - which he named Goyescas. Although he had composed since a student, it was the Goyescas that were his breakthrough. They were admired and performed widely, and Granados became a star. He expanded his set of six piano pieces into an opera, with the same name, Goyescas. But, as he set about having the opera premiered at the Paris Opera House, World War I broke out in Europe. It became clear there was little hope of seeing it presented in Europe while the war raged - but an extraordinary offer arrived: the chance to present the premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

This is where the story sadly accelerates from great success to a tragic ending. Granados and his wife traveled to New York for the well-received premiere of his grand opera at the Met. This triumph was followed by an invitation to perform in recital at the White House for President Wilson. He postponed his return to Spain to spend some time making player piano rolls of his compositions - for the New York-based Aeolian Company. His later return trip took him first to England, then on to a separate ship for their return to Spain.

While crossing the English Channel in March 1916, their ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat. He dove from his lifeboat to save his wife, despite a life-long fear of the water, and they both drowned. Ironies abound. Only half the ship sank; the portion with their cabin remained afloat, and was towed back to shore intact. The Granados' left six children; one of their sons went on to become a swimming champion.

Granados recorded his four tracks in 1912: three of his own piano pieces and a Scarlatti sonata. He was indeed a superb pianist, and the recording technology of the time was sufficiently good to reveal his sublime touch. His great friend, cellist Pablo Casals, made his own first recordings in 1915. What a pleasure to live in a time when we can hear both of these legends firsthand. Hear these recordings by these young geniuses when you can. And take any chance to hear the Goyescas, highlights of the piano literature.

And a short note on Goya. Some of his finest paintings are here in the USA on permanent exhibit, at an unlikely location: in the museum known as the Hispanic Society of America. It's in New York City, on Broadway up at 145th Street. America was crazy for everything Spanish in the period before WWI, and railroad heir Archie Huntington built a wonderful museum to house his growing collection of Hispanic art. He even brought over the Spanish impressionist painter Joaquin Sorolla to fill a room with his grand Scenes from Spain - still there today, in all their glory. When you're next in New York, find your way up to the Hispanic Society, see the priceless El Grecos, Goyas, and Sorollas, and immerse yourself in the visual world that was the muse of composer Granados.

— Dr. John Q. Walker is the chairman and founder of Zenph Sound Innovations

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Online playlists "What was that beautiful piece of music??" Find out now by browsing through a week's worth of playlists!

Meet the Announcer Ever wonder what your favorite voice looks like? See photos and read brief biographies of WCPE's announcers!

"Quarter Notes" WCPE's Member Magazine Published quarterly, this magazine and listener guide offers featured works and program highlights for the WCPE season to come, plus station news, reviews, interviews and other articles designed to enhance your classical music journey. Quarter Notes is sent to WCPE members in print version, and members may also choose to view this website's "green" online version. To become a WCPE member (your gift is tax-deductible!) and receive a year's subscription to Quarter Notes, click here.

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