QoQ Qapla' Ashley Burrows, bassoon Gail Novak, piano Marquise Demaree, oboe Student Recital Series Recital Hall I 27 October 201617:30 p.m. Program Sonate Allegro man non troppo Largo Allegro Gustav Schereck (1849-1918) Summertime George Gershwin (1898-1937) Arr. John Orford Scaramouche IL Modere Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) Arr. Ashley Burrows INTERMISSION Recit, Sicilienne et Rondo Eugene Bozza (1905-1991) Up and Away: The Story of a Balloon Inhale/Exhale Life on a String Letting Go ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY School of Music Alyssa Morris (b.1984) Program Notes Sonate op. 9 Gustav Schreck (1849-1918) Gustav Schreck was a German music teacher and composer at St. Thomas School in Leipzig. He began his musical life playing piano and singing at an early age. Always interested in education, he attended a teaching training college where he was a member of the student choir. In 1868 he attended the Conservatory in Leipzig and in 1874 he began his career as a freelance composer and musician. One of the only Romantic works for bassoon, Schreck's Sonata, composed in 1887, clearly reflects his education and experience. It is well composed for the listener and the player alike. The piece is full of melodies that are easy for the listener to hear and enjoy, and exciting rhythmic passages that keeps the listener engaged. Schreck's lifetime as a composer really shines through in this sonata. Summertime George Gershwin (1898-1937) Arr. John Orford, John Alley, Dave Arnold Summertime is an aria composed in 1934 for the opera Porgy and Bess, and quickly took hold as a stand-alone jazz standard. It has African American spiritual feel and is sung through out the opera as a lullaby and theme of grief. Originally recorded by Abbie Mitchell, with Gershwin at the piano, the song feels like molasses; slow and gooey, full of emotion, and vibrato. This style translates perfectly to the bassoons ability for long phrases, intense control of vibrato, and dynamic range. Scaramouche 11. Madere Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) Arr. Ashley Burrows A member of the Les Six Milhaud was a prolific composer of the 20th century. He composed for a wide range of genres and his final opus number is 443! A scaramouche is an clown character used in Italian commedia dell'arte. Milhaud's piece, written for alto saxophone, has a very jovial feel. I chose to arrange the second movement because it was technically accessible for the bassoon; I enjoyed the lilting rhythmic patterns, and the dynamic possibilities it offered. Recit, Sicilienne et Rondo Eugene Bozza (1905-1991) Bozza, born in France in the early 20th Century, was a prize winning violinist, composer, and conductor. His music developed out of emerging styles in the 20th century and influences from Debussy, romantic music, and jazz. This piece "Vas composed as a new work for a concours at the Paris Conservatory in 1936 and was Bozza's first work for solo bassoon and piano. Its three sections offer contrasting styles: a recitative section of free solo Cadenza-like playing with piano, a slow, flowing, Sicilienne dance section with dotted rhythms and lyrical lines, and an exciting Rondo with fast flashy passages. Up and Away: The Story of a Balloon Alyssa Morris b. 1984 Program notes by composer Alyssa Morris Up and Away is a musical depiction of the life of a Balloon. Little Balloon is brought to life, with effervescence, lightheartedness, and wonder. Inhale/Exhale is a depiction of blowing up the balloon, watching it float, letting air out of Balloon and hearing the little squeal and sputter as it flies around the room. This movement also introduces Balloon's "light"-motif. Movement 2, Life on a String, is about teenage angst and rebellion. Little Balloon is not so little anymore, and wants to prove that is has a mind and ideas of its own. So many times Balloon has felt that people want it to fit a certain mold. But Balloon just wants to be itself. This angst can be heard as each instrument quotes a passage that has become synonymous with what most people think that instrument is. The , oboe plays the snake charmer, the bassoon plays one of its common orchestral excerpts from Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony, and the piano plays Fur Elise; but not without some significant changes to prove that they are not a pawn in this game, but an individual! Movement 3, Letting Go, portrays the wisdom that comes with old age. This movement is Balloon's reflection at life full of happiness, sorrow, love, learning, and meaning. Letting Go is a quiet resignation, knowing that we are not always in control of what happens in life. However, we are in control of what we choose to do with what we have been given. It is my hope that the listeners will find some of themselves in Balloon; in the joy, frustration, lightheartedness, loneliness, wisdom, and hope.