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| An-Ting Chang (Pianist) |
‘The Carnival of the Animals’
Louis-Claude Daquin (1694-1772) Le
Coucou (The Cuckoo)
Enrique Granados (1867-1916) Quejas, ó la Maja y el
Ruiseñor (The Maiden and the Nightingale) from ‘Goyescas’
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) Flight
of the Bumblebee
Franz Liszt-Franz Schubert Die Forelle (The Trout), S.563
(1811-1886)
(1797-1828)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Poisson d’or from
‘Image II’
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) Waltz, Op. 64, No. 1
Waltz, Op. 34, No. 3
Aaron Copland (1900-1990) The Cat and the
Mouse
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) Le Carnaval des Animaux (The
Carnival of the Animals)
Introduction and Royal March of the Lion - Hens and Roosters
- Swift Animals - Tortoises - The Elephant - Aquarium - Aviary - Fossils - The
Swan – Finale
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| An-Ting Chang (Pianist) |
Notes
Daquin was a French
prodigy who has performed harpsichord in front of Louis XIV at the age of six
and conducted his own composition at the age of eight. Daquin was the best
virtuoso improviser of his generation and invented the unique harpsichord
technique in his published music. Le Coucou (The Cuckoo) is selected
from his collection of harpsichord pieces. Daquin imitated the two-syllable
sound of cuckoo as the theme and developed it in different keys and tones.
The Spanish composer, Granados, was inspired by Goya’s
painting to compose the piano suite, Goyescas. Granados wrote, ‘I am enamoured
with the psychology of Goya, with his palette, with him, with his muse the
Duchess of Alba, with his quarrels with his models, his loves and flatteries.’ Quejas,
ó
la Maja y el Ruiseñor (The Maiden and the Nightingale) is the fourth movement of the suite in which
the maiden sings mournfully to the nightingale. Granados used the melody of a
folksong he heard in Valencia
Rimsky-Korsakov wrote Fight of the Bumblebee as an orchestral interlude in his opera
The tale of Tsar Saltan in 1900. A
magician, Swan-Bird, changes Prince Gvidon Saltanovich into an insect so that
the prince can fly away to visit his father. This composition is very often
used as a solo showcase for the instrumental virtuosity. The fast semiquaver
throughout the piece creates different sonority and great excitement and is a
highly technique challenge for the instrumentalists. This piano transcription
is arranged by Sergei Rachmaninov.
Die Forelle (The Trout) is originally a Lied (German song) composed by Schubert. Schubert set the melody to
his famous quintet and Liszt
transcribed it into a piano solo piece.
The lyrics of the Lied was from a poem by Christian Friedrich Daniel
Schubart. The poem described a trout happily dashing in a clear little brook;
however, eventually it was killed by the cold-blooded fisherman. The poet
originally added a moral conclusion in the final stanza. Schubert obliterated
it and changed the song’s focus to the pure narration of the scene. Fischer-Dieskau depicted the reason for
the popularity of the piece that ‘the vividness of the imagery, with the
alternate troubling and smoothing of the surface of the water along with the
exuberance of the melody itself, account for the song's universal appeal.’
Poisson d’or (The Fish
of Gold)
is selected from Debussy’s Image, Book II. Debussy painted
pictures with tones. He created distinct sonority with the fresh harmony and
the spontaneous rhythm. The painter Maurice Denis expressed it this way: His
music kindled strange resonances within us, awakened a need at the deepest
level for a lyricism that only he could satisfy. What the Symbolist generation
was searching for with such passion and anxiety – light, sonority, and colour,
the expression of the soul, and the frisson of mystery – was realized by him
unerringly.’ Debussy often went to a shop selling Chinese antique which he was
mad about. It is said he was inspired by the two gold-coloured fish on a small
Japanese lacquer panel which he bought there to compose Poisson d’or.
Chopin ‘s Waltz in D flat
major, Op. 64, No. 1 is commonly known as the
‘Minute’ waltz or ‘Little Dog’ waltz. The name ‘Minute’ depicts the nature of
the piece being short (not because it lasts only for a minute). It is believed that
Chopin was inspired by seeing George Sand’s dog, Marquis, chasing its tail.
Chopin seemed to adore the dog and mentioned it in the letter to his family,
‘The little dog Marquis is staying with me and is lying on my sofa. It is an
extraordinary creature: it has a soft fluffy white coat which Madam Sand herself
brushes every day, and it is as intelligent as can be. I can't begin to tell
you all its original tricks.’ Not only for George Sand’s dog, Chopin also
composed another waltz op. 34, no. 3 for her cat, Valdeck. Chopin called it a
‘Cat’ waltz. The cat jumps up to the keyboard opening the piece and, in the
middle section, there are yearning long notes which imitate sound of cats.
Copland was born in Brooklyn , New
York
Le Carnaval des
Animaux (The Carnival of the Animals) is the most popular work from the French composer, Saint-Saëns. The original score was
written for two pianos, two violins, viola, cello, double bass, flute (and
piccolo), clarinet (C and B♭), glass
harmonica, and xylophone. Saint-Saëns composed the music for a private concert
on the Shrove Tuesday and it was performed by the famous cellist, Charles
Lebouc. Saint-Saëns quotes many
famous tunes as musical allusion, including La
Poule by Rameau (Hens and Roosters), Galop Infernal in operetta by Offenbach
Pianist/ An-Ting Chang
Chang’s background is unique. In 2007, she graduated from Taiwan’s top
university, the National Taiwan University, majoring in Chemistry with a minor
in Drama Theatre. She obtained an MMus
(Piano) at the Royal Academy of Music, London, winning a Maud Hornsby Award and
in 2009 received a DAAD Scholarship- Stüdienstipendien für Ausländische
Künstler for advanced study (Aufbaustudium) in piano performance at the
Hochschule für Musik, Franz Liszt Weimar, Germany. She is currently pursuing a PhD (performance
practice) at the Royal Academy.
Chang regularly appears on the national and
international concert circuit and has recently performed at Balcktheath Halls, Newbury
Spring Festival, Deal Festival, Altenburg-Liszt Salon Weimar, and the Akademie
der Künste Berlin (Academy of Arts). In addition to solo and chamber recitals,
Chang is constantly seeking new and creative approaches to combine her concerts
with different media. Her creation of
Concert Theatre was awarded grants from the Arts Council, Help Musicians, Elias
Fawcett Trust and Royal Victoria Hall Foundation and was featured in 2012 by In
Tune (BBC Radio 3), including an interview and live performance.
John Packwood (Bristol Post) described her as
‘a distinguished artiste’ and Martin Cullingford (Gramophone) noted that her
Concert Theatre work was ‘beautiful and poignant’. Her current Concert Theatre works include Sonata Movements (Royal Academy, RADA,
Blue Elephant Theatre), Kiss of the Earth
(UK Tour supported by Arts Council England) and The Tenant (in development, will be launched in Spring 2017 at the
National Portrait Gallery 28 April, Kings Weston House 26-27 April and Holburne
Museum Bath 25 May).
Chang’s debut recording, ‘Water Image’, is
available on site. The programme includes Beethoven’s Moonlight sonata, Ravel’s
Jeux d’eau, Debussy’s Estampes and Chopin’s Barcarolle. You can also follow
Chang’s concerts on her website: www.antingchang.com
or write to her at antingchang@concerttheatre.org.uk.
