Events & Programs

Sugimoto Concert Series
With members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
September 26 & 27, 2006 at 7:30pm
ProgramAudio Files

Claude Vivier: Paramirabo (1978)

Luciano Berio: Sequenza X (1984)

Igor Stravinsky: Three Pieces (1918)

Harrison Birtwistle: Hoquentus Petrus (1995)

Pierre Boulez: Dérive I (1984)

This program was chosen to complement various aspects of the current exhibition, Hiroshi Sugimoto: Photographs of "Joe". As Sugimoto's images are artwork based on an existing work of art, they are in a way homages to Joe. Similarly, each of the musical works on this program are homages to either a person or a concept: the most obvious being Birtwistle's Hoquetus Petrus, a work composed for and dedicated to Pierre Boulez.

Claude Vivier has always been fascinated by the Orient and undertook a lengthy trip to several Asian countries in 1977. His experiences, particularly those involving Balinese music and art, inspired several works composed upon his return, including Paramirabo.

Luciano Berio's series of Sequenzas is an homage to a specific performer and his or her exceptional abilities on the instrument for which the piece is written. The Sequenza X, written for trumpet and piano resonance, was written in 1984 for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's then-principal trumpet, Thomas Stevens. Although the trumpet is the central focus of the work, Berio adds an additional acoustical element by having an additional player silently depress keys on a piano while the trumpeter plays into that instrument, causing the strings to resonate on specific pitches and therefore creating an unusual reverberance.

Igor Stravinsky's work dates from his sojourn in Switzerland during most of World War I and was intended as a token of appreciation to Werner Reinhardt, a Swiss businessman and, in Stravinsky's description, "an altruistic gentleman." During the period the composer lived in Switzerland, Reinhardt functioned as his patron, providing financial and other support. He was an amateur clarinetist, which Stravnisky took into account when devising his musical tribute.

Pierre Boulez's Derive I is both an homage to a person and an homage to a work. At its core, Derive I is based on the musical "spelling" of the surname of Paul Sacher, but much of the musical material in the work is derived (hence the piece's title) from Boulez's earlier work, Repons (which in turn had been derived from material in another earlier work-Poesies pour pouvoir.)

Two additional elements which unite these works with Joe are the massive and metallic qualities of sound they create.