Vytautas Bacevičius - Piano Music, Vol. 2 (Gabrielius Alekna)

Information

Composer: Vytautas Bacevičius

1. Poème Astral, Op. 7
2. Poème No. 4, Op. 10
3. Étude No. 2, Op. 19
4. Fantasia, Op. 39
5. Étude No. 4, Op. 43
6. Piano Sonata No. 4, Op. 53: I. Larghetto - poco più mosso - Allegro vivace
7. Piano Sonata No. 4, Op. 53: II. Lento - un poco più mosso - Tempo I - Moderato sostenuto - Lento
8. Piano Sonata No. 4, Op. 53: III. Presto - Prestissimo - Tempo I
9. Dance Fantastic, Op. 55
10. Evocations, Op. 57: I. Vision
11. Evocations, Op. 57: II. Humoresque
12. Evocations, Op. 57: III. Méditation
13. Étude No. 5, Op. 61
14. 3 Pensées musicales, Op. 75: No. 1, Allegro moderato
15. 3 Pensées musicales, Op. 75: No. 2, Adagio
16. 3 Pensées musicales, Op. 75: No. 3, Vivace

Gabrielius Alekna, piano

Date: 2016

Label: Toccata

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Description

The piano was central to the musical life of Vytautas Bacevičius, not only as a font of creative inspiration but also as an essential source of income. His command of the instrument resulted in professional appearances as a child together with his brother Kęstutis and sister Grażyna, solo recitals given throughout a long and successful career as a concert pianist, and extensive experience as a teacher in his later years. Compositions for the instrument span his entire creative output, charting his artistic development and changing preoccupations and influences. They reflect his attempts to adapt to various cultural backgrounds, from his early studies in Poland and France to his years as a recitalist in Lithuania and America. As befits an outstanding executant, his piano-writing demonstrates a keen responsiveness to contrasting sonorities and a mastery of all registers, with a particularly sensitive use of the upper reaches of the keyboard.

Bacevičius’ piano pieces indicate his abiding concern with modernity. He embraced atonality in particular, and most of his output, including the keyboard works, reflects this inclination. Yet there are several examples of what he described as ‘music of compromise’, which date from 1940 to the early 1950s. These are the fruits of what might be termed his ‘Neo-Classical period’ when he hoped that a simplification of his musical language might lead to improved recognition in his adoptive homeland of America. When this success was not forthcoming, he reverted to his natural voice and proceeded to fashion a series of intricate and exceptionally refined late works, avowedly avant-garde in outlook.

Bacevičius had a complex personality, full of contradictions. To some extent it is mirrored in the scores he wrote for his own instrument, which explore extreme contrasts of mood, register and technique. Within a brief timespan, they cover considerable emotional terrain. Lengthy transition sections are generally eschewed in favour of abrupt shifts between widely dissimilar thematic ideas. Virtuosity is never an end in itself, but always a by-product of the finely wrought material. An essential lack of self-indulgence results in crisp and closely argued pieces that are cogent and directly expressive. Every note counts in textures that are unfailingly pellucid and uncluttered.

Several of his series of works, such as the six symphonies, the five concertos (four for piano, one for violin), and the ‘Poems’ for solo piano, span all of Bacevičius’ four main creative periods. Like the ‘Words’ (Les Mots), the ‘Poems’ encompass his entire œuvre. They gave him an opportunity to explore and experiment both formally and stylistically. Of the nine exemplars in the genre, seven were written for the piano. Bacevičius had a close personal affinity with these pieces and programmed them frequently in his recitals.

Poème Astral (Poème No. 3), Op. 7, was composed in Paris in 1927 at a time when Bacevičius was in thrall to the music of Skryabin. The score is dedicated to the composer’s father, Vincas Bacevičius. Cast in a questing, Late-Romantic style, the ethereal material is especially wide-ranging, frequently requiring three staves and, on two occasions, spreading out to four. Frequent changes in tempo are accommodated within a single span of considerable harmonic boldness and rhythmic ingenuity. Poème Astral was published by Mercury Music Corporation, New York in 1967.

Poème No. 4, Op. 10, written in Paris in 1929, is dedicated ‘to my dear professor S. Riéra’ – Santiago Riéra, Bacevičius’ piano professor in Paris, who introduced him to the subtlety and textural clarity of the French piano school. The composer most clearly evoked in this rhapsodic early piece is Debussy. In its restraint and elegance, this short single movement owes much to that influence, but the ramifications of such an elegant style of piano-writing informed Bacevičius’ approach to his craft for the rest of his creative life. In addition to the Debussy influence, there is a nod towards Wagner’s ‘Tristan chord’ in the opening bars. The rest of the piece consists of tiny motifs which recur in varied forms underpinned by an appoggiatura, and it is this gesture which ends the score on a tantalisingly enigmatic question mark. Bacevičius described his early creative period as ‘expressionism transformed into atonal expressionism’. Poème No. 4 dates from this era and has been referred to as ‘an example of extended tonality’. In spite of the extensive use of the tritone and the resulting harmonic waywardness of much of the material, Poème No. 4 is written in C, which acts as a tonal anchor throughout.

Étude No. 2, Op. 19, (1933), is dedicated ‘to my sister Grażyna’ – the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz. It is a richly expressive miniature with a hypnotic central episode that reiterates a tiny motif. The score was published by the Mercury Music Corporation, New York, in 1967.

The Fantasia, Op. 39, written in New York in June 1944, is a rhapsodic single-movement piece divided into several episodes which are contrasting in mood but thematically related. Though rooted in F, a brief prefatory section marked Moderato sostenuto is harmonically adventurous and rhythmically flexible, with several ritardandi. It leads directly into a fiery Allegro moderato. The music relaxes briefly into a lyrical passage headed Andantino amoroso espressivo, before the main Allegro material returns, now marked maestoso. A central, scherzo-like section is characterised by delicate filigree writing. After it is repeated there follows a more measured interlude that becomes increasingly hushed and gains in intensity until it is transformed into a remote-sounding Andante misterioso. The lyrical passage returns, paving the way for the main Allegro material, which is then worked up into a Moderato pesante declamation before an incisive and bravura coda brings the work to an impressive close. With its juxtaposition of different elements sharing basic thematic content, there is a symphonic integrity to this piece. Bacevičius’ delightful excursions into the upper register of the piano ensure this mercurial score contains delicacy and refinement as well as arresting virtuosity.

Étude No. 4, Op. 43, was written in New York in July 1946. Though cast as an Allegro agitato, its general demeanour is one of light-heartedness, whether in the busy, toccata-like section or the whimsical, more measured middle section, the ubiquitous dotted rhythms of which give it the feel of a wry humoresque.

Written in 1952–53, Bacevičius’ Sonata No. 4, Op. 53, is notable for its expressive range and poetic intensity. The substantial opening movement begins with a hushed Larghetto introduction leading into an Allegro vivace. This main section presents a brisk and brittle principal subject followed by more languorous chordal secondary material. Before the terse and telescoped recapitulation, there is a brief, richly ornamented Larghetto passage. The central slow movement is a harmonically ambiguous, crepuscular Lento which rarely rises above pianissimo. By contrast, the finale is a vigorous and rhythmically charged Presto which features a tiny Prestissimo cadenza; this ends in a dramatic pause before the exultant conclusion. The Fourth Sonata was published by the Mercury Music Corporation in 1960.

Written in New York in two days (17–18 April 1954), the Dance Fantastic, Op. 55, is a pithy, toccata-like piece which crackles with energy and, in contradistinction to many other works by this composer, maintains its initial tempo (Allegretto) throughout. Its brittle, Neo-Classical demeanour is reminiscent of the music of Prokofiev, who died a little over a year before this dynamic vignette was conceived.

Evocations, Op. 57, was written in New York in August 1955 and takes the form of a three-movement suite. In the opening ‘Vision’, the material proceeds via flowing Andantino chordal progressions which are slyly undermined by the frequent interpolations of a disquieting staccato three-note figure. The central ‘Humoresque’ is distinguished by a degree of dry wit. Almost pointillist in its delicate, filigree textures, the opening Allegretto leads into a breathless Presto which chases up and down the keyboard. The Allegretto returns but the Presto section has the last word. The dramatic closing ‘Méditation’ opens with a strikingly dissonant gesture followed by an implacable, staccato five-note figure marked monotono. This motif fulfils a function similar to the three-note figure which haunted the opening movement, its malign presence acting as an unsettling counterpoint to the expressive, richly ornamented textures of this final movement.

Étude No. 5, Op. 61, (1956), is a virtuosic study which gathers momentum and spirit as it proceeds before finally exploding in a dazzling display of keyboard technique. It, too, was published by the Mercury Music Corporation in 1967.

The Trois pensées musicales, Op. 75, constitute Bacevičius’ last opus. It was written in 1966 and published a year later by the Mercury Music Corporation in New York. Forming a satisfying entity, the three movements almost add up to a mini-sonata. A mercurial Allegro moderato which ranges from tranquillity to ferocity is followed by a brief central Adagio of immense poise and restraint and a lively finale. Gestures of fragmentation and pointillism are employed in this score with conviction and to considerable effect. In common with several of Bacevičius’ radical later works, such as the Septième mot, for two pianos, Op. 73, of 1966, there are no bar-lines in the Trois pensées musicales, though each movement is in every other aspect fully notated.

Reviewing a concert by Prokofiev in Kaunas, Bacevičius concluded his article with the deeply felt declaration that the Russian master was ‘a noble, ingenious and mysterious spirit’. On the strength of the works featured in this programme, such a description might also be applied to Bacevičius himself.

— Paul Conway

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Vytautas Bacevičius (9 September 1905 – 9 September 1970) was a Lithuanian composer, brother of Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz. Educated in Łódź and at the Paris Conservatory under Nikolai Tcherepnin, he established a career as a composer, pianist and teacher in Lithuania, eventually heading the Lithuanian Section of the ISCM. Stranded in Argentina during World War II, he emigrated to the United States in 1940. Based in New York, he maintained active teaching studios and performed at Carnegie Hall. Known for his unique style and "cosmic music" theory, he drew creative inspiration from Scriabin, Jolivet and Varèse.

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Lithuanian pianist Gabrielius Alekna studied at the M.K. Čiurlionis Arts Gymnasium and the Lithuanian Academy of Music. He became the first Lithuanian to earn a doctoral degree from the Juilliard School, where he studied under Jerome Lowenthal. Alekna regularly performs as a soloist with prominent international ensembles, including the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and in major venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Musikverein. A strong advocate for modern Lithuanian music, his acclaimed recordings on labels like Naxos and Ondine showcase compositions by Vytautas Bacevičius and Žibuoklė Martinaitytė.

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