J PAUL CROSSLEY An NEW VOICES FOR Piano 11-4-92 PROGRAMME ARTS COUNCIL UN CRIA

PAUL CROSSLEY (PIANO) Paul Crossley studied the piano with Fanny Waterman, and in Paris, with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod. He is particularly renowned as one of the world's foremost authorities on 20th- century music, a fact recognised by many leading composers who have written works especially for him. His extensive discography includes the complete solo piano works of Tippett, Janacek, Fauré, Ravel and Poulenc. He has also recorded the major works for piano and orchestra of Messiaen and Stravinsky; the latter with the London Sinfonietta, was awarded several international prizes. Under his exclusive contract with Sony Classical, he is currently recording the complete solo piano music of Debussy. Paul Crossley is also well-known as a The monumental 'Vingt regards...' dates from the period of Messiaen's life immediately after his release from prisoner-of-war camp when he was appointed Professor of Harmony at the Paris Conservatoire. The work has been described as 'one of the great peaks of twentieth-century piano writing' and consists of twenty separate but inter- related movements, each representing a 'view' or contemplation of the infant Jesus. Three themes in particular make appearances throughout the work and serve to unify the music: Messiaen calls. these the 'God' theme, "The Star and the Cross' theme and the 'theme of harmonies/chords'. The first of these is heard in 'Première communion de la Vierge', a movement representing the Virgin on her knees, surrounded by a halo of light, in adoration of the precious child in her womb. She is overwhelmed with broadcaster. In the last five years he has written and presented two critically. acclaimed series for Channel 4 on major figures of 20th-century music, featuring the London Sinfonietta of which he has been the Artistic Director since 1988. Additionally there have been programmes for German television on Poulenc and fa the BBC on Ravel and Liszt, with a major project on Debussy in preparation. "PREMIÈRE COMMUNION DE LA VIERGE NÖEL" FROM "VINGT REGARDS SUR L'ENFANT JÉSUS" (1944) MESSIAEN Highlights of this season include the world premiere of Takemitsu's "quotation of dream", a work for two pianos and orchestra, with Peter Serkin, and performances of the Lutoslawski Piano Concerto with the composer conducting. Born in Glasgow in 1952, Oliver Knussen is one of the best known British composers of his generation, and a much sought-after conductor of contemporary music both in Britain and abroad. After Paul Crossley has recently been elected an Honorary Fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford. wordless love for the infant, whose beating heart is symbolised in the slow, pulsing rhythm of the music. In 'Nöel' we hear the carillon of Christmas bells celebrating the holy family. Though Messiaen is independent of any 'school' of compositional thought, his approach to harmony and rhythm have much in common with those of Stravinsky and Debussy. Debussy's piano music makes particularly interesting comparison with that of Messiaen for the way in which rhythm seems independent from pulse or harmony and is treated freely, almost without reference to the restraints of the bar lines. In Messiaen's case, however, the importance of rhythm as a musical ingredient is taken a stage further: abandoning the rhythmic function. of the bar line altogether, he explores independent rhythmic ideas of different durations in a complex but strictly controlled web of counterpoint. "VARIATIONS OP. 24" (1989) OLIVER KNUSSEN studies in America, he returned to the UK in 1975 and has since lived near London where he is Associate Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and appears regularly with the major London

and national orchestras. The Variations (Op 24) were written between September and October 1989. Knussen has commented on the inspiration provided by the variations of Stravinsky, Copland and Webern, which were constantly in his mind during the composition of the piece: all three are examples of rich inventiveness combined with extreme concision, and the twelve variations of Knussen's own set last little longer than six minutes in all. He says "I have tried to integrate some highly Michael Vyner was for many years Artistic Director of the London Sinfonietta, and an ardent and influential "LEAF" (IN MEMORIAM MICHAEL VYNER) BERIO supporter and promoter of contemporary music. His death in 1990 was marked by a memorial concert in London on 6th May that year, for which new pieces were commissioned from composers with whom Vyner had been closely associated. This brief work, lasting one-and-a-half minutes, was especially written for the memorial concert, and was premiered by Paul Crossley. Berio has for many years been resident in the United States, and is active all over the world as a composer, conductor and teacher. Early visits to the US had proved crucial to Berio's musical development, stimulating amongst other things an interest in electronic music which resulted in the mid '50's in his Born in Tokyo in 1930, Takemitsu is widely regarded as the foremost Japanese composer since the Second World War. In 1990, his sixtieth birthday year, his music was honoured with Festivals and concerts around the world, and he was a key figure in last year's Japan Festival. Takemitsu's work 'Litany', which is an adaptation of his first composition Lento in due movimenti', received its first performance at the memorial concert for Michael Vyner in 1990. contrasted textural and expressive approaches to a very limited amount of raw material (the theme is itself variations on its first six notes) within a three-part dramatic design: an initial group of five character variations, and al final set of three, more étude-like variations functioning as coda to the whole". The original piece dated from 1950, and had been written while the composer was often confined to his bed with tuberculosis. Only a few sketches remained, the original score having been lost since the first (and only) performance, and the new work was "PIANO The variations are dedicated to the pianist Peter Serkin, for whom they were commissioned. "LITANY" (IN MEMORIAM MICHAEL VYNER), "LES YEUX CLOS" TORU TAKEMITSU created from these and Takemitsu's memories of the earlier piece. Nothing extra was added, and 'Litany' is both a tribute to Michael Vyner and a recollection of the time when Takemitsu himself felt 'close to death'. Allegro molto, con fuoco Grave pesante e corale Allegro vivace Gorecki was born in 1933 in Polish Silesia. In recent years, increasing political freedom in Poland has brought. Gorecki's music to a wider audience in establishing an influential electronic music studio (Studio di Fonologia') at Milan Radio Station. Much of Berio's output has focused on text-setting and the peculiar timbral qualities of the voice: his first wife, the American singer Cathy Berberian, was the chosen exponent of many of his works. In particular, he developed a style known as 'new vocalism' characterised by e use of a text both in its entirety and fragmented into phonetic sounds. The voice becomes pure timbre, but one which is enhanced by semantic suggestions. Much of this experimental writing took place in the '50's and '60's, and its influence can be felt in many of Berio's instrumental works, which are notable for their powerful dramatic quality. Many of Takemitsu's works are inspired by extra-musical stimuli, and 'Les Yeux Clos' was composed in reaction to a series of paintings of the same title by the French artist Odilon Redon. Two of these are lithographs in black and white, and the third is a painting in colour: Takemitsu refers to the music as 'a study in the colour variation the painter uses on his canvas... greatly influenced by the process by which the monochromatic shifts to the polychromatic in these paintings'. SONATA No 1, OP. 6" GORECKI the West, which has led to several new commissions, recordings, and a weekend devoted to his music in the London. Sinfonietta's 'Response' series in 1988. The style of his music has been described as 'simple yet monumental', and many of his earlier works explore the folk music