Event Title
The Music of Isolation
Performer / Ensemble
Sarah Rushing (Piano)
Date of Publication
3-26-2021
Document Type
Event
Abstract / Program Notes
“The Music of Isolation” explores solo piano pieces written by composers who endured physical, geographical, and social isolation. The program is comprised of Fantasia in C Major, Hob. XVII:4 by Franz Joseph Haydn (1789), Three Preludes for Piano by Charles Griffes (1919), and Rondeau by Olivier Messiaen (1943). Each piece has been carefully chosen from the composers’ oeuvres to represent periods of their lives characterized by isolation. The full range of human emotion is explored, from brilliant creativity, to despair and darkness, to release. Despite their disparate styles, the unifying theme of isolation provides insight and historical context for each composer’s compositional choices. Haydn’s Fantasia was composed near the end of his time in Esterháza and is the culmination of his unique keyboard writing. The work’s surprising harmonic shifts and unorthodox keyboard techniques are indicative of the composer’s unique development due to his geographical isolation. Griffes’s Preludes were composed in the final year of his life, shortly before he succumbed to the Spanish Flu. Messiaen’s Rondeau, composed shortly after his release from Stalag VIII-A, gives us a glimpse into life post-isolation. The goal of the project is to introduce the audience to lesser-known works by well-known composers. The lecture portion of the presentation will focus on the historical context of each piece, providing a sense of shared connection that invites the audience to view each composer’s work with a fresh perspective.
Biography
Dr. Sarah Rushing, NCTM is Assistant Professor of Piano at West Texas A&M University. Her commitment to teaching is evidenced through her years of experience teaching private and group piano classes in both the community and university settings in Louisiana, New York, Colorado, Virginia, and Texas. As a performer, Rushing enjoys playing music off the beaten path and has appeared in competitions and recitals throughout the US. In 2013, she was featured on American Public Media’s “Performance Today.” Rushing, previously an Instructor of Piano at Virginia Tech, completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Keywords
Piano, isolation
The Music of Isolation
“The Music of Isolation” explores solo piano pieces written by composers who endured physical, geographical, and social isolation. The program is comprised of Fantasia in C Major, Hob. XVII:4 by Franz Joseph Haydn (1789), Three Preludes for Piano by Charles Griffes (1919), and Rondeau by Olivier Messiaen (1943). Each piece has been carefully chosen from the composers’ oeuvres to represent periods of their lives characterized by isolation. The full range of human emotion is explored, from brilliant creativity, to despair and darkness, to release. Despite their disparate styles, the unifying theme of isolation provides insight and historical context for each composer’s compositional choices. Haydn’s Fantasia was composed near the end of his time in Esterháza and is the culmination of his unique keyboard writing. The work’s surprising harmonic shifts and unorthodox keyboard techniques are indicative of the composer’s unique development due to his geographical isolation. Griffes’s Preludes were composed in the final year of his life, shortly before he succumbed to the Spanish Flu. Messiaen’s Rondeau, composed shortly after his release from Stalag VIII-A, gives us a glimpse into life post-isolation. The goal of the project is to introduce the audience to lesser-known works by well-known composers. The lecture portion of the presentation will focus on the historical context of each piece, providing a sense of shared connection that invites the audience to view each composer’s work with a fresh perspective.