![]() You will immediately recognize the Rhapsody in Blue, the Warsaw Concerto and the song “Roll out the Barrel.” The Australian pianist Eileen Joyce was invited to perform the premiere, but she declined. Becoming increasingly unsure, other themes creep into the compositions. It all turns into a funny battle between musical forces, with both sides trying to figure out what is actually going on. The orchestra believes that they are playing Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, while the pianist is convinced that the Piano Concerto by Grieg is on the program. The premise of the composition is fairly simple. Have you ever heard of the “Piano concerto to end all piano concertos?” That’s the subtitle of the “Concerto Popolare” by Franz Reizenstein (1911-1968), a student of Paul Hindemith. Georges Bizet: Le docteur Miracle – Scene 7: Quatuor de l’omelette: Voici l’omelette! (Jerome Billy, tenor Isabelle Druet, mezzo-soprano Pierre-Yves Pruvot, baritone Marie-Benedicte Souquet, soprano Orchestre Lyrique de Region Avignon Provence Samuel Jean, cond.)įranz Reizenstein: Concerto populare, “A piano concerto to end all piano concertos” The mayor and his wife rush from the house to rinse their mouths, which gives Laurette and Silvio time to sing a tender love duet. ![]() But once they actually taste it, they all start to choke, as it is disgusting. This brings us to the hilariously funny “Omelette Quartet,” with Pasquin preparing the dish and everybody singing its praises. The mayor is delighted, and since it is time for breakfast, he invites Pasquin to prepare an omelet. To gain access to the house, Silvio disguises himself as the servant Pasquin, and he boosts about his cooking talents. Doctor Miracle is actually a young military officer who has fallen in love with the major’s daughter Laurette. The story is set in Padua, and the major and his wife Véronique are woken by a noisy advertising campaign outside their house, proclaiming the talents of Doctor Miracle. He did share the first prize with Charles Lecocq, and the premiere sounded on 9 April 1857 at Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens in Paris. Georges Bizet (1838-1875) composed his operetta Doctor Miracle when he was barely 18 years old for a competition organized by Jacques Offenbach. A critic writes, “it is not clear whether Hindemith is satirizing Wagner, incompetent performers, ostentatiously dissonant composers, or the introduction of popular elements into serious music.” Whatever the case may be, it is decidedly hilarious. The Overture is supposed to be “sight-read by a bad Spa Orchestra at 7 in the morning by the well.” Wagner’s music is completely mangled and includes errors in the playing of the tune, rhythmic imprecations, and all kinds of interpretative deficiencies. Nothing hilarious about the title so far, but you only need to read the subtitle to understand this musical parody. In 1925, Hindemith composed a string quartet with the title “Overture to the Flying Dutchman,” making an obvious reference to the opera by Richard Wagner. You might not know, however, that Hindemith had a wicked sense of humor. You might also know that he wrote in a complex modernist polyphonic style. But if you have, you probably know that he was a major advocate of a musical style called “New Objectivity,” and “Music for Use,” which advocated composition intended to have a social or political purpose. I am not sure you have ever heard of the German composer, music theorist violist, and conductor Paul Hindemith (1895-1963). ![]() Paul Hindemith: Overture to the Flying Dutchman The second features the “Desiccated embryo of an Edriophthalma,” a crustacean with immobile eyes, and the concluding movement carries the title “Desiccated embryo of a Podophthalma,” a stalk-eyed crustacean like a crab or lobster.Īnd to make sure the pianist knows how to approach these morsels of irreverence, Satie tells them to play it “like a nightingale with toothache.”Įrik Satie: Embryons desseches (Klára Körmendi, piano) ![]() The first is called “Desiccated embryo of a Holothurian,” basically a sea cucumber, a creature without eyes. While the title is hilarious, the three little movements lasting about two or three minutes to play, have additional subtitles. At least, that’s how he thinks of himself.” His irreverence for convention and eccentricity is probably best demonstrated in his short piano pieces with evocative titles like “Three Boneless Preludes for a Dog,” or “Embryons desséchés” (Desiccated embryos). He is a mischievous and cunning old artist. A close friend and collaborator wrote, “Satie is extraordinary. He invented so-called furniture music, a kind of background not to be listened to consciously. He had nothing but contempt for tradition, a deliciously rye humor, and complete loyalty to the absurd. It didn’t take me long to find the king of hilarious titles in Erik Satie (1866-1925). Erik Satie: Embryons desséchés (Desiccated embryos)
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