Fred Lerdahl - Waltzes (1981)

Waltzes (1981)
for violin, viola, cello, and double bass
Fred Lerdahl (b. 1943)

0:00 - Title
0:10 - 1. Grazioso. A congenial wind-up waltz.
1:22 - 2. Con brio. Two Chopin Waltzes gone mad.
2:57 - 3. Cantabile. A cello melody reminiscent of a tune in Swan Lake.
4:16 - 4. Leggiero. String harmonics give a special twist to a passage in Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales.
5:25 - 5. Valse triste. No Sibelius here, just soulful phrases slowly tossed between the violin, viola, and cello.
7:59 - 6. Misterioso. Five against two within 3/4 time, in the ghostly guise of a presto scherzo.
9:37- 7. Amoroso. Another nod to Ravel, with passionate intent.
11:13 - 8. Humoresque. A wild fantasy, with pizzicato and legno effects plus glissando harmonics.
13:02 - 9. Vivace. A cross-accentual whirlwind.
14:15 - 10. Lento The double bass speaks from the depths.
17:03 - 11. Delicato. An intimate duet for viola and cello, converting a 2/4 turn from Schumann's Carnival into a waltz rhythm.
18:31 - 12. Waltz-fugue. A veritable grande valse brillante, alternating with two fugal sections that exploit historical contrapuntal techniques.

Performers:
Rolf Schulte, violin
Scott Nickrenz, viola
Fred Sherry, cello
Donald Palma, double bass
Recording : The Music of Fred Lerdahl, Vol. 2. Bridge Records, Bridge 2969. 2008.

Waltzes, a cycle of twelve virtuoso waltzes for violin, viola, cello, and double bass, was commissioned by the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, where the first nine waltzes were premiered in 1981. Soon thereafter I composed the final three waltzes. The violinist Rolf Schulte led the first performance of the complete work in New York City in 1983. Waltzes lasts about 22 minutes and is dedicated to the violist Scott Nickrenz, who directed the chamber music series at Spoleto

In arranging the commission, Mr. Nickrenz made three stipulations: make my modernist idiom accessible for summer-festival listening, provide a challenge for brilliant string player accustomed to 19th-century repertory, and give the piece a loud ended. The idea of composing a set of waltzes came from the pleasure I took in playing waltzes by Schubert and Chopin at the piano. Waltzes incorporates occasional references to the music of past composers, but always in ways that fit within my own musical language. Its instrumentation for "low" string quartet is reminiscent of Schubert's Vienna.

-Fred Lerdahl 2016

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