FRANK STEMPER, COMPOSER
Piano Sonata No. 2 (2013)
for piano [33 mins.]
I. Sonata Allegro – L'inizio della fine
II. Minuet and Trio – Scherzo: Musica da ballo
III. Andante e Improvvisazione
IV. Sonata Rondo – L'ultimo allarme
Opus 76 — A.S.C.A.P. work I.D. 886040673
SCORE
SCORE
PIANO SONATA NO. 2 (2013)
I. Sonata Allegro - L'inizio della fine
II. Minuet and Trio - Scherzo: Musica da ballo
III. Andante e Improvvisazione
IV. Sonata Rondo - L'ultimo allarme
This music was written specifically for Junghwa Lee, a pianist who combines brilliant technique and artistic esthetic with a meticulous attention to detail and nuance. She is both a performing artist and an engaged scholar. This 35-minute piece could only have been written, knowing that Ms. Lee would go to any length to not only absorb and understand the music and clearly interpret its web of sonic activity, but then add what only a serious performing artist can add — herself. I knew that she would fine tune my ideas and add to them that spark makes the music come alive.
Some of the technical/interpretive demands of my second piano sonata include:
In composing a large work for my own instrument, I felt a bit of the epic was needed – so I went for it. This music is about death. Or perhaps it is about life, for I am an optimistic fellow. The narrative is quite simple: It begins at that final point, as life winds down and concludes. What follows may be thought of as either “after-death” or a flashback to life. Either is valid. The music drifts through energy, pathos, fun, romance, more energy, pinnacle, and then alarm – signaling the end once again: what we all know, what this will all lead to.
That I have taken on life’s greatest mystery seems humorous to me, if only because every narrative of every kind has, at its nucleus, various attempted explanations of this universal mystery. And, because this is such a universal subject, and so inexplicable, trying to deal with it on a serious level is also very funny, because I can only fail, and I can only appear trivial, sophomoric, or even puerile in the process. I would gladly play the silly fool, but I am not really trying to explain it, I’m just trying to face it. To Live with it. Finally, as all of us must deal with it. And whether we can come to terms with it, before its reality comes knocking at our door or simply wait until the darkness appears can only be humorous: It has to be – the joke of life. Where cruelty meets wonderment.
I. Sonata Allegro - L'inizio della fine
II. Minuet and Trio - Scherzo: Musica da ballo
III. Andante e Improvvisazione
IV. Sonata Rondo - L'ultimo allarme
This music was written specifically for Junghwa Lee, a pianist who combines brilliant technique and artistic esthetic with a meticulous attention to detail and nuance. She is both a performing artist and an engaged scholar. This 35-minute piece could only have been written, knowing that Ms. Lee would go to any length to not only absorb and understand the music and clearly interpret its web of sonic activity, but then add what only a serious performing artist can add — herself. I knew that she would fine tune my ideas and add to them that spark makes the music come alive.
Some of the technical/interpretive demands of my second piano sonata include:
- Abundant and precise pedaling, using both sustain and sostenuto, to create: asymmetrical gestures and phrasings; an overly sustained sound that intentionally becomes too cluttered; and frequent sympathetic overtones, finessed and meticulously calculated to ring as a sort of ghost counter theme.
(Ms. Lee must coordinate 10 fingers and both feet, with her ears and intellect, and the ability to react to the immediate sound.) - Excessive use of irregular, unpredictable repetition, which: develops but also stays the same; multiplies and expands to form larger musical ideas; and tries to shake itself but always seems to return like compulsive nagging or a recurring dream.
(During performance, such repetition could easily derail the performer, who might understandably take the wrong path, which might end up a couple of minutes behind or ahead.) - A more overt reference to Jazz, in terms of cliché, phrasing, and character.
(Ms. Lee, a Korean native, is asked to perform passages that, in addition to harmonic and rhythmic nuance are completely dependent on a stylistically “jazzy” pianistic touch and rhythmic distinction – certainly well outside a Classically trained pianist’s comfort zone.) - Continuous use of the entire piano, by not only using all registers equally, but often exploiting the less frequently used highest and lowest registers of the instrument for lengthy passages.
(This music is physically demanding for Ms. Lee – not only to stretch her hands to execute chords written by a 6’3” composer with considerably larger hands than her own, but her arms as well, as she must oftenperform passages that are simultaneously at these extreme ranges, for lengthy periods of time, and often at a loud dynamic level.) - All of the above is combined throughout with more traditional pianistic technique, such as lightly executed rapid passages, considerable variation of articulation, huge chordal sections, and almost always thematically independent left and right hands.
(Although, these more normal practices are Ms. Lee’s forte, it is a great challenge, both technically and interpretively, to combine them with the more foreign techniques found in this piano work.)
In composing a large work for my own instrument, I felt a bit of the epic was needed – so I went for it. This music is about death. Or perhaps it is about life, for I am an optimistic fellow. The narrative is quite simple: It begins at that final point, as life winds down and concludes. What follows may be thought of as either “after-death” or a flashback to life. Either is valid. The music drifts through energy, pathos, fun, romance, more energy, pinnacle, and then alarm – signaling the end once again: what we all know, what this will all lead to.
That I have taken on life’s greatest mystery seems humorous to me, if only because every narrative of every kind has, at its nucleus, various attempted explanations of this universal mystery. And, because this is such a universal subject, and so inexplicable, trying to deal with it on a serious level is also very funny, because I can only fail, and I can only appear trivial, sophomoric, or even puerile in the process. I would gladly play the silly fool, but I am not really trying to explain it, I’m just trying to face it. To Live with it. Finally, as all of us must deal with it. And whether we can come to terms with it, before its reality comes knocking at our door or simply wait until the darkness appears can only be humorous: It has to be – the joke of life. Where cruelty meets wonderment.
PRESS NOTICE
PIANO SONATA NO. 2
—performed by Junghwa Lee
"The major work contained on this generously filled disc is Stemper’s Piano Sonata No. 2, a four-movement work of more than a half-hour’s duration. It was written especially for Junghwa Lee, and is replete with precise directions in regards pedaling, phrasing, articulation, and other parameters that Lee follows meticulously. The composer states that his theme in this work is death, but quickly qualifies that instead as “perhaps life,” given his optimism. The disintegration of a life is depicted in the first movement, and the three following serve then as flashbacks, in which Stemper attempts to depict “raw energy, fun, romance, euphoria and pathos, success and failure, pinnacle, and finally— Alarm: signaling the end (Movement IV).” The composer admits reticence in his attempt to express what he terms “life’s greatest mystery,” but it’s as good a motivation for a piece of music as I can think of. Innumerable composers have been similarly inspired by the subject, and have thereby produced some of the greatest masterpieces in music history. Death is, I am convinced, a subject that it is wise for every human being to contemplate, as he considers the meaning and purpose of life, and its inevitable conclusion on this earth.
The opening of the Sonata is subdued, and considerably more tonal sounding through Stemper’s use of a recurring pitch set of four notes that suggest D Minor. The quiet opening yields to a rather fast motoristic section that almost reminds me of drops of water falling into a bucket, the main difference being that these “drops” occur over the entire range of the piano keyboard. Although the D Minor in the section gets quite lost in the shuffle, a low D remains an arrival point throughout it. Does the note D stand for Death? Perhaps some questions are not meant for a lowly reviewer to fathom. The vigor of the second section of the first movement continues into the second, but it is far less regular—less motoristic—than it is in the earlier movement. In addition, devices such as fluttering trills and effects in the upper register of the instrument are encountered here for the first time. I hear a bit of humor in this movement, too: It’s definitely the most jovial music heard on this CD. In the third movement, Stemper introduces a few jazz sonorities into the texture. If the previous movement was the humorous one on the CD, this one is the most relaxed and laid back. Its harmonies are truly gorgeous, and through the skillful pedaling of the pianist, ghostly echoes of those sonorities are occasionally heard. The movement isn’t exact tonal, but neither is it atonal, and its improvisatory character almost makes one imagine that the pianist is extemporizing on the spot. I’m sure that was exactly the composer’s intention, and the effect is really lovely. The final movement opens with an incessantly repeated minor third in the middle register, over (or under) which staccato chords or quick figuration is added by the other hand. It would sound as though much crossing of hands is required in this movement. This movement, more than the others, also sounds as though the composer is telling a story, but if so, he doesn’t specify what it might be. As in the third movement, there are some (not a majority by any means) jazz chords employed. The Sonata ends as it opened, with the “Death” motive (if my assumption about the ascending D-A-B♭-F sequence is correct), and then several runs in octaves to produce an exciting close. I greatly admire all of the music on this CD, but this Sonata truly achieves masterwork status, and if it doesn’t begin appearing on the recitals of pianists around the world, it will only be because of its daunt- ing technical and musical challenges."
David DeBoor Canfield
Fanfare vol. 39, No. 1 2015
PIANO SONATA NO. 2
—performed by Junghwa Lee
"The major work contained on this generously filled disc is Stemper’s Piano Sonata No. 2, a four-movement work of more than a half-hour’s duration. It was written especially for Junghwa Lee, and is replete with precise directions in regards pedaling, phrasing, articulation, and other parameters that Lee follows meticulously. The composer states that his theme in this work is death, but quickly qualifies that instead as “perhaps life,” given his optimism. The disintegration of a life is depicted in the first movement, and the three following serve then as flashbacks, in which Stemper attempts to depict “raw energy, fun, romance, euphoria and pathos, success and failure, pinnacle, and finally— Alarm: signaling the end (Movement IV).” The composer admits reticence in his attempt to express what he terms “life’s greatest mystery,” but it’s as good a motivation for a piece of music as I can think of. Innumerable composers have been similarly inspired by the subject, and have thereby produced some of the greatest masterpieces in music history. Death is, I am convinced, a subject that it is wise for every human being to contemplate, as he considers the meaning and purpose of life, and its inevitable conclusion on this earth.
The opening of the Sonata is subdued, and considerably more tonal sounding through Stemper’s use of a recurring pitch set of four notes that suggest D Minor. The quiet opening yields to a rather fast motoristic section that almost reminds me of drops of water falling into a bucket, the main difference being that these “drops” occur over the entire range of the piano keyboard. Although the D Minor in the section gets quite lost in the shuffle, a low D remains an arrival point throughout it. Does the note D stand for Death? Perhaps some questions are not meant for a lowly reviewer to fathom. The vigor of the second section of the first movement continues into the second, but it is far less regular—less motoristic—than it is in the earlier movement. In addition, devices such as fluttering trills and effects in the upper register of the instrument are encountered here for the first time. I hear a bit of humor in this movement, too: It’s definitely the most jovial music heard on this CD. In the third movement, Stemper introduces a few jazz sonorities into the texture. If the previous movement was the humorous one on the CD, this one is the most relaxed and laid back. Its harmonies are truly gorgeous, and through the skillful pedaling of the pianist, ghostly echoes of those sonorities are occasionally heard. The movement isn’t exact tonal, but neither is it atonal, and its improvisatory character almost makes one imagine that the pianist is extemporizing on the spot. I’m sure that was exactly the composer’s intention, and the effect is really lovely. The final movement opens with an incessantly repeated minor third in the middle register, over (or under) which staccato chords or quick figuration is added by the other hand. It would sound as though much crossing of hands is required in this movement. This movement, more than the others, also sounds as though the composer is telling a story, but if so, he doesn’t specify what it might be. As in the third movement, there are some (not a majority by any means) jazz chords employed. The Sonata ends as it opened, with the “Death” motive (if my assumption about the ascending D-A-B♭-F sequence is correct), and then several runs in octaves to produce an exciting close. I greatly admire all of the music on this CD, but this Sonata truly achieves masterwork status, and if it doesn’t begin appearing on the recitals of pianists around the world, it will only be because of its daunt- ing technical and musical challenges."
David DeBoor Canfield
Fanfare vol. 39, No. 1 2015