FRANK STEMPER, COMPOSER
Some Things (1988)
Six pieces (things) for flute, Bb clarinet, violin, 'cello, and piano [13 min.]
six things:
I. Elegant, Not Rushed II. Duet. III. Marcato
IV. One Phrase V. Dolce
VI. Espressivo
Commissioned by Friends of Synchronia, St. Louis, MO
Premiered 25 March 1988 by SYNCHRONIA at the Ethical Society Performance Center in St. Louis.
Opus 20 — A.S.C.A.P. work I.D. 494693875
SCORE
Premiered 25 March 1988 by SYNCHRONIA at the Ethical Society Performance Center in St. Louis.
Opus 20 — A.S.C.A.P. work I.D. 494693875
SCORE
NOTES
SOME THINGS (1988) consists of six rather short pieces for the Pierrot instrumentation, fl, cl, v, vc, & pno. Each piece is more a statement, or sätz or stücke the early atonal pioneers would call them. Not much time to develop or vary, just the statement, ending with little fanfare. Simple. Just a thing.
The story of the performance is an interesting anecdote.
My music has been criticized for being both “overly complex” and “curiously accessible!” It has also been described as “intensely dramatic” as well as “surprisingly comic,” and, believe it or not, both “intellectually pretentious” and “aggressively unpretentious.” Because of this dichotomy, I have adopted the expression used by my teacher, Andrew Imbrie, for reviews written and published by music critics. Instead of condoning what most reviewers do – give a thumbs up or down – Andrew would just refer to published reviews as “press notices.” The press came out and noticed something. Whether or not that something was any good or not is unimportant. That is up to each single reviewer, i.e. each listener, every listener. It is a private affair. Something is personal. SOME THINGS is personal, too.
So I’ve always thought of so called reviews as press notices.
In 1988, Synchronia, a St. Louis based new music chamber group, commissioned me to write them a piece. I came up with SOME THINGS. I attended the premiere with two of my SIU colleagues, Bob Mueller and Eric Mandat. My new piece would be performed in the “premiere” spot on the program – right after intermission. During intermission, my colleagues asked me about the piece I had written. I demurred, not saying much, I don’t really like to prejudice a listener before they hear a new piece. I’d rather have them listen, to my piece at least, with clear ears. However, I did, as usual, joke around a bit, including blabbing to them that I had included several varied references to Wagner’s opera, Tristan and Isolde, which used to be a cliché for modern music – whether or not it’s even true. I was just goofing around, and my colleagues knew it and laughed.
However, while I was talking to Bob and Eric, I noticed that the reviewer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was sitting right across the aisle from us. I wondered if he had heard my joke.
The piece was performed – pretty well, too, and the audience seemed to like it. Synchronia was a very committed group, very serious about music making, both expressive and technically accurate. And almost too serious in their stage comportment – more intense than relaxed. But that didn’t seem to affect their performances.
About three days after the premiere performance, I received a clipping in the mail. Maestro Clark had sent me the St. Louis Post-Dispatch review of the concert, written by the fellow sitting across the aisle from me. Maestro Clark sent a little note with clipping, thanking me for the piece, etc. He added a P.S. to the short note that simply said: “Tristan quotes?” It seems that the Post-Dispatch reviewer in his critique of the concert, had concentrated most of his review of my piece on “…Stemper’s obvious quotes from Tristan and Isolde.” I guess he didn’t get the joke, but at least the Press Noticed.
SOME THINGS (1988) consists of six rather short pieces for the Pierrot instrumentation, fl, cl, v, vc, & pno. Each piece is more a statement, or sätz or stücke the early atonal pioneers would call them. Not much time to develop or vary, just the statement, ending with little fanfare. Simple. Just a thing.
The story of the performance is an interesting anecdote.
My music has been criticized for being both “overly complex” and “curiously accessible!” It has also been described as “intensely dramatic” as well as “surprisingly comic,” and, believe it or not, both “intellectually pretentious” and “aggressively unpretentious.” Because of this dichotomy, I have adopted the expression used by my teacher, Andrew Imbrie, for reviews written and published by music critics. Instead of condoning what most reviewers do – give a thumbs up or down – Andrew would just refer to published reviews as “press notices.” The press came out and noticed something. Whether or not that something was any good or not is unimportant. That is up to each single reviewer, i.e. each listener, every listener. It is a private affair. Something is personal. SOME THINGS is personal, too.
So I’ve always thought of so called reviews as press notices.
In 1988, Synchronia, a St. Louis based new music chamber group, commissioned me to write them a piece. I came up with SOME THINGS. I attended the premiere with two of my SIU colleagues, Bob Mueller and Eric Mandat. My new piece would be performed in the “premiere” spot on the program – right after intermission. During intermission, my colleagues asked me about the piece I had written. I demurred, not saying much, I don’t really like to prejudice a listener before they hear a new piece. I’d rather have them listen, to my piece at least, with clear ears. However, I did, as usual, joke around a bit, including blabbing to them that I had included several varied references to Wagner’s opera, Tristan and Isolde, which used to be a cliché for modern music – whether or not it’s even true. I was just goofing around, and my colleagues knew it and laughed.
However, while I was talking to Bob and Eric, I noticed that the reviewer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was sitting right across the aisle from us. I wondered if he had heard my joke.
The piece was performed – pretty well, too, and the audience seemed to like it. Synchronia was a very committed group, very serious about music making, both expressive and technically accurate. And almost too serious in their stage comportment – more intense than relaxed. But that didn’t seem to affect their performances.
About three days after the premiere performance, I received a clipping in the mail. Maestro Clark had sent me the St. Louis Post-Dispatch review of the concert, written by the fellow sitting across the aisle from me. Maestro Clark sent a little note with clipping, thanking me for the piece, etc. He added a P.S. to the short note that simply said: “Tristan quotes?” It seems that the Post-Dispatch reviewer in his critique of the concert, had concentrated most of his review of my piece on “…Stemper’s obvious quotes from Tristan and Isolde.” I guess he didn’t get the joke, but at least the Press Noticed.