Shostakovich 100

One-hundred years ago today, russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg, Russia to Dmitri Boleslavovich Shostakovich and Sofiya Kokaoulina Shostakovich. As a matter of course for a historical figure, much has been written about DSCH's life. Instead of trying to write an educational posting, I chose to reflect on what DSCH's music means to me on such a historical day. As a result of this introspect, I have found three things in Shostakovich's music that changed my view of classical music as a whole.

The first of these is the emotional power that a composer is capable of producing. I discovered my favorite DSCH work during my first year of college: the Fifth Symphony. In my opinion, this is the greatest work ever written for orchestra because of it's Largo movement. I still haven't figured out what this movement entirely means to me; sometimes when I hear it, I'm angry that DSCH lived in oppressed society. Other times, it is clear to me that DSCH's expressions of emotion through music would have transcended the current political conditions, no matter what they were. I challenge anyone to find a more honest expression of both love and contempt for humanity.

The second in my list is the physical power that an orchestral composition can have, and there is no better example of this than second movement of the Eleventh symphony. "9 January" starts with nervously, but during the second half of this movement, the volume that is produced by a 100+ piece orchestra is astonishing. Regardless of what revolution you associate this symphony with (the 1905 Russian revolution or the 1956 uprising), one cannot deny the power, violence, and massacre this movement represents.

Finally, the greatest thing about DSCH's music is that it sounds natural. It is romantic, but not redundant. It is rhythmically interesting, melodic, and singable. You can walk out of a concert after the Seventh or Ninth symphonies and sing a melody despite their complexity.

These three factors changed my view of "classical" music: it's not boring, staunchy music that sounds 50, 150, or 250 years old. It is something that is powerful, emotional, turbulent, serene, or calm. It's longevity comes because it appeals to both intellect and emotion in both the rich and poor. If I could thank Shostakovich for one thing, it would be for this realization.

Errata: Merlin

Merlin is an twelve-minute composition for marimba (low F) inspired by the poem "Merlin" written by Edwin Arlington Robinson. Composed by Andrew Thomas in 1985, Merlin was comissioned by William Moersch and premiered on 17 March 1987 at Merkin Concert Hall in New York. The work is broken into two movements, "Beyond the faint edge of the world" and "Time's Way."

Movement I, "Beyond the faint edge of the world", depicts Sir Gawain is approaching Camelot and looking for his first glimpse of the battlement of the castle at the horizon. He senses the doom that is to come. The music is sustained, with rolled chords played by the four-mallet technique supporting a slow melody. This movement was one of the first extensive uses of independent left hand and right hand rolls, simultaneously, and is amazingly idiomatic. The shifts between hand-to-hand and independent rolls really show the composer worked with comissioner to understand the differences in velocity and volume between rolling techniques.

Movement II, "Time's Way", expresses the dissolution of order as time passes. The entire movement uses chaotic, long phrases with short pauses between many of the phrases. This movement is certainly a tour de force for any marimbist, especially at the marked tempo! While the entire work remains fairly tonal, the true beauty of Merlin is in the idiomatic gestures for the instrument. Here are some errata that were discovered by William Moersch.

Mvt I, m. 19, upper staff: Don't forget that the Bb holds through the bar!

Mvt II, m. 53, lower staff: Ossia for 2nd 16th-note is F# 8va; ossia for 7th and 8th 16th-notes is to play the D# with the A rather than the F#.

Mvt II, m. 55, lower staff: Ossia for the 4th 16th-note (including the rest) is Eb only, without the D.

Mvt II, m. 71, upper staff: 9th 16th-note double-stop should be B natural and F.

Mvt II, m. 145, lower staff: F should be F#.

Mvt II, m. 176, lower staff: In the manuscript, the first 16th-note D (after the
rest) also has a D 8ba (that is, an octave) and the last 16th-note D in the
measure is an octave lower (but NOT octave D's).

Mvt II, m. 177, lower staff: In the manuscript, the 5th 16th-note is a middle C#, not a rest.

Given the skill and time required to learn Merlin, these edits will assist the soloist from having to re-learn difficult passages. Many of these corrections change the tonality of the work. A sincere appreciation goes to William Moersch for making these corrections available. The performer is also encouraged to read the text of the original poem which is available at the following link.

[ "Merlin", Robinson, Edwin Arlington, 1921 ]

Errata: Reflections on the Nature of Water

One of the first major pieces to be commissioned for marimba was Jacob Druckman's Reflections on the Nature of Water, commissioned in 1986 for famed percussionist William Moersch. The original engraving and printing of this piece was done by Boosey and Hawkes and contains several errors. The following is an updated compilation of errata for the B&H edition. These notes have been compiled by William Moersch and I appreciate his allowing me to make them available below.

Mvt I, m. 36, upper stave (3rd beat) - missing quarter-note rest

Mvt I, m. 37, both staves (entire measure) - tremolo

Mvt III, m. 11, lower stave (1st beat) - extend 16th beam to C

Mvt III, m. 17, lower stave (1st beat) - extend 16th beam to C

Mvt III, m. 25 (5th-7th eighth notes) - all 32nds, not 16ths

Mvt IV, m. 23, lower stave (last 16th note) - E, not Eb (missing natural sign)

Mvt IV, m. 43, upper stave (first beat) - A and C, not F and A

Mvt IV, m. 47, upper stave (last note) - G and C#, not G and D#

Mvt VI, m. 10, lower stave (3rd beat) - B, not Bb (missing natural sign)

Mvt VI, m. 16, lower stave (last 8th note) - B, not Bb (missing natural sign)

When performing any work, it is imperative to be aware that there may be misprints. Hopefully these corrections will assist the performer in giving a more correct performance.