Biography tatiana goncharova piano notes

Light Refracted is a two-movement composition for chamber ensemble by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. It was first performed on September 22, 2002 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts by the clarinetist Igor Begelman, violinist Jo-Young Baek, violist Christina Castelli, cellist Mark Kosower, and pianist Tatiana Goncharova.

Composition

Light Refracted has duration of roughly 20 minutes and is composed in two movements:

1. Inward
2. Outward

Inspiration

Higdon described the inspiration of the piece in the score program notes, writing:

Light Refracted is a meditation on the way that light is reflected in people: there is the inward view of that light, which is thoughtful and contemplating, with a wide range of emotion; and outward... the light that we shine out towards the world (in this case, full of energy). The possible number of ways that light can refract (meaning to splinter and reflect in different dimensions and angles) are endless.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for a small ensemble comprising a clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and piano.

Reception

Reviewing the world premiere, Daniel Webster of The Philadelphia Inquirer praised the piece, writing:

The Philadelphia composer's introspective view is transparent with melodic lines that gradually evolve. The style and mood inevitably evoke French atmospheres, but with a determined and concise way of completing core musical ideas. The music flows while seeming motionless, and the interplay of clarinet with the other instruments broadened the color range of each. The second part, "Outward," reached for explosive moments. Higdon turned the music inside out with brusque attacks in the strings, insistent piano patterns, and fierce energy. Here, the clarinet recalled Eastern Europe, yet the composer found gestures in each instrument to identify the work instantly as American.

Reviewing a later re

By Hans Jensen

Ovation Press:I very much like your recording of the Weinberg Violin sonatas that you recorded on the Naxos label together with pianist Tatiana Goncharova, it’s a fabulous, high level of playing and you make the music come out with such power; it’s delightful listening to that recording.

Grigory Kalinovsky:Thank you.

Ovation Press:I think Weinberg’s music should really be enjoyed so much more by everybody. People have to know more about his music.

Grigory Kalinovsky:I agree. It’s very, very good music on many levels.

Ovation Press:Did you know about his music for a long time?

Grigory Kalinovsky:Well, I had two connections to him. One is, as many Soviet composers, he wrote film scores, and so practically every Russian kid knew his music from the Russian animated shorts about Winnie the Pooh.

Ovation Press:I see Winnie the Pooh. Weinberg composed more than 40 works for opera, film and theater.

Grigory Kalinovsky:For film and theater- Yes. Also, my father was an opera singer and performed in his opera, The Madonna and the Soldier, and the premiere was actually reviewed by Shostakovich where he mentions my father.

Ovation Press:Wow, that’s fantastic. What’s your father’s name?

Grigory Kalinovsky:Mikhail Kalinovsky. Michael.

Ovation Press:That sounds very exciting. Was Weinberg alive at that time?

Grigory Kalinovsky:At that time, yes. He passed away in ’96, so that was after we already moved to America.

Ovation Press:Reading about Weinberg, it’s very clear that in Russia the really great musicians really knew that his music was fantastic, but somehow the regime had suppressed it especially under Stalin.

Grigory Kalinovsky:Well, it wasn’t suppressed to begin with but he also wasn’t very much recognized by the establishment. That also allowed Weinberg to stay off the KGB radar for a while, though he was finally arrested and spent three months in jail, until Stalin’s death resulted in his release. There was a p