School Days

"The rhythm of going to school in the fall is built into all of us."  In between songs, Bill reads delightful little recollections of school days.  At the tender age of eight, Mozart wrote 43 pieces in six weeks, of which we hear three country dances.  Halfway to nine, he wrote his first symphony, also heard here. 

Composers Bernstein and Ravel were so fond of children that they composed musical devotions for them.  Bernstein shares pieces written for his floppy-eared dog, Mippy, and Ravel's "Mother Goose" was to accompany the fairy tales he told his friends' daughters. 

"Sublime beauty is revealed truth."  Words of George Jellinek are in response to Schumann's set of piano pieces titled "Scenes of Childhood," which he wrote for his children.  Ives' sonata, "Children's Day at the Camp Meeting" tries to potray the brevity of a child's interest.  A break from European air, one can sense traces of Americana within the piece. 

Elgar, also a young composer, composed a piece accompanying a play written by his teenage siblings.  The play featured an untained world where adults lest they repented their stringent ways.  Young musicians end with an adorable critique of Beethoven's last movement of his third symphony. 

The program starts with a whimsically flowing "dream" as Elgar digs into layers of the unconscious, but shifts gears with 16-year-old Mendelssohn's octet, in which the vigor of his youth shines through the rapid bow strokes. 

We move onto two pieces by modern-day prodigy Jay Greenberg, born 1991, including a symphony written at age 14.  The Chicago Symphony Orchestra finishes off with the teenage Mendelssohn's interpretation of a Shakespeare classic.

This section focuses on young performers, beginning with a teenage Yehudi Menuhin, a prodigy violinist.  Einstein once exclaimed upon meeting him, "Now, I know there's a God in heaven."  We also hear a 1932 recording of a collaboration with his Romani teacher, Enesco.  A few more early 20th century recordings of pre-teen musicians ensue.

Bill introduces "beginner" songs young musicians undertake in order to grasp musical styles and overcome technical difficulties, most famously Clementi on the piano and Paganini on the violin.  In the last piece, Chicago Children's Choir joins Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Mahler's Symphony No. 3.

It was important for composers to pass on their knowledge to a fresh generation of students through simpler yet challenging pieces.  In this case, Clementi wrote sonatinas and Chopin wrote etudes.  Bartok played the teacher role very seriously, and composed in a way that taught harmonic and technical language.  He used the violin to pass down Hungarian folk music, encouraging students to compose their own. 

Fellow Hungarian Dohnanyi spins intricate variations on a simple nursery song, and Grofe's "Huckleberry Finn" is dedicated to the rebellious students who played hooky in school.