Doctoral Recital Kim K. Chai II, bassoon

College of Fine Arts presents a
Doctoral Recital
Kim K. Chai II, bassoon
Albina Asryan, piano
Rodrigo Corral, flute
Kevin Eberle, bassoon
Juanpablo Macias, trumpet
Stephen Goldeck, conductor
Allison McSwain, trumpet
Dylan Musso, trombone
Alan Quan, trombone
Erin Vander Wyst, clarinet
PROGRAM
Alexandre Tansman
(1897–1986)
Suite pour bassoon et piano
Introduction et Allegro
Sarabande
Scherzo
Jan Antonin Koželuh
(1738–1814)
Concerto in C Major for bassoon and piano
Timothy Chatwood
(b. 1988)
Bazooka Orange
INTERMISSION
François Devienne
(1759–1803)
Sonata in F Major
Igor Stravinsky
(1882–1971)
Octet for Wind Instruments
Sinfonia
Temo con Variazioni
Finale
This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Musical Arts in Applied Music.
Kim Chai is a student of Janis McKay.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
7:30 p.m.
Dr. Arturo Rando-Grillot Recital Hall
Lee and Thomas Beam Music Center
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
PROGRAM NOTES
Alexandre Tansman is a Polish-born composer of Hebraic descent who was awarded French
citizenship. His music contains aspects of all three influences. He was not well-received in
Poland, despite winning awards at the Polish conservatory, due to his style, which uses both
chromaticism and polytonality. This prompted his relocation to Paris in 1919. In Paris he became
friends with a group of very important composers, including Stravinsky. During his Paris, and
later American, years, he seems to specialize in works for solo instruments with piano and
chamber works. He composed two works for bassoon, the Suite heard here and his Sonatine,
both considered staples in the bassoon repertoire.
The Concerto in C Major is one of the few works for solo instruments Koželuh composed. He is
considered one of the most important Bohemian Czech composers and musicians. He is
primarily a church musician, and composed forty-five masses, a requiem, and an oratorio, but he
also composed four symphonies and two operas. His style is decidedly classical but with a
distinct Czech quality.
Tim Chatwood and I became friends during my masters degree program at the University of
Nevada, Reno, when he was a bachelor’s degree student of percussion. Tim is now nearing
completing of his Master of Music Composition degree, also from the University of Nevada,
Reno. We spoke occasionally of his writing a bassoon piece, and it finally fit into his program.
Regarding Bazooka Orange, Tim notes that a bazooka is a grenade launcher that really found
use during World War II. There is anecdotal evidence that “bazooka” became its name as a
derivative of “bassoon” due to the similar shape and sound. Also Tim and I each share, perhaps
excessively, an affinity for a particular color. My color happens to be orange. Thus was born
Bazooka Orange. One of the challenges of this work is learning to flutter tongue, utilized
occasionally, a rather awkward articulation skill that may sound like a weapon being fired. Tim
has pieced together some original equipment to incorporate a light show, of course all about
orange. The lights will flicker in line with my articulations and will vary in intensity relative to my
dynamics. Look for the lights to begin in the second half of the piece.
François Devienne was a flautist, bassoonist, and composer of the early classical period, a
contemporary of Mozart. The style of his music is over the transitional period from Baroque to
classical. Devienne composed six sonatas for bassoon, three bearing opus numbers. This
sonata is uncommonly heard, and it is from his earlier set, which has no number. This sonata
may also have been reworked as a sonata for flute, but history suggests that its first appearance
is for the bassoon.
Stravinsky’s Octet for Wind Instruments is fairly unusual. Scored for flute, clarinet (doubling Bb
and A, two bassoons, trumpet in C, trumpet in A, trombone, and bass trombone, it seems like an
odd assortment of sounds. Octet was composed fall of 1922 through May of 1923. Though we
consider it now to have been his departure point into a new stylistic period, along with his opera
Mavra, beginning his neo-classical period, the premier received mixed reviews, as the French
audience expected a work more Russian in style and sound. Stravinsky utilizes the contrasts of
tone colors with his contrasts of accents, note lengths, and articulations with his style of
changing meters to achieve a work that has remained a standard for nearly one hundred years.