The Rzewski Project -
The People United: Searching for a United US Musical Voice
Fall 2018 marks my 2nd Career Development Award (sabbatical) at the University of Iowa School of Music. For the 1st I collaborated with pianist Jason Sifford to create a huge YouTube video database of piano pedagogical repertoire for beginner to intermediate piano students. The UIPIANOPED page has turned into an important pedagogical tool for teachers, students, and parents around the world, with millions of views and thus far over 3500 videos.
For my second CDA I decided to tackle a slightly more difficult project, this time just one piece: Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated. The variation set of epic proportions (over one hour in length) and epic difficulty, has found new meaning in today’s political and social environment in the USA.
The piece:
Rzewski wrote People United in response to the fascist coup of Pinochet in Chile and the subsequent horrible treatment of the people of Chile. The original song was composed by the folk group Quilyapayun, who happened to be in Europe at the time of the coup. The remained in exile for almost 20 years, often singing this song, which soon became an anthem of resistance.
The piano version is a Theme, 36 Variations, Improvisation, and Coda. The variations are in 6 groups of 6 variations. Each group has 5 unique variations. The 6th variation is a unification of the previous 5 variations. The 6th group is different in that the 31st variation is a combination of all previous 1st variations, the 32nd all previous 2nd variations, and so on. The 36th variation is a combination of all previous unique variations. Each set of variations can loosely be thought of as in a specific compositional style.
The project:
A few years ago I performed this piece with 5 other pianists, mostly my students, each of us tackling one set of 6 variations. We added a visual element to the performance by projecting images having to do with human rights. Each set had a specific topic: people (MLK, Malala, Mother Teresa, etc.) historical events, social justice, worker’s rights, etc. Each variation was associated with a specific image. When the variations came back throughout the piece, so did the images. That way the audience could also visually follow the compositional structure, while contemplating the underlying message.
This fall I will be performing it on my own, again using images, only this time having to do with events in the US in the past three years. Topics will include women’s rights (#metoo), Black Lives Matter, our government, social media, and people. Eventually I intend to create a DVD recording of it, only then using news footage instead of still images.
As mentioned above, before the Coda is an optional improvisation. As I tour around the country, I will have local artists join me on stage to do the improvisation in their own style and language. Styles I have planned so far are: Jazz trio, Latin Jazz trumpet, Blues guitar, Singer/Songwriter, Hip Hop, Broadway, Jazz saxophone, Native American Flute, Native Hawaiian Chant, Jazz piano, Stride piano, Broadway, and Gospel. These performances will be video recorded, spliced together into a 10 minutes collage and inserted in the appropriate spot in the piece for the DVD. This is my quest to collect the united US American musical voice.
The Tour:
September 18, 7:30pm Clarke University
September 21, 7:30pm Unviersity of Wisconsin - Platteville
September 23, 3:00pm University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
September 25, 7:30pm Missouri State University
September 27, 7:30pm University of Iowa
October 8 , 7:30pm Michigan Music Teachers Association Conference in Novi, MI
October 10 for the Iowa City Music Study Club
October 17, 7:30pm Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AK
October 19, 7:30pm University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
October 22, 7:00pm Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA
October 28, 7:00pm Utah State University, Logan, UT
November 10, TBD University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Stay tuned for more dates!
For my second CDA I decided to tackle a slightly more difficult project, this time just one piece: Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated. The variation set of epic proportions (over one hour in length) and epic difficulty, has found new meaning in today’s political and social environment in the USA.
The piece:
Rzewski wrote People United in response to the fascist coup of Pinochet in Chile and the subsequent horrible treatment of the people of Chile. The original song was composed by the folk group Quilyapayun, who happened to be in Europe at the time of the coup. The remained in exile for almost 20 years, often singing this song, which soon became an anthem of resistance.
The piano version is a Theme, 36 Variations, Improvisation, and Coda. The variations are in 6 groups of 6 variations. Each group has 5 unique variations. The 6th variation is a unification of the previous 5 variations. The 6th group is different in that the 31st variation is a combination of all previous 1st variations, the 32nd all previous 2nd variations, and so on. The 36th variation is a combination of all previous unique variations. Each set of variations can loosely be thought of as in a specific compositional style.
The project:
A few years ago I performed this piece with 5 other pianists, mostly my students, each of us tackling one set of 6 variations. We added a visual element to the performance by projecting images having to do with human rights. Each set had a specific topic: people (MLK, Malala, Mother Teresa, etc.) historical events, social justice, worker’s rights, etc. Each variation was associated with a specific image. When the variations came back throughout the piece, so did the images. That way the audience could also visually follow the compositional structure, while contemplating the underlying message.
This fall I will be performing it on my own, again using images, only this time having to do with events in the US in the past three years. Topics will include women’s rights (#metoo), Black Lives Matter, our government, social media, and people. Eventually I intend to create a DVD recording of it, only then using news footage instead of still images.
As mentioned above, before the Coda is an optional improvisation. As I tour around the country, I will have local artists join me on stage to do the improvisation in their own style and language. Styles I have planned so far are: Jazz trio, Latin Jazz trumpet, Blues guitar, Singer/Songwriter, Hip Hop, Broadway, Jazz saxophone, Native American Flute, Native Hawaiian Chant, Jazz piano, Stride piano, Broadway, and Gospel. These performances will be video recorded, spliced together into a 10 minutes collage and inserted in the appropriate spot in the piece for the DVD. This is my quest to collect the united US American musical voice.
The Tour:
September 18, 7:30pm Clarke University
September 21, 7:30pm Unviersity of Wisconsin - Platteville
September 23, 3:00pm University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
September 25, 7:30pm Missouri State University
September 27, 7:30pm University of Iowa
October 8 , 7:30pm Michigan Music Teachers Association Conference in Novi, MI
October 10 for the Iowa City Music Study Club
October 17, 7:30pm Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AK
October 19, 7:30pm University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
October 22, 7:00pm Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA
October 28, 7:00pm Utah State University, Logan, UT
November 10, TBD University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Stay tuned for more dates!
Concert No.3: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Sept. 23, 2018
I was definitely not pleased with this performance. I hadn’t slept much the night before and drove up to Eau-Claire the morning of my concert. It definitely taught me that I need to be rested, with an alert brain to conquer this piece.
The bright side of this performance was Native American flutist Peter Phippen, who gave a beautiful performance on a flute, which he himself had never performed on! It was very atmospheric and completely relevant for my project. So from that standpoint, it was a success. I just wished I had performed better.
I was definitely not pleased with this performance. I hadn’t slept much the night before and drove up to Eau-Claire the morning of my concert. It definitely taught me that I need to be rested, with an alert brain to conquer this piece.
The bright side of this performance was Native American flutist Peter Phippen, who gave a beautiful performance on a flute, which he himself had never performed on! It was very atmospheric and completely relevant for my project. So from that standpoint, it was a success. I just wished I had performed better.
Concert No.2: University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Sept. 21, 2018
I was quite pleased with this performance. Being able to perform at my wife’s (Heather) institution, in front of her students and colleagues, as well as collaborating with her colleague and our friend Allen Cordingly, was a special experience. The piano at UWP is a beautiful Steinway D. Allen’s improvisation was poignant and thoughtful, weaving “America the Beautiful” into it.
I was quite pleased with this performance. Being able to perform at my wife’s (Heather) institution, in front of her students and colleagues, as well as collaborating with her colleague and our friend Allen Cordingly, was a special experience. The piano at UWP is a beautiful Steinway D. Allen’s improvisation was poignant and thoughtful, weaving “America the Beautiful” into it.
Concert No.1: Clarke University, September 18, 2018
Overall, my first performance of this piece was a huge success. Could I have done things better? Yes. There was some sloppiness in the most difficult parts. At times I lost control of my sound and tempo. However, the general impression was extremely well-received. I struggled with the environment. It was extremely humid in the hall, which led to sticky keys and sluggish key descent. The action didn’t allow for light, fast playing and good repetitions. Despite all of this, it was an amazing experience. I have never performed something so long (one hour), so i was curious how my stamina would be. Physically there were many problems. I did feel mental fatigue towards the end.
The images were impactful, as was the overall message. Many people thanked me for doing this, saying it was “necessary”. I was most touched by a message I received the next day: “Just wanted to say once again, how fantastic your performance was last night. I was angry. I was ashamed. I was agog. I was moved. I was inspired...”
A special thanks to Jason Sifford for writing such a brilliant companion musical theater song for my project and to the beautiful Jill Klinebriel for her impeccable performance of the song.
The images were impactful, as was the overall message. Many people thanked me for doing this, saying it was “necessary”. I was most touched by a message I received the next day: “Just wanted to say once again, how fantastic your performance was last night. I was angry. I was ashamed. I was agog. I was moved. I was inspired...”
A special thanks to Jason Sifford for writing such a brilliant companion musical theater song for my project and to the beautiful Jill Klinebriel for her impeccable performance of the song.