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drplaceboIt's Forgotten Masterpiece Friday!
If you're a musician, you've probably seen an unplayable piece of sheet music titled Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz by John Stump, clearly intended as a joke and containing such performance directions as "Like a Dirigible" and "remove cattle from stage." Just below the title, the Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz is described as being from "A Tribute to Zdenko G. Fibich."
As it turns out, Zdenko Fibich was a real person; Zdenko is the Slovak equivalent to the Czech first name of Zdeněk Fibich (1850-1900). He was one of a trio of outstanding Czech composers active in the second half of the 19th century, along with Dvořák and Smetana. One of the reasons he did not become nearly as famous as his Czech contemporaries is that, in an era of rising Czech nationalism, he was ambivalent about the cause; Fibich's mother was German and he spoke German at home as a child. Until fairly late in his life, he used primarily German texts for his vocal music. As a result, he was ostracized in his home city of Prague for most of his life; the National Theatre and the Prague Conservatory boycotted his music and he relied on teaching as his main source of income. Of his music, only his late Czech-language operas had any real success. Even those operas were viewed with some suspicion when first presented, as the music showed heavy Wagnerian influence even though the composer did not share Wagner's other views. Ironically, as Fibich only intermittently composed on national themes, it was Fibich and not Dvořák or Smetana who first wrote an orchestral piece overtly based on Czech folk music; Fibich's tone poem "Záboj, Slavoj a Luděk" was what inspired Smetana to follow with his cycle of tone poems "Má Vlast."
While Fibich's three symphonies enjoyed somewhat of a revival after his death, his chamber music languished in obscurity, much of it never performed or published until fairly recently. His Piano Quintet, composed in 1893, was published the following year -- but not in its original form. Fibich chose the unusual instrumentation of violin, cello, clarinet, horn, and piano, and his publisher observed that a piece for that combination of instruments would be difficult to sell. The quintet was instead published in an alternative version for the conventional piano quintet. The original score was rediscovered only in the 1980s, and the tonal effects were a true revelation. The original instrumentation brings out the lyricism and passion of the first two movements. The third movement is a scherzo that Fibich marked "with wild humor" in the score, with two contrasting trios that feature four different instruments in solo roles. The final movement alternates between festive and meditative, concluding with a flourish after a final chorale-like presentation of the main theme.
Movements:
I. Allegro non tanto
II. Largo (10:10)
III. Scherzo: Con fuoco (20:15)
IV. Finale: Allegro con spirito (27:16)
If you're a musician, you've probably seen an unplayable piece of sheet music titled Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz by John Stump, clearly intended as a joke and containing such performance directions as "Like a Dirigible" and "remove cattle from stage." Just below the title, the Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz is described as being from "A Tribute to Zdenko G. Fibich."
As it turns out, Zdenko Fibich was a real person; Zdenko is the Slovak equivalent to the Czech first name of Zdeněk Fibich (1850-1900). He was one of a trio of outstanding Czech composers active in the second half of the 19th century, along with Dvořák and Smetana. One of the reasons he did not become nearly as famous as his Czech contemporaries is that, in an era of rising Czech nationalism, he was ambivalent about the cause; Fibich's mother was German and he spoke German at home as a child. Until fairly late in his life, he used primarily German texts for his vocal music. As a result, he was ostracized in his home city of Prague for most of his life; the National Theatre and the Prague Conservatory boycotted his music and he relied on teaching as his main source of income. Of his music, only his late Czech-language operas had any real success. Even those operas were viewed with some suspicion when first presented, as the music showed heavy Wagnerian influence even though the composer did not share Wagner's other views. Ironically, as Fibich only intermittently composed on national themes, it was Fibich and not Dvořák or Smetana who first wrote an orchestral piece overtly based on Czech folk music; Fibich's tone poem "Záboj, Slavoj a Luděk" was what inspired Smetana to follow with his cycle of tone poems "Má Vlast."
While Fibich's three symphonies enjoyed somewhat of a revival after his death, his chamber music languished in obscurity, much of it never performed or published until fairly recently. His Piano Quintet, composed in 1893, was published the following year -- but not in its original form. Fibich chose the unusual instrumentation of violin, cello, clarinet, horn, and piano, and his publisher observed that a piece for that combination of instruments would be difficult to sell. The quintet was instead published in an alternative version for the conventional piano quintet. The original score was rediscovered only in the 1980s, and the tonal effects were a true revelation. The original instrumentation brings out the lyricism and passion of the first two movements. The third movement is a scherzo that Fibich marked "with wild humor" in the score, with two contrasting trios that feature four different instruments in solo roles. The final movement alternates between festive and meditative, concluding with a flourish after a final chorale-like presentation of the main theme.
Movements:
I. Allegro non tanto
II. Largo (10:10)
III. Scherzo: Con fuoco (20:15)
IV. Finale: Allegro con spirito (27:16)