I the music
var
■ The Eugene Symphony
explores the passing life
during its ‘Death and
Transfiguration’ performance
By Sara Jarrett
Oregon Daily Emerald
Death rang in the ears of the liv
* ing as the stench of charred flesh
* wafted along the streets while
bodies burned. Screams of sorrow
echoed throughout.
Cholera clutched the livelihood
of Paris in the spring of 1832, tak
ing no mercy. Survivors of the
plague would never be the same.
In response to the surrounding
tragedy, German composer Franz
Liszt sought consolation in his
music. It yvas then that “Totentanz
for Piano and Orchestra,” was cre
ated. This work, hailed as “the
most powerful of all works for pi
ano and orchestra for its originali
ty of idea and form, for the beauty,
depth and power of theme,” ac
cording to a Hult Center release
statement, is composed of a set of
variations on the Gregorian chant
melody Dies Irae, the dance of
death.
This moving work is a favoi ite
of Dean Kramer, an associate pro
fessor of piano at the University of
Oregon School of Music. He w; 1
act as a guest solo pianist with th ?
Eugene Symphony durin
tonight’s performance of “Der To
tentanz,” under the invitation of
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, the Eugene
Symphony’s musical director and
conductor.
Kramer is especially intrigued
by this work because of the oft
misunderstood depth of Liszt’s
character.
“The thing that freaked his con
temporaries out,” Kramer said,
“was the complexity of his person
ality.”
Liszt has been described as a de
monic virtuoso with a heavy ori
entation toward God, Kramer said.
This juxtaposition may also be
why Liszt’s works are often left out
of modern performances. He re
mains, for the most part, an ob
scure artist.
“I decry the lack of initiative of
pianists, much greater than I, who
do not bring “Der Totentanz” to
[the listeners],” Kramer said. “So
many obscure works [from differ
ent artists] deserve to be heard.”
One idea Kramer has for the fu
ture, he said, is a performance
dedicated to works by composers
and musicians he feels are bril
liant, but have yet to become well
known.
“I don’t see myself as a scholar,”
he said. “I just want to bring mu
sic to life because I think I under
stand it more [than a lot of peo
ple].”
Kramer’s stint with the Eugene
Symphony tonight, “is a wonder
ful opportunity for me to interact
with the community,”, he said.
“Not only on music, but on ideas
Associate professor of piano Dean Kramer is a guest solo pianist for tonight’s Eugene Symphony performance.
Scott Barnett Emerald
of the 19th and 20th centuries.”
The passing of human life has
always inspired artists.
“The program doesn’t deal with
the tragedy of death,” Harth
Bedoya said Wednesday after
noon, during a lecture demonstra
tion at the Hult Center, “but
portrays a particular moment that
we all will have to think about... I
just couldn’t stay away from this
topic.”
The planning of this perform
ance, just days before Halloween,
wasn’t a complete coincidence,
Hult Center marketing director Pa
tricia Cusick said.
“Death & Transfiguration” was
originally planned for February,
but “when the flowers pop up you
don’t want to talk about death,”
Cusick said. She said her job is to
be in tune with people’s sensibili
ties.
The entire 1999-2000 season ti
tled “Let Your Spirit Soar,” speaks
to a particular human issue or
theme, she said. Subsequently, the
concert titled “Love” is now
scheduled for February.
Essentially, the bigger planning
issue for Harth-Bedoya has been to
plan the last season of the millen
nium to look at various human is
sues throughout history, Cusick
said, without focusing only on
classical music.
“Above all, [Harth-Bedoya] is a
humanist. He loves music as ex
pression of a human theme,” she
noted.
Symphony listeners tonight will
first hear orchestral excerpts of
Wagner’s epic opera “Tristan und
Isolde.”
This Romeo/Juliet type story is
“not really what is important
[though]”, Harth-Bedoya said.
The piece is about “dying in the
most sublime situation, next to the
person you love,” he expanded.
“Tristan und Isolde” also portrays
what Wagner was personally
struggling with at the time.
“The person and music is so
closely linked [between Wagner
and Tristan], that it’s not just a sto
ry ... It’s a diary page ... What’s
still so compelling about 19th-cen
tury music is that they wrote their
hearts out,” Kramer said.
The Prelude and Liebestod will
be the only parts of the piece per
formed tonight, and the words
will be omitted.
“It’ll probably be the most con
densed Wagner you’ll ever get,”
Kramer said.
Ending the performance will be
Richard Strauss’ “Death and
Transfiguration,” which will leave
the audience on not necessarily a
lighter note but a higher one. The
music takes the listener on a jour
ney through a man’s last hours.
He starts thinking about what
his life was, but at the same point
he realizes he doesn’t want to go
yet. He keeps this struggle of re
membering more and hoping for
more, Harth-Bedoya said. Finally,
when the moment of death comes,
the music suddenly becomes
much happier, as if the man be
gins “building a beautiful new
life.”
“Death and Transfiguration”
will be performed in the Silva
Concert Hall at the Hult Center for
the Performing Arts tonight at 8
p.m. Tickets are $12 to $36; $10 for
students and youth.
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