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Four Epigraphs after Escher

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Vier Epigraphe nach Escher
Piano trio by Graham Waterhouse
Opus35
Periodcontemporary
Based onartworks by M. C. Escher
Composed1995 (1995)
Published1998 (1998): Leipzig Hofmeister
Movements4
Scoring

Vier Epigraphe nach Escher (original German title; English: Four Epigraphs after Escher), Op. 35, is a chamber music composition by Graham Waterhouse, written in 1995 for viola, heckelphone and piano. Its four movements refer to graphic artworks by M. C. Escher. It was commissioned by Dr. Gunter Joppig and premiered in Munich in 1995. The piece was published by Hofmeister in 1998 and first performed in the U.S. in the same year.

History

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Escher at work

Waterhouse was inspired by graphic artworks by M. C. Escher to write in 1993[1] Vier Epigraphe nach Escher (Four Epigraphs after Escher) in four movements, each named for a piece of graphic art.[2] He scored it as a piano trio with viola and heckelphone.[2][3] It is one of few chamber music works for heckelphone, a rare member of the oboe family prominently used by Richard Strauss, Frederick Delius and Paul Hindemith.[1][4][5] Paul Hindemith had written a Trio, Op. 47, for the same combination of instruments in 1928.[1][4][3] The work was published by Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag in Leipzig in 1998.[2]

The composition is structured in four movements:[2]

  1. Die Gottesanbeterin (Praying mantis)
  2. Möbiusband II (Möbius strip)
  3. Reiter (Rider)
  4. Reptilien (Reptiles)

The first movement was inspired by a graphic showing an oversized mantis in a church, on a stone monument to a bishop on his tomb.[2][6] Escher dealt with the phenomenon of the Möbius strip several times;[7] the music relates to Möbius II, with ants crawling over the strip.[2][8][9] The third movement alludes to a print with riders in two directions and two colour shades, partly complementing each other.[2][10] The final movement is based on Escher's 1934 print Reptiles.[2][11]

Performances

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Vier Epigraphe nach Escher was premiered in Munich in 1995 by Gunther Joppig (heckelphone), Barbara Sterff (viola) and Graham Waterhouse (piano). The U.S. premiere took place at the 1998 conference of the International Double Reed Society in Tempe, Arizona. In a concert on 6 June of music by Waterhouse, which contained also two world premieres, one more U.S. premiere and a reprise of Mouvements d'Harmonie, the piece was played by Gerald Corey, heckelphone, violist Peter Rosato and the composer as the pianist.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Music for heckelphone". Heckelphone.org. 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Graham Waterhouse: Vier Epigraphe nach Escher, op. 35" (in German). Hofmeister. 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b Bruhn, Siglind (2009). "Trio für Bratsche, Heckelphon und Klavier (1929)". Hindemith große Instrumentalwerke [Hindemith's Great Instrumental Works] (in German). Edition Gorz. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-3-93-809515-7.
  4. ^ a b Tarkmann, Andreas N.; Kohlmann, Johannes (2018). Praktische Instrumentenkunde [Practical Knowledge of Instruments] (in German). Bärenreiter. pp. 86–97. ISBN 978-3-76-187180-5.
  5. ^ "Four Epigraphs after Escher". Music4Viola. MusikTreuhand. 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Dream (Mantis Religiosa) by M. C. Escher". Skot Foreman Fine Art. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022.
  7. ^ Hebisch, Udo (22 October 1999). "Möbiusband I – M. C. Escher". Fakultät für Mathematik und Informatik, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg. Archived from the original on 5 March 2000.
  8. ^ "Band van Möbius II Rode mieren by M. C. Escher". Artnet. n.d. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022.
  9. ^ Matzig, Gerhard (1 July 2020). "Zeichen der Unendlichkeit" [Sign of Infinity]. Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Südwestdeutsche Medien Holding. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Rider by Maurits Cornelis Escher". Washington, D.C.: Arthive. n.d. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022.
  11. ^ "M. C. Escher – Reptiles, 1943". National Gallery of Art. n.d. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  12. ^ "IDRS98 Conference". International Double Reed Society. 1998. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
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