Poets of the Piano

Amanda Ratliff

Poets of the Piano

Series: Art for Ears
From: The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis
Length: 00:27:06

We have music inspired by masterful verse, music inspired by vivid images and effective narratives. Read the full description.

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Piece Description

Way back in the 1770s the persuasive writer on music, Johann Georg Sulzer, talked about instrumental works expressing emotion: “the composer can seek out passages in literature that are pathetic, fiery, gentle, or tender . . . and then translate these emotions into music.” Let’s examine some of these passages in literature by relating them to music of Charles Griffes (“The White Peacock” from Roman Sketches), Franz Liszt (Petrarch Sonnet No. 104 from Years of Pilgrimage), and Maurice Ravel (“Scarbo” from Gaspard de la Nuit).