The Interaction of Tonality and Serialism in Henze’s Royal Winter Music
Hans Werner Henze’s Royal Winter Music has long been regarded as one of the most important solo guitar works of the twentieth century. Music based on Shakespeare abounds in the opera and the ballet, but the portrayal of Shakespearean characters for a solo instrument is unique, even beyond the comparatively insular world of the classical guitar.
Henze was one of the first composers of the post-war generation to embrace serialism, and one of the first to also reject it as the sole premise of modern music. In Henze’s music we find a lyricism, uncommon to contemporary music, that embraces both traditional tonality side by side with serialism. These disparate elements inform the Royal Winter Music sonatas throughout.
The presentation will be followed by open-mic playing time for members. Sign up in advance to play — see the Member Events page for details. NYCCGS Member Events are free and open to all members and first-time guests, and are supported by a generous grant from the D’Addario Music Foundation.
Thursday, June 6, 2013, 7:00 PM
Manhattan Theatre Club Creative Center
311 West 43rd Street, 8th floor, between 8th and 9th Ave. (map)
New York City
Lars Frandsen was a student of the late Leif Christensen, who was a pioneer in the rediscovery of nineteenth-century guitar literature and a strong advocate of its historical performance.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Yale University, and Eastman School of Music, Mr. Frandsen holds a doctoral degree in performance and literature. He was the assistant to renowned lute player Paul O’Dette while at Eastman, where he also studied in masterclasses and doctoral seminars with equally renowned forte-pianist Malcom Bilson. His principal guitar teachers after Leif Christensen include John Mills (Royal Academy of Music), Benjamin Verdery (Yale) and Nicholas Goluses (Eastman). Further, he has performed several times in masterclasses conducted by John Williams, David Russell and Manuel Barruecco.
Mr. Frandsen was the first guitarist to play and coach chamber music (during five consecutive concert seasons) at the Apple Hill summer music school with members of the London Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Frandsen is the Director of Guitar Studies at Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music at the City University of New York. He directs the Collegium Musicum at Nyack College’s Manhattan campus, where he also teaches counterpoint, music history and theory.
