Caucasus Sonata by Mark G. Simon

[diegobueno]

I wish to announce the release of the new CD A Grand Journey featuring my Caucasus Sonata for piano, played by the amazing Russian virtuoso Anna Kislitsyna.

You may think of this as an imaginary trip from the Black Sea to the Caucasus Region of Central Asia (I've never been to any of these places BTW), full of adventures in far off places. There are four movements.

I. The Black Sea
II. Scherzo
III. Romance
IV. Caucasian Journey

This is basically a big romantic piano virtuoso vehicle. The piano writing is extremely difficult and I have to salute Ms. Kislitsyna for mastering it. Anna Kislitsyna is a member of the Casals Trio, and the other selections on this disc are piano trios written by other composers. The link takes you to a place where you can listen to all of it. My sonata occupies the last four tracks.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZ3u ... P48vfO1p58

[Rach3]

Thanks very much ! Enjoyed your Sonata and the other 3 works. Bravo !

[maestrob]

Thanks, Mark! I will get to this within days, for sure!

Congratulations!

[barney]

Me too. thanks.

[CharmNewton]

I enjoyed the sonata and hope you have great success with it. I believe it is a major addition to the piano repertoire.

Ms Kislitsyna is amazing.

John

[maestrob]

Congratulations, Mark! Just heard your tough-as-nails Sonata and then the other works on this remarkable CD. I noted that the violinist and the pianist are a husband and wife team. They are both certainly on the same remarkable wavelength. Definitely some Bulgarian rhythms in the last movement: very original!

Also, for those who have Spotify, the album is available there if you search for "Mark G. Simon," along with Mark's ingenious Grecian Urn album of works for clarinet.

[diegobueno]

Congratulations, Mark! Just heard your tough-as-nails Sonata and then the other works on this remarkable CD. I noted that the violinist and the pianist are a husband and wife team.

Thank you, Brian.
They're actually a brother/sister team. Anna's husband is a trumpet player, of all things.

[maestrob]

Congratulations, Mark! Just heard your tough-as-nails Sonata and then the other works on this remarkable CD. I noted that the violinist and the pianist are a husband and wife team.

Thank you, Brian.
They're actually a brother/sister team. Anna's husband is a trumpet player, of all things.

OK

Liked the Bulgarian-style rhythms in the last movement of the Sonata, btw. Very clever and original: don't know if I've heard that idea in piano music before.

[diegobueno]

Liked the Bulgarian-style rhythms in the last movement of the Sonata, btw. Very clever and original: don't know if I've heard that idea in piano music before.

Well, actually, I've helped myself generously to Bartók's Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm from his Mikrokosmos, for piano, in this and many other works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPrZkZNS7T4

It goes back to one day in college when I came into my dorm and heard in the distance someone sitting at a piano playing what I thought was rock music, but as I got closer turned out to be the Sixth Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm. That was a very influential moment, because in that moment of ambiguous perception, when rock and Bartók seemed to mingle, when I realized they could mingle, I decided that's what I wanted my music to sound like. In this sonata they exist side by side.

[Lance]

Mark, I have listened to the Caucasus Sonata several times now and love the work. As you mentioned, movements two and three (Scherzo and Romance) have memorable moments - but then they all do. I loved your narrative explaining the concept of the work. On top of all that, I loved the piano and sound Anna Kislitsyna creates - superly recorded. And that last movement! Charles Valentin Alkan would approve and even might be a little jealous if he were around today! I have done some research on Kislitsyna ... she is hugely accomplished and has done a superior service to your work. I will now pay attention to the three trios!

[THEHORN]

Diego Bueno, as someone who has been fascinated by the Caucasus for decades , I'm really curious to hear this piece . I wonder if it might be even more effective if you were to do an orchestrated version, which could be even more colorful .
Actually, there is controversy as to what part of the world the Caucasus is . Some consider it to be part of Europe, even though the indigenous and ancient language of the region such as Georgian, Circassian , Chechen and others are not related to any of the languages of Europe .
Central Asia would be the so-called " stans " of the former Soviet Union to the east Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan , Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan , plus "Xingiuant province of western China, formerly known as "East Turkestan ".

[diegobueno]

Diego Bueno, as someone who has been fascinated by the Caucasus for decades , I'm really curious to hear this piece . I wonder if it might be even more effective if you were to do an orchestrated version, which could be even more colorful .
Actually, there is controversy as to what part of the world the Caucasus is . Some consider it to be part of Europe, even though the indigenous and ancient language of the region such as Georgian, Circassian , Chechen and others are not related to any of the languages of Europe .
Central Asia would be the so-called " stans " of the former Soviet Union to the east Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan , Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan , plus "Xingiuant province of western China, formerly known as "East Turkestan ".

I've never been there, so I can't weigh in on the matter of what counts and doesn't count as the Caucasus. I had in mind an imaginary journey and adventures in a mysterious distant place. I chose the Caucasus, because the last movement is inspired, just a bit, by the music of the Azerbaijan composer Fikret Amirov. When I was a little kid I had a recording of one of his symphonic mugams (mugam being the generic term for the native music of Azerbaijan). The actual title of the piece is something like "Kiurdi Ovshari", but the record identified it only as "Caucasian Dances". Amirov's music has a part western, part middle eastern sound, and it was the middle eastern part of it that fascinated me as a kid. I often draw upon childhood memories, because a child's imagination is so uninhibited, and I need a stimulus to try to recapture that free imagination.

[THEHORN]

I heard your "Caucasian sonata " on youtube recently and enjoyed it very much ! Have you considered orchestrating it ? I think it could be highly effective in orchestral form .
Technically, the Caucasus is the land bridge between the black sea and the Caspian sea ; it's highly mountainous and is the crossroads between the middle east, Europe and Asia , and is one of the most ethnically diverse regions on earth , with who knows how many different ethnic groups and languages spoken there ; the indigenous languages of the region such as Georgian, Circassian, Chechen, Avar and so many others , plus a variety of Turkish dialects , as well asIranian peoples such as the Ossetians ( Valery Gergiev is an ethnic Ossetian and Yuri Temirkanov is an ethnic Circassian ) .
Them now independent Republic of Azerbaijan was originally a part of northern Iran which was taken over by the Soviet Union , and the Azerbaijanis speak basically the same language as Turkish with some differences in dialect , and the Turks of Turkey and Azerbaijan consider themselves to be one people . And there are about 30 million ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran .
In fact, many of the Shahs of Iran over the centuries have been Azerbaijani Turks , as well some of the Iranian Ayatollahs .

[diegobueno]

I heard your "Caucasian sonata "

I originally called the whole sonata "Caucasian Journey", but after showing to some pianists and getting the comment "What, is this a piece about white people?" (this was long before "wokeness" was a thing) I decided that it would be better to use the title to emphasize the geographical region rather than the racial identity, thus the present title "Caucasus Sonata".

If I ever hear about this piece being taken up by the Proud Boys as an anthem for white supremacy (not very likely), I may have to reconsider my title once again.

[Rach3]

If I ever hear about this piece being taken up by the Proud Boys as an anthem for white supremacy (not very likely), I may have to reconsider my title once again.

Not to worry. Proud Boys will not know what a " sonata" is.

[barney]

If I ever hear about this piece being taken up by the Proud Boys as an anthem for white supremacy (not very likely), I may have to reconsider my title once again.

Not to worry. Proud Boys will not know what a " sonata" is.

It's a sort of car, isn't it?

[maestrob]

If I ever hear about this piece being taken up by the Proud Boys as an anthem for white supremacy (not very likely), I may have to reconsider my title once again.

Not to worry. Proud Boys will not know what a " sonata" is.

It's a sort of car, isn't it?

First thing I read this morning. You made my day, Barney!

Caucasian Sonata indeed!

[diegobueno]

Good opportunity for corporate sponsorship.

The Hyundai company can pay me to write a "Hyundai Sonata".

[diegobueno]

The Inside Story: Mark G. Simon and A GRAND JOURNEY

OCTOBER 4TH, 2021TAGS: Navona Records

Inspired by traditional melodies and cultural flavors, A GRAND JOURNEY gives us contemporary chamber works by Richard E Brown, Ovidiu Marinescu, and Mark G. Simon. Performed by internationally acclaimed Trio Casals, Simon’s Caucasus Sonata is a hair-raising journey of the soul through rock and hard places, demanding virtuosity and stamina from the performer.

Today, Mark is our featured artist in “The Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn about Mark’s love for The Beach Boys, and how sibling rivalry gave way to his musical journey…

Who was your first favorite artist(s) growing up?
Music was always a part of my life growing up. My mother used to take me and my brother to the record store and let us pick out a record based on the sleeve design; I once chose a record with a picture of a bird with flames coming out of its wings. It was Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, and that became my very favorite music in the world. I was about 5 years old and I listened to it constantly. I ran around the neighborhood singing it as best I could. “Your son is awfully cute, but he can’t sing,” the sweet old lady next door remarked to my mother. My mother thought I was doing a reasonably good job of it. So I’ve always been a Stravinsky person. In my teens, the music of Haydn possessed me. The thing about Stravinsky and Haydn is their music is very witty, very logical, very precise, and I respond to that. I think that’s important to note, because my Caucasus Sonata is such a big, expansive, romantic piece that listeners may not appreciate where my musical orientation is.

When did you realize that you wanted to be an artist?
It came about in part through sibling rivalry and sibling admiration. My older brother was heavily into playing the piano and it was clear that he was going to be a musician. My parents would have preferred I do something more practical, but the call of music was too strong, and finally at the age of 15 I started playing the clarinet, and I took to it like a duck to water. I also started composing at this time.

What is your guilty pleasure?
I really like The Beach Boys. I guess this is not too guilty because a lot of other people like them too, but I get a kick out of the naivety of their teenage preoccupation with surfboards and cars. I mean they even turned Santa Claus into a hot rod freak. Plus the vocal arrangements are tight. Once Brian Wilson finally came out with Smile, that just blew me away because it was so much of that Beach Boys style, and yet a million light years more advanced compositionally. There ought to be 100 more records just like it.

If you could instantly have expertise performing one instrument, what instrument would that be?
I have a considerable amount of expertise on the clarinet. I’ve been playing it for 52 years and studied with one of the top New York City clarinetists. But I’d like to suddenly be given instant expertise on playing the violin so that I could write for strings and try out what I’m asking them to do.

What does this album mean to you personally?
I wrote the Caucasus Sonata in the years 1991 to 1994. I started with the Scherzo and the Romance, and then the piece suddenly took off in a direction I couldn’t have anticipated. But all the musical material for the rest of the piece has its origins in that scherzo. I think the sonata encompasses everything I’d experienced in my life, all the complex, even contradictory feelings I had about life, and about music. It also became a whole lot harder to play than I’d originally anticipated, so finding a performer for it was daunting. I’ve waited 27 years to hear it actually performed by human fingers.

Is there a specific feeling that you would like communicated to audiences in this work?
I don’t know that I can really anticipate how people are going to respond to it. I would expect their jaws to drop at the sheer virtuosity displayed by Anna Kislitsyna in mastering all these notes, especially in the relentless final movement. But I also think they should get a feeling that life is complex, life is an adventure, life is… well, stuff that sounds trite when put into words, but when played on the piano means everything.
https://www.parmarecordings.com/inside- ... d-journey/

[barney]

That was really interesting, Mark - thanks for sharing it. Interesting musical journey indeed.

[maestrob]

Good morning, Mark.

Thanks for sharing that interesting interview. The Beach Boys! Who knew?!

My guilty secret was Jimi Hendrix, Dave Brubeck & Wes Montgomery, fwiw, along with French pop singers Jacques Brel, Mireille Matthieu & Edith Piaf, of course.

To this day, the soundtrack from the movie "Hatari!" by Henry Mancini still intrigues me.

[barney]

I used to share a bedroom with my younger brother. I had the upper bunk and a transistor radio, and loved '60s British pop - Beatles, Stones, Turtles, Small Faces etc plus Beach Boys, Mamas and Papas etc. I'd listen under the blankets with the lights out and my brother would yell "Dad! Barney's listening to the radio again." Frankly, it's a miracle he survived to puberty.

[diegobueno]

I used to share a bedroom with my younger brother. I had the upper bunk and a transistor radio, and loved '60s British pop - Beatles, Stones, Turtles, Small Faces etc plus Beach Boys, Mamas and Papas etc. I'd listen under the blankets with the lights out and my brother would yell "Dad! Barney's listening to the radio again." Frankly, it's a miracle he survived to puberty.

That puts you pretty much in the same age bracket as me. I listened to the same stuff as a teenager. I even took up the drums for a while so I could be in a garage band with my brother. I delivered papers so I could scrape up enough money to buy a drum set, which I used to play when my parents were out. I didn't want to bother them, only the neighbors. I gave that up when I discovered modern classical music -- later Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartok, Prokofiev, Hindemith, Elliott Carter -- all of which was much more effective at annoying parents and neighbors.

My guilty secret was Jimi Hendrix, Dave Brubeck & Wes Montgomery, fwiw, along with French pop singers Jacques Brel, Mireille Matthieu & Edith Piaf, of course.

I'm impressed with the diversity of your guilt.

[maestrob]

I used to share a bedroom with my younger brother. I had the upper bunk and a transistor radio, and loved '60s British pop - Beatles, Stones, Turtles, Small Faces etc plus Beach Boys, Mamas and Papas etc. I'd listen under the blankets with the lights out and my brother would yell "Dad! Barney's listening to the radio again." Frankly, it's a miracle he survived to puberty.

That puts you pretty much in the same age bracket as me. I listened to the same stuff as a teenager. I even took up the drums for a while so I could be in a garage band with my brother. I delivered papers so I could scrape up enough money to buy a drum set, which I used to play when my parents were out. I didn't want to bother them, only the neighbors. I gave that up when I discovered modern classical music -- later Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartok, Prokofiev, Hindemith, Elliott Carter -- all of which was much more effective at annoying parents and neighbors.

My guilty secret was Jimi Hendrix, Dave Brubeck & Wes Montgomery, fwiw, along with French pop singers Jacques Brel, Mireille Matthieu & Edith Piaf, of course.

I'm impressed with the diversity of your guilt.

As for the French singers, do remember that my initial degree from Villanova was in French/Education w/ a minor in Russian.

I've always been interested in music of nearly every sort. I just have preferred classical music because of its depth of repertoire. There is no way I could possibly exhaust the possibilities of learning about 400-500+ years of music from Western cultures. Like many of us here, I consider myself an eternal student, just to keep my mind sharp and my soul from atrophying.

Besides, it's great fun!

[diegobueno]

I've always been interested in music of nearly every sort. I just have preferred classical music because of its depth of repertoire. There is no way I could possibly exhaust the possibilities of learning about 400-500+ years of music from Western cultures. Like many of us here, I consider myself an eternal student, just to keep my mind sharp and my soul from atrophying.

Besides, it's great fun!

Indeed, it's the only way to be.

[barney]

[

That puts you pretty much in the same age bracket as me. I listened to the same stuff as a teenager. I even took up the drums for a while so I could be in a garage band with my brother. I delivered papers so I could scrape up enough money to buy a drum set, which I used to play when my parents were out. I didn't want to bother them, only the neighbors. I gave that up when I discovered modern classical music -- later Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartok, Prokofiev, Hindemith, Elliott Carter -- all of which was much more effective at annoying parents and neighbors.

I never thought of it that way, but you are absolutely right. A double pleasure then!