Ernest Bloch: The man and his music Program 6 of 15
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Riverside radio presents the sixth in a series of 15 programs. Ernest Bloch the man and his
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music the commentator for these programs is Suzanne block. The composer's daughter
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and a member of the faculty at The Juilliard School of Music. Today's program
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will be devoted to a performance of the string quartet number four with the griller quartet and the concerto
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Grosso number one. Here to introduce our program is the composer's
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daughter.
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Suzanne block after a very productive year
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in 1952 when you wrote four important works including a string quartet number
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three Brock wrote only one composition in 1953. This was
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his fourth quote text. He said his premiere by the grill a string quartet
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interpreters closest to block at the time who had worked with him a great deal.
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Alan Downes who reviewed the work wrote a vivid description of this music
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its principal themes are few.
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One which receives many transformations. A theme that Bloch discovered in a book of
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primitive melodies years ago which persists in different movements and is varied in
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ways that are rhythmic as well as linear harmonic believe the writing is
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polytonal yet the sensation is of a very definite harmonic scheme
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and a scheme one that is solely and characteristically blocks.
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The moods are introspective and range from those of a chip of the furious block of old
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to the mystical communions of his later years. There is indeed a curious combination
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of the old earthiness and gusto and the later inwardness and serenity that seems
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to have evolved within this passionate artist with the passing of the decades
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blocks forth quartet like his others in four movements and the first
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movement.
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The thematic material is spare but is heard again in other movements. It starts of the
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Tranquilo followed by another grow and magical the
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slow movement opens the modal theme almost transparent in its simplicity almost
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naive it has a personality quite different from some of blocks others for
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movements less a pastoral rather than an intimate soul but it is in the third
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movement that one hears a primitive tune of which all and downs writes the theme that block
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loved ever since he found it he sang it often to us children making up
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sometimes his own words. It is possible that this theme was in a book by the German
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writer and Grossi de un funk Adair const. The beginnings
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of Hearts of which block had taken copious notes in preparation for lectures and
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aesthetics and the concerts of Geneva in 1912.
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The use of primitive themes as part of blocks generated to give the atmosphere of exotica
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an escape for him. But in this quartet it comes with no intention to create an
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atmosphere. It comes that its self is taken over by each instrument
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transferred and brought in fragments and return strongly in the last
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movement. He took the theme and made it his own in a truly
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blockin idiom.
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The griller quartet for many years intimately associated with his music
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now perform the composer string quartet number 4.
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But.
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I mean.
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Are.
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We. Going to.
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Lose.
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The war.
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It would.
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Be one.
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Thing.
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Yeah.
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The one who.
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And I mean.
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Move. Move.
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Move. Move. Move.
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Move.
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Move.
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You. Know. Their.
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Future.
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To.
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Leave. Can you.
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Do. Better.
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You.
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Do. You. You.
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Lose. You. Oh.
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Yes.
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You.
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You. You. You.
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Were
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one.
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Thank.
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You.
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This program has been transcribed using automated software tools, made possible through a collaboration between the American Archive of Public Broadcasting and Pop Up Archive. Please note that no automated transcription is perfect nor is it intended to replace human transcription labor. If you would like to contribute corrections to this transcript, please contact MITH at mith@umd.edu.