Introduction. Music
historians are doubly lucky in possessing two primary sources for understanding
Humphrey Searle’s Piano Sonata. The first is his unpublished autobiography, Quadrille
with a Raven, written between 1976 and his death in 1982. The other is the
programme note that he wrote for the premiere performance of his Sonata in
1951.
In his memoirs (Chapter 11), Searle
explained that the Australian pianist, Gordon Watson ‘intended to celebrate the
140th birthday of [Franz] Liszt, 22 October 1951, by performing the Transcendental
Studies complete in the Wigmore Hall.’ Watson had asked the composer for a
new Sonata for him to play at this recital. Searle wrote that he ‘decided to
write a virtuoso piece - fiendishly difficult…more or less in the form of the
Liszt B minor sonata but in a twelve-note idiom.’ It was an act of homage to
the Hungarian master. As he composed the music, he sent it to Watson, ‘piece by
piece’. Watson later told him that ‘if he had received the whole sonata at one
go, he would have despaired of ever learning it.’ There was an eerie backdrop
to the composition of this Sonata. Searle elucidates: ‘While I was writing this
work I had a very curious experience; three times while the music was
progressing in a certain direction something told me to stop and write
something completely different, and each time I heard the next day of the death
of someone with whom I was connected, either as a colleague or a friend. The three who died were Arnold Schoenberg,
Constant Lambert, and Cecil Gray. Searle had adopted the serial techniques of
Schoenberg and later translated the important biography of the elder composer, written
by Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt (Schoenberg - His Life, World and Work, John
Calder, 1974/1977). Constant Lambert had ‘first revealed to [him] the true
greatness of Liszt.’ Lambert was a well-respected conductor, composer, author,
and friend. Searle would become an expert on the Hungarian master, and later
wrote a book about him (Music of Liszt, Dover, 1954, rev.1966). Finally,
Cecil Gray was a composer, critic and author and casual friend of Searle.
The following is a descriptive
discussion of Searle’s Piano Sonata, not an analysis. It is based on the
composer’s own programme note, written for the premiere performance. The Sonata
is a fusion of the Lisztian idea of ‘thematic transformation’ with the twelve-tone
methods of Arnold Schoenberg. Searle reminds the listener that the latter used
thematic transformations, by way of serialism.
Grove’s Dictionary defines
‘thematic transformation’ as ‘a term used to define the process of modifying a
theme, so that in a new context it is different but yet manifestly made of the
same elements; a variant term is ‘thematic metamorphosis’’. Commenting on this
process, Humphrey Searle (1966, p.61) suggests that ‘the serial methods of Schoenberg,
for instance, use precisely the methods of Liszt's thematic transformation
within the framework of an entirely different [musical] language.’ So, based on
Searle’s admiration for these two composers, it is hardly surprising that the Piano
Sonata is a fusion of both constructive principles.
Searle’s Piano Sonata is
conceived in a single movement, divided into contrasting sections. Four
elements form the constructive material of the Sonata and are first presented
in the ‘exposition.’ These are the opening three-note ‘Lento’ phrase (Db, F,
A), the rising theme of the ‘Allegro’ which immediately follows, a figure
consisting of repeated semiquaver chords, and finally, the material of the
second ‘lento section.’
After several broad opening bars forming
the exposition, the music passes into a short ‘scherzo’ before leading into the
‘development’ section played ‘Allegro risoluto.’ Without a pause, the slow ‘Andante’
is written in standard ternary form, ending with a cadenza. This leads into the
second ‘scherzo’, followed by the recapitulation of the opening theme (Allegro
risoluto). Both scherzos have acted as interludes: the first exploits notes in
the bass register of the piano, whilst the second uses the top notes. The
Sonata ends with a sinister coda, that has the character of a ‘recitative’
played ‘lento.’
It is important to note that like most ‘serial’ works, few listeners can aurally follow all the permutations of the series as the Sonata progresses. A score, paper and pencil and a lot of time and skill are needed to unravel all the ‘changes and chances’ of the underlying structural material. What is clear, is the inherent unity of purpose underlying this Piano Sonata.
The Premiere. The premiere of Humphrey Searle’s Piano
Sonata, op.21 was given at a recital at the Wigmore Hall, Wigmore Street,
London on Monday 22 October 1951. The concert programme declared that it was
‘On the Occasion of the 140th Anniversary of Liszt’s Birth.’ The
soloist was the Australian pianist Gordon Watson (1921-1999). Two works were
performed: Franz Liszt’s Études d'exécution transcendante (1852) and, after the
interval, Searle’s Sonata. The composer recalled in his memoirs that ‘Gordon
Watson's performances of the Transcendental Studies and my Sonata were very
successful, and both he and I got good notices in the Press.’ (Searle, Quadrille,
Chapter 11.)
It was a surprise to read that Gordon Watson was ‘distinctly more eloquent in [his] account of Searle’s Sonata than he was in the Liszt Transcendental Studies. The critic of the long-running journal The Stage (25 October 1951, p.12) insisted that only ‘the utmost technical mastery and all the dramatic and rhetorical resources of the grandest romantic style can give [both] these pieces their proper effect.’ As for the Studies, ‘although the young Australian pianist (he was 30 at the time) displayed a technique of exceptional facility, neither his execution nor his style could truly be called transcendent.’
The following Monday, The
Times (29 October 1951, p.2) reported that Gordon Watson ‘stormed high
heaven with Liszt’s 12 Transcendental Studies.’ He noted that the pianist
‘dropped a wrong note here and there’ in this work but this was balanced by
‘his technique [which] was fully competent to display the craftsmanship,
invention and imagination in these hair-raising studies.’ The reviewer,
possibly Frank Howes, recalled that Searle’s Sonata ‘owes some of its design
and textures to Liszt’s B minor work’, and that part of its ‘impulse’ was to the
memory of Arnold Schoenberg, Cecil Gray and Constant Lambert. The power of the Sonata
‘is quite individual, suffused with darkling elegiac poetry and commanding
thought; brilliantly scored, it was brilliantly played by Mr Watson, whose
memory is evidently equal to his courage and virtuosity.’
The Musical Times
(December 1951, p.563) A.P. (Andrew Porter) considered that Searle’s Sonata was
‘the most important new work’ heard during October 1951. Remarking Gordon
Watson’s performance of the Liszt Studies, he felt that it was ‘marked by an
astonishing technical facility and by a poetical feeling for the writing which
made one forgive wrong notes.’ Noting
Searle’s fusion of Lisztian Transformations with Schoenbergian serialism, he
feels that ‘it was not surprising to find in the Sonata an affecting beauty; at
any rate it would be surprising only to those who regard the twelve-note system
of Schoenberg as a purely intellectual device.’ In conclusion Porter
highlighted the ‘passages of brilliant pianistic excitement, and passages of
lyrical emotion.’ His overall impression on a first hearing was that ‘it seemed
a fine work and left one waiting for its second performance.’
The Score. The score of Searle’s Piano Sonata was published by Oxford University Press in 1952. It was priced 10/6d. At today’s prices that would be about £34. The holograph was completed between June and September 1951. The date of the work’s premiere is included in the frontispiece, as well as noting that Gordon Watson had made a recording of the Sonata on Argo ATC 1002, 12 inch (long playing). The score is inscribed ‘For the 140th Birthday of Franz Liszt, 22 October 1951’.
A review of the score was
included in Music and Letters (April 1953, p.174). The critic began by
admitting his review was not based on ‘a personal performance with any
pretensions to accuracy’, as it would have taken ‘weeks so to familiarize
oneself with the notes that one could begin to tackle the technical problems of
playing them.’ So, use was made of Gordon Watson’s recording to assess this
Sonata. The impression is given that I.K. does not warm to ‘serial music.’ He
wonders if Humphrey Searle ‘gains inspiration from wrestling with his note rows,
or whether his fervour and technique enable him to carry the mill-stone
(presumably serial technique) like a banner is perhaps neither here nor there,
for this Sonata makes a thoroughly convincing impression of power and
necessity.’ I.K. reminds readers that the Sonata is ‘a worthy monument to
[Liszt] for whom [Searle] has already done much.’ Importantly, he considers
that the elder composer’s concept of ‘thematic transformation’ finds its
consummation in the twelve-note technique. Finally, three other features of
Searle’s Sonata share Liszt’s qualities: ‘the dauntlessly leaping contours, an
urgent and extravagant dramatic sense and a sure feeling for the sound of the
instrument.’ The last thought is the observation that this Sonata is for
‘professional pianists only.’ Controversially, I.K. suggests that Searle’s Sonata
is not as difficult as Liszt’s example. The sad fact is that few pianists will
be prepared to invest the time and effort to master Searle’s work as they would
to study the Hungarian master. At least Liszt does not introduce ‘serial
arpeggios’.
Searle, Humphrey, Quadrille with a Raven: Memoir of a Composer Unpublished Autobiography, 1976-1982.
Searle, Humphrey, ‘Programme Note’ for Wigmore Hall concert 22 October 1951.
Searle, Humphrey, The Music of Liszt, Second Revised Edition (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1966)
Files of The Times, The Guardian, The Musical Times, The Stage, Music and Letter, The Gramophone, The Record Guide, MusicWeb International, David’s Review Corner, American Record Guide, etc.
To be continued…
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