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Compositions *** |
Four Pieces for Two Flutes
year
1930
duration
5 ½ minutes
première
December 1, 1931, Dessau, Germany (Bauhaus), at the International Society of Contemporary Music’s concert of music by women. This performance marked Fine’s international debut as a composer. She had just turned 18
recording
Available on demo CD
movements
- Grazioso, un poco giocoso
- Lento tristo
- Stridente
- Poco allegro
program notes
The lines have a similar angular nature, avoidance of repeated pitches, and attention to articulations and dynamics as in the Solo for Oboe, but dissonance becomes more apparent due to the counterpoint. Fine was careful to contrast the two lines….durational interest is created by polyrhythms….In [Fine’s] words: “I worked hard on these compositions. It took me many years before I would consider repeated something exactly.
–Heidi Von Gunden, The Music of Vivian Fine, Scarecrow Press, 1999.
reviews
“I think [the third piece] is one of the best compositions I have seen lately by American composers (this is not a compliment, merely a fact!)”
–Imre Weisshaus, letter to Fine, August 23, 1931
“…at the age of 17 she already showed her mastery of dissonant counterpoint in her charming Four Pieces for Two Flutes.”
–Wallingford Riegger, American Composers’ Alliance Bulletin, 8, no. 1 (1958)
audio files