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Stefan Wolpe: Compositions for Piano (1920-1952)

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David Holzman studied with Wolpe and has been performing his music for some time now; Battle Piece (which Holzman previously recorded on LP) is arguably Wolpe's most important piano work: John Cage compared it to Boulez' Second Piano Sonata for pianistic brilliance and expressionistic force. The album includes a number of other works (including the partly tonal Zemach Suite, the politically engaged Encouragements, and two parodistic but not slight works, Tango and Waltz). Wolpe was a major figure both in pre-Hitler Berlin and in the New York of Abstract Expressionism, and his work has the rhythmic energy of Stravinsky and the subjective intensity of Schoenberg. These are pieces one must listen to repeatedly in order to appreciate them fully, and there is nothing academic about them. David Tudor, known for his work with Cage, Stockhausen and others, was an important collaborator on "Battle Piece" and its first interpreter. An important release and worth the while of anyone interested in 20th century classics.

Creatively Wolpe was a late bloomer he dabbled in the fashions and trends, the issues of the times,even exploring folk traditions,genres and character pieces. He was quite influential throughout his life as teacher first in Europe then Palestine where he taught the first generation of Israelis who still recall his influence; then moving to New York;Morton Feldman, Ralph Shapey, David Tudor to mention a few were his students.
His voice really did not come to true fruition until the latter years the Fifties when he discovered dodecaphonic music in earnest living as a recluse at Black Mountain College formulating this new language and the unique voice and development he gave it.He thought of the 12 Tones as materials, as particles to be exploded,imploded,projected outwards, contracted and expanded,breaking the intervallic content down to sets of three, four, five,then utilizing the power of rhythm of create this "space" for the intervals. The more frequent a tone was heard and within a particular register well the more pronounced and powerful it became.Faster pulses or rhythmic shapes were more ornamental since speed (non-Virilio-ian)and its shape is what determined the definition of intervals. So line against line was Wolpe's language. This strategy is in its formative state in the 'Passacaglia', where each succeeding variation has an intense focus on particular intervals coupled with gesture and texture attached to those intervals, later the piece foments, drawing power within itself, even utilizing octaves, (a No-No in 12 Tone language)still the resonant power was unequaled at that time. A shame that piece is not here. 'Form' for piano was an early primary work as the 'Passacaglia' and less so the 'Battle Piece', which remains too one-dimensional without good cause,direction of focus,it seems diffuse toccata like gestures that don't accrete a mount to anything. Music is suppose to suggest some form of synergy as it moves progresses and here it doesn't. The 'Battle Piece' when placed alongside Boulez's 'Second Sonata', or George Flynn's 'Wound' from the late Sixties is in a different set of dimensionality of gesture, of dealing with textures and densities,not to mention the strategy of dealing,nurturing and attenuating violence and brutal piano gestures.
Still Holzman is an excellent player for all this music has more documentary value stepping stones toward Wolpe's latter life living in New York. The early Sonata actually has a more brutal content than the Battle Piece, more violent and percussive George Antheil like the trend of the times along with the motoric ostinato of the Russian School of modernity Prokofiev, Mosolov.