Reiko Honsho, piano; Japan Philharmonic; Akeo Watanabe, Conductor; Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-soprano; Eric Barlett, David Finckel, Michael Finckel, Maxine Neuman, cellos; Lionel Nowak, piano; Ronald K. Anderson and Allan Dean, trumpets; David Jolley, French horn; Lawrence Benz, bass trombone; Robert Helps, piano
Imperial Philharmonic of Tokyo; William Strickland, Conductor
By age five it was apparent that Vivian Fine (b Chicago, 29 Sept 1913; d Bennington, VT, 20 March 2000) was a gifted musician. She won a scholarship to attend the Chicago Musical College and later, the American Conservatory of Music. By age eleven, Vivian became a student of Djane Lavoie-Herz, who had studied with Scriabin. Probably Fine would have become a concert pianist had she not begun theory lessons with Ruth Crawford, also a student of Lavoie-Herz. Crawford suggested that Vivian, who was thirteen, write a composition. The result impressed Crawford, and it was not long before friends of Lavoie-Herz, such as Henry Cowell, Dane Rudhyar, and Imre Weisshaus, recognized and supported this teenage talent.
Cowell thought so highly of Fine’s Solo for Oboe (1929), a three-movement modernistic work, that he arranged for it to be premiered on April 21, 1930, at a Pan-American Association of Composers concert in New York. The next year, following her mentor Crawford, Fine moved to New York City with the intention of studying with Charles Seeger. The lessons did not happen, but Fine became a member of the Young Composers Group, organized by Aaron Copland, and performed her Four Polyphonic Pieces for Piano (1932) at the first Yaddo Festival in 1932. The following year Cowell published her Four Songs (1933) for soprano and string quartet in New Music. Living in New York gave Fine the opportunity to study composition with Roger Sessions from 1934 to 1942, and piano with Abby Whiteside from 1937 to 1945. Because Fine had a reputation as an excellent performer of contemporary music, she earned a living during this period as a dance accompanist. She wrote the scores for Doris Humphrey’s The Race of Life (1937), Charles Weidman’s Opus 51 (1938), Hanya Holm’s They Too Are Exiles (1939), Martha Graham’s Alcestis (1960), and José Limón’s My Song, My Enemy (1965).
This compact disc is a retrospective overview of Fine’s music featuring works in almost every genre and from throughout the various phases of her career.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Music of Vivian Fine
| MP3/320 | $9.99 | |
| FLAC | $9.99 | |
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| CD-R | $9.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Concertante for Piano and Orchestra: I. Andante con moto
Vivian Fine
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Concertante for Piano and Orchestra: II. Allegro risoluto
Vivian Fine
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Missa Brevis for Four Cellos and Taped Voice
Vivian Fine
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Momenti for Piano Solo: I. Poco Allegro
Vivian Fine
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Momenti for Piano Solo: II. Andante lusingando
Vivian Fine
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Momenti for Piano Solo: III. Allegro
Vivian Fine
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Momenti for Piano Solo: IV. Con tenerezza
Vivian Fine
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Momenti for Piano Solo: V. Moderato
Vivian Fine
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Momenti for Piano Solo: VI. Andante
Vivian Fine
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Quartet for Brass: I. Variations - Poco lento, espressivo
Vivian Fine
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Quartet for Brass: II. Fanfare - Energico
Vivian Fine
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Quartet for Brass: III. Eclogue - Lento
Vivian Fine
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Quartet for Brass: IV. Variations - Lively
Vivian Fine
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Sinfonia and Fugato: I. Sinfonia
Vivian Fine
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Sinfonia and Fugato: II. Fugato
Vivian Fine
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Alcestis: I. Alcestis and Thanatos
Vivian Fine
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Alcestis: II. The Revelling Hercules
Vivian Fine
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Alcestis: III. Battle of Hercules and Thanatos
Vivian Fine
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Alcestis: IV. Dance of Triumph
Vivian Fine
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