Completing the Piano Works of David Del Tredici

Cover of the Albany album of David Del Tredici’s piano works

Some readers may recall that, a little over a week ago, I used my “memorial” article about the death of David Del Tredici at the age of 86 to grumble over the fact that Naxos had not completed its project to record his complete piano works. I had written about the first volume for an Examiner.com article in September of 2012. Over a decade had passed, and I had yet to see any further Naxos releases of this repertoire. It was only after I consulted Amazon.com that I learned that the project had been completed this past April by Albany records (which is not one of the many labels that Naxos manages). Once Amazon had informed me, I did not waste any time in placing an order!

That order arrived this past weekend. It was at that time that I realized how much I had been missing. The album consisted of three generously-packed CDs whose respective durations were 71:26, 69:53, and 67:30. As was the case with the initial Naxos release, the pianist is Marc Peloquin. My Examiner.com article had begun with a recollection of an Old First Concerts recital performed by both Del Tredici and Peloquin, when they joined forces for a four-hand account of “Carioca Boy.” They then went on to play it a second time at a pre-concert recital to mark the beginning of the 2012–2013 season of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony. As a result, I knew that the new Albany anthology was off to a good start when I saw that the opening track of the first CD was that duo performance of “Carioca Boy!”

Having now traversed the “complete works” of this collection, I have to say the most lasting impression is Del Tredici’s capacity for wit. There is a playfulness that pervades most of the tracks in this collection, and frequently there is a playful interplay between the music itself that the composer’s choice of title. These traits are particularly evident in “Ode to Music,” composed in 2015. The title is basically a reflection on Franz Schubert’s D. 547 song, “An die Musik;” and, as one tends to expect from Del Tredici, that reflection is realized through quotation.

I was also particularly struck by the Ray’s Birthday Suit suite. The “title character” is Ray Warman, who had been Del Tredici’s husband. The suite provided a decade-by-decade account of Warman’s age, culminating in his 60th birthday (which Warman preferred to call 50/10). The thematic material runs an amusing gamut with college songs from Yale University at the beginning and unabashedly celebrating the age of 60 with the “Ode to Joy” music from Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 125 (ninth) symphony in D minor. This is matched only by the 40th birthday, which is celebrated by Salome dancing with her seven veils to the music by Richard Strauss.

The fact is that just about every one of Del Tredici’s solo piano compositions has an engaging (and usually amusing) backstory. Now that I have the full canon at my disposal, I can enjoy the luxury of befitting from both Peloquin’s performances and the engaging text commentary. There is clearly much more for me to learn about the personality behind all of this music!