If you want to jazz up a birthday party or anniversary, do something unexpected or plan a surprise. Pianist Daniel Glover is doing something like that with the otherwise dull-as-dishwater Frédéric Chopin commemorations this year, by pairing Chopin with Samuel Barber, another anniversary boy. His recital for San Francisco’s Old First Concerts promises to reveal some interesting connections.
“Just because of the titles of the pieces, I really feel that Barber comes out of that Chopin tradition,” says Glover. “I play ballades by both of them and nocturnes by both of them. The shorter forms — both Chopin and Barber seem to be working within the same dimensions, which I think is compelling.”
Like almost every pianist, Glover has played a lot of Chopin in his life, even though he doesn’t consider himself a Chopin champion. Interestingly, he also has a connection to Barber:
Actually, I learned the [Piano] Sonata when I was a student at Juilliard [School of Music], and I was very lucky to study with Abby Simon, who was a classmate of Barber’s. And Abby Simon was not someone who played a lot of contemporary music. And when I played the Barber sonata with him, he said just a very few things critiquing my performance of it. But what I did get from him was, ‘Well, Sam told me this ...’ — it doesn’t get any better than that.He told me a story about Barber personally. Abby Simon was never a good sight reader. When they were in keyboard class together, Abby said he always made sure to play after Barber, because Barber could sight-read anything backwards or forwards, in any key, you name it. So he would always go first, but Abby had a really good ear so he would imitate whatever Barber would do. Then the teacher caught on and said, ‘Oh, Abby, you go first today,’ and the truth came out.
So the Barber anniversary was, for Glover, a moment to be seized.
The 100th anniversary was definitely the catalyst to get me to know more of his repertory. I had learned the ballade several years ago, but the other pieces I have just learned within the past year. I actually had it in mind to do the complete works, and I’m almost doing that in this recital — the only thing I’m leaving out is the Souvenirs, which I have performed in the original version for four hands. There is a single-pianist version, but it’s so much more difficult than the four-hand version that it hardly seems worth it.I’m not the only person in the world doing a Barber–Chopin recital, by the way. I did a quick Google search and there were other pianists combining the two.
And cellists, too: Raphael Wallfisch, among others, is pairing the two composers’ cello sonatas in a recital this year. But he’ll be doing that in London, while Glover is at the easily accessible, low-priced but high-value Old First Concerts series. And the chance to hear some Chopin favorites juxtaposed with the wonderful, but unfamiliar, piano music of Samuel Barber is just too good to pass up. If you like nice surprises, that is.