Ralph van Raat goes on to prove both his stated point and his implied expertise in Rzewski's music. The People United Will Never Be Defeated! is a mammoth piece. It begins with strongly emotive melody and harmonic progression upon which the composer elaborated in a manner exploring all of piano performance history.
The variations are presented in such a way that an untrained ear can recognise that these are variations on a theme even when the cognitive going gets tough. Think of J.S. Bach composing Goldberg Variations as a member of the Shining Path (el Sendero Luminosa). Pianist van Raat navigates the desperate variations expertly, steering from tonal to atonal, from assembly to disassembly, from acceleration to deceleration. The People United… offers just enough challenge to the listener to amply reward him or her in the end.
"Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues" is even more accessible if not more disturbing, taking its time to develop from a simple rocking two note figure into a low-register-driven juggernaut that might make the listener think of 19th Century logging or coal mining. A nervous pastoral interlude begins after a manically industrial section that could make the argument that it represents a weekend's rest after work. However, all is not restful as the pastoral melodies become more dissonant.
Should the listener be bored with another Well-tempered Clavier or Hammerklavier Sonata, he or she need look no further than The People United Will never Be Defeated!.
Selections:
The People United Will Never Be Defeated!; Four North American Ballads: No. 4 Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues.
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