By Néstor CASTIGLIONE

Lili Boulanger and Cécile Chaminade were, in many respects, as dissimilar in outlook and style as two composers could ever be. The former was a brilliant child prodigy who composed a small but highly original body of work before her untimely death at the age of 24. Her legacy lives on thanks to the unwavering evangelism of her influential elder sister Nadia.

In contrast, Chaminade was a brilliant socialite as well as a musician. She rubbed shoulders with the likes of Marcel Proust only to be cast aside and forgotten at her death by a world that had endured rapid and profound changes in musical tastes during the last quarter of her life.

However, they shared one key trait: They were both French women whose composing careers found their apexes in the dwindling years before the First World War.

Pianist Nancy Fierro will be performing Boulanger’s “Trois Morceaux” and Chaminade’s “Concert Étude Op. 35, no. 2” on Wednesday, Aug. 2 as part of the Glendale Noon Concerts. Joining their works will be a trio of pieces by Claude Debussy, whose work became a cornerstone of French music. Forming a crucial part of this web is Fierro herself, whose artistry earned praise from Nadia Boulanger.

“[She] is a real pianistic talent. Her deep understanding penetrates all the implications of the works she performs,” said Boulanger.

Fierro discussed her thoughts on the upcoming recital.

Crescenta Valley Weekly (CVW): Your program combines the music of Debussy with a pair of works by his lesser-known female contemporaries. Do you feel that these composers share certain stylistic affinities?

Nancy Fierro (NF): No. Each composer on the program reveals a different aesthetic. We might say that Lili Boulanger’s music reflects some impressionistic characteristics, while Cécile Chaminade composed in the spirit of the German Romantics. The three pieces by Debussy are early works that are written in the Late Romantic style.

CVW: The opening work on your program is the “Trois Morceaux” by Boulanger. Please tell us about how long you’ve known this work and Boulanger’s work in general. What do you think French music and modern music in general lost with Boulanger’s untimely death?

NF: Lili Boulanger’s music has been in my repertoire for a long time. I came to know about her when I studied one summer under her older sister Nadia Boulanger at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France. It was Nadia who gifted me with these three pieces that I later recorded on an LP of works by women. We don’t know what Lili might have done had she not died so young, but we do know that with her early passing the world lost a brilliant talent with something to say.

CVW: Each movement of the Boulanger work carries a descriptive title. Do you find this piece at all touched by Debussian impressionism?

NF: I think that Lili Boulanger’s 1914 pieces follow a line of French music influenced by late Fauré and a touch of Debussy. But her music also displays a strong personal signature characterized by subtle inflections, a delicately colored harmonic palette and an expressive mingling of joy and sadness.

CVW: In her lifetime Chaminade was a well-known composer and a highly respected virtuoso of the piano to boot. Nonetheless, her reputation had suffered a steep decline in her own lifetime, relegating her to obscurity by the time of her death in 1942. Why do you suppose this sharp reversal of fortunes occurred? What qualities does Chaminade’s music possess that make it worthy of contemporary reexamination?

NF: Chaminade lived a long life that witnessed musical aesthetics change quite a bit. Before World War I, the old generation of composers – such as Camille Saint-Saëns – was still alive, active and teaching. After the war, many had passed away and a new generation of composers – like Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg – took over the musical scene. As is usually the case when a new movement enters, the old is swept away regardless of its worth. This happened to Bach, it happened to Paul Hindemith, and it happened to Chaminade.

As we know, the once “new music” of the 1950s-1960s is now considered old hat. Today we are experiencing something of a retro movement that venerates lyricism above all else – a chief component of Cécile Chaminade’s music. Adding interest in her work is the advent of the Women’s Movement, which sought to retrieve music by women that had been neglected, overlooked or forgotten. I feel that her compositions are quality music that deserve to be heard and performed. She was a superb melodist and her compositional craft is impeccable. Like Liszt, she had a remarkable innate understanding of the piano’s range and sonority and how to write music that lies extremely well under the pianist’s hands.

Finally, her music is immediately appealing – a prize attribute for today’s general audiences.

CVW: What do you think this program says about the state of French music in the years just before the First World War?

NF: While my program consists of shorter, lyrical works typical of Belle Époque cultural tastes, it also clearly reflects the mix of styles that coexisted during this unique period of creativity, invention, and experimentation in [music].

Nancy Fierro will perform her recital on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at the sanctuary of the Glendale City Church on 610 E. California Ave.

The program begins at
12:10 p.m. As with all Glendale Noon Concerts, admission is free to the public. For more information, please go online to http://glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com or call (818) 244-7241.

  Nestor CASTIGLIONE