Lost and found

Recordings by Peter Kairoff bring new life to a little-known composer's works.

Peter Kairoff, professor of music and concert pianist, recently captured a lost corner of American musical heritage in "American Character: Piano Music of George Whitefield Chadwick," the third in his series of recordings highlighting little-known works by American composers of the nineteenth century.

"This wonderful music is part of our heritage as Americans. It's like having a beautiful painting from a hundred years ago. Why in the world don't you dust it off and take it out," says Kairoff.

Peter Kairoff: 'We have forgotten how to listen.'

Chadwick, a high-profile composer in the 1890s and early 1900s, slipped into obscurity after his death in 1931, as the works of George Gershwin and Aaron Copland grew increasingly popular. "Tastes change." says Kairoff. "In 1940 no one had ever heard of Vivaldi. There was a long time between Vivaldi's death and the middle of the twentieth century when Vivaldi was in complete obscurity. Then someone recorded 'The Four Seasons' and today almost everyone has heard of him."

Educator, administrator, organist, conductor, and principal composer of the Second New England School, Chadwick was one of the first composers to attempt to define American music at a time when listening to American music, according to Kairoff, meant hiring a German conductor and playing Beethoven. Chadwick's pieces draw from African-American music, folk melodies, and ragtime—influences that distinguish Chadwick's compositions from those of European composers.

"Chadwick's music has a charming wit about it," says Kairoff. "The first piece on the recording is called 'The Frogs,' and it's a five-minute musical portrait of a bunch of frogs hopping around. In playing the piece, the musician is reminded of hopping. The left hand hops over the right hand and the melodies scamper along like frogs. The works are beautifully crafted. Chadwick knew all the rules about harmony, melody, and form. There's no sense that you're in the hands of an untrained person just putting sounds together. But if they were just good forms, they wouldn't be that interesting. They are very beautiful and expressive. They sound honest."

To unearth these pieces, Kairoff searched the Library of Congress and scoured library resources in New England. In fall 2004, he spent his sabbatical concentrating on tracking down Chadwick's scores. "Then came the hard part of learning them. I stayed home all day and practiced. Then I went to Brendle, got a piano from a dealer and a recording engineer, and spent the day playing." says Kairoff. The CD is released by Albany Records.

Inspiration to create the series—whose first and second discs feature Horatio Parker's and Amy Beach's compositions, friends of Chadwick who were also members of the Second New England School—began at Reynolda House, Museum of American Art, when Kairoff was asked to teach a course connecting American painting, music, literature, and history called American Foundations.

"In a normal music education, it's very easy to never learn anything about American music," says Kairoff. "I knew a lot about music history but couldn't speak with any authority about Parker, Beach, or Chadwick because, frankly, who had ever heard of them. Parker had written lots of music that was unrecorded and out of print. I recorded it and it attracted a lot of attention in the music world. The Journal of American Music took notice of it and said how great that the music is finally available. I'm talking to a publisher to see if they will reprint the sheet music so students won't have to go through what I went through to get it. It's fun to feel like maybe in a small way I'm adding one little drop in the bucket of musical knowledge."

Kairoff, a California native, took up classical music at the age of thirteen, which he says is late to begin studying, after his mother decided to purchase a piano and arrange for lessons. "Music grabbed me and never let go. I felt like I was remembering something rather than learning it," says Kairoff.

He hopes that listeners will enjoy what he describes as Chadwick's lush, romantic, and very expressive music. "We have forgotten how to listen. We listen passively to music. It's in elevators, the dentist's office, and the grocery store. We hear it but we don't hear it. If you buy a book on tape and listen to it while carrying on a conversation, washing the dishes, or doing work, you would not feel like you know the novel. Great music and all great art require your attention. The more you give it, the more it gives you back."

— Kim McGrath

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