Baird, Tadeusz (1928-1981)
Divertimento (6:00) 1956 Publisher: PWM (c1958)Year: 1956
Capriccio
Duetto
Quasi Valse
Arietta
Marcia
Instrumentation: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon
Tadeusz Baird, as all Polish composers of his era, came out of the neoclassical tradition. His Divertimento is one of the first pieces he wrote in dodecaphonic style of writing. He wrote this piece in 1956, and the first performance took place in May of 1957. Since this piece was one of his first pieces that he was trying to move from the neoclassical style, it still exhibits neoclassical characteristics, and these are easily recognizable. They include the title, the classical way of naming the movements, their short duration; their dancelike names, and their final tonal note.
In all the movements he uses 12 pitches and 11 interval combinations. Baird has used the new dodecaphonic technique as part of the old neoclassical technique. The dodecaphonic note concept is treated in a thematically classical way in the beginning of the piece. Then the form breaks away from the classical idea to come back to end with one note that would make a classical ending.
At first glance the composition looks deceitfully easy. However, there is a lot of advanced ensemble and individual playing needed. The texture is so thin that it is very easy to notice if the instruments do not line up perfectly. In “Quasi Valse”, instruments take over 2 note motives from each other that need to align in a timely fashion. There is a great need for the ensemble to feel the tempo in the same way together. Another difficulty present in this piece is the range of the clarinet. Baird writes the part for the b-flat clarinet, but in the first movement extends the lower range to d-sharp. Today, that note is impossible on the b-flat clarinet. (It should be noted that around the time this piece was written, some b flat clarinets could play noted that low). Today, it can be played on the a clarinet, but there is no time to switch clarinets. Thus, the performer is left with the decision to transpose and play the whole part on the a clarinet, or play that note an octave higher.
Grade: V
Recordings: From Shadow to Light, Sonora Winds Label: MSR
Sheet music source: pwm.com.pl, trevcomusic.com
Tadeusz Baird
Born July 26, 1928 in Grodzisk Mazowiecki and died September 2, 1981 Warsaw.
He was a composer and a pianist. He studied piano with Maria Rzepko. During the World War II he began his compositional study with Bolesław Woytowicz and Kazimierz Sikorski.
He went through traumatic experiences during the War, and especially after the Warsaw Uprising. After being captured in August of 1944 (at the age of 16) he was sent to work as slave farm worker in Emsdetten, Germany. In December of 1944 he was moved to work at the German-Holland border to build defense fortifications. In few days he tried to run and was captured by Gestapo and sent to Munster where he was tried for disloyalty to German nation and sent to death camp Konzentrationslager Neuengamme’s branch in Soest and Gladbeck-Zweckel.
On April 1st 1945, in horrible physical condition, was saved by allied forces, and was transferred to a British military hospital. In the early months of 1946 left the hospital for Kabel where in a British school lectured theoretical subjects. In the autumn of 1946 he returned to Warsaw. Upon his return he began to study at PWSM in Warsaw (1947-51). From 1948 he also studied musicology at the University of Warsaw.
He was a recipient of numerous awards. He won 3rd prize at the International Composers Platform UNESCO in Paris on 3 separate occasions (1959,1963,1966). His experiences during the war made him think more about community and how music should unite people and artists of different disciplines. With that vision for his life and future of music in Poland, together with Kazimierz Serocki he created group 49 and initiated the formation of Warsaw Autumn Festival. He was heavily involved in the festival until 1969.
From 1974 he was a professor at PWSM in Warsaw. From 1979 he was a member of Akademie der Kunste in Berlin. During his 32-year span of compositional activity he composed 54 instrumental pieces, 63 pieces that served as music for plays, and music to 40 films. His compositional output is particularly interesting to researches because of the composer’s attitude towards tradition. His music has two tendencies – drifting to the past style while exploring the esthetics of novel forms of composition.