''The People United Will Never Be Defeated!'' (1975) is a piano composition by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

composer

Frederic Rzewski Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( ; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time. From 1977 up to his eventual death, he lived mainly in Be ...

. ''The People United'' is a set of 36

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

on the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an song " ¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!" by Sergio Ortega and

Quilapayún Quilapayún () are a folk music group from Chile and among the longest lasting and most influential ambassadors of the ''Nueva canción, Nueva Canción Chilena'' movement and genre. Formed during the mid-1960s, the group became inseparable with t ...

, and received its world premiere on February 7, 1976, played by Ursula Oppens as part of the Bi-Centennial Piano Series at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

Concert Hall. Rzewski dedicated the composition to Oppens, who had commissioned it, and who recorded it in 1979; her recording was named "Record of the Year" in that year by ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'', and received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination.

Analysis

The song on which the variations is based is one of many that emerged from the Unidad Popular coalition in Chile between 1969 and 1973, prior to the overthrow of the

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

government. Rzewski composed the variations in September and October 1975, as a tribute to the struggle of the Chilean people against the newly imposed repressive regime of

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

; indeed the work contains allusions to other leftist struggles of the same and immediately preceding time, such as quotations from the Italian traditional

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

song " Bandiera Rossa" and the

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was a German-Austrian composer. He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artistic association with Bertolt Brecht, and for the scores he wrote for films. The ...

" Solidarity Song". In general, the variations are short, and build up to climaxes of considerable force. The 36 variations, following the 36 bars of the tune, are in six groups of six. The pianist, in addition to needing a virtuoso technique, is required to whistle, slam the piano lid, and catch the after-vibrations of a loud attack as harmonics: all of these are "extended" techniques in 20th-century piano writing. Much of the work uses the language of 19th-century romanticism, but mixes this language with

pandiatonic Pandiatonicism is a musical technique of using the diatonic (as opposed to the chromatic) scale without the limitations of functional tonality. Music using this technique is pandiatonic. History The term "pandiatonicism" was coined by Nicolas S ...

tonality, modal writing, and serial techniques. A typical performance spans roughly 60 minutes. As in the ''

Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'' (), BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of thirty variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may ...

'' by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

, the final variation is a direct restatement of the original theme, intended to be heard with new significance after the long journey through the variations.

Recordings

* Frederic Rzewski (composer and piano), ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated!'', recorded 1986, published 1990 by Hat Hut Records, Switzerland, hat ART CD 6066. * Frederic Rzewski (composer and piano), ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated!'', in ''Piano Works, 1975–1999,'' published 2002,

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...

79623-2. * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated'', 36 Variations on a Chilean Song. Ursula Oppens, piano. Vanguard Classics CD, OVC 8056. * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated'', 36 Variations on a Chilean Song.

Marc-André Hamelin Marc-André Hamelin, OC, OQ (born September 5, 1961) is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer who has received 11 Grammy Award nominations. He is on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music. Biography Born in Montreal, Quebec ...

, Hyperion Records CDA67077 (''

Gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

'' Editor's Choice). * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated'', 36 Variations on a Chilean Song. Stephen Drury, piano. New Albion NA063. * Frederic Rzewski Plays Rzewski VAI DVD 4440, Video recording from the 2007 Miami International Piano Festival * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated'', 36 Variations on "¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!". Kai Schumacher, piano. Wergo WER67302. (fono forum magazine, pick of the month) * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated'', 36 Variations on a Chilean Song. Ralph van Raat, piano. Naxos 8.559360. * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated'', 36 Variations on a Chilean Song. Thomas Schultz, piano. Wooden Fish Recordings (no number). * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated'', 36 Variations on a Chilean Song. Yuji Takahashi, piano. ALM ALCD-19. * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated''. Christopher Hinterhuber, piano. paladino music pmr 0037 (2012) * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated!''. Corey Hamm, piano. Redshift Records TK431 (2014) (2014 Spotify Best Classical Record, and Best Classical Recording of 2014 Western Canada Music Awards) * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated!'', Four Hands. Ursula Oppens, piano. Çedille Records: CDR 90000 158 (2014) * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated!''. Lee Sangwook, piano. Audioguy Classics (2014) * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated!''.

Igor Levit Igor Levit (; born 10 March 1987) is a Russian-German pianist who focuses on the works of Bach, Beethoven, and Liszt. He is also a professor at the Musikhochschule Hannover. He lives in Berlin. Biography Born in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod) to ...

, piano. Sony Music (2015) * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated!''. Daan Vandewalle, piano. Etcetera Records: KTC 1589, 8711801015897 (2017) * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated!.'
Michael Noble
piano. 198004840682 (2022) * Frederic Rzewski, ''The People United Will Never Be Defeated!''. Vadym Kholodenko, piano. Quartz, QTZ2149 (2022)

References

External links

* , Frederic Rzewski (piano), Nonesuch {{DEFAULTSORT:People United Will Never Be Defeated! Compositions for solo piano Variations Compositions by Frederic Rzewski 1975 compositions Music dedicated to ensembles or performers Music and politics

Analysis

Recordings

See also

References

Further reading

External links