Rzewski – The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
By Ralph Graves
The People United Will Never Be Defeated! is a massive set of piano variations based on a Chilean song by pianist and composer Frederic Rzewski. Structurally, it resembles Beethoven’s “Diabelli” variations, or Bach’s “Goldberg” variations. Like the former, it’s a virtual catalog of compositional technique. And like the latter, its 36 variations are divided into six groups of six.
The People United begins and ends with the same simple folk tune — but this is a work that’s more about the journey then the destination. After hearing it transformed by Lisztian piano flourishes, complex counterpoint, atonal reinterpretations, aleatoric passages, and extended piano techniques, the listener gains new appreciation for this tune when it returns intact in the final movement.
Frederic Rzewski is a virtuoso pianist as well as a composer. Like Bach and Beethoven, he knows — and continues to push — what’s possible on his instrument. And that technical command gives the work a sense of coherence. Like the “Diabelli” and the “Goldberg” variations, this piece is a marathon — although more for the performer than the listener.
The variations of The People United have a rhythm and flow to them that pulls the listener along. The each of the six sections have a feeling of arrival, although only in the final movement does one get a sense of completeness.
In the liner notes pianist Ole Kiilerich writes, “I had this odd feeling that the piece was written just for me to fulfill my conception of musical expression and I felt an urge to instantly dig deeply into this overwhelming piece of art right away…”
That compulsion works to his benefit. The performance captured in this recording is engaging and exciting. Kiilerich has indeed made this composition his own.
The People United can be listened to in installments. The six sections provide logical places to enter and exit the composition. But I recommend hearing the work the way it was intended — from start to finish. As I mentioned earlier, “United” is all about the journey. And it’s one that’s well worth the time invested.
Frederic Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
Ole Kiilerich, piano
Bridge Records
