Movements
- "For Felicia Montealegre (February 6, 1922)". The first movement was written for Leonard Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre, a Chilean actress. This movement is marked Tranquillo: piacevole and then Pochiss. Piu mosso means "more motion". The movement begins at piano and ends on pianississimo which sets the mood for the next movement.
- "For Johnny Mehegan (June 6, 1920)". The second movement is dedicated to Johnny Mehegan, a jazz pianist. Marked Agitato: scherzando, this movement has the playful feel of a scherzo and the syncopation of what could be heard of as jazz improvisation. To balance the first movement, it begins at pianississimo where the first movement leaves off and ends pianissimo.
- "For David Diamond (July 9, 1915)". The third movement was composed for David Leo Diamond, also an established composer. “His music was characterized by its classic structures and its strong melodic sense.” This movement represents the style of Diamond. There is a strong sense of melody line and character and because it is marked Andantino, the flowing melody line can be linked to the first movement. Like the previous two movements, this movement begins softly starting on piano and ending on pianissimo.
- "For Helen Coates ( July 19, 1899)". Helen Coates was a long time friend to Leonard Bernstein. She was not only his piano instructor as a child but later became his personal secretary. It is no wonder than that the last movement is the longest and the most technically difficult. This is the only movement to begin and end on forte.
Read more about this topic: Four Anniversaries For The Piano
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—Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)
“Just as language has no longer anything in common with the thing it names, so the movements of most of the people who live in cities have lost their connexion with the earth; they hang, as it were, in the air, hover in all directions, and find no place where they can settle.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926)
“His reversed body gracefully curved, his brown legs hoisted like a Tarentine sail, his joined ankles tacking, Van gripped with splayed hands the brow of gravity, and moved to and fro, veering and sidestepping, opening his mouth the wrong way, and blinking in the odd bilboquet fashion peculiar to eyelids in his abnormal position. Even more extraordinary than the variety and velocity of the movements he made in imitation of animal hind legs was the effortlessness of his stance.”
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