Rickshaw Fantasy (Llewelyn Jones)

[ted]

Here is my contribution to the recent cluster of pieces with oriental influence. Llewelyn Jones was a prominent New Zealand composer, concert pianist and jazz pianist around the early to mid twentieth century. I was his pupil from around fourteen to twenty or so, becoming a close musical friend after that until his death in 1978. Sometime in the fifties he and his wife went on a cruise around Asia and he wrote this piece on the ship.
He didn't give this one to many of his classical pupils because he claimed they couldn't "send it along" enough. He liked things to be "sent along".

[rachfan]

Hi Ted,

I had never heard this piece before but can tell you play it very well indeed.  It has a great sound imagery of the rickshaw darting, scurrying and careening through city traffic.  Excellent playing!  I totally enjoyed listening.  Anyone in this forum who hears will be glad they tuned in.

On the classical side, this piece has a direct counterpart by Abram Chasins called "Rush Hour in Hong Kong" which was played a lot from the late 20s into the 60s.  I recalling hearing it in the '50s as a kid, but later it seemed to fade from the repertoire.  There's a great recording of it on YouTube by the incomparable Benno Moisewitsch, of all artists, (we'd usually think of Earl Wild having fun with a piece such as this).  Where you've had a blast preparing and performing the Jones composition, I would  bet you'd find the Chasin's piece every bit as entertaining if you're not already familiar with it.

David

[ted]

Firstly thanks for the information about the Chasins piece. There is a definite similarity, although the Chasins work uses no modern chords and no sudden changes of chord or rhythm. It would be most unlikely that you had heard Rickshaw Fantasy. It was never published and was performed only once or twice. It is a peculiar piece in that it loses its effect entirely if the finger work is played legato for ease of execution. Of course continual, rapid detached finger strokes are much more tiring but in this case are essential, or so it seems to me.

[emill]

Yes... yes !!  it definitely has that oriental flavor made more clearer by the exchange of posts between ted and rachfan.     THANKS !!!      excellent playing too!

[ted]

Thanks for the compliment and I am pleased you enjoy it, emill.

[furtwaengler]

This was "sent along" quite fine. It is very you, Ted...I love the quirky darting. I could see Benno Moisewitsch's name in David's post out of the corner of my eye, and without the context was thinking, "Huh?" To that I'll add that Elliot Carter has been displeased with some great performers of his current output not "sending along" his early piano sonata because of their unshakable bond to precision. I am amused at such things.

'Tis always good to hear you play!

[ted]

Thanks for listening. Had it not been for Llew's highly unorthodox tuition I have no doubt I would have stopped playing the piano. It is hard to imagine the killjoy musical ambiance of New Zealand in those days. The classical brigade hated the few jazz players who reciprocated the aversion, and almost all piano teachers were dried-up, old school fuddy-duddies. I actually found him by a highly unlikely turn of events; one of those outlandish coincidences which so often seem to trigger important outcomes in our lives.