Milhaud, Darius : Mazurka (Album des Six)
Work Overview
Publication Year:1920
First Publisher:Demet
Instrumentation:Piano Solo
Genre:mazurka
Total Playing Time:2 min 00 sec
Copyright:Under Copyright Protection
Commentary (1)
Author : Nishihara, Masaki
Last Updated: July 12, 2021
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Author : Nishihara, Masaki
On January 16, 1920, the critic Henri Collet, in the magazine "Comoedia," reviewed a concert featuring works by six young composers and wrote, "Five Russians, six Frenchmen, and Erik Satie." This was the famous moment of the birth of "Les Six." This group, united solely by friendship rather than a specific ideology, found its lightness particularly congenial to the post-World War I social climate. Coupled with the involvement of Satie and Cocteau, their presence became a symbol of the era, and as music history shows, they profoundly influenced subsequent composers. "L'Album des Six" was a collection where each of the six composers contributed one short piano solo piece, in response to a long-standing request from Éditions Demets. This became the only project in which all members participated. Here too, they set no particular theme, and individual freedom was respected. Milhaud contributed his "Mazurka," written in 1914 (without an opus number), to the album. It is in 3/4 time, marked "Doucement" (sweetly), and has an indeterminate tonality. The somewhat melancholic atmosphere is unusual for a Milhaud piece. The compositional style, which seems to combine Debussy's whole-tone scales with Wagnerian chromaticism, also feels surprising.