[Smt-talk] F SHARP MAJOR

[Anton Vishio]

Donna's message about keyboard layout and the emails about Irving Berlin
reminded me of another possible source of F#M/GbM pieces: the stride piano
repertoire.  In particular, Luckey and The Lion, featuring Luckey Roberts
and Willie "The Lion" Smith, is a recording I've treasured for years.  Of
the six Roberts selections, at least Inner Space and Outer Space begin and
end in F#M/GbM, while the second and concluding part of Nothin' is in
F#M/GbM - the first part is in C#M/DbM - the key of two other numbers.  The
other selection, the astonishing Spanish Fandango, is in Bb minor (or A#
minor if you prefer...), with strains in Db and Gb Major.

(Roberts claimed to be Gershwin's teacher; whether or not there were actual
lessons, Gershwin was certainly aware of his playing and other contemporary
stride pianists - I'm not sure if this connects to Jonathan Santore's
observations about the Gershwin Preludes, but it's suggestive anyway.)

I have a transcription of Outer Space in a volume by Riccardo Scivales
which I cannot find at the moment, but I dimly recall he chooses to
transcribe it in Gb Major; his transcription of the first part of Nothin'
(which turned up on Google Books...) is in Db Major, so I assume he would
assign the other section to Gb Major. I don't know if he had a rationale
for selecting the flat-side version.

Perhaps Eric Lai's theory professor could have told us...

Anton Vishio
ajvishio at gmail.com


On Mon, May 19, 2014 at 8:11 AM, Donna Doyle <donnadoyle at att.net> wrote:

> Dear Steve,
>
> Notice that most of your list's pieces are for keyboard. Take a look at
> your hand, place it outstretched on a keyboard and observe where your
> fingers rest. F#M/GbM are the most comfortable keys for pianists--long
> fingers on the black keys, short finger(s) on the white. 19th c
> pianist-composers experienced this. A story goes that when Schubert
> submitted his GbM Moment Musical for publication, the publisher took away
> the flats to sell more copies and ended up with left-over inventory. Also,
> who was the American songwriter who played everything in C#M on a
> transposing keyboard? Why not CM? Lastly, one need only observe a good
> church organist to know that just about anything can be managed on the
> keyboard by skillful hands (hence the WTC).
>
> Best regards,
> Donna Doyle
>
> Adjunct Assistant Professor
> Aaron Copland School of Music
> Queens College
> Flushing, New York 11367
>
> On May 18, 2014, at 10:38 PM, Stephen Jablonsky <jablonsky at optimum.net>
> wrote:
>
> I know that many of our members in academe are preparing for the end of
> the school year and have little time for a dalliance with a particular key
> and the rest of you have busy lives as well. I, on the other hand, being a
> lifteime composer, have a mild case of OCD and could not let go of this
> inquiry into the frequency of usage of F sharp major. A cursory search of
> the Internet, and some help from friends, has produced what may be the
> first definitive list of works in this very rare key. Obviously, the list
> does not include works that attempt to do things in every key. G flat major
> is another story for another day.
>
> Beethoven                   Sonata No. 24, op.78
>
> Chopin                        Nocturne op. 15, No. 2; Barcarole, op. 60;
> Impromptu, op. 36
>
> Dvorak                        Humoresque, B. 138 (op. 32)
>
> Huré                           Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 3
>
> Korngold                     Symphony, op. 40
>
> Liszt                            “Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude”
> from *Harmonies poetique et religieuses, III*
>
> Mahler                        Symphony No. 10
>
> Scarlatti                      Sonatas, K. 318 and 319
>
> Schumann                  Romance, op. 28, No. 2
>
> Scriabin                      Sonata No. 4, op. 30; Poeme, op. 32. No. 1
>
> Soler                           Sonata, Rubio 90
>
>
> *Dr. Stephen Jablonsky, Ph.D.*
> *Music Department Chair*
> *The City College of New York*
> *Shepard Hall Room 72*
> *New York NY 10031*
> *(212) 650-7663 <%28212%29%20650-7663>*
> *music at ccny.cuny.edu <music at ccny.cuny.edu>*
>
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