KUSC’s Alan Chapman has a lot to say about music, but can he say it in 60 seconds? That’s the Chapman Challenge. We ask a question and Alan has a minute to answer it.
Today’s question comes from John Jaeger in Irvine who would like a concise explanation of opus numbers.
Hit play below to listen to this week’s Chapman Challenge on Arts Alive.
First, let me mention that the word opus is Latin and it means “a work.” Opus numbers are a convenient way of distinguishing pieces of the same name from one another, for example, Schubert’s Sonata in A minor, Op. 42, and Schubert’s Sonata in A minor, Op. 143.
But are the numbers a clear indicator of the order in which pieces were composed? Not necessarily. Sometimes the numbers are attached by composers, sometimes by publishers. And publishers have been known to boost sales by giving high numbers to early works, suggesting that they’re by a composer who has hit his stride.
One other thing: Opus One is hardly ever the first piece a composer wrote, but Elgar offers an interesting case. When he was eleven, he and his siblings put on a play for which he wrote a few simple tunes which were preserved in his sketchbook. Forty years later he turned those tunes into his two Wand of Youth suites, which he labeled Opus 1a and 1b.
That’s today’s Chapman Challenge. Is there a question you’d like to have answered in 60 seconds? Let us know.
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Alan Chapman
Alan Chapman, in addition to his weekday morning program, is also the host and producer of two weekend programs: Modern Times and A Musical Offering.
After receiving his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he earned a Ph.D. in music theory from Yale University. He is currently a member of the music theory faculty of the Colburn Conservatory. He was a longtime member of the music faculty at Occidental College and has also been a visiting professor at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. His analytical work has appeared in the Journal of Music Theory and in The New Orpheus: Essays on Kurt Weill, winner of the Deems Taylor Award for excellence in writing on music.
Well known as a pre-concert lecturer, Alan has been a regular speaker on the L.A. Philharmonic's "Upbeat Live" series since its inception in 1984. He also works closely with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Pacific Symphony. His lectures have been presented by virtually every major performing organization in southern California. He has been heard globally as programmer and host of the inflight classical channel on Delta Airlines.
Alan is also active as a composer/lyricist. His songs have been performed and recorded by many artists around the world and have been honored by ASCAP, the Johnny Mercer Foundation, and the Manhattan Association of Cabarets. His children's opera Les Moose: The Operatic Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle was commissioned by LA Opera for its 1997-98 season. Alan frequently appears in cabaret evenings with his wife, soprano Karen Benjamin. They made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2000 and performed at Lincoln Center in 2006. Their recent CD, Que Será, Será: The Songs of Livingston and Evans, features the late Ray Evans telling the stories behind such beloved songs as "Mona Lisa" and "Silver Bells."
