These Are The Days (9/19/26)

Remembrance of Shirley Perle
A Celebration of Shirley Xenia Gabis Rhoads Perle

There were spoken tributes. There were references to her husband George Perle's papers being archived at the Library for the Performing Arts, where this tribute took place. Shirley was a pianist, teacher, vocalist, and composer. George was also a composer. Musical interludes were included, and I'll focus on the music.

“Largo,” from Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005 – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1770)
Leila Josefowicz

“Allegro molto,” from Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, K. 526 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Julian Kuerti, violin; Michael Stephen Brown, piano 

“For Shirley Gabis Rhoads Perle,” from Thirteen Anniversaries – Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) 
“For Shirley Rhoads,” from Barcarolles – Ned Rorem (1923–2022)
A Little “Perlude” for Shirley’s Birthday, 1994 – Oliver Knussen (1952–2018)
Michael Boriskin, piano 

“For Leonard Bernstein,” from Six Celebratory Inventions – George Perle (1915–2009)
100 Chords for Shirley [World Premiere] – Michael Stephen Brown (b. 1987) 
“Postlude,” from Lyric Intermezzo – George Perle
Michael Stephen Brown, piano 

Two Rilke Songs
Du meine heilige Einsamkeit • Der Bach hat leise Melodien – George Perle 
A Shirley Surprise! – Shirley Xenia Gabis Rhoads Perle (1924–2024)
Lucy Shelton, soprano; Michael Boriskin, piano 

Valses nobles et sentimentales – Maurice Ravel
Shirley Gabis Rhoads, piano – 1950 recording 

“Andante Sostenuto,” from Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, D. 960 – Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Richard Goode, piano 

My take. The solo violin was calm and absolutely appropriate for beginning the afternoon. The Mozart was bright and lovely. The violinist here would play it with Shirley sometimes. As for the Bernstein, it was slightly modern/atonal without being harsh, and the Rorem was very pretty while still being in a modern style—quite songlike. The Knussen (and, no, "Perlude" was not a typo) was also modern with jewel-like tones. 

The music of George Perle had lots of staccato energy. 100 Chords was lyrical and lovely, specially written with Shirley in mind. Mr. Brown said that while writing it, her heard Shirley’s voice in his head. Apparently she said, “It needs two more chords.” So he added two more and called it finished. 

The second G. Perle piece was modern but gentler than the first of his that we heard earlier. The Two Rilke Songs were extremely modern—both piano and vocals—and were not my cup of tea. And Shirley Surprise! had three short movements, lyrical but still not my favorite style; a little more interesting (and I liked it better); and a vocal waltz that was both nice and a bit clever. 

The 1950 tape of Shirley playing Ravel was a real treat, as was the Schubert that followed, which was slightly dark to begin then lyrical and pleasant—just the right touch and mood. Uplifting. 

All in all, I really enjoyed the afternoon and learned a lot about American music from that time frame. And I heard several composers for the first time. I like learning new things.  

ConcertMeister