Earlier this month I listened to the journalist Dorothy Byrne interviewed on Desert Island Discs. She described the overwhelming experience of hearing Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated for the first time, and as the continuing chilling events have unfolded worldwide, this piece has remained in the back of my mind. The evocative main theme, a Chilean revolutionary song, has become a personal anthem of resistance to the pandemic, a rallying tune to whistle during the long days of isolation.
For those unfamiliar with this towering work, comparisons can be drawn with Bach’s Goldberg Variations; a set of 36 variations form almost an hour of kaleidoscopic virtuosity in which the theme is almost always readily identifiable (Rzewski set out to write a very listenable piece). The piece was written at “white heat” in just two months in 1975 for Ursula Oppens, and Rzewski’s own pianistic virtuosity is evident in the huge demands made on the performer. The effect (to me at least) is to tell the grand narrative of a revolution, with moments of aggression and purpose juxtaposed with tender and fragile episodes; a mountain to climb for any pianist and truly a struggle worthy of the work’s revolutionary roots. At the end of the process the theme returns in its original form and yet totally transformed by the overwhelming emotional journey, as in the Goldberg Variations. Marc-André Hamelin brings all this and more to an extraordinary Hyperion recording from 1998. Hamelin’s famous virtuosity is on full display, and yet even more impressive are the gentle and wistful moments to which he pays exquisite attention.
Why this piece, and why now? Comparisons between an armed uprising and resistance to the Covid-19 virus may seem far-fetched, and yet never before have the people had to be so united, regardless of background or politics. And my not-so-secret hope is that once all this is over, some of the divisions and inequalities in our society will be healed. Perhaps the people will re-discover their power, as we realise the extent to which we rely on key workers such as nurses and carers, rather than hedge-fund managers and lawyers. Head in the clouds? Frederic Rzewski wouldn’t think so, and maybe this transformative piece could convince the most die-hard cynics out there. As such, it is vital listening right now.