UMS Concert Program, Thursday Nov. 16 To 19: University Musical Society: Fall 2006 - Thursday Nov. 16 To 19 --

Season: Fall 2006
Hill Auditorium

Fall 2006 Season
128th Annual Season
General Information
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Event Program Book
Thursday, November 16 through Sunday, November 19, 2006
Trio Mediaeval 3
Thursday, November 16, 8:00 pm St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church
Dan Zanes & Friends 7
Catch That Train!
Saturday, November 18, 11:00 am Saturday, November 18, 3:00 pm Rackham Auditorium
Jonathan Biss 11
Saturday, November 18, 8:00 pm Hill Auditorium
Cuarteto Latinoamericano 17
Manuel Barrueco
Sunday, November 19, 4:00 pm Rackham Auditorium
T
hank you for coming to this University Musical Society event. We are delighted to see you here.
Over the course of the past year, you may have noticed a new description of UMS in our brochures and other print materials. Rather than using the nouns "music, dance, and theater," we have redefined our organization as one that con?nects audiences and performing artists in uncom?mon and engaging experiences.
Why uncommon Because what we do is not replicated anywhere else in the country. One need only witness the recent concerts by Alice Coltrane (performed in only three US cities), the Kirov Orchestra (performed in only two US cities), and the Royal Shakespeare Company (performed only in Ann Arbor) to understand the uncommon nature of what we do. But beyond exclusivity, UMS is uncommon in the very best sense of the word: the "out of the ordinary" experiences that the artists on our stages provide are truly remark?able opportunities for audiences to explore, reconnect, investigate, and probe.
Why engaging Again, one need only look at the events of the past month to realize the incred?ible commitment UMS audiences have to making their experience positive. For the Kirov Orchestra, some 350 university students participated in an "Arts and Eats" program, where they ate a free pizza dinner before the concert, heard a graduate student speak about Shostakovich, and then enjoyed the performance with a new set of eyes and ears. This program is being repeated for Jonathan Biss and on a monthly basis throughout the season.
The RSC residency events drew record atten?dance and even standing-room-only crowds. How thrilling to see so many people wanting to enhance their enjoyment of the theatrical plays through attendance at these events. We may pro?vide the artistic and educational programming, but you, the audience, are the critical factor in what makes each event come alive.
While we can't promise that every UMS event will be a transformative, life-changing event for every single person in attendance, we do believe that the performances we present on our stages make a palpable difference in people's lives. Sometimes that change is noticed immediately, as so many ticket buyers commented after the Kirov Shostakovich cycle. Sometimes, as a speaker at one of the RSC events noted, that change takes 10 years to take hold.
The concerts over the course of this very busy weekend promise to deliver uncommon and engaging experiences that will be remembered for years to come. From the sublime beauty of Trio Mediaeval to the wacky Dan Zanes, you are creat?ing memories that will far outlive the time spent in the concert hall.
We hope that you find your experience enrich?ing, rewarding, and worthwhile.
@@@@Sara Billmann
UMS Director of Marketing and Communications
Warmly,

Trio Mediaeval
Anna Maria Friman Linn Andrea Fuglseth Torunn 0strem Ossum
Program
Anon., England, 14th Century
William Brooks
An by Tone Krohn
Anon., England, 13th Century
Brooks
An. by Tone Krohn Linn A. Fuglseth
Thursday Evening, November 16, 2006 at 8:00 St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Ann Arbor
Berkeley Castle Select Roll 55
Alma materAnte Thorum Benedicta es celorum regina De spineto nata rasa
Six Mediaeval Lyrics
Mens mea
Anima mea
III. Tu vite subsidium
Traditional from Norway
Till, till Tove So, ro godt barn Bruremarsj
INTERMISSION
Three-voice conductus: Salve Mater Misericordie
Salve Virgo Virginum
Two-voice motet with drone:
Dou way RobynSancta Mater
Six Mediaeval Lyrics
Langueo
Aprili tempore
VI. Vale, dulcis amice
Traditional from Norway
Den elskte Jerusalem Eg veit i himmerik ei borg Nu solen gar ned
Written for Trio Mediaeval
33rd Performance of the 128th Annual Season
Media partnership provided by WRCJ 90.9 FM.
Trio Mediaeval appears by arrangement with Herbert Barrett Management, Inc.
Trio Mediaeval records for ECM Records.
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Berkeley Castle Select Roll 55
Anon., England, 14th Century
Berkeley Castle Select Roll 55 began life as finan?cial accounts for restoration work done on Bretby Castle in 1302-1303. The music, two sequences and two motets, was probably copied onto the back of this roll in the first quarter of the 14th century. Having served its purpose, the fate of much medieval music was to be cut up and re?used as stiffening material for the bindings of new books. These pieces were presumably pre?served because a conscientious accountant could?n't bear to throw away old financial records. The Marian cult, which proved a great stimulus to polyphonic composition, would reach its apogee in the following century, especially with the increased sense of security and well-being that came with the ending of the Hundred Years War.
Six Mediaeval Lyrics
William Brooks
Born December 17, 1943
Peter Dronke's landmark study of Medieval Latin and the Rise of the European Love-Lyric (Oxford University Press, 1966) contains an extraordinary range of texts, from entirely personal, direct tes?taments to intricate displays of artifice and erudi?tion. A remarkable number were written by women; others, though written by men, are essentially gender-neutral.
The texts chosen for Six Mediaeval Lyrics span the full range of poetic styles. "Mens mea" is an elaborate game of wordplay the intricacies of which are untranslatable; "Langueo" is an instance of the compact snarls of syntax that Latin grammar makes possible. At the other extreme are "Anima mea" and "Vale, dulcis amice," both more epistles than poems and both speaking directly from the heart. In between are more con?ventional but very affecting poems: "Tu vite sub-sidium" and the remarkable "Aprili tempore."
The musical styles likewise range rather widely, although all are grounded in a synthetic system of
quasi-medieval modes. Techniques range from the purely intuitive (in "Anima mea") through somewhat systematic homophony ("Vale, dulcis amice") to tightly regulated rhythmic counter?point ("Langueo"). The Six Mediaeval Lyrics were written in spring 2004 for the three voices of Trio Mediaeval. Each singer is featured in one of the movements, and the other three explore the exceptionally rich sense of ensemble that charac?terizes the Trio.
Traditional from Norway
"Till, till Tove" (a cattle song) and "So ro, godt barn" (a lullaby: Hush, good child) are both from the County of Vestfold in the Southern part of Norway. "Maria-vise" (a Marian song) is a praise to the Virgin Mary, originally sung in the county of Telemark. "Maria-vise" (Song of Mary) is a melody from the Middle Ages, as sung in Levanger (County of North Trondelag), praising the Virgin Mary. The Norwegian folksinger and musician Tone Krohn arranged the song for the trio.
"Den elskte Jerusalem" (The Beloved Jerusalem) comes from the county of Vestfold. The text was written by Niels Brorson, and was arranged by Tone Krohn. The text praises heaven's bliss, where all earthly pain is ended. "Eg veit i himmerik ei borg" (I Know a Castle in Heaven) is a Norwegian folk tune, as sung in Hallingdal in the county of Buskerud. The text is from Germany, before 1600, and translated into Norwegian by Bernt Stoylen in 1905. The arrangement was written for the trio by Linn Andrea Fuglseth. "I know a castle in Heaven, shining as the radiant sun, where no sins nor sor?rows, crying nor tears are found."
"Nu solen gSr ned" (The sun is setting now) was written after one of the most well-known male folksingers of Norway, Sondre Brattland; as sung in Tuddal in the county of Telemark. "The sun is setting now, and the evening spreads out onto the earth. Little birds settle in their nests, the flowers are closing; as is my heart, secretly closing in prayer."
Salve Mater Misericordie Salve Virgo Virginum
Anon., England, 13th Century
Wars, the church, and changing tastes all con?tributed to the destruction of medieval manu?scripts, especially in England where the pattern of survival is extremely fragmentary. What is left is probably only a small proportion of what there was, and some of the music survived in the most extraordinary circumstances. Devotion to the Virgin Mary, though a pan-European phenome?non, was particularly intense in England through?out the Middle Ages. A large proportion of medieval English polyphony venerates the Virgin; she is invoked as the "star of the sea," "gateway to the heavens," "gracious queen of heaven."
Dou way RobynSancta Mater
Anon., England, 13th Century
"Dou way RobynSancta Mater" is something of a curiosity. The ostinato phrase that underpins the top part is written in the voice of a woman: she is telling her man to be quiet, or he will wake the child. Perhaps this little ground comes from a lull?aby or a popular song; at any rate, almost noth?ing comparative is found anywhere else in the polyphonic repertoire. This ostinato voice has an English text and the upper part a Latin text. "Dou Way RobynSancta Mater," a 13th-century English motet, fits into this Marian tradition in a recog?nizable but unique way in that the Marian Latin hymn sung by the upper-vocal part is combined with a secular English tenor. The tenor carries a short phrase (from a folk song perhaps), that translates as "Hush Robin, the baby will cry."

T
he Scandinavian sopranos of Trio Mediaeval specialize in a diverse repertoire that features polyphonic medieval music from England and France, contemporary works written for the ensemble, and traditional Norwegian ballads and songs. Founded in Oslo in 1997, Trio Mediaeval developed its unique reper?tory during intense periods of work at the Hilliard Summer Festivals in England and Germany between 1998 and 2000, and subsequently with Linda Hirst and John Potter.
At the outset of the 0506 season. Trio Mediaeval's highly anticipated third album, Stella Marts, was released on ECM Records. The record?ing features 12thand 13th-century music from England and France as well as the world-premiere recording of Missa Lumen de Lumine by the 30-year-old Korean composer Sungji Hong. The trio delights in performing new music and collabo?rates with a multitude of contemporary com?posers, including Gavin Bryars, Piers Hellawell, Roger Marsh, Ivan Moody, Paul Robinson, Gonzalo Macias, Markus Ludwig, Thoma Simaku, Oleh Harkavyy, Bjorn Kruse, and Andrew Smith. In March 2005, the trio premiered Shelter in Cologne, Germany. This joint production of "Bang on a Can" composers Michael Gordon, Julia Wolf, and David Lang, German new-music ensemble musikFabrik, and Ridge Theater, received its US premiere in November 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Trio Mediaeval
Trio Mediaeval made its US debut in June 2003, performing two sold-out concerts at New Haven's International Festival of Arts and Ideas. Their first US tour followed in February 2004 with concerts in Boston, Chicago, New York, and Washington DCs National Cathedral. Their US return in 0405 brought them back to New York, as well as to San Francisco Performances, Spivey Hall, Ann Arbor's University Musical Society, and a taping for NPR's St. Paul Sunday.
Trio Mediaeval has performed throughout Europe, giving concerts and radio broadcasts in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the UK in such venues as the Oslo Concert House, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and Wigmore Hall.
Trio Mediaeval's first CD on ECM Records, Words of the Angel, immediately charted on Billboard's "Top 10 Bestsellers" list and was the April 2002 Stereophile "Recording of the Month." Their second recording, Soir, dit-elle (2004), features Leonel Power's Missa Alma Redemptoris Mater alongside works by Gavin
Bryars, Andrew Smith, and Ivan Moody, and met with similar critical and commercial success. Trio Mediaeval has recently recorded their fourth album for ECM which is scheduled for release in fall 2007.
UMS ARCHIVES
T
onight's concert marks Trio Mediasval's second appearance under UMS auspices. The Trio made their UMS debut in April 2005 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.
ums University Musical Society
Dan Zanes & Friends
Dan Zanes, Lead Vocals, Guitar, Banjo Charlie Faye, Guitar, Vocals John Foti, Accordion Saskia Lane, Bass Colin Brooks, Drums
with special guest
Rankin Don, a.k.a Father Goose, Vocals
Family Matinee Program
Saturday Morning, November 18, 2006 at 11:00 Saturday Afternoon, November 18, 2006 at 3:00 Rackham Auditorium Ann Arbor
Today's selections will be announced by the artists from the stage.
34th and 35th Performances of the 128th Annual Season
16th Annual Family Series
The photographing or sound and video record?ing of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
The 0607 Family Series is sponsored by Toyota Technical Center. Dan Zanes & Friends appear by arrangement with Pomegranate Arts.
Large print programs are available upon request.
D
an Zanes was born in New Hampshire in 1961. He was a member of the Del Fuegos from 1981 to 1989, and in 1994, he released a solo CD, Cool Down Time. Shortly after, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and daughter, where he then released Rocket Ship Beach (2000), an immediate hit with families around America, as well as with the New York Times Magazine, which called it "cool," and added, "Mostly, though, Zanes' kid's music works because it is not kid's music; it's just music--music that's unsanitized, unpasteurized, that's organic even."
His next CD, Family Dance (2001) was com?prised of songs that are difficult not to dance to (selected from a wide variety of musical traditions) and features Loudon Wainwright III and Roseanne. This CD would ultimately set Mr. Zanes apart from other family music-oriented artists as a guy who is (a) making homemade family music and encouraging similar behavior in friends and neighbors; and (b) always interested in singing along with people who live near him in Brooklyn, New York.
Catch That Train is the latest in the Family Series (co-released by Starbucks), and is the one CD in America today that brings together the Kronos Quartet, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Father Goose, and Mr. Zanes' mother-in-law to sing Zulu folk songs, an old labor organizing tune, a song about the farm, and a song about public transportation (all in an instrumental mix that highlights cuatros and does not in any way dis?courage the use of trombone).
Dan Zanes is the author of two collaborations with the artist Donald Saaf: Jump Up! and Hello, Hello (Little, Brown and Company Books), and he can be seen in the Dan Zanes and Friends concert video and DVD, All Around the Kitchen!, record?ed in 2005 at the Knitting Factory, in New York City. Lately, Dan has been spending his spare time with the Spanish dictionary while listening to salsa, meringue, and nortenjo.
Dan Zanes
Colin Brooks (drums) began playing drums at age seven. In 1998, Mr. Brooks moved to New York City, and joined the band Skeleton Key (which appeared on the television series Trinity) and toured Europe with the band Primus. He has played with singers such as Dana Fuchs, Serena Jost, and with the band Betty. In addition, he played in the off-Broadway musical, Betty Rules. He has just returned from a seven-week tour of North America with his chamber-pop combo Sea Ray.
Charlie Faye (guitar, vocals) sings and plays gui?tar and mandolin. She performs frequently with her own band and is releasing her debut record, Last Kids in the Bar, this fall. Her songwriting is densely lyrical, in the American folk tradition, but she's got a band that rocks, an attitude that tips its hat to country, and a heart that sings the blues.
John Foti (accordion) was born in West Caldwell, New Jersey. His first musical experience was figuring out the Sesame Street theme song at a young age. You can visit John at www.myspace.comiohnfoti.
Saskia Lane (bass) was born and raised in San Francisco. She earned her Masters degree in Double Bass Performance from The Juilliard School. The Manhattan-based musician performs throughout the tri-state area with a variety jazz, pop, and classical artists. Ms. Lane has also been active in education and outreach, working as a teaching artist for the 92nd Street Y, and per?forming in the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series. Her television credits include a national commercial for Chili's Restaurants and appearances on The Discovery Channel, The Food Network, Fuse TV, and the CBS Evening News, and can be seen in the movie Mona Lisa Smiles, featuring Julia Roberts. Her discography includes recordings with Nicole Paiement (featuring the work of Lou Harrison on New Albion Records), The Gothem Ensemble (Albany Records), and three albums and a concert DVD on Eastway Records with her critically acclaimed cocktail pop quartet The Lascivious Biddies.
Rankin Don a.k.a Father Goose (vocals) was already an underground superstar in Jamaica and Brooklyn when Notorious Bugs from Gyasi Record Label urged him to record for the mainstream. Soon after, he recorded the hit "Baddest DJ," which sold over 100,000 copies in the US and abroad. A year later, he released the Real McCoy. Mr. Don has worked and recorded with Freddie McGregor, Gregory Isaacs, Beres Hammond, Shabba Ranks, Shaggy, and Beenie Man. He is now a producer for Rock Tower Studios, known for its rich history in the foundation of reggae music. In his other life as Father Goose, he appears on all CD releases by Dan Zanes.
UMS ARCHIVES
T
oday's concerts mark Dan Zanes & Friends' second and third UMS appearances. Dan Zanes & Friends made their UMS debut at Rackham Auditorium in March 2005.
ums University Musical Society
Jonathan Biss
Piano
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven
Arnold Schoenberg
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Robert Schumann
Saturday Evening, November 18, 2006 at 8:00 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor
Sonata No. 27 in e minor. Op. 90
Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
Six Little Pieces, Op. 19
Leicht, zart Langsam Sehr langsam Rasch, aber leicht Etwas rasch Sehr langsam
Sonata in F Major, K. 533K. 494
Allegro
Andante
Rondo
INTERMISSION
Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17
Durchaus phantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen-
Im Legendenton-Tempo primo
MaBig. Durchaus energisch-Etwas langsamer-Viel bewegter Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten-Etwas bewegter
36th Performance of the 128th Annual Season
128th Annual Choral Union Series
The photographing or sound and video recording of this recital or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
Special thanks to Alan Aldworth and ProQuest Company for their support of the UMS Classical Kids Club.
Tonight's Prelude Dinner is sponsored by TIAA-CREF.
Special thanks to Steven Whiting, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Associate Professor of Musicology, U-M School of Music, Theatre and Dance, for speaking at tonight's Prelude Dinner.
Media partnership provided by WGTE 91.3 FM and Observers Eccentric newspapers.
The Steinway piano used in this evening's performance is made possible by William and Mary Palmer and by Hammell Music, Inc., Livonia, Michigan.
Special thanks to Tom Thompson of Tom Thompson Flowers, Ann Arbor, for his generous contribution of lobby floral art for tonight's concert.
Mr. Biss appears by arrangement with ICM Artists, Ltd.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Sonata No. 27 in e minor. Op. 90 (1814)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Born December 15 or 16, 1770 in Bonn
Died March 26, 1827 in Vienna
Two-movement sonatas constitute a rather special subcategory in the classical sonata repertoire. They represent an alternative to the predominant fast-slow-[minuet]-fast scheme and show that two movements can form a satisfying whole, whether the second movement (following the standard sonata allegro) is slow, a minuet, or a fast finale.
In his later works, Beethoven increasingly favored the slow ending in two-movement sonatas. Three of his late piano sonatas, Opp. 90, 109, and 111, conclude in this way, and in the two latter works, Beethoven used the slow finale to reach unmatched heights of transcendence.
The Sonata in e minor, Op. 90, does not "officially" belong to the group of late sonatas. It precedes the first work in that group, Op. 101, by two years, though there were no other piano sonatas written in the interim. The time between 1812 and 1816 was a singularly fallow period in Beethoven's life when he composed very little; he would emerge from that creative trough with a new style some of whose elements are already present in Op. 90.
Moving past the dynamic heroism of works like the Appassionata or Symphony No. 5, Beethoven let his lyrical, contemplative side come to the fore; the pace is more relaxed, and the tone more intimate, though at the same time there is no less emphasis placed on communication and expression. Beethoven insisted on these points by abandoning generic Italian tempo markings such as Allegro or Andante, and replacing them with long and detailed descriptions of his intensions. The first movement has to be played in a lively tempo, always with feeling and expression--the instructions make explicit the dual demands of introspection and outward communication. The second movement, nor foo fast and in a singing tone, also stresses the need for a high level of per?sonal involvement on the part of the performer; we are clearly on the threshold of the Romantic era here.
The first movement is a sonata form where forceful chordal passages are juxtaposed with the most tender lyrical moments. The ending, where the melodic material seems completely to dis?solve, is particularly memorable.
The second movement is an expansive rondo dominated by its exquisite "singing" theme; the stormier episodes do little to change the overall character of the music, which is a model of calm, beauty and harmony.
Six Little Pieces, Op. 19 (1911)
Arnold Schoenberg
Bom September 13, 1874 in Vienna
Died July 13, 1951 in Los Angeles
Commenting on Webern's Six Bagatelles for String Quartet, Op. 9, Schoenberg noted:
While the brevity of these pieces is their elo?quent advocate, such brevity stands equally in need of advocacy. Think what self-denial it takes to cut a long story so short. A glance can always be spun out into a poem, a sigh into a novel. But to convey a novel through a single gesture, or felicity by a single catch of the breath: such concentration exists only when emotional self-indulgence is corre?spondingly absent.
Written in 1924, these words may be said to have a certain autobiographical ring to them. For back in 1911, around the time Webern composed his bagatelles and other extremely short pieces, Schoenberg, too, was experimenting with musical miniatures. It is not altogether clear who got the idea from whom (Schoenberg, at any rate, insist?ed on his priority over his former pupil). But whereas miniature compositions make up Webern's entire output for several years in the 1910s, for Schoenberg such compositions merely represented a transitory stage: his only work in that category besides the present Six Pieces, Three Pieces for Chamber Orchestra, was left unfin?ished.
Each one of Schoenberg's musical epigrams is a character study. The first one is delicate and rhythmical, with long legato melodic lines inter?rupted by fleeting virtuoso passages. The second piece is based on a mysterious-sounding ostinato rhythm. The third is dark and sad; by contrast, the fourth is light and playful, with a great deal of rhythmic contrast. The fifth piece is lyrical and flowing, while the enigmatic last piece is based on only two chords, constantly repeated with only a single, short melody interjected. This piece, which ends wie ein Hauch (like a whisper), is believed to commemorate Gustav Mahler, who died a few weeks before Schoenberg's work was completed. Its character is bold, austere, and mournful.
This work is "atonal" in the sense that none of the twelve tones of the scale achieve domi?nance over the others. In our age, the resulting floating sensation could be likened to travel in space with no gravity. The direction of the musi?cal motion is largely unpredictable, yet the organ?ization of the pitches is far from being arbitrary: chromaticism (ascent or descent by minor sec?onds) and motion by other regularly repeated intervals provide a coherent musical logic. The bass line in the first four measures of the third piece sounds like a traditional harmonic bass (the presence of octave doubling reinforces that feel?ing), and the symmetrical rhythmic phrases inevitably place certain notes in cadential posi?tions, thereby making them, at least momentarily, more important than other notes. Such hierar?chies among the notes would generate a tonal feeling if they didn't change so frequently from one measure to the next.
As pianist-musicologist Charles Rosen writes in his extremely perceptive book on Schoenberg:
These miniatures...do not diminish the emo?tions they express but enlarge them, as if fragments of feeling were blown up by a powerful microscope. They give, indeed, less the impression of fragments than of com?plete works, but only because the great vari?ety of color and sound they contain implies a fierce, laconic repression that forces a large gesture into a rigid and cramped space....
"The problem of the large forms remained," Rosen adds somewhat later in his book. Schoenberg had to find a way to expand his newly-found artistic world and create composi?tions of larger proportions. His efforts to do so eventually resulted in the twelve-tone method elaborated in the first half of the 1920s.
Sonata in F Major, K. 533K. 494
(1786-88)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Bom January 27, 1'756 in Salzburg Died December 5, 1791 in Vienna
In June 1786, Mozart wrote a "Rondo" in F Major for piano. A year-and-a-half later he composed an "Allegro" in F and an "Andante" in B-flat; he eventually combined these movements and pub?lished them as a sonata. Some critics have claimed that because of the time that had elapsed between the composition of the "Rondo" and the rest of the sonata, there is a stylistic break between them. In fact, the "Allegro" and the "Andante" are full of daring harmonic progres?sions and other innovations, while the "Rondo" seems more conventional. But the truth is that even in sonatas composed in one stretch, the last movement is often more relaxed and more ten?sion-free than the others.
The first-movement "Allegro" opens with a melody played by the right hand without accom?paniment (shortly thereafter, it is repeated by the left hand alone). This unusual opening mimics the exposition of a fugue, which is not forthcoming, even though the melody is later developed in con?trapuntal imitation. The movement is full of virtu-osic passagework and many contrasting melodic and rhythmic ideas.
The second-movement "Andante's" memo?rable and richly ornamented melodies are taken through a series of uncommon key changes that enhance their highly expressive quality even more.
The third-movement "Rondo" has a cheerful and easy-going opening theme, followed by sev?eral episodes that explore minor keys and through them, darker emotional realms. It is interesting to
note that the first version of this movement, writ?ten in 1786, is shorter than the final form. Before publishing the sonata, Mozart added a cadenza-like passage that includes some surprising har?monies and a lengthy contrapuntal section, matching a corresponding passage in the first movement: Mozart evidently wanted to bring the "Rondo" closer in style to the new movements, and thereby unify a work whose parts had origi?nally been separate and unrelated.
Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17 (1836)
Robert Schumann
Born June 8, 1810 in Zwickau, Saxony
Died July 29, 1856 in Endenich, nr. Bonn
Durch alle Tone tonet Im bunten Erdenraum Ein leiser Ton gezogen Fur den, der heimlich lauschet.
Through all the tones in Earth's many-colored dream there sound for the secret listener one soft, drawn-out note.
This motto, taken from a poem by the Romantic philosopher and poet Friedrich Schlegel (1772-1829), introduces one of Schumann's most ambitious piano works, the Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17. It was not chosen at random: there is "one soft, drawn-out note" that the "secret lis?tener" must recognize. It is a passage from Beethoven's song cycle An die feme Geliebte (To the Distant Beloved) that is alluded to several times, and finally quoted in full at the end of the first movement. The words of the otherwise undistinguished poet Alois Jeitteles,
Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder, die ich Dir, Geliebte, sang...
Take them now, these songs that I sang to you, my beloved...
no doubt struck a deep nerve in Schumann, long?ing after his own "distant beloved:" the great pianist Clara Wieck, whose father had prohibited Schumann from having any contact with his daughter. (Schumann and Clara were married four years later, in 1840).
Besides the reference to the "distant beloved," the quote from Beethoven had another meaning as well. Inspired by the two fantasy-sonatas of Op. 27 (the second of which is the famous "Moonlight"), Schumann intended his work as a memorial to Beethoven, planning to call its three movements "Ruins," "Triumphal Arch," and "Wreath of Stars," respectively. Although these titles were eventually eliminated, the con?nections with Beethoven's music are numerous.
The sequence of movements in the Fantasy is most unusual. The impassioned first movement begins immediately on an emotional high point, with harmonic progressions that totally avoid the tonic (stable resting point) of C Major until the very end of the movement. The result is an atmos?phere of continuous excitement, momentarily interrupted by an enigmatic passage marked "Im Legendenton" (in the tone of a legend). This pas?sage starts with a simple tune whose straightfor?ward rhythms and harmonies contrast with the effusiveness of the preceding music. However, the musical delivery of this "legend" also becomes more and more impassioned, and by the time the initial theme returns, one almost perceives more continuity than contrast between the two materi?als.
The energetic second movement has a march-like theme with a progression of massive chords (Schumann was always fond of such chordal writing). There is a middle section in a somewhat slower tempo, followed by a return of the march music and an animated coda of extreme technical difficulty.
The last movement, slow and quiet, seems to be more a memorial to Schubert than to Beethoven. In fact, there are several almost literal echoes from Schubert's Impromptu in G-flat Major (Op. 90, No. 3). Schumann had initially planned to bring back Beethoven's "distant beloved" theme at the end of this movement, but
he later rejected that idea. In the final form, the ending emphasizes the accompanying triplet fig?ures, which become more agitated at first, before calming down in the Adagio tempo of the con?cluding measures.
Schumann dedicated his Fantasy to none other than Franz Liszt, for whom he had great admiration (and vice versa). When Liszt played the work for Schumann, the latter was enthusiastic about the performance. They soon had a falling out, however, and after Schumann's death, Clara removed the dedication from the printed editions. It may have been in part because of these unpleasant memories that Clara performed the Fantasy only once. Liszt never played it in concert at all, but in 1854 he dedicated one of his great?est piano compositions, the Sonata in b minor, to Schumann, perhaps as a gesture of reconciliation. But by this time it may have made little difference: it was the year of Schumann's attempted suicide and his commitment to the asylum at Endenich where he was to die two years later.
Program notes by Peter Laki.
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wenty-five-year-old American pianist Jonathan Biss has already proved himself an accomplished and exceptional musician with a flourishing international reputation through his orchestral, recital, and chamber music performances in North America and Europe. Noted for his prodigious technique, intriguing programs, artistic maturity, and versatility, Mr. Biss performs a diverse repertoire ranging from Mozart and Beethoven, through the Romantics, to Janacek and Schoenberg as well as works by contemporary composers, including several com?missions.
Hailed as a major new performing artist since he made his New York Philharmonic debut six years ago, Mr. Biss has appeared with the fore?most orchestras of the US and Europe. He is a fre?quent performer at leading international music festivals and gives recitals in major music capitals both here and abroad.
An enthusiastic chamber musician, Mr. Biss has been a member of Chamber Music Society Two at Lincoln Center, a frequent participant at
the Marlboro Music Festival, has toured with "Musicians from Marlboro" on several occasions, and often collaborates with such chamber ensem?bles as the Borromeo and Mendelssohn quartets.
Mr. Biss represents the third generation in a family of professional musicians that includes his grandmother, cellist Raya Garbousova, for whom Samuel Barber composed his Cello Concerto, and his parents, violinist Miriam Fried and violistvio-linist Paul Biss. He studied at Indiana University with Evelyne Brancart and at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Leon Fleisher.
In April 2006 EMI Classics signed Mr. Biss to a two-year exclusive contract. His first CD under this contract--an all-Schumann recital consisting of the Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17, Arabeske in CMajor, Op. 18, and Kreisleriana, Op. 16--will be released in the US in January 2007. Mr. Biss's first commercial recording--a CD of works by Beethoven and Schumann--was issued by EMI on its "Debut" recording series in 2004.
Mr. Biss was an artist-in-residence on NPR's Performance Today, was the first American cho?sen to participate in the BBC's New Generation Artist program, and has been recognized with numerous awards including the 2003 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award and, most recently, the 2005 Leonard Bernstein Award.
Tonight's recital marks Jonathan Biss's UMS debut.
Jonathan Biss
ums University Musical Society
Manuel Barrueco
Guitar
and
Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Saul Bitrn, Violin Aron Bitran, Violin Javier Montiel, Viola Alvaro Bitran, Cello
Program
Carlos Guastavino
Michael Daugherty
Javier Alvarez
Sunday Afternoon, November 19, 2006 at 4:00 Rackham Auditorium Ann Arbor
Las Presencias, No. 6
Allegretto amabile
Bay of Pigs
Havana Dreams Water Fall Anthem
Metro Chabacano
Cuarteto Latinoamericano
INTERMISSION
Agustin Barrios La Catedral Preludio Andante religioso Allegro solemne
Mr. Barrueco
Roberto Sierra Triptico Tranquillo Ritmico Fluido
Astor Piazzolla, Arr. by Manuel Barrueco Tango Sensations Asleep Anxiety Fear
Piazzolla, Arr. by Cesar Olguin La Milonga del Angel La Muerte del Angel
Com missioned by Music Accord in honor of Manuel Barrueco and Michael Daugherty "Dedicated to Cuarteto Latinoamericano
37th Performance of the 128th Annual Season
44th Annual Chamber Arts Series
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
Special thanks to Alan Aldworth and ProQuest Company for their support of the UMS Classical Kids Club.
Educational programs funded in part by the Whitney Fund at the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan.
Media partnership provided by WGTE 91.3 FM, and Observers Eccentric newspapers, and WEMU 89.1 FM.
Mr Barrueco records for EMI and Koch.
Cuarteto Latinoamericano records for Elan, New Albion, Dorian, Discos Ensayo, and Innova.
Mr. Barrueco and Cuarteto Latinoamericano appear by arrangement with Arts Management Group, Inc., New York, NY.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Las Presencias, No. 6 ("Jeromita Linares")
Carlos Guastavino
Born April 5, 1912 in Santa Fe, Argentina
Died October 28, 2000 in Santa Fe
Far removed from the musical avant-garde, and always relying on a classical way of thinking about music and creating music, Carlos Guastavino is a composer whose source of inspiration has always been his homeland, the landscape, and the peo?ple of Argentina to which he has remained very close. "Jeromita Linares," published in June 1965, is one of a series or works by Guastavino collec?tively titled Las Presencias--musical portraits of real or imagined characters. The composer him?self has told the piece's story:
When I was a boy, there was in my home?town a good lady that lived in a very humble house, covered with flowers and carnations, where she raised a few hens. My mother sent me daily to her place to buy eggs, and since she was very shortsighted, I had to wait patiently until she counted the money, cent upon cent, before I could say good-bye until the following day. Her name was Jeromita, she was Spanish, simple, and kind. I never knew her last name, so I chose one for her. That is why I always say that Jeromita Linares is 'half yes, half no,' a character to whom I pay homage in this work.
"Jeromita Linares" is a piece that unfolds in a single movement with three distinct sections. The first one is like a song in which the guitar takes the voice's role. There follows a slower section, preceded by string pizzicatti, in which the melod?ic outlines of Latin American popular music are subtly shaded by reminiscences of the sounds of Spain. The third section, livelier than the preced?ing one, is propelled by a lilting dance movement that ends in an evocative guitar scale played in harmonics. "Jeromita Linares" is proof positive of Guastavino's light-hearted spirit and his attach?ment to the traditional sounds of his homeland.
Bay of Pigs (2006)
Michael Daugherty
Born April 28, 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Michael Daugherty studied music composition at North Texas State University and the Manhattan School of Music, and computer music at Pierre Boulez's IRCAM in Paris. Mr. Daugherty received his doctorate in composition from Yale University in 1986. During this time he also collaborated with jazz arranger Gil Evans in New York and pur?sued further studies with composer Gyorgy Ligeti in Hamburg, Germany.
Michael Daugherty is one of the most per?formed and commissioned American composers of his generation. He came to international atten?tion when his Metropolis Symphony, a tribute to the Superman comics, was performed in 1995 at Carnegie Hall by conductor David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Other large orchestral works include Fire and Blood, a violin concerto commissioned and premiered by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Neeme Jarvi. Mr. Daugherty's string quartets include Sing Sing: J. Edgar Hoover and Elvis Everywhere, both performed and recorded by the Kronos Quartet.
Regarding his work on tonight's program:
Bay of Pigs for classical guitar and string quar?tet is a three-movement elegy for Cuba, past and present. In the first movement, "Havana Dreams," I have composed bittersweet, brooding music for Cuba before the revolu?tion, as remembered by Cuban exiles around the world. Fidel Castro (born 1926), who commanded the revolution in 1959, has been dictator of Cuba since that time. The second movement, entitled "Water Fall," evokes the turbulent seas surrounding Cuba. Here thou?sands of refugees have fled by boat and bat?tles have been won and lost, including the failed 1961 'Bay of Pigs' invasion by Cuban exiles. The ominous and angry rhythms of the final movement, "Anthem," echo the revolu?tionary chanting of Fidel Castro and the guerilla ghost of his communist ally, Che Guevara.
Bay of Pigs was commissioned by Music Accord for Manuel Barrueco. The first perform?ance was given by the classical guitarist with Cuarteto Latinoamericano this past July in Patras, Greece for the Patras-European Capital of Culture 2006.
Metro Chabacano (1991)
Javier Alvarez
Born 7956 in Mexico
Javier Alvarez studied clarinet and composition in Mexico, the US, and England, where he lived dur?ing 1981-2004, when he returned to his native country. He is best known for his work in "elec?tro-acoustic" music. His music uses elements of European musical traditions and Latin American rhythms and is atonal (not confined to a key or tonality) while simultaneously remaining more consonant rather than dissonant. Mr. Alvarez cur?rently resides in the city of Merida, in the state of Yucatan.
Metro Chabacano started as a 1986 piece for string orchestra which the composer revised for string quartet and dedicated to the Cuarteto Latinoamericano. The first performance took place in Mexico City in 1991 at the grand open?ing of a kinetic art installation by Marcos Limenes, one of Mexico's most recognized artists, at the Metro Chabacano of the Mexico City subway sys?tem. The piece was played live for the dedication ceremonies; immediately following its premiere, the piece continuously repeated for the following three months through a PA system. Since then it has been performed in the subways of Toronto and Los Angeles.
Metro Chabacano has a continuous eighth-note movement of driving rhythm from which a melodic solo emerges in turn from each instru?ment. The repeated notes give a false sense of simplicity: though the piece is brief (and in a sin?gle movement) the rhythms, accents, and melod?ic fragments that emerge from the perpetual motion are intricately complex.
La Catedral
Augustin Barrios Born 1885 Died 1944
Augustin Barrios was a Paraguayan guitaristcom?poser of native-Indian (Guarani) decent, famed throughout South and Central America. Early in his career, he adopted the name "Mangore" (after a legendary Guarani chief) to honor his ancestry and dressed in full native regalia. He billed himself as the "Paganini of the guitar from the jungles of Paraguay." His guitar technique was indeed extraordinarily virtuosic. Even though he lived well into the 20th century, Barrios was a true Romantic, combining European and popular South American influences in his music. Although Barrios made a 1935 tour of Europe, during his lifetime he remained relatively unknown outside of Latin America. Beginning in the 1950s, other guitarists began to study his music, often tran?scribing works from his many recordings since some of the original manuscripts had been lost.
Barrios's folkloric side is shown in the Danza Paraguaya and the Danza Chilena (Cueca), a live?ly song-dance whose popularity spread from Chile to Paraguay. Both pieces are original compositions not based on traditional material. His most famous work is undoubtedly La Catedral, written in three movements, which was inspired by Barrios's visit to the cathedral in Montevideo. The "Allegro solemne" represents the animation in the streets outside it, while the "Preludio," was added later when Barrios was visiting Havana.
Triptico(1990)
Roberto Sierra
Born October 9, 1953 in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
Roberto Sierra pursued early studies at the Conservatory of Music and the University of Puerto Rico. After graduation, he went to Europe to further his musical knowledge, studying first at the Royal College of Music and the University of London, and later at the Institute for Sonology in
Utrecht. Between 1979 and 1982 he did advanced work in composition at the Hochschule fur Musik in Hamburg under Gyorgy Ligeti. Roberto Sierra is currently the Old Dominion Foundation Professor of Composition at Cornell University.
For more than a decade, the works of Roberto Sierra have been part of the repertoire of many of the leading orchestras, ensembles, and festivals in the US and Europe. Mr. Sierra's numer?ous commissions include works for many of the major American orchestras as well as ensembles in Europe. In the spring of 2004, EMI Classics released his two guitar concertos Folias and Concerto Barroco with Manuel Barrueco as soloist.
Regarding Triptico the composer says:
Writing for the guitar is a great challenge for two main reasons. First, the repertoire is abundant in works that display a highly sophisticated writing, and precisely because of this very fact we arrive at the second rea?son: it is difficult not to fall into the beaten path of salon-like pieces that seems to be one of the trademarks of the repertoire. When I wrote Tripico in 1990, it was my intention to achieve some kind of idiomatic writing that at the same time would not be cliche-ridden. For this reason, I embarked in an exploration of the whole spectrum of the registers in unusual timbre combinations between the guitar and the string quartet, that in certain sections of the work acquire a nocturnal quality evocative of the Puerto Rican nights (the ubiquitous tree frog com?monly known in the island as 'coqui' can be heard in the nocturnal tapestry of the quin?tet). Also of great interest too is the folk and popular music of the Caribbean which was the inspirational source for the last move?ment. The popular rhythms are abstracted and sometimes treated like vague allusions, creating transparent textures that seem to float in the air like apparitions.
Tango Sensations
La Milonga del Angel (1962)
La Muerte del Angel (1962)
Astor Piazzolla
Born March 11, 1921 in Mar del Plata, Argentina
Died July 4, 1992 in Buenos Aires
Astor Piazzolla was a prolific Argentine composer of tango and Argentine and Uruguayan urbanpopular song and dance music. At first, his stylized approach to the tango generated heated controversy in his native country. Today, his music is celebrated throughout the world as a new cre?ative stage in tango development.
In Piazzolla's words, "The only way of chang?ing the tango is to study music seriously. First you must listen to Bach, then play all the tangos you want."
The Five Tango Sensations were originally recorded in Europe by Piazzolla with a German string orchestra. The work was composed as a film score for a television documentary. When the Kronos Quartet approached Piazzolla with a com?mission, Piazzolla slightly modified and adapted five of the seven "Sequenze" for bandoneon and string quartet. Tonight we hear three of the Five Tango Sensations arranged for guitar by Manuel Barrueco.
Among Piazzolla's many outstanding works are the pieces written around the subject of the "Angel." La Milonga del Angel (The Angel's Milonga) is a sad, sentimental piece of music in which the composer has managed to successfully stylize the basic elements of traditional milonga. La Muerte del Angel (Death of the Angel) begins with a three-part tango-fugue, followed by a pas?sage which depicts the desperate struggle between a villain and the "angel," whom he kills. The set of two pieces form Piazzolla's Angel series, originally scored for bandoneon and orchestra and later scaled down for quintet by the composer.
M
anuel Barrueco is internationally rec?ognized as a leading figure in the guitar world. His artistry has been described as that of a superb instrumentalist and an elegant musician, possessing a seductive sound and uncommon lyrical gifts.
International tours have taken him to the most important musical centers in the world each season. Recent appearances have included New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Munich, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Rome, Copenhagen, Athens, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Highlights of the current season include con?certs in Spain, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Greece and Hungary; appearances with the Baltimore Symphony and the Seattle Symphony; and a European tour with Cuarteto Latinoamericano. This fall, Mr. Barrueco performs in the US with Curateto Latinoamericano performing an all-Hispanic program. It will include a new work written for the guitarist by American composer Michael Daugherty for guitar and string quartet.
Mr. Barrueco has made well over a dozen recordings for EMI. His most recent, jCuba!, was called "an extraordinary musical achievement" by the San Francisco Chronicle, while his recording of Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with conductortenor Placido Domingo and the Philharmonia Orchestra was mentioned as a selected recording of that piece in Classic CD magazine. His Nylon & Steel is a collection of duos with guitar greats Al Di Meola, Steve Morse (Deep Purple), and Andy Summers (The Police), further demonstrating Mr. Barrueco's outstanding versa?tility and imaginative programming. In the spring of 2005, Concierto Barroco was released by EMI in Europe and Koch International in the US, pre?senting world-premiere recordings of new works for guitar and orchestra by Roberto Sierra and Arvo Part, as well as two guitar concertos by Antonio Vivaldi.
In addition to performing works by the afore?mentioned composers, Mr. Barrueco's commit?ment to contemporary music and to the expan?sion of the guitar repertoire has led him to collab-
orations with many distinguished composers such as Toru Takemitsu, Steven Stucky, Roberto Sierra, and Arvo Part.
His performances have been broadcast by television stations including NHK in Japan, Bayerische Rundfunk in Germany, and RTVE in Spain. In the US, he has been featured in a Lexus car commercial, on CBS Sunday Morning, A&E's Breakfast with the Arts, and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
Mr. Barrueco began playing the guitar at the age of eight and attended the Esteban Salas Conservatory in his native Santiago de Cuba. He emigrated with his family from his home country to the US in 1967, later completing his advanced studies at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
Manuel Barrueco
C
uarteto Latinoamericano, nominated for two Grammy Awards, is an authorita?tive voice in Latin American classical music. The Quartet has become an international ambas?sador of their repertoire, touring extensively in Europe, North, Central, and South America, as well as in New Zealand and Israel.
The Cuarteto Latinoamericano specializes in performing the works of composers from the Americas, receiving three CMAASCAP Awards for "Adventurous Programming." Now celebrat?ing their 23rd season, this award-winning string quartet from Mexico has been in residence at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh since 1987. The Cuarteto is credited in Mexico with the emergence of a new generation of string players; in recognition of its distinguished career it has recently been awarded a major grant from Mexico's National Fund for Culture.
Recent residencies have included some of the world's major music festivals, universities and music centers including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Ravinia Festival, Mainly Mozart in San Diego, Dartington Summer School in England, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Tel Aviv University, and the 2002 New Zealand Festival.
To celebrate their 20th season, the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes of Mexico commissioned four new works to be created for the Cuarteto. More than 50 new works have been written for the quartet and they have presented over 100 world premieres.
Guest artists having appeared with the Cuarteto have included cellists Janos Starker and Yehuda Hanani, guitarists Narciso Yepes and Sharon Isbin, flutist Julius Baker, clarinetist Joaquin Valdepenas, pianists Santiago Rodriguez, Cyprien Katsaris, and Rudolph Buchbinder, tenor Ramon Vargas, violinist Andres Cardenes, and bandoneonist Cesar Olguin.
Concerto Grosso for Quartet and Orchestra by Julian Orb6n was recorded by the Cuarteto and conductor Eduardo Mata with the Sim6n Bolivar Orchestra of Venezuela. Performances of the piece have been presented by the Los Angeles
Philharmonic conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Seattle Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz, as well as the Orquesta Filarm6nica de la Ciudad de Mexico, Orquesta Filarmonica de la UNAM, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and orchestras in Uruguay, El Salvador, and Argentina. The Cuarteto records for Elan, New Albion, Urtext, and Dorian Recordings. The Villa Lobos anthology of 17 string quartets is recorded on six volumes for Dorian Recordings and has recently been re-released as a box set. Volume 6 was nominated for a 2002 Grammy Award for "Best Chamber Music Recording" as well as for a Latin Grammy. The anthology has been performed in a cycle of five concerts in Mexico City and at the Festival Cervantino in Guanajuato.
UMS ARCHIVES
T
fhis afternoon's concert marks Mr. Barrueco's third appearance under UMS auspices. The guitarist made his UMS debut as a member of Guitar Summit II which featured guitarists Kenny Burrell, Stanley Jordan, and Jorma Kaukonen in March 1996.
UMS welcomes Cuarteto Latinoamericano in their UMS debut.