UMS Concert Program, Thursday Jan. 27 To Feb. 04: University Musical Society: Winter Spring 2011 - Thursday Jan. 27 To Feb. 04

Season: Winter Spring 2011
Hill Auditorium

WinterSpring 2011 Season 132nd Annual Season
General Information
On-site ticket offices at performance venues open 90 minutes before each performance.
Children of all ages are welcome at UMS Family and Youth Performances. Children under the age of 3 will not be admitted to regular, full length UMS performances. All children must be able to sit quietly in their own seats without disturbing other patrons. Children unable to do so, along with the adult accompanying them, will be asked by an usher to leave the audito?rium. Please use discretion in choosing to bring a child.
Remember, everyone must have a ticket, regardless of age.
While in the Auditorium
Starting Time Every attempt is made to begin concerts on time. Latecomers are asked to wait in the lobby until seated by ushers at a predetermined time in the program.
Cameras and recording equipment
are prohibited in the auditorium.
If you have a question, ask your usher. They are here to help.
Please turn off your cellular phones and other digital devices so that everyone may enjoy this UMS event disturbance-free.
In the interests of saving both dollars and the environment, please either retain this program book and return with it when you attend other UMS performances included in this edition or return it to your usher when leaving the venue.
Event Program Book
Thursday, January 27 through Friday, February 4, 2011
Sequentia 5
Thursday, January 27, 8:00 pm St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church
Baby Loves Salsa 11
Sunday, January 30, 1:00 pm (Family Performance) Sunday, January 30, 4:00 pm (Family Performance) Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
The Cleveland Orchestra 15
Tuesday, February 1, 8:00 pm Hill Auditorium
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra 25
with Wynton Marsalis Wednesday, February 2, 8:00 pm Hill Auditorium
New Century Chamber Orchestra 29
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
Friday, February 4, 8:00 pm Rackham Auditorium
ums University Musical Society
Fall 2010
September
Susurrus
Rosanne Cash
La Capella Reial de Catalunya with
Hesperion XXI and
Tembembe Ensamble Continuo
October
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Family Performance
Mariinsky Orchestra with
Denis Matsuev, piano
Takacs Quartet: Schubert Concert 1
Jerusalem Quartet
Sankai Juku: Hibiki: Resonance from
Far Away
Venice Baroque Orchestra with
Robert McDuffie, violin
Django Reinhardt's 1OOth Birthday
Celebration: The Hot Club of San
Francisco and The Hot Club of Detroit
NT Live: A Disappearing Number
November
ONCE. MORE: ONCE THEN ONCE. MORE.: ONCE NOW The Tallis Scholars Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan Assi El Helani Murray Perahia, piano Stew & The Negro Problem
December
Carolina Chocolate Drops Handel's Messiah
Winter 2011
January
NT Live: Hamlet
Laurie Anderson's Delusion
Renee Fleming, soprano
Grupo Corpo
Joanne Shenandoah
Sequentia
30 i Baby Loves Salsa Family Performances 30 I NT Live: FELA!
February
1 i The Cleveland Orchestra with
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
2 i Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with
Wynton Marsalis
4 i New Century Chamber Orchestra with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin
10 Blues at the Crossroads: The Robert
Johnson Centennial Concert
i Rafat Blechacz, piano
i Vijay Iyer Trio and Rudresh Mahanthappa's
Apex
13 Concertante with Rafat Blechacz, piano 1-19 Merce Cunningham Dance Company:
I The Legacy Tour
20 Takacs Quartet: Schubert Concert 2 20 NT Live: King Lear
23 ! Kodo
March
9 Scharoun Ensemble Berlin (-13 i Druid and Atlantic Theater Company: ; Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan
19 I Detroit Symphony Orchestra with the i UMS Choral Union: Mahler's Symphony No. 8
24 j Bach Collegium Japan:
i Bach's Mass in b minor
Propeller: Shakespeare's Richard III and : The Comedy of Errors
April
2 I St. Petersburg Philharmonic with Nikolai Lugansky, piano
NT Live: Frankenstein
I Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Pineiro i de Cuba
I Takacs Quartet: Schubert Concert 3
Tetzlaff Quartet
16 i Tony Allen's Afrobeat Tour
23 j Liebeslieder Waltzes (Songs and I Waltzes of Love)
May
14 ; Break in' Curfew
July
17 i NT Live: The Cherry Orchard
UMS Educational and Community Events
All UMS educational activities are free, open to the public, and take place in Ann Arbor unless otherwise noted. For complete details and updates, please visit www.ums.org or contact the UMS Education Department at 734.615.4077 or umsed@umich.edu.
Baby Loves Salsa
Toma Todo and Other Cuban Games
Sunday, January 30, 7 2 noon-1:00 pm
and 3-4:00 pm Michigan League Underground
As part of this season's emphasis on play, we will look at games associated with Cuba, Mexico, and other Latin American nations. Not just for children! Must have a ticket to a Baby Loves Salsa performance to attend.
The Cleveland Orchestra
PLAY Your Own Melody
Tuesday, February 1, 7-8:00 pm and intermission Hill Auditorium Mezzanine Lobby
How does individual play and exploration transform the experience of watching an exceptional artist play their instrument And how does the challenge of making music on a variety of keyboards further help audiences celebrate their own music making UMS provides opportunities for audience members to try their hand(s), or feet, on a variety keyboards in the Hill lower lobby. Must have a ticket to The Cleveland Orchestra performance to attend.
Blues at the Crossroads: The Robert Johnson Centennial Concert
American RootsAmerican Routes 101, Part 3: The Blues
Monday, February 7, 7:00 pm Cobblestone Farm Barn, 2781 Packard Road
Although the Blues at the Crossroads concert pays homage to legend Robert Johnson, the influence of the blues on American musical life cannot be overstated. Come and explore the connections--some obvious and some unexpected--between the blues and countless other musical genres and historical moments.
Zingerman's Roadhouse Foodways Dinner
Wednesday, February 9, 7:30 pm Zingerman's Roadhouse, 2501 Jackson Avenue
Zingerman's will host a Foodways Dinner featuring food from the Mississippi Delta and conversation with U-M Professor Bruce Conforth and members of the Robert Johnson Centennial Concert about the life and legacy of Robert Johnson. Tickets must be purchased by calling Zingerman's Roadhouse at 734.663.3663 or by visiting www.zingermansroadhouse.com.
urns
SIUSS3JC
Sequentia
Benjamin Bagby, Director
Benjamin Bagby, Voice, Harp
Josep Cabre, Voice
Vincent Pislar, Voice
Wolodymyr Smishkewych, Voice, Organistrum
Michael Loughton Smith, Voice
Mathias Spoerry, Voice
Philippe le Chancelier (d. 1236)
Paris, Notre Dame (after 1236)
Paris, Notre Dame (early 13th c.)
Paris, Notre Dame (early 13th c.)
Paris, Notre Dame (early 13th c.)
Paris, Notre Dame (after 1189)
Paris, Notre Dame (early 13th c.)
le Chancelier
Paris, St. Victor, (mid-12th c.)
Thursday Evening, January 27, 2011 at 8:00
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Ann Arbor
Voices from the Island Sanctuary: Ecclesiastical Singers in Paris (1180-1230)
The courtly Chancellor
Ave gloriosa virginum regina (1v sequentia)
Passionate young urban males
Aurelianis civitas (1v conductus)
O varium fortune lubricum (2v conductus) Initium Sancti evangelii (1v Gospel parody) Curritur ad vocem nummi (3v conductus) Anglia planctus itera (1v conductusplanctus) Bulla fulminante (3v conductus trope)
New monophonic sounds in Parisian churches
Minor natu filius (1v conductus) Zima vetus expurgetur (1v sequence)
INTERMISSION
Paris, Notre Dame (ca. 1200)
Hilarius of Orleans (12th c)
Paris, Notre Dame (early 13th c)
Paris, Notre Dame (early 13th c.)
Paris, Notre Dame (early 13th c)
Pierre de Blois (d. 1212)
Paris, Notre Dame (early 13th c.)
Paris, Notre Dame (early 13th c.)
Paris, Notre Dame (early 13th c.)
New polyphonic sounds in Parisian churches
Descendit de celis (2v organum on responsory chant)
Eros and ambition
Sic mea fata canendo solor (1v versus)
Veneris prosperis (2v conductus)
Vitam duxi (1v conductus)
Procurans odium (3v conductus)
Olim sudor Herculis (1 v sequence, with refrain)
New Year's Day
Festa ianuaria (3v conductus)
Annus renascitur (1v rondellus) Novus annus hodie (3v conductus)
34th Performance of the 132nd Annual Season
Divine Voices
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
Media partnership is provided by WRCJ 90.9 FM.
Sequentia appears by arrangement with Aaron Concert Artists, Inc., New York, NY.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Now that you're in your seat...
F
or centuries, Parisians and visitors to Paris have been thrilled by the imposing Cathedral of Notre Dame, whose massive towers and elegant flying buttresses dominate the lie de la Cite. We perceive the cathedral as a large church, a single building surrounded by city streets, kitschy souvenir shops, overpriced cafes, a park with romantic benches for lovers, and the long lines of tourists waiting to climb the towers. But in the 12th century, the cathedral of Notre Dame was situated within, its own "campus," a vast complex of interconnected buildings (including several smaller churches) surrounding the cathedral itself, all encircled by a wall and enclosing almost one full third of the island. Within these walls (the "close" of the cathedral precinct) there existed an autonomous mini-state, with its own laws and enforcement, free from the secular power wielded by the French king residing nearby; with housing and meals for the hundreds of clerics who worked and lived there; with an army of servants to keep the whole place operating smoothly; with students from many countries following lectures in theology and philosophy; and with aristocratic churchmen, called canons, managing their vast estates and political intrigues from comfortable dwellings within the close. There was a school for the choirboys, a private port on the Seine, and the palace of the archbishop himself, where important guests were entertained and where the brightest, most ambitious spirits of learning and the arts were able to demonstrate their virtuosity. Latin--spoken and sung in a variety of accents and with varying degrees of elegance-was the official language of the community, but courtly French could also be heard, and the rude dialect of the city was heard among servants and workmen. Construction on the new cathedral continued throughout this period (the present structure was begun in the 1160s and the towers were not finished until at least 1250) and the dust and noise of the masons was omnipresent. The cathedral itself was at the heart of this city within a city, and deep within the cathedral was yet another walled precinct: the choir before the high altar, where the singing of the mass and offices was carried out night and day by a large number of canons and lesser clergy who were rewarded in return for this service. It was also in this enclosed space that the best young male vocalists in Europe were to be heard on important feast-days; it was here that the most innovative musical minds gave expression to new ideas in thrilling sonic structures that echoed the dynamic new architecture taking shape around them.
The courtly Chancellor
At the intersection of courtly secular and ecclesiastical song, this Latin lai in praise of Maria is a quintessential early-13th-century musical and poetical structure: constant repetition of themes set within an ever-varying form. This lai melody is found in later medieval sources with French texts and was obviously widely popular throughout the period in both secular and sacred contexts. Philippe le Chancelier (who died in 1236)--the illegitimate son of an archdeacon and a noblewoman, born and educated within the close of Notre Dame-was a brilliant church politician, theologian, poet, and administrator. He was a legend in his time: as chancellor of the incipient university he fought for justice for the students of Paris, and left behind at least 70 magnificent Latin songs.
Passionate young urban males
The creators of these songs, young clerical intellectuals but also some established courtly poets, were the "angry young men" of their time, deeply concerned with justice (for their own class, that is) and decrying corruption in the Church and at court. At the confluence of Notre Datie, the schools of the Left Bank, and the courtly aristocracy, we feel even today the immense creative energy of these young men.
In 1236, riots in the city of Orleans resulted in the deaths of more than 100 students. The outraged scholars of Paris were soon hearing the anonymous Latin song "Aurelianis civitas" intoned within the safety of the Latin Quarter and the precincts of Notre Dame.
Ambitious young Parisian clerics were fascinated
by Fortuna, the goddess who turns the mysterious wheel that randomly brings the weak to the height of power, and the powerful to a humiliating fall. In the two-voice conductus "0 varium fortune lubricum," we are reminded that even the great societies of Troy, Carthage, the Romans, and the Greeks were not immune to her power. How could the illustrious Parisian clerics and noblemen be otherwise This was a period of profound disgust at how money had come to rule the world and the Church; positions of power were openly on sale-especially in Rome--leading our young French poets to protest in vehement, virtuosic song. The masterful Gospel parody, "Initium Sancti Evangelii secumdum marcas argenti," which is found in the Carmina Burana collection, paints a vivid picture of a greedy Roman Curia and Pope who have completely lost their moral compass (luckily for the singers, Rome was very far from Paris).
In a nod to a well-known conductus exhorting Christians to crusade in the Holy Lands, a new text, "Curritur ad vocem nummi," instead cynically exhorts the listener to perfect the art of usury and bribery, ignore the law, and do whatever it takes and get rich as fast as possible, without a care for others.
Texts of praise and lamentation were also heard in Paris. In the planctus (lament) "Anglia planctus itera," probably created upon the death of the English king Henri II Plantagenet in 1189, we hear the high art of rhetoric in song, as the imagery of a solar eclipse is used to express the darkness and confusion of "renewed loss": Henri's son Geoffroy de Bretagne had died just three years earlier.
Finally, the text to "Bulla fulminante" ("a fulminating Papal Bull"--perhaps in reference to the divorced French king Philippe Auguste, who had been excommunicated by the pope), was set to the final melisma of a famous conductus about the search for justice and truth. Here, a new song is created which sarcastically declares that the deaf papal courtiers in Rome are completely corrupt and will only respond to bribery.
New monophonic sounds in Parisian churches
Beginning in the early 12th century, the city of Paris was the European center for new trends in philosophy and the arts, especially music and Latin poetry. The intellectual center of Paris was on the lie de la Cite, in and around Notre Dame, at the royal court just a stone's throw away, in the schools
which were rapidly expanding on the Left Bank, and in nearby monastic churches where the best and brightest gathered. We present here some of the most remarkable "new music"--both monophonic and in polyphony--of the Parisian scene.
A dynamic aspect of intellectual life in Paris was the flourishing of the art of rhetoric, during a time which saw the rise of virtuosic sermons, lectures before rooms packed with rapt students, and the power of the word in political and spiritual life. In "Minor natu filius" we hear a concise retelling of the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:1-32), a completely new manner of "vocalizing" a well-known Gospel story, in which musical language and rhetoric shape the simple tale with an intensity that no mere reading could ever approach.
During a particularly turbulent period of ecclesiastical politics and intrigue at Notre Dame in the early 12th century, William of Champeaux (himself an archdeacon at the cathedral) founded an Augustinian monastery on the Left Bank, naming it St. Victor. It was to serve as a calm place of refuge, meditation, spiritual study, and teaching for the clergy of Notre Dame, far from the urbanity and distraction of the busy cathedral on the island (if you search the Left Bank today, looking for a trace of St. Victor, you will only find relatively modern buildings and the Jardin des Plantes). Many of the most illustrious men in Notre Dame's history chose to live within the wealthy and comfortable walls of St. Victor, including a venerable 12th-century praecentor of Notre Dame named Adam (often referred to as Adam of St. Victor) who died in 1146. To him are ascribed a large number of astonishing new compositions in sequence form (Latin: sequentia), daring in their texts and melodies, which were sung on important feasts in both churches. This sequence for Easter, "Zima vetus expurgetur," with its elaborate mosaic of images drawing upon the Old Testament, would have delighted the sensibilities of the erudite Victorine brothers, within their own church or in the choir of the nearby cathedral.
New polyphonic sounds in Parisian churches
Grounded in the extemporized oral tradition of Magister Leoninus and the organistae of Notre Dame in the period around 1200 (a tradition which gave birth to the romantic myth of a "School of Notre Dame"), this notated organum
duplum of the responsory "Descendit de celis" attests to the powerful new hybrid genre heard in late-12th-century Paris: two-voice organum purum, copula, and clausula build upon the venerable chant, revealing a metamorphosis in both time and vertical sonority. In keeping with the improvisational roots of this music, the singers of Sequentia draw on a 12th-century French organum treatise (Vatican, Ottob. lat. 3025) to extemporize their own versions of some of the organum purum sections, while singing the rhythmic dausulae from the manuscript source. The chant sections are sung from a 13th-century Parisian chant book.
Eros and ambition
The clerics who worked, sang, and studied on the lie de la Cite, within the close of Notre Dame and near the French royal court, were among the most accomplished and worldy men in the Europe of their time. In this society, we would expect to find the most illustrious poets, the most renowned scholars, surrounded, of course, by ambitious--and often libidinous--young men who were at the beginnings of their careers. The following songs give us a glimpse into the more worldly aspects of clerical life: the ambivalence towards physical pleasure (in a city famed for its temptations) and the need to concentrate on study, advancement, and prestige.
Delicate Latin verse is the ideal vehicle for fantasies of sexual conquest in "Sic mea fata canendo solor," from the milieu of Hilarius of Orleans (who died in Paris, ca. 1150), with its lip-smacking double-entendre, set to a tune which the Aquitanian clerics and troubadours of an earlier generation might well have known.
We often think of the Renaissance as being a period of revival for Classical themes. Actually, the 12th-century Parisian clerics witnessed a huge output of text and song touching on the heroes of Greek Antiquity, the Trojan War, and the old gods. It would not seem strange to the singers of the conductus "Veneris prosperis" that it is found in a manuscript containing principally Christian texts. And how convenient that the god Jupiter might condone behavior which the church would consider sinful.
Tongue in cheek, the career-conscious young student singing "Vitam duxi" wants to "have it all" and does not regret the time he wasted on the pleasures of life.
And since love and jealousy are never far apart, one luscious three-voice conductus from Paris ("Procurans odium") reminds us that vicious rumors about the beloved only serve to heighten the energy of eras, so that the lover can finally "harvest sweet grapes on the envious enemy's thorns."
Although Pierre de Blois (who died in 1212) was a court poet for Henri II and Eleanor of Acquitaine, his works were widely appreciated by the intelligentsia in Paris as well (he had studied there as a youth). The complex sequence "Olim sudor Herculis," with its ironically moralistic refrain, would have been appreciated fully by an audience which knew the story of Hercules intimately, and that audience was in Notre Dame. Who could resist--then or now--the playful subtext about "great" men making fools of themselves in the name of Venus And who would not identify with the singer's plan, wanting to flee from her enticements in the name of career and prestige
New Year's Day
In the days following Christmas, a number of feasts were celebrated at Notre Dame during which various lower groups in the cathedral hierarchy (priests, deacons, subdeacons, and even the choirboys) had their own day to assume full power in the church and control the entire operation of the liturgy. This ancient tradition, which was probably linked to pagan winter-solstice practices, was a harmless and benevolent moment of lightness in the liturgical year; but by the late 12th century the Parisian celebrations began to get out of control, with incidents of blasphemy in the church, clerics dressing as women, fighting, and indecent displays of youthful (male) energy. The Feast of the Circumcision, on New Year's Day--which came to be known as the Festum Fatuorum (Feast of Fools)--belonged to the subdeacons, a group of underpaid, overworked young men (mostly former choirboys who were now the principal daily vocal soloists in the choir) who were particularly notorious for their naughty songs and scandalous pranks in the church (many involving the cantor's "rod"--baculus--a symbol of authority in the choir). When a Papal legate complained about their behavior in 1198, the Bishop of Paris finally had to issue an official reprimand, and these raucous festivities were severely curtailed, at least temporarily. In their place a number of new musical compositions were provided for the boys
and young men to sing, as an attempt to channel their youthful energy into serious rehearsals and the propriety of carefully managed celebrations, instead of the spontaneous revels which formerly marked this feast.
Sources: Most of the music heard in this program is taken from the most important source of medieval vocal music from Notre Dame: Florence, Bibl. Mediceo-Laurenziana, Pluteo 29,1 (copied in Paris sometime after 1255). The conductus, fesfa ianuaria, is taken from a related Parisian manuscript (Wolfenbuttel, Herzog August Biblothek, Helmst. 628 Guelph.). The responsory chant Descendit de celis is from a late 13th-century Parisian chant book (source: Paris BN lat. 15181). The texts to Initium sancti evangelii and Curritur ad vocem nummi are taken from Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Hs. dm 4660 ('Carmina Burana')The performers are singing from facsimiles of the mss. or from transcriptions prepared by Benjamin Bagby (exceptions: the recitation-tone of the Gospel parody was provided by Katarina Livljanic; the Victorine sequence Zima vetus expurgatur (source: Paris, BN lat. 14819) is performed from a transcription by Margot Fassler).
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ounded in 1977 by Benjamin Bagby and the late Barbara Thornton, Sequentia is among the world's most respected and innovative ensembles for medieval music. Under the direction of Benjamin Bagby, Sequentia can look back on 33 years of international concert tours, a comprehensive discography spanning the entire Middle Ages (including the complete works of Hildegard von Bingen), film and television productions of medieval music drama, and a new generation of young performers trained in professional courses given by members of the ensemble. Sequentia has performed throughout Europe, North and South America, India, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Australia, and has received numerous prizes (including a Disque d'Or, several Diapasons d'Or, two Edison Prizes, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, and a Grammy Award nomination) for many of its 30 recordings on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and other labels. The most recent recordings have been devoted to the "Lost Songs Project," offering reconstructions of lost medieval European oral traditions. In 2002, Sequentia released an acclaimed 2-CD set of tales from the medieval Icelandic Edda: The Rheingold Curse, on the independent Marc Aurel Edition label. The most recent recording, released on the Raumklang label in 2008, is Fragments for the End of Time, featuring apocalyptic songs
from early medieval Germany, Aquitaine, and Saxony. Sequentia has brought to life over 60 innovative concert programs which encompass the entire spectrum of medieval music, in addition to the creation of music-theater projects such as Hildegard von Bingen's Ordo Virtutum, the Cividale Planctus Marie, the Bordesholmer Marienklage, and Heinrich von Meissen's Frauenleich. The work of the ensemble is divided between a small touring ensemble of vocal and instrumental soloists, and a larger ensemble of voices for the performance of chant and polyphony. After 25 years based in Cologne, Germany, Sequentia's home has been in Paris since 2003. For more information, please visit www.sequentia.org.
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ocalist, harper, and scholar Benjamin Bagby, who was captivated by medieval music as a teenager in his native Chicago, has been an important figure in the field of medieval musical performance for almost 30 years. His entire career has been devoted to the work of Sequentia. Since 1990 Mr. Bagby has been giving solo performances of Anglo-Saxon and Old-Icelandic oral poetry: his acclaimed bardic retelling of Beowulf is regularly performed worldwide and a DVD of his performance was released in 2007 (www.BagbyBeowulf.com). In addition to researching and writing about performance practice, he has been a guest lecturer and professor, teaching courses and workshops all over Europe and North America. In 2010 he received the Howard Mayer Brown Award for Lifetime Achievement in Early Music from Early Music America. He currently teaches medieval music performance practice in a Masters program at the University of Paris--Sorbonne.
UMS Archives
T
his evening's performance marks the fourth UMS appearances of Benjamin Bagby and Sequentia. Mr. Bagby and Sequentia made their UMS debuts in November 1998 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in a performance of Hildegard von Bingen's Ordo Virtutum, and last appeared in April 2001 with Ping Chong and Company in performances of Edda: Viking Tales of Lust, Revenge, and Family.
ums University Musical Society
and Toyota
present
Baby Loves Salsa
Jose Conde, Vocals, Guitar
Alex Fernandez Fox, Cuban Tres Guitar, Coros
Jorge Bringas, Bass, Corns
Marvin Diz, Congas, Bongos, Timbales
Program
Sunday Afternoon, January 30, 2011 at 1:00 (Family Performance) Sunday Afternoon, January 30, 2011 at 4:00 (Family Performance) Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre Ann Arbor
This afternoon's program will be announced from the stage by the artists and will be performed without intermission.
35th and 36th Performances of the 132nd Annual Season
Family Series
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
The 1011 Family Series is sponsored by Toyota. Media partnership is provided by WEMU 89.1 FM.
Large print programs are available upon request.
R
hythm is a language which the human body responds to instantaneously regardless of whether the listener knows how to dance or knows how to speak the language of the song. As soon as a strong rhythm is repeated over and over again in a few cycles, a trance takes hold on the listener no matter what his or her level, degree of listening, or age. This is why salsa is so popular. It is an instantly gratifying feeling that happens when great tropical rhythms begin to flow into your ears.
This bilingual, cross-cultural, rhythmic melange flows from the first note of a Baby Loves Salsa performance. It is a smooth and subtle sound that inspires and provides an atmosphere for families to enjoy music and dance together, and share educational themes both for kids and adults, including brief journeys into clave (the backbone of salsa), and the live building up of a son (a Cuban rhythm and the foundation of salsa). Featuring some of the top musicians in contemporary Latin music, Baby Loves Salsa spins out of the recently established tradition and success of the Baby Loves Disco and the Sharon Jones-led Baby Loves Jazz records and bands, following the belief that music geared towards children does not necessarily have to be "children's music."
Founded by singersongwriterarranger Jose Conde, Baby Loves Salsa performs songs in different rhythms under the umbrella of salsa including Cuban son, Colombian Cumbia, Descarga, Puerto Rican plena, cha-cha-cha, merengue, and rumba guaguanco. With bilingual song lyrics, some songs are original compositions and some are "salsafied" renditions of children's classics. Baby Loves Salsa loves and encourages audience participation at their performances. Baby Loves Salsa has recorded one CD to date called Songs for Gatitos y Perritos (Songs for Little Cats and Little Dogs).
Musical traveler, adventurer, poet, and chef of melodies, Jose Conde was born in Chicago, Illinois, but raised in the multicultural and tropical paradise of Miami, Florida by a Cuban immigrant single mom. At a very early age, Mr. Conde began his musical training by singing along to the radio and imitating the recorded sounds of humans and the instruments that humans play. Mr. Conde became an expert "hummer" and sang songs and recited complete guitar solos. This was the beginning of his education in musical vocabulary.
Many years later, he supplemented this early exploration with formal musical studies at Berklee College of Music.
As he grew up, Mr. Conde came into contact with many tropical music sounds from musical and non-musical sources, including Cuban son, mambo, funk, pop, rock, and salsa, as well as non-musical sounds that implied music, which he found abundant in South Florida. Eventually he started writing and arranging songs blending all of his influences and inspirations. Mr. Conde has recorded three albums to date, two with his band Ola Fresca, and one with the Baby Loves Salsa band. He has a new self-titled record that will be released worldwide in June 2011 and will be accompanied by touring and shows with his new band, nu Latin groove. Mr. Conde's music has appeared in numerous compilation CDs from Putumayo, Rough Guide, and Universal, and has been used in films on PBS and cable channels. Winner of the Independent Music Award for "Best Latin Record" in 2008, Mr. Conde has played many great festivals and venues throughout North America and hopes to present his first European shows soon.
Alex Fernandez Fox is a New York-born Cuban-American artist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer, and songwriter. Mr. Fox plays guitars and other instruments, performing primarily on the tres, a Cuban cousin of the Spanish guitar. He has performed at festivals and local music venues throughout North America and in Europe with many ensembles in many configurations. Mr. Fox holds degrees from Georgetown University and Duke University, where he played piano in the Duke Jazz Ensemble. He studied classical guitar at the Mannes College of Music, and studied guitar and percussion at the National Arts School (ENA) in Havana, Cuba. Mr. Fox's new CD, UNO, his first collection of original songs, was recently released on the Del Zorro record label and is now available online.
Jorge Bringas, a native of Havana, Cuba, came to the US following his family in the late 1990s. In Cuba he studied with Carlos del Puerto and played and toured with Omara Portuondo of Buena Vista Social Club fame. In the US, he first settled in Miami and toured and recorded with international Cuban diva Albita and the late great Celia Cruz. He later lived briefly in Minneapolis
where he joined the band of former Cubanismo pianist Nachito Herrera and was one of the founding members of the timba band Tiempo Libre. Mr. Bringas then went to New York where he immediately asserted himself as one of the top Latin bass players on the scene. "Jorgito" loves to crack jokes and make fellow musicians and friends laugh till their ribs ache. Mr. Bringas is currently performing with New York salsa band La Exelencia, as well as working on a book about Cuban bass technique and his first solo album.
Marvin Diz comes from Havana, Cuba and a family of distinguished musicians. As a boy he quickly moved from playing imitative percussive licks on buckets and furniture to las tumbadoras (congas). He went on to study percussion formally as a young man and received tutelage from some of the best percussionists in Cuba, including the percussion legend Changuito. Mr. Diz left Cuba in 1999 defecting to Costa Rica where he performed with a number of bands and musical
projects, and after a brief time in Mexico City, he relocated to New York in 2002. He was part of Brian Lynch's CD Simpatico which won a Grammy Award for "Best Latin Jazz Record." Mr. Diz's innovative percussionist vision is on full display in his acclaimed solo record Habla el Tambor which he released on his own label in 2008.
This afternoon's concerts mark the UMS debut of Baby Loves Salsa.
urns
and
Forest Health Services
present
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Most, Conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Piano
Program
Richard Wagner Robert Schumann
Bela Bartok
Tuesday Evening, February 1, 2011 at 8:00 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor
Overture to Tannhauser
Piano Concerto in a minor. Op. 54
Allegro affettuoso Intermezzo: Andantino grazioso Allegro vivace
There is no pause between the second and third movements. Mr. Aimard INTERMISSION
Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, Sz. 106, BB 114
Andante tranquillo Allegro Adagio Allegro molto
37th Performance of the 132nd Annual Season
132nd Annual Choral Union Series
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
The 1011 Major Orchestras are sponsored by Forest Health Services. Special thanks to Randall and Mary Pittman for their continued and generous support of UMS.
Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.
Media partnership is provided by WGTE 91.3 FM, WRCJ 90.9 FM, and Detroit Jewish News.
Special thanks to Mark Clague, associate professor of musicology at the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance, for speaking at tonight's Prelude Dinner.
The Steinway piano used in this evening's performance is made possible by William and Mary Palmer and by the Steinway Piano Gallery of Detroit.
Special thanks to Tom Thompson of Tom Thompson Flowers, Ann Arbor, for his generous contribution of lobby floral art for this evening's performance.
The Cleveland Orchestra appears by arrangement with Opus 3 Artists, New York, NY.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Now that you're in your seat...
A
udiences and critics in Berlin, Vienna, and Lucerne agree that playing the German repertoire is second nature to The Cleveland Orchestra. Their profound identification with that repertoire has been nurtured by music director Franz Welser-Most, who is from Austria. Among his predecessors, Christoph von Dohnnyi is a native of Berlin, and George Szell, who established the orchestra's international reputation, was raised in Vienna.
Yet the orchestra is also fluent in Hungarian, musically speaking. Szell, after all, was born in Budapest, and Dohnanyi is the grandson of one of the most distinguished Hungarian composers of the 20th century. The music of Bela Bartok has long been at home on the shores of Lake Erie.
The interesting thing is that these two traditions are themselves intimately connected. Bartok, whose mother was a native speaker of German, grew up bilingual. The young composer was steeped in German music from Beethoven to Richard Strauss long before he discovered the ancient folk music of his native country.
As for the two composers with whom Bartok shares tonight's program, Schumann receives a lyrical homage in one of the piano pieces of Bartok's Mikrokosmos for piano, and Wagner is remembered at the opening of the ballet The Wooden Prince, which sounds like a modern remake of the introduction to Das Rheingold. It would be fair to say that the way both composers expressed their German identity in music inspired Bartok to give 20th-century music a Hungarian voice.
Overture to Tannhauser (1842-1845) Richard Wagner
Born May 22, 7 813 in Leipzig, Germany Died February 13, 1883 in Venice, Italy
Snapshot of History... In 1845:
Edgar Allan Poe publishes 77ie Raven
Florida and Texas become states
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto is first performed
The construction of Trafalgar Square in London is completed
The Great Famine begins in Ireland
The Overture to Tannhauser was among Wagner's greatest early hits. The opera itself, first presented in 1845, quickly became popular, too, but the overture almost immediately took on a life of its own as a concert piece played widely and repeat?edly throughout central Europe and beyond.
It is easy to hear why. The opening brass cho?rale amply demonstrates Wagner's strong gift for melody. This tune, used in the opera to represent pious pilgrims returning from Rome, is soon con?trasted with pulsingly different music, represent?ing the bacchanalian, free-love world of love god-
dess Venus. And so the overture goes, mixing and matching the opera's opposing forces--ably delin?eated in Wagner's music--to a triumphant ending with the solid chorale tune shouting in triumph over the orgiastic excesses of voluptuous Venus and her alternative universe.
Even if one doesn't know or remember the op?era's storyline and its central conflict, the overture portrays a clear picture of two opposing ideas-stated, transformed, argued, shouted, and re?solved.
Wagner revised the overture 20 years after it was first written, by splicing it directly onto some new music he created for a Paris production of Tannhauser in 1861. Although that version, known as the "Overture and Venusberg Music" is also sometimes played in concert, the original, shorter overture is often still preferred by audiences and conductors alike for the clarity and simplicity of its musical arguments.
Program note by Eric Sellen.
Piano Concerto in a minor. Op. 54 (1845) Robert Schumann
Bom June 8, 1810 in Zwickau, Saxony Died July 29, 1856 in Endenich, near Bonn, Germany
By 1839, Robert Schumann had long since given up his dreams of being a concert pianist due to an in?jury to the middle finger of his right hand, and had instead established himself as a musical journalist and as a composer. The greater part of his energy in 1839, however, was taken up by a bitter struggle against his former teacher Friedrich Wieck, who was trying to prevent his daughter, Clara Wieck, from marrying Schumann. The lovers eventually had to take their case to court.
Schumann's marriage, with judicial permission, finally took place on September 12,1840, and com?pletely changed the course of his compositional ac?tivity. Having for years written exclusively for piano, and then gone through a Liederjahr (year of song) when he wrote virtually nothing but songs, he now tackled orchestral and chamber music for the first time in his life (aside from a few early efforts).
We know that Clara played an exceptionally im?portant role in this major change of direction. She saw clearly that her husband could become one of the greatest composers of the time if only he mas?tered the larger forms. And this Schumann did in a remarkably short time. The year 1841 alone brought Symphony No. 7, the innovative Overture, Scherzo, and Finale, the first version of the Symphony in d minor (now known as No. 4), and a Fantasy for piano and orchestra in a minor (which later became the first movement of the a-minor piano concerto).
Clara played through the Fantasy at one of the Gewandhaus Orchestra's rehearsals on August 13, 1841, less than three weeks before the birth of their first child, Marie. She felt that the piano was covered up by the orchestra--Schumann might have gone too far in his efforts to give an orchestra a more important role. The work remained unperformed; Schumann approached several publishers to have it printed, but was unanimously turned down. The Fantasy was set aside for four years, when Schu?mann revised its orchestration and added two more movements, creating his first and only fully com?pleted piano concerto.
Without minimizing the not inconsiderable technical demands of the Schumann concerto (es?pecially in the third movement), the emphasis is cer-
tainly more on lyricism than virtuosity. It challenges a pianist's musicianship even more than it does his or her technical prowess. It was thus a perfect vehicle for Clara, who, in addition to having superb bravura technique, was also an ultra-sensitive musician. She went on to perform the concerto many times dur?ing the 40 years between her husband's death and her own. In so doing, she established a performing tradition that she handed down to her numerous students.
We can tell from certain signs in the first move?ment of Schumann's Piano Concerto that it was originally intended as a self-contained piece. Al?though cast in a fairly regular sonata form, it can also be regarded as a three-movement concerto in miniature. The quasi-slow movement and the quasi-finale are both based on the main theme heard at the beginning (right after the introductory piano fanfare). That theme is presented in ever-changing guises throughout the movement and shared by pi?ano and orchestra in a way exactly corresponding to Schumann's blueprint of 1839. It is a partnership of equals, sometimes reminiscent of chamber music: the piano, generally prominent, sometimes recedes into the background to allow the orchest'a--and the first oboe and the first clarinet in particular--to come forward and play solos of their own.
The second-movement "Intermezzo" in F Major is a brief A-B-A form whose first melody is a filigree of tiny interlocking motifs, while the second is a single, long-arched cantabile theme. There is a brief transition, using elements of the first movement's main melody, from which the piano breaks directly into the happy A-Major theme of the third move?ment. Marked "Allegro vivace," this is vivacious and playful music that literally bubbles over with energy and good humor, without sacrificing harmonic so?phistication.
Program note by Peter Laki.
Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta,
Sz. 106, BB 114(1936) Bela Bartok Born March 25, 1881 in Nagyszentmiklos,
Hungary (now Sinnicolau Mare, Romania) Died September 26, 1945 in New York
Snapshot of History... In 1936:
The Olympic Games are held in Berlin, Nazi Germany
The brief reign of Edward VIII (later known as the Duke of Windsor)
Eugene O'Neill receives the Nobel Prize for literature
Pravda publishes editorial "Muddle instead of Music" against Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District
Charlie Chaplin produces Modern Times
"Our work is modeled after nature"--Bela Bartok once remarked, referring to his own music and that of Zoltan Kodaly. (Although the styles of these two Hungarians were actually quite different, they often presented a united front on the outside.)
But the statement needs some clarification. Nature means a great many different things to musicians and other artists, and, over the centuries, the relationship between art and nature has been viewed in a multitude of ways.
For Bartok, nature was important on several levels. All his life, he loved being outdoors and enjoyed collecting and studying plants and insects. But nature also became the basis of Bartok's entire artistic philosophy. He sought to expand the classical harmonic system in a "natural" organic way, using "natural" ratios and finding "natural" connections among varying notes. There are few works to which Bartok's above-quoted statement applies better than Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta. The use of "natural" proportions and procedures resulted in a work that has invited extensive analysis, but whose great structural clarity can be intuitively perceived as order and harmony.
Music for Strings, as it is often referred to in short, is in four movements and follows a slow-fast-slow-fast pattern in which each of the four movements has a markedly different personality. In the score, Bartok provided a seating plan, which divides the strings into two groups, with the basses
in the back and the others on either side of the stage. The other instruments (percussion, piano, and celesta) are placed in the middle. Except for the first movement, the two string choirs are used in opposition, often playing in alternation or complementing each other. In the first movement, the string choirs are joined together, and it is the other instruments (percussion and celesta) that provide the contrasting element, intervening at crucial points.
The work begins with a fugue in slow tempo. The successive entries of voices mimic the shape of a funnel, with the texture broadening gradually, starting from the center and expanding upwards and downwards at the same time.
The violas, at the middle of the spectrum, introduce the theme, followed by the violins on top and the cellos at the bottom. The tonal plan of the various entrances also expands gradually. Each of the first 12 entrances is on a different pitch, arranged according to a precise scheme based on the musical "circle of fifths." There is a nearly magical moment where the original and inverted forms of the theme appear at the same time, surrounded by some exquisite celesta figurations. The movement ends quietly on a unison "A" played by the violins. While an explanation of this can sound extremely intricate and cerebral, the reality is no more complicated than a Bach fugue or a piece of Renaissance choral polyphony; and, as in those earlier styles, intellectual precision itself becomes a sensual experience.
In complete contrast to the opening fugue, which could be likened to a sculpture carved out of a single piece of stone, the second-movement "Allegro" uses a variety of ideas, shaped into a free sonata form. It introduces a colorful movement whose high points include lively piano solos and an extended passage for pizzicato strings
The third movement, marked "Adagio," is connected to nature in a different way from the first two. It belongs to a series of Bartokian slow movements evoking the mysterious sounds of nature as heard by a solitary observer at night. Other works in this category include "The Night's Music" from the piano suite Out of Doors (1926), and the slow movements of both the second and the third piano concertos (1931 and 1945, respectively). The third movement of Music for Strings is cast in the palindromic form so dear to Bartok (also called "bridge" or "arch" form, following the formula A-B-C-B-A).
The fourth-movement finale, with its unmistakable folk-dance inspirations, belongs to another favorite Bartokian conception, in which dance motifs from more than one nationality are incorporated together.
Program note by Peter Laki.
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nder the leadership of Music Director Franz Welser-Most, The Cleveland Orchestra has become one of the most sought-after performing ensembles in the world. In concerts at its winter home at Severance Hall and at each summer's Blossom Festival, in residencies from Miami to Vienna, and on tour around the world, The Cleveland Orchestra sets standards of artistic excellence, creative programming, and community engagement.
The partnership with Franz Welser-Most, now in its ninth season, has earned The Cleveland Orchestra unprecedented residencies in the US and around the world, including one at the Musikverein in Vienna, the first of its kind by an American orchestra. This past fall, the Orchestra toured to Asia and performed a residency at Tokyo's famed Suntory Hall. The Orchestra regularly appears at European festivals, including an ongoing series of biennial residencies at the Lucerne Festival (featuring Roche Commissions, a project involving the Orchestra, the Festival, and Carnegie Hall). In the US, Mr. Welser-Most and the Orchestra have toured from coast to coast, including regular appearances at Carnegie Hall, and in January 2007 began an unprecedented long-term residency project in Miami, Florida, where they perform annually at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and provide a wide array of community and educational activities. This coming summer, the Orchestra begins an ongoing residency at New York's Lincoln Center Festival.
The Cleveland Orchestra has a long and distinguished recording and broadcast history. A series of DVD and CD recordings under the direction of Franz Welser-Most has recently been added to an extensive and widely praised catalog of audio recordings made during the tenures of the ensemble's former music directors. In addition, Cleveland Orchestra concerts are heard in syndication each season on radio stations throughout North America and Europe.
The Cleveland Orchestra was founded in 1918 by a group of local citizens intent on creating an ensemble worthy of joining America's top rank of symphony orchestras. Over the next decades, the Orchestra grew from a fine regional organization to being one of the most admired symphonic ensembles in the world. Seven music directors (Nikolai Sokoloff 1918-33, Artur Rodzinski 1933-43, Erich Leinsdorf 1943-46, George Szell 1946-70, Lorin Maazel 1972-82, Christoph von Dohnanyi 1984-2002, and Franz Welser-Most from 2002) have guided and shaped the ensemble's growth and sound. Touring performances throughout the US and, beginning in 1957, to Europe and across the globe have confirmed Cleveland's place among the world's top orchestras. Year-round performances became a reality with the first Blossom Festival in 1968, presented at an award-winning, purpose-built outdoor facility located just south of the Cleveland metropolitan area near Akron, Ohio. Today, touring, residencies, radio broadcasts, and recordings available by internet download and on DVD and CD provide access to the Orchestra's music-making to a broad and loyal constituency around the world.
For more information, please visit www.clevelandorchestra.com.
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he 1011 season marks Franz Welser-Most's ninth year as Music Director of The Cleveland Orchestra. He holds the Kelvin Smith Family Endowed Chair as Music Director. Mr. Welser-Most's long-term commitment extends to the Orchestra's centennial in 2018.
Under Mr. Welser-Most's leadership, The Cleveland Orchestra holds an annual Miami Residency that includes three weeks of subscription concerts and more than a dozen partnerships with Miami-Dade organizations and educational institutions. In addition, the Orchestra has ongoing residencies at Vienna's famed Musikverein hall and Switzerland's Lucerne Festival. During the 1011 season, the Orchestra adds residencies at Indiana University and in Japan, and launches a biennial residency at New York's Lincoln Center Festival that features The Cleveland Orchestra in concert and, in future years, in Vienna State Opera productions.
Under Franz Welser-Mdst, The Cleveland Orchestra has presented 11 world and 15 US premieres. During the 1011 season, they are presenting a fully staged Zurich Opera production
Franz Welser-Most
cf Mozart's Don Giovanni at Severance Hall in Cleveland, following performances of The Marriage of Figaro in 2009 and Cosi fan tune in 2010.
Mr. Welser-Most became General Music Director of the Vienna State Opera in September 2010, serving concurrently with his Cleveland post. At the start of 2011, he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic's celebrated New Year's Concert, the most widely watched classical music event on television. In June 2010, he directed Vienna's internationally televised Sommernachtskonzert at Schonbrunn Palace.
Mr. Welser-Most first appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 1985, made his American debut in 1989, and served as music director of the London Philharmonic (1990-96). Across a decade-long tenure with the Zurich Opera, culminating in three seasons as General Music Director (2005-08), he led the company in more than 40 new productions and numerous revivals.
Mr. Welser-Most's recordings and videos have won international awards and two Grammy nominations. Mr. Welser-Most has led The Cleveland Orchestra in video recordings of live
performances of Bruckner Symphonies Nos. 5, 7, 8, and 9. Together they have released a recording of Wagner's Wesendonck Songs with soprano Measha Brueggergosman in 2010 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in 2007, both on Deutsche Grammophon.
Franz Welser-Most has been recognized by the Western Law Center for Disability Rights and is an honorary member of the Vienna Singverein. Musical America named him the 2003 "Conductor of the Year." He is the co-author of Cadences: Observations and Conversations, published in a German edition in 2007.
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rench pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is acclaimed among today's most important pianists, in both contemporary music and the standard piano repertoire. Since his Cleveland Orchestra debut in February 1996, he has played with the ensemble frequently. He served as artist-in-residence for two seasons, from 2007-2009, and has performed with the Orchestra on tour in Europe and the US. This performance is part of a three-week collaboration this season between Mr. Aimard and The Cleveland Orchestra, featuring performances from January 20 to February 6--at Cleveland's Severance Hall, in residencies at Indiana University and in Miami, and as part of a tour from Chicago's Symphony Center to Carnegie Hall in New York.
Born in Lyon, France, in 1957, Pierre-Laurent Aimard studied at the Paris Conservatory with Yvonne Loriod and in London with Maria Curcio. He received First Prize in the 1973 Messiaen Competition and was appointed at age 19 by Pierre Boulez as the Ensemble Intercontemporain's first solo pianist. Mr. Aimard collaborated with Gyorgy Ligeti across a period of more than 15 years, and also recorded his complete works for piano. Mr. Aimard's honors include receiving the Royal Philharmonic Society's Instrumentalist Award in 2005 and 2006, being named Musical America's "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 2007, and receiving Germany's Schallplattenkritik Honorary Prize in 2009.
Mr. Aimard performs with the world's leading orchestras. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2001 and maintains a regular relationship there, as well as with the Berlin Philharmonic, Cite de la Musique, Lucerne Festival, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Salzburg Mozarteum, and the Vienna Konzerthaus.
ums University Musical Society
Pierre-Laurent Aimard
He recently performed a residency at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, and performed recitals in Berlin, Madrid, New York, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, and Vienna.
Mr. Aimard holds professorships in Paris and Cologne, and presents concert lectures and workshops worldwide. He became an artistic partner with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2006, served as artistic director of London's Southbank Centre Messiaen centenary festival in 2008, and, since 2009, has been artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival.
Now an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, Mr. Aimard also has an extensive discography with Sony Classical and Teldec. His first DG release, Bach's Art of the Fugue, won the Diapason d'Or award and the prize for the Choc du Monde de la Musique. He received ECHO Classic Awards in 2003 for the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos, and in 2004 for Debussy's Images and Etudes, as well as a 2005 Grammy for Ives's Concord Sonata and Songs. Mr. Aimard's recent releases include solo works by Carter, Messiaen, and Ravel, and the Mozart piano concertos (conducted from the keyboard), as well as both Ravel piano concertos recorded with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Pierre Boulez.
UMS Archives
T
his evening's performance marks The Cleveland Orchestra's 31st appearance under UMS auspices, following its UMS debut in March 1935 under the baton of Artur Rodzinski. From 1941-1955, the Orchestra appeared annually at Hill Auditorium each November.
Tonight's concert marks Franz Welser-Most's second UMS appearance. He made his UMS debut with The Cleveland Orches?tra when the Orchestra last appeared at Or?chestra Hall in Detroit in October 2002.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard makes his second appearance under UMS auspices this eve?ning, following his UMS debut in January 2002 with the Orchestre de Paris and Chris-toph Eschenbach.
Photo Feta Btoede
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Most, Music Director Kelvin Smith Family Chair
Violin I William Preucil,
Concertmaster
Blossom-Lee Chair Yoko Moore, Assistant
Concertmaster
Clara G. and George P.
Bickford Chair Peter Otto, First Associate
Concertmaster Jung-Min Amy Lee,
Associate Concertmaster
Gretchen D. and Ward
Smith Chair Lev Polyakin, Assistant
Concertmaster
Dr. Jeanette Grasselli
Brown and Dr. Glenn
R. Brown Chair Takako Masame
Paul and Lucille Jones
Chair Wei-Fang Gu
Drs. Paul M. and
Renate H. Duchesneau
Chair Kim Gomez
Elizabeth and Leslie
Kondorossy Chair Chul-ln Park
Harriet T. and David L.
Simon Chair Miho Hashizume
Theodore Rautenberg
Chair Jeanne Preucil Rose
Dr. Larry J.B. and
Barbara 5. Robinson Chair
Alicia Koelz
Oswald and Phyllis
Lerner Gilroy Chair Yu Yuan
Patty and John
Collinson Chair Isabel Trautwein
Trevor and Jennie
Jones Chair Mark Dumm
Gladys B. Goetz Chair Alexandra Preucil Dolan
Violin II
Stephen Rose
Alfred M. and Clara T.
Rankin Chair Emilio llinas2
James and Donna Reid
Chair Eli Matthews'
Patricia M. Kozerefski
and Richard J. Bogo-
molny Chair Elayna Duitman loana Missits Carolyn Gadiel Warner Stephen Warner Sae Shiragami Vladimir Deninzon Sonja Molloy Scott Weber Kathleen Collins Beth Woodside Emma Shook
Viola
Robert Vernon
Chaille H. and Richard
B. Tullis Chair Lynne Ramsey'
Charles M. and Janet
G. Kimball Chair Stanley Konopka2 Mark Jackobs
Jean Wall Bennett Chair Arthur Klima Richard Waugh Lisa Boyko Lembi Veskimets Eliesha Nelson Joanna Patterson Patrick Connolly
Cello
Mark Kosower
Louise D. Beaumont
Chair Richard Weiss'
The GAR Foundation
Chair Charles Bernard2
Helen Weil Ross Chair Bryan Dumm
Muriel and Noah
Butkin Chair Tanya Ell Ralph Curry Brian Thornton David Alan Harrell Paul Kushious Martha Baldwin Thomas Mansbacher
Bass
Maximilian Dimoff
Clarence T. Reinberger
Chair
Kevin Switalski' Scott Haigh'
Mary E. and F. Joseph
Callahan Chair Mark Atherton Thomas Sperl Henry Peyrebrune
Charles Ban Memorial
Chair
Charles Carleton Scott Dixon Martin Flowerman
Harp
Trina Struble
Alice Chalifoux Chair
Flute
Joshua Smith Elizabeth M. and William C. Treuhaft Chair
Saeran St. Christopher
Marisela Sager2
Austin B. and Ellen W. Chinn Chair
Mary Kay Fink
Piccolo
Mary Kay Fink Anne M. and M. Roger Clapp Chair
Oboe
Frank Rosenwein Edith S Taplin Chair
Elizabeth Camus
Jeffrey Rathbun2
Everett D. and Eugenia S. McCurdy Chair
Robert Walters
English Horn
Robert Walters Samuel C and Bemette K. Jaffe Chair
Clarinet
Franklin Cohen
Robert Marcellus Chair Robert Woolfrey Daniel McKelway2
Robert ft. and Vilma L.
Kohn Chair Linnea Nereim
E-flat Clarinet
Daniel McKelway Stanley L. and Eloise M. Morgan Chair
Bass Clarinet
Linnea Nereim
Bassoon
John Clouser
Louise Harkness Ingalls
Chair
Phillip Austin Barrick Stees2
Sandra L. Haslinger
Chair Jonathan Sherwin
Contrabassoon
Jonathan Sherwin
Horn
Richard King
George Szell Memorial
Chair Michael Mayhew
Knight Foundation
Chair
Jesse McCormick Hans Clebsch Richard Solis Alan DeMattia
Trumpet
Michael Sachs
Robert and Eunice
Podis Weiskopf Chair Jack Sutte Lyle Steelman2
James P. and Dolores
D. Storer Chair Michael Miller
Cornet
Michael Sachs
Mary Elizabeth and G.
Robert Klein Chair Michael Miller
Trombone
Massimo La Rosa Gilbert W. and Louise I. Humphrey Chair
Richard Stout Alexander and Marianna C. McAfee Chair
Shachar Israel2
Bass Trombone
Thomas Klaber
Euphonium and Bass Trumpet
Richard Stout
Tuba
Yasuhito Sugiyama Nathalie C. Spence and Nathalie 5. Boswell Chair
Timpani
Paul Yancich
Otto G. and Corinne T.
Voss Chair Tom Freer2
Percussion
Richard Weiner
Margaret Allen Ireland
Chair
Donald Miller Tom Freer Marc Damoulakis
Keyboard Instruments
Joela Jones
Rudolf Serkin Chair Carolyn Gadiel Warner
Marjory and Marc L.
Swartzbaugh Chair
Librarians
Robert O'Brien Donald Miller
Orchestra Personnel
Carol Lee lott. Director Rebecca Vineyard, Manager
Endowed Chair Currently Unoccupied
Assistant Principal Harp Sunshine Chair
Principal
1 Associate Principal
1 First Assistant Principal
' Assistant Principal
ums University Musical Society
and KeyBank
present
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis, Music Director, Trumpet
Ryan Kisor, Trumpet
Marcus Printup, Trumpet
Kenny Rampton, Trumpet
Vincent R. Gardner, Trombone
Elliot Mason, Trombone
Chris Crenshaw, Trombone
Sherman Irby, Saxophones
Ted Nash, Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet
Walter Blanding, Tenor and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet
Victor Goines, Tenor and Soprano Saxophones, B-flat and Bass Clarinets
Joe Temperley, Baritone and Soprano Saxophones, Bass Clarinet
Dan Nimmer, Piano
Carlos Henriquez, Bass
Ali Jackson, Drums
Program
Wednesday Evening, February 2, 2011 at 8:00 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor
Tonight's program will be announced from the stage by the artists and will be performed without intermission.
38th Performance of the 132nd Annual Season
17th Annual Jazz Series
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
This evening's performance is sponsored by KeyBank.
Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.
Media partnership is provided by WEMU 89.1 FM, Metro Times, Michigan Chronicle, and Ann Arbor's 107one.
The Steinway piano used in this evening's performance is made possible by William and Mary Palmer and by the Steinway Piano Gallery of Detroit.
Brooks Brothers is the official clothier of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
Become a fan of Jazz at Lincoln Center on Facebook:
www.facebook.comjazzatlincolncenter; follow Jazz at Lincoln Center on Twitter: www. twitter.comjalcnyc; and watch Jazz at Lincoln Center on YouTube: www.youtube.comiazzatlincolncenter.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis appears by arrangement with Ted Kurland Associates.
Large print programs are available upon request.
T
he Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), comprising 15 of the finest jazz soloists and ensemble players today, has been the Jazz at Lincoln Center resident orchestra since 1988. Featured in all aspects of Jazz at Lincoln Center's programming, this remarkably versatile orchestra performs and leads educational events in New York, across the US, and around the globe; in concert halls, dance venues, jazz clubs, public parks; and with symphony orchestras, ballet troupes, local students, and an ever-expanding roster of guest artists.
Education is a major part of Jazz at Lincoln Center's mission and its educational activities are coordinated with concert and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra tour programming. These programs, many of which feature Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members, include the celebrated Jazz for Young People family concert series, the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, the Jazz for Young People Curriculum, educational residencies, workshops, and concerts for students and adults worldwide. Jazz at Lincoln Center educational programs reach over 110,000 students, teachers and general audience members. Under Music Director Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra spends over a third of the year on tour. The big band performs a vast repertoire, from rare historic compositions to Jazz at Lincoln Center-commissioned works, including compositions and arrangements by Duke Ellington,
Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Billy Strayhorn, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Charles Mingus, Sy Oliver, and Oliver Nelson. Guest conductors have included Benny Carter, John Lewis, Jimmy Heath, Chico O'Farrill, Ray Santos, Paquito D'Rivera, Jon Faddis, Robert Sadin, David Berger, Gerald Wilson, and Loren Schoenberg.
Over the last few years, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra has performed collaborations with many of the world's leading symphony orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston, Chicago, and London Symphony Orchestras, and the Orchestra Esperimentale in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Television broadcasts of Jazz at Lincoln Center programs have helped broaden the awareness of its unique efforts in the music. Jazz at Lincoln Center has appeared on several XM Satellite Radio live broadcasts and eight Live From Lincoln Center broadcasts, carried by PBS stations nationwide; including a program which aired on October 18, 2004 during the grand opening of Jazz at Lincoln Center's new home, Frederick P. Rose Hall and on September 17, 2005 during Jazz at Lincoln Center's Higher Ground Benefit Concert. The concert raised funds for the Higher Ground Relief Fund that was established by Jazz at Lincoln Center and administered through the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to benefit the musicians, music industry-related enterprises, and other individuals
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
and entities from the areas in Greater New Orleans who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina and to provide other general hurricane relief. To date, 13 recordings featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis have been released and internationally distributed.
For more information on Jazz at Lincoln Center, please visit www.jalc.org.
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ynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, was born in New Orleans in 1961. Mr. Marsalis began his classical training on trumpet at age 12 and soon began playing in local bands of diverse genres. He entered The Juilliard School at age 17 and joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Mr. Marsalis made his recording debut as a leader in 1982, and has since recorded more than 70 jazz and classical albums which have garnered him nine Grammy Awards. In 1983, he became the first and only artist to win both classical and jazz Grammy Awards in the same year and he repeated this feat in 1984.
In 1997, Mr. Marsalis became the first jazz artist to be awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in music for his oratorio Blood on the Fields, which was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center. To mark the 200th Anniversary of Harlem's historical Abyssinian Baptist Church in 2008, Mr. Marsalis composed a full mass for choir and jazz orchestra. The piece premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center and followed with performances at the celebrated church. Mr. Marsalis composed his second symphony, Blues Symphony, which was premiered in 2009 by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and was performed again by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2010. Recently, Mr. Marsalis completed a commission for the Berlin Philharmonic which he composed for symphony and jazz orchestra.
Mr. Marsalis is also an internationally respected teacher and spokesman for music education, and has received honorary doctorates from dozens of universities and colleges throughout the US. He conducts educational programs for students of all ages and hosts the popular Jazz for Young People concerts produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center. Mr. Marsalis has also written and is the host of the video series Marsalis on Music and the radio series Making the Music. He has also written five books: Sweef Swing Blues on the Road in collaboration with photographer Frank Stewart; Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life with Carl Vigeland; To a Young Musician: Letters from the Road with Selwyn Seyfu Hinds; and
Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life with Geoffrey C. Ward published by Random House in 2008. In October 2005, Candlewick Press released Marsalis' Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits of 26 poems celebrating jazz greats, illustrated by poster artist Paul Rogers.
In 2001, Mr. Marsalis was appointed Messenger of Peace by Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and he has also been designated cultural ambassador to the United States of America by the US State Department through their CultureConnect program. In 2009, Mr. Marsalis was awarded France's Legion of Honor, the highest honor bestowed by this government.
Mr. Marsalis led the effort to construct Jazz at Lincoln Center's new home, Frederick P. Rose Hall, which opened in October 2004. It is the first education, performance, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz, which Mr. Marsalis co-founded in 1989. Mr. Marsalis is published by arrangement with Skayne's Music Boosey & Hawkes Inc., Sole Agent.
UMS Archives
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his evening's performance marks Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra's 13th UMS appearance since the Orches?tra's debut in February 1994.
Wynton Marsalis has appeared 14 times under UMS auspices, both with the Orches?tra and in other ensemble configurations, including a February 1997 presentation of his Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio. Blood on the Fields, at Hill Auditorium. Mr. Marsalis made his UMS debut in January 1996 with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Octet. The Orchestra and Mr. Marsalis last appeared at Hill Auditorium in March 2010.
Ptioto Frank Sinvan
Wynton Marsalis
urns
presents
New Century Chamber Orchestra
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Music Director and Violin
Program
Friday Evening, February 4, 2011 at 8:00 Rackham Auditorium Ann Arbor
Hugo Wolf, Arr. Lucas Drew
Bela Bartok
Astor Piazzolla,
Arr. Leonid Desyatnikov
Piotr llyich Tchaikovsky
Italian Serenade
Romanian Folk Dances
Jocul Cu Bata
Braul
Pe Loc
Buciumeana
Poarga Romaneasca
Maruntel
The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Primavera Portena (Spring in Buenos Aires) Verano Porteno (Summer in Buenos Aires) Invierno Porteno (Winter in Buenos Aires) Otono Porteno (Autumn in Buenos Aires)
Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg INTERMISSION
Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48
Pezzo in forma di Sonatina: Andante non troppo--Allegro Moderato
Waltz: Moderato Tempo di Valse
Elegie: Larghetto elegiaco
Finale (Tema Russo): Andante--Allegro con spirito
39th Performance of the 132nd Annual Season
48th Annual Chamber Arts Series
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
This evening's performance is sponsored by Michigan Critical Care Consultants, Inc.
Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.
Media partnership is provided byWGTE 91.3 FM.
The New Century Chamber Orchestra's 1011 season is made possible in part by generous ongoing support from Gordon P. and Ann G. Getty.
The New Century Chamber Orchestra's February 2011 tour is underwritten in part by a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts.
New Century records for NSS Music.
For more information, please visit www.ncco.org.
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the New Century Chamber Orchestra appear by arrangement with Opus 3 Artists, New York, NY.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Italian Serenade (1887)
Hugo Wolf
Born March 13, 1860 in Windischgratz, Austria
Died February 22, 1903 in Vienna
Snapshot of History... In 1887:
Verdi's Otello is first performed
Nietzsche writes The Genealogy of Morals
Dr. Ludwig Zamenhof invents the international language Esperanto
Michelson and Morley perform their historic experiment in Cleveland, disproving the existence of aether
Brahms writes his Double Concerto
Having written nearly 300 tederduring his relatively short and turbulent lifetime, Hugo Wolf ranks as one of the most prolific and distinctive composers of the German art song. As inheritor of the Lied tradition, which had been so firmly established by Schubert and Schumann, Wolf continued to refine the limitless possibilities inherent in combining text and tone. Strongly influenced by Wagner, Wolf employed imaginative chromatic coloring and intricate, idiosyncratic lines to capture subtle complexities of the poetry to which he was so finely attuned. For musicologist Eric Sams, Wolf's songs represented the culmination of an era of the German Romantic Lied by creating "a complete theater of the mind, a Gesamtkunstwerk for voice and piano."
Like Schumann, Wolf's sensitivity to language produced not only a wealth of songs, but also a significant body of music criticism. From 1884-87 Wolf served as music critic for the Salonblatt, a Viennese weekly. While the position earned him a much-needed stable income, his impassioned and often incendiary reviews also earned him an unfavorable reputation as "the wild Wolf." An ardent Wagnerian working in Vienna, Wolf the music critic undermined Wolf the composer through his merciless attacks on the music of Brahms and numerous others. Such vitriol did not engender goodwill when it came time for his own works to be performed.
Within Wolf's oeuvre, the Italian Serenade seems to stand out as an anomaly, given the immense outpouring of Lieder that Wolf produced. He was indeed more comfortable and productive working within the private, intimate, and text-
driven realm of song. Of the many attempts Wolf made to complete an opera, the only work premiered was Der Corregidor (The Magistrate), a comic work adapted from the Spanish novella The Three Cornered Hat, with a libretto by peace activist and feminist Rosa Mayreder. Wolf also completed the symphonic poem Penthesilea, inspired by Kleist's play of the same name. From 1879-1884, Wolf completed a string quartet in d minor, which was performed only months before the composer's death in 1903.
While composing the Italian Serenade, Wolf was setting the poetry of Eichendorff; in fact, echoes from "Der Soldat I," one of the Eichendorff Lieder, can be heard in the Serenade. Wolf was also immersed in the German Romantic writer's Italian-themed novella Aus dem Leben eines Tau-genichts (From the Life of a Good-for-Nothing). In many respects Wolf's Serenade captures the mood, atmosphere, and to some listeners, even the events depicted in the book. Taugenichts is a book that resounds with music: the "good-for-nothing" protagonist fiddles, sings, and poeticizes his way from his German home to sunny Italy after his father sends him out into the world to earn his keep. One of the novella's episodes depicts a small ensemble playing a serenade, a scene which some say inspired Wolf's conception of the piece.
The Serenade was composed in the span of three days in 1887. Originally conceived as a suite for string quartet, the single movement that resulted Wolf referred to as his Serenade in G Major, or simply Serenade. Five years later in 1892, Wolf transcribed the piece for string orchestra with the name Italienische Serenade; this is the version that is performed this evening. Although the larger work never materialized, most likely due to Wolf's failing health, he nonetheless continued to work on the orchestration even while hospitalized during the final stages of syphilis. Published only months after his death in 1903, the expanded version calls for a solo viola, strings, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns.
The Serenade is by far Wolf's most well known instrumental work, having gained a firm place in the standard performing repertoire. One of Wolf's earliest biographers Ernest Newman predicted the piece's eventual success when he wrote in 1907: "the Italienische Serenade should become popular when it is more fully known." The Serenade is featured on the disc Bella Italia, which Ms. Salerno Sonnenberg recorded in 1996 with colleagues
from the Aspen Music Festival. Numerous adaptations and arrangements of the work are a further testament to its popularity.
The jovial, carefree Serenade, loosely cast in rondo form, opens with the tempo marking "ex?tremely fast," and indeed the piece lilts by buoy?antly and lightheartedly in a matter of minutes. Wolf's known penchant for finding musical inspi?ration in narrative sources has prompted many to hear the Serenade as a programmatic piece; such a reading finds in the opening eight bars the sound of a small band tuning up before actually embark?ing on a serenade itself, in which a suitor (played by the cello in recitative) proclaims his love for the maiden, who responds flirtatiously.
Romanian Folk Dances (1917)
Bela Bartok
Born March 25, 1881 in Nagyszentmiklos,
Hungary (now Sinnicolau Mare, Romania) Died September 26, 1945 in New York
Snapshot of History... In 1917:
World War I is in its third year
Revolution breaks out in Russia
Prokofiev writes his Classical Symphony
Auguste Rodin dies at the age of 77
Parade, a ballet by Jean Cocteau, with music by Erik Satie and sets and costumes by Pablo Picasso, is performed in Paris
As composer, pedagogue, pianist, and ethnomusicologist, Bela Bartok stands as one of the most inventive figures in 20th-century music. Born in a part of Hungary that is now Romania, Bartok brought to his musical occupations a keen sensitivity and intuitive understanding of the uniqueness and authenticity of indigenous music, especially that which originated in the diverse ethnic regions of Eastern Europe. He journeyed to the most remote parts of Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Turkey to seek out and collect music produced by local inhabitants.
Bartok's lifelong commitment to preserving folk music is reported to have begun during a summer stay in Slovakia in 1904 when he overheard a woman singing a traditional peasant tune. Bartok immediately jotted down what he had heard, capturing what he thought was sure to become a
lost cultural form. In the following year Bartok met composer and pioneering musical ethnographer Zoltan Kodaly, and the two formed an enduring collaboration that resulted in the preservation of several thousand folk songs, many of which they recorded with the recently invented Edison cylinder phonograph. Bartok and Kodaly traveled to isolated, outlying areas of Hungary and Romania, systematically collecting, documenting, and later analyzing the myriad iterations and variations of the songs and dances they encountered.
The melodies found in Romania held special interest for Bartok, as he thought their insularity from external influence represented folk music in its purest, most authentic form. Recent Bartok scholarship has explored the ways in which Bartok's own musical compositions combine his twin concerns for authenticity, which he found in folk music, with innovation, which he strived for as a 20th-century modernist. Bartok's music represents a distinctive and completely original path through the wilderness of early 20th-century musical modernism.
Originally composed for piano in 1915, Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances were later arranged for violin and piano, and then for chamber orchestra. Brimming with rhythmic vitality, melodic richness, and harmonic color, the Romanian Folk Dances are among Bartok's most popular and approachable works and they continue to inspire new transcriptions and arrangements. In August, the New Century Chamber Orchestra led by Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg released a recording of this work on the compact disc entitled Together.
The first of the dances, "Jocul cu bata" (Stick dance) has its origins in Mezoszabad, Transylvania. Bart6k reportedly heard this tune played by two Romanian gypsy violinists. "Braul" (Sash dance) is a type of chain dance performed by inhabitants of Egres in the Torontal area; the dance makes use of a sash, or cloth belt. "Pe loc" (In one spot), also from the Torontal, is a stamping dance performed "in one spot," or in place. It begins with a simple drone followed by a haunting, mysterious melody.
"Buciumeana" (horn dance), from the Torda-Aranyos region in central Romania, features an exotic, languorous melody that builds in intensity and then softens as it closes. "Poarga romanesca" (Romanian polka) hails from the Bihar region. Like life at its most exuberant, the dance is all-too-brief, moving by swiftly and with abandon, only to come to a sudden close. Immediately, though, we are
swept into two final dances, from Bihar and Torda-Aranyos respectively; both are entitled "Maruntel" (Fast dance) and played without pause. These final dances express irrepressible, adrenalized vitality, and it is at this level of fever-pitched intensity and joyful abandon that the dances end.
Program notes by Rosemary Delia.
The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
(1965-70) Astor Piazzolla
Born March 11, 1921 in Mar del Plata, Argentina Died July 4, 1992 in Buenos Aires
Snapshot of History... In 1970:
Salvador Allende is elected president of Chile
Michelangelo Antonioni's film Zabriskie Point is released
Jimi Hendrix dies
Erich Segal publishes Love Story
Yukio Mishima commits suicide
A true crossover artist before the term was coined, Astor Piazzolla created the nuevo tango. Before this new art form found acceptance in Piazzolla's native Argentina, it was wildly successful abroad in the US, where the composer had lived as a child, and in Paris, where he made his home from 1974-1985. Piazzolla made the transition from bandleader to classical composer when he wrote a cello sonata for Mstislav Rostropovich and later, Five Tango Sensations for the Kronos Quartet. Thus, while remaining a quintessential porteho (Buenos Aires) musician, he also became a world figure; paradoxically (since he is not a typical tango composer at all) he is probably the best-known representative of the tango in the world today.
Astor Piazzolla was the great modern mas?ter and innovator of Argentine tango. A musi?cian steeped in the traditional music of his native country who had a picture of Bela Bartok over his bed, Piazzolla grew up in New York City and later studied composition with Alberto Ginastera in Buenos Aires and Nadia Boulanger in Paris. A virtuoso player on the bandoneon (the special Argentine accordion), Piazzolla infused the tango with modern techniques and harmonies that infu?riated traditionalists but eventually won him great
success both at home and around the world. He introduced the tango into the symphonic idiom in works like his Bandoneon Concerto and his cham?ber opera Maria de Buenos Aires.
The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires was written as four distinct works in the years 1965 to 1970 and was not originally intended to pay homage to Vivaldi's Four Seasons or be performed as a suite. Originally scored for his own quintet (violin, electric guitar, piano, bass, and bandoneon) Piazzolla's Four Seasons of Buenos Aires was re-orchestrated in the 1990s by Leonid Desyatnikov for Russian violinist Gidon Kremer. Kremer quotes "it is Desyatnikov's achievement to make Piazzolla speak directly to Vivaldi, and in such a way also Vivaldi to Piazzolla, because using certain quotations of Vivaldi in the context of the score helps to build bridges between these two different geniuses.
Separated by nearly 250 years, the two works are written from the perspective of different hemispheres and cultures, yet share the same colorful, descriptive writing and virtuosic scores.
Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48
(1880)
Piotr llyich Tchaikovsky
Born May 7, 1840 in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia Died November 6, 1893 in St. Petersburg
Snapshot of History... In 1880:
Arnold Bocklin paints The Isle of the Dead
Dostoyevky publishes The Brothers Karamazov
Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Pemance is performed in London
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is founded
The First Boer War breaks out between Britain and South Africa
Musical Romanticism is always Janus-faced. It moves boldly beyond the past in search of new expressive forms and means. At the same time, every Romantic musician had a longing for that very past. Tchaikovsky, for instance, felt a particularly strong nostalgia for the times of Mozart, and he repeatedly tried to recapture that spirit in works such as the Variations on a Rococo Theme or the Suite No. 4 ("Mozartiana"). At first sight, there seems to be a gulf between the gracefulness of
these compositions and the stormy passion of, say, the great symphonies or the b-flat minor piano concerto. In reality, the intense dramaticism of the latter and the flight into the dream world of bygone days in the former are but opposite sides of the same coin.
The Serenade for Strings was a work especially dear to Tchaikovsky's heart. He worked on it concurrently with the 1812 Overture, a commission he probably would have turned down had he been able to. Yet Tchaikovsky made no bones about which of the two projects he really cared about. As he wrote in a letter to his patron, Nadezhda von Meek:
You can imagine, beloved friend, that my muse has been benevolent of late, when I tell you that I have written two long works very rapidly: a festival overture and a Serenade in four movements for string orchestra. The overture will be very noisy. I wrote it without much warmth or enthusiasm; and therefore it has no great artistic value. The Serenade, on the contrary, I wrote from an inward impulse: I felt it; and I venture to hope that this work is not without artistic qualities.
It seems that Tchaikovsky first started sketching melodic ideas without being sure whether they would turn into a symphony or a string quartet. Only later did it become clear that the work would take the form of a suite for string orchestra and Tchaikovsky finally decided to call it "Serenade." That name itself shows an intention to evoke the era of Mozart, the greatest master of the serenade.
In his letter to Madame von Meek, Tchaik?ovsky described the first movement as a deliberate imitation of Mozart's manner. The title "Pezzo in forma di sonatina" (Piece in sonatina form) refers to the absence of a development section: this ab?breviated sonata form consists only of first theme, second theme (in the dominant), first theme, and second theme (in the tonic). Mozart used this form mainly in slow movements; it is also found in many of Rossini's operatic overtures. In Tchaikovsky's Serenade, the "sonatina" is preceded by a solemn introduction ("Andante non troppo") whose full meaning will be not revealed until the end. The "Allegro moderato" tempo starts with a lyrical first melody followed by a jauntier second theme. The solemn introduction returns at the end.
The second-movement "Waltz" and the third-movement "Elegy" are examples of that special kind of musical sweetness that only Tchaikovsky could provide. The last movement is based on two Russian folksongs. The first of these (in a slower tempo) is a boat-hauling song from the Volga River, taken from Mily Balakirev's folk music collection. The second one is a street ditty from the Kolomna district, near Moscow. The two are linked with extreme ingenuity, as the last phrase of the first song is identical to the first phrase of the second (only the tempo is different). The second tune becomes the starting point of a vigorous sonata movement, this time complete with contrasting theme, development section, even a short fugato. The big surprise is reserved for the end: the introduction of the first movement reappears, and we suddenly realize that this solemn and dignified music consists of the very same notes as the light-hearted street ditty. They differ only in tempo and harmonization. The identity is definitively nailed down as the theme is heard side by side in its slower and faster forms.
All four movements of the Serenade share a certain dance-like quality that is reminiscent of the style of Tchaikovsky's great ballets. It was no coincidence that the Serenade itself was choreographed by George Balanchine with great success. For Tchaikovsky, the Serenade always remained a concert piece, one he programmed with great frequency at concerts both in Russia and abroad as one of his personal favorites.
Program notes by Peter Laki.
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he New Century Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1992, looks for fresh, exciting ways to present classical music in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the country by combining performances of extraordinary quality with innovative programming. World-renowned violin soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg joined the ensemble as Music Director and Concertmaster in January 2008, bringing "a new sense of vitality and determination, as well as an audacious swagger that is an unmistakable fingerprint of its leader," according to Gramophone.
New Century, comprised of local musicians and those who travel from across the US and Europe to perform in the Bay Area together, performs
New Century Chamber Orchestra
without a conductor. Musical decisions are made collaboratively, resulting in an enhanced level of commitment on the part of the musicians to concerts of remarkable precision, passion, and power.
In addition to performing classic pieces of chamber orchestra repertoire, New Century commissions important new works, breathes life into rarely heard jewels of the past, performs world premieres, and brings pieces from other genres such as jazz and rock into the chamber orchestra setting. The New Century Chamber Orchestra Featured Composer Program commissions composers to write new works, with Music Director Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg as concertmaster, soloist, and muse. Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg and the orchestra established this program expand the chamber orchestra repertoire. During her first three seasons, the Featured Composers have been Clarice Assad, William Bolcom, and Mark O'Connor.
New Century is committed to educational outreach in the communities where it performs. The orchestra provides musical education to third, fourth, and fifth grade students in an intensive program at schools in Marin City and San Rafael's Canal District. In addition to several
annual classroom visits by a string quartet, selected students are offered free instrumental music instruction with a goal of having the students on as close of an educational equivalency as possible with their suburban peers.
For more information on the New Century Chamber Orchestra, please visit www.ncco.org.
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ne of the leading violinists of our time, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg is best known for her exhilarating performances, passionate interpretations, musical depth, and unique charisma. The uniquely gifted and creative violin virtuoso continues to bring joy to audiences whether from the stage, the TV screen, or the internet. Innovative, sharp, and witty, she is truly an artist whose impact on the world of classical music is as deep as her love for the art.
After serving for two highly successful seasons as Music Director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg leads the 19-member string orchestra into their third season, which includes a JanuaryFebruary 2011 US tour. New Century's 1011 season also includes four subscription series, two of which highlight the
ums University Musical Society
1011 Featured Composer Mark O'Connor, whose world premiere commission will be performed in May 2011. On November 9, 2010, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg's record label, NSS Music, released a highly anticipated second recording of her with the New Century Chamber Orchestra entitled Live: Strauss, Barber, Mahler, featuring Strauss's Metamorphosen, Barber's Adagio for Strings, and Mahler's "Adagietto" from Symphony No. 5.
A powerful and innovative presence on the recording scene, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg started NSS Music in 2005. The record label continues to grow, with recent release Schubert's Echo featuring the American String Quartet released in August 2010. In 2009, NSS Music released Together, her first recording collaboration with New Cnetury. Together includes Impressions by Clarice Assad, which was given its world premiere by New Century in 2008; Piazzolla's Four Seasons of Buenos Aires; Gershwin's Bess You Is My Woman Now from Porgy and Bess, arranged for string orchestra, both with Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg as soloist; and Bartok's Romanian Dances arranged for string orchestra. Together follows NSS Music's recording Ohginis Live from Brasil, released in April 2009, a recording which honors the Italian heritage of Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg and the Brazilian heritage of her collaborators, guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad. Additionally, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg has over 20 releases on the EMI and Nonesuch labels.
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
UMS Archives
T
onight's performance marks Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's fourth appearance under UMS auspices. Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg made her UMS debut in an April 1988 May Festival appearance with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Zdenek Macal. She last appeared in recital at Hill Auditorium in April 2006 with Anne-Marie McDermott.
UMS welcomes the New Century Chamber Orchestra, which makes its UMS debut this evening.
ums University Musical Society
New Century Chamber Orchestra
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Music Director
Violin I
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Music Director and
Concertmaster
Dawn Harms, Associate Concertmaster Iris Stone Robin Mayforth Karen Shinozaki Sor
Violin II
Candace Guirao, Principal Second Violin Deborah Tien Price Erin Benim Michelle Maruyama Evan Price
Viola
Cassandra Lynne Richburg, Acting Principal Jenny Douglass Emily Onderdonk Elizabeth Prior
Cello
Susan Babini, Principal Joanne Lin Robin Bonnell Michael Graham
Bass
Anthony Manzo, Principal
New Century Chamber Orchestra Administration
Parker E. Monroe, Executive Director Everett L. Doner, Operations Director Ed Escobar, Finance Director Sarah Riddle, Director of Development and
Marketing Margaret Coote, Education and Operations
Coordinator Kissa Mercado, Marketing and Development
Associate
For Opus 3 Artists
David V. Foster, President and CEO Patricia A. Winter, Senior Vice President,
Manager, Artists & Attractions Leonard Stein, Senior Vice President,
Director, Tour Administration Robert Berretta, Wee President,
Manager, Artists & Attractions John C. Gilliland III, Associate, Tour
Administration Kay McCavic, Company Manager