UMS Concert Program, Saturday Feb. 12 To Mar. 10: University Musical Society: Winter 2012 - Saturday Feb. 12 To Mar. 10 --

Season: Winter 2012
Hill Auditorium

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CO
Winter 2012 Season
133rd 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 three 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 auditorium. 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
Sunday, February 12 through Saturday, March 10, 2012
Michigan Chamber Players 3
Complimentary Admission Sunday, February 12, 4:00 pm Rackham Auditorium
Sweet Honey In The Rock 11
Friday, February 17, 8:00 pm Hill Auditorium
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with 13
Wynton Marsalis
Wednesday, February 22, 7:30 pm Hill Auditorium
Chicago Symphony Orchestra 17
Friday, March 9, 8:00 pm Hill Auditorium
Max Raabe and Palast Orchester 23
Saturday, March 10, 8:00 pm Hill Auditorium
ums University Musical Society
Fall 2011
September
: An Evening with Ahmad Jamal
I Emerson String Quartet 23--24 i Mark Morris Dance Group
25
Dan Zanes & Friends
October
John Malkovich and Musica Angelica
Baroque Orchestra: The Infernal Comedy:
Confessions of a Serial Killer
9 9
13 15
Yuja Wang, piano
National Theatre Live: One Man, Two
Guvnors
State Symphony Capella of Russia
Goran Bregovic and His Wedding and
Funeral Orchestra
21-22
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan:
Water Stains on the Wall
27 27-29
Schola Cantorum de Venezuela
Gate Theatre of Dublin: Beckett's
Endgame and Watt
30
National Theatre Live: The Kitchen
November
Apollo's Fire with Philippe Jaroussky,
countertenor
4
5
9
11
Audra McDonald
Diego El Cigala
AnDa Union
A Night in Treme: The Musical Majesty
of New Orleans 12 ; St. Lawrence String Quartet 20 i Beijing Guitar Duo with Manuel Barrueco 27 Canadian Brass
December
3-4 ! Handel's Messiah
i London Philharmonic Orchestra with I Janine Jansen, violin
: Stile Antico
Winter 2012
January
8 ! National Theatre Live: The Collaborators 20-22 j Einstein on the Beach
23 ; Denis Matsuev, piano
! Les Violons du Roy with Maurice Steger, I recorder
i Hamburg Symphony Orchestra with
i Francesco Tristano, piano: Messiaen's ! From the Canyons to the Stars
February
4 i Sabine Meyer and the Trio di Clarone
10 i Chamber Ensemble of the Shanghai ; Chinese Orchestra
12 I Michigan Chamber Players
: The Tallis Scholars
Sweet Honey In The Rock
18 Wayne McGregor I Random Dance: FAR
19 ! FELA! (at Music Hall, Detroit) 19 i National Theatre Live: Title TBA
I Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with : Wynton Marsalis
Hagen Quartet
March
9 ! Chicago Symphony Orchestra with ; Pinchas Zukerman, violin
Max Raabe & Palast Orchester Ex Machina: The Andersen Project National Theatre Live: The Comedy of Errors San Francisco Symphony with i Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor: American Mavericks
April
: Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion
I CheikhLo
I Charles Lloyd New Quartet 18 Pavel Haas Quartet
19-21 ! Ballet Preljocaj: Snow White 22 Ford Honors Program: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with Joshua Bell, violin
May
11 : Breakin' Curfew
ums University Musical Society
presents
Michigan Chamber Players
Faculty Artists of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
Jeremy Crosmer, Cello Gunnhildur DaSadottir, Violin Daniel Gilbert, Clarinet Caroline Helton, Soprano Freda Herseth, Mezzo-soprano Martin Katz, Piano Stephen Lusmann, Baritone
Stephen McGhee, Piano Carmen Pelton, Soprano Linnea Powell, Viola Tea Prokes, Violin Kyle Stegall, Tenor Stephen West, Bass-Baritone
Program
Johannes Brahms
Jerome Kern I Oscar Hammerstein II
Jerry Bock I Sheldon Harnick
Andrew Lloyd Webber I Charles Hart
Sunday Afternoon, February 12, 2012 at 4:00 Rackham Auditorium Ann Arbor
Liebeslieder-Waltzer, Op. 52
Rede, Madchen, allzu liebes
Am Gesteine rauscht die Flut
0 die Frauen
Wie des Abends schone Rote
Die grune Hopfenranke
Ein kleiner, hubscher Vogel
Wohl schon bewandt
Wenn so lind dein Auge mir
Am Donaustrande, da steht ein Haus
0 wie sanft die Quelle sich
Nein, es ist nicht auszukommen
Schlosser auf! Und mache Schlosser
Vogelein durchrauscht die Luft
Sieh, wie ist die Welle klar
Nachtigall, sie singt so schon
Ein dunkeler Schacht ist Liebe
Nicht wandle, mein Licht
Es bebet das Gestrauche
Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65, No. 15
Zum Schluss: Nun, ihr Musen, genug!
Ms. Pelton, Ms. Herseth, Mr. Stegall, Mr. Lusmann, Mr. Katz, Mr. McGhee
"Make Believe' from Showboat
"Do You Love Me" from Fiddler on the Roof "All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera
Ms. Helton, Mr. West, Mr. McGhee
INTERMISSION
Brahms
Clarinet Quintet in b minor. Op. 115
Allegro
Adagio
Andantino; Presto non assai, ma con sentimento
Con moto
Ms. Prokes, Ms. DaSadottir, Ms. Powell, Mr. Crosmer, Mr. Gilbert
37th Performance of the 133rd Annual Season
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
Special thanks to Chad Burrow for his leadership and coordination of this afternoon's concert.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Liebeslieder-Waltzer, Op. 52 (1868-69) Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65, No. 15 (1875) Johannes Brahms
Born May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, Germany Died April 3, 1897 in Vienna
Brahms' involvement with the Schumann family is well known. At the time Schumann was composing the Spanish opus, Brahms was vacationing only a few miles away. He was well aware of the selection of vocal quartet and piano four-hand duet which his colleague had selected, and 20 years later he employed the same forces for his first opus of Liebeslieder waltzes. While the means are the same, Brahms eschewed evoking a foreign culture, and turned instead to verses by his poet and friend, Georg Daumer. The composer had already penned two dozen solo songs to Daumer's poetry with considerable success.
Brahms is often maligned for choosing inferior or overly sentimental poems as fodder for his vocal music. There are very few Brahms songs using the giants of his day: Heine, Eichendorff, or Goethe. But Brahms was adamant: he required words which needed music, never those which could stand on their own. We can remember that Goethe detested Schubert's settings of his poems. In Daumer's love lyrics, Brahms found the perfect fodder for his lovesong waltzes. These texts have an inherent lilt and charm which conjure Viennese charm and courtship from the first syllable.
This first set of Liebeslieder waltzes, composed in 1868-69, are 18 in number, with only two solos, one each for alto and tenor. As the title would imply, every number is in 34 waltz time, but Brahms' genius prevents any monotony from being felt. A similar feat is to be appreciated in Sondheim's A Little Night Music, a 20th-century piece also entirely in triple meter and yet full of variety. Variety and contrast can be strategized, and to this end Brahms deploys his four voices differently in each lovesong; tempos vary widely, major and minor modes alternate continually, and thus our attention and delight never cease.
An interesting side note to the publishing of this first set of waltzes was the struggle between Brahms and his publisher. Originally, Brahms stipu?lated waltzes for four-hand piano duet with inci?dental vocal quartet. The vocal parts were to be printed in much smaller type, and with a clear des?ignation of "ad lib." Thus, people at home making Hausmusik could simply play the four-hand piano part or add the voice part if they wished. The origi-
nal edition features the voice parts in tiny print, clearly an option not a necessity. We would not think of performing them in such a manner today, nor would Brahms sanction publishing them with?out the voice parts.
To conclude his second set of Liebeslieder waltzes, NeueLiebeslieder, Op. 65, Brahms chooses Goethe uncharacteristically for a final song. Technically not in waltz meter--it is in 94--this 15th song speaks of elevated subjects: the muses, God, work, and life, rather than flirting between the sexes. It is clearly an epilogue to both sets of waltzes, and is in itself no waltz, be it in three or not. The seriousness and lofty quality of Goethe's words has here engendered far less charming writing from Brahms, and it must be noted that the key of this final selection is the same key as the opening and closing of Brahms' Requiem. This cannot be an accident. Instead of waltzing out of our presence, the composer becomes serious and has penned a Thanksgiving anthem to both sets of waltzes, and to creativity itself.
Program note by Martin Katz.
Clarinet Quintet in b minor, Op. 115 (1891)
Brahms
The clarinet was the only woodwind instrument Johannes Brahms ever included in his chamber music works. Clarinetists have to be eternally grateful to Richard Muhlfeld, a member of the excellent Meiningen Orchestra, for inspiring no fewer than four magnificent late works by Brahms: the Trio (Op. 114), the Quintet (Op. 115), and the two Sonatas (Op. 120).
Brahms was a frequent visitor to the German city of Meiningen, whose orchestra had become one of the best in Europe under the great Hans von Bulow. (The premiere of Brahms's Symphony No. 4 was given there in 1885.) Muhlfeld was already a member of the orchestra at that time, but his personal friendship with Brahms did not begin until 1891, when Brahms came to town to hear the orchestra under Bulow's successor. The Clarinet Trio and the Clarinet Quintet were composed that same summer.
The one great clarinet quintet before Brahms was, of course, Mozart's masterpiece in A Major. To revisit this genre in 1891, exactly 100 years after Mozart's death, was clearly an act of homage.
Brahms did not need to allude directly to Mozart's style to make that explicit. The connection is unmistakable: in his own style, Brahms managed to re-create that perfect beauty in music that he and every musician of the last 200 years have always associated with Mozart's name. It is, without a doubt, Brahms at his most idyllic-which is not to say that it doesn't have plenty of that autumnal nostalgia that is present in so many of his later works.
Brahms's letters attest that he associated the sound of the clarinet with the voice of a beautiful woman (he liked to refer to the instrument as "Fraulein Klarinette" [Miss Clarinet]). In his excellent Brahms biography, Jan Swafford calls the clarinet works "perhaps the only true love songs to an instrument Brahms ever wrote." That love is to be felt in all four of the work's movements, starting from the sweet thirds and sixths of the opening (which will return at the end of the finale). In another fine book on Brahms, written by Malcolm MacDonald, we read: "No other work of Brahms is more consistently euphonious in sonority." For once, a sonata "Allegro" does not emphasize contrast and struggle among the themes but rather harmony and unity.
The second-movement "Adagio," whose function would normally be to provide some respite after a hectic opening, now plunges into a "profound mood of nature-mysticism," reaching the "ne plus ultra of Brahmsian Romanticism" (MacDonald). In the middle of this "Adagio," there is an astonishing episode in Gypsy style. The last passage Brahms was to write in this idiom, it is completely different from such earlier instances as the finales of the Violin Concerto and the Piano Quartet in g minor, to say nothing of the Hungarian Dances. To quote MacDonald: "It is a desolately beautiful series of florid clarinet arabesques that spiral and swoop over a fantastic string texture.... The effect is of wild, spontaneous improvisation."
The third movement begins with a dreamy "Andantino" that soon turns out to be a mere introduction to the main body of the movement in a faster tempo {presto), based on the same melody. It is a nimble and delicate scherzo, somewhat reminiscent of Mendelssohn. The opening "Andantino" is briefly recalled just before the end.
The finale is a set of variations--perhaps the only direct allusion to the Mozart quintet, which also ends that way. A theme of classical simplicity is followed by five variations, which take on different
characters and highlight different instruments in the group, as usually happens in variation movements. In variation No. 1, the cello weaves elegant ornaments around the melody; in No. 2, the mood suddenly becomes passionate and agitated; in No. 3, the clarinet and the first violin jointly demonstrate their virtuosity. In No. 4, the tonality changes from minor to major; in No. 5 (back in minor), the duple meter gives way to the "one-two-three" of a romantic "love-song waltz," in the manner of Brahms's popular Liebeslieder-Walzer, heard at the beginning of this afternoon's concert. Finally, the opening of the first movement (whose rhythm comes as a natural continuation of the waltz we have just heard) reappears to bring the work to a quiet and wonderfully understated close.
Program note by Peter Laki.
Biographies
Jeremy Crosmer (cello) is a 23-year-old graduate student at the University of Michigan. Currently in his third and final year of doctoral study in cello, Mr. Crosmer has received master's degrees in both composition and cello from U-M, and recently received a certificate in music theory pedagogy in April 2011. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Mr. Crosmer began playing cello at age four, and began composing shortly after. He has attended many festivals around the country, including Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, and Interlochen Arts Camp. Most recently, he was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival. Always eager to explore the synthesis between composition and performance, he is completing many projects combining these two fields. In March 2011, Mr. Crosmer was awarded the prestigious Presser Graduate Music Award to promote, publish, record, and perform his Crosmer-Popper duets. The duets are designed to be played simultaneously with the original Popper High School Etudes, Op. 73, and combine technique with musicality in a chamber music setting. In addition to cello and composition, Mr. Crosmer teaches old-time fiddle music, draws mazes, and writes science fiction. He is currently principal cellist of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. UMS welcomes Mr. Crosmer, who makes his UMS debut this afternoon.
Gunnhildur Dadadottir {violin) began studying the violin at the age of five with Lilja Hjaltadottir at the Icelandic Suzuki Association's music school. After completing her bachelor's in music from the Icelandic Academy of the Arts, where she studied with Guflny Gudmundsdottir, Ms. DaSadottir continued her studies in Lahti, Finland with Pertti Sutinen and Reka Szilvay. She completed a masters in music from the University of Illinois, studying with Sibbi Berhardsson, and began her performance studies in 2010 at University of Michigan with Aaron Berofsky. Ms. Dafladottir has performed as a soloist both with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Icelandic Youth Orchestra. During the 0809 season, she was a member of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Dadadottir is a member of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and the Rosseels Graduate Honors Quartet. She won first prize in the Paul Rolland violin competition and has received a Fulbright Scholarship, a Thor Thors scholarship, and an award from the Jean Pierre Jacquilliat Memorial Fund. Ms. DaSadottir is the administrator of the Icelandic Chamber Music Festival and a member of the Kopavogur Search and Rescue team in Iceland. UMS welcomes Ms. Dadadottir, who makes her UMS debut this afternoon.
Daniel Gilbert (clarinet) joined the faculty at the University of Michigan as associate professor of clarinet in 2007. Previously, he held the position of second clarinet in the Cleveland Orchestra from 1995-2007. A native of New York City, Mr. Gilbert received a BA from Yale University and both a MM degree and professional studies certificate from The Juilliard School. Prior to joining the Cleveland Orchestra, Mr. Gilbert was an active freelancer in New York City, appearing regularly with groups including: The Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theater, New Jersey Symphony, Solisti New York, Stamford Symphony, and the New Haven Symphony, where he played principal clarinet from 1992-95. Mr. Gilbert was a member of the Quintet of the Americas from 1994-95. The group toured throughout the US and was in residence at Northwestern University. Mr. Gilbert is an artistclinician for Buffet-Crampon clarinets and the Vandoren Corporation and he has traveled throughout the US, Canada, and Europe appearing as a recitalist and clinician. His concerts and master classes have received critical acclaim throughout
the world. Mr. Gilbert's teachers have included: David Weber, Robert Marcellus, Richard Waller, Burt Hara, and Judith Kalin-Freeman. Mr. Gilbert plays exclusively on Buffet and Vandoren products. This afternoon's concert marks Mr. Gilbert's fourth appearance under UMS auspices.
Caroline Helton {soprano) joined the voice faculty at the University of Michigan in 2000. An artist who enjoys the entire gamut of classical singing, from opera and oratorio to recital and chamber music, she has been described as displaying "masterful" artistry and as a "clear, bell-like soprano." In January 2008, Dr. Helton performed a program entitled Voices of the Holocaust live on Chicago's WFMT with pianist Kathryn Goodson, which featured music by Jewish composers whose lives were affected by World War II. She recorded this program on the Block M record label, and it is now available online. This past year she performed numerous recitals, including a program at New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage, in which she and colleagues from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance performed the New York premiere of Paul Schoenfield's Ghetto Songs (2008). New music is an important area of interest for Dr. Helton and she has appeared performing Joseph Schwantner's Wild Angels of the Open Hills with the Brave New Works Ensemble, as well as Ginastera's Cantata para America Magica with the U-M Percussion Ensemble. She has also appeared numerous times with the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, a dynamic and innovative chamber group founded by pianist Jeff Sykes and flutist Stephanie Jutt in Madison, Wisconsin. This afternoon's concert marks Ms. Helton's second appearance under UMS auspices.
Freda Herseth {mezzo-soprano) has sung critically acclaimed leading roles in opera throughout Germany. She has performed with orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout Europe, Russia, and Israel, including the La Scala Opera Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti in the world premiere of Richard Wernick's ...and a time for peace, the Israel Sinfonietta, the Stuttgart State Theater Orchestra in the world premiere of William Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, New York New Music Ensemble, the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, and The Folger Consort of Washington, DC. Well known for her work in contemporary music, Ms. Herseth
has premiered many works written especially for her. She has performed at the Vienna Festival, Warsaw Autumn Festival, Festival d'Automne at the Bastille Opera in Paris, Steirischer Herbst in Graz, and with the American Music Theater Festival of Philadelphia. Ms. Herseth has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a stipend from the Richard Wagner Society in Bayreuth. Ms. Herseth has recorded for CRI, Gasparo, South German Radio and Television, Hessen Radio (Frankfurt), Bavarian Radio (Munich), ORF Austrian Radio and Television, RAI Italian Radio, and Northeastern Records. She was recently honored at the Voice Foundation Annual International Symposium in Philadelphia with the Van Lawrence Fellowship for research and excellence in the field of vocal pedagogy. Ms. Herseth studied with Jan DeGaetani at the Eastman School of Music. This afternoon's concert marks Ms. Herseth's sixth appearance under UMS auspices.
Martin Katz (piano) has been dubbed "the gold standard of collaborative pianists" by The New York Times. For four decades, his performances on five continents have been in partnership with the world's vocal luminaries. His many recordings, feature songs, and arias in 10 languages reflect his immense repertoire. His first book. The Complete Collaborator, published by Oxford University Press, has received rave reviews and is fast becoming the standard guide for appreciating this specialized niche in the music world. In addition to his work at the keyboard, Mr. Katz has been lauded for his appearances on the podium. His editions of Handel and Rossini operas have been performed at the Metropolitan, in Ottawa, Houston, and Tokyo. Finally, the profile of Martin Katz is completed by his commitment to teaching. He has chaired the collaborative piano program at the University of Michigan for 25 years, and is honored to hold the Artur Schnabel Professorship. Guest teaching appearances also fill his schedule year after year, including Songfest in Los Angeles, the National Theatre of Tokyo, San Francisco Opera's prestigious Merola program, and the Santa Fe Opera. This afternoon's concert marks Mr. Katz's 33rd appearance under UMS auspices.
Throughout the course of his rich operatic career, Stephen Lusmann (baritone) has sung over 40 leading roles with major opera houses, including the Oper der Stadt Bonn, Opera de Monte Carlo,
Stadttheater Luzern, Washington National Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Boston Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Columbus, Anchorage Opera, Utah Opera, Florentine Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, and tours with the New York City Opera. As an active concert soloist, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, the Anchorage Festival of Music, Chautauqua Institute, Hill Auditorium, the Music Festival of Pettoranello, Italy, the Romanian-American Music Festival, and with numerous symphony orchestras including the Buffalo Philharmonic, Sinfonieorchester Luzern, West Virginia Symphony, Little Orchestra Society of New York, and Shreveport Symphony. On recording, Mr. Lusmann may be heard in Richard Strauss' Der Friedenstag recorded at Carnegie Hall on the Koch International label, Operngala recorded at the Konzerthaus Luzern, Switzerland on Tonstudio AMOS, and on E.E. Cummings: An American Circus, songs by Logan Skelton recorded on the Centaur Records label. Mr. Lusmann is associate professor of voice at the University of Michigan, the Fort Worth Opera studio voice teacher, and a member of the voice faculty at the Seagle Music Colony. This afternoon's concert marks Mr. Lusmann's second appearance under UMS auspices.
Steven McGhee (piano) works in the opera, chamber music, and art-song recital spheres as a coach and collaborative pianist, and in musical theater as a musical director. Representative projects include L'Elisir d'Amore, The Cunning Little Vixen, Xerxes, and Candide (with Frederica von Stade as The Old Lady) at the University of Michigan; The Light in the Piazza, Trouble in Tahiti, and The Magic Flute at New York University; Hansel and Gretel with Berkshire Opera Theater; and the off-Broadway premiere of Don Imbroglio at the 2005 New York Musical Theater Festival. He earned his bachelor's degree at West Chester University in his home state of Pennsylvania. After completing his master's degree in collaborative piano at the University of Michigan in 2003, he is now a doctoral student, again studying with Martin Katz. UMS welcomes Mr. McGhee, who makes his UMS debut this afternoon.
Carmen Pelton (soprano) has appeared in a wide range of works with orchestras, opera houses, chamber music groups, Equity drama theaters,
and off-Broadway productions. Conductors have included Robert Shaw, Jeffrey Tate, Donald Runnicles, Patrick Summers, Gerard Schwarz, and Nicholas McGegan, with such diverse groups as the San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Tulsa Opera, West German Radio Orchestra, Goodman Theater, the Smithsonian's 21st-century Consort, the New York Festival of Song, and the Library of Congress. Ms. Pelton's solo performances are on two recordings that won Grammy Awards for "Best Classical Album of the Year": Barber, Bartok, and Vaughan-Williams with the Atlanta Symphony in one of Robert Shaw's last recordings, and William Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, recorded by Naxos at the University of Michigan. Ms. Pelton's first success, in New York City was in the unlikely role of Susan B. Anthony in Mother of Us All; she was subsequently invited to perform the final scene from the opera at the televised Kennedy Honors program for the President and Honoree Virgil Thomson. Her European operatic debut was more conventionally suited to Ms. Pelton's dramatic coloratura; Sir Peter Peers cast her as Fiordiligi in Cos! fan tutte at the Aldeburgh Festival, and the outstanding reviews led immediately to her engagement by Scottish Opera as Constanze in Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail. Other leading Mozart roles include Konigin der Nacht, Donna Anna, and the title role of Lucia Silla. Ms. Pelton has taught on the faculties of the University of Washington, Eastman School of Music, Brevard Music Center, and the Aspen Music Center and School. This afternoon's concert marks Ms. Pelton's sixth appearance under UMS auspices.
Linnea Powell (viola) is pursuing her specialist degree in viola performance from the University of Michigan, studying with Yizhak Schotten. She received her master's of music from the University of Michigan in 2011. This is her second year as a member of the Rosseels Graduate Honors Quartet and as principal of the University Symphony Orchestra. In 2010, Ms. Powell was awarded First Prize at the Michigan American String Teachers Association Solo Competition and was a finalist in the 2011 ASTA National Solo Competition. Originally from Northern California, Ms. Powell received her undergraduate degree with honors from the University of California Santa Cruz. UMS welcomes Ms. Powell, who makes her UMS debut this afternoon.
Tea Prokes {violin) from Buffalo, New York, began studying the violin at the age of four. Ms. Prokes pursued her studies with Peter Zazofsky, first violinist of the Muir String Quartet, at Boston University where she was awarded bachelor of music degrees in violin performance and music education. Highlights from her undergraduate career include a semester of violin study at the Royal College of Music in London, England, performances with the BU InCite Arts Festival in New York City, and master class performances with Peter Hill and Roman Totenberg. She continued her studies at the University of Michigan as a student of Yehonatan Berick. While at Michigan, she was concertmaster of the University Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Rosseels Graduate Honors Quartet. This past spring Ms. Prokes finished master's degrees in violin performance and chamber music. In Buffalo, she has appeared as a soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra, the Clarence Summer Orchestra, and the Amherst Symphony Orchestra. UMS welcomes Ms. Prokes, who makes her UMS debut this afternoon.
Kyle Stegall (tenor) a native of Columbia, Missouri, graduated with a MM in vocal performance from the University of Michigan in 2011. His operatic credits include Tamino in Die Zauberflote (Mozart), Little Bat in Susannah (Floyd), Flute Thisby in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Britten), Le Chevalier Danois in Armide (Gluck), Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti), Goro in Madama Butterfly (Puccini), and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus (J. Strauss). This past summer he was a young artist with Sugar Creek Opera Festival, where he sang the role of Laurie in Mark Adamo's operatic adaptation of Little Women. He holds a special interest in art-song and concert repertoire, and has enjoyed engagements as tenor soloist in works by Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Monteverdi, and Handel. This season he sings Bach's St. Matthew Passion with Christ Church Grosse Pointe, Handel's Alexander's Feast with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, and Bach's St. John Passion with Oakland Choral Society. Dedicated to recital literature, Mr. Stegall will join forces with pianist Steven McGhee in April to present Schumann's Liederkreis, Op. 24. He holds a private studio of voice students and works as a professional singer with Christ Church Grosse Pointe in Grosse Pointe, Ml. Mr. Stegall is a voice
student of Caroline Helton. UMS welcomes Mr. Stegall, who makes his UMS debut this afternoon.
Stephen West (bass-baritone) has appeared with many of the finest opera companies in the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alia Scala, the Bayreuth, Salzburg, and Santa Fe Festivals, Operas National de Paris and Lyon, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, and the San Francisco, Seattle and Washington operas. Over the course of many seasons with the Metropolitan Opera he has sung the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Dr. Schon and the Animal TrainerAthlete in Lulu, Dr. Kolenaty in The Makropoulos Affair, and Fafner in Das Rheingold. His Seattle Opera portrayal of Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger inspired Bryan Magee
of London's Daily Telegraph to write, "He covered himself with glory. At the end the entire audience rose spontaneously in a standing ovation. I suspect it was one of those special nights of which I shall find myself saying on future occasions: 'I was there.'" Mr. West is professor of music in voice at the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance, a post he has held for five years. His students have won prizes in competitions held by the Metropolitan Opera, gone on to become members of young artist programs in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, and have been awarded scholarships at prestigious universities throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. This afternoon's concert marks Mr. West's third appearance under UMS auspices.
ums University Musical Society
and UMHS
present
Sweet Honey In The Rock
Ysaye M. Barnwell
Nitanju Bolade Casel
Aisha Kahlil
Carol Maillard
Louise Robinson
Shirley Childress Saxton, American Sign Language Interpreter
Program
Friday Evening, February 17, 2012 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.
39th Performance of the 133rd Annual Season
The photographing or sound and video recording of this performance or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
This evening's performance is sponsored by the University of Michigan Health System.
Media partnership is provided by Metro Times, Between the Lines, and WEMU 89.1 FM.
Sweet Honey In The Rock appears by arrangement with Opus 3 Artists, New York, NY. For further information on Sweet Honey, please visit www.sweethoneyintherock.org.
Large print programs are available upon request.
... have always believed art is the conscience of the human soul and that artists have the
responsibility not only to show life as it is but to show life as it should be Sweef Honey In
The Rock has withstood the onslaught. She has been unprovoked by the 30 pieces of silver. Her songs lead us to the well of truth that nourishes the will and courage to stand strong. She is the keeper of the flame. -Harry Belafonte
F
ounded by Bernice Johnson Reagon in 1973 (with Mie, Carol Maillard, and Louise Robinson) at the DC Black Repertory Theater Company, Sweet Honey In The Rockw, the internationally renowned a cappella ensemble, has been a vital and innovative presence in the music culture of Washington, DC and in communities of conscience around the world.
From Psalm 81:16 comes the promise to a people of being fed by honey out of the rock. Honey--an ancient substance, sweet and nurturing. Rock--an elemental strength, enduring the winds of time. The metaphor of sweet honey in the rock captures completely these African-American women whose repertoire is steeped in the sacred music of the Black church, the clarion calls of the Civil Rights Movement, and songs of the struggle for justice everywhere.
Rooted in a deep commitment to create music out of the rich textures of African-American legacy and traditions, Sweet Honey In The Rock possesses a stunning vocal prowess that captures the complex sounds of blues, spirituals, traditional gospel hymns, rap, reggae, African chants, hip-hop, ancient lullabies, and jazz improvisation. Sweet Honey's collective voice, occasionally accompanied by hand-percussion instruments, produces a sound filled with soulful harmonies and intricate rhythms.
In the best and in the hardest of times, Sweet Honey In The Rock has come in song to communities across the US and around the world, raising her voice in hope, love, justice, peace, and resistance. Sweet Honey invites her audiences to open their minds and hearts and to think about who we are and how we treat each other, our fellow creatures who share this planet, and, of course, the planet itself.
Sweet Honey's 20th CD release, Experience... 101 was a 2008 Grammy Award nominee. The excitement continued as Sweet Honey was asked to compose new material in celebration of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater's 50th
anniversary. Together, these two artistic treasures of the African-American experience performed this once-in-a-lifetime collaboration throughout the US. The music for the collaboration was released on a CD entitled GO IN GRACE.
In 2009, Sweet Honey was honored to accept an invitation from President and Mrs. Barack Obama to give a concert at the White House. 2010 saw the release of a single CD and video in response to Arizona Law SB-1070, and the creation of a tribute concert, "Remembering Nina, Odetta, and Miriam Makeba."
The current season finds Sweet Honey celebrating her 38th birthday, and what a year it will be! In April 2012, Sweet Honey will premiere her new work, Affirmations, in performance with the National Symphony.
Art Steele, Sound Engineer, Audio Pro Media Dwana Makeba, Road Manager
UMS Archives
T
onight's performance marks Sweet Honey In The Rock's ninth performance under UMS auspieces, following the ensemble's most recent UMS performance in February 2009 at Hill Auditorium. In May 2004, Sweet Honey In The Rock performed at the ninth annual Ford Honors Program, where the ensemble and Sweet Honey founding member Bernice Johnson Reagon received the UMS Distinguished Artist Award. Sweet Honey made her UMS debut in January 1993 at Hill Auditorium.
ums University Musical Society
presents
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis, Music Director, Trumpet
Ryan Kisor, Trumpet
Marcus Printup, Trumpet
Kenny Rampton, Trumpet
Vincent Gardner, Trombone
Chris Crenshaw, Trombone
Elliot Mason, Trombone
Sherman Irby, Alto Saxophone
Ted Nash, Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet
Walter Blanding, Jr., 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 22, 2012 at 7:30 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor
Music of Marsalis
Celebrating Wynton's 50th Birthday
Tonight's program will be announced from the stage by the artists and will be performed without intermission.
41st Performance of the 133rd Annual Season
18th Annual Jazz Series
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 WEMU 89.1 FM, Metro Times, Michigan Chronicle, Detroit Jewish News, and Ann Arbor's 107one.
The Steinway piano used in this evening's concert is made possible by William and Mary Palmer.
Brooks Brothers is the official clothier or the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
Become a fan of Jazz at Lincoln Center on Facebook: facebook.com jazzatlincolncenter; follow Jazz at Lincoln Center on Twitter: twitter.comjalcnyc; and watch Jazz at Lincoln Center on YouTube: youtube.comjazzatlincolncenter.
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, and 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 concert series, the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival, the Jazz for Young People Curriculum, educational residencies, workshops, and concerts for both 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. In 2006, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra collaborated with Ghanaian drum collective Odadaal, led by Yacub Addy, to perform Congo Square, a composition Mr. Marsalis and Mr. Addy co-wrote and dedicated
to Mr. Marsalis' native New Orleans. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra has also been featured in several education and performance residencies in the last few years, including those in France, Italy, Czech Republic, England, Switzerland, Germany, Brazil, and Japan.
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 in September 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 and entities from the areas in Greater New Orleans who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina and to provide other general hurricane relief. To date, 14 recordings featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis have been released and internationally distributed, the most recent of which being Vitoria Suite (2010), Portrait in Seven Shades (2010), and Congo Square (2007).
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 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. In 2010, Mr. Marsalis premiered his third symphony, Swing Symphony, a co-commission by the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and The Barbican Centre. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performed the piece with the Berliner Philharmoniker in Berlin in 2010, with the New York Philharmonic in New York City in 2010, and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Los Angeles in 2011.
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 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 Mr. 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. He has also been named to the Bring New Orleans
Back Commission, former New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin's initiative to help rebuild New Orleans culturally, socially, economically, and uniquely for every citizen. Mr. Marsalis was instrumental in the Higher Ground Hurricane Relief concert, produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center, which raised over $3 million for the Higher Ground Relief Fund.
Mr. Marsalis led the effort to construct Jazz at Lincoln Center's new home, Frederick P. Rose Hall, which opened in October 2004, 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
T
his evening's concert marks Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra's 13th UMS appearance since the Orchestra's UMS debut in February 1994.
Wynton Marsalis makes his 15th appearance under UMS auspices, both with the Orchestra 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.
Photo Funk Stewart
Wynton Marsalis
urns
presents
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, Conductor Pinchas Zukerman, Violin
Program
Friday Evening, March 9, 2012 at 8:00 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor
Johannes Brahms
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Allegro non troppo
Adagio
Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace
Mr. Zukerman
INTERMISSION
Brahms
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
Allegro non troppo
Adagio non troppo
Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino)
Allegro con spirito
43rd Performance of the 133rd Annual Season
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.
This evening's performance is co-sponsored by James and Nancy Stanley, Robert and Marina Whitman, Clayton and Ann Wilhite, and the Zelenock Family in memory of Mary Kate Zelenock.
Hosted by Michael Allemang and Janis Bobrin.
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.
Special thanks to Tom Thompson of Tom Thompson Flowers, Ann Arbor, for his generous contribution of lobby floral art for this evening's concert.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77 (1878) Johannes Brahms
Born May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, Germany Died April 3, 1897 in Vienna
Snapshots of History... In 187788:
Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake first performed (1877)
Thomas Edison patents the phonograph (1878)
Tolstoy's Anna Karenina published (1877)
Romania wins its independence from the Ottoman Empire (1878)
Friedrich Nietzsche publishes Human, All Too Human (1878)
Joseph Joachim and Johannes Brahms became instant friends when they met in May 1853. Both men were in their early 20s, and while Brahms was an unknown, with his greatest music still to come, Joachim was already a celebrity--the most brilliant and promising violinist around. Joachim described Brahms as "pure as a diamond, soft as snow," reminding us that the composer's familiar, portly figure and bushy beard were later acquisitions. With music as their bond, they became close-confiding secrets, enjoying each other's company, and sharing the things they loved. It was Joachim who insisted that Brahms meet the Schumanns, a visit that changed the young composer's life.
It was simply a matter of time before Brahms would offer to write a concerto for his best friend. The Violin Concerto was sketched over the course of a summer holiday and early fall at Portschach in 1878, just across the lake from the country house where Alban Berg would write his violin concerto nearly 60 years later. Brahms picked the key of D Major (the same tonality as Symphony No. 2 he had recently finished) and planned the concerto in four movements--an unprecedented scheme. While composing, Brahms often turned to Joachim for technical advice about the solo part--Joachim not only knew the instrument's capabilities better than anyone, but was a gifted composer himself. It was Brahms' own decision to abandon the four-movement design and to replace the two inner movements with a single "Adagio." (The leftover scherzo may have been salvaged for the four-movement B-flat piano concerto Brahms put aside in order to work on this concerto.) He was still making further adjustments after the first performance, in Leipzig, on New Year's Day, 1879.
The work was not a success. (At the premiere, the applause was lukewarm, though many in the audience were distracted by Brahms' failure
to hook-up his suspenders properly.) When Clara Schumann heard it earlier, in a private performance, she commented that the orchestra and soloist were "thoroughly blended," but others saw that distinction differently. Hans von Bulow, a man seldom without opinions, said that Brahms had written a concerto against the violin; the violinist Bronislaw Huberman elaborated: "It is a concerto for violin against the orchestra--and the violin wins."
Eventually, Brahms' work was widely performed and greatly admired; it was even deemed worthy of standing beside Beethoven's single violin concerto. Brahms had invited the comparison himself by picking the same key and writing for the violinist who had recently put Beethoven's concerto back in circulation.
Brahms honors the classical model; in the first movement, he writes a double exposition--one for the orchestra alone, the second led by the violin. This would be unremarkable, except that most concertos written in the 70-odd years since Beethoven's had struggled to find novel ways to proceed. Brahms has new things to say, but he says them in a form that Beethoven would have recognized immediately. The first movement is on a grand scale, with a wealth of melodic material. Brahms presents a full harmonic itinerary that allows a side trip to the distant reaches of C Major at the beginning of the development section (Beethoven went there, too) and includes, in the recapitulation, further adventures in F-sharp and B-flat, each a major third in either direction from D.
As a final bow to tradition, Brahms reins in the orchestra near the end of the movement and gives the soloist the opportunity to improvise a cadenza. This is the last major concerto to grant that license (even Beethoven had started writing his cadenzas down), although with a musician of Joachim's taste and talent, Brahms had nothing to fear.
Brahms opens the slow movement with one of his finest melodies, given to the oboe against a woodwind accompaniment. The Spanish virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate allegedly refused to play this concerto because he didn't care "to stand on the platform, violin in hand, to listen to the oboe playing the only real tune in the whole work." Sarasate would more easily earn our sympathy if Brahms didn't quickly turn from the oboe to the violin, having saved for it an unbroken outpouring of song that carries us through to the end of the movement.
We don't immediately associate Brahms with merriment, but the finale of the concerto is unmistakably jolly, filled with good-natured
themes and flashes of outright wit. The spirit is that of the gypsy violinist, an intentional allusion to Joachim's Hungarian heritage. The final march, with trumpets and drums, rises to a climax and then abruptly unwinds like a mechanical toy before it ends with a bang.
A footnote about friendship: only two years after the premiere of the Violin Concerto, the fellowship between Brahms and Joachim began to falter. Brahms couldn't stand to watch Joachim become increasingly jealous of his wife, and by the time the couple divorced in 1884, the composer and the violinist were no longer speaking. Joachim continued to play Brahms' music everywhere, but refused to answer his letters. Finally, Brahms wrote the Double Concerto as a peace offering, and Joachim--like so many others since--couldn't resist this warm and heartfelt music. The friendship was restored, but the old spark was missing.
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 (1877) Brahms
Within the months following the long-awaited premiere of his Symphony No. 1, Brahms produced yet another. The two were as different as night and day--logically enough, since the first had taken two decades of struggle and soul-searching and the second was written over a summer holiday. If it truly was Beethoven's symphonic achievement that stood in Brahms' way for all those years, nothing seems to have stopped the flow of this new symphony in D Major. Brahms had put his fears and worries behind him.
This music was composed at the picture-postcard village of Portschach, on Lake Worth, where Brahms had rented two tiny rooms for his summer holiday. The rooms were, supposedly, ideal for composition, even though the hallway was so narrow that Brahms' piano couldn't be moved up the stairs. "It is delightful here," Brahms wrote to Fritz Simrock, his publisher, soon after arriving, and the new symphony bears witness to his apparent delight. Later that summer, when Brahms' friend Theodore Billroth, an amateur musician, played through the score for the first time, he wrote to the composer: "It is all rippling streams, blue sky, sunshine, and cool green shadows...." Eventually listeners began to call this Brahms' Pastoral Symphony, again raising the comparison to Beethoven. But if Brahms' Symphony No. 2 has a true companion, it is the violin concerto he would write the following summer in Portschach--cut
from the same D-Major cloth and reflecting the mood and even some of the thematic material of the symphony.
When Brahms sent the first movement of his new symphony off to Clara Schumann, she predicted that this music would fare better with the public than the tough and stormy Symphony No. 1, and she was right. The first performance, on December 30, 1877 in Vienna under Hans Richter, was a triumph. When Brahms conducted the second performance in Leipzig, just after the beginning of the New Year, the audience was again enthusiastic. But Brahms' real moment of glory came late in the summer of 1878, when his new symphony was a great success in his native Hamburg, where he had twice failed to win a coveted musical post. Still, it would be another decade before the Honorary Freedom of Hamburg--the city's highest honor--was given to him, and Brahms remained ambivalent about his birthplace for the rest of his life. In the meantime, the D-Major symphony found receptive listeners nearly everywhere it was played. (Theodore Thomas, who would later found the Chicago Symphony, introduced the work to the US on October 3, 1878, at a concert in New York City.)
From the opening bars of the "Allegro non troppo"--with their bucolic horn calls and woodwind chords--we prepare for the radiant sunlight and pure skies that Billroth promised. And, with one soaring phrase from the first violins, Brahms' great pastoral scene unfolds before us. Although another of Billroth's letters to the composer suggests that "a happy, cheerful mood permeates the whole work," Brahms knows that even a sunny day contains moments of darkness and doubt--moments when pastoral serenity threatens to turn tragic. It's that underlying tension--even drama--that gives this music its remarkable character. A few details stand out: two particularly bracing passages for the three trombones in the development section, and much later, just before the coda, a wavering horn call that emerges, serene and magical. This is followed--as if the most logical thing in the world--by a jolly bit of dance-hall waltzing before the music flickers and dies.
Eduard Hanslick, one of Brahms' champions, thought the "Adagio" "more conspicuous for the development of the themes than for the worth of the themes themselves." Hanslick wasn't the first critic to be wrong--this movement has very little to do with development as we know it--although it's unlike him to be so far off the mark when dealing
with music by Brahms. Hanslick did notice that the third movement has the relaxed character of a serenade. It is, for all its initial grace and charm, a serenade of some complexity, with two frolicsome presto passages (smartly disguising the main theme) and a wealth of shifting accents.
The finale is jubilant and electrifying; the clouds seem to disappear after the hushed opening bars, and the music blazes forward, almost unchecked, to the very end. For all Brahms' concern about measuring up to Beethoven, he seldom mentioned his admiration for Haydn and his ineffable high spirits, but that's who Brahms most resembles here. There is, of course, the great orchestral roar of triumph that always suggests Beethoven. But many moments are pure Brahms, like the ecstatic clarinet solo that rises above the bustle only minutes into the movement, or the warm and striding theme in the strings that immediately follows. The extraordinary brilliance of the final bars--as unbridled an outburst as any in Brahms-was not lost on his great admirer Antonin Dvorak when he wrote his Carnival Overture.
Program notes by Phillip Huscher.
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he Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is consistently hailed as one of today's leading orchestras. Performances by the CSO are much in demand at home and in the most prestigious music capitals of the world. In September 2010, renowned Italian conductor Riccardo Muti became the CSO's 10th music director. His vision for the orchestra--to deepen its engagement with the Chicago community, to nurture the legacy of the CSO while supporting a new generation of musicians, and to collaborate with visionary artists--signals a new era for the institution. French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, whose long-standing relationship with the CSO led to his appointment as principal-guest conductor in 1995, was named Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus in 2006.
In collaboration with internationally renowned conductors and guest artists, the CSO performs well over 150 concerts each year at its downtown Chicago home, Symphony Center, and at the Ravinia Festival on Chicago's North Shore, where it is in residence each summer. Through the Institute for Learning, Access and Training, the CSO engages more than 200,000 Chicago-area residents annually. In 2007, three highly successful
media initiatives were launched--CSO Resound, the orchestra's in-house record label for CDs and digital downloads; a return to the national airwaves with a new, self-produced weekly broadcast series; and the expansion of the CSO's web presence, with free video downloads of innovative Beyond the Score presentations.
In January 2010, Yo-Yo Ma became the CSO's first Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, appointed by Riccardo Muti for a three-year term. Two new Mead Composers-in-Residence began two-year terms in the fall of 2010. Mason Bates and Anna Clyne, appointed by Riccardo Muti, curate the contemporary MusicNOW series.
Recordings by the CSO have earned 62 Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Most recently, the recording of Verdi's Requiem with Riccardo Muti was recognized with 2011 Grammy Awards for "Best Classical Album" and "Best Choral Performance."
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's distin?guished history began in 1891, when Theodore Thomas, then the leading conductor in America and a recognized music pioneer, was invited by Chicago businessman Charles Norman Fay to es?tablish a symphony orchestra in Chicago. Thomas served as music director until his death in 1905-just three weeks after the dedication of Orchestra Hall, the Chicago Orchestra's permanent home.
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orn in Naples, Italy, Riccardo Muti first drew the attention of critics and public in 1967, when he won the Guido Cantelli Competition for conductors in Milan. In 1971, Maestro Muti was invited by Herbert von Karajan to conduct at the Salzburg Festival, the first of many occasions which led to the celebration of 40 years of splendid collaboration with this glorious Austrian festival. Maestro Muti has served as music director of several international institutions: Maggio
Musicale Fiorentino, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Teatro alia Scala. In 2004, Muti founded the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, which
consists of young musicians selected from across Italy.
ums University Musical Society
Riccardo Muti
Over the course of his extraordinary career, Riccardo Muti has conducted most of the renowned orchestras in the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and the Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Maestro Muti made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival in July 1973. He began his tenure as the CSO's 10th music director in September 2010, and subsequently won his first two Grammy Awards for his recording of Verdi's Messa da Requiem with the CSO and Chorus.
Innumerable honors have been bestowed on Riccardo Muti; most recently in 2011, he was awarded Spain's Prince of Asturias Prize, and was named an honorary member of the Vienna Philharmonic and an honorary director for life at the Rome Opera. He is the recipient of the 2011 Birgit Nilsson Prize.
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inchas Zukerman has remained a phenomenon in the world of music for four decades. His musical genius, prodigious technique, and unwavering artistic standards are a marvel to audiences and critics. Mr. Zukerman is equally respected as violinist, violist, conductor, pedagogue, and chamber musician.
Mr. Zukerman's current season includes over 100 performances worldwide, taking him to
multiple destinations in North America, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Zukerman currently is in his 13th season as music director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. In his third season as principal-guest
conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, he leads the
ensemble in concerts throughout Spain, Italy, and the UK, as well as on an East Coast tour of the US and Canada. Additional orchestral engagements include appearances with the New York and Israel philharmonics and the San Francisco, Oregon, and San Diego symphonies. Guest appearances with international orchestras include the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Budapest Festival Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, OSESP Brazil, Miyazaki Festival Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony, and the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra.
Over the last decade, Mr. Zukerman has become as equally regarded a conductor as he is an instrumentalist, leading many of the world's top ensembles in a wide variety of the orchestral repertoire's most demanding works. A devoted and innovative pedagogue, Mr. Zukerman chairs
UMS Archives
T
his evening's concert marks the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's 203rd appearance under UMS auspices. The CSO made its UMS debut over 100 years ago, in November 1892. Historically, the Orchestra appeared under UMS auspices under its previous names of the Chicago Orchestra and the Theodore Thomas Orchestra. The Orchestra last appeared in Ann Arbor at Hill Auditorium in January 2010 under the baton of Pierre Boulez, in a program of Ravel, Dalbavie, and Bart6k.
This evening's concert marks Riccardo Muti and Pinchas Zukerman's seventh appearances un?der UMS auspices. Maestro Muti made his UMS debut in 1979 leading the Philadelphia Orchestra and conducted the Orchestra again that same year with Alicia de Larrocha as piano soloist. He returned under UMS auspices three more times in 1983 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the first with pianist Krystian Zimerman and the second and third with violinist Gidon Kremer. His most recent UMS appearance was in March 2006 leading the Vienna Philharmonic in a program of Schubert, Mozart, and Strauss at Hill Auditorium.
Mr. Zukerman made his UMS debut in 1981, and has since performed on violin with a wide range of quartets and orchestras. His various collaborations for these performances include the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, and the Tokyo String Quartet. His most recent UMS appearance was in March 2004 as violin soloist in the Max Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at Hill Auditorium.
Photo Paul UbeOe
Pinchas Zukerman
the Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, where he has pioneered the use of distance-learning technology in the arts. In Canada, he has established the NAC Institute for Orchestral Studies and the Summer Music Institute, encompassing the Young Artists, Conductors, and Composers programs.
Born in Tel Aviv, Pinchas Zukerman came to America in 1962, where he studied at The Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian. He has been awarded a Medal of Arts and the Isaac Stern Award for Ar?tistic Excellence, and he was appointed the Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative's first instrumen?talist mentor in the music discipline.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, Music Director
Pierre Boulez, Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus Yo-Yo Ma, Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant Duain Wolfe, Chorus Director Mason Bates and Anna Clyne, Mead Composers-in-Residence
Violins
Robert Chen Concertmaster The Louis C Sudler Chair, endowed by an anonymous benefactor
Stephanie Jeong Associate Concertmaster
David Taylor
Yuan-Qing Yut Assistant Concertmasters"
Cornelius Chiu
Nathan Cole
Alison Dalton
Kozue Funakoshi
Russell Hershow
Qing Hou
Nisanne Howell
Blair Milton
Paul Phillips. Jr.
Sando Shia
Susan Synnestvedt
Rong-Yan Tang
Akiko Tarumoto
Baird Dodge
Principal Albert Igolnikov
Assistant Principal Lei Hou NiMei Fox Fehling Hermine Gagne Rachel Goldstein Mihaela lonescu Melanie Kupchynsky Wendy Koons Meir Aiko Noda Joyce Noh Nancy Park Ronald Satkiewicz Florence Schwartz-Lee Jennie Wagner
Violas
Charles Pikler
Principal Li-Kuo Chang
Assistant Principal
The Louise H. Benton
Wagner Chair John Bartholomew Catherine Brubaker Karen Dirks Diane Mues Lawrence Neuman Yukiko Ogura Daniel Orbach Max Rdimi Thomas Wright
Cellos
John Sharp
Principal
The Eloise W. Martin
Chair Kenneth Olsen
Assistant Principal
The Adele Gidwitz
Chair
Loren Brown Richard Hirschl Daniel Katz Katinka Kleijn Jonathan Pegis David Sanders Gary Stucka Brant Taylor
Basses
Daniel Armstrong Roger Cline Joseph DiBello Michael Hovnanian Robert Kassinger Mark Kraemer Stephen Lester Bradley Opland
Harps
Sarah Bullen
Principal
Lynne Turner
Flutes
Mathieu Dufour
Principal Richard Graef
Assistant Principal Louise Dixon Jennifer Gunn
Piccolo
Jennifer Gunn
Oboes
Eugene Izotov
Principal
The Nancy and Larry
Fuller Chair Michael Henoch
Assistant Principal
Gilchrist Foundation
Chair
Lora Schaefer Scott Hostetler
English Horn Scott Hostetler
Clarinets Stephen Williamson
Principal John Bruce Yeh
Assistant Principal Gregory Smith J. Lawrie Bloom
E-Flat Clarinet
John Bruce Yeh
Bass Clarinet
J. Lawrie Bloom
Bassoons
David McGill
Principal William Buchman
Assistant Principal Dennis Michel
Horns
Dale Clevenger
Principal Daniel Gingrich
Associate Principal James Smelser David Griffin Oto Carrillo Susanna Gaant
Trumpets
Christopher Martin Principal
The Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet Chair, endowed by an anonymous benefactor
Mark Ridenour Assistant Principal
John Hagstrom
Tage Larsen
Trombones
Jay Friedman Principal Michael Mulcahy Charles Vernon
Bass Trombone Charles Vernon
Tuba
Gene Pokorny Principal
The Arnold Jacobs Principal Tuba Chair, endowed by Christine Querfeld
Timpani Vadim Karpinos Acting Principal
Percussion Cynthia Yeh Principal Patricia Dash Vadim Karpinos James Ross
Piano
Mary Sauer Principal
Librarians Peter Conover Principal Carole Keller Mark Swanson
Orchestra Personnel John Deverman
Director Anne MacQuarrie
Manager, CSO
Auditions and
Orchestra Personnel
Stage Technicians
Kelly Kerins Stage Manager Date Hartge James Hogan Christopher Lewis Patrick Reynolds Todd Snick Joe Tucker
"Assistant concertmasters are listed by seniority, ton sabbatical On leave
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra string sections utilize revolving seating. Players behind the first desk (first two desks in the violins) change seats systematically every two weeks and are listed alphabetically. Section percussionists also are listed alphabetically. The David and Mary Winton Green Principal Bass Chair currently is unoccupied.
ums University Musical Society
and UMHS
present
Max Raabe and Palast Orchester
Max Raabe, Vocals
Cecilia Crisafulli, Violin
Thomas Huder, Trumpet, Vocals
Michael Enders, Trumpet, Vocals
Jorn Ranke, Trombone, Viola, Vocals
Bernd Frank, Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet
Johannes Ernst, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet
Sven Bahrens, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet
Rainer Fox, Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet, Vocals
Vincent Riewe, Drums, Percussion
Bernd Hugo Dieterich, Double Bass, Sousaphone
Ulrich Hoffmeier, Guitar, Banjo, Violin
Ian Wekwerth, Piano
Michael Enders, Musical Director
Program
Saturday Evening, March 10, 2012 at 8:00 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor
One Cannot Kiss Alonp
Tonight's program will be announced from the stage by the artists and will be performed with one intermission.
44th Performance of the 133rd Annual Season
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 the University of Michigan Health System.
Media partnership is provided by Michigan Radio 91.7 FM.
The Steinway piano used in this evening's concert is made possible by William and Mary Palmer.
Max Raabe and Palast Orchester appears by arrangement with Opus 3 Artists, New York, NY.
Large print programs are available upon request.
One Cannot Kiss Alone
Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester are on the road with a new, not-to-be-missed show. Tonight, the band is bringing songs from their new album, One Cannot Kiss Alone. Weimar-era classics will sit alongside modern love songs, imbued with the same consummate mix of irony, melancholy, and wit. Blended throughout is Mr. Raabe's narrative banter and playfully imperious charm that has wooed audiences worldwide.
The repertoire of the Palast Orchester encompasses more than 500 songs, including original dance-band arrangements of classics by Kurt Weill, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin, and timeless hits such as "Dream a Little Dream," "Over My Shoulder," and "Singin' in the Rain."
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ounded in 1986 by the charismatic baritone Max Raabe, Max Raabe and Palast Orchester embodies the high style and musical glory of the 1920s and '30s and has been performed for adoring audiences in the US, Shanghai, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Tokyo, Vienna, Amsterdam, Rome, and Tel Aviv.
Max Raabe and his sophisticated Palast Orchester perform a mix of treasured classics, reclaimed gems, and hilariously quirky covers of modern-pop songs performed in an uber-suave cabaret style. Classically trained at the Berlin University of the Arts, Mr. Raabe knew from his early days as a student that he desired to revive a rich, musical glamour of the early 20th century, developing a vast and fantastically nuanced repertoire by scouring archives, flea markets, and curiosity shops. In true cabaret fashion, Mr. Raabe's performances are riddled with unmatched wit, fantastic word play, unbeatable timing, and a loving dash of irony; his singular ability to capture the cunning rasp of the cabaret singer, the confident bel canto hero, the oily melodiousness of the revue beau, the carefree timbre of early jazz, and the falsetto of ragtime all serve to create a performance unlike anything else offered today. On any particular evening, audiences might find themselves dreaming along to a romantic melody, wooed by his debonair wit, or enchanted by a virtuosic violin solo.
Max Raabe and Palast Orchester have earned international attention and praise. In 1997, the Palast Orchester celebrated their 10th anniversary
with an audience of 20,000 at Berlin's Waldbuhne. In 2000, BMG Classics and Palast Orchester released Charming Weill, an album that paid homage to the composer Kurt Weill and was awarded the Classic Echo Award. Shortly after, their album SuperHits replaced the Beatles as the number-one album on the charts
in Latvia. In 2002, the Palast Orchester had the honor of opening the Viennese Festival Weeks for an audience of 40,000, and later that year made its US debut at Royce Hall in Los Angeles. From August 2003 through 2007, the Palast Orchester performed its lavish production of Palast Revue --a performance complete with changing scenery, a stunning chorus line, and video backdrop--for more than 300,000 audience members.
In the spring of 2004, Max Raabe, along with pianist Christoph Israel, made his New York debut in two sold-out concerts at the Neue Galerie. This was followed in 2005 with Max Raabe and Palast Orchester's Carnegie Hall debut. In their annual tours to the US, the Berlin-based band continues to expand their number of performances, winning over new and enthusiastic fans in each city they visit. Their 2007 concert at Carnegie Hall was recorded and released as a live album entitled Tonight or Never, which reached Gold-status in Germany.
Recent tours in the US have included stops in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota. In October 2010, Max Raabe and Palast Orchester made their Israeli debut in a national tour. In 2012, Universal Records will release One Cannot Kiss Alone in the US.
UMS welcomes Max Raabe and Palast Orchester, who make their UMS debuts tonight.
Palast Orchester Tour Production
Frank Ebeling, Production Manager Bernd Meyer-Lellek, Sound Engineer Dirk Lehmann, Lighting Designer Wilfried Haase, Office Manager Tour Support
Neumann Microphones, Berlin Shure Wireless Systems
Max Raabe
Photo CHaf Heine