UMS Concert Program, Thursday Apr. 12 To 22: University Musical Society: Winter 2012 - Thursday Apr. 12 To 22 --

Season: Winter 2012
Hill Auditorium

ums
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.
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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, April 12 through Sunday, April 22, 2012
Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion 5
Thursday, April 12, 7:30 pm Hill Auditorium
Cheikh L6 9
Friday, April 13, 8:00 pm Michigan Theater
Charles Lloyd New Quartet 11
Saturday, April 14, 8:00 pm Michigan Theater
Pavel Haas Quartet 15
Wednesday, April 18, 7:30 pm Rackham Auditorium
Ballet Preljocaj 21
Snow White
Thursday, April 19, 7:30 pm Friday, April 20, 8:00 pm Saturday, April 21, 8:00 pm Power Center
17th Ford Honors Program 29
Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Joshua Bell
Sunday, April 22, 4:00 pm Hill Auditorium
ums University Musical Society
Fall 2011
September
An Evening with Ahmad Jamal Emerson String Quartet Mark Morris Dance Group Dan Zanes & Friends
October
John Malkovich and Musica Angelica
Baroque Orchestra: The Infernal Comedy:
Confessions of a Serial Killer
Yuja Wang, piano
National Theatre Live: One Man, Two
Guvnors
State Symphony Capella of Russia
Goran Bregovic and His Wedding and
Funeral Orchestra
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan:
Water Stains on the Wall
Schola Cantorum de Venezuela
Gate Theatre of Dublin: Beckett's
Endgame and Watt
National Theatre Live: The Kitchen
November
Apollo's Fire with Philippe Jaroussky,
countertenor
Audra McDonald
Diego El Cigala
AnDa Union
A Night in Treme: The Musical Majesty
of New Orleans
St. Lawrence String Quartet
Beijing Guitar Duo with Manuel Barrueco
Canadian Brass
December
Handel's Messiah
London Philharmonic Orchestra with
Janine Jansen, violin
Stile Antico
Winter 2012
@@@@ January
8 National Theatre Live: The Collaborators
20-22 Einstein on the Beach
23 Denis Matsuev, piano
28 Les Violons du Roy with Maurice Steger,
recorder
29 Hamburg Symphony Orchestra with
Francesco Tristano, piano: Messiaen's
From the Canyons to the Stars
February
4 Sabine Meyer and the Trio di Clarone
10 Chamber Ensemble of the Shanghai
Chinese Orchestra
12 Michigan Chamber Players
10 The Tallis Scholars
17 Sweet Honey In The Rock
18 Wayne McGregor I Random Dance: FAR
19 FELA! (at Music Hall, Detroit)
19 National Theatre Live: Title TBA
22 Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with
Wynton Marsalis 23 Hagen Quartet
March
9 i 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 Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor: American Mavericks
April
5 : St. Lawrence String Quartet (NEW DATE)
; National Theatre Live: She Stoops to Conquer
i Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion
Cheikh L6
i Charles Lloyd New Quartet 18 Pavel Haas Quartet
19-21 ; Ballet Preljocaj: Snow White 22 i Ford Honors Program: Academy of
St. Martin in the Fields with i Joshua Bell, violin
May
11 i Breakin' Curfew
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. "ft
Pavel Haas Quartet
Panel
World Leaders Respond to the European
Crisis: A View from Warsaw, Prague, and
Budapest
Tuesday, April 17, 4:00 pm Rackham Amphitheatre, 915 E. Washington Street
The U-M Weiser Center for Emerging Democ?racies (WCED) along with the U-M Internation?al Policy Center present the symposium "The European Crisis: A View from Warsaw and Prague." Invited guests of honor and partici?pants include Aleksander Kwasniewski (Polish President, 1995-2005) and Petr Pithart (Czech Prime Minister, 1990-92).
CREES Noon Lecture: Jewish Music in the Time of the Holocaust
Wednesday, April 18, 12 noon 1636 International Institute, School of Social Work Building, 1080 S. University Through vocal music, we are given a direct con?nection with a composer's unique personality and the culture and times in which the com?poser lived. In anticipation of the Pavel Haas Quartet concert, this presentation will first ex?amine the life and works of the Czech Jewish composer Pavel Haas (1899-1944), who con?tinued to compose songs while interred at the Terezin concentration camp. The lecture will then extend to other Jewish composers across Europe, contemplating their individual, unique stories, how their careers before the war and their nationalities played a major role in the formation of their compositional voices, and how World War II affected their lives and mu?sic. Timothy Cheek, U-M associate professor of voice, serves as moderator.
Presented and sponsored by the U-M Center for European Studies, Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, and the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.
urns
presents
Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion
Zakir Hussain, Tabla
Fazal Qureshi, Tabla and Kanjira
Rakesh Chaurasia, Bansuri (bamboo flute)
T.H.V. Umashankar, Ghatam (clay pot)
Sabir Khan, Sarangi
Navin Sharma, Dholak
Abbos Kosimov, Doyra
Ningombam Joy Singh, Dancing drummer of Manipur
Program
Thursday Evening, April 12, 2012 at 7:30 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor
Tonight's program will be announced from the stage by the artists and will be performed with one intermission.
52nd Performance of the 133rd Annual Season
Asia 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 hosted by Rani Kotha and Dr. Howard Hu.
Media partnership is provided by WEMU 89.1, Metro Times, and Ann Arbor's 107one.
Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion appear by arrangement with IMG Artists, New York, NY.
Large print programs are available upon request.
T
he preeminent classical tabla virtuoso of our time, Zakir Hussain delivers brilliant performances that have established him as a national treasure in his native India and one of the world's most esteemed and influential musicians, renowned for his genre-defying collaborations. His playing is marked by uncanny intuition and masterful improvisational dexterity, founded in formidable knowledge and study. Masters of Percussion, an outgrowth of Hussain's memorable tours with his father, the legendary Ustad Allarakha, has enjoyed successful tours in the West since 1996.
@@@@Z
akir Hussain is today appreciated both in the field of percussion and in the music world at large as an international phenomenon. A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, his consistently brilliant and exciting performances have not only established him as a national treasure in his own country, India, but gained him worldwide fame. His playing is marked by uncanny intuition and masterful improvisational dexterity, founded in formidable knowledge and study. The favorite accompanist for many of India's greatest classical musicians and dancers, he has not let his genius rest there.
Widely considered a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement, Zakir's contribution to world music has been unique, with many historic collaborations, including Shakti (which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar), Remember Shakti, the Diga Rhythm Band, Making Music, Planet Drum with Mickey Hart, Tabla Beat Science, Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland, and recordings and performances with artists as diverse as George Harrison, YoYo Ma, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Airto Moreira, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, Mark Morris, Rennie Harris, and the Kodo drummers. His 2009 recording with frequent collaborators and trio-mates Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer, The Melody of Rhythm, was nominated for a Grammy in 2010.
The foremost disciple of his father, the legendary Ustad Allarakha, Hussain was a child prodigy who began his professional career at the age of 12 and had toured internationally with great success by the age of 18. He has been the recipient of many awards, grants, and honors, including Padma Bhushan (2002), Padma Shri (1988), the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
(1991), Kalidas Samman (2006), the 1999 National Heritage Fellowship Award, the Bay Area Isadora Duncan Award (1998-99), and Grammy Awards in 1991 and 2009 for "Best World Music Album" for Planet Drum and Global Drum Project, both collaborations with Mickey Hart. His artistry and extraordinary contribution to the music world were honored in April 2009 with four widely heralded and sold-out concerts in Carnegie Hall's Perspectives series. Also in 2009, Zakir was named a Member in the Order of Arts and Letters by France's Ministry of Culture and Communication. Most recently, the National Symphony Orchestra with Christoph Eschenbach commissioned and premiered Zakir's Concerto for Four Soloists at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, which was met with great acclaim.
For further information, please visit www. zakirhussain.com.
Fazal Qureshi began his training early under the keen eye of his father and guru, Ustad Allarakha. With encouragement and inspiration from his elder brother Zakir Hussain, Fazal has developed a style distinguished by a fine sense of rhythm, versatility, and eloquence. He has performed both as a soloist and as an accompanist in prestigious classical music festivals in India and around the world. The remarkable ease with which Fazal accompanies veteran as well as young Indian classical instrumentalists, vocalists, and dancers of both North and South, as well as Western instrumentalists, speaks of the discipline and dedication with which this talented artist has pursued music. For the past 16 years he has performed with and composed for his world music band Mynta, based in Sweden. The group has six popular and successful albums and tours regularly.
Rakesh Chaurasia, nephew of flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, is the most accomplished disciple of his uncle and promises to carry the Chaurasia legacy to new heights. Rakesh possesses the right balance of strength and serenity, critical factors for an exceptional flutist. Rakesh has already globe-trotted many times over, enthralling audiences at classical and semi-classical concerts in Japan, Australia, Europe, South Africa, and the US. He is also an accomplished and versatile studio performer, having recorded with most of the leading stalwarts of the Indian film industry.
T.H.V. Umashankar is descended from a lineage of highly accomplished Carnatic (South Indian classical) percussionists. The grandson of Shri T.R. Hariharan Sharma and son of ghatam legend T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram, he has distinguished himself as an accompanist to the esteemed Carnatic musicians of our time, including M.S. Subbulakshmi, Balamurali Krishna, and U. Srinivas. He has also performed with great musicians in the Hindustani (North Indian classical) tradition, with Western jazz artists such as John McLaughlin and Jonas Hellborg, and as a regular session artist for Indian cinema music composers such as A.R. Rahman and Illayaraja.
Sabir Khan is an Indian sarangi player belonging to the Sikar Gharana (School) of Music--the same school which has produced some of the most respected and prodigious talents in Indian classical music. Sabir was exposed to music when he was six years old through his grandfather Ustad Gulab Khan. He is well known today for his delicate mastery of sarangi. His technique of playing is a rare combination of surand laya (note and rhythm). Sabir has performed alongside great Indian artists such as Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Kumar Bose, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, gazal maestros Ustad Gulam AN and Talat Aziz, and the legendary singer Asha Bhosle. Sabir most recently released an album with the great Lata Mangeshkar.
Navin Sharma was born in the Ulhasnagar district of Maharashtra in 1975 to a musical family and started studying the dholak at a very young age. His first guru was his father, Shyam Rughuram Sharma, and through these studies was introduced to other local musicians who were actively composing scores for Bollywood films. After realizing his desire to study more Indian classical music, his father insisted he learn from tabla master Ustad Allarakha, with whom he studied for several years. Navin has performed with many master musicians over his career, and with many ensembles, including jazz, fusion, pop, rock, ghazal, and bhajan.
Abbos Kosimov was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to a very musical family. He studied at the College of Culture and Music under doyra master Mamurjon Vahabov and graduated in 1988. In 1991, Abbos won second prize in Central Asia and Kazakhstan's Competition of Percussion
Instruments. A few years later, he established the "Abbos School" where he taught the talented youth of his country to play the doyra (presently there are over 100 students in his school). In 2001, in honor of the 10th Anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence, Abbos was awarded a medal celebrating his status as an "Honored Artist of Uzbekistan." In 2005, he moved to the US and has since recorded andor performed with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Randy Gloss' Hands OnSemble, Giovanni Hidalgo, and Zakir Hussain.
The Meitei Pung Cholom Performing Troupe
is one of India's premiere performance troupes, combining dance, drumming, and martial arts in their repertoire. Dedicated to the rejuvenation of traditional folk and classical Manipuri dance styles, they were established in 1963 by the late Guru Padmashri Amubi Singh, have performed thousands of concerts in India, and have enjoyed many successful international tours. Known for dynamic athleticism and proficiency as well as unique-sounding drums, Meitei Pung Cholom Troupe is a visual feast, dazzling audiences with acrobatic choreography.
UMS Archives
T
onight's concert marks Zakir Hussain's third appearance under UMS auspices. Zakir made his UMS debut in March 2000 with Maestro AN Akbar Kahn and last appeared in performance in Ann Arbor with santoor master Pandit Shivkumar Sharma in March 2009 at Rackham Auditorium.
urns
presents
Cheikh L6
Cheikh N'Diguel L6, Vocals, Guitar, Timbal
Samba N'Dokh, Percussion (CongasTama)
Baye Mahanta Diop, Guitar
Thiemo Sarr, Bass
Khadim M'Baye, Percussion (Sabar)
Wilfrid Zinssou, Trombone and Saxophones
Ndiaye Badou, Drums
Program
Friday Evening, April 13, 2012 at 8:00 Michigan Theater Ann Arbor
Tonight's program will be announced from the stage by the artists and will be performed without intermission.
53rd Performance of the 133rd Annual Season
UMS World 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 and The Michigan Chronicle. Cheikh L6 appears by arrangement with Mel Puljic and Mondo Mundo Agency.
Large print programs are available upon request.
C
heikh L6 is one of the great mavericks of African music. A superb singer and song?writer as well as a distinctive guitarist, per?cussionist, and drummer, he has personalized and distilled a variety of influences from West and Cen?tral Africa to create a style that is uniquely his own.
L6 dedicates both his life and music to Baye Fall, a specifically Senegalese form of Islam and part of the larger Islamic brotherhood of Mouridism. Es?tablished by Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba M'Becke at the end of the 19th century, Mouridism emerged from opposition to French colonialism and many fabulous stories are told of Bamba's struggles with the authorities who feared that the rapid spread of Mouridism would inspire armed insurrection. Bam?ba's closest disciple, Cheikh Ibra Fall (also known as Lamp Fall), established the Baye Fall movement, and he was the first to wear the patchwork clothes and long dreadlocks that are still Baye Fall trade?marks today. Cheikh Lo's own marabout, Maame Massamba N'Diaye, is said to be over 100 years old, and was a disciple of Cheikh Ibra Fall; Cheikh L6 wears his picture in a pendant around his neck.
Cheikh L6 was born in 1955 to Senegalese par?ents in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, not far from the border with Mali, where he grew up speaking Bambara (language of Mali), Wolof (language of Senegal), and French. His father was from a long line of marabouts. From an early age, L6 was only interested in music, running away from school to teach himself guitar and percussion on borrowed instruments. During his teens he listened to all kinds of music, especially the Congolese Rumba which was popular throughout Africa. Cuban mu?sic was also all the rage in West Africa at this time, so when his older brothers started up their 78s and danced to "El Pancho Bravo," Cheikh, without understanding a word, would mime exactly to the Spanish lyrics.
At 21 he started singing and playing percussion with Orchestra Volta Jazz in Bobo Dioulasso. The band played a variety of music from Burkina Faso and its neighboring countries as well as Cuban and other styles. In 1981 he moved to Dakar, Senegal where he played drums for the renowned and progressive singer, Ouza, before joining the house band at the Hotel Savana, drumming and singing an international repertoire.
In 1984 he moved to Paris and worked as a studio session drummer. On his return to Senegal he found that his dreadlocks no longer made him entirely welcome at the Hotel Savana so he con?centrated on his own music.
Cheikh's first cassette Doxandeme (Immigrants), on which he sang about the experience of being Senegalese abroad, was released in 1990. It sold well and earned him the Nouveau Talent award in Dakar. The following year he started to work on the compositions for his album Ne La Thiass.
Youssou N'Dour first encountered L6 as a ses?sion singer in 1989:
Whenever he sang the choruses I was over?whelmed by his voice, but I really got to know him from his cassette Doxandeme. I heard his voice and said, 'wow.' I found something in his voice that's like a voyage through Burkina, Niger, Mali.
L6 continued to develop his own repertoire. On hearing Lo's new songs, N'Dour immediately agreed to produce the album and in August 1995 they went to work in Youssou's Xippi Studio in Da?kar on the album Ne La Thiass.
The album sees L6 joined on vocals by Youssou N'Dour and by musicians from N'Dour's Super Etoile de Dakar. Lo's signature sound--a semi acoustic, Spanish-tinged take on the popular mbalax style-was an instant success in Senegal, gaining him a dedicated local following. "Set," a plea to clean up the streets during a Dakar municipal strike, was broadcast on loudspeakers throughout the country in a campaign by the Ministry of Health.
Ne La Thiass was released internationally on World Circuit in 1996 followed by his debut tour in Europe with his own band. His early performances prompted rave reviews wherever he performed.
In 1997 L6 was awarded "Best Newcomer" at the Kora All-African Awards in South Africa and the following year he toured the US as part of the Africa-Fete line-up that included Salif Keita and Papa Wemba. In 1999 he received the prestigious Ordre National de Merite de Leon from the Presi?dent of Senegal.
Following the release of Lamp Fall (2005), L6 withdrew from the international stage and im?mersed himself in the Dakar scene playing regu?larly with his own band and this return home is reflected in his new album Jamm. His signature blend of semi-acoustic flavors--West and Central African, Cuban, and flamenco--has been distilled into his most mature, focused, yet diverse state?ment to date.
UMS welcomes Cheikh L6 who makes his UMS debut tonight.
urns
presents
Charles Lloyd New Quartet
Charles Lloyd, Saxophones, Flute, and Taragato Jason Moran, Piano Reuben Rogers, Bass Eric Harland, Drums
Program
Saturday Evening, April 14, 2012 at 8:00 Michigan Theater Ann Arbor
Tonight's program will be announced from the stage by the artists and will be performed without intermission.
54th 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, Metro Times, The Michigan Chronicle, and Ann Arbor's 107one.
Charles Lloyd New Quartet appears by arrangement with Michael Kline Artists.
Large print programs are available upon request.
C
harles Lloyd was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 15, 1938. From an early age, he was immersed in that city's rich musical life and was exposed to jazz. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 9. Pianist Phineas Newborn became his mentor, and took him to Inin Reason for lessons. His closest friend in high school was trumpeter Booker Little. Mr. Lloyd worked in Phineas Sr.'s band and became a
sideman in the blues bands of B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Johnnie Ace, and Bobbie "Blue" Bland.
In 1956 Charles Lloyd moved to Los Angeles and earned a master's degree from the University of Southern California. During this period he played in Gerald Wilson's big band and also had his own group that included Billy Higgins, Don Cherry, Bobby Hutcherson, and Terry Trotter. He joined Chico Hamilton in 1960 when the band
was best known for playing "chamber jazz" at the beginning of Mr. Lloyd's tenure. His influence as a composer and a player quickly pushed the group in a more progressive post-bop direction, especially after Hamilton asked him to serve as music director. Mr. Lloyd's key musical partner in the band was Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo. In 1964, Mr. Lloyd left the ensemble to join alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderly. During this period he recorded two albums as a leader for Columbia Records, Discovery and Of Course, Of Course; his sidemen were other young musicians including Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. Through 1965-1969 Mr. Lloyd led a quartet with pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Cecil McBee (later Ron McClure), and drummer Jack DeJohnette. The quartet's music was an interesting fusion of straight-ahead post-bop, free jazz, and world music. The group's music quickly caught the attention of both jazz fans and critics. Somewhat surprisingly, they also achieved a fair amount of crossover success with young rock fans and became the first jazz group to play The Fillmore. The album Forest Flower, Live at Monterey became a commercial hit, largely on the strength of the title track. Other albums recorded during this period include Dream Weaver, In the Soviet Union, and In Furope, all released on Atlantic Records.
In 1970, after Charles Lloyd had disbanded the quartet, he moved back to California and entered a state of semi-retirement. He practically disappeared from the jazz scene, but can be heard on recordings with the Doors, Canned Heat, and the Beach Boys. During the 1970s he played extensively with The Beach Boys both on their studio recordings and as a member of their touring band.
Upon being approached by pianist Michel Petrucciani in 1981, Mr. Lloyd resumed actively playing for two years, only to retreat again. Upon his recovery from a near-death experience in 1986, he decided to rededicate himself to music. In 1989, he reestablished an active touring schedule and began recording for ECM Records. The first ECM release was Fish Out of Water with Bobo Stenson, Palle Danielsson, and Jon Christensen. The ECM recordings showcased his sensitivity as a ballad player and composer. Between 1993 and 1997 the quartet was comprised of Bobo Stenson, Anders Jormin, and Billy Hart. Noteworthy albums include Canto, Voice in the Night, The Water Is Wide (featuring Brad Mehldau, John Abercrombie,
Larry Grenadier, and Billy Higgins). Geri Allen later replaced Bobo Stenson, touring and recording with Charles Lloyd between 2001 and 2006 (Lift Every Voice and Jumping the Creek). Drummer Eric Harland joined the quartet in 2002--replacing Billy Higgins--and is a member of Mr. Lloyd's Sangam Trio, with tabla master Zakir Hussain. They continue to perform and record together.
Charles Lloyd maintains an active recording and tour schedule. His New Quartet with Jason Moran on piano, Reuben Rogers on bass, and Eric Harland is well matched with Mr. Lloyd's creative and adventurous spirit. They have released three recordings on ECM: Rabo de Nube (2008), Mirror (2010), and Athens Concert (2011).
UMS Archives
T
onight's concert marks both Charles Lloyd and Jason Moran's second appearances under UMS auspices. Mr. Lloyd made his UMS debut in November 2003 leading the Charles Lloyd Quintet (pianist Geri Allen, guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Eric Harland) at the Michigan Theater. Mr. Moran made his UMS debut in a solo piano set in November 2008 (in a double-bill concert with Joe Lovano's "Us Five") at the Michigan Theater.
Tonight's concert marks bassist Reuben Rogers' sixth UMS appearance. Mr. Rogers made his UMS debut in November 1995 with the Marcus Roberts Trio and Septet.
Lastly, tonight's concert marks Eric Harland's fourth appearance under UMS auspices. Mr. Harland made his UMS debut with the Charles Lloyd Quintet in November 2003.
urns
presents
Pavel Haas Quartet
Veronika Jaruskova, Violin Eva Karova, Violin Pavel Nikl, Viola Peter Jarusek, Cello
with
Joseph Gramley, Percussion
betcol Program
Wednesday Evening, April 18, 2012 at 7:30 Rackham Auditorium Ann Arbor
@@@@Piotr llyich Tchaikovsky
Bedfich Smetana
Pavel Haas
Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11
Moderato e semplice Andante cantabile Scherzo: Allegro non tanto Finale: Allegro giusto
Quartet No. 1 in e minor ("From My Life") Allegro vivo appassionato Allegro moderato alia Polka Largo sostenuto Vivace
INTERMISSION
Quartet No. 2, Op. 7 ("From the Monkey Mountains") Landscape (Andante) Coach, Coachman and Horse (Andante) The Moon and I (Largo e misterioso) Wild Night (Vivace e con fuoco)
Mr. Gramley
55th Performance of the 133rd Annual Season
49th Annual Chamber Arts Series
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording )s prohibited.
This evening's performance is sponsored by Tom and Debby McMullen and McMullen Properties.
Media partnership is provided by WGTE 91.3 FM.
Special thanks to Marysia Ostafin, U-M Weiser Center for Emerging Democra?cies, U-M International Policy Center, U-M Center for European Studies, and U-M Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies for their support of and participation in events surrounding this evening's concert.
Pavel Haas Quartet records for Supraphon.
Pavel Haas Quartet appears by arrangement with Arts Management Group, Inc., New York, NY.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11
Piotr llyich Tchaikovsky
Born May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Viatka district, Russia
Died November 6, 1893 in St. Petersburg
Tchaikovsky is essentially a composer best known for large musical forces and grand dramatic ges?tures: orchestral music, opera, and ballet. He had no strong personal affinity for chamber mu?sic though his output was not negligible: three string quartets, a piano trio, a string sextet, and miscellaneous works for violin and piano. Despite many wonderful moments, his chamber music as a whole is not held in high esteem by many of the cognoscenti for various reasons: weakness of form, unbalanced texture, inconsistency, and tendency to exceed the constraints of chamber music with grand, dramatic gestures best designed for large musical forces. There is one unequivocal exception: Tchaikovsky's String Quartet in D Major, Op. 11. Even the stalwart critics acknowledge that it is a fine work, if not startlingly so, given that it was Tchaikovsky's first chamber composition and it showed a complete technical mastery that he was unable to match again. Consistently appreciated since its debut, the quartet enjoys significant fame: it is the first noteworthy work of Russian chamber music, (the first great string quartet before Boro?din), it contains one of Classical music's greatest hits, and, according to Tchaikovsky's own diary, it moved Tolstoy to tears.
The quartet begins with a well-crafted sonata with several noteworthy features. The opening theme is played by the quartet, softly, in unison, syncopated within the unusual meter of 98. (Just try counting it!). Melvin Berger indicates that these opening chords gave rise to an apt nickname for the quartet, "The Accordion." Next, the unity of the quartet divides into a multiplicity of flowing, contrapuntal lines with shorter, quicker notes in an exciting departure into greater complexity. The ensemble joins together again to sing the second theme in simple unity only to split again into a lux?urious flurry of ornamentation. The development gives full flight to the contrapuntal lines, bringing them to the foreground against the background of the original syncopated theme sped up as a pulsat?ing accompaniment. A wonderfully dense but crys?tal clear texture reaches a climax before the return of opening material. A brilliant coda maximizes the long line of acceleration culminating with an extended sequence of rapid D-Major chords, the
original syncopated rhythm pushed as fast as the music allows.
With the poignant second movement "Andante cantabile," Tchaikovsky penned the first of his many greatest hits, the particular part of the quartet that so moved Tolstoy. The main theme is based on a folk song that Tchaikovsky heard a gardener sing while visiting his sister in the Ukraine two years ear?lier. The music alternates between the folk theme and a contrasting section of Tchaikovsky's own inspiration that is instantly recognizable as within the vein of his most characteristic style. This lovely little dream has been transcribed for numerous in?strumental combinations as a separate, standalone piece including a version Tchaikovsky arranged for cello and orchestra. The Scherzo matches the heartfelt folk song of the slow movement with a vigorous peasant dance. It is heavy with unison playing, sharp rhythmic accents, strong dynam?ics, and the stout severity of a minor key. The trio is a curious combination of frivolity and ponder?ous chromaticism that, in standard form, returns to the animated Scherzo. With both movements, Tchaikovsky displays a nationalistic bent contrary to the view held by later Russian composers who disdained him as too cosmopolitan.
The finale is a combination of sonata and ron?do form full of bristling vigor, wonderful quartet textures, unmistakable touches of Tchaikovsky's lyrical drama, and tinged, in parts, with a distinctly Russian cast. It is one of the finest chamber music movements he wrote. With its poise, balance, and concision, it is utterly classical in the true sense of the word. In fact, it is oddly reminiscent. Despite the definite mark of Tchaikovsky's personality, it bears a striking and detailed resemblance to the string quartet music of Tchaikovsky's greatest mu?sical idol: Mozart. Writing such a piece in 1871, Tchaikovsky could well be considered one of the first neoclassicists, though, in place of any mod?ernist irony, Tchaikovsky expresses only affection?ate sincerity.
Quartet No. 1 in e minor ("From My Life")
Bedfich Smetana
Born March 2, 1824 in Leitomischl, Bohemia
Died May 12, 1884 in Prague
Bedfich Smetana now enjoys the honor of being known as "the Father of Czech (Classical) Music". Technically from Bohemia, he lived during a time
of restless rebellion against the ruling Austro-Hungarian Empire followed by the gradual estab?lishment of a nationalist identity championing the language, music, and folk culture of the Czech people. Smetana was the first great composer to associate with this national heritage, particularly through his own musical expression of Bohemian pride and personality richly represented by his op?eratic masterpiece, The Bartered Bride (Prodana nevesta), and a suite of symphonic poems titled My Country {Ma vlast).
In 1874, at the age of 50, Smetana begin to notice a variety of hearing problems including high-pitched notes, rushing sounds, and the noise of "breaking sticks," collectively known as the disorder tinnitus. His hearing quickly deteriorated leaving him completely and permanently deaf by the end of the year. On one hand, this devastated Smetana, forcing him to resign all duties as con?ductor and performer, and to completely withdraw from the public arena of music making. On the other hand, like other great and similarly afflicted composers before and since, Smetana continued to apply his highly developed and apparently fully internalized ability to compose music in spite of his inability to "hear" it in the traditional sense. His musical output continued unabated in quan?tity and quality for over 10 years until his death in 1884.
Best known for opera and orchestral music, Smetana nonetheless wrote some outstanding and highly distinctive chamber music including a piano trio and two string quartets. Rare for chamber mu?sic, all three works have explicit programmatic as?sociations. Written in 1876, Quartet No. 1 reflects the most elaborate narrative as suggested by his title, From My Life (Z meho zivota), and fully re?vealed by Smetana himself in a detailed letter:
My intention was to paint a tone picture of my life. The first movement depicts my youthful leanings toward art, the Roman?tic atmosphere, the inexpressible yearning for something I could neither express nor define, and also a kind of warning of my future misfortune... The long insistent note in the finale owes its origin to this. It is the fateful ringing in my ears of the high-pitched tones which in 1874 an?nounced the beginning of my deafness. I permitted myself this little joke, because it was so disastrous to me. The second
movement, a quasi-polka, brings to mind the joyful days of youth when I composed dance tunes and was known everywhere as a passionate lover of dancing. The third movement...reminds me of the happiness of my first love, the girl who later became my wife. The fourth movement describes the discovery that I could treat national elements in music and my joy in follow?ing this path until it was checked by the catastrophe of the onset of my deafness, the outlook into the sad future, the tiny rays of hope of recovery, but remembering all the promise of my early career, a feeling of painful regret.
True to his words, the quartet spans a wide range of distinctive music featuring Bohemian dance in the polka of the second movement and a tender love song to his departed first wife in the third movement. But the two outer movements vividly express in music what Smetana could only hint at in his literary explanation. The quartet opens with some of the most dramatic and unforgettable music found throughout the chamber literature: a devastating theme of tragic fate that dominates the first movement, goes dormant, and reappears in the coda of the finale. After the dance, the love song, and the initial robust brightness of the fourth movement sonata, this autobiographical quartet catches up to the reality of Smetana's contempora?neous life. Introduced by a pregnant silence, then a disturbing high-pitched harmonic in the first violin, the dark and inevitable theme of catastrophic fate returns to finish the narrative, not with a grand, conclusive cadence, but with a fadeout: the sound gradually disappearing from our ears just as it must have for Smetana himself.
Quartet No. 2, Op. 7 ("From the Monkey Mountains") (1925)
Pavel Haas
Born in Brno, Moravia, 1899
Died at Auschwitz, 1944
Pavel Haas was one of LeoS Janacek's star pupils at the Brno Conservatory, and one of the most gifted Czech composers of his generation. During the few years allotted to him before his deportation to Terezin and ultimately Auschwitz, Haas composed a number of major works, many of which have come
to light only recently. Of his three string quartets, the second is a particularly intriguing work that gives a whole new meaning to the cliche "ahead of its time." For what other string quartet from 1925 includes an extra percussion part, and who at the time combined folk influences with modernist harmonies in such a strikingly original way (The work predates Bartok's Third and Fourth Quartets, as it also does Janacek's "Intimate Letters.")
The quartet's subtitle refers to the Vysocina region in Moravia, not far from Brno, a favorite vacation area for the locals. But Haas had a very personal vision of the place, in turn tender and absolutely ferocious. The first of its four movements, entitled "Landscape," begins with a lyrical melody with a surprisingly active accompaniment that, over time, generates some passionate outbursts in the music. After an extended--and exquisitely quiet--interlude, the tensions return to conclude the movement.
In the second movement ("Coach, Coachman and Horse"), the viola and cello seem to portray an old horse-coach struggling to get through a muddy stretch on a dirt road, eventually reaching a point where progress is easier. Haas introduces a folk-like melody that, however, encounters quite a bit of resistance from the coarse glissando figures that are constantly trying to pull it down.
The slow movement ("The Moon and I") promises a pure idyll, and delivers it up to a point. Yet the second half of the movement becomes quite turbulent, before a recapitulation of the opening restores the initial peace.
The last movement ("Wild Night") fully lives up to its title, with a string of folk-dance motifs being worked up to a veritable state of frenzy. The percussionist joins in to make proceedings even wilder. (It is said that, at the advice of some of his more cautious friends, Haas removed the percussion part or at least made it optional; however, many modern performances have restored this unique feature of the work.) There are some obvious jazz influences, but the principal character of the melodic material remains unmistakably Central European. Surprisingly, a wonderfully intimate slow section appears during the second half of the movement, mercilessly brushed aside during the whirlwind coda that ends the quartet.
Program note by Peter Laki.
S
ince winning the Paolo Borciani competi?tion in Italy in Spring 2005, the Pavel Haas Quartet has performed at the world's most prestigious concert halls and recorded four award-winning CDs, receiving great acclaim from audi?ences and critics alike.
In the current season, the Quartet performs concerts at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Theatre des Champs-Elysees Paris, Zurich Tonalle, Vienna Konzerthaus, Munich Herkulessaal, and Wigmore Hall in London, as well as major venues in Brussels, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Madrid. The Quartet tours Hong Kong and Japan, appear?ing in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Yokohama, and visits the US for a national tour culminating in per?formances in Ann Arbor and at Carnegie Hall. In October 2011 the Quartet was awarded the pres?tigious "Record of the Year" at the Gramophone Awards for its recent recording of Dvorak's String Quartets, No. 12 in F Major and No. 13 in G Major on Supraphon.
Other recent highlights for the Quartet in?clude performances at the Rheingau Festival, the Schubertiade, San Francisco Performances, and a return to the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid. In 2007, the Cologne Philharmonic nominated the Quartet as ECHO Rising Stars, resulting in a tour to major concert halls worldwide. The Quartet took part in the BBC New Generation Artists scheme from 2007-2009, and in 2010 was awarded the 2010 Special Ensemble Scholarship of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. The 201011 season saw the Quar?tet begin a three-year residency as Artists-in-Resi-dence of Glasgow Royal Concert Halls.
The Pavel Haas Quartet has released four discs on the Supraphon label. Their most recent record?ing, the aforementioned disc of Dvorak's string quartets, was released in autumn 2010 and won widespread critical acclaim: The Sunday Times awarded the recording five stars, commenting: "Their account of the 'American' Quartet belongs alongside the greatest performances on disc. In this repertoire, they are simply matchless today." They won the Diapason d'Or de I'Annee for their disc featuring Prokofiev's String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 and Sonata for Two Violins, with Diapason commenting "This is now the definitive record?ing of the Prokofiev quartets...to be discovered without hesitation." Their first two recordings were equally well received. Their first recording of Janacek Quartet No. 2 ("Intimate Letters") and Haas Quartet No. 2 ("From the Monkey Moun-
tains") was voted one of the CDs of 2006 by The Daily Telegraph and received a 2007 Gramophone Award. The Quartet's second disc saw them com?plete their recordings of the string quartet works by Haas and Janacek.
Based in Prague, the Quartet studied with Mi?lan Skampa, the legendary violist of the Smetana Quartet, and continues to enjoy a close relation?ship with him. The Quartet also has worked with several other masters of the quartet world, includ?ing members of Quartetto Italiano, Quatuor Mo-saiques, Borodin Quartet, and Amadeus Quartet, as well as with Walter Levin in Basel.
The Quartet takes its name from the Czech composer Pavel Haas (1899-1944) who was im?prisoned at Theresienstadt in 1941 and died at Auschwitz three years later. His legacy includes three string quartets.
Joseph Gramley (b. 1970) is an assistant profes?sor of music and coordinator of the percussion program at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. A 1992 graduate of U-M, where he received the Albert A. Stanley Medal, Mr. Gramley did his graduate studies at The Juilliard School, and has ever since enjoyed a prominent performing career as both a soloist and chamber musician.
His first solo recording, American Deconstruc-tion, an expert rendition of five milestone works in multi-percussion's huge new modern repertoire, appeared in 2000 and was reissued in 2006. His second CD, Global Percussion, was released a year prior to that.
Mr. Gramley has been a member of Yo-Yo Ma's renowned Silk Road Ensemble since its inception in 2000, performing with the group all over the globe and on its recordings for the Sony BMG label.
He has performed at the Metropolitan Opera and at music festivals from Spoleto to Tangle-wood. A familiar presence in the orchestral world (Orpheus, St. Luke's, the Chicago Symphony), he is equally at home on Broadway, where he has played in major shows like Miss Saigon, The Color Purple, and Phantom of the Opera. In addition to appearing with classical artists such as Dawn Up-shaw, Placido Domingo, Bright Sheng, and Pierre-Laurent Aimard, he has also accompanied such popular stars as Elton John and Aretha Franklin.
UMS Archives
U
MS welcomes the Pavel Haas Quartet who make their UMS debut this evening.
This evening's concert marks percus?sionist Joseph Gramley's eighth appearance under UMS auspices. Mr. Gramley made his UMS debut in October 2008.
urns
presents
Snow White
2008 CREATION for Ballet Preljocaj Piece for 25 dancers
Choreography Angelin Preljocaj
Costumes Jean Paul Gaultier
Music Gustav Mahler
Additional Music 79 D
Set Design Thierry Leproust
Lighting Patrick Riou assisted by Cecile Giovansili and Sebastien Due
Associate Artistic Director Youri Van den Bosch Rehearsal Assistant Natalie Naidich Movement Notation Dany Leveque Rappelling Trainer Alexandre del Perugia
Dancers
Yacnoy Abreu Alfonso, Sergi Amoros Aparicio, Virginie Caussin, Gaelle Chappaz, Aurelien Charrier, Fabrizio Clemente, Baptiste Coissieu, Sergio Diaz, Carlos Ferreira Da Silva, Celine Galli, Natacha Grimaud, Caroline Jaubert, Jean-Charles Jousni, Emilie Lalande, Celine Marie, Nuriya Nagimova, Lorena O'Neill, Fran Sanchez, Nagisa Shirai, Anna Tatarova, Patrizia Telleschi, Julien Thibault, Yurie Tsugawa, Liam Warren, Nicolas Zemmour
Scenery Construction Atelier Atento Costume Maker Les Ateliers du Costume
Thursday Evening, April 19, 2012 at 7:30 Friday Evening, April 20, 2012 at 8:00 Saturday Evening, April 21, 2012 at 8:00 Power Center Ann Arbor
This evening's performance is approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes in duration and is performed without intermission.
56th, 57th, and 58th Performances of the 133rd Annual Season
21st Annual Dance Series
The photographing or sound and video recording of this performance or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
Thursday evening's performance is sponsored by Gil Omenn and Martha Darling. Media partnership is provided by Metro Times and Between the Lines. Created during a residency at Grand Theatre de Provence, Aix-en-Provence.
Co-production: Biennale de la danse de Lyon Conseil General du Rhone (Lyon, France), Theatre National de Chaillot (Paris, France), Grand Theatre de Provence (Aix-en-Provence, France), Staatsballet Berlin (Germany).
Special thanks to Jean Paul Gaultier.
This production was a prize-winner at Globes de Cristal 2009.
Ballet Preljocaj appears by arrangement with Sunny Artist Management.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Casting
Dancers
Snow White
The Prince
The Queen
The Mother
The King
The "CatsGargoyles"
Young Snow Whites
Nagisa Shirai
Fabrizio Clemente
Gaelle Chappaz
Nuriya Nagimova
Sergi Amoros Aparicio
Yurie Tsugawa and Lorena O'Neill
Laura Edwards (Thurs, 419) Vicky Wang (Fri, 420) Laura Edwards (Sat, 421)
and
Yacnoy Abreu Alfonso, Virginie Caussin, Aurelien Charrier, Baptiste Coissieu, Sergio Diaz, Carlos Ferreira Da Silva, Celine Galli, Natacha Grimaud, Caroline Jaubert, Jean-Charles Jousni, Emilie Lalande, Celine Marie, Fran Sanchez, Anna Tatarova, Patrizia Telleschi, Julien Thibault, Liam Warren, Nicolas Zemmour
Luc Corazza, Technical Director
Martin Lecarme, General Production and Sound Manager
Sebastien Due, Lighting Manager
Michel Carbuccia, Mario Domingos, Stage Managers
Juliette Corazza, Stagehand
Martine Hayer, Wardrobe Mistress
Angelin Preljocaj Interview with Agnes Freschel
Why Snow White
i was very keen to tell a story. I have recently created some very abstract pieces with Empty Moves and Eldorado (Sonntags Abschied) and, as often happens, I wanted to do something completely different, write something very concrete, and offer something magical and enchanted.
No doubt it was to avoid getting into a rut. And also because, like everyone else, I love stories.
A narrative ballet
Snow White is a narrative ballet with its own dramatic content. The places are represented by Thierry Leproust's sets. The dancers play their parts in costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier. It's not The Myth or The Legend of Snow White, it's Snow White herself. It's really her story....
Telling a story through dance
It's not easy, and that's what is so fascinating.
How do you get the story across
In L'Anoure, I chose to let the audience hear Pascal Quignard's text on the soundtrack. But with Snow White, I'm using an argument that everyone knows, which allows me to concentrate on what is being said by the bodies, the energies, and the space and what the characters feel and experience in order to show how the bodies are transcended. And Snow White contains objects that are wonderful for a choreographer's imagination.
The symbols of the tale
I have followed the version by the Grimm brothers, with just a few personal variations based on my own analysis of the symbols in the tale. Bettelheim describes Snow White as an Oedipus in reverse. The wicked stepmother is without doubt the central character in the tale. She is the one who I examine through her narcissistic determination not to give up on seduction and her role as a woman, even if it means sacrificing her stepdaughter. The understanding of symbols belongs to adults as well as children; it's for everyone, and that's why I like tales.
A contemporary, romantic ballet
This ballet is particularly important to me--and I insist on the word "ballet"--as it brings together 25 dancers of the company. They will be dancing to Mahler's symphonies, whose magnificent excesses
are of a romantic nature. Historically, Grimm's tales are too, even though their refined style suggests a more contemporary form. Trying to move people emotionally is a delicate undertaking. Mahler's music has to be used with enormous care, but it's a risk I'm keen to take.
--March 2008
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ngelin Preljocaj (Choreographer) was born in the Paris region of France. He began studying classical ballet at an early age before turning to a focus on contemporary dance, which he studied with Karin Waehner.
In 1980, he traveled to New York to study with Zena Rommett and Merce Cunningham. He later resumed his studies in France, where his instructors included American choreographer Viola Farber and French choreographer Quentin Rouillier. Mr. Preljocaj then collaborated with Dominique Bagouet before founding his own company in December 1984.
Mr. Preljocaj collaborates regularly with other artists including Enki Bilal (Romeo et Juliette, 1990), Goran Vejvoda (Paysage apres la bataille, 1997), Air (Near Life Experience, 2003), Granular Synthesis ("A", 2004), Fabrice Hyber (Les 4 saisons..., 2005), Karlheinz Stockhausen (Eldorado--Sonntags Abschied, 2007), Jean Paul Gaultier (Snow White, 2008), Constance Guisset (Le funambule, 2009), Claude L?veque (Siddharta, 2010), and Laurent Gamier and Subodh Gupta (And Then, One Thousand Years of Peace, 2010).
His productions are now included in the repertoires of various companies, many of which have also commissioned his original productions, most notably La Scala of Milan, the New York City Ballet, and the Paris Opera Ballet.
He has made short films (Le postier, Idees noires, 1991) and several full-length films (Un trait d'union [1992] and Annonciation [2003]), for which he was awarded the Grand Prix du Film d'Art in 2003, Video-Danse First Prize in 1992, and the Prague Video Festival Prize in 1999. In 2009, he made Snow White, featuring an original piece, and in 2011 he signed, for Air France, the commercial L'Envol, based on the choreography of Le Pare.
Mr. Preljocaj has since collaborated on several films featuring his own choreographic work: Les Raboteurs with Cyril Collard (based on the painting by Gustave Caillebotte) in 1988, Pavilion Noir with Pierre Coulibeuf in 2006, and Eldorado Preljocaj with Olivier Assayas in 2007.
Several books have been written about his work, notably Angelin Preljocaj (2003), Pavilion Noir (2006), and Angelin Preljocaj, Topologie de I'invisible (2008).
Since October 2006, the Ballet Preljocaj and its 26 dancers have resided at the Pavilion Noir in Aix-en-Provence, a building entirely dedicated to dance, with Angelin Preljocaj serving as its artistic director.
For further information, please visit www. preljocaj.org.
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ean Paul Gaultier (Costumes) was born in Arcueil in 1952. Even as a child, he was sketching his first drawings of haute couture models and finding inspiration in his urban environment. Early on, fashion proved to be his real passion.
At of the age of 18, Mr. Gaultier joined designer Pierre Cardin's team. After some time, he worked with Jacques Esterel and Jean Patou, and eventually returned to Cardin in 1974.
It was not until 1976 that Mr. Gaultier's ideas became a reality. His first clothing collection took the fashion world by storm, and what became known as the "Gaultier style" was born. Mr. Gaultier loves an element of surprise and mixed styles in his collections. His personal "look" (seaman's jersey, kilt, and crew-cut platinum blonde hair) has transformed him into a legend.
Known as the "enfant terrible of French fashion," he has continually revolutionized fashion--first with recycled fashion in 1980 (car leather and cans turned into clothing and jewelry), then the Corset Dress in 1983, and the skirt for men two years later.
His triumphant success allows him to continue his fight against intolerance and the barriers of race and geography. The themes of his collections underline his ambition to mix genres and break rules. Notable collections include La concierge est dans I'escalier, Les Rock-Stars, Une garde-robe pour 2, Black Beauties, and Barbes.
As the darling of show business, he has worked with celebrities including Madonna, for whom he designed her legendary twin-coned corset. He has also designed costumes for films such as Luc Besson's The Fifth Element and others for choreographer Regine Chopinot.
In response to his success with fashion, accessories, and film costumes, Mr. Gaultier designed a perfume that has remained a best seller for over a decade.
In 1997, he fulfilled his childhood dreams of presenting his first haute couture collection and founding Haute Couture Gaultier Paris.
For further information, please visit www. jeanpaulgaultier.com.
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orn in 1948 in the Nievre department, Thierry Leproust {Set Designer) studied at the Boulle School of Interior Design, Design, and Sculpture. He currently lives and works in Paris. Alongside his work as a visual artist, he began a career as a set designer for opera, theater, dance, and cinema in 1983.
Since 1975, he has regularly exhibited his visual art in France and abroad. His works form part of a number of public and private collections.
Mr. Leproust has produced the sets for many creations by Angelin Preljocaj prior to this production, including: Amer America (1990), La Peau du Monde (1992), Le Pare (1994), L'Anoure and L'Oiseau de feu (1995), Casanova (1998), Le Sacre du printemps (2001), and Le Songe de Medee (2004). He has also worked with the choreographers Nadine Hernu, Blanca Li, and Patrick Salliot.
In the theater, he has designed sets for Roger Planchon, including lonesco (TNP), Le triomphe de I 'Amour, L'Avare (Berlin theater), Le Radeau de la Meduse (TNP), and La Dame de chez Maxime (Opera Comique). Works with Jacques Rosner include Le Mariage de Gombrowicz (Comedie Franchise), Ivanov by Chekhov (Theatre 14 Paris), and Gorki (Moscow).
He has also worked for Garance, Marie Hermes, and Simone Amouyal (Theatre de la Criee, Marseille).
For the opera, he has designed sets for Christian Gangneron for the productions of Mozart's Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte, Monteverdi's Orfeo, Bizet's Carmen (Lisbon Opera House), Donisetti's Pia de Tolomei (Fenice in Venice), Riders to the Sea (Reims Opera House), and his latest design, Les Sacrifices (Maison de la Musique, Nanterre). He also worked with Philippe Godefroid for Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten (Nantes Opera House) and Simone Amouyal in the Opera Comique.
For the cinema, he has designed sets for seven films by Michel Deville, such as La Lectrice and Paltoquet, and Dandin by Roger Planchon. He has also worked for Roger Coggio, Eric Heumann, and Marion Hansel, for whom he designed the sets for four works. The most recent was Si le vent souleve les sables in 2006.
Patrick Riou (Lighting) began his career in the performing arts working with choreographer Francois Verret. He discovered a deep passion for dance while working with lighting designers such as Remy Nicolas, Jacques Chatelet, and Pierre Colome. These experiences enabled him to work in the highly diverse choreographic worlds of choreographers such as Joseph Nadj, Francois Raffinot, KarineSaporta, Kubilai Khan Investigation, Catherine Berbessous, Philippe Genty, and Angelin Preljocaj. Other collaborations with Mr. Preljocaj include Personne n'epouse les meduses (1999), Portraits in Corpore (2000), Helikopter and MC 1422--Ceci est mon corps (2001), and Near Life Experience (2003). .
Cecile Giovansili (Lighting Assistant) joins the Ballet Preljocaj in 2001 after having worked with Hans Peter Cloos, Peter Brook, and Alexis Moati. She has since worked on various company creations and tours, including the lighting design for Eldorado (Sonntags Abschied) and Haka in 2007 and And then, One Thousand Years of Peace in 2010.
Sebastien Due (Lighting Assistant) joined the Bal?let Preljocaj in 1998 as a lighting technician. He has previously designed lighting for the works of Samir Elyamni.
Cast Biographies
Nagisa Shirai (Snow White) was born in Japan in 1981. She began classical dance at Tamami Wata-nabe Ballet. She pursued her classical dance train?ing in Nantes, and, in 1998, entered the National Music and Dance Conservatory of Lyon. There she performed in Big City by Kurt Jooss, Swinging Charles Trenet by Michel Kelemenis with Myriam Naisy, and 4 point 5 by Abou Lagraa. She also danced in Experience, a personal choreography project, presented in Japan. She joined Ballet Prel?jocaj in 2001.
Fabrizio Clemente (The Prince) was born in 1985 in Italy. He began studying classical dance in 2000 and later studied contemporary dance in 2004 at a private school in Pistoia. In 2005 he worked for the Rome-based SpellBound Dance Company directed by Mauro Astolfi. In 2007, he left the company to study at the Rosella Hightower Dance School in Cannes. In 2008 he was engaged in the junior sec-
tion of the Ballet de Lorraine at Nancy, directed by Didier Deschamps. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2009.
Gaelle Chappaz (The Queen) was born in 1985 in France. She studied at the Rosella Hightower Dance School in Cannes from 1991-2001, where she worked on several techniques, including con?temporary, classical, and improvisation workshops. From 1999 to 2001, she frequently participated in creations with Philippe Tallard (director of the Bal?lets de Manheim) and Anthony Egea (Revolution). She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2002.
Nuriya Nagimova (The Mother) was born in 1983 in Russia. She was awarded an Irina Sirova high school diploma with highest honors at the Mos?cow Ballet School. She joined the Bolshoi Theatre in 2001 and has danced in Raymonds, Don Quix?ote, Swan Lake, Pakhita, Cinderella, In the Upper Room, and The Lost Illusion. In 2009 she was se?lected as one of 10 dancers from the Bolshoi cho?sen by Angelin Preljocaj to participate with Ballet Preljocaj in the creation of And then, one thousand years of peace. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2011.
Sergi Amoros Aparicio (The King), born in 1985 in Spain, began classical dance training at the Arte?mis dance school in Tarragona and later completed his training at the Royal Professional Dance Con?servatory in Madrid. After obtaining a scholarship in 2003, he worked with Europa Dance led by Jean-Albert Cartier. In 2008, he joined the Young Ballet Gala Chemnitz and performed Madrigal cre?ated by Nacho Duato. He later worked for La Mov led by Victor Jimenez, until 2009, when he joined Ballet Preljocaj.
Lorena O'Neill (The "Cats Gargoyles") was born in 1976 in Argentina. She began her studies at the Norma Fontenla School at Mar del Plata in Argentina and continued studies at the Second?ary Art Institute--Colon Opera Theatre, Buenos Aires. In 1998, she continued her studies in France at the National Center of Contemporary Dance L'Esquisse, in Angers. She has performed roles in Sweaty Hands with two other dancers from the Fata Morgana Company. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2002.
Yurie Tsugawa (The "Cats Gargoyles") was born in 1988 in Japan. She began studying classical dance at the Chiba Ballet Academy before pursu?ing her education at the Chie Tomioka Interna?tional Ballet of Tokyo. In 2005, she entered the
Rosella Hightower Dance School in Cannes under the direction of Monique Loudiere. Within the Junior Ballet of Cannes, she performed pieces by choreographers Eliezer Di Britto, Jiri Kylian, Myriam Naisy, Herve Koubi, and Jean-Christophe Maillot. In 2008 she worked for Ballet Preljocaj as a trainee in the creation of Snow White. Simultaneously, she was hired into Compagnie Sylvain Groud. In 2009, she joined Ballet Preljocaj as a dancer.
Yacnoy Abreu Alfonso was born in 1985 in Cuba. Studying modern, contemporary, and folkloric Cuban dance, he began his professional career in 2003. He danced with Danza Contemporanea de Cuba and Bal?let of Cuba National Television and collaborated with choreographers Rafael Bonachela, Cathy Marston, Jan Linkens, and Lucas Bruni. Professor and principal dancer of the National Academy of Dance in Cuba, he decided in 2011 to work in Europe and joined Ballet Preljocaj.
Virginie Caussin was born in 1984 in Belgium. She trained in Namur (Belgium) at the Centre de Danse Osmose, directed by Graziella Gillebertus. In 1998, she joined In Principal Ballet. In 2005, she joined the Academie Internationale de la Danse in Paris where she trained in various classes combining dance, song, and acting. In 2006, she toured France and Belgium with B?jart Ballet Lausanne in L'amour, la danse and Zarathoustra, le chant de la danse. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2006.
Aurelien Charrier was born in France in 1989. After studying jazz at the Conservatory of Dance in Angers, he joined the Conservatory of Paris in contemporary dance. He later danced in the Contemporary Junior Ballet of Paris. He has worked with Jean-Claude Gal-lotta, Tomeo Verges, Carolyn Carlson, Mariko Oyama (for Josef Nadj), Karim Sebbar, Andy de Groat, and Hela Fattoumi and Eric Lamoureux. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2009.
Baptiste Coissieu was born in France in 1987. He studied at the Olivier Coste's School of Valence, and later at the National Conservatory of Dance of Valence in the classical section and at the National Conserva?tory of Dance of Lyon in the contemporary section. He later danced for the Junior Ballet of Lyon and worked with Yuval Pick, Michel Kelemenis, Frederic Lescure, and Olivia Grandville. In 2007 he joined the D.A.N.C.E program (Dance Apprentice Network aCross Europe) where he took part in creations of Frederic Flamand, William Forsythe, Angelin Preljocaj, and Wayne Mc?Gregor. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2008.
Sergio Diaz, born in 1981 in Boston, began his career in jazz, classical, contemporary, and hip-hop dance at the Annie Oggero Creative Dance School before be?ing admitted to Rosella Hightower Dance School in Cannes. He entered Ballet Preljocaj in 1999. In 2003, he left the company to sing in musical comedies (7e Damsels of Rochefort and Chicago) and embarked on a career as a model. After this experience, he rejoined Ballet Preljocaj in 2005.
Carlos Ferreira Da Silva was born in 1979 in Brazil. He studied sports medicine and classical and contem?porary dance at the University of Pernambuco. When he met the French choreographer Marianne Isson, he decided to end his studies in sports medicine to pursue a career as a dancer. He settled in France in 2001, where he worked with Nathalie Gatineau, Philippe Jamet, Myriam Dooge, Katerine Cadol, and Gilles Schamber. He also participated in the documen?tary Desk et Sexualite (directed by Nils Tavernier and choreographed by Yann Bridard) and later worked for the companies of Regis Obadia and Herve Koubi. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2009.
Celine Galli, born in 1974 in France, studied dance at the School of Expression, led by Nelly Galli; at the National School of Music in the Region of Nice, led by Janine Monin; then at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance of Paris, led by Quentin Rouillier. She became the assistant of Stephane Locci, attended master classes with Carolyn Carlson, and danced for Bruno Jacquin, Alain Maratra, Maryse Delente, and Jean Christophe Pare, as well as in cabarets and musi?cal comedies. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2001.
Natacha Grimaud was born in 1976 in France. She began her studies at the School of Dance of the Opera de Paris before studying at the Rosella Hightower Dance School in Cannes. She danced in the Nice Bal?let and in the Northern Ballet troupe--CNC Nord-Pas-de-Calais; and she has interpreted several pieces: Blue Beard and Don Quichotte (Maryse Delente), Sync (Nils Christie), Esplanade (Paul Taylor), and La Rue (Jean-Claude Gallotta). She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2002.
Caroline Joubert was born in France in 1989. She studied classical, jazz, contemporary dance, and the?ater at the Music Dance and Drama National School in Brives. She then joined the National Conservatory of Dance and Music of Paris. In the Junior Ballet she worked with Tomeo Verges, Juha Marsalo, Edmond Russo, Eric Lamoureux, and Hela Fattoumi. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2009.
Jean-Charles Jousni was born in France in 1986. He studied contemporary and classical dance at the National School of Music and Dance in Brest. While in studies, he performed Ose and Experience 4 with Herwann Asseh's
company Moral Soul. He entered the Rosella Hightower Dance School in Cannes, working with Monet Robier and Hacene Bahiri. He joined the G.U.I.D. (Urban Group of Dance Intervention) of Ballet Preljocaj in 2007 before integrating into the troupe in 2008.
Emilie Lalande was born in 1983 in France. She studied at the Paris School of Music and at the Rosella Hight?ower Dance School in Cannes. In 2004, she returned to the European Ballet corps, run by Jean-Charles Gil; she participated in several pieces, also having a part in Jorma Uotinen's Dream. In 2005, she performed roles in Show Through, Illusion, and Hello Charlie for the Ascendanse association. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2008.
Celine Marie was born in France in 1979. She be?gan her dancing career at the private school of Mylene Riou before continuing at the classical school of music and studying at the P.A.R.T.S school in Brussels, run by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. She played a role in Give Me Something That Will Not Die with Claire Croize and 9 Floor Scenes beside Andy Deneys, with whom she found the Golathar company. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2003.
Fran Sanchez was born in 1988 in Spain. He trained in jazz dance in Madrid and also studied ballet at the Victor Ullate Dance Centre. He later collaborated with many companies, including Santamaria Dance Com?pany, while working with Juan Carlos Santamaria and Dantzaz Konpaina. He previously worked for Thomas Noone and his company in the Bound project. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2009.
Anna Tatarova was born in Russia in 1986. She re?ceived a Tatiana Galtseva High School Diploma with highest honors from the Moscow Dance School. In 2007 she finished her studies with distinction at the University of Bolshoi Ballet Academy with a special?ization in pedagogy and choreography. She joined the Bolshoi Theatre in 2003. Trained by Svetlana Adyrkhaeva, she danced in most of the Bolshoi ballets including Coppelia, Pakhita, Giselle, Lea, and Cinder?ella. In 2009, she participated in the creation of Ange-lin Preljocaj's And then, one thousand years of peace, with Ballet Preljocaj. She joined the troupe in 2011.
Patrizia Telleschi was born in 1980 in Italy. She stud?ied classical and contemporary dance in Roma with Denys Ganio and Maura Astolfi and in Florence with Eugenio Buratti, Katiuscia Bozza, Eugenio Scigliano, and Francesco Testoni. In 2005, she worked for the Mvuala Sungani Company. In 2007 she joined the Rbr Dance Company directed by Cristiano Fagioli. In 2008, she worked for Kaos Balletto di Firenze directed by Ro?berto Sartori and Katiuscia Bozza. In 2009 she worked for the Evolution Dance Theater Illusion directed by Anthony Heinl. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2009.
Julien Thibault was born in 1984 in France. He stud?ied at the National Conservatory of Grenoble and at the National Conservatory of Dance and Music of Par?is. He has worked with Pedro Pauwels, Herve Robbe, and Philippe Trehet in the Junior Ballet of Paris. He later danced for Odile Duboc and for Fabiene Hamel. In 2006, he joined Philippe Trehet for the creation of Aqoka, and later assisted him in Gardiens d'etoiles eparses at the Junior Ballet of Paris. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2007.
Liam Warren was born in 1989 in Canada. At 11 years old he joined Canada's National Ballet School in Toronto. While studying, he performed with the Na?tional Ballet of Canada in many ballets. He later stud?ied dance in Paris at I'Ecole du Ballet de I'lnstitut In?ternational de Danse with Janine Stanlowa. He joined Codarts University in the Netherlands in the bachelor of dance program where he danced pieces by Jiri Kyl-ian, Andre Gingras, and Itzik Galili. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2009.
Nicolas Zemmour was born in 1987 in France. He discovered dance with Sebastien Oliveros in Mar?seilles, then entered the National School of Dance in Avignon, run by Nicole Calise-Petracchi. He learned classical, modern, and contemporary dance and also studied at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germa?ny, where he learned about the style and philosophy of Pina Bausch. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2009.
The Ballet Preljocaj, National Choreographic Centre
is subsidized by
Culture and Communication Ministry--DRAC PACA
Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Region
Bouches du Rhone County Council
Pays d'Aix Community
City of Aix-en-Provence
and is supported by
Groupe Partouche--Casino Municipal d'Aix-Thermal, helping
it to develop its projects
Institut francais--Ministry for Foreign Affairs, helping to
finance some of its overseas tours
Ballet Preljocaj--Pavilion Noir National Choreographic Centre www.preljocaj.org
UMS Archives
T
his week's performances mark Ballet Preljocaj's second, third, and fourth appearances under UMS auspices. The company made their UMS debut in February 2001 in performance of Angelin Preljocaj's Paysage apres la Bataille at the Power Center.
urns
THE 2012 FORD HONORS PROGRAM
and
Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services
present
Music Director and Violin
Joshua Bell
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven Beethoven
Beethoven
Sunday Afternoon, April 22, 2012 at 4:00 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor
Coriolan Overture, Op. 62
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
Allegro ma non troppo Larghetto-Rondo: Allegro
Original cadenzas by Joshua Bell Mr. Bell
INTERMISSION
Presentation of the UMS Distinguished Artist Award
Mary Sue Coleman, President, University of Michigan James G. Vella, President, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services
Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
Poco sostenuto--Vivace
Allegretto
Presto alternating with Assai meno presto
Allegro con brio
59th Performance of the 133rd Annual Season
17th Annual
Ford Honors Program
133rd 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 Ford Honors Program recognizes the longtime generous support of UMS's Education & Community Engagement program by Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services.
The DTE Energy Foundation Educator and School of the Year Awards are made possible by DTE Energy Foundation.
Special thanks to Bank of Ann Arbor, Maxine and Stuart Frankel, Kathy and Tom Goldberg, the MOSAIC FOUNDATION (of R. & P. Heydon), Jane and Edward Schulak, and the University of Michigan Health System, Ford Honors Gala Concertmaster Sponsors.
Special thanks to Mark and Janice Kielb, Mainstreet Ventures, and Miller, Canfield, Pad?dock, and Stone, P.L.C., Ford Honors Gala Leader Sponsors.
Special thanks to Ford Honors Gala Honorary Co-Chairs Mary Sue Coleman and James G. Vella for their participation in this evening's event.
Media partnership is provided by WGTE 91.3 FM, WRCJ 90.0 FM, and Detroit Jewish News.
Special thanks to Tom Thompson of Tom Thompson Flowers, Ann Arbor, for his generous contribution of lobby floral art for this afternoon's concert.
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields gratefully acknowledges the support of its Principal Sponsor, Siemens.
For further information, please visit www.asmf.org.
Mr. Bell records exclusively for Sony Classical.
Academy of St Martin in the Fields appears by arrangement with Opus 3 Artists, New York, NY.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Now that you're in your seat...
I
t was exactly 200 years ago in April 1812 that Beethoven completed his Symphony No. 7. This symphony, which had already achieved extraordinary popularity during the composer's lifetime, became the culminating work of what we today call Beethoven's "heroic" or "middle" period. Over the course of these crucial years of his career, he created a series of masterpieces in which we see timeless expressions of victory over adversity and the most perfect manifestations of boundless energy. These are works that we need to hear again and again to raise our spirits, to admire formal perfection in its purest state, and to enjoy beauty as can only be found in music.
Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 (1807) Ludwig van Beethoven
Bom December 15 or 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany Died March 26, 1827 in Vienna
Snapshots of History... In 1806-12:
Napoleonic wars: Napoleon marches into Berlin (1806), Barcelona (1808), Vienna (1809), annexes Holland (1810), invades Russia (1812)
War breaks out between Britain and the US (1812)
Goethe publishes Faust, Part I (1808); Jane Austen publishes Sense and Sensibility (1811); the Brothers Grimm publish Children's and Household Tales (1812)
Hegel publishes Phenomenology of the Spirit (1807)
Humphrey Davy invents the first electric light (1809)
Of all the heroes Beethoven ever wrote music about, Coriolanus is the most deeply flawed personality. Prometheus, Leonore, and Egmont all represent the highest ideals of courage, selflessness, and love of freedom. The hero of Symphony No. 3 is either an idealized Bonaparte, the exalted leading spirit of the French Revolution, or an unnamed Great Man of perfect character. It seems that Beethoven was neither interested in portraying heroism gone awry, nor in dealing with the often tragic dilemmas inherent in securing or maintaining power. The day Bonaparte had himself crowned Emperor, he could no longer be the protagonist of the "Eroica."
Coriolanus is an exception. This enigmatic Roman general who lived, tradition has it, in the fifth century BCE, was at once a hero and a villain, a triumphant warlord and a vile traitor. His life is known from Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, the source used by Shakespeare for his tragedy Coriolanus. Beethoven's overture,
however, was not written for Shakespeare's tragedy; instead, its immediate inspiration was a contemporary Viennese adaptation by Heinrich Joseph von Collin, a poet and secretary at the Imperial Court. It was, however, not performed with that play, except on a single occasion to which we shall return in a moment. It was more a reaction to Collin's work than an introduction to it.
Collin's tragedy was first performed at the court theater in 1802, five years before Beethoven composed the overture. The music at that time had been arranged from Mozart's Idomeneo by Abbe Stadler, a colorful personality in Viennese musical life at the time. The title role was played with great success by Joseph Lange, who was a brother-in-law of Mozart.
The story of Coriolanus concerns the son of a prominent Roman family, Gaius Marcius, who led the Roman army in a victorious battle against the Volscians and captured their city of Corioli (thence his honorary name Coriolanus). Upon his return to Rome, he became embroiled in domestic disputes and alienated both the population and the senate to such a degree that he was sent into exile. Angry and revengeful, he went to the Volscians, swore allegiance to them and led them against Rome. His implacable wrath was calmed only when his mother and his wife came to plead with him before the walls of Rome. He finally withdrew his forces. In Plutarch's and Shakespeare's versions, Coriolanus was slain by the disappointed Volscians; in Collin's drama, however, he committed suicide.
In his biography of Beethoven, first published in 1912 but still remarkably fresh and informative, Paul Bekker made an interesting comparison between Shakespeare's and Collin's versions of Coriolanus. "Collin's...drama is not an adaptation of Shakespeare's drama, but an independent
rendering of Plutarch's story." And we learn from another source that the court secretary had never read Shakespeare's tragedy. Bekker continued his analysis:
Shakespeare presents the tragedy of a towering personality who "drank hatred of mankind out of the fullness of love." ... Collin lacks the wide outlook, the penetrating imagery of Shakespeare. Painstaking, rhetorical pathos is his medium of expression, and his drama is no human or personal tragedy but a philosophical debate.... Coriolanus himself is a passive, reflective personality. His greatness is not exemplified in the action; it is mutely postulated, and he always acts according to his convictions.
Beethoven, for his part, did know both Plutarch and Shakespeare, and this knowledge certainly colored his approach to the figure of Coriolanus. His Coriolanus is certainly not a rhetorical figure but a highly dramatic one. This circumstance has led several commentators, including Richard Wagner, to believe that the music was directly related to Shakespeare; others asserted--and they may be right--that after all, the overture has more to do with Shakespeare than with Collin, regardless of the surface story of the work's genesis.
The key of the overture, c minor, is the one in which some of Beethoven's most dramatic works, such as the "Path6tique" piano sonata and Sym?phony No. 5, were written. The startling dissonanc?es and sudden general rests that open the overture are unique even by Beethovenian standards. Strong sforzatos (offbeat accents), syncopations, and the frequent use of the dissonant diminished-seventh chord create a high level of dramatic tension from beginning to end, except for the two occurrences of a lyrical second subject that probably represent?ed the women pleading with Coriolanus before the gates of Rome. The work follows the principles of sonata form (exposition, development, and re?capitulation), with an extended coda, at the end of which the first notes of the opening theme are repeated a number of times, ever softer and in in?creasingly longer note values. This gradual "dying away" of the music unmistakably represents the death of Coriolanus, and ensures that the ending of the overture is every bit as extraordinary as its opening.
Program note by Peter Laki.
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 (1806) Beethoven
Two years after moving from Bonn to Vienna, the 24-year-old Beethoven met a violin prodigy 10 years his junior named Franz Clement. The boy had already toured much of Europe, performed in London under Haydn, and earned the admiration of many important musicians on the continent. He carried with him an album that was signed by many of the aristocrats, musicians, and officials he had come in contact with during his travels. Beethoven, a former child prodigy himself, made his entry in Clement's album:
Dear Clement,
Proceed along the path which you have hitherto trodden so splendidly and so gloriously. Nature and art vie in making you one of the greatest artists. Follow both, and you need not fear that you will fail to reach the great--the greatest goal on earth to which the artist can attain. Be happy, my dear young friend, and come back soon, so that I may hear again your delightful, splendid playing.
Wholly your friend
L. v. Beethoven (in the service of His
Excellency the Elector of Cologne)
Clement later went on to become the conductor of the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. His musical memory was legendary and gave rise to many fantastic stories. According to one of them, he once prepared a piano score of Haydn's Creation after hearing it performed several times, with only a libretto, no full score, to help him. He was always a great champion of Beethoven's music: he was involved in the production of the original Fidelio in the autumn of 1805 and was the concertmaster at the first public performance of Symphony No. 3 in the same year.
It seems, then, that Clement was not as unworthy of Beethoven's Violin Concerto as some have later thought. He may not have been above such stunts as playing pieces "reversed violin" (the instrument held upside down)--something he did the very same night he premiered the Beethoven. Yet by all accounts he was an excellent artist, widely praised for the gracefulness and tenderness of his playing as well as for his extraordinary technical skills. Although his fame was eventually to decline
and he was to die in poverty in 1842, in 1806 he must have been at the height of his powers.
One wonders what this not insignificant artist thought when he first saw the manuscript of Beethoven's Violin Concerto with the punning inscription "Concerto par Clemenza pour Clement primo Violino e direttore al theatro a Vienna." Was it really on the day of the first performance As best as we can know 200 years later, the work was not finished until the last possible moment and Clement sight-read it at the concert (which, by the way, also included a performance of the "Eroica" Symphony led by Beethoven). We will never know how the concerto sounded under the circumstances, and that may even be a good thing. The critics, at any rate, gave mixed reviews. As one of them wrote:
The judgment of connoisseurs is unanimous; the many beauties of the piece must be conceded, but it must also be admitted that the continuity is often completely broken and that the endless repetitions of certain commonplace passages might easily become tedious to the listener.... It is to be feared that if Beethoven continues upon this path he and the public will fare badly.
One thing that may have helped Clement find his way through the new work is that at least certain passages must have been somewhat familiar. Clement (himself a composer) had written his own violin concerto (also in D Major), which was premiered about a year-and-a-half before the Beethoven. In a recent (1998) monograph on the Beethoven Violin Concerto (Cambridge Music Handbook), Robin Stowell has examined this entirely forgotten work and found that some of the passagework in the Beethoven Concerto is closely modeled on Clement's piece. This shows that Beethoven went to great lengths to accommodate his friend's playing style, using some of Clement's favorite playing techniques, and showing him in the process how much more could be gotten out of those techniques.
The new concerto went unappreciated for a long time, despite the fact that the composer and pianist Muzio Clementi persuaded Beethoven to arrange it as a piano concerto, which Beethoven did. Although the concerto is too violinistic to work well on the piano, Clementi would hardly have proposed such an arrangement if it had
not made some business sense to him. But there were apparently no performances of the piano version during Beethoven's lifetime, and only a few unsuccessful ones of the original. The longest and probably the most difficult violin concerto written to date, it was awaiting the exceptional artist who could uncover all its beauties.
It was the 13-year-old Joseph Joachim who finally brought the work to triumph at a concert given in London under Mendelssohn (1844). Since then, the world has never tired of the composition, which soon became known as the "Queen of Violin Concertos."
Clement's violin concerto was by no means Beethoven's only model in his Violin Concerto. It has long been known that Beethoven was strongly influenced by the composers of the French violin school. This school, founded by the Italianborn Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824), was continued by virtuosos such as Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831) and Pierre Rode (1774-1830). These violinist-composers were the first to establish the violin concerto as a major concert genre, on a par with symphonies. Their brilliant and dignified works are abound in attractive melodies and often contain marchlike themes that occasionally give them a downright military character.
All these features greatly impressed Beethoven, a great admirer of French music in general. His opera Fidelio was based on French models; he regarded Luigi Cherubini, Italianborn like Viotti but a master of French opera, as the greatest composer of his time. And he was personally acquainted with Kreutzer and Rode; he dedicated his Violin Sonata, Op. 47 to the former, and wrote the Sonata, Op. 96 for the latter.
What exactly is the relationship between Beethoven's Violin Concerto and the concertos of the French school It has been suggested that even the five timpani strokes that open the work are a reflection of the French "military" concerto style. But the movement that follows is anything but marchlike: it is one of Beethoven's most lyrical "Allegros."
In the end, though, Beethoven's concerto is a masterpiece sui generis: the borrowed details were inserted into a completely new context. The unique, Olympian serenity that radiates is all Beethoven, as are the dramatic outbursts that temporarily cloud the happy atmosphere.
On the whole, the Violin Concerto is one of the happiest works Beethoven ever wrote. The first, dreamlike entry of the solo violin, evolving
into a minicadenza after the orchestral exposition, is a case in point. So is the beautiful second theme, presented both in the major and in the minor modes. This theme seems to be reserved entirely for the orchestra, and the solo violin never gets to play it in full until the very end, after the cadenza. Then, at last, the soloist makes the most of this delightful melody and takes it from the lowest register of the instrument to the highest. The simple and songlike style of performance is gradually altered by the addition of virtuoso scales and passages, and the volume rises to a powerful fortissimo to close the movement.
The second-movement "Larghetto" in G Major never leaves its home tonality, a quite unusual circumstance that explains the exceptional restfulness that pervades the movement. It is a set of free variations on a quiet, meditative theme. At the end, there is a bridge leading into the thirdmovement "Rondo" without a pause.
According to the early-20th-century musicologist Arnold Schering, there was an old Viennese tradition that ascribed the first theme of the "Rondo" to Franz Clement. Whether or not that is true, the melody provides a splendid starting point for a lighthearted and vivacious movement, whose cheerful dance rhythms (in 68 time) continue a timehonored classical Rondo tradition while introducing many individual touches in the elaboration of the model. The central episode in g minor, in which the solo violin engages in a dialogue with the solo bassoon, is especially haunting. The ending of the movement is a typical Beethovenian joke: a pianissimo recapitulation of the theme is interrupted by two fortissimo chords, and the work is suddenly over.
Program note by Peter Laki.
Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
(1811-12) Beethoven
Beethoven's first sketches for this symphony date from late in 1811; the score was completed on April 13, 1812 and first performed on December 8, 1813 in Vienna, under the composer's direction. The score calls for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, and trumpets; timpani; and strings. Performance time is approximately 35 minutes.
Consider the assessment by Goethe, upon first meeting Beethoven during the summer of 1812:
His talent amazed me; unfortunately, he is an utterly untamed personality, who is not altogether wrong in holding the world to be detestable but surely does not make it any the more enjoyable either for himself or for others by his attitude.
We are told that the two men walked together through the streets of Teplitz, where Beethoven had gone for the summer, and exchanged cordial words. When royalty approached, Goethe stepped aside, tipping his hat and bowing deeply; Beethoven walked on, indifferent to mere nobility. This was a characteristic Beethoven gesture--defiant, individual, strongly humanitarian, intolerant of hypocrisy--and its essence has been reflected in the music for many listeners. But before confusing the myth with the man, consider that, throughout his life, Beethoven clung to the "van" in his name because it was so easily confused with "von" and its suggestion of lofty bloodlines.
Without question, Beethoven's contemporaries thought him a complicated man, perhaps even the utterly untamed personality Goethe found him. He was a true eccentric, who adored the elevated term Tondichter (poem in sound) and refused to correct a rumor that he was the illegitimate son of the King of Prussia, but dressed like a homeless person (his attire once caused his arrest for vagrancy). There were other curious contradictions: he was disciplined and methodical--like many a modern-day concertgoer, he would rise early and make coffee by grinding a precise number of coffee beans--but lived in a squalor he alone could tolerate. Certainly modern scholarship, as it chips away at the myth, finds him ever more complex.
What Goethe truly thought of his music we do not know; perhaps that is just as well, for Goethe's musical taste was less advanced than we might hope (he later admitted he thought little of Schubert's songs). The general perception of Beethoven's music in 1812 was that it was every bit as difficult and unconventional as the man himself, even, perhaps, to most ears, utterly untamed.
This is our greatest loss today. For Beethoven's widespread familiarity, of a dimension known to no other composer, has blinded us not only to his vision--so far ahead of his time that he was thought out of fashion in his last years--but to
2012 FORD HONORS GALA
The Ford Honors Program recognizes the longtime generous support of UMS's Education & Community Engagement program by
Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services
Presentation of the DTE Energy Foundation Educator and School of the Year Awards made possible by
Special thanks to Maxine and Stuart Frankel, Kathy and Tom Goldberg, Timothy and Emily Marshall, THE MOSAIC FOUNDATION (of R. & P. Heydon), Ora Pescovitz, Jane and Edward Schulak, and Fred Shell, members of the Ford Honors Gala Honorary Committee.
Special thanks to Ford Honors Gala Chairs Kathy and Tom Goldberg and to all members of the Ford Honors Gala Committee for their care, time, and planning of this evening's Gala.
Previous Recipients of the UMS Distinguished Artist Award
Renee Fleming (2011) Michael Tilson Thomas and the
San Francisco Symphony (2010) Royal Shakespeare Company, Michael Boyd,
and Ralph Williams (2009) Sir James Galway (2008) Mstislav Rostropovich (2007) Dave Brubeck (2006) Guarneri String Quartet (2005) Sweet Honey In The Rock (2004) Christopher Parkening (2003) Marilyn Home (2002) Marcel Marceau (2001) Isaac Stern (2000) Canadian Brass (1999) Garrick Ohlsson (1998) Jessye Norman (1997) Van Cliburn (1996)
Concertmasters
Bank of Ann Arbor Maxine and Stuart Frankel Kathy and Tom Goldberg THE MOSAIC FOUNDATION
(of R. & P. Heydon) Jane and Edward Schulak University of Michigan Health System
Leaders
Mark and Janice Kielb
Mainstreet Ventures
Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C
Honorary Chairs
Mary Sue Coleman
President, The University of Michigan
James G. Vella
President, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services
Honorary Committee
Maxine and Stuart Frankel Kathy and Tom Goldberg THE MOSAIC FOUNDATION
(of R. & P. Heydon) Timothy and Emily Marshall,
Bank of Ann Arbor Ora Pescovitz, University of Michigan
Health System Jane and Edward Schulak Fred Shell, DTE Energy Foundation
Gala Chairs
Kathy and Tom Goldberg
Gala Committee
Lorie Arbour Susan Gutow Nicki Griffith Mary LeDuc Kathleen Nolan Sarah Nicoli Elizabeth Palms Anne Preston Eileen Thacker Janet Torno
T
he Ford Honors Program and the UMS Distinguished Artist Award The Ford Honors Program is an annual benefit that recognizes a world-renowned artist or ensemble from the UMS season while raising funds for UMS's award-winning Education & Community Engagement programs. This year, UMS is delighted to honor violinist Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields with the 2012 UMS Distinguished Artist Award. Following their concert performance, the UMS Advisory Committee will host a Gala Dinner in the artists' honor.
Beneficiary
The Ford Honors Gala supports UMS Education & Community Engagement programs. Through public events and contextual material, UMS creates an array of entry points that encourage audiences of all ages to explore the diversity of artists, art forms, ideas, and cultures represented on the UMS season. UMS also administers one of the largest K-12 arts education initiatives in Michigan, which gives many young people their first opportunity to experience the live performing arts and supports K-12 educators in integrating the performing arts into their classrooms. Funds raised from the Gala make it possible for UMS to impact nearly 20,000 students, educators, and community members through more than 125 free or low-cost activities each year.
T
he DTE Energy Foundation School of the Year and Educator of the Year Awards are presented at the Gala Dinner and salute regional schools and educators who do exemplary work in arts education and arts integration. This year, for the first time, the nomination process was opened to the general public. In March, a committee comprised of teachers, community members, UMS staff, and other arts professionals gathered to choose the awardees. The DTE Energy Foundation and UMS are proud to honor the following educators this weekend:
2012 UMS DTE Energy Foundation Educator of the Year
Brian P. Nutting, Director, Troy Colt Bands, Troy High School
Step into the life of the Troy High School Band Department and you will find yourself in a whirlwind of action: over 200 students participating in band.
wind quintets, and an occasional flash mob. At the core of the department is Brian Nutting's commitment to musical excellence and personal growth, which has led Troy Colt Bands to musical heights. Mr. Nutting's "Takin' It to the Streets" program brings appreciation and the joy of music to Troy and its surrounding areas. With this award, we celebrate Brian Nutting's determination, passion, and commitment to the arts.
2012 UMS DTE Energy Foundation School of the Year
Early College Alliance (ECA) on the campus of Eastern Michigan University David G. Dugger, Director
Early College Alliance (ECA) is a public school consortium designed to fully immerse high school-aged students in the post-secondary learning environment. ECA is a public, earlymiddle college program established in 2007 and located on the campus of Eastern Michigan University (EMU). ECA has consistently provided opportunities for its students to have rich and diverse cultural experiences via UMS performances. For the past two years, ECA has integrated a UMS performance into the curriculum taught to the entire first-year student cohort. By infusing its curriculum with the arts, ECA makes a commitment to learning in the broadest terms: learning that goes beyond the walls of the traditional school building, that is diverse in perspective and experience, and that is ultimately student-focused.
A special thanks to this year's selection committee:
Pat Bantle, UMS Advisory Committee and Retired Ann
Arbor Public Schools Educator Lynda Berg, UMS Board of Directors and Retired Ann
Arbor Public Schools Educator Agnes Moy-Sarns, UMS Board of Directors Pam Reister, Curator for Museum Teaching and Learning,
U-M Museum of Art Alex Wagner, Retired Educator, Pinckney Community
Schools Susan Bozell Craig, UMS Manager of Corporate
Partnerships Jim Leija, UMS Director of Education & Community
Engagement
Mary Roeder, UMS Residency Coordinator Omari Rush, UMS Education Manager
the uncompromising and disturbing nature of the music itself.
His Seventh Symphony, for example, is so well know to us today that we cannot imagine a time that knew Beethoven, but not this glorious work. But that was the case when the poet and the composer walked together in Teplitz in July 1812. Beethoven had finished the A-Major Symphony three months earlier--envisioning a premiere for that spring that did not materialize--and the first performance would not take place for another year and a half, on December 8, 1813.
That night in Vienna provided enough discussion for the duration of the 19th century. No other symphony of Beethoven's so openly invited interpretation--not even his Sixth, the self-proclaimed pastoral symphony with its birdcalls, thunderstorm, and frank evocation of something beyond mere eighth notes and bar lines. To Richard Wagner, Beethoven's Seventh Symphony was "the apotheosis of the dance." Berlioz heard ronde des paysans in the first movement. (Choreographers in our own time have proven that this music is not, however, easily danceable.) And there were other readings as well, most of them finding pleasant festivities and Bacchic orgies where Beethoven wrote, simply, vivace.
The true significance of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony is to be found in the notes on the page and in his distinctive use of rhythm and pioneering sense of key relationships. By the time it is over, we can no longer hear the ordinary dactylic rhythm--a dotted eighth note followed by a sixteenth note--in the same way again, and, even without technical terms to explain it, we sense that our basic understanding of harmony has been turned upside-down.
Take Beethoven's magnificent introduction of unprecedented size and ambitious intentions. Beethoven begins decisively in A Major, but at the first opportunity moves away--not to the dominant (E Major) as historical practice and textbooks recommended, but to the unlikely regions of C Major and F Major. Beethoven makes it clear that he will not be limited to the seven degrees of the A Major scale (which contains neither 'C nor 'F natural') in planning his harmonic itinerary. We will hear more from both keys, and by the time he is done, Beethoven will have convinced us not only that 'C and F' sound comfortably at home in an A-Major symphony, but that A Major can be made to seem like the visitor! But that comes later in his scheme.
First we move from the spacious vistas of the introduction into the joyous song of the "Vivace." Getting there is a challenge in which Beethoven relishes, and many a music lover has marveled at his passage of transition in which stagnant, repeated 'E's' suddenly catch fire with the dancing dotted rhythm that will carry through the entire movement. The development section brings new explorations of 'C and 'F,1 and the coda is launched by a spectacular, long-sustained crescendo that is said to have convinced Weber that Beethoven was "ripe for the madhouse."
The "Allegretto" is as famous as any music Beethoven wrote, and it was a success from the first performance, when an encore was demanded. At the indicated tempo it is hardly a slow movement, but it is sufficiently slower than the music that precedes it to provide a feeling of relaxation.
By designing the "Allegretto" in a minor, Beethoven has moved one step closer to F Major; he now dares to write the next movement in that unauthorized but now-familiar key. And he cannot resist rubbing it in a bit by treating A Major, when it arrives on the scene, not as the home key of the symphony but as a visitor in a new world. One does not need a course in harmony to recognize that Beethoven has taken us through the looking glass, where black appears white, and everything is turned on its head.
To get back to where we belong, Beethoven simply shatters the glass with the two fortissimo chords that open the finale and throw us into a triumphant fury of music so adamantly in A Major that we forget any past harmonic digressions. When C and F Major return--as they were destined to-in the development section, they sound every bit as remote as they did in the symphony's introduction, and we sense that we have come full circle.
Program note by Phillip Huscher.
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oshua Bell has enchanted audiences worldwide with his breathtaking virtuosity and tone of rare beauty, earning him the title "classical music superstar." An Avery Fisher Prize recipient and Musical America's "2010 Instrumentalist of the Year," Mr. Bell is the Academy of St Martin in the Fields' newly named Music Director. Mr. Bell came to national attention at age 14 in his debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Today he is equally at home
Joshua Bell
as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestra leader, and composer who performs his own cadenzas to several of the major concerto repertoire.
Mr. Bell's 2011 festival appearances include Ravinia, Tanglewood, Verbier, and Mostly Mozart. He performs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Montreal, Dallas, Colorado, Atlanta, San Francisco, and National Symphony orchestras. A Carnegie Hall recital, appearances with the New York Philharmonic, and European tours concluded 2011, while 2012 includes a US recital tour and the current US tour with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Mr. Bell will also tour Europe with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski and in recital with pianist Jeremy Denk.
An exclusive Sony Classical artist, French Impressions, his new album of French sonatas with
Jeremy Denk was released in January 2012.
Since his first LP recording at 18, Mr. Bell has recorded more than 36 albums garnering Mercury, Grammy, Gramophone, and Echo Klassik Awards. Recent releases include At Home With Friends, the Defiance soundtrack, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, and The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic. He has recorded critically acclaimed performances of Sibelius and Goldmark and the Beethoven and Mendelssohn concertos both fea?turing his own cadenzas. Mr. Bell performed on the Oscar-winning soundtrack, The Red Violin.
Mr. Bell received his first violin at four and by age 12 was serious about the instrument thanks to violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold.
Joshua Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius.
Photo Liu Marie Manucco
T
he Academy of St Martin in the Fields-one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world--is renowned for its polished and re?fined sound, rooted in outstanding musicianship. Formed in 1958 by a group of leading London mu?sicians working without a conductor, the Academy gave its first performance in its namesake church on November 13, 1959. Today, the Academy per?forms some 100 concerts around the world each year, with as many as 15 tours each season. The Academy's Music Director is acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell.
The Academy's partnership with its founder Sir Neville Marriner remains the most recorded pairing of orchestra and conductor and, with over 500 re?cordings under its belt, the Academy is one of the most recorded chamber orchestras in the world. Originally directed by Sir Neville from the leader's chair, the collegiate spirit and flexibility of the original small, conductor-less ensemble remains an Academy hallmark.
Alongside its performances with Life President Sir Neville, Principal Guest Conductor Murray Pera-hia, and Music Director Joshua Bell, the orchestra continues to collaborate with some of today's most thrilling musicians including Julia Fischer, Julian Rachlin, Janine Jansen, and Anthony Marwood. This season, the Academy will undertake the cur?rent major 15-city American tour with Joshua Bell, with further visits planned for 2012 and 2013.
The Academy cherishes this close relationship with the US and its American Friends, who sup?port its vibrant concert program across the country, as well as its innovative Outward Sound outreach projects and partnerships with some of the world's most talented soloists and directors.
You may follow the Academy on Facebook and on Twitter at OASMForchestra.
UMS Archives
T
his afternoon's concert marks the Academy of St Martin in the Fields' sixth appearance under UMS auspices. The Academy made its UMS debut in November 1980 at Hill Auditorium, with lona Brown serving as conductor and principle violinist. This debut began a 30-plus year relationship with UMS which continues today. The Academy has returned for four appearances on UMS concert stages since its celebrated debut, the most recent being a March 2001 appearance with Murray Perahia assuming the role of conductor pianist at Hill Auditorium. The ensemble's 2001 appearance marked the first time lona Brown did not serve as conductor violinist of the Academy for a UMS concert appearance. This afternoon, Joshua Bell serves as both leader and principal violinist. This afternoon's concert also marks Joshua Bell's sixth appearance under UMS auspices. At the age of 21, Mr. Bell made his UMS debut in October 1989 as violin soloist in Sibelius' Violin Concerto in d minor with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Yoel Levi at Hill Auditorium. He next appeared in recital at Rackham Auditorium in April 1994 with pianist Jonathan Feldman, then again in November 2000 with the Camerata Academica of Salzburg under the baton of Sir Roger Norrington. In November 2001 Mr. Bell appeared as violin soloist with the Trondheim Soloists at Hill Auditorium. His most recent UMS appearance was a February 2007 recital at Hill Auditorium with pianist Jeremy Denk.
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Violin I
Joshua Bell Harvey de Souza Robert Salter Amanda Smith Helen Paterson Fiona Brett Miranda Playfair Jeremy Morris
Violin II
Martin Burgess Jennifer Godson Pauls Ezergailis Mark Butler Matthew Ward Christopher George
Viola
Robert Smissen Duncan Ferguson Martin Humbey Catherine Bradshaw
Cello
Stephen Orton John Heley Martin Loveday William Schofield
Double Bass
Lynda Houghton Leon Bosch
Flute
Samuel Coles Sarah Newbold
Oboe
Christopher Cowie Rachel Ingleton
Clarinet
Matthew Hunt Marie Lloyd
Bassoon
Gavin McNaughton Richard Skinner
Horn
Timothy Brown Peter Francomb Stephen Stirling Nicholas Hougham
Trumpet
Mark David Michael Laird
Timpani
Adrian Bending
Academy Concerts Society
Sir Neville Marriner CBE, Life President Joshua Bell, Music Director Murray Perahia KBE, Principal Guest Conductor
Academy Staff
Anna Rowe, Chief Executive
Katy Shaw, Head of Development and
Marketing Katy Jones, Personnel Manager and
Company Secretary Kim Perkins, Education and Outreach
ManagerCreative Producer Holly Cumming, Marketing Manager Philippa Dunn, Sponsorship and
Development Manager Ina Wieczorek, Assistant Concerts
Manager
Rosie Chapman, Administrative Assistant Katherine Adams, Orchestra Manager
and Librarian Stephen Buck, Concerts and Education
Volunteer
For Opus 3 Artists
David V. Foster, President and CEO
David J. Baldwin, Wee President,
Manager. Artists & Conductors Leonard Stein, Senior Vice President.
Director, Tour Administration John C. Gillitand III, Associate, Tour
Administration Kay McCavic, Tour Manager Gerald Breault, Stage Manager