AFCM fall program by Bob Foster

Arizona Friends of Chamber Music October 21, 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; January 17, 2016 Emerson String Quartet Denis Kozhukhin, piano Zemlinsky Quartet with Nikita Mndoyants, piano Escher String Quartet Nikki Chooi, violin, and Amy Yang, piano

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Dear Friends of AFCM, As a teenager, I started learning about classical music through recordings and the radio. Much of it was enthralling, but aside from the irresistible Schubert piano trios, somehow I just couldn’t develop much interest in chamber music simply by listening to records. Only when I started attending student and faculty recitals at the University of Arizona did I begin to understand why anybody should care – and care deeply – about chamber music. And when I began attending AFCM concerts, I became a true believer. The music didn’t change; all along, I recognized that it was carefully crafted work for small ensembles, written by expert composers who were communicating at a more person-to-person level than in their large-scale orchestral works. What changed was the effect of that music when heard and seen live. The intimacy and intensity of only three or four committed musicians sitting just a few feet away conveyed greater passion, humor, joy, and ingenuity than any recording. For 68 years, the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music has brought the highest level of small-ensemble music-making to Tucson, presenting the most distinguished artists at the lowest possible admission price, so we can share this music with anyone willing to arrive with open ears. We have entertained, enlightened, and sometimes even provoked our audiences with old favorites and brand-new commissions, expertly performed by musicians who make chamber concerts not some arcane ritual but an essential, often thrilling part of daily life. As much as the musicians, you and I are a critical part of this chamber-music life. Please join me in making it possible to share the music with each other and with newcomers. Bring friends to concerts. Offer whatever financial support you can, whether a modest donation or a full concert or commission sponsorship. Most of all, keep your ears open. Your heart and mind will follow.

JAMES REEL, PRESIDENT ARIZONA FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC

James Reel

AFCM Commissioning Program

Since 1997, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music audience members have had the privilege of sponsoring new chamber music by exciting contemporary composers, works now performed worldwide by internationally prominent ensembles. To date, fifty-eight compositions have been premiered at the performances of the Evening Series, Piano & Friends, and the Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival. The premieres are marvelous occasions. The composer is brought to Tucson to collaborate with world-class musicians during rehearsals of the new composition and is then present at the premiere performance. The commission sponsors meet the composer, attend the rehearsals, and are acknowledged from the stage at the performance. This year AFCM is looking forward to the premiere of three new commissioned works. Many AFCM commissions, now firmly established in the chamber music repertoire, are widely played and recorded. Raimundo Penaforte’s Piano Trio, An Eroica Trio, has been played hundreds of times in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and New Zealand. Sylvie Bodorová’s Quintet for Harp and Strings, Mysterium Druidum, has had many concert hall, television, and radio performances, and has been transcribed for orchestra. Pierre Jalbert’s Secret Alchemy for piano and string quartet was published by Schott, the publisher of Mozart, within two months of its March 2012 premiere. After another of Jalbert’s pieces was premiered last fall by the Morgenstern Trio, the ensemble performed the work during the remainder of their American and European tours. Sponsors of every AFCM commissioned work are acknowledged in the musical score, in the performance program, and in the CD insert when a recording is made. You can listen to every premiere performance on the AFCM website. Contact Tom Hanselmann, AFCM Commissioning Program Chair, at office@arizonachambermusic.org, or call 520-577-3769, if you are interested in making a lasting contribution to the world of music by sponsoring the commission of a new composition.

“All things must progress to prosper. In music the composer must be able to hear and gage the response to ‘what works.’ We may speculate what the world would be like had Mozart never been exposed to anything current other than folk tunes, had no feedback from audience response nor sponsorship. Or we can help composers to stand on the shoulders of those who came before.” JOYCE AND DAVID CORNELL, AFCM DONORS

2015–2016 Commissions

Nikita Mndoyants Piano Quintet No. 2 (b. 1989 in Moscow)

Sponsored by Dan Leach, in memory of his parents, Marion and Audra Leach. “For me, it is very important to find ways to touch the listener,” pianist-composer Nikita Mndoyants told a reporter in 2013. “I think composers must try new features, sound combinations, or techniques that will keep the attention of an audience. But on the other hand, a composer should be connected with tradition and with the spirit of culture in his native country.” Mndoyants is certainly connected with tradition; a critics’ favorite, he was one of the top six finalists in the 2013 Van Cliburn Competition, 36 years after his father took fifth prize in the competition. Young Nikita studied with his father, gave his first public recital at age 10, and released his first recording a year later. Although child prodigies often develop astonishing technical skills at the expense of interpretive depth, Mndoyants has consistently been commended for performances that one critic has called “exciting, individualistic, vibrant, and full of dynamic and tonal detail.”

Along the way, he has also developed into a highly praised composer, whether for a cadenza for a Mozart concerto (“a brilliant confection that ranged from reflection to subtle jazz-inspired riffs”) or for wholly original music for piano and chamber ensembles. His works have been performed by violinist Daniel Hope and the Szymanowski Quartet, and have been featured in two recordings released by the Classical label. In Tucson this season, he collaborates with the Zemlinsky Quartet in the world premiere of his own Piano Quintet No. 2, commissioned by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. Mndoyants received his degrees from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied piano with Nikolay Petrov and Alexander Mndoyants and composition with Alexander Tchaykovsky.

2015–2016 Commissions

Heather Schmidt Sonata for Cello and Piano (b. 1975 in Calgary)

Sponsored by Robert and Ursula Garrett, Drs. John and Helen Schaefer, Carla Zingarelli Rosenlicht, and Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz. Heather Schmidt began composing at age five, just one year after she started her piano studies, and she first performed on television when she was eight. Over the years she has melded performance, composition, and media into a single career involving virtuosic performances and recordings of traditional and contemporary repertoire, and composing for screen and concert hall. Born in Canada, Ms. Schmidt received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Indiana University with double majors in composition and piano performance. In 1996, at the age of 21, she became the youngest student to ever receive a Doctor of Music degree from that institution. She subsequently completed two years of professional studies at Juilliard.

As a multiple competition-winning pianist, Ms. Schmidt performs as a soloist and also a collaborator, most notably with cellist Shauna Rolston, which resulted in a CD called “Icicles of Fire.” Many of Ms. Schmidt’s works are available on various CDs, including her own performance of her solo piano pieces. Ms. Schmidt’s compositions include a symphony, several short orchestral pieces, an extensive array of chamber music, and six piano concertos. She has composed for films, television shows, documentaries, and video games in a variety of styles, including jazz and rock. Ms. Schmidt has been composer-in-residence for Ontario’s Hamilton Philharmonic and for several music festivals. She also serves on the faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She will be in Tucson during the 2016 Winter Chamber Music Festival for the premiere of her Cello Sonata, to be performed by Clive Greensmith and Bernadette Harvey.

Gerard Schurmann Romancing the Strings for Double String Quartet and Bass (b. 1924 in Java)

Sponsored by Serene Rein. Also sponsored in memory of Richard De Roeck, who loved chamber music and AFCM, by his friends. Gerard Schurmann has never been a slave to musical fashion; instead, through his long career he has been determined to go his own way, as long as it’s a path along which he can lead a willing audience. “It is impossible for a composer to bridge the widening gap between sophisticated creative processes of the day and the listener with integrity: the result of the most fervent desire to communicate can be put to the test only within oneself, measured against the yardstick of personal experience,” he has written. “I believe in communication – but there must be individuality. In the chaos in which we live, a strong personal statement is in the end the only thing of any interest.”

Born to Dutch parents in Java and raised in England, Mr. Schurmann spent his early adult years as a pianist, conductor, and cultural attaché, but by the 1960s he resolved to make his living as a composer. In practical terms, this meant writing extensively for film in projects ranging from police procedurals to horror movies. (More prestigious projects included orchestrating Maurice Jarre’s score for Lawrence of Arabia and Ernst Gold’s for Exodus.) For the concert hall, he began writing a long series of well-received works that gained him a reputation as an approachable modernist. As one critic writes, “While only tonal in a highly attenuated sense, Schurmann’s musical language never leaves listeners without clearly identifiable musical processes upon which to fasten their attention.” Peter Rejto, artistic director of the Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, has long been an admirer, performer, and advocate of Schurmann’s music, and instigated two previous Schurmann commissions for AFCM: the Piano Quartet No. 2 (1998), and Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano (2004). For the 2016 Festival, Schurmann delivers something unique in his catalog, a string nonet titled “Romancing the Strings.”

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Commissions 1997–2015

Fazil Say, Sonata for Violin and Piano

Elizabeth Raum, Sonata for Piano Four Hands

FEBRUARY 16, 1997

FESTIVAL 2001

Premiered by Fazil Say and Mark Peskanov Sponsored by Jean Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz

Premiered by Bernadene Blaha and Kevin Fitz-Gerald Sponsored by Jean-Paul Bierny and Fred Chaffee

Gerard Schurmann, Piano Quartet No. 2

Joelle Wallach, String Quartet 1999

MARCH 6, 1998

APRIL 4, 2001

Premiered by the Los Angeles Piano Quartet Sponsored by AFCM

Premiered by the Muir String Quartet Sponsored by Linda Friedman, Samuel and Jonathan Friedman, and Davina Friedman Doby, in memory of Lawrence Friedman

Fazil Say, Sonata for Piano NOVEMBER 22, 1998

Premiered by Fazil Say Sponsored by Jean Paul Bierny and Fred Chaffee

Reza Vali, String Quartet No. 3 FEBRUARY 6, 2002

FEBRUARY 10, 1999

Premiered by Cuarteto Latinoamericano Sponsored by Faria Vahdat-Dretler, in memory of Parviz Mahmoud

Premiered by the Eroica Trio Sponsored by Tony and Ellen Lomonaco, and AFCM

Curt Cacioppo, String Quartet “A Distant Voice Calling”

Raimundo Penaforte, Piano Trio “An Eroica Trio”

FESTIVAL 2002

Dan Coleman, Sonata No. 4 for Violin and Piano “Sad and Ancient Phrases”

Premiered by the American String Quartet Sponsored by Linda and Stuart Nelson

NOVEMBER 28, 1999

Premiered by Jennifer Frautschi and Pedja Muzijevic Sponsored by Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz

Augusta Read-Thomas, Duo for Violin and Viola “Rumi Settings” FESTIVAL 2002

Raimundo Penaforte, Quartetice for Four Guitars and Percussion “obbligato et ad libitum” FESTIVAL 2000

Premiered by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Sponsored by Susan Small, Anne Nelson, Richard & Judy Sanderson, and Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz Stephen Paulus, Exotic Etudes for Viola and Piano Quartet FESTIVAL 2000

Premiered by Cynthia Phelps, Elissa Lee Koljonen, Nicole Divall, Peter Rejto, and Rick Rowley Sponsored by Drs. John and Helen Schaefer

Premiered by Ani and Ida Kavafian Sponsored by Marya and Robert Giesy, Henry Weiss for Marion Hersh, Carla Rosenlicht in memory of Maxwell Rosenlicht, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Peters, and Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz Anthony Iannaccone, Clarinet Quintet NOVEMBER 13, 2002

Premiered by Richard Stoltzman and the Arianna String Quartet Sponsored by Richard and Galina De Roeck, in memory of Francine Beekwilder De Roeck Robert Maggio, String Quartet No. 1 “Songbook for Annamaria” JANUARY 8, 2003

Premiered by the Colorado Quartet Sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Peters

Jirˇí Gemrot, Piano Quintet FESTIVAL 2003

Roel van Oosten, Piano Trio No. 3 “American Dances”

Premiered by Ewa Kupiec and the Pražák String Quartet Sponsored by members of the Czech community of Tucson, Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz, Fred Chaffee, and Diana Chaffee

FEBRUARY 16, 2005

Sylvie Bodorová, Quintet for Harp and Strings “Mysterium druidum”

Steven Stucky, Piano Quartet

FESTIVAL 2003

Premiered by the Los Angeles Piano Quartet Sponsored by members of the Arizona Senior Academy and the Academy Village, by the estate of Carol Kramer, and Dan Coleman

Premiered by Katerˇina Englichová, Jennifer Frautschi, Il-Hwan Bae, Nicole Divall, and Felix Wang Sponsored by Bob and Connie Foster Ezra Sims, String Quartet NOVEMBER 19, 2003

Premiered by the Pacifica Quartet Sponsored by George and Elinor Marcek, members of the Arizona Senior Academy and Academy Village, and the estate of Carol Kramer Stephen Gryc, String Quartet FEBRUARY 18, 2004

Premiered by the Avalon String Quartet Sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Peters Joan Tower, Piano Trio “For Daniel” FESTIVAL 2004

Premiered by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio Sponsored by Drs. John and Helen Schaefer Katherine Hoover, Duo for Cello and Piano “El Andalus” FESTIVAL 2004

Premiered by Sharon Robinson and Joseph Kalichstein Sponsored by Paul and Dorothy Olson Gerard Schurmann, Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Cello FESTIVAL 2004

Premiered by Christina Dahl, Richard Hawkins, and Peter Rejto Sponsored by Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz

Premiered by the Osiris Trio Sponsored by members of the Arizona Senior Academy and the Academy Village

FESTIVAL 2005

Jeffery Cotton, Duo for Violin and Percussion “Meditation, Rhapsody, and Bacchanal” FESTIVAL 2005

Premiered by Joseph Lin and Svet Stoyanov Sponsored by the Linda Friedman family Lee Hoiby, String Quartet with Soprano “Sonnet and Soliloquies on William Shakespeare” FESTIVAL 2005

Premiered by Jennifer Foster and the Miami String Quartet Sponsored by the estate of Maxwell Rosenlicht, the Aasheghan e Aavaaz Group (“Lovers of Song” in Persian), and Richard and Judy Sanderson Dmitri Tymoczko, Piano Quintet “The Eggman Variations” JANUARY 18, 2006

Premiered by Ursula Oppens and the Pacifica Quartet Sponsored by Walt Swap Lera Auerbach, Sonata No. 3 for Piano and Violin FEBRUARY 5, 2006

Premiered by Lera Auerbach and Vadim Gluzman Sponsored by the Harry and Lea Gudelsky Foundation, in memory of H. Paul Gudelsky

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Commissions 1997–2015

Jennifer Higdon, String Quartet “An Exaltation of Larks”

Ross Edwards, “Tucson Mantras”

FESTIVAL 2006

Premiered by Synergy Percussion Quartet, Lara St. John, Ian Swensen, Paul Coletti, Antonio Lysy, and William Barton (didjeridoo) Sponsored by Karen Sternal, Richard and Judy Sanderson, and Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz

Premiered by the Tokyo String Quartet Sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Peters Tania Gabrielle French, String Quartet No. 3 “Luminescence” FEBRUARY 21, 2007

Premiered by the Artis Quartet of Vienna Sponsored by the estate of Carol Kramer Jirˇí Gemrot, Clarinet Quintet

FESTIVAL 2008

Jirˇí Gemrot, Bass Quintet OCTOBER 29, 2008

Premiered by the Pražák Quartet and Volkan Orhon Sponsored by Milos and Milena Chvapil, and Joan Jacobson

FESTIVAL 2007

Premiered by Richard Stoltzman and the Pražák Quartet Sponsored by Joan Jacobson Richard Danielpour, Piano Quartet “The Book of Hours” APRIL 18, 2007

Premiered by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and Michael Tree Commissioned by ten organizations, including AFCM, in honor of the Trio’s 30th anniversary; AFCM’s portion of the commission sponsored by Dorothy Olson in memory of Paul N. Olson R. Murray Schafer, String Trio OCTOBER 17, 2007

Premiered by the Divertimento Trio Sponsored by Bill and Lotte Copeland Ellen Zwilich, Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet JANUARY 16, 2008

Premiered by Ashu and the Chicago Chamber Musicians Commissioned by AFCM, Fontana Chamber Arts, Michigan State University, Detroit Chamber Music Society. AFCM sponsors: the Brussels Sprouts (Ghislaine Polak, Richard De Roeck, Jean-Paul Bierny) Kelly-Marie Murphy, String Quartet “Ashes” FESTIVAL 2008

Premiered by the Borealis String Quartet Sponsored by Hal Myers, in memory of Gene Loring

Robert Maggio, String Quartet No. 2 “Rain and Ash” JANUARY 14, 2009

Premiered by the Borromeo String Quartet Sponsored by Herschel and Jill Rosenzweig, Helmut Abt, and Harold G. Basser in memory of his wife Suzanne Jirˇí Gemrot, Sonata for Piano Four Hands FEBRUARY 8, 2009

Premiered by Martin and Kristina Kasik Sponsored by Joan Jacobson Dominik Maican, Quintet for Clarinet and Strings FESTIVAL 2009

Premiered by Richard Hawkins and the Pacifica Quartet Sponsored by Hal Myers Thomas Schuttenhelm, Duo for Violin and Bass “Lyric serenade” FESTIVAL 2009

Premiered by Joseph Lin and Volkan Orhan Sponsored by Karen Sternal

Raimundo Penaforte, Mandoline for String Orchestra

Ellen Zwilich, Quintet for Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass

JANUARY 24, 2010

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

Premiered at Crowder Hall by student members of OMA Sponsored by OMA (Opening Minds through the Arts) and AFCM

Premiered by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, Michael Tree, and Harold Robinson Commissioned by AFCM and 11 other presenters. AFCM’s portion of the commission sponsored by Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz

Patrick Zimmerli, Trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp FESTIVAL 2010

Lera Auerbach, “Triptych – This Mirror has Three Faces” for Violin, Cello, and Piano

Premiered by Carol Wincenc, Roger Chase, and Katerˇina Englichová Sponsored by Carla Rosenlicht, and Jill and Herschel Rosenzweig

FESTIVAL 2012

Kamran Ince, Piano Quartet “Far Variations”

Pierre Jalbert, “Secret Alchemy” for Piano Quartet

MARCH 31, 2010

FESTIVAL 2012

Premiered by the Los Angeles Piano Quartet Sponsored by Sherrill Akyol, in memory of Dr. Salim Akyol

Premiered by Bernadette Harvey, Benny Kim, Helena Baillie, and Steve Doane Sponsored by Karen Sternal, and Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz

Premiered by Martin Beaver, Clive Greensmith, and the composer Sponsored by Dr. Jim M. Cushing

Daniel Asia, Mixed Nonet OCTOBER 13, 2010

Lowell Liebermann, Piano Trio

Premiered by the Czech Nonet Commissioned by AFCM and the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition. Sponsored by Wesley C. Green, in memory of his wife Pearl Green

JANUARY 23, 2013

Olli Mustonen, Quartet for Oboe, Violin, Viola, and Piano

FESTIVAL 2013

FESTIVAL 2011

Premiered by Alan Vogel, Axel Strauss, Paul Coletti, and Xak Bjerken Sponsored by Charles and Suzanne Peters, Serene Rein, Carla Zingarelli Rosenlicht, and Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz Joseph Lin, Trio for Violin, Viola, and Cello FESTIVAL 2011

Premiered by Joseph Lin, Paul Coletti, and Antonio Lysy Sponsored by Bob Foster

Premiered by the Trio Solisti Sponsored by David and Joyce Cornell Sylvie Bodorová, Quartet for Clarinet and Strings Premiered by Bil Jackson, Ani Kavafian, Cynthia Phelps, and Colin Carr Sponsored by Bob Foster, in memory of Betty Cochran, Suzanne and Charles Peters, and Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz Carl Vine, “Fantasia” for Piano Quintet FESTIVAL 2013

Premiered by Bernadette Harvey and the Shanghai Quartet Sponsored by Wesley C. Green, in memory of his wife Pearl Green

Commissions 1997–2015

Upcoming Commissions

Michael Ellison, String Quartet

Pierre Jalbert, Piano Quintet

DECEMBER 11, 2013

FESTIVAL 2017

Premiered by the Fry Street Quartet Sponsored by Hal Myers and the NOVA Chamber Music Series

To be premiered by Festival musicians Sponsored by Jim Cushing Dmitri Tymoczko, Nonet

Gunther Schuller, String Quartet

FESTIVAL 2017

FESTIVAL 2014

To be premiered by Festival musicians Sponsored by Walter Swap

Premiered by the Miró Quartet Sponsored by Carla Zingarelli Rosenlicht, in memory of Dana Nelson, Ted and Celia Brandt, Grace McIlvain, Serene Rein, Jim Cushing, and Elliott and Wendy Weiss as a gift to their grandchildren Sylvie Bodorová, Piano Sonata FESTIVAL 2014

Premiered by Bernadene Blaha Sponsored by Linda Leedberg, in honor of her mother, Anne Nard Pierre Jalbert, Piano Trio NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Premiered by Trio Morgenstern Sponsored by Boyer Rickel, in memory of his parents, Harry and Louise Rickel Jirˇí Gemrot, String Quartet No. 2 FESTIVAL 2015

Premiered by the Pražák Quartet Sponsored by Joan Jacobson Lowell Liebermann, Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Viola FESTIVAL 2015

Premiered by Bernadene Blaha, Bil Jackson, and Paul Neubauer Sponsored by Joyce and David Cornell

Jennifer Higdon, Piano Trio APRIL 2017

To be premiered by Trio Solisti Sponsored by Dagmar Cushing, Robert and Ursula Garrett, Dr. Henri Frischer and Alison Edwards, Thomas Hanselmann and Mary Lonsdale Baker, and The Harvard Musical Association (co-commissioner)

2015â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2016 Season

Contents 2

Emerson String Quartet Wednesday, October 21, 2015, at 7:30 pm

Denis Kozhukhin, PIANO Sunday, November 1, 2015, at 3:00 pm

10 Zemlinsky Quartet with Nikita Mndoyants, PIANO Wednesday, November 4, 2015, at 7:30 pm 14 Escher String Quartet Wednesday, December 16, 2015, at 7:30 pm 18 Nikki Chooi, VIOLIN, and Amy Yang, PIANO Sunday, January 17, 2016, at 3:00 pm 22 AFCM Donors 26 History of AFCM

Steinway Piano is the official piano of AFCM

On the cover: Family Ties, by Jeff Ferst

Please turn off cell phones and other electronic devices. Taking photographs or making recordings is prohibited during performances. 1

Wednesday, October 21, 2015, 7:30 pm Evening Series, 68th Season

Emerson String Quartet The Emerson String Quartet has an unparalleled list of achievements over three decades: more than thirty acclaimed recordings, nine Grammys (including two for Best Classical Album), three Gramophone Awards, the Avery Fisher Prize, Musical America’s “Ensemble of the Year,” and collaborations with many of the greatest artists of our time. Since 1983, it has performed for delighted AFCM audiences a dozen times, more than any other ensemble.

Emerson String Quartet Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, violins Lawrence Dutton, viola Paul Watkins, cello

Emerson String Quartet appears by arrangement with IMG Artists, LLC, 152 W. 57th St. 5th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Phone: 212–994–3500 Emerson String Quartet records exclusively for Sony Classical

The arrival of Paul Watkins in 2013 has had a profound effect on the Emerson Quartet. Mr. Watkins, a distinguished soloist, award-winning conductor, and devoted chamber musician, joined the ensemble in its 37th season, and his dedication and enthusiasm have infused the Quartet with a warm, rich tone, and a palpable joy in the collaborative process. Wrote a New York Times reviewer: “Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: The ‘old’ Emerson String Quartet never phoned one in. But this new group – Mr. Watkins alongside the violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, and the violist Lawrence Dutton – complemented their customary power, finesse, and unanimity with a fresh, palpable vigor at Tully Hall, and it was electrifying.” In a season of over 80 quartet performances, mingled with the Quartet members’ individual artistic commitments, the Emerson’s highlights feature numerous concerts on both coasts and throughout North America. As an exclusive artist for Sony Classical, the Quartet recently released Journeys, its second CD on that label, featuring Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht. Future recordings are planned with Mr. Watkins. Formed in 1976 and based in New York City where they are Quartet-in-Residence at Stony Brook University, the Emerson was one of the first quartets in which two violinists alternate in the first chair position. In 2002, the Quartet began to stand for most of its concerts, with the cellist seated on a riser. It takes its name from the American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson.

PROGRAM

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) String Quartet in D Minor (“Fifths”), Op. 76, no. 2 Allegro moderato Andante o più tosto allegretto Menuetto: Allegro ma non troppo Finale: Vivace assai

This evening’s concert is sponsored by the generous contribution of Serene Rein.

Philip Setzer, first violin Béla Bartók (1881–1945) String Quartet No. 4 Allegro Prestissimo, con sordino Non troppo lento Allegretto pizzicato Allegro molto Eugene Drucker, first violin

INTERMISSION

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) String Quartet in G Major, D. 887 Allegro molto moderato Andante un poco mosso Scherzo: Allegro vivace – Trio: Allegretto Allegro assai Eugene Drucker, first violin

Program notes

THE SIX QUARTETS COMPRISING Haydn’s Opus 76

set were written in 1796–1797 after a commission from Count Joseph Erdödy, a Hungarian friend of his Esterházy patrons. Haydn had just returned from his second immensely successful trip to London, where he had been lionized as Europe’s greatest living composer – an accurate assessment, since Mozart had recently died and Beethoven had not yet established himself. Although Haydn, then 64, had composed quartets for forty years, his Opus 76 reveals new technical assurance. Compared to his earlier quartets, the six in Opus 76 contain more profound slow movements, faster minuets, and more intellectually challenging finales. Because of its masterful craftsmanship and boldly original development of themes, the Opus 76 set represents a peak of eighteenth-century chamber music. The second quartet of the set (D minor) has been nicknamed “Quinten” or “Fifths” because the pair of descending intervals of the fifth heard at its beginning pervades the first movement with eighty repetitions. Since the opening four bars resemble the melody marking the quarter hours of Big Ben, a newly familiar London landmark for Haydn, the quartet has also been named “The Bells.” The graceful Andante unfolds in a three-part design. The violin states the opening melody, which appears in the minor key in the middle section and returns with embellishments in the final part. The intricate third movement, known as the “Witches’ Minuet,” opens as a canon – the violins begin the melody, which three beats later is imitated an octave lower by the viola and cello to create the illusion of a ghostly echo. As a contrast, the trio section moves with chords that change dynamic level from very soft to very loud. The finale develops with syncopated rhythms and pungent intervals that capture the spirit of Hungarian folk music. BARTÓK’S MONUMENTAL SET of six string

quartets, created over the majority of his creative life, has been recognized as the most

significant contribution to the genre since the quartets of Beethoven. The quartets began as the ethnomusicology project of two composers who desired to identify the true Hungarian voice, one separate from popular café music. In 1904 Bartók and his colleague Zoltán Kodály packed their unwieldy recording equipment into a primitive truck and began a quest for native songs of the deep countryside. Bartók intended to use the resulting vast collection as inspiration for his own compositions: “It was not a question of taking unique melodies and incorporating them into our own works. What we had to do was to divine the spirit of this unknown music and to make this spirit the basis of our own works.” Bartók at this time was also fascinated by the subtle and complex interrelationships heard in the late works of Beethoven. His larger goal became to harness the primitive forces of his native Hungarian music to the highly intellectual form of the Western string quartet. Bartók himself described Quartet No. 4 (1928): “The work is in five movements; their character corresponds to classical sonata form. The slow movement is the kernel of the work; the other movements are, as it were, arranged around it.” Strong architectural symmetry is evident throughout Quartet No. 4. Two thematically connected movements (I and V) form the work’s outer pillars. The substantial third movement, divided into three parts, falls at the work’s center. This movement, the keystone, is framed by two thematically connected scherzo-like movements. Vivid tone colors create a kaleidoscopic atmosphere throughout Quartet No. 4. Bartók introduces innovative instrumental techniques such as the “pizzicato glissando” (plucking the string while simultaneously sliding the finger) and the “Bartók pizzicato,” in which the strings are pulled so strongly that they slap the fingerboard. Contrasts abound: several large sections are directed to be played with mutes to achieve a mysterious atmosphere, and other areas derive energy from “col legno,” in which a passage is played sharply with the wood of the bow.

The energetic Allegro, constructed in traditional sonata form, derives all its thematic content from a motif consisting of three rising and three falling notes, first heard in the cello. This material, continuously expanded and developed, returns in the fifth movement. The rapid second movement, muted throughout, departs significantly from traditional thematic structure. Rather than develop coherent melodic ideas, Bartók here explores fragmentary interval relationships, particularly the highly dissonant minor second. The central movement opens with a cello solo based on a “taragato” melody – a slow moving, increasingly embellished line traditionally performed on an ancient Hungarian instrument related to the oboe. The middle section, the focal point of the entire quartet, contains what Bartók called “night music,” evocations of bird calls and rustling forest sounds. Bartók wrote about the fourth movement: “Its theme is the same as the main theme of the second movement. There it moves in the narrow intervals of the chromatic scale, but here it broadens in accordance with the diatonic style.” All instruments play pizzicato throughout. Near its conclusion, the tumultuous finale quotes the first movement to unify the entire composition. SCHUBERT’S D. 887 QUARTET IN G MAJOR is the

last of his fifteen string quartets and perhaps the most remarkable. Within a ten-day period in June, 1826 Schubert created a towering work of astounding modernity from the briefest of thematic ideas. Recognizing its uniqueness, he chose to program the quartet’s first movement on the breakthrough invitational concert held six months before his death. Although the critics present praised its “spirit and originality,” publishers rejected the work because of its length and difficulty. The quartet was eventually published posthumously fifteen years after its completion. A restless, questioning atmosphere is established at the outset. The quartet begins with a harmonically ambiguous motif – a sustained opening chord in G major abruptly resolves on G minor, followed by a staccato response. The second theme, a poignant

utterance played in short, syncopated phrases by the violin, is repeated by the cello. Freely cast in sonata form, the movement unfolds within a framework of harmonies that continuously alternate between the major and minor modes. Agitated tremolos and virtuoso passagework contribute to the orchestral quality of this extensive movement. The last three movements of D. 887 reveal relationships to Schubert’s D. 810 String Quartet in D Minor (“Death and the Maiden”), premiered in January of the same year. While the earlier Andante is clearly based on the eponymous song in which Death comes to claim a young girl, the dramatic Andante (E minor) of D. 887 might also suggest a programmatic interpretation. After the cello’s wistfully melancholy opening solo, the first section develops as an ordered world. But suddenly, in the second thematic area (G minor), a violent Schubert emerges. Abruptly loud phrases with jagged rhythms and vehemently roiling melodic cells, made even more emphatic by their separating rests, conjure a devastating operatic scene. The Scherzo (B minor) returns to Schubert’s more familiar world. A buoyant melodic idea is followed by a central trio section (G major) that resembles a Ländler, a genial Austrian peasant dance. This slower and lilting area offers one of Schubert’s characteristic glorious modulations (here to B major) before the repeat of the Scherzo. The brilliant finale unfolds with relentless energy. Formally this lengthy movement is a rondo with two themes and two contrasting interludes. The harmonic ambiguity heard in the opening movement now returns as the key center continuously vacillates between major and minor. As in the earlier “Death and the Maiden” Quartet, its first subject resembles a tarantella, a fast Italian dance originally intended to purge venom from a spider’s victim. The strongly accented second subject perpetuates the momentum of a feverish dance. Notes by Nancy Monsman

Sunday, November 1, 2015, 3:00 pm Piano & Friends, 21st Season

Denis Kozhukhin

Denis Kozhukhin, piano

Intermusica Crystal Wharf 36 Graham Street London N1 8GJ

Born in Nizhni Novgorod, Russia, in 1986 into a family of musicians, Denis Kozhukhin began his piano studies at the age of four with his mother. As a boy, he attended the Balakirev School of Music where he studied under Natalia Fish. From 2000 to 2007, Mr. Kozhukhin was a pupil at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid learning with Dimitri Bashkirov and Claudio Martinez-Mehner. Upon graduating, he received his diploma personally from the Queen of Spain and was named best student in his year and twice best chamber group with his own Cervantes Trio. After his studies in Madrid, Mr. Kozhukhin was invited to study at the Piano Academy at Lake Como where he received tuition from among others Fou Ts’ong, Stanislav Yudenitch, Peter Frankl, Boris Berman, Charles Rosen, and Andreas Staier. He completed his studies with Kirill Gerstein in Stuttgart. Mr. Kozhukhin has also been awarded 1st Prize at the Vendome Prize in Lisbon in 2009, and 3rd Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006. Mr. Kozhukhin was launched onto the international scene after winning 1st Prize in the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels at the age of 23. He quickly established a formidable reputation and has already appeared at many of the world’s most prestigious festivals and concert halls including the Verbier Festival, where he won the Prix d’Honneur in 2003, Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, Berliner Philharmonie, Kelner Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Munich Herkulessaal, Rotterdam De Doelen, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Auditorio Nacional Madrid, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Milan, Théâtre du Châtelet, and Auditorium du Louvre Paris. A committed chamber musician, Mr. Kozhukhin has worked with Leonidas Kavakos, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Vadim Repin, Julian Rachlin, the Jerusalem Quartet, the Pavel Haas Quartet, Radovan Vlatkovic, Jörg Widmann, and Alisa Weilerstein. Following the 2013 release of his debut recording with Onyx Classics of Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas Nos. 6, 7, and 8, Mr. Kozhukhin released his recording of sonatas by Haydn in September 2014.

PROGRAM

Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)

Piano Sonata in B Minor, Hob. XVI:32

Piano Sonata in D Major, Hob. XVI:37

Allegro moderato Tempo di Menuet Finale: Presto

Allegro con brio Largo e sostenuto Finale: Presto ma non troppo Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) Seven Fantasias, Op. 116 Capriccio in D Minor Intermezzo in A Minor Capriccio in G Minor Intermezzo in E Major Intermezzo in E Minor Intermezzo in E Major Capriccio in D Minor

César Franck (1822 – 1890) Prélude, Chorale et Fugue Sergei Prokofiev (1891 – 1953) Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 Allegro inquieto Andante caloroso Precipitato

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42

INTERMISSION

Program notes

ALTHOUGH BEST KNOWN for his symphonies

(over 100) and string quartets (nearly 70), Haydn composed prodigiously in other genres, including 29 piano trios, 126 baryton trios (the instrument played by his employer, Prince Esterházy), and 47 piano sonatas. Symphonies and works for baryton were a requirement of his position as Kapellmeister at the Esterházy estate in Hungary. Less clear were the need for so many quartets and sonatas. By about 1770, however, the Prince must have allowed Haydn to supplement his income through publication, and by 1780 Haydn had established a relationship with Artaria & Co. in Vienna, one of the most important publishers of music in this period. The Sonata in D Major was the first under this business arrangement, part of a set of six (the usual number in publications at this time) and issued that same year. As with all of Haydn’s piano sonatas, the work is in three movements. The first is an energetic Allegro con brio, a reminder that Beethoven was Haydn’s student about a decade later, and this tempo indication would become one of Beethoven’s favorites. Haydn was not a virtuoso like Beethoven or Mozart, but he knew the capabilities of the piano, and the opening movement is a sparkling display piece in the standard sonata form. For the slow movement in D minor, Haydn exploits the piano’s singing qualities with beautifully decorated melodic lines. An unusual feature is that the movement does not end, but rather, without pause, proceeds to a finale, which includes a jolly tune that recurs amid episodes that bring the work to an exciting conclusion. BRAHMS MADE THE DECISION to retire in 1890.

Following the composition of his String Quintet, Opus 111, he wrote his publisher, stating he had destroyed all incomplete or abandoned works. Retirement didn’t last long. The following year he met clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, whose extraordinary playing led to a trio, a quintet, and two sonatas. But inspiration did not stop there, and Brahms further produced a series of miniatures for solo piano, the first of which was the Fantasias, Opus 116, which he completed in 1892. 8

As titles for these pieces, Brahms chose various generic labels found in music over several centuries. The attraction may have been the lack of expectation – there was no tradition of form or length – leaving him the freedom to write as he pleased. Capriccio suggests a lighthearted piece (“whim” or “caprice”), although here Brahms uses it for surging minor key compositions. Intermezzo indicates something that comes between something else, often suggesting a lyrical interlude, in this case between the capriccios. The result is a satisfying cycle of light and dark. ALONG WITH MANY RUSSIANS, Rachmaninoff left

his homeland for good following the Revolution of 1917, ultimately settling in the United States. Money and possessions were left behind, and he now needed a steady income to support his family. Composition was not an option. The Soviet Union controlled the earnings from his Russian publishers and was not about to pay an expatriate. To create a new repertory would take years. But Rachmaninoff had always been a fine pianist (he had taken first prize at the Moscow Conservatory and given the premieres of several of his own works), and with a new American agent his concert fees allowed him to live comfortably. He was soon acknowledged as one of the finest pianists of his time, easily confirmed today by his many recordings. Rachmaninoff did not give up composition entirely, but with the demands of a concert career, his flow of works slowed to a trickle. Nevertheless his American years include pieces for piano and orchestra (his fourth concerto and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini) and his last composition for solo piano, Variations on a Theme of Corelli, written in the summer of 1931. The basis for this work is not actually by the 17th-century composer, Arcangelo Corelli, but rather a popular tune (“La folia”) that Corelli used for a set of variations in the last of his twelve sonatas for violin, Opus 5, published in 1700. Rachmaninoff in turn uses it for his own massive set of variations, twenty with the addition of an “Intermezzo” between nos. 13 and 14, and a quiet Coda. And because he wrote the work for his own formidable abilities, it requires rhythmic drive and luminous tone, hallmarks of Rachmaninoff ’s own playing.

HAYDN’S SONATA IN B MINOR was also composed

as part of a set of six, entered into his handwritten catalog as “six sonatas from the year 1776.” Minor key sonatas are found far less frequently in this period, although here the minor mode may be a holdover from Haydn’s “Sturm und Drang” symphonies of a few years earlier. More rare is the key of B minor, little used because of the non equal-tempered tuning systems then employed. The result is a moody work, its sense of disquiet especially apparent in the first movement. Haydn brightens the tone in the Menuet (B major), although the sense of unrest returns in the central Trio section, again in the minor. The closing Presto is relentless in its forward motion. THE BELGIAN COMPOSER CÉSAR FRANCK was

known as a brilliant organist, superb improvisor, and insightful teacher (his devoted pupils referred to themselves as the “bande à Franck”). And although Franck composed throughout his career, virtually all the works by which he is best known were written in the last decade of his life. These include the Sonata for Violin and Piano (1886), Symphony in D Minor (1888), Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra (1885), and Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue (1884). All use the most advanced chromatic harmony of the day, influenced by Liszt and Wagner, and the ones that include piano remind us what a fine performer Franck was. As indicated by the title, Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue is in three distinct sections, with unity maintained by melodies and motives that are transformed and shared throughout. The Prelude begins in a swirl of figuration, the melody surrounded by arpeggios above and below. A simpler, more chordal theme follows, set in a higher register. The Chorale introduces a new idea, but the heart of this section is a melody introduced as a sequence of chords. Here Franck employs a wonderful pianistic effect, as he asks the player to roll each of these chords, lowest note to highest note, left hand to right hand, but the top note played by the left hand moving quickly to the top of the keyboard (it is thrilling to watch). The Fugue is based on the simpler theme from the Prelude,

and at the climax the fugue and chorale themes are contrapuntally combined. To conclude, the chorale theme is heard one last time amid virtuoso flourishes. AT A TIME WHEN MANY RUSSIANS were escaping

the Soviet Union, Prokofiev made the extraordinary decision to return. He’d had a remarkable career, composing and touring as a pianist in the West (he gave the premiere of his third piano concerto in Chicago), and could easily have settled in Paris or the US. The timing is also difficult to explain: Shostakovich had just come under attack for his music in January 1936, yet Prokofiev returned a few months later. Perhaps he thought the dictatorship under Joseph Stalin would leave him alone. He was wrong. An irony is that his music won the Stalin Prize in the Arts six times (including for the Piano Sonata No. 7). A double irony is that Prokofiev died the same day as Stalin (5 March 1953), his death all but unnoticed amid the pomp of Stalin’s state funeral. The Piano Sonata No. 7 is considered one of his three “War Sonatas” written during WWII (No. 6 and No. 8 are the others), with No. 7 completed in 1942. Although always tonal, this sonata reveals Prokofiev’s dissonant style and angular melodies, with pianistic writing that requires “fingers of steel” (a description of the composer’s own playing). The opening movement (fast and restless) suggests something of the unease of wartime. For the central movement (“caloroso” means “warm”), biographer Daniel Jaffé observes that the sad melody of the opening alludes to a song by Robert Schumann, “Wehmut” (Opus 39 No. 9), the text reading in part, “I can sometimes sing as if I were happy, yet secretly the tears flow and free my heart,” perhaps a criticism of the Stalinist fiction of the worker’s paradise. The third movement is a toccata in the unusual meter of seven beats to the bar, hurtling towards the finish with an almost military violence. Notes by Jay Rosenblatt

Wednesday, November 4, 2015, 7:30 pm Evening Series, 68th Season

Zemlinsky Quartet Since its founding in 1994, the Zemlinsky Quartet has become a much cherished example of the Czech string quartet tradition. The Quartet won the 1st Grand Prize in the 2010 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition as well as a series of top prizes, including the 2007 Banff International String Quartet Competition, the 2005 Prague Spring International Music Competition, and the 2006 London International String Quartet Competition, where it was also awarded the Audience Prize. The Zemlinsky Quartet performs regularly in the Czech Republic, throughout Europe, and abroad. Recent notable appearances of the Quartet include London’s Wigmore Hall, Paris’s Cité de la Musique, the Library of Congress, Montreal’s Place des Arts, the Prague Spring Festival, and their New York debut on the Schneider Concerts at The New School.

Zemlinsky Quartet František Soucˇek, violin Petr Strˇízˇek, violin Petr Holman, viola Vladimír Fortin, cello with Nikita Mndoyants, piano

Since early 2007, the Zemlinsky Quartet has recorded exclusively for the French record label Praga Digitals. Their very first 4-CD set recording – early works for string quartet by Antonín Dvorˇák – received the coveted Diapason d’Or prize in March 2007. With release between 2012 and 2014 of four CDs including the middle and late quartets, the Zemlinsky became only the fourth quartet in history to record the complete string quartets of Dvorˇák. In 2009, in cooperation with the Kocian Quartet, the quartet also recorded the complete works of Czech composer Viktor Kalabis (1923–2006), arguably the most influential Czech composer of the later 20th Century. The Zemlinsky Quartet is named after the Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher Alexander Zemlinsky (1871–1942), whose enormous contribution to Czech, German, and Jewish culture during his 16-year stay in Prague was underestimated for decades.

Mr. Mndoyants appears by arrangement with the Cliburn.

Nikita Mndoyants

PROGRAM

For performances that were “flawlessly paced, beautifully detailed, and emotionally powerful” (Dallas Morning News), Russian pianist Nikita Mndoyants finished among the top six of the 2013 Cliburn Competition, 36 years after his father also won a Cliburn prize. Since his first public recital at age 10, he has toured throughout China, Europe, and the United States in festival, concerto, solo, and chamber appearances, including the Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój and a festival dedicated to the World Economic Forum in Davos. As a composer, Mr. Mndoyants’ piano and chamber works have been performed by Daniel Hope, Nicolas Stavy, the Szymanowski Quartet, and others. The cadenza he wrote and performed for Mozart’s D Minor Concerto at the 2013 Cliburn Competition was heralded as a “brilliant confection that ranged from reflection to subtle jazz inspired riffs” (Huffington Post). Since 2012 he has been pianist and composer in residence at the International Music Festival in Wissembourg.

Nikita Mndoyants (b. 1989) Piano Quintet No. 2 (World Premiere) Jirˇí Gemrot (b. 1957) String Quartet No. 4 Vivace Molto presto, ma non sfiancato Poco adagio Prestissimo

INTERMISSION

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127 Maestoso – Allegro Adagio, ma non troppo e molto cantabile Scherzando vivace Finale

The World Premiere of Nikita Mndoyants’ Piano Quintet No. 2 is sponsored by Dan Leach, in memory of his parents, Marion and Audra Leach.

Program notes

BORN INTO A FAMILY OF PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS, Nikita Mndoyants began to compose

music at an early age. He currently resides in Moscow, where he completed postgraduate studies in piano and composition at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Since 2013 he has taught orchestration at Moscow State University. Mr. Mndoyants writes: “Piano Quintet No. 2 was written at the request of the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music in 2015. The work is a composition of one movement, which lasts about twelve minutes. It opens with a slow introduction of somber and mysterious character. This introduces the main motifs of the work. “The work’s main section is written in sonata form. The main theme is agitated and impetuous; the second theme has a more fantastic, fanciful character and uses highly colored sound effects. The development of these themes leads to an important climax that ends abruptly in a sustained B-flat. A slow meditative section begins on this B-flat to create contrast; fragments of the previous themes are recollected. The music of the introduction returns in the coda, but it has become more tragic through the addition of severe piano chords in a lower register.” Translation by John and Carol Garrard

“Although we do not understand it, each of us was conscious that we had been in the presence of something higher than ourselves, beyond our capacity to comprehend.” A LISTENER AT THE FIRST PERFORMANCE OF BEETHOVEN’S OPUS 127

ˇ Í GEMROT IS KNOWN for his stylistic JIR

individuality and his communicative approach to writing. He states that his aim is “to fuse styles so that the past and present are united.” While appreciative of current compositional trends, Gemrot regards both nineteenth- and early twentieth-century composers as important models. His own works are permeated with their thematic echoes and structural details – the long phrases of his Czech compatriots Dvorˇák and Janácˇ ek, the ironic melodies of Prokofiev, the piquant harmonies of Martinu˚. Five of his chamber works have been commissioned by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music; his Quartet No. 2 was premiered at the 2015 Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival. Gemrot writes about Quartet No. 4: “I wrote my fourth string quartet between January and March 2014. The Quartet was commissioned by L’Association des Amis du Prieuré de Chirens (Association of Friends of the Chirens Priory) on the occasion of the Chirens Music Festival’s 50th anniversary and also in honor of Roger Lorin, founder of the festival. Chirens is a small town near Voiron, a town with a beautiful Gothic cathedral. Located in the southeastern part of France, the nearest big city is Grenoble. The festival takes place in the ancient church that serves as a concert hall, and the apse is its stage. The Quartet No. 4 was premiered here in August 2014, and in November of the same year the Quartet was performed in Prague. The recording of this concert is a part of the CD of my music that I carried with me to Tucson during my last visit in March 2015. The Zemlinsky Quartet has performed all versions, and they will also premiere my third quartet in France next year.”

DURING THE EIGHT YEARS before Beethoven

began his monumental final set of string quartets, he endured a period of spiritual isolation. Because of complete deafness, desertion by earlier patrons, and difficulties with both family and publishers, he often lacked the will to compose. He therefore welcomed the commission from Prince Nicholas Galitzin, a Russian nobleman and amateur cellist, for “two or three string quartets, for which labor I will be glad to pay you what you think proper.” From May 1824 until November 1826, only four months before his death, Beethoven devoted all his energies to the creation of three quartets for Galitzin (Opp. 127, 130, and 132), as well as two others written without commission (Opp. 131 and 135). Each of these transcendent works explores a musical universe expanded by an unprecedented fluidity of structure that allows each work to develop according to the demands of Beethoven’s vision. Galitzin was mystified by Opus 127, the first of the commissioned quartets, because of its enormous stylistic differences from the earlier quartets he had admired. Early critics were also puzzled by Opus 127, which suffered from an inadequately rehearsed premiere in March, 1825. There were objections to the level of dissonance, which Beethoven’s inner ear accepted but which remained uncomfortable to listeners for decades after his death. There was consternation that the work overall appeared to be a web woven from thematic particles rather than a developed set of themes with strong profiles, although these do exist. Unexpected changes of tempo within movements left the audience lost. The prevalent opinion was voiced by one present: “Although we do not understand it, each of us was conscious that we had been in the presence of something higher than ourselves, beyond our capacity to comprehend.”

Opus 127, as do the other late opus quartets, stands in two differing tonal worlds – the classic and the romantic. Initially the work promises to unfold with the coherent regularity characteristic of an earlier classical composition. Yet the work develops with rhythmic subtleties and harmonic ambiguities that obscure the clarity of its underlying structure. The opening Maestoso, while ostensibly similar to many of Beethoven’s other introductions, establishes a uniquely questioning mood. These opening measures recur in the following Allegro section (in effect dividing it into three parts), where they function to stabilize the free harmonic scheme of the movement as it unfolds. The second movement is a set of five variations based on two deceptively simple themes. These subtly elaborated variations move through daring and remote key modulations to achieve moments of true sublimity. The incisive rhythms of the Scherzando abruptly bring the listener from this high plane. Unexpected changes of rhythms, dynamics, and mood contribute to a sense of unrest. The finale, a more classical exploration of two folklike themes, restores an atmosphere of clarity. The coda, initiated by a faster tempo, propels the work toward a triumphant conclusion. Notes by Nancy Monsman

Wednesday, December 16, 2015, 7:30 pm Evening Series, 68th Season

Escher String Quartet

Escher String Quartet Adam Barnett-Hart, violin Aaron Boyd, violin Pierre Lapointe, viola Brook Speltz, cello

Arts Management Group 130 West 57th Street, Suite 6A New York, NY 10019

The Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. Championed by the Emerson String Quartet, the group was on the BBC New Generation Artists scheme from 2010–2012, giving debuts at both the Wigmore Hall and the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall. In its hometown of New York, the ensemble serves as Artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, where last season they presented a critically acclaimed three-concert series featuring the quartets of Benjamin Britten. In 2013, the Quartet became one of the very few chamber ensembles to be awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Within months of its inception in 2005, the Escher Quartet was invited by both Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman to be Quartet in Residence at each artist’s summer festival: the Young Artists Programme at Canada’s National Arts Centre and the Perlman Chamber Music Program on Shelter Island, NY. In addition, the quartet has since collaborated with artists including Khatia Buniatishvili, Leon Fleisher, David Finckel, Wu Han, Lynn Harrell, Joseph Kalichstein, and Jason Vieaux, as well as jazz vocalist Kurt Elling. The Escher has performed at the Cheltenham and City of London festivals, the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, the 92nd Street Y in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and at the Ravinia and Caramoor festivals. The group has toured China and made its Australian debut at the Perth International Arts Festival. Last season the Quartet returned to the Wigmore Hall, and made its debuts in Switzerland at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève and in Austria at the Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt. The Escher Quartet has recorded the complete Zemlinsky String Quartets on the Naxos label, releasing Vol. 1 in 2013, followed by Vol. 2 in Summer 2014. Their recording of the Mendelssohn Quartet cycle was released in December 2014 on the BIS label. The Quartet takes its name from Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher, inspired by the artist’s method of interplay between individual components working together to form a whole.

PROGRAM

Leoš Janácˇek (1854–1928) String Quartet No. 1, “Kreutzer Sonata” Adagio – Con moto Con moto Con moto – Vivace – Andante Con moto – Adagio

This evening’s concert is sponsored by the generous contribution of David & Joyce Cornell.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 44, no. 2 Allegro assai appassionato Scherzo: Allegro di molto Andante Presto agitato

INTERMISSION

Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871–1942) String Quartet No. 2, Op. 15 Sehr mässig – Heftig und leidenschaftlich – Moderato – Etwas rascher Moderato – Andante mosso – Allegretto – Adagio Schnell Andante – Mit energischer Entschlossenheit – Allegro molto – Langsam – Andante

Program notes

ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT Czech composers,

Leoš Janácˇek was the temperamental younger colleague of Dvorˇák and Smetana. Classically trained, he renounced Western musical styles after 1890 and destroyed most of his early work. He then began to incorporate the rhythms and inflections of Moravian speech into his compositions in order to create “music of truth,” an art that expressed heightened reality. Disdainful of the merely beautiful or interesting, Janácˇek crafted miniature dramas, each brought to life through varied tone qualities, constantly changing dynamics, and strongly contrasting themes. Although opera remained his favorite genre, he created numerous instrumental works that, he wrote, should sound “as if dipped in blood.” He asserted that “every piece should contain both roses and thorns.” In 1923 the Bohemian Quartet, led by Dvorˇák’s son-in-law Josef Suk, asked Janácˇek to compose two string quartets for them. The first, the ardent “Quartet Based on the Kreutzer Sonata,” was written within eight days. “Note after note fell smoldering from my pen,” wrote Janácˇek. This moody and emotional work was inspired by Tolstoy’s tragic story “The Kreutzer Sonata,” which alludes to Beethoven’s intensely dramatic Opus 47 Violin Sonata (“Kreutzer”). Janácˇek explained: “I had in mind a miserable woman, suffering, beaten, wretched, like the great Russian author wrote about.” Janácˇek sought to convey Tolstoy’s story, a psychological profile of a failed marriage and a jealous murderer, through darkly expressive and subtly changing motifs. Janácˇek states that he depicts both “compassion for the miserable, prostrate woman” and her evolving character in the first movement, which corresponds to the exposition of the story. As in Janácˇek’s operas, specific themes relate to the often fervent emotional states. The second movement actively develops the plot. The first violinist, portraying the seducer, suggests the fateful encounter in a furtive, trembling passage, followed by the first melodious admissions of love. Tension increases

as the tempo accelerates. A soft but abrupt final chord forebodes the tragic end. The crisis unfolds in the third movement. A brief quotation from Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” Sonata conveys music’s power to unleash varying passions – love in the woman, jealously in the husband. Wild figuration is followed by sobs. A hymn-like passage portrays the woman seeking consolation with her lover. A plaintive theme introduces the fourth movement. Agitated figuration signals the murder. The husband contemplates his dead wife and experiences a catharsis, conveyed musically through a majestic passage. Janácˇek wrote: “For the first time he saw a human being in her.” The work concludes with human dignity restored to both the victim and the penitent. MENDELSSOHN WROTE THE THREE QUARTETS

comprising his Opus 44 set in 1837–38, a period of personal fulfillment for this incessant worker. Now happily married, Mendelssohn basked in his secure international reputation as the greatest living composer, most outstanding conductor, and pre-eminent violinist and pianist of Europe. Because he followed an arduous touring schedule, Mendelssohn did much of his composing during the relatively calm summer months. He completed his Opus 44 No. 2 in July 1837 while enjoying an extended honeymoon with his bride Cécile, who painted watercolors as Felix composed. The E minor quartet was the first of his Opus 44 set to be written but was the second to be published. Mendelssohn’s friend Robert Schumann commented on the classical tranquility that pervades his colleague’s music of the late 1830s: “A smile hovers around his mouth, but it is that of delight in his art, of quiet self-sufficiency in an intimate circle.” Smooth construction and exquisite balance characterize each of the Opus 44 quartets. The Allegro assai appassionato opens with two primary motifs – a calm theme in the violin that is energized by syncopations in the second violin and viola, followed by a lyrical theme in the first violin accompanied by contrapuntal lines in the other instruments. The cello introduces a third

idea in its songful upper register. After a development and recapitulation of ideas, the movement concludes with a powerful coda that incorporates the two main themes. The delicate Scherzo (E major) is based on a distinctive rhythmic figure consisting of repeated staccato notes. The contrasting middle section develops with playful asymmetry. Here the viola introduces a melodious theme that is repeated near the end of this graceful movement. The Andante (G major) is a Song Without Words, an ardent declaration of warm emotion. This three-part movement begins with a songful melody in the violin accompanied by flowing passages in the other voices. A second theme is introduced in the more agitated middle section. After a brief development of the new idea, the passionate mood returns as the cello sings the opening theme. The Presto finale (E minor) is a perpetuum mobile with two themes – a vivacious dance melody and a melodious song. The two ideas are combined throughout the movement, but the dancelike motif predominates at the energetic conclusion. AUSTRIAN COMPOSER AND CONDUCTOR

Alexander von Zemlinsky, the teacher of Arnold Schoenberg, has often been linked to the revolutionary Second Viennese School, the early twentieth-century group that brought harmonically luxuriant late romanticism into atonal realms. However, Zemlinsky’s intensely expressive, finely crafted music never reached their harmonic extremes. He disagreed with Schoenberg’s atonal experiments. Zemlinsky wrote to him: “A great artist, who possesses everything needed to express the essentials, must respect the boundaries of beauty, even if he extends them further than hitherto.” Zemlinsky himself expressed a strong emotional affinity to the expressionism of Alban Berg (1885–1935), a true Second Viennese follower who, like many of the group, believed in both the science of numerology and the importance of musical symbols. For his second quartet Zemlinsky chose the key signature F-sharp minor,

designated by three sharp signs loosely arranged into a cross pattern. Although the quartet is primarily centered on D (two sharps), Zemlinsky wrote to Schoenberg that he wanted the score to convey visually Christ’s cross on Golgotha. Zemlinsky, a man of passionate religious feeling (son of a Catholic father and Muslim mother, an early convert to Judaism and later Protestantism), carried a burden of guilt because of a family tragedy that directly involved Schoenberg. Zemlinsky’s sister was Matilde, famously portrayed as the unmarried pregnant woman in Schoenberg’s string sextet Verklärte Nacht (1899). Like his protagonist, Schoenberg did marry Matilde, but she left him for the painter Richard Gerstl, a Zemlinsky family friend. Matilde returned to Schoenberg for the sake of their children in 1908, but the unhappy painter destroyed first his paintings and then his life; Zemlinsky felt personal responsibility for the tragedy. Zemlinsky’s turbulent Opus 15 quartet offers a veiled apology to Schoenberg through its musical symbols. Many of the phrases are constructed in lengths of 13 or 14 bars, numbers that had secret meaning for the composers. The third movement offers repetitions of the notes A and E-flat, which are the musical initials for Arnold Schoenberg. Only briefly separated by rests, the quartet’s movements connect to create a sense of emotional outpouring. The large-scaled opening movement (very weighty – vigorous and passionate – moderato – allegretto) is a tour de force that evokes the passionate atmosphere of Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht. The lyric tradition of “Viennese espressivo” emerges in the lilting melodic lines of the Adagio (D major modulating to D minor), which suggests a Venetian barcarolle. “Schnell,” the third movement, is a metrically intricate burlesque that conjures dark satire (D minor). The finale begins calmly (C major) but becomes stormy at the direction “with energetic resolution” (F sharp major –six sharps forming two Golgotha crosses). The movement concludes in a mood suggesting quiet acceptance of fate. Notes by Nancy Monsman

Sunday, January 17, 2016, 3:00 pm Piano & Friends, 21st Season

Nikki Chooi Canadian violinist Nikki Chooi has been described as “a model of taste and tonal reﬁnement” (Boston Globe) and “vigorous and colorful” (New York Times). Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Mr. Chooi began his studies at the Victoria Conservatory of Music where at age 9, he became a protégé of Sydney Humphreys. He is a graduate of the Mount Royal Conservatory, received his undergraduate degree at the Curtis Institute of Music, and recently completed his studies at the Juilliard School with Ida Kavaﬁan and Donald Weilerstein. In 2004, he came to national attention as the Grand Award winner of the Canadian National Music Festival and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Standard Life Competition.

Nikki Chooi, violin Amy Yang, piano

Dispeker Artists 174 West 4th Street Suite 109 New York, NY 10014

As 1st Prize Winner of the 2013 Michael Hill International Violin Competition, Mr. Chooi recently completed an extensive recital tour with Chamber Music New Zealand, performed with Giordano Bellincampi and the Auckland Philharmonia, recorded his debut album on the Atoll Label, and played a recital at Australia’s Musica Viva Series. He is also a winner of the 2013 Astral Artists’ Auditions and Laureate of the 2012 Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition. His recital performances have included the Vancouver Recital Series, Debut Atlantic Recital Tour, Canadian National Arts Debut Series, Caramoor Rising Stars Series, Chamber Music Tulsa, Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago, and La Monnai “Concertini” in Belgium. Mr. Chooi has also performed in many international festivals, including the Marlboro Music Festival, the Ravinia Festival, the Dresden Music Festival, Montreal Chamber Fest, and Music from Angel Fire. He has collaborated in performances with Pamela Frank, Gary Graffman, Kim Kashkashian, and with members of the Guarneri String Quartet, Juilliard String Quartet, Vermeer String Quartet, and Orion String Quartet. Mr. Chooi gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, CBC Radio, the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation, and the Victoria Foundation. He uses the 1700 “Taft” Stradivarius, on generous loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.

Amy Yang

PROGRAM

Hailed by The New York Concert Review as “a magnificent artist and poet,” Amy Yang is a seasoned soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. In the exciting last season, she played over fifty concerts, including debuts with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Music at the Phillips in Washington, D.C., Music at the Institute in New York City, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, Wolfeboro Friends of Music, Curtis On Tour at the Kennedy Center, Van Cliburn Tribute at the Nasher Museum’s Soundings Series in Ft. Worth, collaborating with the ensemble A Far Cry and with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Sembrich Museum Series.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

An experienced performer, Ms. Yang has concertized in many major halls in the United States and abroad in Turkey, Spain, Poland, and China. First prize winner of competitions including the International Corpus Christi Young Artists’ Competition and the Kosciuszko National Chopin Piano Competition, she has soloed with the Houston Symphony, Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Great Hall Chamber Orchestra, Mansfield Symphony, Shenyang Conservatory Orchestra, and Corpus Christi Symphony, among others. Passionate about chamber music, she has collaborated with extraordinary artists and toured with Musicians from Ravinia and Curtis on Tour. Festival appearances include the Marlboro Music Festival, the Ravinia Festival, Prussia Cove Masterclasses, Verbier Academy, Chamber Music Northwest, Salt Bay Chamberfest, Music from Angel Fire, and numerous others. An advocate for new music, she has given world premieres of music by Ezra Laderman and the latest Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw. Ms. Yang is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and The Yale School of Music, where she received the Parisot Prize for an Outstanding Pianist as well as the Alumni Association Prize. Her principal teachers are Timothy Hester, Claude Frank, Robert McDonald, and Peter Frankl. In her spare time, she enjoys drawing, painting, and reading psychology, art history, and neuroscience texts.

Sonata for Piano and Violin in G Major, K. 301 Allegro con spirito Allegro Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) Sonata No. 1 in F Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 80 Andante assai Allegro brusco Andante Allegrissimo – Andante assai Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Chaconne from Partita in D Minor for Unaccompanied Violin, BWV 1004

INTERMISSION

Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) Sonata in G Major for Violin and Piano Allegretto Blues Perpetuum mobile George Gershwin (1898–1937) Three Preludes (arranged for violin and piano by Jascha Heifetz) Allegro ben ritmato e deciso Andante con moto e poco rubato Allegro ben ritmato e deciso

Program notes

AN ACCOMPLISHED CONCERT VIOLINIST, Mozart

created thirty-six known violin sonatas over the course of his lifetime. He described the violin as an instrument “ad libitum” in his earliest sonatas and as “accompaniment” to the piano at a later stage; only in mid career did the violin assume equal partnership with the piano. The K. 301 Sonata in G Major, composed in Mannheim in 1778, is one of his first sonatas to develop as a true partnership between the violin and piano. The Mannheim court was renowned for the distinctive musical style of its excellent orchestra, which was capable of executing dramatic gradations of crescendo (as heard in the “Mannheim Rocket”) and exquisitely nuanced diminuendo (as heard in the “Mannheim Sigh”). This expressive influence is heard in the strong thematic and dynamic contrasts of the K. 301 Allegro con spirito, which explores a succession of themes through vivid exchanges between the violin and piano. The second movement opens with a good-natured theme that becomes mysterious in its contrasting minor key middle section. PROKOFIEV’S OPUS 80 SONATA was inspired by the virtuosity and friendship of his colleague David Oistrakh, with whom he collaborated in concerts and frequently challenged to chess matches. Their first meeting at a 1927 concert honoring the composer was not auspicious. During Oistrakh’s performance of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto, the composer stood from his front-row seat and shouted “That’s not the way to play it, young man!” The composer leaped to the stage, seated himself at the piano, and gave the eighteen-year-old violinist a public lesson. Fortunately, Oistrakh’s respect for the brusque composer overcame his humiliation.

Prokofiev began the sonata in 1938 after hearing a performance of Handel’s D minor Violin Sonata. Because of the distractions of World War II, Prokofiev put the work aside and eventually completed it in 1946. The sonata bears the marks of war, and Prokofiev recognized its darkness. He even requested that Oistrakh perform the first and third movements at his own funeral service. Prokofiev stated that the eerie violin scalar passages near the ends of the first and fourth movements should conjure “wind in a graveyard.” He continued to describe his entire sonata: “It is much more serious in mood than the second sonata. The first movement, Andante assai, is of grim character and serves as an expounded introduction to the Allegro, which is written in sonata form. The second movement is exuberant and vigorous but with a broader secondary theme. The third movement is slow, of gentle and tender character. The finale is impetuous and written in complex time.” ALTHOUGH IT STANDS ALONE as Bach’s most renowned work for unaccompanied violin, the powerful Chaconne actually is the fifth and final movement of his Partita in D Minor for Solo Violin. Written during his court tenure at Cöthen, Bach most probably composed this profound statement in 1720 after the sudden death of his first wife, Maria Barbara. Bach had accompanied his patron Prince Leopold on a two month spa retreat to Carlsbad, but he returned to find Maria Barbara dead, possibly from complications of her pregnancy. A year and a half later, Bach married Anna Magdalena, who raised Maria Barbara’s surviving four children and bore thirteen of her own.

Bach’s partitas are cycles of dance movements that had become stylized by the mid eighteenth century. Their technical difficulties far exceed the demands of earlier solo repertoire. Influenced by the “broken,” or freely voiced style of the French lutenists, Bach strove to create the illusion of full harmonic and contrapuntal texture through a single melodic line that sometimes outlines, but frequently only suggests, the interplay of several independent voices.

Originally a Spanish court dance, the chaconne became popular as a musical form about 1600. Its pervasive descending bass pattern (a “ground”) provided a stable framework for variations; although the bass line remains unchanged, the solo instrument can move inventively above it. Bach’s masterful Chaconne opens with a majestic chordal statement in double stops followed by thirty-one remarkable variations. RAVEL BEGAN HIS VIOLIN SONATA in 1923 but did

not complete it until 1927. He dedicated the work to violinist Madame Jourdan-Morhange, a friend and companion of long standing as well as a fellow devotee of cats. After beginning work on the sonata, he wrote to her: “It will not be very difficult, and it will not sprain your wrist.” Unfortunately, the completed work proved to be extremely difficult. Mme. Jourdan-Morhange was unable to perform the sonata at its premiere due to severe tendonitis, an affliction aggravated by arduous practice of Ravel’s virtuoso work. Because of poor health and insomnia, Ravel crafted the sonata with extreme slowness. Somewhat enigmatically, he stated that the flowing opening Allegretto proved that “the violin and piano were essentially incompatible instruments … the sonata was not intended to sink their differences but to accentuate this incompatibility to an even greater degree.” Perhaps to convey harmonically their edgy independence, the violin focuses on the note G and the piano line on the dissonant neighbor tone A-flat.

GEORGE GERSHWIN ACHIEVED EARLY FAME as a

writer of show tunes, but he aspired to create a broader literature by fusing jazz, popular, and classical elements. Although he intended to write a suite of 24 preludes for his 1926 composition, only seven appear in manuscript, five of which were performed publicly; only three preludes were selected for publication. Gershwin himself performed the preludes at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. These attractive pieces unfold with strongly syncopated rhythms, blues harmonies, and unexpected contrasts of atmosphere. Suggestions of Gershwin’s famously haunting melodies permeate the work. Notes by Nancy Monsman

The sonata bears the marks of war, and Prokofiev recognized its darkness. He even requested that Oistrakh perform the first and third movements at his own funeral service.

The second movement, entitled Blues (Moderato), offers a playful treatment of jazz elements. The finale, which Ravel indicated must be played “as fast as possible,” is a demanding exercise in perpetual motion. At its climax, the violin must articulate twelve sixteenth notes per measure – for 179 consecutive measures!

AFCM Donors

$10,000 and above Jean-Paul Bierny & Chris Tanz David & Joyce Cornell Serene Rein $5,000 – $9,999 Jim Cushing Mr. Wesley Green Joan Teer Jacobson Dan Leach Drs. John & Helen Schaefer Gwen Weiner $2,500 – $4,999 Nancy Bissell Stan Caldwell & Linda Leedberg Frederic H. & Diana Chaffee Robert & Ursula Garrett Boyer Rickel Jayant Shah & Minna Mehta Jerry & Kathy Short Randy Spalding Paul A. St. John & Leslie P. Tolbert $1,000 – $2,499 Celia Balfour Celia Brandt Mr. Robert Claassen Mr. John Forsythe Ms. Beth Foster Drs. John G. Hildebrand & Gail D. Burd Milton Chen & Ruth Cox Ms. Dagmar Cushing Alison Edwards Thomas Hanselmann Dr. & Mrs. Elliott & Sandy Heiman Eddy Hodak Tom Lewin Mr. & Mrs. Charles M. Peters Herschel & Jill Rosenzweig 22

Mr. & Mrs. John & Ila Rupley Dror Sarid Ted & Shirley Taubeneck Robert & Carolyn Thompson Mr. George F. Timson Carla Zingarelli Rosenlicht $500 – $999 Ms. Nevenka Bierny Mr. James Dauber Mr. & Mrs. Bryan & Elizabeth Daum Phillip & Nancy Fahringer Mr. Milton Francis Leonid Friedlander & Yelena Landis Mr. Harold Fromm Drs. J. D. & Margot Garcia Ms. Katherine Havas Dr. Marilyn Heins Helen Hirsch Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Hirsh Mr. & Mrs. Janet & Joe Hollander Paul & Marianne Kaestle Arthur & Judy Kidder Mr. & Mrs. Larry & Rowena G. Matthews Mr. Hal Myers Ms. Irene & George Perkow Ms. Teresa Pusser Reid & Linda Schindler Wendy & Elliott Weiss $250 – $499 Helmut A. Abt Thomas & Susan Aceto Wes Addison Ms. Anna Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Frank & Betsy Babb Dr. Kathryn Bates Ms. Gail Bernstein Dr. & Mrs. Harvey W. Buchsbaum Mr. John Burks

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This program lists contributions made to the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music from October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015. Space limitations prevent us from listing contributions less than $100. Please advise us if your name is not listed properly or inadvertently omitted. Please let us know if your donation is composed of stocks or bonds, so that we can properly credit you in our donor list. To donate, call our office at 520â&#x20AC;&#x201C;577â&#x20AC;&#x201C;3769 or e-mail donations@arizonachambermusic.org.

Thank you! Every donation helps secure the future of AFCM.

AFCM Donors

Gifts in memory of THEODORE BRANDT

by Celia Brandt WILLIAM CARPENTER

by David & Joyce Cornell RICHARD DE ROECK

by Gloria McMillan and his friends CATHERINE F. FIRTH

by Richard E. Firth BETTY HENTZ

by C. Jane Decker HELEN MARGARET HODAK

by Eddy Hodak KATHY KAESTLE

by Paul & Marianne Kaestle MARION & AUDRA LEACH

by their son, Dan Leach OUR BELOVED LEA SARID

by the Sarid Family PAULA ZINSSER, LONG-TIME USHER

by members of the AFCM Board and Jean-Paul Bierny & Chris Tanz Gifts in honor of CATHY ANDERSON

by Raul Delgado Music in the Schools Keeling Elementary School sponsored by Robert & Carolyn Thompson

Jean-Paul Bierny Legacy Society

Season Sponsorships

Jean-Paul Bierny & Chris Tanz Nancy Bissell Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Bloomfield Theodore & Celia Brandt Richard E. Firth Judy Kidder Randy Spalding Anonymous

Jean-Paul Bierny & Chris Tanz Robert & Ursula Garrett Dan Leach Serene Rein John & Helen Schaefer Carla Zingarelli Rosenlicht

$25,000 AND ABOVE

Family Trust of Lotte Reyersbach Phyllis Cutcher, Trustee of the Frank L. Wadleigh Trust Carol Kramer Arthur Maling Claire B. Norton Fund (held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona) Agnes Smith $10,000 – $24,999

Marian Cowle Minnie Kramer Jeane Serrano UP TO $9,999

Elmer Courtland Margaret Freundenthal Susan R. Polleys Administrative Trust Frances Reif Edythe Timbers Listed are current plans and posthumous gifts.

COMMISSIONS

CONCERTS

Jean-Paul Bierny & Chris Tanz Nancy Bissell David & Joyce Cornell Wesley Green Linda Leedberg & Stan Caldwell Serene Rein Boyer Rickel Jay Shah & Minna Mehta Randy Spalding MUSICIANS

Celia Balfour Dagmar Cushing Beth Foster All sponsors are acknowledged with posters in the theater lobby, and in concert programs. For more information on endowments and planned gifts, please contact our office at 520–577–3769 or e-mail

2015–2016 Season

Evening Series 68th Season

23rd Annual Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival

EMERSON STRING QUARTET

PETER REJTO, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Wednesday, October 21, 2015, 7:30 pm

Sunday, March 13, 2016 Tuesday, March 15, 2016 Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Friday, March 18, 2016 Sunday, March 20, 2016

ZEMLINSKY QUARTET WITH NIKITA MNDOYANTS, PIANO

Wednesday, November 4, 2015, 7:30 pm ESCHER STRING QUARTET

Wednesday, December 16, 2015, 7:30 pm MINGUET QUARTET WITH ANDREAS KLEIN, PIANO

“Homage to Glenn Gould” Wednesday, January 27, 2016, 7:30 pm MODIGLIANI QUARTET

Wednesday, February 17, 2016, 7:30 pm JERUSALEM QUARTET

Wednesday, April 13, 2016, 7:30 pm Piano & Friends 21st Season DENIS KOZHUKHIN, PIANO

Sunday, November 1, 2015, 3:00 pm NIKKI CHOOI, VIOLIN AMY YANG, PIANO

FESTIVAL MUSICIANS

Martin Beaver, violin Steven Doane, cello Clive Greensmith, cello Marc-André Hamelin, piano Bernadette Harvey, piano Yura Lee, violin/viola Volkan Orhon, bass Cynthia Phelps, viola Eric Ruske, horn Svet Stoyanov, percussion Pacifica Quartet: Simin Ganatra, violin Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin Masumi Per Rostad, viola Brandon Vamos, cello Special Encore Performances

Sunday, January 17, 2016, 3:00 pm

THE COMPLETE CELLO SONATAS OF BEETHOVEN

ISTVÁN VÁRDAI, CELLO JULIEN QUENTIN, PIANO

Sharon Robinson, cello Benjamin Hochman, piano

Sunday, April 10, 2016, 3:00 pm

Two Concerts: Sunday, January 31, 2016 at 3:00pm and 7:30pm Contact us for more information Phone: 520–577–3769 Email: office@arizonachambermusic.org Website: arizonachambermusic.org

History of AFCM

Right after World War II, two young couples were looking for a place to keep cool. Their homes had no air conditioning or swamp cooling, so they started meeting at a nice, chilled bookstore near the university, which had a lounge with comfortable chairs. They’d meet there one Thursday night every month, and listen to new 78 rpm records, and talk about politics. Eventually the group moved to a private piano studio near campus, where it was possible to have live music played by local musicians. Ambitions grew, and in 1948 a small group of enthusiasts launched a non-profit presenting organization, initially called the Arizona Friends of Music –“Arizona” to embrace a parallel series in Tempe, and a general reference to “music” to keep the options open, although chamber music immediately turned out to be the focus. For the first two seasons, artists were imported from the “Evenings on the Roof ” series in Los Angeles (one of the first ensembles, the Alma Trio, included cellist Gabor Rejto, whose son Peter would decades later become artistic director of our Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival). Then, to maintain quality control, the local volunteer board decided to book ensembles directly, bringing to Tucson top-notch musicians from around the world. From those early years, the organization’s mission was to present first-rate performances of familiar as well as contemporary and rarely played music, at affordable ticket prices. Concerts were initially given at the Tucson Women’s Club, then the marginally better octagonal Agricultural Hall at the University of Arizona; soon performances moved to the acoustically more desirable UA Liberal Arts Auditorium, then, in 1959, to the newly built Crowder Hall in the UA music building. When Crowder underwent renovations in 1990 the AFCM permanently relocated to the Tucson Convention Center’s Leo Rich Theater.

Through the years, almost all the work involved in presenting world-class chamber music concerts has been handled by a volunteer board of directors, the only exception being a part-time box-office manager. Despite this limitation, the organization has branched out since the early 1990s; besides a season of six or seven evening concerts featuring established ensembles, AFCM also presents the three-concert Piano & Friends series of up-and-coming musicians, and, in March, the critically acclaimed Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival. All this developed from a simple desire to get out of the summer heat. JAMES REEL, President

Line drawing used on AFCM program covers in the 1980s and 1990s

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Leo Rich Theater

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AFCM Youth Programs

For nearly 70 years, the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music has been a leader in building a bridge between the past and the future. Through innovative outreach activities, AFCM introduces young audiences to the magic of chamber music – this most special of art forms – creating a lasting influence on the next generation of music lovers. Youth Concert at the Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival During the Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, AFCM presents a Youth Concert to over 500 local students, without charge, at the Leo Rich Theater. The performance by the world-class musicians attending the Festival, features a program of music and commentary designed to amaze and excite young audiences. The students’ enthusiastic response year after year serves as a testimony to its success. For many in attendance, it is a first experience hearing chamber music, and to hear it live in such a joyful setting cannot help but create lasting memories. Judging by the feedback received every year from teachers, parents, and the students themselves, this annual concert is an extraordinary and valuable event.

Master Classes Four times a year, musicians performing for the AFCM Winter Chamber Music Festival and the Piano & Friends series present master classes – essentially one-to-one music lessons for students selected from local schools and the University of Arizona, given by professional, renowned musicians. It can be a life-changing experience for the students, and gives the audience an intimate glimpse into the world of musical training.

AFCM Youth Programs

Music in the Schools Dr. Kim Hayashi, Tucson pianist, accompanist, and educator, arranges for professional chamber ensembles to give up to eighteen performances each season in several local schools. The program reaches up to 2,000 students. Although Dr. Hayashi selects schools from districts throughout Tucson, his special focus is to reach those that are underserved. The participating ensembles include members of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music. The performances are always lively and interactive, and include commentary and a question-and-answer session – a sure-fire formula for success, evidenced by the repeated requests for Dr. Hayashi to return each year. A new and innovative way to support AFCM’s Music in the Schools program is to “adopt” one of the schools from among those selected by Dr. Hayashi, thereby sponsoring the music performance for that school during the current school year. The fee is $1000. In addition to being recognized in AFCM’s concert programs, sponsors have the unique opportunity to attend their school’s concert – usually closed to the public – as a special guest, and to participate in the joy of the children’s enthusiastic responses to the live music taking place before them.

The schools currently available for sponsorship are: Amphitheater High School Canyon del Oro High School Flowing Wells High School Gale Elementary School Gridley Middle School Highland Free School Kellond Elementary School Lawrence 3–8 School Maxwell Middle School Prince Elementary School Rio Vista Elementary School Robison Magnet Elementary School Sahuaro High School We encourage you to select one of these schools and become its sponsor! To become a Music in the Schools sponsor, or for further information, please call AFCM at 520-577-3769, or email AFCM’s Youth Programs Committee Chair, Leslie Tolbert at office@arizonachambermusic.org.

“We’re committed to AFCM in multiple ways. We are particularly proud to support the annual Youth Concert held during the Festival and the Educational Outreach Program. We want to ensure that enthusiastic young music lovers find their way to AFCM concerts of the future.” STAN CALDWELL AND LINDA LEEDBERG, AFCM DONORS

Ways to Support AFCM

AFCM, the Southwest’s premier chamber music organization, is committed to presenting the finest chamber music available today. But with ticket sales accounting for less than half of the total costs to produce our concerts, your support is critical. We need your help to ensure that AFCM lives on for today’s audiences and for future generations. Donations Donating to AFCM is easy and secure, and one click away on our website, arizonachambermusic. org. For those who prefer a more classic method, remittance envelopes are available in programs, at the box office, or on the information table in the theater’s lobby. Donations can be made at any time of the year, and as often as donors prefer. Gifts of stock are gratefully accepted and often tax effective for the donor. Remember to inform us when a transaction is made. Your sending broker does not include your name with donations, and we want to both acknowledge your gift and provide you with the appropriate documentation. Tributes Tributes made “in honor of ”or “in memory of ” are lovely ways to celebrate a colleague or loved one. Tributes of $100 or more will be listed in concert programs and on the AFCM website. To make donations and tributes, please contact Box Office Manager Cathy Anderson at office@arizonachambermusic.org, call 520-577-3769, or speak with any AFCM board member.

“Every concert enriches our lives, often in surprising ways, introducing us to new sounds, new interpretations, and classical gems that entertain, educate, and delight. We proudly support AFCM and invite others to do so, as well.” JOHN AND HELEN SCHAEFER, AFCM DONORS.

Sponsorships Sponsorships transform listeners to vital participants in the world of chamber music. They are a direct and personal way to support a favorite musical group, a particular concert, or an individual musician. You may also choose to sponsor one of AFCM’s outstanding youth programs. • Sponsor a concert from any series – $5000 • Co-sponsor a concert from any series – $2500 • Sponsor a single musician’s performance – $1500 • Co-sponsor the Festival’s Youth Concert – $2500 • Adopt a school in our Music in the Schools program – $1000 To sponsor a concert or musician, or for more information about sponsorship, please contact Box Office Manager Cathy Anderson at office@arizonachambermusic.org or call 520-577-3769. To adopt a school in our Music in the Schools program or sponsor the Festival’s Youth Concert, contact Leslie Tolbert, Youth Programs Committee Chair, at office@arizonachambermusic.org. Commissioning This season AFCM will present three new works, bringing the total since 1997 to an astounding 61! Commissioning a new piece of chamber music is a thrilling experience, a gift to the world that lives on well after its Tucson world premiere. Commission sponsors meet the composer, attend private rehearsals, and are acknowledged from the stage, on lobby posters, in concert programs, and on the AFCM website. Sponsors may elect to commission in their names or in honor of someone, and may share the costs among other sponsors. Contact Tom Hanselmann, Commissioning Program Chair, at office@arizonachambermusic.org or call 520-577-3769 if you are interested in sponsoring the commission of a new composition.

“My father, a founding member of AFCM and champion of contemporary music, would be thrilled by the commissioning program. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to honor the memory of my parents, who met during the Depression in the UA School of Music, through the commission of a new work.” BOYER RICKEL, AFCM DONOR

Legacy Giving

Jean-Paul Bierny Legacy Society Planned giving is one of the best ways to support AFCM. In 2014, the Jean-Paul Bierny Legacy Society was created – named after long-time AFCM president, who, along with his wife Chris Tanz, is one of our most generous supporters – to honor those who include AFCM in their wills and estate plans. We will be happy to provide expert help and information about planned giving. If you have already made such a provision, please notify us so that we may welcome you to the Jean-Paul Bierny Legacy Society and honor your generosity. For questions about legacy or to join the Jean-Paul Bierny Legacy Society, please contact Paul Kaestle, Fundraising Committee Chair, at office@arizonachambermusic.org or call 520-577-3769.

“We are happy to be able to contribute to the future of chamber music in Tucson (and in the world!) with our gift to AFCM through the Jean-Paul Bierny Legacy Society. We hope you will join us.” JEAN-PAUL BIERNY & CHRIS TANZ, AFCM DONORS

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The Supper Club

Food! Companionship! Music! Begin your Wednesday evening with fine dining and a preview of the AFCM concert to come. The Supper Club brings you together with fellow audience members for a delicious meal, accompanied by a short talk about the music or musicians featured in that night’s Evening Series concert. The Supper Club’s culinary home is Pastiche Modern Eatery, whose offerings, like AFCM’s, are eclectic, creative, and award-winning. Diners make selections from the full menu and may enjoy the restaurant’s intriguing wine list and full bar service. Dessert comes not only from the Pastiche kitchen, but also from the Supper Club’s featured speakers, who provide pertinent commentary about the concert to follow at the Leo Rich Theater.

The rotating roster of speakers features Nancy Monsman, Jay Rosenblatt, and James Reel, all local music authorities with decades-long associations with the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. Nancy is a cellist and visual artist who for years has written the incisive program notes for all AFCM concerts. Jay is a widely respected and personable musicologist from the UA’s Fred Fox School of Music, the man who brought to light a previously unknown piano concerto by Liszt and lectures about music through the UA Humanities Seminars. James is AFCM’s president, as well as the executive director of the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra and music director/weekday morning host for Arizona Public Media’s classical station, KUAT-FM. Alternating through the season, they give colorful 15-minute talks as the finale of each Supper Club gathering. We gather at 5:00 p.m., and the dinner and talk are always concluded by 6:30, in plenty of time for the short drive from Campbell Avenue to downtown for the 7:30 concert. Please contact AFCM board member Marianne Kaestle at mkaestle@comcast.net, or at 520-344-9023, for reservations or more information.

Nancy Monsman

James Reel

Jay Rosenblatt

PROUDLY SUPPORTS THE ARTS IN TUCSON www.PasticheMe.com

Volunteers

AFCM wishes to acknowledge our ushers and other volunteers, without whom we could not offer these concerts. Please take a moment to thank them for their dedication and hard work!

Volunteers Cory Aaland Mary Lonsdale Baker Chris Black David Brown Amy Burmeister Kevin Chau Beth Daum Dana Deeds Beth Foster Bob Foster Bob & Ursula Garrett Marvin Goldberg Marie-France Isabelle Keith Kumm Nancy Monsman Hal Myers

Traudi Nichols Sandy Pharo Boyer Rickel Allan Tractenberg Ushers Anna Anderson Barry and Susan Austin Susan Fifer Marilee Mansfield Elaine Orman Linda Phelan Barbara Turton Diana Warr

We also wish to acknowledge the passing of Paula Zinsser, usher and faithful friend of AFCM.

Corporate Sponsors

Arizona Early Music Society

Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails

Kinghorn Heritage Law Group

Arizona Flowers

Fidelity Investments

La Posada

Brenda Semanick

Fishkind, Bakewell & Maltzman

Ley Piano

Center for Venous Disease

Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance Steve Przewlocki TCC Today

Holualoa Companies

Maynards Market & Kitchen

De Grazia Foundation

Jeff Ferst

Pastiche

Tucson Guitar Society

Desert Diamond Casinos & Entertainment

Jeff Jonczyk

Premier Piano

Udall Law Firm

Rogue Theatre Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra

The Loft Theater

September 15

Linus Lerner, Music Director 2015/16 SEASON

Sentinels of the Southwest v

Savor the Sound Concerts in SaddleBrooke, NW Tucson and Green Valley

For tickets and venue information

visit: www.sasomusic.org or call: (520) 308-6226

v With special thanks to our Season Sponsor Dorothy Vanek

Special Mexican Independence Day Concert Vocalists from the Oaxaca Opera Festival and Mariachi Sol Azteca team up with SASO for an evening of opera arias and mariachi music at The Fox Theater. Free admission!

October 10 & 11

Moncayo Huapango Harberg Viola Concerto Brett Deubner, viola Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”

November 7 & 8

Guest conductor Nicholas Armstrong Sibelius Karelia Overture Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings Ivo Stankov, violin Lachezar Stankov, piano Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5

January 31, February 5 & 6

Gould American Salute Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 Sheryll McManus, piano Dvořák Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

April 1, 2 & 3

Whitacre Goodnight Moon Christi Amonson, soprano He Zhanhao Eternal Regret of Lin’An Larry Leung, guzheng Bruckner Te Deum SASO Chorus and soloists … and the winner of the 2016 Dorothy Vanek Youth Concerto Competition

Brahms

May 7 & 8

Academic Festival Overture Barber Violin Concerto Emily Sun, violin Berlioz Symphonie fantastique

Arizona Friends of Chamber Music

Board of Directors James Reel, President Paul Kaestle, Vice President Joseph Tolliver, Program Director Helmut Abt, Recording Secretary Wes Addison, Treasurer Philip Alejo Nancy Bissell Michael Coretz Dagmar Cushing Bryan Daum Tom Hanselmann Joan Jacobson Marianne Kaestle Jay Rosenblatt Elaine Rousseau Randy Spalding Pamela Sutherland Paul St. John George Timson Leslie Tolbert

Credits EDITOR

Jay Rosenblatt CONTRIBUTORS

Nancy Bissell Robert Gallerani Tom Hanselmann Marianne Kaestle Paul Kaestle Nancy Monsman Jay Rosenblatt James Reel Boyer Rickel Randy Spalding George Timson Leslie Tolbert Allan Tractenberg WEBMASTER

Bob Foster DESIGN

OpenForm, LLC PRINTING

West Press

This reproduction from a print by Harry Fonseca adorned our Piano & Friends programs throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Contact Arizona Friends of Chamber Music Post Office Box 40845 Tucson, Arizona 85717 Phone: 520-577-3769 Email: office@arizonachambermusic.org Website: arizonachambermusic.org Cathy Anderson, Box Office Manger Like us on facebook at www.facebook.com/arizonachambermusic

6300 North Swan Rd. Tucson, Arizona 85718 Phone: +1 520 299 9191 +1 800 545 2185

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun Open daily from 10am to 4pm | Free admission