Asheville Symphony Spring 2024 Program Book

ASHEVILLESYMPHONY ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY

ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY PROGRAM BOOK

Spring 2024

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CONTENT KEEP IN TOUCH Asheville Symphony Office 27 College Place, Suite 100 Asheville, NC 28801

828.254.7046

info@ashevillesymphony.org

DONATE Mail or Visit 27 College Place, Suite 100 Asheville, NC 28801 Phone 828.254.7046 Online AshevilleSymphony.org/donate

NEW THIS SPRING! ARTIST RESIDENCY: CELEBRATING THE VIOLIN In March 2024, Asheville Symphony presents its first-ever Artist Residency, celebrating the impact and the legacy of the violin and featuring world-renowned violinists Noah Bendix-Balgley and Shanshan Yao. Visit page 34 for details or scan the QR code below to learn more.

Letter from Executive Director

9

Staff

11

Board of Directors

11

About the Cover

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Past Presidents & Directors Emeriti

12

Letter from Board President

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Venue Information

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Music Director

17

Orchestra Personnel

18

Asheville Symphony Guild

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Asheville Symphonettes

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Asheville Symphony Chorus

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Masterworks 4: Classical Romance · February 17 & 18, 2024

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Artist Residency: A Celebration of the Violin

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ALT ASO @ Asheville Masonic Temple · March 12, 2024

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Solo Bravura with Noah Bendix- Balgley · March 14, 2024

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Masterworks 5: Violin Virtuosi · March 16, 2024

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Masterworks 6: Golden Glamour · April 20, 2024

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Masterworks 7: Titan · May 18, 2024

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ALT ASO @ The Mule at Devil's Foot Beverage Co. · May 21, 2024

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Food & Beverage Partners

75

Season & Concert Sponsors

76

Donors

78

Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra

84

Legacy Society

91

Advertisers Index

94

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

DANIEL M. CRUPI Dear Asheville Symphony friends and family, Welcome to an extraordinary and unprecedented Asheville Symphony season!

Already one of creativity and resilience, we are grateful for your unwavering support as we’ve faced the need to unexpectedly relocate the 2023-2024 season from Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

I want to thank the Symphony’s staff, musicians, Board of Directors, and community partners who enabled us to pivot the season quickly and with grace.

We are especially grateful to the teams at First Baptist Church of Asheville, Brevard Music Center, Wortham Center for Performing Arts, and Salvage Station, all of whom have welcomed us with open arms. In addition, I want to thank the team at Harrah’s Cherokee Center - Asheville for their transparency and flexibility as we worked to transition our season.

This outpouring of support has shown that your Symphony is a true part of the fabric of Asheville’s arts and culture community — and while we may not know the future of Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, we do know that it is possible for the Symphony to continue to thrive, even without a truly permanent home.

Transitioning our season has given us an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to our mission, which is to serve, delight, and educate the people of Western North Carolina through symphonic music. Consequently, we are continuing to expand our reach and impact by increasing our pops programming, offering new music education opportunities, and even launching a brand new initiative through the Asheville Symphony’s first-ever Artist Residency, which for its inaugural year will celebrate the impact and legacy of the violin.

While we are proud that we remain able to present the 2023-2024 season despite the loss of our home venue for the last five decades, this shift has not been accomplished without significant effort and expense. In order to continue serving our audience, we must nearly double our number of performances, which requires additional staff to manage the expansion. And, by adding repeat performances and altering our rehearsal schedule significantly, our artistic costs have risen by over 20% in order to compensate our musicians and soloists fairly. The financial impact of this transition will be enormous.

This is a pivotal moment for your Asheville Symphony, and we need your support more than ever. Whether that means purchasing a subscription, donating for the first time, increasing your giving, or telling your friends about our shows, now is one of the most important times in the Symphony’s history for you to engage and help us weather these challenges. Your ambassadorship enables us to continue shaping the vibrant tapestry of our community.

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you this season!

Warm regards,

Daniel M. Crupi Executive Director

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS & STAFF OFFICERS Sue Luther • President Michael Andry • Past President Sallie Broach • Secretary G. Edward Towson • Treasurer

DIRECTORS Jack Anderson* Pam Lowe-Hoyte Michael Andry Sue Luther Thomas C. Bolton* Elizabeth McCorvey Sallie Broach Carol McCollum* Susan Harrington Butts Patrick O’Cain Dr. John Cuellar Jeffrey Owen George Dambach Cristian Rubiano John W. Ellis Richard Schaffer Dr. Bolling Farmer Rachel Sossoman Betty Fox James S. Thompson Adarrell Gadsden Sandra Tompkins Bill Gettys* Ed Towson* Debbie Green Sarah Van Gunten Fred Groce Olivia Zahler Mary Kirby *Distinguished Directors (continued on next page)

ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY STAFF Daniel M. Crupi Executive Director DEVELOPMENT Sara Henley Director of Development Madeline Womack Assistant Director of Development Dana Alward Development Associate FINANCE Sherry Blakely Controller MARKETING Alex Hill Director of Marketing & PR Claire M. Allen Art Director ORCHESTRA OPERATIONS Sally J. Keeney Orchestra Manager Michael Di Trolio Principal Librarian Paul Stroebel Stage Manager PATRON SERVICES Hannah Williams Patron Services & Festival Manager Matt Howe Ticketing & Office Administrator Laura Berry House Manager

YOUTH ORCHESTRA Cynthia Roop General Manager Dr. Alexandra Dee Music Director, Youth Philharmonic & Concert Conductor Dilshad Posnock Woodwind & Honors Coach Franklin Keel Strings & Honors Coach Dr. Jason Slaughter Brass & Honors Coach Dr. Brian Tinkel Percussion Director Judah Barak Honors Percussion Coach Jared Dunn Honors Percussion Coach Amber Svetik Overture Class Conductor Ashlee Booth Divertimento Conductor Amanda Tant Sinfonia Conductor Cheryl Lewis Operations Manager Rodney Workman Site Coordinator Jason Posnock Advisor Cara Jenkins Advisor

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PAST PRESIDENTS Chuck Killian  Ed Towson

Shon Norris

Harvey Jenkins  Eric Michael

James Plaster

1962-1964: Gaylord Davis 1964-1966: Rudolf Gumpert 1966-1968: John W. Rutland 1968-1970: Robert K. Weiler 1970-1971: Robert Saenger 1971-1972: William C. Spencer, Jr. 1972-1975: John K. Knight 1975-1977: Lawrence D. Ford 1977-1979: Mortimer Ryon 1979-1982: James E. Dooley 1982-1984: J.K. MacKendree Day 1984-1985: George Saenger 1985-1987: Spencer Atwater, MD. 1987-1989: George Goosmann, III 1989-1992: John J. Sherman, Jr. 1992-1994: G. Edward Towson, II

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DIRECTORS EMERITI George M. Bilbrey, Jr. M.D.* J.K. MacKendree Day Joyce R. Dorr, Ph.D. George F. Goosmann, III ADV Symphony Ad 7.5 x 4.875 Ad 2023.pdf

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BOARD PRESIDENT

SUE LUTHER Dear Asheville Symphony friends and family, On behalf of the Asheville Symphony musicians, management, and Board of Directors, welcome to our new season and new performance venues. This is the beginning of a new era for the ASO! I am honored to serve as President and pleased to have the opportunity to work with the board, our talented staff, and devoted supporters. Through the partnerships we have in place throughout the community, we continue to extend the Symphony’s reach by helping fans of all ages experience classical music.

To our sponsors, advertisers, and donors, thank you for your support of our organization and for investing in the richness of our community through the arts.

To our audience, thank you for joining us to share our love of music.

A special thank you to our talented Music Director Darko Butorac for his creative and thoughtful music selections and to our musicians for bringing each piece to life.

I am looking forward to another exceptional and exciting year ahead. I hope this season will stir your heart and bring you back again and again!

Sue Luther Board President

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 13

New venues, matinees, and more: the Asheville Symphony is “hitting the road” for the season!

The Harrah’s Cherokee Center - Asheville’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium (our usual performance venue) experienced an HVAC failure and can no longer offer ticketed events for the foreseeable future. Thus, we have moved all shows to alternate venues including First Baptist Church of Asheville, Salvage Station, Brevard Music Center, and more. Our goal in this move has been to keep Asheville Symphony musicians fully employed and to change repertoire as little as possible. We are pleased that with the venue changes, we have been able to keep much of the originally scheduled season intact, continue serving our entire audience, and continue fully employing all of our musicians! We remain grateful for the support of our partners and audience as we have navigated these changes!

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2023--2024 VENUE INFORMATION 2023 Most Masterworks performances this season will take place at First Baptist Church of Asheville.

Below is a floor plan of the ground level.

MASTERWORKS 1: OUT OF THE SHADOWS First Baptist Church of Asheville Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, 2:00 p.m. + 8:00 p.m.

STAR WARS Salvage Station's Outdoor Stage Sunday, October 1, 2023, 5:00 p.m.

MASTERWORKS 2: THE GREAT GATE First Baptist Church of Asheville Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, 2:00 p.m. + 8:00 p.m.

MASTERWORKS ENTRANCE

ALT ASO Highland Brewing Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 7:00 p.m.

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NEW YEAR’S EVE: SHE'S GOT SOUL Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville Sunday, December 31, 2023, 8:00 p.m.

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MASTERWORKS 3: AMERICAN PORTRAITS First Baptist Church of Asheville Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, 2:00 p.m. + 8:00 p.m.

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SANCTUARY Performance Space

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PIANO RECITAL WITH DAVID FUNG Central United Methodist Church Tuesday, January 30, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

MASTERWORKS 4: CLASSICAL ROMANCE Wortham Center for the Performing Arts Saturday, February 17, 2024, 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, February 18, 2024, 3:00 p.m.

ALT ASO Asheville Masonic Temple Tuesday, March 12, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

CHAPEL Location of Symphony Talk ACCESSIBILITY & SYMPHONY TALK ENTRANCE

VIOLIN RECITAL: SOLO BRAVURA Central United Methodist Church Thursday, March 14, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

MASTERWORKS 5: VIOLIN VIRTUOSI First Baptist Church of Asheville Saturday, March 16, 2024, 2:00 p.m. + 8:00 p.m.

Visit AshevilleSymphony.org for more details on the 2023-2024 season, our performance venues throughout the year, how you can support the Symphony, and much more.

MASTERWORKS 6: GOLDEN GLAMOUR First Baptist Church of Asheville Saturday, April 20, 2024, 2:00 p.m. + 8:00 p.m.

MASTERWORKS 7: TITAN Brevard Music Center Saturday, May 18, 2024, 2:00 p.m.

ALT ASO The Mule @ Devil's Foot Beverage Co. Tuesday, May 21, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

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MUSIC DIRECTOR

DARKO BUTORAC (Serbia), the Tallinn Sinfonietta (Estonia), the Rubinstein Philharmonic of Lodz (Poland), the Xiamen Symphony (China), and the Slovenian Radio and Television Orchestra, among others.

He has appeared at such prestigious venues as the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Gran Teatro Nacional of Lima, Belgrade's Kolarac Hall, the Teatro Magnani in Italy, and the Tartu, Aspen and St. Olav summer music festivals. From 2009 to 2013 he served as the principal conductor of the Fidenza Opera Festival. In January he led the 2022 European Capital of Culture Opening Gala concert in Novi Sad, featuring clarinet virtuoso Andreas Ottensammer.

Praised by the Westdeutsche Zeitung for his “exceptional combination of passion, elegance and well-timed pacing”, Darko Butorac has established himself as a conductor in demand with orchestras both in Europe and the Americas. He currently serves as Music Director of both the Asheville Symphony and the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra.

Notable guest conducting engagements include performances with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Neuss and the Georgische Kammerorchester Ingolstadt (Germany), the Belgrade Philharmonic

As the Grand Prix Laureate and Gold Medalist of the Fourth International Vakhtang Jordania Conducting Competition Butorac was invited to conduct orchestras across four continents. He was also selected to participate at the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview hosted by the League of American Orchestras and the Jacksonville Symphony.

Butorac served as the Music Director of the Missoula Symphony from 2007-2019, marking a period of tremendous artistic growth of the orchestra. He challenged the ensemble with a broader repertoire leading to greater engagement with the community, and frequently sold-out performances.

Distinguished collaborations include soprano Renee Fleming, pianist Garrick Ohlsson, tenor Lawrence Brownlee, cellist Colin Carr, and clarinetist Anthony McGill.

He has also collaborated with banjo legend Béla Fleck, pop artists Ben Folds and Kishi Bashi, as well as Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons, among others.

Butorac is also in demand as a public speaker on leadership. His TEDx Montana talk on the “Language of Conducting” has over a 150K views on YouTube. He has appeared as a speaker on behalf of Brighthouse, a division of BCG, and was the headline speaker at the Birla International Leadership Summit in Bangkok in 2018.

Highlights of the 2023-2024 season include performances with pianists Olga Kern and Jon Kimura Parker, guitar sensation Jiji, as well as a festival celebrating the art of the violin curated in conjunction with Noah Bendix-Balgley, concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic.

He is an avid traveler, having visited almost seventy countries, and is passionate about discovering the world and bringing people together through the beauty of music.

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ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL VIOLIN Open Chair • Concertmaster Martha Gardner • Associate Concertmaster ⁺Lilly West • Assistant Concertmaster ⁺Taya Ricker • Principal Second Violin Debra L. Anthony Associate Principal Second Violin ⁺Alina Nelson Assistant Principal Second Violin Marianna Brickle Teresa M. Curran Elizabeth Fee-Elliott Lori G. Hammel Dorothy L. Knowles Virginia Kowal LuAda Malcom Ruben Orengo Mariya S. Potapova Inez Hullinger Redman Essena Setaro *Paul E. Stroebel

VIOLA Kara F. Poorbaugh • Principal Jennifer Kozoroz • Associate Principal Leigh Dixon Martha L. Geissler Gina Mashburn Heath Karen Pommerich Edward J. Smith

CELLO Daniel Mumm • Principal J. Franklin Keel • Associate Principal Paul Maxwell • Assistant Principal Cherylonda F. Fitzgerald Paul S. GhostHorse Katie Hamilton Patricia Koelling Johnston E. Sojeong Park

BASS *M. Lee Metcalfe • Co-Principal Vance M. Reese • Co-Principal Michael Di Trolio Matthew P. Waid

FLUTE

TIMPANI

Lissie J. Shanahan • Principal Kellie Henry

Todd D. Mueller • Principal

PICCOLO Dilshad B. Posnock

OBOE Alicia Chapman • Principal *Cara Mia Jenkins

ENGLISH HORN

PERCUSSION Caleb Breidenbaugh • Principal Matthew Richmond *Brian Tinkel Michael Morel

HARP

Amanda J. LaBrecque

Open Chair • Vetust Study Club Chair

CLARINET

KEYBOARD

Harry H. “Chip” Hill • Principal Karen Farah Hill

Open Chair • Susanne Marcus Collins Chair

BASS CLARINET Shannon Thompson

BASSOON Michael J. Burns • Principal Amber Ferenz Spuller

CONTRABASSOON William L. Peebles

HORN Jeffery B. Whaley • Principal *Michael L. Brubaker Anneka A. Zuehlke Travis A. Bennett

Supporting Our Musicians INSTRUMENT ENDOWMENT

Your support of the Asheville Symphony Society’s endowment is the ticket to a secure, stable financial future for your Symphony. Consider endowing your favorite instrument in perpetuity! To learn more about endowment, please contact the ASO's Development Department at development@ashevillesymphony.org or 828.254.7046.

TRUMPET T. Mark Clodfelter • Principal ⁺Christopher Underwood ⁺William Stowman

TROMBONE Justin Croushore • Principal L. Rienette Davis

BASS TROMBONE Jeremy Marks

TUBA Bethany Wiese • Principal

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Michael Di Trolio • Principal Librarian Paul Stroebel • Stage Manager * Orchestra Committee Member ⁺ One Year Appointment Section string players are listed alphabetically. (loa) = Leave of Absence

Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management Is Proud To Support Asheville Symphony

Musician Hosts MUSICIAN HOSTS

Thank you to our incredible Musician Hosts!

Their generosity and warmth creates a welcoming home-away-from-home for our traveling musicians. Thank you for being an integral part of the Asheville Symphony community!

Linda and Tom Bushar Georgia Case Sylvia Cassel Patty and Gary Coleman Wendy and John Cuellar Teresa Curran Kathy and George Dambach Sharron Davis Sharon and Roger Eschroeder Adarrell Gadsden Clair Griffith and Geoffrey Mitchell Suzanne and Steven Hageman Mary and Peter Holmes Stan Ingber and Laura Robbins Pam and David Lane Jill and Joe Lawrence Robin and Cliff Lively Sue and George Luther Carol and Hugh McCollum Jennie and Chafin Rhyne Janet Thatcher Connie and Gary Wald

Michael Andry Family Wealth Director Senior Vice President Private Wealth Advisor 500 College Street Asheville, NC 28801 +1 828 250-8744 Michael.andry@morganstanley.com The Andry-Harris Group at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management NMLS: 663185

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We proudly support the Asheville Symphony Orchestra

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ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY AFFILIATE

ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY AFFILIATE

The Asheville Symphony Guild proudly supports the Asheville Symphony and Asheville Symphony community initiatives through volunteer support and fundraising. For over 50 years, the Guild has worked as a volunteer organization providing numerous ways for members to contribute to the community, share a mutual love of music, and make a difference in the lives of children through support of music education programs.

Symphonettes

The Asheville Symphonettes is a high school girl’s service group that has been serving the Asheville area since 2011. The Symphonettes forge lifelong friendships and collaborate to better their community while experiencing live symphony concerts and developing a love and appreciation of music. Last season, the Symphonettes served as ushers for the Asheville Symphony, helped organize for a blood drive, paired up with the Asheville Symphony Guild to put on the “Pass the Hat” fundraiser, and more.

For Symphonette membership or funding inquiries, please contact Erin Renfro at erinrenfro@gmail.com.

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How does the Guild provide support?

GUILD-SUPPORTED MUSIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS

GUILD GATHERINGS: SHARE THE LOVE!

From garden parties to barbecues to elegant evenings — join the Guild and experience these fun Musical Feasts while supporting our Symphony!

The Guild introduces thousands of elementary school children to classical music each year through the Music in the Schools program. The Guild also helps support our wonderful Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra.

From our Fall Potluck to the annual May Gathering, Guild members enjoy getting together to share their love of music and our wonderful Symphony.

ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY AFFILIATE

MUSICAL FEASTS: YOUR SOCIAL AGENDA AWAITS!

If you love music and want to form a deeper connection to the Asheville Symphony, your community, and your peers, we invite you to join the Guild today! For more information and to join, visit AshevilleSymphonyGuild.org or scan the QR code.

FEBRUARY 17 AND 18: CLASSICAL ROMANCE WITH THE ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY Haydn St. Nicholas Mass Hummel Trumpet Concerto

APRIL 2024 The Asheville Symphony Chorus will present its spring concert in April 2024.

Visit ashevillesymphonychorus.com or follow ASC on Facebook and Instagram @ashevillesymphonychorus for details and tickets.

ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY AFFILIATE

The Asheville Symphony Chorus (ASC) seeks to enrich and inspire our community through impactful performances of the masterworks of choral music. Under the direction of Conductor Kyle Ritter, the ASC invites you to take part in their 32nd season.

Mozart Symphony No. 40 Do you love to make music? Consider joining the Asheville Symphony Chorus!

Go to www.AshevilleSymphonyChorus.com for audition information.

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 23

C ommunity C ommitment C ove n a n t

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Dedicated to serving

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ENRICHING ASHEVILLE’S CULTURAL TAPESTRY “The Asheville Symphony is a treasure. Not only is it currently ‘punching above its weight’ artistically, but it enriches the cultural fabric of the region, serves as a vital catalyst for economic growth, tourism, and community pride, and makes a critical contribution to the well-being and identity of Asheville.”

— SIMON WOODS President & CEO of the League of American Orchestras “This is an incredible orchestra that the world needs to know about!”

— JENNIFER HIGDON Pulitzer Prize & Three-Time Grammy-Winning Composer

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CLASSICAL ROMANCE MASTERWORKS 4 Wortham Center for the Performing Arts February 17, 2024 at 8:00 p.m.

February 18, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.

Indulge in a delightful evening of truly Classical music featuring Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, also known as the Great G-minor Symphony — which transcended the Classical era and inspired some of the great Romantics to come — accompanied by a trumpet concerto from Hummel, one of Mozart’s contemporaries and pupils.

With Haydn’s St. Nicholas Mass, the Asheville Symphony Chorus returns for another collaboration with the Asheville Symphony to round out this all-Classical program.

Darko Butorac, Conductor Alisa Crüger-Cain, Trumpet

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Franz Joseph Haydn Missa Sancti Nicolai, Mass No. 6 in G major, Hob. XXII/6

PROGRAM NOTES

Missa Sancti Nicolai, Mass No. 6 in G major, Hob. XXII/6 Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)

Of Haydn’s 104 symphonies, a few stand out as much for the stories associated with them as for the quality of the music. Among these is the famous “Farewell” Symphony (No. 45 in F-sharp minor). In 1772, Haydn’s music-loving patron, Prince Nicholas Esterházy was apparently remiss about leaving his dank, partially completed summer palace in Esterháza and letting his court orchestra off to visit their families. When the musicians appealed to Haydn for help, the ever resourceful and diplomatic composer devised an addendum to the Finale of the symphony that did the trick. After a long pause, the tempo slowed to adagio with a new theme, the musical texture becoming thinner and thinner as the musicians, one by one, blew out the candles on their music stands and walked off the stage. As the harmonic richness gradually evaporated, the music became increasingly hollow and poignant until the last violinist just stopped, extinguished the last candle and departed. The Prince got the message.

But one should never ask favors – however well deserved – of a potentate without an equally obsequious demonstration of gratitude. Haydn quickly composed the Missa Sancti Nicolai in honor of the Prince’s patron saint; the manuscript even shows evidence of having been penned in great haste – but not so great that Haydn was unable to dip into his seemingly endless supply of clever tricks of the trade that made him one of the most innovative composers in music history.

The Missa Sancti Nicolai is one of the very few masses – and certainly the earliest known – to open with an ensemble of soloists, rather than with a choral Kyrie. The lilting Kyrie is followed by the text-heavy Gloria, which Haydn gets through in uncharacteristically short order. The centerpiece of the mass is a setting for the quartet of soloists of the section within the Credo of the Et incarnatus est, the summary of Christ’s birth, crucifixion, burial. The highly chromatic setting is replete with

grinding dissonances resolved in one suspension after another. Haydn finishes the Credo in short order by divvying up the text among the vocal parts to be sung simultaneously. This practice was not uncommon in a so-called missa brevis, or short mass.

Haydn slows the pace significantly in the Sanctus, especially for the Benedictus. He seems to have had a particular sensitivity for the text of the Benedictus – Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord – because nearly all of his masses leave a disproportionate amount of time there for lovely solo ensembles.

The three-part invocation of the Agnus Dei, Lamb of God, concludes with the words Dona nobis pacem, Grant us peace, but there remain in the manuscript only two of the invocations. Haydn scholar H. C. Robbins Landon posits that the composer may have intended the final invocation to be sung to the music of the Kyrie, thereby creating musical unity to the mass.

Trumpet Concerto in E Major

I. Kyrie II. Gloria III. Credo IV. Sanctus V. Benedictus VI. Angus Dei

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Johann Nepomuk Hummel Trumpet Concerto in E Major Alisa Crüger-Cain, Trumpet I. Allegro con spirito II. Andante III. Rondo, Allegro

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W. A. Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550 I. Molto allegro II. Andante III. Menuetto: Allegretto IV. Allegro assai

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Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778 - 1837) Regarded now as a second-rank composer compared to his contemporaries Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert – all of whom he knew and worked with personally – Johann Nepomuk Hummel turned out to be the more successful than any of them in his own lifetime. Only Haydn, with his comfortable sinecure at the Esterházy court, could claim the similar combination of artistic acclaim and material wellbeing.

In a way, Hummel was a composite of all four of the above-mentioned composers. An astounding child prodigy and student of Mozart, he had an equally musical, pushy and ambitious father and was touring Europe as a piano recitalist at the age of ten. Perhaps alerted by the impoverished fate of his older contemporary, Hummel became the champion of copyrights in music publishing. By the time of his own

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Media partner Blue Ridge Public Radio will air a recording of this performance, featuring conversations with ASO, on BPR Classic and bpr.org on Tuesday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday March 14 at 9:00 a.m.

(continued on next page) Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 31

death, he had amassed a considerable fortune as the result of good money management, business sense and savvy investments.

movement, with the feats of virtuosity for the final rondo.

In 1804, upon the recommendation of the aging Haydn, Hummel acquired the position of Konzertmeister at the Esterházy estate where he essentially took over Haydn’s duties as Kapellmeister. But in 1811, he was dismissed, perhaps for not being as musically tractable as his mentor.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)

His relationship with Beethoven was not as fortunate. Possibly jealous of Beethoven’s dominance of the Vienna musical scene, Hummel fell out with the cantankerous Beethoven only to be reconciled with him on the latter’s deathbed.

Hummel was an admirer of Schubert but his music lacks the wrenching emotionalism found especially in Schubert’s later works. His own music represents the quintessence of the Classical style, possessing few of the more adventurous qualities of the new Romantics. His music fell quickly out of favor and little of it is performed today, with the exception of his brilliantly virtuoso works for solo clarinet and solo trumpet with orchestra.

In the late 1790s, trumpeter Anton Weidinger (1766-1852) developed a valve trumpet that extended the limited range of the natural trumpet, making it possible to play scales and chromatic passages over the entire range of the instrument. The aged Haydn was so taken by the innovation that that in 1796 he acceded to Weidinger’s request and composed his Trumpet Concerto for the new instrument. It was a resounding success and quickly became popular with audiences.

Capitalizing on his first triumph, Weidinger commissioned Hummel in 1803 for another trumpet concerto.

At the time, Hummel was still at the beginning of his career and struggling to make ends meet. His concerto, premiered at the Esterházy estate on New Year’s Day, 1804, was successful as well, a popular showpiece for soloists. The Concerto adheres to the established form of the classic solo concerto: a majestic first movement in sonata-allegro form, a cantabile slow

32 ∙ Masterworks 4: Classical Romance

Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550

When listening to any popular and wellknown piece of music, it is difficult to keep from being lulled into inattention by its sheer familiarity. And while we can never hear a 200-year-old work from the point of view of its original audience, it is useful to pretend, at least, to be hearing it for the first time.

Despite the fact that most modern listeners tend to regard the key of a work as irrelevant, musicians of the Baroque and Classical periods regarded certain keys as possessing specific emotive qualities, or “affects.” Minor keys in particular were fraught with emotional significance, and few symphonies in this period were written in minor keys. For Mozart, the key of G minor was the key of extreme pathos. He used it sparingly for some of his most heart-wrenching music: the String Quintet K.516; the Piano Quartet K.478; Pamina’s aria “Ach, ich fühl’s” from The Magic Flute; and, of course, the stormy so-called “Little G minor” Symphony (No. 25) K.183 written when he was only 17.

Mozart’s final three symphonies, nos.

39, 40 and 41, were written over a twomonth period in 1788, probably as part of a portfolio of new works destined for a series of summer concerts in Vienna.

At this point his career was already in decline despite the modest success of his two great operas Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro, written in collaboration with his brilliant librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. That is not to say that Mozart’s music was somehow denigrated or considered no longer pleasing; his published scores were selling briskly and his music was being performed all over Europe. It was almost as if there was a surfeit of Mozart – that he was too well known.

And although he was in desperate need of funds to support his lifestyle, his legendary productivity faltered as well.

The three symphonies reflect very different moods, the darkest being that of No. 40. The opening theme of Symphony No. 40, with its hushed,

nervous introductory upbeat in the violas, sets the tone of urgency and anxiety that pervades the entire work.

The second movement, Andante, begins serenely enough, it, too, turns dark and intense in the course of its development.

Even the Minuet, usually the most lightweight movement in a Classical symphony, is characterized by a series of phrases ending on successively higher and higher notes, ratcheting up the emotional tension. The Trio, at least, provides an emotional break, however slight.

The theme of the finale is a shrill arpeggio ending in a sighing appoggiatura, followed by a pounding motive in the orchestra that closes with an echo of the sigh in the lower register. Despite a lyrical second theme, the movement is in constant nervous motion. Finally, Mozart subverts the custom of ending symphonies in minor keys in the major, and stays in G minor to the end.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com

GUEST ARTIST

Alisa Crüger-Cain, Trumpet Alisa Crüger-Cain, age 21, from Harvard MA, is a Junior studying trumpet performance under the tutelage of Michael Sachs and Michael Miller at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Previously she has studied with Vincent Monaco and Wolfgang Basch. In addition to joining the Asheville Symphony for Masterworks 4: Classical Romance, she recently performed the Hummel Trumpet Concerto in E-flat with the CIM Orchestra at Severance Hall.

She has placed in numerous prestigious competitions including first prize in the CIM concerto competition, first prize in the International Women’s Brass Conference solo trumpet competition, third prize in the Jugend Musiziert Bundeswettbewerb, honorable mention in the Boston Symphony Orchestra Fidelity Investments Concerto Competition, first prize in the Tuesday Musical Association Competition, and first prize in the Phillips Academy Concerto Competition.

Recently she was a recipient of the International Women’s Brass Conference Mentorship program which gave her the opportunity to work with Marie Speziale.

She has participated in masterclasses with Mark Gould, Philip Smith, Gabor Tarkövi, Christopher Martin, and John Abbracciamento.

She is an avid chamber musician and has attended summer festivals such as the Stockholm Chamber Brass Academy, the Atlantic Brass Quintet Seminar, Apple Hill Chamber Music Summer Workshop.

This coming summer her brass quintet, Looking Glass Brass, has been invited to attend the Norfolk chamber festival at the Yale School of music on fellowship. She is also an experienced orchestral musician and has served as principal trumpet of the CIM orchestra, the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of the New England Conservatory Preparatory program.

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34 ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ Spring 2024 Program Book

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W g NCE ominring! p

This S

ARTIST RESIDENCY A Celebration of the Violin featuring Asheville native Noah Bendix-Balgley and Shanshan Yao

In March 2024, Asheville Symphony presents its first-ever Artist Residency, celebrating the impact and the legacy of the violin and featuring world-renowned violinists Noah Bendix-Balgley and Shanshan Yao. Our biennial residency initiative honors and explores one musical instrument at a time in collaboration with a preeminent musical artist. Through an exploration of genre, instrumentation, solo performance and more, this weeklong residency concept offers programmatic content for a wide range of audiences with an emphasis on education.

At each residency, Asheville Symphony audiences will discover new ways to appreciate and understand a musical instrument and its role in an orchestra.

The Asheville Symphony’s Artist Residency: A Celebration of the Violin will include a Masterworks concert, an ALT ASO concept, a solo recital, a student workshop, a historical lecture, and a performance with the Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra. Whether you are a music student who is new to the violin or a longtime Symphony patron with a favorite violin concerto, the Artist Residency will deepen your insight and increase your esteem for this amazing instrument’s place in the musical canon.

36 ∙ Artist Residency: A Celebration of the Violin

FEATURED RESIDENCY EVENTS Visit AshevilleSymphony.org for more events!

ALT ASO Asheville Masonic Temple March 12, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

Solo Bravura Central United Methodist Church March 14, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

Folk, klezmer, jazz, fiddle, and classical music: Noah BendixBalgley presents a wildly varied program full of violin-centric works from just about every genre where you might expect to find a violin — and a few unexpected genres, too!

On sale January 16, 2024.

Either a violinist’s dream recital or their worst nightmare, Bendix-Balgley takes the stage alone for a daunting program featuring a series of technical Everests for solo violin by Paganini, Bartók, Bach, and Corigliano.

Details on page 40.

Details on page 44.

Masterworks 5: Violin Virtuosi First Baptist Church of Asheville March 16, 2024, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra Performance with Noah Bendix-Balgley First Baptist Church of Asheville March 18, 2024, 6:30 p.m.

Husband and wife duo Noah Bendix-Balgley and Shanshan Yao headline an all-violin, all-concerto program featuring Butterfly Lovers, Bach's Double Violin Concerto, and the demanding Brahms violin concerto.

Noah Bendix-Balgley takes the stage with our talented Youth Orchestra students, an exciting opportunity to hear Bendix-Balgley one last time during the Residency and for young musicians to perform with a world-renowned soloist and ensemble performer as their Concertmaster.

Details on page 50.

Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Noah Bendix-Balgley is First Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker — widely recognized as one of the best orchestras in the world. Noah enjoys a wide-ranging musical life as a violinist, touring both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He began playing the violin at age 4 and played for Lord Yehudi Menuhin at age 9. He graduated from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and the Munich Hochschule.

A laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition, he also won top prizes at the Long-Thibaud Competition in France and the Postacchini Competition in Italy.

Shanshan Yao, Violin Shanshan Yao, who joined the roster of the New York Philharmonic in 2013, will join Bendix-Balgley during the 2024 Asheville Symphony’s Artist Residency. As a soloist, Yao has performed with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, and more. She has won numerous competitions including the Calgary Concerto Competition and Morningside Music Bridge Concerto Competition and has degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School.

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Bill & Nancy Gettys Gerald & Nancy Kitch

Support this exciting initiative and gain exclusive benefits throughout the residency.

Learn more on the next page!

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 37

Join the Artist Residency Circle A typical Symphony guest artist spends 72 hours in each city they visit, limiting opportunities for connection with Asheville’s distinctive community and culture. By embedding a preeminent artist like Noah Bendix-Balgley in our city for a full week, the Artist Residency allows for engagement with middle and high school students, adult learners, and music lovers of all ages.

With your support, the Asheville Symphony is proud to expand our nationally recognized community engagement programs and looks forward to the Artist Residency in March 2024.

Your tax-deductible participation in the Artist Residency Circle makes this program more accessible and more meaningful: every student who participates in a workshop with Shanshan Yao or performs with Noah Bendix-Balgley as concertmaster will be cultivating his or her creative potential while developing meaningful life skills like listening and collaboration. Artist Residency Circle donors receive benefits like reserved parking and VIP seating.

Give to the Artist Residency today and make a lasting impact on the Asheville Symphony and the community we serve.

Discover the Power of the Arts We applaud the Asheville Symphony Orchestra for sharing one of life’s greatest treasures with our community.

“Where Words Fail, Music Speaks”

Learn more and join the Artist Residency Circle by visiting AshevilleSymphony.org/ Artist-Residency-Circle or by contacting the Development team at 828.318.8181 or development@ashevillesymphony.org.

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38 ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org Artist Residency: A Celebration ∙ Spring of the 2024 Violin Program Book

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40 ∙ ALT ASO @ Asheville Masonic Temple

ALT ASO @ ASHEVILLE MASONIC TEMPLE Darko Butorac, Conductor Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin Folk, klezmer, jazz, fiddle, and classical music: violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley takes it all in stride and presents just about every genre where you could find a violin. Featuring Reinhardt, Vivaldi, and a variety of traditional tunes from klezmer, bluegrass, and beyond, this program brings ALT ASO to Downtown Asheville’s stunning Masonic Temple for a concert showcasing the incredible and bizarre range of violin styles. On sale January 16, 2024.

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Michael & Catty Andry

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 41

39th Annual Benefit Auction August 23 & 24, 2024 A gala weekend of craft on the beautiful Penland campus.

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WATER • FIRE • SMOKE • MOLD • STORM 42 ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ Spring 2024 Program Book

ASYO SUMMER 2024 EUROPE TOUR The Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra is going on their first ever European Tour!

Students will visit Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague with performances in two cities.

We need your help to make it affordable for each student! To donate to the European Tour, make a donation to the Friends of the ASYO and write “tour” in the “Personal note to be included with donation” field!

Visit AshevilleSymphony.org/Friends-of-the-ASYO or scan the QR code to make a donation today.

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Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 43

SOLO BRAVURA Central United Methodist Church March 14, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.

Either a violinist’s dream recital program or their worst nightmare: Noah Bendix-Balgley takes the stage alone for a solo violin program full of technical Everests. Spanning five centuries of violin masters, this daunting program begins with Bach’s formidable first violin sonata and one of Paganini’s most fiendish creations.

Then we venture into the 21st century with John Corigliano’s “mistuned” bluegrass- and jazz-inspired solo piece written for scordatura violin.

Finally, Bendix-Balgley tackles the “almost unplayable” work by Bartók, composed right here in Asheville.

Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin

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44 ∙ Solo www.AshevilleSymphony.org Bravura with Noah Bendix-Balgley ∙ Spring 2024 Program Book

J. S. Bach Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001

PROGRAM NOTES

Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach’s three sonatas and three partitas for solo violin present the ultimate technical and musical challenge for any violinist; among their most interesting aspects is Bach’s ability to create the sound of complete harmonies by judicious use of double stops and arpeggiated chords.

Bach composed the six works during his tenure as Capellmeister at the princely court of Cöthen (1717-1723), probably between 1717 and 1720, although they are based on earlier work from his Weimar period. The surviving manuscript in Bach’s hand dates from 1720. To judge from the many copies that have survived, including some by his second wife, Anna Magdalena, the works must have become popular even beyond Germany’s borders.

That Bach probably used the six works as teaching tools is indicated by the detailed instructions for articulation given in his hand in the surviving manuscript. In spite of their popularity, the complete set did not appear in print until 1843.

It is unknown for whom Bach composed these works, but such technically demanding compositions for solo violin were not uncommon, especially in Germany where Bach’s older contemporary Heinrich Ignaz von Biber (1644-1704) composed the “Rosary Sonatas,” 12 works for solo violin representing the life of the Virgin Mary, each involving a different tuning of the instrument.

Although composed as a set of six, the three sonatas are all four-movement works (slow-fast-slow-fast) of the Sonata da Chiesa (Church sonata), where the second movement is a fugue and with tempo indications for the other movements. The three partitas are in the style of the Baroque dance suite and are more flexible in structure. In the Sonata No. 1, the third movement Siciliana is a gentle prelude to the wild Presto finale, a great challenge of violin virtuosity.

Caprices for Solo Violin, Op.1, No. 24 in A minor

Niccoló Paganini (1782 - 1840) In the annals of classical music, few have elicited in their lifetime the kind of awe and mystique that surrounded every step in the life of violinist and composer Niccoló Paganini. His incredible technical ability epitomized to his contemporaries the ultimate in violin playing and was considered “miraculous and inconceivable” by a French competitor.

While later generations of performers were able to master his technical feats, few could approach his incredible musicianship and emotional power.

As Friedrich Wieck, Clara Schumann's father stated: “Never did I hear a singer who touched me as deeply as an adagio played by Paganini...”

Paganini developed a totally new set of techniques for violin playing. One of his trademarks was the ricochet, in which he played a number of bouncing notes in a single bow stroke. He perfected the art of playing single-stop and double-stop harmonics, aided by thinner strings. He developed his own bowing and fingering technique, and used his incredible agility to produce a stunning left hand pizzicato.

Because of their incredible technical difficulties, Paganini's compositions have generally been looked upon as mere bravura pieces and held in low esteem.

However, many of his compositions, especially the imaginative 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1, composed between 1802 and 1817, show great creative fantasy.

The final Caprice, No. 24, is itself a set of 11 variations and finale on a theme that has inspired innumerable composers, including Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninov and Lutoslawski.

STOMP

John Corigliano (b. 1938) Written for the semi-finalists of the Tchaikovsky Violin Competition, STOMP is the musical equivalent of a tongue-twister:

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Niccolò Paganini Caprice No. 24 in A minor INTERMISSION

John Corigliano STOMP Béla Bartók Sonata for Solo Violin Sz. 117, BB 124 I. Tempo di ciaccona II. Fuga: Risoluto, non troppo vivo III. Melodia: Adagio IV. Presto

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“What to include in a competition piece in 2011?” explains John Corigliano, “One could write a virtuoso étude or a lyrical essay: but the judges will have dozens of pieces that demonstrate these virtues. I thought a more interesting piece would test a performer’s imagination, intelligence and musicality by offering interesting new problems to solve. Hence, this unaccompanied six-minute study I call STOMP, written for the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia.

STOMP poses its player three problems; of ear, style, and coordination.

First, the violin’s outer two strings are tuned to non-standard pitches. This mis-tuning (scordatura) deepens the instrument’s range, and replaces the usual perfect fifths between strings with grating dissonances high and low.

Second, the piece is modeled not on classical precedents, but on American (continued on next page)

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 45

fiddle music – bluegrass and jazz. And third, as in fiddle playing, the violinist must periodically stomp with his or her foot along with the music.

“So STOMP demands a theatrical mind, an unerring ear, and a delight in making music with the entire body. It is supposed to be fun for the audience, and a workout for the soloists. I can’t wait to hear them play it.”

Corigliano transcribed STOMP orchestra and for wind ensemble.

for

1990 he was composer-in-residence of the Chicago Symphony, a tenure that culminated in his powerful Symphony No. 1, his personal response to the growing AIDS crisis. He has composed numerous film scores, including the soundtrack to The Red Violin, as well as the opera The Ghosts of Versailles.

Sonata for Solo Violin Sz. 117, BB 124 Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945)

A native of New York, Corigliano comes by his musical talents honestly.

His father, John, Sr., was for 23 years the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, and his mother an accomplished pianist. John, Jr. studied at Columbia University and the Manhattan School of Music. He subsequently worked at New York’s WQXR radio station and as an assistant director at CBS-TV.

In the fall of 1940, Béla Bartók fled his native Hungary with his family and sailed for the United States. For a couple of years, he eked out a precarious living teaching piano and performing with his wife, Ditta, also a pianist. By the end of 1942 when he fell ill with what turned out to be a form of leukemia, his future looked bleak indeed. Early in 1943 he was too weak to deliver an entire series of lectures at Harvard University, the fee for which he had counted on to support him and his wife until the fall.

Corigliano first came to prominence as a composer after winning the chamber music prize at the 1964 Spoleto Festival for his Sonata for Violin and Piano. Since the 1970s he has become increasingly popular, his works frequently and widely performed. Between 1987 and

In a bitter twist of irony in 1943, his career opportunities started looking up. He received a commission from Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony, for a large orchestral work. The result was the

Concerto for Orchestra, a resounding popular success. Other commissions followed: The Viola Concerto for William Primrose, and the Sonata for Solo Violin for Yehudi Menuhin. Short of time, Bartók even had to turn down a request for a two-piano concerto.

In spite of his deteriorating health he worked diligently and finished the Solo Violin Sonata in March 1944. He also began on a new Piano Concerto, not on commission but as a surprise gift for his wife, with the thought that it would help her financially in case of his death.

Bartók was familiar with unusual violin techniques through his long professional association with the fiery Hungarian violinist Jelly d'Aranyi (1893-1966), with whom he performed throughout Europe and for whom he wrote his fiendishly difficult Second Sonata for Violin and Piano. The Sonata is extremely challenging, and the technical demands daunted even Menuhin's amazing technique. He suggested some simplifying changes, some of which Bartók accepted.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com

GUEST ARTIST

Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin Noah Bendix-Balgley enjoys a wide-ranging musical life as a violinist. He is First Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker and tours both as a chamber musician and as a soloist. His clear and heartfelt personal sound has reached and moved listeners around the world.

As soloist, Noah appears frequently with leading international orchestras, as well as in recital at the world’s finest concert halls. Recent highlights include his concerto debut at Carnegie Hall as the featured soloist on the Berliner Philharmoniker USA tour under the direction of Kirill Petrenko, as well as concerto appearances with the Philharmonic Orchestras of Berlin, Dresden, Auckland, Nagoya, and Oklahoma City. He has also performed with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra and the Shanghai, Utah, Quebec, Adelaide, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. He has toured with Apollo’s Fire Orchestra performing on period instruments, performed the Brahms Double Concerto with Alisa Weilerstein and the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, toured with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, and given

46 ∙ Solo Bravura with Noah Bendix-Balgley

recitals at the Philharmonie Berlin, Beethoven-Haus Bonn, the National Forum of Music in Wrocław, and the National Concert Hall in Taipei. In the upcoming season, he curates and presents a week-long celebration of the violin with his hometown Asheville Symphony, including a solo violin recital and an all-concerto program. He also returns to the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and makes his debuts with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra.

Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Noah began playing the violin at age 4. At age 9, he played for Lord Yehudi Menuhin. He graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Munich Hochschule. His principal mentors were Mauricio Fuks, Christoph Poppen and Ana Chumachenco. A laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition, he also won top prizes at the Long-Thibaud Competition in France and the Postacchini Competition in Italy.

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Symphony Talks with Music Director Darko Butorac Get closer to the music and learn the stories behind the programs at our regular and free Symphony Talks! Join Darko and our visiting guest artists in the Chapel at First Baptist Church of Asheville (see page 15 for a venue map) at 3:00 p.m. on Thursdays before every Masterworks performance.

Can't make it on Thursday? Come early to the show and get the quick version! Pre-Concert Talks occur one hour before the start of each Masterworks performance.

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VIOLIN VIRTUOSI MASTERWORKS 5 First Baptist Church of Asheville March 16, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Noah Bendix-Balgley and Shanshan Yao headline this all-violin, allconcerto program as a husband and wife duo. An iconic Chinese work for violin and orchestra, Butterfly Lovers kicks off the program with virtuosic and intertwining melodies.

The delicate dance between the two violins continues with Bach’s Double Violin Concerto. Finally, Bendix-Balgley takes on the grand finale: Brahms’s one and only violin concerto, famed for its technically demanding passages and stunning lyricism.

Darko Butorac, Conductor Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin Shanshan Yao, Violin

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50 ∙ Masterworks 5: Violin Virtuosi

J. S. Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043

PROGRAM NOTES

Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the bulk of his instrumental secular music during his employment at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen from 1717 to 1723. Since the court was Calvinist, there was no call on Bach to compose church music. From that period came the Brandenburg Concertos, the first book of the Well-tempered Clavier, the Orchestral Suites and many of the works that appear to have been lost in their original versions but crop up later as concertos for one, two, three and four harpsichords.

Bach was an accomplished violinist.

During his late teens he earned badly needed money as “lackey and violinist” to Duke Johann Ernst, the younger brother of the Duke of Weimar (whose employment Bach entered five years later). We know that during his years in Cöthen he composed at least four concertos for one violin and two for two violins. After his death, however, half his manuscripts went to his son Wilhelm Friedemann, who, perennially short of money, probably sold them for scrap paper, a valuable commodity at the time. The other half of the manuscripts, including those of the A minor and E major violin concertos and the D minor concerto for two violins, ended up in the hands of his more fastidious son, Carl Philipp Emanuel, who took good care of them. We do not know when and by whom the Concerto for Two Violins was first performed, but it probably was at the court of Cöthen with its modest orchestra.

In the Concerto, Bach seems to have delighted in the many ways he could make the two soloists interact in dialogue intertwining and playing tag with the melodies. In fact, all three movements are short on thematic material in order to emphasize the flexibility of the main themes, which are shared equally by the two violins. The Concerto is composed in the high Baroque style “invented” by Antonio Vivaldi. Bach was a great admirer of the Italian composer, adopting his style and even resetting his Concerto

for Four Violins as a concerto for four harpsichords.

The first and third movements have strong, driving ritornellos (thematic refrains), while the violin dialogue plays the intervening episodes. But the second movement belongs to the soloists alone, playing a gentle, serpentine melody in imitative counterpoint. It is among the most sensuous and emotive of all Bach’s concerto movements. The themes assiduously avoid tonic cadences in order to increase the harmonic tension. The movement includes a number of repeats, as if the young composer had been reluctant to release them.

Around 1739, while Kantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Bach transcribed this Concerto for two harpsichords, to be performed by the Bachisches Collegium, the weekly concert of secular vocal and instrumental music held in Zimmermann’s Coffee House, a high-class bourgeois establishment spacious enough to accommodate a large ensemble.

The Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto

Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin Shanshan Yao, Violin I. Vivace II. Largo; ma non tanto III. Allegro

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He Zhanhao & Chen Gang The Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin Shanshan Yao, Violin I. Adagio Cantabile II. Allegro III. Adagio assai doloroso IV. Pesante — Piu mosso — Duramente V. Lagrimoso VI. Preso resoluto VII. Adagio cantabile

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Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op.77 Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin

He Zhanhao* (b. 1935) Chen Gang* (b. 1933)

There are few collaborative works in the Western classical repertory. But then, given the date of composition of The Butterfly Lovers, during the first idealistic decade of the Cultural Revolution in China, such an effort is hardly surprising. While a student at the Shanghai Conservatory, He Zhanhao joined with several classmates to form a violin experimental group, attempting to adapt western classical principles and techniques to Chinese folk melodies. The Butterfly Lovers, written together with his fellow student Chen Gang in 1959, emerged as a product of the group's musical experiments.

Born in Shanghai and a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Chen Gang is currently a professor at his alma mater. He has composed in most Western musical genres, but has made extensive use of pentatonic scales. He has also composed a number of film scores.

I. Allegro non troppo II. Adagio III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace

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Media partner Blue Ridge Public Radio will air a recording of this performance, featuring conversations with ASO, on BPR Classic and bpr.org on Tuesday, April 16 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, April 18 at 9:00 a.m.

(continued on next page) Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 51

A native of Zhuji in Zhejiang province, He Zhanhao played in a traditional opera troupe, where he learned to imitate the erhu technique on the violin. (The erhu, sometimes known in the West as the “Chinese violin,” has two strings that are bowed. It is an instrument employed for solos, small ensembles and large orchestras). He graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory in 1964 and continued to teach in its composition department. His music covers a wide range of historical and traditional styles from both Chinese and Western sources, and he has continued to combine Western and Chinese instruments.

The single-movement programmatic The Butterfly Lovers is based on a popular Chinese legend first recorded in the ninth century and often called the Chinese Romeo and Juliet story: A young woman named Zhu Yingtai disguises herself as a man traveling to Hangzhou to study. During her journey, she meets Liang Shanbo, a schoolmate from the same province. They study together for three years, during which their relationship strengthens. When the two part, Zhu offers to arrange for Liang to marry her “fictitious” 16-year-old sister. When Liang travels to Zhu's home, he discovers her true gender. Although they are devoted and passionate about each other, Zhu’s parents have already arranged for her to marry someone else. Depressed, Liang dies in office as a county magistrate. On Zhu’s wedding day, whirlwinds prevent the wedding procession from escorting Zhu beyond Liang's tomb. When Zhu leaves the procession to pay her respects at the grave, it splits apart, and Zhu jumps into it to join him. A pair of butterflies emerges from the tomb and fly away.

Over the years, the story has given rise to a number of operas, films, animated films and a musical.

After a brief introduction on the oboe and flute, the solo violin enters with a “love” theme that pervades the entire Concerto. Although written in one continuous movement, the Concerto has three sections, corresponding to the typical Western concerto structure.

The sections portray programmatically 52 ∙ Masterworks 5: Violin Virtuosi

the most important episodes of the story: the love between Zhu and Liang, the Whirlwind, and the lovers’ metamorphosis. The themes derive from Chinese opera and traditional folk melodies. The violin frequently recalls erhu techniques. *In the Chinese manner, the family name comes first, the personal name second. It is proper to refer to them as Chen and He, but not as Gang and Zhanhao.

Violin Concerto in D major, Op.77

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) One of the marks of great artists is accurate self-assessment, the knowledge of their strengths and limitations. Like Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, Brahms sought the advice of a leading violinist when he was composing a concerto for the violin, an instrument with which he was not intimately familiar. Brahms’s long-time friend Joseph Joachim, a Hungarian violinist, composer and educator who for over half a century was the world’s dominant violin virtuoso, was intimately involved in the concerto’s composition. Needless to say, Brahms dedicated it to him. Joachim gave the premiere on New Year’s Day, 1879.

The initial reception of the Concerto was respectful but cool. Its technical demands deterred many violinists, who dubbed it “Concerto against the Violin and Orchestra.” It is, like the other Brahms concerti, a true partnership between soloist and orchestra; virtuosity for its own sake is totally absent.

Joachim attempted to have Brahms make it easier for the soloist, but the manuscript of the violin part in the State Library in Berlin, full of Joachim’s suggestions, shows that, in this case at least, the violinist seldom prevailed.

The sunny mood of the concerto is close to that of the Symphony No. 2 in D major, written shortly before.

The dreamy opening of the lyrical first movement is gradually infused with joyous energy and culminates, after the cadenza, in a headlong rush to the finish by soloist and orchestra. Joachim wrote a large cadenza for this movement, which is still a favorite with soloists and audiences, although many violinists have written their own.

Brahms’s original plan was for a concerto in four movements, including

a scherzo. But he discarded the scherzo and the original slow movement because their style did not mesh with the rest of the work. The slow movement we have today opens with the solo oboe playing one of the most delicate and beautiful melodies in the literature.

The violin then embellishes this melody with arabesques (florid ornamentation of a theme), maintaining its special relationship with the oboe throughout.

The middle of the movement becomes more intense and dramatic, but Brahms never loses sight of the theme.

The fiery rondo-finale exploits the melodies and rhythms played by Roma (Gypsy) musicians in the cafés of central Europe. It is one of the few places where Joachim’s intervention attenuated the difficulties for the violinist. He managed to get Brahms to moderate the movement’s tempo by adding “ma non troppo” (but not too much) to the tempo indication Vivace.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com

GUEST ARTISTS

Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin

Shanshan Yao, Violin

Noah Bendix-Balgley enjoys a wide-ranging musical life as a violinist. He is First Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker and tours both as a chamber musician and as a soloist. His clear and heartfelt personal sound has reached and moved listeners around the world.

Chinese violinist Shanshan Yao joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2013. Previously, she was a member of the first violin section of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for four years. She recently performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, led by music director Manfred Honeck, as well as with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. As a soloist Ms. Yao has also performed with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Calgary Civic Symphony, Banff Centre Chamber Orchestra, and Japan’s Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra. In February 2009 she received critical acclaim for her debut recital at Canada National Arts Centre in Ottawa. She was invited to appear in a special performance for former Secretary of State Colin Powell at the Eisenhower Fellowships conference in Philadelphia in 2006. Ms. Yao served on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University’s Pre-College Music Program in the summer of 2013.

As soloist, Noah appears frequently with leading international orchestras, as well as in recital at the world’s finest concert halls. Recent highlights include his concerto debut at Carnegie Hall as the featured soloist on the Berliner Philharmoniker USA tour under the direction of Kirill Petrenko, as well as concerto appearances with the Philharmonic Orchestras of Berlin, Dresden, Auckland, Nagoya, and Oklahoma City.

Noah is a renowned performer of traditional klezmer music, a musical style that has been part of his life since an early age.

He has performed groups such as Brave Old World, and has taught at many klezmer workshops. In 2016, Noah composed and premiered his own klezmer violin concerto, Fidl-Fantazye, with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he was concertmaster from 2011 to 2015. Since the premiere, he has also performed the work with the Baltimore Symphony, the China Philharmonic, and the Buffalo Philharmonic. In November 2021, he premiered the chamber orchestra version of Fidl-Fantazye with the Kammerakademie Potsdam, a version he also presented with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker in a special ‘Late Night’ klezmer concert at the Philharmonie Berlin.

A passionate chamber musician, Noah performs in several ensembles: in a trio with pianist Robert Levin and cellist Peter Wiley, with the Rosamunde String Quartet that includes members of the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics, and with the multi- genre septet Philharmonix, which features members of both the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras. Philharmonix tours worldwide, has an ongoing multiyear residency at Vienna’s Konzerthaus, and in 2022 released its third album on Deutsche Grammophon. In the 2023/24 season, he tours with Philharmonix around China, Korea, and Japan.

Noah’s other recent chamber highlights include performances at the Seattle Music Festival, Bergen International Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, Zermatt Music Festival, Aix-en-Provence, and La Jolla Summerfest.

Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Noah began playing the violin at age 4. At age 9, he played for Lord Yehudi Menuhin.

He graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Munich Hochschule. His principal mentors were Mauricio Fuks, Christoph Poppen and Ana Chumachenco. A laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition, he also won top prizes at the Long-Thibaud Competition in France and the Postacchini Competition in Italy.

Now a gifted educator himself, Noah teaches at the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker. He has served on the juries of the Menuhin Competition, the Indianapolis International Violin Competition, and as chair of the violin jury at the the Carl Nielsen Competition. He has given masterclasses at his alma mater Indiana University, and at academies around the world including Morningside Music Bridge, Domaine Forget, the Australian National Academy of Music, the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, and the Peabody Institute.

Ms. Yao’s numerous honors include first prizes in the Calgary Concerto Competition and Morningside Music Bridge Concerto Competition (Canada), second prizes in the Shean String Competition (Canada) and Hellam Young Artists Competition (U.S.), as well as prizes in the Corpus Christi International Competition for Piano and Strings (U.S.) and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition (New Zealand). As one of the winners of the CBC Radio’s Up and Coming series, a showcase of promising young talents, she shared the stage with pianist Jon Kimura Parker.

An active chamber musician, Ms. Yao has participated in the Aspen, Summit, and Sarasota music festivals; Music from Angel Fire; The Banff Centre; and Music@Menlo, where she served as a chamber music coach in 2009. Her piano trio won second prize in the National Music Festival in Canada in 2002. Ms. Yao has collaborated with such renowned artists as Ida Kavafian, Steve Tenenbom, Jeremy Denk, and Ransom Wilson.

A violinist since the age of six, Ms. Yao enrolled at Shanghai Conservatory of Music when she was nine. She made her orchestral debut at the age of 12 with the Shanghai Radio Symphony Orchestra, and continued her studies in Canada as a full-scholarship student in Mount Royal Conservatory’s Academy Program. Shanshan Yao received her bachelor of music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music and her master of music degree from The Juilliard School. Her teachers included Aaron Rosand, Donald Weilerstein, Ronald Copes, William van der Sloot, and Xiaoming Wu.

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 53

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GOLDEN GLAMOUR MASTERWORKS 6 First Baptist Church of Asheville April 20, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

From Vienna to old Hollywood, we bring operatic charm and glamour to the stage with a program featuring selections from Mahler and Mozart alongside Strauss’s ostentatious Der Rosenkavalier and a sparkling violin concerto by Korngold, an early Hollywood composer.

Darko Butorac, Conductor Blake Pouliot, Violin

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56 ∙ Masterworks 6: Golden Glamour

W. A. Mozart Overture from Le nozze di Figaro, K.492

PROGRAM NOTES

Overture from Le nozze di Figaro, K.492 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1776 - 1791)

In the 1780s Opera was the most prestigious musical genre in Vienna, and Mozart had the luck to team up with one of the best librettists of all time, Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838). Born in Italy of Jewish parents and converted as a child to Catholicism, da Ponte wrote the librettos for three of Mozart’s greatest operas: Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) and Cosi fan tutte. Unfortunately, the da Ponte operas met initially with only limited success in Vienna. It was only after Mozart’s death that their true value was appreciated.

The Marriage of Figaro is one of the oldest operas in the standard repertoire and one of the most youthful in spirit.

When Pierre de Beaumarchais’s play, on which the opera is based, was published in 1782, it’s unflattering portrait of the aristocracy understandably caused an uproar and horrified Louis XVI. Like any scandal, it proved irresistible and must have spread rapidly, because Mozart’s opera to da Ponte’s libretto was premiered only four years later on the cusp of the French Revolution. Nor did sit well with Hapsburg Emperor, Joseph II, brother of Marie Antoinette.

As is customary for most opera overtures of the eighteenth century, this one contains no music from the opera itself.

Nevertheless, the overture captures the spirit of the opera in its opening bars, a sequence of rapid notes on the strings scurrying like whispering conspirators.

It is answered by the whole orchestra with festive trumpets, and these alternating moods continue throughout the ebullient overture.

Violin Concerto in D major, Op.35

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957) Erich Wolfgang Korngold is a representative of the last gasp of late romanticism in Vienna. He never veered from this established idiom and never ventured into modernistic experiments.

He was a true child prodigy whose works were performed in public in Vienna by the time he was 11 (although the fact that his father was the music critic of Vienna's most prestigious newspaper, Neue Freie Presse, may have helped).

In the early part of the century Korngold was known mainly through his operas (Violanta, Die tote Stadt, Das Wunder der Heliane) but today he is primarily remembered by his pioneering film music. At the urging of the director Max Reinhardt, with whom he had staged Die Fledermaus in Berlin in the 1920s, he came to Hollywood in 1934 where he wholeheartedly embraced the new medium and, incidentally, saved his life.

By the time Korngold came to Hollywood, his “classical” compositions were regarded as superficial and irrelevant to the proponents of mainstream twentiethcentury modernism. But Hollywood adored him. Korngold saw film as the true successor to the operatic stage. His success as film music composer was phenomenal, two of them, Anthony Adverse (1936) and Robin Hood (1938), won Oscars.

The film music scene in Hollywood of the 1930s and 40s was dominated by German and Austrian émigrés who had escaped Nazism. It is not surprising, therefore, that when Korngold once again took up his classical pen in 1945 to write his Violin Concerto he dedicated it to an old family friend, the doyenne of the émigrés, Franz Werfel's wife and Gustav Mahler's widow, the legendary Alma Mahler. No less a master than Jascha Heifetz premiered the concerto in St. Louis.

It is an amusing exercise, when listening to the Concerto, to note how many themes and passages immediately call to mind the musical conventions we have come to associate with certain kinds of film action. We make these associations on the basis of countless hours of movie going, during which the musical “language” has implanted itself in the subconscious and controlled our emotional response. In the Concerto Korngold reworked music

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Erich Wolfgang Korngold Violin Concerto in D major, Op.35 Blake Pouliot, Violin I. Moderato nobile II. Andante III. Rondo

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Gustav Mahler Adagietto from Symphony No. 5

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Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier Suite, Op.59

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Media partner Blue Ridge Public Radio will air a recording of this performance, featuring conversations with ASO, on BPR Classic and bpr.org on Tuesday, May 14 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, May 16 at 9:00 a.m.

(continued on next page) Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 57

from his successful film scores, including Juarez (1939), Anthony Adverse (1936), Another Dawn (1937) and The Prince and the Pauper (1937).

But the Concerto is not all “movie music.” Korngold transforms the themes to conform to the traditional conventions of the concertos of composers from Mendelssohn to Max Bruch. The technical and expressive demands, as well as the harmonies, surpass melodic clichés. Although it reflects the composer’s nostalgic attachment to fin-de-siécle Viennese Romanticism, even the most discerning twenty-first-century ears are eclectic and accepting, no longer trapped in the clutches of atonal dogma.

Most important of all, Korngold’s writing for the violin is everything a soloist could dream of.

The first movement main theme, from Another Dawn, is a multifaceted melody and an ancestor of the Star Trek theme.

The more sentimental, second theme is from Juaréz. The development inhabits the violin’s stratosphere.

The second movement is a rhapsodic romantic reverie on a theme from Anthony Adverse. As opposed to the sprawling melodies from the first movement, this one is surprisingly simple. Heating up the passion, Korngold uses a more expansive melody for the middle section.

In the energetic, humorous finale, Korngold teases the listener by delaying an outright statement of the movement’s single theme, from The Prince and the Pauper. Instead, the soloist starts with a fanciful melody containing hints of the theme for a couple of minutes, until the soloist finally “pins it down.”

Adagietto from Symphony No. 5

Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911) Mahler completed his Symphony No. 5 in the summer of 1902, the final work in a burst of creativity that included the Rückert Songs. It was the first composition following his marriage to the scintillating 22-year-old Alma Schindler, the stepdaughter of a famous Austrian landscape painter and a talented pianist and composer in her own right. Gustav and Alma had met in Paris in November 1901 and were married four months

58 ∙ Masterworks 6: Golden Glamour

later (she was pregnant). This marriage – which lasted for 10 stormy years until the composer’s death – was the subject of endless gossip. It was definitely considered a social advancement for Mahler, a Jew (although converted to Catholicism) from a small town in Bohemia, the backwater of the AustroHungarian Empire. It gave him the longsought introduction to the intellectual elite of Vienna.

Alma wrote out much of the orchestration of the Symphony at Gustav’s direction, and he considered it “their” music. Out of the emotional maelstrom of the first three movements, which use a gigantic orchestra, emerges one of Mahler’s most gentle and sublime utterances, the Adagietto, marked espressivo, seelenvoll (“soulful”), and mit innigster Empfindung (“with the most heartfelt sentiment”).

Scored for strings and harp alone, it forms an instrumental and emotional counterpoint to the loud brassiness of the preceding and following movements, supplying the comfort that has heretofore been lacking. The expansive melody, which Mahler spins out in free variations, is considered a love song to Alma, expressing the composer’s intense feelings for his new wife. Both Mahler and Alma had personal manuscripts of this movement.

Der Rosenkavalier Suite, Op.59

Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949) Despite the disdain with which most opera plots are regarded, occasionally an opera composer and librettist form a winning partnership where each member of the team complements the skills of the other to create a masterpiece of musical and dramatic integrity. Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte come immediately to mind, as do Giuseppe Verdi and Arrigo Boito. In the last century, composer Richard Strauss and playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal found a kinship and mutual understanding that produced a series of successful operas starting in 1908 with Elektra.

Following the success of that grim and bloody piece, Strauss was searching for a Figaro-style comedy. In response, von Hofmannsthal came up with a totally new type of libretto, an amalgam of various French eighteenth-century farces. In a note to the compose he

wrote: “I have...worked out a complete and entirely new scenario for a grand opera with downright comic figures and situations, and action as colorful and almost as obvious as a pantomime.”

The result was the immensely successful Der Rosenkavalier, premiered in 1911.

Set in the eighteenth-century Vienna of Empress Maria Theresa, the extravagantly complicated plot involves the youth Octavian, who has been sexually initiated by the Marschallin, the neglected young wife of an elderly field marshal. When her bumbling old cousin Baron Ochs barges in on the couple to announce to her his intention to rectify his finances by marrying Sophie, daughter of a successful merchant with pretensions, Octavian – nearly caught in flagrante delicto – is forced to dress as a chambermaid to hide his identity. As he flirts with the disguised Octavian, Ochs states his intention to woo Sophie by presenting her with a silver rose from the hand of an aristocratic emissary. After more comic business, the Marschallin entrusts Octavian with Ochs’s silver rose and its mission. At a grand ball, Octavian presents the rose to Sophie, at which point both, of course, succumb to love at first sight. Then it’s more classic comic intrigue to extricate the young heroine from her elderly fiancé. Finally, Ochs is outwitted and the Marschallin, a gracious dea ex machina, relinquishes Octavian to Sophie.

Strauss laced Der Rosenkavalier with waltz tunes at the request of his librettist – in spite of the fact that at the time of the action the waltz didn’t even exist in aristocratic ballrooms. Strauss himself extracted from the opera two Walzerfolgen (waltz sequences).

The Rosenkavalier Suite, Op. 59 which appeared in 1945, was probably not assembled by Strauss, but by conductor Artur Rodzinski, then conductor of the New York Philharmonic.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com

GUEST ARTIST

Blake Pouliot, Violin With a vivid onstage presence, dazzling technique, and keen Winner of the Grand Prize at the 2016 Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Manulife Competition, Blake Pouliot’s 2023/24 symphonic highlights include Shostakovich 1, Bruch 1, Tchaikovsky, Korngold and Sibelius concerti across the US and Canada with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal with Roderick Cox, Artis-Naples and NAC Ottawa with Alexander Shelley, Quebec City Symphony and Clemens Schuldt amongst others.

In Europe this season, Pouliot makes his Spanish debut with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Spain at the Teatro Monumental in Madrid, performing the Tchaikovsky concerto with Rossen Milanov alongside which Pouliot will also play-direct Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons in a separate chamber program.

During his time as Soloist-in-Residence of Orchestre Métropolitain in 2020/21, Pouliot and Yannick Nézet-Séguin performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 and Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons which led to Pouliot’s 2022 debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Centre, performing John Corigliano’s The Red Violin (Chaconne for Violin and Orchestra) with Nézet-Séguin.

As a chamber musician and recitalist, Pouliot returns this season to NAC Chamber Festival, San Francisco, Aspen Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest where he performed the festivalopening concert last year with conductor Alan Gilbert, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada for his third consecutive year as Artist-in Residence.

Since his orchestral debut at age 11, Pouliot has performed with the orchestras of Aspen, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Madison, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, and Seattle, among many. Internationally, he has performed as soloist with the Sofia Philharmonic in Bulgaria, Orchestras of the Americas on its South American tour, and was the featured soloist for the first ever joint tour of the European Union Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Blake Pouliot performs on the 1729 Guarneri del Gesù on generous loan from an anonymous donor.

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TITAN MASTERWORKS 7 Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium at Brevard Music Center May 18, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.

Our season finale takes a dramatic turn and features two powerful titans of Western repertoire, both firsts for their composers. Once deemed worthless and unplayable by his mentor, Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto quickly leapt to international fame and secured its place as one of the most bombastic and popular piano concertos ever composed. A fitting companion indeed for Mahler’s mighty “Titan.” Mahler evokes the “voice of nature” with his first symphony, capturing nature’s beauty with “leisurely” melodies and its fury with “stürmisch bewegt” (stormy motion) for a powerful and emotional end to our season.

Darko Butorac, Conductor Olga Kern, Piano

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62 ∙ Masterworks 7: Titan

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op.23

PROGRAM NOTES

Olga Kern, Piano

Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op.23 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)

It is ironic that Tchaikovsky’s two most popular works, the First Piano Concerto and the Violin Concerto, were initially rejected by the greatest virtuosi of his country as unplayable fiascos. “...Utterly worthless, absolutely unplayable. Certain passages are so commonplace and awkward they could not be improved, and the piece as a whole was bad, trivial, vulgar.” This was the verdict of Nikolay Rubinstein, first director of the Moscow Conservatory and one of Tchaikovsky’s mentors, on hearing the composer play his new Piano Concerto on Christmas Eve 1874.

The tirade raised Tchaikovsky’s hackles, and he refused to change a single note (although in later editions he made some minor modifications). But with Rubinstein’s negative opinion, he had little chance of mounting a respectable performance – or unbiased reception – in Russia. What has come to the most popular piano concerto by Russia’s most popular composer was premiered in Boston on October 25 1875, with a pickup orchestra and famed pianist Hans von Bülow. It was a smashing success.

It is worth remembering that the First Piano Concerto came relatively early in Tchaikovsky's career. Rubenstein had served both as a mentor and first employer to the young composer.

Moreover, Tchaikovsky's well-known bouts of depression and sense of alienation because of his homosexuality exacerbated his self-doubts about the quality of his music. It was a personal triumph, therefore, that he managed to withstand Rubinstein's vicious assault.

Although the majestic introduction has become so well known as to be recognizable even to people unfamiliar with classical music, it was revolutionary for its time. It remains unlike any standard introduction in the orchestral repertory, replete with a fully developed theme and a cadenza.

Introduced by a soft chordal transition, the exposition begins with a melody Tchaikovsky allegedly heard a blind beggar sing at a country fair, but this theme too is hardly touched on again.

The two following themes, one for the winds, the other for the strings, become more important for the movement as a whole. The long cadenza is unusually restrained, a fine vehicle for highlighting the pianist’s control of pianissimo.

The second movement opens with a gentle theme on the flute, accompanied by muted strings; the theme is then taken up by the piano with just a single note change.

Instead of maintaining the tempo for the middle section of the slow movement, Tchaikovsky quixotically launches into a cadenza of pianistic pyrotechnics as a lead-in to a melody based on a popular cabaret song of the time.

In the rondo finale Tchaikovsky again uses a folk tune in triple meter, but with the accent always on the second beat. As momentum towards the climax builds, the violins sneak in a hint of the main theme of the first movement. In place of a formal solo cadenza, an excited coda with lavish pianistic flourishes concludes the Concerto.

It is probably fair to ask why this Concerto is such a popular competition piece. In keeping with the composer’s tumultuous emotional life, it requires of the performer a mastery of just about every artistic and technical resource: rapid passages in octaves, abrupt changes in mood, delicate passages of arpeggiated filigree, giant buildups of harmonic and emotional tension, whispered legato pianissimos. Is it any wonder Rubinstein overreacted?

Symphony No. 1 in D major Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)

In the late 1880s Gustav Mahler was building a reputation as a symphonic and operatic conductor. As he moved from one conducting post to another, usually as the assistant conductor in opera houses, he had only limited time for composing. It took him from 1883 to 1888 to finish the First Symphony for its premiere and another 11 years to have it ready for publication.

I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso II. Andantino semplice III. Allegro con fuoco

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INTERMISSION

Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major, "Titan" I. Langsam, schleppend II. Kräftig bewegt III. Feierlich und gemessen IV. Stürmisch bewegt

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During the interval, Mahler made major changes. At its premiere in Budapest in 1889, Mahler had called it a “Symphonic Poem in two parts” with an elaborate literary program that he later repudiated. The origin of the Symphony’s subtitle “Titan” is uncertain; some scholars believe it derived from the title of a novel by Jean Paul, a popular literary figure during the heyday of the Romantic period.

In its first version, the symphony had five movements, but Mahler immediately discarded the original second movement. He also expanded (continued on next page)

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 63

the size of the orchestra and revised the orchestration drastically. The discarded second movement, an Andante titled “Blumine,” resurfaced only in 1967 and is now occasionally performed with the symphony.

At the time he began the symphony, Mahler was also composing a cycle of four songs with orchestra, titled Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer). The themes from two of these songs found their way into the symphony: The second song became the main theme of the first movement, while the fourth song became the middle section of the third movement.

In light of Mahler’s later symphonies, the First is relatively tame. Nevertheless, it was received with hostility and ridicule at the first performance, bewildering the audience and annoying the critics.

Its originality lies in the innovative orchestration and harmonies, as well as in the intensity of the emotions it conveys. In 1941 before the resurgence of Mahler’s popularity, Aaron Copland perceived the value of the Mahler’s music: “Of all romantics, this archromantic has most to give to the music of the future,” The first movement begins with an eerie introduction, the first two notes of which later morph into a birdcall, as well as the first two notes of the main theme.

It is punctuated by a distant fanfare and a wailing oboe cry. The Allegro section begins in the cellos with the second Wayfarer song, “Ging heut morgen Übers Feld,” (I Walked this Morning over the

64 ∙ Masterworks 7: Titan

Field); the theme is the heart and soul of the symphony serving not only as the main theme of this movement, but also as the basis of the themes of the second and final movements. The music of the introduction recurs in the middle of the movement. Mahler's genius was his ability to keep all his thematic balls in the air, a feat brilliantly achieved in the coda.

The second movement Scherzo has the rhythm of the Ländler, an Austrian folk dance. Although it conforms to the classic minuet and trio form, Mahler spins out the first section far beyond the standard repeat structure. Both the opening three notes of the Scherzo and the Trio recall the birdcall theme from the first movement.

A macabre timpani ostinato accompanies a lonely double bass introducing the main theme of the third movement, a funeral march based on none other than the nursery rhyme “Frère Jacques” in the minor mode. The spooky parody is said to have been inspired by a popular picture by the French painter Jacques Callot of a dead hunter accompanied to his grave by forest animals. The middle section of the movement is based on the melody from the fourth Wayfarer song, “Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz,” (My Sweetheart’s Two Blue Eyes) hypnotic and calming.

In a third episode, Mahler transforms the theme into a dance with more than a hint of Jewish Klezmer music, an aspect of Mahler’s heritage about which he manifested considerable ambivalence.

Although a convert to Catholicism, he suffered constant anti-Semitic slights,

and after World War II, Leonard Bernstein had to bully the Vienna Philharmonic to revive Mahler’s music.

The movement leads directly to the stormy Finale, which in the original program notes was titled Dall’ Inferno al Paradiso (from hell to heaven). It opens with one of the most threatening passages in classical music and is subsequently taken up in the main body of the Allegro. In the Finale, Mahler ties together the themes from the earlier movements, even those from the discarded “Blumine” movement as a gentle, even comforting, second theme.

The resolution occurs in a coda of heroic proportions, including a triumphant, full-voiced reprise of the distant fanfare from the opening of the Symphony.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com

GUEST ARTIST

Olga Kern, Piano With a vivid onstage presence, dazzling technique, and keen musicianship, pianist Olga Kern is widely recognized as one of the great artists of her generation, captivating audiences and critics alike. She was born into a family of musicians and began studying piano at the age of five. At seventeen, she was awarded first prize at the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition, and in 2001, she launched her U.S. career, winning a historic Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—the only woman in the last 50 years to do so.

A Steinway Artist, Olga is a laureate of several international competitions. In 2016 she was Jury Chairman of both Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition and the first Olga Kern International Piano Competition, where she also holds the title of Artistic Director. In December 2021, Olga was Jury Chairman of the 1st Chopin Animato International Piano competition in Paris, France. In coming seasons, she will continue to serve on the juries of several high-level competitions. Olga frequently gives masterclasses and since 2017 has served on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. Also in 2017, Olga received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (New York City). In 2019, she was appointed the Connie & Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music at the Virginia Arts Festival.

Olga has performed with many prominent orchestras, including the St. Louis Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), as well as Czech Philharmonic, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Pittsburgh Symphony, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Tokyo’s NHK Symphony Orchestra, and Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. She was also a featured soloist on U.S. tours with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2018 and 2022, and during the 2017–

2018 season, she served as Artist in Residence at the San Antonio Symphony. Highlights of the 2021–2022 season included performances with the Austin Symphony, Palm Beach Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, Greensboro Symphony, Madison Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, and Academia Teatro alla Scala. She appeared as a soloist on a U.S. tour with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine and performed recitals in Savannah, Sunriver, Huntsville, Fort Worth, Carmel, and Minneapolis as well as in Portugal, Poland, and Sweden. In the 2022– 2023 season, she appeared with the Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Ireland’s National Symphony Orchestra, and Colorado Symphony. She performed recitals at the Minnesota Beethoven Festival and the International Piano Festival of Oeiras as well as in Brno and Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic; Virginia Beach; Chicago; and San Francisco.

In the 2023–2024 season, she performs Rachmaninoff’s four piano concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Austin Symphony and with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, appears with the Czech Philharmonic on a nationwide telecast, and tours South Africa and Asia.

In 2012, Olga established the Kern Foundation “Aspiration,” which supports talented musicians around the world.

She is featured in award-winning documentaries about the 2001 Cliburn Competition: The Cliburn: Playing on the Edge, They Came to Play, and Olga’s Journey.

Become an Asheville Symphony subscriber next season for the best seats and exclusive benefits all season long!

When you purchase a Masterworks Series subscription, you can get up to 10% off the subscription, early access to the best seats in the house, no hassle ticket exchanges, and more.

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Join fellow friends of the Asheville Symphony on board a classical music-themed Danube River cruise with AmaWaterways departing from Vienna on November 9, 2024, with Maestro Darko Butorac as your host! Venture inside the magnificent Budapest Opera House, discover Mozart’s birthplace in Salzburg, follow in the footsteps of Beethoven and Schubert, and be treated to unforgettable live performances on board and on shore.

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68 ∙ ALT ASO @ The Mule at Devil's Foot Beverage Co.

ALT ASO @ THE MULE

AT DEVIL'S FOOT BEVERAGE CO.

Darko Butorac, Conductor Known for his genre-bending projects with operatic and Broadway productions in addition to the world’s great symphony orchestras, artist and Asheville resident Adam Larsen brings video projection design to ALT ASO for a uniquely immersive performance at Devil’s Foot Beverage Co.’s taproom. Paired with an innovative symphonic program, this performance will be unlike any other, uniting visual art and orchestral sounds for a truly unique experience. On sale March 26, 2024.

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024, 7:00 P.M. SERIES PRESENTING SPONSOR

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AMBER SPONSORS

David & Dianne Worley BOHEMIAN SPONSORS This project is generously funded by:

The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 69

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70 ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ Spring 2024 Program Book

Hensel, Janáček, Schubert

Canellakis-Brown Duo Friday May 10 7:30 p.m.

Schumann, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Paganini

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BILTMORE WEST

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SEASON

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES MARK AND MAGGIE O’CONNOR March 8 at 8 p.m.

CATHY LADMAN March 16 at 8 p.m.

PILOBOLUS re:CREATION March 22 & 23 at 8 p.m.

360 ALLSTARS March 27 at 7 p.m.

DERVISH March 29 at 8 p.m.

IVY ROWE from the Lee Smith Novel Fair and Tender Ladies April 11 & 12 at 7 p.m.

LIZZY & THE TRIGGERMEN April 13 at 8 p.m.

STEP AFRIKA! April 19 & 20 at 7 p.m.

ROBERT DUBAC’S STAND-UP JESUS May 3 & 4 at 8 p.m.

ROBERT DUBAC’S BRUNCH WITH JESUS May 4 & 5 at 11 a.m.

STEWART/OWEN DANCE May 9–11 at 8 p.m.

May 11 & 12 at 2 p.m.

May 16–18 at 8 p.m.

May 18 & 19 at 2 p.m.

ALEX CUBA May 24 at 8 p.m.

DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE 74 ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ Spring 2024 Program Book

wo r t h a m a r t s . o r g

FOOD & BEVERAGE PARTNERS Many of Asheville’s greatest local businesses are those that serve the best food and drinks.

Your Asheville Symphony is proud to partner with some of Asheville’s best restaurants, breweries, bars, and more. They serve Symphony patrons all year long; now they are doing more by supporting the Symphony as advertisers and sponsors.

Visit our Food & Beverage Partners to support your Symphony, and send these partners our love when you visit their establishments!

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Do you work at or own a local restaurant or bar and want to be on this list? Contact the ASO's Development Department by phone (828.254.7046) or email (development@ ashevillesymphony.org).

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SEASON & CONCERT SPONSORS SEASON SPONSORS

OFFICIAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPANY OF THE ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY

OFFICIAL HOTEL OF THE ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY

$50,000+

The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust $25,000+

Henry A. LaBrun David & Pamela Lane Drs. Joanne & Tom Parker

This project was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

$10,000+

Thomas C. Bolton Diane & Rich Byers

in Memory of Katherine Armitage & Jack Jones

Donald Gavin & Jayne Schnaars Bill & Nancy Gettys Keith Keener Richard Schaffer & Anastasia Bartlett $5,000+

Michael & Catty Andry Timothy Butts & Susan Harrington Butts Gary & Patty Coleman Robert & Mercedes Eichholz Foundation Dr. Bolling Farmer Dr. John Hazlehurst Dr. & Mrs. Ralph C. Loomis Yvonne Smith Ed & Cindy Towson David & Dianne Worley Olivia & Gary Zahler $3,000+

Diana Bilbrey Beverly Briedis Craig Allen & Julie Cowden Jerry & Diane Cunningham George & Kathy Dambach Paul & Liz Hosier Mountaine Mort Jonas Jim & Mary Kirby Ann & Jerry McLellan Katie & Phil Osborne

The Brookshire Garside Group

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MEDIA PARTNER

Families and businesses provide vital support through a variety of dynamic sponsorships that fund our artistic, community engagement, and educational programs.

Sponsorship of Asheville Symphony programming offers unparalleled promotional and hospitality opportunities among sophisticated audiences at our innovative performances.

We believe music matters. We believe it changes lives.

The Asheville Symphony has a track record of helping companies accomplish key business objectives through exclusive benefits such as:

$50

• • • •

Category exclusivity (per concert or program) Entertaining opportunities Targeted access to key demographics Logo inclusion in broad marketing campaign and prominent onsite presence • Brand transfer; establish lasting affiliation with one of Asheville’s most prestigious cultural institutions We are more than happy to work with each sponsor to develop a customized, targeted sponsorship package with your business objectives in mind. Call 828.254.7046 or email development@ashevillesymphony.org to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.

Here’s how we make music with your dollars: Covers the music for one Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra Honors Strings Ensemble performance

$170

Covers the cost of orchestra folders for ten Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra students

$375

Pays for one Music in the Schools program (one quintet, one school, one hour)

$750

Allows us to offer one masterclass for emerging young musicians with an esteemed guest soloist

$1,000

Provides tuition scholarships for two Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra students

$1,300

Covers the purchase of music for a single Beethoven symphony

$3,000

Covers the cost of renting and moving a concert grand Steinway piano into our venue for piano recitals

$5,000

Allows for one workshop for the Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra

Support Your Symphony

$10,000

When you sponsor or donate to the Symphony, you support our artistic, community engagement, and educational programs. To learn more please call 828.254.7046 or email development@ashevillesymphony.org.

$20,000

To make a donation to the Annual Fund, visit AshevilleSymphony.org/donate

Pays the fees and travel for one guest soloist Covers the cost of ASO's Music in the Schools program, benefiting every 2nd - 4th grader in Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 77

ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY SUPPORTERS Thank you for supporting your Asheville Symphony.

Contributions to the Asheville Symphony support our artistic and educational programming — everything from the music performed on stage by our highly trained and talented musicians to the education programs our musicians implement when visiting local elementary schools.

You can choose how to direct your support: • Annual Fund • Sponsorship • Asheville Symphony's Artist Residency: A Celebration of the Violin • Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra • Music Education Initiatives • Endowment The following recognition encompasses contributions made from January 1, 2023 through January 8, 2024.

January 1, 2023 - January 8, 2024 ASO SUPPORTERS

$50,000+

$10,000 - $24,999

Asheville Symphony Guild Flow Volkswagen Porsche Audi of Asheville iHeart Media Kimpton Hotel Arras Ingeborg Meeke* Noretta L. Taylor* The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust

Michael and Catty Andry ArtsAVL Audrey Love Charitable Foundation Thomas C. Bolton Diane and Rich Byers Chaddick Foundation Clover CBD Dispensary Brouwerïj Cursus Kĕmē George and Kathy Dambach Lynne and John Eramo Dr. Bolling Farmer Donald Gavin and Jayne Schnaars Bill and Nancy Gettys Erika Gifford and Sean Comeaux Debbie Green Hatchworks Coworking Dr. John Hazlehurst Helle Creative Highland Brewing Company Hi-Wire Brewing Keith Keener

$25,000 - $49,999 Blue Spiral 1 Explore Asheville Jane Christiansen* Henry A. LaBrun David and Pamela Lane North Carolina Arts Council Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker Maurice and Bonnie Stone

78 ∙ Asheville Symphony Supporters

Jim and Mary Kirby Gerald and Nancy Kitch Jill and Joe Lawrence Barbra and Keith Love Hugh and Carol McCollum McGuire, Wood & Bissette The Payne Fund Bob and Martha Pierce QC Kinetix Richard Schaffer and Anastasia Bartlett James S. Thompson Ed and Cindy Towson Sarah Van Gunten Olivia and Gary Zahler

$7,500 - $9,999 CoNetrix, LLC Roberts and Stevens, P.A. David and Dianne Worley

Anonymous Mary and Jack Anderson Diana Bilbrey Awaken Skin & Body Beverly Briedis Buncombe County Timothy Butts and Susan Harrington Butts Gene and Lee Casey The City of Asheville Dr. E. Brown Crosby John and Suellyn Felker Givens Estates Retirement Community HomeTrust Bank Bill and Kitty Hunt Kathryn Theodore Travel Advisors Living Stone Design + Build Amy Loether Dr. and Mrs. Ralph C. Loomis Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley Foundation Kathryn and Peter Muhs Northwestern Mutual Jennifer Marlowe and Kevin Pasarilla Phil and Katie Osborn Ralph Protsik and Susan Wolin Yvonne Smith Gary and Neesa Warlen

$2,500 - $4,999 Anonymous Craig Allen and Julie Cowden Brad and Diane Arnold Baird Private Wealth Management Dr. and Mrs. Luther Barnhardt Lucy and Kirk Borland Ed and Donna Broadwell Linda and Tom Bushar Gary and Patty Coleman Crawley, Lee & Company, P.A. Dr. John and Wendy Cuellar Jerry and Diane Cunningham Nancy and Ron Edgerton D.R. Horton Fred and Cindy Groce Richard and Yolanda* Hall Paul and Liz Hosier Anne Jarema and Clifford Albertson Jon and Ann Kemske

The Leever Foundation Sue and George Luther Ann and Jerry McLellan Mercy Urgent Care Margarete W. Moon Endowment of the CFWNC Mountaine Mort Jonas Amy Neel The Sabri Foundation Bill Schulz and Odile Perrenoud Diane Song and Troy Schmidt Cameron Stone Thomas G. Tachovsky and Lynn G. Baird Hank Young

Matching Gifts Many companies offer a matching gift program for employee (and retiree!) charitable donations — this can double or triple your gift! Thank you to the following companies who have recently matched donor gifts: AIG Bank of America Boeing Steelcase Foundation Shell Oil Company Foundation

$1,000 - $2,499 Anonymous Don and Nancy Ackermann Cole David and Sydney Atkinson Blue Mountain Pizza William Bond and Johnny Ko Claude and Sallie Broach Buster and Karen Brown Bill* and Clarita Burton Darko Butorac Amy Campbell Birch Carlson Lois S. Carlson and Jerome Mrowca Guadalupe Chavarria II and Candace Matthews Blanchard Karen L. Cianciulli Charles Clogston John and Jeanne Condren Daniel and Caroline Crupi Katherine Grace Dadachanji Jurgen and Leslie Dierks John and Suzie Donahoe Marvin and Patricia Eargle John and Marsha Ellis Dr. Alan and Suzanne Escovitz Susan Fisher Betty Fox Adarrell Gadsden and Marcie Ownbey Judy Galloway Neil and Cindy Garroway Anne and Kent Gatling Peter and Jasmin Gentling Joseph Gigliotti Michael J. Grillot Rhonda and Marcus Grimes

Dr. and Mrs. Heinz K. Grohs William Harlan and Stephanie Carpenter Sam and Robin Harben Robert and Linda Hollis Jennine Hough J. Howard and Honey Solomon Stan Ingber and Laura Robbins Barry E.A. Johnson Gail Jolley Bebe Landis John and Janet Long Jan and Bruce Manes Carol Marin Carolyn Marlowe Barbara Mueller Russell and Ladene Newton Shirley Oltman Precision Restoration Services Joyce Pressley and Mike Schumacher Sabrina and Isaac Rockoff Martha G. Rowlett Susie and John Ruhl Robin T. Rutledge and Karen Keeler Rogers Wade and Mary Margaret Saunders Dianne and Charles Sawyer Gary and BA Schenk Irene and Michael Stoll Maurice and Bonnie Stone Margaret K. Storey Cathy Stryker Sydnor and Kelly Thompson Betty Walker Michele and Steven Warner

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 79

ASO SUPPORTERS

$5,000 - $7,499

ASO SUPPORTERS

Support Your Symphony's Annual Fund Ticket revenue covers less than one third of the Symphony’s operating cost. Your generosity enables your Asheville Symphony to continue to perform and promote symphonic music for the people of Western North Carolina!

Make a donation online today at AshevilleSymphony.org/donate.

Curious about customized benefits for you or your business through sponsorships? Contact the Development Department at development@ashevillesymphony.org.

$500 - $999 Anonymous Susan Arnold Michael Bates and Lorrie Bowen Mike Bauer Tom and Kay Beardsley Tom and Denise Bernard Drs. Elizabeth and Josh Bernstein James Bond Elizabeth Boys Dr. Stephen D. and Mrs. Linda B. Brown Georgia Case Grace Chappell and Patrick O'Cain Lynn Crystal Sharron Davis Mack Day Mary Ellen Dendy and Aaron Dahlstrom Lori Doerr Drs. Louis Dwarshuis and Marilyn Kolton Bruce and Day Ann Emory William and Carol Falender Belinda and Jeffrey Fromson Robin and Gordon Gaiser Jennifer and Bruce Garner Mrs. Edeltraut Gilgan-Hunt George and Elaine Goosmann Clair Griffith and Geoffrey Mitchell 80 ∙ Asheville Symphony Supporters

Donor benefits include:

>> Special events invitations ($500+ to the Annual Fund) >> Reserved parking at Masterworks concerts ($1,000+ to the Annual Fund) >> Priority access to purchase ALT ASO tickets ($2,500+ to the Annual Fund)

Al and Betsy Gumpert Tom Gurley Virginia W. Hayes Fred and Heather Hudson Irene Dillingham Richards Family Foundation Tom and Libby Irwin Bill Jacobs and Susan Posey JJJ Charitable Fund Jonas and Lauren Karlsson Amy and John Kelso Michael Kryzanek Tom and Dian Leeper Rita Lenderman Virginia and Drew Litzenberger Henry and Elizabeth Mainwaring Diane and John Martin Robert Maxwell and Shelia Elingburg Lee and Merri McLean James H. McMillan and Carol H. Kaufman Lucille Mueller Kitti Reynolds Vicki Richards Christian Rubiano Frank Rutland Dorothy Sagel Kenneth and Elizabeth Schapira Larry Shames Ann H. Skoglund

James Storey and Janice Collins Jill Tourtellot Kate Townsend and Michael Hawkins Dr. and Mrs. Larry R. Versteegh Judy Watson Donna and Randy Weast Paul B. Williamson Marla Woeckener

$250 - $499 Anonymous Mike and Lorna Anderberg Michael Cleveland and Maria-Grazia Nunzi Bill and Meg Clontz Carole and Joel Cotter Rick and Elizabeth Devereaux Kristen Dusenbery Kim Eiring Christine Glaser Scott and Sally Gregg Marjorie Hanson Sara Y. Henley Jan Hundhausen George Ibrahim Marian and Thomas Jerdee Donald Kehrberg Pat and Bud Kofron

$100 - $249 Viva Banzon and Robert Evans Richard Bogner Adlai and Karen Boyd Allan Brown David G. and Lin Brown Clinton Bugg and Jeff Nucey Lana Burns Bob and Bonnie Busby Nan Buschmann Jim Cahill Lynne Cannady Jane Caris John Carpenter Carol Carson Bishop Charles and Karen Crutchfield Henley Cunagin Alan Davis William N. Dorfman, Ed.D. Gail Dosik Martin and Ivy Dyckman Edward and Amy Euler Cathy and Tom Farmer Polly S. Feitzinger Stephen and Jackie Finstad Ellenor Frelick Elaine and Michael Fulbright Mary Goodkind Paula J. Grillot Amanda Hall and Robert Zeid Barry and Ellen Halperin

Dot and Wade Hampton Peter Wortham Hawes Richard Henderson Mary and Peter Holmes Steve and Nancy Hurst Ralph and Sheryl Husby Thorunn Ivey John and Karla Jalocha Walter and Anne Justice Daisy Karasek Margaret Kelso Al and Margareta Koch Karen Lachow Carol Larsen Mr. and Mrs. John B. Lattimore Jana and Chris Lechner Walter Leginski Mark and Shelley Lieberman Barbara Loeb Dr. Ken and Mrs. Marjorie Loken Rev. Alexandra Lusak Aaron Maret J. Marion Helm, Dr. Sanford Marion Helm Dewayne McAfee The Rev. Nancy McCarthy William McKenna and Suzanne Landis Manny and Karen Medeiros Elwood and Margaret Miles David Miller Frank Moretz Joe Mount Angie Newsome Rita Nilsen and Carl Brickman Rosaire Nottage Francis Nullet William O'Connell Jeffrey and Lisa Owen Lori Oxford and Alberto Centeno-Pulido John Paar Sara Peavy Cynthia Pierce Donald and Brenta Poole Richard and Deborah Reynolds Don Roberts Donna Robertson Barbara Robinson John and Pam Roeth Sherree Roller and David Janson Evan and Susan Rosenberg Barbara Schrader Kelly Silverman Katherine and Robert Silvers Jane and Edward Smith Gail and Nelson Sobel Thomas Southwick

Shirley Steffen Hank and Marita Strauss John and Mary Tadey Janet Thatcher Kate Townsend and Michael Hawkins William Waff David Walters Robert and Joyce Weinberg George Wilds and Steve Connell Barbara Witt

$1 - $99 Tate Addis Michael Aldredge John and Linda Alford Daniel Angerstein Alex Appanaitis Jennifer Aregood Tiffany Armstrong Jane Aylor Don Bafford Terry Bailey Eric Bank Jessica Barker Bill and Carol Barley Stephen V. Barone Sylvia Bassett Bryan Benenati Diego Blanc David and Ann Bottomy Patrick Bowen Barry Boyce John Braukman Diana Brewster Elizabeth and Kemper Brown Chris Brownback Lucinda Buhr Patty Burgess Barbara Burke Elizabeth Button Andrea Canavan Ken Carrig Esther Cartwright Juliana Castillo Chick-Fil-A on Merrimon Alice Cohen Toby Cole Mark Collins Paul T Collura Kristin Connor Patti Corozine Linda Coye Ellie Daniels Alexa and Rich Dann

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 81

ASO SUPPORTERS

Elfi LaPlante Chuck Lockwood and Patrick Ryan James Losse and Ellen Haack Gail and Ron Manheimer Reid, Alyson, Ellis, and Tess McCollum Amy McGuire and Brian Wallace Anne McKenzie Eve Miller Gail Reagan Donna and Edward Reigner David Russell Nancy Schuman Ilona and Michael Sena Mark and Rachel Sossoman Barbara and Marty Stickle Robert Stone Dari Tritt Christopher Underwood Dr. and Mrs. Randall B. Vanderbeek Susan and Don Watson Larry and Janie Wilson Marlene and John Yokim

ASO SUPPORTERS

Kathryn Daughton Gerald Davies Kelly Davis Judy De Nobrega Deutsch Family Endowment Fund John Dickson Kristina Dionne Rod and Cyndy Douglas Karen Dugas Ramon Duque Francis Erckmann Don and Joy Erbes Matthew Evanoff Chris Fallon Justine Foo Judy Fore Robert and Jean Formento Henry Fox Bruce Frank and Ayla Ficken Monte and Palmer Gaillard John and Ann Geers Cynthia Giles Chowdhary Gondy Joel Goodrich Debbie Goodwin Richard Gordon Carolyn Guthrie James Haddad Russ Hall Teresa Hammack Reni N. Hamner Jason Hayes John Bibb Hickman Tami Hindin Juan Hollingsworth Kathleen Holmes Beverly Honeycutt Mark Hornsby Michael and Laura Hoskins Tom Hudson Sarah Hurlbert John Hyman Jacob Jackson Javier Jasminoy Susan Jensen and Lew Gelfond Seth Johnson Jennifer Kaylor Christopher Keene John Kenney Dan and Juli Kirby Julie Klement Sydney Kilgus-Vesely Rebecca Knight Alan Kotch Gary Kott 82 ∙ Asheville Symphony Supporters

Jeanne Lambert Rebecca Lane Sonya Laws Lynn Lederer and Leslie Long Michael Leoce Joel Levine Joseph Love Catrina Macaraig Alan Mace Mike Macino Joaquin Madrid Anna Marcel De Hermanas Megan Massey Barbara Mayer Jeffrey Maynard Jerry McAninch Joy McConnell Katie McDaniel Goitzen Meindertsma Gerald and Bette Meyer Michael Miale Ron Michaelis Rebecca Mincks William Mitchell Jurona Mobley LaTasha Morales Susan Napolitano Melissa Noel Thomas Norman Nancy Nutt Joseph Olson Eric and Lynn Ordnung John K. Orr Teneal Pardue Kyle Parks Stephen V. Pascale Chetna Patel Amie Paul The Peaks BLZ, LLC Charles Pearsall Thea Piaskoski Joseph Piccolo Dr. and Mrs. H. Leonard Porter Clarence Prevatt Michael and Amy Quinn Molly Ramage Drue Ray Jason Ray Tom Ray Matthew and Kari Richmond Brianna Rivera Daniel and Ingeborg Robert Lee Rock Rachel Rose Carol Rosenblum

Holley Ross Amy Rowe Larry Schadler Gary Schneider Jess Schultz Sherilyn Scott Trystin Scott Leonora Sharpe Matthew Sharpe Robin Shellito Ruth Sieber Johnson Michael Sierra Stephanie Simpson Carl Smedberg Rachel Smith Randall Smith Harold Southern Jeremy Spurlin Robert Steffen Richard Sterling Kelly Stokes Paul Stroebel Paul Stubbs Kenny Sudnik Colleen and Jimmy Sullivan Kenji Sullivan Lucy Taylor Barbara Thompson John Thorne Sandra Tompkins Adi Toth Mary Trauner Jonathan Urizar Linda Van Ormer Adrian Verkouteren Ruth Ward Kathy Wicker Victoria White Shelley Wilburn James Williamson Tom Winsch Melissa Wittke Adam and Eileen Wooten Don Wurster Amy Yasuhara Diane Zolnaski and Rob Feldleit

*Denotes Deceased Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list. If you believe that an error or omission has occurred, please call 828.254.7046 or send an email to development@ashevillesymphony.org.

Distinguished Directors have lifetime board appointments in recognition of their commitment to the Asheville Symphony. Pictured here are Distinguished Directors Bill Gettys, Ed Towson, Carol McCollum, Tom Bolton, and newly elected Distinguished Director Jack Anderson.

Thank you to these distinguished leaders! We are profoundly grateful to all that they have done to promote symphonic music for the benefit, enjoyment and education of the people of Western North Carolina!

TRIBUTE GIFTS In memory of Drs. Martha Ann and Porter Claxton

Diana Bilbrey Globuschutz Family

In memory of Katherine Armitage and Jack Jones

Diane and Rich Byers

In memory of Joy Bagley

Alyssa Feary

In memory of Chuck Briedis

Helen McClintock

In memory of Bill Burton

Diana Bilbrey Tony McLean Brown Bill and Kitty Hunt Gerald and Nancy Kitch

In memory of John B. Campbell

Amy Campbell

In memory of our son Rikki Hall

Richard and Yolanda* Hall

In memory of Yolanda Hall

Richard Hall Bill and Kitty Hunt Manny and Karen Medeiros Irene and Michael Stoll

In memory of Robert Hart Baker

Mr. and Mrs. John B. Lattimore

In honor of Clara McAfee Jeter

Dewayne McAfee

In honor of Sally Keeney

Anonymous Mountaine Mort Jonas

In honor of Mary and Jim Kirby

Arthur Kirby

In honor of Klonis/Neelon Family

Andrea Canavan

In memory of Dr. Elizabeth Pierce Litteral

Bob and Martha Pierce

In honor of Carol McCollum

Reid, Alyson, Ellis, and Tess McCollum

In memory of Linda Medeiros

Manny and Karen Medeiros

In memory of Ingeborg Meeke

Irene and Michael Stoll

In memory of Maestro Dwight Oltman

Shirley Oltman

In memory of Jack Smith

Yvonne Smith

In celebration of Lorene Terrell

Jana and Chris Lechner

In celebration of Christopher Underwood

Carla Lema Tome

In honor of Ann Weinstein

Sara Peavy

In memory of Doug Johnston

Frank and Judith Gale Pat Johnston

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 83

ASO SUPPORTERS

Distinguished Directors

ASO SUPPORTERS

Friends of the ASYO Tuition covers less than half of the Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra’s operational costs. Your gift empowers students to participate in performances, special workshops, retreats, masterclasses, and touring performances regardless of their economic circumstances. Visit AshevilleSymphony.org/friends-of-the-asyo to donate online today!

$15,000+

$250 - $499

Keith Keener Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker

Grace Chappell and Patrick O'Cain Al and Betsy Gumpert Susie and John Ruhl

$5,000 - $14,999 Gene and Lee Casey Lynne and John Eramo Bill and Nancy Gettys Henry A. LaBrun

$2,500 - $4,999 Thomas C. Bolton Jerry and Diane Cunningham The Payne Fund Sarah Van Gunten

$1,000 - $2,499 Diana Bilbrey Blue Mountain Pizza Jill and Joe Lawrence Barbra and Keith Love James S. Thompson Steven and Michele Warner

$500 - $999 Mary and Jack Anderson Michael and Catty Andry Drs. Elizabeth and Josh Bernstein Shannon Candler Dr. John and Wendy Cuellar Dr. Bolling Farmer Erika Gifford and Sean Comeaux Bill and Kitty Hunt Jon and Ann Kemske Jim and Mary Kirby Terrence and Carol Tinkel David and Dianne Worley Roger Zare and Alexandra Dee

84 ∙ Asheville Symphony Supporters

$100 - $249

$25 - 99

Asheville Symphony Guild David and Sydney Atkinson David and Ann Bottomy Peter and Biruta Briedis Bill* and Clarita Burton Meredith Candler Sylvia Cassel Patricia Coldiron Daniel and Caroline Crupi Frederick and Cathy Detroia Andrew and Jennifer Dukowicz Jurgen and Leslie Dierks Nancy and Ron Edgerton Kim Eiring Jennifer and Bruce Garner Mary Goodkind Ruth Hall Fred and Heather Hudson David and Pamela Lane Mr. and Mrs. John B. Lattimore Tom and Dian Leeper Dr. and Mrs. Ralph C. Loomis Sue and George Luther Gail and Ron Manheimer Aaron Maret Carol and Hugh McCollum Amy McGuire and Brian Wallace Anne McKenzie Chris McNabb William O'Connell Donna Robertson Dorothy Sagel Fran Sandfort Shirley Steffen Irene and Michael Stoll Maurice and Bonnie Stone Paul Stroebel Kate Townsend and Michael Hawkins Olivia and Gary Zahler

Tate Addis Ed and Pat Argue Ned and Bunny Cabaniss Andrea Canavan Chick-Fil-A on Merrimon Susan Evans Alyssa Feary Robin and Gordon Gaiser Erika Gifford and Sean Comeaux Clair Griffith and Geoffrey Mitchell Rhonda and Marcus Grimes Tom and Libby Irwin Jill and Milton Lambert James H. McMillan and Carol H. Kaufman Margaret Murphy The Peaks BLZ, LLC Larry and Janie Wilson

*Denotes Deceased

A special thank you to Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker for their generous support of the ASYO this season. Their financial support will positively enhance music education for hundreds of students across Western North Carolina by providing scholarships, access to instruments, and opportunities for students to engage in chamber music and our annual retreat.

The Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra (ASYO) is Western North Carolina’s premier orchestral training program, serving nearly 200 students ages 8-19 across four counties. With two string orchestras, two full orchestras, a beginner string class, a percussion ensemble, an honors string quartet, a brass quintet and a woodwind quartet, there’s an ensemble for every instrument and experience level.

Throughout the year, ASYO students have the chance to participate in masterclasses, retreats, and workshops, where they learn from professional musicians and guest artists alongside some of the best music educators in Western North Carolina. Through the ASYO, students grow as individuals, learn to work together as an ensemble, and gain everyday skills like perseverance, hard work, planning, self awareness, creativity, self evaluation and goal-setting.

YOUTH PHILHARMONIC & CONCERT ORCHESTRA RETREAT CONCERT October 22, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. • Appalachian State University A free concert where the members of the Youth Philharmonic and Concert Orchestra will perform side-by-side with the Appalachian State University Orchestra

Scholarships for ASYO Students These scholarships have been created to assist ASYO participants with tuition, ensuring that all students have equal access to the best musical training and resources that Asheville has to offer. Thank you to our generous donors!

Philharmonia Scholarship Given by Keith Keener

Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker Scholarship Fund Given by Drs. Joanne & Tom Parker

Terrence and Carol Tinkel Scholarship Fund Given by Terrence and Carol Tinkel

Bu Scherf Memorial Scholarship Michael Di Trolio Lee and Sharon Metcalfe Dr. Vance M. Reese Charlene Scharf

WINTER CONCERT December 4, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. • Asheville High School Featuring Overture Strings, Divertimento Strings, Sinfonia Strings, Concert Orchestra, Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, and Percussion Ensembles MID-WINTER CONCERT WITH NOAH BENDIX-BALGLEY March 18, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. • First Baptist Church of Asheville Featuring Overture Strings, Divertimento strings, Sinfonia strings, Concert Orchestra, Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, and Percussion Ensembles with violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley SPRING CONCERT April 29, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. • Mars Hill University Featuring Overture Strings, Divertimento Strings, Sinfonia Strings, Concert Orchestra, Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, Percussion Ensembles, and various chamber ensembles HONORS CHAMBER ENSEMBLES CONCERT May 13, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. • Asheville High School Featuring the ASYO percussion ensembles, woodwind, brass, and string honors ensembles

Concert dates and times are subject to change. Visit AshevilleSymphony.org/asyo to learn more about ASYO concerts and details on how to join the ASYO.

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 85

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Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 87

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88 ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ Spring 2024 Program Book

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PROUD SUPPORTER OF

Asheville Symphony ArtsAVL connects, supports, and invests in the arts in Asheville & Buncombe County.

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Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 89

Blue Ridge Public Radio is honored to support the Asheville Symphony Orchestra.

BPR’s news and music services inform, inspire, and connect Western North Carolina.

Learn more at bpr.org

90 ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ Spring 2024 Program Book

LEGACY SOCIETY MEMBERS Dorel Abbott* Don and Nancy Ackermann Cole Jack Jones and Katherine Armitage* Mr.* and Mrs. Stephen Barden III Dr. and Mrs. Luther Barnhardt Mary and Leland Bartholomew* George* and Diana Bilbrey Marion Bleyler* Mr. and Mrs.* Thomas C. Bolton Joyce Bost Hogan* Mrs. Charles Butler* Ken and Alma Chatfield* Barbra and Beirne Chisolm* Jane Christiansen* Mr. and Mrs. Gary Coleman Nancy Crosby Dr. and Mrs. John Cuellar Robert DiDiego Lori Doerr Mr. and Mrs. David Dolan Drs. Joyce and Lawrence* Dorr Mrs. C.H. Elmslie Robert and Jeanne Etter Dr. Linda Sokalski Farrell Dr. Bolling Farmer Francis Fee Doris Kistler and Fred Wightman William and Nancy Gettys Lindley Garner* and Mary Goodkind Mr. and Mrs. George Goosman Michael J. Grillot Paula J. Grillot Mr. and Mrs. Steven Hageman

Dr. and Mrs. Matthew Hahner Eleanor Hall* Dick and Yolanda* Hall Virginia and Emmet* Hayes Anna and Anthony* Hayward Bill and Kitty Hunt Bill Jacobs and Susan Posey Pat and Doug* Johnston Mountaine Jonas James Laird* Christine Longoria Dr. and Mrs. Carlo Mainardi Mabel Marlsbury* Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Mattson* Carol and Hugh McCollum Ann and Gerald McLellan Ingeborg and Kenneth Meeke* Fred Meyer Russell and Ladene Newton Arch and Zeffie Nichols* Mr. and Mrs. David Pheil Mary L. Powell Education Fund in memory of Beatrice Wells Monte Richardson* Ernest Rosenau* Dr. and Mrs. Joel Rosenberg William* and Carole Roskind August Schmidt * John Schuler* Robert Sorton Bonnie Stone Norretta L. Taylor* Edna Thompson* Mr. and Mrs. Ed Towson Albert and Lucia Ward* Eleanor Weil Schulmon*

The Asheville Symphony Legacy Society recognizes members who have planned a gift to the Symphony in their will or estate plans. Make the Asheville Symphony a part of your legacy by investing today in the Asheville Symphony’s tomorrow.

Your support will enable the Asheville Symphony continue to be a vital part of the community for generations to come.

*Deceased

If you have questions or have already included the Asheville Symphony in your estate plans, please let us know so we can include you on this list by reaching out at 828.254.7046 or development@ashevillesymphony.org.

Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 91

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Dear Friends of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, In 1960, you were created by a devotion to music, and the passion to share it. You continue to inspire countless patrons who share that passion and devotion - and exemplify the nature of Asheville's creative spirit.

Explore Asheville is honored to support your mission and talent in capturing the heart of the people of Western North Carolina and its guests.

We are dedicated to shining our spotlight on the artists, makers, and musicians who help shape our community's distinct story.

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67

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American Folk Art & Framing 64 American Traditions Vocal Collection

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Chef Michael's Catering & Gifts

ArtsAVL

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Asheville Citizen Times

47

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70

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See your ad in the next Asheville Symphony Program Book! Our program book consists of advertisements from sponsors, paid advertisers, and even donated ad space. We distribute over 10,000 copies of the program book between September and May each season.

Interested in seeing your ad in the next program book? Email info@ashevillesymphony.org or call 828.254.7046 for more details on how to advertise or sponsor!

94 ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ Spring 2024 Program Book

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Asheville Symphony ∙ www.AshevilleSymphony.org ∙ 95

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