Asheville Symphony Spring 2024 Program Book

ASHEVILLESYMPHONY SYMPHONY

takes center stage LUXURY LIVING

USE COUPON CODE 'SYMPHONY'

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

BOARD OF DIRECTORS & STAFF

OFFICERS

Sue Luther • President

Michael Andry • Past President

Sallie Broach • Secretary

G. Edward Towson • Treasurer

DIRECTORS

Jack Anderson*

Michael Andry

Thomas C. Bolton*

Sallie Broach

Susan Harrington Butts

Dr. John Cuellar

George Dambach

John W. Ellis

Dr. Bolling Farmer

Betty Fox

Adarrell Gadsden

Bill Gettys*

Debbie Green

Fred Groce

Mary Kirby

*Distinguished Directors

Pam Lowe-Hoyte

Sue Luther

Elizabeth McCorvey

Carol McCollum*

Patrick O’Cain

Jeffrey Owen

Cristian Rubiano

Richard Schaffer

Rachel Sossoman

James S. Thompson

Sandra Tompkins

Ed Towson*

Sarah Van Gunten

Olivia Zahler

(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

SELECTED IN COLLABORATION WITH

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

“IRISATION” BY AMY PUTANSU

32.5" x 40", Fiber — Handwoven Ondulé

Amy Putansu has been producing handmade textiles for over 20 years. Thread is her mark-making tool and dyes are her colorant in the fine and wearable textile art she makes by hand. Her current area of focus is the rare weaving technique of ondulé, with which she creates wall pieces using dyed fibers with textile paints and other methods for achieving abstract imagery on cloth. Amy’s textiles are in permanent museum collections in the US and China, and notable private collections across the United States. She is presently full time faculty at a college in western North Carolina in the department of professional craft.

PAST PRESIDENTS

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

1994-1995: Stephen L. Barden, III

1995-1997: Joyce R. Dorr, Ph.D.

1997-1999: C. David Pheil

1999-2001: George M. Bilbrey, MD.

2001-2003: W. Herbert Smith, Jr.

2003-2004: James P. Topp

2004-2006: Thomas C. Bolton

2006-2008: Carol McCollum

2008-2010: Jack Anderson

2010-2012: Carolyn L. Hubbard

2012-2014: William L. Gettys

2014-2017: Irene Stoll

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!

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!

2023-2024 VENUE INFORMATION

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.

ALT ASO

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

MASTERWORKS 3: AMERICAN PORTRAITS

First Baptist Church of Asheville

Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, 2:00 p.m. + 8:00 p.m.

NEW YEAR’S EVE: SHE'S GOT SOUL

Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville Sunday, December 31, 2023, 8:00 p.m.

ALT ASO

The Orange Peel Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

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.

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.

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.

A love of the arts and a sense of hospitality inspired George Vanderbilt’s masterpiece: Biltmore. Share in that legacy today by joining our Annual Passholder family.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Lissie J. Shanahan • Principal

Kellie Henry

PICCOLO

Dilshad B. Posnock

OBOE

Alicia Chapman • Principal

*Cara Mia Jenkins

ENGLISH HORN

Amanda J. LaBrecque

CLARINET

Harry H. “Chip” Hill • Principal

Karen Farah Hill

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

TRUMPET

T. Mark Clodfelter • Principal

⁺Christopher Underwood

⁺William Stowman

TROMBONE

Justin Croushore • Principal

L. Rienette Davis

BASS TROMBONE

Jeremy Marks

TUBA

Bethany Wiese • Principal

TIMPANI

Todd D. Mueller • Principal

PERCUSSION

Caleb Breidenbaugh • Principal

Matthew Richmond

*Brian Tinkel

Michael Morel

HARP

Open Chair • Vetust Study Club Chair

KEYBOARD

Open Chair • Susanne Marcus Collins Chair

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.

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

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

MorganStanley PrivateWealthManagement IsProudToSupport AshevilleSymphony

MichaelAndry FamilyWealthDirector SeniorVicePresident PrivateWealthAdvisor

500CollegeStreet Asheville,NC28801 +1828250-8744

Michael.andry@morganstanley.com TheAndry-HarrisGroupatMorgan StanleyPrivateWealth Management NMLS:663185

Musician Hosts

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.

How does the Guild provide support?

MUSICAL FEASTS: YOUR SOCIAL AGENDA AWAITS!

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

GUILD-SUPPORTED MUSIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS

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.

GUILD GATHERINGS: SHARE THE LOVE!

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

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.

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.

FEBRUARY 17 AND 18: CLASSICAL ROMANCE WITH THE ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY

Haydn

St. Nicholas Mass

Hummel Trumpet Concerto Mozart Symphony No. 40

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.

Do you love to make music? Consider joining the Asheville Symphony Chorus! Go to www.AshevilleSymphonyChorus.com for audition information.

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

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

PREMIUM SEASON SPONSORS

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

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

Franz Joseph Haydn

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

I. Kyrie

II. Gloria

III. Credo

IV. Sanctus

V. Benedictus

VI. Angus Dei

(continued on next page)

Music Sponsors

Richard & Yolanda* Hall in memory of our son Rikki Hall

Shelia Elingburg & Bob Maxwell

Johann Nepomuk Hummel

Trumpet Concerto in E Major

Alisa Crüger-Cain, Trumpet

I. Allegro con spirito

II. Andante

III. Rondo, Allegro

Music Sponsors

Gail Jolley

Kitti Reynolds

Marla Woeckener

W. A. Mozart

Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550

I. Molto allegro

II. Andante

III. Menuetto: Allegretto

IV. Allegro assai

Music Sponsors

Brad & Diane Arnold in memory of Yolanda Hall

Adarrell Gadsden & Marcie Ownbey

Bill & Kitty Hunt

CONCERT SPONSOR

GUEST ARTIST SPONSOR

SEASON RADIO SPONSOR INTERMISSION

SEASON MEDIA SPONSOR

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.

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

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.

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

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

Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550

Wolfgang

Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)

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

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.

Drive Change in Our Community

You can open the doors of opportunity for a local working family when you donate your car to Working Wheels.

The donation is tax-deductible.

The process is simple. The impact is real.

Call today (828) 633-6888 or visit workingwheelswnc.org to learn more

NEW ThisComingSpring!

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.

FEATURED RESIDENCY EVENTS

Visit AshevilleSymphony.org for more events!

Asheville Masonic Temple

March 12, 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.

Details on page 40.

Central United Methodist Church

March 14, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

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 44.

Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin

Masterworks 5: Violin Virtuosi

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

Details on page 50.

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.

Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra Performance with Noah Bendix-Balgley

First Baptist Church of Asheville March 18, 2024, 6:30 p.m.

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.

Bill & Nancy Gettys

Gerald & Nancy Kitch

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

Learn more on the next page!

ALT ASO

Solo Bravura

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.

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.

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” – Hans Christian Andersen

The Brookshire Garside Group Private Wealth Management 828-239-8781 BrookshireGarsideGroup.com ©2023 Robert

Flow Volkswagen Asheville

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.

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2024 7:00 P.M.

SERIES PRESENTING SPONSOR

OFFICIAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPANY OF THE ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY

AMBER SPONSORS

BOHEMIAN SPONSORS

Michael & Catty Andry

David & Dianne Worley

GOLDEN SPONSORS

Donald Gavin & Jayne Schnaars

e Brookshire Garside Group

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.

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!

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

PREMIUM SEASON SPONSORS

J. S. Bach

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

Music Sponsors

Dr. John & Wendy Cuellar

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:

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

Music Sponsors

Barry E.A. Johnson

SEASON MEDIA SPONSOR

SEASON RADIO SPONSOR

“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)

Beverly Briedis in memory of Chuck Briedis

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 for orchestra and for wind ensemble.

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.

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

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)

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.

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

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

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

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.

GUEST ARTIST

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.

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

PREMIUM SEASON SPONSORS

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

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.

(continued on next page)

J. S. Bach

Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043

Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin

Shanshan Yao, Violin

I. Vivace

II. Largo; ma non tanto

III. Allegro

Music Sponsors

Beverly Briedis in memory of Chuck Briedis

George & Kathy Dambach

Jim & Mary Kirby

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

Music Sponsors

Debbie Green

Carol & Hugh McCollum

Sarah Van Gunten

INTERMISSION

Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op.77

Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin

I. Allegro non troppo

II. Adagio

III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace

Music Sponsors

Belinda & Jeffrey Fromson

CONCERT SPONSOR

David & Pamela Lane

GUEST ARTIST SPONSOR

SEASON MEDIA SPONSOR

SEASON RADIO SPONSOR

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Shanshan Yao, Violin

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.

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.

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

PREMIUM SEASON SPONSORS

W. A. Mozart

Overture from Le nozze di Figaro, K.492

Music Sponsors

Debbie Green

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

(continued on next page)

Anne Jarema & Clifford Albertson

Gary & BA Schenk

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Violin Concerto in D major, Op.35

Blake Pouliot, Violin

I. Moderato nobile

II. Andante III. Rondo

Music Sponsors

Mary Ellen Dendy & Aaron Dahlstrom

Gustav Mahler

Adagietto from Symphony No. 5

Music Sponsors

Richard Schaffer & Anastasia Bartlett

Robin & Gordon Gaiser

Adarrell Gadsden & Marcie Ownbey

Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier Suite, Op.59

CONCERT SPONSOR

GUEST ARTIST SPONSOR

SEASON MEDIA SPONSOR

SEASON RADIO SPONSOR INTERMISSION

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.

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

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

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.

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

PREMIUM SEASON SPONSORS

PROGRAM NOTES

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.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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

Olga Kern, Piano

I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso

II. Andantino semplice

III. Allegro con fuoco

Music Sponsors

Gustav Mahler

Symphony No. 1 in D major, "Titan"

I. Langsam, schleppend

II. Kräftig bewegt

III. Feierlich und gemessen

IV. Stürmisch bewegt

Music Sponsors

CO-CONCERT SPONSORS

Olivia & Gary Zahler

Drs. Joanne & Tom Parker Dr.

GUEST ARTIST SPONSOR

Bolling Farmer

SEASON MEDIA SPONSOR

SEASON RADIO SPONSOR INTERMISSION

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)

Debbie Green

Jim & Mary Kirby

Bill & Kitty Hunt

Richard Hall in memory of Yolanda Hall

Ralph Protsik & Susan Wolin

Sarah Van Gunten

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

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

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.

Visit AshevilleSymphony.org/Subscriptions for details!

Olga Kern, Piano

Katie Prendergast, Owner/Broker

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

OFFICIAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPANY OF THE ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY

AMBER SPONSORS

BOHEMIAN SPONSORS

David & Dianne Worley

Planning for tomorrow doesn’t only mean the distant future. It means, well, tomorrow. Sixty seconds from now is just as important as sixty years from now, and we’ll help you make the most of all of it. With a personalized financial plan based on your life and priorities, tailored to help you do all the things you love, planning looks less like planning and more like living. Spend your life living.®

LET’S GET STARTED

Marlowe Pasarilla Wealth Management Group jennifermarlowe.nm.com

© 2023. Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM) (life and disability Insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include: Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (investment brokerage services), a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, and member of FINRA and SIPC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company® (NMWMC) (investment advisory and trust services), a federal savings bank. Not all Northwestern Mutual representatives are advisors. Only those representatives with “advisor” in their title or who otherwise disclose their status as an advisor of NMWMC are credentialed as NMWMC representatives to provide investment advisory services. NM and its subsidiaries are in Milwaukee, WI.  Members of Marlowe Pasarilla Wealth Management Group use Marlowe Pasarilla Wealth Management Group as a marketing name for doing business as representatives of NM. Marlowe Pasarilla Wealth Management Group is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, insurance agency or federal savings bank. To view detailed disclosures regarding individual representatives, view their information at http://jennifermarlowe.nm.com. jennifermarlowe.nm.com.

Bringing world-class chamber music to WNC for over 70 years

ASHEVILLECHAMBERMUSIC.ORG

Wind ENSEMBLE + PIANo

Sunday February 11 4 p.m. Poulenc, Molbe, Francaix, Mozart

Aris quartett

Friday March 15

7:30 p.m. Hensel, Janáček, Schubert Canellakis-Brown Duo

Friday May 10

7:30 p.m. Schumann, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Paganini

ACAdemy of St. martin in the Fields

07-1003

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

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!

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).

Call to schedule a visit and discover a holistic approach to a joy-filled retirement at Deerfield.

SEASON & CONCERT SPONSORS

The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust

$25,000+

Henry A. LaBrun

David & Pamela Lane

Drs. Joanne & Tom Parker

Thomas C. Bolton

Diane & Rich Byers

Donald Gavin & Jayne Schnaars

Richard Schaffer & Anastasia Bartlett in Memory of Katherine Armitage & Jack Jones

Bill & Nancy Gettys

Keith Keener

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

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

$5,000+

$3,000+

MEDIA SPONSORS

e Brookshire Garside Group

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.

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

• 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.

Support Your Symphony

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.

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

We believe music matters. We believe it changes lives.

Here’s how we make music with your dollars:

$50

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

$10,000

Pays the fees and travel for one guest soloist

$20,000

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 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+

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

$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

$10,000 - $24,999

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

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

$5,000 - $7,499

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

$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

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

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

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

Donor

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

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

$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

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

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

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 memory of Doug Johnston

Frank and Judith Gale

Pat Johnston

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

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+

Keith Keener

Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker

$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

$250 - $499

Grace Chappell and Patrick O'Cain

Al and Betsy Gumpert

Susie and John Ruhl

$100 - $249

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

$25 - 99

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.

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

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

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.

ATELIER MAISON& CO

Dorel Abbott*

LEGACY SOCIETY MEMBERS

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*

*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.

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.

John and Susan

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. After all, we wouldn't be Asheville without artists like you.

Farm

Rent

Short

Invest In Your Community

Asheville based, real estate focused private debt fund serving the Carolinas

What Is ALFIE? ALFIE is a private debt fund established in 2015. Based in Asheville, NC, our fund works by pooling investor capital to provide short term construction and bridge loans to builders, developers, and real estate entrepreneurs in NC and SC.

How Does ALFIE Fit My Portfolio? An allocation to ALFIE can complement a traditional stock and bond investment portfolio. Our historically consistent returns have a low correlation with other investment options.