CMS: Virtuoso Winds program

Sunday, November 3, 2024 at 3 pm

VIRTUOSO WINDS MICHAEL STEPHEN BROWN Piano ADAM WALKER Flute JAMES AUSTIN SMITH Oboe

DAVID SHIFRIN Clarinet MARC GOLDBERG Bassoon RADEK BABORÁK Horn

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PROGRAM LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)

Duo No. 3 in B-flat major for Clarinet and Bassoon, WoO 27 (1790–92) Allegro sostenuto Aria con variazioni: Andantino con moto S H I F R I N , G O L DB ERG

REINHOLD GLIÈRE (1875–1956)

Four Pieces for Horn and Piano, from Op. 35 (1908) 6. Romance 7. Valse triste 10. Nocturne 11. Intermezzo BABORÁK, BROWN

FRANCIS POULENC (1899–1963)

Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon (1922, rev. 1945) Allegro Romance Final S H I F R I N , G O L DB ERG

BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ

Sonata for Flute and Piano (1945)

(1890–1959)

Allegro moderato Adagio Allegro poco moderato WA L K E R , B R O W N

I N TERM IS S I O N

MIKHAIL GLINKA (1804–1857)

Trio pathétique in D minor for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano (1832) Allegro moderato Scherzo: Vivacissimo Largo Allegro con spirito S H I F R I N , G O L DB ERG, BRO WN

FRANCIS POULENC (1899–1963)

Sextet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano (1932–39) Allegro vivace Divertissement: Andantino Finale: Prestissimo WA L K E R , S M I T H , S H IFRIN , GO LDBERG, BABORÁK, BROWN

NOTES ON THE PROGRAM

By Noémie Chemali

Duo No. 3 in B-flat major for Clarinet and Bassoon, WoO 27 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Baptized December 17, 1770, in Bonn (likely born December 16) Died March 26, 1827, in Vienna Likely composed in 1790–92 (though authorship is uncertain; see program note) Duration: 10 minutes Beethoven’s Duos for Clarinet and Bassoon present a complex transmission history, devoid of surviving original manuscripts or sketches to indicate their provenance. We do know that, a few years after Beethoven’s death, a German publisher named Johann André released an edition of the three duos for clarinet and bassoon, drawing on earlier French editions that are now lost. Due to the absence of direct evidence linking them to Beethoven, questions about their authenticity persist. Nonetheless, these pieces are renowned for their unique instrumentation and continue to be admired and performed. Today, critical editions of these duos generally list Beethoven as their author, while also striving to reconcile available sources and admit the gaps in our knowledge.

If indeed Beethoven composed these charming works, Duo No. 3 likely dates back to his Bonn years, around 1790 to 1792, prior to his arrival in Vienna in November 1792. This period was marked by Beethoven’s early experimentation with smaller wind ensembles. The Allegro sostenuto first movement begins with the unison of the first three notes of the B-flat major scale, followed by a descending third—a motif recurring throughout the movement. Though in sonata form, it lacks the sturm und drang (storm and stress) of his later compositions. The second and final movement, a theme and variations in Classical form, bears a natural and witty Beethovenian touch, foreshadowing his use of theme and variation in his later symphonic and piano works.

Four Pieces for Horn and Piano, Op. 35 REINHOLD GLIÈRE Born January 11, 1875 (O.S. December 30, 1874), in Kiev Died June 23, 1956, in Moscow Composed in 1908 Duration: 11 minutes Reinhold Glière, originally spelled “Glier,” was born in 1875 in Kiev. His birth name highlights his diverse heritage: his German father, Ernst Moritz Glier, emigrated to the Russian Empire to apprentice as a wind instrument maker. Ernst married Josephine Korczak, a Pole and the

daughter of his mentor, and the couple settled in what is now Ukraine. Contrary to myths suggesting Franco-Belgian origins, Glière changed the spelling of his surname as a young man while studying violin, theory, and composition at the Moscow Conservatory. This alteration was likely an effort to elevate his social standing among his peers, whose Francophilia was characteristic of Tsarist Russia’s intellectual elites.

Glière’s Four Pieces for Horn and Piano, Op. 35, is part of a larger body of work written in 1908, comprising 11 pieces for solo instrumentalists and piano. The opus includes two pieces each for flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, and oboe, with one piece for the cello. Notably, only the Nocturne and Intermezzo were originally written for the horn, but it has become customary for hornists to also perform the clarinet pieces Romance and Valse Triste with the two horn pieces.

Renowned for their melodic acuity, the Four Pieces for Horn and Piano have historically been used as pedagogical pieces for younger students due to their moderate technical difficulty. This concert offers a rare opportunity to experience the full potential and lyrical virtuosity of these four pieces.

The Romance exudes warmth, imbued with a heartfelt and expressive quality as the horn’s singing lines soar above the piano’s supportive accompaniment. It is followed by the Valse Triste, in which bittersweet harmonies and lilting phrases create a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere. The Nocturne unfolds with serenity and contemplation, creating a tranquil backdrop. Its gentle, lyrical lines and lush harmonies evoke the image of a great, dark expanse, enveloping one into the stillness of night. The final Intermezzo carries a playful and light-hearted spirit. Its buoyant rhythms and lively melodies bring a sense of joy and carefree abandon, brought to the fore by the horn and piano’s flirtatious interplay.

Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon FRANCIS POULENC Born January 7, 1899, in Paris Died January 30, 1963, in Paris Composed in 1922, revised in 1945 Duration: 8 minutes Francis Poulenc grew up in a well-to-do Parisian family, where his parents forbade him from pursuing music as a career. However, when he was sixteen, his parents passed away, leaving him orphaned. Poulenc found a parental figure doubling as a spiritual mentor in his piano teacher, Ricardo Viñes. After being rejected by the Paris Conservatoire and increasingly frustrated by his lack of formal training, Poulenc began studying privately with the composer and teacher Charles Koechlin, at Viñes’s insistence. During this period, he composed three chamber works for winds: the Sonata for Two Clarinets (1918), the Sonata for Horn, Trumpet, and Trombone (1922), and the Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon (1922).

Regarding his Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon, Poulenc remarked, “I’ve just finished a new work, Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon. [It’s] very good. . . . I’m delighted because after 18 months of uncertainty, I’m back on the right path.” This piece, written in three short movements totaling eight minutes, is rich in character and clear in form. Poulenc’s use of motivic repetition

drives the piece, and the score is marked by jaunty meter changes throughout. These characteristics are no doubt influenced by Poulenc’s adherence to the stylistic principles of Les Six, a cohort of young French composers mentored by Erik Satie, which formed as a reaction against the unrestrained emotionalism and perceived formlessness of late Romanticism. Other elements of the sonata bear close resemblance to the music of Igor Stravinsky, such as the cheeky dissonances, jazz passages, and unexpected cadences of Stravinsky’s neoclassical period.

While acknowledging Stravinsky’s influence, Poulenc remained true to his identity as a wind composer. He stated, “[I have] always adored wind instruments, preferring them to strings. . . . Of course, L’Histoire du soldat and Stravinsky’s solo clarinet pieces stimulated [my] taste for winds, but [I] developed the taste as a child.” Poulenc’s works are also infused with a fervent Gallic spirit unique to Les Six. At the premiere of this work at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on January 4, 1923, Stravinsky praised the evening’s performance, noting, “this music is very, very French.” This commentary reaffirms Poulenc’s Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon as a showcase of his distinctive voice and mastery of wind instrumentation, and the embodiment of the vibrant, innovative early 20thcentury French style.

Sonata for Flute and Piano BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ Born December 8, 1890, in Polička, Bohemia Died August 28, 1959, in Liestal, Switzerland Composed in 1945 Duration: 19 minutes Another composer profoundly influenced by Stravinsky’s neoclassical style was Bohuslav Martinů. A transplant from Bohemia to Paris in the 1920s, Martinů deliberately abandoned the Romantic style to embrace the jazz-infused French modernist aesthetic. Known for his prolific output, Martinů composed nearly 400 works spanning solo pieces, chamber works, symphonies, operas, and ballets.

Martinů’s life and career took him from Prague to Paris and New York, then eventually back to Europe. Initially moving to France for artistic reasons, he was later forced to relocate to the United States due to Nazi threats following a radio broadcast of his pro-Czechoslovakian work for chorus and orchestra. This transition was challenging for Martinů and his wife Charlotte, particularly as Bohuslav, who preferred to compose in silence, struggled with the noise of midtown Manhattan, where the pair resided. Eventually, he found solace in Jamaica Estates, Queens, where he and his wife settled; he could be found strolling through the tree-lined streets at night, composing music in his head.

From 1941 to 1953, Martinů achieved significant success in the US both as a composer and a professor at the Mannes College of Music and Princeton University. It was during

this period that he wrote his flute sonata, composed during a trip to Cape Cod in 1945.

The sonata was originally written for George Laurent, the principal flutist of the Boston Symphony, with whom Martinů had close ties through his friend Serge Koussevitzky, the orchestra’s music director.

The flute sonata begins with an Allegro moderato, characterized by colorful harmonies and playful rhythms. The movement’s first theme is introduced in a long piano solo before the flute enters, taking over the melody. The two instruments take turns at center stage, dialoguing in a highly rhythmic manner. The second movement is slow and solemn, featuring meter changes in patterns of 5, 6, and 7 beats. Here, the flute is the main character, interrupted by a solemn piano solo. The flute reenters, bringing the contemplative movement to a close like a crepuscular ray of sunlight. The third movement is characterized by a whirlwind of virtuosic flute gestures, evoking American themes, including the birdcall of the whippoorwill, a bird Martinů allegedly rescued while in Cape Cod. The distinguishable birdcall motif, which recurs throughout this vivacious movement, gets the last word.

Trio pathétique in D minor for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano MIKHAIL GLINKA Born June 1 (O. S. May 20), 1804, in Novospasskoye, Smolensk Oblast, Russia Died February 15, 1857, in Berlin Composed in 1832 Duration: 15 minutes Mikhail Glinka, born in 1804 in Novospasskoye, Smolensk Oblast, Russia, is often hailed as the father of Russian classical music. While he later embraced distinctly Russian themes, his early musical education was deeply rooted in the Western European tradition.

Raised by his uncle, who conducted a local orchestra, Glinka was immersed in the works of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, whose influences profoundly shaped his early style.

His Trio pathétique, composed in 1832, reflects both these formative influences and his personal emotional turmoil. Scored for the unconventional ensemble of clarinet, bassoon, and piano, the work showcases Glinka’s deft command of melody and drama, fully exploiting the contrasting timbres of the instruments. Written during his time in Milan, where he sought relief from a chronic lung disease, the trio bears the imprint of Italian bel canto opera, particularly in the soaring lyricism of the first movement, which is deeply influenced by composers like Donizetti and Bellini.

The second movement, a playful Scherzo, offers a lively contrast to the more somber opening. However, the emotional core of the piece lies in the third movement, Largo, where Glinka’s own words, “I have only known love through the pain it causes,” resonate deeply. The slow, plaintive lines of the winds, underpinned by delicate piano, convey a profound sense of sorrow and resignation.

The final movement, Allegro con spirito, brings the trio to a lively yet tense conclusion, with rising intensity culminating in a decisive unison D. Though the Trio pathétique predates Glinka’s full embrace of Russian nationalism, it stands as a pivotal work, blending Western influences with deeply personal expression, marking a transition in his evolving musical voice.

Sextet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano FRANCIS POULENC Composed in 1932–39 Duration: 18 minutes Francis Poulenc was a man of contrasts, a paradox even to those who knew him best. A devout Catholic and openly gay, Poulenc defied easy categorization in his life and work.

As musicologist Claude Rostand observed, “In Poulenc, there is something of the monk and something of the rascal.” Early in his career, he composed classical music infused with popular genres. Yet the peak of his career was after the premiere of his profound and solemn opera Dialogues of the Carmelites, surprising supporters and critics who never expected such seriousness from him.

The Sextet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano exemplifies this duality, oscillating between playful whimsy and profound longing. The first movement, Allegro vivace, is spirited and lively, with individual instruments taking brief, soloistic roles that appear and disappear spontaneously, akin to a game of whack-a-mole.

The second movement reflects Poulenc’s prolific output in the genre of French art song, or mélodie. Influenced by poets like Guillaume Apollinaire and Paul Éluard, Poulenc’s lyrical lines are mimicked expressively by the winds, imbued with a typically French somberness.

This lyrical quality contrasts with his broader reputation for “freshness and insouciant charm,” as noted by Jeremy Sams, who remarked that Poulenc’s early success was also partly due to the public’s shift away from late-Romantic lushness towards simpler, more charming works.

The third movement, a moto perpetuo, features an incessant, mechanical, chugging rhythm punctuated by military horn calls. While it’s unclear if these elements were influenced by Poulenc’s conscription into the French army during and after World War I, the movement’s macabre undertone is unmistakable, culminating in a resounding unison A that brings the sextet to a powerful close.

Noémie Chemali is a New York City-based violist who enjoys a diverse career as a chamber musician, educator, and writer.

MEET THE ARTISTS RADEK BABORÁK Horn player and conductor Radek Baborák was born in Pardubice in 1976 into a musical family. At the age of eight he started learning the horn with Prof. Karel Krenek. Under his leadership he became the overall winner of the Prague Radio Competition Concertino Praga, received third prize at the Prague Spring Competition and first prize in the Competition for Interpreters of Contemporary Music, and became laureate of the Grand Prix UNESCO. He is a regular guest at prestigious festivals around the world. He has founded and led several ensembles: the Baborák Ensemble, principally consisting of French horn and string quartet; the Czech Horn Chorus, which continues the 300 year-old tradition of horn playing in the Czech Lands; and the string ensemble Prague Chamber Soloists, whose founding in 1960 is linked with Václav Neumann. He is a member of the Afflatus Quintet, which received first prize at the ARD competition in Munich in 1997. He is a member of Berlin-Munich-Vienna Oktett and collaborates with the Berlin Baroque Soloists.

MICHAEL STEPHEN BROWN Winner of a 2018 Emerging Artist Award from Lincoln Center and a 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, pianist Michael Stephen Brown is an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program. He makes regular appearances with orchestras such as the National Philharmonic and the Seattle, Phoenix, North Carolina, and Albany symphonies, and recently has made European recital debuts at the BeethovenHaus Bonn and the Chopin Museum in Mallorca. He has received commissions from many organizations and some of today’s leading artists, and recently toured his own Piano Concerto around the US and Poland with several orchestras. He performs regularly with his longtime duo partner, cellist Nicholas Canellakis, and has appeared at festivals worldwide. Brown was the composer- and artist-in-residence at the New Haven Symphony for the 2017–19 seasons, and earned degrees in piano and composition from the Juilliard School.

MARC GOLDBERG A member of the New York Woodwind Quintet and St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Marc Goldberg is principal bassoonist of Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, American Ballet Theatre, NYC Opera, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and a member of the American Symphony Orchestra. Previously the associate principal bassoonist of the New York Philharmonic, he has also been a frequent guest of the Metropolitan Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, touring with these ensembles across four continents and joining them on numerous recordings. Goldberg is on the faculty of the Juilliard School PreCollege Division, Mannes College, New England Conservatory, the Hartt School, and the Bard College Conservatory of Music.

DAVID SHIFRIN A Yale University faculty member since 1987, clarinetist David Shifrin is artistic director of Yale’s Chamber Music Society and the Yale in New York concert series. He has performed with CMS since 1982 and served as its artistic director from 1992 to 2004, inaugurating CMS’s Bowers Program and the annual Brandenburg Concerto concerts. He was the artistic director of Chamber Music Northwest from 1981 to 2020. Winner of the Avery Fisher Prize, he has held principal clarinet positions in numerous orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra and the American Symphony under Leopold Stokowski. Shifrin performs on clarinets made by Morrie Backun in Vancouver, Canada, and Légère synthetic reeds.

JAMES AUSTIN SMITH Oboist, chamber musician, and on-stage host James Austin Smith appears regularly at leading national and international chamber music festivals, as Co-Principal Oboe of the conductor-less Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and as an artist of the International Contemporary Ensemble. As Artistic and Executive Director of Tertulia Chamber Music he curates intimate evenings of food, drink, and music in New York, San Francisco, and Serenbe, Georgia. He is a professor of oboe and chamber music at Stony Brook University and the Manhattan School of Music, and a regular guest at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

A Fulbright scholar and alum of CMS’s Bowers Program, he holds degrees in music and political science from the Yale School of Music and Northwestern University.

ADAM WALKER Adam Walker was appointed principal flute of the London Symphony Orchestra in 2009 at age 21. In 2010 he won a BorlettiBuitoni Trust Fellowship Award. He regularly performs with major UK orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony, Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Elsewhere he has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Grant Park Festival, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico, Seoul Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, Malaysian Philharmonic, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Solistes Européens, Luxembourg, and RTE National Symphony Orchestra. He joined CMS’s Bowers Program in 2018.

Walker studied at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. He was appointed professor at the Royal College of Music in 2017.

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