FCM: A History at Age Fifty

A GaLLeRY of FaVORlTe "FRlenos"

THE DENVER FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC:

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A HISTOR.\z . AT lAGE FIFTY

ALLen Young ana John S. GRaves October 2003

"The Friends of Chamber Music's mission is to present the finest Chamber Music performances to the Denver Metropolitan Area for the enrichment of diverse audiences; to introduce Chamber Music to new audiences and to provide outreach programs for the education of young people in the community."

FCM Mission Statement

1. CuLTURaL BackgRouno: The aOJBlence of The eaRLy 1950s

The tenn "chamber music" was probably first used in the sixteenth century when small ensembles of string and wind instruments played in homes of wealthy patrons. Over the next two centuries chamber music compositions expanded to include harpsichord, percussion, brass, woodwind, piano, and vocal parts. The heart of chamber music pulsates with intimate communications among composer, the score, instruments, performers, and their audience. Chamber music perfonnances at their highest level never fail to impress one as a delicate fonn of love-making through music.

In spite of its appellation as a "cow town," Denver, during the late 1940s, was in the process of evolving a generative nucleus of chamber music lovers and performers.

While Europe recovered from the ravages and dislocation of World War II, classical music spread rapidly throughout the United States on the waves of an economic boom. American symphony orchestras at this time began to retain a select cadre of pennanent conductors.

In the years shortly before the Denver Friends Albeneri Trio, circa 1950s of Chamber Music was formed, Dimitri Mitropoulos assumed the helm of the New York Philharmonic, Charles Munch of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Fritz Reiner of the Chicago Symphony. The Bach Bicentennial in 1950 generated a multiplicity of orchestral and ensemble festivals, individual perfonnances and commissioned works.

In addition to regular concert seasons, summer music festivals proliferated in Tanglewood, Saratoga, Grant Park, Ravinia, and of course, in Aspen.

American classical musicians, trained at institutions such as Juilliard, New England Conservatory, Mannes, Curtis, Peabody, Oberlin, and Indiana, began to take prizes at international competitions. Along with the family piano, classical music became a significant part of American life.

An important part of these developments in Fine Arts Qyarfet, 1960s many cities west of the Mississippi was the growth of volunteer organizations that supported the regular performances 4

of chamber music ensembles. Some of these grew out of music faculties at private, state and local universities; some from within sections of local symphony orchestras; and yet others from groups of amateur musicians, professionals and wealthy patrons. Some organizations chose to develop and fund their own ensembles; while others, including Denver, chose to keep its entirely volunteer efforts LaSalle Qyarfet, 1960s focused on bringing world-class ensembles to town.

Denver was by no means alone in developing regular chamber music performance venues during this period. Portland developed its Friends of Chamber Music in 1938; Tucson originated its version of the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music in 1952; St. Louis developed its own Brass Quintet in 1964. Soon thereafter, Los Angeles developed its Chamber Orchestra in 1967. La Jolla followed with a Chamber Music Society in 1968; and Santa Fe in 1972; Kansas City initiated its own Friends of Chamber Music in 1975.

By the end of the second millennium, most of the larger western metropolitan areas had developed regular season series and virtually every significant mountain resort town in the Rocky Mountain region was advertising its summer festivals.

2. The FounoLng FRlenos The men and women who moved and shook the Denver community to bring chamber music shared enthusiasm for this intimate kind of music making. These leaders joined in the effort to bring to Denver chamber music on a regular basis. They were, as they came to call themselves, Friends of Chamber Music.

The Friends of Chamber Music (FCM) coalesced in 1954 from a number of organizations and individuals. The Wednesday Music Party, which included amateur musicians who played for each other in private homes, beginning in 1906, was a notable early source of support for the Friends.

Members of Pro Musica, a national organization supporting classical music, contributed another nucleus of interest. Dedicated and wealthy patrons, many of whom were dissatisfied with the Denver Symphony and enthralled with the newly established Aspen Music Festival, made their support known, as did members of Allied Arts Inc. and several Denver afficionados who had personal relationships with nationally acclaimed musicians.

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Doctors Karl Arndt and Leon Sherman, also a violinist; society leaders Jean Cranmer, Miriam Campbell and Gertrude Palmer; theatre manager Alberta Pike; museum curator Eric Douglas; law school dean Gordon Johnston; artist Vance Kirkland, entrepreneur Richard Sears; and heiress Ruth Porter Waring - all made major contributions to the early Denver Friends of Chamber Music. Karl Arndt and Leon Sherman became President Jean Cranmer and Vice president, respectively, of the first FCM Board.

Dr. Sherman used some of his medical authority to persuade nurses on hospital rounds to buy tickets. During that era, nurses naturally followed orders without question!

Audiences grew rapidly in a few years from two hundred fifry to sold-out concerts in the 950-seat Phipps Auditorium. These concertgoers comprised a remarkably cosmopolitan group. During intermissions one could hear conversations in diverse languages and accents from western and central Europe, reflecting the large-scale immigrations of the late 1930s and early 1940s. The first season in 1954-55 featured the Reginald Kell Players, the Griller String Quartet and two performances of the Budapest String Quartet, all for the season subscription price of $1O.00!

In the early days, the leaders of the FCM Board personally dealt with artists' agents, auditioned artists in performance in New York, London and Aspen, and had a large role in marketing the season's offerings. Dr. Arndt recalled that the FCM was a "spotry progression over the first three or four years - just like topsy it grew." Early board meetings occurred around a spacious table at the Cranmer residence, and according to Jeanne Reeve Erskine, were "like theatre, filled with controversy and disputes, the evidence of a total commitment to excellence by intensely devoted individuals." Following many concerts, the artists shared elegant post-concert suppers with FCM members in the homes of generous Denver patrons. On certain felicitous occasions, the artists would Dr. Karl Arndt provide yet another encore for the delighted guests, thus replicating the intimate environment in which chamber music began.

As one might expect on any frontier, there were often competing ideas, interests and personal agendas. Jean Cranmer supported the FCM wholeheartedly, while Miriam Campbell, a Denver leader of Pro Musica, departed from the FCM Board to sponsor a competitive chamber music program, the Denver Chamber Music Series, utilizing only Denver Symphony musicians.

In 1954, the South Suburban Civic Music Association undertook its own

series including a choir concert, jazz, and programs including solo pianist, a Metropolitan Opera soprano, and duo pianists. While those efforts at competition ultimately met their demise, the FCM continued to grow both in numbers and in reputation. Bernard Schaffner, who presided over FCM board activities for five different seasons and held six other officer positions during a seventeen-year period, contributed to this growth by his tireless recruiting of ticket holders and by speaking to numerous local musical organizations.

In December 1947, Dr. Antonia Brico, the first woman conductor of a large metropolitan orchestra in the United States, conducted the first concert of the Denver Busnessmen's Orchestra. During that year, audiences often had to choose among FCM offerings, the Denver Bernard Schajfoer Symphony, and a variety of concerts - sometimes on the same evening. As with the burgeoning subdivisions of Denver itself, classical music circles grew somewhat haphazardly. Nevertheless, by 1963, the Denver Post had characterized the FCM audience as "one of Denver's principal assets" and the FCM as "surely Denver's most successful musical organization."

Anne and Hans Pap, though never members of the FCM Board, made major contributions through their broad musical knowledge and training, as well as their personal friendships with several performing artists. Anne studied piano in New York with Joseph and Rosina Lhevinne, taught piano to several subsequent board members, and was music critic for the Rocky Mountain News from 1945 to 1948. She and Hans counted among their friends violinist Joseph Silverstein, pianist Rudolph Firkusny, Claude Frank, and many others who subsequently were invited to play for FCM. The Paps frequently held chamber music sessions in their home and offered their extensive musicology library to FCM members. Performers knew they were playing to a knowledgeable audience when they glanced out and saw Anne, well into her eighties, following their every phrase with her tattered scores.

Allen Young, music critic for the Post from 1948 through 1957, is the longest standing member of the FCM Board, which he joined in 1967.

Beginning with FCM as a writer of program notes, Mr. Young has been secretary of the Board for 26 of the past 33 years, and also its Archivist. His extensive collection of articles, photos, minutes, and personal recollections has provided primary source materials for this history. In addition, Allen served as president of The Allied Arts, Inc., and wrote a fascinating history of that Denver organization.

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3. ChamBeR MUSIc: The Human Sloe Behind the scenes and beneath the glitter and excitement of chamber music runs a current of interpersonal drama. Stella Durrance, FCM officer during the mid-fifties through the mid-sixties, recalled a Board meeting when one patticularly vocal Board member, nearly apoplectic in arguing his point, was summarily pinned to the mat by the obscenities of her pet parrot.

Also during this period, a member of the Amadeus Quartet, increasingly aggravated by the non-stop coughing of an audience member, stood up and ordered the front-row patron out of the halL Henceforth, chronic coughers have taken their medicine or stayed in bed, and cellphone users enter concert halls with due respect.

Nor were distractions of other pests allowed. Boris Kroyt, violist of the venerable Budapest String Quartet, in the midst of one of the Beethoven cycle performances, was besieged by a particularly pesky fly. Without missing a beat, Kroyt deftly swatted the fly into eternity, while Ludwig and the entire audience, gasped with admiration. Concerts were also undeterred by pestilence. When Murray Perahia came with Music from Marlboro in 1972, he complained to Dr. Karl Arndt of an infected finger and asked Dr. Arndt if he should play. Depatting from his usual focus on healing and recovery, Dr. Arndt replied: "No, but we do have a full house." Perahia played.

In the agonizing days immediately following President John E Kennedy's assassination, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra offered its program on November 27, 1963, gratis. The News summarized this gesture as follows: "In this dark world which has been even darker during the past few days, we look hopefully for any glimmer of that compassionate humanity that can dispel the shadows of fear and suspicion and illuminate the best that is in man. We thank Conductor Barshoi and his musicians for proving that our hopes have not been in vain,l!

In 1964, the Borodin Quartet played in the FCM series one month following its Carnegie Hall debut. The Post described the audience as initially "somewhat edgy" with the notion of welcoming

Moscow Chamber Orchestra

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and enjoying Russian musicians. Soon the audience was won over, having realized "the essential silliness of allowing political preconceptions to intrude upon an esthetic experience. They spoke a universal language-the language of music. Human, not Russian, not Soviet."

The inclusion of contemporary compositions in FCM programs has always stimulated lively controversy and frequently visceral responses. One aerospace physician, spoke out thus: "My entire family find most of it a fraud, an abomination, an entirely repugnant atrocity on (sic) Art." De gustihus non disputandum. What a shame he didn't stay around to hear eighth blackbird, with the bewitching tones of its slender flautist.

The FCM, despite being an entirely volunteer organization, has managed to engage world renowned musicians for the past fifty years. As Hans Pap used to say: "If we are all going to be bored by Mendelssohn, we may as well be bored by the very best."

4. ChamBeR MUSIC

In

SeaRch OF a ChamBeR

With true frontier spirit, the Denver FCM over the past half-century has made many peregrinations to find a permanent musical home that would be comfortable, warm, spacious yet intimate, and acoustically satisfying. Since it was founded in 1954, FCM has presented concerts in seven major venues.

Phipps Auditorium, used by FCM from 1954-1981, was the first hall, and in the opinion of many, it remains the finest. With its classic architecture, refined stage setting, warm acoustics, central location and 950-plus seat capacity, Phipps saw the FCM develop, grow, and mature into what the Post characterized in 1963 as "one of Denver's principal musical assets."

In 1954, the Bonfils Theatre was used for concerts as well, when Phipps was unavailable. The conversion of Phipps Auditorium into an IMAX large screen theatre in 1981 abruptly ended an era of stability and triggered a period of collective mourning in concertgoers.

The following years evolved into a period of frenetic searching for brief encampments.

George Washington High School was home for FCM concerts from 1981 through 1987.

Juilliard String Q;;artet GWHS, in brief, was the venue FCM most loved to hate. Wes Blomster, musicologist, and author of FCM program 9

notes since 1985, summed up the experience of this hall as "exuding a soiled sterility essentially inhospitable to the arts." As if that weren't enough, in March 1983, following heavy snows, the GWHS roof leaked over numerous rows of primary seats near the front of the hall. The concert of the Melos String Quartet was interrupted by an "ill-timed metronomic drip throughout the evening which contradicted the efforts of the musicians on stage."

Despite these shortcomings, persistent and brave concertgoers during this period turned out in significant, though dwindling, numbers to hear the premier groups such as the Beaux Arts Trio (three concerts), Juilliard Quartet, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, dazzling in her youthful virtuosity, the Cleveland Quartet, and Kronos Quartet. Not bad for a deplorable halL The Temple Events Center, utilized by the FCM for just one season, (1987-1988) was an interesting example of Moorish Gothic style with lavish interiors reminiscent of Venice. Parking was poor, the seats unbearably uncomfortable, and the 550seat hall small and acoustically unbalanced. The Beaux Arts Trio decision to leave the former center was easy, but whither from there?

The Houston Fine Arts Center/Corkin Theater venue was used by the FCM from 1988 until 2002. This hall had reasonably good acoustics, and best of all, was offered at no cost by Dr. Anne Culver, Dean of the Lamont School of Music of the University of Denver. The Fine Arts Center had ample room for rehearsals, a broad foyer for mingling at intermission, rafts of eager music students to take advantage of free seats, and an upstairs foyer where pre-concert catered buffets were periodically offered. Discriminating concert-goers found the best acoustics in front row center balcony seats, where the distracting shortcomings of the beat-up stage were less noticeable.

In all fairness, however, the stage did have one advantage: it was spacious enough to accommodate the overflow crowd for the first Dawn Upshaw concert.

In 2002, it was time to pull up stakes again and the FCM found itself, this time enclosed within the long rectangular sanctuary of the Augustana Lutheran Church. This venue was offered at the last moment, like manna from heaven, to an anxious FCM that was without a home just three weeks before the fall concert season began.

Dawn Upshaw

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At long last, FCM members are most grateful and relieved to have found a home in the Gates Concert Hall of the Newman Center at the University of Denver. This hall, inaugurated for the FCM on April 30, 2003 by Il Giardino Armonico, has a spacious stage, with orchestra, loge, mezzanine, balcony and box sections. The warm wood trim, comfortable seating and excellent acoustics invite one to relax and be enveloped by the music. When asked about the hall from an acoustical standpoint, Giovanni Antonini, Director and Flautist (Recorders) for the ensemble, said: "It's really quite good."

Every nuance of Antonini's soprano recorder and Luca Pianca's lute could be heard in rear mezzanine seats. At the end of this concert, many FCM members lingered in the spacious atrium gazing up the grand staircase, satisfied finally that its hall can match and enhance the brilliance of its invited performers.

5. Tax BaTTLes, OJ,: SURVIvaL OF The FaTTeST In 1974, the Denver City Council adopted a seat tax for all city-owned facilities, including Phipps Auditorium. This tax was levied for the express purpose of retiring debt on the $25 million bond issue passed for the expansion of the Mile High Stadium, home of the Denver Broncos. The charge was set at $1.50 per subscription series and was to go into effect in 1975. The FCM Board believed that this tax should be considered a surcharge that should only be charged to individual subscribers. This clearly had little impact on subscriptions, as by September 1975, 1060 subscriptions had been sold.

In 1976, attorney Edward Sherman was asked by the Board to look into the legal ramifications of this tax. On behalf of the FCM Board Mr. Sherman filed a formal motion with the City and County of Denver to repeal the seat tax. The Denver City Attorney attempted to have this motion dismissed. Taxes were being collected but not paid to the city, being held in trust with the hope that they would never be paid. In April 1982, the lower court ruled against the FCM petition that the increased tax of $2.72 per subscription should be returned to FCM. Upon appeal the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling. FCM lost an important eight-year battle, but in the process highlighted a significant national trend: the American public was more willing to support professional athletes with their tax dollars than performing and visual arts. This trend looms larger today Il

as massive cuts are occurring in the National Endowment for the Arts and Colorado Council on the Arts budgets.

6. The Buszness of ChamBeR MusIC: Money, Mm<.kerzng, ana ManageRs By the mid 1980s, it became clear that the FCM would have to contend with other powerful trends: a decrease in season subscriptions and the marked inflation of artists' fees. During this period, FCM co-presidents Carol Abrams and Jeffrey Robinson addressed the crisis by asking for a commitment from all board members to raise or contribute $200 per season, while a fund-raising committee of six would focus on bringing the total to $45,000 from all sources. The FCM was thus able, during hard times, to remain in the black without compromising the excellence of its program offerings. This was especially significant since competing chamber concert offerings were increasing every year in nearby Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and in many of our state's beautiful mountain resorts.

The exemplary fundraising efforts by individual board members and loyal FCM subscribers were soon thereafter to be matched by both public and private institutional funding sources. Beginning in the 1990-91 season, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), originally known as City Arts, donated its initial grant of $8,250 to the FCM. The Colorado Council on the Arts followed suit by granting $2,500 and the Western Arts Foundation contributed $250. The late Lewis Story, an FCM Board member, arranged for a grant from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and established a relationship with members of this Foundation that continues to be beneficial for the FCM. By 1990, season ticket prices had escalated seven-fold from the opening season but, thanks to institutional support, the FCM remained not only musically pre-eminent but could now, for the first time in its history, envision consistent fiscal viability. By the mid 1990s, the FCM had an operating budget of close to $100,000 and a small endowment. Institutional and private contributions have continued to be essential to the FCM to this day. Thanks to FCM volunteers redoubling their efforts at fund-raising, the organization remains fiscally sttong. This is fortunate, considering that the 2003-2004 artists' fees alone will cost approximately $100,000.

The persistent and conscientious efforts of Board officers Chet Stern and John Lebsack, both experienced attorneys, not only resulted in the consolidation of financial stability but also lent a new level of expertise to contract negotiations with artist's agents and managers.

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Chet Stern described how negotiations with management agencies and agents have become increasingly complex over the past two decades. As with many service industries, artist's managers have evolved from small "mom and pop" operations to a number of large corporate entities, including the "Big Three": Columbia Artists Management, International Management Group and International Concert Management.

In addition to these three major players, there exists a second tier of moderately-sized agencies and a third tier of individual managers, each with highly personal, often unpredictable styles of decision-making and operations.

One outcome of these changes is that FCM board negotiators, frequently have to deal every year with new management functionaries, with whom they have no previous relationships.

This change has also had similarly unsettling effects on the artists and the comprehensiveness of their representation. As a result, it has become more difficult to conclude arrangements regarding choice of artist, time availability, repertoire selection, and even details such as travel and lodging. Whereas previously artists could be booked confidently with a few calls or a single meeting in New York, now negotiations and details require up to a dozen calls. Even with this assiduous focus, negotiations often break down and contracts are sometimes ignored, as happened twice in the case of one worldclass pianist.

Chet Stern proudly reported that several management agencies see the FCM as the premier concert presenter between Chicago and the West Coast.

Finding an extra plane seat for that priceless Stradivarius cello, cash on the barrel at the time of the concert for the Kronos Quartet, and searching for the grail of the perfect Steinway from Wells Music are all part of the business of music making and part of what gives FCM its competitive edge. Retaining artists has become even more complicated by the deluge of calls from individual artists who are free-lancing as their own agents.

These performers may, for example, have placed fifth in the Van Cliburn Competition and be of outstanding quality but be virtually unknown outside their local communities. Unless they have the good fortune to be known by an outspoken Board member, their applications are usually rejected.

The details of program selection are generally more predictable, with some exceptions. Most high-profile ensembles provide the FCM with a choice of four to five fixed programs, whereas there is a bit more room for negotiating with individual artists. As a rule, the more name recognition an artist has, the less flexibility there is in repertoire selection. Rising stars generally are more flexible in this regard and young ensembles, seeking to expand their repertoire, are willing to play almost anything within their capacity.

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Occasionally an agent will schedule an artist to playa composition about which he or she learns only at the last moment. In recent years, Vladimir Feltsman discovered on the night of his performance that Schumann's Carnaval was on his program. As one might imagine, his performance was less than stellar. Other artists, when faced with this dilemma, simply announce their change at the time of the concert, treating the audience to a pleasant surprise.

Having occupied the positions of Treasurer, Vice President, and President of the FCM Board, John Lebsack likewise has made major contributions to the financial stability of the organization. He agrees with Chet Stern that the FCM's strongest suit is its extensive cadre of volunteers and its capacity to form relationships Vladimir Feltsman, with foundation board members, as exemplified by pianist Lewis Story's connection with the Bonflls-Stanton Foundation. According to John, a loyal audience feels a responsibility to cultivate superior performances. Because of the loyalty of the Board to its audience, the audience makes a return on this by contributing increasing amounts of annual donations, supplementing their subscription costs. In this sense, it is the audience that truly runs the series.

By the time one sits back with hushed expectation for the opening measures of a late Beethoven quartet, all of these details fade away and musical magic evolves. But after the encores are over and the applause has ceased, it is well worth remembering how this magic was brought to one's ears.

FCM's current President Rosemarie Murane has provided outstanding leadership in varying capacities on the Board for over fifteen years and has been active in Denver fine arts and classical music scene for over forty years.

Her experience in managing artist series dates back to her college days in New York, where she managed concerts including such stellar attractions as I Musici, Jerome Hines, and Joseph Szigeti. Rosemarie brings a wealth of more recent experience to the Board from her activities as a founding member of the Children's Museum and participation on the boards of Young Audiences, Inc., Graland School, the Girls Club of Denver, Colorado Public Radio, and Young Musicians Foundation of Colorado. In addition, she finds time to maintain her skills as an accomplished amateur pianist.

Rosemarie views the FCM as fast approaching a crossroads where the Board will need to decide if it will continue as a purely volunteer organization or use paid staff as many similar Boards have done across the country.

The issue of hiring professionals is controversial, given the FCM's fifty-year tradition of administration by volunteers.

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Critical factors include the increasing complexity of negotiating with and scheduling artists, management of grant applications to multiple corporate and public sponsors, competition with a larger number of Colorado chamber concert series providers, and the need for intensifying outreach programs to schools and younger adult populations. Rosemarie summarized her tenure in FCM leadership positions: "I'm like a full-time employee and happy to do it." However, she is aware that, with the current economy, fewer and fewer people with her level of experience may have the luxury of doing this kind of work on a volunteer basis. In the future, Board Members will need to focus less on hands-on variable activities and more on clear division of labor and governance.

Myra Rich, Suzanne Ryan. and the late Bill Whitley. who served in executive committee positions for several years. have exemplified the best of the spirit of volunteerism. Myra continues to contribute to FCM via her tireless efforts in maintaining contacts with subscribers and managing the complexities of ticketing. Bill. who served as Vice President from 1997 until his untimely death in 2001, contributed in numerous ways in the role of production manager, transporter of performing artists, and as a quiet voice of reason and experience regarding complex decision-making.

Suzanne Ryan served on the Board for seven years and led the Board through a period of great change while serving as President. She has also supervised the production of concert programs - no easy feat.

These Board members and many others. too numerous to include in this brief history, have literally provided the glue which has held the FCM together for a half century. To these quiet. conscientious. laborers-of-love. we all owe our deepest gratitude.

6. The joys OF ChamBeR MUSIC: MemORaBLe ConCERTS Reflecting on the great artists who have been presented by the FCM is an eloquent reminder of those who have brought us unforgettable musical experiences. After fifty years, the list is long and illustrious.

Because it was the initial offering in 1954, the fine clarinetist Reginald Kell marked an occasion not to be forgotten. On his heels came the incomparable Budapest Quartet for two performances. Fortune took a good look at the FCM and saw to it that both of these ensembles returned the following year.

String quartets and ensembles made up the bulk of early programming. with quartets accounting for as much as eighty percent of the offerings dur15

ing a given season. For example, the 1956-57 season featured the Juilliard, Parentin, Smetana and Quartetto Italiano. The FCM audiences reached a higher plane when I Musici came in 1959. The following year, the Netherlands String Quartet became a favorite. Along with the Hollywood String Quartet, the legendary Beaux Arts Trio came for the first time in 1960 and has thus far returned for an astonishing fourteen concerts over a thirty-year span.

Richard Goode, The FCM offered what pianist would be the first of many distinguished solo recitals when the gracious Zara Nelsova performed in 1962. The great Janos Starker came soon thereafter and another peak was reached when Itzhak Perlman and Vladimir Ashkenazy appeared for an evening of sonatas.

Pianist Richard Goode has also thrilled FCM audiences on several memorable occasions.

The history of the FCM has not been without stressful moments; for example, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra canceled belatedly, and by a miracle the FCM obtained the services of Jean-Pierre Rampal, flautist. Rampal's concert was followed by the incomparable pianist Alfred Brendel.

In more recent times, the Friends had two cancellations in a row when pianist Horacio Gutierrez was indisposed. Gutierrez was replaced by 22year-old wunderkind Jonathan Biss, who regaled the audience with his interpretations of Schumann. Sadly, the next concert required a substitution due to the death of Denver-born pianist John Browning. In his place, the charming Angela Hewitt demonstrated why she is known as the world's foremost Bach keyboard specialist.

One of the FCM's major contributions has been the presentation of new talent to our community. Among those artists invited to Denver who have since become household names among classical music lovers are Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Murray Perahia, the Emerson Quartet, Wu Han, Richard Stoltzman, Peter Serkin, Carter Brey, Christopher O'Reilly, Helene Grimaud, Frederick Chiu and Edgar Meyer. Meyer, the personAngela Hewitt able and athletic bassist, has recently captivated our audipianist ences with performances of his own compositions.

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In April 1999, Colorado and the entire world were shaken by the tragic massacre of twelve Columbine High School students and a faculty member by two students from the same school. The Emerson Quartet helped soothe our collective shock and grief by dedicating an encore performance of a Beethoven adagio to the memories of those slain.

There was a lingering and poignant pause before the applause that night.

Edgar Meyer The FCM broke new ground when soprano Dawn Upshaw became the first solo singer to present a full program. Ms. Upshaw was invited back two years later and will open the 2003-2004 season.

Wolfgang Holzmair, baritone, followed soon thereafter with a fine performance of Schubert Lieder. In addition to vocalists, the FCM in recent times expanded its musical landscape to include compositions in the Hispanic tradition, including Sharon Isbin, classical guitarist, and Cuartetto Latinoamericano.

Our time horizon has likewise broadened to include the ancient music ensemble Hesperion XX specializing in compositions of the Sephardic diaspora. eighth blackbird, a contemporary group of young musicians originally from Oberlin College, performed a striking collection of works all of whose composers were all born after 1970. One of their stunning offerings included a piece for spoken voice and percussion taken from letters written from the rioHorn Attica Sharon Isbin Prison in New York.

The Friends of Chamber Music is not given to name-dropping, but its pride in bringing these and countless other fine musicians to the Denver area is certain.

Reading the first few years of newspaper reviews of FCM offerings reminds one of the intoxication of an early romance. It was as if the audiences and critics had been so deprived of musical sustenance that the performers could do no wrong. Clearly, Denver newspapers offered assistance to the FCM by providing consistently positive reviews - most of the time.

It was no surprise that the first two concerts by the Budapest Quartet

drew extended praise from Denver's two papers. In the News, Emmy Brady Rogers found the performers in their "customary perfection," referring to an impeccable performance of a Haydn quartet. In the Pos~ Allen Young spoke of the "meticulous instrumentalists" and of the Budapest being "unbeatable in music by Beethoven, Haydn and Bartok." Of their second program, Young wrote of "a performance to be treasured ... a revelation of unforgettable beauty."

The Vegh String Quartet opened the second season and Young wrote of "Beautifully molded and affecting renditions," while Rogers wrote of the quartet as "a single superb instrument." When the Smetana Quartet performed Smetana's "From My Life," Young considered its "sweetness and completeness of expression," though he found a Dvorak quartet "long-winded and superficial."

As the Denver audiences became more seasoned, so did the boldness of its concert critics. When the La Salle Quartet played the sixth Bartok quartet, Alex Murphree in the Post averred: "For those who like acrid music, bitter-sweet, and highly spiced with a somewhat crotchety musical esthetic, the quartet provided (music) with obvious enjoyment of their own."

Murphree continued with unbridled bluntness in 1~;DJ~~t'C":-: response to the Juilliard Quartet's rendition of \1 Irving Fine's "First Quartet," inserted in the program between Beethoven and Mozart: "For the most part, it Program cover from seems to be mathematically composed music with February 21,1963 little to convey, as if worked out by IBM machines."

Some concerts provoked lively controversy among the critics, as in the following: Marjorie Barrett of the News, no Bartok lover, wrote: "No matter how expert the presentation, it remains a work of many flaws and too little genuine beauty." Young took issue with this characterization and in Cervi's Journal, found the Bartok" an absorbing experience which achieved its fullest brilliance in the final movement."

By the 1960's, critics frequently turned their focus on the audience and the FCM itself Wayne Johnson of the Post welcomed the opening of the 1962-63 season by noting that the crowd for the Vegh Quartet at Phipps Auditorium offered "convincing evidence of Denver's musical maturity."

Marjorie Barrett agreed with this assessment, when, a year later, she offered the following praise: "Denver is a chamber music town, as evidenced by the superb support of the Friends of Chamber Music Series." Wayne

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r 7. The CRlTlCS Respono: FRom EaRLy Romance TO MaTURe DIsceRnmenT

their seats if only by stint of pure curiosity. The excitement of young Lamont Music School students now emanates palpably from the balcony. A recent concertgoer was overheard saying, after Continuum played a contemporary selection: "Some classical pieces are so predictable, but that last one really woke me up for a few minutes. Wow!" In the field of classical music, Beethoven has led the way with 139 perfonnances of some 57 works. The most popular Beethoven quartets have been among the "Rasoumovsky" series. The C Major, Op. 59, No.3 was perfonned nine different times as was the F Minor, Op. 95, No. 11. The Op. 59, No.2 was heard on six occasions. The "Archduke" Trio, Op. 97, was heard at six concerts and the "Ghost" Trio, Op. 70, No.1 was perfonned five times.

There is no doubt that ensembles love to play Beethoven and audiences consistently ranked him as their favorite.

Mozart has been a clear second choice of our programmers. Forty of his works have been perfonned over the past fifty years. Tops among his works have been the D Major quartet, K 575, heard eight times, the D Major quartet, K 499, heard seven times, and the "Hunt" quartet, K 458, was perfonned at six concerts. There were five performances of Mozart's "Dissonant" quartet in C Major, K 465.

The FCM over the past fifty years has provided Denver audiences with all the intrigue, reflection, excitement and passion of composers whose lives spanned over seven centuries. The next fifty years will find our audiences listening to even more diverse selections from the chamber idiom.

Johnson shared these sentiments in 1967, when he wrote: "This {second consecutive sell-out} audience of 997 participates in the perfonnance as any good audience should-and must, if the performers are to be inspired to play their best ... The participation is subtle and unobtrusive but is nevertheless real and significant." It was now clear that the FCM had come of age.

Marc Shulgold, a critic who has written reviews of Denver metropolitan perfonning and visual arts events for the News over the past sixteen years, initiated the use of a grading system. During his entire tenure FCM perfonners have never received less than a B+. In 2000, FCM lost a wonderful friend in Post critic Jeff Bradley. His worthy successor, Kyle MacMillan, has continued to carry the mantle of infonned criticism

8. OUR FaVORITe ComposeRS: A CRescenoo op ChOIces Over the years the music perfonned in FCM Concerts has changed along with the tastes and ages of our subscribers. An initially conservative Board provided our early audiences with a narrow range of offerings, mostly from the Classical Period. Even so, there was always a significant minority of Board members and ensemble agents who advocated twentieth-century composers such as Prokofieff, Ravel, Milhaud, Menin, Fine, and Webern. As early as 1955, the Vegh String Quartet played the Debussy Quartet, then virtually unknown to Denver concertgoers. Later that same year, a perfonnance of the Shostakovich E Minor Trio initiated a succession of 25 more of his works, including six further renditions of the E Minor Trio itself.

It was not until late in the third season that the first Bartok piece was heard, the beginning of the FCM's offering thirty of his compositions. There has been ample Ravel, Villa-Lobos and Prokofieff included among the Friends' concerts. New compositions clearly have not determined the popularity of certain groups. The Beaux Arts Trio, which has appeared fourteen times, started with a program of Brahms, Ravel, Beethoven and Schubert.

American composers Samuel Barber, Alan Hovhaness, Elliott Carter and Walter Piston were heard, but it was only in more recent years that composers of the late 20th century appeared on FCM programs. The Kronos Quartet, Speculum Musicae, Arditri Quartet and eighth blackbird altered this trend by perfonning entire programs of music from the modem cutting edge. Audiences once more likely to disperse after intermission upon hearing contemporary works are now increasingly returning to 20

9. The FRlenos aT FIpTy: An OpTImISTIC VzslOn POR The FUTURe

1

The final concert of the 2002-2003 season, featuring Il Giardino Armonico, brought together superb Italian Baroque musicians playing on period instruments in a new, comfortable, acoustically pleasing hall. Now, at the end of fifty years of wandering from hall to hall, the FCM has the privilege of concentrating fully on its mission of musical excellence, outreach and education for the next half century and beyond.

The FCM has a full slate of activities to challenge its Board of sixteen members. It now appears that strategic planning will require a full-time person to coordinate grant applications for financing the ever more costly perfonning artists. The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Olsen-Vander Heyden Foundation, Excel Energy Foundation, Kenneth Kendal King

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u

U Foundation

and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District contributions have been gratefully received to underwrite concerts and outreach programs.

As audiences mature and tastes in chamber music evolve, the FCM is commitred to outreach programs addressed to younger listeners and The Gaarletto lAlinoamencano performs a budding musicians. During this program in a Denver school past season, the FCM, with SCFD and foundation support, has presented twenty-four programs in schools by visiting artists, at no cost to the schools. Other programs for adults and other special groups have been offered. Each of these programs requires attendance by Board members for evaluation purposes. Music students and their teachers have responded enthusiastically to virtually all of these educational efforts.

Introducing young persons to the stimulating world of chamber music, composers, musicians and instruments offers promise for a whole new generation of involved and discriminating audiences and performers. The Denver Friends of Chamber Music is currently charting the course that will bring it and its offspring to the Centennial celebration in 2054.

The FCM Board believes the 2003-2004 series is about perfect: Dawn Upshaw, soprano, with the Kronos Quartet; the Guarneri and Emerson String Quartets; Emanuel Ax, piano; Robert McDuffie, violin, with Christopher Taylor, piano; the Eroica Trio; and the International Sejong Soloists. This ambitious series will form a fitting accompaniment for the celebration of the Friend of Chamber Music's fiftieth birthday.

r'tIM FRIENDS OF

ABOUT The AUTh01ZS: Allen Young was born in Washington, D.C. and studied at Occidental College and the University of Chicago, where he majored in English and Political Science. He worked for the Denver Post in various capacities including music columnist from 1947 to 1957. Mr. Young created the Lively Arts magazine in 1957 and served as Denver correspondent for Musical America and Opera News. He has also contributed articles to Time Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Sentinel Newspapers, The Daily Journal, Straight Creek Journal, Cervi's Journal, and City Edition. Young Audiences, Inc. hired Mr. Young as Executive Director in 1963 and he occupied that position until 1972. In addition to serving as President of The Allied Arts, Inc. from 19721991, Mr. Young published Opera in Central Cit)' in 1993. His diverse contributions to journalism, include articles on operas, plays, musicals, concerts, dance performances and art exhibits. He resides with his wife Barbara in Denver.

John Graves was born in Albany, New York and graduated from Wesleyan University, where he majored in History and Religion. Following graduation from Wesleyan, he attended Union Theological Seminary in New York. His seminary studies led him to pursue an interest in psychological healing. He graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1971 and did his specialty training at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Department of Psychiatry, where he is now on the volunteer clinical faculty. He was elected as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in 2003. In addition to his full-time practice in psychiatry, Dr. Graves enjoys playing classical piano, which he has studied for over thirty years. Recently he has written articles in the area of creativity and mental illness. He served on the FCM Board for a number of years and currently serves as a volunteer. Dr. Graves and his wife Nancy live in Denver.

CHAMBER

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AcknowLeogemenTS: The authors are indebted to Karl Arndt, Stella Durrance, Jeanne Reeve Erskine, Ann Levy, Chet Stern, John Lebsack, Rosemarie Murane and the late Anne Pap for their thoughtful reflections on the history and issues pertaining to the Friends of Chamber Music over the past fifty years.

Penelope Phillips-Armand provided us with helpful copy-editing, comments regarding form, and a welcome objectivity. Flint Whitlock did the design.

Most of all, we wish to thank you, our steadfast and faithful concert-goers .and sponsors, without whom we could not have reached this birthday.

Board of Directors -1957-1958

Board of Directors -1958-59

Mr. Richard Sears - President Dr. Leon Sherman - Vice President Mrs. J. J. Waring - Treasurer Mrs. J. R. Durrance - Secretary Mrs. Robert A. Palmer - Manager

Dr. Leon Sherman - President Mr. George Harvey - Vice President Mr. Bernard Schaffner - Treasurer Mrs. J. R. Durrance - Secretary

Board of Directors -1959-60

Board of Directors -1960-61

Dr. Leon Sherman - President Mr. Bernard Schaffuer - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve Treasurer Mrs. J. R. Durrance - Secretary

Mr. Bernard Schaffuer - President Dr. Leon Sherman - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mrs. j. R Durrance - Secretary

Board of Directors -1961-62

Board of Directors -1962-63

Mr. Bernard Schaffuer - President Dr. Leon Sherman - Vice President Mrs. J. R. Durrance - Secretary

Mr. Bernard Schaffner - President Mrs. J. R Durrance - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mrs. Edward Levy - Secretary

Board of Directors -1963-64 Mrs. J. R. Durrance - President

Board of Directors -1964-65 Mrs. j. R. Durrance - President

Mr. Bernard Schaffuer - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mrs. Edward Levy - Secretary

Mr. Bernard Schaffuer - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mrs. Edward Levy - Secretary

Board of Directors -1965-66

Board of Directors -1966-67

Mr. Otto Saborsky - President Mrs. Edward Levy - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mrs. Alan White - Secretary

Mr. Otto Saborsky - President Mrs. Edward Levy - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mrs. Alan White - Secretary

Mrs. Basil Reeve Treasurer

Sponsors -1954-55 Dr. Karl Arndt - A commanding figure who led the way Mrs. Thomas P. Campbell - A society and arts leader Mrs. George Cranmer - President of Denver Civic Symphony and founder of Allied Arts Inc. Mr. Eric Douglas - Curator of Native American Art at The Denver Art Museum Mr. Thornton Fuller - Attorney and music aficionado Mrs. J. R. Durrance - Enthusiastic arts supporter Mr. Gordon Johnson - Dean, School of Law, University of Denver Mr. Vance Kirkland - Chairman, Art Department, University of Denver Mr. George Harvey - Supporter of classical music in Denver

Mrs. Robert Palmer - Supporter of classical music and socialite Miss Alberta Pike - Critic at Rocky Mountain News and founder of Vogue Art Cinema Mr. and Mrs. Richard Sears - Benevolent arts supporters Dr. and Mrs. Leon Sherman - Violinist in Denver Civic Symphony and music advocate Mr. Floyd Walpole - Ardent lover of classical music Mrs. J. J. Waring - A beneficent supporter of the arts in Denver

Board of Directors -1955-56

Board of Directors -1956-57

Dr. Karl Arndt - President Dr. Leon Sherman Vice President Mrs. j. j. Waring - Treasurer Mrs. j. R. Durrance - Secretary Mrs. Robert A. Palmer - Manager

Mr. Bernard Schaffuer - President Mrs. j. R. Durrance - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mrs. Edward Levy - Secretary Mrs. Robert A. Palmer - Manager

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Board of Directors -1967-68

Board of Directors - 1968-69

Mrs. Edward Levy - President Mr. Gunter Jacobius - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mrs. Jane Saul - Secretary

Mrs. Edward Levy - President Mr. Gunter Jacobius - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mrs. Jane Saul - Secretary

Board of Directors -1969-70

Board of Directors -1970-71

Mr. Gunter Jacobius - President Mrs. Jane Saul - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Dr. David Pearlman - Secretary

Mr. Gunter Jacobius President Mrs. Jane Saul - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Board of Directors -1971-72

Board of Directors -1972-73

Mrs. Jane Saul - President Mr. Bernard Schaffuer - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Mrs. Jane Saul - President Mr. Bernard Schaffuer - Vice President Mrs. Basil Reeve - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

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Board of Directors -1973-74

Board of Directors -1974-75

Board of Directors -1989-90

Board of Directors -1990-91

Mr. Bernard Schaffner - President Mrs. Sue Joshel - Vice President Dr. Harold Dinken - Treasurer Dr. Kenneth Mcintosh - Secretary

Mrs. Sue Joshel - President Dr. Harold Dinken - Vice President Dr. David Pearlman - Treasurer Dr. Kenneth Mcintosh - Secretary

Mrs. Myra Rich - President Mrs. Rosemarie Murane - Vice President Dr. Michael Gendel - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Mrs. Rosemarie Murane - President Mr. Chet Stem - Vice President Mr. Jay Tracey - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Board of Directors -1975-76

Board of Directors -1976-77

Board of Directors -1991-92 Mrs. Rosemarie Mura~e - President Mr. Chet Stem - Vice President Mr. John Lebsack - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Board of Directors -1993-94

Board of Directors -1994-95

Mr. Chet Stern President Mr. John Lebsack - Vice President Mr. Lewis Story - Treasurer Mrs. Suzanne Ryan Secretary Mr. Allen Young - Archivist

Mr. Chet Stem - President Mr. John Lebsack - Vice President Mr. Lewis Story - Treasurer Mrs. Suzanne Ryan - Secretary Mr. Allen Young - Archivist

Board of Directors -1980-81

Board of Directors -1995-96

Board of Directors -1996-97

Dr. Stephen Guggenheim - President Dr. Philip Wolf - Vice President Mr. Tom Cooper - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Mr. Chet Stern - President Mr. John Lebsack - Vice President and Treasurer Mrs. Suzanne Ryan Secretary Mr. Allen Young - Archivist

Mr. John Lebsack - President Mrs. Suzanne Ryan - Vice President Mr. John Lebsack - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Dr. David Pearlman - President Dr. Karl Arndt - Vice President Mr. Otto Saborsky - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr.

Board of Directors -1977-78

Board of Directors -1978-79

Dr. David Pearlman President Dr. Philip Wolf - Vice President Mr. Tom Cooper - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr.

Board of Directors -1979-80 Dr. Karl Arndt - President Dr. Stephen Guggenheim - Vice President Dr. Philip Wolf - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

M

Board of Directors -1992-93 Mrs. Rosemarie Murane - President Mr. Chet Stern - Vice President Mr. John Lebsack - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Karl Arndt - President Kenneth Mcintosh - Vice President Philip Wolf - Treasurer Stephen Guggenheim - Secretary

Karl Arndt - President Kenneth Mcintosh Vice President Philip Wolf - Treasurer Stephen Guggenheim - Secretary

M

M

Board of Directors -1981-82

Board of Directors -1982-83

Dr. Stephen Guggenheim - President Dr. Philip Wolf - Vice President Mr. Tom Cooper - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Dr. Philip Wolf - President Mr. Tom Cooper - Vice President Mr. David Sherman - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Board of Directors - 1983-84

Board of Directors -1984-85

Dr. Philip Wolf - President Mr. Tom Cooper ~ Vice President Mr. David Sherman - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Mr. Tom Cooper ~ President Mr. David Sherman ~ Vice President Mrs. Myra Rich - Treasurer Mr. Jeffrey Robinson - Secretary

Board of Directors - 1985-86

Board of Directors -1986-87

Mr. Tom Cooper - President Mr. David Sherman - Vice President Mrs. Myra Rich ~ Treasurer Mr. Jeffrey Robinson - Secretary

Mr. Jeffrey Robinson President Mr. David Sherman - Vice President Mrs. Myra Rich - Treasurer Mrs. Rosemarie Murane - Secretary

Board of Directors -1987-88

Board of Directors -1988-89

Mr. Jeffrey Robinson - Co-President with Mrs. Carol Abrams Mr. Chet Stern - President Mrs. Myra Rich - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Mrs. Myra Rich - President Mrs. Rosemarie Murane - Vice President Dr. Michael Gendel - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

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Board of Directors -1997-98

Board of Directors - 1998-99

Mrs. Suzanne Ryan - President Mr. William Whitley - Vice President Mr. John Lebsack - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Mrs. Suzanne Ryan - President Mr. William Whitley - Vice President Mr. John Lebsack - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Board of Directors -1999-00

Board of Directors - 2000-01

Mrs. SuzannE;: Ryan - President

Mrs. Rosemarie Murane - President

Mr. William Whitley - Vice President Mr. John Lebsack - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Mr. William Whitley - Vice President Mr. John Lebsack - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Board of Directors - 2001-02

Board of Directors - 2002-03

Mrs. Rosemarie Murane - President

Mrs. Rosemarie Murane - President

Mr. William Whitley - Vice President

Mr. John Lebsack - Vice President

Mr. Allen Rosenbaum - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Secretary

Mr. Allan Rosenbaum - Treasurer Mr. Allen Young - Corresponding Secretary Mrs. Patsy Aronstein ~ Recording Secretary

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"tM FRIENDS OF CHAMBER

MUSIC P.O. Box 6089 Cherry Creek Station Denver, CO 80206

(303) 388-9839