ITAM AR Z O RM AN , VIOLIN RO BIN S C OTT, V IO L IN SAM UEL RH O D ES , VIOLA BRO O K S P ELTZ , C ELLO C YNTH IA RAIM , PIA NO
D E N V E R
MUSICIANS FROM MARLBORO MARCH 30, 2016
FRANZ JOSEPH Quartet in C major, Op. 20, no. 2, Hob. III:32 HAYDN Moderato
(1732-1809) Capriccio: Adagio Menuetto: Allegretto Fuga a 4 soggetti: Allegro ALBAN BERG Lyric Suite (1885-1935) Allegretto gioviale Andante amoroso Allegro misterioso – Trio estatico Adagio appassionato Presto delirando - Tenebroso Largo desolato
INT E RM ISSION ANTONÍN ˇ ÁK DVOR
(1841-1904)
Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81, B. 155
Allegro ma non tanto Dumka: Andante con moto; Vivace Scherzo (Furiant): Molto vivace Finale: Allegro
FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC ANNOUNCES OUR 2016-17 SEASON! C HAMBER SERIES
PIAN O SERIES
Escher Quartet
Jonathan Biss, piano
Wu Han, Philip Setzer, and David Finckel
Joyce Yang, piano
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 Wednesday, October 5, 2016 Murray Perahia, piano Ariel Quartet with Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Orion Weiss, piano
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Stefan Jackiw, violin, with Anna Polonsky, piano
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Danish String Quartet
Monday, February 13, 2017
Venice Baroque Orchestra with Nicola Benedetti, violin Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Steven Isserlis, cello
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Renewal envelopes will be available at both April concerts, with brochures mailed in early May. If you’re not currently a subscriber, email tickets@friendsofchambermusic.com or visit our ticket table in the lobby to be added to our wait list for next season. All concerts are at 7:30 p.m. in Gates Concert Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts. For further information, please visit our website: friendsofchambermusic.com
DANISH STRIN G QUARTET
J O Y C E YA N G
ARIEL QUARTET
STEFAN JAC KIW
D AV I D F I N C K E L / W U H A N / PHILIP SETZER TRIO
M U R R AY P E R A H I A
MUSICIANS FROM MARLBORO Musicians from Marlboro, the touring extension of the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, offers exceptional young professional musicians together with seasoned artists in varied chamber music programs. Each program is built around a work performed in a previous summer that Artistic Director Mitsuko Uchida and her colleagues felt was exceptional and should be shared with a wider audience. The resulting ensembles offer audiences the chance to both discover seldom-heard masterworks and enjoy fresh interpretations of chamber music favorites.
ITAMAR ZORMAN
violin
ROB IN SC OT T
violin
SAMU EL RHODES
viola
B ROOK SPELT Z
cello
CYN T HIA RAIM
piano
The Musicians from Marlboro touring program has introduced to American audiences many of today’s leading solo and chamber music artists early in their careers, and in the process has offered these artists valuable performing experience and exposure. The list includes pianists Jonathan Biss, Yefim Bronfman, Jeremy Denk, Richard Goode, Murray Perahia, András Schiff, and Peter Serkin. It has also been a platform for artists who subsequently formed or joined such noted ensembles as the Beaux Arts, Eroica, and Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trios and the Brentano, Emerson, Guarneri, Johannes, Juilliard, Orion, St. Lawrence, and Tokyo String Quartets. A member of the Tokyo Quartet once remarked, “I think that we are the only major American chamber music group without at least one former Marlboro participant. It’s almost like driving without a license.” Five years later, when cellist Clive Greensmith joined the Quartet, they got their license. friendsofchambermusic.com
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Now in its 50th season, Musicians from Marlboro offers audiences across North America a sample of the spirited music-making that is characteristic of Marlboro, prompting the Washington Post to describe Musicians from Marlboro as “a virtual guarantee of musical excellence.” And according to the Chicago Sun-Times, “the secret is a sense of joy...apparent from the very first note.” Israeli violinist Itamar Zorman is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and was the joint winner of the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition. Robin Scott is the first violinist of the Ying Quartet. Violist Samuel Rhodes is well known to FCM audiences from his many years in the Juilliard Quartet. Cellist Brook Speltz joined the Escher Quartet last year. Veteran pianist, Cynthia Raim, is a graduate of the Curtis Institute where she studied with Rudolf Serkin and Mieczyslav Horszowski. More information on Marlboro may be found at www.marlboromusic.org.
NOTES Program notes © Betsy Schwarm
HAYDN: QUARTET IN C MAJOR, OP. 20, NO. 2, HOB. III:32
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Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809) did not personally invent the string quartet. However, having begun with the genre very early in its existence and producing nearly six dozen of them, he set the model for composers of his own and following generations. His quartets proved hugely popular both with audiences and with players. That they still attract enthusiasm over two centuries later proves the effectiveness of a good idea when it falls into the care of a master. The six quartets of Haydn’s opus 20 were published together in 1772 with a rising sun pictured on the cover page, hence their nickname in his day as the “Sun Quartets.” Dating from the composer’s 40th year, they show an impressive grasp of what can be done with two violins, one viola, and one cello. The second of these “Sun Quartets” is ostensibly – and largely – in the optimistic key of C major. However, its slow and song-like second movement shifts to the very different colors of C minor. For the finale – lively and bustling as
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was Haydn’s habit – he chooses to add to the complexity by crafting a fugue. Melodies that appear first in one of the four parts reappear in another, then yet another. Each time the opening theme reappears, new ones are added, so that there is always more than one idea happening at once. Not content to craft music that is merely entertainment, Haydn also sets out to offer something that meets the very highest standard of Last performed October 28, 2009 (Belcea Quartet) artistic craftsmanship. The Lyric Suite of Alban Berg (1885 – 1935) was inspired BERG: by Charles Baudelaire’s “De profundis clamavi:” a lament LYRIC SUITE of unrequited love. At the time, Berg himself was in a comparable situation, having developed a passion for the wife of a friend. Settling upon an instrumental interpretation of the Baudelaire, rather than a song setting, gave Berg greater flexibility, not only in the length and structure of phrases, but even in the number of movements. Baudelaire’s poem has four short verses; Berg’s Lyric Suite has six movements, each presenting its own perspective on hopeless love. Berg’s Lyric Suite premiered in Vienna on January 6, 1927. Afterward, the composer’s publisher suggested that portions of it would suit a string orchestra if only something were added for the basses. Berg complied, reworking the second, third, and fourth movements for the larger ensemble, though dropping the other three movements. The string orchestra version premiered on January 31, 1929, in Berlin. However, the string quartet version heard tonight has generally attracted a stronger following. Of the quartet’s six movements, the odd-numbered ones become progressively faster and ever more unsettled. By contrast, the even-numbered ones become progressively slower and ever more despairing. They are also consistently longer than the odd-numbered movements. As there are six movements in all, this movement pattern has the effect of closing the suite in a spirit of deep despair, as the viola – quite alone – fades off into nothingness. Indeed, the lady whose unavailability had inspired Berg to undertake the Lyric Suite never did become his lover. Throughout the string quartet version of the Lyric Suite one finds rapid alternation between bowed passages and pizzicato friendsofchambermusic.com
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Program Notes Continued
Last performed February 22, 1978 (Alban Berg Quartet)
DVORˇÁK: PIANO QUINTET NO. 2 IN A MAJOR, OP. 81, B. 155
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technique, sometimes simultaneously. Broad, singable melodies never quite appear. Rather, there are sequences of erratic, sometimes frantic, phrases that jolt from nervous energy to heart-wrenching agony. Dissonance there is, though not at every moment, and even when Berg tightens the emotional screws, he finds more than one color for the darkness he has in mind. It is worth noting that the tempo marking for the first movement refers not to joviality (none is to be found), but rather to youthfulness. One might imagine that Berg had in mind the restless energy of a young man in the grasp of hopeless love.
It was at his rural retreat in Vysoká, not far from Prague, that Antonín Dvorˇák (1841 – 1904) composed the opus 81 quintet in 1887. He had begun the effort by attempting a revision of his earlier opus 5 quintet. Soon, however, the composer decided to start afresh, and he began an entirely new piece, drawing inspiration from the folk music of rural Bohemia. The composer had been raised in a small village much like Vysoká, and his first close exposure to music came from his father who, when not occupied with his duties at the village butcher shop, liked playing dance tunes on his zither, and even entertained at village weddings. It was folk music, not symphonies and operas, that accompanied Dvorˇák’s formative years, and in this quintet, he paid homage to his homeland’s musical heritage. Here, after all, was a man who, even after acquiring an international reputation, still felt sufficiently humble to describe himself as a “simple Bohemian musician.” Of the quintet’s four movements, only the first is in sonata form as Haydn, the father of the string quartet, would have envisioned it. Here one finds the usual two contrasting themes, each stated, developed, and restated, with appropriate graceful transitions between sections. It is a movement little different in structure from those of Haydn’s quartets, so much so that one might expect further conformity as the quintet continues. However, once the first movement ends, Dvorˇák effectively changes the subject. It is as though, having proved to his listeners that he can do what they expect, he then chooses to bring them what they would not expect. “Enough with sonata forms,” he appears to say. “Now I will be myself.”
The three subsequent movements draw their inspiration from Dvorˇák’s Bohemia, not from Haydn’s Vienna. Here, graceful melodies of the composer’s own creation are based upon folk dances, and Vysoká’s villagers, largely absent from the first movement, at last take center stage. The second movement is essentially a dumka, a type of Slavonic folk ballad in which fast and slow tempos alternate. Dvorˇák evokes that character with sudden mood and tempo changes like those of the dumka itself. The third movement calls upon the Czech furiant, a dance in 3/4 meter with changing rhythms. It’s almost a waltz, although here, a rather jolly one. For the final movement, Dvorˇák chose what may be Eastern Europe’s most familiar folk dance, the polka. One finds not only polka-like rhythms, but also trill and drone effects strongly reminiscent of a country polka band. It shows Dvorˇák’s sympathy for his roots, as well Last performed September as his technical mastery, that in one composition he is able to 25, 2013 (Orion String create such diverse inspirations. Quartet)
DON’T MISS THE LAST PIANO SERIES RECITAL OF THE SEASON JEAN-EFFLAM BAVOUZET TUE, APR 19, 2016 | 7:30 PM
“Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is among the most generous and indefatigable of performers.” — T H E G U A R D I A N PROGRAM:
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op. 78, Op. 90, and Op. 101 Ravel: Miroirs Debussy: Images, Book 1
TO ORDER PIANO SERIES SINGLE TICKETS:
Single tickets $35 each, $10 Students (25 and younger) Visit www.friendsofchambermusic.com or Newman Center Box Office | 303-871-7720 www.newmantix.com friendsofchambermusic.com
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All concerts will be held on Sunday afternoons, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m., at the Clyfford Still Museum, 1250 Bannock Street, Denver
APRIL 10
Colorado Chamber Players, performing works by Bach, Mozart, Haydn, and Schubert.
MAY 8
Persephone Quartet, performing works by Bach, Beethoven, and Puccini.
"MUSIC IN THE GALLERIES" CLYFFORD STILL MUSEUM Music was a part of the life of Clyfford Still from an early age. He played piano and memorized works by Beethoven, Chopin, and Schubert. His record collection, which is part of the Museum’s archives, includes an eclectic mix of classical, jazz, traditional gospel, blues, and folk music. This winter, the Clyfford Still Museum is partnering with Friends of Chamber Music and Swallow Hill Music to offer a new way to encounter Still’s work. "Music in the Galleries" is performed not in concert, but as a new way to experience Still’s work through sight and sound. Chairs will be scattered throughout the museum for guests to sit, look, listen, and enjoy. Music is free with admission to the galleries. As a part of this partnership, the museum has offered FCM patrons half price tickets (if purchased in advance) to enter the museum on performance days. Visit our website under “Special Events” for a link to purchase these discounted tickets.
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"LUNCHTIME AT 1801"
FREE CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERTS TUESDAYS IN APRIL, 12:00 PM 18 0 1 C A L I F O R N I A S T . , D E N V E R FREE TO THE PUBLIC
We are pleased to continue our partnership with Arts Brookfield for a second year, offering a series of free lunchtime concerts in downtown Denver, each Tuesday in April. Bring your lunch and join us in the spectacularly renovated lobby at 1801 California Street, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. A P R I L 5 : A LT I U S Q UA R T E T
The Altius Quartet is an accomplished young ensemble, holding the position of the Fellowship String Quartet-inResidence at the University of Colorado-Boulder where they are mentored by the Takács Quartet. Hailed as "rich" and "captivating" by the renowned music blog, "I Care If You Listen," the Altius Quartet is quickly garnering an international reputation. A P R I L 12 : P A T T E R S O N / S U T T O N D U O
This unusual pairing of instruments features Kimberly Patterson on cello and Patrick Sutton on guitar. The Patterson/Sutton Duo formed in 2011 as doctoral students at the University of Colorado. In 2013 the Patterson/Sutton Duo released their debut album, “Cold Dark Matter: Music for Cello & Guitar,” which The Strad praised for its “wit and imagination.” A P R I L 19 : P E R S E P H O N E S T R I N G Q UA R T E T
This all-CSO quartet is brought together by assistant principal violist and CSO's director of education, Catherine Beeson. Joining Catherine will be Ben Odhner (violin), Alessandra Flanagan (violin), and Danielle Guideri (cello). APRIL 26: SPINPHONY
We are happy to have Spinphony join this series for a second year. While classically trained, Spinphony is energizing the world of string music with original arrangements they call "Pop Baroque" along with classical repertoire, offering programs that appeal to all ages.
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THE FOLLOWIN G FRIENDS have made gifts in the last 12 months. Your generous support is invaluable in assuring our continued standard of excellence. Thank you! $25,000 + Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, Tier III $5,000 + Colorado Creative Industries The Denver Foundation $2,500 + Alix & John Corboy Cynthia & John Kendrick Richard Replin & Elissa Stein $1,000 + Anonymous Patsy & James Aronstein* Lisa & Steve Bain Bob & Cynthia Benson Howard & Kathleen Brand Henry & Janet Claman Bucy Family Fund C. Stuart Dennison Jr. Ellen & Anthony Elias Fackler Legacy Gift Robert S. Graham Celeste & Jack Grynberg Stephen & Margaret Hagood Michael Huotari & Jill Stewart Kim Millett Frank & Pat Moritz Robert & Judi Newman Myra & Robert Rich Jeremy & Susan Shamos Marlis & Shirley Smith Herbert Wittow $500 + Jules & Marilyn Amer Georgia Arribau Linda & Dick Bateman Pam Beardsley Kate Bermingham Andrew & Laurie Brock Henry & Janet Claman Susan & Tim Damour * Max & Carol Ehrlich Tudy Elliff Joyce Frakes Kathe & Michael Gendel Freeman Family Foundation Ann & Douglas Jones John Lebsack & Holly Bennett 8
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Kathy Newman & Rudi Hartmann McGinty Co. Mary Park and Douglas Hsiao Allan & Judith Rosenbaum Ray Satter Henry R. Schmoll Bobbi & Gary Siegel Ric Silverberg & Judith Cott Edie Sonn Chet & Ann Stern Sylvan Stool Families* Marcia Strickland Dick & Kathy Swanson Walter & Kathleen Torres Sam Wagonfeld Andrew Yarosh* $250 + Amica Companies Foundation Truman & Catherine Anderson Anonymous Jan Baucum Hannah Kahn & Arthur Best Theodore Brin David & Joan Clark David S Cohen Fran Corsello Susan & Tim Damour Kevin & Becky Durham George & Sissy Gibson Edward Goldson Larry Harvey David & Lynn Hurst Margie Lee Johnson Carol & Lester Lehman John & Terry Leopold Mark & Lois Levinson Ann Levy Nina & Alan Lipner David & Lyn Loewi, in memory of Ruth Loewi Jeri Loser Philippa Marrack Alex & Kathy Martinez Rex & Nina McGehee Robert Meade Bert & Rosemary Melcher Kirsten & Dave Morgan Rosemarie & Bill Murane John & Mary Ann Parfrey Eileen Price, in memory of Max Price Ann Richardson and Bill Stolfus
Ayliffe & Fred Ris Jane & Bill Russell Richard & Jo Sanders Alan & Gail Seay San Mao Shaw David & Patty Shelton Steven Snyder David Spira and Shirleyan Price Margaret Stookesberry Berkley & Annemarie Tague Norman Wikner & Lela Lee Joseph & Barbara Wilcox $100 + Barton & Joan Alexander Jim & Ginny Allen Anonymous Shannon Armstrong Carolyn Baer Dennis & Barbara Baldwin Dell & Jan Bernstein Sandra Bolton Carolyn & Joe Borus Michael & Elizabeth Brittan Darrell Brown & Suzanne McNitt Joan & Bennie Bub Peter & Cathy Buirski Peter Buttrick & Anne Wattenberg Susan Lee Cable Bonnie Camp Nancy Kiernan Case Marlene Chambers & Lawrence Duggan Geri Cohen Anne Culver Stephen & Dee Daniels Catherine C Decker Tom & Mickey DeTemple Vivian & Joe Dodds David & Debra Flitter Judy Fredricks Herbert & Lydia Garmaier Donna & Harry Gordon Kazuo & Drusilla Gotow John S. Graves Gary & Jacqueline Greer Paula & Stan Gudder Gina Guy Pam & Norman Haglund Richard & Leslie Handler June Haun Richard W. Healy Eugene Heller & Lily Appleman
David & Ana Hill Joseph & Renate Hull L.D. Jankovsky & Sally Berga Stanley Jones Bill Juraschek Michael & Karen Kaplan Robert Keatinge Bruce Kindel Michael & Wendy Klein Roberta & Mel Klein Donna Kornfeld Ellen Krasnow & John Blegen Elizabeth Kreider Doug & Hannah Krening Edward Karg & Richard Kress George Kruger Jack Henry Kunin Richard Leaman Igor & Jessica Levental Judy & Dan Lichtin Theodor Lichtmann Arthur Lieb Charles & Gretchen Lobitz John & Merry Low Elspeth MacHattie & Gerald Chapman Evi & Evan Makovsky Roger Martin Myron McClellan & Lawrence Phillips Estelle Meskin Pamela Metz & Charlene Byers Rhea Miller Paul & Barb Moe Douglas & Laura Moran Marilyn Munsterman & Charles Berberich Betty Naster * Robert & Ilse Nordenholz Robert N. O’Neill Dee & Jim Ohi Jan Parkinson Desiree Parrott-Alcorn John Pascal Carolyn & Garry Patterson David S Pearlman Becky & Don Perkins Carl Pletsch Barbara Pollack Carol Prescott Sarah Przekwas Ralph & Ingeborg Ratcliff Gene & Nancy Richards Marv & Mary Robbins Herb Rothenberg, in memory of Doris Rothenberg Suzanne Ryan Lorenz Rychner
Hilary & Peter Sachs Charley Samson Donald Schiff, in memory of Rosalie Schiff John & Patricia Schmitter Robert & Barbara Shaklee Susan Sherrod and Andrew Lillie Milton Shioya Kathryn Spuhler Nathan Stark Paul Stein Dan & Linda Strammiello Morris & Ellen Susman Decker Swann Cle Symons Malcolm & Hermine Tarkanian Margot K. Thomson Peter Van Etten Tom & Eleanor Vincent Eli & Ashely Wald Bill Watson Ann & Marlin Weaver Hedy & Michael Weinberg Jeff & Martha Welborn Carol Whitley Greta & Randy Wilkening * Ruth Wolff Jeff Zax and Judith Graham R. Dale Zellers Carl & Sara Zimet $50 + Lorraine & Jim Adams Charlene Baum Vernon Beebe Alberta & William Buckman Thomas Butler Barbara Caley Richard & Gwen Chanzit Dana Klapper Cohen Jane Cooper Nancy & Mike Farley Janet & Arthur Fine John & Debora Freed Martha Fulford Robert C. Fullerton Barbara Gilette & Kay Kotzelnick Dr. and Mrs. Stanley Ginsburg Henry & Carol Goldstein Sandra Goodman Sanders Graham Carol & Jim Griesemer Thomas & Gretchen Guiton Barbara Hamilton
Dorothy Hargrove Suzanne Kaller Leonard & Abbey Kapelovitz Daniel & Hsing-ay Hsu Kellogg John & Margo Leininger Linda Levin Della Levy Ben Litoff & Brenda Smith Cherry Lofstrom Bill and Lisa Maury Loris McGavran Joanna Moldow Betty Murphy Mary Murphy Mari Newman Tina & Tom Obermeier Larry O'Donnell Martha Ohrt Danielle Okin Romney Philpott Robert Rasmussen Margaret Roberts Yanita Rowan Cheryl Saborsky Kim Schumanf Jo Shannon Artis Sliverman Lois Sollenberger Steve Susman Robert & Beth Vinton Suzanne Walters Barbara Walton Lin & Christopher Williams, in honor of Kathy Newman’s 70th birthday Robert & Jerry Wolfe Karen Yablonski-Toll Jaclyn Yelich MEMORIAL GIFTS The following individuals made gifts in memory of Ronald Loser, a long-time subscriber who passed away in September. Bill & Adele Deline GYRO Club of Denver William Russell Jerry Seifert Marlis Smith Deborah Sorenson * Gift made to FCM Endowment
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UPCOMING CONCERTS C HAMBER SERIES
PIAN O SERIES
Antoine Tamestit, viola, and Shai Wosner, piano
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
Wednesday, April 27, 7:30 PM
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio Wednesday, May 11, 7:30 PM
ADVANCE SINGLE TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL CONCERTS
Visit Our Website: www.friendsofchambermusic.com Or contact the Newman Center Box Office, 303-871-7720 www.newmantix.com
Tuesday, April 19, 7:30 PM SPECIAL EVENT S
"Music in the Galleries"
Clyfford Still Museum (See page 6 of tonight's program for details.)
Piano Salon with Hsing-ay Hsu April 18, 7:30 PM Call 303-388-9839 for tickets
"Lunchtime at 1801" Free Chamber Music Concerts (See page 7 of tonight’s program for details)
Antoine Tamestit Master Class April 25, 2016, 12:30 PM Newman Center’s Hamilton Hall
SPECIAL THANKS COLORADO CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO (KVOD 88.1 FM)
SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL FACILITIES DISTRICT (TIER III)
ESTATE OF JOSEPH DEHEER ESTATE OF SUE JOSHEL
for providing general operating support for our season
for supporting FCM’s outreach efforts through school residencies and master classes
for broadcasting FCM concerts on its “Colorado Spotlight” programs
for providing lead gifts to the FCM Endowment Fund BONFILS-STANTON FOUNDATION
for sponsorship of FCM’s Piano Series and audience development programs in memory of Lewis Story
Gates Concert Hall • Newman Center for the Performing Arts • University of Denver
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