Brahms, Weinberg & Bartok-Frankly Music

Frank Almond, Artistic Director Monday, Oct. 15, 2012 – 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012 – 7 p.m.

Bader Recital Hall Wisconsin Conservatory of Music

Musicians of the MSO Frank Almond, violin Ilana Setapen, violin Wei-Ting Kuo, viola Susan Babini, cello Todd Levy, clarinet Jeannie Yu, piano Clarinet Quintet in b, Op. 115...............................................................................Johannes Brahms Allegro (1833-1897) Adagio Andantino Con moto Intermission Clarinet Sonata, Op.28 (1945)......................................................................Mieczysław Weinberg Allegro (1919-1996) Allegretto Adagio Contrasts (1938).......................................................................................................................Béla Bartók Verbunkos (1881-1945) Pihenö Sebes

Musicians of the MSO

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BIOGR APHIES Violinist Frank Almond holds the Charles and Marie Caestecker Concertmaster Chair at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He returned to the MSO after holding positions as Concertmaster of the Rotterdam Philharmonic with Valery Gergiev, and Guest Concertmaster of the London Philharmonic with Kurt Masur.

Other guest Concertmaster appearances have included the Seattle Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, and the Grand Tetons Music Festival. He continues an active schedule of solo and chamber music performances in the US and abroad including recent appearances with the Ojai Festival, the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Music in the Vineyards, and various solo appearances with orchestras. He has been a member of

the chamber group An die Musik in New York City since 1997, and also founded and directs the acclaimed Frankly Music chamber series based in Milwaukee. At 17, he was one of the youngest prizewinners in the history of the Nicolo Paganini Competition in Genoa, Italy, and later was one of two American prizewinners at the Eighth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, documented in an award-winning PBS film.

In addition to his work with An die Musik, Mr. Almond’s work as a chamber musician has generated collaborations over the years with many of today’s top institutions, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Hal Leonard Corporation, the Ravinia Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, and countless other summer festivals.

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He has recorded for AVIE, Summit, Albany, Hal Leonard, Boolean, Innova, Newport Classic, Wergo and New Albion, has appeared numerous times on NPR’s Performance Today, and was twice nominated for a Grammy. In 2013 AVIE will release A Violin’s Life featuring works and composers directly associated with the “Lipinski” Stradivarius.

Mr. Almond holds two degrees from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay. Other important teachers included Michael Tseitlin, Felix Galimir, and Joseph Silverstein. He has held several academic positions and is currently on the faculty at Northwestern University.

When he’s not traveling around playing the violin he lives in Milwaukee with his wife and two young daughters. He plays on a violin by Antonio Stradivari from 1715, the “ex-Lipinski”. In 2012 he was featured with the MSO in an episode of NatGeo’s America’s Lost Treasures. He continues to write the popular online column nondivisi.

Since her solo orchestral debut at age 15 with the Amarillo Symphony, Ilana Setapen has been flourishing as a violinist with a powerful and original voice. She is currently the Associate Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Assistant Concertmaster of the Grant Park Festival Orchestra in Chicago.

Ms. Setapen has upcoming solo performances this season with the Milwaukee Symphony, the Sheboygan Symphony, the Boca Raton Symphonia and the Gateway Chamber Orchestra. She is also a frequent performer on the Dame

Myra Hess Recital Series in Chicago. She has participated in numerous festivals such as the Olympic Music Festival, the New York String Seminar, Aspen Music Festival, and the National Repertory Orchestra.

Ms. Setapen has won top prizes in many competitions, such as the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, the Pasadena Showcase Competition, and the Kingsville International Competition. At the age of 21, she became concertmaster of the Riverside Philharmonic in Los Angeles.

She has also held concertmaster positions with the Juilliard Orchestra, the Colburn Orchestra, the American Youth Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the USC Thornton Symphony.

Also a passionate chamber musician, Ms. Setapen was for two years the first violinist of the award-winning Calla Quartet in New York. Her talent has also led her to collaborations with such distinguished artists as Ron Leonard, Lynn Harrell, Toby Appel, Peter Stumpf, Paul Coletti, Cynthia Phelps, the Fine Arts Quartet, Frank Almond, Joe Johnson, Todd Levy, and David Geber. Solo and chamber music performances have brought her abroad to France, Brazil, Holland, England, Monaco, and Italy. She is now the first violinist of the Milwaukee based Arcas Quartet and a frequent guest on the Frankly Music Series as well as Chamber Music Milwaukee.

Ms. Setapen grew up in Amarillo, Texas.

She studied with Robert Lipsett both at the University of Southern California and at the Colburn Conservatory. She received her Master of Music Degree from the Juilliard School as a student of Donald Weilerstein and Ronald Copes. She performs on a 1624 Brothers Amati violin on loan from Frank Almond.

Musicians of the MSO

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Wei-Ting Kuo was born in Taiwan, where he began his viola studies at the age of 9. He quickly gained recognition after winning the first prize in the Taiwan Viola Competition and attracted critical attention as the first violist to win the first prizes in Hsing-Tien-Gong String Competition, Young Artist Showcase String Competition, and National Taiwan Normal University String Competition. He was awarded and recognized as the ‘Most Potential Young Musician’ by the members of the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra. He attended the Taos Music Festival in 2008 and was selected as a finalist for the 2008 Primrose International Viola Competition. 2009, Mr.Kuo was a prize winner of Tokyo International Viola Competition and also recieve a special

Prize of the best interpretation. He attended the Ravinia Festival in 2009 as well. Currently Mr. Kuo is the Assistant Principal Viola in Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Increasingly recognized for her “arresting performances”,“liquid sense of phrasing” and “gorgeous sound” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), cellist Susan Babini was recently named Principal Cello of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she has performed as Guest Principal Cello with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Of her 2010 East Coast premièreperformance of Aaron Jay Kernis’s Colored

Mark your calendars for our next concerts:

Art of the Cello Jan. 14 and 15, 2013.

Featuring Tamás Varga, Principal cello of the Vienna Philharmonic.

Music of Ligeti, Ibert, Gál, and Brahms.

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Field for Cello and Orchestra with Symphony in C, The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that “she was a beacon of clarity”…”The performance was everything it could be.”

She will perform Colored Field again in the fall of 2012 with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. She has also appeared as soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

An avid chamber musician, Ms. Babini is the principal cellist of the New Century Chamber Orchestra, a conductorless chamber ensemble which completed their 2011 tour of the Midwest and California to great critical acclaim and just released their newest album, LIVE. The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society recently presented Ms. Babini in solo recital in 2011 at the Fleisher Art Memorial. In addition she has performed on their series as part of “Musicians from Marlboro” and has been a participant of the Marlboro Music Festival. A winner of Astral Artist’s National Auditions, she received both a Bachelor and a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a graduate diploma from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Bonnie Hampton.

Principal clarinet of the MSO, The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and participant in the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, three-time Grammy Award-winner Todd Levy has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, the Mostly Mozart Festival, with the Israel Philharmonic, and at the White House; as chamber musician with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Orion, Miami quartets, James Levine, Christoph Eschenbach, and Mitsuko Uchida; as a

participant at the Marlboro Music Festival for four summers; as a member of the Naumburg Award-winning Aspen Wind Quintet; as guest principal clarinet with The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2011), The Philadelphia Orchestra (2010), The New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera; and as a frequent principal clarinet for Seiji Ozawa, Ricardo Muti, and Alan Gilbert at The Tokyo Opera Nomori and Saito Kinen festivals in Japan.

He has performed world premiere concerti or chamber works by composers such as John Harbison, Joan Tower, Peter Schickele, Paquito D’Rivera, Morton Subotnick, Marc Neikrug, and performs on the new 2009 release of Marc Neikrug’s Through Roses chamber work with violinist Pinchas Zuckerman, actor John Rubenstein, and the composer conducting.

In 2012, Mr Levy recorded the Finzi Five Bagatelles for the newly released edition for Boosey and Hawkes/Hal Leonard. In 2010, Mr. Levy co-edited and recorded the Bernstein Clarinet Sonata for the newly released edition of the work published by Boosey and Hawkes/ Hal Leonard. He has recorded three book/ CDs of clarinet competition works for G. Schirmer/Hal Leonard entitled The Clarinet Collection, the Brahms Clarinet Sonatas for Avie, and over 20 other orchestral and chamber music CDs on the Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, and Decca labels. He performs exclusively on Vandoren reeds, mouthpieces, and ligatures and Selmer Signature clarinets. He is also on the faculty of UW/Milwaukee and is co-director of Chamber Music Milwaukee.

For a more complete biography, visit toddlevy.org.

Musicians of the MSO

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Jeannie Yu was awarded first prize in the Frinna Awerbuch Piano Competition in New York, the Flint Symphony International Concerto Competition, the Portland Symphony International Concerto Competition, and the Kingsville Piano Competition in Texas. She also earned the prestigious Gina Bachauer Memorial Scholarship Award, a full scholarship for the master’s degree program at The Juilliard School of Music where she also received the Bachelor’s Degree. Subsequently she was awarded an accompanist fellowship at the Peabody Conservatory of Music where she received her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree.

Ms. Yu has performed as soloist with the Flint Symphony, Portland Symphony, Marina del Rey-Westchester Symphony, Des Moines Symphony, Des Moines Brandenburg Symphony, the Xiamen

Symphony Orchestra in China, Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Festival City Symphony Orchestra. She has been in great demand as a soloist and collaborative artist in live performances on WQXR in New York, WOI, in Iowa, WFMT in Chicago, and chamber music series such as the Northwestern University Winter Chamber Music Series, the Rembrandt Chamber Players Series in Chicago, and Chamber Music North in Michigan in addition to her schedule of performances as a member of the Florestan Duo and the Trio Antigo.

Recently she has been asked to join the Rembrandt Chamber Players as an associate member.

Ms. Yu has also participated as faculty in the Alfred University Summer Chamber Music Institute, the Ohio Wesleyan Summer Chamber Music Festival, the Milwaukee Chamber Music Festival, and the Troy Youth Chamber Music Institute.

F R A N K LY M U S I C B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S Linda Tojek, President Barbara Wanless, Vice President Marta Haas, Secretary Calvin C. Kozlowski, Treasurer Frank Almond Dr. Russell Brooker Linda Tojek Patricia Crump Jean Holmburg Laurence Tucker Judy Keyes Linda L. Saladin Wendy Slocum Frank Almond, Artistic Director Linda L. Saladin, Executive Director

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Call 414.940.8770 if you wish to be added to the mailing list, or join online.

Please go to www.franklymusic.org to purchase tickets

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2 012 - 2 013 F R A N K LY M U S I C S E A S O N PAT R O N S $5,000 to $9,999 Frank Almond $3,000 to $4,999 Patrice Bringe Greater Milwaukee Foundation Judith A. Keyes Greater Milwaukee Foundation $2,000 to $2,999 CAMPAC Robert and Mary Jane Denton James and Linda Saladin Michael & Jeanne Schmitz Joe and Jeni Tate - hosts of the 2012 fundraiser Don & Kate Wilson $1,000 to $1,999 Dr. Christine Bryke and Dr. Anthony Garber Greg Chrisafis Megan Holbrook and Eric Vogel Charles & Jean Holmburg Angela Johnston Sanford & Katharine Mallin Peter & Wendy Slocum

$500 to $999 Dr. Frank Almond James and Roberta Caraway Franklyn Eisenberg Michael Gonzalez Doyne and Marta Haas David Lindberg* Christel Mildenberg Mary Ellen Mitchanis Bill & Gwen Niewoehner Roger and Nancy Ritzow Dr. Thomas and Harriet Russell Joan Urdan Wisconsin Lutheran College * $250 to $499 Dr. Russell and Karen Brooker Phillip and Patricia Crump Il Mito Restaurant* Robert and Gail Korb Cal & Lynn Kozlowski Don and JoAnne Krause Tom and Jane Lacy Arthur & Nancy Laskin John & Martha Lubing Allen and Pat Rieselbach Roger Ritzow Dr. Thomas Russell Kathleen Ryan Barbara Wanless

Catherine Wendt Jim and Susee Wiechmann $100 to $249 Connie Almond Dave and Chris Abbott Dr. Russell and Karen Brooker James Chapson James and Mary Connelly Mr. & Mrs. Howard Dubner Franklyn Eisenberg Dr. & Mrs Ed Filmanowicz Katherine Grogan Jean Gurney David and Margarete Harvey David and Judith Hecker Barbara Holland Gordon and Dorothy Kenngott Marty and Alice Krebs Alexander & Mary MacGillis Keith Mardak Mason Street Grille* Mae-Carol Matousek Cindy H. Molloy Molloy’s* Metavante** Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra* Duane and Karen Nadolski Next Act Theatre*

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2 012 - 2 013 F R A N K LY M U S I C S E A S O N PAT R O N S Patricia Nylen and Thomas Wickersham S. J. Janis Co. Linda Radder RBC Foundation** Harris & Charlene Roufas Charles and Patricia Roy Allan and Jo Salzstein Larry and Kathy Schnuck Elaine Schueler Sharon Lynne Wilson Center For the Arts* Skylight Opera Theatre* Gile & Linda Tojek Laurence and Rise Tucker Stacy Williams Norm & Prati Wojtal

$99 and under Fred and Kay Austermann Farlin and Verla Caufield Maryellen Gleason Joyce Gudeman Carol Goldstein David and Carol Jones Judy & Gary Jorgensen Ann Leys David and Maria Luce Milwaukee Chamber Theatre* Milwaukee Repertory Theater* Mary Novak Jane O’Connell Jamshed and Deborah Patel Karen Peters Darlene Roberts

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Judith Ruland Fred & MaryBeth Schmelzer Mary Ellen Schmidt Sabina Silver George Simonds Robert and Alice Streicher Sherman & Donna Swanson Temple Hills Coffee* Joy Towell Thomas Varney Joy Towell Wisconsin Energy Foundation** *in-kind donations **matching gift

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