Tonight’s program is deeply personal to me, as it is inextricably tied to my father, whom I lost when I was fifteen. Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem was a constant companion throughout his long illness and eventual passing. With its profound focus on offering comfort to the living in the face of loss, this powerful, monumental, and disarmingly moving work became a beacon of hope for me.
Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony was the first piece of classical music I truly fell in love with as a child. My father often played it for me—at home, in the car—its melodies accompanying us wherever we went. I vividly remember him describing the haunting, ominous quality of the low basses in the opening bars—a detail that resonated deeply, as he himself was a professional bass player.
These two pieces have been with me my entire life. Now, in celebration of my 10th anniversary at the helm of Musica Viva NY, we share them with you.
– Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, Artistic Director
MEET THE ARTISTS
Musica Viva NY is a non-profit arts organization that was established nearly fifty years ago. Its mission is to bring world-class music to a wide community through an annual concert series, an active community engagement program, and an ambitious artistic vision. Under the baton of Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez since 2015, Musica Viva NY strives to offer joy, solace and renewal in a complex world by presenting new compositions and classic masterworks in transformative interpretations that ennoble the human spirit.
Musica Viva NY’s superb chamber choir and world class collaborating instrumentalists make their concert home at Manhattan’s historic All Souls NYC. “Musica Viva NY is a treasured institution that makes living in New York a joy” ( Front Row Center).
Musica Viva NY regularly combines its presentation of the classical repertoire with less widely known works, as part of its commitment to perform the works of living American composers, women composers and composers of color, including works that address social, racial or environmental issues.
Musica Viva NY has commissioned and premiered numerous works by contemporary composers including Bora Yoon, Seymour Bernstein, Elena Ruehr, Joseph Turrin, Bruce Saylor, Jean-Louis Petit, Eugenio Toussaint, Gilda Lyons, Richard Einhorn, Trent Johnson and Trevor Weston. “With a commitment to new music and diverse composers, New York City choir Musica Viva NY is paving the way for daring collaborations” (Choir & Organ Magazine).
Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez is a celebrated conductor and pianist known for his expressive artistry and innovative programming. He serves as Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY, Director of Music at the Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan, Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival in Texas, and co-founder and Artistic Director of the New Orchestra of Washington (NOW).
Praised by The Washington Post for his “incisive clarity” and by The New York Times for delivering “a stirring performance,” Hernandez-Valdez is a passionate advocate for both traditional and contemporary music. He has commissioned and premiered works by a diverse roster of composers including Joan Tower, Arturo Márquez, Joseph Turrin, Gilda Lyons, Richard Einhorn, Seymour Bernstein, Viet Cuong, Juan Pablo Contreras, Trevor Weston, and Elena Ruehr, among others.
Under his leadership, Musica Viva NY has expanded its artistic reach, earning acclaim for compelling performances and, most recently,
MEET THE ARTISTS
a landmark Naxos release featuring legendary mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. With NOW, he has redefined the chamber orchestra experience, presenting bold programs in venues such as the Kennedy Center.
Hernandez-Valdez has also appeared as a pianist at the Britten100 Festival and composed The Imaginary City, inspired by the life of Ramzi Aburedwan. He was honored by Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Creadores Mexicanos en el Extranjero and received the Shenandoah Conservatory Alumni of Excellence Award.
Upcoming engagements include performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Bach’s B Minor Mass, Brahms’s Symphony No.1, and the world premiere of Grammy-nominated composer Juan Pablo Contreras’s Symphony No.1. He will also lead Musica Viva NY on a tour of Spain in collaboration with Teatro Real.
Anna Aistova , soprano, holds a BM in Voice from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Master’s in Opera from the Mannes School of Music. She has collaborated with the Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky theaters, performed as a soloist with the Folk Orchestra of Saint Petersburg, and portrayed roles including Josephine (The Comedy on the Bridge), La Fée (Cendrillon), and Norina ( Don Pasquale).
Recent highlights include singing the soprano solo in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and leading as Calisto in La Calisto with the Mannes Opera. In 2023, she debuted with New Rochelle Opera as Adele in Die Fledermaus
A finalist in the SAS Performing Arts Competition and Second Prize winner of the 2024 John Alexander National Competition, Anna began 2025 by joining the prestigious Castleton Festival in Virginia. In addition to tonight’s concert she looks forward to an upcoming performance with Garden State Opera ( Stabat Mater).
Anna dedicates this performance to her father, who passed away earlier this year.
Coming up at All Souls NYC
MEET THE ARTISTS
New Zealand bass Paul Whelan’s international career spans debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Bolshoi Opera, Netherlands Opera, English National Opera, and Opera Australia. Recent roles include: Daland, Der Fliegende Hollander (Hawaii, New Zealand); Raimondo, Lucia (ENO); Seneca, L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Lille, Dijon); Banco, Macbeth (Opera North); Figaro, Nozze di Figaro (Scottish Opera); Giorgio, I Puritani (Boston Lyric Opera); Don Giovanni (title role) (Opera Australia, NZ Opera, Lithuania and Prague); Commendatore, Don Giovanni (Garsington Festival), Collatinus, The Rape of Lucretia (Opera Norway), Ramfis, Aida (Opera Australia), Claggart, Billy Budd (Glyndebourne Festival). He has worked with conductors such as: Sir Simon Rattle, Kent Nagano, Valery Gergiev, Gary Bertini, David Zinmani, Sir Colin Davis, and Sir Charles Mackerras. Recordings include A Midsummer Night’s Dream with LSO (Phillips) and L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Virgin Classics). Paul was the 1993 winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World Lieder prize and pursues a busy concert career.
Save the dates for Musica Viva NY’s Spanish tour - March 12-20, 2026
Musica Viva NY is going to Spain on tour in March 2026 under the aegis of one of the most prestigious opera houses in Europe, Teatro Real! There will be concerts in spectacular spaces, including in Madrid, Toledo and Zaragoza. Tour Patrons who sponsor a choir member by paying for their tour costs of $2,500 are invited to come along with Alejandro and the choir on this adventure. If you are interested in coming along on the tour as a Tour Patron, or want to sponsor a choir member without coming on tour, please contact Board President Julie Brannan, Executive Director Jasna Vasić or both.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Hüttenbrenner claimed Schubert dedicated the symphony to him specifically, as the gracious program note suggests, “Mr. Anselm Hüttenbrenner in Graz was kind enough to hand over the original manuscript of the 1st and 2nd movements of the Symphony in B Minor, which Schubert composed in October 1822” (translated from Figure 1). However, Schubert’s aforementioned letter from 1823 promising the Association a symphony in combination with Hüttenbrenner’s contemporaneous involvement with the Association indicates an incomplete exchange between Schubert and the Association, with Hüttenbrenner intended only as a middle man. Curiously, to the best of our knowledge, neither Schubert nor Hüttenbrenner mentioned this composition for the rest of the former’s lifetime. Furthermore, exactly why it was left incomplete is highly debated. Some say Schubert intended his work to have a transgressive structure reflecting his personal life, while others argue the composer could not, or would not, continue composing because he associated the work with his initial syphilitic attack. Still, others maintain that the music itself displeased Schubert, perhaps due to its persistent triple meter, or that he was distracted by a new project, his Wanderer Fantasy (1822). While the theories behind its peculiar circumstances and form are manifold, the “Unfinished” Symphony itself is generally regarded as a perfect metaphor for the composer’s untimely death amid a blossoming career.
Agreat admirer (and borrower) of Schubert’s music, Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was already preparing his Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 by the time the “Unfinished” premiered in December of 1865. In contrast to the truncated symphonic opening of our program, the Requiem, in its relatively exceptional length and scale, reflects the longevity of its composer’s highly publicized career. Thanks to an influential teacher in his youth, Brahms became a dedicated student of a wide swath of earlier composers, including Bach and Handel, and had even put himself through a counterpoint bootcamp of sorts with his friend, the composer and violinist, Joseph Joachim (1831–1907). This deep interest in and reverence for the works of these earlier composers, as well as those of more recent yet “serious” composers, like Mendelssohn and Schumann, placed Brahms on the conservative side of a heated controversy between defenders of more traditional forms and harmonies, including himself and his beloved Schumanns, and advocates of the more progressive, programmatic music, like Liszt and Wagner. In reality, each side utilized a spectrum of both established and innovative techniques in their compositions, and several maintained friendly relationships across the divide, as was the case with Brahms and Wagner. Ein Deutsches Requiem, with its combination of historical awareness, structural rigor, and deeply personal expression, can be heard as a meaningful gesture during this tumultuous chapter.
The piece itself consists of seven movements total, although the work was performed at two earlier stages of composition. The first three movements were premiered in Vienna in December of 1867 by the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde under von Herbeck, who premiered the
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
“Unfinished” almost exactly two years prior. (The other half of that 1867 program was Schubert’s incidental music for Helmina von Chezy’s 1823 play, Rosamunde. Coincidentally, several scholars maintain that the music for Rosamunde’s first entr’acte, which is in the same key and has the same instrumentation as the “Unfinished” Symphony, is a repurposed version of Schubert’s missing fourth movement.) Then, in April 1868, Brahms himself conducted the Requiem in Bremen, but with only six movements. The following month, the composer completed the final seven-movement version, having inserted a new fifth movement highlighting the soprano soloist. The seven movements are unified by a recurring three-note motif featuring a leap of a major third followed by a half-step, which shapes much of the Requiem’s thematic material.
The full title of Brahms’s work reads, Ein Deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift, or, “A German Requiem, to Words of the Holy Scriptures,” pointing to the composer’s use of exclusively German text from the Luther Bible as opposed to the Catholic Requiem Mass from the Roman Missal. Although raised in the Lutheran church, Brahms would have likely argued that he was less in a spiritual crisis than he was in the throes of the human condition when composing the Requiem in the wake of his mother’s death in February of 1865. His grief for her passing heightens the poignancy of Brahms’s late addition, the fifth-movement, as the soprano sings, “And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. … As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.” There has also been some speculation that Brahms was still affected by his close friend Robert Schumann’s (1810–1856) passing almost a decade earlier. This is an especially compelling theory when considering Brahms composed entirely new material for his Requiem with the exception of parts of the second movement that were composed in 1854, during the time of Schumann’s sharp mental decline and attempted suicide. Brahms’s struggle with these losses ties in with the distinctly human element of his Requiem, engaging with those who mourn in life more so than dwelling on the fate of the dead. However, Brahms certainly aligned with the Protestants’ traditionally positive angle when selecting his texts. As Robin Leaver (2002) notes, “Luther…proposed that funerals should have an extensive Biblical content, declare the hope of resurrection, and be expressed in musical form.” While Brahms was not necessarily interested in Luther’s level of religiosity for his Requiem— refusing at least once to insert scripture with explicit references to Christ’s death—his music and hand-selected scriptures unite to comfort the living and point them toward the assurance of peace in death.
– Evangeline Athanasiou
I Selig sind, die da Leid tragen
Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, denn sie sollen getröstet werden.
Matthew 5:4
Die mit Tränen säen, werden mit Freuden ernten.
Sie gehen hin und weinen und tragen edlen Samen, und kommen mit Freuden und bringen ihre Garben.
Psalm 126:5,6
II Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras
Denn alles Fleisch ist wie Gras und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen wie des Grases Blumen. Das Gras ist verdorret und die Blume abgefallen.
1 Peter 1:24
So seid nun geduldig, lieben Brüder, bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn. Siehe, ein Ackermann wartet auf die köstliche Frucht der Erde und is geduldig darüber, bis er empfahe den Morgenregen und Abendregen.
James 5:7
Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit.
1 Peter 1:25
Die Erlöseten des Herrn werden wieder kommen, und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen; ewige Freude wird über ihrem Haupte sein; Freude und Wonne werden sie ergreifen und Schmerz und Seufzen wird weg müssen.
Isaiah 35:10
I
Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
II
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandmen waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Ich will euch trösten, wie Einen seine Mutter tröstet.
Isaiah 66:13
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
VI Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt
Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt, sondern die zukünftige suchen wir.
Hebrews 13:14
Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnis: Wir werden nicht alle entschlafen, wir werden aber alle verwandelt werden; und dasselbige plötzlich, in einem Augenblick, zu der Zeit der letzten Posaune. Denn es wird die Posaune schallen, und die Toten vervandelt werden. Dann wird erfüllet werden das Wort, das geschrieben steht: Der Tod is verschlungen in den Sieg. Tod, wo ist dein Stachel? Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?
1 Corinthians 15:51,52,54,55
Herr, du bist Würdig zu nehmen
Preis und Ehre und Kraft, denn du hast alle Dinge geschaffen, und durch deinen Willen haben sie das Wesen und sind geschaffen.
Revelation 4:11
VII Selig sind die Toten
Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herrn sterben, von nun an. Ja, der Geist spricht, daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit; denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach.
Revelation 14:13
VI
As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. …then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
VII
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
To find out about ways to support Musica Viva NY through employer matching, volunteering, and monthly giving, please contact our Executive Director at jasna@musicaviva.org .
MUSICA VIVA NY
Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez
Artistic Director
Jasna Vasić
Executive Director
Trent Johnson
Assistant Artistic Director
Erinn Sensenig
Operations and Production Manager
Julie Brannan President
Heidi DuBois Vice-President
Shawn Bartels Secretary
Seymour Bernstein
Laurel Blossom
Renée Fleming
Our Team
Dinah Nissen, Esq.
Marketing Director
Kate Phillips Director of Community Engagement
Barbara de Bellis Librarian
Nathan Siler
Digital Marketing Consultant
Board of Directors
Lisa O’Brien, Esq. Treasurer
Constance Beavon
Shu-Wie Chen
Melanie Niemiec
Dinah Nissen, Esq.
Advisory Board
Susan Jolles
Walter Klauss
Artistic Director Emeritus
Winnie Olsen
Kate Phillips
David Rockefeller, Jr.
Andrew Taylor-Troup
Jean-Louis Petit
Bruce Saylor Epp Sonin
Sponsor Musica Viva NY
There are many opportunities to play a role in bringing Musica Viva NY ’s season to life as a sponsor, including:
• Underwrite a concert
• Underwrite a recording
• Underwrite a tour
• Underwrite the appearance of a guest artist
Naming opportunities are available for sponsors. Contact Jasna Vasić, Executive Director at jasna@musicaviva.org .
Critical acclaim for our album CRIMSON ROSES
We are delighted to announce that our album, CRIMSON ROSES, released by Naxos in November 2024, has been receiving glowing reviews in the musical press, including the following:
BBC Music Magazine February 2025
“This moving album from Naxos celebrates the strength of contemporary American choral composition with three successful, and well-performed works.”
“This recording finds the Musica Viva NY Choir on especially thrilling form.”
Gramophone January 2025
“with warmth, vitality and cohesion under music director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez . . . the Musica Viva NY Choir bask in the technical challenges, sustaining long lines with finesse and brimming with colour and crisp ensemble in the livelier material.”
Sequenza 21/ December 2024
“This is the tenth anniversary of Hernandez-Valdez’s tenure with Musica Viva NY, and the contemporary pieces that were selected for the recording demonstrate both his dedicated curation and the versatility and talent of the group.”
“The orchestra and choir acquit themselves well in Turrin’s neo-romantic score. Kudos to conductor Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez for leading the piece in a well-paced and thoughtful interpretation.”
Textura December 2024
“Led by its conductor and Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez since 2015, the chamber choir dazzles audiences with seasonal concerts at its historic All Souls NYC home base in Manhattan.”
“Crimson Roses: Contemporary American Choral Music is distinguished by the ensemble’s superb realizations of the three works but also for including a performance by the great mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. Having someone of her stature—she’s issued over seventy recordings and received countless honours and awards for her life’s work—make a guest appearance on the album is a genuine feather in the cap for the choral ensemble.”
“Cumulatively, the works argue strongly on behalf of Musica Viva NY and Hernandez-Valdez’s assured guiding hand and suggest attendance at one of its All Souls NYC concerts should be part of any city visitor’s itinerary.”
MUSICA VIVA NY PATRONS 2024-2025
We are deeply grateful to our Patrons listed below for their support of our 2024-2025 season. Thank you for joining us! Your support for our outstanding Musica Viva NY artists, our high-caliber, innovative choral and chamber music performances, and our community engagement is vital and essential.
Corporate and Foundation Support
The Heart & Soul Charitable Fund
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
The Rea Charitable Fund
The Women’s Alliance
Appassionato
$10,000 and above
Barbara Cohn
Heidi & Nicholas DuBois
Don & Georgia Gogel
Melanie & David Niemiec
Susan & David Rockefeller, Jr.
Con Fuoco
$5,000 to $9,999
Lois Gaeta, in Memory of David Remember Baker
David Poppe & Cherie Henderson
Fritz Reuter
Bradford & Gail Rodney
Jennifer Shotwell
Epp Sonin
Con Brio
$3,000 to $4,999
Lisa & Dick Cashin
Shu-Wie Chen
George Dorsey
Victor Fidel & Heather Floyd
Liz Harvey
Pamela Healey
Margaret MacCary
Dinah Nissen
Lisa O’Brien
Laura Pedersen
Judith Samuelson & Vic Henschel
Madonna K. Starr
Risoluto
$1,000 - $2,999
Lynne & Richard Allen
Elizabeth Apelles
Shawn Bartels
Constance Beavon
Tom & Heli Blum
Susan Boland
Julie Brannan
Stillman Brown
Dixie Goss & Dan Cryer
Lena Kaplan
Stephen Lash
Harold Norris & Kell Julliard
Winnie Olsen
Thomas Simpson
Deborah Taylor
Brenda Walker
Edward Whitney
One anonymous Patron
One anonymous Patron in honor of MVNY
Board President
Julie Brannan
Espressivo
$500 - $999
Astrid & John Baumgardner
Barbara de Bellis, in memory of Greta Minsky
Austin & Sarah Bramwell
Miles Chapin
Mary Gundermann
Dana Ivey
Michele Jawin & Dr. Mark Kroll
Carol Kirkman
John Mascio
James Moskin
Kate Phillips
Lynne Randall
Karen Steele
Andrew Taylor-Troup
Aracy Winter
Rachel Ziemba
Cantabile
$200 - $499
Robin Bossert
Michelle Boston
Anne Brewer
Alice Cheng
John Cooper
Richard Einhorn
Anne Fraenkel-Thonet
Marjory & Jeff Friedlander
Mary Geissman
Arthur Hopkirk
Margaret Kampmeier & Ed Harsh
Walter Klauss
Steven Lane
Millie & John Liebmann
Patricia Lloyd
Colleen McCourtney
Tara McNamara
Erika Mikkelsen Halford
MUSICA VIVA NY PATRONS 2024-2025
Elizabeth Millard
Whitman
Molly O’Neil Frank
Priscilla Pochna
Erik Resurreccion
Mary Ann Schade
Bradley & Erich
Strauchen Scherer
Alison Tung
Jasna Vasić
Dolce
$25 - $199
Betsy & David Bennett
Laura Berman
Ann Bigelow
Jack Burkhalter
Beth Clancy
Carol Crigler
Ruth Cunningham
Michelle Demko
Mary Dugan
Marye Elmlinger & Eric Lamm
James Finder
Sandra Lotz Fisher
Linda Francke
Andrea Geisser
Joseph Goddu
Christine Goodwin
Nancy Jacobson
Camille Labarre
Susan & Stephen Langley
Dede McMahon
Isabel Mountbatten
George & Jane Nissen
Steven Ostrow
Mary Pisarkiewicz
Mazur
Eleanor Preiss
Marilyn Reagan
Barbara Reed
Paul Roberts
Bryce Stack
William Steele
William Thurston
Hanan Watson
Sarah Wilson
Suzanne Zissu
This list reflects gifts received from June 1, 2024 to May 8, 2025.
We are so grateful to our Patrons listed below for their support of The AHV 10th Anniversary Fund which made it possible for us to present the Brahms’ Requiem tonight with a full orchestra:
Lynne & Richard Allen
Elizabeth Apelles
Shawn Bartels
Laura Berman
Ann Bigelow
Susan Boland
Austin & Sarah Bramwell
Julie Brannan
Anne Brewer
Stillman B. Brown
Jack Burkhalter
Beth Clancy
Carol Crigler
Michelle Demko
Richard Einhorn
James Finder
Sandra Lotz Fisher
Linda Francke
Lincoln & Molly Frank
Joseph Goddu
Arthur Hopkirk
Dana Ivey
Nancy Jacobson
Margaret Kampmeier & Ed Harsh
Lena Kaplan
Carol Kirkman
Walter Klauss
Eric Lamm
Stephen Lash
Erika Mikkelsen Halford
Ian Miles
Isabel Mountbatten
Melanie & David Niemiec
Dinah Nissen
George & Jane Nissen
Lisa O’Brien
Mary Pisarkiewicz
Mazur
David Poppe & Cherie Henderson
Barbara Reed
Erik Resurreccion
Fritz Reuter
Paul Roberts
Susan & David
Rockefeller, Jr.
Bradley & Erich
Strauchen Scherer
Epp Sonin
Bryce Stack
Madonna Starr
Deborah Taylor
William Thurston
Alison Tung
Jasna Vasić
Hanan Watson
Edward Whitney
Sarah Wilson
Suzanne Zissu
One anonymous donor
Musica Viva NY is extremely grateful for the following help with its 2024-25 season from:
All Souls NYC ( www.AllSoulsNYC.org ) for Musica Viva NY’s meeting, rehearsal, performance, and reception spaces as well as for the facilities and events staff who help make all productions run smoothly
Heart & Soul Fund, Inc. for its longtime support of our community engagement programming
MVNY’s community engagement is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council
