Serebrier - Adagio

JosĂŠ Serebrier Adagio for String Orchestra

While planning a recording to conduct with the St. Michael Strings in Finland, the orchestra asked me to consider including a work of my own. I decided to orchestrate for string ensemble my Vocalise, an a cappella choral work that I wrote at the age of 15 as a follow-up to my only other choral piece, Canción del Destino (Song of Destiny). I renamed the orchestration Adagio to avoid confusion with the choral setting, and also because I was mindful of the Rachmaninoff Vocalise, which I had just performed and recorded, in my own orchestration, with the Russian National Orchestra.

In its minimal duration, my Adagio paints a portrait of desolation, perhaps unexpected for a boy of 15. The tempo indication at the start, which surprises me now just as much, indicates “Slowly, and as sad as possible”. I can’t recall any particular reason why I wrote in that frame of mind, since I was a happy and contented teenager, but most if not all of my early works have that Slavic dark touch, and an elegiac and nostalgic mood. Adagio has been recorded on Alba ABCD 341.

—José Serebrier

José Serebrier established himself as a significant composer very early in his career. He was just 17 when Leopold Stokowski gave the world premiere of his Symphony No. 1, and soon after started to gain notoriety also as a conductor. His dual career has been honored with 36 Grammy Award nominations, and the Latin Grammy award for Best Classical Recording as conductor.

Born in Montevideo, Uruguay of Russian and Polish parents, Serebrier was awarded a Koussevitzky Foundation Award at Tanglewood and a BMI Young Composers Award for his Symphony No. 1 and Saxophone Quartet. He received a U.S. State Department Fellowship to study composition at the Curtis Institute of Music with Vittorio Giannini and with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood. Awarded two consecutive Guggenheim Fellowships at 19 and 20, he remains the youngest to have ever obtained these awards in any field. Following graduation from Curtis, Serebrier studied at the University of Minnesota, where he received his M.A. in composition. He was awarded two Dorati Fellowships, a Pan American Union Publication Award (for Elegy for Strings), and the Ford Foundation American Conductors Project Award. Subsequent awards for his compositions include a Rockefeller Foundation award (for an extended residency with the Cleveland Orchestra); a Harvard Musical Association Commission Award (for Fantasia for string quartet); and a National Endowment for the Arts Commission (Orpheus x Light, a ballet for the Joffrey Ballet).

Serebrier was 22 years old when Leopold Stokowski named him Associate Conductor of the newly formed American Symphony Orchestra in New York, a post he held for four years. Stokowski conducted the first New York performance of Serebrier's Elegy for Strings at Carnegie Hall, and he opened the American Symphony Orchestra season at Carnegie Hall with the premiere of Serebrier's Poema Elegiaco, the second movement of Symphony No. 2: Partita. For two consecutive seasons, George Szell named José Serebrier Composer-inResidence of the Cleveland Orchestra. While in that position, he brought new elements to his compositions. His harp concerto Colores Magicos for the Inter-American Music Festival in Washington D.C. and Nueve, a concerto for double bass and orchestra commissioned for the double bass virtuoso Gary Karr, both incorporated imaginative staging. Serebrier has conducted Karr in performances of Nueve all over the world. Also from this period is the dramatic Symphony for Percussion, which was recorded by John Eliot Gardiner.

Serebrier’s Violin Concerto: Winter was premiered by Michael Guttman in New York in 1995 and recorded on ASV. His Symphony No. 3 for string orchestra and soprano vocalise, nominated for a Grammy in 2004 as Best Composition of the Year, has been released on Naxos along with a number of his other works for strings. More recently, he has revisited his Uruguayan youth by writing Tango in Blue and Almost a Tango for orchestra (both recorded on BIS) – lighter works using rhythms and melodic turns of Latin American popular music. Tango in Blue, in fact, comes full circle: its first four notes quote the last four from his early Partita.

ADAGIO Slow, with resigned serenity and as sad as possible

° b4 Violin I & b b 4 Œ

con sord.

∑

Ó

con sord.

IV

Violin II

b ≤ & b b 44 œ >

Viola

B bbb 44 Œ

≥ œ œ œ œ œ > mp molto espressivo

con sord.

p

? bb 4 Πb4

con sord.

Violoncello

Contrabass

>≤ ˙ >˙≤

˙

≥ ˙

˙

˙≥

Vla.

Vc.

Cb.

? bb 45 b

Vla.

Vc.

Cb.

≥ ? bb 5 œ™ 4 b

≥ ? bb 5 œ™ 4 ¢ b

˙

n˙

45

>≤ ™ œ

œ b ˙≥ J

>≤ ™ œ

œ b ˙≥ J

45

∑

45

∑ Œ

>≥ œ p

j ˙≥ œ

˙≤

˙

˙≤

con sord.

≥ 44 ˙

≤ j œ™ -œ ≤ j œ™ -œ

≤ œ >-≤ œ

j ≥ nœ ˙

œ J

≤ ≥ œ ˙ J ≤

œ bœ 44 nw≥

≤

≥j œ œ-

44 w 44 w

≤ œ œ œ™ cresc.

bœ≤

œ≥ 5 J 4

45

cresc.

≥ œ nœ bœ ™

≤ œ bœ bœ J

45

cresc.

˙

≥ bœ bœ

˙

≥ bœ bœ

≤ nœ cresc.

nœ≤

œ

45

œ

45

cresc.

44 w≥

≥j œ œ-

œ≥ ≥ b˙ ™

œ

p

b˙≤ ™ ≤ b˙

œ œ œ≤ ™

œ

˙

∑

bœ

˙

≤ œ≥ nœ œ b œ b œ œ ˙≥ 44

?b5 ¢ b b4

≥ B bbb 45 nœ

>≤ ˙

pp

p

œ

45

≤ œ nœ œ™ ≤ œ™

p

b ≥ & b b 45 œ

˙

44 œ≥ > p 44 ˙≥

n˙ ™

œ≤ b œ

˙

pp

˙

≤ œ œ bœ œ 45

œ

≤ ˙

Solo

44Tutti Ó

9 ° bb 5 n œ œ œ œ œ≤ œ≥ œ œ≤ œ 4 nœ≥ ™ Vln. I & b 4 4

Vln. II

˙

A tempo

˙™

B bbb 45 ˙

≥ ˙ > pp

Solo

∑

Rall.

b & b b 45 ˙

≥ ≤ œ œ bœ œ bœ

œ

Solo

∑

5 ≤ ° bb 5 œ nœ œ ˙™ Vln. I & b 4

Vln. II

œ

pp molto espressivo

≤ œ œ ˙

œ

p

?b4 ¢ b b4 Œ

Œ

>≥ bœ

Solo

JOSÉ SEREBRIER (1964)

≤

≥

w≤

˙

f subito molto dim.

œ Œ Œ

f

≤ œ > pp

œ Œ Ó

f

œ Œ Ó

f

≤

Ó

pppp

œ Œ Ó

f

© Copyright 2012 by Peermusic III, Ltd. International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved

≥ œ œ œ œ œ > >≤ ˙ ˙

pp

>˙≤

˙

>≥ b Œ œ

Ó

mp

≤ œ œ œ ˙ ≥ ˙

˙

˙≥

˙

pp

∑

∑

3

° b œ Vln. I & b b 14

Vln. II

Vla.

≥ b ˙ b & b > pp

˙

≤ ˙

≤ B bbb ˙

˙

>≤ ? bb œ ™ b

œ b ˙≥ J

pp

Vc.

pp

?b Cb. ¢ bb

° b Vln. I & b b 23

b &b b œ

pp

>≤ B bbb ˙

pp

Vc.

>≤ ? bb ˙ b

≤ œ œ ˙

≤ ˙

nœ≥

œ œ ˙≤

>≤ ™ œ

œ b ˙≥ J

cresc. molto

pp

mf

œ≤ œ 5 œ≥ 4

œ≤ œ œ≥ >≥ n˙˙ > >≥ ˙˙ > ≥ n>˙

gliss.

≥ n>˙

molto gliss.

molto

Ó

œ bœ œ

≥ œ

œ

A tempo

œ≥

>≥ n˙˙ > >≥ ˙˙ >

≤ œ 45 nœ

n>œ 45 J ‰ Ó

>≥ œ

dolce mp

≤ œ œ ˙

˙

≥ ˙

˙

˙≥

˙

˙

˙≥

˙

˙

≤ ˙™ 45

≤ b˙™ 45 b˙

≥j b ˙ œ- ˙

div.

œ≤

b˙™ 54 b˙

j b˙ œ- ˙ mf

div.

≥ 44 w ff

sempre cresc.

ff

sempre cresc.

≤ ˙˙

44 w≥ w

≤ ˙˙

≥ w 44 w

≤

œ≤ œ œ≥

Ó

44 Œ

Ó

44 Œ

45 œ

œ œ œ

div. ≥ 54 > b˙˙ > mp 45 œj ‰ Ó

ff

sempre cresc.

sempre cresc.

œ≤ œ œ≤ œ

44

>≥ div. ˙ 44 n˙ > sempre cresc. f >≥ œ ˙ 44 > sempre cresc. f > œ ˙ 44 > sempre cresc. f

∑ unis.

≤ w

p sub. dim.

w w≥

∑

w≥

∑

w≥

∑

sempre cresc.

œ≤ œ œ≥

ff

>-≥ ˙

f

≥ w w >

≤ sempre cresc.

f

w≥

≤

ff

n>œ 45 J ‰ Ó Œ

n˙≥

cresc. molto mf

˙≤

≤ n œ 45 œ

≤ 54 bœ n˙ >-

mf

Ϊ

œ≤ œ œ≥

≥ ˙

mf

œ≤ ™

∑

pp

>˙≤ ? b Cb. ¢ bb

œ

cresc. molto

≥ œ

œ≤ œ 4 4

Un poco accelerando

≤ ˙≥ œ œ bœ œ 45

cresc. molto

∑

unis.

Vla.

œ

≤ œ≥ œ b œ œ œ

∑

18 ° b 4 œ≥ Vln. I & b b 4 >≥ div. b 4 b˙ Vln. II & b b 4 ˙ > >≥ b 4 ˙˙ Vla. B b b 4 > ≥ unis. b > ˙ ? bb 44 Vc. b ≥ unis. b > ˙ ?b4 Cb. ¢ b b4

Vln. II

œ

≥ ≤ œ œ bœ œ bœ

sempre cresc.

≥ œ≤ bœ œ œ 44 -œ

œ œ œ

≤ œ bœ 5 4

≤ n ˙˙

45

∑

45

Ó

≥ 44 > b˙˙ > 44

45 œJ ‰ Ó

Ó

44

∑

45

45 œJ ‰ Ó

Ó

44

∑

45

≤ n ˙˙ ™™

4

27 ≥ ° b 5 œ -˙ b Vln. I & b 4

Vln. II

≤ œ bœ

œ III≥ bœ bœ ˙

f

b 5 ≥ & b b 4 b˙™ ˙™

≤ ˙˙

≥ n ˙˙ ™™

œœ

Vc.

Cb.

Œ

Œ

œ œ œ œ

mp

≤ n ˙˙

œœ

Ó

≤ ˙

div.

pp

˙

˙

œ Œ

? b 45 bb

∑

∑

≥ 44 ˙

˙

˙

œ Œ

∑

?b5 ¢ b b4

∑

∑

≥ 44 ˙

˙

˙

œ Œ

∑

∑

‰

Vla.

B bbb œ

≥ œ œ nœ

œ œ

Vc.

? bb b

?b ¢ bb

° b5 Vln. I & b b 4 36

? bb 45 b

?b5 Cb. ¢ b b4

pp

pp

∑

≤ œœ

Œ

≤ œœ ™™

œ≤

≥ œ- œ ˙

∑ ‰

Ó

non vibrato

ppp

˙™

œ

∑

45 45

∑

∑

∑

∑

∑

44 w≥ > ppp

molto vibrato

∑ ≤ œ

≥ œ ˙

44 w

sempre vibrato

˙

∑ ≤

w

∑

>≥ 44 w

∑

>≥ 44 w

∑

∑

>≥ 44 w

∑

ppp

ppp

∑

molto vibrato

ppp

≥ w

morendo

molto vibrato

∑

45

≥ 5 œ œ œ œ 4

Œ

molto vibrato

∑

œ

∑

∑

∑

∑

≤ ˙

Œ

pp

∑

IV ≥ b j 5 & b b 4 œ ‰ Œ ˙-

B bbb 45

pp

(lamentoso)

∑

(dolente)

Vc.

≤ 44 œ≥ œ nœ œ bœ

soli unis.

44 ˙≥

≤ ‰ œ™ œ™

Vla.

pp

> œ nœ œ œ Œ

∑

b ≤ & b b œœ ™™

Vln. II

≥ ˙

∑

32

Cb.

Œ

B bbb 45

° b Vln. I & b b Vln. II

≤ ˙

III

p

p

f

Vla.

44 ˙ ™

≤ w

45 U w

≥ w

œ

≤ w

≥ w

U ∑

w≤

w≥

U ∑

≤ w

≥ w

U ∑

Œ

Ó

U ∑

Cheshire, Mass., July 30, 1964 Scarsdale, N.Y., August 10, 1964