2018 Program Book by Skaneateles Festival

4357 Jordan Road, Skaneateles, NY 13152 315-730-6620 www.sinclairofskaneateles.com www.facebook.com/sinclairofskaneateles/ sinclairofskaneateles@gmail.com

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5/25/18 9:29 AM

Welcome to the Skaneateles Festival! What’s that sound? It’s August in Skaneateles, so chances are, that sound is music – rippling arpeggios from a pianist practicing Beethoven, riffs from Joshua Redman’s saxophone echoing over the lake, fiddle tunes from Mark O’Connor’s violin pouring out of a corner window. It’s coming from every room of First Presbyterian Church as you walk down Genesee Street, over the fields from the Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s Vineyards, or out of the house of a friend or neighbor who is hosting one of the 95 performers. For one solid month, music fills the air all over town. It travels between us, connects us, uplifts us. And if you are reading this, then you are a part of it, too. Thank you for joining us! If Leonard Bernstein were alive, he would turn 100 on August 25. He didn’t make it that far, but his spirit lives on in his music and in his influence on musical culture in America. He broke down so many barriers - between the performer and the audience; between Broadway and the concert hall; and between pianist, composer, conductor, and host, by doing everything at once. In his spirit, the new season features “Music Mavericks” – performers and composers whose original vision, astonishing dexterity, and uninhibited joy have changed the music world around them. And like Lenny, they help us think, feel, and hear in new ways. Here are a few examples:

Aaron Wunsch & Julia Bruskin Artistic Directors

pg. 8

Joshua Redman pg. 22

Eliot Fisk – The brilliant, world-renowned Syracuse native finds his own unique way to play it all on the guitar, from Bach to Paganini. His accomplished wife, guitarist Zaira Meneses, and their daughter Raquel join. (August 16) Joshua Redman – Since the start of his career, the ultra-charismatic saxophonist has kept everyone guessing about what he will play next – and he seems to hit a new kind of home run every time. (August 11) The Knights – The Brooklyn-based orchestra has made a name for itself by upending traditional norms of the orchestra – and this time they bring Broadway to Skaneateles with Bernstein’s hilarious hit, Candide. (August 18)

The Knights – pg. 32 Inon Barnatan pg. 44

Andy Akiho – A virtuoso on the steel drum (tenor pan), Andy’s high-energy compositions include unexpected sounds and unconventional instruments. (August 29) Mark O’Connor – If you’ve never heard the fiddler king let loose, please, do not miss this one! He appears with his Grammy Award-winning band. (September 1) Whether you hear these or any others, we hope their performances will both thrill you and convey the vitality, hope, and pure exhilaration that great music and great artistry bring us.

Aaron Wunsch & Julia Bruskin Artistic Directors

Jupiter String Quartet – pg. 60

Mark O’Connor Band – pg. 68

Skaneateles Festival

2018

Board of Directors

Advisory Council

Dana Hall, President Joan Christy, Vice President Edward Conan, Treasurer Koko Fuller and Ginny Marty, Co-Secretaries Miki Bangs Daniel Labeille Judith Bryant Brendan McGinn Colin Carroll Louise Robinson Susan Charlton Andrew Russo Barb Connor Jean Shook Jessica Danial Doug Sutherland Scott Johnston Doug Whitehouse John King Edie Williams

Ellen Bifano Dave Birchenough Beth Boudreau Mary Cotter

William Davis Claire Howard John DeFrancisco Andrea Latchem Michael P. Falcone Sharon Magee Lindsay Groves

Andrew Ramsgard David Robinson (1924-2006)

Administration Susan Mark, Executive Director Julia Bruskin & Aaron Wunsch, Artistic Directors Steve Frackenpohl, Operations Manager Jessica Boyce, Events Manager Maureen Meyer, Communications Coordinator Marianne Sherman and Brian Franco, House Manager & Volunteer Coordinators

Corey Riley, Technical Assistant Sarah Moth, Musician Liaison Jonathan Niebuhr and Livi Hall, Stage Assistants Crew: Emma Hall, Coral Bales, Emma Tidd, Alex Flanagan, Lillian Kilz, Josh Pickup and Bella Brogan Lee Boyce, Parking Outside the Box Business Solutions, Bookkeeping Nancy Boyce, Graphic Designer

A special thank you to our 2017 volunteers Bernard and Lillian Asher George Bain Miki and Dan Bangs Ruth Bates Henry and Helga Beck Ann Marie Bergold Dave Birchenough and Carrie Lazarus Arlene Bloomer Sandy Blouin Nancy Boyce Mary Bradly Lynn and David Brown Carol Bryant Judy Bryant Patti Carey Colin and Corrie Carroll Maryellen Casey and Bruce Keplinger Steve and Linda Chow

Joan Christy Kip Coerper Ed and Paula Conan Barb Connor and Doug Wood Jessica and Patrick Danial Bobbi and Bill Dean Kim and Charley Driscoll Hamilton and Fran Fish Paul and Erika Fiutak Barbara Foster Steve and Sandi Frackenpohl Pam Freeman Koko Fuller Judy Gelston Kevin and Sarah Goode David Graham Lindsay Groves Dana and Susan Hall

Scott Heinekamp Tom Higgins Mary Knepper Myron and Luba Kopchynsky Kay Kraatz Kimball and Jim Kraus Danielle Levinson Craig Lindsey and the First Presbyterian Church Sandy Lombardo Bill Lynn, Johnny Angels Sharon and Marshall Magee Bill and Miki Mahood Jill and Todd Marshall Brendan McGinn and Rebecca Cohen Madonna and Jeff Meyer

Jessica and Toby Millman Peter Moller Nick Mulderig Richard Naughton Bob and Sally Neumann Jim and Patti Nocek, Anyela's Vineyards Tim and JoDean Orcutt Judy Robertson Louise Robinson Rosalind and Stephen Schwartz Bill Eberhardt, Sherwood Inn Betsy and Kevin Sio Sharon Slater Carolyn Smith Anita Sterns Don and Chacea Sundman Peggy Surdam

Jennifer Sutherland Katie Hess and Ron Ta Glenys and Jack Tobin Gail van der Linde Jo and Bob Werner Robert and Margaret White Doug and Peg Whitehouse Susan Wolstenholme Sheryl Woodmansee

A special thanks to all the board members for their help each Saturday.

Acknowledgements Artist Pianos – Steinway pianos Maryellen Casey and Bruce Keplinger, “Cybersolvers” – Webmaster Miki & Dan Bangs, Colin & Corrie Carroll, Barb Connor & Doug Wood, Koko Fuller, Jim & Kimball Kraus, Brendan McGinn & Rebecca Cohen, Judy Robertson, Don & Chacea Sundman, Patti Carey, Patience Brewster & Holly Gregg – Musician dinners Joan Christy – Musician dinners and Guarantor Reception First Presbyterian Church and Anyela’s Vineyards – Concert Locations 4

Programs and artists subject to change. © The Skaneateles Festival 2018

Koko Fuller – Ticket sales ChaseDesign – Season’s graphic desgin concept Skaneateles High School – Music stands & percussion Arthur Nick Smith – Piano tuning Pete and Danette Davis – Photography Many thanks to the generous Skaneateles residents who open their homes to the Festival’s visiting musicians.

Support YOUR Skaneateles Festival DONATE for Music Today

ENDOWMENT for the Future

Donate today and support the 2018 season. Your gift will be recognized in next year’s program.

Your gift can provide beautiful music forever… when you donate to the Festival Legacy Fund.

SPONSORSHIP for 2019

PLANNED GIVING Forever...

Sponsor a concert or musician for the 2019 season. Your gift of $1,500 or more can sponsor a musician or an entire concert in 2019. Your gift will be recognized in next year’s program and you will be invited to meet the musicians.

Your planned gift can demonstrate your love of music and your continued commitment to the community that is the Skaneateles Festival.

Yes, I want to support the Skaneateles Festival.

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I would like to make a tax-deductible gift to the Skaneateles Festival at the following level: o Platinum Guarantor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000+ o Gold Guarantor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 o Guarantor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000 o Benefactor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 o Gold Patron. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500 o Patron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $200 o Contributor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100 o Member. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50

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Mail to: Skaneateles Festival, 97 E. Genesee Street, Skaneateles, NY 13152 For more information call 315-685-7418 Donate online at: www.SkanFest.org

VOLUNTEER The Festival is made possible by volunteers... like you! We are always looking for help with concerts • food for musician dinners musician housing • and more

If you are interested in helping, please visit the “Get Involved” section of our website www.SkanFest.org

Thank you to all the Skaneateles Festival Donors!

Gifts received as of July 28, 2018

Platinum Guarantor Henry and Helga Beck ChaseDesign Michael and Noreen Falcone Fred L. Emerson Foundation, Inc.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Bob and Sally Neumann New York State Council on the Arts The Estate of Craig Risser

Carl Schramm and Ellyn Brown The Elsa Allyn Soderberg Family Fund

Grossman St. Amour, CPAs PLLC Onondaga County and CNY Arts Peter and Elsa Soderberg

The Sundman Family Fund Doug Sutherland and Nancy Kramer Dr. and Mrs. Robert Weisenthal

Gold Guarantor Bill and Penny Allyn Artist Piano Bob and Sue Congel

Guarantor George S. Bain Barclay Damon, LLP Dave Birchenough and Carrie Lazarus Gwen Birchenough The Bonadio Group Patience Brewster and Holly Gregg Sam and Debby Bruskin Rick and Ann Capozza Maryellen Casey and Bruce Keplinger Joan Christy

Barb Connor and Doug Wood Mary Cotter Jessica and Patrick Danial Donna and Bill Davis The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation The Fletcher Foundation Koko Fuller David Graham Jim and Emily Gregg Dana and Susan Hall Scott and Jolie Johnston Andrea Latchem

Peter and Betsy McKinnell Faye Panasci Judy Robertson, in memory of Doug Robertson Louise Robinson Ron Sampson Juliette Klein Sharpe Fund, CNY Community Foundation Jennifer Sutherland Doug and Peg Whitehouse Dwight W. Winkelman Foundation, Inc.

Tom and Gretchen Jeffers Joyce and Robin Jowaisas John and Maren King Paul and Elizabeth Koenig Chris Lego and Jeff Shingleton Sutton Real Estate Susan Mark and Mary Knepper Fred and Ginny Marty Brendan McGinn and Rebecca Cohen Jane and Robert Morse

John Osborne David and Jan Panasci Dan and Linda Roche Andy and Natalia Russo Dr. Frank C. Smith Frank and Jan Smith David and Deirdre Stam James and Salli Tuozzolo WAER Syracuse Public Media WCNY Classic FM WRVO Public Media

Diane Forney, in memory of Kevin Proctor Georgina Gregory Lindsay Groves Joe and Mary Ellen Hennigan John MacAllister and Laurel Moranz Marshall and Sharon Magee John and Michelle Mashia – IMS, Inc. David and Norma McCarthy Sean and Laura O’Keefe Steve and Linda Peltz, Northeastern Electronic

David Pida, Rapid Response Frank and Frances Revoir Foundation Jack Rudnick Al and Vicky Sabin Paul and Mary Torrisi Jaime Tuozzolo Judy Varney, in memory of Jack Varney John and Jean Vincent Dan Walding

Benefactor Roland and Tacie Anderson Anonymous Ellen Bifano Colin and Corrie Carroll Ed and Paula Conan Lynn Cleary and David Duggan Guy and Nancy Easter Franklin Lofts, LLC Dr. and Mrs. Gianfranco Frittelli

Gold Patron

Ivan and Mimi Ace Miki and Dan Bangs Henry and Helga Beck Ed and Debbie Brennan Craig and Kathleen Byrum Patti Carey Gary and Susan Charlton John and Betsy Cherundolo Nancy and Joe Clayton Bobbi & Bill Dean Robert and Nicolena Errico Hamilton and Fran Fish Patricia Lynn-Ford and Steven Ford

Gifts in Memory In memory of

Doug Robertson Barb Connor and Doug Wood Jed and Barb Delmonico David Graham Mary Louise Hartenstein Susan Mark George and Jill Newton Dan and Sandy O’Brien Judy Robertson Linda and Dan Roche Peter and Elsa Soderberg George and Helene Starr Michael and Cindy Sturgeon Doug Sutherland and Nancy Kramer Aaron Wunsch and Julie Bruskin

In memory of

Jack Varney George Bain Barb Connor and Doug Wood W. Carroll Coyne Susie Dailey Fred and Pat Hildebrandt Don Kemple Dan and Grace Labeille Jane MacCallum Jack and Gloria MacCallum Susan Mark Tony and Kelly Scalzo Steve and Sue Shaw Jean Shook and Chris Johnson Helen Elizabeth Stagg Doug Sutherland and Nancy Kramer Judy Varney

Patron Eric Allyn and Meg O’Connell Ed and Sharon Barno Ruth Bates Arlene Bloomer Mary Bradly Judith Bryant Elet and John Callahan Curt and Joyce Carlson Edward Castilano Alan and Joan Coates Nancy Collins Robert and Jane Corcoran Tim and Margie Creamer Jim and Cecilia Curley David and Lynne Curtin Jed and Barbara Delmonico Frank and Lynda DeOrio Alan and Linda Dolmatch Barbara Egtvedt Peter and Linda Emerson Bob and Kay Fagliarone Dan Fisher and Lori Ruhlman

Paul and Erika Fiutak Steven and Sandi Frackenpohl John V. Frank Ron and Rose Ann Gay Melvin and Dorothee Goldman William and Ann Griffith Sally Holben Donald Hughes Kathryn Karpinski Barbara Kay Ted and Kathy Kinder Jeffrey Kirshner Wendy and John Kopley Barbara Kotula Dorothy Krause Jim and Kimball Kraus Roger and Anna Krieger Carol Krumhansl and Jeffrey Roberts Joan and Ted Kuck Daniel and Grace Labeille Marilyn Lerman

Elizabeth Liddy Bill Lynn, Johnny Angels William and Anne Lynn James MacKillop Bill and Miki Mahood John and Candace Marsellus Jill and Todd Marshall Modern Kitchens of Syracuse Loretta and Richard Marx James Mostrom Margaret Usdansky and Gustav Niebuhr Robert and Beth Oddy Susan and David Palen Robert and Christine Pierce Laura Ponticello Tom and Camille Potter Raz Rahman Patrick and Kuni Riccardi Peter and Dawn Rogers Mark Roney Nick and Linda Rossi Lawrence and Janet Ruston

Bonnie Scolaro Marilyn and James Seago Gary and Ginny Shanley Jean Shook and Chris Johnson Jason Slottje Judith Stoikov and Richard Miller Carol and William Stokes-Cawley Holly Strong Frank and Rose Swiskey Jeff and Lisa Terhune Cynthia Tracy Michael and Julia Wamp Ben and Eleanor Ware Richard and Ann Wasiewicz Bob and Jo Werner Dr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Wickwire Charles and Nancy Williams Eleanor Williams Joseph and Maureen Wilson David and Vera Wood

Frederick and Janet Fagal Kathleen Falgitano Robert Foster Naomi Frost Gary and Maureen Germain Alex and Donna Giambartolomei Michael and Helen Glowacki Joshua Goldberg Val Gray Gary and Bonnie Grossman Dorothy Hauk William and Karen Havens Will Headlee Jim and Patty Hertz Mary and Mark Hetrick Drs. Paula Trief and Joseph Himmelsbach Laura Horian and Lloyd Howse John and Linda Isaac Jackie Keady Susan Keefe and Michael Tutor Alfred Kelly and Sharon Burke Daniel and Virginia Kenney David and Sherill Ketchum Bernard and Peggy King Pamela Kirkwood Stephen and Theresa Kline Elizabeth Kolodney and Barbara Sutton Emily Konrad Lin Kroeger and Alan Johnson Catherine Lathwell Rev. Frank Lioi

Edward and Carol Lipson Sandra Lombardo Gard Lorey, DDS and Sean Smith, DDS, PC Dawn and Guy Mackenzie Cliff and Roberta Malzman Mr. and Mrs. James Marquardt Norma Martin Susan Martineau Jean and Jack McGlynn Peggy Liuzzi and David Michel Eileen Murphy Richard Naughton Sandra Nichols Nancy Oplinger JoDean and Timothy Orcutt Bruce and Margaret Osborne Cathy Palm Edith Pennington and Lawrence Lardy Judy and Arnie Poltenson Susan Poniatowski Dick and Kim Poppa Howard and Ann Port Nelson Price and Barbara Fought Greg and Debbie Quick Ruth Anne Reagan Denise and Tom Rhoads Anne Roth Arnie and Libby Rubenstein Kelly and Tony Scalzo Joseph and Pamela Schoener Carrie and Chris Scholz

Douglas Sedgwick Jon and Thelie Selzer Mary Sennett Susan and Steven Shaw Dr. and Mrs. Michael Shende Sharon Slater Dan and Peggy Surdam Brenda Switzermaier Eugene and Joan Tarolli Joan Thomsen Nancy E. Tiedemann David and Patricia Urban Mark Watkins and Brenda Silverman Edie Williams Don and Mary Anne Winfield Carol Wixson Susan Wolstenholme Bob and Jeanne Young Joyce Zadzilka Warren Zwicky

Contributor Carol and Ron Ackles Carol Aroesty Bernard and Lilian Asher Matteo and Rose Bartolotta Lynne and Richard Bennett Ann Marie Bergold William Berinstein Cynthia Blume Bolt and Barbara Bolton-Smith Coral Brennauer James and Cynthia Bright David Brittain Dan Brown and Theresa Coleton Hal and Peggy Brown Stephen and Patti Buechner Andres Cardenes Elaine and Greg Ceresko Mary and Steven Ching Jim and Sharon Cirincione Rev. Becky and Kip Coerper Michelle Cole Jamie Traver Lynn K. Cornachio Paul and Gail Cowley Susan T. Dailey Mickey and Johanna Dalton Terry and Bill Delavan Kate DiDonato Digital Analysis Corp. Anna and Ed Egert Robert Eggleston Carey Eidel Thomas Eldred

Consider including the Festival in your estate planning.

FUN at the Festival Concerts for all ages! Kids are FREE Adults pay $5 at the door

KidsFest is sponsored by

Faye Panasci and David & Jan Panasci and the Fletcher Foundation

Meet the Orchestra! with The Knights Sunday, August 19 • 2:00 PM • First Presbyterian Church What are all the kinds of instruments and sounds in an orchestra? And how do they all come together to make music? In this fun, interactive program for all ages, The Knights will invite kids to create their own piece of original music with the orchestra! You'll learn all about the instruments on stage and the musicians who play them. The Knights have performed with some of the world’s greatest musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham, and Bela Fleck. Don’t miss this afternoon of music-making with the orchestra.

Drum it Up! Wednesday, August 29 • 11:00 AM The Mandana Barn • 1274 Lacy Road, Skaneateles Get ready to make some noise! Andy Akiho is a whiz on the steel drum and a master of using everyday objects to create music. The Jupiter Quartet will show how they, too, can turn even stringed instruments into percussion.

Andy Akiho, steel drum Jupiter String Quartet Nelson Lee, violin Meg Freivogel, violin Liz Freivogel, viola Daniel McDonough, cello artist sponsorships

The Knights are sponsored by Koko Fuller Andy Akiho is sponsored by Ed and Paula Conan Jupiter String Quartet is sponsored by Judy Robertson, in memory of Doug Robertson Additional support from the Frank and Frances Revoir Foundation 8

The Skaneateles Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE

SkanFest U is sponsored by

The Julie Sharpe Fund

Leonard Bernstein’s America Leonard Bernstein was an American original who inspired a generation of listeners and composers. Bernstein went from the piano to the conductor’s podium, to Hollywood, to Broadway, on television, and as an ambassador for the importance of the arts in society. Deepen your understanding of American concert music, including its connections with jazz and popular song, and get to know the music of Bernstein, Copland, Barber, and others from the inside, through exclusive live performances by Festival artists. Study his writings, lively letters, and educational philosophy, and enjoy multimedia presentations of Bernstein conducting, playing piano, and on TV. 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of Bernstein’s birth.

Weekly Sessions – Tuesdays, August 7, 14, 21, and 28 3:00 – 4:00 PM • First Presbyterian Church Four weekly sessions are led by Artistic Director Aaron Wunsch, who teaches seminars on American music at The Juilliard School. The Skaneateles Festival’s educational sessions are open to all. Registration is required. Registration fee: $25 per person. For more information: 315-685-7418 or www.skanfest.org

“ This fund will serve as a vehicle that reflects my deep appreciation for what the people of this area have meant in my life.” – Juliette Klein Sharpe

Longtime Skaneateles resident Julie Sharpe felt blessed by her friends and community and enriched by several local nonprofits. Before her passing in 2014, Julie designated a provision in her will to establish a fund at the Central New York Community Foundation. The Skaneateles Festival will benefit in perpetuity from Julie’s thoughtful legacy of generosity. SkanFest U is performed in grateful memory of Julie and all that she did as a Festival volunteer and supporter. Photo provided by the Central New York Community Foundation

summer suite is sponsored by

week 1

Wednesday, August 8 6:30 – 9:00 PM 101 West Lake Street

Craig and Barbara Froelich

Gilda’s • Patisserie • Phoebe’s

“extraordinary”

Summer Suite

Join us at the stunning new lakeside home of

Craig and Barbara Froelich Enjoy an evening of gourmet food & drink, along with a sampling of superb music.

Beak & Skiff and 1911 Folls Flowers Joelle’s French Bistro LakeHouse Pub

Additional support provided by Pascales Liquor Square Last Shot Distillery Dina Sakal – Mandana Inn Savoir Fare Specialty Baking Mirbeau Inn & Spa Skaneateles Country Club Moro’s Kitchen

This year we are pleased to be supporting the Carrie Lazarus Fund for Extraordinary Talent. 10

The music ends with a joyful flourish.

Folls Flowers SUSTAINABLY GROWN FLOWERS AND HERBS RARE AND HEIRLOOM VARIETIES UNIQUE FLORAL DESIGN & PERSONAL SERVICE

WEDDINGS • CELEBRATIONS • SYMPATHY SEASONAL WEEKLY BOUQUET DELIVERY

4396 Harter Road, Owasco, New York follsflowers.com

Assisting with College Admissions

Don’t be the last one in...

Margaret S. Tiedemann, MEd DIRECTOR OF PLACEMENT

(315) 685-8511

tiedemannec@gmail.com tiedemanneducationalconsultants.com

11 East Genesee Street, Skaneateles, NY 13152

tonight’s concert is sponsored by

week 1

Gwen Birchenough, Carrie Lazarus & Dave Birchenough

Thursday, August 9

7:00 PM Backstage Pass (for ticket holders only)

8:00 PM First Presbyterian Church

Backstage Pass – Beyond the Notes Tai Murray and Xavier Foley join composer-clarinetist Derek Bermel to discuss their collaboration on the new Festival-commissioned work. Find out how the composer turns inspiration into notes and the performers turn notes back into inspiration.

Concert – Opening Night MENDELSSOHN

MILSTEIN

Variations concertantes, Op. 17

Paganiniana

XAVIER FOLEY

The Falling Seagull

DEREK BERMEL

Encounter with the Moon

commissioned by the Skaneateles Festival

Julia Bruskin, cello Aaron Wunsch, piano Tai Murray, violin

Xavier Foley, bass Tai Murray, violin Xavier Foley, bass Rebecca Carr, narrator

intermission

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Piano Quintet in C minor Allegro con fuoco Andante Fantasia: quasi variazioni

tonight’s artist sponsorships

Derek Bermel is sponsored by Andrew & Natalia Russo Julia Bruskin and Aaron Wunsch are sponsored by The Skaneateles Consortium: George Bain, Sam & Debby Bruskin, Dana & Susan Hall, and Ron Sampson Xavier Foley is sponsored by Mary Cotter Tai Murray is sponsored by Andrea Latchem

Tai Murray, violin Masumi Per Rostad, viola Julia Bruskin, cello Xavier Foley, bass Aaron Wunsch, piano

The Skaneateles Festival is made possible with funds from the General Operating Support program a regrant program of the County of Onondaga with the support of County Executive, Joanne Mahoney, and the Onondaga County Legislature, administered by CNY Arts.

Program Notes

n Opening Night, marvel at jaw-dropping virtuosos, double-bassist Xavier Foley and violinist Tai Murray, who perform separately and then together in a Festival commission by award-winning composer Derek Bermel for bass, violin, and actor. The Festival artistic directors start off the evening with Mendelssohn’s luminous Variations for Cello and Piano, and the program closes with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ravishing and romantic Piano Quintet.

Variations concertantes, Op. 17 (1829) FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) A set of variations is the equivalent of a muscle T-shirt for pianist-composers: it shows how hard you’ve been working out. When Mozart and Clementi battled in their famed piano duel of 1781, the Emperor of Austria gave Clementi an Italian pop song on which to improvise variations while Mozart sat quietly awaiting his turn to do the same, wearing a sheathed sword (just for show, of course). When the 10-year-old Liszt gave his first performance in Vienna, he improvised on not one but two themes (by Beethoven and Rossini), after which the critic declared him “little Hercules.” But don’t put on that theme unless you can really wear it; Joseph Gelinek intended to “thrash” Beethoven in a duel, but Beethoven’s variations left Gelinek in the dust. Felix Mendelssohn, however, was not a gladiator by nature. Deeply domestic, the spindly, long-haired boy was fluent in Greek, painted watercolors, and his best friend was his sister. When the 80-year-old Goethe heard Mendelssohn improvise, he recalled having heard a young Mozart some 60 years earlier and declared Mendelssohn to have “the same relation to the little Mozart that the

© AARON WUNSCH, 2018 perfect speech of a grown man does to the prattle of a child.” His Variations Concertantes, Op. 17, completed when he was just shy of his 20th birthday, were not intended for public contest; instead, they were a gift for his brother, Paul, a cellist. And rather than adopting a popular theme, as Beethoven did in his variations for cello and piano, Mendelssohn composed his own. In other words, he knit his own T-shirt. The theme is pure Mendelssohn: amiable, lyrical, and sophisticated. He enriches his simple melody with fiveand six-voice counterpoint underneath, a nod to his hero, Johann Sebastian Bach. The first variation takes on an overtly Baroque character, with the piano bouncing around the cello’s statement of the theme. The watery arabesques of the next variation have something in common with Mendelssohn’s own watercolors of Swiss mountain lakes. From here, the cello and piano take turns showing what they can do with faster and faster passagework – not a duel, exactly; more like a dance-off. A mock-serious march by the piano prompts the cellist to stick out her tongue with some plucked strings. After a variation of calm repose, an angry outburst in D minor puts on a Beethoven face (Mendelssohn’s other hero). However, the variations finally dissolve into the repose of the original theme, extended by a soaring coda. The two instruments settle back down to earth with a sigh and a smile.

Paganiniana (1954) NATHAN MILSTEIN “Paganini is my favorite composer to play!” said no violinist, ever. The music of the most famous violinist of all time is a must for every student fiddler, yet it rarely surfaces on violin programs outside of conservatories. Few violinists can truly vanquish this unrelentingly virtuosic music, and even those who can don’t necessarily enjoy the thousands of hours it takes to reach that point. Playing Paganini’s music after graduation is a little like going back to an old calculus test, just for fun. Like every other conservatory violinist, the Ukranian-born Nathan Milstein sweat through Paganini’s 24 Caprices as a student in St. Petersburg. Once he was at a safe chronological and geographical distance, having immigrated to the United States in 1925, Milstein returned to them under a new edict: Anything goes. He assembled his favorite moments from the caprices and adapted these to the strengths of his own technique under the fanciful yet apt title,

Our Artistic Directors, Julia Bruskin and Aaron Wunsch in concert.

8/9 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

Paganiniana. It’s essentially what happens when a violinist starts scrapbooking. The primary source for Milstein’s cut-and-paste is Paganini’s 24th and final Caprice, known to every violinist. Paganini’s original work consists of a theme and 12 variations, a five-minute abridged Bible of violin technique. Liszt had adapted it for the piano, and Rachmaninoff for piano and orchestra (Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini). The general idea behind all these versions, including Milstein’s, is the same: a calculated series of “but surely you can’t do that!” after each of which the listener’s jaw moves slightly closer to the ground. Unlike Paganini’s, Milstein’s “variations” veer away from the original theme, traversing other Paganini’s caprices as well as his own capricious imagination. Perhaps this somewhat irreverent look back at a student’s fodder was for Milstein a kind of music therapy. Tinkering with it until the night before, he gave the premiere in one worldfamous venue that the well-traveled Paganini never visited: Carnegie Hall. As for Paganini’s original 24th Caprice, occasionally there is a violinist with enough superhuman technique to find some joy in it while causing some jaws to drop in the process: Hilary Hahn’s 2007 performance of the original caprice, followed immediately by Milstein’s Paganiniana, has nearly four million views on YouTube.

The Falling Seagull XAVIER FOLEY (b. 1994) Always in search of new and exciting works for the double bass, I’ve come to love composing and thoroughly enjoy expanding the repertoire for my instrument. In “The Falling Seagull,” I was drawn to the sounds of Chinese folk music, especially musical elements such as the pentatonic scale and sliding across the string. I believe composing a piece for solo double bass highlighting these techniques adds considerable variety to the as yet limited recital repertoire for the instrument. –Xavier Foley

Piano Quintet in C minor (1903; revised 1904-05) RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) For 81 years, between 1918 and 1999, Vaughan Williams’ Piano Quintet was banned from performance, per the composer’s instructions. He treated it like a yearbook photo you’d rather not have anyone see – I wore that? I did that with my hair? – but when anyone else looks at the photo, they find you as endearing as ever, clearly just a younger version of yourself. As World War I drew to a close, Vaughan Williams felt his Piano Quintet had gone profoundly out of style, along with anything else that had even a remotely Germanic whiff to it (remember “freedom fries?”). His closest friend, composer Gustav Holst, had

89.9FM Oswego/Syracuse | 90.3FM Downtown Syracuse | wrvo.org

8/9 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

suffered hostility on account of his name, even though Holst’s family had been in England for generations; fortunately for Vaughan Williams, his initials (VW) did not yet stand for the most ubiquitous German export. The words “piano quintet,” however, immediately conjured to mind the uber-German composers Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, even if Vaughan Williams’ music does so only indirectly and intermittently. The work also marked a shift in the aesthetic orientation of the composer. In the year he composed the Piano Quintet, Vaughan Williams collected and harmonized his first English folk song (“Bushes and Briars”); he would go on to arrange over 800 folk tunes and became the leading exponent of English music. Perhaps the tumult of this shift in aesthetic caused the composer to struggle with his Quintet; he revised it over a two-year period, until 1905, and finally withdrew it from his catalogue in 1918. He likely saw the Quintet as the end of one road, whereas we might better hear it as the beginning of another. The opening movement begins with four massive chords. These set forth not only the main melodic idea of the movement but also a tidal wave of rolling harmonies, a nautical music that seems to summon the elemental English sea off the coast of Cornwall. When the waters finally subside, a wistful, folk-like melody passes from the strings to the piano, like an ancient air heard from a

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distance. For the rest of the movement, these melodies of land and sea intermingle, until all subsides in a quiet glowing horizon of C Major. The second movement begins with a hymn-like theme, as if echoing over an English churchyard. Yet the hymn is merely a gateway to a more personal kind of romantic reflection, expressive and full of longing. There are also echoes of melodies from the first movement, suggesting that the whole Quintet is one story, not three. Soon it becomes clear that our protagonist is full of agony and self-doubt; the music becomes ‘menacing,’ but only until the hymn returns to reassure and comfort. In the final chapter of the story, the melodic idea heard in both the first and second movements returns, but in a very different guise: the strings play alone, “senza espressivo” (without expression), as Vaughan Williams conjures up the sound world of an English Renaissance fantasy for viols, harkening back to Henry Purcell. Soon the theme transforms, first into a hymn, then into a rainbow. A passionate outburst reminds the listener of our protagonist’s troubled thoughts from the previous movement, but through an act of will, the theme turns optimistic, and finally peaceful. The processional at the end is quintessentially English. Perhaps Vaughan Williams’s widow, Ursula, realized this when she agreed to release the Piano Quintet to the world, against his wishes. As spouses usually do, she knew well enough when her husband had made a mistake.

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tonight’s concert is sponsored by

week 1

Henry and Helga Beck

Friday, August 10 8:00 PM First Presbyterian Church

the danish quartet is sponsored by

David & Deirdre Stam and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation

The Danish String Quartet HAYDN

TRADITIONAL arr. DANISH STRING QUARTET

String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1, “The Hunt” Presto Minuet Adagio Minuet Finale: Presto

Nordic Folk Music Selections will be announced from the stage.

intermission

MENDELSSOHN

String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13

Adagio – Allegro vivace Adagio non lento Intermezzo: Allegretto con moto – Allegro di molto Presto – Adagio non lento

Danish String Quartet Frederik Øland, violin Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin Asbjørn Nørgaard, viola Bartholomew LaFollette, cello

Exclusive Representation of the Danish String Quartet is by: Kirshbaum Associates Inc., 711 West End Avenue, Suite 5KN, New York, NY 10025. uunv.kirshbaumassociates.com The Danish String Quartet has recorded for ECM, DaCapo and CAvi-Music/BR Klassik. 18

Program Notes

he Festival welcomes the most in-demand young quartet in the world, the debonair and dynamic Danish String Quartet, which offers Haydn’s “Hunt” Quartet, 18-year-old Mendelssohn’s passionate Quartet in A minor, and their own arrangements of Nordic folk music from their hit album, Wood Works.

String Quartet in B-flate Major, Op. 1, No. 1, “The Hunt” (ca. 1755) JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809) If, as often reported, Haydn is the “father of the string quartet,” then his Op. 1, No. 1, must be the first one ever composed! Before you draft the movie script, consider a few problems with this ‘true story:’ Haydn didn’t actually invent the string quartet; Op. 1, No. 1 probably wasn’t his first quartet; and this work may not even really be a quartet, having been published under the utilitarian title “Quartet or Symphony.” Like almost every good story, however, there is a kernel of truth in it somewhere. Let’s call it ‘Based on a true story.’ After the opening scene –a talented boy soprano lifted from a rural town to join the famed Vienna Boys Choir – we find our 20-year-old protagonist in a rough patch, eking out a living in a “miserable little garret without a stove,” composing at a “worm-eaten” piano (his own

words). He finds some employment writing music for carnival entertainment (The Crooked Devil, followed by a sequel, The New Crooked Devil). Next comes the legend, as reported by his first biographer, Griesinger: The following, purely coincidental circumstance led him to try his hand at the composition of quartets. A certain Baron Fürnberg… invited his parish priest, his estate manager, and Albrechtsberger (a brother of the well-known composer) in order to have a little music. Fürnberg asked Haydn to compose something that could be played by these four friends of the art. Haydn, who was then 18, accepted the proposal, and so originated his first quartet, which, immediately upon its appearance, received such uncommon applause as to encourage him to continue in this genre. Continue he did, composing over 80 quartets in all; they spread across Europe like wildfire and cemented Haydn’s reputation as the continent’s leading composer (cue inspirational soundtrack, roll credits). Unfortunately, we cannot credit Haydn with inventing the quartet just because a Baron and his priest wanted to throw a party; four-part string music had long been in circulation. Haydn was closer to 25 years old, not 18 – and this Quartet almost certainly wasn’t his first. Yet this charming work does begin the process of turning four-part music into a specific ideal, what the poet Goethe later called “a conversation

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A special THANK YOU to the people listed here who let us know that they have made provision for the future of the Skaneateles Festival in their estate and financial plans. Anonymous George Bain

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8/10 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

among four reasonable people.” Haydn probably had something similar in mind when he called this Quartet a divertimento a quattro, which one could translate as “something really fun for four.” Cast in five short movements, it begins with our four friends outside in a field, galloping along. The resemblance between the opening theme and the sounds of a hunting horn quickly led this quartet to its nickname, “La Chasse” (“The Hunt”). Back indoors, with wigs on, the foursome dance a courtly minuet,memorable for the charming string plucks of its central section. The third movement (Adagio) is the emotional heart of the Quartet, essentially an opera aria “sung” by the first violin. The foursome returns to the dance floor for an earthy Minuet (the fourth movement), with beer steins on the table nearby. In the jovial final movement, our four flush friends end the party at their liveliest. It may not be the first string quartet ever, but this party music for four tells a good story all on its own.

String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13 (1827) FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) Typically, one’s 18th year is filled with new experiences: a road trip with friends, off to college, a summer romance. In this respect, you and Felix Mendelssohn may have much in common. In 1827, he started college (University of Berlin), fell in love (his sister’s friend Betty Pistor, a singer), and ambled through Germany with some fellow teenagers (lost while hiking in the Harz Mountains). A typical 18-year-old will find some music to play over and over, too – a soundtrack for freedom, rebellion, and love. Depending on your generation, the music of the Beatles, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, or Green Day might have filled your heart and mind. Mendelssohn’s choice is more rebellious than it sounds: the final works of Beethoven. His parent’s generation felt pretty much the way yours did about whatever you were blasting; for example, the elder composer and family friend Louis Spohr called Beethoven’s late works “indecipherable, uncorrected horror.” Turn it off!

The question goes unanswered, plunging the quartet from A Major into the uncertainty of A minor. Beethoven had tried a similar three-note question in his final quartet (“Must it be?”), composed just one year before Mendelssohn’s. In contrast to Beethoven’s, however, the remainder of this movement is restless and passionate, the wonderful misery of being in love for the first time. In his second movement (Adagio), Mendelssohn treads on the ground of Beethoven’s late music that so displeased Spohr and others: hymn-like melodies, patiently spinning out, around, and (seemingly) nowhere in particular. Yet the sighing passions of the first movement soon return; Mendelssohn tries to restrain them with some patient pizzicato, but does so only temporarily. The plaintive third movement (Intermezzo) “lingers along the leafy pathway” described in his song, aside from an episode scampering about in the underbrush (and no composer scampers as well as Mendelssohn). The final movement tears apart the pensive mood with an operatic outburst and rushes headlong toward what the listener assumes can only be some tragedy, given the unrelenting minor key of the movement. Mendelssohn even revisits the minor key section of the second movement, as if to convince us this tragedy had been foreshadowed all along. However, in its final moments, his quartet finds its way back into the A Major serenity of the first movement’s opening bars, a reminder (to himself, perhaps) that the storms of life will all too quickly dissolve back into the eternities of time. Thank you, 18-year-old Felix, for the wisdom of youth.

Mendelssohn filled his String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13, with youthful passions, secret love, and allusions to Beethoven. But before we carry this teenager analogy any further, let’s remember that he was in other respects extraordinary for his age. He had already composed several operas and symphonies, translated poems from Greek (for fun), and studied philosophy with Hegel. His String Quartet is the work of a completely mature composer. In an unprecedented stroke of genius, Mendelssohn bookends his stormy Quartet in A minor with two serene passages in A Major – at the beginning of the first movement, and at the end of the last. These recall the style of Beethoven’s late music – intimate, reflective, oblivious to the outside world. In the first of these passages, he quotes his own recently composed song, “Is it True [that you love me]?” The three notes set to this question (longshort-long) become a central idea of the whole work.

Wishing the Skaneateles Festival a successful 33 rd season!

tonight’s concert is made possible with support from the

week 1

Bob & Sally Neumann Fund for Jazz and Innovative Programming

Saturday, August 11 7:30 PM Robinson Pavilion

at Anyela’s Vineyards Rain Location: Skaneateles High School

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The Joshua Redman Quartet Joshua Redman, saxophone Aaron Goldberg, piano Reuben Rogers, bass Marcus Gilmore, drums Charismatic saxophonist Joshua Redman returns to the Festival, this time with his groundbreaking quartet.

Selections to be announced from the stage.

tonight’s featured advertiser:

Parsons & Associates tonight’s media sponsorship

WAER Syracuse Public Media 22

The Skaneateles Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Festival Future The Skaneateles Festival extends its appreciation to

Bob and Sally Neumann Their love for great music and leadership giving are helping to secure the Festival’s future and allowing us to bring the highest caliber musicians to our lakeside community.

Auburn Public Theater brings young fans to hear the Joey Alexander Trio.

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tonight’s concert is sponsored by

week 2

Dr. and Mrs. Robert Weisenthal

Thursday, August 16 8:00 PM First Presbyterian Church

Eliot Fisk: A Family Affair VIVALDI arr. FISK

Concerto for Two Mandolins in G Major, RV 532

RODRIGO

Tonadilla for Two Guitars

TÁRREGA RODRIGO

Recuerdos de la Alhambra Fandango from Tres Piezas Españolas

Zaira Meneses, guitar

FALLA TÁRREGA

Homenaje pour le tombeau de Claude Debussy Estudio Brillante de Alard

Eliot Fisk, guitar

CHOPIN

Allegro Andante Allegro

Allegro ma non troppo Minuetto pomposo Allegro vivace

Eliot Fisk, guitar Zaira Meneses, guitar Raquel Fisk, piano Eliot Fisk, guitar Zaira Meneses, guitar

Fantasie in F minor, Op. 49

Raquel Fisk, piano

intermission

BACH arr. FISK

ALBÉNIZ HALFFTER ALBÉNIZ

Cello Suite in E-flat Major, BWV 1010 Prelude Allemande Courante Sarabande Bourrée I and II Gigue

Torre Bermeja from 12 Piezas características, Op. 92 Habanera Sevilla from Suite española No. 1, Op. 47

tonight’s artist sponsorships

Eliot Fisk is sponsored by Patience Brewster and Holly Gregg 26

Eliot Fisk, guitar

Program Notes

uitar icon and Festival favorite Eliot Fisk anchors a program of solo and ensemble music for guitar, joined by his family of professional musicians: his wife, accomplished guitarist Zaira Meneses, and his daughter, emerging pianist Raquel Fisk. Don’t miss the Syracuse native’s mesmerizing “balance of focused introspection and incendiary virtuosity” (The New York Times).

Concerto for Two Mandolins in G Major, RV 532 ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741) A small percentage of Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi’s concertos are for two solo instruments, instead of one – a mere 40 concertos out of 500. One of his specialties was to turn a sweetly sounding domestic instrument into the equivalent of an electric guitar, like a Venetian gondola tricked out with a motorboat engine. In this case, the gentle instrument was the diminutive, pear-shaped mandolino, made with gut strings instead of the later-used brass strings. For an added challenge, Vivaldi did not avail himself of a plectrum (similar to a guitar pick), which could produce noisy chords; instead, he limited his soloists to finger-style playing. Despite these self-imposed handicaps, Vivaldi’s Concerto is brilliant, vivid, and impressive – and even more so on modern guitars.

© AARON WUNSCH, 2018 How did Vivaldi trick out this gondola? Step 1: Build an engine. Vivaldi was the greatest practitioner of the Baroque Era’s musical motor, the sequence, which takes the listener through a logical melodic and harmonic pattern to which you can tap your foot. Once he overlays his trademark short, vigorous melodies, that engine can really move. Step 2: Pedal to the metal. High speeds are to be expected from the man who once claimed he could compose a concerto faster than you could copy it out into parts. In the two outer movements (both Allegro), the solo parts utter a flurry of nearly continuous sixteenth notes. Step 3: Race. The solo parts enter one at a time with the same material, in alteration, as if to say, “I can do that, too.” Then, they race side by side, first in thirds, and later with repeated notes. Clearly, they are evenly matched. Who wins? Well, they have the same engine, so it’s a tie. The lovely middle movement offers a break from all this speeding around, a delicate dance for two. The final movement shifts back into high gear. Although no less brilliant, this movement is also graceful, showing that brilliance and machismo are not necessarily joined. That point was almost certainly highlighted by the original performers. This concerto was likely to have been performed by orphaned girls at Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà, where Vivaldi worked as a music teacher and occasional priest.

Cheers to the Extraordinary Skaneateles Festival ‘ Tr e y C a t P h i s h ’ fo r L L S by P at i e nc e B r e ws t e r Pa t i e n c e Br e w s t e r. c o m

8/16 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

Tonadilla for Two Guitars (1960) Fandango from Tres Piezas Españolas (1954) JOAQUÍN RODRIGO (1901-1999) Most composers associated with brilliant, virtuosic music for a single instrument – Paganini, Liszt, Sarasate – composed for themselves first, in the spirit of “See what I can do?” Not so with Joaquín Rodrigo, the great Spanish composer of music for guitar. This pianist studied composition in Paris, despite his diphtheria-induced blindness from age 3. Though Rodrigo wasn’t a great guitarist himself, the guitar was the elemental Spanish instrument, and he increasingly devoted himself to it after returning to Spain in 1939. Although willingly tethered to Spanish musical traditions, he never limited himself exclusively to an idealized language of folk music. Pungent, surprising harmonies remind the listener of the present, while folk-style rhythms ground it in the past. The tonadilla brings together two guitarists for some raucous interplay. While rhythms pulsate throughout, this is not dance music, per se; the tonadilla was originally a song but was expanded into a short opera scene that featured rough-and-tumble characters like barbers, gypsies, and inn-keepers. An argument seems to take place in the first movement, full of proud and lively banter between the two guitarists. The matter is still unresolved when it ends on a strident dissonance. The second movement is a “Pompous Minuet,” perhaps a puffed-up gypsy pretending to be (or making fun of) a nobleman. The rollicking final movement subsides into a flamenco-style cantejondo (“deep song”) of passionate intensity before a playful finish. Rodrigo’s Fandango pays homage to Spain’s most ubiquitous traditional dance for couples, usually accompanied by guitar, hand clapping, and castanets. The guitar takes on all three elements; “wrong-note” dissonances and strummed chords act as hand claps and castanets. While the traditional character of this music is never in doubt, Rodrigo takes his dancers through delightful and unexpected twists and turns purely of his own devising.

Recuerdos de la Alhambra (1896) Estudio Brillante de Alard (1900) FRANCISCO TÁRREGA (1852-1909)

If you plan on speed racing, courage and skill will help, but so will a really fast car. Just ask guitarist Francisco Tárrega. He was fortunate enough to have the equivalent vehicle, an unusually powerful guitar from Stradivarius-level luthier Antonio de Torres. After recitals on this instrument in London and Paris in the 1880s, he was proclaimed ‘Sarasate of the guitar’ (after the famous Spanish violinist, Pablo de Sarasate). But he didn’t stop there. Also a talented pianist, he began to adapt major piano works to the guitar, including pieces by Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Beethoven (the “Moonlight” Sonata). His Estudio Brillante de Alard (Brilliant Study after Alard) applies speedy rhythms

8/16 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

underneath a theme by French violinist Alard, a student of Sarasate, thereby creating a delightful showpiece for guitar. Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Memories of the Alhambra) inverts this concept, placing the speedy rhythms (repeated notes) on top. This enchanting, difficult-to-play work represents Tárrega’s memories of one of the world’s most enchanting, difficult-to-build palaces: the 13th-century Alhambra, outside Granada. The filigree repeated notes, played by three fingers in alternation, are a counterpart to the wondrous and impossibly intricate lattice work of the palace.

Homenaje pour le tombeau de Debussy (1920) MANUEL DE FALLA(1876-1946) Claude Debussy’s death in 1918 was mourned by many, but not all. The now-iconic French composer’s music was controversial in France and had both adherents (Ravel, who called him “the most phenomenal genius in the history of French music”) and detractors (Saint-Säens, who called his pieces “atrocities”). Manuel de Falla was in the former camp. Debussy had both influenced his work and given him personal encouragement. Upon Debussy’s death, de Falla organized a memorial concert and later composed this brief but meaningful Tribute to the memory of Debussy. The work is a funeral Habanera, a somber version of the normally sensual dance. It recalls (and, near the end, quotes) Debussy’s La Soirée dans Grenade (Evening in Grenada), a solo piano piece in which Debussy evoked a Spanish atmosphere with guitar-like chords. De Falla returns those sounds to their source of inspiration, the actual guitar.

him with music. Perhaps it is in this more abstract emotional realm where Chopin’s fantasy – and this particular Fantasie in F minor – resides. Chopin’s talk of sadness and death is evident in the opening of this work, a solemn procession cut from the same cloth as the famous funeral march from his Piano Sonata No. 2, if more reflective than grim. Next, a rumination takes him away from the strict rhythms of the funeral march to an improvisation, in and out of keys, searching. It is an upward impulse, hopeful, looking toward the ‘beautiful sky’ mentioned in his letter. These premonitions of death counterbalanced by hopefulness are typical of his temperament, in general. They also apply to Chopin’s feelings about his homeland, Poland, to which he never returned. Political turmoil pitted Polish aristocrats against an occupying Russian force thought by Chopin to be illegitimate. The brutal response to the November uprising in 1830, while Chopin was in Vienna, left a lasting emotional scar on both him and his music. At its most tumultuous moment, the Fantasie gives way to a brisk patriotic march, a counterweight to the opening funeral march. This national sentiment is balanced by the personal; the music subsides into a most heartfelt and intimate love song. The spell is suddenly broken by the tumult of the earlier themes, back for more. At the end of the Fantasie, Chopin transcends all of these emotions, and with a quiet prayer lifts his head toward the sky for the profound final cadence. Though he may not have been a free spirit, music could set Chopin’s troubled spirit free.

Fantasie in F minor, Op. 49 (1841) FREDERIC CHOPIN (1810-1849) Chopin’s mastery in the freest of all musical genres, the fantasy, might suggest that he was by nature a free spirit. On the contrary, he was deeply traditional. A monarchist, he believed in the old-world order, contrary to the more current views of his longtime girlfriend, George Sand, aka Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, who disagreed with him on almost every topic – government, social hierarchy, gender, religion, and manners. Even in artistic matters, Chopin hewed to the straight and narrow. He refused to follow the progressive path of Liszt and Berlioz by attaching extra-musical story lines to his works, and he apparently could not even appreciate the parallels his friend, the great painter Eugène Delacroix, drew between painting and music. Yet the fantasy within him soared as high as any composer. In a letter on October 20, Chopin wrote to his friend and secretary, Julian Fontana: “Today I finished the Fantasie – and the sky is beautiful, a sadness in my heart – but that’s alright. If it were otherwise, perhaps my existence would be worth nothing to anyone. Let's hide until death has passed.” Letters like this one show how music filled Chopin with emotions, and emotions filled

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8/16 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

Cello Suite in E-flat Major, BWV 1010 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750), transcribed Eliot Fisk J. S. Bach’s solo cello suites are one of the great mysteries of music history. Why did he write them? For whom? For which instrument, exactly? When? It could be that the mystery surrounding these works actually enhances the mystery of hearing them, for the music seems to exist apart from the world, inhabiting a soundscape that no other music has ever quite replicated. Naturally, scholars have applied their powers of deduction to the problem ever since Catalan cellist Pablo Casals found an obscure edition of the works in a Barcelona thrift shop in 1890. Thanks to Casals’ performances, the suites started to find their way into the hearts of many (and, eventually, into Verizon commercials). In the Baroque Era, the cello was primarily a bass instrument, usually heard with at least one treble instrument above it, plus harpsichord. The only surviving manuscript source, in the hand of his second wife, Anna Magdalena, calls attention to the unusually solitary use of the cello with the special indication “senza basso,” without bass. (That didn’t stop Robert Schumann from adding his own fanciful piano accompaniments 130 years later.) Because the suites take the cellist far outside the bass range and through forests of chords and interweaving melodies,

REFRESHMENTS Proceeds from the refreshments sold at the Thursday and Friday evening concerts will benefit the Skaneateles Education Foundation. We thank our local students for volunteering their time and providing this service!

they are still among the most difficult works that cellists play. Bach himself transcribed one of the suites for lute (No. 5, in C minor), and so the transfer to guitar follows a path forged by the composer himself. From the start, Bach’s Suite in E-flat Major boasts just how wide a range the cello (and guitar) can cover, with giant leaps from bottom to top, followed by cascades back downward. As in all the suites, the unaccompanied instrument has absolute freedom over timing, allowing for the performer’s highly individual sense of how the music should ebb and flow. So, dance at your own risk. Although stylized, Bach knew the dances first-hand from his days at the Knight’s Academy in Lüneburg, where noble boys gathered to learn them from a French dancing master (guess who played in the band for these lucky fellows). The Allemande (the French word for German) is more athletic and joyful than typical for this particular dance, but Bach saves the hopping and jumping for the Courante, which, according to a leading theorist at the time, should convey “a mood of sweet expectation.” The gentle and reflective Sarabande gives way to two lively bourrées and finally a gigue, the French relative of the Irish jig, in a life-affirming romp that seems to take the suite out of the courtly ballroom to revel in the dirt.

Torre Bermeja from 12 Piezas características, Op. 92 (1888) Sevilla from Suite española No. 1, Op. 47 (1886) ISAAC ALBENÍZ (1860-1909), arr. Eliot Fisk Isaac Albeníz was one of the greatest composers for guitar, which is truly impressive since he never composed a single note for guitar. He didn’t play it, either, but his piano pieces work so beautifully for the instrument that he might as well have. Although Albeníz was a pianist, he frequently entered the world of flamenco guitar music via his imagination. A gifted improviser, he could create in almost any style of Spanish music. In Sevilla, he evokes the noisy flamenco guitars, which is probably why this piano piece sounds even better on the guitar than on the piano. The commotion clears out for the flamenco singer’s free and soulful cantejondo (“deep song”) and then the music returns to revelry. Also set in Andalusia is Torre Bermeja (The Red Tower), a lively serenade presumably to be played under one of the towers of the Alhambra, outside Granada. Albeníz performed it for Debussy, Ravel, and Fauré, who marveled at how he could produce such guitar-like sounds from the piano. However, it most truly sounds like the guitar… when played on the guitar.

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ERNESTO HALFFTER (1905-1989), arr. Eliot Fisk Although Ernesto Halffter took his surname from his father, a Prussian jeweler, he was Spanish through and through. His mother, Rosario, was a gifted pianist and, naturally, his teacher. He later studied with Manuel de Falla, who influenced much of his music. This jewel of a Habanera is so painfully charming (especially in Fisk’s own transcription), its final sound is almost guaranteed to be the audience sighing.

tonight’s concert is sponsored by

week 2

Friday, August 17

7:00 PM Prelude Concert

David Graham and Fred & Ginny Marty

(for ticket holders only)

8:00 PM First Presbyterian Church

Prelude Concert Featuring the 2018 Robinson Award winner, violinist Hannah Kang GLAZUNOV KREISLER BEETHOVEN

Meditation Sicilienne and Rigaudon Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”)

Hannah Kang, violin Julia Bruskin, cello Aaron Wunsch, piano

Allegro vivace e con brio

Concert – America Singing BERNSTEIN

Dance Suite for Brass Quintet Dancisca, for Anthony (Anthony Tudor) Waltz, for Agnes (Agnes de Mille) Bi-Tango, for Mischa (Mikhail Baryshnikov) Two-Step, for Mr. B (George Balanchine) MTV, for Jerry (Jerome Robbins)

GERSHWIN RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN BERNSTEIN FOSS

“The Man I Love” from Lady Be Good! “Getting to Know You” from The King and I

Zoe Johnson, soprano John Arida, piano

“I Feel Pretty” and “Somewhere” from West Side Story Capriccio for Cello and Piano

BERNSTEIN

Piano Trio

GERSHWIN

“Embraceable You” from Girl Crazy

LOESSER

Sycil Matthai, trumpet Josh Frank, trumpet Michael P. Atkinson, horn Dave Nelson, trombone Marcus Rojas, tuba

Adagio non troppo – Più mosso – Allegro vivace Tempo di marcia Largo – Allegro vivo et molto ritmico

“Luck Be A Lady” from Guys and Dolls

Julia Bruskin, cello Aaron Wunsch, piano Guillaume Pirard, violin Eric Jacobsen, cello Aaron Wunsch, piano

Luke MacMillan, baritone John Arida, piano

intermission

(continued on page 34) 32

The Robinson Award In 1980, David and Louise Robinson opened their hearts and their home to Festival musicians, their families, and the audiences who come to hear them perform. Their lakeside home, Brook Farm, was a gathering place and rehearsal space for musicians, and the performance venue for the Festival’s outdoor Saturday evening concerts for 36 seasons. Created in 2002, The Robinson Award recognizes a young musician who exemplifies the values cherished and embodied by Festival co-founders, David and Louise. It is presented annually to a young musician whose character, musicianship, and community service reflect the Robinson’s values – enthusiasm and dedication to music of high quality. Applications for the Robinson Award are available January 15 – March 15. Visit skanfest.org for details.

David & Louise Robinson

2018 Winner Hannah Kang Hannah Kang is a graduate of Christian Brothers Academy. She has been studying the violin under James Krehbiel for the past seven years. She has served as concertmaster of her school orchestra, and has been co-concertmaster of the Symphoria Youth Orchestra. She has also served as the concertmaster of NYSSMA Area All-State in 2016, and participated in NYSSMA All-State in 2017. Hannah has been awarded first place in the CNYAMT Instrumental Competition in 2011 and 2015. In 2015, she was a Civic Morning Musicals concerto Competition finalist, and awarded Honorable Mention in 2017. She actively participates in the B Sharp Scholarship Competition, placing first in 2017 and 2018. More recently, Hannah has been awarded Honorable Mention of the Robinson Award in 2017 and has been awarded first prize in the Empire Instrumental Competition High School Division. Hannah will be attending Washington and Lee University in the fall and plans on continuing her music studies while focusing on a business degree.

Our thanks to those who have contributed to the Robinson Award Anonymous Brenton and Mary Bradly Barb Connor

Fletcher Foundation David and Louise Robinson Skaneateles Area Council for the Arts

Frank and Jan Smith Karl and Peggy Smith Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth Spitzer

Diane Walsh and Dick Pollak Suzanne Weitz Welch Allyn

If you would like to contribute to the Robinson Award Fund, please call 315-685-7418. 33

week 2

Friday, August 17

Concert: America Singing (continued from page 32) BARBER

Adagio for Strings

KERN & HAMMERSTEIN

“Bill” from Show Boat

RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN

“If I Loved You” from Carousel

LERNER & LOEWE

Colin Jacobsen, violin Guillaume Pirard, violin Kyle Armbrust, viola Caleb van der Swaagh, cello Zachary Cohen, bass

Zoe Johnson, soprano John Arida, piano

“I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady

GERSHWIN arr. HEIFETZ

“It Ain’t Necessarily So” from Porgy and Bess

O’CONNOR

Appalachia Waltz for solo violin

COPLAND

“Hoedown” from Rodeo

Colin Jacobsen, violin Aaron Wunsch, piano

tonight’s artist sponsorships

Julia Bruskin and Aaron Wunsch are sponsored by The Skaneateles Consortium: George Bain, Sam & Debby Bruskin, Dana & Susan Hall, and Ron Sampson Zoe Johnson and Luke MacMillan are sponsored by Jennifer Sutherland The Knights are sponsored by Koko Fuller The Skaneateles Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. 34

Program Notes

he Brooklyn-based orchestra Knights returns to Skaneateles, this time with 13 singers, to celebrate Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday. First, they present a program of entirely American music –favorite and lesserknown songs and ensemble music by Bernstein, Sondheim, Copland, and Samuel Barber, including music for brass quintet, piano trio, and Barber’s profoundly moving Adagio for Strings.

Dance Suite for Brass Quintet (1989) LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990) Whether or not brevity is the soul of wit, as they say, Bernstein’s Dance Suite has both. Its five movements last just five minutes. (By comparison, Mahler’s neither-briefnor-witty “Resurrection” Symphony has five movements and is 90 minutes long). It is so short, in fact, that the American Ballet Theater, which intended to choreograph the work for its 50th Anniversary, decided it could not even work for dancers – so it was performed on stage, in front of the curtain, by the Empire Brass Quintet. It was Bernstein’s final composition. Throughout his life, Bernstein wrote short pieces for his friends and colleagues on their birthdays (Anniversaries), usually for solo piano. These dances are in the same spirit, each dedicated to a brilliant friend and choreographer (proving that Bernstein knew everybody) – but each piece started life in a different form. “Dancisca for Anthony (Anthony Tudor)” was originally a piano dance for his granddaughter, Francesca (thus “dan-cisca”); the “Waltz for Agnes (de Mille)” (the choreographer of Copland’s Rodeo) started as the ironic “NEA Forever March,” penned

© AARON WUNSCH, 2018 after he refused the National Medal due to the NEA’s removal of funding from an AIDS-themed art exhibit; “Bi-Tango for Misha (Mikhail Baryshnikov)” was originally a birthday serenade for a friend; “Two-Step for Mr. B. (George Balanchine)” started as a “Spiky Song” for his two-week old grandson; and “MTV for Jerry (Jerome Robbins)” was first a song for his daughter Jamie, inspired by some dialogue in a TV episode of Miami Vice. In a final and perhaps failing effort at brevity, this program note ends now.

“The Man I Love” from Lady Be Good! (1924) “Embraceable You” from Girl Crazy (1930) GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898-1937) and IRA GERSHWIN (1896-1983)

“Bill” from Show Boat (1927) JEROME KERN (1885-1945) and OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II (1895-1960)

“If I Loved You” from Carousel (1945) RICHARD RODGERS (1902-1979) and OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II (1895-1960)

“Luck Be A Lady” from Guys and Dolls (1950) FRANK LOESSER (1910-1969)

“Getting to Know You” from The King and I (1951) RICHARD RODGERS (1902-1979) and OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II (1895-1960)

“I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady (1956) ALAN JAY LERNER (1918-1986) and FREDERICK LOEWE (1901-1988)

“I Feel Pretty” and “Somewhere” from West Side Story (1957) LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990) and STEPHEN SONDHEIM (B. 1930)

Jazz phenom Joey Alexander and his trio make their Festival debut.

Every songbook is defined by its contents – and yet the “American Songbook” has no table. It exists only in our collective consciousness: the American songs we know and love, most of which are about knowing love. The songs are not from the present, and for many there is an indefinable nostalgia associated with hearing them. While some listeners will have heard these songs as children, they mostly predate our childhoods. Take Gershwin’s hits from the ‘20s: almost none among us can remember that decade, but don’t we all like to imagine we’d lived back then? Not even centenarians could have heard Fred Astaire sing “The Man I Love” (originally “The Girl I Love”) in the

8/17 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

1924 premiere of Lady Be Good! because it was cut before the opening. Whoever sings this dreamy song is madly in love with a man, and she knows everything about him. The only glitch is that she hasn’t met him just yet; maybe Monday, maybe Tuesday. “Embraceable You” from Girl Crazy (1930) has a similar feel– its phrases begin after a rest, allowing the singer to deliver them in a free rhythm (rubato), with all of the personality the original performer, Ginger Rogers, certainly had. Ira Gershwin again provided the confectionary lyrics: “Just one look at you, my heart grew tipsy in me/ You and you alone bring out the gypsy in me.” Gershwin’s songs show just how much he learned from Jerome Kern, for whom he worked as a rehearsal pianist on the elder composer’s Miss 1917. Kern revolutionized the Broadway musical with Show Boat (1927), the first work to integrate all the music into the dramatic arc of a plot. Its song “Bill,” however, was written much earlier, in 1918, as part of a musical with lyrics by P. G. Wodehouse. In Show Boat, the emotional song belongs to the brokenhearted, bi-racial Julie LaVerne, banned from the show boat after a romantic liaison with a white man. She spends most of the song listing the qualities her lover lacks – but love, of course, refuses to be rational. Fifteen years after Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the lyrics for Kern’s Show Boat, he joined Richard Rodgers for one hit musical after another. Their grand spectacle Oklahoma! (1943) preceded the

tragic Carousel (1944), in which a millworker (Julie) and a carnival barker (Billy) can’t find a life to fit their love. “If I Loved You,” from Act I, dwells in the safety of hypotheticals, as if to foreshadow the dangers of real love. The effortless charm of “Getting to Know You,” from The King and I (1951), shows another side of the dynamic duo’s abilities, in which the English governess Anna immediately captivates her new employer’s children – surely the envy of Kindergarten teachers everywhere. The 1950s brought fresh faces to the scene, including Frank Loesser, recently returned from the Air Force. His second musical, Guys and Dolls, featured such hits as “Luck Be A Lady;” the hard-edged lyrics matching the bravado with which Sky Masterson throws his dice. Although Marlon Brando barked it out for the 1955 film, most of us will never get the honeyed voice of Frank Sinatra out of our ears. A few years later, Alan Lerner and “Fritz” Loewe teamed up to musicalize Pygmalion, Bernard Shaw’s unconventional relationship between Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle. Eliza’s euphoria at correctly pronouncing “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain” pours out into My Fair Lady’s “I Could Have Danced All Night.” The following year’s hit by the creative dream team of Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, and Stephen Sondheim also brought to life an unconventional relationship, albeit one made familiar to us by Shakespeare. The giddy innocence of Maria’s “I Feel Pretty” gives way to the sober, barely hopeful “Somewhere,” which dares to contemplate a future more tolerant than the present. By

8/17 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

ripping the subject of immigration and gang turf wars from the headlines, West Side Story took the rose colored glasses from the art form, leaving it edgier and more relevant. The American musical has never quite been the same; today, even a musical history lesson like Hamilton sounds utterly contemporary. The “American Songbook” may have closed, but new volumes are open.

Capriccio (1946) LUKAS FOSS (1922-2009) For young composers, music can be a serious business. How can one live up to the likes of Bach and Beethoven? Teachers rain criticism down on them, audiences rarely show enthusiasm. One had best come armed with a sense of humor, as Lukas Foss did. An admirer of Bach’s music, in particular, the German-born Foss studied in Berlin and Paris before immigrating to the U. S., where he studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, with two very severe teachers: Isabella Vengerova (piano) and Rosario Scalero (composition). Nothing was ever good enough for these two. Vengerova “scared the living daylights” out of Foss’s close friend and fellow student, Leonard Bernstein; Scalero had taken a red pen to Samuel Barber’s great Piano Sonata some two decades after he graduated, unprompted by Barber. All this seriousness left Foss with a deep desire to laugh. “I think it is very important to have humor in the arts in general, and in music in particular,” he said in 1998. As the title Capriccio indicates, his work for cello and piano is lighthearted by intention. Yet it very much follows in the “serious” tradition of Bach’s music, and the cello suites in particular. The opening attention-grabber, a noisy upward thrust from both instruments, tells us that this is the optimistic music of a 24-year-old; a fresh start in postwar America. The cello mimics a Bach cello suite, playing alone, but not for long. Soon, the piano wants in on the fun as well. Both instruments turn the little threenote idea upside down for something more raucous. A gentle waltz and a scherzo lead toward a grand, rocky vista; looking over the canyon, the music becomes reflective for a few moments (à la Copland) before returning to the opening playful theme, which rides away on a gentle breeze into the distance, as if to tell us “Lighten up.”

Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano (1937) LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990) Leonard Bernstein was a quintessentially American icon. Naturally, he didn’t start out that way, however. As his father put it, “How was I supposed to know my son would grow up to be Leonard Bernstein?” Samuel Bernstein was a successful purveyor of beauty supplies; imagining his son as a successful musician was a stretch. With an uncertain path ahead, Leonard majored in music at Harvard, much to his father’s chagrin (music, not Harvard). His senior thesis considered a topic that would preoccupy Bernstein for decades to come: What does truly American music sound like? The subtext of this inquiry, however, was ‘What will my American music sound like?’ It was a lifelong quest, and the Piano Trio lay at the very beginning of it. Bernstein composed the work at age 19, even before his Harvard thesis. The Trio opens in a pensive mood, with each instrument reflecting on its own. Determined to reach some far-off destination, the three instruments gear up for the journey and join one another. On their road through the wilderness, these pioneers discover they are greater than the sum of their parts, a familiar American story. A tonguein-cheek march follows, filled with plucky strings, a rather zany combination of the blues, old-time fiddle music, and military-style rhythms. The final movement opens contemplatively, revisiting the melodic idea from the first movement, but then finds its way into a rousing round dance of unspecific national origin, like a cross between an Irish fiddle tune and the Hava Nagila. Perhaps that’s the point: Bernstein was a wholehearted subscriber to the ‘melting pot’ ideal of America. He was an optimist at age 19, and he remained one to the end.

Adagio for Strings (1936) SAMUEL BARBER (1910-1981) Like Pachelbel and his Canon, Samuel Barber scarcely could have anticipated the extraordinary fame his Adagio would attain. For starters, the 26-year-old composed it as part of his first, and only, String Quartet – and there wasn’t (and isn’t) a string quartet on earth as well-known as this Adagio. Second, the circumstances that propelled it to become the universal embodiment of grief in America

Please join us for these upcoming performances of the Syracuse Vocal Ensemble: 2018 Fall Concert Saturday, October 20, 2018 and Sunday, October 21, 2018

Serving the Syracuse area with a wide range of exceptional choral programming and performances since 1973. www.syracusevocalensemble.org

Holiday Concert Saturday, December 8, 2018 and Sunday, December 9, 2018 Spring Concert Saturday, March 9, 2019 and Sunday, March 10, 2019 SVE A Night of Vocal Jazz Saturday, May 4 2019

8/13 Program Notes (CONTINUED) 8/17

– the assassination of Kennedy and the Vietnam War – were far off. When he penned it in 1936, Barber wasn’t even in the United States; he was traveling in Italy and Austria. Yet he did have a sense from the start that it was one of his best works. On September 19, he wrote to cellist Orlando Cole, “I have just finished the slow movement of my quartet today – it is a knock-out!” Popularity aside, the Adagio has few detractors. Bernstein and Copland, generally cool towards Barber’s more conservative musical vocabulary, expressed admiration for it. Bernstein conducted and recorded it, one of only two of Barber’s works in his repertoire. As Copland put it, “It comes straight from the heart.” Barber indicates to the players that the Adagio should be played “very slowly, expressively singing.” It’s simple, stepwise melodic line is emotional but dignified, like a mourner maintaining outward (if not inward) composure. The darkly shaded harmonies underneath are perhaps the most essential and masterful part of the work – hymn-like and comprehensible, but not familiar. The melody leads ever forward, phrase after phrase, to a climax that cries out. From there, the melody starts to find catharsis, if not comfort. Whether or not Barber intended this music as an expression of grief, it’s certainly not difficult to hear it that way. Arturo Toscanini popularized the work in its orchestral form by performing it during an NBC Symphony broadcast in 1938. From then on, it was a radio piece; it played immediately after the deaths of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1945) and John F. Kennedy (1963). Barber arranged it again in 1967 as an “Agnus Dei”for choir, popular today despite the propensity of its long melodies to turn singers blue in the face. But the more famous it became, the less Barber wanted to hear it. “Everybody always plays that!” he complained. Its fame did not abate after his death, either; it proved integral to the Academy Award-winning movie Platoon (1986) and was often heard after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Through all this, it never seems to lose its effect. In the interest of diversity of opinion, however, here’s a postscript from fellow American composer and influential music critic Virgil Thomson: “I think it’s a love scene.”

convince Bess that “what you read in the Bible, it ain’t necessarily so,” his chromatically seductive melody slithers and slides like Satan himself. Once you hear it, you can’t forget it (another gift of Gershwin’s). In an essay on his “folk opera,” he wrote: “It is true that I have written songs for Porgy and Bess. I am not ashamed of writing songs at any time so long as they are good songs.” In his arrangement of this “good song,” Jascha Heifetz, the unflappable violinist, takes the players through a series of severe temptations that they won’t ‘necessarily’ pass: double stops, octaves, harmonics, and the like. If they do, it’s a thrill.

Appalachia Waltz (1993) MARK O’CONNOR (B. 1961) This atmospheric, Appalachian-style waltz offers us a brief introduction to the music of Mark O’Connor, who will perform at the Skaneateles Festival on September 1. Its gentle, heartfelt melody has made it a favorite of Classical artists such as Yo-Yo Ma (with whom O’Connor has worked), not to mention prominent bridal parties. The solitary violinist plays double stops throughout, but the music is skillfully composed to float effortlessly, like a breeze from over a mountain.

“Hoedown” from Rodeo (1942) AARON COPLAND (1900-1990) One wouldn’t necessarily expect a gay communist from Brooklyn to compose the world’s most famous Appalachian hoedown. Of course, the “Beef – It’s What’s for Dinner” ad campaign in the 1990s aided the spread of this particular “Hoedown,” leading us to an even more unlikely story, “Gay Brooklyn Communist Advertises Beef.” Such is the mysterious and unpredictably egalitarian nature of musical popularity. In any case, in his 1942 ballet, Rodeo, Copland hit upon a sound world that still seems to represent the best of rural America. (While much of that sound world was Copland’s own invention, like the “wide” intervals of fourths and fifths as a representation of wide open spaces, he did also draw from actual Appalachian fiddle tunes in his ballet). The hoedown is a square dance competition; here, several men compete for the attention of the cowgirl. The Wrangler (presumably not from Brooklyn) earns his kiss. Copland made this arrangement for violin and piano himself.

“It Ain’t Necessarily So” from Porgy and Bess (1935) GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898-1937), arr. Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) George Gershwin is often mistaken for a jazz composer, and in a sense, he became one after he died. His songs are now jazz standards, improvised upon by countless players. However, his start was in Tin Pan Alley, where he ‘plugged songs’ into pianola rolls, then later wrote his own. And whether he was a jazz musician or not, the man could write a good tune. This song from Porgy and Bess is a prime example. As the devilish character Sportin’ Life tries to

tonight’s concert is sponsored by

week 2

Saturday, August 18 7:30 PM Robinson Pavilion

at Anyela’s Vineyards Rain Location: Skaneateles High School

Leonard Bernstein’s Candide Cast

Ensemble

Miles Mykkanen, Candide Sharleen Joynt, Cunégonde Evan Jones, Pangloss/Voltaire/Cacambo Margaret Gawrysiak, Old Lady Alexander Elliott, Maximilian/Grand Inquisitor Alex Mansoori, Vanderdendur/Baron/Ragotski Sarah Larsen, Paquette

Zoe Johnson, Soprano Emma Sorenson, Alto Aaron Crouch, Tenor Luke MacMillan, Baritone

ACT ONE Overture Westphalia Chorale Life is Happiness Indeed The Best of All Possible Worlds Universal Good Oh, Happy We Westphalia Chorale Battle Scene (Instrumental) Candide’s Lament Dear Boy Auto-da-fè Candide’s Second Meditation (It Must Be Me) Paris Waltz Glitter and Be Gay You Were Dead, You Know I am Easily Assimilated Quartet Finale intermission

tonight’s artist sponsorships

The cast of Candide is sponsored by Doug & Peg Whitehouse Zoe Johnson and Luke MacMillan are sponsored by Jennifer Sutherland 40

ACT TWO

Candide (continued)

Westphalia Chorale My Love We Are Women Alleluia Quiet Ballad of El Dorado Bon Voyage Money, Money, Money What’s the Use Nothing More than This Universal Good Make Our Garden Grow The Knights Colin Jacobsen and Eric Jacobsen, Artistic Directors Eric Jacobsen, Music Director/Conductor Orchestra VIOLIN Colin Jacobsen Guillaume Pirard

CELLO Caleb van der Swaagh

VIOLA Kyle Armbrust

BASS Zachary Cohen FLUTE Alex Sopp Chris Johnson

OBOE Geoff Deemer CLARINET Agnes Marchione Alicia Lee BASSOON Erik Höltje

HORN TROMBONE Michael P. Atkinson Dave Nelson David Byrd-Marrow Nate Mayland TRUMPET Sycil Mathai Josh Frank

TUBA Marcus Rojas

PERCUSSION Michael Caterisano Sam Budish Ian Sullivan HARP Bridget Kibbey

Life inspires art. Art inspires living. At Wilmington Trust, we’re proud to support people and organizations whose creativity inspires us. That’s why we offer our time, energy and resources and encourage others to do the same.

Ken Williams | 315-424-4488 | kswilliams@wilmingtontrust.com Julia O’Donnell | 315-424-4566 | jmodonnell@wilmingtontrust.com wilmingtontrust.com ©2018 Wilmington Trust Corporation and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Program Notes Candide (1956) LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990) By definition, a “hit” happens right away – the moment the bat comes in contact with the ball, or the moment a song hits the airwaves – instantly popular. Today, the definition of a “Broadway hit” would be Hamilton, the 2015 show to which no one can get tickets. By Hamilton’s standards, Bernstein’s Candide was not a hit. Its premiere on Broadway, in 1956, received mixed reviews, and it ran for only two months. Revised numerous times over the rest of his life, it very slowly gained popularity and critical acclaim. Sixty-two years later, however, consensus is growing that the work might just be Bernstein’s masterpiece. The successful playwright and Hollywood screenwriter Lillian Hellman conceived of the project in 1953, at the height of the McCarthy hearings. The previous year, she was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). She denied having been a formal member of the Communist Party but refused to indemnify anyone she knew who had attended meetings. As a result, she was blacklisted by Hollywood. Prior to the incident, she and Bernstein had shared ideas for an opera about Eva Perón, but (fortunately for Andrew Lloyd Weber’s pocketbook)nothing came of it. Now Hellman proposed

FULL- SERVICE ADV E R T I S I N G AG E N C Y

© AARON WUNSCH, 2018 Candide, based on the 1759 satire by Voltaire. Bernstein responded enthusiastically, agreeing to recast the scenario as a parallel to the present time. In 1956, he explained why: “Puritanical snobbery, phony moralism, inquisitorial attacks on the individual, brave-new-world optimism, essential superiority – aren’t these all charges leveled against American society by our best thinkers? And they are also charges made by Voltaire against his own society.” However, Bernstein convinced Hellman to cast it not as a play with incidental music, but as a comic operetta (a musical, essentially). She had no experience writing comedy, nor a musical – and indeed, the primary criticism of the original 1956 Broadway version was that her libretto was far too serious for Voltaire’s effervescent satire. Perhaps her wounds from HUAC were just too fresh; this was all very serious to her. Six later versions, including this one (first given at the Scottish National Opera, in 1988) dispensed with Hellman’s libretto. Bernstein’s music, however, seemed a perfect fit for Voltaire, when set to lyrics by a poet of the first rank, Richard Wilbur (later US Poet Laureate). Bernstein skillfully draws upon his knowledge of the whole musical tradition, from medieval troubadour songs, to Rossini and Offenbach, to Baroque and Classical dance forms, to American musical theater.

8/18 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

The crackling Overture that starts off Candide is immensely popular as a stand-alone concert piece today. Clearly built on the model of a Rossini overture (such as The Barber of Seville, later famous as theme music for The Lone Ranger), it both introduces the most important melodies and the overarching tone of the whole show, a blend of the knowingly zany and innocently sincere. This blend is at the heart of Voltaire’s entertaining and savagely satirical story, subtitled L’Optisme (Optimism). His most immediate target was the philosophical perspective of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), whose optimism about the world seemed to Voltaire incompatible with actual world events. Leibniz is represented by Dr. Pangloss, whose mantra “the best of all possible worlds” is contradicted at every turn by the happenings in Candide, including real-world terrors such as the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the Spanish Inquisition. The saccharine, all-too-perfect opening scene in which Candide (an illegitimate nephew) and Cunegonde (the Baron’s daughter) hit it off, doesn’t last long. The lovers are separated when the Baron exiles Candide and the castle is subsequently destroyed by the “liberating” army to which Candide was conscripted. Cunegonde floats from brothel to brothel, where she learns to “Glitter and be Gay” (a brilliant parody of a showstopper, à la Offenbach, as well as an actual showstopper). Pangloss and Candide

set off to Lisbon, where they are immediately blamed for the earthquake by the Spanish Inquisition (the McCarthy parallel). Pangloss meets an unfortunate end, for now, but Candide escapes to Paris, where Cunegonde now works in the world’s oldest profession. The two C’s are reunited in a parody of a bel canto opera duet. Next is Bernstein’s grand tango, a vehicle for the Old Lady’s anti-philosophy philosophy(“I am easily assimilated”). The three resolve to head to the New World. Act II begins with some South American hijinks that reunite Cunegonde’s brother, Maximillian, Paquette (the maid), and the others, but after a few now-predictable mishaps, Candide finds himself in the mythical Eldorado. Bernstein sets the scene in the too-good-to-be-true style of Cecil B. De Mille, his parody of Hollywood film scores. Holding on to his “best of all possible worlds” mentality, Candide leaves Eldorado in search of Cunegonde and waltzes across the world until he finally reaches Venice. Reunited with the revived Pangloss, whom he found as a galley slave along the way, he arrives in Venice, where Cunegonde and the Old Lady make a living in a life of petty crime. After Cunegonde robs Candide, he finally gives up his vision of attainable perfection and the two settle down to lead a quiet life in “this meaningless world.” Bernstein’s greatest achievement in Candide becomes apparent in the final number, “Make Our Garden Grow.” Where Voltaire’s Candide skewers simplicity and sincerity, Bernstein’s music somehow allows his Candide to retain it. Through all of the absurd plot developments and parodies, he can make us feel as if the music came straight from his heart into ours, cutting through the chaos and misery around us. He can’t bring us “the best of all possible worlds,” but he can help us hope that the world we do have might actually be enough. And whether in 1759, 1956, or 2018, that is no small achievement.

Serving Lunch and Dinner 11:30am – 9:00pm 28 Jordan St. Skaneateles, NY www.moroskitchen.com 315.685.6116

28 Hannum St, Skaneateles, NY 13152 315.685.1360 skaneateleshistoricalsociety.org skaneateleshistoricalsociety@verizon.net

tonight’s concert is sponsored by

week 3

Thursday, August 23

7:00 PM Backstage Pass (for ticket holders only)

Doug Sutherland and Nancy Kramer in memory of Jack Varney

8:00 PM First Presbyterian Church

Backstage Pass – Why Schubert? Join us as we discuss Schubert’s unflinching quest to explore all sides of the human condition, in conversation with Nicholas Phan, Anthony Marwood and Aaron Wunsch.

Concert – Schubert Up Close SCHUBERT

Impromptu No. 3 in B-flat Major, D. 935

SCHUBERT

Selected songs about Greek Mythology

SCHUBERT

Auf dem Strom (“On the River”), D. 943

SCHUBERT

Rondo in B minor for Violin and Piano, D. 895

“An die Leier,” D. 737 “Ganymed,” D. 544 “Atys,” D. 585 “Der Musensohn,” D. 764

Inon Barnatan, piano Nicholas Phan, tenor Inon Barnatan, piano

Nicholas Phan, tenor Julia Bruskin, cello Aaron Wunsch, piano Anthony Marwood, violin Aaron Wunsch, piano

intermission

SCHUBERT

Piano Trio in B-flat Major, D. 898 Allegro moderato Andante, un poco mosso Scherzo: Allegro Rondo: Allegro vivace

tonight’s artist sponsorships

Inon Barnatan is sponsored by Grossman St. Amour, CPA, PLLC Julia Bruskin, Anthony Marwood and Aaron Wunsch are sponsored by The Skaneateles Consortium: George Bain, Sam & Debby Bruskin, Dana & Susan Hall, and Ron Sampson Nicholas Phan is sponsored by Don & Chacea Sundman Opus 3 Artists is the exclusive presenter of: Inon Barnatan and Nicholas Phan. 44

Anthony Marwood, violin Julia Bruskin, cello Inon Barnatan, piano

Program Notes

chubert asks us to listen in; like no one else, his music expresses the most tender and intimate feelings. Selected audience members will receive invitations via lottery to join three renowned Schubert interpreters up close, seated on stage: pianist Inon Barnatan, tenor Nicholas Phan, and violinist Anthony Marwood. Artistic Director Julia Bruskin joins them. Don’t miss this extraordinary evening.

mortality rates were sky high, and the secret police lurked in the shadows. At age 25, Schubert contracted syphilis, a death sentence that could strike at any time. Schubert’s older brother, Ferdinand, worried that depression might overtake him. In a reply to his brother, Schubert wrote: “I hasten to assure you of the contrary. Admittedly, this is no longer that happy time in which every object seems surmounted by a halo of youth, but that fatal acknowledgement of an unhappy reality, which I seek to beautify as far as possible through my imagination (thank God).”

Impromptu No. 3 in B-flat Major, D. 935 (1827) “An die Leier,” D. 737 (1823) “Ganymed,” D. 544 (1817) “Atys,” D. 585 (1817) “Der Musensohn,” D. 764 (1822) Auf dem Strom (“On the River”), D. 943 (1828) Rondo in B minor for Violin and Piano, D. 895 (1826) Piano Trio in B-flat Major, D. 898 (1828)

Schubert’s friends were the immediate recipients of this musical imagination. They gathered together in modest middle-class drawing rooms, close together, and tried to shut out the world in more senses than one. His close friend, Moritz von Schwind, one of the most talented visual artists of his generation, has given us the best depiction of Schubert’s musical gatherings, often called Schubertiaden. Schubert performs at the piano alongside tenor Johann Michael Vogl, but almost no one looks at the performers – they are huddled together, but each looks off toward his or her own reflective horizon. Tonight, we enter this musical space, which Franz Schubert created for himself, for his friends, and for the rest of us. He asks us to look outward at the world around us, acknowledge its terrors and fleeting beauties, and then to listen in.

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Music, for Schubert, was both a way of life and a way of coping with the challenges of his particular life. To his friends, it seemed he composed almost continuously, shuffling sheaves of music paper with him everywhere he went. At the time of his early death at age 31, he had composed a thousand works of every conceivable kind – symphonies, operas, and masses among them. Yet it is his more intimate works, such as his songs, solo piano, and chamber music that often touches us most deeply. Although these works are beautiful and their melodies are tuneful, terrors often lurk beneath the surface. Contrary to the romanticized picture of “golden Vienna,” dangers were everywhere: the city had no reliable water source, infant

Moritz von Schwind, Schubertiade (from memory), 1868

In Loving Memory John R. “Jack” Varney Local attorney Jack Varney was a special guy and, quite frankly, something of a character. For those of us who knew him, Jack was a warm and engaging individual wrapped within a carefully-cultivated curmudgeonly exterior. Jack loved the Skaneateles Festival. He served two terms on the Festival Board offering both sage legal perspective and welcome motions to adjourn when meetings began to drag-on. He and his lovely wife, Judy, were season ticket holders, generous contributors, front-row fixtures in Presbyterian Church concerts and ring-leaders of the notorious Brook Farm gang, who gathered stage-left for each Saturday performance to pass around bottles of wine, plates of cheese and bags of Milano Cookies while listening to World Class Music by the Lake. – Doug Sutherland 45

8/23 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

We begin in Schubert’s most private space, at the piano. Shortly after learning violin and viola, Schubert studied piano with his older brother, Ignaz. After a few month she declared that he had no more need of such lessons, having exceeded his brother’s skill level. Once accepted as a member of the royal Vienna Boys Choir, he continued to study piano, and before long he could “play difficult pieces at sight,” as his 1811 report card read. Although he went on to compose over 20 piano sonatas, the genre he more immediately made his own was the Impromptu. In comparison to the sonata, with its prescribed movements and formal plan, the Impromptu allowed Schubert the freedom to truly follow where his melodies led. In the case of his beguiling Impromptu No. 3 in B-flat Major, D. 935 (1827), he already had the melody on hand. Composed four years earlier, the easy-going theme was designed as part of a play, Rosamunde, which tells the story of a queen who grows up incognito as a shepherdess, for her own safety. In the Impromptu, the melody becomes increasingly less pastoral as it transforms through several variations – first ardent, then whimsical, then pensive, then hopeful, and finally soaring. A short coda brings the music back down to a peaceful rest. At his Imperial school, Schubert was surrounded for the first time by a group of cultured and curious boys his own

age, most from more elevated family backgrounds than his own. Several took a keen interest in recent German poetry, including by Goethe, who’s Faust (Part II) had recently been published. Such poetry was not considered appropriate for study in schools; his composition teacher, Antonio Salieri (the same one rumored to have poisoned Mozart, but who certainly didn‘t), spoke little German and preferred Schubert to set music to Italian and Latin, the languages of serious opera and the church. As an extracurricular activity, therefore, Schubert began composing to the poems of Goethe, which he played while singing to his friends. One astonished schoolmate, Franz von Bruchmann, passed along some of these settings to a famous poet, Platen, declaring them “certain to delight all your friends.” When Bruchmann and Schubert later struck up a friendship, he offered Schubert his own poems to accompany, including “An die Leier” (“At the Lyre”), D. 737 (ca. 1823), a free German translation of a Greek poem by Anakreon. While Schubert didn’t officially study German poetry in school, he did study Greek, in which he always received a top grade. Schubert’s enthusiasm for Greek mythology spilled over into his German settings. The subject of “An die Leier” is music itself, or, more specifically, a Greek poet who can’t seem to control his own instrument. Fearsome opening chords announce the poet’s determination to sing about the epic tragedies of the Trojan War, and yet when he plays the lyre, only the sounds of love pour out. Music,

8/23 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

it seems, brings out our true underlying feelings more than it bends to our intentions. “Ganymed,” D. 544 (1817) is one of Schubert’s most famous songs. In the poem, Goethe tells how Zeus, disguised as an eagle, abducts a handsome Trojan boy as his cupbearer. We hear the entire poem from the perspective of the boy, Ganymed, who is a willing participant. Schubert’s music depicts both the boy’s ascent from earth to Olympus as well his succession of emotions, from curiosity, to eagerness, to arousal, to ecstasy, to gratitude. Schubert transforms the music for each state, carrying the listener through a bewildering array of keys, melodies, and rhythms, right up to heaven. We can assume Schubert was aware of the erotic undertones of the legend and the poem; “Greek love” was a euphemism in Schubert’s Vienna for same-sex union. Yet the song also works on a spiritual level, as Ganymed successfully transcends the boundaries of his own life. Schubert himself penned in 1823, “With a holy zeal I yearn / Life in fairer worlds to learn.” “Atys,” D. 585 (1817), by contrast, is the song of an outcast. The poem was penned by a man who felt he was one: Johann Mayrhofer, one of Schubert’s closest friends. According to Mayrhofer’s version of the Greek legend (borrowed from Catullus), Atys is a castrated youth enslaved in servitude to Cybele, goddess of fertility. Schubert’s androgynous protagonist longs not for restored masculinity but for his “native valley, across the ocean” – a homeland forever distant. The rippling arpeggios of Schubert’s lyre-like piano part veer from minor to major as Atys alternately fails and succeeds to hide in his own memories. After reliving the trauma of his enslavement, Atys casts himself desperately toward the ocean, only to fall to the forest floor, which Schubert depicts with the piano alone. Mayrhofer ultimately indulged took his own life in 1836. “Der Musensohn,” D. 764 (1822), returns to the topic of “An die Leier,” namely, the ways in which the artist is both free and captive. Here, the singer shares how his songs create a rhythm for the world around him to move,

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East Coast Chamber Orchestra and all the boys and girls fall in line. The listener, too, falls in line, held captive by Schubert’s charming, foot-tapping accompaniment. Yet at the same time, the muses control him, driving him far away. Will the artist, too, find a home? Not here. Both Auf dem Strom, D. 943 (1828) and his Trio in B-flat Major, D. 898 (on the second half of this program) were featured at Schubert’s one and only public concert of his music, on March 26, 1828 – the one-year anniversary of Beethoven’s death. Schubert himself died less than eight months later, at age 31. The novelty of including an extra instrument (originally horn, but also published with a part for cello) would have appealed to prospective ticket buyers. The topic of the poem, a distant beloved, was a favorite of Beethoven’s. And, like Beethoven’s music, this setting is heartfelt, noble, and heroic. The writer of the poem, Ludwig Rellstab, had visited Beethoven in 1825 and left his poems behind; Beethoven’s secretary passed them along to Schubert. Despite these many connections to Beethoven, this extended song could only have been composed by Schubert. First, before a single word has been sung, Schubert interiorizes the song’s meaning into the opening cello melody. The farewell scene depicted in the poem, where a lover bids adieu as the boat carries him into the unknown, has its musical counterpart in the cello’s wistful melody, held afloat by the piano’s gently rocking arpeggios. Schubert shows his gift for melody, but when the voice enters, also for counterpoint – the cello and voice melodies intertwine in the most artful way. When the waves intensify, carrying the lover further and further adrift, the piano’s turbulent chords and the singer’s anxious response again instantly convey the change in character. At this point, the poem becomes more psychological: the river carries the lover to a place of “dark wilderness,” a “cold” and “angry” sea. Becoming ever more metaphorical, one more stanza might render this whole journey a meditation on death – but before that can happen, the lover looks up to the stars, away from the water, in the hope of meeting his beloved’s gaze there. Schubert’s choice to repeat the last line, “There I shall meet her gaze,” without the preceding “perhaps,” renders the lovers’ reunion more certain. As is so often the

case in Schubert’s music, darkness lurks and occasionally penetrates, but it does not triumph.

passagework keeps the music aloft, sending the violinist into the stratosphere. Schubert may have been famously shy and retiring in person, but his music certainly commands the limelight here.

Whereas Auf dem Strom’s purpose is to elevate and ennoble, the Rondo in B minor, D. 895 (1826), also a concert piece, was clearly designed to shock and awe. A dramatic showstopper for the violin, it is in some ways less typical of Schubert and more so of a certain violinist turning heads across Europe: Niccolo Paganini. It was composed for the 20-year-old Josef Slawik, who Chopin would soon call “a second Paganini.” Schubert’s publisher for this work had the right idea (so rarely the case) when he called it Rondeau brilliant. Despite its unusually virtuosic temperament, the Rondo does contain all the most salient qualities of Schubert’s music, including lyricism, charm, and an “ever onward” quality of a wanderer.

Schubert’s tendencies toward the public and private found perfect balance in his Piano Trio in B-flat Major, D. 898 (1828). It has the hallmarks of the convivial and sophisticated chamber music of Haydn and Mozart, the dramatic scope of Beethoven, and the soaring lyricism and pure charm of Schubert alone. Because the work is both lovingly intimate and grandly celebratory, it seems fitting that the Trio was first heard in a special performance for his oldest friend, Joseph von Spaun, as a gift to celebrate his engagement. While the pianist typically has an outsized role in piano trios, Schubert equalizes the roles of the three instruments. Like three good friends, they gladly and willingly pass off their melodies from one to the next.

8/23 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

The piano begins as if pretending to be an orchestra, with fearsome chords in B minor. The violin responds with two tempestuous upward blasts of wind (very fast scales). Soon after, Schubert relaxes into a gentle song; apparently Paganini’s lyricism impressed Schubert as much as his pyrotechnics. “I heard an angel singing,” Schubert reportedly said of Paganini. The punishing chords return, but just when this tragic pose becomes unbearable, it releases into a bold and vigorous dance – the rondo theme. From here on, the music is always on its way – by turns fiery, consoling, reflective, and triumphant – as ever more brilliant

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The full-throated sonority of the opening bars is a grand pronouncement, but the triplets in almost every bar of the movement convey its fundamentally jovial character. The tenderly pleading second theme, first sung by the cello, ushers in a lighthearted exchange. Like Beethoven, Schubert saves his high drama for the middle part of the movement; it subsides back to the opening theme, as expected, but instead of returning even louder as Beethoven would have done, Schubert returns softly in the remote, magical key G-flat Major. The aching tenderness of the second movement is initiated by the cello, which plays the melody with vulnerability, in a high register. This can only be music of love, but not the full-throated romanticism of Brahms; rather, it caresses and whispers at close range. The vivacious Scherzo has its natural counterweight in the slower middle section of the same movement, which prefers to linger dreamily. The final movement is typical of Schubert’s late works in that it plays out like a wanderer on a journey to a destination unknown, much like the lover aboard the ship in Auf dem Strom. However, here the weather is fine. Each episode takes us to a new vista; a forest, lake, or some other place of beauty. Schubert made two trips to rural Upper Austria, where he spent some of his life’s happiest moments in nature. Those walks became metaphors for a musical representation of life’s journey. Schubert asks us to listen, and follow.

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tonight’s concert is sponsored by

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Friday, August 24 8:00 PM First Presbyterian Church

Songs from Home BEETHOVEN

BRITTEN

Excerpts from 25 Irish Songs, WoO 152 No. 3 “Once More I Hail Thee” No. 4 “The Morning Air Plays on my Face” No. 14 “Dermot and Shelah”

Nicholas Phan, tenor Anthony Marwood, violin Julia Bruskin, cello Inon Barnatan, piano

“Come You Not from Newcastle?” “Greensleeves” “Sally in our Alley” “The Ploughboy”

Nicholas Phan, tenor Aaron Wunsch, piano

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The Unquiet Grave

REZA VALI

Two Persian Folk Songs, arr. Cello and Piano

DEBUSSY

5. In the Style of an Armenian Folk Song 7. Folk Song from Khorosan

Petite suite for Piano, four hands

Nicholas Phan, tenor Anthony Marwood, violin Inon Barnatan, piano Julia Bruskin, cello Aaron Wunsch, piano

Inon Barnatan, piano Aaron Wunsch, piano

intermission

BRAHMS

“In stiller Nacht” “Es war ein Markgraf überm Rhein” “Sandmännchen”

BRAHMS

Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25 Allegro Intermezzo: Allegro ma non troppo Andante con moto Rondo alla Zingarese: Presto

tonight’s artist sponsorships

Opus 3 Artists is the exclusive presenter of: Inon Barnatan and Nicholas Phan.

Nicholas Phan, tenor Aaron Wunsch, piano

Anthony Marwood, violin Melissa Reardon, viola Julia Bruskin, cello Inon Barnatan, piano The Skaneateles Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Program Notes

hy do songs from our childhoods linger in our memories? Join tenor Nicholas Phan (“on a career roll,” The New York Times), violinist Anthony Marwood (“thrilling,” Sunday Times), and pianist Inon Barnatan (“extraordinary,” The New York Times) for a program of folk songs (including “Greensleeves”) and accompanying instrumental music that explores music’s ability to carry us back home.

Excerpts from 25 Irish Songs, WoO 152 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) One could be forgiven for thinking there was a typo in the composer given for these songs. ‘Beethoven’ and ‘ Irish folk songs’ do not seem a likely, or perhaps even advisable, pairing. The oddity might not be unlike Michael Jackson dancing a jig – or, more accurately, dancing a jig 116 times, the number of Beethoven’s English-language songs. This seemingly harebrained project was the passion of folk-song enthusiast and Scottish publisher George Thomson. He collected the songs, sent only the melodies to respected composers (including Haydn and Beethoven) and poets (including Robert Burns), and then assembled the arrangements with the new lyrics. Beethoven’s

complete ignorance of the English language was therefore no hindrance, since Thomson refused to send him anything other than a basic scenario of the song; as he pointed out, “most of these words are still in the poet’s brain.” In the case of “Once More I Hail Thee,” for example, this resulted in a Scottish poet (Burns) and a German composer (Beethoven) setting an Irish folk song (anonymous) assembled by a Scottish publisher (Thomson). The settings may forever send steam from the ears of ethnomusicologists, but they are far more musically successful than one could expect. The wistful lyrics of “Once More I Hail Thee,” by the great poet Robert Burns, describe the way “gloomy December” causes a lover to recall a painful breakup with his lass, Nancy. Beethoven accentuates the melancholy lyricism of the melody by doubling it in the cello. Perhaps he intuited the lyrics, which could have applied to him. When he composed the melody in July of 1810, he had recently been rejected in his ill-conceived marriage proposal to his physician’s daughter, who was has half his age. Beethoven’s setting of “The Morning Air Plays on My Face” certainly captures the enthusiasm of an eager lover approaching his beloved’s house, even if our lover does sound rather Germanic, in this case. Let’s call it a multicultural relationship. Alas, her Irish mother stands

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8/24 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

behind her, casting a disapproving gaze. “Dermot and Shelah” pokes fun at the ‘woe is me’ attitude of two spurned young lovers, who happen to sit under the same willow tree to “die alone.” Naturally, they get together.

“Come You Not from Newcastle?” (1948) “Greensleeves” (ca. 1941) “Sally in Our Alley” (1961) “The Plough Boy” (1948) BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976) By the time Benjamin Britten tried his hand at arranging British folk songs, it was a long-established tradition – one he willfully ignored and even attacked. In an argumentative essay, “England and the Folk Art Problem” (1941), Britten decried not only the unimaginative settings of past composers, but even the tunes themselves, which “seldom have any striking rhythms or memorable melodic features.” He disagreed with the premise that the composer should dutifully craft simple piano accompaniments that will sound “authentic” even though there are no pianos on English hillsides. Why not write a modern, clever accompaniment that belongs in the concert hall where the arrangements are to be heard? So he did just that. Ironically, Britten first arranged British folk songs while living in the United States. These songs from home (including “Greensleeves”) were written for recital tours with his partner (in life and in music), tenor Peter Pears. “They have been a ‘wow’ wherever performed so far,” he wrote to a friend. Britten’s setting of the famous “Greensleeves” offers the pianist a piquant counter melody, often dissonant against the melody, which highlights the lover’s bitterness at having his love spurned – or, if you believe the legend that this was actually composed by Henry VIII while courting Anne Boleyn – a sinister foreshadowing of the worst that can happen when love turns sour. “Come You Not from Newcastle?” sits atop a repeating bass ostinato – a depiction of the carriage that carries the “true love, riding on a bonny bay.” The unexpected piano chords above characterize the carefree and

headstrong lover, chasing after. “Sally in our Alley,” by contrast, is sincere and deeply touching; Britten’s fanciful piano musings seem to reflect the elaborate daydreams of the lover, who longs to marry Sally – just not in the alley where their friends and neighbors tease them ceaselessly. “The Plough Boy” of the title dreams instead of a series of promotions that take him from cowboy, to steward, to lord of parliament, as he (or, more accurately, the piano) whistles a simple tune.

The Unquiet Grave (1912) RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) Vaughan Williams was an expert in the very kind of folk song setting that Britten so disliked: dutifully traditional and unabashedly romantic. Yet one can’t help but admire his craft here, or be touched by his setting. “The Unquiet Grave” tells of a lover mourning over his beloved’s grave for an entire year, after which he hears her call out for him to finally let her go. He asks for a single final kiss, but the gulf between the dead and the living is too great. In Vaughan Williams’s setting, the violin plays the part of the dead beloved, entering only in the third stanza. The piano provides a halo of sound around the two lovers as they interact for the final time. Vaughan Williams had a special attachment to this song, which he heard performed on a song collecting expedition with the folklorist Ella Mary Leather in Herefordshire. Later, in 1928, he remembered: “It was a cold, clear September night and we stood by the blazing fire in the open ground of the gypsy encampment; the fire had been specially lighted to enable us to note down tunes and words in the growing darkness. Then, out of the half-light, came the sound of a beautiful tenor voice singing ‘The Unquiet Grave.’”

Two Persian Folk Songs, arr. Cello and Piano REZA VALI (B. 1952) Composer Reza Vali’s musical studies took him far from his native Iran to Vienna and the United States, where he now is a professor at Carnegie Melon University. However, his music maintains strong ties to his homeland, and he is now one of the leading voices for Iranian music abroad. The two Persian folk songs heard tonight are part of a larger work. About the piece, Vali writes: Persian Folk Songs (Set No. 16C) is the sixteenth set of an ongoing cycle of Persian folk songs that I have been composing since 1978. The piece was written for Kian Soltani and consists of seven songs some of which are based on authentic Persian folk melodies and some are composed in the style of a folk song (imaginary folk songs).

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Song No. 5, In the Style of an Armenian Folk Song: This is an imaginary folk song written in the style of an Armenian folk song. The song reflects the melancholic aura of some of the Armenian-Iranian folk music. There is a large minority of Armenian-Iranians who live in Iran. They are an inseparable part of the Iranian culture and I love their music.

8/24 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

Song No. 7, Folk Song from Khorâsân: This song is a folk dance from the northeastern province of Khorâsân. This is a raucous song containing fast tempi, up-beat rhythms, rapid change of the harmony, and loud dynamics. – Reza Vali

Petite suite (1889) CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Today we think of Debussy as a quintessentially French composer, one who turned pure sound into something sensuous and enchanting. But in 1888, as he started to compose his cutely titled Petite suite, the composer had not quite found his true path. In that year he made an enthusiastic pilgrimage to the Wagner shrine in Bayreuth, having returned the year before from his two-year residency in Rome. In the following year, his revelatory visit to the World’s Fair would introduce him to Javanese gamelan music, which transformed his musical outlook. He was on the cusp of discovery. Even if the Petite suite does not yet entirely give us the Debussy of Clair de Lune (1890), it is filled with glimpses of what is to come, and it has endured as one of the composer’s most popular works. Though filled with charming, almost childlike melodies, there is more to the Petite Suite than first meets the ear. The first two movements take their titles from poems by

Paul Verlaine, whose moody symbolist poems long infatuated Debussy. The poems are from Verlaine’s 1869 collection entitled Fêtes galantes (Courtly parties), an allusion to the amorous, pastel scenes of the same name painted by Antoine Watteau in the early 18th century. Both poems adopted by Debussy are scenes of seduction (mirrored by the touching elbows of the two pianists), but they are narrated with an air of disillusionment. En Bateau (Aboard a Boat) tells of a fumbled attempt at some amorous action, after which the poem widens its focus to a truer pleasure – a view of the boat floating on calm waters in the moonlight. Debussy’s gentle depiction of the waves is both sensuous and melancholy. Verlaine’s Cortège (Procession) is a humorous depiction of a lady escorted by her devoted pet monkey and a male servant who can’t keep his thoughts about her clean. Debussy’s version is spritely and spunky, with only a hint of sensuality. The enchanting, neo-Baroque Menuetis followed by a lighthearted Ballet that turns itself into an amorous waltz of fluttering eyelids. Debussy first performed the Petite suite at a “Paris salon frequented by the elite among the dictators of fashion” with his future publisher, Jacques Durand, who recounted how it went: “Debussy was very nervous before sitting down at the piano with me and had urged me not to go too fast. I promised. Hardly had we begun when Debussy began to hurry, and despite all my efforts, I was unable to hold him back. He was in haste to put this public trial behind him.” Even if the experience did not bring Debussy pleasure, the Petite Suite is now considered the apex of delight in the four-hand repertoire, for players and listeners alike.

“In stiller Nacht” and “Es war ein Markgraf überm Rhein” from German Folk Songs (1864) “Sandmännchen” from Children’s Folk Songs (1857) JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897) Fans of the rich textures and broad contours of Brahms’s chamber music are sometimes surprised when they hear his vocal works, many of them folk songs in character or in actuality. When setting folk songs (or folk poems), Brahms valued their directness and worked hard to make them equally unswerving. They may be conservative for the time period, but they are unfailingly sincere. His setting of the anonymous 18th century Hessian ballad “Es war ein Markgraf überm Rhein” (“There Was a Margrave Across the Rhine”) is an extreme example. Brahms gently highlights the evolving story in the piano part, but the vocal melody is the same in every verse, allowing the singer to tell (more than to sing) the story of an older sister who hires her younger sister as a maid without realizing it. All is revealed only as the younger sister is about to die, the consequence of her hard life of servitude.“In stiller Nacht” (“In Stillest Night”), a folk poem by Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld (1591-1635), translates Christ’s anguished prayer in the Garden of Gethsemene into the language of Nature, where the flowers are watered with tears, the stars fade, and even the wild animals cry out alongside the poet.

8/24 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

A similar imagery pervades “The Sandman,” but here the flowers, birds, and trees all go to sleep peacefully as the Sandman (in his good-natured incarnation) sprinkles sleep into a boy’s eyes; Brahms asks the pianist to sprinkle high notes in our ears for an equivalent effect.

Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25 (1861) JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897) In his very first public concert, organized by his father to raise money for his education, the 10-year old Johannes Brahms apparently performed Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G minor. Once educated, the 25-year old Brahms cast his own first piano quartet in the same key as Mozart’s touchstone (and first ever) piano quartet. His sprawling work in the same key, however, could hardly be less Mozartian. Whereas Mozart treats the quartet like a miniature piano concerto, Brahms treats it like a seventy person orchestra. If the two works share something in common, it is the tragic tone of their first movements. Both begin with an unadorned unison melody that features a half step, alternately sinister and yearning; Mozart’s is compact and focused, while Brahms’s spins out languidly. A minute later, however, all four instruments shout at the top of their lungs in what is perhaps the wildest passage in all Brahms’s chamber music. The broad scale of this movement is not confined to volume; he develops several different themes and emotional extremes across 14 minutes. Yet like Mozart’s, the first four notes of the movement are at the heart of it all.

Brahms follows Mendelssohn in calling the second movement Intermezzo, first applied in Mendelssohn’s Second Piano Quartet (1823). As the Italian word suggests, this music is caught ‘in the middle’ – uneasy, neither here nor there. Brahms asks the strings to play with mutes, in a moderate tempo, accentuating the uncanny. A flighty central section of the movement offers some respite. Later, this major-key music, lighter than air, finally allows the movement to evaporate in a brief coda. The richly hued third movement begins with a full-throated melody, lovingly sung by all the strings together. A march approaches, first at a distance, and then truly in your face – Brahms at his most heroic. In the final movement, Brahms dresses up the performers in a Hungarian gypsy (Roma) costume for a hot-and-hotter gypsy dance. Not long before composing this work, Brahms had toured with the Hungarian violinist, Ede Reményi, from whom he learned the abandon and flair essential to this folk style. Watch carefully near the end: Is that smoke coming out of the piano? Today this Quartet is among the most popular of Brahms’ works, but in 1937 its relative unpopularity was one factor in Arnold Schoenberg’s arrangement of the work for orchestra. As he wrote to Alfred Frankenstein: “1. I like the piece. 2. It is seldom played. 3. It is always played very badly; the better the pianist, the louder he plays and you hear nothing from the strings. I wanted to hear everything.” If played well, however, it only takes an orchestra of four.

A slice of summer heaven!

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tonight’s concert is sponsored by

Saturday, August 25

Peter and Elsa Soderberg

7:30 PM Robinson Pavilion

at Anyela’s Vineyards Rain Location: Skaneateles High School

Beethoven Under the Stars ADAM SCHOENBERG BEETHOVEN

Canto Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 Inon Barnatan, piano (“Emperor”) Allegro Adagio, un poco mosso Rondo: Allegro

intermission

BEETHOVEN

Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 Allegro con brio Andante con moto Scherzo: Allegro Allegro

Skaneateles Festival Orchestra Marcelo Lehninger, conductor VIOLIN VIOLA Melissa Matson* Sarah Crocker Neil Miller Vonsattel, concertmaster Olita Povero Jeremy Mastrangelo Sara Mastrangelo* CELLO An-Chi Lin Julia Bruskin* Shannon Nance Rosemary Elliot Susan Spafford Lindsay Groves Sonya Williams Jeremy Hill BASS Edward Castilano*

FLUTE Anne Harrow* Elizabeth Shuhan PICCOLO Juliana Pepinsky OBOE Jillian Honn* John Lathwell

CLARINET HORN Allan Kolsky* Alexander Victoria Krukowski Shuhan* Maura McCune Corvington BASSOON Gregory Quick* Martha Sholl TRUMPET Jessica Wooldridge Wesley Nance* King John Raschella

TROMBONE David Bruestle* Lisa Albrecht Heather Buchman PERCUSSION/ TIMPANI Michael Cirmo *denotes principal

Tonight’s concert is made possible with additional support from Barclay Damon. tonight’s artist sponsorships

Inon Barnatan is sponsored by Grossman St. Amour, CPA, PLLC Marcelo Lehninger is sponsored by Roland and Tacie Anderson The Skaneateles Festival Orchestra is sponsored by The Skaneateles Consortium: George Bain, Sam & Debby Bruskin, Dana & Susan Hall, and Ron Sampson This performance of the Emperor Concerto is sponsored by Dr. Paul and Mrs. Linda Cohen. 56

Opus 3 Artists is the exclusive presenter of: Inon Barnatan and Marcelo Lehninger.

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Program Notes

on’t miss the big orchestra event of the summer: Brazilian up-and-comer Marcelo Lehninger leads the Skaneateles Festival Orchestra and magnetic pianist Inon Barnatan (“extraordinary,” The New York Times) in Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto and the iconic Fifth Symphony, balanced by Grammy-nominated composer Adam Schoenberg’s lullaby, Canto.

Canto (2014) ADAM SCHOENBERG (B. 1980) Grammy-nominated Adam Schoenberg is now one of the leading symphonic composers of his generation. After studying at Oberlin and Juilliard, he headed west, following the siren call of film music in Hollywood. Although he continues to score for film, his most lauded works are for the concert hall, where they have been performed by almost every major American orchestra. He lives in Los Angeles with his family and two boys, the elder of whom inspired Canto. About it, he writes: On August 11, 2013, my son Luca was born, and in that single moment, my life changed forever. The past six months have brought the greatest joys I’ve ever known, and I can no longer imagine life without him. When it was

© AARON WUNSCH, 2018 time to write a new piece for the Lexington Philharmonic, I knew that this would be a very different work for me. My son embodies many different cultures and religions (e.g., Judaism from me, Catholicism from my wife, and Chinese, Peruvian, and Iranian blood). He is being raised bilingual, as Spanish is my wife’s first language. Knowing that my son is part of so many different cultures, I wanted the spirit of this new work to embody the spirit of others. Canto can mean singing, chant, or song. Ever since Luca was born, I have been writing him lullabies. I play them while he sleeps, and often sing them to him before he goes to bed. In many ways, I envision this work as a dream within a dream. A lullaby that emerges from a chant. The music is the slowest music I have ever written, and it’s very atmospheric and textural. The piece opens in a harmonically ambiguous way before announcing the chant like feeling in G. As the piece unfolds, the music moves from one texture to another, while always stating the presence of G. The key of G has been historically referred to as the “People’s key,” as many of the greatest classical works, popular songs, even our star-spangled banner were originally conceived in G. Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, a German poet and theologist wrote a book in 1806 called Ideenzueiner Aesthetik der Tonkunst (The Ideas of Aesthetics and Music), and within this book he discusses affective characteristics of each key. This is what he says about the key of G: Everything rustic, idyllic and lyrical, every calm and satisfied passion, every tender gratitude for true friendship and faithful love,–in a word every gentle and peaceful emotion of the heart is correctly expressed by this key. Canto is about family and love, and it’s dedicated to my wife Janine, and son Luca. – Adam Schoenberg, February 7, 2014

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (“Emperor”) (1811) LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Beethoven’s final and most expansive piano concerto is a blaze of glory. Not only was it his last work in the genre, it is also one of his final essays in heroism, embodied here by the pianist’s courageous and death-defying feats at the keyboard. If you are a pianist and enjoy playing hero, this is the concerto for you.

ECCO fills the stage at the First Presbyterian Church.

The nickname “Emperor” was coined by an English publisher who naturally had no experience with actual emperors; it speaks to the majestic and martial qualities of the music, but certainly not to Beethoven’s own Emperor, Franz II, who was neither particularly majestic nor martial. Franz was a backward-looking sourpuss who pretended to be a man of the people but ruled harshly through his secret police. He lost virtually every military conflict, and his territory survived primarily through the diplomatic

8/25 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

cunning of his foreign minister, Metternich. The work could have been more aptly been called the “Archduke” Concerto, since it was composed for Beethoven’s magnanimous patron, the accomplished pianist-composer-Cardinal Archduke Rudolph, but that nickname was snatched by the “Archduke” Trio, Op. 97. Austria certainly never had an emperor who possessed all the characteristics of this music: powerful, triumphant, sophisticated, sensitive, and compassionate; at best, Charles V (1500-1558) was powerful and triumphant, while Joseph II (1741-1790) was sophisticated and sensitive. In fact, Beethoven increasingly inhabited an ideal rather than a real world in his music and in his life. The great poet, Goethe, who met Beethoven not long after the Concerto was completed, said that Beethoven was “not altogether in the wrong in holding the world to be detestable, but surely does not make it any the more enjoyable either for himself or for others by his attitude.” The real world was not going very well, in any case. In 1809, as Beethoven worked on his Concerto, cannonballs were falling on Vienna. Napoleon was in the process of capturing the city for the second time, but unlike the first attempt in 1805, this time he encountered real resistance. Beethoven’s wealthy patrons had all evacuated the city, leaving the composer behind. “What a destructive and disorderly life I see around me,” Beethoven wrote to his publisher, in July, “nothing but drums, cannons, and human misery, in every form.” The night before Napoleon captured the city, Beethoven hid in his brother’s basement with pillows over his head so the deafening cannons wouldn’t rob him of what little hearing he had left. This world had little in common with the “Emperor” Concerto. The Concerto is also ideal in the sense that Beethoven himself could not actually perform it, as he did the previous four. His hearing had deteriorated to the point where he could not keep rhythm with the rest of the ensemble; his performance of the “Archduke” Trio was, according to Spohr, “unintelligible.” Beethoven entrusted the Viennese premiere to his star pupil, Carl Czerny, the first of many famous pianists to play the hero. A single chord has barely sounded from the orchestra when our hero charges in with a cavalcade or chords, catapulting up and down the keyboard. This show of force is in the style of an improvised cadenza, a time-suspended display of the pianist’s prowess. Here and elsewhere Beethoven chose to fully notate these quasi-improvisations but asks the pianist to pretend they emanate from the heat of battle. Soon the the orchestra marches off, in lock step. When our hero reappears, it is to show a more sensitive, reflective side; the ideal leader must not only fight big battles, but more importantly, must dream big dreams. Consequently the movement as a whole is on a large scale, nearly the same as the “Eroica” Symphony. The second movement begins far from the battlefield, as if in church. Beethoven’s idealized spiritual space is the 58

five sharps of B Major, a distant key from the three flats of E-flat Major. What starts as a hymn becomes a prayer, floating out into a kind of Elysian Field. Then, dropping a single B-natural down a half step to B-flat, the music descends back to earth, right into the last movement. This rondo’s upward-surging theme tells of triumph and joy, not only for our hero, but for an entire people. This kind of human harmony may not exist in the real world, and it certainly didn’t exist in Beethoven’s, but the music dares us to continue hoping that someday it will.

Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (1808) LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) In one sense, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony needs no introduction exactly because you already know its introduction: “Da, Da, Da, DUH.” The reason we know it so well has little to do with Beethoven, however, who died almost 200 years ago; since then, our civilization has continued to ‘compose’ the work, writing it into our concerts, commercials, and clubs. Music critic Matthew Guerrieri recently wrote an entire book “about what people have heard in those notes throughout history, and how history itself has affected what was heard” (The First Four Notes: Beethoven’s Fifth and the Human Imagination). If you doubt the degree to which we have bent Beethoven to our own purposes, just imagine the composer watching John Travolta swagger on the dance floor to the 1976 disco version in Saturday Night Fever.

8/25 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

So what can possibly be said about it? Already in 1841, Robert Schumann warned off prospective writers of program notes: “Let us be silent about this work!” However, I can take solace in the fact that Schumann did not heed his own advice, and wrote about it anyhow: “No matter how frequently we hear it, at home or in the concert hall, this symphony invariably wields its power over people of every age like those great phenomena of nature that fill us with fear and admiration at all times, no matter how frequently we experience them.” The association of the Symphony with fear dates from Beethoven’s own time. E. T. A. Hoffmann, the fiction writer and creator of such creatures as the nightmarish Sandman, was the Symphony’s first champion; already in 1810, just two years after it was composed, he declared this “portentous” and “monstrous” work to be Beethoven’s greatest. Schumann noted that during a performance “a little boy pressed closer and closer to me, and when I asked him why, he said: ‘I’m scared.’” Since fear is the greatest incentive to concentrate, perhaps we respect this Symphony’s ability to demand our attention. Nothing says: “Put that phone down!” like the opening of Beethoven’s Fifth. Why do those four notes unsettle us? An important detail in the score lurks behind them, or rather, in front of them: the music actually starts with a rest:

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Silence is the truest generator of fear, which this short rest certainly strikes into its performers: it is famously difficult to conduct, and therefore, to play (or more accurately, not to play). Once Beethoven grabs our attention, he never lets go, and the movement “climbs on and on,” in Hoffmann’s words. The ceaseless commotion of the first movement might have some basis in Beethoven’s own life. Vienna was uneasy following Napoleon’s occupation; the composer had thus far failed in his quest for financial security, he suffered increasing deafness, and Josephine Brunsvik spurned his amorous intentions. If one wishes to carry this biographical hypothesis further, then the beginning of the second movement (Andante) finds Beethoven on one of his favorite countryside spots outside the city, where he frequently fled to collect his thoughts and music ideas. Those thoughts quickly turn martial, as a brass fanfare interrupts the leisurely tune. These two poles occupy the rest of the movement, as Beethoven ruminates on both. The third movement (Scherzo: Allegro) returns to the uneasy atmosphere of the first, until the famous four-note motif returns, now blasted out by the horns. After a little bit of humor (and only a little), the unease becomes almost unbearable until it gives way directly to the triumphant final movement (Allegro). If not specifically designed to make one’s hair stand on end, this passage certainly does so. The last movement clarifies our experience of the Symphony as a progressive one: it takes us to a completely different place from where we began. It aspires to a life where positive change is possible through will, courage, and imagination. Who doesn’t want to hear that message? So far, no one, and so its power and popularity continue to spread. The Symphony leapt over the ocean at its first opportunity: the newly formed New York Philharmonic performed it on its inaugural concert, on December 7, 1842. “This symphony will be heard as long as music and world exist,” Schumann wrote. So far, he has been right.

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Steel Drum & Strings DEBUSSY

String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10 Animé et très décidé Assez vif et bien rythmé Andantino, doucement expressif Très modéré – En animant peu à peu – Très mouvementé et avec passion

ANDY AKIHO

Murasaki (Purple)

ANDY AKIHO

In/Exchange

Jupiter String Quartet Nelson Lee, violin Meg Freivogel, violin Liz Freivogel, viola Daniel McDonough, cello

Andy Akiho, tenor pan (steel drum) Andy Akiho, tenor pan (steel drum) Jupiter String Quartet

intermission

SCHUMANN

Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47 Sostenuto assai – Allegro ma non troppo Scherzo: Molto vivace Andante cantabile Finale: Vivace

Nelson Lee, violin Liz Freivogel, viola Daniel McDonough, cello Aaron Wunsch, piano

tonight’s artist sponsorships

Andy Akiho is sponsored by Ed & Paula Conan Aaron Wunsch is sponsored by The Skaneateles Consortium: George Bain, Sam & Debby Bruskin, Dana & Susan Hall, and Ron Sampson Jupiter String Quartet is sponsored by Judy Robertson, in loving memory of Doug Robertson 60

Program Notes

ince their last appearance at the Skaneateles Festival, the Jupiter Quartet “has matured into one of the mainstays of the American chamber-music scene.” (New Yorker) They are joined by modern-day mold-breaker Andy Akiho, a virtuoso on the steel drum (tenor pan), who joins the Jupiters for his own adrenaline-pumping quintet, In/Exchange.

String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10 (1893) CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918) If you were to order roast chicken for dinner and you were served poached salmon, you would probably send it back. It might well be the world’s most delicate and delicious piece of poached salmon, and you happen to love poached salmon – but it’s not what you expected. Now consider Debussy’s String Quartet as poached salmon: order a string quartet, and one has certain expectations. The work was first performed on December 29, 1893, at the National Society for Music, France’s torch bearer of musical tradition. The influential critic, Henry Gauthier-Villars, found the work “baffling.” After some polite applause, the quartet was shelved, not to be performed again anytime soon. The first clue that Debussy intended to subvert such expectations appears on the title page, which reads “Premier quatuor, Opus 10.” While this title appears appropriate enough, Debussy did not use opus numbers

“Mozart Under the Stars” plus some bonus fireworks!

© AARON WUNSCH, 2018 for his works – he had no Opus 1-9. The random opus number is a wink at those fellow anti-establishment types who can’t abide such proprieties. Debussy already had a history of pooh-poohing institutions. After 10 years at the Paris Conservatory he claimed that “music cannot be learned,” and he proposed to fellow composer Ernest Chausson the founding of a “Society of Musical Esotericism” (a kind of anti-National Society for Music). To be fair, Debussy’s Quartet does at least adhere to the broad outline of what a quartet is supposed to be: four movements, certain musical forms, four-part harmonies that allow the players to exhibit a beautiful and blended sound. However, the composer may have fared better if he had called it Sunrise over glistening waves for four strings, or even Can-Can Concerto. For, in adhering to only some of the genre’s expected qualities, he gave listeners the illusion it would uphold them all. It does not – thank heavens. The Quartet begins vigorously (“animated and resolute”), with a bouncing, peripatetic melodic idea that will return and transform throughout the work, à la Cesar Franck. Soon the music is floating in the clouds, however; these shimmering moments may sound the most characteristic of Debussy to us today. By the standards of the traditional string quartet, the movement is short – a mere six minutes pass until it goes out in a blaze of G minor – which surely disappointed some listeners. When Debussy had been in Russia to teach piano to the children of

8/30 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

Tchaikovsky’s patron, Nadezhda von Meck, he sent his Danse bohémienne to the famous Russian composer, who replied that “It is a very pretty piece, but it is much too short. Not a single idea is expressed fully, the form is terribly shriveled, and it lacks unity.” Instead, Debussy’s music seeks to open the imagination. The Scherzo suggests the fantastic dance of a far-off land, or at least as far as across France’s southwest border with Spain. The plucked strings imitate a strummed guitar, while the dusky viola melody says something both strong and seductive. The tender third movement explores the half-light of very soft sounds, reminding us that one of the most expressive places in music is the moment when sound turns into silence. The finale grows out of the mood of the third movement until a restless theme, to be played “with passion” begins to carry the quartet toward a triumphant statement of the theme from the first movement, now in G Major instead of G minor. After the work’s cool reception, Debussy apologized for the work to fellow composer Ernest Chausson, explaining that he had planned a new quartet in which he “would try to bring some nobility to my forms.” Soon after, however, Debussy gained the self-confidence to follow his own path, and he never finished what would have been his second quartet. So pass the poached salmon – we can be happy enough with the first.

In/Exchange (2011) ANDY AKIHO (B. 1979) As the unusual combination of string quartet and steel pan might suggest, Andy Akiho’s road to composing has not been conventional. Raised in South Carolina, his older sister played in a band and helped him pick up the drum set. In college, he majored in percussion, trying out various instruments until he developed an obsession with the steel pan. Following his new passion to Trinidad, he learned first-hand what the instrument could do – and then he came home and did even more with it. He found that the instrument opened a pathway toward composition beyond the pan itself; in a recent interview, he explained: Because of the way it’s patterned, it probably gets you to think about different combinations of notes than you would if you were creating from a piano or a marimba... As a result, certain kinds of figurations emerge in that music which are directly based on how the instrument is designed… When you then take those ideas and work them out for other instruments, say, writing for a string quartet, since steel pan is in the DNA of how you think, it creates a different kind of music.

Akiho has taken this concept to extremes, working out surprising pathways for both new and conventional instruments; the New York Philharmonic recently performed his Ricochet, a percussion concerto for two professional ping pong players and orchestra, to great acclaim.

In/Exchange (2011) for string quartet and tenor pan is an example of another such pathway. Although “tenor” pan in name, the notes of the instrument sound in the soprano range and ring out easily above the quartet. The string quartet begins alone, tensely awaiting the entrance of the steel pan. Once out of the gate, all charge hard together through the same melodic and rhythmic ideas, as if looking for a way out. When the quintet finds its way to one exit, a door opens to another musical passageway and the notes immediately shift. As they race forward, both the quartet and the pan discover some percussive tools to help them even further along: snapping the string against the fingerboard, whacking the mallet against the edge of the pan, and palm-patting the wood of the cello. With an increasingly intense physicality, the ensemble puts all its ingenuity to use, as if overcoming a series of harrowing obstacles. Finally, in lock step, they break through together, heading upwards towards the sky.

Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47 (1842) ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Schumann’s love of the piano quartet started in his eighteenth year. A university student in Leipzig, he organized a regular piano quartet reading group (a cross between a concert and a party). Franz Schubert had just died, and Schumann, a major fan, tried to recreate something of Schubert’s Viennese drawing room ethos, where friends huddled close together to hear chamber music and

8/30 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

daydream. In Schubert’s shadow, he composed an ambitious, if awkward, Piano Quartet in C minor and started two others. Suddenly, however, he gave up chamber music and tried something just a little different: Law school. Schumann’s brief run-in with the law (so to speak) in Heidelberg lasted only one year, after which he veered back to music, determined to become a great concert pianist. This, too, proved untenable after a hand injury. Finally, in 1834, Schumann founded what was to become Germany’s premier music journal, thus completing his career loop-de-loop: composer-poet to lawyer-composer to pianist-composer to composer-critic. More than a decade elapsed before Schumann returned to chamber music, but he quickly made up for lost time. With laser focus, he completed his three string quartets; the Piano Quintet, and the Piano Quartet in E-flat Major as well as a few smaller chamber works in less than a year (1842). In the Piano Quartet, Op. 47, Schumann finally achieves what Schubert had sought in his last chamber works: a subtle, sophisticated music that also works in the concert hall. And if the Piano Quintet may always be the more popular, the Piano Quartet may be the more heartfelt. Instead of launching into the piece with a vigorous symphonic gesture, Schumann opts for the fireside glow of the warm opening chords. There is plenty of vigor to come,

but Schumann reaches it organically. The amiable first theme (1-2-3-FOUR) and lively second theme (an upward scale) gradually grow in intensity, heated by pulsating piano chords (also a hallmark of Schubert’s music). The scherzo takes us to the nighttime forest of German folklore, where menacing goblins scurry to and fro. Two lyrical moments offer some respite before the creatures scamper off for good. The third movement brings us to a different nighttime scene, a moonlit tryst. This poetic and lyrical outpouring is surely one of Schumann’s masterpieces. Searching for the most special of sounds, he finds one that didn’t yet exist: a lower-than-low B-flat played by the cellist, whose lowest string is C. Therefore, he asks the poor cellist to tune the lowest string down toward the end of the movement, as quietly as possible. If it works, the sound of the final B-flat is truly magical. The ebullient final movement indulges what Schumann later called his “Fugenpassion,” a passion for the BaroqueClassical technique of the fugue – a procedure where each part enters with the same melody at different times. The result here is a buildup of practically unbearable excitement. Schumann lets the steam off during a couple of calmer episodes, including a final one that recalls the theme of the end of the slow movement, after which the final fugue kicks into its highest gear. You may not have wanted him as your lawyer, but Schumann delivers a brilliant defense of the piano quartet.

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Friday, August 31 8:00 PM First Presbyterian Church

Beethoven’s Last Call BEETHOVEN

PIERRE JALBERT

String Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2 Allegro Adagio cantabile Scherzo: Allegro Allegro molto: quasi presto

Piano Quintet

Mannheim Rocket Kyrie Scherzo Pulse

Jupiter String Quartet Nelson Lee, violin Meg Freivogel, violin Liz Freivogel, viola Daniel McDonough, cello

Jupiter String Quartet Aaron Wunsch, piano

intermission

BEETHOVEN

String Quartet in G Major, Op. 131

Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo Allegro molto vivace Allegro moderato Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile Presto Adagio quasi un poco andante Allegro

tonight’s artist sponsorships

Aaron Wunsch is sponsored by The Skaneateles Consortium: George Bain, Sam & Debby Bruskin, Dana & Susan Hall, and Ron Sampson Jupiter String Quartet is sponsored by Judy Robertson, in loving memory of Doug Robertson 64

Jupiter String Quartet

Program Notes

nce upon a time, Beethoven took the music world by storm with his surprising performances and new forms of expression. On the heels of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto (August 25), this program by the Jupiter Quartet brings together Beethoven’s music with a strong, compelling voice from today’s musical culture, the “acknowledged chamber music master” Pierre Jalbert (New Yorker).

String Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2 (1800) LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) So central are Beethoven’s quartets to concert life today, it would be difficult to find a single professional string quartet that survives without performing them. Mounting the complete cycle of 16 quartets is the marker of maturity for professional quartets who have “arrived.” (The Jupiter Quartet has already performed the cycle several times.) Given the prevalence of Beethoven’s quartets on programs today, one might wonder: how did professional string quartets ever survive prior to Beethoven? Forgive the trick question; there were no professional string quartets prior to Beethoven. In part, they came about so that Beethoven’s quartets could be performed better, by a foursome that meets regularly for blood, sweat, and tears prior to playing a single note. This concept was a long way off when Beethoven composed his first quartets, Op. 18. At the time, he was far from confident he would even succeed in the genre at all. In 1795, he had turned down a request for quartets from the prominent patron, Count Apponyi (who had commissioned some of Haydn’s quartets), presumably for a generous fee. Haydn and Mozart had already cast a long shadow over the genre, and Beethoven was primarily known as a pianist. When the premier patron of music in Vienna, Prince Lobkowitz, finally convinced him in 1798, Beethoven proceeded cautiously. He carefully

© AARON WUNSCH, 2018 copied out two of Mozart’s greatest quartets as a warm-up, and once he started on his own, he took plenty of time to revise them carefully. After three years of hard work, he proudly wrote to his friend Karl Amenda, enclosing an earlier draft for comparison, “I have now learned how to write string quartets.” Of all his quartets, the graceful Op. 18, No. 2 may be most in the shadow of his former teacher, Haydn. If it’s true that Beethoven claimed he “never learned anything from Haydn,” as Beethoven’s pupil Ferdinand Ries recalled, this piece proves he was just mouthing off. This is not to say the quartet is derivative. If anything, it proves that Beethoven fully grasped the expressive potential of the 18th century Classical style, even if his temperament often led him outside its bounds. The Quartet begins with some courtly graces (a violin flourish, dotted rhythms). We’re not in the presence of the Emperor, however; there’s far too much humor here for that. It’s more a matter of “you play the Emperor, I’ll be the jester” – a jovial jab follows every seemingly serious statement. The slow movement is a pastoral day dream – a song of love, perhaps, but imagined, not real. Suddenly, a group of children frolics past (immediately Allegro). When the daydream resumes, the melodic line is now ornamented with almost childlike fancy. The last two movements are all fun and games. They indulge one of the most enjoyable pastimes in the quartet playbook: passing around the same idea and sending it off in unexpected directions, like a musical bouncy ball. The Scherzo lives up to its Italian name (“joke”), as the four instruments jest continuously with one another. In the middle part of the movement, a portly fellow pirouettes past; the first violinist can’t help but poke fun by dancing circles around him, and the rest of the ensemble joins in. The cello has a charade to get the final movement going, and the quartet plays it every which way, in and out of keys, until they finally collapse in laughter. Clearly, they have had a good time. It doesn’t take a professional to see that.

Piano Quintet (2017) PIERRE JALBERT (B. 1967)

In memory of our wonderful supporter, Doug Robertson. Seen here with soprano Katherine Whyte and his wife Judy.

New Hampshire native Pierre Jalbert lives in Texas, where he is Professor of Composition and Theory at Rice University. Since winning the prestigious Rome Prize in 2000, numerous ensembles have performed his work, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, and the Emerson String Quartet. His vivid music often balances driving rhythms and a spiritual, unearthly calm. His string orchestra piece, String Theory, was a hit at the Skaneateles Festival when performed by ECCO last season. His Piano Quintet was co-commissioned by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, the La Jolla Music Society, and the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth. About it, he writes: 65

8/31 Program Notes (CONTINUED)

My Piano Quintet consists of four contrasting movements. The first movement, entitled Mannheim Rocket, is a modern take on the 18th century musical technique in which a rising figure speeds up and grows louder. Marked ‘Furioso’, the movement is gradually filled with rising scalar figures which build in volume and finally ‘launch’ into space with ethereal string harmonics. At this point, the music becomes almost static, though the inner rhythm continues. The second movement, entitled Kyrie, is marked ‘Still, chant-like’. The principal idea, stated between first violin and viola, is a chromatically transformed chant-like motive. It also features a long, lyrical cello line, made up exclusively of natural harmonics, emphasizing the non-tempered (‘out of tune’) 7th and 11th partials. The third movement is a scherzo in which the strings and piano sometimes alternate and imitate each other, reacting to each other's gestures, and at other times, combine and synchronize to produce a more blended sound. A short Trio-like section appears before the return of the scherzo music. The last movement, Pulse, is made up of perpetually moving 8th notes, sometimes harmonically static, but always pushing forward. The work is interrupted twice with short, freer sections, but always returns to its pulse-oriented nature. – Pierre Jalbert

String Quartet in G Major, Op. 131 (1826) LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Over a quarter century elapsed between Beethoven’s first foray into the string quartet, Op. 18, and the one he called his favorite, Op. 131. Many listeners have taken the composer’s high estimation of Op. 131 to declare this work his most personal. Richard Wagner, for example, interpreted it as “a veritable day from Beethoven’s inmost life… in which not one wish is fulfilled – not one wish!” However, Beethoven never stated this Quartet (nor any other) to be about himself; Wagner’s interpretation of the work says more about his own era, when composers considered it a sign of artistic strength to write their autobiography directly into their music. If Beethoven’s Quartet is deeply personal, it is not because it plays like a sob story from a close friend but because it seems to find its way so directly into the personal feelings and experiences of the listener. One might say, therefore, that it achieves one of Beethoven’s long-standing goals for his own music: to be universal. Wagner felt the opening Adagio was “surely the saddest thing ever said in notes,” a trophy for which there is also surely much competition. One would be hard pressed to find something sadder, though plenty of music is more depressing. Beethoven spins out a slow-moving, spellcasting expressive arc, but one glimpses hope around

several harmonic corners, even if it is never reached. There is clearly an aspect of the unattainable here; heaven may be far off, but one continues to feel it exists. This Quartet is the only of Beethoven’s works that begins with a fugue (an elaborate procedure where each instrument enters one at a time, with the same melody), which he more often saves as an ending. It signals to the listener that the whole work will be a process of searching, not finding. Suddenly a page turns, the music moves up a half step, and a great weight is released. We’re in a completely different emotional state, and life can be enjoyed once again, if not for long (two minutes, to be exact). An operatic recitative turns the music contemplative for a few moments before an elaborate set of variations, a counterweight to the ponderous opening fugue – equally thoughtful and thought-provoking, but now gentle and full of tenderness. When the cello causes sudden forte outbursts to punctuate the long melodies, the listener has a sense the story is not yet about to end. Nevertheless, the next chapter is a surprise – a raucous scherzo, initiated again by the trouble-causing cellist. So exhilarating is the athletic playfulness of the ensemble that despite its fundamental earthiness, this scherzo seems almost to carry the very ground off the ground. Immediately thoughts turner darker and ponderous once again, and finally, defiant. The C-sharp minor final movement contains some of Beethoven’s most gripping music, which is saying a lot. The tragedy kept at bay throughout the piece now looms large. But like the opening fugue, the final chords are in C-sharp Major, which is not to say the work has come full circle. Not one of these many emotional states is anything near a repeat of any of the others, and the abrupt transitions between them have led some (especially shortly after Beethoven’s death) to declare the music too illogical to bear, the ravings of a one-time genius gone deaf. Although each of these states is deeply human, accepting the Quartet as a whole is an act of faith. If you can, it’s a religious experience. One person who did was Franz Schubert, who reportedly requested to hear it while on his deathbed. Five days later he was gone. Whatever comes after death, this quartet carried him there.

Skaneateles

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Fall Fest in Skaneateles ~ Sept. 29th thru Nov. 23rd ~ Every Sat & Sun 25th Annual Dickens Christmas ~ Dec. 24th

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Tonight’s concert is made possible with support from the

week 4

Noreen & Michael Falcone Fund for Artistic Excellence

Saturday, September 1 7:30 PM Robinson Pavilion

at Anyela’s Vineyards Rain Location: Skaneateles High School

Mark O’Connor Band Mark O’Connor, fiddle Maggie O’Connor, fiddle/vocals Forrest O’Connor, mandolin/guitar/vocals Kate Lee, fiddle/vocals Joe Smart, guitar Geoff Saunders, bass/banjo

Selections will be announced from the stage.

tonight’s artist sponsorships

tonight’s media sponsor

Mark O’Connor Band is sponsored by Jessica & Patrick Danial, Scott & Jolie Johnston, and Brendan McGinn & Rebecca Cohen

WRVO Public Media

Exclusively Represented by Creative Artists Agency The Grammy-winning Mark O’Connor Band can be found at www.oconnorband.com O’Connor Method information for violin and strings is available at www.oconnormethod.com. For Mr. O’Connor’s downloadable sheet music and recordings on his own OMAC Records label, please visit www.markoconnor.com and www.omacrecords.com 68

Festival Future

The Skaneateles Festival extends its appreciation to

Noreen and Michael Falcone

Their love for great music and leadership giving are helping to secure the Festival’s future and allowing us to bring the highest caliber musicians to our lakeside community.

David Zinman and Misha Dichter with the Skaneateles Festival orchestra.

Musician Profiles Andy Akiho, steel drum Described as “mold-breaking,” “alert and alive,” “dramatic,” and “vital” by The New York Times, Andy Akiho is an eclectic composer and performer of contemporary classical music. Recent engagements include commissioned premieres by the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, a performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and three concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. His compositions have been featured on PBS’s “News Hour with Jim Lehrer” and by organizations such as Bang on a Can, American Composers Forum, and The Society for New Music. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in composition at Princeton University. He has attended the Aspen Music Festival, Bang on a Can Festival, Yellow Barn Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest Festival, and Avaloch Farm Music Institute, where he is the Composer-in-Residence. Lisa Albrecht, trombone Lisa Albrecht serves as Second Trombonist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, she has also held positions with the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, and the Honolulu Symphony. She has been a guest performer with orchestras around the world, including the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie. Albrecht has performed as a soloist at several festivals, including the International Trombone Festival and has served on the faculty of the Juilliard School and the Eastman School of Music. Inon Barnatan, piano Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan is known for his compelling, insightful musicianship and elegant virtuosity, and as “a true poet of the keyboard, refined, searching [and] unfailingly communicative” (London’s Evening Standard). He has performed extensively with the world’s important orchestras, including Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, and has worked with distinguished conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Matthias Pintscher, and Pinchas Zukerman. Awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2009, he was also the New York Philharmonic’s first Artist in Association. Barnatan’s recordings are critically acclaimed, and his album Darknesse Visible was named one of the “Best of 2012” by The New York Times. His 2015 CD Rachmaninov & Chopin: Cello Sonatas on Decca Classics with Alisa Weilerstein earned rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. Derek Bermel, composer Composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel has been widely hailed for his creativity, theatricality, and virtuosity. Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra, Bermel is also curator of the Gamper Festival at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Director of Copland House’s emerging 70 composers institute Cultivate, and recently enjoyed a four-year

tenure as artist-in-residence at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton. He has received commissions from the Pittsburgh, National, Saint Louis, and Pacific Symphonies, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, WNYC Radio, La Jolla Music Society, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Guarneri String Quartet, and violinist Midori among others. His many honors include the Alpert Award in the Arts, Rome Prize, Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships, American Music Center’s Trailblazer Award, and an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; and residencies at Tanglewood, Aspen, and Banff.

Julia Bruskin, cello, artistic director Since her concerto debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at age 17, Julia Bruskin has established herself as one of the premiere cellists of her generation. She has soloed with conductor Jahja Ling at Avery Fisher Hall as well as with the Nashville, Utah, Virginia, and Pacific Symphonies, among others. She is a frequent guest at summer music festivals, now especially as Co-Artistic Director of the Skaneateles Festival with her husband, Aaron Wunsch. She is also a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City. A founding member of the critically acclaimed Claremont Trio, Bruskin has recorded and toured extensively

Musician Profiles with the group. Their recording for Bridge Records of the Beethoven “Triple” Concerto with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra has received rave reviews. Bruskin teaches at the Juilliard Pre-College.

Heather Buchman, trombone Heather Buchman is director of the Hamilton College Orchestra and frequently conducts Symphoria on their Spark series and other concerts. She works regularly with the Society for New Music as both conductor and trombonist. She completed professional studies in conducting at the Juilliard School, and earned a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelors of Music degree in trombone from the Eastman School of Music. Heather served as Principal Trombonist of the San Diego Symphony from 1988-1997. She has appeared with Chicago Music of the Baroque, Ojai Music Festival, and Grand Tetons Music Festival. David Bruestle, trombone A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, David Bruestle joined the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in May, 2017 as principal trombone, after serving as acting principal trombone since October, 2016. David studied at the Eastman School of Music where he received a Bachelor of Music with High

2018-19 series - 47th season

21st C. PRIZE WINNERS, 3pm Sunday, Sept. 30 at Park Central Presbyterian - Kevin Ernste (2nd perf. SNM commission), Israel/Pellman winner Jack Frerer, & former Israel winner Eric Nathan

The ODYSSEY, 8pm Friday, Nov. 2 at Hendricks Chapel, S.U. - w/Vietnamese composer/performer Vanessa Van-Anh Vo, dan tranh zither – stories of the boat people music & video, plus Syrian composer Kinan Azmeh collaboration with Syracuse Symposium’s STORIES series

BLACKMAIL, 7pm, Tuesday Nov. 6 at LeMoyne C. PAC – 2nd perf. of Erin O’Hara’s score for the 1929 classic silent film - collaboration w/ LeMoyne College Performed by the SOCIETY ALL-STARS 2nd half of season features LARGER THAN US (premiere of Paul Leary’s commission plus Fussell’s The Astronaut opera), VISION OF SOUND (new music w/ dance) & CANTATA COMALA by Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon w/ La Coperacha puppet company Tune into FRESH INK every Sunday at 2pm on WCNY-FM

HELP US MAKE MUSIC HISTORY IN CNY Details at: www.societyfornewmusic.org

Distinction and was awarded the Performer’s Certificate. He then received his Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. David returned to Eastman to pursue the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts, completing his course of study in May 2015. David served as Second Trombone with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and principal trombone with the Erie Philharmonic. He has performed and recorded with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Edward Castilano, bass Edward Castilano is a member of the bass section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and a faculty member at Syracuse University Setnor. Previously, he held the position of principal bass of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra until 2011, making numerous concerto appearances, most recently in 2010. After graduating in 1976 from the Eastman School of Music, he participated for six seasons in Gian-Carlo Menotti’s Spoleto Festival in Italy and Charleston, SC and made several appearances with the Lincoln Center Chamber Players. He has also participated annually in the Skaneateles Festival beginning with its inception in 1980. Mr. Castilano received a Master’s degree from Syracuse University in 2003. He has also played as a substitute with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Detroit, Spokane, Savannah, and Symphoria. Michael Cirmo, percussion Michael J. Cirmo is an active percussionist in the Central New York area. Mr. Cirmo has performed with the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra, Skaneateles Festival, MerryGo-Round Playhouse Pit, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Catskill Symphony, Syracuse Symphony and Symphoria. Additionally, he is frequently called upon as a guest conductor for music festivals at all levels throughout New York State. Michael holds a Master of Arts in Instrumental Performance with Honors from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education with Honors and a Performer’s Certificate from Potsdam College, Crane School of Music. As a teacher, he has taught at all levels since 1985. He is currently the Director of Bands at Marcellus High School. Sarah Crocker Vonsattel, violin A native of Elbridge, NY, violinist Sarah Crocker Vonsattel currently resides in New York City where she has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 2008. She previously held positions in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Colorado Symphony. Recent performances include appearances at Lake Tahoe Summerfest, the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, Bargemusic, the Bronxville Chamber Music Series, Downtown Music at Grace Church, and the New Marlborough House Concerts. As a founding member of the Verklärte Quartet, Sarah was a Grand Prize Winner of the 2003 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. She has appeared as both performer and faculty member at festivals including the Orfeo International Music Festival (Italy), the Wellesley Composers Conference, and

Musician Profiles the Musical Friends Academy (Tunisia). She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School.

The Danish String Quartet Frederik Øland, violin Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin Asbjørn Nørgaard, viola Bartholomew LaFollette, cello Embodying the quintessential elements of a fine chamber music ensemble, the Danish String Quartet has established a reputation for their integrated sound, impeccable intonation and judicious balance. The Danish String Quartet’s expansive 2017-18 North American season includes debut performances at numerous renowned venues, such as the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Bravo! Vail and Ravinia summer festivals, Cleveland Chamber Music Society, Ensemble Music Society Indianapolis, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Oregon Bach Festival, and San Francisco Performance, among others. Their highly successful 2016-17 season included debuts at the Tanglewood, Caramoor and Edinburgh Festivals, the Danish String Quartet debuted at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. Internationally, they performed throughout Israel, South America, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland, and their home country, Denmark. Alexander Elliott, baritone Baritone Alexander Elliott was heard recently in his role debut singing Sonora in La fanciulla del West with New York City Opera. Following his “noble” presentation as John Brooke in Adamo’s Little Women last season, he reprises the role in November in his debut with Annapolis Opera. He reprises two additional roles in 2018 – first with Opera Santa Barbara in March as the title role in Il barbiere di Siviglia, followed by his return to the Orlando Philharmonic for Master Peter’s Puppet Show. On the concert stage, he returns to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for performances of Haydn’s Creation and Handel’s Messiah. Additional recent engagements include his role debut as John Brooke in Little Women with Madison Opera, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with the Orlando Philharmonic, and Portland Opera for their inaugural 2016 festival season as Anthony in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, and as the title role in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

Rosemary Elliott, cello A native of London, England, Rosemary Elliott is Assistant Professor of Cello at the Eastman School of Music. She is principal cellist of Cayuga Chamber Orchestra in Ithaca, New York and has twice performed as soloist with them. Miss Elliot is artistic director of ‘Morning Chamber Music’ at Eastman and plays regularly on the series. She was recently featured in ‘Performance Rochester,’ a program on WXXI celebrating performers based in the Rochester area. Prior to her appointment at Eastman, Ms. Elliott was a member of the National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin, Ireland and later a member of the cello staff at the Royal College of Music in London. She has played with some of the most notable chamber orchestras in England, including the London Mozart Players, the City

For decades, Koko Fuller has single-handedly fed huge crowds of musicians and supporters before every Finale concert. Thank you, Koko! of London Sinfonia and the Orchestra of St. John’s Smith Square. During the summer Ms. Elliott teaches and performs at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Brunswick, Maine and the Heifetz Academy in Staunton, Virginia.

Eliot Fisk, guitar Guitarist Eliot Fisk is known worldwide as a charismatic performer, famed for his adventurous and virtuosic repertoire. Fisk continues to break new ground for the guitar with marathon performances of his transcriptions of all 6 Bach solo cello Suites, duo performances with guitar legend Angel Romero, and with a new trio formed with virtuoso guitarists Joaquin Clerch and Aniello Desiderio. He has performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Rochester Symphony, Orchestra of St. Lukes, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Pro Arte Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, and many others. In June 2006, King Juan Carlos of Spain awarded Eliot the “Cruz de Isabel la Católica” for his service to the cause of Spanish music. Eliot Fisk is Founder and Artistic Director of Boston Guitar Fest, and in 2017 created and served as Artistic Director of the first ever Salzburg Guitar Fest. In summer of 2014 he toured China performing with his wife, classical guitarist, Zaira Meneses, and the couple’s young daughter, pianist, Raquel Fisk. Raquel Fisk, piano Raquel Fisk has performed frequently in the Boston area, including numerous performances in Jordan Hall. She recently performed to critical acclaim at the famous Bethlehem Bach Festival and twice in New York City’s Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall as back-to-back winner of the AFAF Auditions. In August of 2014 she performed on tour for the

Musician Profiles first time in major cities in China including Hangzhou, Taicang and Shanghai. In both 2015 and 2016 Raquel won first prize in the Bay State Piano Competition and in 2017 won first prize in both the Senior Division of the Rhode Island Piano Extravaganza Competition and the Steinway Competition. This June, she makes her debut with the famous Orquesta Sinfonica de Xalapa under the baton of Maestro Lan Franco Marceletti.

Xavier Foley, bass Winner of a 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant, double bassist Xavier Foley has captivated audiences “with superbly executed performances… playing fluidly and passionately” (Splash Magazines). He has appeared as soloist with the Orchard Park Symphony Orchestra, and performs recitals at the Port Washington Library, the Paramount Theatre, and at the Buffalo Chamber Music Society. As a Winner of the 2016 Young Concert Artists International Auditions along with four Performance Prizes, he gave his New York and Washington, DC debut recitals this season, which included two of his own compositions. Mr. Foley has appeared as soloist with the Atlanta Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Brevard Concert Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and with the Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall. Xavier has participated in the Marlboro Music and the Delaware Chamber Music Festivals.

Lindsay Groves, cello Symphoria principal cellist Lindsay Groves has also lead sections in the Hawaii Symphony, the Syracuse Symphony, the Spoleto Festival, the Esopus Chamber Orchestra, and the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. Lindsay served as assistant principal for the Syracuse Symphony and the Eastern Music Festival; as cello section member in the North Carolina Symphony and the JFK Center Opera House Orchestra. She was also a regular substitute with the Baltimore Symphony, the Monterey Symphony, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic, and the Albany Symphony. Ms. Groves’ numerous solo, chamber music, and recital performances have included the Dvorak, Haydn D Major, Schumann, and Elgar concerti with orchestra. Her festival participation in CA, NC, CO, AK, FL, Italy, and Switzerland led her to found the Skaneateles Festival, which she directed from 1980 to 1991. Margaret Gawrysiak, mezzo-soprano Known for her powerful voice and galvanizing performances, mezzo-soprano Margaret Gawrysiak’s recent performances include Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro and Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance with Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Zita and Frugola in Opera Company of Middlebury’s production of Il Trittico; and the Old Lady in Candide with Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. Among next season’s engagements,

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Musician Profiles she returns to the Seattle Opera stage as Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and appears in concert with the Seattle Symphony for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The mezzo-soprano’s other recent roles feature a wide range of performances, including the world premiere of Lori Laitman’s Scarlet Letter with Opera Colorado as Mistress Hibbons; Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro with Seattle Opera and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd with Fresno Grand Opera.

Anne Harrow, flute Anne Harrow is the Associate Professor of Flute and Piccolo at the Eastman School of Music. She is active as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer and has just returned from performing and teaching in China where she was principal flute with MasterWorks China. Currently, Ms. Harrow is Solo Flute and Piccolo of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, the Orchestra of the Adirondacks, where she is a frequent soloist. Before coming to Eastman, Ms. Harrow was principal flute with the Florida West Coast Symphony and a founding member of the Florida Wind Quintet. Additionally, she has been Second Flute/Piccolo with the Savannah Symphony and a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Recently, Ms. Harrow has performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Chautauqua Symphony, and the Qingdao Symphony Orchestras. Jillian Honn, oboe Oboist Jillian Honn holds the principal chair of Syracuse’s Symphoria, a position she won at just 20 years old. During her tenure with Symphoria, Honn has been a featured soloist on both Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante and his Oboe Concerto in C major, and will perform Jennifer Higdon’s Oboe Concerto in the 2018-19 season. Outside of the orchestra, she has been an avid chamber musician performing as a part of the LaVeck Concert Series, Little Summer Music in Vienna, and Sunset Concerts. In addition to Symphoria, Jillian has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and New World Symphony among several others. A recent graduate of Eastman (BM), Jillian maintains a private oboe studio, teaches at LeMoyne College, and serves as the Music Librarian for Symphoria. Zoe Johnson, soprano Zoe Johnson is a graduate of the Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program. She appeared as soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the TON Orchestra. She also premiered works by Andy Vores and Matthew Schickele in concert with Dawn Upshaw and the Bard Vocal Arts Program at the Morgan Library in New York City. This season, Zoe appears in concert at the Aspen Music Festival, in Candide with The Knights at Tanglewood, and makes her debut in Street Scene and Don Giovanni with Virginia Opera. She recently appeared as Michelle Taylor in the world premiere of Intruder–The Musical at the Hudson Guild Theater in New York City, as part of the New York Theater Festival. Other recent credits include Queen of the Night with the Albany Symphony (2017), Fire, Princess and Nightingale in L’enfant et les Sortileges with 74

Robert Spano at the Aspen Music Festival, and Rosalba in Florencia en el Amazonas at the Fletcher Opera Institute.

Evan Jones, baritone Originally from Buffalo, NY, Evan has enjoyed a diverse performing career in opera, musical theater, concert, and recital. In opera, notable roles include Figaro in both Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Le Nozze di Figaro, and the title role in Don Giovanni. Highlights in musical theater and operetta include: Voltaire and Pangloss in Candide, and Danilo Danilovich in The Merry Widow. In concert he has been featured as a soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana, the Brahms and Fauré Requiems, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. He is particularly in demand as an interpreter of the concert repertoire of Ralph Vaughn Williams, having frequently performed the Five Mystical Songs, Serenade to Music, and Dona Nobis Pacem. Mr. Jones has sung with Opera Memphis, Opera Naples, Berkshire Opera Company, Opera, Compañía Lírica Nacional de Costa Rica, and Finger Lakes Opera. Mr. Jones currently serves on the voice faculty at Florida State University. Sharleen Joynt, soprano Coloratura soprano Sharleen Joynt has been praised for her “silvery, sparkling, substantial and resonant soprano” (Die Deutsche Bühne) and “an artistic command that leaves the listener breathless” (Deutschland Radio). Sharleen appeared

Musician Profiles with Opera Philadelphia as Winnie in their workshop and production of Sky on Swings and returned to Pacific Opera Victoria for her first Musetta in La Bohème, and debuts with both Anchorage Opera and the Tanglewood Music Festival as Cunegonde in Candide. Sharleen recently joined the Orlando Philharmonic as Cunegonde for a concert staging of Candide, and performed Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute with Pacific Opera Victoria. She sang Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Thunder Bay Symphony and joined the Victoria Symphony for their New Year’s operetta gala.

Chamber Music Festival, Banff, and Lanaudiere Festival. The Jupiters have received several musical distinctions: an Avery Fisher Career Grant (2008), Grand Prize in the Banff International String Quartet Competition (2004), Grand Prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2004), membership in Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two (2007-2010), and Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award (2007). The Jupiter String quartet is in its 5th year as Artists-In-Residence at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Jupiter String Quartet Nelson Lee, violin Meg Freivogel, violin Liz Freivogel, viola Daniel McDonough, cello The Jupiter String Quartet stands at the forefront of the younger generation of classical chamber music ensembles. Formed in 2002, they perform in the world’s finest halls, including New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C., Boston’s Jordan Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, and Seoul’s National Arts Center and Sejong Chamber Hall. They have been enthusiastically welcomed at major music festivals in North America, including Aspen, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Skaneateles Festival, the Vancouver

Jesssica King, bassoon Jessica King has played bassoon and contrabassoon for Symphoria since its inception and freelances throughout New York State. She has recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with John Hunt. Jessica’s deeply held love for new music has led her to premiere works by living composers with ensembles like Slee Sinfonietta, Syracuse Society for New Music, New Leaf Ensemble, Sunset Concerts, and Eastman Broadband at festivals like June in Buffalo, Carnegie Hall’s New Music New Voices, and Vermont’s New Music on the Point. Jessica teaches bassoon and ethnomusicology.

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Allan Kolsky, clarinet Principal clarinet of Symphoria, Allan Kolsky held positions with the Louisiana Philharmonic and the Utah Symphony before joining the Syracuse Symphony as principal clarinet in 2002. He has appeared as soloist with both Symphoria and the SSO in clarinet concertos by Mozart, Nielsen, Finzi and Weber. Mr. Kolsky received a Tanglewood Fellowship in 1989, and holds music performance degrees from Temple and DePaul Universities, where he studied with Anthony Gigliotti and Larry Combs. A co-host and performer at the 2001 International ClarinetFest, Kolsky currently teaches clarinet at Hamilton College. He has also performed with the Cincinnati Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Skaneateles Festival, Glimmerglass Opera and the Colorado Music Festival. The Knights The Knights are a collective of adventurous musicians, dedicated to transforming the orchestral experience and eliminating barriers between audiences and music. The orchestra has been proud to tour and record with renowned soloists including Yo-Yo Ma, Dawn Upshaw, Béla Fleck, and Gil Shaham, and has performed at such prestigious institutions as Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and the Vienna Musikverein. The Knights’ notable accomplishments include a 2017 Grammy Award nomination for a recording with master violinist Gil Shaham; a performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater as part of the NY Phil Biennial; The Knights’ debut at Carnegie Hall in the New York premiere of Steven Stucky and Jeremy Denk’s opera The Classical Style; a U.S. tour with banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck; a European tour with soprano Dawn Upshaw; residencies at Dartmouth, Penn State, and Washington, D.C.’s Dumbarton Oaks. Their frequent 75

Musician Profiles festival appearances include Ravinia, Caramoor, Big Ears, and Tanglewood; and nine years of free summer performances at Central Park’s Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, Bryant Park, and BRIC’s Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park.

Victoria Krukowski, clarinet Victoria Krukowski was born in Syracuse, NY and has served in the position of Second and E-flat clarinet in Symphoria since 2012. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a Master’s from the Eastman School of Music. She was a frequent substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra, traveling with them on their 1999 tour of Southeast Asia. Victoria has participated in summer music festivals such as the National Orchestra Institute, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Luzerne Music Camp, Evian Music Festival in Evian, France, and Blossom Music Festival. Victoria was also a member of the Philadelphia Opera Company Orchestra and a private clarinet teacher for students of all ages. Currently, Victoria is on the faculty at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, and enjoys being the mother of seven children with her husband, Dennis. Victoria also serves as the Upstate Cancer Center Therapeutic Music Coordinator and as Symphoria’s Healing Harmonies Program Coordinator. Sarah Larsen, mezzo-soprano Praised as “sizzling,” “riveting” and possessing a “plummy, ripe mezzo,” mezzo-soprano Sarah Larsen made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2016-17 season as Käthchen in Sir Richard Eyre’s production of Werther. An alumna of the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program, Ms. Larsen enjoys a long relationship with Seattle Opera. She has been featured as Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, The Secretary in The Consul, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, and Maddalena in Rigoletto, among others. She was recently in residence as a Filene Young Artist with Wolf Trap Opera, where she was heard as Bianca in Rape of Lucretia, Susanna in The Ghosts of Versailles, and in selections from The Tender Land and A Little Night Music with the National Symphony Orchestra. She also created Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s song cycle Farewell, Auschwitz with the Seattle based Music of Remembrance, recording released by Naxos.

Los Angeles, for which the League of American Orchestras awarded him the Helen H. Thompson Award for Emerging Music Directors. Marcelo was also appointed Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This season includes his debut with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, and a return to the Slovenian Philharmonic. Closer to home, Mr. Lehninger debuts with the Charlotte and Tucson Symphonies, and returns to the North Carolina Symphony and Rochester Philharmonic. He will also return to Carnegie Hall with the Grand Rapids Symphony. Recent highlights include debuts with the Colorado, Hawaii, Toledo, and Portland Symphonies; Colorado Springs Philharmonic; and Symphony Nova Scotia; as well as return engagements with Minas Gerais Philharmonic, New Mexico Philharmonic, and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He made his Japanese debut with the Kyushu Symphony, and his Australian debut with the Sydney and Melbourne Symphonies.

Luke MacMillan, baritone Baritone and Oregon native Luke MacMillan currently studies at the Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program under the direction of world-renowned Soprano Dawn Upshaw, Kayo Iwama, Sanford Sylvan, and Erika Switzer. This year at Bard he was featured in various concerts with the Albany Symphony, singing excerpts and arias from operas by Mozart, Handel, and Verdi. In Spring of 2018, he sang as The Swineherd in John Harbison’s Full Moon In March.

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John Lathwell, oboe John Lathwell is the principal oboist of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic and the Tri-Cities Opera. He taught at Binghamton University for nearly thirty years. He has also taught at the Tennessee Governors School for the Arts and Ithaca College. His primary teachers were Joseph Robinson, principal oboe of the New York Philharmonic (retired) and Richard Kilmer, professor of oboe at the Eastman School of Music.

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Marcelo Lehninger, conductor Brazilian-born Marcelo Lehninger is in his second year as Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony. He previously 76 served as Music Director of the New West Symphony in

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Musician Profiles Additionally, MacMillon joined the Bard Baroque Ensemble in a performance of Bruhns and Rameau Cantatas. This summer, he will join the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard, singing as Dandini in La Cenerentola, covering Maximilian in Candide, and soloing in Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, conducted by Maestro Keith Lockhart.

Alex Mansoori, tenor Called “outstanding” and “hilarious” by critics, tenor Alex Mansoori has been hailed as “solid and convincing” and “smartly characterized” by The New York Times. Mr. Mansoori’s varied repertoire runs the gamut from Handel and Mozart to Bernstein and Sondheim. Most recently, he appeared as Monostatos in the Orlando Philharmonic’s staged concert of Die Zauberflöte and was also part of the rebirth of Opera Orlando, singing Monsieur Vogelsang in The Impresario and Lacouf, le Fils, and le Journaliste in Les mamelles de Tirésias. In the coming season, he returns to the Orlando Philharmonic for their staged performances of Bernstein’s Candide and will be heard as Pang in Turandot and Monostatos with Opera Naples. Alex has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York’s famed Rainbow Room and appeared in Candide in Concert with The New York Philharmonic which was also broadcast on PBS and later released on DVD. Mark O’Connor Band Mark O’Connor Band’s very first performance took place at the legendary Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas

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in 2015. In 2017 – less than a year and a half later – they took home the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album for their debut recording, Coming Home. In a whirlwind two years, the band has also performed at the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony, received standing ovations at the Grand Ole Opry, reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart, and been invited to open for the Zac Brown Band’s 2018 summer tour. They have put together a show unlike any other, one that blends country and pop sensibilities with Americana rawness, bluegrass drive, and chamber music sophistication, one that has begun winning over audiences at festivals (AmericanaFest, GreyFox, IBMA, RockyGrass), clubs (Jazz Alley, Dakota Jazz Club), and the world’s premier theaters (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Eastman Kodak Theater, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Schermerhorn Symphony Center).

Anthony Marwood, violin British violinist Anthony Marwood is known worldwide as an artist of exceptional expressive force. His energetic and collaborative nature places him in great demand as soloist/director with chamber orchestras worldwide. He is Principal Artistic Partner of the celebrated Canadian chamber orchestra, Les Violons du Roy. In the 2016-17 season, he was Artist in Residence at the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. In recent years, engagements have included the Boston Symphony, St Louis Symphony and Vienna Radio Symphony, as well as the New Zealand and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Last season included performances of Kurt Weill’s concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Galicia, play/direct projects with the Aurora Orchestra at London’s Royal Festival Hall and with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, a return to the Amsterdam Sinfonietta for a tour of the Netherlands, and a performance of Brahms’s Double Concerto with Alexander Rudin and Musica Viva Moscow. Jeremy Mastrangelo, violin Jeremy Mastrangelo has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra violin section since 2013, and was guest Principal Second of NACO for the final three years of Pinchas Zukerman’s tenure. Previously, he was Associate Concertmaster of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra for ten seasons. He has been guest Concertmaster for the Kalamazoo Symphony, the National Ballet of Canada, The Omaha Symphony, and Oregon Symphony. He lives in Ottawa with his wife, Sara, and two children. Sara Mastrangelo, violin Sara Mastrangelo is a first violinist with the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra and performs regularly with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Mastrangelo was a member of the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami before her tenure with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra from 2001-2013. Mastrangelo is an active chamber musician, performing regularly in Ottawa as part of the Music and Beyond Festival, and has performed at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Banff Center for the Arts, Schleswig Holstein Music

Musician Profiles Festival in Germany, and Skaneateles Festival. She holds degrees from McGill University, University of Michigan, and Carnegie Mellon University. She now teaches and coaches the International touring Ensemble, “Stellae Boreales” as part of Ottawa Suzuki Strings.

Melissa Matson, viola Melissa Matson is principal violist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, artistic director of First Muse Chamber Music, and a founding member of the Amenda Quartet. She performs frequently with Chamber Music Rochester and with the Skaneateles Festival. A California native, she received degrees and the Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where she teaches viola orchestral repertoire. Matson was a founding member of the Chester String Quartet (prizewinners at the Munich and Portsmouth international competitions) and has been a chamber music participant in the Aspen, Norfolk, and Grand Teton summer festivals. Zaira Meneses, guitar Zaira Meneses is among the most exciting performers on the international classical guitar circuit. Her musicality and charisma have delighted audiences on three continents. This success led to performances of Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Concierto Madrigal for two guitars throughout

Mexico. Since moving to the USA in 2001, she has performed in great concert halls of the world, including Boston’s Jordan Hall, New York City’s Alice Tully Hall, and Salzburg’s Wiener Saal. Meneses has served as artist in residence at prestigious universities throughout the United States and recently began a long-term association with Syracuse University. Zaira is Director of Community Outreach and Student Affairs for the Boston Guitar Fest and Artistic Director of the new crossdisciplinary cultural initiative Guitar and Friends, for which she was awarded a grant by the Albert Augustine Foundation. She is a happy mother living in Newton, MA with her daughter, Raquel Fisk.

Maura McCune Corvington, horn Maura McCune Corvington, Second Horn of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, has distinguished herself as a virtuosic young artist through her expressive playing. Prior to joining the RPO in July 2015, Ms. Corvington performed as acting principal horn of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra and Hawaii Opera Theatre Orchestra. A graduate of Rice University’s Shepherd School and the Eastman School of Music. She presently serves as the Instructor of Horn at the Eastman Community Music School, Horn Mentor for the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Adjunct Professor of Horn at Roberts Wesleyan College, Adjunct Lecturer in Horn Studies at SUNY Geneseo, and an Arts Leadership Program Course Instructor and Adjunct Instructor of Horn at the Eastman School. Neil Miller, viola From Long Island NY, Neil Miller holds both a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance, and a Master of Music degree in viola performance from the Eastman School of Music. He was awarded the coveted Performer’s Certificate and was also the recipient of the Robert L. Oppelt Viola Prize which is presented annually to an outstanding violist at Eastman. Summer festivals have included the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckinridge Colorado where he performed in over 20 concerts playing 120 orchestral works. Conductors included Karina Canellakis, Andrew Litton, Peter Oundjian and Michael Stern. Neil has also participated in LyricaFest in Boston as well as Charles Castleman’s Quartet Program both in Boulder, CO, and Fredonia, NY.

Tai Murray, violin An inspiring talent, the well-schooled and hugely musical Tai Murray has become an essential personality in today’s classical musical world. Born in Chicago, at age nine she made her concert debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She studied at Indiana University and the Juilliard School. A former BBC young generation artist, member of the Marlboro Festival and of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society, she gave her London Proms Debut during the summer of 2016 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Living between New York and Berlin, Tai has been heard on stages such as the Barbican, Queen Elisabeth and London Royal Albert Hall, aside orchestras such as Chicago Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Manchester BBC

Musician Profiles Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. She has performed extensively in Germany and has several recordings to her credit.

Miles Mykkanen, tenor Miles Mykkanen has garnered recognition on the world’s concert and operatic stages for his “focused, full-voiced tenor” (The New York Times). The 2017-18 season sees Mr. Mykkanen performing the title role of Bernstein’s Candide with the Arizona Opera and Palm Beach Opera and Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw for Opera Columbus in a new production by Stephen Wadsworth. On the concert stage he is heard in performances of Handel’s Messiah with the New Jersey Symphony and Indianapolis Symphony, in concert performances of Verdi’s Otello with Robert Spano leading the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and in Bernstein’s Songfest, and the New York Festival of Song. He makes his New York Philharmonic debut in a program of highlights from West Side Story conducted by Leonard Slatkin and joins the Bard Music Festival for performances of Moniuszko’s Halka and Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette with Leon Botstein conducting the American Symphony Orchestra. Shannon Nance, violin Shannon Nance, assistant concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, has been a member since 1993. She has performed as soloist with the RPO, the SUNY Geneseo Orchestra, the Masterworks Festival Orchestra, the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra (NE), the Greece Symphony (NY), and the Greater Rochester Women’s Philharmonic. Nance has also served as associate concertmaster of the Arizona Musicfest in Scottsdale, AZ. She performs regularly as a resident guest artist with the Finger Lakes Chamber Ensemble. Nance is a dedicated teacher, and has students of varying ages currently in her studio. She also serves on the faculty of the Masterworks Festival, where she served as director of the String Intensive Study Program. Shannon is married to RPO trumpeter Wesley Nance and together they live a full life raising four children.

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Wesley Nance, trumpet Wesley Nance is in his 32nd season as Second Trumpet of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been featured as a soloist with the RPO on several occasions. Nance has also been engaged to perform as principal trumpet with the RPO, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Arizona Musicfest Festival Orchestra, the Skaneateles Festival Orchestra, and the Brevard Music Center. An active chamber musician, Nance is a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Brass Quintet, and a frequent musical collaborator in the Rochester area. Also a composer, Nance has had several pieces commissioned and premiered by the RPO under the batons of Jeff Tyzik and Michael Butterman. He is on the faculty of the Eastman Community Music School and is an Adjunct Instructor of Chamber Music at the Eastman School of Music. Juliana Pepinsky, piccolo Juliana May Pepinsky is a lecturer at Cornell University, where she leads the flute ensembles and teaches privately. An active chamber musician, she performs regularly with the Ithaca Flute Duo, the Fingerlakes Flutes, and ensemble x. She received her M.M. from Yale University and her B.M. from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Nicholas Phan, tenor American tenor Nicholas Phan continues to distinguish himself as one of the most compelling tenors performing today. Recent performances include his debuts with the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Orquestra Sinfônica de São Paulo for Britten’s War Requiem with Marin Alsop; and returns to the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Chicago Symphony, and the Toronto Symphony for performances as the title role in Bernstein’s Candide. Nicholas has sung with many of the leading orchestras in the North America and Europe, and has appeared with the Oregon Bach, Ravinia, Marlboro, and Tanglewood festivals, as well as the BBC Proms. An avid proponent of vocal chamber music, he has collaborated with many chamber musicians, including violinist James Ehnes; guitarist Eliot Fisk; and horn Gail Williams. In 2010, he co-founded the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, an organization that promotes the art song and vocal chamber music repertoire of which he is Artistic Director. Olita Povero, viola Olita Povero is a violist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra since 1989. Before joining the RPO, Olita held the position of principal viola with the Dallas Opera and was a member of the Dallas Ballet and Dallas Chamber Orchestras. She currently plays with Finger Lakes Opera and Rochester Chamber Orchestra. She is also a faculty member at the Hochstein School of Music and Dance and mentors violists in both the Rochester Philharmonic and Hochstein Youth Orchestras. Olita is happy to be returning to the Skaneateles Festival, where she has performed in many concerts over the years. 79

Musician Profiles Gregory Quick, bassoon An honors graduate from the University of Michigan, Gregory Quick joined the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra as it’s principal bassoonist in 1977. He had several concerto performances with the SSO, including John Williams Five Sacred Trees, and additionally served as the Symphony personnel manager from 1995 to 2006. He currently performs with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta and Michigan Opera Theatre. He has also performed with the Skaneateles Festival, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Summer Music Festival of Arkansas, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, New Hampshire Music Festival, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Virginia Symphony, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, and the Toledo Zoo Band. John Raschella, trumpet John Raschella is currently principal trumpet with Symphoria. Prior to that for 30 years he was principal trumpet and associate principal trumpet of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as co-principal trumpet with the Pittsburgh Symphony and has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra along with the symphony orchestras of Houston, Minnesota, Buffalo, Rochester and Jacksonville. He has also been a featured performer at the International Trumpet Guild Conference and has recorded with the Pittsburgh and Syracuse Symphony Orchestras. In the summers he has performed as principal trumpet of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina and the Spoleto festival in Italy as well as a frequent performer at the Skaneateles Festival. Mr. Raschella attended the Manhattan School of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music where he received an artist diploma. Mr. Raschella has taught at Ithaca College

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and is on the faculties of Hamilton College and Syracuse University.

Melissa Reardon, viola Grammy-nominated violist Melissa Reardon is First Prize Winner of the Washington International Competition, and the only violist to win top prizes in consecutive HAMS International Viola Competitions. Solo engagements have included performances at the Stevens Center, Kennedy Center, Symphony Hall, and Jordan Hall. She has performed as soloist with Camerata Notturna, the Boston Symphony and, most recently, the East Carolina Symphony. Melissa has given recitals in North Carolina, New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, and maintains an international performing schedule as a member of the Enso String Quartet. Melissa is also a founding member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) and a sought-after collaborative musician. Melissa was recently named the new Artistic Director of the Portland Chamber Music Festival. Joshua Redman, saxophone Joshua Redman is one of the most acclaimed and charismatic jazz artists to have emerged in the decade of the 1990s. In addition to his own projects, Redman has recorded and performed with musicians such as Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, The Dave Matthews Band, Herbie Hancock, Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones, Big Daddy Kane, B.B. King, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, DJ Logic, YoYo Ma, Branford Marsalis, Leon Parker, Dewey Redman, The Rolling Stones, The Roots, John Scofield, Soulive, String Cheese Incident, Toots Thielemans, The Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, McCoy Tyner, Umphrey’s McGee, US3, Bugge Wesseltoft, Cedar Walton, and Stevie Wonder. Joshua Redman has been nominated for three Grammys and has garnered top honors in critics and readers polls of DownBeat, Jazz Times, The Village Voice and

Musician Profiles Rolling Stone. He wrote and performed the music for Louis Malle’s final film Vanya on 42nd Street, and is both seen and heard in the Robert Altman film Kansas City.

Masumi Per Rostad, viola The Grammy Award-winning violist Rostad has received praise for his rich and expressive tone, energy, and commanding presence, and has been described by critics as an “electrifying, poetic and sensitive musician.” In addition to performing, Rostad teaches at the Eastman School of Music. As a member of the Pacifica Quartet, Masumi has performed and toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Other honors include the Cleveland Quartet Award and the Avery Fisher Career Grant. As a soloist, Rostad has appeared at prominent festivals including Spoleto USA, Music@Menlo, Marlboro, and Rockport Chamber Music, and has collaborated with such string quartets as the St. Lawrence, Pavel Hass, Emerson, and Ying Quartets. Alexander Shuhan, horn Alexander Shuhan, Professor of Horn, joined the Ithaca College faculty in 1998. He is principal horn of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Fort Smith (AR) Symphony Orchestra, and was principal horn of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra from 2000–2010. His group, the Shuhan-Luk Trio, has performed throughout the U.S., and will be releasing its first CD later this fall. He has taught on the faculty of the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, the Ithaca College Summer Music Academy and served as Valade Instructor of Horn at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp. Shuhan performs frequently with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and has played with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, the Skaneateles Festival and the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic. He was a founding member (1993), hornist, pianist and composer of Rhythm & Brasst. Elizabeth Shuhan, flute Elizabeth Shuhan is a private flute teacher and instructor at the Hochstein School of Music and a flute instructor at Cornell University. She is an active freelance flutist in the central New York region and regularly performs chamber music as a member of the Shuhan Duo. She is currently the principal flutist with the Fort Smith Symphony, and formerly second flute/piccolo with the North Arkansas Symphony. As a soloist, she has performed with the Huntsville Youth Symphony, the Music Festival of Arkansas Orchestra, the North Arkansas Symphony and the Fort Smith Symphony. Ms. Shuhan studied music education and flute performance at the University of Southern Missisippi, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. She continued her studies with flute performance and pedagogy at the University of Arkansas, earning a Masters of Music degree. Susan Spafford, violin Susan Spafford is a member of the Richmond (VA) Symphony, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (NY), and the Lancaster (OH) Festival Orchestra. She has performed regularly with the symphonies in Allentown and Harrisburg

(PA), Albany, Binghamton, ProMusica, Bemus Bay Pops, the Skaneateles Festival (NY), and other regional orchestras. She has appeared as a soloist with the Erie Chamber Orchestra and in recitals at Mansfield University, the Library of Congress, throughout the United States and in South Korea. Spafford has been a featured Faculty Violin Guest Artist for the String Institute at Ithaca College, and has been on the faculty of The Ridgewood Conservatory since 2008. She earned Masters and Bachelors degrees from the Eastman School of Music.

Sonya Williams, violin Sonya Williams is currently the assistant concertmaster of Symphoria. She had played in the Syracuse Symphony for ten years before the formation of Symphoria. She received her B.M. and M.M. from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Zvi Zeitlin and Ilya Kaler. Sonya is an active performer in the Syracuse region playing in recital and chamber music series including Civic Morning Musicals, LaVeck Concert Series, Friends of Chamber Music, Society for New Music and various others. She teaches at Le Moyne College and lives in Baldwinsville with her husband and three children. Jessica Wooldridge King, bassoon Jessica Wooldridge King has played the bassoon for Symphoria since 2011. Her teachers include John Hunt at the Eastman School of Music, and Lynn Hileman and Terry Ewell at West Virginia University. She has played in Master Classes for Christopher Millard, Gilbert Audin, and Whitney Crockett and has performed on the Zankel Hall stage at Carnegie Hall with the new music ensemble Broadband. Jessica has taught bassoon and music courses at Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, PA and at SUNY University at Buffalo. Currently she is enjoying playing music composed for bassoon and electronics by the Hungarian composer, Miklos Maros. She believes that music has the power to move people and build communities, and supports living composers who can leave a legacy for future generations. Aaron Wunsch, piano, artistic director Praised for his bold interpretations and communicative sensitivity, pianist Aaron Wunsch appears regularly on concert stages throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. In addition, he makes frequent recital and teaching tours to China and Indonesia. Also lauded for his chamber music performances, he collaborates with artists including cellist Lynn Harrell, clarinetist Charles Neidich, violinist Rolf Schulte, and the New York Woodwind Quintet. A vigorous proponent of contemporary music, he works closely with composers including Charles Wuorinen, Steve Stucky, Chen Yi, Fred Lerdahl, Kaija Saariaho, and Thomas Adès. He has recorded works by Anton Weber and Nico Muhly. Wunsch teaches music history, chamber music, and piano at The Juilliard School. In addition to his post as co-artistic director of the Skaneateles Festival, he is co-artistic director of the Music Mondays concert series in New York City. 81

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Westlake Conservators, Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Real Estate

Berkshire Hathaway Home Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 * Franklin Properties, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 * Sutton Real Estate Company, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Retail

Artist Pianos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Encore Thrift Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 * Folls Flowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Gallery 54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Robert Oddy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 * Patience Brewster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Upstate Printing, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 White & White Antiques & Fine Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 * Wood, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Restaurant/Food * 1911 Spirits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Anyela’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 * Gilda’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 * Joelle’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 * LakeHouse Pub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 * Mandana Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 * Mirbeau Inn & Spa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28, 29 * Moro’s Kitchen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 * Pascale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 * Patisserie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 * Phoebe’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 * Sherwood Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 12 Wegmans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Tourism

Skaneateles Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 * Sponsor

Check out the merchandise table! Artist CDs and more! Blankets Fleece

T-shirts Polo Shirts

Sweatshirts Hats

Tote Bags Flashlights 83

Concert Information All concerts are held in Skaneateles, August 8 – September 1, 2018 Tickets can be ordered at www.skanfest.org or by calling (315) 685-7418. Saturday concerts at the Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s are held at 7:30 pm outdoors. Patrons may arrive as early as 6:00 pm and picnic on the lawn. Carry-in/carry-out. Some restrictions apply. Suggested items to bring: Lawn chairs, blankets & flashlights (chairs are provided in A seating only). Call (315) 685-7418 (or check skanfest.org) after 3:00 pm on Saturdays for rain location announcements.

A Christmas Suite Hosted by

Presented by the

The Falcone Family Skaneateles Festival SAVE THE DATE

Ticket exchanges may be made up to 24 hours prior to concerts. Unused tickets returned less than 24 hours before the performance will be acknowledged as a contribution to the Skaneateles Festival.

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Any unused ticket may be exchanged for a ½ price ticket to a Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music concert during their 20182019 Season (some restrictions may apply / subject to availability).

Reservations start November 1

A collection of Christmas Stories and Music

Thank you to the 2017 Contributors

Doors open for all concerts 30 minutes prior to concerts.

The Falcone Family

Cameras & recording equipment may only be used with the permission of the Skaneateles Festival.

Barclay Damon / Rick and Ann Capozza Bill and Donna Davis Jim and Emily Gregg Don and Chacea Sundman

Remember to silence all electronic devices. Please tell businesses listed in the program that you appreciate their support of the Skaneateles Festival. Skaneateles Festival 97 East Genesee Street Skaneateles, NY 13162 (315) 685-7418 • www.skanfest.org

GUARANTORS

PATRONS

Joan Christy Inns of Aurora Bob and Sally Neumann Patience Brewster, Inc. Sherwood Inns & Appetites SUPPORTERS

Henry and Helga Beck Barb Connor and Doug Wood 84