WAC Artosphere Festival Orchestra Program 2024

A R K A N S A S ’ A R T S + N AT U R E F E S T I VA L P R E S E N T E D B Y WA LT O N A R T S C E N T E R

2024

Festival Orchestra Corrado Rovaris Music Director

ORCHESTRA PROGRAM

Walton Arts Center is thrilled to kick off the 12th Anniversary Season of the Artosphere Festival Orchestra — the centerpiece of Artosphere: Arkansas’ Arts and Nature Festival — and to once again welcome back more than 90 premier musicians from around the world under the direction of Corrado Rovaris. In his twelfth season as Music Director, Rovaris returns to the podium leading the Artosphere musicians in performances of classics by Mozart, Copland and Dvořák, a new concerto by Nick DiBerardino, and the tour de force, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, featuring four soloists and a chorus of 130 singers.

Thank you for being a part of our Festival, and a special thanks to the tremendous generosity of our funders and partners.

We are so glad to see you – enjoy.

Peter B. Lane President/CEO, Walton Arts Center

CONTENTS

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About the 2024 Artosphere Festival Orchestra

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Dover Quartet Artosphere Chamber Music Concert May 11 | 7pm | St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Fayetteville

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American Soundscapes May 14 | 7pm | Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center

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Dover Quartet Artosphere Chamber Music Concert May 15 | 7pm | Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville

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Verdi’s Requiem May 18 | 8pm | Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center

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Live from Crystal Bridges: Mozart in the Museum May 22 | 7pm | Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville

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ARTOSPHERE SPONSOR

MEDIA PARTNERS

INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT

Premier festival support provided by Kelly & Marti Sudduth. Support for Maestro Corrado Rovaris and Dover Quartet provided by Reed & Mary Ann Greenwood.

AFO underwriters are Greg & Hannah Lee and Peter B. Lane & Barbara Putman.

Artosphere Festival is made possible by Friends of Artosphere.

Artosphere features free and low-cost events for the community. Visit artospherefestival.org to make a gift in support of these events.

Artosphere Festival Orchestra 2024

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ABOUT THE ORCHESTRA

Now in its twelfth and final season, the Artosphere Festival Orchestra — comprised of more than 90 musicians from prestigious ensembles, orchestras and music programs around the world — has once again gathered in the Ozarks for a professional music-making experience unique to Artosphere. Spending two weeks under the baton of acclaimed Music Director Corrado Rovaris, these world-class musicians will perform three concerts, one in the Great Hall at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and two in Baum Walker Hall at Walton Arts Center.

Corrado Rovaris Music Director

Corrado Rovaris, Music Director of Opera Philadelphia and the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, is celebrated for his vibrant style and warm presence at the podium.

In the 2023-24 season Rovaris conducted Opera Philadelphia’s Simon Boccanegra and Madame Butterfly. This past year, he led a revival of Alfredo il Grande at the 2023 Donizetti Opera Festival in Bergamo and conducted Le nozze di Figaro at Deutsche Oper Berlin. After this year’s Artosphere Festival, Rovaris will conduct performances of La Traviata at Santa Fe Opera.

A proponent of new works, Rovaris helped launch Opera Philadelphia’s annual Festival O, featuring world premieres and other operatic events including the Aurora Series for Chamber Opera. Recent premieres include Glass Handel, Elizabeth Cree, and Written on Skin.

Born in Bergamo, Italy, Corrado Rovaris graduated from the

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Conservatory of Milan with degrees in composition, organ and harpsichord. From 1992 through 1996 he was the Assistant Chorus Master of the Teatro alla Scala. Soon after, he began appearing as a regular guest conductor at opera companies around the world including La Scala, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Opéra de Lyon, Opera Monte Carlo, Théâtre Municipal de Lausanne, Oper Köln, Oper Frankfurt, the Japan Opera Foundation, Canadian Opera Company, Santa Fe Opera, St. Louis Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera. He has established a close connection with the Curtis Institute of Music and since 2009 has led many CurtisOpera Philadelphia productions.

Maestro Rovaris was awarded knighthood by the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2015 and was honored in 2016 with the Franco Abbiati Prize.

2024 Artosphere Festival Orchestra Music Director & Conductor Corrado Rovaris Violin Joel Link, Concertmaster Bryan Lee, Principal Second Katherine Baloff Samantha Bennett Jake Buhler Charlotte Crosmer Andrea Daigle Hoi Ting Davidson Miika Gregg Laura Christina Herrera Er-Gene Kahng Eunice Kim Minju Kim Ben Kronk Audrey Lee Natalie Lee Luri Lee Yuan-ju Liu Liya Ma Margeaux Maloney Zoë Martin-Doike Avi Nagin Maureen Nelson Junsoo Park Sabrina Parry Sarah Peters Lauren Pulcipher Meredith Riley Miho Sakon Natsuko Takashima Nicholas Tavani Delcho Tenev Yordan Tenev Benjamin Thatcher Jonathan Toomer Michael Turkell Shuyi Wang Viola Julianne Lee, Principal Hezekiah Leung, Principal+ Stephanie Block Szuhua (Mia) Chen Rachel Daniels Arnaud Ghillebaert Carlos Lozano Yumi Oshima Cara Pogossian Edwardo Rios Robert Alvarado Switala Madeline Warner Luther Warren Zsche Chuang Rimbo Wong

Cello Camden Shaw, Principal Troy Chang Hana Cohon Noemie Golubovic Keeon Guzman Jiayin He Julia Henderson Ania Lewis Esther Seitz Brandon Xu Susie Yang Bass Cory Palmer, Principal Ryan Bassett Maurice Warren Belle Drew Collins Paul Macres Sean O'Hara Brian Thacker Russell Thompson Sarah Wager

Trumpet David Dash, Principal Mary Elizabeth Bowden, Principal+ Diana Wensley Morgen Low Alexander John Fioto Jhoan Garcia Tiago Linck Alan Tolbert Trombone/Bass Trombone Chris Lindgren, Principal Austin Richardson Zachary Haas Tuba Jason Tanksley, Principal Percussion Kramer Milan, Principal Garrett Arney, Principal* David Cavazos Connor Stevens

Harp Allegra Lilly, Principal

Timpani Arlo Shultis, Principal

Flute/Piccolo Luke Fitzpatrick, Principal Katherine Marx Amanda Galick

Piano/Celeste Kristine Olefsky, Principal

Oboe/English Horn Bobby Nunes, Principal Eder Rivera Casey Kearney

Artosphere Festival Orchestra Chorus Director Lyndon Meyer

Clarinet/Bass Clarinet Amer Hasan, Principal Katelyn Poetker Ben Chen Carmen V. Izzo

General Manager Jason Howell Smith Personnel & Stage Manager Nathan Lofton

Bassoon/Contrabassoon Michael Matushek, Principal Hunter Gordon AJ Neubert Diego Peña Horn Gabriel Kovach, Principal Lauren Hunt Rachel Velvikis Joy Hodges Josh Michal

Music Librarian J Robert Loy Administration/Housing/ Transportation Cody Kopp Eric Gramling

+ Mozart in the Museum

* Verdi’s Requiem

Percussion equipment provided by SoNA, Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. Sound recording provided by Weston Sound.

Artosphere Festival Orchestra 2024

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Dover Quartet Artosphere Chamber Music Concert May 11 | 7pm St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Fayetteville

About Dover Quartet

Named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, the two-time GRAMMY-nominated Dover Quartet is one of the world’s most in-demand chamber ensembles. The Dover Quartet is the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music and holds additional residencies at Northwestern University and the Artosphere Festival. The group’s awards include a stunning sweep of all prizes at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, grand and first prizes at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. Its honors include the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award and Lincoln Center’s Hunt Family Award.

The Dover Quartet’s 2023-24 season includes a North American tour with

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Joel Link, Violin Bryan Lee, Violin Julianne Lee, Viola Camden Shaw, Cello

Leif Ove Andsnes, performances with Haochen Zhang and David Shifrin, and a tour to Europe and Israel.

Recent collaborators include Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnaton, Ray Chen, the Escher String Quartet, Bridget Kibbey, Anthony McGill, Edgar Meyer, the Pavel Haas Quartet, Roomful of Teeth and Davóne Tines. The quartet recently premiered Steven Mackey’s theatrical-musical work Memoir and works by Mason Bates, Marc Neikrug and Chris Rogerson.

The Dover Quartet’s GRAMMYnominated recordings include its highly acclaimed three-volume recording, Beethoven Complete String Quartets (Cedille Records), which was hailed as “meticulously balanced, technically clean-as-awhistle and intonationally immaculate” (The Strad), and The Schumann Quartets (Azica Records).

The Dover Quartet was formed at Curtis in 2008; its name pays tribute to Dover Beach by fellow Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber. The Dover Quartet proudly endorses Thomastik-Infeld strings.

ARTOSPHERE CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT

PROGRAM

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Quartet in E-flat major, K. 428

Dmitri Shostakovich Quartet No. 9 in E-flat major, Op. 117

INTERMISSION

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11

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Artosphere Festival Orchestra Corrado Rovaris, Music Director

American Soundscapes A 10 x 10 Arts Series Concert Sijia Huang, Percussion Garrett Arney, Percussion

May 14 | 7pm Walton Arts Center’s Baum Walker Hall

Special thanks to 10x10 Series sponsor Paul M. Angell Family Foundation.

Media support for the 10x10 Series provided by KUAF Public Radio and the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal.

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Sijia Huang

Garrett Arney

PROGRAM

Aaron Copland Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo I. Buckaroo Holiday II. Corral Nocturne III. Saturday Night Waltz IV. Hoe-Down

Nick DiBerardino Double Percussion Concerto Featuring percussionists Sijia Huang & Garrett Arney of arx duo

INTERMISSION

Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 9 From the New World I. Adagio – Allegro molto II. Largo III. Molto vivace IV. Allegro con fuoco Artosphere Festival Orchestra 2024

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PROGRAM NOTES

Aaron Copland 1900-1990

Aaron Copland was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 14, 1900.

An American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Composers".

He completed over a hundred significant works including song cycles, choral works, chamber music, works for solo piano, and large orchestral works: notably six Ballets, two Operas, three Symphonies, multiple concerti, film scores, Fanfares, Sketches and Variations.

Copland first learned to play the piano from his older sister then at the age of sixteen he went to Manhattan to study. It was during his early years he immersed himself in contemporary classical music. While studying in Europe, Russian/American conductor Serge Koussevitsky commissioned Copland to write a piece for the Boston Symphony. The resulting Symphony for Organ and Orchestra was Copland’s entry into the life of professional American music.

Copland felt strongly that by incorporating popular forms of American music such as jazz and folk into his compositions, his pieces would be both exceptional and innovative.

Copland began to compose for the movies and ballet from a desire to reach a wider audience. Among his popular film scores were Of Mice and

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Aaron Copland, c. 1970

Men, Our Town and The Heiress, which won him an Academy Award.

His most notable ballets, included Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo and Martha Graham‘s Appalachian Spring, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize.

Through his remaining decades, Copland continued to compose and conduct, and write about his and other contemporary American composers works. He even traveled the world to elevate the status of American music abroad.

Aaron Copland died on December 2, 1990 in North Tarrytown, New York and is considered one of the most important figures in twentiethcentury American music.

Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo Aaron Copland's ballet Rodeo is a celebration of the American West and reflects an important image we as Americans have of ourselves. The commission was from the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, with music by Copland and choreography by Agnes de Mille. The ballet was precedent setting – there were said to be 22 curtain calls at its premiere at the

AMERICAN SOUNDSCAPES

Metropolitan Opera House on October 16, 1942 – and the success of this ballet insured that dance would thrive as an integral part of American musical theater.

Nick DiBerardino

including the Dover Quartet, Symphony Tacoma, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Sandbox Percussion, the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and Star Trek’s John de Lancie. DiBerardino's works have been performed around the world by the American Composers Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, Aizuri Quartet, Contemporaneous, So Percussion and many others.

DiBerardino is dean of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he continues to serve on the faculty as chair of composition. He holds composition degrees from the University of Oxford, the Yale School of Music, the Curtis Institute of Music and Princeton University.

Double Percussion Concerto

Nick DiBerardino 1989 - Present

Composer Nick DiBerardino is noted for creating “richly textured, multilayered” sound worlds (Minnesota Star Tribune) that tell fantastical tales. He has written music about everything from failed flying machines and particle physics to shadow puppets and tall glasses of beet juice. No matter the inspiration, DiBerardino's music and all his energies as a composer educator and administrator flow from the belief that music can invite people into inclusive communities.

A Rhodes Scholar, DiBerardino has received commissions from many distinguished artists and institutions,

“When someone sees a concerto for percussion, they expect to hear something loud, with virtuosic and exposed percussion parts, but the Double Percussion Concerto is actually very delicate, detailed, and in harmony with the ensemble . . . It’s not just a cool percussion piece, it’s a cool piece with a feature of percussion.”

- arx duo

Antonin Dvořák 1841 - 1904

Antonin Dvořák was born on September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, Bohemia, Austrian Empire. He was the first Bohemian/Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition. He is Artosphere Festival Orchestra 2024

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PROGRAM NOTES

When he died of a heart attack after a short illness in Prague on May 1, 1904, he was mourned as a national hero, and his music has remained popular ever since.

Symphony No. 9, From the New World Antonin Dvořák c. 1882

noted for turning folk material into the language of 19th-century Romantic music. In particular he employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia.

In 1877, on recommendation by Brahms, the publisher Simrock commissioned Dvořák to write some Slavonic Dances for piano duet, aimed at the lucrative domestic market. Dvořák fast became an international celebrity, in some places almost overnight. In Berlin the sheet music sold out in one day.

Dvořák sailed to New York in autumn 1892, and his time in America produced three of his most famous works, the String Quartet No.12, 'American', the Cello Concerto in B minor and the New World Symphony.

Dvořák's most well-known work is his Symphony No.9, “From the New World,” in which he featured and integrated Native American inspired tunes and African American spirituals into this most European of art forms. The last years of his life, Dvořák composed some short orchestral works and wrote his operatic masterpiece, Rusalka.

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Dvořák began his symphony in late 1892 and finished it the following May. The first performance, in New York on December 16, 1893, was a major event, with a public rehearsal and much advance press attention.

Its reception was a major triumph.

Dvořák wrote to a friend in Bohemia that the Symphony “will be fundamentally different from my earlier ones. Anyone with a ‘nose’ for these things will detect the influence of America.”

Sijia Huang Percussion

Sijia Huang, a native of Shenzhen, China, is a percussionist who has made significant strides in her musical career. She recently attained her Master of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music under the esteemed guidance of Robert van Sice.

Huang’s talent has led her to hold a principal percussionist position at New Jersey’s Symphony in C as well as working as a substitute percussionist with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra. Passionate about expanding her musical horizons, Sijia has actively participated in various festivals,

AMERICAN SOUNDSCAPES

including the Aspen Music Festival and School, Brevard Music Center, Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar and Festival Napa Valley.

In 2019, she had the honor of performing as a soloist with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra alongside the Percussion Collective Robert van Sice. In 2023, she embarked on a captivating tour of Spain as a soloist with the Yale Concert Band. Sijia Huang's talents extend beyond performance. She had the privilege of being a speaker at the 2021 TEDx-Shenzhen SeniorHS event, where she shared her insights and expertise. Huang completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of Don Liuzzi, Robert van Sice and Eric Millstein. During her time at Curtis, she was honored with the 2017 Avedis Zildjian Company Honorary Award. Furthermore, she accomplished her Master of Music degree in 2022. Starting in the fall of 2023, she will pursue her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, studying with Svet Stoyanov and Joe Petrasek.

Garrett Arney Percussion

Garrett Arney's richness of sound identifies his sincereness and intellectual curiosity in his performance. His passion for developing the genre of percussion music has inspired many composers

and musicians through creative collaboration and workshops. Arney, as a Co-Founder of the group “arx duo”, has worked with composers including Steven Mackey, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Juri Seo and many more to bring new works to life.

As a past member of Ensemble Connect, Arney performed the Carnegie Hall premiere of Steven Mackey’s “Micro-Concerto”, as well as many other performances throughout New York City. He also served as a teaching artist for schools and community centers throughout the Five Boroughs. In addition, Arney has held guest faculty positions at Peabody Conservatory, Curtis Institute of Music, Michigan State University and Cleveland State University, among others.

Primarily a chamber musician, Arney travels around the country and on multiple continents performing with his duo. They have premiered several works together for percussion duo, as well as many collaborative works other chamber groups and large ensembles. This upcoming season will see the duo premiere their first three concerti with orchestra, as well as reprise their first ever concerto with wind ensemble, in addition to larger collaborative projects.

A native of Michigan, Arney studied at Michigan State University, Peabody Conservatory and the Yale School of Music under the tutelage of Robert van Sice, and is now working full time in Seattle as Co-Artistic Director of his 501(c)3 non profit, Arx Music Association, with a primary mission of creating and presenting new works through his duo.

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Dover Quartet Artosphere Chamber Music Concert May 15 | 7pm Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Bentonville

PROGRAM

Joaquín Turina La oración del torero, Op. 34

Florence Price String Quartet No. 1 in G major

INTERMISSION

Franz Schubert String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 “Death and the Maiden” For more information about Dover Quartet, see page 6.

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Artosphere Festival Orchestra Corrado Rovaris, Music Director

Verdi’s Requiem Tiffany Townsend, Soprano Allyson McHardy, Mezzo-Soprano Matthew Plenk, Tenor Adam Lau, Bass In partnership with Tulsa Opera Chorus, SoNA Singers and University of Arkansas Schola Cantorum Lyndon Meyer, Artosphere Chorus Director

May 18 | 8pm Walton Arts Center’s Baum Walker Hall Artosphere Festival Orchestra 2024

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PROGRAM

Giuseppe Verdi Messa da Requiem I. Requiem and Kyrie (Solo Quartet, Chorus) II. Dies irae

Dies irae (Chorus)

Tuba mirum (Chorus)

Mors stupebit (Bass)

Liber scriptus (Mezzo-Soprano, Chorus)

Quid sum miser (Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor)

Rex tremendae (Solo Quartet, Chorus)

Recordare (Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano)

Ingemisco (Tenor)

Confutatis (Bass, Chorus)

Lacrimosa (Solo Quartet, Chorus) III. Offertorium (Solo Quartet) IV. Sanctus (Double Chorus) V. Agnus Dei (Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Chorus) VI. Lux aeterna (Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Bass) VII. Libera me (Soprano, Chorus)

Performed without intermission

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VERDI’S REQUIEM

Giuseppe Verdi 1813 – 1901

Giuseppe Verdi's works are performed more often today than those of any other opera composer.

Born in the village of Le Roncole, near Parma, on October 10, 1813, he began studying music as a boy in Busseto, a nearby town. He tried to enter the Milan Conservatory in 1832 but was refused admission because he was too old and lacked sufficient formal training. He began taking private music lessons in Milan in 1839.

Verdi's first opera, Oberto Conte di San Bonifacio, was a success at its premiere at La Scala in Milan.

Between 1838 and 1840 Verdi's first wife and their two small children died. The grief-stricken composer then finished a comic opera, Un Giorno di Regno, which was a failure when presented in 1840. However, with the success of his third opera, Nabucco (1842), Verdi became the foremost Italian composer of his time. There followed an intense tenyear creative period (1842-1852) in which he wrote fifteen operas.

Between 1851 and 1871 Verdi produced a remarkable series of masterpieces, including Rigoletto (1851), Il Trovatore (1853), La Traviata (1853), I Vespri Siciliani (1855), Simon Boccanegra (1857, revised 1881), Un Ballo in Maschera (1859), La Forza Del Destino (1862), Don Carlos (1867) and Aida (1871). Verdi wrote a

Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi

by Giovanni Boldini, c. 1886

total of 26 operas. He composed all his operas using Italian librettos (texts) except for the The Sicilian Vespers and Don Carlos which he originally wrote to French librettos.

Verdi gained fame for his mastery of theatrical effect and the stirring melodic quality of his operas. He took several of his plots from the plays of great dramatists such as Victor Hugo, Friedrich Schiller and William Shakespeare. Many of the melodies he wrote are well-known all over the world.

After completing Aida in 1871, illness and old age seemed to have ended his career. During the next sixteen years his only important composition was the acclaimed Messa da Requiem (1874) in memory of the Italian author Alessandro Manzoni. In the mid-1880's through the urging of his friend Arrigo Boito, a noted Italian poet and composer, Verdi returned to composing operas. Boito contributed librettos for Verdi's Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893). Many critics have called Otello Verdi's greatest tragic Artosphere Festival Orchestra 2024

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PROGRAM NOTES

opera. Falstaff, Verdi's second comic opera, ranks as one of the greatest comic operas ever written. Verdi's only works after Falstaff were four beautiful religious compositions for voices called Quattro Pezzi Sacri (1898).

A period of national mourning was declared in Italy following his death on January 27, 1901.

VERDI’S REQUIEM

Portrait of Alessandro Manzoni

by Francesco Hayez, c. 1841

Verdi’s Requiem Verdi was an agnostic his entire adult life. He neither mocked religion nor even strongly disapproved of it, saying “to have faith is good, but not to rely on faith is better.” But Verdi was moved to his very core by the death of the great Italian author Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873).

Verdi had revered Manzoni and considered him national hero. As a tribute to Manzoni, Verdi wrote his Messa da Requiem. It is, as many have observed, the greatest opera that Verdi never wrote.

View of Facade of San Marco

by Giuseppe Bisi, c. 1835

See insert for vocalist bios.

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Verdi’s Requiem premiered in Milan exactly one year after Manzoni’s death, at St. Mark’s church and later at La Scala. It was an enormous success, and Verdi was soon invited to conduct the work all over Europe.

To Verdi, the Requiem was a grand public tribute to a great man, based on a moderately more profound libretto than usual. Despite its purpose, Verdi brought to life the two great and powerful themes of any requiem; fear and hope, for believers and non-believers alike.

Artosphere Festival Orchestra Corrado Rovaris, Music Director

Mozart in the Museum May 22 | 7pm Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Bentonville

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PROGRAM

Serenade No. 6 for Orchestra in D major, K. 239 I. Marcia (maestoso) II. Minuetto III. Rondo (allegretto)

Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466 Featuring Jaeden Izik-Dzurko, Piano I. Allegro II. Romanze III. Rondo, Allegro assai

INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 “Jupiter” I. Allegro vivace II. Andante cantabile III. Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio IV. Molto allegro

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MOZART IN THE MUSEUM

Painting of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Barbara Krafft, c. 1819

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756–1791

Empire, now a city in Austria. Mozart began playing the keyboard by age 3, composed minuets by age 5 and started playing in public by age 6. He was a famous child prodigy playing piano, harpsichord, organ, violin and viola as part of many tours across Europe arranged and led by his father, composer and musician, Leopold Mozart. A prolific composer, Mozart completed more than 600 works that profoundly shaped classical music, including 21 stage and opera works, 15 masses, more than 50 symphonies, 25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos, 27 concert arias, 17 piano sonatas, 26 string quartets and many other pieces. Mozart died in Vienna in 1791 at the young age of 35.

Serenade No. 6 in D major, K.239

Mozart was born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, then capital of the independent Archbishopric of Salzburg, part of the Holy Roman

Mozart’s Serenade No. 6 in D major, K.239 was completed in January, 1776. Still living in Salzburg, he was just turning 20. In his serenade he

Salzburg, Austria

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PROGRAM NOTES

Portrait of Mozart by Dora Stock, c. 1789

sets a solo quartet of strings against a supporting ensemble of strings and timpani. Mozart’s separation of the smaller string group speaks to the Baroque concerto grosso form of composition which could feature as many as four soloists from within a larger ensemble. His music in this piece has a conversational character, and all three movements derive from dances.

Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his Piano Concerto No. 20 in 1785. Which was performed first at the Mehlgrube Casino in Vienna on February 11, 1785, with Mozart personally playing the piano solo.

Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, Jupiter Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 on August 10, 1788. One of a set of three symphonies that Mozart composed in rapid succession during the summer of 1788, No. 39 was completed on June 26, and No.

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40 on July 25. The longest and last symphony that he composed, No. 41 is regarded by many critics as among the greatest symphonies in classical music. The work is nicknamed the Jupiter Symphony, which is credited to the impresario Johann Peter Salomon. It is not known with certainty whether Symphony No. 41 was ever performed during Mozart’s lifetime.

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko Piano

Celebrated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2021 as one of “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30,” pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko is earning a reputation as a promising young artist. Recognized by audiences, conductors, composers and critics alike for the exceptional communicative power and thoughtfulness of his interpretations, “…he projects a distinctive musical personality that imbues even the most routine passagework with character and individuality” (Calgary Herald).

Izik-Dzurko has performed alongside the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, the Kamloops Symphony, the Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya, the

MOZART IN THE MUSEUM

Lions Gate Sinfonia, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, the Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE and the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla. His playing has been broadcast on CBC Radio’s In Concert, WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase and APM’s Performance Today.

An experienced recitalist, Izik-Dzurko has appeared in such venues as Wigmore Hall in London, Salle Cortot in Paris, and the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid. His October 2022 debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall drew a rave review from New York Concert Review: “… one of the most refined tonal palettes I have ever heard, combined with a polished close-to-the-keys technique, and a certain basic humility in the service of the music.”

Izik-Dzurko is a First Prize winner at the 2022 Hilton Head International Piano Competition and the 2022 Maria Canals International Music Competition. Most recently, he was

awarded the First Prize, the Canon Audience Prize, and the Chamber Music Award at the 20th Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition. He is also a Grand Prize winner at the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals’ National Competition a winner of Juilliard’s Gina Bachauer Scholarship Competition and a Second Prize and J.S. Bach Prize winner at the OSM Competition. IzikDzurko is the recipient of a 2024 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship.

Born in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Izik-Dzurko earned his Bachelor of Music degree at The Juilliard School under Yoheved Kaplinsky and his Master of Music degree at the University of British Columbia with Corey Hamm. He is also a former student of Ian Parker.

He currently studies with Jacob Leuschner at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and Benedetto Lupo at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko

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2024 Artosphere Festival Orchestra EVENTS AT-A-GLANCE

Dover Quartet

MAY 11 | 7pm | St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Fayetteville | Tickets: $15 Hailed by The New Yorker as “one of the world’s finest young string quartets,” the Dover Quartet once again returns to bring their unmistakable sound to Northwest Arkansas.

American Soundscapes MAY 14 | 7pm | Walton Arts Center | Tickets: $10 Performing Aaron Copland’s Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo, Nick DiBerardino’s Percussion Concerto featuring percussionists from arx duo and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 From the New World.

Dover Quartet MAY 15 | 7pm |

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art | Tickets: $29

Verdi’s Requiem MAY 18 | 8pm | Walton Arts Center | Tickets: $15-50 Performing Giuseppe Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, the orchestra will be joined by regional choruses and feature soprano Tiffany Townsend, mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, tenor Matthew Plenk and bass Adam Lau.

Live from Crystal Bridges: Mozart in the Museum MAY 22 | 7pm | Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art | Tickets: $54 Performing Mozart’s Serenade No. 6 for Orchestra in D major, Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor featuring Jaeden Izik-Dzurko and Symphony No. 41 in C major (Jupiter).

For tickets and information, visit artospherefestival.org