yale philharmonia Peter Oundjian, Principal Conductor
Carolyn Kuan guest conductor
Friday, April 5, 2019 | 7:30 pm Woolsey Hall
Robert Blocker, Dean
Program Igor Stravinsky 1882–1971
Symphony in Three Movements (1945) I. Overture. Allegro II. Andante III. Con moto
intermission
Aaron Copland 1900–1990
Fanfare for the Common Man (1942)
Arild Plau 1920–2005
Concerto for Tuba and Strings (1990) I. Prologue II. Canzone III. Finale Jake Fewx, tuba
Copland
Suite from Appalachian Spring (1945)
As a courtesy to others, please silence all devices. Photography and recording of any kind is strictly prohibited. Please do not leave the hall during musical selections. Thank you.
Artist Profiles Carolyn Kuan, conductor
Jake Fewx, tuba
Recognized as a conductor of extraordinary versatility, Carolyn Kuan has enjoyed successful associations with top tier orchestras, opera and ballet companies, and festivals worldwide. Her commitment to contemporary music has defined her approach to programming and established her as an international resource for new music. Appointed Music Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in 2011, she has signed a six-year contract extending their creative collaboration through May 2022.
Jake Fewx is an up-and-coming tubist hailing from Sherwood, Oregon. Currently pursuing a Master of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music, Fewx previously earned a Master of Music degree from Yale and a Bachelor of Music degree in Tuba Performance magna cum laude from the University of Oregon, where he was selected as the most outstanding performer of his class.
Ms. Kuan’s North American engagements have included performances with the symphonies of Baltimore, Detroit, Milwaukee, Omaha, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto. Recent international engagements have included concerts with the Bournemouth Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony of Taiwan, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Residentie Orkest, Orquesta Sinfonica de Yucatan, Royal Danish Ballet, and the West Australian Symphony. Highlights of the 2018-2019 season include debuts with the Singapore Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, and the Portland Opera. The recipient of numerous awards, Ms. Kuan holds the distinction of being the first woman to be awarded the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship in 2003, resulting in her residency at the 2004 Salzburg Festival. She graduated cum laude from Smith College, and received a Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois and a Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory.
Fewx has performed throughout the country, including concerts in venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He has collaborated with renowned groups such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and the Eugene Symphony Orchestra. Fewx is the newest member of the New York-based sextet The Brass Project, an emerging chamber group specializing in premiering new brass music and engaging the community through outreach and educational programs. An accomplished soloist, Fewx has earned awards and high praise at state-wide, regional, and international levels. Fewx was awarded First Prize in the prestigious Leonard Falcone International Tuba Artist Solo Competition, Second Prize in the 2017 Northeast Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference solo competition, and First Prize in the 2015 Northwest Regional TubaEuphonium Conference solo competition. Fewx’s major teachers include Carol Jantsch, Michael Grose, and Játik Clark.
Program Notes Symphony in Three Movements stravinsky Patrick Jankowski Stravinsky was unlikely to approach a traditional symphonic form without some degree of tongue-in-cheek humor and experimentation: this compact yet evocative work seems always on the cusp of bursting through its own restraints. The sonorous and rhythmic world of the first movement is almost machine-like, with clusters pitted against jagged pulsations. Syncopated rhythmic figures echo faintly of the jazz aesthetic with which Stravinsky had long experimented. In its middle, the texture clears out significantly, and a playful Mozartian style predominates, revealing by proxy just how much rhythmic vitality lies at the core of “classical” music. The mechanical gears begin to grind once again, and the movement ends almost as it began, though imparted with an air of hesitation and, eventually, relaxation. The graceful Andante ambles lightly, as wind solos float elegantly atop the tick-tock of the accompaniment. Energetic bursts of flourishing arpeggiations and trills are playful and restless across Stravinsky’s brilliant chamber-like orchestration, as solo strings share gestures with the harp and oboe, transporting us momentarily into a blurred sound world. The angular, rhythmic geometry of the opening movement returns for the finale in bright colors reflected off of brilliant fanfares. In a surprising pivot, Stravinsky dissolves the whole orchestra away, leaving a cautious exchange between solo piano
and trombone. A polyphonic passage begins, building in complexity layer by layer, until its lines dissolve (via contrabassoon!) into a stumbling, hurried two-step. Stravinsky leaves us with one of the greatest symphonic chords of the twentieth century: proof of his mastery of orchestral color and harmonic design as clarity emerges from pure chaos.
Fanfare for the Common Man copland Patrick Jankowski This now-ubiquitous fanfare was conceived by Copland for ambitious purposes. Though not explicitly programmatic, the work’s title and dedication refer to then Vice President Henry Wallace’s populist declaration that the nation was living in a “century of the common man,” and that their contributions to American prosperity should be celebrated and uplifted. America in the first half the twentieth century was a land of tension and optimism, in which decades of immigration and gradual desegregation culminated in a dichotomic legacy of traditionalist protectionism and progressive openness. In turn, one marvels at Copland’s juxtaposition of sonorous, open-spaced harmonies against thunderous drums and timbral discord. These tensions between past and future, shaded by hope and despair, seem an integral part of the American story. It is no wonder that this fanfare has become one of our most highly cherished musical statements.
Concerto for Tuba and Strings plau Patrick Jankowski
orchestra. The concerto acknowledges that strangeness while transcending it.
Arild Plau opens his concerto in a highly unexpected way with a pastoral prologue. Over gently swaying chords, the tuba cascades rhapsodically down long arcs. The delicate quality of this music appropriately disrupts any preconceptions we might have about the solo instrument. The prologue is quickly followed by an active, scherzolike section with an asymmetrical rhythmic lilt and a touch of mischief, though sprinkled with placid moments that recall the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams (composer of perhaps the best-known Bass Tuba concerto in the repertoire). Plau invents smaller chamber configurations within the string orchestra, and a solo violin converses with the tuba in a few charming dialogues. The gentle undulation of the opening movement returns in the central Canzone, though now imparted with a melancholic tone. At the return of the pastoral opening atop sighing strings, a touch of angst bubbles up, yet the soloist seems somehow a bit more free, released from the grip of the mournful melodic arc. A surprisingly playful conclusion may have something to do with the movement’s dedication to Plau’s wife, who had recently passed away at the time of the work’s composition. Herein may lie an intimate portrait of grief and love that we can never fully see. The flippant finale straddles the line between Iberian dance music, Burlesque, and at times a faint nod to Baroque counterpoint: the kind of half-smiling self-aware juxtaposition that Igor Stravinsky might have embraced. Few pairings seem more absurd on paper than tuba with string
Appalachian Spring Copland Christopher Cerrone, ed. Aaron Levin Appalachian Spring was composed during Copland’s neoclassical period. Highly influenced by Stravinsky, the Brooklyn native descended upon Manhattan in the 1920’s as a composer of highly dissonant, jazzinspired works. Conductor Walter Damrosch famously referenced Copland’s 1925 Organ Symphony in stating that, “if a young man can write a symphony like that, in five years he will be ready to commit murder.” As Copland grew older, he became more interested in left-wing politics, and developed a greater interest in communicating with the general public. The composer decided to simplify his musical style, embracing clear, open textures over the brash dissonances of his earlier works. After receiving a ballet commission from the Martha Graham Dance Company, Copland decided to base Appalachian Spring on a Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts.” This melody is subtly explored until its radiant and exuberant final presentation at the close of the work.
Yale Philharmonia Peter Oundjian, principal conductor Violin I Emily Switzer Jessy Kim Gregory Lewis Yejin Min Matthew Woodard Yingtong Liu Maura Shawn Scanlin Jung Eun Kang Max Yiming Mao Yun Jae Choi Dustin Wilkes-Kim Yebeen Seo Violin II Bora Kim Pei Wen Liao Xiaofan Liu Cameron Daly Cheuk Ching Tse Kyungah Oh Jessie Chen Nuri Lim Yejin Yoon James Poe Viola Márta Hortobágyi Lambert Arjun Ganguly Rayna Chou Rubina Lee Abigail Elder Bethany Hargreaves Minkyoung Lee Marlea Simpson
double Bass Samuel Zagnit Eric Timperman Ying-Yin Chia Kelvin Ng Russell Thompson Amy Nickler Flute Jungah Yoon 3 Maria Luisk Lucas Guedes Oliveira 1 Oboe Lauren White 3 Amelia Merriman Leo Ziporyn 1 Shawn Hutchison Clarinet Richard Adger 1 Amy Hur 3 Michael Moy Bassoon Dana Brink 3 Andrew Sledge 1 Ethan Lippert Phillip McNaughton Horn Gabriel Mairson 2 Steven Harmon 3 Nivanthi Karunaratne Stephen Newberry 1 Griffin Botts
trombone William Wortley 2 Danny Alford 1 Lyman McBride 3 bass trombone Jordan Crimminger 2 Daniel Vaitkus 1 tuba Aidan Zimmerman Timpani Arlo Shultis 2 Shiqi Zhong 3 Young Kyoung Lee 1 Percussion Kevin Zetina 1 Russell Fisher 2 Jisu Jung 3 Shiqi Zhong Harp Héloïse Carlean Jones 1 Anna Ellsworth 3 piano Po Wei Ger
Manager Jeffrey M. Mistri Assistant Manager/ Librarian Samuel Bobinski philharmonia office assistant Kristy Tucker Music Librarians Antonia Chandler Brandon Garbot Bora Kim Márta Hortobágyi Lambert Gregory Lewis Alex McLaughlin Leo Ziporyn Stage Crew Héloïse Carlean Jones Cameron Daly Jisu Jung YoungKyoung Lee Gabriel Mairson Lucas Guedes Oliveira Arlo Shultis Andrew Sledge Russel Thompson Daniel Vaitkus Rimbo Wong Aidan Zimmerman Principal on Stravinsky Principal on Copland: Fanfare 3 Principal on Copland: Appalachian Spring 1
2
Cello Megan Yip Yun Han Sophie Yu Valentina Crjnak Anita Balázs Ha Eun Song Samuel Walter Josephina Kim
Trumpet Melissa Muñoz 3 Chloe Swindler 1 Eric Rizzo Kenny Chauby 2 Oscar Mason
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Upcoming Events apr 16 A Far Cry Oneppo Chamber Music Series The chamber orchestra collective presents a program of music by Pärt, Xenakis, John Luther Adams, and Bartók. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $28, students $13 apr 26 Peter Oundjian, principal conductor Yale Philharmonia Reinecke’s Flute Concerto in D major, Op. 283, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor. 7:30 p.m. | Woolsey Hall Tickets start at $12, Yale faculty/ staff $8, students $5 $3 surcharge at the door apr 28 A&A Harpsichord Duo Collection of Musical Instruments A nastasia Antonova and Anna Kiskachi perform Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre, and more. 3 p.m. | Collection of Musical Inst. Tickets $30, Yale staff and seniors and museum associates $25, students $15
may 3-4 The Old Maid and the Thief & Le Rossignol Yale Opera A new double-bill production of Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief and Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol, directed by Dustin Wills, with music direction by Douglas Dickson and Timothy Shaindlin. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $12, Students $5 may 7 Competition Winners Oneppo Chamber Music Series Performances by the winners of the Yale School of Music’s annual Chamber Music Competition. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $12, Students $6 may 8 Robert Blocker, piano Horowitz Piano Series A recital by faculty pianist Robert Blocker, whom the Los Angeles Times has described as a pianist of “great skill and accomplishment.” 7:30 pm | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $15, Students $7
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