Robert Blocker, Dean
celebrating the life & career of Aldo Parisot, 1918–2018
The Yale Cellos Ole Akahoshi, director
April 17, 2019 | 7:30 p.m. Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall
Tribute from the YSM Alumni Association of Korea
the yale cellos
Julius Klengel 1859–1933
Hymnus in G major for twelve cellos, Op. 57
Antonio Vivaldi 1678–1741 arr. Laszlo Varga
Concerto Grosso for four cellos in D minor, Op. 3, No. 11, RV 565 I. Allegro II. Largo III. Allegro
Guilherme Nardelli Monegatto, principal
Bobae Lee Sein Lee Ha Eun Song Megan Yip
Anita Balázs Valentina Crnjak Harry Doernberg Yun Han Youkyung Josephina Kim
Dave Brubeck 1920–2012 arr. Matthew Brubeck
Bobae Lee Sein Lee
Concordia for four cellos (2008) Youkyung Josephina Kim Ha Eun Song Samuel Walter Harry Doernberg
Ha Eun Song Samuel Walter Megan Yip Ssu-Yang Sophie Yu
Claudio Monteverdi 1567–1643
Madrigals for five cellos “Ditelo voi” (Book 6, No. 5) “Lasciatemi morire” (Book 6, No. 1) “Sì, ch’io vorrei morire” (Book 4, No. 15) Guilherme Nardelli Monegatto Yun Han Anita Balázs Ssu-Yang Sophie Yu Valentina Crnjak
Manuel de Falla 1876–1946 arr. Claude Kenneson
Suite Populaire Espagnole (1915) El paño moruno Asturiana Jota Nana (Berceuse) Canción (Chanson) Polo Anita Balázs, solo Youkyung Josephina Kim, solo Sein Lee, solo Valentina Crnjak, solo Samuel Walter, solo Bobae Lee, solo
intermission
please note As a courtesy to the performers and audience members, turn off all mobile devices. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is not permitted. Cover painting by Aldo Parisot.
Tomaso Albinoni 1671–1751 arr. Mark Tanner
Adagio in G minor completed by Remo Giazotto in 1958 Guilherme Nardelli Monegatto, solo
Richard Wagner 1813–1883 arr. Friedrich Grützmacher
“Feierliches Stück” from Lohengrin, WWV 75 for four cellos
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685–1750 arr. Claude Kenneson
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 I. Allegro II. Adagio III. Allegro
Astor Piazzolla 1921–1992 arr. Alexander Lee
Libertango (1974)
Ha Eun Song Youkyung Josephina Kim Samuel Walter Harry Doernberg
program notes by Susan Hawkshaw (unless otherwise indicated)
julius klengel Hymnus
antonio vivaldi Concerto in D minor
dave brubeck Concordia
Many musicians believe that the sound of the cello is closest to the voice. This comes to mind when hearing Hymnus for twelve cellos (1920), first performed at the funeral of conductor Artur Nikisch in 1922. A Romantic work with a sweeping melody, it is a work of great lyricism that takes full advantage of the brightness and resonance of tonal harmony possible with a cello ensemble.
Antonio Vivaldi was at the forefront of the development of the new concerto style in Italy in the first half of the eighteenth century. Vivaldi’s L’estro armonico (which might be translated as “harmonic inspiration or fantasy”), dedicated to Grand Prince Ferdinando of Tuscany, was published in 1711 by Etienne Roger in Amsterdam and consisted of twelve concerti. The concerto style was very popular in the north of Europe as well as in Italy; none other than J.S. Bach transcribed several Vivaldi concerti.
Concordia originally appeared in Dave Brubeck’s liturgical work Canticles for Mary. He was inspired by plainchant melodies and used them throughout Canticles for Mary. However, the Concordia melody is largely Dave’s invention. It shares a modal character found in Christian and pre-Christian music. Dave was already using the Concordia melody as the foundation for a jazz tune for his quartet, so it was not difficult to conceptualize the direction the piece should take for the recording that appears on Yo-Yo Ma’s Songs of Joy and Peace album.
Julius Klengel was an early practitioner of cello ensemble in a tradition that includes David Popper and Heitor Villa-Lobos. Conducting for cello ensemble was also a hallmark of renowned cellist Aldo Parisot, founding conductor of the Yale Cellos. Klengel was a German cellist known today as a teacher although he composed many cello works, including four concerti and several works for small numbers of celli. He joined the Gewandhaus orchestra in Leipzig at fifteen and did considerable touring in Russia. Among his pupils were Emanuel Feuermann and Gregor Piatigorsky. Also a fine pianist, Klengel was well versed in chamber music and could accompany his students from memory.
We hear tonight an arrangement for four cellos made from what was originally a concerto grosso — a concerto with a small group of soloists, having perhaps twelve to fifteen players. (The soloists for the original concerto were two violins and a cello.) The sound of four cellos is so resonant that one still enjoys a rich texture. But the arrangement for four cellos has a warmth and depth different from the original because of the unique color of the cellos throughout the pitch register.
The structure of Concordia is a theme and variations, although with a jazz sensibility. A strong two-against-three polyrhythm is an important characteristic of the piece. There are significant differences between this arrangement for four cellos and the version recorded with Yo-Yo Ma. I have replaced the sections where Dave and I had improvised in the Yo-Yo Ma recording with notated “improvisations” for the four cellists. In other words, the variations are purposely written to sound somewhat like improvisation, rather than This concerto begins with a dramatic a carefully realized composition. The opening, with rising arpeggios, that cellists are encouraged to play these grounds us firmly in the dark key of sections with a sort of jazzy abandon, D minor. Then, after a transition in in order that the piece maintain its a slower tempo, we move into a fugue. improvisational character. The second movement, with its long, The arrangement also contains a few melodic thread, works well with unusual cello techniques that I have cellos, and the third movement is experimented with over the years. dominated by the soloists in the original and also transfers nicely to For example, Cellos Three and Four are asked to strum in a manner that an ensemble of four cellos. resembles the guitar. In one pizzicato
program notes
solo passage, Cello Three arpeggiates a chord in a way that resembles both harp and flamenco guitar techniques. There is also an extended section that requires the cellists to tap specific parts of their cellos with various rhythms in order to add a percussive element. (The Yo-Yo Ma recording included a percussionist.) – Matthew Brubeck
Claudio Monteverdi Madrigals for five cellos Monteverdi is well known today for early opera, notably Orfeo (1607). But he also wrote sacred music and nine books of madrigals — a vocal form that developed in Italy. In the madrigals he indulged in adventurous writing in the service of the text, including an unorthodox treatment of dissonance. He was criticized by conservative theorist G. M. Artusi, for “new rules, new modes, and new turns of phrase,” and music “harsh to the ear, rather offending than delighting it.” In “Si, chi’io vorrei morire” (“Yes, I would like to die”) from Book Four (1603), noteworthy for its dissonant suspensions, a lover expresses his ecstasy in the beauties of his beloved. “Lasciatemi morire” (“Let me die”), a chromatic madrigal from Book Six (1614), is a version of the remaining fragment of Monteverdi’s opera L’Arianna. Arianna laments Theseus’ departure for Athens without her. “Ditelo voi” (“Say it, you (rivers and lonely fields)”, also from Book Six, with sighing, descending lines at the close, is a lament by Glaucus (a figure in Greek mythology) on his beloved’s death.
Manuel de Falla Suite Populaire Espagnole
Sonate a tre, Op. 1, in four of his keyboard fugues.
Manuel de Falla was a pivotal figure The Adagio in G minor was an inin twentieth century Spanish music complete movement from an Albinoni — a major composer who attempted Sonata a tre; ensemble sonatas of this to create a Spanish twentieth-century time were played by the aristocracy idiom by incorporating folk melodies and often consisted of four moveinto his music, and who influenced ments of alternating slow and fast other Spanish composers on the tempi. The movement was discovered program tonight. He lived in Paris and completed by Italian musicologist for seven years, where he met comRemo Giazotto. The form is A-B-A, posers such as Ravel, Stravinsky, with the A section, which returns Dukas, and Debussy, and was insomewhat altered, presenting a long fluenced by developments in French series of melodic statements traded music. Shortly after he returned to from one section to another. The Spain at the outbreak of World War middle section has solo writing in I, the Siete canciones populares españolas, the manner of a cadenza. which had been completed in Paris, were performed. They are very popular Spanish solo songs and have been Richard Wagner transcribed for various combinations “Feierliches Stück” of instruments. Falla did not cite Spanish folk material directly, but Wagner’s opera Lohengrin (1850) is elaborated upon the original melodies the story of Lohengrin (the knight of and added new accompaniments. the Holy Grail and the son of Parsifal), who is sent to defend Elsa of Brabant. He fights on her behalf and marries Tomaso Albinoni her, on the condition that she is never Adagio in G minor to ask his name. But she cannot resist, and so loses him forever. This excerpt Venetian Tomaso Albinoni was one is from Act II, Scene Four, where Elsa of the great composers of concerti is in the procession to the cathedral from the Italian school around 1700 where she is to be married. The origthat included Corelli, Locatelli, inal scene is for chorus and orchestra, Vivaldi, and numerous others. He with colorful winds and the chorus was an extraordinarily prolific com- gradually coming to the fore. The poser, also writing vocal music, inchorus sings: “May she be blessed cluding, it is estimated, some eighty as she proceeds …” The music is operas, as well as nearly fifty cantatas. characterized by a dense and soaring But it is as a writer of instrumental chromatic counterpoint. In this arrmusic that he is remembered today. angement by German cellist Friedrich He influenced other notable comGrützmacher, the counterpoint gives posers, including J.S. Bach, who an individuality to the various cellists, used themes taken from Albinoni’s who have the chance to shine and
program notes by Susan Hawkshaw (unless otherwise indicated)
take turns with the principal melodic writing. You will hear a bit of the famous bridal march toward the end. The melody is heard in its entirety in Act III.
Johann Sebastian Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 The famous “Brandenburg” concerti (1721), a set of six sent to Margrave Chretien Louis at his request, show Bach’s thorough absorption of Italian concerto style. The concerti present a rich and colorful variety of solo instruments and integrate the solo with the tutti sections. In gathering together the set of six, Bach took some material composed earlier, which was, according to scholars, “arranged or rewritten, and then joined by new movements or whole works, so as to complete a set of six variegated pieces planned for a particular purpose, and brought together to explore what can be done with the kind of music in hand, whether concertos, suites, fugues, or anything else.” The Third Concerto is originally scored for three violins, three violas, and three cellos, with double bass and harpsichord, and there is much imitation among the groups of three. The Bach concerti, especially this one, with its famous opening turning figure, influenced Stravinsky when he revived the concerto form in the twentieth century. The second movement is only two chords — just a brief pause in the middle of the flurry of activity and delightful momentum in the surrounding movements.
Astor Piazzolla Libertango The tango was a dance influenced by both African and European traditions that originated in the port district of Buenos Aires at the close of the nineteenth century. It became a sensation world-wide, popularized by the vocal tangos of Carlos Gardel and a tango danced by film legend Rudolf Valentino in the 1921 movie Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Astor Piazzolla was a composer and virtuoso on the bandoneón (concertina), an instrument used in tango ensembles. Piazzolla studied in Paris with famed pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, who encouraged him to create a new style using tango in the context of a more modern musical language including contemporary classical and jazz harmonies. The Libertango was published in 1974. Its title comes from the Spanish “libertad” (liberty) joined together with “tango.” This is a reference to Piazzolla’s new style with classical and jazz elements, the nuevo tango. A recurring syncopated rhythm is set against a long sustained descending melody. Other versions of the piece with lyrics exist, and the music has also been used in movies.
Susan Hawkshaw, a contemporary music specialist who holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University, is on the faculty at the University of New Haven and Albertus Magnus College. She also worked at Yale Oral History of American Music, where she interviewed and wrote about Jack Beeson, Sheldon Harnick, Carlisle Floyd, Ezra Laderman, and Aldo Parisot. Her book, Aldo Parisot, The Cellist: The Importance of the Circle, was published by Pendragon Press. She is a published poet with work appearing regularly in the Aurorean and Breakwater. Her recent book about Aldo Parisot has been nominated for an award from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections for excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. Now available for purchase from orders@pendragonpress.com.
about the yale cellos Members of The Yale Cellos belong to a select group of young artists from around the world who were invited by Aldo Parisot to study with him at the Yale School of Music. Formed in 1983, the ensemble earned an international reputation for its successful recordings, richness of sound, virtuosity, and many additions to the cello ensemble literature. In addition to sold-out annual concerts in Sprague Hall at the Yale School of Music, the ensemble has performed at Weill Recital Hall and Zankel Hall in Carnegie Hall and on tour in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The Yale Cellos, under Parisot’s direction, can be heard on the recording Cellists from Yale, issued in Brazil by Phonodisc, and the The Yale Cellos Play Favorites, issued by Delos International. The ensemble’s recording Bach/ Bachianas, also on Delos, received a Grammy nomination in 1988. The Yale Cellos’ most recent recording
for Naxos, Cello, Celli!, was released in November 2005. The group appeared in 1999 and 2001 at the International Cello Festival in Beauvais, France, and at the 2001 Manchester (England) Cello Festival. After the latter appearance, The New York Times described the group as “dazzlingly well-disciplined,” and Ralph Kirshbaum, director of the festival and a one-time student of Parisot’s, said “the sense of color and phrasing you get from The Yale Cellos is fantastic.” The ensemble toured Korea in 2005 to great acclaim and performed at Cellofest (Texas Christian University) and the Dallas Museum of Art in 2007. In 2009, the ensemble presented a gala concert in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in celebration of Aldo Parisot’s 50 years on the Yale faculty. Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times concluded a laudatory review of the performance by saying simply, “What a sound.”
In celebration of
Aldo Parisot For 60 years, cellists from around the “When I heard his beautiful sound, with Emanuel Feuermann, who died world came to the Yale School of Music I showed the desire to play immedi- before Parisot was scheduled to leave to study with Aldo Parisot ’48 ’70MAH, ately,” Parisot told Ralph Kirshbaum Brazil. Parisot’s plans changed, and, a legendary figure in the field by any ’68BA, one of his most well-known with Smith’s help, he secured a scholarstandard and an inimitable presence students. “But before he would give ship to study at the Yale School of in the School’s studios and concert halls. me my first lesson he taught me sol- Music, an offer he accepted on the In June 2018, at 99, Parisot retired from fège for two years. I didn’t play the condition that he would not have to teaching, eliciting reflections from those cello until I was 7.” Parisot credits take any cello lessons. who knew and worked closely with him. Babini — the only cello teacher he ever had — with helping to develop Parisot arrived at Yale in 1946 as a “The presence of Aldo Parisot in the a technique that supported his “special student.” He studied chamber School of Music has been transformative creativity. music and, with composer Paul and transcendent,” YSM Dean Robert Hindemith, music theory. In 1948, Blocker said upon Parisot’s retirement. Parisot made his debut with the he auditioned for the Pittsburgh “His strongly held opinions about artistic Brazilian Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Orchestra, with which excellence have led generations of faculty age 12. When he was 18, he became he played professionally for two years. and students to carefully consider their the ensemble’s principal cellist. It But the orchestra life was not for him, points of view about music making, but was in Rio de Janeiro that he came and he longed to have a solo career. with his rigorous intonements came a to the attention of an American In 1950, he gave his debut recital at palpable love for the beauty of music attaché to the Brazilian embassy, Town Hall in New York City, launchand what it means to our lives.” Carleton Sprague Smith. Impressed ing an international career that prowith Parisot’s virtuosity, Smith offered duced recordings for RCA Victor, Parisot began cello studies in his to help him study abroad. Parisot Angel, Westminster, and Phonodisc. native Brazil, where he learned from was eager to study at the Curtis As a performer, Parisot was renowned his stepfather, cellist Tomazzo Babini. Institute of Music in Philadelphia for his beautiful sound and astonishing technique. He performed on
Far left: Parisot conducting the Yale Cellos; above: Parisot carrying the YSM mace; Parisot introducing Mstislav Rostropovich before a master class he gave at YSM.
stages throughout the world, both as a recitalist and as a soloist with major orchestras under the batons of such eminent conductors as Stokowski, Barbirolli, Bernstein, Mehta, Monteux, and others.
founded the Yale Cellos, an ensemble that has earned international acclaim for its rich sound, stunning virtuosity, beloved recordings, and numerous additions to the cello ensemble literature. In 1988, Parisot closed out a remarkable performing career and Parisot was driven to expand the dedicated himself fully to teaching. cello repertoire, premiering numerous He was named the Samuel Sanford works for the instrument. Reacting Professor of Music at Yale in 1994, to his 1966 premiere of Donald and, in 2002, received the Gustave Martino’s Parisonatina al’Dodecafonia, Stoeckel Award, the Yale School of composed for and dedicated to him, Music’s most prestigious honor. The Boston Globe declared, “There is probably no cellist that can equal Throughout his career, Parisot viewed Parisot’s dazzling achievement.” his students as family. “I have a great, The New York Times weighed in, great joy in teaching these people,” saying, “Those at this performance he said in 2017. “Those are my are not going to forget [Parisot’s] children... I see in them me, when feat overnight.” (I) was young, and I want to see them succeed. I am very severe, Parisot is one of the rare musicians because I care about them. I tell my who loved teaching as much as he students, ‘Your future depends on loved playing. In 1958, he joined the you. You’ve got to believe in yourfaculty at the Yale School of Music. self. You can do it. But only you can Along the way, in 1983, Parisot do it. I can only help you.’”
Parisot did not want his students to imitate him as a player; instead he encouraged them to be themselves. “He told me that the highest aspiration of any teacher is to bring out each student’s individual character,” cellist Eric Adamshick ’17MM ’18MMA said. Discovering each student’s unique voice often meant finding new ways of approaching a piece of music. As Parisot said to Kirshbaum in an interview with The Strad, “I learn from my own students. Every day they surprise me. They come and do something, and I think, ‘Why didn’t I do that before? I never thought about that.’” Parisot was known as a generous, passionate, forthright, and rigorous mentor. In addition to Kirshbaum, his students included Jian Wang ’88CERT, Roman Jablonsky ’74MM, Shauna Rolston ’91BA ’93MM, and Carter Brey ’79. Parisot called his students’ successes “an incredible pleasure.” He took a great interest
The Yale Quartet including (from left) Broadus Erle, violin, Syoko Aki ’69mm, violin, Aldo Parisot ’48 ’70mah, cello, and David Schwartz, viola; student Martine Bailly ’77mm receiving instruction from Parisot. Photos from the Yale School of Music archives.
in them as individuals and encouraged them to develop their own personalities, onstage and off. “I try to make students believe in themselves,” he said, “and that includes without the cello.” Parisot’s creativity was not been limited to the performing arts. He produced a significant number of paintings and described his process as “painting by ear.” His visual artwork exudes his love of color and texture and in that way is reminiscent of his cello playing. Many of his works have been exhibited in concert halls and galleries around the world. He gave away many of his paintings, selling them at Yale Cellos concerts and other special events, donating the proceeds to a travel fund that he founded for YSM students. Jenny Kwak ’17MM ’18MMA was nervous during her first lesson with Parisot. “All I could listen for were
my technical mistakes,” Kwak said. “I wasn’t making any music. He stopped me and asked, ‘What are you so scared of? Do you believe in yourself?’ Surprised to hear the unexpected questions, I couldn’t answer him. He told me, ‘The most important thing is to believe in yourself.’ He showed me his paintings around the studio, and said, ‘When I created these paintings, they weren’t planned at all. I was inspired, and that’s what helped me to paint.’” The lesson learned, Kwak said, is that playing the cello is not about proving anything to the world or even to herself. It is about making something from inspiration.
are immeasurable and will inform the practice of countless cellists in generations to come. “He helped me foster and strengthen my own artistic voice,” Adamshick said. “His repeated stress on the idea of individuality and unique expression helped me discover a whole new level of self-awareness and self-confidence.” “There are many people who imitate their teacher,” Parisot said. “I hate the idea that there’s someone in the world who sounds like a little Aldo Parisot. You’ve got to be yourself. We’ve all got to find our own way.”
János Starker, Parisot’s friend of many This article originally appeared in the years and a distinguished cello teacher Fall 2018/Winter 2019 issue of Music at Indiana University, once described at Yale. Parisot as “the best cello teacher I have met in my life.” Parisot’s contributions to the field
yale school of music Robert Blocker, Dean Box Office 203 432-4158 concerts@yale.edu concert programs & box office Krista Johnson Manager of Concert Programs Kate Gonzales Concert Office Coordinator
operations Tara Deming Manager Christopher Melillo Assistant Manager
communications Katie Kelley Interim Director of Communications
Robert Crowson Brian Daley William Harold Piano Curators
David Brensilver Communications Officer
Matthew LeFevre Recording Engineer
Travis Wurges Video Producer
special thanks Vincent Oneppo
Aldo Parisot 1918-2018
Robert Blocker, Dean