Applause March-April

MARCH/APRIL 2012

applause at STRATHMORE • March/April 2012

inside: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Violinist Steinbacher makes long-awaited debut Strathmore Collins, Oliver share power of written words Washington Performing Arts Society Philadelphia Orchestra’s luxurious sound still resonates

In Tune With Kids The National Philharmonic continuously pursues its mission to ignite students’ passion for music

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prelude

on the cover Photo by Michael Ventura

64

Applause at Strathmore / MARCH/APRIL 2012

77

17

22

program notes

features

March 1 24 / Strathmore: Max Raabe und das Palast Orchester

April 7 66 / Strathmore: Video Games Live

12 They’re With the Band

March 2 25 / WPAS: Yefim Bronfman

April 12 68 / Strathmore: Viver Brasil— Feet on the Ground

14 Shaking Off the Rust

April 13 71 / Strathmore: Joshua Bell and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

16 Poetry & Prose

April 14 73 / BSO: Romeo and Juliet

17 Violinist Takes on the King

March 3 28 / BSO: Voices of Light March 9 33 / Strathmore: Spirit of Uganda March 15 36 / Strathmore: Reel Around the Shamrock with Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul March 16 38 / WPAS: Vadim Repin March 17 42 / BSO: Beethoven’s Concerto No. 4 March 18 46 / WPAS: Murray Perahia March 22 50 / BSO: Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 March 23 54 / Strathmore: Ethan Bortnick and His Musical Time Machine March 24 55 / National Philharmonic: All Mozart March 28 60 / Strathmore: Red Star Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble March 30, 31 64 / Strathmore: Patti LaBelle April 5 65 / Strathmore: Kevin Costner and Modern West

April 17 77 / Strathmore: The Music of Bill Monroe with Peter Rowan, Tony Rice and the Travelin’ McCourys April 18 79 / Strathmore: Paco de Lucia April 19 80 / BSO SuperPops: Do You Hear the People Sing?

April 21 83 / Strathmore: Dionne Warwick April 22 84 / Strathmore: Billy Collins and Mary Oliver April 26 86 / BSO: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto April 27 90 / Strathmore: Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra April 28, 29 94 / National Philharmonic: Sarah Chang Plays Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto

2 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

Dallas Brass+Strathmore+120 kids=lots of music

Amateur musicians reconnect with their passions

Poets Billy Collins and Mary Oliver revel in written word

Arabella Steinbacher and Beethoven’s Violin Concerto

18 Musician Profile Violinist Julie Parcells and bassist Robert Barney take to trails

20 A Youthful Mission National Philharmonic nurtures students’ love of arts

22 The Philadelphia Story Masterful orchestra weathers tough times

departments 6 Musings of Strathmore CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl 6 A Note from BSO Music Director Marin Alsop 8 Calendar: May and June performances 112 Encore: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Vice President of Artistic

Operations Matthew Spivey

musician rosters

31 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 58 National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale

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partners ● Strathmore

Under the leadership of CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl and President Monica Jeffries Hazangeles, Strathmore welcomes thousands of artists and guests to the Music Center, Mansion and 11-acre campus. As well as presenting performing artists and fine art, Strathmore commissions and creates new works of art and music, including productions Free to Sing and Take Joy. Education plays a key role in Strathmore’s programming, with classes and workshops in music and visual arts for all ages throughout the year. From presenting world-class performances by major artists, to supporting local artists, Strathmore nurtures arts, artists and community through creative and diverse programming of the highest quality. Visit www.strathmore.org.

● Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

● National Philharmonic

Led by Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski, the National Philharmonic is known for performances that are “powerful” and “thrilling.” The organization showcases world-renowned guest artists in symphonic masterpieces conducted by Maestro Gajewski, and monumental choral masterworks under Chorale Artistic Director Stan Engebretson, who “uncovers depth...structural coherence and visionary scope” (The Washington Post). The Philharmonic’s long-standing tradition of reasonably priced tickets and free admission to all young people age 7-17 assures its place as an accessible and enriching part of life in Montgomery County and the greater Washington area. The National Philharmonic also offers exceptional education programs for people of all ages. For more information, visit www.nationalphilharmonic.org.

● Washington Performing Arts Society

For more than four decades, the Washington Performing Arts Society has created profound opportunities for connecting the community to artists through both education and performance.

Through live events in venues across the D.C. metropolitan area, the careers of emerging artists are guided, and established artists who have close relationships with local audiences are invited to return. WPAS is one of the leading presenters in the nation. Set in the nation’s capital and reflecting a population that hails from around the globe, the company presents the highest caliber artists in classical music, jazz, gospel, contemporary dance and world music. For more information, visit www.WPAS.org.

● CityDance Ensemble

CityDance Ensemble, Inc. is home to CityDance Ensemble, a professional contemporary dance company that performs locally and around the world; CityDance Center at Strathmore, a dance school for youth and adults with a pre-professional training program for teens; CityDance Early Arts, an outreach program that provides free dance classes and performances to children in underserved neighborhoods; and CityDance FilmWORKS, a creator of original dance-on-camera productions. Learn more at www.citydance.net.

● Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras

Great music, artistry, plus the passion and exuberance of youth come together in one exceptional program—MCYO, the resident youth orchestra at the Music Center. Established in 1946, MCYO is the region’s premier orchestral training program, seating over 400 students in grades 4-12 in one of five quality orchestras. Concerts, chamber music, master classes and more. Discover MCYO. Hear the difference. Visit www.mcyo.org.

● Levine School of Music

Levine School of Music, the Washington D.C. region’s preeminent community music school, provides a welcoming environment where children and adults find lifelong inspiration and joy through learning, performing and experiencing music. Our distinguished faculty serve more than 3,500 students of all stages and abilities at four campuses in Northwest and Southeast D.C., Strathmore Music Center and in Arlington, Va. Learn more at www.levineschool.org.

● interPLAY

interPLAY company provides adults with cognitive differences with year-round rehearsals and concert experiences performing with traditional musicians. This activity results in a new personal language for those who have no musical education, and enlightened perspectives in the community about who can play serious music. interPLAY is always open for new players, musicians and mentors. Please contact Artistic Director Paula Moore at 301-229-0829.

4 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

Applause at Strathmore Publisher CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl Music Center at Strathmore Founding Partners Strathmore Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Resident Artistic Partners National Philharmonic Washington Performing Arts Society Levine School of Music Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras CityDance Ensemble interPLAY Published by

Editor and Publisher Steve Hull Associate Publisher Susan Hull Senior Editor Cindy Murphy-Tofig Design Director Maire McArdle Art Director Karen Sulmonetti Advertising Director Sherri Greeves Advertising Account Executives Valerie Portney, Penny Skarupa, LuAnne Spurrell 7768 Woodmont Ave. Suite 204 Bethesda, MD 20814 301-718-7787 Fax: 301-718-1875 Volume 8, Number 4 Applause is published five times a year by the Music Center at Strathmore and Kohanza Media Ventures, LLC, publisher of Bethesda Magazine. Copyright 2010 Kohanza Media Ventures. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited.

strathmore photo by jim morris

The Grammy Award-winning Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is internationally recognized as having achieved a preeminent place among the world’s most important orchestras. Under the inspired leadership of Music Director Marin Alsop, some of the world’s most renowned musicians have performed with the BSO. Continuing the orchestra’s 95-year history of high-quality education programs for music-lovers of all ages, the BSO presents mid-week education concerts, free lecture series and master classes. Since 2006, the BSO has offered Montgomery County grade schools BSO on the Go, an outreach initiative that brings small groups of BSO musicians into local schools for interactive music education workshops. For more information, visit BSOmusic.org.

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musings from Strathmore How do you describe to strangers what goes on at Strathmore in one breath? While many presenters work hard to become known for one thing, Strathmore works doubly hard to be known as a place that provides something for everyone. We know our millions of supporters are smart, discriminating consumers of arts and of thought-provoking experiences. We know if we put a banquet of quality creative products and experiences before you, you’ll find something that fits your specific interest, tastes and dreams.

In March and April you can attend our Arts and the Brain lecture series. Come up to the Mansion and view unique canine-inspired art in Strathmore Unleashed!, including a display of one-of-a-kind doghouses. Thrill to the musical genius of Joshua Bell and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, or clap along with the Red Star Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble. See the Music Center Concert Hall transformed into a dazzling techno-display for Video Games Live! Dine and dance the night away during the social event of the year at the 2012 Strathmore Gala Wishin’ and Hopin’ starring the remarkable Dionne Warwick and an after-party with Big Ray and the Kool Kats.

Add to all that the acoustically pristine performances of flamenco guitar master Paco de Lucia; an homage to Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass; phenomenal 11-year-old pianist Ethan Bortnick; the mesmerizing Spirit of Uganda; a St. Patrick’s Day celebration with Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul; and jazz seminars on singing and “How to Talk to the Band” by local jazz sensation Lena Seikaly. It’s all at Strathmore in March and April.

We delight in our wide diversity of audiences, acts and disciplines. We promise we’ll never be a one-note kind of place.

Eliot Pfanstiehl CEO | Strathmore

from the BSO

Dear Friends, I can’t exactly pinpoint the first time American composer Jennifer Higdon and I met. It seems we have always known each other and worked together. I first conducted her music at the Cabrillo Music Festival in Santa Cruz, Calif., where I have served as music director for 19 years, and on March 22 the BSO will bring her Grammy award-winning Percussion Concerto to Strathmore. This piece was written specifically for Scottish percussionist Colin Currie, who will be running between about 20 different instruments when he performs the concerto with the BSO. In keeping with our season theme of revolutionary women, this program will include another prominent female composer of our time, Joan Tower, whose Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman will be paired with its original inspiration, Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland.

I will be conducting in Brazil in April, but I hope you’ll join Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly in one of the most exciting pops concerts of the season. Do You Hear the People Sing? (April 19) honors two historic figures in musical theater, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, and features popular songs from such unforgettable treasures as Les Misérables and Miss Saigon.

A little further on the horizon, I will join André Watts in a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto on the evening of May 12. A graduate of the Peabody Institute and a former artist-in-residence at the University of Maryland, Watts is a frequent guest of ours and never fails to astound us with his seemingly effortless musical eloquence.

Lastly, we have just announced the BSO’s 2012-2013 season. We’ll be exploring the music of film, with works such as Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky and Charlie Chaplin’s original score to Modern Times. We’ll also be showcasing the talents of classical music all-stars Gil Shaham, Garrick Ohlsson and Midori. Next season will be truly thrilling for musicians and audience members alike!

Marin Alsop

Music Director | Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 6 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

ELiot Pfanstiehl photo by michael ventura; Marin alsop photo by grant leighton

a note

Tuesday, May 1, 2012 6:30 pm A DECADE OF ROUND HOUSE IN BE THESDA Join us at our Annual Gala for a festive evening of food and wine, lively silent auction, and a performance by veteran Round House artists of our favorite scenes from the last 10 years.

Tickets start at $175. Sponsorships available.

Or purchase a raffle ticket to win one of two professionally-curated wine cellars worth over $1,000. (You do not need to be present to win.)

For information, call (240) 644-1403 or visit www.roundhousetheatre.org/support-us/gala Funds raised support Round House’s exceptional education and outreach programs.

e m o h t a d e n e p p a h y What reall ? y a w a s a w s u e while Odyss Crown of Shadows: the wake of odysseus

By Jason Gray Platt, Directed by Blake Robison

April 11 – May 6 The world premiere of a chilling, modern take on The Odyssey Recommended for age 17 & up, brief nudity & adult content Bethesda

Tickets: 240.644.1100 or ROUNDHOUSETHEATRE.ORG

u FRI., MAY 11, 8 P.M. u THURS., MAY 3, 8 P.M. 120 student musicians performing with Washington Performing Arts Society Strathmore and DCJCC present the ensemble during its concert at The Philadelphia Orchestra Abraham Inc. Strathmore—a powerhouse finish to this Charles Dutoit, conductor Creating and performing a masterly inspiring program!

James Ehnes, violin mash-up of klezmer, funk and hip-hop, u SAT., MAY 26, 8 P.M. Abraham Inc. is “connected with someDebussy: thing deep, mysterious, and timeless…

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Prelude to The Beethoven’s Ninth as ancient as the sound of the Shofar...

Afternoon yet as modern as the…young hipsters Peter Oundjian, conductor of a Faun at downtown venues” (Jazziz). For this Joyce El-Khoury, show, Orchestra and Orchestra Tier will Mendelssohn: soprano (BSO debut) Violin Concerto be unassigned general admission for Mary Phillips, Shostakovich: standing and dancing. The Promenade, mezzo-soprano Symphony No. 5 Grand Tier and Upper Tier levels will be Brandon Jovanovich, This performance assigned seating for those who prefer tenor (BSO debut) is made possible by to remain seated.

Morris Robinson, the Dallas Morse bass Coors Foundation.

Baltimore Choral Arts Society u SAT., MAY 12, 8 P.M. Tom Hall, director Baltimore Symphony Orchestra André Watts Plays Rachmaninoff Bruckner: Te Deum Marin Alsop, conductor Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, André Watts, piano “Choral” A stellar cast of soloists joins forces with Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 the Baltimore Choral Arts Society under Elgar: Symphony No. 1 the direction of Peter Oundjian. u FRI., MAY 4, 8:15 P.M. André Watts returns to the BSO to perform Rachmaninoff’s ravishing Piano u THURS., MAY 31, 8 P.M. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Concerto No. 2.

Off the Cuff: Shostakovich’s Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Seventh Symphony Mozart and Beethoven u THURS., MAY 17, 8 P.M. Marin Alsop, conductor Günther Herbig, conductor Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Jonathan Biss, piano The Beat Goes On! Music of the Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7, Baby Boomers “Leningrad” Jack Everly, conductor Shostakovich’s thrilling Symphony No. 7, “Leningrad” is a relentless, inspiring Turn back the clock to the 1960s with march toward triumph over tyranny. the BSO and Jack Everly. u THURS., MAY 10, 8 P.M. u FRI., MAY 18, 8 P.M. Strathmore presents Strathmore presents John Pizzarelli & Kurt Elling Dallas Brass “Never miss a chance Dallas Brass will to see John Pizzarelli” showcase its (New York magaextraordinary zine)—particularly range with a repwhen you can see him ertoire that spans with Kurt Elling, “one john classical masterof the pre-eminent pizzarelli pieces, Dixieland, jazz singers of our Mozart: Symphony No. 40 swing, Broadway, time” (Jazz-Times). These virtuosic Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 Hollywood and vocalists have brought new audiences Schubert: Symphony No. 6 patriotic music. to jazz, through Pizzarelli’s tributes to The BSO shows its classical stripes with The engageSinatra, Ellington and Broadway, and an evening of early 19th-century masment includes Elling’s compelling take on the stanterpieces under the baton of venerable a residency that will culminate with dards of the American songbook.

Maestro Günther Herbig.

8 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

Abraham Inc photo by Jon Wasserman; Pizzarelli photo by Jimmy Katz; ehnes photo by Benjamin Ealovega; Oundjian photo by hasnain Dattu; Biss photo by Jillian Edelstein

calendar

[May/June]

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u SAT., JUNE 9, 8 P.M. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Salerno-Sonnenberg Plays Tchaikovsky Marin Alsop, conductor Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin Kevin Puts: Symphony No. 4 Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto will sing in the hands of the incomparable Nadja SalernoSonnenberg. u FRI., JUNE 22, 8 P.M. Strathmore and Blues Alley present Ahmad Jamal For the past five decades, Ahmad Jamal has been one of the most successful smal-group leaders of jazz. The legendary jazz pianist—who released his latest CD, A Quiet Time, in 2009— tells stories through his charismatic swing and inventive solos.

National Philharmonic DEBUSSY 150TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL THURS., MAY 10, 7:30 P.M. Strathmore Music in the Mansion Debussy Piano Recital Katie Mahan, piano

The National Philharmonic celebrates the music of Claude Debussy in this festival marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of one of the most important French composers.

Debussy’s works, like those of Impressionist painters, emphasize light and color and display the influence of the Symbolist poets’ visionary images.

SAT., MAY 5, 8 P.M. All Debussy Brian Ganz, piano Richard Stoltzman, clarinet Piotr Gajewski, conductor Debussy: Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun Debussy: Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra Debussy: Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra Debussy: La Mer In 1892, Debussy began a sensual and luminous composition inspired by a pastoral poem, L’Après-midi d’un Faune (“The Afternoon of a richard Faun”), pubstoltzman lished 16 years earlier by the great Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé. The famous opening flute solo “brought new breath to the art of music,” said composer and conductor Pierre Boulez.

10 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

American pianist Katie Mahan has won international admiration for her delivery of Debussy’s complex music. Strathmore’s Music in the Mansion series is sponsored by Asbury Methodist Village.

A pre-concert lecture by WETA’s David Ginder will be offered at 6:30 p.m.

THUR., MAY 17, 7:30 P.M. Strathmore Music in the Mansion Debussy Chamber Music Featuring members of National Philharmonic and Friends Debussy: Piano Trio in G Major Debussy: Cello Sonata in D minor Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor Debussy: String Quartet in G minor National Philharmonic gathers likeminded fans and virtuoso partners for this intimate performance of the composer’s seminal works. Strathmore’s Music in the Mansion series is sponsored by Asbury Methodist Village. A pre-concert lecture by WETA’s David Ginder will be offered at 6:30 p.m.

SAT., MAY 19, 8 P.M. Debussy’s Martyrdom of St. Sebastian Audrey Elizabeth Luna, soprano Rosa Lamoreaux, soprano Linda Maguire, mezzo-soprano Eliot Pfanstiehl, narrator Stan Engebretson, conductor Debussy: The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian Reviewers have praised the sheer beauty of The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, with its evocation of ecstasy and mysticism. Describing his intentions with this piece, Debussy wrote, “When in the last act, the Saint mounts to paradise, I think I set down what I felt at the thought of soaring to the heavens!”

Salerno-Sonnenberg photo by Christian Steiner; Stoltzman photo by John pearson

u SAT., JUNE 2, 2 P.M. and 8 P.M. Strathmore presents Tommy Tune Steps In Time: A Broadway Biography in Song and Dance Broadway’s legendary song-and-dance man celebrates 50 years on the Great White Way with this high-stepping show that traces his Tony Awardwinning career. Backed by a band and the Manhattan Rhythm Kings, Tune sings, dances and laughs through his life in the footlights.

“Ninety minutes you fervently wish would never end … as big as anything on Broadway” (New York magazine).

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strathmore

they’re with

The Band How Dallas Brass, Strathmore and 120 young musicians are changing the face of arts education outreach

By Chris Slattery

Strathmore presents Dallas Brass Friday, May 18, 8 P.M.

12 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

m

ichael Levine has ulterior motives.

Sure, his Dallas Brass is coming to Strathmore this spring with a family-friendly program of favorites called An American Musical Journey, a “musical travelogue through American history.” The program will include little-known historical asides and trivia about the music of all the greats from Sousa to Copland to Gershwin to Bernstein. There will even be a bit of pop and hip-hop thrown in.

Still, he’s hoping to do more than just charm the audience with music and fun facts.

An inventor, arranger and trombone player, Levine founded the Dallas Brass in 1983. Though he travels the country with fellow musicians D.J. Barraclough (trumpet), George Brahler (trumpet), Juan Berrios (French horn, alto horn), Paul Carlson (tuba) and Jeff Handel (drums/percussion), he is looking to do a little bit more than just play some great performances in some great concert halls. He wants to change the way we think about the arts.

“Our mission is based on the deep belief that music and the arts make the world a better place and enriches people’s lives,” says Levine.

He’d like to make the arts America’s pastime. And to do that he’s partnering with Strathmore’s education department and inviting 120 teenagers onto the Music Center stage.

It’s a Dallas Brass trademark, something the ensemble has been doing for 20 years.

“We were playing concerts,” says Levine, “and most of our audience was senior citizens. Now, I love senior citizens. But I just kept thinking, ‘Where are the kids?’ ” Levine says that while he loves see-

ing audience members “from 5 to 95” at Dallas Brass shows, he and his fellow musicians remember falling in love with music as kids in fifth grade and they want to replicate that.

“We have a lot of kids who say, ‘I was going to quit band until I saw Dallas Brass,’ ” Levine says. “Being involved in music, staying involved in music—it gives so many kids a sense of belonging to a social network.”

Now, Levine sees the kids on stage, in the audience and in the green room for a pre-performance clinic. And Betty Scott, Strathmore’s education coordinator, is in charge of getting them there.

Through its Artist in Residence program, classes, camps, spring break activities and family-oriented concert programming, Strathmore offers a wide

mental value for Strathmore: Finding new ways to implement arts education and engage the community is a tremendous part of Strathmore’s mission.

“One of the best resources Strathmore has is artists,” says Lauren Campbell, Strathmore’s education and development manager. “We have access to national and local artists, and we are constantly on the lookout for ways to foster contact between them and students, to bring everyone together.”

When artists are willing to join the outreach, Strathmore can offer engaging experiences—such as a master class with Flecktones bassist Victor Wooten, who visited while on tour with Béla Fleck.

“Sometimes you find an artist or a band that considers outreach a part of their mission,” she explains. “For Dallas

“Our mission is based on the deep belief that music and the arts make the world a better place and enriches people’s lives.”

Michael Levine, Dallas Brass variety of ways to immerse kids of all economic and social strata in the arts.

For Scott, the Dallas Brass concert typifies Strathmore’s unique way of weaving together the threads of arts education and world-class musicianship.

“We choose three outstanding wind programs and invite them to come to Strathmore for a pre-show workshop,” Scott says. “During the performance the kids get to sit in the front rows, and then all of them get to play with Dallas Brass on stage and have the experience of playing in that beautiful concert hall.”

It’s a scenario that reflects a funda-

Brass, this is absolutely integrated with what they do, so it’s a perfect fit.”

Campbell says the kids who ascend the stage will be excellent musicians, well prepared for the occasion even if they don’t plan on making music a career.

“For me the most compelling thing that young people take away from this is their passion: Everything is heightened for those moments they spend on stage, and it’s an unforgettable experience,” Campbell says.

Levine agrees.

“Your instrument can be your friend for life,” he says. “That’s our motto.” 

applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 13

R

Baltimore Symphony ORchestra

Shaking

Rust off the

BSO program helps non-professional— but formerly serious—musicians reconnect with their passions By Kathleen Wheaton

y

ou see them at every classical concert—audience members observing warm-up techniques, working out fingerings on their laps and releasing sighs of wonder at the purity of a professional orchestra’s A 440.

They are people who play an instrument, perhaps studied music seriously or even play in community orchestras, but who went on to non-musical professions.

Stemming from a concept conceived

by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director Marin Alsop, the BSO’s Rusty Musicians program made its debut in February 2010 as a way to celebrate and enrich the musical experience of amateurs in the audience. Through this program, community members who are at least 25 years old, can read music and play an orchestral instrument are in-

vited to sign up for a chance to perform onstage with Alsop and the BSO. “Music is all about bringing the community together,” Alsop says. “It’s a social experience and an emotional journey, and it’s something we want to share. We want to reach out to the community in new and bigger ways.”

The response was big: More than 600 people signed up for the first year of Rusty Musicians to play Tchaikovsky and Elgar in one of eight practice sessions at Strathmore. Now in its third year, prospective “Rusties” are encouraged to sign up online as soon as the dates are announced in order to reserve a spot.

Bruce Rosenblum of Potomac, a double bass player who majored in music in college and is now an investment banker, jumped at the chance to play with the BSO. “I have played in orchestras, but it was 20 years ago, so I definitely

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fit the definition of ‘rusty,’ ” he says. The “Rusties” are encouraged to jump right in—find their place onstage, sit down and start playing. “You’re not off in your own little group, you’re sharing a music stand with a pro,” he says. In addition to the thrill of playing music with professionals, Rosenblum was impressed by the warm, welcoming attitude of the BSO musicians.

Mary Padilla, a computer programmer who lives in Woodbridge, Va., was also thrilled by the hospitality of the orchestra pros. “They are the nicest, most approachable people you can imagine, and they share their knowledge with open arms,” she says. Padilla, who plays oboe and French horn, says that as a young person she had aspirations to play professionally, “but then my life took different turns. Playing with the BSO is an opportunity I never imagined I would have.”

Padilla says that music-loving amateurs

Tracey Brown

are a segment of the community that orchestras often overlook or take for granted. “But the BSO reached out and now I’m growing as a musician.” Alsop makes an effort to welcome the Rusties, and to put them at ease, “but she doesn’t baby us, or pick easy music,” Padilla says with a laugh. “The fourth movement of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony is not the kind of thing amateurs usually attempt.” Padilla says that Alsop did not slow the pace of the music to accommodate the non-professionals. “She told us, ‘Get the notes you can get and keep going.’ ” Meanwhile, Padilla says, the orchestra members were generous with hints on fingering.

Having participated in every one of the Rusty Musician sessions offered, Padilla decided to take her music to the next level and signed up for the BSO Academy, an intensive week-long

“summer camp” for amateurs given by Alsop and the BSO at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. The program is aimed specifically at adults with other careers who have carried with them a love of their instrument, according to Carol Bogash, the BSO’s education director.

Although the Academy is not for aspiring professionals, the program offers a professional level of intensity, Padilla says. From morning to night, there are sight-reading workshops, sectional rehearsals and evening chamber music performances, as well as lunches with Alsop.

At the end of the week, attendees play onstage at a BSO concert, side by side with BSO musicians.

“The Academy is a quantum leap in terms of commitment, but also in terms of what you get out of it,” says bassist Rosenblum, who signed up for the

Margaret Dickel and Laura Stailey

Academy after a session with the Rusties.

“At the end of the week, you are playing before an audience of 1,000 people. That experience forced me to focus and show a lot of improvement.”

Both Padilla and Rosenblum say that they are playing more, and playing better, as a result of their Rusty and Academy experiences. “Being part of the BSO, even for an evening, was transformative,” Padilla says. “Now I’m doing something I’ve always had a passion for.” 

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Strathmore presents Billy Collins and Mary Oliver

Strathmore

Poetry & Prose

Poets Billy Collins and Mary Oliver immerse listeners in the beauty of the written word

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hough he stands alone on the stage, a slender man of indeterminate age, famed lyric poet Billy Collins has no trouble commanding the attention of audiences. This is true even when he reads his poems in vast halls such as Strathmore. “I enjoy being wildly outnumbered,” the former United States poet laureate (2001-2003) says with a laugh, “it proves I have readers.”

Audiences large and small are spellbound by the sense of intimacy Collins is able to convey standing alone at a lectern. “Good lyric poetry creates the illusion of one person speaking to another,” he notes.

The bond between Collins and his audience is cemented by his subject matter—he writes about everyday experience; his clear language; and his mordant humor. All three of these qualities shine through the first lines of one of his most popular poems, “Another Reason I Don’t Keep a Gun in the House”: The Neighbor’s Dog will not stop barking He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark That he barks every time they leave the house.

They must switch him on on their way out.

How does the poet move so adeptly from a barking dog to the grandeur of Beethoven later in the poem? “You don’t need complex language to enter complex places,” explains Collins, who has been teaching the craft of writing poetry for 30 years as a distinguished profes-

Mary Oliver

sor at Lehman College in New York City and as a fellow at the Winter Park Institute at Rollins College in Florida.

Collins, who is based in Westchester County, N.Y., will be reading “Another Reason I Don’t Keep a Gun in the House” along with many other of his best known poems when he appears at the Music Center at Strathmore on April 22. “I follow the advice of an actor friend of mine who told me ‘Always give the audience your A-material,’ ” he says.

At Strathmore, Collins will be joined by another master of the lyric genre, Mary Oliver, the recipient of both a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award for poetry. Like Collins, Oliver enjoys

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Sunday, April 22, 7 P.M.

By Michaele Weissman

Billy Collins

a wide following. “She and I have more book-buying readers than any other poets today,” Collins gently notes.

Collins sees commonalities in their work. “We both convey a sense of being alone. That is not the same as being lonely. Lonely is emotion of bad teenage poetry. But when you are deeply alone all sorts of universal things happen.”

Based in Florida, Oliver, the author of two dozen volumes, is best known for her poems describing nature.

Her most recent book, Swan: Poems and Prose Poems, was published in 2010. Collins’ most recent volume, Horoscopes for the Dead, was published in 2011. 

oliver photo by Rob Howard, Collins photo by Steven Kovich

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Baltimore Symphony ORchestra

Violinist

takes on the King Arabella Steinbacher performs Beethoven’s challenging concerto during her BSO debut

By Pamela Toutant

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er father a German pianist and mother a Japanese vocalist, Arabella Steinbacher began exploring her musical gifts on the violin by the time she was 3. Now a rising star in the classical music world, Steinbacher performs with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Along the way, she has built a reputation for her balance of “lyricism and fire,” according to The New York Times.

jiri hronik

Q: You grew up in a musical family. How did each of your parents contribute to your musical development?

A: My father was a pianist and for many years worked with singers at the opera house in Munich. While he was alive, he often helped me with new repertoire.

My mother was a singer who came from Japan to Germany to study voice. I grew up around singers, not violinists, which was probably a good thing!

Q: What are you looking forward to in your debut with the BSO? A: It is funny, I was supposed to make my debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra about a decade ago but could not come because of visa problems. …

The BSO has a great reputation and I am thrilled to finally have the opportunity to play with them.

Q: You will be performing Beethoven’s violin concerto, which is often referred to as the “king” of violin concertos.

What are its pleasures and challenges?

A: Because of the complexity of the music, I did not attempt to play this concerto until I was 17. One shouldn’t be too young when beginning Beethoven.There are so many corners to explore in this piece that I will be learning from it until I am 80. The music has a magical energy as if it were from another world. The violin must delicately float above the orchestra, and because of the long phrasing, one must be very conscious of correct breathing. I just close my eyes and let it flow.

Q: You are often on the road performing.

How do you spend your free time?

A: I like to relax by listening to jazz, both older artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and newer artists such as Keith Jarrett and Diana Krall. Also, one thing that is very important to me is running to keep up good mental and physical energy. Spending time with friends is also extremely important when I am at home in Munich.

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presents Beethoven’s Violin Concerto Thursday, April 26, 8 p.m.

Q: How would you describe the distinctive sound qualities of your instrument, a 1716 “Booth” Stradivari provided by the Nippon Music Foundation?

A: This Stradivari has a very warm and full sound, a strong personality. I don’t have to force anything.

Q: What do you most hope to communicate to the audience when you perform?

A: When I perform, it is an opportunity for me to express what I feel most deeply, through great music. It is my goal to do nothing superficially, but to share my authentic feelings directly with the audience. 

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Baltimore Symphony ORchestra

pair reaches

the summit

When not tackling musical challenges, violinist Julie Parcells and bassist Robert Barney hike demanding trails By Sarah Lewin

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hen they’re not onstage performing with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, violinist Julie Parcells and her husband, bassist Robert Barney, are likely to be found on a mountain. The pair has been hiking for almost 20 years now, and they’ve been slowly mounting an impressive climbing résumé.

“I like being out in nature,” says Parcells. “I like being in the mountains, away from the industrial world.”

When deciding on a location to hike, Parcells tries to get the most for her effort. The higher the elevation, the more difficult the climb—but the more spectacular the scenery. “I’m usually the last one up the mountain,” admits Parcells, “but it’s worth it for a glacier view, lake or wildlife sighting unique to the harder trail.” Another advantage of the mountains: getting away from Baltimore’s heat and humidity during summer breaks from the orchestra.

The pair has hiked everywhere from Ireland to New Mexico to Scotland to Italy, but their favorite hiking spot recently has been Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. There, Parcells and Barney get to combine their passion for music with their love for the outdoors.

Every summer they attend the Grand Teton Music Festival, where they have the opportunity to play with other professional musicians and take in the breathtaking natural surroundings.

And what is the payoff for pushing all the way to the top with a particularly challenging hike? “It’s hard to describe,” says Parcells, “but there is such

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simple pleasure in eating a sandwich after reaching a summit. In a way, it’s a lot like being a musician: a lot of hard work for great rewards.” 

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National Philharm onic

A Youthful Mission

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he National Philharmonic’s mission is to provide professional performances of orchestral and choral music to the people of Montgomery County and the metro area, regardless of age, income or any other demographic, and it has been doing so gloriously since it moved into the Music Center at Strathmore in 2005.

Yet even before the Philharmonic was able to call the splendid hall home, it always dedicated special time, thought and energy on young people.

More than a decade ago, the Philharmonic launched its “All Kids, All Free, All the Time” initiative that welcomes anyone between 7 and 17 to any Philharmonic concert at no charge.

“You see families, teenagers coming on dates,” says Victoria Gau, the orchestra’s associate conductor. “I’m very proud of the program.” Ken Oldham, the Philharmonic’s president, estimates that between 4,000 and 6,000 youngsters took

advantage of the open-handed offer last season. “It creates an audience that is atypical of classical music,” he says.

The Philharmonic is equally dedicated to nurturing young performers.

Each summer, it offers string institutes for middle and high school students and, in conjunction with Montgomery College, choral institutes for high school and college students, as well as adults. The intensive weeklong string institutes include private lessons, orchestra rehearsals, chamber groups and final performances.

Stan Engebretson, artistic director of the National Philharmonic Chorale, is the principal conductor for the choral institutes. National Philharmonic Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski leads the High School String Institute and Gau conducts the middle school group. As director of the summer institutes, she also manages the whole summer program. “I’ve had to learn how to manage about a thousand moving parts,” she says, but “it’s such

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a joy across the board to watch these kids be inspired.”

The Philharmonic’s efforts to encourage young musicians also continue throughout the year. Each season, five guest soloists offer rigorous master classes for promising young talents from the area, while as many as 100 classical music aficionados pay just $5 each to listen to the performances in progress and join in freewheeling discussions of technique, theory and form. The Philharmonic also sponsors a concerto competition for high school students, the winners of which appear as guest soloists with the orchestra during fall concerts for second-graders from Montgomery County Pubic Schools.

But for sheer exuberance, nothing can top the Strathmore Student Concert Series the Philharmonic performs annually for all MCPS second- and fifth-graders. This season that added up to more than 20,000 children who filled the music hall 13 times over the course of just a few days.

jay mallin

Through camps, classes and free concerts, National Philharmonic nurtures students’ love for the arts

By M.J. McAteer

michael ventura

Surrounding National Philharmonic Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski are Bradley Hills Elementary School students Charlie Gajewski (violin), Kevan Nathani (flute), Alisha Dhir (trombone), Davis Bartels (percussion) and Juneau Kim (clarinet).

“It is one of the great pinnacle moments of the year,” says Oldham. “You just don’t see that kind of energy every day.”

The concerts are the brainchild of Philharmonic Conductor Gajewski, who early on approached Strathmore President CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl and former schools Superintendent Jerry Weast and got them on board. The first, in December 2004, was the inaugural performance at the Music Center. In remembrance of that occasion, every second-grader concert since has included the audience singing “Happy Birthday” to Strathmore.

In the seven seasons that have followed that first sing-along, the children’s programs have evolved into a polished blend of education and entertainment that varies little from year to year.

The second-graders’ program introduces the instruments of the orchestra and includes a discussion of composers. The fifth-graders’ program tackles the sophisticated question of “What Does Music Mean?” Gajewski says that program has been “slightly controversial,” but adds, “I like it that way. I am delighted that students and teachers are discussing it.”

Both the second-grade and fifth-grade concerts are multimedia events that feature heavy audience participation. The second-grade concerts also feature performances by winners of the high school concerto competition, to whom the younger audience members can readily relate. Gajewski also has made sure that each includes “a wow moment.”

“I want the children to walk away awed by something,” he says, acknowledging that that is no easy feat given the worldliness of today’s children.

He has found a way to top Xbox and “Angry Birds,” though. The finale

For information on the Summer String Institutes or the Summer Choral Program, go to www.nationalphilharmonic.org. of the fifth-grade concert, for example, is the stirring 1812 Overture. About a dozen children join the orchestra on stage to play the chimes.

“We give them mallets, and once they are unleashed, they can hit them over and over in random bashings,” Gajewski says. “The more the merrier.”

The fusillade of cannon fire at the end, however, literally brings the audience to its feet. Although pyrotechnics are not allowed at Strathmore, the center has the synthesizers and speakers “to

shake the walls,” Gajewski says. Add to that an ingenious use of fire extinguishers to produce smoke for the mockup cannons booming from the balconies, and the hall goes wild.

“They loved the cannon part and smoke,” says Chuck Toner, a Philharmonic patron whose children, Camille and Alex, have attended the fifth-graders’ concerts.

The Philharmonic loves that part too.

“The audiences are so uninhibited,” Gajewski says. “It is the best experience for us as performers.” 

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Washington Performing Arts Society

Washington Performing Arts Society presents the Philadelphia Orchestra Friday, May 11, 8 P.M.

The Philadelphia

Story

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Iconic orchestra weathers tough times with a ‘symphonic perfect storm’ of its own

By Chris Slattery

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hey’re the top of the world.”

That’s how Neale Perl, president and CEO of the Washington Performing Arts Society, describes the Philadelphia Orchestra.

“People aspire to be in that orchestra from when they are kids, especially if they grow up in Philadelphia,” Perl says. “The best attracts the best, and the artistic quality of the Philadelphia Orchestra has never wavered.”

Founded in 1900, the orchestra has long been known for giving au-

Pete Checchia

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diences what Tim Smith, the classical music critic for The Baltimore Sun, calls “a unique sonic experience.” In fact, says Smith, the orchestra retains to this day the “Philadelphia Sound” first developed under music director Leopold Stokowski, who took the helm in 1912.

“That’s part of its appeal right there,” he says. “The Philadelphia Orchestra had and still does have a fabulously distinctive sound: a luxurious sound.

“Stokowski was there from 1912 until the ’30s, and during that whole period he was perfecting the string tone. Then Eugene Ormandy came in—that was its absolute pinnacle, the time when everything clicked so well.”

The hall in which it clicked, the American Academy of Music, may have been a fabulous landmark (known as “The Grand Lady of Broad Street”) but it was conceived and constructed as an opera venue. When the Philadelphia Orchestra started performing there, Smith explains, “They worked hard to compensate for a hall that did not have naturally reverberant acoustics.

“Even when they performed at other concert halls they never lost that quality; that absolutely gorgeous sound.”

It’s a sound that continues to be gorgeous despite the orchestra’s move to the Kimmel Center in 2001, and the Philadelphia Orchestra Association’s surprising Chapter 11 filing in April 2011. Financial and organizational issues have plagued the organization— issues that are not unusual for arts organizations in today’s economically challenging times— yet its musicians have continued to perform brilliantly in the face of tremendous pressure.

Peter Dobrin, classical music critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, has been following the orchestra’s financial woes, and he says the next year or two will be critical.

“It is extremely heartening that the Philadelphia Orchestra continues to play at the highest level,” he says. “A cause for concern, however, is the large number of musicians who have left the ensemble in the past few months, and

the number who are now considering offers for other jobs.

And this is where Neale Perl and the Washington Performing Arts Society come in.

“The Philadelphia Orchestra has been in the news a lot lately, sure,” says Perl. “As have a lot of arts organizations. . . .What’s astounded the music world is that no matter how dark things appeared from a financial perspective, the quality of the music has remained phenomenally high. It’s never wavered.”

And so, in turn, WPAS will not waver. Perl says it’s his pleasure to present the Philadelphia Orchestra every year, and that music lovers in the Washington, D.C. area can look to the May 11 performance at the Music Center at Strathmore as a shining example of what classical music can be.

“This particular program is like the perfect storm,” he says. “In a good sense: a great orchestra; a great artist, James Ehnes; a great hall and a great program.

“It really doesn’t get any better than this.”

Indeed, under the baton of Charles Dutoit, its chief conductor, the orchestra will perform a crowd-pleasing program featuring Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Shostakovitch’s Symphony No. 5.

Perl says that it’s an ideal concert for lovers of the classical genre and for newcomers, too: rich and lyrical, but readily accessible as well.

“It’s one night only—and if you’re going to pick just one concert to go to this year, pick the Philadelphia Orchestra at Strathmore.”

Why? Well, Perl says that the Music Center at Strathmore is “one of the greatest, best-sounding concert halls built in the last 10 years.”

In fact Perl can only envision one problem when he thinks about music lovers coming to see the Philadelphia Orchestra perform at Strathmore.

“The trouble is, it will spoil you,” he says. “You just won’t want to hear anything else.”

applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 23

Thursday, March 1, 2012, 8 p.m.

Thursday, March 1, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Strathmore and Maestro Artist Management Present

Max Raabe und das Palast Orchester Max Raabe, vocals Cecilia Crisafulli, violin Thomas Huder, trumpet, vocals Michael Enders, trumpet, vocals Jörn Ranke, trombone, viola, vocals Bernd Frank, tenor sax, clarinet Johannes Ernst, alto sax, clarinet Sven Bährens, alto sax, clarinet Rainer Fox, baritone sax, clarinet, vocals Vincent Riewe, drums, percussion Bernd Hugo Dieterich, double bass, sousaphone Ulrich Hoffmeier, guitar, banjo, violin Ian Wekwerth, piano Michael Enders, musical director Tour production Palast Orchester: Frank Ebeling, production manager Bernd Meyer-Lellek,sound Dirk Lehmann, light Wilfried Haase, office manager Tour support: Neumann Microphones, Berlin Shure wireless systems The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Max Raabe und das Palast Orchester

Founded in 1986 by the charismatic baritone Max Raabe, Max Raabe und

das Palast Orchester embodies the high style and musical glory of the 1920s and ’30s, and has been heard throughout the United States, as well as in Shanghai, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Tokyo, Vienna, Amsterdam, Rome and Tel Aviv.

Raabe captures the cunning rasp of the cabaret singer, the confident belcanto hero, the oily melodiousness of the revue beau, the carefree timbre of early jazz and the falsetto of ragtime, all backed by his 12-member band. Max Raabe’s art lies in revealing the enig-

24 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

matic intelligence, ambiguity, musical power and complexity of the “German chansons” from the turbulent Weimar Republic. In his performances he reminds us that between melancholy and irony, rebellion and resignation, elegy and slapstick there is often only half a measure, sometimes just a single note.

Over the years, Max Raabe und das Palast Orchester have discovered that one of the secrets of a good show is diversity. Accordingly, the repertoire includes classics such as “I Kiss Your Hand Madame,” “My Little Green Kaktus” and “Heute Nacht oder nie” (“Tonight Or Never”) and staples from the American Songbook such as “Cheek To Cheek,” “Night And Day” and “I Got Rhythm.” The ensemble’s repertoire also includes vibrant rumbas and paso dobles.

In 1997 the Palast Orchester celebrated its 10th anniversary with an audience of 20,000 at Berlin’s Waldbühne. In 2000 the album Charming Weill was released on BMG Classics, an homage to the composer Kurt Weill. In 2002 the Palast Orchester opened the Vienna Festival Weeks for an audience of 40,000 and in the same year made its U.S. premiere at Royce Hall in Los Angeles and the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.

In spring 2004 Raabe and pianist Christoph Isreal made their New York debut in two sold-out solo concerts in the Neue Galerie. This and the following tour of Max Raabe und das Palast Orchester to Los Angeles, Atlanta and San Antonio launched them to fame in the U.S. In 2005 Max Raabe und das Palast Orchester made their Carnegie Hall debut. A 2007 Carnegie Hall concert was recorded live and released as Tonight or Never.

Recent tours in the U.S. have included stops in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Pittsburgh, among many other cities. Max Raabe und das Palast Orchester also toured Israel for the first time in October 2010.

In 2012, Universal Records will release Max Raabe und das Palast Orchester’s new album, One Cannot Kiss Alone, in the United States.

Friday, March 2, 2012, 8 p.m.

Friday, March 2, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Washington Performing Arts Society Piano Masters Series presents

Yefim Bronfman, piano Piano Sonata in C Major, Hob.XVI:50 Franz Joseph Haydn

Allegro (1732-1809)

Adagio

Allegro molto

Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 Johannes Brahms

Allegro maestoso (1833-1897)

Andante espressivo

Scherzo: Allegro energico

Intermezzo (Rückblick): Andante molto

Finale: Allegro moderato ma rubato INTERMISSION

Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, Op. 84 Sergei Prokofiev

Andante dolce (1891-1953)

Andante sognando

Vivace The WPAS Piano Masters Series is made possible in part through the generous support of Betsy and Robert Feinberg.

The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Dario Acosta

Yefim Bronfman, piano Grammy Award-winning pianist Yefim (“Fima”) Bronfman has wowed critics and audiences worldwide with his solo recitals, prestigious orchestral engagements and expanding catalogue of recordings, being especially admired for his performances of modern

Russian repertory.

Bronfman’s 2011-12 U.S. season began with the Chicago Symphony’s opening gala conducted by Ricardo Muti. He followed that with return engagements to the orchestras in Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Portland and Kansas City. He also began a residency with the Cleveland Orchestra in Miami, Cleveland and New York focusing on the concerti and chamber music of Brahms. A recital tour in winter will culminate with Carnegie Hall followed by the world premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s concerto

commissioned for him by the New York Philharmonic, with whom he will tour the West Coast in the spring.

In Europe he will complete a two-season project of the three Bartók concerti with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen in London, Spain, Brussels, and will give recitals in Amsterdam, Vienna, Frankfurt, Milan and Lucerne. In partnership with Emmanuel Pahud he will visit Spain, Turkey, Denmark and London, where he will return in the spring for concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas followed by a tour with the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen. In recognition of the 75th anniversary of the Israel Philharmonic he will join the orchestra in two orchestral concerts and in a solo recital in December.

His 2010-11 U.S. season highlights included recitals in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as performances of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1—with the orchestras of Houston, Cincinnati and Saint Louis—and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with the orchestras of Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles. He also made return concerto appearances in Seattle, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal and Washington. With longtime friend and collaborator Pinchas Zukerman, he appeared in duo recital in Princeton, Kansas City, Chicago, Boston and Carnegie Hall.

In Europe he toured with the Vienna Philharmonic playing the concerto written for him by Esa-Pekka Salonen.

In partnership with Berlin’s Staatskapelle and Daniel Barenboim all three Bartók concerti were again featured in programs in Berlin, Vienna and Paris.

Return engagements in Europe included the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Israel Philharmonic, London Symphony, Frankfurt Radio and Munich Philharmonic.

Bronfman’s discography is large and varied. He won a Grammy Award in 1997 for the three Bartók Piano Concertos with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has recorded the complete Prokofiev piano

applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 25

Friday, March 2, 2012, 8 p.m.

sonatas, the five Prokofiev piano concertos, and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3, and has been nominated for both Grammy and Gramophone Awards. His most recent releases include a disc of compositions

by Esa-Pekka Salonen, including the Piano Concerto composed for him, recorded with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; a recital disc, Perspectives, which complemented his Carnegie Hall “Perspectives” series; and all Beethoven’s piano concertos and Triple Concerto, with violinist Gil Shaham, cellist Truls Mørk, and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under David Zinman.

With Isaac Stern, Bronfman recorded Brahms’ and Bartók’s violin sonatas and a cycle of Mozart sonatas for violin and piano. In addition to performing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on the Fantasia 2000 soundtrack, Bronfman recorded Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet and his two piano concertos with the orchestra under Salonen. Bronfman and Emanuel Ax have recorded two-piano works by Rachmaninoff and Brahms for Sony Classical.

Bronfman was born in the Soviet Union and moved to Israel with his family in 1973. After moving with his family to the U.S. in 1976, he trained at The Juilliard School, Marlboro and the Curtis Institute, with Rudolf Firkusny, Leon Fleisher and Rudolf Serkin. He was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 1991.

Program Notes Piano Sonata in C Major, Hob.XVI:50

Franz Joseph Haydn Born March 31, 1732 in Rohrau, Austria; died May 31, 1809 in Vienna

Haydn’s approximately 60 keyboard sonatas are almost unknown to general audiences, who are daunted by their sheer number and more readily drawn to the famous 19th-century piano sonatas that followed. Yet there is some

very fine music here indeed.

Haydn’s Piano Sonata in C Major is one of a set of three he composed in London in 1794 and dedicated to pianist Therese Jansen, presumably with her talents in mind. Everyone notes the full sonority of these sonatas, but this has been explained in different ways. Some believe that these sonatas consciously echo the sound of the series of grand symphonies Haydn was then writing for London orchestras.

Others have felt that the brilliance of these sonatas is the best evidence of Therese Jansen’s abilities, while still others explain it as a sign that the English fortepianos were much more powerful than the instruments Haydn was used to in Vienna.

Whatever the reason, Haydn’s Sonata in C Major rings with a splendid sound. The opening Allegro is full of forthright energy. The initial pattern of three notes repeats throughout; it is sounded tentatively at first, then quickly repeated in full chords. Haydn plays this pattern out with great energy and brilliance across the span of a fairly lengthy movement (more than half the length of the entire sonata).

The central movement is an expressive Adagio in abbreviated sonata form whose main subject is built around the rolled chords heard at the very beginning. The concluding Allegro molto, barely two minutes long, is full of high comedy. It feels like a very fast waltz that starts and stops and modulates throughout, as if the composer cannot quite make up his mind how he wants it to go. Haydn, of course, knows exactly how he wants it to go, and this lurching, stumbling dance should leave us all laughing.

Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5

Johannes Brahms Born May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, Germany; died April 3, 1897 in Vienna, Austria

Like so many other 19th-century composers, Brahms burst to fame as a virtuoso pianist who happened to compose. But the young composer chose as his model not the recent (and formally

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innovative) piano music of Liszt and Chopin but the older classical forms of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

Of Brahms’ first five published works, three were piano sonatas. He completed the last—and finest—of these sonatas in October of 1853, when he was still only 20 years old.

By coincidence, in that same month appeared Robert Schumann’s article on Brahms in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, extravagantly hailing the young composer as one “at whose cradle graces and heroes mounted guard,” a composer who would show the world “wonderful glimpses into the secrets of the spirit-world.” Schumann had seen several of Brahms’ early manuscripts and significantly referred to “sonatas, or rather veiled symphonies.” Schumann had very probably seen an early version of the Sonata in F minor, for this massive, heroic sonata has struck many observers as being of orchestral proportions, a symphony masquerading as a piano sonata. It is in five movements rather than the expected three, and the young Brahms apparently set out to wring every bit of sound possible from the piano: the sonata features huge rolled chords, the music races between the highest and lowest ranges of the instrument and Brahms creates textures so rich in color and sound that virtually every critic who writes about this sonata refers to its “orchestral” sonorities.

Schumann may have hailed Brahms as a “young eagle,” but in this sonata the composer comes on like a young lion.

Brahms marks the sonata-form first movement Allegro maestoso, and majestic it certainly is. This powerful, heroic music grows almost entirely out the simple theme-shape announced in the first measure; Brahms marks one of the quiet derivations of this theme fest und bestimmt (“firm and determined”), and that might stand as a marking for the entire movement. In sharp contrast, the Andante second movement is a nocturne, and Brahms prefaces it with a few lines from a poem of Sternau: “The twilight falls, the moonlight gleams, two hearts in love unite, embraced in rapture.” A quiet center

Friday, March 2, 2012, 8 p.m.

section (marked “as gentle and tender as possible”) leads to a return of the opening material and then a stunning coda: over a quiet A-flat pedal, the music gradually rises to a triumphant climax before falling back to end quietly.

The third movement is a lopsided scherzo that leaps across the keyboard; its quiet trio section is entirely chordal.

Brahms marks the fourth movement Intermezzo, an unusual movement for a sonata, but even more unusual is his parenthetical subtitle: Rückblick (“Reminiscence”). He brings back the theme from the second movement, but now it is very somber—the gentle lovesong has become a funeral march. This is the movement that seems most “orchestral” to the critics, and some claim to hear the sound of timpani, snarling basses and trumpets as the movement develops dramatically. The finale is a rondo-like movement based on a halting main theme. Along the way, Brahms remembers themes from earlier movements and treats them contrapuntally as the sonata races to its thunderous close.

In his piano music, Brahms turned next to variation form and later to the short pieces he preferred in his mature years, and in these forms he would create some of the greatest music ever written for the piano. But apparently he felt that with the Sonata in F minor, composed at age 20, he had said all the things he wanted to in piano sonata form. He never wrote another.

summer of 1944, five years after its initial conception. Prokofiev spent that summer at a composers’ retreat at Ivanovo, 150 miles northeast of Moscow, working on two pieces: this sonata and his Fifth Symphony. The heroic symphony was to some extent inspired by the war (“I conceived it as a symphony of the greatness of the human spirit,” said Prokofiev), but the relation between the sonata and the war is elusive. Some Soviet commentators have claimed to hear the tread of soldiers and other martial sounds in this sonata, but that must remain supposition.

What we can say is that if Prokofiev’s Eighth Sonata is in no sense programmatic, it is nevertheless a very serious and long-spanned work, and it is hard to feel that the distant war did not influence this often somber music.

The Eighth Sonata is conceived on a large scale: a huge first movement (longer than the other two combined) is followed by a brief slow movement before concluding with a dynamic finale. Throughout, Prokofiev’s performance markings provide unusual insight into the music’s character. The sonata opens not with the expected fast movement but with a moderately paced first movement, marked Andante dolce. There is a wistful quality in the steady pace of the opening section, which proceeds through a series of variations on its two principal themes. The middle rushes ahead, but this is not violent music; instead, it is characterized by a nervous quality (Prokofiev marks

it inquieto). The opening material returns at some length, and—after a brief reminiscence of the turbulent middle section—this massive movement concludes quietly.

Some relief is necessary at this point, and it comes in the second movement, also marked Andante, but now Prokofiev specifies Andante sognando (“dreamily”). Some commentators have called this movement, set in 3/4, a minuet, but it resolutely refuses to dance and remains subdued throughout; Prokofiev repeatedly reminds the pianist to play dolce and tranquillo.

After the moderate pace of the first two movements, the Vivace rips to life on its 12/8 meter, and the nice spring of the opening theme animates much of the finale.

There are quiet interludes along the way, including a return of material from the first movement, before the music drives to a powerful close that Prokofiev marks both sonoramente and con brio.

Emil Gilels gave the first performance of the Eighth Sonata in Moscow on Dec. 29, 1944, two weeks before the premiere of the Fifth Symphony. The relation of the symphony, with its heroic, public character, to the war was quite clear (some even referred to it as a “Victory Symphony”).

The Eighth Sonata may well register a reaction to the devastating war, but here Prokofiev speaks in much more somber, more personal terms.

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, Op. 84

Sergei Prokofiev Born April 23, 1891 in Sontsovka, Ukraine; died March 5, 1953 in Moscow

In 1939, Sergei Prokofiev planned and began to sketch three piano sonatas: his Sixth, Seventh and Eighth. He completed the first of these the following year, but the other two took a great deal more time, and before he could finish them the Soviet Union had been plunged into war with Nazi Germany.

He completed the Seventh in 1942, but the Eighth had to wait until the

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AnnApolis Symphony Orchestra José-Luis Novo, Music Director

Sunday, May 6, 2012, 5:00 pm Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at University of Maryland Concert only $60, VIP $150, Students $15

Call 301-405-2787 or order online www.annapolissymphony.org applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 27

Saturday, March 3, 2012, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, Music Director

presents

Voices of Light The Passion of Joan of Arc An Oratorio with Silent Film Music: Richard Einhorn Film Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer Marin Alsop, conductor Julie Bosworth, soprano Janna Critz, mezzo-soprano Tyler Lee, tenor David Williams, baritone Baltimore Choral Arts Society Tom Hall, director

The recording of Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light is available through Sony Classical.

Support for this program is generously provided by Art Works (NEA).

Supporting Sponsor: Macy’s Presenting Sponsor: Howell Foundation In association with AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

The concert will end at approximately 9:30 P.M. The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

music director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California.

In 2005, Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive this prestigious award.

In 2007, she was honored with a European Women of Achievement Award.

In 2008, she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and in 2009 Musical America named her Conductor of the Year.

In November 2010, she was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. In February 2011, Alsop was named the music director of the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, or the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, effective for the 2012-13 Season.

And in March 2011, Alsop was named to The Guardian’s Top 100 Women list.

She was also named an artist-in-residence at the Southbank Centre in London in 2011.

A regular guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Alsop appears frequently as a guest conductor with the most distinguished orchestras around the world. In addition to her performance activities, she is also an active recording artist with awardwinning cycles of Brahms, Barber and Dvořák.

Alsop attended Yale University and received her master’s degree from The Juilliard School. In 1989, her conducting career was launched when she won the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize at Tanglewood, where she studied with Leonard Bernstein.

Marin Alsop, conductor Hailed as one of the world’s leading conductors for her artistic vision and commitment to accessibility in classical music, Marin Alsop

made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She also holds the title of conductor emeritus at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in the U.K., where she served as the principal conductor from 2002 to 2008, and is

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Julie Bosworth, a native of St. Louis, is in her second year of graduate studies at the Peabody Institute. In 2010, she graduated summa cum laude from Millikin University with a bachelor’s of music in education. While at Millikin, Bosworth performed with the internationally acclaimed University Choir, early music

Alsop photo by dean alexander

Julie Bosworth, soprano

Saturday, March 3, 2012, 8 p.m.

ensemble Tudor Voices and Millikin Opera Theatre. Her favorite roles at Millikin included Blanche de la Force (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Ginevra (Ariodante) and the title role in Seymour Barab’s Little Red Riding Hood. At the completion of her undergraduate career, Bosworth was presented the Mary B. Merris Award, which the university bestows to an outstanding vocal student each year.

With her keen interest in music of the medieval, renaissance and baroque eras, Bosworth is known for her experience in early music performance. She has performed at the New Brunswick Early Music Festival for the past three years with roles in two of Purcell’s operas, Dido and Aeneas (Belinda) and The Fairy Queen, and, this past summer, the title role of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea. Last year, she performed with American Opera Theater as Second Woman/Second Witch in Dido and Aeneas and as Sen. Ben Cardin in Melissa Dunphy’s The Gonzales Cantata, for which her performance “proved especially vivid” (The Baltimore Sun).

She appeared again with American Opera Theater and the Peabody Opera as Cleopatra in their production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare.

Bosworth studies with soprano Ah Young Hong and is a recipient of the George Woodhead Scholarship.

Bosworth makes her BSO debut with this performance.

Janna Critz, mezzo-soprano

Born and raised in Charlotte, N.C., Janna Elesia Critz developed a love for music and singing at a very young age.

Upon graduating high school, she studied at Central Piedmont Community College, where she received her associate degree in arts.

She went on to study vocal performance at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. There she was a featured soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Mass in B Mi-

nor, Haydn’s Harmoniemesse and more.

She is currently pursuing a double master’s degree in vocal performance and early music from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she currently studies with Professor William Sharp. In October, she performed in a small concert series in Cumberland, Md., known as Mountainside Baroque, under the direction of Lyle Nordstrom. Critz has also performed with the Peabody Opera Theater, including their opera scenes production, as well as their November performance of The Rake’s Progress by Stravinsky at the Baltimore Lyric Opera.

She will be performing this upcoming spring in Handel’s Giulio Cesare with the Theater Project in Baltimore under the direction of Adam Pearl. Critz is also an alto in the Peabody Renaissance Ensemble.

Critz makes her BSO debut with this performance.

Tyler Lee, tenor

Tyler Lee has loved music and performing since early childhood. At age 6, he wrote and voiced the 50th episode of Cartoon Network’s Dexter’s Laboratory and guest starred on The Tonight Show. At age 8, he co-starred on Disney’s Out of the Box. Lee’s first year at the Peabody Conservatory had him playing the Mosquito in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and Linfea in Cavalli’s La Calisto. Both roles were praised and received positive reviews. In his second year, he played Plaisir in Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Adonis, and Eric in the premiere performance of Jon Carter’s Missed Connections. Recently, Lee played Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. He has participated in the New York Opera Studio with Nico Castel and the Spoleto Arts Symposium.

Lee has studied with Castel and Sharon Sweet, and he is currently studying with Steven Rainbolt.

Lee makes his BSO debut with this performance.

David Williams, baritone

David Williams is a recent graduate of The Juilliard School. Since then, he has made professional debuts at the North Carolina Opera, Central City Opera and Komische Oper Berlin. In addition to his professional credits, Williams has performed numerous roles with Aspen Opera Theater Center, Juilliard415, Juilliard Opera Theater and Opera UCLA, where he did his undergraduate degree.

Among these roles are Marcello in La bohème, Escamillo in Carmen, The Count in Le Nozze di Figaro, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Figaro in The Ghosts of Versailles, Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Le Directeur in Les Mamelles de Tirésias and many others. Also an avid concert singer, Williams has performed as a soloist with such groups as the Brooklyn Art Song Society, the Kuwait Singers, Juilliard Dance Theater, the Pontnewydd Male Voice Choir, the Welsh Choir of Southern California, MGV Harmonie and others. Williams has won awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Palm Springs Opera Guild, the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the Los Angeles Opera Buffs.

Williams makes his BSO debut with this performance.

Program Notes Voices of Light

Richard Einhorn Born 1952; now living in New York City The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889-1968) With Richard Einhorn’s mesmerizing oratorio Voices of Light, set to Carl Theodor Dreyer’s silent film

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masterpiece of 1928, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Marin Alsop and the BSO return again to the story of Joan of Arc, who was born exactly 600 years ago in 1412.

This extraordinary experience for the eyes, as well as the ears, continues Alsop’s exploration of classic silent films and the scores created for them, and is yet another chapter in the BSO’s theme for this season: women who take risks.

And perhaps no woman in history took greater risks than Joan, France’s patron saint. As Richard Einhorn writes, his Voices of Light “explores the patchwork of emotions and thoughts that get stitched together into the notion of a female hero. Such a hero invariably transgresses the conventions and restrictions her society imposes.

And Joan of Arc—the illiterate peasant girl who led an army, the transvestite witch who became a saint—Joan of Arc transgresses them all.”

Einhorn, who has composed many film scores, as well as concert works, had been interested throughout the 1980s in writing a large piece on a religious subject, and in 1988, he finally found it.

“Imagine walking down an ordinary street in an ordinary city on an ordinary day,” he writes in his liner notes for the Sony Classical recording of Voices of Light. “You turn the corner and suddenly without warning, you find yourself staring at the Taj Mahal. It was with that same sense of utter amazement and wonder that I watched Carl Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc for the first time.

“That was back in January 1988. I was idly poking around in the film archives of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, looking at short avant-garde films, when I happened across a still from Joan in the silent film catalog.

In spite of a deep love of cinema and its history, I had never heard of either the director or the movie, but since my friend Galen Brandt had once suggested that I do a piece about Joan of Arc, I asked to take a look at it. Some 81 minutes later, I walked out of the screening room shattered, having

unexpectedly seen one of the most extraordinary works of art that I know. I immediately began to write the piece about Joan of Arc that my friend had suggested. It took six years to put together, but in February 1994, the Northampton Arts Council premiered Voices of Light in Massachusetts, performed by the Arcadia Players, conducted by Margaret Irwin-Brandon to sold-out crowds.”

Voices of Light, both combined with the film and on its own as an oratorio, has subsequently played to sold-out audiences throughout America and the world.

The Film

Fire ended Joan of Arc’s remarkable life in 1431 when she was only 19, and it nearly destroyed The Passion of Joan of Arc, too.

Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer shot the film in France in 1927 for the French film studio Société Générale, which had recently released Abel Gance’s legendary film Napoléon; in fact, Joan used some of the actors and many members of the technical crew who had participated in that film.

At that time, Joan was very much on people’s minds in Europe, for in 1920, the Roman Catholic Church, which had once excommunicated her as a heretic, had just canonized her as a saint.

The Passion of Joan of Arc focuses on Joan’s trial by a corrupt ecclesiastical court in the pay of the English and their allies the Burgundians, her forced confession and its recantation, and her death at the stake.

Although a script was prepared for the film, Dreyer threw it out and instead used the actual words of the trial as found in a still-surviving, highly detailed transcript of the trials of 1430– 31. (We see that ancient volume in the film’s opening scene.)

Although Joan’s trials actually took place over many months, the film compresses the timeframe, making it seem as though everything is happening in a single day.

For his title character, Dreyer chose

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the French stage actress Renée Jeanne Falconetti, a member of the ComédieFrançaise, who principally played light parts and had only appeared in one other film. Another unorthodox casting choice was the striking-looking Antonin Artaud as her sympathetic confessor, Jean Massieu; Artaud was better known as a writer and an eccentric leader of the French avantgarde theater scene.

The renowned film critic Pauline Kael wrote that Falconetti’s portrayal “may be the finest performance ever recorded on film.” But it cost her dearly, and she refused ever to appear again in a film. Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert explains: “For Falconetti, the performance was an ordeal. Legends from the set tell of Dreyer forcing her to kneel painfully on stone and then wipe all expression from her face—so that the viewer would read suppressed or inner pain.

He filmed the same shots again and again, hoping that in the editing room he could find exactly the right nuance in her facial expression.”

Although Dreyer had a very large and elaborate set constructed for the film, we hardly ever see it because he chose to shoot the film primarily in pitiless closeups (the actors wore no makeup) and from dramatic, often very low angles.

As we gaze into Joan’s huge, often weeping eyes, it is as though we were seeing into her very soul. And the withered, cynical faces of her judges look down on her—and on us—as terrifying, oppressive visions. The overall effect of Dreyer’s approach is intensely personal and at the same time abstract—a timeless battle of good versus evil.

The Passion of Joan of Arc was only moderately successful when it was released in 1928; the Catholic Church censored it somewhat, and the British banned it for its unflattering portrait of their side. But some recognized it as the masterpiece it is.

Then disaster struck: The negatives and most of the prints of the film were destroyed in a warehouse fire.

From Einhorn: “Dreyer ...

Saturday, March 3, 2012, 8 p.m.

painstakingly reconstructed the entire film from outtake footage that had survived the fire.” Then this version was also lost to a second fire.

Various attempts over the decades were made to come up with a new print. Then a miracle resurrected the film: “In 1981, several film cans from the ’20s were discovered at a mental institution in Oslo, Norway,” reports Einhorn. “Inside the cans, in nearly perfect condition, was a copy... with Danish intertitles. The accompanying shipping information made it clear that it was, in fact, a print of the original version. “Revised with new French intertitles for re-release in 1985, Joan was now acclaimed by film buffs and critics alike as one of the greatest films ever made.

In Einhorn’s opinion, “its profound ambiguity, its ravishing beauty, its brilliant performances, its astounding story makes Joan one of the 20th century’s masterpieces.”

The Music

Einhorn intended Voices of Light to be a stand-alone piece that could also be performed with a screening of Joan.

A summa cum laude graduate in music from Columbia University, he had worked as a record producer for Yo-Yo Ma, Meredith Monk and the New York Philharmonic, before turning full time to composing.

He has written many orchestral works, song cycles, chamber music and dance scores, as well as scores for documentaries and feature films. Recent works include a commission from the Minnesota Orchestra My Many Colored Days and The Origin, an opera-oratorio based on Charles Darwin.

Long enamored of the music of the Middle Ages, Einhorn has studied the practices of medieval composers and poets for many years and brought that understanding into a score that sounds as though it belongs to Joan’s time and also to our own.

“As I was developing the piece, I recalled my studies of medieval musical practice, in particular the multilingual motets that I loved to listen to. The

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, Music Director, Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Chair Jack Everly, Principal Pops Conductor Yuri Temirkanov, Music Director Emeritus Lee Mills, BSO-Peabody Conducting Fellow First Violins Jonathan Carney Concertmaster, Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Chair Madeline Adkins Associate Concertmaster, Wilhelmina Hahn Waidner Chair Igor Yuzefovich* Assistant Concertmaster James Boehm Kenneth Goldstein Wonju Kim Gregory Kuperstein Mari Matsumoto John Merrill Gregory Mulligan Rebecca Nichols Ellen Orner E. Craig Richmond Ellen Pendleton Troyer Andrew Wasyluszko Second Violins Qing Li Principal, E. Kirkbride and Ann H. Miller Chair Ivan Stefanovic Assistant Principal Leonid Berkovich Leonid Briskin Julie Parcells Christina Scroggins Wayne C. Taylor James Umber Charles Underwood Melissa Zaraya Rui Du** Violas Richard Field Principal, Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone Chair Noah Chaves Associate Principal

Karin Brown Acting Assistant Principal Peter Minkler Sharon Pineo Myer Delmar Stewart Jeffrey Stewart Mary Woehr Cellos Dariusz Skoraczewski Principal Chang Woo Lee Associate Principal Bo Li Acting Assistant Principal Seth Low Susan Evans Esther Mellon Kristin Ostling* Paula SkolnickChildress Pei Lu** Basses Robert Barney Principal, Willard and Lillian Hackerman Chair Hampton Childress Associate Principal Owen Cummings Arnold Gregorian Mark Huang Jonathan Jensen David Sheets* Eric Stahl Flutes Emily Skala Principal, Dr. Clyde Alvin Clapp Chair Marcia Kämper Piccolo Laurie Sokoloff Oboes Katherine Needleman Principal, Robert H. and Ryda H. Levi Chair Michael Lisicky

notion of a work of art with simultaneous layers of text struck me as a medieval idea that was also delightfully modern as well.

“Since Joan heard voices, I knew

English Horn Jane Marvine Kenneth S. Battye and Legg Mason Chair Clarinets Steven Barta Principal, Anne Adalman Goodwin Chair Christopher Wolfe Assistant Principal William Jenken Edward Palanker Bass Clarinet Edward Palanker E-flat Clarinet Christopher Wolfe Bassoons Julie Green Gregorian Acting Principal Fei Xie David P. Coombs Contrabassoon David P. Coombs Horns Philip Munds Principal, USF&G Foundation Chair Gabrielle Finck Associate Principal Beth Graham* Assistant Principal Mary C. Bisson Bruce Moore Trumpets Andrew Balio Principal, Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Chair Rene Hernandez Assistant Principal Ryan Darke** Trombones Christopher Dudley Principal, Alex. Brown & Sons Chair James Olin Co-Principal John Vance

Bass Trombone Randall S. Campora Tuba David T. Fedderly Principal Timpani Dennis Kain Principal Christopher Williams Assistant Principal Percussion Christopher Williams Principal, Lucille Schwilck Chair John Locke Brian Prechtl Piano Sidney M. and Miriam Friedberg Chair Jonathan Jensen Mary Woehr Director of Orchestra Personnel Marilyn Rife Assistant Personnel Manager Christopher Monte Librarians Mary Carroll Plaine Principal, Constance A. and Ramon F. Getzov Chair Raymond Kreuger Associate Stage Personnel Ennis Seibert Stage Manager Todd Price Assistant Stage Manager Frank Serruto Technical Director Larry Smith Sound *on leave ** Guest musican

the work would have singing, but what would everyone sing? I did a considerable amount of research into the history of Joan’s life and persona and began to explore the rich body

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of literature written by female mystics from the Middle Ages. I decided to create a libretto that would consist primarily of excerpts from these writers, chosen for their beauty as literature and also for their relevance to themes in Joan’s life. In addition, I decided that all the words in the score would be in ancient languages (Latin, Old and Middle French, and Italian).”

One of the most interesting medieval writers Einhorn used is Christine de Pizan, a French contemporary of Joan’s who may actually have seen her, and whose vigorous defense of Joan reveals an early feminist sensibility.

At the other extreme, Einhorn chose crude misogynist writings of the period to express the hostility of the judges at her trial—especially to her wearing of male dress, which she clung to as selfprotection from her jailers—and the ugly behavior of her prison guards.

Einhorn: “The texts may be thought of as representing the spiritual, political and metaphorical womb in which

Joan was conceived.”

Some of Joan’s own words are also included. “I knew that Joan of Arc’s voice would have to have a very special sound. Since no one knows what she looked like, I decided we shouldn’t be ‘range-ist’ and make any assumptions about whether she was a soprano or alto. Therefore, Joan had to be both soprano and alto singing simultaneously.”

Einhorn gave Joan’s words to a vocal quartet singing together in simple harmonies. Their music, and many other passages as well, follow the eloquent shape of medieval Gregorian chant.

Einhorn used several other techniques to give his music a feeling of belonging to the 15th century. Many of his melodies follow the old church modes rather than modern major and minor keys.

And at key moments, we also hear a sound of great antiquity: the haunting, dissonant tolling of the church bells in

Domremy, Joan’s home village in rural Lorraine, France. Einhorn visited that little village and recorded the bells for use in his score.

“I felt that Joan, who so loved church bells, whose voices seemed to speak to her whenever they were ringing, would appreciate the effort.”

From our own time, Einhorn adopts many of the characteristics of “mystical minimalism”: a stripped-down style favored by religiously inspired composers such as Henryk Gorecki and Arvo Pärt that uses repetitions of musical phrases and motives to build its effect.

But whatever style he is drawing on in his eclectic score, Einhorn shows an uncanny ability to capture exactly the rhythm and emotional character of each scene of The Passion of Joan of Arc. Beautiful and emotionally compelling in its own right, it is a potent enhancement of the cinematic masterpiece that inspired it.

Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light – BSO premiere

Ages 8-18 | Monday-Friday 9a-4p

Session 1: June 18-June 29 | Session 2: July 2-July 13 1.855.AM.DANCE | www.americandance.org brought to you by:

AMERICAN DANCE INSTITUTE 32 applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012

Friday, March 9, 2012, 8 p.m.

Friday, March 9, 2012, 8 P.M.

About Spirit of Uganda

● Strathmore Presents

Spirit of Uganda: A Project of Empower African Children Brian Aine Solace Ataho Jimmy Ayo Rajab Basoga Joseph Chan Faith Kansiime Daniel Kasata Anthony Kiranda

Sharon Kyomugisha George Lukwago Moses Mudiope Yudaya Nabbanja Noeline Nabesezi Faith Ruth Nabukenya Joyce Nagujja Mary Nakabuubi

Percy Nakaggwa Donatina Nakimuli Miriam Namala Maria Namanda Brian Odong Mukusin Wasswa

Peter Kasule, Artistic Director Lighting Design by Dan Ozminkowski Produced by Empower African Children Alexis Hefley, Founder and President Frank M. Roby, CEO Bakisimba Zamuranza Gaze Omuvangano

Hurira Engoma

Orunyege-Ntogoro Aida Larakaraka INTERMISSION Arihe Kinyarwanda Abuda Mwaga

Eyogera Biyaka

Ding Ding

Kikibi Doctor Ekitaguriro This tour of the Spirit of Uganda is made possible by a grant from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Maryland State Arts Council.

The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

From the Artistic Director Dance and music in Africa are the breath of life. The beauty of African dance and music lies in the authenticity of our embedded traditions that are carried from one generation to another.

African music is nearly always coupled with some other art form, such as poetry, ritual or dance. All of these art forms are rooted in rhythm.

Through interaction and creativity our culture is constantly moving, growing and changing. And together, they reveal African life and soul.

More than 50 distinct ethnic groups contribute to Uganda’s rich culture.

Many of the songs and dances presented here are rooted in individual societies. Some are attached to specific rituals, occasions or ceremonies; others capture everyday activities or express the joys, hopes and sorrows of life and love. All have been transformed, repurposed or newly created by young artists eager to celebrate their origins and add their own voices to this living history.

Welcome to Uganda

The group’s 22 artists range in age from 11 to 22 and represent the power and promise of Uganda’s youth. Through their performances, educational activities and community exchanges, these goodwill ambassadors share their stories, promote East African culture and raise awareness to help ensure that they and their peers are fully prepared to assume leadership roles in their communities.

The troupe is a program within Empower African Children, a non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas and Kampala, Uganda.

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Friday, March 9, 2012, 8 p.m.

and supports 55 young Ugandans with a goal of increasing this number by 15 percent each year.

Through a combination of proprietary programming and global collaboration, EAC has launched the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, which assists with micro-lending, job creation and training in capital formation and investment, financial and operational management, fair trade practices and leadership skills.

Putting theory into practice, in the fall of 2011, Empower African Children founded Uwezo Brands, a sustainable clothing and accessories line. Every pair of Uwezo shoes purchased supports EAC’s programs.

Peter Kasule, artistic director and master of ceremonies

The founding artistic director of Spirit of Uganda, Peter Kasule researches, creates and arranges all repertory; he casts and rehearses the troupe, and produces the company’s music recordings.

Kasule was born in Kampala, Uganda in 1981. He lost his parents to AIDS and he lived at the Daughters of Charity Orphanage from 1989 to 1996. In 1996 he accepted an invitation from Alexis Hefley to attend Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, where he established himself as an award-winning musician.

Kasule earned a degree in music technology, with a focus on composition and recording and an interest in blending African and Western music, from the College of Santa Fe in 2007.

Kasule was an original member of the Children of Uganda company and served as that group’s director from 2004 to 2006.

Alexis Hefley, Founder and President of Empower African Children

Recognized internationally for her work with vulnerable children in Africa, Hefley first traveled to Uganda in 1993, where she lived and worked with AIDS orphans in Kampala for 18 months before returning to the United States to found Uganda Children’s Charity Foundation. She led that organization for 10 years before launching Empower

African Children in 2006.

Hefley initiated and produced Children of Uganda, the award-winning and critically acclaimed performing arts company that introduced millions of Americans to East Africa’s rich cultures.

Hefley’s dedicated approach, passionate advocacy, innovative thinking and extensive experience are at the center of Empower African Children. Working in partnership with individuals, government agencies, public institutions and corporations in the U.S. and Uganda, she has developed and successfully implemented a wide range of programs to support thousands of Ugandan children and their families.

In 2004, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni presented Hefley with the Ugandan North American Association’s Philly Bongole Lutaaya award for her role in increasing AIDS awareness.

Program Notes

Hurira Engoma:

A bravura showcase for the girls as they balance clay pots on their heads, this dance features a mix of traditional and newly created movements. The music is by company member Jimmy Ayo, and the song’s lyrics encourage us to listen to the sweet sounds and pitches of the African drums, and how well they are played.

Orunyege-Ntogoro:

Originally a courtship dance of the Banyoro and Batooro people of southeast Uganda, this exuberant and demanding dance gives everyone a chance to show their individual talents. In the past, young men and women would be brought together in front of the community to choose their future mates. This ceremony was a critical event, especially for the boys, since bad dancers risked remaining bachelors. The girls were expected to dance well in return, exhibiting pluck, style and grace.

Aida:

Bakisimba:

Bakisimba is a traditional dance of the court of Buganda, the largest ethnic group of Uganda. Originally performed only by women, it celebrates the creation of banana wine for the king. The drummers’ rhythms and the dancers’ movements mirror the king’s words of thanks, “speaking” for him and reflecting his increasingly celebratory mood.

An Acholi song performed by two of our youngest girls, Aida praises the beauty of a girl of the same name, who respects herself and lives an exemplary life as an example to the rest of the community.

Larakaraka:

A traditional dance of the Lugbara people from Uganda’s West Nile region, Gaze reflects an exchange of dance movements between the Lugbara and their neighbors in the Congo.

In northern Uganda near the Sudanese border, Larakaraka has become a rallying cry and therapeutic dance for those who have been abducted by rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army. Derived from a courtship dance, this Acholi dance is accompanied by rhythms pounded out on gourds. Gourds or calabashes are multipurpose vessels used to fetch water, sat upon as stools and held overhead to limit the effects of the hot sun; mothers will lightly tap out rhythms on them to console crying babies.

Omuvangano:

Arihe: An ode to Rwanda as a mother-

Zamuranza:

A song of praise sung in Luganda and Swahili.

Gaze:

Omuvangano showcases the boys’ drumming skills in a collection of wellknown African rhythms, signifying Uganda’s ability to welcome and celebrate all the goodness of Africa.

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land of beauty and love never to be forgotten, with the lyrics: “love that united all of us should be with us forever.

Let us join and dance for our homeland.

Long live Rwanda.”

Friday, March 9, 2012, 8 p.m.

Kinyarwanda:

Kinyarwanda is named for the language spoken in Rwanda, a border country to Uganda in the southwest. In the past, Rwandan women and men were forbidden to occupy the same space. One day, the men needed to hunt for an elephant and take it as a present to the king. When their efforts proved futile, they visited the women to inquire. As it turned out, one woman knew the elephant’s whereabouts. Upon capturing the elephant, both sexes danced the Amaraba together in celebration.

Abuda:

Named after the Lango word for drums, the girls celebrate their skills with this sampling of intricate rhythms from some of Uganda’s many rich cultures.

Mwaga:

The Bagisu inhabit the western and southern areas around Mount Elgon, whose land is now integrated into one of Uganda’s most visited national parks.

With no history of migration, the Bagisu encouraged internal competition to ensure the longevity and strength of its people and culture. This piece features mukila (cow tails) and is based on a ritual for males who have reached puberty.

Eyogera Biyaka:

A song composed for the Embaire, one of the world’s largest xylophones, and it extols the exceptional creativity of the Embaire players from the village of Nakisenyi. The dance movements express friendship and unity. They are derived from three dances, Thamenaibuga, Irongo and Nalufuka, from the Busoga region in eastern Uganda.

to attract the boys, so the dance is usually held on bright days, when the sun is out.

Kikibi:

The title simply means “dance” in Lukonjo, the native language of the Bakonzo in the Kasese District of southern Uganda that borders the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sinuous and slow paced, the movements are intended to imitate those of a snake.

Doctor:

This song of praise says, “My only doctor is the Creator, who created me, the Lord above! I leave my life in his hands.”

Ekitaguriro:

Ding Ding:

This dance is derived from the Acholi people in northern Uganda who are highly regarded for their dark complexions and tall statures. Girls developing into young women perform this highenergy dance. Their movements are meant to imitate birds. The girls dance

This dance is from the nomadic Banyankole of western Uganda, who cherish their cattle that they tend to for a living.

The dance praises the long-horned cows of Ankole and Rwanda. Dancers imitate the sounds, rhythms and movements of the graceful cows. The omukuri, a flute used to herd the cattle, is featured here.

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Who sees herself as estimable adorns herself.”

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Thursday, March 15, 2012, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Strathmore Presents

Reel Around the Shamrock St. Patrick’s Day Celebration with Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul Eileen Ivers, vocals Tommy McDonnell, vocalist and percussion Buddy Connolly, accordion, whistles and keyboards Greg Anderson, guitar and vocals Leo Traversa, bass guitar Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance Sean Culkin, director Brendan Mulvihill, fiddle Billy McComiskey, accordion

The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Eileen Ivers, vocals

Eileen Ivers has established herself as the pre-eminent exponent of the Irish fiddle in the world today. The nine time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony at The Kennedy Center and Boston Pops, as well as with The Chieftains, Sting, Hall

and Oates, Randy Brecker, Patti Smith, Paula Cole, Al Di Meola and Steve Gadd. She is a founding member of the all-female Irish-American group Cherish the Ladies and performs with her band Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul.

The Grammy-winning musician was an original musical star of Riverdance and can be heard on the soundtrack of the film Gangs of New York.

The daughter of Irish immigrants, Ivers grew up in the Bronx, N.Y. Rooted in Irish traditional music since age 8, she proceeded to win nine AllIreland fiddle championships, a championship on tenor banjo and more than 30 championship medals. She graduated magna cum laude in mathematics from Iona College before embarking on her career in music.

Tommy McDonnell, vocals and percussion

Bronx, N.Y. native Tommy McDonnell is an inspired vocalist who has been performing professionally since age 15.

The son of a carpenter and a profes-

36 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

sional actress/singer/dancer, McDonnell brings a deeply soulful aspect to the multidimensional thrust of Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul. McDonnell played drums until 1988, when he decided to embark on a singing career. He has appeared as a featured performer in the film Blues Brothers 2000, on Late Show With David Letterman and on Saturday Night Live. McDonnell has shared the stage with such greats as Dr. John, B.B. King, James Brown, Eric Clapton, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hayes and Wilson Pickett.

Buddy Connolly, accordion, whistles and keyboard

Three time All-Ireland accordion champion Buddy Connolly hails from Newark, N.J., with parents from Clare and Galway in Ireland. Some influential players during his formative years were John Nolan, Joanie Madden, Mike Rafferty and Eileen Ivers. In 1995 he moved to Nashville and was introduced to bluegrass, Cajun and country music. He’s had worldwide gigs/recordings with Tim O’Brien, Kathy Mattea, Rodney Crowell, Christian rockers Ceili Rain, Orleans, Matt Molloy of The Chieftains and many others.

Greg Anderson, guitar and vocals

Multi-instrumentalist and producer Greg Anderson hails from New York City.

A mainstay in the folk and traditional music worlds, he has performed with Cathie Ryan, Susan McKeown, Richard Shindell, Tommy Sands, Seán Tyrrell and Steeleye Span fiddler Peter Knight.

He has also worked with many artists in rock, jazz and contemporary music, having played bass for the avant-rock group Doctor Nerve and also accompanying The Klezmatics on tours of Itzhak Perlman’s In The Fiddler’s House. Anderson also co-founded the New York celtic-jazz fusion group Whirligig.

Leo Traversa, bass guitar

Leo Traversa is a native New Yorker and is a founding and current faculty member of the Bass Collective in New York City, where he has taught since 1987. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and at A.A.S. Five Town College in New York. He has performed

Thursday, March 15, 2012, 8 p.m.

and recorded worldwide with a wide range of internationally known artists, including Tania Maria, Eliane Elis, Ben E. King, Astrud Gilberto, Michael Brecker, Don Byron, Cesar Camargo Mariano, Dave Valentin, Toninho Horta, Gerry Mulligan, The New York Voices, Oscar Hernandez, Phil Woods, The Caribbean Jazz Project, Steve Kimock, Leslie Uggams, Gato Barbieri, and Ivan Lins. and Dr. Chris Washburn’s Syotos band.

Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance

The Culkin School was founded in 1997 and serves more than 400 students. Director Sean Culkin’s goal for the school is to preserve the unique tradition of Irish music and dance and pass it on to new generations of dancers. A secondary goal of the school is to share Irish music and dance with the Washington, D.C. community by participating in a variety of local events and performances.

Brendan Mulvihill, fiddle

Brendan Mulvihill’s roots in Irish music run deep. Mulvihill’s grandmother Bridgid Mulvihill, was a fiddler and her brothers were also all musicians. His father, the late National Heritage Fellow Martin Mulvihill of County Limerick, Ireland, was a renowned fiddle player and a highly respected Irish music teacher in America.

Mulvihill immigrated to New York with his family in 1965. In the 1970s he traveled to Ireland playing throughout the country with his contemporaries. In 1975, Mulvihill returned to New York and soon began playing with accordion player Billy McComiskey and singer/guitarist Andy O’Brien. The three formed the trio The Irish Tradition, which became a seminal influence in traditional music.

As a solo artist, Mulvihill appeared at the Éigse na Laoi at University College, Cork, Ireland in 1993 and again in 1995, where he played sets with uilleann piper Paddy Keenan, fiddler

Martin Hayes and accordionist John Williams. Mulvihill and pianist Donna Long toured the country in 1994-95 as part of the Masters of the Folk Violin tour. In 1998 Mulvihill played in the PBS broadcast In Performance at the White House for President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and their guests.

Billy McComiskey, accordion

Billy McComiskey is a highly regarded player and composer of Irish traditional music. In his early teens, he started studying accordion with the late Sean McGlynn from Galway. He formed and played with two legendary trios: Washington D.C.’s Irish Tradition and Trian.

He is known as an indefatigable session player, teacher and promulgator of the music. On Outside the Box, McComiskey’s first solo CD in almost 25 years, the listener is once again reminded why he is known as the most accomplished B/C box player to emerge from Irish America.

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Friday, March 16, 2012, 8 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Washington Performing Arts Society Celebrity Series and Maestro Artist Management present

Vadim Repin, violin Itamar Golan, piano

Sonata for Violin and Piano Leoš Janáček Con moto (1854-192)

Balada Allegretto Adagio onata in G Major for Violin and Piano Maurice Ravel S

Allegretto (1875-1937)

Blues: Moderato

Perpetuum mobile INTERMISSION

Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major, Op. 13 Edvard Grieg

Lento doloroso; Allegro vivace (1843-1907)

Allegretto tranquillo

Allegro animato

Poème, Op. 25 Ernest Chausson

(1855-1899)

Tzigane Maurice Ravel The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Vadim Repin, violin Born in Siberia in 1971, Vadim Repin began playing the violin at the age of 5. Six months later he had his first stage performance. At

only 11, Repin won the gold medal in all age categories in the Wienawski Competition and gave his recital debuts in Moscow and St. Petersburg. He made his debuts in Tokyo, Munich, Berlin and Helsinki at age 14 and a year later debuted at Carnegie Hall. In 1987, Repin became the youngest winner of the most prestigious and demanding violin competition in the world, the

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Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Repin has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, NDR Hamburg, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Philharmonia, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw, San Francisco Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and La Scala, and has worked with leading conductors such as Ashkenazy, Boulez, Bychkov, Chailly, Chung, Conlon, Dohnanyi, Dutoit, Eschenbach, Fedoseyev, Gatti, Gergiev, Jansons, Neeme and Paavo Järvi, Krivine, Levine, Luisi, Marriner, Masur, Mehta, Muti, Nagano, Ozawa, Rattle, Rozhdestvensky, Temirkanov and Zinman.

Repin has been a frequent guest at festivals such as the BBC Proms, Rheingau, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Gstaad and Verbier. He regularly collaborates with Nikolai Lugansky and Itamar Golan in recital; other chamber music partners include Martha Argerich, Evgeny Kissin and Mischa Maisky. This season, Repin will appear in recital in Boston and, for the first time since 2006, at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Other recent highlights have been tours with the London Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev; and collaborations with Christian Thielemann in Tokyo, with Riccardo Muti in New York, with Riccardo Chailly in Leipzig, a tour of Australia with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski, and unanimously acclaimed premieres in London, Philadelphia and in New York’s Carnegie Hall of a violin concerto written for him by James MacMillan. The 2010-11 season included concerts in Rome with Temirkanov, in Israel with Kurt Masur, a tour of Asia with concerts with the China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, a recital with Sergei Tarasov in Taipei, and three concerts to open the new Esterházy Palace Festival in Austria. Repin also paid visits to the Seattle Symphony Orchestra with Gerard Schwarz conducting, and the Chicago Symphony

Friday, March 16, 2012, 8 p.m.

Orchestra with Riccardo Muti.

Repin’s CDs include prize-winning recordings of the great Russian violin concerti by Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky on Warner Classics.

His first recording for Deutsche Grammophon featured the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic and Riccardo Muti, coupled with Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata with Martha Argerich; the second featured the Brahms Violin Concerto and the Brahms Double Concerto (Truls Mørk, cello) with the Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig and Riccardo Chailly. His latest release is a CD of works by Grieg, Janacek and César Franck with Nikolai Lugansky.

In February 2010, he was awarded the Victoire d’Honneur, France’s most prestigious musical award for a lifetime’s dedication to music, and in December 2010 he became Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres.

Repin plays on the 1743 Bonjour violin by Guarneri del Gesù.

Itamar Golan, piano

For more than two decades, Itamar Golan has partnered with the most outstanding instrumentalists of our time.

Born in Vilnius, Lithuania, his family immigrated to Israel when he was a year old. There he started his musical studies and at age 7 gave his first concerts in Tel Aviv. He was repeatedly awarded scholarships from the American-Israel Cultural Foundation, which enabled him to study with Emmanuel Krasovsky and his chamber music mentor, Chaim Taub. Later, while on full scholarship at the New England Conservatory, he was chosen to study with Leonard Shure.

Since his earliest years, Golan’s passion has been chamber music, but he has also appeared as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Zubin

Mehta, Royal Philharmonic under the direction of Daniele Gatti, the Orchestra Philharmonica della Scala, the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Riccardo Muti and Philarmonia Orchestra under the direction of Lorin Maazel. Over the years, he has collaborated with Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Julian Rachlin, Mischa Maisky, Shlomo Mintz, Ivry Gitlis, Ida Haendel, Kyung Wha Chung, Sharon Kam, Janine Jansen, Martin Frost and Torleif Thedeen among many others. He is a frequent participant in many prestigious international music festivals, such as Salzburg, Verbier, Lucerne, Tanglewood and Ravinia, and has made numerous recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics, Decca, Teldec, EMI and Sony Classical.

In 1991, Golan was nominated to the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, making him one of their youngest teachers ever. Since 1994, he has taught chamber music at the Paris Conservatory. He resides in Paris, where he is involved in many different artistic projects.

Program Notes Sonata for Violin and Piano

Leoš Janáček

Born July 3, 1854, in Hukvaldy, Czechoslovakia; died Aug. 12, 1928 in Moravska Ostrava, Czechoslovakia

Over the last several decades, Czech composer Leoš Janáček has escaped his reputation as an interesting minor composer and been recognized for what he was: one of the great composers of the first part of the 20th century. Born only 13 years after Dvořák, Janáček might seem to belong more properly to the 19th century than the 20th, but his reputation rests largely on the extraordinary body of work he created after his 60th birthday. Over the final 14 years of his life, Janáček wrote the operas Katya Kabanova, The Cunning Little Vixen, The Makropoulos Affair and The House of the Dead; orchestral works Sinfonietta and Taras Bulba; the Glagolitic Mass; and an

array of chamber works, including two string quartets and the Violin Sonata.

The Violin Sonata is unfamiliar to most audiences today, but here is an instance where familiarity breeds respect, for this is original and moving music.

Janáček originally wrote the sonata in 1914 but could find no violinist interested in performing it; after a complete revision, it was first performed in 1922, when the composer was 68. Listeners unfamiliar with Janáček’s music will need to adjust to the distinctive sound of this sonata: Janáček generates a shimmering, rippling sonority in the accompaniment, and over this the violin has jagged melodic lines, some sustained, but some very brief, and in fact these sometimes harsh interjections are one of the most characteristic aspects of this music. Janáček also shows here his fondness for unusual key signatures: the four movements are in D-flat minor, E major, E-flat minor, and G-sharp minor.

The opening movement, marked simply Con moto, begins with a jagged recitative for violin, which immediately plays the movement’s main subject over a jangling piano accompaniment reminiscent of the cimbalon of eastern Europe. Despite Janáček’s professed dislike of German forms, this movement shows some relation to sonata form: There is a more flowing second subject and an exposition repeat, followed by a brief development full of sudden tempo changes and themes treated as fragments. A short recapitulation leads to the quiet close.

The Balada was originally written as a separate piece and published in 1915, but as Janáček revised the sonata he decided to use the Balada as its slow movement. This is long-lined music, gorgeous in its sustained lyricism as the violin sails high above the rippling piano; it has a broad second subject. At the climax, Janáček marks both parts ad lib, giving the performers a wide freedom of tempo before the music falls away to its shimmering close.

The Allegretto sounds folk-inspired, particularly in its short, repeated phrases (Janáček interjects individual measures in the unusual meters of 1/8 and

applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 39

Friday, March 16, 2012, 8 p.m.

1/4). The piano has the dancing main subject, accompanied by vigorous swirls from the violin; the trio section leads to an abbreviated return of the opening material and a cadence on harshly clipped chords.

The sonata concludes, surprisingly, with a slow movement, and this Adagio is in many ways the most impressive movement of the sonata. It shows some elements of the dumka form: the rapid alternation of bright and dark music.

The piano opens with a quiet chordal melody marked dolce, but the violin breaks in roughly with interjections that Janáček marks feroce: “wild, fierce.” A flowing second theme in E major offers a glimpse of quiet beauty, but the movement drives to an unexpected climax on the violin’s Maestoso declarations over tremolandi piano. And then the sonata comes to an eerie conclusion: The declamatory climax falls away to an enigmatic close, and matters end ambiguously on the violin’s fierce interjections.

Janáček’s Violin Sonata is extraordinary music, original in conception and sonority and finally very moving, despite its refusal ever to do quite what we expect it to. For those unfamiliar with Janáček’s late music, this sonata offers a glimpse of the rich achievement of his remarkable final 14 years.

Sonata in G Major for Violin and Piano

Maurice Ravel Born March 7, 1875 in Ciboure, France; died Dec. 28, 1937 in Paris

Ravel began making sketches for his Violin Sonata in 1923, the year after he completed his orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. He was composing a number of works for violin during these years, including Tzigane, but the Violin Sonata proved extremely difficult for him, and he did not complete it until 1927. The first performance, by violinist Georges Enesco and the composer, took place on May 30, 1927, in Paris while that city was still in a dither over the landing of Charles Lindbergh the week before.

In the Violin Sonata, Ravel wrestled with a problem that has plagued all who

compose violin sonatas—the clash between the resonant, sustained sound of the violin and the percussive sound of the piano—and he chose to accentuate these differences: “It was this independence I was aiming at when I wrote a Sonata for violin and piano, two incompatible instruments whose incompatibility is emphasized here, without any attempt being made to reconcile their contrasted characters.” The most distinctive feature of the sonata, however, is Ravel’s use of jazz elements in the slow movement.

The opening Allegretto is marked by emotional restraint. The piano alone announces the cool first theme, which is quickly picked up by the violin. A sharply rhythmic figure, much like a drum tattoo, contrasts with the rocking, flowing character of the rest of this movement, which closes on a quietly soaring restatement of the main theme.

Ravel called the second movement Blues, but he insisted that this is jazz as seen by a Frenchman. In a lecture during his American tour of 1928, he said of this movement: “while I adopted this popular form of your music, I venture to say that nevertheless it is French music, Ravel’s music, that I have written.” He sets out to make violin and piano sound like a saxophone and guitar, specifying that the steady accompanying chords must be played strictly in time so that the melodic line can sound “bluesy” in contrast. The “twang” of this movement is accentuated by Ravel’s setting the violin in G major and the piano in A-flat major at the opening.

Thematic fragments at the very beginning of the finale slowly accelerate to become a virtuoso perpetual motion.

Ravel brings back themes from the first two movements before the music rushes to its brilliant close, which features complex string-crossings for the violinist.

Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major, Op. 13

Edvard Grieg Born June 15, 1843, Bergen, Norway; died Sept. 4, 1907, Bergen

Grieg completed his Second Violin Sonata in July 1867, a month after his 24th birthday. Grieg set out to make

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this music as Norwegian as possible, incorporating Norwegian folk tunes and dance rhythms and using violin techniques associated with the hardingerfidel, the fiddle of Norwegian folk music.

When accused of nationalism, Grieg reacted defiantly—that had been his intention. To foreign ears, however, the identification of Grieg with the music of Norway is already so automatic that this sonata does not sound like Norwegian folk music to us. It sounds like Grieg.

The Second Violin Sonata is in three movements, and there are thematic links between the outer movements.

The first movement opens with a slow introduction in G minor, marked Lento doloroso and featuring a freely rhapsodic passage for the violin. The main idea bursts forth in the piano at the Allegro vivace. This is a vigorous Norwegian dance in 3/4 meter known as the springdans, and the ear quickly picks up the fact that Grieg had anticipated the shape of this theme in the movement’s slow introduction. The second subject is a gently rocking waltz tune for violin marked tranquillo ed espressivo. The development, based on both themes, is impassioned and exciting.

The Allegretto tranquillo, in ABA form, opens with a piano tune in E minor that is quickly picked up by the violin. Soon both instruments swirl and swoop through an energetic extension of the melody. The center section, by contrast, is a quiet, rhapsodic interlude.

The soaring violin melody that opens the Allegro animato is directly related to the introduction to the first movement—for all the charges of nationalism, this music is much more tightly constructed than one might at first think. The quiet second theme at the center of this movement, in fact, is a variation of the center section of the slow movement. High spirits prevail throughout the energetic finale, which flies to its close.

At its premiere, Grieg’s Second Violin Sonata had a tough time with the critics, especially Norwegian critics uncomfortable with his use of native material. Infrequently heard today, this

Friday, March 16, 2012, 8 p.m.

sonata deserves to be better known, as do Grieg’s other two violin sonatas: They are attractive music, well-crafted, appealing for their thematic ideas and continually rewarding.

Poème, Op. 25

Ernest Chausson Born Jan. 20, 1855 in Paris; died June 10, 1899 in Limay, France

Ernest Chausson grew up in an educated and refined family who believed that he should make a career in law. But the lure of music proved too strong, and at age 24—after completing law school—he entered the Paris Conservatory. Perhaps because of this late start, it took Chausson some years to refine his art and develop a personal style, and it was not until his late 30s that he began to produce a series of carefully crafted works, particularly for voice. The promise demonstrated in this music was cut short, however, when Chausson was killed in a bicycle accident at age 44.

A cultivated man, Chausson was particularly attracted to the work of Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev. When he set out to write a piece for the great Belgian violinist Eugene Ysaÿe, Chausson turned to the work of Turgenev for inspiration, choosing a short story called (in its French translation) Le chant de l’amour triomphant.

Chausson composed this music in the spring of 1896, though he finally chose a much simpler title, Poème.

This 15-minute piece for violin and orchestra is neither a concerto nor a tone poem that sets out to tell Turgenev’s tale in music. Rather, it is a mood piece—expressive, dark, almost voluptuous in its lush harmonies and melodies—meant to reflect the atmosphere of Turgenev’s tale. The musical form of Poème is difficult to define: it is episodic, somewhat in the manner of a slow rondo. After the misty introduction, marked Lento e misterioso, the unaccompanied violin lays out the long and graceful main theme, which is repeated by the piano. The violin’s music grows more intense and florid,

rushing ahead into the contrasting section, marked Animato, where it soars high above the murmuring accompaniment. Chausson alternates these sections before the Poème moves to a quiet close on a return of the opening material. This ending drew particular praise from Debussy who, some years after Chausson’s death, wrote in a review: “Nothing touches more with dreamy sweetness than the end of this Poème, where the music, leaving aside all description and anecdote, becomes the very feeling which inspired its emotion.”

Though Poème is not consciously a display piece, it is nevertheless quite difficult for the violinist, who must sustain a singing line (often high in the instrument’s register) and project the complex runs, trills and arabesques that give this music its distinctive character. Ysaÿe was very fond of Poème and gave it several performances (both private and public) before the Paris premiere on April 4, 1897. Chausson had not had much success with critics or audiences, and the response to Poème caught him by surprise: one his friends told of seeing a look of astonishment on Chausson’s face as he stood backstage listening to the waves of applause that greeted the premiere: “I can’t get over it,” was all the amazed composer could say. A century later, Poème remains Chausson’s most famous work, a favorite of audiences and violinists alike.

Tzigane

Maurice Ravel In the summer of 1922, just as he began his orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Ravel visited England for several concerts of his music, and in London he heard a performance of his new Sonata for Violin and Cello by Jelly d’Aranyi and Hans Kindler. Jelly d’Aranyi must have been a very impressive violinist, for every composer who heard her was swept away by her playing—and by her personality (Bartók was one of the many who fell in love with her). Ravel was so impressed that he stayed after the

concert and talked her into playing gypsy tunes from her native Hungary for him. He kept her there until five the next morning, playing for him.

Tzigane probably got its start that night. Inspired by both d’Aranyi’s playing and the fiery gypsy tunes, Ravel set out to write a virtuoso showpiece for the violin based on gypsy-like melodies (the title Tzigane means simply “gypsy”). Its composition was much delayed, however, and Ravel did not complete Tzigane for another two years.

Trying to preserve a distinctly Hungarian flavor, he wrote Tzigane for violin with the accompaniment of lutheal, a device which—when attached to a piano—gave the piano a jangling sound typical of the Hungarian cimbalon. The first performance, by d’Aranyi with piano accompaniment, took place in London on April 26, 1924, and later that year Ravel prepared an orchestral accompaniment. In whatever form it is heard, Tzigane remains an audience favorite.

It is unusual for a French composer to be so drawn to gypsy music. Usually it was the composer from central Europe—Liszt, Brahms, Joachim, Hubay—who felt the charm of this music, but Ravel enters fully into the spirit and creates a virtuoso showpiece redolent of gypsy campfires and smoldering dance tunes. Tzigane opens with a long cadenza (nearly half the length of the entire piece) that keeps the violinist solely on the G-string across the span of the entire first page. While Tzigane seems drenched in an authentic gypsy spirit, all of its themes are Ravel’s own, composed in the spirit of the tunes he heard d’Aranyi play late that night. Gradually the accompaniment enters, and the piece takes off. Tzigane is quite episodic, and across its blazing second half Ravel demands such techniques from the violinist as artificial harmonics, left-hand pizzicatos, complex multiple-stops and sustained octave passages. Over the final pages the tempo gradually accelerates until Tzigane rushes to its scorching close, marked Presto.

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 41

Saturday, March 17, 2012, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, Music Director

presents

Beethoven’s Concerto No. 4 Jiří Bélohlávek, conductor Shai Wosner, piano

Carnival Overture, Op. 92 Antonín Dvořák

(1841-1904) Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58 Ludwig van Beethoven

Allegro moderato (1770-1827) Andante con moto

Rondo: Vivace

Shai Wosner INTERMISSION

Dances of Galánta Zoltán Kodály

(1882-1967)

Taras Bulba Leoš Janáček The Death of Andri (1854-1928)

The Death of Ostap

The Prophecy and the Death of Taras Bulba

Shai Wosner, piano

Presenting Sponsor: DLA Piper The concert will end at approximately 10:00 P.M. The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Jiří Bélohlávek, conductor

The renowned Czech maestro Jiří Bĕlohlávek took up the position of chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in July 2006. In September 2012, he will become the music director and chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, a post he previously held from 1990 to 1992.

Founder and music director laureate of the Prague Philharmonia, Bĕlohlávek studied at the Prague Conservatoire and Arts Academy and was appointed

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Shai Wosner has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic.

Recent and upcoming highlights include his subscription debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; conducting the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra from the keyboard; performances with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Bĕlohlávek photo by Clive Barda; Wosner photo by Marco Borggreve

president of the Prague Spring Festival in 2006. He appears regularly with the world’s top orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), Orchestre de Paris, Cleveland Orchestra and the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Baltimore and Toronto.

During the current season, Bĕlohlávek will conduct productions of Martinu’s Julietta in Geneva and Janáček’s The Makropulos Case at the Metropolitan Opera New York. In the concert hall, he will conduct, amongst others, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Boston and Baltimore symphony orchestras, as well as a full season with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which includes tours of Spain and Germany, a concert performance of Dvořák’s rarely performed opera The Jacobin at the Barbican Hall in London and an appearance at the Prague Spring Festival.

Bĕlohlávek last appeared with the BSO on March 27-28, 1986, conducting Smetana’s From Bohemian Fields and Groves, Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7.

Saturday, March 17, 2012, 8 p.m.

and BBC Philharmonic; return visits to the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in subscription concerts and at the Proms; and recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Hay Festival, Hoddinott Hall, Oxford Philomusica International Piano Festival, Brighton Festival and Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Wosner is the recipient of both an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, and is a former BBC New Generation Artist.

In 2010, Onyx released his first solo disc, juxtaposing works by Brahms and Schoenberg, to wide critical acclaim. In 2011, he released his second disc, featuring solo works by Schubert.

Wosner last appeared with the BSO on Jan. 8, 2002, at the U.S. Naval Academy, performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with conductor David Alan Miller.

Program Notes Carnival Overture

Antonín Dvořák

Born Sept. 8, 1841 in Nelahozeves, Bohemia (now Czech Republic); died May 1, 1904 in Prague, Czech Republic

The Carnival Overture is the second of a set of three concert overtures Antonín Dvořák composed on the broad philosophical themes of “Nature, Life and Love.” This vivid trio of works— which also includes In Nature’s Realm and Othello—was written between 1891 and 1892 when the great Czech composer had just passed his 50th birthday and was at the height of his artistic powers and international fame. For Dvořák, it was a good moment for taking stock by reviewing his personal beliefs about the meaning of life and giving them musical expression. He introduced all three overtures at a farewell concert in his home city of Prague on April 28, 1892, shortly before leaving for several years of teaching and composing in America.

The second overture was originally titled “Life”; Dvořák changed it to “Carnival” shortly before the premiere performance. But vivacious as its opening and

closing moments are, it is not intended to be a portrait of a Czech folk carnival with clowns and Ferris wheels; rather we should listen to this music in the broader sense of the “Carnival of Life.”

The work opens with music of tremendous fire and vitality, tossing us immediately into the whirlwind of energetic, healthy human life. (With his roots in the Czech countryside and his unquestioning Catholic faith, Dvořák was one of the most mentally well-balanced of all the great composers.) But the loveliest and most subtle moments come in an interlude of quiet reflection, led by woodwinds and solo violin, at the work’s midpoint. Here the clarinets and later the English horn sing the rocking “Nature” theme that unites all three overtures; for Dvořák, all human life derived from the power of unspoiled Nature. Following this gentle interlude, Dvořák sends the overture’s many melodic themes through a mysterious thicket of ever-changing keys before returning us to the fiery opening music.

The BSO most recently performed Dvořák’s Carnival Overture on July 13, 2007, with conductor Andrew Constantine.

Instrumentation: two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp and strings.

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major

Ludwig van Beethoven Born Dec. 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany; died March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria

With his final three piano concertos, Beethoven left the model of Mozart’s piano concertos behind and struck out on a new path. And among these concertos, the most daring, the most innovative—even though it is also the quietest and most introspective—is the Piano Concerto No. 4 he completed in 1806, the same year he wrote the Violin Concerto and the Symphony No. 4.

That this work should be both radical and gentle seems a paradox. The mood throughout the first two movements is reflective and introspective,

and the dynamic level is seldom loud.

Beethoven used a small orchestra: strings and woodwinds for the first movement, strings only for the second, two trumpets and timpani added for the finale. Yet the work is indeed revolutionary from its very opening bars.

First Movement: The beginning of the concerto is unprecedented. Instead of the expected orchestral exposition, the soloist begins alone, introducing the principal theme in hushed, rich chords in the home key of G. Another surprise: the orchestra answers the piano, but in a questioning manner in the remote key of B major. Like so many of Beethoven’s most productive motives, this theme is as much a rhythmic pattern—three repeated staccato (short, stabbing) notes leading to a sustained note (shades of the Symphony No. 5!)—as a melodic one. By simply quoting this rhythm throughout this sonata-form movement, Beethoven will be able to conjure up the theme while allowing himself free range for development.

Appropriately, since the composer wrote the solo part for himself, the soloist is the leader in driving this movement forward. Not only does he begin the movement, he also interrupts the orchestra’s completion of the exposition to begin the development section with the principal theme and incites the orchestra to new deeds of harmonic daring throughout its course. And he introduces the recapitulation with a bold, lavishly embellished version of his quiet opening statement.

The second movement, in E minor, is the work’s most innovative. Commentators from the mid-19th century on (including Liszt) have agreed that it must have been inspired by the legend of Orpheus venturing into the underworld in search of his wife, Euridice, and bewitching the infernal gods with his music.

Beethoven may have been inspired by Gluck’s famous Orfeo opera or by a forgotten one by the composer’s friend Friedrich August Kanne. Beethoven’s pupil, Carl Czerny, tells us that his works were often “inspired by… visions or pictures from his reading or from his own lively imagination,” although the

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Saturday, March 17, 2012, 8 p.m.

composer “was reluctant to speak on this matter except on a few occasions when he was in a confiding mood.”

The movement takes the form of a dialogue between the strings—representing the Furies in brusque, staccato-rhythm octaves—and the pianist as Orpheus, entreating them with softly singing, beautifully harmonized phrases.

Toward the end, the soloist plays a remarkable passage sounding like a magical incantation: a sustained trill that throws off eerie chromatically descending scale figures. Spellbound, the orchestra is finally subdued; only the cellos and basses protest faintly with an echo of their fierce opening.

The finale is a rondo, full of wit and energy, but its extensive developmental passages give it more musical substance than the conventional 18th-century rondo finale. A lyrical second theme introduced by the piano, provides contrast; it is answered by the orchestra singing in rich counterpoint. The music accelerates to Presto for a whirlwind finish.

The BSO most recently performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 on May 1-3, 2009, with conductor Mario Venzago and pianist Nelson Freire.

Instrumentation: one flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.

Dances of Galánta

Zoltán Kodály Born Dec. 16, 1882 in Kecskemét, Hungary; died March 6, 1967 in Budapest

“If I were to name the composer whose works are the most perfect embodiment of the Hungarian spirit, I would answer, Kodály.” Thus wrote another famous Hungarian composer, Béla Bartók, who together with Zoltán Kodály spent the early years of the 20th century gathering the traditional folksongs of the peasants in the Hungarian countryside. These old melodies, captured on primitive recording cylinders, deeply influenced both men’s creative voices, but Kodály’s most of all. Even his celebrated program of music education, which came to be known as the Kodály Method, taught musical skills through the medium of

folk tunes.

From ages 3 to 10 , Kodály lived in the town of Galánta on the HungarianCzech border, where his amateur-musician father served as the town’s railroad stationmaster. It was here that Kodály’s talent and passion for music were ignited and especially his passion for Hungarian folk music.

And it was Galánta that he thought of again in 1933 when the Budapest Philharmonic Society asked him to compose a work to celebrate its 80th anniversary. But ultimately it wasn’t the Galánta melodies that Kodály finally chose to glorify in his Dances of Galánta.

Instead, he drew his themes from a collection of verbunkos dances published in Vienna in 1800.

Though of more ancient origins, the verbunkos reached its apogee in the Hungary of the late 18th century and the Napoleonic era. It was a recruiting dance: a rather clever device to induce Hungarians, with their mania for dancing, to sign up as volunteers for the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s many wars of that period.

“Performed by a dozen or so hussars [in full dress uniforms], led by their sergeant, the essence of the dance was the alternation of slow figures with quick ones; the tunes, mostly simple folksongs, were extravagantly elaborated by the accompanying gypsy musicians,” explains Minnesota Orchestra annotator Mary Ann Feldman. “Thus, a striking feature of the verbunkos to be heard in the Dances of Galánta is its rich ornamentation, coupled with crisply syncopated rhythms and wide [melodic] leaps.” We also hear more Eastern influences in these Hungarian folk melodies, emanating from the Balkans and even Turkey.

The music opens with a slow introduction, rich in atmosphere. Cellos, solo horn, solo oboe, violins and solo clarinet in turn present a keening, repetitive theme, surrounded by swirling patterns in strings and woodwinds. The clarinet, a popular mainstay of gypsy bands, adds an elaborate gypsy-style cadenza to its solo and then introduces a proud, soulful theme in a slower tempo that will serve as a recurring refrain linking together the different dance episodes.

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These, beginning with a flute-led dance, become progressively faster and more brilliant. Most dazzling of all is the fifth dance, full of high-kicking syncopations and fleet, colorful orchestral writing. And it is this dance that becomes Kodály’s fiery finale, interrupted briefly by a wistful last appearance in the woodwinds of his slower refrain.

The BSO most recently performed Kodály’s Dances of Galánta on June 7-9, 2002, with Music Director Sergiu Comissiona.

Instrumentation: two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, percussion and strings.

Taras Bulba

Leoš Janáček

Born July 3, 1854 in Hukvaldy, Moravia (now Czech Republic); died Aug. 12, 1928 in Moravská Ostrava (now Czech Republic)

No other composer had a career path quite like Leoš Janáček’s. Born to a poor family of musician/teachers in Moravia— the southern section of the Czech Republic—he had to struggle to scrape together his musical education. For years, he worked diligently as a teacher and the conductor of the semi-professional Beseda Choral Society in Moravia’s capital, Brno. Composing was squeezed in when his other duties permitted. Only with the successful premiere of his opera Jenufa in Brno in 1904 (when he was already 50) did his extraordinary composing talent begin to be recognized.

Janáček’s creative career really blossomed from age 60 to his death at 74. During that period he wrote Taras Bulba; the Sinfonietta; the Glagolitic Mass; and his finest operas, Kát’a Kabanová, The Cunning Little Vixen, The Makropulos Affair and The House of the Dead. A man of the theater first and foremost, Janáček apparently needed a dramatic scenario to inspire even his instrumental works. As he wrote: “I maintain that a pure musical note means nothing unless it is pinned down in life, blood, locale. Otherwise it is a worthless toy.”

Hating the oppressive Austrian Empire

Saturday, March 17, 2012, 8 p.m.

that ruled his native Moravia during most of his life, Janáček became fiercely anti-German and pro-Slav in his politics and his aesthetic ideals. So it is not surprising that he should turn to the legend of Taras Bulba, a Ukrainian Cossack warrior who fought against the Poles during the early 17th century, as inspiration for an orchestral tone poem. Using the Russian novelist Gogol’s treatment of the story, Janáček fashioned three vivid scenes revolving around the deaths of Bulba’s two sons and of Bulba himself.

Movement one, “The Death of Andri,” is the most intimate and heartbreaking of the three scenes. During Bulba’s siege of the Polish town of Dubno, his younger son, Andri, has fallen in love with a Polish girl and has turned against his people. The music begins quietly with a melancholy theme sung by the English horn: This is a softened version of Taras’ own theme. Andri’s anxiety that his traitorous love will be discovered is vividly described. Then

we hear a poignantly beautiful love scene between Andri and his Polish girl, led by solo oboe and cellos. The father’s approach breaks in on this idyll as the trombones thunder a militant version of Taras’ theme. A battle ensues between Andri and the Polish forces, and Taras and his Cossacks. As the piccolo shrieks, Andri is struck down by his implacable father. As he dies, we hear a plaintive reminiscence of his love music.

Movement two, “The Death of Ostap,” chronicles another family tragedy. Bulba’s older son, Ostap, has been captured by the Poles and carried off to Warsaw where he is tortured and executed. Summoned by his son’s anguished cries (heard high in the clarinet), Taras makes a risky appearance among the Polish crowd to try to encourage his son. In a technique frequently used by Janáček, this music is all developed from a brief jagged motive in the violins heard at the beginning; this is then altered and extended to create ever-changing backgrounds for this

gruesome scene. An especially ghoulish touch is the exuberant Polish dance that is juxtaposed against the torture music.

Movement three, “The Prophecy and Death of Taras Bulba”: Taras himself is captured and, nailed to a tree, faces death by burning. We hear music expressing his suffering while the fire flickers in shimmering ostinatos around him. But he witnesses one final victory as his men make a daring escape by plunging their horses into the Dnieper River. Then comes the magnificent coda in which Taras envisions the glorious future of his people. In this mighty apotheosis, swelled by brass, bells and organ, it seems that Janáček is proclaiming his own vision of an independent and prosperous Czechoslovakia free of Austrian tyranny.

Janáček’s Taras Bulba – BSO premiere Instrumentation: three flutes, piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, piccolo clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, organ and strings.

AMERICAN DANCE INSTITUTE SPRING 2012 PERFORMANCE SERIES

“stunning”

-The New York Times

“miraculous”

-Lincoln Center

DANA REITZ JENNIFER TIPTON & SARA RUDNER Necessary Weather March 24 & 25

World Premiere!

DOUG ELKINS CHOREOGRAPHY, ETC. & BALLET ADI Two Othellos May 5 & 6

Named one of the “25 to watch” in 2012 by Dance Magazine.

TZVETA KASSABOVA Metro Incubator Fall

(working title)

May 12 & 13

FOR TICKET INFORMATION VISIT WWW.AMERICANDANCE.ORG applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012 45

Sunday, March 18, 2012, 4 p.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2012, 4 P.M.

Murray Perahia, piano

● Washington Performing Arts Society Piano Masters Series presents

Murray Perahia, piano French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816 Johann Sebastian Bach

Allemande (1685-1750)

Courante Sarabande Gavotte Bourrée Loure Gigue

Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 90 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck

Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutragen

Klavierstücke, Op. 119 Johannes Brahms Intermezzo in B minor (1833-1897) Intermezzo in E minor Intermezzo in C Major Rhapsody in E-flat Major INTERMISSION

Piano Sonata in A Major, D.664 Franz Schubert

Allegro moderato (1797-1828) Andante Allegro

Polonaise in C-sharp minor, Frédéric Chopin Op. 26, No.1 (1810-1849)

Prelude in F-sharp minor, Op. 28, No. 8 Mazurka in C-sharp minor, Op. 30, No. 4 Scherzo in C-sharp minor, Op. 39, No. 3

The WPAS Piano Masters Series is made possible in part through the generous support of Betsy and Robert Feinberg.

The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

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In the more than 35 years he has been performing on the concert stage, American pianist Murray Perahia has become one of the most sought after and cherished pianists of our time. He is the principal guest conductor of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, with whom he has toured as conductor and pianist throughout the United States, Europe, Japan and South East Asia.

Born in New York, Perahia started playing piano at age 4 and later attended Mannes College, where he majored in conducting and composition. His summers were spent at the Marlboro Festival, where he collaborated with such musicians as Rudolf Serkin, Pablo Casals and the members of the Budapest String Quartet. He also studied at the time with Mieczyslaw Horszowski. In subsequent years, he developed a close friendship with Vladimir Horowitz, whose perspective and personality were an abiding inspiration.

Highlights of Perahia’s engagements this season include a European tour with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and a recital tour of Asia, including appearances in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Nagoya.

Perahia has a wide and varied discography. Last year, Sony Classical released a five-CD boxed set of his Chopin recordings, including both concerti, the Etudes Op. 12 and Op. 25, the Ballades, the Préludes Op. 28, and various shorter works. Some of his previous solo recordings feature Bach’s Partitas Nos. 1, 5 and 6 and Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas,

Sunday, March 18, 2012, 4 p.m.

opp. 14, 26 and 28.

Recently, Perahia embarked on an ambitious project to edit the complete Beethoven Sonatas for the Henle Urtext Edition. He also produced and edited numerous hours of recordings of recently discovered master classes by the legendary pianist, Alfred Cortot, which resulted in the highly acclaimed Sony CD release, Alfred Cortot: The Master Classes.

Program Notes French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816

Johann Sebastian Bach Born March 21, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany; died July 28, 1750 in Leipzig, Germany

In May 1720, Bach—then music director at the Cöthen court—accompanied his prince to Carlsbad, where Leopold was taking the waters, and returned to Cöthen in July to discover that his wife had died while he was gone. Bach, then 35 years old, waited nearly 18 months to marry again, and his choice was a good one. In December 1721 he married the 20-year-old Anna Magdalena Wilcken, daughter of a court trumpeter and herself an accomplished musician. She would bear Bach 13 children and survive him by a decade. In the first years of their marriage Bach composed for her a Clavierbüchlein (“little keyboard book”), just as he had written a similar volume several years earlier for his son Wilhelm Friedemann. Composed for her instruction or perhaps simply for her pleasure, this was a collection of short keyboard pieces that were certainly first performed within the Bach household. In Anna Magdalena’s Clavierbüchlein are early versions of five of the six works that would later be published as Bach’s French Suites (the sixth apparently dates from shortly after the family’s move to Leipzig in 1723).

Let it be said right from the start: the name French Suite is misleading, and while it has become inseparably a part of this music, Bach never heard that name.

For him, these were simply a set of short

keyboard suites that he wrote for his young wife. There is nothing consciously or even unconsciously French about them, just as there is nothing recognizably English about Bach’s English Suites: In both cases, these nicknames were attached to the music after the composer’s death. The French Suites (inevitably, we have to use that name) are in the standard four-movement suite sequence— allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue—into which Bach introduces a variety of dance movements, always between the sarabande and gigue.

All movements are in binary form. In contrast to the English Suites, which are large-scale works stretching out to nearly half an hour, the French Suites seem tiny. This is small-scaled, intimate music, and these suites—even with their six to eight movements—last only about a dozen minutes each.

The Allemande of the Suite No. 5 in G Major makes some very attractive modulations, as moments of shade pass over the sunny G-major surface of this dance. There follow a quick Courante (somewhat reminiscent of the TwoPart Inventions Bach was composing in these same years), and a graceful, light Sarabande. The interpolated movements—three of them in this suite—are a Gavotte (which has become so popular that it is sometimes performed separately), an athletic Bourrée and a Loure marked by swirls and cascades of sound, almost arpeggiated chords. The concluding Gigue, a fugue, is the most difficult movement in the suite; it races impetuously along its unusual 12/16 meter.

Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 90

Ludwig van Beethoven Born Dec. 16, 1770, Bonn, Germany; died March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria

One of the problems with dividing Beethoven’s work into three periods is that inevitably we assume that the divisions between these periods must be clearly marked. And so when Beethoven, after a fallow period lasting six years, resumed writing music at age 50, we assume that his “late style” was a sudden development. Actually, many of

the elements that define the late style— intimacy of expression, a deepened concern for lyricism, formal experimentation, an interest in fugal writing—were already evident in the music Beethoven was composing just before he entered that bleak six-year period of comparative silence. In particular, works like the Violin Sonata in G Major of 1812 and the Elegiac Song of 1814 already show pronounced elements of the late style, even though chronologically they come at the close of Beethoven’s heroic style.

The Piano Sonata in E minor, composed during the summer of 1814, is another of those works that looks ahead to the directions Beethoven would explore more fully in his final years. The conflict-based sonata form of the heroic style is here abandoned, replaced by a wholly original approach to sonata structure. The Sonata in E minor is in only two movements, and these are in the unexpected sequence of a fast movement followed by a slow one. The harmonic progression is also unusual, moving from E minor to the tonic major, E major, in the second movement, and the focused and terse structure of the opening movement gives way to a relaxed and flowing concluding movement. Beethoven dedicated this sonata to an old friend, Count Moritz Lichnowsky, younger brother of the composer’s longtime patron Prince Lichnowsky, who had died in April 1814 while Beethoven was beginning work on the sonata.

Also remarkable in this music is Beethoven’s decision to set the movement markings in German rather than the traditional Italian. The first movement is marked Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck: “With liveliness and throughout with feeling and expression.” This movement is noteworthy for its rhythmic imagination: The opening phrase is full of rests and pauses and then moments where the music suddenly flashes forward; the singing second subject arrives in syncopated octaves in the right hand. Beethoven seems intent here not on building this movement out of the collision of themes of

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Sunday, March 18, 2012, 4 p.m.

different character but on the rhythmic possibilities built into these quite different subjects; the movement vanishes on a quiet reprise of a bit of the opening theme.

The second movement, Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutragen (“Not too fast and to be presented very lyrically”), is quite different. It is a broad rondo based on the gorgeous opening idea: Beethoven’s lyric sense was growing richer even as he was sinking more deeply into deafness. There are animated episodes along the way, and some of these are extended at length: This movement is significantly longer than the opening movement. But the rondo theme always makes its welcome return, and Beethoven repeatedly reminds the pianist to play dolce and teneramente (“tenderly”); only rarely does this music rise to a forte—and then quickly retreats. The rondo theme returns for a final statement, and the sonata—inward even at its close—vanishes quietly and gracefully.

Klavierstücke, Op. 119

Johannes Brahms Born May 7, 1833, Hamburg, Germany; died April 3, 1897, Vienna, Austria

As he approached his 60th birthday, Brahms returned to the instrument of his youth, the piano. The young Brahms—the “heaven-storming Johannes,” as one of his friends described him—had established his early reputation as the composer of dramatic piano works: of his first five published works, three were big-boned piano sonatas, and he next produced a series of extraordinarily difficult sets of virtuoso variations.

But suddenly, at age 32, Brahms walked away from solo piano music, and—except for some brief pieces in the late 1870s—that separation would last nearly three decades.

When the aging Brahms returned to the instrument of his youth, he was a very different man and a very different composer from the “heaven-storming Johannes” of years before. During the summers of 1892 and 1893, Brahms wrote 20 brief piano pieces and published them in four sets as his Opp.

116-119. While perhaps technically not as demanding as his early piano works, these 20 pieces nevertheless distill a lifetime of experience and technical refinement into very brief spans, and in their focused, inward and sometimes bleak way they offer some of Brahms’ most personal and moving music.

Brahms’ Opus 119, published in 1893, consists of three intermezzos and a concluding rhapsody. Most of these brief pieces are in ABA form: a first theme, a countermelody usually in a contrasting tempo and tonality and a return to the opening material, usually varied on its reappearance.

One of the shortest of Brahms’ late piano pieces, the Intermezzo in B minor, is also one of the most subtle, particular in matters of rhythm. It opens with chains of falling thirds that seem to ripple like flashes of iridescence, and before we know it, Brahms has seamlessly transported us into the firmer center section. The return is just as subtle, and the music trails off into silence. In the Intermezzo in E minor, which Brahms marks Andantino un poco agitato, the pianist’s two hands seem to be chasing each other through the murmuring, rhythmicallyfluid opening section. The central episode dances gently (Brahms’ marking is teneramente: “tenderly”); the music gradually makes its way back to the opening material, now varied, and Brahms concludes with a faint whiff of the waltzmelody. The Intermezzo in C Major, marked Grazioso e giocoso (“Graceful and happy”), dances easily on its 6/8 meter. This piece has no true contrasting theme in its center; Brahms simply slows down his opening idea and uses that as the central episode before the return of the theme at its original tempo.

Brahms’ late piano music concludes with the powerful Rhapsody in E-flat Major. Brahms marks this music Allegro risoluto, and resolute it certainly is: the pounding chords from the beginning seem to echo throughout: They intrude even into the grazioso middle section.

Instead of having that thunderous opening reappear in its original form, Brahms takes it through a subtle evolution on its return, and—rather than returning to

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the home key of E-flat major—he drives the music to its (resolute) close in E-flat minor.

Piano Sonata in A Major, D.664

Franz Schubert Born Jan. 31, 1797 in Vienna, Austria; died Nov. 19, 1828 in Vienna

A certain amount of confusion has surrounded the date of composition of this brief piano sonata. Some scholars have placed it in the years 1817 or 1825, but recent evidence suggests that Schubert actually wrote it during the summer of 1819, which he spent on vacation in the Speyr region of Austria. This was a relaxed time for the young composer: He found the surrounding countryside “inconceivably lovely,” and that summer he also wrote one of the most relaxed and best-loved of his works, the “Trout” Quintet.

What most distinguishes this music is its extraordinary gentleness. Lyric ideas are stated and developed tenderly, and while the music can at moments proceed with a great deal of vigor, the Sonata in A Major is for the most part without stress or unsettling tension.

Much of the writing is set very high in the piano’s register, giving the sonata a ringing, bell-like sonority. The main theme of its final movement, in fact, has been compared to a music-box tune.

Schubert often favored a four-movement structure for his mature piano sonatas, but the Sonata in A Major is in only three. The Allegro moderato opens with a long, constantly singing idea. This theme has been criticized as being too much song and not enough true sonata theme, one capable of development, though that may be the source of its charm for many listeners. The development brings pounding triplet octaves, but Schubert keeps the mood gentle, and the movement concludes on quiet fragments of its opening idea.

The Andante is built on a simple chordal melody, but here the phrases fall into the unusual length of seven measures. The development section, once again employing triplet rhythms, moves from D major to D minor before the

Sunday, March 18, 2012, 4 p.m.

quiet close.

The amiable concluding Allegro is based on runs and dotted rhythms, though Schubert leads us into another world with the dancing second subject.

Much of the writing is again set high in the instrument’s range, and this movement dances home to the sound of ringing bells.

Polonaise in C-sharp minor, Op. 26

Frédéric Chopin Born Feb. 22, 1810 in Zelazowska Wola, Poland; died Oct. 17, 1849 in Paris

The polonaise—as its name implies—is of Polish origin, but that title does not begin to suggest how deeply this form is embedded in the national character.

In triple time, it was originally intended as ceremonial music and could be sung or danced as part of festive processionals. By the 18th century, it had become a dance form, but Chopin took it a step further in his 15 polonaises for solo piano. He had left Poland at age 20, never to return, and as an anguished exile he watched the suffering of his homeland under Russian subjugation.

While his polonaises do not have explicit programs, it is clear that this form had unusual meaning for him and that he invested it with an emotional intensity rare in his music.

Chopin composed the two polonaises of his Opus 26 in 1834-5: They were the first examples of the form he had written since moving from Poland to Paris four years earlier. The brusque opening gesture of the Polonaise in C-sharp minor, which Chopin marks Allegro appassionato, leads to more lyric material in the characteristic polonaise rhythm.

The middle section slows down a little (Chopin nevertheless marks it con anima), and the melodic line makes an unusual excursion into the left hand before the return of the opening material and a surprisingly quiet close.

Prelude in F-sharp minor, Op. 28, No. 8

As a small boy in Poland, Chopin fell in love with the keyboard music of Bach.

Like Beethoven before him (and Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich after him),

Chopin was particularly drawn to The Well-Tempered Clavier, Bach’s two sets of 24 preludes and fugues in all the major and minor keys of the chromatic scale.

Haunted by Bach’s achievement, Chopin wished to try something similar, and in 1836, shortly after completing his Etudes, Op. 25, he began to compose a series of short preludes, but it would take him three years to complete the entire set of 24. In the fall of 1838, Chopin sailed with George Sand to Mallorca, taking with him a number of Bach scores. On the island, living in an abandoned monastery high in a mountain village that was alternately bathed in Mediterranean sunlight and torn by freezing rainstorms, he completed the Preludes in January 1839; they were published in Paris later that year.

While certain scholars have heard echoes of Bach in the Preludes, this is very much the music of Chopin. And while these preludes do proceed through all the major and minor keys, Chopin does not write accompanying fugues, as Bach did: these are not preludes to anything larger, but are complete works in themselves. The entire set of 24 preludes lasts about 45 minutes, so these are concise essays in all the keys, and they encompass an enormous variety of technique, ranging from very easy preludes (played by every amateur pianist on the planet) to numbingly difficult ones, playable by only the most gifted performers. They cover an unusual expressive range as well, from the cheerful sunlight of some to the uneasy darkness of others.

The Prelude No. 8 in F-sharp minor is stormy and impulsive music; Chopin’s marking is Molto agitato. The piece is in constant motion throughout, with the driving theme in the left hand as the right accompanies with perpetual swirls of sound. After all this energy, the subdued conclusion is particularly effective.

Mazurka in C-sharp minor, Op. 30, No. 4

Chopin composed the four mazurkas of his Opus 30 in 1836-37 and arranged them in a sequence of increasing complexity for publication. No. 4 in C-sharp minor is music of unusual rhythmic and

harmonic interest. Though marked Allegretto and beginning quietly, it quickly reveals its taut rhythmic pulse, driven by a fundamental dotted rhythm and enlivened with turns, triplets, quintuplets and great swirls; the middle section remains very much in this same character.

The closing has been much admired; it is based on a sequence of unresolved seventh chords, and out of this harmonic instability the music plunges downward and vanishes.

Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39

In his four scherzos, Chopin does not copy the forms of Haydn or Beethoven, but adapts the general shape of the classical-period scherzo for his own purposes. He keeps the quick tempo, the 3/4 meter, and (usually) the ABA form of the earlier scherzo, but makes no attempt at humor; the emphasis in this music is on brilliant, exciting music for the piano. The general form of the Chopin scherzo is an opening section based on contrasted themes, followed by a middle section (Chopin does not call this a trio) in a different key and character; the scherzo concludes with the return of the opening material, now slightly abridged.

The Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, composed in 1839, has the most unusual structure. It lacks the clearly-defined ABA form of the others and in some ways approaches traditional sonataform structure. The beginning, marked Presto con fuoco, presents tentative bits of sound, and out of these the true first theme bursts to life. Marked Risoluto, this theme is in powerful, plunging octaves, and in fact much of the writing throughout this scherzo is in octaves.

The second idea is a quiet chorale tune, but what makes it distinctive is Chopin’s elaboration of the end of each phrase: He decorates the end of each line of the chorale with a falling arpeggio, almost silvery in its quietly sparkling color. The combination of the sober chorale tune and its sensual decoration is striking. These themes alternate until the close, where powerful octave chords drive the scherzo to its cadence.

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 49

Thursday, March 22, 2012, 8 p.m.

● Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, Music Director

presents

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 Marin Alsop, conductor Colin Currie, percussion

Fanfare for the Common Man Aaron Copland

(1900-1990) Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman Joan Tower

(1938-)

Percussion Concerto Jennifer Higdon

(1962-)

Colin Currie INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64 Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Andante - Allegro con anima (1840-1893)

Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza

Valse: Allegro moderato

Finale: Andante maestoso -- Allegro vivace Support for this program is generously provided by Art Works (NEA).

Media Sponsor: WETA 90.9 FM The concert will end at approximately 9:50 P.M. The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Marin Alsop, conductor Hailed as one of the world’s leading conductors for her artistic vision and commitment to accessibility in classical music, Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural

concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She also holds the title of conductor emeritus at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in the U.K., where she served as the principal conductor from 2002 to 2008, and is music director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California.

In 2005, Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive this prestigious award.

In 2007, she was honored with a European Women of Achievement Award.

50 applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012

In 2008, she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and in 2009 Musical America named her Conductor of the Year. In November 2010, she was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.

In February 2011, Alsop was named the music director of the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, or the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, effective for the 2012-13 Season. And in March 2011, Alsop was named to The Guardian’s Top 100 Women list. She was also named an artist-in-residence at the Southbank Centre in London in 2011.

A regular guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Alsop appears frequently as a guest conductor with the most distinguished orchestras around the world. In addition to her performance activities, she is also an active recording artist with awardwinning cycles of Brahms, Barber and Dvořák.

Alsop attended Yale University and received her master’s degree from The Juilliard School. In 1989, her conducting career was launched when she won the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize at Tanglewood, where she studied with Leonard Bernstein.

Colin Currie, percussion

Colin Currie has been the driving force behind new percussion repertoire for more than a decade. He is soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra and London Philharmonic.

He was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award in 2000 for his inspirational role in contemporary music-making, and recent projects include a premiere of Elliott Carter’s double concerto, Conversations, in June 2011.

aslop photo by dean alexander; currie photo by chris dawes

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2012, 8 P.M.

Thursday, March 22, 2012, 8 p.m.

Currie is artist-in-residence at London’s Southbank Centre for the 2011-12 season onwards, a role that will allow him to develop new relationships with artists and ensembles across a variety of art forms, as well as to take part in collaborative and educational projects.

Currie’s recording of Rautavaara’s Incantations with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under John Storgårds will be released in spring 2012 on the Ondine label.

Currie last appeared with the BSO on April 8-10, 2010, performing Rautavaara’s Incantations with conductor Hannu Lintu.

Program Notes Fanfare for the Common Man

Aaron Copland Born Nov. 14, 1900 in Brooklyn, N.Y; died Dec. 2, 1990 in North Tarrytown, N.Y.

When Aaron Copland submitted a three-minute fanfare to the Cincinnati Symphony in late 1942, he had no idea it would become one of his most famous pieces—in fact one of the most famous pieces ever written by an American classical composer. World War II had been raging for years, and in 1942, there was little to celebrate on the Allied side.

As a morale booster, Eugene Goossens, Cincinnati’s music director, decided to commission a series of 18 fanfares from America’s most prominent composers—including Morton Gould, Howard Hanson, William Grant Still and Virgil Thomson—to open each of the orchestra’s 1942–43 season concerts.

Upon receiving the score, Goossens wrote Copland: “Its title is as original as its music.” The composer had considered a number of possibilities, among them Fanfare for the Spirit of Democracy and Fanfare for the Rebirth of Lidice (a Czech town that had been destroyed by the Nazis that year). Finally, he settled on Fanfare for the Common Man. As he said, “It was the common man, after all, who was doing all the dirty work in the war and the army. He deserved a fanfare.”

The music—scored for four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba and percussion—combined full-throated splendor with a sturdy, unvarnished pride that seemed an ideal tonal personification of the average GI Joe. Its brass writing emphasized big, rangy intervals, and its powerful, equally prominent part for timpani expressed virile force. Perhaps hoping that this inspiring music would not be forgotten after one performance in Cincinnati, Copland also made it the focal point of the finale of his Symphony No. 3, composed between 1944 and 1946 as the Allies swept to victory.

He needn’t have worried. Fanfare for the Common Man quickly became a favorite of brass players everywhere, and not just in America. The young television industry adopted it for sporting events, political conventions, and the achievements of the space program. Popular musicians loved it, and the Rolling Stones appropriated it for their entrance music on tour. And even now, when we have heard it so many times, it never fails to raise the adrenaline.

The BSO most recently performed Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man on Sept. 8-10, 2011, with Music Director Marin Alsop.

Instrumentation: four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and percussion.

Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1

Joan Tower Born Sept. 6, 1938 in New Rochelle, N.Y.

And now a salute to the other half of the audience!

A quiet revolution has taken place in classical music over the past few decades: At long last, women have successfully begun to infiltrate the male-dominated fields of conducting and composing. Joan Tower is both, but it is her creative work that has won her a prominent place in the American contemporary music scene. Her vibrant, energetic and often highly dramatic music has been commissioned and/or performed by major orchestras from New York to Tokyo.

“Creating ‘high-energy’ music is one of my special talents,” Tower says. “I like to see just how high I can push a work’s energy level without making it chaotic or incoherent.” Certainly this is true of her Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1, which has become her most frequently performed piece (played by more than 500 ensembles since its premiere by the Houston Symphony in 1987).

Its title, of course, is a play on Copland’s Fanfare. And it even shares the same instrumentation: three trumpets, four horns, three trombones, tuba, timpani and two percussionists playing a very loud battery including tamtams (gongs). Tower has long been a fan of Copland’s music, and so when she received a commission to write a short work for the Houston Symphony’s Fanfare Project, she originally wanted to create a tribute to him. But ultimately her fanfare adopted a feminist message; it celebrates, in Tower’s words, “women who take risks and are adventurous.” And it is dedicated to just such a woman: the BSO’s Marin Alsop.

The BSO most recently performed Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman on Sept. 8-10, 2011, with Music Director Marin Alsop.

Instrumentation: four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and percussion.

Percussion Concerto

Jennifer Higdon Born Dec. 31, 1962 in Brooklyn, N.Y.; now living in Philadelphia

Jennifer Higdon also represents the BSO’s seasonal theme of adventurous women, for she has successfully broken the barriers of classical composition, until recently a field exclusively for men. The year 2010 was a banner year for Higdon: She won the coveted Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto for Hilary Hahn (heard here in May 2009) and she won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for a recording by Colin Currie, Marin Alsop and the London Philharmonic of her brilliant Percussion Concerto, which we hear at these concerts.

Now a prolific composer in constant demand for new works by major orchestras

applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012 51

Thursday, March 22, 2012, 8 p.m.

and ensembles all over America, Higdon also manages to pursue careers as a virtuoso flute player, a conductor and a very popular teacher of composition at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music (she holds the Milton L. Rock Chair in Compositional Studies).

Higdon’s Percussion Concerto received its premiere in November 2005 by the Philadelphians led by Christoph Eschenbach with Colin Currie as soloist.

Higdon has provided the following guide to the Concerto: “The 20th century saw the development of the percussion section as no other section in the orchestra. Both the music and the performers grew in visibility, as well as in capability. And... the appearance and growth of the percussion concerto as a genre exploded during the latter half of the century.

“My Percussion Concerto follows the normal relationship of a dialogue between soloist and orchestra. In this work, however, there is an additional relationship, with the soloist interacting extensively with the percussion section. The ability of performers has grown to such an extent that it has become possible to have sections within the orchestra interact at the same level as the soloist.

“When writing a concerto, I think of two things: the particular soloist for whom I am writing and the nature of the solo instrument. In the case of percussion, this means a large battery of instruments, from vibraphone and marimba... to non-pitched, smaller instruments (brake drum, wood blocks, Peking Opera gong) and to the drums themselves. Not only does a percussionist have to perfect playing all of these instruments, but he must make hundreds of decisions regarding the use of sticks and mallets, as there is an infinite variety of possibilities from which to choose. Not to mention the choreography of the player’s movement; where most performers do not have to concern themselves with movement across the stage, ... a percussion soloist must have every move memorized.

No other instrumentalist has such a large number of variables to... master.

“This work begins with the sound of the marimba, as Colin early on informed

me that he has a fondness for this instrument. I wanted the opening to be exquisitely quiet and serene, with the focus on the soloist. Then the percussion section enters, mimicking the gestures of the soloist. Only after this dialogue has been established does the orchestra enter.

There is significant interplay between the soloist and the orchestra with a fairly beefy accompaniment in the orchestral part, but at various times the music comes back down to the sound of the soloist and the percussion section playing together without orchestra.

“Eventually, the music moves through a slow lyrical section, which requires simultaneous bowing and mallet playing by the soloist, and then a return to the fast section, where a cadenza ensues with both the soloist and the percussion section. A dramatic close to the cadenza leads back to the orchestra’s opening material and the eventual conclusion of the work.”

Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto – BSO premiere Instrumentation: three flutes, three oboes, three clarinets, three bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, celeste and strings.

Symphony No. 5 in E Minor

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Born May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia; died Nov. 6, 1893 in St. Petersburg, Russia

More than a decade elapsed between the composition of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies Nos. 4 and 5. The composer who sat down in May 1888 to create his No. 5 had grown enormously in fame and confidence during this period. In 1877, he was still recovering from his disastrous marriage and suicide attempt; in 1888, he was world famous and had just returned to Russia from a highly successful European tour conducting programs of his works before cheering audiences from London to Berlin. Czar Alexander III had recently acknowledged his importance to Russia with a handsome life pension.

And yet Tchaikovsky was still plagued

52 applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012

by doubts about his creativity and the morbid nervousness that was the dark side of his genius. In 1887, he had rushed to the bedside of a dying friend, Nikolai Kodratyev, and for a month was tormented nearly as much as the poor victim: “Painful, terrible hours! Oh, never will I forget all that I have suffered here.” To his benefactress, Nadezda von Meck, he wrote despairingly: “Can it be that we are all so afraid when we die?” As he began his new symphony, he wrote again: “I am dreadfully anxious to prove not only to others but also to myself, that I am not yet played out as a composer.”

Far from being played out, Tchaikovsky found that, once he’d begun, inspiration flowed in abundance, and by the end of August, the Symphony No. 5 was completed. The composer himself led the premiere in St. Petersburg on Nov. 17, 1888; both the audience and the orchestra gave him a prolonged ovation.

Like No. 4, Symphony No. 5 has a motto theme that appears in all movements and is also associated with the concept of Fate. Here fate begins as a menacing force, threatening the composer’s happiness, but is ultimately transformed into a major-mode song of triumph. We hear it immediately, played in the minor by two clarinets in their deepest chalumeau register, in the first movement’s slow introduction. Then the tempo accelerates for the sonata form proper. A duo of clarinet and bassoon introduce the rhythmically intricate first theme, a halting march. The contrasting second theme, sung by the violins, is a tender syncopated melody in Tchaikovsky’s best lyric vein that taps wells of passion as it builds to a vigorous climax.

After a short, intense development based mostly on the first theme, the solo bassoon ushers in the recapitulation. The lengthy coda is fascinating. Beginning with a sped-up, frenzied treatment of the halting-march theme, it descends into the orchestral basement for a surprisingly quiet ending, veiled in deepest black.

The Andante cantabile second movement is one of the most beautiful Tchaikovsky ever wrote, and the ardor and yearning of its two main themes seem to

Thursday, March 22, 2012, 8 p.m.

link it with romantic love. As a homosexual unreconciled with his nature, Tchaikovsky found love an ideal nearly always out of reach. The horn soloist opens with the famous yearning principal theme. Soon violins pour out the passionate second theme: an upward-aspiring melody reminiscent of the music Tchaikovsky created for his most passionate balletic pas de deux. A lighter middle section, featuring woodwind motives decorated with oriental arabesques, is suddenly smashed by the trumpets loudly proclaiming the Fate motto. The violins recover to sing the horn melody on their rich-toned G-strings. But again Fate rudely intervenes, this time in the trombones, and the movement ends in very subdued tones.

The waltz third movement also belongs to Tchaikovsky’s beloved world of ballet. He wrote that the main theme was inspired by a tune sung by a street urchin in Florence, but that street song surely lacked the smoothly flowing sophistication we find here. By contrast, the middle trio section is nervous, agitated music based on brusque string scales.

The Fate motto makes a discreet appearance toward the end in the clarinets, but causes little disruption.

Fate is vanquished in the finale as the movement opens with a majestic statement low in the strings and now in E major, rather than minor. The Allegro vivace main section returns to the minor with an off-the-beat principal theme that seethes with aggressive energy— Tchaikovsky mastering his fears with a vengeance! A huge coda brings the Fate theme back again—and again!— in majestically slow E major and, upon accelerating to presto, reprises the first movement’s halting-march theme, now blazing away in brass splendor. Here Tchaikovsky perhaps overplays his triumph, but audiences happily succumb to his joy.

The BSO most recently performed Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 on Oct. 26-28, 2007, with Music Director Marin Alsop.

Instrumentation: three flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and strings.

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applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012 53

Friday, March 23, 2012, 8 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Strathmore Presents

Ethan Bortnick and His Musical Time Machine Ethan Bortnick, piano, vocals Ryan Skiles, keyboards Emmanuel Cervantes, drums Gene Bortnick, executive producer The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Ethan Bortnick

Ethan Bortnick took the entertainment world by storm with an amazing talent well beyond his years. The young pianist entertains crowds with

a repertoire that spans from Bach and Mozart to disco, jazz and rock.

At only 11 years old, Ethan is already achieving accomplishments that many musicians work toward

54 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

for an entire career. He has headlined more than 100 shows across the globe, drawing rave reviews from audiences and media. He has appeared four times on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and has been featured on Good Morning America, Access Hollywood, Inside Edition, The Martha Stewart Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Ethan also created and hosted his own award-winning, nationally televised concert special on PBS. Recently, Ethan became the youngest headliner in Las Vegas at the Hilton Las Vegas. This stage has a rich history of presenting concerts with such legendary icons as Elvis Presley, Tony Bennett, Barry Manilow and Barbra Streisand.

Beyond his talent as a musician, Ethan also has made a name for himself as a philanthropist. Through his appearances at benefits and charity galas, he has helped raise more than $30 million for non–profit organizations around the world. Through these charity events he has shared the stage with Natalie Cole, Beyoncé and Reba McEntire, and recently joined Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, The Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber, Tony Bennett and many others to record “We Are The World 25 For Haiti.”

With his masterful piano playing, Ethan delivers a trip through music’s rich history and introduces audiences to some of his original compositions.

His concerts—as motivating as they are entertaining—captivate both kids and adults.

Saturday, March 24, 2012, 8 p.m.

● National Philharmonic Piotr Gajewski, Music Director and Conductor

presents

All Mozart Victoria Gau, conductor William VerMeulen, horn Esther Heideman, soprano Linda Maguire, mezzo-soprano John Aler, tenor Kevin Deas, bass

Serenade No. 13, Eine Kleine Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Nachtmusik, K.525 (1756-1791)

Allegro

Romanza: Andante

Menuetto: Allegretto

Rondo: Allegro

Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, No. 3, in E-flat, K. 447

Allegro

Romance: Larghetto

Rondo: Allegro INTERMISSION

Requiem Mass in D minor, K. 626

I. Introitus: Requiem

(Chorus and soprano solo)

II. Kyrie (Chorus)

III. Sequenz:

Dies irae (Chorus)

Tuba mirum (Solo quartet)

Rex tremendae (Chorus)

Recordare (Solo quartet)

Confutatis (Chorus)

Lacrimosa (Chorus)

IV. Offertorium:

Domine Jesu Christe (Chorus

with solo quartet)

Hostias (Chorus)

V. Sanctus (Chorus) VI. Benedictus (Solo quartet, then chorus)

VII. Agnus Dei (Chorus)

VIII. Communio: Lux aeterna

(Soprano solo and chorus) All Kids, All Free, All the Time is sponsored by The Gazette The Music Center at Strathmore • Marriott Concert Stage

Lauded by critics for her “strong sense of style and drama” and her “enthusiastic and perceptive conducting,” National Philharmonic Associate Conductor Victoria Gau is artistic director and conductor of the Capital City Symphony and former conductor and music director of the Richmond Philharmonic Orchestra.

Gau is a familiar face in the Washington area, having conducted such groups as The Other Opera Company (which she co-founded), The Washington Savoyards, the IN-Series and the Friday Morning Music Club Orchestra. Other guest conducting engagements include the Akron (Ohio) Symphony and the Kennedy Center Messiah Sing-Along.

She is in demand as a conductor and string educator at youth orchestra festivals and workshops and has been conductor of the Young Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra of the D.C. Youth Orchestra Program and the Akron Youth Symphony, as well as assistant conductor of the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra.

Gau has served on the opera faculty at George Mason University and worked as a pianist for the Cleveland, Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington opera companies. She holds degrees in viola performance and conducting from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she won the Phi Kappa Lambda Prize for Musicianship.

William VerMeulen, horn

Principal horn of the Houston Symphony, a position he has held since 1990, William VerMeulen leads his generation of American horn soloists. Fanfare magazine observes, “Horn virtuoso William VerMeulen may be the best of the lot, commanding his difficult instrument with suavity and grace.” applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 55

gajewski photo by michael ventura, Chang photo by Colin Bel

Victora Gau, conductor

SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2012, 8 P.M.

Saturday, March 24, 2012, 8 p.m.

VerMeulen has also held the appointments of guest principal horn with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Saint Louis symphony orchestras and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has also played with the orchestras of Chicago, Columbus, Honolulu and Kansas City.

A popular presence on the stages and faculties of numerous music festivals and chamber music presenters, VerMeulen’s credentials include: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, Aspen, Interlochen, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Joshua Bell and Friends and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, where he also serves as principal horn.

VerMeulen won first prize at the 1980 International Horn Society Soloist Competition and the Shapiro Award for most outstanding brass player at the Tanglewood Festival. He received his training from Dale Clevenger at Northwestern University and at the Interlochen Arts Academy.

VerMeulen is professor of horn at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He is a member of the advisory council of the International Horn Society, serves as an adjudicator and board member of the International Horn Competition of America and has been a regular coach at The New World Symphony in Miami.

In 1985, VerMeulen was invited to the White House to receive a “Distinguished Teacher of America Certificate of Excellence,” presented by President Ronald Reagan and the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.

Esther Heideman, soprano

Esther Heideman won the Licia Albanese Competition in 2000. The next year, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut singing Pamina in Mozart’s Magic Flute.

The New York Times wrote that “hearing this lively redheaded coloratura sing, it’s impossible not to think: Beverly Sills.”

She has appeared with major orchestras throughout the United States and Europe such as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Berkshire Choral Festival; Minnesota Orchestra; Chicago, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Seattle symphonies; and the New York, Buffalo and Rotterdam philharmonics.

Heideman has been featured in several world premieres, including the role of Jenny Lind in Libby Larsen’s opera Barnum’s Bird (Plymouth Music Series, Philip Brunelle conducting) and the Revelation of St. John by Daniel Schnyder (Milwaukee Symphony, Andreas Delfs conducting).

Linda Maguire, mezzo-soprano

Linda Maguire has sung regularly with many of the major orchestras of North America, including Calgary, Dallas and Vancouver. Appearances abroad include Les Musiciens du Louvre, I Virtuosi di Praja and Les Violons du Roi. Maguire attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio before launching her 23- year international career as a vocal artist. During this time, she has sung more than 30 “zwischen” (essentially soprano) leading roles in the opera houses of Glyndebourne, Montreal, Dallas and Toronto, among others.

In 2004, Maguire relocated from Toronto to Washington, D.C., where she has pursued an active schedule of vocal engagements. She has sung in numerous performances at the Kennedy Center, including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Amy Beach’s Canticle of the Sun. Maguire sang twice with City Choir of Washington in 2009, in performances of Durufle’s Requiem and Mozart’s Requiem. She also has appeared as guest soloist with the U.S. Army Chorus and select members of U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in a concert featuring music by Schubert and Gershwin.

56 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

John Aler, tenor

John Aler has performed with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Boston, Chicago and San Francisco symphony orchestras. In Europe he has sung with the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Orchestra Nationale de France, the London Sinfonietta and BBC Symphony among others, as well as in the major opera houses.

Aler has made more than 50 recordings three of them Grammy winners: Handel’s Semele with the English Chamber Orchestra in 1994, Bartok’s Cantata Profana with the Chicago Symphony in 1994 and Berlioz’s Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony in 1985.

A native of Baltimore, Aler is an alumnus of the Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and the Juilliard School.

Kevin Deas, bass

American bass Kevin Deas is celebrated for his portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess with the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego, Utah, Houston, Baltimore and Montreal symphonies and at the Ravinia and Saratoga Festivals. His recent recordings include Die Meistersinger with the Chicago Symphony under the late Sir Georg Solti and Varèse’s Ecuatorial with the ASKO Ensemble under Ricardo Chailly, both on Decca/London. Other releases include Bach’s B minor Mass and Handel’s Acis & Galatea on Vox Classics and Dave Brubeck’s To Hope! with the Cathedral Choral Society on the Telarc label.

Saturday, March 24, 2012, 8 p.m.

Program Notes Eine kleine Nachtmusik (“A Little Night Music”), Serenade in G Major, K. 525

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Born Jan. 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria; died Dec. 5, 1791 in Vienna

On Aug. 10, 1787, Mozart entered in his notebook the composition he probably completed that day. There is nothing listed for the entire month of July, and the only other piece he finished in August is a violin sonata. This was a busy time for the composer because he was also working on his great opera, Don Giovanni. He called his new piece Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, literally, “A Little Night Music,” but a more idiomatic English version of this title would be simply “An Evening’s Entertainment.” He listed movements in his catalog, and as in almost all his other serenades, there were two minuets, but one of them, the original second movement, was later lost.

Eine kleine Nachtmusik is one of the simplest and most direct works of the mature Mozart. The opening Allegro first movement is the very model of a textbook sonata form movement, in which there is an exposition or statement of ideas followed by the idea’s development and then a reprise of the thematic statement. A rigorous music theory teacher in Mozart’s day might well have complained of the simplicity of the development section, which is little more than a brief, commonplace modulation, but it has certainly weathered the test of time. Mozart called the second movement Romanza, Andante, a Romance, and it is a tender three-part instrumental song with a central section of gently agitated drama. A short Minuet with Trio, Allegretto, follows; a jolly Rondo, another Allegro, in sonata-rondo form, brings the work to an end.

Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, No. 3, in E Flat, K. 447

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart At least three of Mozart’s four horn concertos were written for Joseph or Ignatz

Leutgeb or Leitgeb, a friend of Mozart’s youth who, like the composer, left Salzburg for Vienna. Leutgeb’s connection with the Concerti Nos. 1, 2 and 4 is very well documented. Much less is known about the origins of this one, No. 3. Leutgeb’s name appears in the manuscript and there were few other musicians who could play it, none for whom Mozart would have bothered to write it.

This formidable virtuoso played as much as he wanted to in Vienna, but his principal income came from a tiny cheese shop either his wife inherited or he opened with capital borrowed from Mozart’s father, Leopold. Recent research suggests 1787 as the concerto’s date.

Although Mozart wrote four concertos featuring the horn, this instrument was not the modern horn with valves but one sometimes called the “natural” horn: It was little more than a coiled length of brass tubing, flared out into a bell at one end. By changing the pressure of lips and breath, the player could select the note he wished from the series of natural overtones produced by the vibrating body of air inside the horn, in accordance with the laws of physics.

This limited repertoire of notes available from the natural horn (and trumpet) accounts for the characteristic melodic and harmonic cast of most solo horn parts and of fanfares and bugle calls up until this time.

Greatly skilled players of Mozart’s day had a technique of inserting a hand into the horn’s bell, effectively reducing the size of the instrument and making it possible to produce another series of notes. The long, flowing melodic lines of the first and second movements of this concerto could almost not be played on the natural horn without using this difficult hand technique of which Leutgeb was an early practitioner. The creation of such themes for the horn, with no limitations on melody and fantasy, provides clear evidence of the inventive genius of Mozart and the virtuosity of Leutgeb.

The Horn Concerto No. 3 opens with a classically formed Allegro sonata movement. The second movement, a lyrical Romance, Larghetto, has a

protracted, serene but poignant melody.

The finale is a rondo, Allegro, in which the horn features the natural, open hunting call kind of tunes. Mozart’s writing for the orchestral wind instruments, pairs of clarinets and bassoons, supports the horn with great subtlety.

Requiem for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra, in D minor, K. 626

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Until recently, music historians entertained two views about the creation of Mozart’s Requiem. The first version became popularized in the play and movie Amadeus where the composer Antonio Salieri, portrayed as Mozart’s rival, becomes obsessed with disrupting Mozart’s success and takes it upon himself to commission the Requiem from Mozart in an attempt to drive him to death. This version is completely false.

The second romantic legend maintained that Count Walsegg, a nobleman and a music lover, confronted Mozart in the summer of 1791, mysteriously dressed in dark clothing and handed him an unsigned letter directing him to compose a requiem and to name his own price for it. With some trepidation because he did not know the identity of the man, Mozart accepted the commission and collected part of the fee. He was to be paid the balance when he delivered the completed work. Some time later, as Mozart was getting into his carriage to go to Prague, presumably, the mysterious stranger appeared again and asked when the Requiem would be finished. The composer, whose health and spirits were then low, presumably believed that the gaunt gray-cloaked man was a messenger of Death, and that the Requiem would be his last work.

Actually, Walsegg, an amateur composer, commissioned the work apparently wishing to pass it off as his own, written in memory of his recently deceased young wife. Walsegg habitually commissioned chamber works and recopied them in his own hand. According to a musician who played others of Walsegg’s putative works, “He always said they were his compositions, but when he said

applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 57

Saturday, March 24, 2012, 8 p.m.

that he smiled.” No one knows if Mozart understood Walsegg’s proclivity or his intentions for this Requiem. Presumably, Mozart saw the implications of his full cooperation with his wealthy client and intended to enter the Requiem in his own catalog.

Six months after the appearance of the mysterious stranger, Mozart died of an acute attack of rheumatic fever before he could finish the commission.

According to Robert Gutman’s excellent biography of Mozart, Constanze, his widow, feeling the score was among Mozart’s finest, wanted to “liberate it from the limbo of the stillborn.” Also unwilling to forfeit the commission fee, she held that he had left little to do but add some touches to complete the score, but since his particella, or short score, survived, scholars know her statement to be a misrepresentation. His students, especially Franz Süssmayr, did complete the work at Constanze’s request, so that she could collect the outstanding fee, quoted to Mozart as an unusually high one for such a work.

Mozart composed the complete Kyrie.

According to Süssmayr’s statement, he then composed the remainder of the Lacrimosa, the Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei, and repeated the fugue of the Kyrie to the words Cum Sanctus, but scholars now question Süssmayr’s words.

Mozart’s particella did indicate that two sections, the Sanctus and Agnus Dei, had not yet been completed sufficiently to enter into the particella at all. Written on separate leaves only in sketch form, most of them are now lost. On those parts, Süssmayer did his most substantial work. In addition, he completed other sections by filling in orchestration and composing the end of sections Mozart had not completed.

According to the contemporary Mozart scholar and pianist Robert Levin, while Süssmayr did an admirable job in completing the score, he left many mistakes that had never been completely corrected. Levin created a version to do that, which he contends is closer to what Mozart might have intended.

Although he only completed the first movement and a half, Mozart created

National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale First Violins Justine Lamb-Budge, Concertmaster Jody Gatwood, Concertmaster emeritus Brenda Anna Michael Barbour Eva Cappelletti-Chao Maureen ConlonDorosh Claudia Chudacoff Lisa Cridge Doug Dubé Lysiane Gravel-Lacombe Jennifer Kim Regino Madrid Kim Miller Laura Miller Jennifer Rickard Leslie Silverfine Chaerim Smith Olga Yanovich Second Violins Mayumi Pawel, Principal Katherine Budner Justin Gopal June Huang Nancy Jin Karin Kelleher Alexandra Mikhlin Joanna Owen Jean Provine Rachel Schenker Jennifer Shannon Ning Ma Shi Hilde Singer Cathy Stewart Rachael Stockton Kregg Stovner Violas Julius Wirth, Principal Judy Silverman, Associate Principal Phyllis Freeman Leonora Karasina Stephanie Knutsen Mark Pfannschmidt Margaret Prechtl Jennifer Rende Sarah Scanlon Chris Shieh Adrienne Sommerville Tam Tran Cellos Lori Barnet, Principal April Chisholm Danielle Cho Ken Ding Andrew Hesse Hung-Lin Lin Ryan Murphy Todd Thiel Kerry Van Laanen Siri Warkentien Basses Robert Kurz, Principal Kelly Ali Jeremy Barth Barbara Fitzgerald David George William Hones Ed Malaga Mark Stephenson Flutes David Whiteside, Principal Nicolette Oppelt David LaVorgna Piccolo David LaVorgna

58 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

Oboes Mark Hill, Principal Kathy Ceasar-Spall Fatma Daglar English Horn Ron Erler Clarinets Cheryl Hill, Principal Carolyn Alvarez-Agria Suzanne Gekker Bass Clarinet Carolyn Alvarez-Agria Bassoons Erich Hecksher, Principal Benjamin Greanya Thomas Schneider Sandra Sisk Contrabassoon Nicholas Cohen French Horns Michael Hall, Principal Mark Wakefield Justin Drew Mark Hughes Ken Bell Trumpets Chris Gekker, Principal Robert Birch Carl Rowe John Abbraciamento Trombones David Sciannella, Principal Jim Armstrong Jeffrey Cortazzo Tuba William Clark Timpani & Percussion Tom Maloy, Principal Aubrey Adams Curt Duer Robert Jenkins Gerald Novak Bill Richards Harp Rebecca Smith Elizabeth Blakeslee Keyboard William Neil Jeffery Watson Theodore Guerrant Sopranos Irene Arveson Nancy Dryden Baker Marietta R. Balaan Kelli Bankard Mary Bentley* Rosalind Breslow Rebecca Carlson Dara Canzano Dana Caraman Linda Cendes Carol Chesley Anne P. Claysmith Nancy A. Coleman** Victoria Corona Tracy Davidson Eileen S. DeMarco Alejandra Durán-Böhme Lisa Edgley Amy Ellsworth Chelsea J. Fields Sarah B. Forman Charlotte M.L. Freeman Caitlin A. Garry Debbie Henderson Melodie Henderson Julie Hudson

Jessica Holden Kloda Robyn Kleiner Kaelyn Lowmaster Sharon Majchrzak Marianna J. Martindale Kathryn McKinley Caitlin McLaughlin Sara W. Moses Katherine NelsonTracey* Gloria Nutzhorn Juliana S. O’Neill Nancy Orvis Emily Perlman** Lynette Posorske Stephanie Price Maggie Rheinstein Carlotta Richard Lisa Romano Theresa Roys Aida L. Sánchez Jessica Schmidt Katherine Schnorrenberg Kara Schoo Shelly A. Schubert Carolyn J. Sullivan Melissa Valentine Ellen van Valkenburgh Susanne Villemarette Louise M. Wager Amy Wenner Lynne Woods Altos Helen R. Altman Sybil Amitay Lynne Stein Benzion Elizabeth Bishop Carol Bruno Erlinda C. Dancer Sandra L. Daughton Jenelle M. Dennis Mary Fellman Shannon Finnegan Elissa Frankle Francesca Frey-Kim Maria A. Friedman Julia C. Friend Jeanette Ghatan Sarah Gilchrist Lois J. Goodstein Jacque Grenning Stacey A. Henning Jean Hochron Debbi Iwig Sara M. Josey* Marilyn Katz Casey Keeler Irene M. Kirkpatrick Martha J. Krieger** Melissa J. Lieberman* Nansy Mathews Caitlin McLaughlin Jeanne Morin Susan E. Murray Daryl Newhouse Martha Newman Patricia Pillsbury Elizabeth Riggs Beryl M. Rothman Lisa Rovin Mary Jane Ruhl Jan Schiavone Deborah F. Silberman Elizabeth Solem Lori J. Sommerfield Connie Soves Carol A. Stern Pattie Sullivan Bonnie S. Temple Renée Tietjen Virginia Van Brunt Christine Vocke Sarah Jane Wagoner

Allison Young Tenors Philip Bregstone Puck Bregstone J.I. Canizares Colin Church Spencer Clark Gregory Daniel Paul J. DeMarco Ruth W. Faison* Greg Gross Carlos A. Herrán Michael Hirata Dominick Izzo Don Jansky Curt Jordan Michael Lacher Tyler A. Loertscher Ryan Long Richard Lorr Jane Lyle David Malloy Michael McClellan Chantal McHale Duncan McHale Eleanor McIntire Brian Minnick Wayne Meyer* Tom Nessinger Steve Nguyen Anita O’Leary Joe Richter Drew Riggs Jason Saffell Robert T. Saffell José Luis Sánchez Dennis Vander Tuig Basses Russell Bowers Albert Bradford Ronald Cappelletti Bruce Carhart Pete Chang Dale S. Collinson Stephen Cook Clark V. Cooper Bopper Deyton J. William Gadzuk Robert Gerard Mike Hilton Chun-Hsien Huang William W. Josey** Allan Kirkpatrick Jack Legler Larry Maloney Ian Matthews Alan E. Mayers Dugald McConnell David J. McGoff Richard McMillan Kent Mikkelsen* John Milberg** Oliver Moles Alan Munter Leif Neve Tom Pappas Anthony Radich Harry Ransom, Jr. Edward Rejuney* Frank Roys Kevin Schellhase Hyung Il Seo Carey W. Smith Charles Sturrock Alun Thomas Donald A. Trayer Richard Wanerman Al Wigmore Theodore Guerrant, Accompanist * section leader ** asst. section leader

Saturday, March 24, 2012, 8 p.m.

the bass line, the choral parts and the basic melodies of the orchestra in the next eight movements, and three of his pupils filled in the orchestration. The work begins quietly and pensively, and the opening movement ends with a double fugue. Mozart, at his death, left manuscripts including some that Süssmayr did not make use of. In particular there was a fugue with a subject of a fragment of six notes, which Mozart had just begun to develop. Mozart cherished the Baroque fugue that Constanze had especially strongly encouraged him to study.

Süssmayr wrote to the publishers Breitkopf & Härtel stating that the Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei were entirely his own composition but since no original manuscript pages are extant, scholars still debate where Mozart ends and Süssmayr begins.

Abbé Maximilian Stadler, one of Mozart’s close associates, carefully marked Count Walsegg’s score to indicate which handwriting was Mozart’s and which was Süssmayr’s. Still, Breitkopf

published the first edition attributing the entire work to Mozart. Immediately, some critics commented that the work was not worthy of Mozart, noting many errors in voice leading and also recognizing melodic material borrowed from Handel and Bach.

Fifty years later, Brahms published a new edition of the Requiem but he refused to correct any of Süssmayr’s errors.

Then in 1960, musicologist Wolfgang Plathm discovered previously unknown sketches for the Requiem in a collection of Mozart manuscripts at the Berlin Staatsbibliothek, which had been among those Constanze gave Süssmayr and which he had disregarded in his hurry to complete the work. The most important sketch indicates that Mozart intended the Lacrimosa to end in a fugue on the text “Amen.”

The Requiem differs from Mozart’s other church music and most closely resembles the music of The Magic Flute, which he was composing at almost the same time. The warmth of the sonorities

of the Requiem sounds dark because Mozart did not include any upper woodwind instruments: flutes or oboes, and no horns. The Requiem contrasts with his earlier sacred music, especially the Mass in C minor, because of the absence of embellished vocal display. Rather, most of the music is either richly contrapuntal or direct and simple, indicating the influence of Bach. Mozart also borrowed the melody for the Kyrie from the Handel chorus, “And with his stripes we are healed,” from Messiah, a work Mozart had revised on a commission from Baron van Swieten in 1789. Mozart also treats the soloists most frequently as a group; he wrote no arias for them except in the beginning of the Tuba mirum, where he created a dialogue between baritone and solo trombone, an instrument Mozart associated with the voice of God. The poignant masterpiece of drama, intensity and depth never fails to move listeners with its compelling beauty, emotional richness and expressiveness.

Copyright Susan Halpern, 2012.

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, March 28, 2012, 8 P.M.

Red Star Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble

● Strathmore Presents

Red Star Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble Colonel Nikolay Rabovsky, Artistic Director

United States National Anthem

Russian National Anthem

Military Dance

Meadowland Music: Leonid Knipper

Words: Victor Gusev

Regimental Polka Music: Boris Terentiev

Words: Vladimir Gurian

Folk Song, Kalinka

Cossacks’ Dance

Moscow Nights Music: Vassily Solovyov-Sedo

Words: Mikhail Matussovski

The Sunset Behind a Mountain Music: Matvei Blanter

Words: Alexei Kovalenko

Russian Folk Song, My Living Love

Russian Dance INTERMISSION

Ukrainian Hopak Dance

Ogonek (Blue Light) Music: Boris Mokrousov

Words: Mikhail Isakovsky

Russian Folk Song, Korobeiniki (Peddlers)

Ukrainian Folk Song, Stable The Horses Russian Sailor’s Dance (Yablotchko)

Smuglianka

Russian Military Song, Katusha Music: Matvei Blanter

Words: Mikhail Isakovsky

Gypsy Romance, Dark Eyes (Ochi Chornye)

Holiday on the Don River Dance Program is subject to change

The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

60 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

Red Star Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble was created in 1978 in Moscow, in the structure of the Strategic Rocket Forces of the former Soviet Union. In caring about the readiness of its army, the country used talent and art for leisure and for the cultural enrichment of its soldiers.

On Feb. 22, 1978, the day before Soviet Army Day, the Red Star Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble presented its first concert program for spectators— soldiers, officers and generals of the Strategic Rocket Forces. The ensemble has since performed for all kinds of audiences in major metropolitan centers across Europe and Asia.

Since 1985, the ensemble has represented the Russian military arts in France, Switzerland, Great Britain, Ireland, Belgium, China, Japan, South Korea and Canada. In 1992, the Red Star Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble toured 65 major American cities with sold-out engagements in Seattle, Chicago, St. Louis, Boston, Miami and New York.

Nikolai N. Rabovsky, artistic director

Nikolai Rabovsky was born in 1947 in Baku, Azerbadjian. His father was an active officer of the Soviet Army at that time. As a child, Rabovsky showed great interest in piano playing and singing. In 1955, he was accepted into the Choral School in Moscow, Russia. His love for choral music didn’t stop there; the young Rabovsky decided that he would like to know more about choral music from the perspective of a conductor.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 8 p.m.

Meadowland

Red Star Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble Chorus Larisa Ermolinskaya Larisa Goldobina Vera Ivanova Elena Ivanova Naylya Ibragimova Ksenia Ivenskaya Angelina Kondratenko Inna Kondratenkova Natalia Kuznetsova Ekaterina Lukianchenko Alla Malakhova Olga Savina Svetlana Tomilina Anna Temirova Natalia Zimakova Emil Ayupov Vladimir Belous Vyacheslav Directorenko Sergey Fedorov Nikolay Karpovich Nikolay Novikov Vassily Pianov Viacheslav Pushkin Sergey Putilin Sergey Slyusarenko Gennady Sokolov Nikolay Suchkov Yuri Savenkov Andrey Troitskiy Vladimir Tsilo Ivan Zavitaev Mikhail Zubarev Sergey Zuev

Orchestra Anastasia Vasilyeva Sergei Alekseev Yury Buryy Mikhail Konstants Dmitry Starostin Vladimir Spiridonov Andrey Tereshkin Mikhail Pankov Lidia Rukavitsyna Yuri Savenkov Sergey Ten Yury Tolmasov Irina Devyatova Sergey Dyakonov Aleksei Egorov Vladimir Iakovlev Petr Matrenichev Mikhail Novotochinov Dancers Nikita Anikushin Liudmila Bilogubka Anton Fomin Pavel Gromyko Olga Gromyko Mikhail Ivakin Kristina Mikhalina Ekaterina Ivakina Marina Klimova Ekaterina Kurochkina Tatiana Moiseeva Sergey Odinochkin Maxim Philippov Alexander Pozdnyakov

Upon graduating from the Choral School, Rabovsky studied conducting at the Gnesin Conservatory in Moscow.

After graduating in 1966, he stayed to continue his choral conducting education with Professor Sukhanov. In 1971, Rabovsky went to serve in a Soviet Army. Based on his education, he served as a choral conductor of a local army division song and dance ensemble.

Upon leaving the military in 1981, Rabovsky was invited to be an assistant conductor of the Red Star Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble. In April 2009, after former leader Col. Bazhalkin

Young soldiers are going to the front to defend their country and say goodbye to their loved ones. The girls feel sad and start crying while the soldiers sing a song about their long road and the native meadowlands they are to defend.

Vitaly Sinyak Alexey Safonov Maria Safonova Albert Sizov Elena Starkina Ilya Svinkin Alexey Soldatov Sergey Topolin Vitali Vazhenin Anna Voronina

Regimental Polka

At a brief halt on the march, one of the soldiers is playing a joyful melody on the accordion fellow soldiers start dancing.

Kalinka (Little Snowball Tree)

This song is about a small declaration of love made to a snowball tree. It is especially popular because of its impetuous and light-hearted character, speeding up in the refrain to a frenzied tempo.

Company soloists and staff Emil Ayupov, baritone Sergey Fedorov, tenor Nikolay Suchkov, tenor Vassily Pianov, baritone Sergey Putilin, tenor NikolayKarpovich, baritone Mikhail Zubarev, bass Marina Yashchenko, director of dance

Cossacks’ Dance

Cossack warriors ride out on horseback into the steppe lands and begin a competition to show off their strength and valor.

Moscow Nights

“Moscow Nights” tells of love for one’s home country.

Tour Director Nadia Fleishaker

The Sunset Behind a Mountain

This heroic song about the Patriotic War of 1941-45 was written by composer Matvei Blanter, author of “Katusha.”

Production World Touring Entertainment Leonid Fleishaker, Executive Producer

My Living Love

For a young man in love there are no obstacles, no borders, even when his sweetheart lives in a distant castle, where she is guarded by her parents.

retired, was Rabovsky given the position of chief conductor of the ensemble and the new rank of colonel.

Program Notes Military Dance

This humorous dance is about one soldier who overslept a morning warmup. Of course, he was noticed by his commander, but before things get too serious, some of his female comrades show up in their uniforms. Lightening the mood, they all begin to dance.

Russian Dance

This choreographed composition characterizes the stylistic features of the Russian folk dance. The dance is built on contrasting episodes and unmitigated gaiety. One of its brightest moments is the finale—full of brilliant tricks and ending in a joyous coda.

Ukrainian Hopak Dance

The famous Hopak with a lot of tricks and acrobatic elements first appeared as the dance of Cossack warriors but later became one of the most popular Ukrainian folk dances.

applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 61

Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 8 p.m.

Ogonek (Blue Light)

“Ogonek” describes the feelings of a young girl who was sending her soldier to war. After it was written, it became very popular in concerts dedicated to the memories of war.

crew from two different ships. Lyrical episodes give way to breathtaking acrobatic tricks and technically complicated elements.

Smuglianka

The song “Korobeiniki” is based on a poem with the same name by Nikolay Nekrasov, written in 1861. Due to its increasing tempo and the dance style associated with it, it quickly became a popular Russian folk song.

Originally, it was written about the Russian Civil War, where the male lead falls in love with a pretty Moldavian girl and they both join the partisans. However, it was published much later, so people thought that it was about the plight of the Moldavian people during World War II.

Stable The Horses

Katusha

A group of soldiers comes back after a strenuous ride. After they stable the horses, they start celebrating their homecoming and building a new life.

“Katusha” is a Russian wartime song about a girl longing for her beloved, who is away on military service.

Katusha is also a diminutive from the female name Ekaterina: Katya is the nickname and Katusha, a tender diminutive. During World War II, the name “Katusha” was given to rocket launchers that were built and fielded by the Red Army.

Korobeiniki (Peddlers)

Russian Sailor’s Dance (Yablotchko)

The music is an arrangement of the well-known Russian sailors’ song “Yablotchko” (Little Apple). The plot of the dance is based on a competition

Dark Eyes (Ochi Chornye)

Gypsies have been wandering for decades in the steppe lands of southern Russia, and their songs and dances have become inseparable from Russian folklore. One gypsy romance song, “Dark Eyes,” is known all over the world. “Dark eyes, passionate eyes.

How I love you, how I fear you …

You have brought my life to an end, oh dark eyes!”

Holiday on the Don River Dance

This composition showcases the virtuosity of male dancers, the beauty of the girls, the booming vocals of the chorus and talented musicians of the ensemble.

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Patti LaBelle

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Beautiful simply does not describe the incomparable force known as Patti LaBelle. Her name has become synonymous with grace, style, elegance and class. Belting out classic rhythm and blues renditions, pop standards and spiritual sonnets have created the unique platform of versatility for which LaBelle is known and revered.

LaBelle recently reunited with Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx for the first time in 30 years for the critically acclaimed Labelle reunion album, Back to Now. In addition to recording and touring, LaBelle has her own wig line, The Patti LaBelle Collection, and in November 2008, she released her fifth book and third cookbook, Recipes for The Good Life, and an instructional cooking DVD, In the Kitchen with Miss 64 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

Patti. The cookbook features recipes and anecdotes that reflect LaBelle’s philosophy that good cooking and the love of entertaining come from the heart. More recently, she introduced a line of signature sauces and marinades called Lady Marmalade and launched a designer bedding collection with Macy’s, Patti LaBelle Home.

LaBelle’s work as a humanitarian is just as noteworthy. She remains an advocate for adoption, foster care, Big Sisters and the United Negro College Fund, among many other initiatives.

While her celebrated career is respected worldwide, she has also endured and survived personal strife. Within a 10year period, she lost her mother, three sisters and best friend to diabetes and cancer. In 1994, LaBelle was diagnosed with diabetes and shortly thereafter became a spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association.

The motivation that had Patricia Louise Holte blossom from a choir member to lead vocalist for Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles and later Labelle, and then to a solo artist still drives LaBelle at age 67.

“Each year I grow, and that’s a blessing from God,” she says. “I do what I can do. I do what I feel God has given me the energy to do, so I just go out there and I do it. … It’s not about making money because I don’t need money, but I need to sing. With a voice or without, I’ve got to get on that stage.”

Thursday, April 5, 2012, 8 p.m.

Personalized, Advanced Hearing Care

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Strathmore Presents

that can improve your

Quality of Life.

Kevin Costner and Modern West Kevin Costner, guitar and vocals John Coinman, guitar Teddy Morgan, guitar Blair Forward, guitar Larry Cobb, drums Park Chisolm, vocals and guitar

The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Kevin Costner and Modern West

From lead singer Kevin Costner: Modern West got its start when my wife, Christine, encouraged me to reconnect musically with John Coinman.

I wasn’t really sure after all these years how it might work. I wasn’t really sure what to say. But if life has taught me anything, it’s not to be stopped by the question or the unknown, so I made the call to Tucson.

“John what do you think?” He never hesitated, willing to explore the idea.

But it was always more than just an idea for me. It was a feeling that I had been unable to articulate. For a long time now I have felt the need to connect with people in a more meaningful way than just an autograph. I always thought that music could build a stronger, more personal moment for me.

It would be real, full of mistakes and without apology. But most of all there would be the chance to have some fun.

The question was: would it work?

I thought it could but I wasn’t really sure. I had been out on creative limbs before, but this felt familiar.

I asked John to get some guys together starting with Blair Forward, who was in the first and only band I had ever been in. John would pick the rest.

And I made the stipulation that if we were to play together, the majority of our music would have to be our own compositions. Whatever else we played would be old favorites of mine. They would come from friends, some famous and some who probably should be. The rest would be from artists that I have enjoyed over the years. If we played it would be live, loud and long. The idea was simple: Don’t stop the party. Everybody understood and everybody went to work.

Teddy Morgan out of Nashville is our lead guitarist and producer. Larry Cobb from Tucson keeps the beat. Park Chisolm on vocals and guitar covers all my mistakes and hails from Nashville. Roddy Chong and Bobby Yang, from Atlanta, and Luke Bulla, from Nashville, burn fiddle for us when they aren’t killing it with their own bands.

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applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 65

Saturday, April 7, 2012, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2012, 2 P.M. AND 8 P.M.

● Strathmore Presents

Video Games Live Emmanuel Fratianni, conductor Laua Intravia, soloist Tommy Tallarico, host, creator, producer National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale Heath Marrinan, lighting director Matt Yelton, audio engineer Mike Runice, video operator Mike Tallarico, merchandise manager Brian DiDomenico, production and stage manager Mikey Trifillis, lighting crew chief Chad Gore, lighting crew technician

Promotional Partner: Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Art of Video Games on view March 16-Sept. 30, 2012 The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

unique interactive segments to create an explosive entertainment experience.

Special events surround the show, including a pre-show costume contest, Guitar Hero competition, prize giveaways and interactive game demos.

The post-show event includes a meetand-greet with top game composers and designers. All pre- and post-show events are open to all ticket holders.

Video Games Live combines the energy and excitement of a rock concert with the power and emotion of a symphony orchestra through the technology, interactivity, stunning visuals and fun that only video games can provide. Completely synchronized cutting-edge video screen visuals, stateof-the-art lighting and special effects, stage show production and on-stage interactive segments dazzle gamers and non-gamers alike.

This is a concert event put on by the video game industry to help encourage and support the culture and art that video games have become. Video Games Live bridges a gap for entertainment by exposing new generations of music lovers and fans to the symphonic orchestral experience while also providing an exciting experience for families and non-gamers.

Tommy Tallarico, host, creator, producer

What is Video Games Live?

Video Games Live is an immersive concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time.

Created, produced and hosted by game

industry veteran Tommy Tallarico, top orchestras and choirs around the world perform along with exclusive synchronized video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, well-known Internet solo performers, electronic percussion, live action and

66 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

As one of the most successful video game composers, Tommy Tallarico has helped revolutionize the gaming world.

He is considered the person most instrumental in changing the game industry from bleeps and bloops to “real” music now appreciated worldwide by millions of fans.

An accomplished musician, Tallarico has been writing music for video games for more than 20 years. He has won more than 45 industry awards and has worked on more than 275 game titles; to date, they total sales of more than 100 million units and over $4 billion in revenue.

In 1994, he founded Tommy Tallarico Studios, the multimedia industry’s largest audio production house.

Tallarico’s music has been heard in

Saturday, April 7, 2012, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

video games, television, film, radio, soundtracks, toys and even on floats in the New Year’s Day Rose Parade.

Tallarico’s top titles include Earthworm Jim, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Disney’s Aladdin, Spider-Man and Metroid Prime, as well as top-selling popular game franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Pac-Man, Madden Football, Mortal Kombat, Time Crisis, Unreal, Lineage, James Bond, Blitz Football, Knockout Kings, Test Drive, Scooby Doo, WWE and Twisted Metal.

In 2002, Tallarico created Video Games Live, an immersive audio and video concert experience celebrating video games. The debut performance was launched on July 6, 2005 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with the L.A. Philharmonic. Over 11,000 people attended making it the biggest video game concert in the world.

In 2008 the highly anticipated album Video Games Live - Volume One was released and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard charts and won Best

Soundtrack Album awards from IGN.com and the Game Audio Network Guild.

Tallarico is the founder, chairman of the board and CEO of the Game Audio Network Guild, a non-profit organization educating and heightening the awareness of audio for the interactive world. He also is an advisory board member for the Game Developers Conference, a governor for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, a spokesperson for the Entertainment Consumers Association, member of the International Game Developers Association and a nominating peer panel leader for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

National Philharmonic

Led by dynamic Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski, the National Philharmonic is known for performances that are “powerful,” impeccable” and “thrilling” (The Washington Post). The National

Philharmonic boasts a long-standing tradition of reasonably priced tickets and free admission to all young people ages 7 through 17, assuring its place as an accessible and enriching component in Montgomery County and the greater Washington, D.C. area.

As the Music Center at Strathmore’s ensemble in residence, the National Philharmonic showcases world-renowned guest artists in time-honored symphonic masterpieces conducted

by Gajewski and monumental choral masterworks under National Philharmonic Chorale Artistic Director Stan Engebretson.

The National Philharmonic also offers exceptional and unique education programs, such as the Summer String and Choral Institutes. Students accepted into the Summer String Institutes study privately with National Philharmonic musicians, participate in coached chamber music and play in an orchestra conducted by Gajewski or Associate Conductor Victoria Gau.

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applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 67

Thursday, April 12, 2012, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012, 8 P.M.

Viver Brasil

● Strathmore Presents

Viver Brasil: Feet on the Ground

Avanhia

Orixás

The Three Wives of Xangô INTERMISSION

Identity/Identidade

In Motion

Samba Celebration

Tribute to Carnaval

Staff of Viver Brasil Linda Yudin, artistic director Luiz Badaró, co-artistic director Laila Abdullah, rehearsal director Cynthia Guedea, office manager Nancy de Souza e Silva AKA Dona Cici, cultural consultant Special Services for Viver Brasil Booking: Baylin Artists Management Legal: Martinez & Associates, San Francisco Travel: Cheviot Hills Travel Service, Interlink Tours, Los Angeles Graphic Design: Monica Campagna, The McNeil Group Insurance: S. Macdonald Insurance, Encino, Calif.

Accounting: Tom Jenkins, CPA Banking: Wells Fargo Bank Photography: Beto Gonzalez, Jorge Vismara and Lilian Wu

The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

68 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

Viver Brasil, founded in Los Angeles in 1997 by Artistic Director Linda Yudin and Co-Director/Choreographer/ Musician Luiz Badaró, is rooted in the traditional and contemporary forms and techniques of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, and embodies the beautiful and complex stories of the orixá, African sacred energies of Afro-Brazilian culture. Viver Brasil’s innovative stage presentations explore Brazil’s racial, social, political and artistic history, and are living extensions of the development of AfroBrazilian dance on stage, Candomblé mythology and Bahian Carnaval.

Viver Brasil produces dance concerts, works with community organizations and sponsors educational programs. It highlights the choreography of Rosangela Silvestre, whose signature technique combines orixá dances, gestures and symbols with a contemporary movement vocabulary.

Viver Brasil has received prestigious awards and recognition from media and peers in the dance world. In 2010, the company was awarded the Lester Horton Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in World Dance. The company has performed for eight seasons at the Ford Amphitheatre. It also has performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Lensic Performing Arts Center, Herbst Theatre, Bergen Performing Arts Center and American Theatre, among others. In the fall of 2010, Viver Brasil toured in

Thursday, April 12, 2012, 8 p.m.

the Southwest, Midwest and in San Francisco. In fall 2011, Viver Brasil debuted in Canada.

Linda Yudin, artistic director

Linda Yudin, Viver Brasil’s founding artistic director, earned her master’s degree in dance (Ethnology) from UCLA in 1988 and has devoted more than two decades to researching, performing and teaching Afro-Brazilian dance. Yudin has lectured, taught, published and performed Brazilian dance at colleges, universities, elementary, middle and high schools, academic conferences and communities throughout the U.S., Brazil and South Africa.

She is recipient of a 2012 Cultural Exchange International fellowship from the city of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. Along with Viver Brasil’s co-founder Luiz Badaró, Yudin received the Excellence in Teaching award from the board of directors of Dance Resource Center of Greater L.A./Lester Horton Dance Awards 2009.

Yudin has been an adjunct faculty member at Santa Monica College since 1999 and guest teaches Afro-Brazilian dance at the Pierre Verger Foundation Cultural Center in Salvador, Bahia.

Luiz Badaró, co-artistic director

Luiz Badaró, a critically acclaimed master dancer, choreographer, percussionist and educator, was born in Salvador, Bahia, and has been choreographing and performing for more than thirty years in Brazil, Europe, Africa, Japan and the United States. His influence is indispensable to Viver Brasil’s cultural integrity, technical and artistic vitality and dancer training.

Badaró’s exalted choreography is inspired by both the traditional and contemporary worlds of Afro-Brazilian culture. The Los Angeles Times called his choreography “intoxicating … irrepressible … Brazilian to the core.” In 2009, he won a Lester Horton Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music for Dance for Viver Brasil’s 2008 So Moved/In Motion. Along with co-founder Linda Yudin, Badaró received the

Excellence in Teaching award from the board of directors of Dance Resource Center of Greater L.A./Lester Horton Dance Awards 2009.

Rosangela Silvestre, guest choreographer

Rosangela Silvestre is internationally renowned for her demanding dance training, the Silvestre Technique and Symbols in Motion Process. She has researched dance and music in India, Egypt and Cuba as part of her ever-evolving and eclectic movement palette.

A graduate of the Federal University of Bahia, she had studied and helped to evolve an “Afro-Brazilian” dance with Mestre King, Clyde Morgan and Mercedes Baptista beginning in the late 1970s. She has initial training in classical ballet and modern dance in the Horton and Graham techniques. In the 1990s, Silvestre toured extensively with jazz musician Steve Coleman and his group, the Five Elements. She has set choreography on Brazil’s lauded company, Balé Folclórico da Bahia, as well as Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company, Ballet Hispanico Repertory Company, American Academy of Ballet, Roots of Brazil, DanceBrazil, Viver Brasil, Muntu Dance Theater and the Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble.

Silvestre is based in Salvador, Bahia and the U.S. and conducts dance training programs in the Silvestre Technique and Symbols in Motion Process throughout the U.S., Brazil, Japan, Canada and Europe.

Program Notes Avanhia Choreography by Rosangela Silvestre

Orixás Choreography by Rosangela Silvestre Musical composition by Jose Ricardo Sousa with Rosangela Silvestre Costume design by Rosangela Silvestre

As the many waters receded, the elements descended the Great Chain of Life, forged by the god of iron, Ogum, so that Earth could rise to meet the sun.

Thus the Orixás came to populate and guide the world. Viver Brasil offers the version of this ancient tale as recounted to us by the inimitable Dona Cici.

The Waters Subside: Iemanjá—the sea, mother of all the Orixás The Air: Oia-Iansã—the wind, ancestral connection The Elements Arrive: Exú—the messenger; Ogum—iron and instructor of human labor; Oxumarê—the connection between the cosmic and earthly worlds; Oxossi—the hunter and provider; Xangó—diplomacy, a good party and a grand dancer; Oxalá—father of all Orixás, owner of peace and creation.

The Three Wives of Xangô Choreography by Rosangela Silvestre Musical composition by Jose Ricardo Sousa

and Luiz Badaró Costume design by Maria Lourdes Silvestre dos Santos a.k.a. Mainha da Bahia

A popular Yoruba tale of love and betrayal, the Three Wives of Xangô, Oxum (goddess of the rivers, vanity and love, dressed in gold), Obá, (goddess of the earth and hunt, dressed in forest green) and Iansã (goddess of the winds and storms, dressed in red), vie for the love of this powerful Yoruba king, Xangô, of the Oyo Empire, orixá of thunder, lightning and justice.

Musical composition by Jose Ricardo Sousa Costume design by Maria de Lourdes Silvestre

Identity/Identidade

dos Santos aka Mainha da Bahia

Choreography by Rosangela Silvestre Musical composition by Jose Ricardo Sousa,

The celebratory dance of Avanhia calls upon the sacred energies of the earth orixá through rhythm, song and gesture, paying homage to Ossain, the orixá of the leaves and herbal medicine and Obaluaiyê, god of health and sickness.

Luiz Badaró and Mario Pallais Costume design by J. Cunha

This dance expresses the explosive and joyous quality of Rosangela Silvestre’s unique approach to contemporary dance.

applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 69

Thursday, April 12, 2012, 8 p.m.

STRATHMORE education

In Motion Choreography by Rosangela Silvestre Musical composition by Jose Ricardo Sousa, Luiz Badaró and Mario Pallais Costume design by Maria de Loudes Silvestre

STRATHMORE FINE ART CAMPS

dos Santos a.k.a. Mainha da Bahia

Fueled by choreographer Rosangela Silvestre, in collaboration with Viver Brasil members Laila Abdullah, Margit Edwards and Shelby Williams-Gonzalez, In Motion draws from the diverse palette of Brazil’s movement and sound—including the Afro-Brazilian martial art Capoeira, Samba de Roda, West African dance and contemporary Brazilian dance.

Strathmore’s Camps blend child-centered fun with expert instruction from professional artists in the beautiful setting of Strathmore.

Plein Air Camp Jim Saah

THURSDAY–SATURDAY, JULY 12–14 9:30AM–12:30PM AGES 11–14

From the delights of the sculpture garden to the unique architectural detail of its buildings, the Strathmore campus offers much to inspire young painters.

Instructor Lee Boynton is a master of Impressionism in both oil and watercolor and is known for his techniques in reproducing the natural spectrum of light.

Tuition $135 (Stars Price $121.50)

Art Camp 2012 SESSION I: JULY 30–AUGUST 3 9:30AM–12:30PM (HALF DAY) SESSION II: AUGUST 6–AUGUST 10 9:00AM–3:00PM (FULL DAY)

Margot I. Schulman

SESSION III: AUGUST 13–AUGUST 17 9:30AM–12:30PM (HALF DAY) AGES 5–11

QUESTIONS ABOUT CAMP? Please contact Holly Haliniewski at (301) 581-5125 or exhibits@strathmore.org for further information.

Children engage in a variety of hands-on art activities, learning technique, expanding their artistic vocabulary, and developing their creative process. Leading the camps is painter and collage artist Rosanna Azar and her team of professional arts educators. This year the camps go green! Projects will include earthfriendly, sustainable art, often made from recycled materials. Students will learn about green architectural design and building materials in “The Crib at Strathmore.”

Tuition $225 (Stars Price $202.50) Half Day $375 (Stars Price $337.50) Full Day

REGISTER!

ONLINE www.strathmore.org • Look Under “Education” PHONE (301) 581-5100

70 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

Tribute to Carnaval!

Choreography by Rosangela Silvestre, Luiz Badaró and Vera Passos Musical arrangement by Viver Brasil musicians Costume design by J. Cunha

Blending homegrown Bahian movements and sounds with a contagious samba reggae beat, Viver Brasil parades across the stage carrying on the tradition of the blocos afro, the Afro-Brazilian parading groups of Bahian Carnaval.

Viver Brasil 2141 N Gower St. Los Angeles, CA 90068 www.viverbrasil.com Viver Brasil has received critical support from: The Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles L.A. County Arts Commission Flourish Foundation Durfee Foundation National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts Brazilian Ministry of External Relations and the Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles Los Angeles Dance Advance Initiative and many more individual supporters Board of Directors of Viver Brasil Dance Company Margit Edwards, chair Thomas Jenkins Ulysses Jenkins Greg Williams, board adviser Linda Yudin

Friday, April 13, 2012, 8 p.m.

FRIDAY, APRIL13, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Strathmore presents

Joshua Bell and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Coriolan Overture Op.62 Ludwig van Beethoven

(1770-1827)

Violin Concerto in D major, Op.61

Allegro ma non troppo

Larghetto

Rondo: [Allegro]

Original cadenzas by Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 4 in B flat, Op.60

Adagio — Allegro vivace

Adagio

Allegro vivace

Allegro ma non troppo The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

timothy white

Joshua Bell, violin Joshua Bell has enchanted audiences worldwide with his breathtaking virtuosity and tone of rare beauty.

Often referred to as the poet of the violin, Bell is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize and is the new music director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Bell first came to national attention at age 14 in a highly acclaimed orchestral

London, Paris and Berlin.

Bell records exclusively for Sony Classical, a Masterworks label. French Impressions, his new album with Jeremy Denk, was released in January 2012.

Bell performs on the 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius violin and uses a late 18th century French bow by François Tourte.

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is renowned for its polished and refined sound, rooted in outstanding musicianship. Formed in 1958 from a group of leading London musicians, and working without a conductor, the Academy gave its first performance in its namesake church on Nov. 13, 1959.

Today the Academy performs about 100 concerts around the world each year, with as many as 15 tours each season.

The Academy’s partnership with its founder Sir Neville Marriner remains the most recorded pairing of orchestra and conductor and, with more than 500 recordings under its belt, the Academy is one of the most recorded chamber orchestras in the world. Originally directed by Marriner from the leader’s chair, the collegiate spirit and flexibility of the original small, conductorless ensemble remains an Academy hallmark.

Academy Staff Anna Rowe, Chief Executive debut with Riccardo Muti and the Phil- Katy Shaw, Head of Development and adelphia Orchestra.

Marketing Bell’s 2011-12 festival appearances in- Tara Persaud, Concerts Manager clude Ravinia, Tanglewood, Verbier and Katy Jones, Personnel Manager and Mostly Mozart. He will perform with the Company Secretary Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as the Kim Perkins, Education and Outreach Montreal, Dallas, Colorado, Atlanta and Manager/Creative Producer National symphony orchestras, and as Holly Cumming, Marketing Manager leader and soloist with Academy of St. Philippa Dunn, Sponsorship and DevelMartin in the Fields. opment Manager This season’s highlights include a Ina Wieczorek, Assistant Concerts 15-city U.S. tour with the Academy of Manager St. Martin in the Fields, and a North Rosie Chapman, Administrative American recital tour with pianist Sam Assistant Haywood. In Europe, Bell will tour with Katherine Adams, Orchestra Manager the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Librarian and Vladimir Jurowski and in recital Stephen Buck, Concerts and Education with Jeremy Denk in cities to include Volunteer applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012 71

Friday, April 13, 2012, 8 p.m.

For Opus 3 Artists David V. Foster, President and CEO David J. Baldwin, Vice President, Manager, Artists & Conductors Leonard Stein, Senior Vice President, Director, Tour Administration John C. Gilliland III, Associate, Tour Administration Kay McCavic, Company Manager Gerald Breault, Stage Manager

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields 2011/2012 USA Tour Musicians

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields gratefully acknowledges the support of its Principal Sponsor, Siemens. www.asmf.org Mr. Bell records exclusively for Sony Classical.

Exclusive Management for the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields: OPUS 3 ARTISTS 470 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor North New York, NY 10016 www.opus3artists.com

First Violins Joshua Bell Harvey de Souza Robert Salter Amanda Smith Helen Paterson Fiona Brett Miranda Playfair Jeremy Morris

Cellos Stephen Orton John Heley Martin Loveday William Schofield

Horns Timothy Brown Peter Francomb Stephen Stirling Nicholas Hougham

Double Bass Lynda Houghton Leon Bosch

Trumpets Mark David Michael Laird

Second Violins Martin Burgess Jennifer Godson Pauls Ezergailis Mark Butler Matthew Ward Christopher George

Flutes Samuel Coles Sarah Newbold

Timpani Adrian Bending

Violas Robert Smissen Duncan Ferguson Martin Humbey Catherine Bradshaw

Oboes Christopher Cowie Rachel Ingleton Clarinets Matthew Hunt Marie Lloyd

Academy Concerts Society Sir Neville Marriner CBE, Life President Joshua Bell, Music Director Murray Perahia KBE, Principal Guest Conductor

Bassoons Gavin McNaughton Richard Skinner

2012 Spring Gala at Strathmore

Dionne Warwick Over her 40-plus-year career, Dionne Warwick has established herself as an international musical legend. Her reputation as a hit maker has been firmly etched into public consciousness, thanks to nearly sixty charted hits including “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “Walk on By”—many of them Grammy winners. This extraordinary performer headlines Strathmore’s gala celebration—a night to remember!

PERFORMANCE TICKETS INCLUDING THE AFTER PARTY STILL AVAILABLE! All performance patrons are welcome to enjoy desserts and dancing at the After Party featuring Big Ray and the Kool Kats!

SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 9PM

MUSIC CENTER, CONCERT HALL Tickets $35–$85 (Stars Price $31.50–$76.50)

GALA DINNER PACKAGE INFORMATION Prime Orchestra seating is held for gala dinner patrons, with packages beginning at $500 per person. Contact the Sorelle Group at (202) 248-1930 or strathmore@sorellegroup.com for additional information. For sponsorship table information, contact Bill Carey at (301) 581-5135 or bcarey@strathmore.org.

www.strathmore.org • (301) 581-5100 Strathmore Ticket Office 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD Groups Save! (301) 581-5199 72 applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012

Saturday, April 14, 2012, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, Music Director

presents

Romeo and Juliet Lionel Bringuier, conductor Jonathan Carney, violin

A Night on Bald Mountain Modest Mussorgsky

(1839-1881)

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Aram Khachaturian Allegro con fermezza (1903-1978)

Andante sostenuto

Allegro vivace

Jonathan Carney INTERMISSION

Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

(1840-1893)

Firebird Suite (1919) Igor Stravinsky Introduction and Dance of the Firebird (1882-1971) Dance of the Princesses

Infernal Dance of King Kastchei

Berceuse Finale

bringuier photo by Anastasia Chernyavksy; Carney photo by grant leighton

Presenting Sponsor: M&T Bank Official Clothier of the BSO Concertmaster: JoS. A. Bank Clothiers The concert will end at approximately 10 P.M. The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Lionel Bringuier, conductor The 2011-12 season marks Lionel Bringuier’s fifth with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the newly-created position of resident conductor of the orchestra, further deepening his ties and commitment to an institution and artistic team to which he has shown

deep affinity his entire career. It also marks his final season as music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León in Valladolid, Spain.

In Valladolid, his presence spans eight subscription weeks and includes performances around the Castilla y León region. The artistic planning with his Spanish orchestra is built around an indepth look at the works of Brahms and Beethoven. In the autumn, his first fully-staged opera production of Bizet’s Carmen takes him to the Royal Swedish Opera for 14 performances, with

Katarina Dalayman in the title role. Additional guest conducting highlights include engagements with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and the Bamberger Symphoniker.

Winner of the 49th Besançon International Competition for Young Conductors in 2005, Bringuier was the unanimous choice of the Besançon jury, the “Prix du Public” as audience favorite, as well as the top vote of the musicians of the festival orchestra, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. Since this triumph, he has conducted and been invited to return to some of the top orchestras in the world, including the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Born in Nice, France, in 1986, Bringuier attended the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris from the age of 13, beginning his conducting studies in 2000 with Zsolt Nagy. He has also participated in masterclasses with Peter Eötvös and Janos Fürst. In June 2004, he obtained his diploma in cello and conducting with “Mention Très Bien à l’unanimité.” Other distinctions include the “Médaille d’or à l’unanimité avec les felicitations du jury à l’Académie Prince Rainier III de Monaco,” the “médaille d’or” from the Lord Mayor of Nice, as well as first prize in a competition organized by the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra in Ostrava. Bringuier has also received prizes from the Swiss Foundation Langart and the Cziffra Foundation.

Bringuier makes his BSO debut with this performance.

Jonathan Carney, violin

BSO Concertmaster Jonathan Carney begins his 10th season with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra after 12 seasons in the same position with London’s Royal

applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012 73

Saturday, April 14, 2012, 8 p.m.

Philharmonic Orchestra.

Born in New Jersey, Carney hails from a musical family with all six members having graduated from The Juilliard School in New York. After completing his studies with Ivan Galamian and Christine Dethier, he was awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship to continue his studies at the Royal College of Music in London.

After enjoying critically acclaimed international tours as both concertmaster and soloist with numerous ensembles, Carney was invited by Vladimir Ashkenazy to become concertmaster of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1991. He was also appointed concertmaster of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in 1994 and the Basque National Orchestra in 1996. Recent solo performances have included concertos

by Bruch, Korngold, Khachaturian, Sibelius, Nielsen, the Brahms Double Concerto and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, which was featured as a live BBC broadcast from London’s Barbican Hall. He has made a number of recordings, including concertos by Mozart, Vivaldi and Nielsen, sonatas

by Brahms, Beethoven and Franck, and a disc of virtuoso works of by Sarasate and Kreisler with his mother Gloria Carney as pianist. New releases include Beethoven’s “Archduke” and “Ghost” trios, the cello quintet of Schubert and a Dvořák disc with the Terzetto and four Romantic pieces for violin.

Carney first performed with the BSO during the 2001-02 season as concertmaster during the Orchestra’s European Tour and on three subscription weekends, most notably with his moving interpretation of Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben.

Carney lives in Maryland with his wife Ruthie and their three children, Hannah, Luke and Gracie. His violin is a 1687 Stradivarius, the Mercur-Avery on which he uses “Vision” strings by Thomastik-Infeld. Carney’s string sponsor is Connolly & Co., exclusive U.S. importer of Thomastik-Infeld strings.

Carney was last featured with the BSO on April 28-30, 2011, perform-

ing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with conductor Cornelius Meister.

Program Notes Night on Bald Mountain

Modest Mussorgsky Born March 21, 1839 in Karevo, Russia; died March 28, 1881 in St. Petersburg, Russia

Modest Mussorgsky was one of the most original musical geniuses Russia has ever produced, but, unfortunately, he lacked the stability and discipline to shape many of his brilliant ideas into finished pieces. His only completed large-scale work was Boris Godunov, an epic opera of immense power that ranks at the top among all 19th-century operas. Mussorgsky’s colleague Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was able to complete another striking operatic work, Khovanshchina, for production. A handful of songs and song cycles, piano pieces and just one orchestral work—the barbarically vivid tone poem Night on Bald Mountain—rounded out his published legacy. (The beloved Pictures at an Exhibition, which we’ll hear later this season, was written by Mussorgsky for the piano; its most familiar orchestral version is the work of another man, Maurice Ravel.) Dying of the effects of alcoholism at 42, Mussorgsky left a small sheaf of works, but his daring experiments using the principles of Slavic folk music changed the course of Russian music and influenced composers far into the 20th century.

Mussorgsky originally named his tone poem St. John’s Night on Bald Mountain; St. John’s Night is the night of the summer solstice and was associated with witches in European folklore. This piece seems to have had two sources of inspiration: Franz Liszt’s devilishly virtuosic Totentanz for piano and orchestra, and Nikolai Gogol’s fantasy story St. John’s Eve. Mussorgsky wrote his first version of Bald Mountain in a fury of activity around the time of St. John’s Night in 1867. Lacking performance opportunities, in 1872 he revised it extensively for inclusion in a ballet/opera Mlada

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that was supposed to be written by several composers (never a good idea!). When Mlada collapsed as a creative project, Mussorgsky then tried to refashion the work for his opera The Sorochinsky Fair, but this too was never finished. Ultimately, Rimsky-Korsakov took over Bald Mountain after Mussorgsky’s death and arranged it into the version we hear today.

Here is Mussorgsky’s own description of the story this music is telling: “The witches congregated on this mountain... gossiped, engaged in debauchery and awaited their lord—Satan. On his arrival, they... formed a circle around the throne, which their lord mounted in the form of goat, and lauded him in song. When the witches’ praises had brought Satan to a sufficient frenzy, he would order the Sabbath to begin, during which he would pick out the witches who caught his fancy to satisfy his wants. ... The form and character of my piece are Russian and original. Its tone is inflamed and disorderly.”

The most remarkable part of this fascinating, untamed work is its quiet, closing section, added by Mussorgsky in 1872.

Here a ringing church bell heralds the coming of dawn, and the witches gradually disperse in an atmospheric mist of sated melodic fragments.

The BSO most recently performed Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain on Feb. 5-8, 2009, with Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly.

Instrumentation: two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp and strings.

Violin Concerto

Aram Ilyich Khachaturian Born June 6, 1903 in Tbilisi, Russian Georgia; died May 1, 1978 in Moscow

When Aram Khachaturian wrote his grandly anachronistic, Romantic-style Violin Concerto in 1940, the Soviet Union was facing dark days both internally and externally. Since the middle 1930s, Stalin’s purges had eliminated millions of Russians from all ranks of society, from farmers to intellectuals. In 1939, the Russian leader signed a non-aggression pact

Saturday, April 14, 2012, 8 p.m.

with Hitler that temporarily kept the USSR out of World War II, but by 1940 Russians were nervously eyeing their western borders. A bloody war with Finland from 1939 to 1940 preceded the Nazi invasion and cost 40,000 Russian lives.

As Boris Schwarz describes in his fascinating book Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia 1917–1970, in such troubled times Soviet citizens more than ever wanted positive and entertaining music, film and theater to lighten their worries. And this was firmly in line with the official Stalinist artistic policy of “socialist realism.” Soviet commissars were already directing Russian composers to avoid the “decadent” modern experiments of the West and concentrate on their own rich Russian musical heritage.

They decreed that proper Soviet music should be tuneful and uplifting.

Schwarz said of Khachaturian: “He represents socialist realism at its best.”

Blending folk material with the passionate Russian classical style came naturally to this composer, who could draw on his Armenian heritage for inspiration. He enjoyed a long and mostly very successful career under the Soviet system. In 1953, he wrote: “All my life I have written only what has appealed to my artistic imagination, and I therefore find it hard to believe in the sincerity of lamentations over the alleged lack of creative freedom for the Soviet composer.”

His official honors included the Stalin Prize in 1941 for the Violin Concerto, the Lenin Prize (1959), and the title of “People’s Artist of the USSR” (1954).

With his Violin Concerto, Khachaturian created a virtuoso showpiece that picks up where Tchaikovsky left off. Its plethora of appealing melodies are colored by the exoticism of Armenian and Asian-Russian music, although all of them are the composer’s own inventions. And there’s also an urban edge to the concerto’s bright, brass-flavored orchestration and syncopated rhythms that reminds us that Khachaturian spent most of his career in Moscow and that he loved the music of George Gershwin.

But first and foremost, this concerto celebrates a violinist capable of delivering

Russian-Romantic virtuosity in the grand manner of its dedicatee, David Oistrakh.

In movement one, after a few showbusiness gestures from the orchestra, the violin launches the principal theme: a lively folk dance of repeated notes and nervous, urban energy. Exotic high woodwinds and the syncopated strumming of the harp set the stage for the languid, sensual second theme, also introduced by the soloist. Armenian folk melismas decorate this lengthy song melody, ideal for showing off the violinist’s lyrical expressiveness. Here Khachaturian makes very effective use of double-stopping the violin’s strings to produce colorful harmonies and dueting passages.

In the middle development section, listen for the cellos’ suave rendition of the sensuous second theme while the violinist executes an intricate free commentary above. Khachaturian includes a big virtuosic cadenza for the soloist at the end of the development; it is introduced by a haunting duet with solo clarinet, full of Eastern embroidery. The first theme’s nervous dance brings the movement to a brilliant conclusion.

Eastern exoticism also rules the lyrical second movement, in which sensitive orchestral writing matches the soloist’s expressiveness. The dark orchestral introduction, featuring cellos and bassoons and a mournful bassoon solo, establishes the soulful atmosphere. The strings then set a swaying 3/4 beat for the violin’s sadly impassioned song. Later, when the violin in its seductive lower range returns to this melody, it is beautifully accompanied by the solo clarinet’s soaring arabesques. The music closes in hovering expectancy.

This expectancy is released by the galloping energy of the Allegro vivace finale. Khachaturian follows the tradition of many famous violin concertos, including the Tchaikovsky and the Brahms, by setting this movement as a brilliant rondo. Its recurring rondo refrain is another folk-dance theme for the violin, relentless in its high-speed virtuosity. Finally the music eases a bit, and the violin takes up something that

sounds very familiar. It is, in fact, the sensuous song theme from the first movement — Khachaturian knew how to milk a good thing! But it affords only a brief moment of relaxation before the soloist resumes the taxing virtuoso feats that ultimately secure our applause.

The BSO most recently performed Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto on June 1-4, 2006, with Music Director Yuri Temirkanov and Concertmaster Jonathan Carney.

Instrumentation: two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp and strings.

Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Born May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia; died Nov. 6, 1893 in St. Petersburg, Russia

Now more than 400 years old, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet still reigns as the most compelling of all love stories. And it holds as much allure for composers as for movie directors. “God! What a fine subject!” wrote the French composer Hector Berlioz. “How it lends itself to music!”

In 1869, the 28-year-old Tchaikovsky was just recovering from the breaking off of his only romance with a woman—the fascinating Belgian opera singer Desirée Artôt—when he was urged to use this subject to transform his pain into art by his fellow Russian composer Mily Balakirev.

This renunciation had been difficult for Tchaikovsky, and soon after, he was seen at the opera house listening to Artôt with tears streaming down his face.

A member of the five Russian nationalist composers known as the “Mighty Handful,” Balakirev became more famous for the compositions he inspired in others than for his own works, and the young Tchaikovsky was one of his protégés. On a long walk together, he suggested Romeo and Juliet as the perfect program for a symphonic poem and followed that up with a letter detailing how the work should be laid out. Tchaikovsky latched onto the idea immediately, but used his own artistic discretion about Balakirev’s suggestions.

The first version of his Fantasy-Overture was written in just six weeks at the end of

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1869. But when he heard it performed in Moscow in March 1870, Tchaikovsky decided it needed considerably more work. In revisions made soon after, he added the brooding opening that so perfectly establishes a mood of tender pathos, and before publishing it in 1880, he devised the startling conclusion, confirming the tragic denouement with eight searing B-major chords.

The musical events of Tchaikovsky’s first masterpiece convey virtually all the dramatic elements of Shakespeare’s play except for the scenes of comic relief. Some commentators have linked the dark chant-like theme that opens the work with the character of Friar Laurence, who marries the young lovers. This theme plays an important role in the middle development section— striving in the horns against the jagged principal theme representing the battles between the Capulets and Montagues, just as in the play Laurence tries vainly to bring the families together. Notice how craftily Tchaikovsky introduces his famous love theme, one of the most inspired this great melodist ever wrote. He first presents it with very subdued scoring — an English horn solo over violas — saving its full passion for later when it returns soaring aloft in the violins.

The BSO most recently performed Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet FantasyOverture on Feb. 4-6, 2010, with Music Director Marin Alsop.

Instrumentation: two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp and strings.

Firebird Suite (1919)

Igor Stravinsky Born June 17, 1882 in Oranienbaum, Russia; died April 6, 1971 in New York City

Igor Stravinsky’s score for the fairytale ballet The Firebird, particularly in its suite adaptation, is far and away his most popular work. For nearly six decades, the composer conducted it hundreds of times, even though he had since moved on to more radical and astringent styles.

In fact, it became almost impossible to believe that this fearless Modernist had actually once written such a lush and sensual score: a grand summation of the 19th-century Russian fascination with fantastic plots and opulent instrumental colors.

The Firebird’s music needed to be lush, for it was written for Serge Diaghilev’s spectacular Ballets Russes, which was dazzling Paris during the seasons immediately preceding World War I. Diaghilev had a genius for assembling the greatest Russian dancers, as well as scenic designers, poets and composers from Russia and France to create ballet extravaganzas that looked as colorful as they sounded. In 1909, seeking a composer to replace Anatoli Liadov (dropped after he failed to meet his deadline), Diaghilev had the happy inspiration to try the 27-year-old Stravinsky, who had hitherto worked for him only as an orchestrator. The Firebird was Stravinsky’s first major commission.

“Take a good look at him,” Diaghilev told his leading ballerina Tamara Karsavina during rehearsals. “He is a man on the eve of celebrity.” And indeed, when The Firebird premiered at the Paris Opéra on June 25, 1910, to tumultuous applause, Stravinsky immediately became one of the hottest composers of the day.

The Firebird is a beloved creature in Russian folklore, and she corresponds to the Phoenix in classical mythology as a symbol of rebirth. The Russian folklorist Afanasyev describes her thus: “The feathers of the Firebird are effulgent with silver and gold. … her eyes shine like crystal, and she sits in a golden cage. At darkest midnight, she flies into the garden and lights it as brightly as if with a thousand burning bonfires. Just one of her tail feathers holds such magical power that ‘it is worth more than a kingdom.’” The scenario of the ballet combines the Firebird with the legends of the evil ogre Kastchei the Deathless One, and the captive princesses (familiar to us as the Grimm Brothers’ tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses).

At this concert, we will hear the 20-minute suite Stravinsky drew from

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his 45-minute complete ballet score, which serves as a kind of promotional trailer for this gorgeous work.

In the murky and mysterious Introduction, Stravinsky conjures the dangerous realm of Kastchei’s castle with ominous scales in muted low strings and menacing trombone snarls. Soon we hear the eerie sound of the Firebird’s wings: an otherworldly effect created by the strings playing natural harmonics. Prince Ivan climbs over the castle wall to try to capture her.

He briefly succeeds in The Firebird’s Dance and Variations: Here is some of Stravinsky’s most ingenious music, glinting with darting rhythms and prismatic, lighter-than-air colors from high woodwinds. The Firebird escapes, but leaves the Prince with one of her magical feathers.

More earthbound is the Round Dance of the Princesses, who like Ivan are ordinary mortals and captives of Kastchei.

They dance a traditional Russian khorovode or female round dance, and the Prince falls in love with the most beautiful of them.

Next comes the stunning Infernal Dance of King Kastchei. Stravinsky’s rhythmic vitality is on display in this brutal dance built from syncopations.

In the nick of time, Prince Ivan remembers the magic tail feather and summons the Firebird. She forces Kastchei and his minions to dance until they drop in exhaustion. Lulling them to sleep with the rocking Berceuse, or lullaby, led by solo bassoon, the Firebird tells the Prince that Kastchei’s soul lives in a buried egg; if he can crush that, he will kill the ogre and break the spell that binds the princesses.

The Prince accomplishes this and, in the majestic Finale, weds his Princess. Its melody, introduced by solo horn, is another authentic Russian folksong. The melody spreads through the orchestra, and the ballet ends in a blaze of bell-tolling Russian splendor.

The BSO most recently performed Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919) on Oct. 29-31, 2009, with conductor Robert Spano.

Instrumentation: two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, celeste (optional) and strings.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2012, 8 P.M.

Clements and John Kahn. In 1974, Rowan, Grisman, Clarence White and Richard Greene formed Muleskinner, a bluegrass band. Muleskinner released one album and then disbanded. He then reunited the Rowan Brothers, who this time played together until the early 1980s. Meanwhile, Rowan also began playing rock and bluegrass with Mexican Airforce, which featured accordion player Flaco Jimenez. In the mid-’80s, he and Jiminez reteamed to record Flaco Jiminez and Peter Rowan: Live Rockin’ Tex-Mex. Rowan founded the Nashville-based Wild Stallions in 1983, and throughout the ’80s and ’90s continued to work with a variety of musicians and tour as a solo act.

● Strathmore Presents

The Music of Bill Monroe with Peter Rowan, Tony Rice and the Travelin’ McCourys Peter Rowan, guitar Tony Rice, guitar Rob McCoury, banjo Ronnie McCoury, mandolin Jason Carter, fiddle Alan Bartram, bassist

Tony Rice The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Rowan photo by tim benko

Peter Rowan

Peter Rowan was one of the major cult bluegrass artists of the 1980s, winning a devoted, international fan base through his independent records and constant touring.

A skilled singer-songwriter, Rowan also yodeled, and played numerous stringed instruments and the saxophone. He was born in Boston; his parents and many of his relatives were musicians, and it seemed natural that Rowan too would become one. When he was a teenager, he frequently hung out at the Hillbilly Ranch, where he heard such bluegrass and old-time bands as the Lilly Brothers. He also enjoyed listening to the blues.

Rowan formed the Tex-Mex band the Cupids while he was in high school.

The group became a popular New England attraction and independently released a single. After college, he decided to become a professional musician, and

in 1963 joined the Cambridge-based Mother Bay State Entertainers as a mandolin player and singer, appearing on their LP The String Band Project.

In 1964, after performing with Jim Rooney and Bill Keith, Rowan became a rhythm guitarist and lead singer with Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys.

He remained with them through 1967, leaving to join mandolinist David Grisman in the folk-rock band Earth Opera.

The group recorded a couple of albums and toured until the early 1970s. One of their albums, The Great Eagle Tragedy (1969) produced a minor hit single, “Home to You.” While with Monroe and Earth Opera, Rowan had begun to write and co-write songs, some of which were used in both bands. After leaving Earth Opera, he became a part of Seatrain, a rock-fusion unit whose records were produced by George Martin. Rowan left the band in 1972 to form the Rowan Brothers with siblings Chris and Lorin, and recorded one album.

After the group disbanded Rowan then recorded Old & in the Way with Grisman, Jerry Garcia, Vassar

Tony Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from straight-ahead bluegrass to jazz-influenced new acoustic music, and songwriter-oriented folk.

Over the course of his career, he has played alongside J.D. Crowe and the New South and David Grisman, led his own groups, collaborated with fellow picker Norman Blake and recorded with his brothers. He has recorded with drums, piano, soprano saxophone and with bluegrass instrumentation.

Rice was born in Danville, Va., but grew up in California, where he was introduced to bluegrass by his father.

He and his brothers learned a lot from L.A. pickers including the Kentucky Colonels, led by Roland and Clarence White. Crossing paths with fellow enthusiasts Ry Cooder, Herb Pederson and Chris Hillman reinforced the strength of the music he had learned from his father. In 1979, he left the group to pursue his own music. He recorded Acoustics, a guitar-oriented record, and then Manzanita, which collected some favorite folk and bluegrass vocals. In 1980, Rice, Crowe, Bobby Hicks, Doyle Lawson and Todd Phillips attacked bluegrass

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 8 p.m.

standards under the name Bluegrass Album Band. This group has recorded six volumes of music.

Rice’s solo career hit its stride with Cold on the Shoulder, a collection of bluegrass vocals. With this album, Native American and Me & My Guitar, Rice arrived at a formula that incorporated his disparate influences, combining bluegrass, the songwriting of folk artists including Ian Tyson, Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs and especially Gordon Lightfoot, with nimble, jazz-inflected guitar work.

Simultaneously, he pursued his jazz and experimental “spacegrass” with the Tony Rice Unit on Mar West, Still Inside and Backwaters.

Two highly regarded albums with traditional guitar virtuoso Norman Blake gained a great deal of acclaim, as well as two Rice Brother albums that reunited him with his younger brother, Wyatt. Tony Rice’s most recent recording for Rounder is The Bluegrass Guitar Collection. Rice remains one of bluegrass’ top instrumentalists and singers,

bringing originality and vitality to everything he plays.

The Travelin McCourys

The Travelin’ McCourys do not stand still. They are on the road—and online—entertaining audiences with live shows that include some of the best musicians and singers from all genres.

As the sons of bluegrass legend Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury on mandolin and Rob McCoury on banjo continue their father’s work—a lifelong dedication to the power of bluegrass

music to bring joy into people’s lives.

With fiddler Jason Carter and bassist Alan Bartram, the ensemble is loved and respected by the bluegrass faithful.

But the band is now combining its sound with those of others to make something fresh and rejuvenating. The Travelin’ McCourys recently played with the Allman Brothers at Wanee Fest and then brought the house down at Warren Haynes’ Annual Christmas Jam, an invitation-only Southern Rock homecoming. The band has also performed with Warren Haynes and Phish, and has a tour scheduled with the Lee Boys.

The Travelin’ McCourys can push forward so far because the roots are so deep. The band has a confidence that only comes with having paid its dues with 20 years on the bluegrass road.

Other groups and new fans hear this immediately—the tight rhythm, the soulful material and the confidence in taking bluegrass from the safety of the shore into uncharted waters.

The City of Light:

STRATHMORE IN PARIS Join CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl and Bill Carey, Director, Donor and Community Relations, on an unforgettable journey to the City of Light. Explore masterpieces of architecture and major art collections, and experience music and fine cuisine during this custom-designed week in Paris. Highlights include: • Private tours of the Musée de l’Orangerie and the Jacquemart André Museum, and an after-hours visit to the Opéra Garnier.

• Wine tasting at the legendary Legrand Filles et Fils, followed by a dinner of French specialties.

• A day in the countryside to visit Claude Monet’s home and gardens at Giverny, and the Inn at Auvers-sur-Oise, that was the last home of Vincent van Gogh.

• An elegant dinner cruise on the Bateaux Parisiens with live music.

• Unique opportunities to enjoy jazz or classical music on free evenings.

• Leisurely lunch and chocolate tasting at Un Dimanche à Paris, the lovely restaurant of Pierre Cluizel of the famed French chocolate family.

• Stay in the four-star Concorde Hôtel du Louvre, perfectly located on the Right Bank within view of its namesake museum.

Additional Information at www.strathmoreinparis.wordpress.com or contact Bill Carey, (301) 581-5135 or bcarey@strathmore.org 78 applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

September 4–12, 2012 SPACE IS LIMITED; WE ENCOURAGE ENROLLMENT

BY APRIL 1!

Giverny

The Opéra Palais Garnier

Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 8 p.m.

wednesDAY, APRIL 18, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Strathmore and Blues Alley Present

Paco de Lucia The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Paco de Lucia

Paco de Lucía is inarguably one of the greatest living guitarists in the world and one of the great heroes of modern flamenco. The Chicago Tribune has said de Lucia has “a fiery approach to rhythm that keeps his music surging ever forward and an unmistakably regal bearing that commands attention wherever he plays.”

He is credited with creating a “fusion” style flamenco influenced by jazz—stretching and embellishing flamenco’s strict structure but remaining faithful to the soul of its Roma, Muslim and Jewish roots.

The most innovative and influential

flamenco artist of the last 30 years, de Lucía’s flamenco recordings have had a revolutionary impact, infusing new life into the art form and bringing it worldwide attention. His groundbreaking collaborations with jazz artists— including John McLaughlin, Chick Corea and Larry Coryell—and his participation in notable soundtracks have brought him to the attention of a broad audience.

De Lucía started rather traditionally.

He was born Francisco Sanchez Gomez in Algeciras, a city in the province of Cadiz, in the southernmost tip of Spain, on Dec. 21, 1947. (His stage

name is a tribute to his mother.)

His father, a day laborer named Antonio Sanchez, played guitar at night as a way to supplement his income.

His father, his elder brother Ramon de Algeciras and flamenco master Nino Ricardo were De Lucía’s main influences. De Lucía’s first performance was on Radio Algeciras in 1958 when he was only 11 years old.

The training ground for a flamenco guitarist, de Lucía once said, “is the music around you, made by people you see, the people you make music with.

You learn it from your family, from your friends, in la juerga (the party) drinking. And then you work on technique.

“Guitarists do not need to study.

And, as it is with any music, the great ones will spend some time working with the young players who show special talent. You must understand that a gypsy’s life is a life of anarchy. That is a reason why the way of flamenco music is a way without discipline as you know it. We don’t try to organize things with our minds; we don’t go to school to find out. We just live. … music is everywhere in our lives.”

Paco de Lucia has recorded more than 20 studio CDs. He has recorded many as a solo artist and has several as part of The Guitar Trio (with John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell and later Al Di Meola) and the Paco de Lucia Sextet.

In addition to his CDs and live performances, de Lucia has also composed music for the Woody Allen film Vicky Christina Barcelona and was the featured guitarist in Bryan Adams’ Grammy-nominated song “Have You Every Really Loved a Woman?” from the film Don Juan de Marco.

Paco de Lucía’s compositional genius and the pure intimacy of his dazzling guitar virtuosity make a deeply authentic and universal statement that transcends the folkloric. By adapting the past to the present, de Lucía has awakened a new generation to the power and appeal of flamenco. With mesmerizing cascades of high velocity notes, de Lucía’s performances offer superb playing, dancing and singing.

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Thursday, April 19, 2012, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012, 8 P.M.

● Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, Music Director

presents

BSO SuperPops Do You Hear the People Sing?

Jack Everly, conductor Peter Lockyer Terrence Mann Jennifer Paz Kathy Voytko Marie Zamora Baltimore Choral Arts Society Tom Hall, director Act I

INTERMISSION

Overture Orchestra Act II “Bui Doi“

Terrence Mann and Chorus

“Entr’acte”/”The Pirate Queen” “Woman”

“The Heat Is On in Saigon”

Chorus

Orchestra Kathy Voytko

Jennifer Paz

“If I Said I Loved You”

Peter Lockyer and Kathy Voytko

“Last Night of the World”

Peter Lockyer and Jennifer Paz

“Mon Histoire/On My Own” Jennifer Paz and Marie Zamora

“Maybe”

“At the End of the Day”

“I’d Give My Life for You”

“The American Dream”

Kathy Voytko Terrence Mann

“Au Petit Matin”

Marie Zamora

“I’m Martin Guerre”

Peter Lockyer

“Live With Somebody You Love”

Peter Lockyer and Marie Zamora “In the Land of the Fathers”

Full Company and Chorus “I Saw Him Once” “Too Much for One Heart”

Marie Zamora

“Master of the House”

Terrence Mann, Kathy Voytko and Chorus “In My Life”/”A Heart Full of Love”

Peter Lockyer, Jennifer Paz and Marie Zamora “Stars”

Terrence Mann

“Bring Him Home”

Peter Lockyer

“One Day More”

Full Company

“Do You Hear the People Sing?”

Full Company

Jennifer Paz

“I Dreamed a Dream” Jennifer Paz and Kathy Voytko The concert will end at approximately 10 P.M. The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

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Full Company

Thursday, April 19, 2012, 8 p.m.

Conceived by Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg in collaboration with Jason Moore Musical Director & Supervisor – Kevin Stites Director – Jen Bender Interstitial Dialogue – Blair Fell Original Orchestrations for Les Misérables by John Cameron Original Orchestrations for Miss Saigon by Bill Brohn Original Orchestrations for Martin Guerre by Jonathan Tunick and Bill Brohn Original Orchestrations for The Pirate Queen by Julian Kelly Original Orchestration for Too Much for One Heart by Gerard Salonga New Orchestrations and Revised Orchestrations by Bill Brohn and/or Chris Jahnke Additional Orchestrations by Adrian Jackson Produced by Alain Boublil / Bouberg Productions Consulting Producer – Rudi Schlegel Manager – Andrew Tenenbaum / MBST Booking Agent – Steve Linder / IMG Artists All songs by Alain Boublil Music Limited & Bouberg Music Do You Hear the People Sing? appears by arrangement with IMG Artists, LLC, 152 W. 57th St., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10019. 212-994-3500

everly photo by Michael Tammaro

Jack Everly, conductor

Jack Everly is the principal pops conductor of the Baltimore and Indianapolis Symphony orchestras, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa), and the music director of the National Memorial Day Concert and A Capitol Fourth on PBS. Everly is the music director of Yuletide Celebration, now a 26-year tradition.

These theatrical symphonic holiday concerts are presented annually in December in Indianapolis and are seen by more than 40,000 concertgoers.

Originally appointed by Mikhail Baryshnikov, Everly was conductor of the American Ballet Theatre for 14 years, where he served as music director. Everly has teamed with Marvin Hamlisch in Broadway shows including The Goodbye Girl, They’re Playing Our Song and A Chorus Line. He conducted Carol Channing hundreds of times in Hello, Dolly! in two separate Broadway productions.

Everly conducted the songs for Disney’s animated classic, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and led the Czech Philharmonic on the recording In the Presence and Sandi Patty’s 2011 release,

Broadway Stories. He also conducted the critically praised Everything’s Coming Up Roses: The Complete Overtures of Broadway’s Jule Styne.

In 1998, Everly created the Symphonic Pops Consortium, serving as music director. The consortium, based in Indianapolis, produces a new theatrical pops program each season. In the past 12 years, more than 225 performances of SPC programs have taken place across the U.S. and Canada.

Everly holds an honorary doctorate of arts from Franklin College in his home state of Indiana.

Peter Lockyer

Peter Lockyer made his Broadway debut at age 19 in the Dutch production of Cyrano the Musical.

He starred in two of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s hit shows: as Chris in Miss Saigon both on Broadway and in the first national tour, and as Marius in the 10th anniversary production of Les Misérables on Broadway and in Shanghai. Also on Broadway, Lockyer played the role of Rodolfo in Baz Luhrmann’s critically acclaimed production of La bohème. Lockyer was featured in Lincoln Center Theatre’s revival of South Pacific and Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera.

Terrence Mann

Terrence Mann’s credits include work on Broadway, in film and television, as a director, composer and artistic director. On Broadway, Mann originated the roles of Beast in Beauty and the Beast (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations), Inspector Javert in Les Misérables (Tony nomination), Rum Tum Tugger in Cats and Chauvelin in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Other Broadway credits include Lennon (Ensemble), The Rocky Horror Show (Frank ‘N’ Furter), Getting Away With Murder (Greg), A Christmas Carol (Scrooge), Rags (Saul), Barnum (Ringmaster), Jerome Robbin’s Broadway and Jekyll & Hyde. He is the endowed chair for the musical theater program at Western Carolina University.

Jennifer Paz

Jennifer Paz’s favorite roles include Kim in Miss Saigon (Carbonnell Award winner, Helen Hayes Award nomination). She has since reprised Miss Saigon with several regional companies, most recently with Maine’s Ogunquit Playhouse. Her favorite credits include Les Misérables (Broadway company), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator in Broadway Asia, Ordway and other productions), Buddy (Maria Elena Holly) and Cinderella (Cinderella). Other regional credits include David Henry Hwang’s newly adapted Flower Drum Song (Mei-Li) and The Last 5 Years (2009 LA Ovation Award nomination).

Paz’s recent concerts include her as a soloist in Suites by Sondheim (Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center).

Kathy Voytko

Kathy Voytko appeared on Broadway in Oklahoma! and Nine starring Antonio Banderas and Chita Rivera, originated the

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Thursday, April 19, 2012, 8 p.m.

role of Ariadne opposite Nathan Lane in The Frogs, and was standby Diana in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal and the standby Grania in The Pirate Queen. Voytko had the great pleasure of performing at Carnegie Hall and The Royal Albert Hall in London with the concert and live recording of Kristina. She has toured the U.S. as Christine Daae from Phantom of the Opera and as a soloist in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and played Eva Peron in the 25th anniversary tour of Evita.

Marie Zamora

Marie Zamora began her career as a classically trained soprano and dancer in France. She has performed as Cosette in Les Misérables (Mogador Theatre, Paris), Kate in Kiss Me, Kate (Geneva Opera House and Mogador Theatre, Paris), Sina Marnis in

Pirandello’s Les Nouvelles de Sicile (Sylvia Montfort Theatre, Paris), Mrs. Barnum in Barnum (Celestins Theatre, Lyon), Cornelia in La Comtesse Dracula (Mouffetard Theatre, Paris) and Eugénie in Le Voyage de Mozart à Prague (Potinière Theatre, Paris). Zamora has done extensive concert work, including Hey, Mr. Producer at the Lyceum Theatre in London.

Baltimore Choral Arts Society

The Baltimore Choral Arts Society is one of Maryland’s premier cultural institutions. The Symphonic Chorus, Full Chorus, Orchestra and Chamber Chorus perform throughout the midAtlantic region, as well as in Washington, D.C., New York and Europe.

Choral Arts has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra and has made regular appearances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Acclaimed artists collaborating with Choral Arts have included Chanticleer,

Dave Brubeck, The King’s Singers, Peter Schickele, Sweet Honey in the Rock and Anonymous 4.

For the past 15 years WMAR-TV has featured Choral Arts in an hourlong special, Christmas with Choral Arts, which won an Emmy Award in 2006.

Baltimore Choral Arts’ latest CD is Christmas at America’s First Cathedral, released on Gothic Records in September 2010.

Tom Hall is one of the most highly regarded performers in choral music today. Appointed music director in 1982, Hall has added more than 100 new works to the Baltimore Choral Arts Society’s repertoire. He also has prepared choruses for Leonard Bernstein, Robert Shaw, Helmuth Rilling and others; and he served for 10 years as the chorus master of the Baltimore Opera Company.

The Baltimore Choral Arts Society last appeared with the BSO on March 2-4, 2012, performing Einhorn’s Voices of Light with Music Director Marin Alsop.

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Saturday, April 21, 2012, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012, 9 P.M.

● Strathmore Presents 2012 Spring Gala at Strathmore

Dionne Warwick

After Party with Big Ray and the Kool Kats in the Lockheed Martin Lobby The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Dionne Warwick

A beloved singer and respected humanitarian, Dionne Warwick is an international music icon.

She continues to enchant audiences around the world after more than 45 years with her signature tone, nuanced phrasing and stunning emotional range.

Warwick traces the roots of her singing career to New Hope Baptist Church, where her mother, aunts and uncles got their start as the worldrenowned Drinkard Singers. As a teenager Warwick formed the Gospelaires with her sister Dee Dee and four

members of the church choir. The singing group performed throughout New Jersey and Connecticut for more than a decade, recorded as session backup singers in New York and once won the amateur hour at the Apollo Theater.

She was singing with the group when Burt Bacharach approached her to demo songs he was writing with his new partner, Hal David. The demo earned Warwick a recording contract, which led to her first single in 1962, “Don’t Make Me Over,” a song penned

by Bacharach and David. The hit single was the first of 12 consecutive Top 100 hits between 1963 and 1966.

That relationship helped Warwick become the pre-eminent interpreter of the Bacharach/David catalog. Some of her best-known hits include “Walk on By,” “Say A Little Prayer,” “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “Windows of the World,” “Wishin’ and Hopin’ ” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”

Following her triumphant chart success in the early 1960s, Warwick turned the spotlight on her gospel heritage with 1968’s The Magic of Believing. Forty years later, Warwick returned to the music she calls her first love with Why We Sing, her longawaited, second gospel album.

For the title track, Warwick reunited with her Gospelaire partner and sister Dee Dee. In a nod to her first gospel album, Warwick includes “Rise, Shine and Give God the Glory,” a song first popularized by The Drinkard Singers, who were featured on The Magic of Believing. Cissy Houston, a member of that group and Warwick’s aunt, provides the choral arrangement used by the New Baptist Church Choir as it sings on “The Lord Is My Shepherd.”

One of the most important songs on the album for Warwick is “Jesus Loves Me,” the first song she sang in church.

Warwick has earned five Grammy Awards, for “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” (1968), “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” (1970), “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” (1979), “Déjà vu” (1979) and “That’s What Friends Are For” (1986).

Music is only a part of Warwick’s life. She’s best known for using her voice to entertain on stage, but she has also used it off stage to speak out for humanitarian causes.

She was one of the first artists to lead the music industry in the fight against AIDS and was honored in 2002 by the American Red Ribbon AIDS Foundation. She is also on the Board of Governors of the We Are Family Foundation and participated in the remake of the hit song, “We Are Family” after 9/11 with more than 200 stars.

Warwick has devoted countless hours to humanitarian causes, serving as the U.S. Ambassador for Health throughout the 1980s and as global ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2002.

In 2003, she received a lifetime achievement award from the R&B Foundation, and was selected as one of the Top Faces of Black History. She was recently named a “Hero in the Struggle” by the Black AIDS Institute.

Warwick also has received a Support Music Appreciation Award for her efforts to preserve and promote music education in schools.

applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 83

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2012, 7 P.M.

● Strathmore Presents

Billy Collins and Mary Oliver The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Billy Collins

Billy Collins is an American phenomenon. No poet since Robert Frost has managed to combine high critical acclaim with such broad popular appeal.

The poems themselves best explain this phenomenon.

The typical Collins poem opens on a clear and hospitable note but soon takes an unexpected turn; poems that begin in irony may end in a moment of lyric surprise. No wonder Collins sees his poetry as “a form of travel writing” and considers humor “a door into the serious.” It is a door that many thousands of readers have opened with amazement and delight.

Collins’ published poetry collections include Questions About Angels, The Art of Drowning, Picnic, Lightning, Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes, Sailing Alone Around the Room: New & Selected Poems, Nine Horses, The Trouble With Poetry and Other Poems and Ballistics, and most recently, Horoscopes for the Dead. A collection of his haiku, titled She Was Just Seventeen, was published by Modern Haiku Press in fall 2006. He also edited two anthologies of contemporary poetry: Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry and 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Everyday, was the guest editor of The Best American Poetry 2006 and edited

Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems about Birds, with paintings by David Allen Sibley.

Included among the honors Collins has received are fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. He has also been awarded the Oscar Blumenthal Prize, the Bess Hokin Prize, the Frederick Bock Prize and the Levinson Prize—all awarded by Poetry magazine.

In October 2004, Collins was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Poetry Foundation’s Mark Twain Award for Humor in Poetry.

Collins served as United States Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003. In January 2004, he was named New York State Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006.

Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver’s poetry, with its lyrical connection to the natural world, has firmly established her in the highest realm of American poets.

She is renowned for her evocative and precise imagery, which brings nature into clear focus, transforming the everyday world into a place of magic and discovery.

Oliver was born in Ohio, in 1935.

She attended Ohio State University and Vassar College. As a young writer

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strongly influenced by the work of the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, she wrote to the late poet’s sister and was invited to visit. For the next several years Steepletop, the poet’s country house in upstate New York, became Oliver’s second home. Subsequently Oliver moved to New York City, then visited England for one year. In 1964, she returned to the United States. Mary Oliver is the author of many books of poetry, including No Voyage and other Poems (1965), The River Styx, Ohio, and Other Poems (1972), Twelve Moons (1978), American Primitive (1983), Dream Work (1986), House of Light (1990), New and Selected Poems, Volume One (1992), White Pine (1994), West Wind: Poems and Prose Poems (1997), The Leaf and the Cloud (2000), What Do We Know (2002), Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays (2003), Why I Wake Early (2004), Blue Iris: Poems and Essays (2004), New and Selected Poems, Volume Two (2005), Thirst (2006), Red Bird (2008), The Truro Bear and Other Adventures (2008), Evidence (2009) and Swan (2010). She is also the author of Our World, a collection of photos by Molly Malone Cook with an extended essay about Cook by Oliver.

Her chapbooks and special editions include The Night Traveler (1978), Sleeping in the Forest (1979), Provincetown (1987) and Wild Geese (UK Edition).

Her prose books include A Poetry Handbook (1994), Blue Pastures (1995), Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse (1998), Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems (1999) and Long Life: Essays and Other Writings (2004). She was the guest editor for The Best American Essays 2009. Her audio recordings include At Blackwater Pond and Many Miles: Mary Oliver Reads Mary Oliver (April 2010).

Oliver has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize (for American Primitive), the National Book Award for Poetry (for New and Selected Poems, Volume One), the Lannan Foundation Literary Award, the New England Booksellers Association Award for Literary Excellence and the Poetry Society of America’s Shelley Memorial Award, among others. She has also received a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Collins photo by steven kovich; Oliver photo by Rob Howard

Sunday, April 22, 2012, 7 p.m.

Photo credit: Scott Frances/OTTO

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schedule a visit at www.glenstone.org

Thursday, April 26, 2012, 8 p.m.

● Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, Music Director

presents

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto Jun Märkl, conductor Arabella Steinbacher, violin

Overture to Euryanthe, J.291 Carl Maria Von Weber

(1786-1826)

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 Ludwig van Beethoven Allegro ma non troppo (1770-1827)

Larghetto

Rondo: Allegro

Arabella Steinbacher INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97, “Rhenish”

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Lebhaft

Scherzo: Sehr mässig

Nicht schnell

Feierlich Lebhaft Presenting Sponsor: DLA Piper/Gordon Trust Arabella Steinbacher records exclusively for PentaTone Classics For more information please visit arabella-steinbacher.com Arabella Steinbacher is represented worldwide by IMG Artists Tanja Dorn, associate director, Conductors & Instrumentalists Division, Germany and North/South America Carnegie Hall Tower, 152 W. 57th St., 5th floor, New York, NY 10019

The concert will end at approximately 9:50 P.M. The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

86 applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012

Jun Märkl, conductor

Jun Märkl is currently chief conductor of the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony, and from 2005-2011 was music director of the Orchestre National de Lyon.

He has guest conducted many distinguished orchestras worldwide, including in 2011: Cleveland, Philadelphia, Gürzenich Köln, Oslo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Scottish National, Mito Chamber and NHK Symphony (Tokyo), where he returns every season.

Märkl was until 2006 permanent conductor of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He conducted a complete Ring Cycle at the Deutsche Oper and at the New National Theatre in Tokyo (directed by Keith Warner). He has also been a regular guest at the Berlin State Opera, Vienna State Opera and the Semperoper Dresden, made his Royal Opera House debut with Götterdämmerung in 1996 and at the Metropolitan Opera with Il Trovatore in 1998.

Born in Munich, his German father was a distinguished concertmaster and his Japanese mother a solo pianist.

Märkl studied violin, piano and conducting at the Musikhochschule in Hannover, going on to study with Sergiu Celibidache in Munich and with Gustav Meier in Michigan. In 1986 he won the conducting competition of the Deutsche Musikrat and, a year later, won a scholarship from the Boston Symphony Orchestra to study at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa. Soon afterwards, he had a string of appointments in European opera houses, followed by his first music directorships at the Staatstheater in Saarbrücken (1991-1994) and at the Mannheim Nationaltheater (1994-2000).

Märkl last appeared with the BSO on March 5-8, 2009, conducting Stravinsky’s Apollon Musagète and Mozart’s Requiem.

Alex Berger

THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2012, 8 P.M.

Thursday, April 26, 2012, 8 p.m.

Jiri Hronik

Arabella Steinbacher, violin

Arabella Steinbacher, a native of Munich, has firmly established herself as one of today’s leading violinists on the international concert scene, performing with the world’s major orchestras. The New York Times reports that she plays with, “balanced lyricism and fire.”

Steinbacher is recording exclusively for PentaTone Classics. Among Steinbacher’s numerous recording honors are two ECHO-Klassik Awards (considered to be the German equivalent of the Grammy), “Les Chocs du Mois” from Le Monde de la Musique and two German Record Critics Awards, as well as the prestigious Editor’s Choice Award from Gramophone magazine.

Steinbacher is appearing with the leading international orchestras, including: London Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Philharmonia, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia, Boston Symphony, Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, WDR Symphony and NHK Symphony; she has worked with the world’s leading conductors, including Riccardo Chailly, Sir Colin Davis, Christoph von Dohnányi and Charles Dutoit.

Highlights of the 2010-11 season included Steinbacher’s Carnegie Hall debut with the conductorless Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and her subscription debuts with both the Boston Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony orchestras, as well as her debut at Maggio Musicale in Florence under Zubin Mehta. Highlights of her 2011-12 season include appearances with the Dresdner Philharmonie, Orchestre de Paris, the Philadelphia and San Francisco Symphony orchestras and her debut with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Born in Munich in 1981 to a German father and a Japanese mother, Steinbacher began studying the violin at age 3. She currently plays the “Booth” Stradivari (1716), generously provided

by the Nippon Music Foundation.

Steinbacher makes her BSO debut with this performance.

Program Notes Overture to Euryanthe

Carl Maria von Weber Born Nov. 18, 1786 in Eutin, Germany; died June 5, 1826 in London

No one admired Carl Maria von Weber’s music more than Richard Wagner, who rightly considered him to be the father of German Romantic opera. In 1844, when Wagner assumed the post of director of the Dresden Opera, once held

by Weber, he arranged for Weber’s body to be brought back from London, where the composer had died of tuberculosis in 1826 at age 39. At the ceremonial re-interment in Dresden, Wagner performed his new composition, Funeral Music on Themes from Euryanthe.

Today, were it not for its great overture, we would never have heard of Euryanthe. Of Weber’s trilogy of mature operas, Der Freischütz, Euryanthe and Oberon, only Der Freischütz has remained in the repertoire. Both Euryanthe and Oberon are sad cases of wonderful musical scores sunk by inept librettos.

Strangely, despite his own considerable talents as a writer and his sincere desire to make his operas as strong theatrically as musically, Weber had a disastrous record with his librettists. For Euryanthe, he chose a writer with little operatic experience, Helmine von Chézy, and struggled through eleven drafts trying to salvage her work. One wonders why he didn’t simply adopt Wagner’s approach and write the libretto himself!

A forerunner of Wagner’s Lohengrin, the opera’s plot revolves around a devoted couple, Euryanthe and Adolar, whose happiness is threatened when the jealous knight Lysiart and his fiancée Eglantine accuse the virtuous wife Euryanthe of infidelity. Weber wrote the score during 1822 and 1823, and completed the overture last, just days before the opera’s premiere on Oct. 25, 1823, at Vienna’s Kärtnertor Theater. Despite containing

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applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012 87

Thursday, April 26, 2012, 8 p.m.

music of great beauty and such harmonic daring that it would influence the next generation of Romantic composers, the opera enjoyed only a limited run.

Fortunately, the libretto cannot mar the superb overture, still a staple of the concert repertoire. In the key of E-flat and with a tempo marked con molto fuoco (with much fire), its opening bars send fortissimo flames shooting to the rafters. The overture’s most extraordinary passage comes in the middle, just before the development section. Here the tempo slows, and the orchestra is reduced to eight muted solo violins above violas playing an otherworldly—this music is associated with a subplot about the ghosts of unhappy lovers—and harmonically adventurous interlude. This leads into the fugue-like development, which alternates very soft and very loud phrases to great effect. Finally, the recapitulation brings back the opening music, more grandly orchestrated than before, with even the tender lyrical theme of the violins taking on an epic sweep.

The BSO most recently performed Weber’s Overture to Euryanthe on May 25-27, 2006, with Music Director Yuri Temirkanov.

Violin Concerto in D Major

Ludwig van Beethoven Born Dec. 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany; died March 25, 1827 in Vienna, Austria

Although we tend to think that great musical masterpieces—especially when they come from the pen of the fist-shaking Beethoven—should embody tragedy, a struggle against obstacles, and perhaps hard-won victory, his Violin Concerto demonstrates that a work can be predominantly conflictfree, serene and joyful in spirit and still soar to the highest realms of artistic expression.

The period from 1806, when the Violin Concerto was composed, through 1808, when he introduced symphonies Nos. 5 and 6, was one of the most prolific in Beethoven’s career and brought forth a number of works that share the Violin Concerto’s world

of sublime happiness: notably the Symphony No. 4 and the “Pastoral” Symphony. The composer had recently completed two years of labor birthing his only opera, Fidelio, and the temporary conclusion of this project apparently released a torrent of creativity for other musical forms. Moreover, he was enjoying a period of relative personal happiness and had made a provisional peace with his growing deafness. A note found in his sketches from the summer of 1806 proclaimed: “Your deafness shall be a secret no more, even where art is involved!”

The Violin Concerto was a gift to Franz Clement, the concertmaster of Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, to be performed at the violinist’s benefit concert there on Dec. 23, 1806. Then 26, Clement must have been an artist of remarkable gifts. A description of his playing comes down to us in The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: “His style was not vigorous, nor his tone very powerful: Gracefulness and tenderness of expression were its main characteristics. His technical skill appears to have been extraordinary. His intonation was perfect in the most hazardous passages and his bowing of the greatest dexterity.”

In his concerto for Clement, Beethoven exploited these qualities, beginning with the demanding, cadenza-like passage for the soloist’s entrance, which whips through a thicket of fast figurations before vaulting to an exposed high note—perhaps the most hazardous solo entrance in the repertoire. Even Clement found “his” concerto a tough nut, especially since Beethoven finished it so close to the concert there was no time for a complete rehearsal. For years afterward, it languished, considered to be “unplayable.” In 1844, the great Joseph Joachim—then a 12-year-old prodigy, later to be the inspiration for Brahms’ Violin Concerto—gave it a brilliant performance in London under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn. Championing the work throughout his career, Joachim established it in the repertoire, where it is now considered the

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pinnacle of the violinist’s art.

The opening movement is immense in length and scope: a heroic Beethovenian expansion of sonata form. It opens arrestingly with the timpani tapping out a five-note rhythm on the home note of D; this motive will pervade the entire movement. Between the taps, woodwinds sing a gently undulating theme. The orchestral violins then add spice by tapping on a D-sharp, foreign to the key. All subsequent themes follow an optimistic ascending shape. Prominent among them is the woodwinds’ serenely rising melody over the tapping motive, which, though technically the “second” theme, actually becomes the movement’s most memorable.

The violin makes its belated but unforgettable entrance described earlier.

When the serene second theme reappears, Beethoven won’t let the soloist appropriate it—he has a better idea up his sleeve. The orchestra then reprises most of its exposition and the soloist repeats her grand entrance cadenza before sliding off to a quiet, mysterious development over the tapping motive in various instruments. Here the soloist introduces a tenderly wistful new episode in G minor. The recapitulation is emphatic, as the full orchestra hammers out the tapping motive.

After a solo cadenza, Beethoven plays his trump card: at last letting the violin sing the serene second theme in its softest, sweetest tones.

Donald Francis Tovey calls the largo second movement an example of Beethoven’s “sublime inaction.” A religious, exalted atmosphere reigns as muted strings sing a hymn-like theme, to which the soloist gives soaring, speech-like commentary. This theme, which never leaves the key of G, then progresses through several variations, interrupted briefly by a new solo melody, less exalted and more human. A solo cadenza bridges directly into the finale.

The dancing rondo finale is light, but not lightweight. It transports the lofty serenity of the previous movements into a mood of rejoicing akin

Thursday, April 26, 2012, 8 p.m.

to the “Pastoral” Symphony. Following the last solo cadenza, Beethoven leads the music astray into the key of A-flat. Holding its own against rowdy Beethovenian cross-rhythms in the orchestra, the violin soars fleetly to a bold conclusion.

The BSO most recently performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto on Nov. 13-16, 2008, with conductor Juanjo Mena and violinist Stefan Jackiw.

Instrumentation: one flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, “Rhenish”

Robert Schumann

Born June 8, 1810 in Zwickau, Germany; died July 29, 1856 in Endenich, near Bonn, Germany

On Sept. 2, 1850, Robert and Clara Schumann, full of optimism, arrived in the city of Düsseldorf on the Rhine River. Through the kindness of their friend Ferdinand Hiller, Robert had been appointed to succeed him as municipal music director of Düsseldorf, with responsibilities for directing a 40-member orchestra and a 120-voice chorus. This was almost an act of charity because, despite Schumann’s greatness as a composer, he was a hopelessly inept conductor. But Hiller thought Schumann’s genius would add luster to the Düsseldorf musical scene, whatever his shortcomings with a baton.

The first months in the Rhineland—a new and inspiring region for Schumann who hailed from eastern Germany—were like a second honeymoon. Mental instability had plagued the composer throughout the 1840s, yet in 1850 and 1851, he experienced a prolonged creative high. Works poured from his pen: in October 1850, his Cello Concerto; and between Nov. 2 and Dec. 9, his song to the Rhineland, the “Rhenish” Symphony.

(Though numbered as his No. 3, this was actually Schumann’s last symphony to be completed.)

Meanwhile, his public duties

faltered. Schumann was an artist who completely withdrew physically and mentally from the world while creating. Obviously, this seriously impeded his ability to lead and inspire others. Tongue-tied on the podium, he made his musicians rehearse passages over and over without ever giving them a clue as to what he wanted.

During a cathedral service, lost in his own world, he continued beating time after the musicians had finished! Not surprisingly, the city fathers soon lost patience with a leader who could not lead, and in October 1852, they asked for his resignation. Schumann managed to hold on for another year. But he fell apart on the podium the next fall, and a complete mental breakdown soon followed. On Feb. 20, 1854, he attempted suicide by jumping off a bridge into the icy waters of the Rhine. Rescued by fishermen, he died two and a half years later in an asylum near Bonn.

But the waters of the Rhine still sparkled when the composer wrote his Symphony No. 3, full of the joy of living. The expansive opening theme of the sonata-form first movement is like an open-armed embrace of the castle-studded Rhineland, home of Germany’s proudest legends and traditions. Schumann intensifies the theme’s grandeur by syncopating its beats across the opening measures so that what we first hear sounds as though the tempo—marked Lebhaft or “Lively” — is twice as slow as it actually is. A gentle second theme in the woodwinds flows like the river itself. In his lengthy development section, Schumann tantalizes us by withholding the return to the home key with numerous false starts of the principal theme that keep landing in the wrong key. Finally, with horns and trumpets hallooing, we arrive safely home in E-flat with a triple forte true recapitulation.

The middle two movements are contrastingly light in tone. Movement two is marked as a scherzo, but actually has the character of a rather heavyfooted ländler folk dance, featuring

the warm glow of the four horns. The third movement is a moderate-tempo intermezzo, a movement type that Schumann invented and Brahms later adopted for his own symphonies. It has the loose, improvisatory feeling of Schumann’s piano music, bound together by rippling notes in the low strings.

The slow fourth movement in E-flat minor is the work’s most remarkable. On Sept. 30, 1850, the Schumanns traveled to Cologne Cathedral to witness the installation of Cardinal Archbishop von Geissel.

Protestant himself, Schumann was overwhelmed by the grandeur of the cathedral and the ceremony, and this is his musical portrait of the occasion.

For the first time in the work, the three trombones, partnered by horns, enter with a stately rising theme.

With this subject Schumann builds his own mighty cathedral in the contrapuntal manner of his idol Bach. A quicker figuration beginning in the violins is actually a sped-up version of the theme; it becomes a propelling force in the movement’s quicker middle section. Toward the end, two mighty brass fanfares are softly echoed by strings and winds—surely a memory of the echoing sounds in the cathedral’s vast spaces.

After all this splendor, the brief, lively finale seems a little anti-climatic. But musicologist Donald Francis Tovey has proposed an interesting solution: that we consider the fourth and fifth movements as really a two-part finale, with this music “as the natural… reaction from the awe inspired by the Cathedral.” Indeed, at midpoint after a brass fanfare, Schumann briefly reprises his contrapuntal cathedral music, recalling a glorious memory.

The BSO most recently performed Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 on May 23-25, 2002, with conductor Daniel Hege.

Instrumentation: two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings.

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FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012, 8 P.M.

write for his instrument and has enjoyed strong personal and professional relationships with Alfred Schnittke and Sofia Gubaidulina in particular.

In December 2002 Bashmet became principal conductor of the newly formed Strathmore and Symphony Orchestra of New Russia.

Maestro Artist Management Present Other orchestras with which he has appeared as conductor/soloist include the Dresdner Philharmoniker, Orquesta CiuMoscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra dad de Granada, Tokyo Philharmonic, Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe with Yuri Bashmet and Mischa Maisky Orchestra Verdi, Camerata Salzburg, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Yuri Bashmet, conductor, viola Orchestra, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Brussels Philharmonic. In Mischa Maisky, cello 1992 he founded Moscow Soloists, a renowned chamber orchestra that has been

Quartet in D minor, D. 810, Franz Schubert arr: Gustav Mahler well received in Moscow, Amsterdam,

“Death and the Maiden” (1797-1828) Paris, Tokyo, New York and at the BBC

Proms, London.

Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, Joseph Haydn Among his many CDs is a recording for

H. 7b/1 (1732-1809) Deutsche Grammophon of the Gubaidu lina Concerto and Kancheli’s Styx, winner Nocturne in D minor for Cello and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky of a Diapason d’Or award and a Grammy

Orchestra, Op. 19, No. 4 (1840-1893) nomination. Other notable discs are Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with AnneINTERMISSION Sophie Mutter, Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 with Argerich, Kremer and Maisky, and the recently released Bartók Concerto

Quintet in B minor for Viola and Johannes Brahms

Strings, Op. 115 (1833-1897) with Berliner Philharmoniker and Boulez.

Bashmet and Moscow Soloists have embarked on a critically-acclaimed series of The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage recordings for Onyx: chamber symphonies by Shostakovich, Sviridoc and Vainberg; music by Stravinsky and Prokofiev; and a disc of music by composers from the Yuri Bashmet, conductor & viola Born in 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in Far East, plus a recital disc of Encores with Russia, he spent his childhood in Lviv in pianist Mikhail Muntian.

Ukraine before studying at the Moscow Bashmet plays a 1758 Testore viola—a Conservatoire with Vadim Borisovsky similar model to the one Mozart played— (of the Beethoven Quartet) and Feodor that he bought in 1971.

Druzhinin. His international career was The Moscow Soloists launched in 1976 when he won the InChamber Orchestra ternational Viola Competition in MuThe Grammy Award-winning orchestra nich. Since then he has appeared with all the world’s great orchestras, including made its debut on May 19, 1992 at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, and on May 21 the same year at France’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, BosSalle Pleyel in Paris. The orchestra has ton, Chicago and Orchestre Symphoperformed with great success at venues nique de Montréal, New York PhilharYuri Bashmet has given the viola a new such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the monic, London Philharmonic and the prominence in musical life, and appears Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, London Symphony Orchestra, which throughout the world in the dual role of presented its own Yuri Bashmet Festival. the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Sunconductor and soloist. tory Hall in Tokyo, the Barbican Hall in Bashmet has inspired composers to

●

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London, the Tivoli in Copenhagen, the Berliner Philharmoniker and in Wellington (New Zealand).

The orchestra has performed with soloists including Sviatoslav Richter (piano), Gidon Kremer (violin), Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Viktor Tretyakov (violin), Maxim Vengerov (violin), Vadim Repin (violin), Sarah Chang (violin), Barbara Hendricks (soprano), James Galway (flute) and Natalia Gutman (cello).

In 1994 the Moscow Soloists with Gidon Kremer and Mstislav Rostropovich recorded a compact disc for EMI. A disc of works by Dmitry Shostakovich and Johannes Brahms with Sony Classics was nominated for a Grammy Award. The orchestra received a repeat Grammy nomination in 2006 for a disc of chamber symphonies by Shostakovich, Georgy Sviridov and Mieczysław Weinberg. In 2007, the Moscow Soloists won a Grammy Award for a recording of music by Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev.

Mischa Maisky, cello

Maisky has the distinction of being the only cellist in the world to have studied with both Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky. Rostropovich has lauded Mischa Maisky as “... one of the most outstanding talents of the younger generation of cellists.”

Born in Latvia, educated in Russia and repatriated to Israel, Mischa Maisky has been enthusiastically received in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, New York and Tokyo, along with the rest of the major music centers.

As an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist during the last 25 years, he has made more than 30 recordings with such orchestras as Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orpheus und Chamber Orchestra of Europe and others. His recordings have been awarded five Record Academy Prizes in Tokyo, and three Echo Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, Grand Prix du Disque in Paris and Diapason d’Or of the Year awards, as well as Grammy nominations.

Maisky has collaborated with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Charles Dutoit, Carlo Maria Giulini, Lorin Maazel and Zubin Mehta.

Program Notes String Quartet in D Minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”)

Franz Schubert, arr: Gustav Mahler Born Jan. 31, 1797 in Vienna, Austria; died Nov. 19, 1828 in Vienna

The year 1824 found Franz Schubert in a state of depression. With syphilis, his health would never be good again.

His music was not doing well either, since his career was eclipsed by that of Beethoven. Schubert hoped to compose a great symphony, but he planned to pave the way through chamber music composition—chiefly three string quartets that would be his last. In a letter from the end of March 1824 to his friend, Leopold Kupelwieser, Schubert both reveals this plan and pours out his despairing heart: “I find myself to be the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world.” Later, after quoting the turbulent words of Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel, he adds, “I may well sing every day now, for each night, on retiring to bed, I hope I may not wake again, and each morning but recalls yesterday’s grief.” A matter of days before this, he had written part of the “Death and the Maiden” Quartet, but he delayed its completion for nearly two years.

The first movement provides a portrait of the depression Schubert was experiencing. The opening measures are a dramatic introduction, and then Schubert’s triplet motives in the main theme feeds a growing turbulence. Continuing to use triplets as an accompaniment, the second theme in F major offers a ray of muted sunlight, but by the end of the exposition, the key of A minor has restored the original dark drama. After the development wrenches the expressive possibilities from the second theme, Schubert begins his recapitulation, soon spending substantial time

in D major for a warm re-working of the second theme. D minor returns, however, and the movement’s coda is nothing less than dirge-like.

That dirge prepares us for the work’s center of gravity, the second movement, which gave the quartet its nickname. In 1817, Schubert had set a poetic dialogue by Claudius in which the figure of Death gently persuades a young girl to accompany him. The song’s dark, cortege-like piano prelude and postlude provided Schubert with the basic material for the quartet’s slow movement, which is a theme and variations. The first three minor-mode variations lead to a sweet and decorative variation in the major. The final variation then returns to the minor for an intense statement leading to a concluding reprise of phrases from the theme.

Fierce syncopations in the scherzo recall the first movement’s dramatic determination. By contrast, the trio’s delicate vulnerability could be considered an echo of the character of The Maiden.

In the Presto finale, Schubert returns to the triplet motion of the quartet’s opening. Now, however, it comes in the context of what Alfred Einstein calls “a Tarantella of Death.” This propulsive movement, a combination of sonata form and rondo, summarizes the substance of the fast movements from a quartet that history has ranked as Schubert’s greatest.

The tradition embracing Leopold Stokowski’s famous orchestral arrangements goes back to the late 1800s, when conductors regularly made arrangements of non-orchestral music. In 1896, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) began a project to arrange Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” Quartet for string orchestra.

In his personal score of the quartet, he made copious notes throughout all four of the movements. After completing his arrangement of the famous second movement, he abandoned his plan for a complete performance. The project lay dormant for many years until Mahler’s daughter Anna discovered it. She then turned it over to Mahler scholars Donald Mitchell and David Matthews, who completed the arrangement according to Mahler’s detailed notes.

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Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major (Hob. VIIb: 1)

Joseph Haydn Born March 31, 1732 in Rohrau, Austria; died May 31, 1809 in Vienna

“Here is the major discovery of our age, and surely one of the finest works of this period,” declares Haydn scholar H.C. Robbins Landon about the C Major Cello Concerto. This work was discovered in 1961 in a private collection in Czechoslovakia that had miraculously survived World War II and its aftermath. Scholars easily confirmed its authenticity through a thematic entry in Haydn’s catalog of 1765, and members of the Haydn Institute in Cologne pronounced it to be one of the most notable works from Haydn’s youthful period. Since its publication in 1963, the C Major Concerto has been recorded at least a dozen times and performed by such great artists as Mstislav Rostropovich.

The Moderato first movement is a grand, sweeping affair showing Haydn’s ties with the late Baroque period. Although the composer does not veer far from the home key, the range and speed of many of the soloist’s passages reveals clear virtuosic intent. Toward the end of the movement, a written cadenza gives the soloist a special chance to shine.

The cellist that Haydn very likely had in mind was Joseph Weigl, first chair player in the Esterházy orchestra. He was noted for his matchless technique in quick movements and his warm, beautiful tone in an Adagio. During this concerto’s slow movement, Weigl would have had ample opportunity to demonstrate both tone and agility. There are even solo passages containing some elementary two-voice counterpoint and, again, a written cadenza appears just before the coda.

Oddly, there is no designated cadenza in the final movement, but once the soloist enters, the solo part is nearly constant. Robbins Landon even calls the movement “a tour-de-force of epic proportions, with passages lying very high indeed and difficult even for the greatest soloists of today.” The sheer brilliance of the movement makes it

a worthy culmination of not only this concerto but perhaps all of Haydn’s early concertos.

as the cello quietly ascends to the heights of its range.

Nocturne for Cello and Orchestra,

(arranged for viola and strings by Brahms)

arranged from Op. 19, No. 4 for Piano

Johannes Brahms

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Born May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia; died Nov. 6, 1893, St. Petersburg

In June 1879, the young cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen wrote to Peter I. Tchaikovsky) from the Wiesbaden Festival, I produced a furore with your variations. I pleased [the audience] so greatly that I was recalled three times, and after the Andante [D minor] variation there was stormy applause. Liszt said to me: “. . . Now there, at last, is real music!”

This message referred to Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, which gained an immediate place among the composer’s masterworks.

Ten years later, Tchaikovsky treated Moscow to the Russian premiere of another work for cello and orchestra, the Pezzo capriccioso. Around the time he composed this piece, he was again collaborating with Fitzenhagen. The cellist took the Nocturne that was originally No. 4 of Tchaikovsky’s Six Morceaux for piano (1873) and arranged it for cello and piano, editing some expressive details and adding a short cadenza near the end. In turn, Tchaikovsky orchestrated the accompaniment of Fitzenhagen’s arrangement. The composer then rounded out his group of concerto-pieces for cello with an arrangement of the Andante cantabile from the String Quartet, Op. 11.

Beautiful in its simplicity, the Nocturne is laid out in a three-part form, the third being an elaborated reprise of the first. Tchaikovsky’s enchanting opening melody is built upon small, easily remembered ideas. Graceful and slightly faster, the central section resembles a waltz.

(Igor Stravinsky adapted this lovely passage in his ballet The Fairy’s Kiss.) Following a short cello solo, the first section reprises, this time with a countermelody played by a solo flute against the cello’s main melody. Gradually the music fades

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Quintet B Minor, Op. 115

Born May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, Germany; died April 3, 1897 in Vienna, Austria

By the summer of 1891, Johannes Brahms, having reached his 58th birthday, had decided to retire and had already made his will. However, in March of that year, the composer had heard the Meiningen court orchestra and its phenomenal clarinetist, Richard Mühlfeld. Brahms was so haunted by Mühlfeld’s playing that over the summer he gave up the idea of complete retirement and composed two chamber works for “Fräulein Klarinette,” as he jokingly called Mühlfeld because of his sweet tone. First, he wrote the Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, Op. 114, but soon declared (in his typical self-deprecating style) that this was “twin to a much bigger piece of foolishness.” The twin was, of course, the Clarinet Quintet. By late July, Brahms had completed both works, and he then set about inviting himself to Meiningen to have them premiered that fall. The private Meiningen court premiere was a great artistic and social triumph, and in December 1891, the triumph was repeated publicly when Joseph Joachim presented the two works as part of his Berlin chamber series. Biographer Karl Geiringer has written that the Quintet is “ … a work of retrospection, a farewell. Pictures of the past, pleasures and sorrows, longing and hope, pass before the elderly master, who expresses them once again in delicately restrained and melancholy tones.”

The opening of the work clearly announces its nostalgic—even elegiac— quality. After the briefest introduction by the strings, the viola enters, not as a soloist but as an equal partner, to announce the heart-breaking main theme. A muscular transition and flowing second theme round out the exposition, which is repeated. Although the development section touches on all themes, its second half is noteworthy

Friday, April 27, 2012, 8 p.m.

for combining second theme material with the rhythmic accompaniment of the transition. The recapitulation brings the movement to a close as quietly as it opened.

The second movement is in A-B-A form. Its outer Adagio sections are pure romance, pure moonlight. The middle section, though marked Più lento, is in much quicker note values and contains the work’s only real virtuosic writing for the viola. This section is reminiscent of the Hungarian gypsy music Brahms loved and sometimes adapted.

In place of a scherzo, Brahms presents an intermezzo in two parts. The amiable first part, Andantino, is created completely out of its initial seven-measure phrase. The second, a Presto in scherzando style, is a variant of the first section.

There are subtle thematic links between all the movements of the Quintet, but the relationship that demands our attention the most is between the first movement’s main theme and the theme of the finale. The placid finale

theme introduces a set of variations, the model surely being Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, but the execution purely Brahms. Connections between first and last movements are given full expression in the coda, where Brahms juxtaposes motives from the main themes of both movements. The Quintet then closes in the soft and elegiac mood of its opening.

Copyright 2011 Dr. Michael Fink

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Saturday, April 28, 2012, 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 29, 2012, 3 p.m.

● National Philharmonic Piotr Gajewski, Music Director and Conductor

presents

Sarah Chang Plays Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto Piotr Gajewski, conductor Sarah Chang, violin Hebrides Overture (“Fingal’s Cave”), Felix Mendelssohn

Op. 26 (1809-1847) Concerto for Violin and Orchestra,

in E minor, Op. 64

Allegro molto appassionato

Andante

Allegretto non troppo —

Allegro molto vivace INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90 Johannes Brahms Allegro con brio (1833-1897)

Andante

Poco Allegretto

Allegro Weekend Concerts Program Sponsor: Ameriprise Financial Sunday Concert Presenting Sponsor: Ingleside at King Farm All Kids, All Free, All the Time is sponsored by The Gazette The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

Piotr Gajewski, conductor

Piotr Gajewski is widely credited with building the National Philharmonic to its present status as one of the most respected

ensembles of its kind in the region. The Washington Post recognizes him as an “immensely talented and insightful conductor,” whose “standards, taste and sensitivity are impeccable.” In addition to his appearances with the National Philharmonic, Gajewski is much in demand as a guest conductor. In recent years, he

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has appeared with most of the major orchestras in his native Poland, as well as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in England, the Karlovy Vary Symphony in the Czech Republic, the Okanagan Symphony in Canada and numerous orchestras in the United States.

Gajewski attended Carleton College and the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, where he earned a B.M. and M.M. in Orchestral Conducting. Upon completing his formal education, he continued refining his conducting skills at the 1983 Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts, where he was awarded a Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship. His teachers there included Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Gunther Schuller, Gustav Meier and Maurice Abravanel.

Sarah Chang, violin

Since her debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 8, Sarah Chang has performed with the greatest orchestras, conductors and accompanists internationally in a career spanning more than two decades.

Chang tours extensively throughout the year. Highlights in the 201011 season in the United Kingdom and the United States included appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh and Detroit symphony orchestras. She also has performed in Norway, Romania, Austria, Canada, Poland and Denmark.

Chang’s most recent recording for EMI Classics, performances of Brahms and Bruch violin concertos with Kurt Masur and the Dresdner Philharmonie, was received to excellent critical and popular acclaim.

Chang’s many accolades include being named a U.S Embassy Cultural Envoy in 2011.

gajewski photo by michael ventura, Chang photo by Colin Bel

SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012, 8 P.M. SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2012, 3 P.M.

Saturday, April 28, 2012, 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 29, 2012, 3 p.m.

Program Notes Hebrides Overture (“Fingal’s Cave”), Op. 26

Felix Mendelssohn Born Feb. 3, 1809 in Hamburg, Germany; died Nov. 4, 1847 in Leipzig

In August 1829, Mendelssohn and his friend Carl Klingemann, a poet acting as secretary of the embassy that the short-lived little kingdom of Hanover maintained in London, sailed to the tiny, uninhabited Hebridean island of Staffa. “We were put out in boats,” Klingemann wrote to the Mendelssohn family, “and carried by the hissing sea to the famous Fingal’s Cave.

A greener roar of waves surely never rushed into a stranger cavern—its many pillars making it look like the inside of an immense organ, black, resounding, absolutely purposeless and entirely empty, only the wide, grey sea inside it and out.”

Mendelssohn did not record his impressions in words alone. In a postscript to Klingemann’s letter, he wrote, “To understand how extraordinarily the Hebrides affected me, the following came to mind,” and he noted a sketch of the music that was to become the opening 21 measures of the overture. He finished this descriptive work in Rome on Dec. 16, 1830, but was not satisfied with it and made many revisions. A successful work of tone-painting, The Hebrides Overture allows us to hear the breaking of the waves, to sense the unusual colorations and to be humbled by the vastness of Fingal’s Cave—35 feet wide, 70 feet high and over 200 feet deep, lined on one side with red and brown basalt pillars that resembled a huge pipe organ. More than a year later he wrote, “The middle section is too stupid. The whole development has more counterpoint than sea gulls and salt fish, and must be changed.” He was ultimately successful in painting a vivid musical picture of that strange and remote place, and the work has enjoyed immense popularity since its premiere performance

at the London Philharmonic Society on May 14, 1832. The music contains two contrasting themes: the first, a descending figure, suggests the rolling of the waves. The second, introduced by bassoons and cellos, is a melodic, rising line that evokes the beauty of the large cave.

The overture is scored for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets and timpani, plus strings.

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 64

Felix Mendelssohn Touted by some as the “perfect” concerto, its romantic feeling, melodic polish and refinement have kept Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto one of the most performed and beloved of all violin concertos. Mendelssohn wrote this extremely popular work in 1844 for his friend Ferdinand David (18101873). The two musicians were born in the same house in Hamburg, less than a year apart, but they did not meet until Mendelssohn was 16. In 1835, when Mendelssohn became the conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, he appointed David concertmaster, a post he was to keep for 37 years.

As far back as 1838, Mendelssohn had written to David, “I should like to write a violin concerto for you next winter. One in E minor is running through my head, and its opening gives me no peace.” Mendelssohn did not compose the concerto that winter.

Although David kept pressing him for it, he took five more years to complete the work. During that time, the composer and violinist held many consultations over the details of the work.

Mendelssohn sent the score to his publisher in December 1844, but then revised it further. In the end, David was responsible for much of the character of the violin writing, and probably even wrote most of the cadenza.

David was, of course, the soloist in the first performance at a Gewandhaus concert on March 13, 1845.

Unfortunately, Mendelssohn was ill, and the Danish composer Niels Gade conducted. Two weeks later, David wrote to Mendelssohn, “I should have written you earlier of the success that I had with your Violin Concerto. … It was unanimously declared to be one of the most beautiful compositions of its kind.”

The concerto has three movements that are played without pause. In this piece, over which he worked for seven years, Mendelssohn deviated from the traditional lineaments of the classical concerto form with such a success that this work influenced the development and evolution of the concerto in the next century. The first movement is a melodious Allegro molto appassionato, which begins in a highly original way. Deviating from the convention that the orchestra would first introduce the principal themes before the soloist enters, here the violinist immediately announces the theme on which the movement is based. Encompassing the highest, most brilliant range of the instrument in the first theme, the violin sings the lowest note in its range in the second theme. Again Mendelssohn changes the established structure of the concerto when he places the solo cadenza not at the very end of the movement as was traditional, but before the return of the first theme. A single, sustained note on the bassoon connects the first movement to the second movement, a simple and beautiful Andante, like one of the Songs without Words that Mendelssohn wrote for piano, although in the development section, Mendelssohn introduces a contrasting theme, which can only be characterized as restless and agitated. The second and third movements have no pause between them either: In the last movement, a brief introduction, Allegretto non troppo, ushers in the brilliant finale, Allegro molto vivace. This final rondo begins with trumpet, horn, bassoon and drums with the violin joining in to answer them in arpeggios before declaring the first joyous theme.

After the development section, the movement closes with melodic and

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rhythmic intensity.

The orchestral accompaniment of the concerto calls for flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets in pairs, timpani and strings.

Symphony No. 3, in F Major, Op. 90

Johannes Brahms Born May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, Germany; died April 3, 1897 in Vienna, Austria

Brahms was 43 years old when he at last completed his first symphony, a project that had occupied him, off and on, for more than two decades. His Symphony No. 2 followed only a year later, but there was another sizeable gap of six years between the second and the third. Brahms had definitely been composing other important works during this period, including the Tragic and Academic Festival Overtures, the Violin Concerto and Piano Concerto No. 2, which greatly enhanced his reputation. Nevertheless, his Symphony No. 3 was eagerly anticipated and was finally completed during the summer of 1883 at the German resort town of Wiesbaden.

The symphony, when it was first performed on December 2, 1883, was better received than the Symphony No. 2 had been at its first playing, but its success was not an easy one. Although Richard Wagner had died earlier that year, a fierce Wagner-Brahms public feud had not yet subsided and fanatical members of the Wagner cult tried to poison the atmosphere at the premiere. The conflict of the two factions almost brought about a duel.

However, the symphony was performed more than a dozen times during the first months of 1884. After each performance, the composer polished his score further, and within half a year, it was published, and Brahms went off to the country for the summer to work on his Symphony No. 4.

Commentators often say that Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 is an overt and grave tribute to Beethoven, and the Symphony No. 2 an homage to Schumann. In the Symphony No. 3, Brahms is at last understood to be

completely himself. “Many music lovers will prefer the titanic force of the First Symphony,” his friend, the powerful critic Eduard Hanslick, wrote after the first performance, “others, the untroubled charm of the Second, but the Third strikes me as being artistically the most nearly perfect.” This ardent work offers the listener direct and uncomplicated pleasures. That is not to say that this work has a simple construction: The symphony is a structure whose accessibly tuneful “exterior” conceals an intricately organized “interior.” It shows a more personal and intimate Brahms than his first two symphonies demonstrated him to be, but it has no less vitality or strength than those that preceded it.

One element of the symphony that listeners may notice in the very beginning of the first movement, which they will be able to follow through to the final movement, is a musical motto. This motto consists of just three notes: F, A (or A-flat) and F, and they had an extra-musical significance to Brahms. Back in 1853, his friend Joseph Joachim, who was one of the greatest violinists of the 19th century and a composer too, had taken as his motto, “Free, but Lonely,” in German, Frei aber einsam. From these notes, represented by the first letters of these words, thus F-A-E, the two young musicians and two of their friends (one of whom was their mentor, the composer Robert Schumann) had jointly constructed a violin sonata. At the time of the Symphony No. 3, just 30 years later, Brahms was a 50-year-old bachelor who declared himself to be frei aber froh, “Free but happy.” His F-A flat-F motto and some altered variants of it are everywhere in the Symphony No. 3. In the first and last movements, the attentive listener will find the motto almost inescapable. It takes on an important role right from the start in the first movement. In the second and third movements, it is often implicit or alluded to, if not stated outright.

As Symphony No. 3 begins, Allegro con brio, Brahms introduces the principal theme constructed from the

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motive of three notes. First actually appearing in the initial chords of the horns, trumpet and woodwinds, the theme as Brahms deployed it, musicologists have pointed out is characteristic of Brahms’ late style. Brahms uses the melancholic motto sometimes as melody, other times as accompaniment, or as something in between, but it remains constantly present for as long as another musical element’s needs do not interfere with its expression. The first theme, which the violins introduce, is majestic, while the second is a repeated phrase in a pastoral mood, played by the clarinet and bassoon. At the end of the development before the recapitulation, a solo French horn again announces it.

The symphony’s slow movement is a mild and gracious Andante, which some commentators find recalls the spirit of Mozart. The clarinets and the bassoon play the gentle and hymn-like opening theme. The warm and touching third movement, Poco allegretto, takes the place of the conventional, speedy scherzo. More in the style of a melancholy romanza, it has a three-part form— ABA, and Brahms makes the repeated initial section distinctive by the different orchestration he gives it the second time through.

The dramatic and impassioned Allegro finale is a huge, lyrical, heroic movement, rich in melody, that becomes intensely exploited, altered and developed until at the end, the music of the coda brings back the motto. First the oboe and then the French horn repeat it before its final statement in the flute. Then the violins softly take over to bring the symphony to its end, letting it fade away in a mysterious close, after a last statement of the first theme from the initial movement.

Many conductors have found this quiet ending a problem, and for a time its conclusion resulted in this symphony’s being performed in concert rather less frequently than Brahms’ other three. Yet, the slow and quiet music that concludes the symphony leaves listeners in a calm and contemplative mood.

REALTOR profiles

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

HILARY SCHWAB

The Creig Northrop Team

The Wall Street Journal and industry publications consider The Creig Northrop Team of Long & Foster Real Estate the top team in the U.S., ranking them #1 in homes sold nationwide.

As he put his team together, Creig was justifiably selective.

He chose the industry’s most talented and experienced agents, administrative staff and professionals that specialize in technology, marketing, advertising, graphic design, photography and public relations.

His team of over 40 agents and 20 administrative staff members work together to ensure every property garners the attention it deserves through the Internet (virtual tours are posted on YouTube), social media and traditional advertising. The team won an international prize for best overall marketing in real estate.

Their methods work: they sold 800 homes in 2011, far exceeding average sales per agent.

"Single agents eventually come up against limits of time, energy and money," says Creig. “I believe if you put the right people in the right positions, and give them the proper training, freedom

and a little inspiration, you get a team that succeeds. Success is satisfying but we are never content with the status quo. Every year we ask ourselves how we can enhance what we do.”

Two new divisions launched recently. Clients interested in buying land and having a home custom-built are benefitting from the expertise of the Land & New Home Sales Division that connects buyers to builders. The Corporate, Government, & Military Sales Division was created to support our men and women in uniform and people being transferred to the DC area from different parts of the country and the world. The Creig Northrop Team of Long and Foster Real Estate is proud of its achievements and looks forward to reaching new goals in 2012.

The Creig Northrop Team Long & Foster Real Estate 11620 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852 301-770-0760 www.northropteam.com applause at Strathmore • March/april 2012 97

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REALTOR profiles

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Andy Alderdice

HILARY SCHWAB

Bethesda Realtor Andy Alderdice is diligent about details. Her phone rings constantly, whether it's a client who needs a referral for a plumber or a neighbor wanting to discuss current local sales trends. Andy is never too busy to call back, to offer advice, to help.

"This is a very self-motivating business," she says. "You have to get up each day and hit the ground running."

Her devotion and dedication have paid off.

After 18 years in the business, this fifth-generation Washingtonian sees the results in her home sales volume. Even in a historically slow market, Andy stays busy. "I love the real estate business," she says. "It is constantly evolving and challenging and that keeps it interesting."

With her skills and experience, Andy is able to guide home buyers and sellers through the process, stay on top of the newest laws and regulations and make a client's transition as smooth as possible.

Consistently in the top 1 percent of over 13,000 Long & Foster agents, she still makes time to serve her community. A Past President of both the Potomac Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club of Washington, DC, Andy remains active and involved on the Potomac Chamber board and as a member of Kiwanis.

Her daughter, Jessica, has assisted in growing their business by implementing her marketing and graphic art skills. Together, mother and daughter provide buyers and sellers with personal, hands-on service that is rewarded with positive word-of-mouth.

"A very large percentage of our business is through referrals. Beyond the professional relationships,” says Andy, “I've made some wonderful friends."

Andy Alderdice, Realtor, GRI W.C. & A.N. Miller Realtors, a Long & Foster Company 4701 Sangamore Road, LL1 Bethesda, MD 20816 301-466-5898 (cell) | 301-229-4000 (office)

xxxxx

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REALTOR profiles

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Krystyna Litwin In the real estate business for over 25 years, Krystyna Litwin and her partner, Chris Wharton, a Montgomery County native, specialize in upper bracket and luxury properties throughout the Washington metropolitan area.

“I love people and real estate is a people business,” Krystyna says. “I’ve lived and worked in the community for 35 years and have extensive knowledge of the area and all the homes in this market. I’ve seen all types of markets from low interest rates to high, from hot markets to slow ones, and I still love it and the challenges that go with it.”

Krystyna gives clients an accurate picture of the market. “In this turbulent market, I provide a deep perception of not only where the market currently is, but also which direction it’s heading,” she says.

Krystyna’s strong point is her negotiating skills. She reaches deals with integrity, is honest enough to set realistic expectations and creatively markets homes. Wharton is also savvy in marketing. He likes to focus on target marketing. Clients can go online and take a virtual tour of their listings. And Krystyna advertises their properties in the top area magazines, including Bethesda Magazine.

One of the top-producing Realtors in the Washington, D.C. area, Krystyna has been ranked among the top 1 percent nationwide for over 20 years. In addition, she is the recipient of over 80 distinguished sales awards. Krystyna believes in being active in the community and is involved in Autism Speaks and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

MEGAN NADOLSKI

Krystyna Litwin Long & Foster Real Estate 10244 River Road Potomac, MD 20854 301-299-6098 k.litwin@longandfoster.com chris.wharton@lnf.com www.litwinwharton.com

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REALTOR profiles

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Yasmin Abadian

Yasmin Abadian Long & Foster 10200 River Road Potomac, MD 20854 301-983-1212 www.Yasmin-Homes.com yasmin@starpower.net

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HILARY SCHWAB

Yasmin Abadian moved to Montgomery County with her family in 1966 when her father joined the World Bank. She grew up in Bethesda, attending Carderock Springs Elementary, Cabin John Junior High and Winston Churchill High School. Following college at UCLA, she returned to the DC area.

Yasmin worked in healthcare and fitness as well as retail sales before choosing real estate as her career. With a background that includes counseling as well as business and marketing, she has been able to combine all her skills for the benefit of her clients.

Licensed in Maryland, DC and Virginia, for 22 years, Yasmin has consistently been a multimillion dollar top producer who feels that part of her job is not only to market homes, but to also help the client through the often stressful process of buying or selling.

From professional staging and photography for each listing to regular market trend reports and individualized home searches for each buyer, she makes sure that everything is taken care of, from consultation to closing.

“When you hire me, you also receive the care of my dedicated, hard working and enthusiastic staff. Beyond a shared focus and goals, we deliver results through consistently great service,” Yasmin says.

Yasmin lives in Potomac with her husband, Jim McWhorter. Together, they have four children: Jed (29), Tara (25), Anna (25) and Andrew (12). Having traveled extensively throughout the world, she loves living here. “DC and its suburbs are a vibrant, culturally diverse area in one of the richest and most exciting regions of the country, if not the world!”

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REALTOR profiles

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Zelda Heller (TTR Sotheby's) When she sold her own home in 1988, Zelda Heller so enjoyed the process she decided to leave the family store, Heller Jewelers, which she and her husband established, and start a new career.

“I fell in love with the real estate business,” she says, “and the love has lasted. After years of watching precious items sit in a vault until sold, I am excited to find that the world is my inventory now. I can browse locally or further afield, select homes and go visit them with clients—as many as we like. It’s exciting.”

Zelda was born in South Africa, where she grew up and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Cape Town. She emmigrated to the United States with her husband and children in 1980.

Since she obtained her real estate license she has been successful in her profession, remaining in the top 1/4 of 1% of agents nationwide for over 20 years.

Some Realtors are concerned by clients’ reliance on the electronic world but not Zelda.

“I think the Internet is a great tool and I am not threatened by it because astute buyers and sellers realize they need representation by an experienced agent.”

Outside of the hours she dedicated to real estate, Zelda has served on the board of directors (the first female board member) of the 100-year-old National Capital Bank and the Musical Theater Center in Rockville; has been a motivational speaker aboard the luxury liner QE2, and produced a benefit show for The Children’s Inn at NIH. She is the co-author of Deadly Truth, a historical novel about South Africa.

HILARY SCHWAB

Zelda Heller, Vice President TTR Sotheby’s International Realty 5454 Wisconsin Ave. Chevy Chase, MD 20815 202-257-1226 zelda.heller@sothebysrealty.com

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Strathmore Hall Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Nancy E. Hardwick Chair William G. “Bill” Robertson * Vice Chair Jerome W. Breslow, Esq. Secretary and Parliamentarian Dale S. Rosenthal * Treasurer Solomon Graham At-Large Dickie S. Carter At-Large

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Joseph F. Beach, ex officio Robert G. Brewer, Jr., Esq. * Hope B. Eastman, Esq. Starr G. Ezra Hon. Nancy Floreen, ex officio

Thomas H. Graham Paul L. Hatchett Dianne Kay Delia K. “Dede” Lang Carolyn P. Leonard * Hon. Laurence Levitan James F. Mannarino * J. Alberto Martinez, MD Caroline Huang McLaughlin Thomas A. Natelli Kenneth O’Brien DeRionne P. Pollard Donna Rattley Washington Gabriel Romero, AIA Wendy J. Susswein, ex officio Carol A. Trawick * Regina Brady “Ginny” Vasan James S. Whang *Committee Chairs

Donors Strathmore thanks the individuals and organizations who have made contributions between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011. Their support of at least $500 enables us to continue to offer the affordable, accessible, quality programming that has become our hallmark.

$250,000+ Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County Maryland State Arts Council Post-Newsweek Media, Inc. (includes in-kind) Carol Trawick

$100,000+ Carolyn and Jeffrey Leonard Lockheed Martin Corporation

$50,000+ Booz Allen Hamilton Elizabeth Culp Delia and Marvin Lang The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation

$25,000+ Alban Inspections, Inc. Pamela and Morris Brown, Jr. Yanqiu He and Kenneth O’Brien Laura Henderson National Endowment for the Arts PGA Tour, Inc. PNC Financial Services Group Symphony Park LLC

$15,000+ Anthony M. Natelli Foundation Asbury Methodist Village Fidelity Investments GEICO Philanthropic Foundation Giant Food

Nancy Hardwick Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation Constance Lohse and Robert Brewer MARPAT Foundation Katharine and John Pan

$10,000+ Adventist Health Care Bank of America Jonita and Richard S. Carter Chevy Chase Bank, a division of Capital One, N.A. Clark Construction Group, LLC Comcast EagleBank Elizabeth and Peter Forster Glenstone Foundation Dorothy and Sol Graham Effie and John Macklin The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. Montgomery County Department of Economic Development Janine and Phillip O’Brien PEPCO S & R Technology Holdings LLC Ann and Jim Simpson Deborah and Leon Snead Annie and Sami Totah Meredith Weiser and Michael Rosenbaum Hailin and James Whang Paul and Peggy Young, NOVA Research Company

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Left: Circles members Peter Kimmel and Phyllis Schwartz, Kimmel’s son Adam Kimmel and Restaurant Associates Director of Catering Augie Bove at a Culinary Delights tasting event. Right: Strathmore CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl and President Monica Jeffries Hazangeles welcome Terry Gross.

$5,000+ Susan and Brian Bayly Mary and Greg Bruch Margaret and James Conley Debbie Driesman and Frank Islam Ellen and Michael Gold Lana Halpern Julie and John Hamre Liz and Joel Helke Igersheim Family Foundation The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chartered J. Alberto Martinez Caroline and John Patrick McLaughlin Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Della and William Robertson Lorraine and Barry Rogstad John Sherman, in memory of Deane Sherman Ronald West Lien and S. Bing Yao Ellen and Bernard Young

$2,500+ Anonymous Louise Appell Barbara Benson Foree and A.G.W. Biddle Ashley and Chris Boam Karen Brugge Frances and Leonard Burka Peter Yale Chen Alison Cole and Jan Peterson Carin and Bruce Cooper Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts Carolyn Degroot Hope Eastman Starr and Fred Ezra Michelle Feagin Carolyn Goldman and Sydney Polakoff Marla Grossman and Eric Steinmiller Arlene and Robert Hillerson Cheryl and Richard Hoffman Carlos Horcasitas Alexine and Aaron Jackson Lucy Jackson-Campbell Dianne Kay Rosalie Kessler and Steve Katzki Peter S. Kimmel, in memory of Martin S. Kimmel Teri Hanna Knowles and John M. Knowles Grace and David Lee Judie and Harry Linowes Jill and Jim Lipton Sharon and David Lockwood Janet L. Mahaney Delores Maloney Patricia and Roscoe Moore Katherine and William Parsons

Charlotte and Charles Perret Mindy and Charles Postal Laura Pruitt Gerald Raine (Deceased) Dale Rosenthal Elaine and Stuart Rothenberg Janet and Michael Rowan Phyllis and Ken Schwartz Tanya and Stephen Spano Jane and Richard Stoker Richard Tanzillo Peter Vance Treibley Nancy Voorhees Susan Wellman Anne Witkowsky and John Barker

$1,000+ Anonymous Judy and Joseph Antonucci Dena Baker and Terry Jacobs Sheila and Kenneth Berman Bethesda Magazine Julia and Stuart Bloch Harriet and Jerome Breslow Carol and Scott Brewer Vicki Britt and Robert Selzer Beverly Burke Halinah Rizzo-Busack and James Busack Lucie and Guy Campbell Eleanor and Oscar Caroglanian Allen Clark Elana and David Cohen Caroline and Jack Daggitt Nancy Davies Federal Realty Investment Trust Susan and Howard Feibus Senator Jennie Forehand and William E. Forehand, Jr. Noreen and Michael Friedman Suzanne and Mark Friis Nancy Frohman and James LaTorre Greene-Milstein Family Foundation Joan and Norman Gurevich Linda and John Hanson Sara and James Harris Monica Jeffries Hazangeles and John Peter Hazangeles Jill Herscot and Andrew Bartley Wilma and Arthur Holmes, Jr. Eileen Horan Linda and I. Robert Horowitz Linda and Van Hubbard James Hubert Blake High School Vicki Hawkins-Jones and Michael Jones Joan Jordano Bridget and Joseph Judge Renee Korda and Mark Olson Ineke and Peter Kreeger Carole and Robert Kurman

Left: Strathmore supporters Carrie Bazyluk and Dena Baker attend the Meet the Artist reception with NPR’s Terry Gross on Feb. 3. Right: Terry Gross (middle) meets with Strathmore supporters Suzanne Firstenberg and Ann O’Donoghue.

Susan and Gary Labovich Marvin Lawrence Lerner Enterprises Barbara and Laurence Levitan Diana Locke and Robert Toense Nancy and Dan Longo M&T Bank Jacqueline and J. Thomas Manger Janice McCall Virginia and Robert McCloskey Ann G. Miller, in memory of Jesse Miller Lissa Muscatine and Bradley Graham Susan Nordeen Karen O’Connell and Tim Martins Pabst Brewing Company Gloria Paul and Robert Atlas Susan and Bryan Penfield Cynthia and Eliot Pfanstiehl Restaurant Associates at Strathmore Reznick Group Jane and Paul Rice Tasneem Robin-Bhatti Rodgers Consulting Gabriel Romero Karen Rosenthal and M. Alexander Stiffman Katherine Rumbaugh Carol Salzman and Michael Mann George Schu Estelle Schwalb Mary Kay Shartle-Galotto and Jack Galotto Roberta and Lawrence Shulman Ann and Sanford Stass Merle and Steven Steiner Wendy and Donald Susswein Heather VanKeuren Jerry Weast Judith Welch Judy Whalley and Henry Otto Jennifer Whitlow

$500+ Anonymous Fran Abrams Judy and Michael Ackerman Frances Albergo Mary Kay and Dave Almy Lisa and Marvin Ausherman Eric Bailey Sue Baldwin and Ron Sussman Kathryn Barclay Katherine Bent Michelle and Lester Borodinsky John Caldwell Trish and Timothy Carrico Kathy and C. Bennett Chamberlin Karen and William Dahut Renata and David Denton David Dise

Judy Douglas Embassy of Austria Winifred and Anthony Fitzpatrick Gail Fleder Marlies and Karl Flicker Nancy Floreen and David Stewart John Fluke Joanne Fort Victor Frattali Marilyn and William Funderburk Pamela Gates and Robert Schultz Linda and Greg Fuortes Juan Gaddis Jane Godfrey Joshua Grove Guardian Realty Management, Inc. Gerri Hall and David Nickels Carol and Larry Horn Randy Hostetler Living Room Fund Bootsie and David Humenansky Zorina and John Keiser Henrietta and Christopher Keller Deloise and Lewis Kellert David Kessler Joyce Pascal-Kilgore and James Kilgore Marisabel Kubiak Catherine and Isiah Leggett Bertie and Howard Lehrer Phyllis and Ira Lieberman Ada Linowes Dorothy Linowes Brenda Loube Susan and Eric Luse Nancy McGinness Lisa McKillop Steven Meyer Manny Miller Terry Murray Victoria and Roy Muth Bob Mutschler Linda Nee Margie Pearson and Richard Lampl Potomac Valley Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority William Rawn Associates Architects, Inc. Margaret and Lawrence Roffee Sandy Spring Builders, Inc. Melissa Santos and Mark Richards Christine Schreve and Thomas Bowersox Alison Serino and Brian Baczkowski Donald Simonds Cora and Murray Simpson Harry Storm Mary Talarico and Michael Sundermeyer Marilyn and Mark Tenenbaum Marion and Dennis Torchia Trade Center Management Associates, LLC Myra Turoff and Kenneth Weiner Anne and James Tyson Kevin Vigilante

Neil Weidenhammer Jean and Robert Wirth J. Lynn Westergaard Irene and Alan Wurtzel Susan and Jack Yanovski Con Brio Society Securing the future of Strathmore through a planned gift.

Louise Appell John Cahill Jonita and Richard S. Carter Irene Cooperman Trudie Cushing and Neil Beskin Yanqiu He and Kenneth O’Brien Vivian and Peter Hsueh

STRATHMORE STAFF Eliot Pfanstiehl Chief Executive Officer Monica Jeffries Hazangeles President Carol Maryman Executive Assistant to the President & CEO Mary Kay Almy Executive Board Assistant

DEVELOPMENT Bianca Beckham Director of Institutional Giving Bill Carey Director of Donor and Community Relations Lauren Campbell Development & Education Manager Julie Hamre Development Associate

PROGRAMMING Shelley Brown VP/Artistic Director Georgina Javor Director of Programming Holly J. M. Haliniewski Fine Art Program & Education Manager Sarah Jenny Hospitality Coordinator

EDUCATION Betty Scott Education Coordinator

OPERATIONS Mark J. Grabowski Executive VP of Operations Miriam Teitel Director of Operations Allen V. McCallum, Jr. Director of Patron Services Jasper Cox Director of Finance Ira Daniel Staff Accountant Mac Campbell Operations Manager Phoebe Anderson Dana Operations Assitant

Tina and Art Lazerow Diana Locke and Robert Toense Janet L. Mahaney Carol and Alan Mowbray Barbara and David Ronis Henry Schalizki Phyllis and Ken Schwartz Annie Simonian Totah and Sami Totah Maryellen Trautman and Darrell Lemke Carol Trawick Peter Vance Treibley Myra Turoff and Kenneth Weiner Julie Zignego

Allen C. Clark Manager of Information Services Kristin Lobiondo Rentals Manager Christopher S. Inman Manager of Security Chadwick Sands Ticket Office Manager Hilary White Assistant Ticket Office Manager Wil Johnson Ticket Services Coordinator Christopher A. Dunn IT Technician Johnathon Fuentes Operations Specialist Brandon Gowan Operations Specialist Jon Foster Production Stage Manager William Kassman Lead Stage Technician Lyle Jaeger Lead Lighting Technician Caldwell Gray Lead Audio Technician

THE SHOPS AT STRATHMORE Charlene McClelland Director of Retail Merchandising Lorie Wickert Director of Retail Operations and Online Sales

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Jennifer A. Buzzell VP, Marketing and Communications Jerry Hasard Director of Marketing Jenn German Marketing Manager Julia Allal Group Sales and Outreach Manager Michael Fila Manager of Media Relations

STRATHMORE TEA ROOM Mary Mendoza Godbout Tea Room Manager

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Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Dr. David Leckrone and Marlene Berlin Mr. and Mrs. William Rogers Mike and Janet Rowan The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust Ms. Deborah Wise / Edith and Herbert Lehman Foundation, Inc.

GOVERNING MEMBERS SILVER

Board of directors OFFICERS

Kenneth W. DeFontes, Jr.*, Chairman Kathleen A. Chagnon, Esq.*, Secretary Lainy LeBow-Sachs*, Vice Chair Paul Meecham*, President & CEO The Honorable Steven R. Schuh*, Treasurer

BOARD MEMBERS Jimmy Berg A.G.W. Biddle, III Robert L. Bogomolny Barbara M. Bozzuto * Constance R. Caplan Robert B. Coutts Susan Dorsey, Ph.D.^ Governing Members Chair George A. Drastal* Alan S. Edelman* Susan G. Esserman* Michael G. Hansen Beth J. Kaplan Murray M. Kappelman, M.D. Sandra Levi Gerstung Ava Lias-Booker, Esq. Susan M. Liss, Esq.* Howard Majev, Esq. Liddy Manson David Oros Marge Penhallegon^, President, Baltimore Symphony Associates Michael P. Pinto Margery Pozefsky Scott Rifkin, M.D. Ann L. Rosenberg Bruce E. Rosenblum*

Stephen D. Shawe, Esq. The Honorable James T. Smith, Jr. Solomon H. Snyder, M.D. * Andrew A. Stern William R. Wagner

LIFE DIRECTORS Peter G. Angelos, Esq. Willard Hackerman H. Thomas Howell, Esq. Yo-Yo Ma Harvey M. Meyerhoff Decatur H. Miller, Esq. Linda Hambleton Panitz

DIRECTORS EMERITI Barry D. Berman, Esq. Richard Hug M. Sigmund Shapiro

CHAIRMAN LAUREATE Michael G. Bronfein Calman J. Zamoiski, Jr.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ENDOWMENT TRUST

Benjamin H. Griswold, IV, Chairman Terry Meyerhoff Rubenstein, Secretary Michael G. Bronfein Kenneth W. DeFontes, Jr. Mark R. Fetting Paul Meecham The Honorable Steven R. Schuh Calman J. Zamoiski, Jr. *Board Executive Committee ^ ex-officio

SUPPORTERS OF THE BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is deeply grateful to the individual, corporate, foundation and government donors whose annual giving plays a vital role in sustaining the Orchestra’s tradition of musical excellence. The following donors have given between Sept. 1, 2010-Dec. 31, 2011.

LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Maryland State Arts Council National Endowment for the Arts

CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE PARTNERS ($25,000 and above) DLA Piper M&T Bank Vocus PNC

CORPORATE PARTNERS

($10,000-$24,999) Hughes Network Systems, LLC Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union RBC Wealth Management Total Wine & More Washington National Opera ($2,500-$9,999) Downtown Piano Works Georgetown Paper Stock of Rockville, Inc.

JoS. A. Bank Clothiers S. Kann Sons Company Foundation, Inc.

MAESTRA’S CIRCLE

($10,000 and above) Betty Huse MD Charitable Foundation Mr. and Mrs. A. G. W. Biddle, III The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation George and Katherine Drastal Ms. Susan Esserman and Mr. Andrew Marks Michael G. Hansen and Nancy E. Randa Hilary B. Miller and Dr. Katherine N. Bent Mrs. Mary H. Lambert Susan Liss and Family Lori Laitman and Bruce Rosenblum Liddy Manson “In memory of James Gavin Manson” Mr. and Mrs. Richard Rudman

Governing Members Gold ($5,000-$9,999) The Charles Delmar Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Stephen M. Lans

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($2,500-$4,999) Anonymous (3) Mr. and Mrs. David S. Cohen Jane C. Corrigan Dr. and Mrs. George Curlin Kari Peterson and Benito R. and Ben De Leon Mr. Joseph Fainberg Sherry and Bruce Feldman Mr. and Mrs. Denis C. Gagnon Drs. Ronald and Barbara Gots Betty Huse MD Charitable Trust Foundation Madeleine and Joseph Jacobs Dr. Robert Lee Justice & Marie Fujimura-Justice Marc E. Lackritz and Mary B. DeOreo Burt and Karen Leete Mr. and Mrs. Howard Lehrer Mrs. June Linowitz and Dr. Howard Eisner Dr. James and Jill Lipton Dr. Diana Locke and Mr. Robert E. Toense Marie McCormack Paul Meecham and Laura Leach Mr. and Mrs. Humayun Mirza David Nickels and Gerri Hall Jan S. Peterson and Alison E. Cole Ms. Nancy Rice Mr. and Mrs. John Rounsaville Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Silver Ms. Patricia Smith and Dr. Frances Lussier Diane L. Sondheimer and Peter E. Novick Mr. Alan Strasser and Ms. Patricia Hartge John and Susan Warshawsky Dr. Edward Whitman Paul A. and Peggy L. Young, NOVA Research Company

SYMPHONY SOCIETY

($1,000-$2,499) Anonymous (4) Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Abell Mrs. Rachel Abraham Dr. and Mrs. Marshall Ackerman Mr. William Baer and Ms. Nancy Hendry Ms. Elaine Belman David and Sherry Berz Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Block/Venable Foundation, Inc. Hon. and Mrs. Anthony Borwick Dr. Nancy Bridges Gordon F. Brown Catoctin Breeze Vineyard Bradley Christmas and Tara Flynn Dr. Mark Cinnamon and Ms. Doreen Kelly Mr. Herbert Cohen Jane E. Cohen Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Cox John Day and Peter Brehm Joan de Pontet Jackson and Jean H. Diehl Marcia Diehl & Julie Kurland Sharon and Jerry Farber Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fax Kenneth and Diane Feinberg Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Fitzpatrick Mr. and Mrs. Roberto B. Friedman William and Carol Fuentevilla Mr. and Mrs. William Gibb Peter Gil Dr. and Mrs. Sanford Glazer Mr. Harvey Gold Dr. Joseph Gootenberg & Dr. Susan Leibenhaut Barry E. and Barbara Gordon Mark and Lynne Groban Mr. and Mrs. Norman M. Gurevich Ms. Lana Halpern Ms. Gloria Shaw Hamilton Mr. and Mrs. John Hanson Sara and James A. Harris, Jr. Mr. Fred Hart and Ms. Elizabeth Knight Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Herman Ellen and Herb Herscowitz David A. and Barbara L. Heywood Mr. Aaron Hoag Fran and Bill Holmes Betty W. Jensen The Paul L. Joyner Family Dr. Henry Kahwaty Ms. Carolyn Kaplan

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kelber Virginia and Dale Kiesewetter Dr. and Mrs. Peter C. Luchsinger Michael and Judy Mael Howard and Linda Martin Mr. Winton Matthews Bebe McMeekin Dr. and Mrs. Stanley R. Milstein Dr. and Mrs. Donald Mullikin Douglas and Barbara Norland Ms. Patricia Normile Jerry and Marie Perlet Ms. Margaret K. Quigg Dr. and Mrs. Gerald Rogell Dr. Steven R. Rosenthal Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Sagoskin Peggy and David Salazar Estelle D. Schwalb Anne Weiss & Joseph Schwartz Bernard and Rita Segerman Ms. Phyllis Seidelson Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Shykind Mr. Donald M. Simonds Marshall and Deborah Sluyter Mr. & Mrs. Edgar Smith Don Spero and Nancy Chasen Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Spero Jennifer Kosh Stern & William H. Turner Ms. Mary K. Sturtevant Margot and Phil Sunshine Mr. and Mrs. Richard Swerdlow Mr. and Mrs. William Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Richard Tullos David Wellman and Marjorie Coombs Wellman Ms. Susan Wellman Ms. Joan Wilkins Ms. Ann Willis Sylvia and Peter Winik Robert and Jean Wirth Mr. and Mrs. David K. Wise Marc and Amy Wish Eileen and Lee Woods Ms. Norma Yess H. Alan Young and Sharon Bob Young, Ph.D. Robert & Antonette Zeiss

BRITTEN LEVEL MEMBERS

($500-$999) Anonymous Donald Baker Leonard and Gabriela Bebchick Mr. Donald Berlin Ms. Cynthia L. Bowman-Gholston Mr. Richard H. Broun and Ms. Karen E. Daly Barbara and John Clary Mr. Steven Coe Mr. Harvey A. Cohen and Mr. Michael R. Tardif Mr. Andrew Colquitt Mr. and Mrs. Jim Cooper Dr. Edward Finn Mr. and Mrs. Arthur P. Floor Ms. Alisa Goldstein Dr. Richard D. Guerin and Dr. Linda Kohn Ms. Haesoon Hahn Mr. E. Marshall Hansen Keith and Linda Hartman Dr. Liana Harvath Mr. Jeff D. Harvell & Mr. Ken Montgomery Carol and Terry Ireland Ms. Susan Irwin Mr. William Isaacson and Ms. Sophia McCrocklin Mr. R. Tenney Johnson Ms. Cheryl Jukes Ms. Daryl Kaufman Dr. Birgit Kovacs Ms. Delia Lang Ms. Pat Larrabee & Ms. Lauren Markley Philip A. Levine and Frederica S. Douglas LTC David Lindauer, U.S. Army (Ret’d) Drs. David and Sharon Lockwood Mr. Jon M. Louthian W. David Mann David and Kay McGoff Edwin H. Moot Mr. William Morgan Delmon Curtis Morrison Eugene and Dorothy Mulligan Ms. Mary Padgett Mr. and Mrs. Peter Philipps Herb and Rita Posner Mr. and Ms. Donald Regnell Mr. Richard D. Reichard Mr. Thomas Reichmann Mr. James Risser Ms. Leann Rock and Mr. Brian Anderson

Governing Member David Nickels and BSO Principal Horn Phil Munds

Mr. Harold Rosen Ms. Ellen Rye Dr. & Mrs. Jerome Sandler Mr. Allen Shaw Ms. Terry Shuch and Mr. Neal Meiselman Gregory C. Simon and Margo L. Reid Mr. and Mrs. Charles Steinecke III Timothy Stranges and Rosanna Coffey Mr. Peter Thomson Ms. Ann Tognetti John A. and Julia W. Tossell Dr. and Mrs. Jack Weil Linda and Irving Weinberg

BRAHMS LEVEL MEMBERS

($250-$499) Anonymous (5) Ms. Kathryn Abell Rhoda and Herman Alderman Sharon Allender and John Trezise Mr. & Mrs. Charles C. Alston Ms. Marie Anderson Dr. Joel C. Ang Mr. Bill Apter Pearl and Maurice Axelrad Thomas and Mary Aylward Ms. Katie Bagley and Mr. John K. Glenn III Drs. Richard & Patricia Baker Mr. Robert Barash Phebe W. Bauer Mr. and Mrs. John W. Beckwith Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Bell Alan H. Bergstein and Carol A. Joffe Mr. Neal Bien Mr. Lawrence Blank Nancy and Don Bliss Mr. & Mrs. John Blodgett Ms. Judith A. Braham Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Brotman Mr. Ashby Bryson Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Burka Ms. Lynn Butler Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Calure Mr. and Mrs. Serefino Cambareri Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Carrera Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Carty Ms. Patsy Clark Mr. James Cole Ms. Marion Connell Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Cooper Mr. Leonard Covello Ms. Louise Crane Dr. and Mrs. Brian Crowley Dr. & Mrs. James R. David Rev. George Dellinger Ms. Suzanne Delsack and Mr. Alan White Mr. Richard Dixon Mr. John C. Driscoll Mr. Ahmed El-Hoshy Lionel and Sandra Epstein Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fauver Ms. Claudia Feldman Mr. Michael Finkelstein Dr. & Mrs. David Firestone Ms. Dottie Fitzgerald Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Flaherty Robert and Carole Fontenrose Estelle Diane Franklin Ms. Cathy Friedman

Israeli Ambassador Dr. Michael Oren, wife Sally, Montgomery County’s First Couple Catherine and Ike Leggett join BSO VP at Strathmore Deborah Broder for the Itzhak Perlman concert.

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Scott Friedman Dr. Joel and Rhoda Ganz Roberta Geier Irwin Gerduk Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Giddings Mr. Harry Glass and Ms. Judy Canahuati Ms. Maran Gluckstein Frank and Susan Grefsheim Ms. Melanie Grishman & Mr. Herman Flay, M.D. Rev. Therisia Hall Mr. Lloyd Haugh Mrs. Jean N. Hayes Ms. Marilyn Henderson and Mr. Paul Henderson Joel and Linda Hertz Mr. and Mrs. William L. Hickman Mr. Myron L. Hoffmann Mr. John Howes Mr. & Mrs. John K. Hurley Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hyman Mr. and Mrs. Howard Iams David Ihrie & Catherine Houston Mr. Peter Kaplan Dr. and Mrs. Robert W. Karp Dr. Evelyn Karson & Mr. Donald Kaplan Lawrence and Jean Katz Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Keller Mr. & Mrs. James Kempf Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Kern Dr. and Mrs. Robert Koehl Mr. William & Ms. Ellen D. Kominers Ms. Nancy Kopp Dr. Arlin J. Krueger Michael Lazar & Sharon Fischman Mr. Darrel H. Lemke and Ms. Maryellen Trautman Mr. Harry LeVine Lois and Walter Liggett Harry and Carolyn Lincoln Judie and Harry Linowes Dr. Richard E. and Susan Papp Lippman Mr. Gene Lodge Lucinda Low and Daniel Magraw Mr. Craig Ludwig and Ms. Minna Davidson Thomas and Elizabeth Maestri Mr. James Magno Mr. David Marcos Mr. David Marlowe Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Matterson Mr. Mark Mattucci Mr. and Mrs. Ian McDonald Ms. Susan McGee Patrick and Roberta McKeever Dr. Richard Melanson and Ms. Mary Matthews Mr. Steve Metalitz Ms. Ellen Miles Mr. & Mrs. Walter Miller Dr. & Mrs. Mortimer and Barbara Mishkin Ms. Marlene C. Mitchell Mr. and Mrs. William Mooney Mr. William Neches Ms. Caren Novick Dr. and Mrs. John R. Nuckols Amanda and Robert Ogren Mrs. Judy Oliver Mrs. Patricia Olson

BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP WITH THE BSO Make a donation today and become a Member of the BSO! There is a gift level that is right for everyone, and with that comes an insider’s perspective of your world-class orchestra.

For a complete list of benefits, please call our Membership Office at 301.581.5215 or contact via e-mail at membership@BSOmusic.org. You may also visit our Web site at BSOmusic.org/benefits.

Barbara Clary and Gerry Rogell visit with BSO musician Michael Lisicky

Mr. Jerome Ostrov Mrs. Jane Papish Mr. Kevin Parker Ms. Frances L. Pflieger Dr. Jeffrey Phillips Thomas Plotz and Catherine Klion Marie Pogozelski and Richard Belle Ms. Carol Poland Mr. Andrew Polott Mr. and Mrs. Edward Portner Ms. Marjorie Pray Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Rabin Dr. & Mrs. Bernard Reich Dr. Sean Michael Roark Ms. Trini Rodriquez and Mr. Eric Toumayan Mr. and Mrs. Barry Rogstad Mr. Elliot Rosen Dr. Pedro N. Saenz Mr. Pat Sandall Mr. and Mrs. William Schaefer David & Louise Schmeltzer Mr. and Mrs. David Scott

Mr. Paul Seidman Anatole Senkevitch, Jr. Neil and Bonnie Sherman Donna & Steven Shriver Mr. and Mrs. Larry Shulman Mr. and Mrs. Micheal D. Slack Ms. Deborah Smith Richard Sniffin Gloria and David Solomon Mr. and Mrs. Duane Straub Mr. Alan Thomas Mr. John Townsley Ms. Marie Van Wyk Mr. Mallory Walker Ms. Shirley Waxman and Mr. Joel Bressler Mr. & Mrs. Robert Wein Mr. David M. Wilson Ms. Carole Wolfe Dr. and Mrs. Richard N. Wright Mr. Daniel Zaharevitz Mrs. MaryAnn Zamula Mr. Warren Zwicky

Baltimore symphony Orchestra STAFF Paul Meecham, President and CEO Leilani Uttenreither, Executive Assistant Beth M. Buck, Vice President and CFO Carol Bogash, Vice President of Education Deborah Broder Vice President of BSO at Strathmore Dale Hedding Vice President of Development Eileen Andrews Vice President of Marketing and Communications Matthew Spivey Vice President of Artistic Operations ARTISTIC OPERATIONS Erik FInley Artistic Planning Manager & Assistant to the Music Director Anna Harris, Operations Coordinator Alicia Lin, Director of Operations and Facilities Chris Monte, Assistant Personnel Manager Marilyn Rife Director of Orchestra Personnel and Human Resources Meg Sippey, Artistic Coordinator DEVELOPMENT Jennifer Barton Development Program Assistant Margaret Blake Development Office Manager Allison Burr-Livingstone Director of Institutional Giving Kate Caldwell Director of Philanthropic Services Rebecca Potter Institutional Giving Specialist Joanne M. Rosenthal Director of Major Gifts, Planned Giving and Government Relations Rebecca Sach, Director of Annual Fund Elspeth Shaw, Annual Fund Manager Richard Spero Community Liaison, BSO at Strathmore

EDUCATION Hana Morford, Education Associate Larry Townsend, Education Assistant FINANCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Thomas Allan Controller Sophia Jacobs Senior Accountant Janice Johnson Senior Accountant Sybil Johnson Payroll and Benefits Administrator Evinz Leigh Administration Associate Chris Vallette Database and Web Administrator MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Brendan Cooke, Group Sales Manager Rika Dixon, Director of Marketing and Sales Laura Farmer, Public Relations Manager Derek A. Johnson Manager of Single Ticket Sales Theresa Kopasek, Marketing and PR Associate Samantha Manganaro Direct Marketing Coordinator Alyssa Porambo Public Relations and Publications Coordinator Michael Smith Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Coordinator Elisa Watson, Graphic Designer TICKET SERVICES Amy Bruce Manager of Special Events and VIP Ticketing Adrian Hilliard Senior Ticket Services Agent, Strathmore Kathy Marciano, Director of Ticket Services

Applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 105

The Stempler Family Foundation Violin House of Weaver Washington Music Center Contributor Bank of America The Italian Cultural Society, Inc. Stewart’s Stellar Strings

National Philharmonic Board of directors Board of Directors

Board Officers

Ruth Berman Rabbi Leonard Cahan *Nancy Coleman Paul Dudek Ann M. Eskelsen Ruth Faison Dr. Bill Gadzuk Greg Lawson Joan Levenson Kent Mikkelsen Dr. Wayne Meyer Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu *Robin C. Perito JaLynn Prince *Mark C. Williams

*Todd R. Eskelsen, Chair *Albert Lampert, First Vice Chair *Dieneke Johnson, Second Vice Chair *Peter Ryan, Treasurer *Carol Evans, Secretary * Joel Alper, Chair Emeritus

Board of Advisors William D. English Joseph A. Hunt Albert Lampert Chuck Lyons Roger Titus Jerry D. Weast As of January 2012 *Executive Committee

As of January 1, 2012

SUPPORTERS OF THE NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC The National Philharmonic takes this opportunity to gratefully acknowledge the following businesses, foundations and individuals which have made the Philharmonic’s ambitious plans possible through their generous contributions.

Maestro Circle Concertmaster Circle Principal Circle Philharmonic Circle Benefactor Circle Sustainer Circle Patron Contributor Member

$10,000+ $7,500 to $9,999 $5,000 to $7,499 $3,500 to $4,999 $2,500 to $3,499 $1,000 to $2,499 $500 to $999 $250 to $499 $125 to $249

ORGANIZATIONS

Maestro Circle Ameriprise Financial Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Clark-Winchcole Foundation The Gazette Ingleside at King Farm Maryland State Arts Council Montgomery County, MD Montgomery County Public Schools NOVA Research Company Schiff Hardin, LLP The State of Maryland Concertmaster Circle Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation, Inc. Principal Circle Harris Family Foundation Johnson & Johnson

Philharmonic Circle National Philharmonic/ MCYO Educational Partnership The Washington Post Company Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation Benefactor Circle Corina Higginson Trust Dimick Foundation Henry B. & Jessie W. Keiser Foundation, Inc. Rockville Christian Church, for donation of rehearsal space TD Charitable Foundation Sustainer Circle American Federation of Musicians, DC Local 161-170 Bettina Baruch Foundation Cardinal Bank Embassy of Poland Executive Ball for the Arts KPMG Foundation Logan Foundation Lucas-Spindletop Foundation The Rebecca Pollard Guggenheim Patron American String Teachers’ Association DC/MD Chapter Bob’s House of Bass Boeing Eastman Strings Gailes Violin Shop, Inc. GE Foundation IBM Lashof Violins The Potter Violin Company

106 Applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

INDIVIDUALS Maestro Circle Robert & Margaret Hazen Dr. & Mrs. Val G. Hemming Mrs. Margaret Makris Dr. Kenneth P. Moritsugu, Emily Moritsugu & Ms. Lisa R. Kory includes match by Johnson & Johnson Paul A. & Peggy L. Young, NOVA Research Company Concertmaster Circle Mr. & Mrs. Joel Alper Mr. and Mrs. Paul Dudek Dr. Ryszard Gajewski Mr. & Mrs. Albert Lampert Principal Circle Mr. & Mrs. Todd R. Eskelsen Ms. Dieneke Johnson includes match by Washington Post Paul & Robin Perito Dr. Gregory A. & JaLynn R. Prince Philharmonic Circle Mr. & Mrs. William F. Baker, Jr. * Dr. & Mrs. John V. Evans J. William & Anita Gadzuk * Dr. Robert Gerard & Ms. Carol Goldberg * Dr. Roscoe M. Moore & Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore Mr. & Mrs. Peter Ryan Mr. & Mrs. Mark Williams includes match by Ameriprise Financial Benefactor Circle Mrs. Ruth Berman Mr. Edward Brinker & Ms. Jane Liu Mr. Dale Collinson * Mr. Steven C. Decker & Ms. Deborah W. Davis Mr. & Mrs. John L. Donaldson Dr. Joseph Gootenberg & Dr. Susan Leibenhaut Mr. & Mrs. Joseph A. Hunt Mr. William A. Lascelle & Ms. Blanche Johnson Mr. Larry Maloney * Nancy and J. Parker Michael & Janet Rowan Ms. Aida Sanchez * Mr. & Mrs. David Shapiro Sustainer Circle Anonymous (3) Mrs. Rachel Abraham Mrs. Helen Altman * Ms. Sybil Amitay * Elizabeth Bishop & Darren Gemoets * Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert Bloom Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Cahan Dr. Ronald Cappelletti * Ms. Nancy Coleman * Dr. Mark Cinnamon & Ms. Doreen Kelly Drs. Eileen & Paul DeMarco* Dr. Lawrence Deyton & Dr. Jeffrey Levi * Dr. Stan Engebretson * Mr. William E. Fogle & Ms. Marilyn Wun-Fogle Dr. Maria A. Friedman * Mr. & Mrs. Piotr Gajewski Ms. Rebecca Gatwood Ms. Sarah Gilchrist * Mr. Barry Goldberg

Mr. Michael Hansen Mr. and Mrs. David Henderson * Dr. Stacey Henning * Ms. Annie Hou Ms. Kathryn Johnson, in honor of Dieneke Johnson Mr. Robert Justice & Mrs. Marie Fujimura-Justice Mr. Greg Lawson Mrs. Joan M. Levenson Mr. & Mrs. Leslie Levine Mr. & Mrs. Charles A. Lyons Mr. Winton Matthews Mrs. Eleanor D. McIntire * Mr. & Mrs. Richard McMillan, Jr. Dr. Wayne Meyer * Mr. & Mrs. Kent Mikkelsen * Mr. Robert Misbin Susan & Jim Murray * Mr. & Mrs. Charles Naftalin Mr. Thomas Nessinger * Ms. Martha Newman * Dr. & Mrs. Goetz Oertel Mr. & Mrs. Jerome Pinson, includes match by GE Foundation Mrs. Jan Schiavone * Ms. Carol A. Stern * Sternbach Family Fund Dr. & Mrs. Robert Temple * Drs. Charles and Cecile Toner Mr. & Mrs. Scott Ullery Ms. Ellen van Valkenburgh * Mr. & Mrs. Robert Vocke * Mr. & Mrs. William W. Walls, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Royce Watson Mr. & Mrs. Bernard J. Young Patron Ms. Lori Barnet Mary Bentley & David Kleiner * Mr. & Mrs. James R. Carlin Ms. Linda Edwards Ms. Kimberly Elliott Ms. Ruth Faison * David & Berdie Firestone Mr. Steven Gerber Mr. David Hofstad Mr. & Mrs. William W. Josey* Ms. Jane Lyle * Ms. Carol Lemire Ms. Alison Matuskey Dr. & Mrs. Joe Parr, III Mr. Larz Pearson & Mr. Rick Trevino Drs. Dena & Jerome Puskin Mr. & Mrs. Willis Ritter Mr. & Mrs. Steven Seelig Dr. John Sherman Ms. Lori J. Sommerfield * Mr. John I. Stewart & Ms. Sharon S. Stoliaroff Mr. Robert Stewart Mr. & Mrs. John F. Wing Mr. & Mrs. Jack Yanovski Contributor Anonymous (2) Mr. Ronald Abeles Ms. Ann Albertson Mr. Robert B. Anderson Mike & Cecilia Ballentine Ms. Michelle Benecke Ms. Patricia Bulhack Mr. & Mrs. Stephen K. Cook * Ms. Irene Cooperman Mr. Dean Culler Mr.& Mrs. J. Steed Edwards Mr. John Eklund Mr. & Mrs. William English Mr. & Mrs. Elliott Fein includes match by IBM Mr. & Mrs. Joe Ferfolia Dr. & Mrs. John H. Ferguson Mr. & Mrs. Mayo Friedlis

New National Philharmonic board member Greg Lawson with Sai Cheung and National Philharmonic Chorale Artistic Director Stan Engebretson

Mr. Dean Gatwood Mr. Carolyn Guthrie Mr. & Mrs. William Gibb Dr. Karl Habermeier Dr. William Hatcher Frances Hanckel Mrs. Rue Helsel Dr. Roger Herdman Mr. & Mrs. William Hickman Mr. & Mrs. James Hochron * Ms. Katharine C. Jones Dr. Elke Jordan Ms. Anne Kanter Dr. & Mrs. Charles Kelber Ms. Martha Jacoby Krieger * Mr. & Mrs. Paul Legendre Mr. & Mrs. Herbert J. Lerner Ms. May Lesar Mr. & Mrs. Eliot Lieberman * Mr. David E. Malloy & Mr. John P. Crockett * Mr. David McGoff * Jim & Marge McMann Dr. & Mrs. Oliver Moles Jr. * Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Mountain Mr. Stamatios Mylonakis Ms. Katherine Nelson-Tracey * David Nickels & Gerri Hall Mrs. Jeanne Noel Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth A. Oldham, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Alan Peterkofsky Ms. Cindy Pikul Dr. & Mrs. Manuel Porres Mrs. Dorothy Prats Mr. & Mrs. Clark Rheinstein * Ms. Lisa Rovin Ms. Joyce Sauvager Ms. Sandi Saville Mr. & Ms. Kevin Shannon Mr. Charles Sturrock Dr. & Mrs. Szymon Suckewer Dr. & Mrs. Richard Wright Mr. & Mrs. Philip Yaffee Member Anonymous Mr. & Mrs. Donald Abbott Mrs. Fran Abrams Mr. & Mrs. Nabil Azzam Ms. Marietta Balaan * Mr. Mikhail Balachov Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Baldwin Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bechert Mr. & Mrs. Richard Bender Mr. & Mrs. Jerome Breslow Dr. Rosalind Breslow * Mr. Allan Bozorth Mr. & Mrs. Frederick Brown

Mrs. Dolores J. Bryan Mr. & Mrs. Stan Bryla Dr. & Mrs. Chuck Chatlynne Dr. F. Lawrence Clare Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Clark Mrs. Patsy Clark Dr. & Mrs. Gordon M. Cragg Ms. Louise Crane Mr. Alan T. Crane Ms. Margaret Cusack Dr. & Mrs. James B. D’Albora Mr. and Mrs. David Dancer * Mr. & Mrs. Edward Della Torre Mr. Jian Ding Mr. Paul Dragoumis Ms. Sandra Doren Mr. Charles Eisenhauer Mr. Robert Fehrenbach Mr. Harold Freeman Ms. Frances Gipson Mr. Joseph Hamer Ms. Nina Helmsen Dr. & Mrs. Donald Henson Mr. & Mrs. Donald Jansky * Ms. Elizabeth Janthey Ms. Carol S. Jordan Ms. Elizabeth King Mrs. Rosalie King Ms. Marge Koblinksy Ms. Cherie Krug Ms. S. Victoria Krusiewski Mr. & Mrs. John R. Larue Mr. William R. Lee Dr. David Lockwood Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth MacPherson Ms. Sharon F. Majchrzak* Mr. & Mrs. Forbes Maner Mr. and Mrs. James Mason Mr. & Mrs. Robert McGuire Mr. & Mrs. Duncan McHale Mr. & Mrs. David Miller Mr. & Mrs. T. Lindsay Moore Ms. Stephanie Murphy National Philharmonic Chorale in honor of Kenneth Oldham, Jr. Mrs. Gillian Nave Dr. Ruth S. Newhouse Mr. Lawrence Novak Ms. Anita O’Leary * Mr. Thomas Pappas Dr. & Mrs. David Pawel Dolly Perkins & Larry Novak Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Oldham Evelyn & Peter Philipps Mr. Charles A. O’Connor & Ms. Susan F. Plaeger Ms. Phyllis Rattey

Todd Eskelsen, chairman of the National Philharmonic Board, with donor Ryszard Gajewski and Associate Conductor Victoria Gau

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Rizzi Mr. Sydney Schneider Ms. Katherine Schnorrenberg * Dr. Alan Sheff Dr. & Mrs. Paul Silverman Ms. Rita Sloan Mr. Carey Smith * Ms. Sarah Thomas Ms. Virginia W. Van Brunt * Mr. Sid Verner Chorale Sustainers Circle Mr. & Mrs. Fred Altman Mr. & Mrs. William F. Baker, Jr. Dr. Ronald Cappelletti Ms. Nancy Coleman Mr. Dale Collinson Drs. Eileen and Paul DeMarco Dr. Lawrence Deyton & Dr. Jeffrey Levi Dr. Maria A. Friedman Dr. & Mrs. Bill Gadzuk Dr. Robert Gerard & Ms. Carol Goldberg Ms. Sarah Gilchrist Dr. Stacey Henning

Mr. Gerald Vogel Ms. Anastasia Walsh Mr. David B. Ward Mr. Raymond Watts Mr. Robert E. Williams Ms. Joan Wikstrom Ms. Lynne Woods * Dr. Nicholas Zill * Chorale members

Mr. Larry Maloney Mr. & Mrs. Carl McIntire Dr. Wayne Meyer Mr. & Mrs. Kent Mikkelsen Mr. & Mrs. James E. Murray Mr. Thomas Nessinger Ms. Martha Newman Ms. Aida Sanchez Mrs. Jan Schiavone Ms. Carol A. Stern Dr. & Mrs. Robert Temple Ms. Ellen van Valkenburgh Mr. & Mrs. Robert Vocke

Heritage Society The Heritage Society at the National Philharmonic gratefully recognizes those dedicated individuals who strive to perpetuate the National Philharmonic through the provision of a bequest in their wills or through other estate gifts.

For more information about the National Philharmonic’s Heritage Society, please call Ken Oldham at 301-493-9283, ext. 112.

Mr. David Abraham* Mrs. Rachel Abraham Mr. Joel Alper Ms. Ruth Berman Ms. Anne Claysmith Mr. Todd Eskelsen Ms. Dieneke Johnson

Mr. & Mrs. Albert Lampert Mrs. Margaret Makris Mr. Kenneth A. Oldham, Jr. Mr. W. Larz Pearson Ms. Carol A. Stern Mr. Mark Williams *Deceased

National Philharmonic Staff Piotr Gajewski, Music Director & Conductor Stan Engebretson, Artistic Director, National Philharmonic Chorale Victoria Gau, Associate Conductor Kenneth A. Oldham, Jr., President Filbert Hong, Director of Artistic Operations Deborah Birnbaum, Director of Marketing & PR Leanne Ferfolia, Director of Development Dan Abbott, Manager of Development Operations Auxiliary Staff Amy Salsbury, Graphic Designer

Applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 107

Board of directors Reginald Van Lee, Chairman* (c) James J. Sandman, Vice Chair* (c) Christina Co Mather, Secretary* Steven Kaplan, Esq. Treasurer* (c) Burton J. Fishman, Esq., General Counsel* + Neale Perl, President and CEO* Douglas H. Wheeler, President Emeritus Patrick Hayes, Founder † Gina F. Adams* Alison Arnold-Simmons Arturo E. Brillembourg* Hans Bruland (c) Beverly Burke Rima Calderon Karen I. Campbell* Josephine S. Cooper Debbie Dingell Robert Feinberg* Norma Lee Funger Bruce Gates* Olivier Goudet Jay M. Hammer* Brian Hardie Grace Hobelman (c) Jake Jones Elizabeth Baker Keffer David Kamenetzky* Jerome B. Libin, Esq. (c) Charlotte Cameron Marshall* (c) Jeffrey Norris Rachel Tinsley Pearson* Joseph M. Rigby Yvonne Sabine Charlotte Schlosberg Samuel A. Schreiber John Sedmak

Irene F. Simpkins Orville A. Smith Ruth Sorenson* Wendy Thompson-Marquez Mary Jo Veverka* Gladys Watkins* Carol W. Wilner

Honorary Directors Nancy G. Barnum Roselyn Payne Epps, M.D. Michelle Cross Fenty Sophie P. Fleming Eric R. Fox Peter Ladd Gilsey † Barbara W. Gordon France K. Graage James M. Harkless, Esq. ViCurtis G. Hinton † Sherman E. Katz Marvin C. Korengold, M.D. Peter L. Kreeger Robert G. Liberatore Dennis G. Lyons Gilbert D. Mead † Gerson Nordlinger † John F. Olson, Esq. (c) Susan Porter Frank H. Rich Albert H. Small Shirley Small The Honorable James W. Symington Stefan F. Tucker, Esq. (c) Paul Martin Wolff

PAST CHAIRS

Todd Duncan †, Past Chairman Laureate William N. Cafritz Aldus H. Chapin † Kenneth M. Crosby † Jean Head Sisco † Kent T. Cushenberry † Harry M. Linowes Edward A. Fox

Hugh H. Smith Alexine Clement Jackson Lydia Micheaux Marshall Stephen W. Porter, Esq. Elliott S. Hall Lena Ingegerd Scott (c) James F. Lafond Bruce E. Rosenblum Daniel L. Korengold Susan B. Hepner Jay M. Hammer

WOMEN’S COMMITTEE OFFICERS

Gladys Manigault Watkins, President Annette A. Morchower, First Vice President Lorraine P. Adams, Second Vice President Cynthea M. Warman, Recording Secretary Ruth R. Hodges, Assistant Recording Secretary Ernestine Arnold, Corresponding Secretary Anna Faith Jones, Treasurer Glendonia McKinney, Assistant Treasurer Charlotte Cameron Marshall, Immediate Past President Barbara Mackenzie Gordon, Founder

LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS Jerome B. Libin, Esq. James J. Sandman, Esq.

* Executive Committee + Ex Officio † Deceased (c) Committee Chair As of December 14, 2011

WPAS gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the following individuals, corporations, foundations, and government sources whose generosity supports our artistic and education programming throughout the National Capital area. Friends who contribute $500 or more annually are listed below with our thanks. (As of February 14, 2011)

Altria Group, Inc. Booz Allen Hamilton Ms. Christina Co Mather and Dr. Gary Mather Betsy and Robert Feinberg Mars, Incorporated Ms. Jacqueline Badger Mars Estate of Miriam Rose The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation National Arts and Cultural Affairs Program/The Commission of Fine Arts Mr. Reginald Van Lee

$50,000-$99,999

Daimler Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts

DyalCompass FedEx Corporation Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Horning The Horning Family Fund Susan and Jim Miller Park Foundation, Inc. Mr. Bruce Rosenblum and Ms. Lori Laitman Mr. and Mrs. Sanford Slavin Dr. Paul G. Stern

$35,000-$49,999

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Carl D. † and Grace P. Hobelman NoraLee and Jon Sedmak

$25,000-$34,999

Anonymous Abramson Family Foundation BB&T Private Financial Services

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$10,000-$14,999

Avid Partners, LLC Mr. and Mrs. Eliezer H. Benbassat BET Networks Chevron DCI Group The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco Ernst and Young Mr. and Mrs. Jose Figueroa George Wasserman Family Foundation, Inc. Ms. Carolyn Guthrie HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Robert P. and Arlene R. Kogod Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Peter L. Kreeger Mr. and Mrs. Steve Lans June and Jerry Libin (L) Macy’s Marriott International The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. The Honorable Bonnie McElveen-Hunter Carol and Douglas Melamed Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Milstein Ms. Janice J. Kim and Mr. Anthony L. Otten Prince Charitable Trusts Sid Stolz and David Hatfield Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Young

$7,500-$9,999

WPAS Annual Fund

$100,000+

David and Anna-Lena Kamenetzky Mr. and Mrs. Steven Kaplan Mrs. Elizabeth Keffer Kiplinger Foundation Inc. KPMG LLP Judith A. Lee, Esq. (L) LightSquared Mr. and Mrs. John Marshall, Dan Cameron Family Foundation, Inc. Nancie G. Marzulla, Esq. (L) MVM, Inc. Nancy Peery Marriott Foundation, Inc. PEPCO Mr. and Mrs. Neale Perl Mr. James J. Sandman and Ms. Elizabeth D. Mullin (L) Roger and Vicki Sant Mr. and Mrs. Hubert M. Schlosberg (L) (W) Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Simpkins Verizon Washington, DC Ms. Mary Jo Veverka Washington Gas Light Company Wells Fargo Bank

Billy Rose Foundation Mark and Terry McLeod National Endowment for the Arts PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP The Rocksprings Foundation Ruth and Arne Sorenson Mr. and Mrs. Stefan F. Tucker (L)

$15,000-$24,999

Anonymous Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Adams Diane and Norman Bernstein Mr. and Mrs. Arturo E. Brillembourg Mrs. Ryna Cohen Mr. and Mrs. Art Collins Mr. and Mrs. Morton Funger Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Gates Mr. and Mrs. Jay M. Hammer The Hay-Adams Hotel

AT&T Foundation Capitol Tax Partners Dr. and Mrs. Louis Levitt The Meredith Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Glenn A. Mitchell The Hon. Mary V. Mochary and Dr. Philip E. Wine John F. Olson, Esq. (L) Ourisman Automotive of VA Ms. Aileen Richards and Mr. Russell Jones Dr. Irene Roth Mr. Claude Schoch Sutherland Asbill & Brennan

$5,000-$7,499

Mrs. Dolly Chapin DIOR Ms. Pamela Farr Bob and Jennifer Feinstein Geico Mr. Olivier Goudet and Mrs. Valerie Liquard Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Graham Mr. and Mrs. Brian J. Hardie Ms. Annette Kerlin Mr. and Mrs. David O. Maxwell Dr. Robert Misbin Target The George Preston Marshall Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. John V. Thomas Venable Foundation The Washington Post Company Mr. Marvin F. Weissberg and Ms. Judith Morris

$2,500-$4,999

Anonymous (3) Mr. and Mrs. Robert Alvord Ambassador and Mrs. Tom Anderson Jane C. Bergner, Esq. (L) Mr. and Mrs. Boris Brevnov Ms. Beverly J. Burke Mr. and Mrs. William N. Cafritz The Charles Delmar Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Purnell W. Choppin Ms. Nadine Cohodas Mr. and Mrs. John Kent Cooke Mr. and Mrs. J. Bradley Davis Mr. and Mrs. James Davis Dr. Morgan Delaney and Mr. Osborne P. Mackie Mr. and Mrs. Guy Dove Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Eagle (L) Linda R. Fannin, Esq. (L) Dr. and Mrs. Gerald Fischer Mr. and Mrs. Burton J. Fishman Mr. Gregory I. Flowers Mr. and Mrs. David Frederick Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Gibbens Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Giles Dr. and Mrs. Michael S. Gold James R. Golden Mr. and Mrs. Rolf Graage Alexine and Aaron Jackson (W) Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Jacobs Mr. and Mrs. Merritt Jones Mr. and Mrs. David T. Kenney Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kessler (W) Kinexum Services LLC Mrs. Stephen K. Kwass Ms. Sandy Lerner Mr. and Mrs. Harry M. Linowes The Honorable and Mrs. Jan Lodal Mr. and Mrs. Christoph E. Mahle (W) Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Manaker Marshall B. Coyne Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Michael Marshall Mr. Robert Meyerhoff and Ms. Rheda Becker Mr. and Mrs. Robert Monk Mrs. Muriel Miller Pear Jerry and Carol Perone Ms. Nicky Perry and Mrs. Andrew Stifler Mr. Trevor Potter and Mr. Dana Westring Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Pritchard Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ramsay Dr. and Mrs. Douglas Rathbun Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rich Ms. Christine C. Ryan and Mr. Tom Graham Lena Ingegerd Scott and Lennart Lundh Peter and Jennifer Seka Mr. and Mrs. Albert H. Small Mr. Eric Steiner Ms. Mary Sturtevant Mr. and Mrs. George R. Thompson Jr. Mr. and Mrs. R. Moses Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Brian Tommer Mr. and Mrs. Mark Weinberger Dr. and Mrs. Herbert D. Weintraub Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Weiss Dr. Sidney Werkman and Ms. Nancy Folger Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wilkins Mr. and Mrs. James J. Wilson Dr. and Mrs. William B. Wolf Mr. Bruce Wolff and Ms. Linda Miller Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Young, NOVA Research Company

$1,500-$2,499

Anonymous (3) Ms. Lisa Abeel Mrs. Rachel Abraham AllianceBernstein

Dr. and Mrs. James Baugh Arlene and Robert Bein Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Bennett Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Brodecki Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Bunting Mr. Peter Buscemi and Ms. Judith Miller Dr. C. Wayne Callaway and Ms. Jackie Chalkley Ms. Karen I. Campbell Drs. Judith and Thomas Chused Dr. Mark Cinnamon and Ms. Doreen Kelly Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Cook Mr. Paul D. Cronin Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Dickstein Mrs. Gay S. Estin Marietta Ethier, Esq. (L) Mrs. Sophie P. Fleming Friday Morning Music Club, Inc. Ms. Wendy Frieman and Dr. David E. Johnson Mr. Gary Gasper Mrs. Paula Seigle Goldman (W) Mrs. Barbara Goldmuntz Mrs. Barbara W. Gordon (W) James McConnell Harkless, Esq. Ms. Gail Harmon Dr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Harris (W) Ms. Leslie Hazel Ms. Gertraud Hechl Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. Hicks, Jr. Mrs. Enid T. Johnson (W) Dr. and Mrs. Elliott Kagan Mr. E. Scott Kasprowicz Mr. and Mrs. Sherman E. Katz (L) Stephen and Mary Kitchen (L) Mr. and Mrs. James Kleeblatt Mr. and Mrs. Steven Lamb Mr. Francois Lang Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Larkin James M. Loots, Esq. and Barbara Dougherty, Esq. (L) Rear Adm. and Mrs. Daniel P. March Howard T. and Linda R. Martin Mr. Scott Martin Mrs. Gail Matheson Ms. Katherine G. McLeod Mr. Larry L. Mitchell Mr. and Mrs. Scott Mitchell Ms. Kristine Morris Lt. Gen. and Mrs. Michael A. Nelson Ms. Michelle Newberry Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Norris Dr. Michael Olding Mr. and Mrs. Jack H. Olender Mr. and Mrs. Gerald W. Padwe Ms. Jean Perin Mr. J. A. Pierce and Ms. Lola Reinsch Mr. Sydney M. Polakoff Adam Clayton Powell III Ms. Lucy Rhame Mr. and Mrs. Martin Ritter Mr. and Mrs. David Roux Mr. and Mrs. Dory Saad Mr. and Mrs. Samuel A. Schreiber Ms. Mary B. Schwab Dr. Deborah J. Sherrill Ms. Bernice Simmons Virginia Sloss (W) Mrs. Nadia Stanfield Cita and Irwin Stelzer Mr. Richard Strother Ms. Loki van Roijen Ms. Viviane Warren Christopher Wolf, Esq. (L) CDR and Mrs. Otto A. Zipf

$1,000-$1,499

Anonymous Ruth and Henry Aaron Mr. John B. Adams Mr. and Mrs. James B. Adler Dr. and Mrs. Syed S. Ahmed Ms. Carolyn S. Alper Jeff Antoniuk and The Jazz Update Ms. Carol A. Bogash Mr. A Scott Bolden Ms. Ossie Borosh Bonnie and Jere Broh-Kahn

S. Kann Sons Company Fdn. Inc. Amelie and Bernei Burgunder, Directors Ms. Peggy Cooper Cafritz Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Casteel Dr. and Mrs. Abe Cherrick Mr. Jules Cohen Mr. Tom Colella and Ms. Blair Bennett Ms. Benita Coleman Ms. Josephine S. Cooper Dr. Ronald M. Costell and Ms. Marsha E. Swiss Mr. David D’Alessio Dr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Danks Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Davis Edison W. Dick, Esq. (L) Mr. Anthony E. DiResta (L) Ms. Nancy Ruyle Dodge Dynamic Concepts, Inc. Mr. Stanley Ebner and Ms. Toni Sidley Ms. Lisa Egbuonu-Davis Mrs. John G. Esswein Dr. Irene Farkas-Conn Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock, LLC Mr. Donald and Mrs. Irene Gavin The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ms. Marianna Gray Dr. Samuel Guillory Dr. Maria J. Hankerson, Systems Assessment & Research, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. James Harris, Jr. Mr. Charles E. Hoyt and Ms. Deborah Weinberger (L) Drs. Frederick Jacobsen and Lillian Comas-Diaz Mr. and Mrs. Broderick Johnson Ms. Anna F. Jones (W) Ms. Margaret M. Jones Mr. and Mrs. Terry Jones Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Kamerick Mr. and Mrs. John E. Kilcarr Ms. Elizabeth L. Klee Mr. Daniel L. Korengold and Ms. Martha Dippell Dr. and Mrs. Marvin C. Korengold Mr. Simeon M. Kriesberg and Ms. Martha L. Kahn Sandra and James Lafond Mr. and Mrs. Eugene I. Lambert (L) Mr. and Mrs. Gene Lange (L) Dr. and Mrs. Lee V. Leak (W) Mr. Robert G. Liberatore Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Loughlin Gary and Susan Lytle Mr. Lance Mangum Miss Shirley Marcus Allen Ms. Sandra Masur John C. McCoy, Esq. (L) Vanda B. and Maria E. McMurtry, Davis & Harmon LLP Dr. Jeanne-Marie A. Miller Ms. Dee Dodson Morris Mr. Richard Moxley Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Mulcahy Dr. William Mullins and Dr. Patricia Petrick Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Muscarella Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Nettles Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence C. Nussdorf Mr. and Mrs. John Oberdorfer Dr. Gerald Perman W. Stephen and Diane E. Piper Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Polinger The Honorable and Mrs. Stephen Porter Mr. and Mrs. Greg Prince Mr. and Mrs. David Reznick Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rosenfeld Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rowan Mr. and Mrs. Horacio Rozanski Dr. and Mrs. Hans Schneider Steven and Gretchen Seiler Mr. and Mrs. Albert H. Small, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Spooner Ms. Carolyn Stennett Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Strong The Manny & Ruthy Cohen Foundation, Inc.

Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Tomares Mr. and Mrs. Jim Trawick G. Duane Vieth, Esq. (L) Drs. Anthony and Gladys Watkins (W) A. Duncan Whitaker, Esq. (L) Drs. Irene and John White Ms. Sensimone Williams Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Winter Mr. and Mrs. Dennis R. Wraase

$500-$999

Anonymous (2) Mr. Andrew Adair Mr. and Mrs. Edward Adams (W) Mr. Donald R. Allen Mr. Jerome Andersen Ms. Ernestine Arnold (W) Hon. and Mrs. John W. Barnum Miss Lucile E. Beaver Dr. and Mrs. Devaughn Belton (W) Ms. Mary Ann Best Ms. Patricia N. Bonds (W) Mr. and Mrs. Charles Both Mr. and Mrs. Russell Brown Mrs. Elsie Bryant (W) Mrs. Gloria Butland (W) Dr. Warren Coats, Jr. Compass Point Research and Trading, LLC Mr. and Mrs. F. Robert Cook Mr. John W. Cook Mr. John Dassoulas Dr. and Mrs. Chester W. De Long Mr. and Mrs. James B. Deerin (W) Mrs. Rita Donaldson Economic Analysis Group, Ltd. Mrs. Yoko Eguchi Mr. Chip Ellis Mr. and Mrs. Harold Finger Ms. Maura Fox Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Freeman Dr. Melvin Gaskins Mr. and Mrs. William L. Goldman (W) Jack E. Hairston Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Harry Handelsman (W) Jack and Janis Hanson Mrs. Flora Harper Ms. Barbara Harris Mr. and Mrs. Peter Hartwell Mr. Lloyd Haugh Mr. and Mrs. Louis Hering Mr. and Mrs. James K. Holman Dr. and Mrs. John Howell Dr. Josephine S. Huang Mr. and Mrs. Larry Huggins Ralph N. Johanson, Jr., Esq. (L) Mr. and Mrs. Charles Jones Mrs. Edna R. Jones (W) Mr. and Mrs. William Jones (W) Mrs. Carol Kaplan Ms. Janet Kaufman (W) Dr. Rebecca Klemm, Ph.D. Mr. and Mrs. Howard Kolodny Mr. and Mrs. John Koskinen Mr. and Mrs. Nick Kotz LA Executive Services Mr. William Lascelle and Blanche Johnson Dr. J. Martin Lebowitz Ms. May Lesar Jack L. Lipson, Esq. (L) Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey A. Lipson The Honorable Cheryl M. Long (W) Mr. and Mrs. Theodore C. Lutz Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Lynch Mr. Bill Maddox and Ms. Pamela Hazen Mr. and Mrs. David Maginnes (W) Mr. Winton E. Matthews, Jr. Ms. Hope McGowan Mr. and Mrs. Keith McIntosh Mr. Kevin Joseph McIntyre Mr. and Mrs. Rufus W. McKinney (W) Ms. Cheryl C. McQueen (W) Dr. and Mrs. Larry Medsker Mr. Jeffrey M. Menick Mrs. G. William Miller Ms. Robin Miller and Ms. Lila Blinder Mr. and Mrs. Adrian L. Morchower (W)

Mr. Charles Naftalin Mr. and Mrs. David Neal Mr. and Mrs. David Nicholson Mr. and Mrs. Henry Obering Mr. Jonn Osborne Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Papoian Ms. Beverly Perry Ms. Robin Phillips and Mr. Andrew Finn (W) Ms. Susan Rao and Mr. Firoze Rao (W) Mrs. Lynn Rhomberg Ms. Carolyn Roberts Mr. Lincoln Ross and Changamire (W) Mr. Burton Rothleder Dr. and Mrs. Jerome Sandler Mr. and Mrs. Michael Schultz, In memory of Mr. H. Marc Moyens Mrs. Zelda Segal (W) Dr. Deborah Sewell (W) Mr. and Mrs. Daniel B. Silver Mr. and Mrs. Robert Silverman Mr. Birendar Singh Mr. and Mrs. Charles Sonneborn (W) Dana B. Stebbins Dr. and Mrs. Moises N. Steren Mr. David Stern Sternbach Family Fund Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Strickland Dr. and Mrs. Dana Twible Ms. Julie Vass (W) Mr. and Mrs. John Veilleux (W) Mr. John Warren McGarry (L) Mr. and Mrs. Douglas H. Wheeler Mr. and Mrs. John Wilner Mr. and Mrs. James D. Wilson (W) Ms. Linda Winslow

Ms. Christina Witsberger Mr. Alexander Yaffe Dr. Saul Yanovich Mr. James Yap

IN-KIND DONORS

Arnold & Porter LLP The Beacon Hotel Booz Allen Hamilton Ms. Ossie Borosh Mr. and Mrs. Charles Both The Capital Grille Chevy Chase Embassy of Spain JamalFelder Music Productions LLC The Hay-Adams Hotel Mr. Daniel L. Korengold and Ms. Martha Dippell Dr. and Mrs. Marc E. Leland Ms. Sandy Lerner The Honorable and Mrs. Jan Lodal Lord & Taylor Mars, Incorporated Ms. Jacqueline Badger Mars Mr. Neale Perl Ms. Carol Ridker Mr. Claude Schoch St. Gregory Luxury Hotels & Suites Vermont Avenue Baptist Church Mr. Anthony Williams Mr. John C. Wohlstetter Elizabeth and Bill Wolf Key: (W) Women’s Committee (L) Lawyers’ Committee # Deceased

Washington Performing Arts Society Staff Neale Perl President & CEO Debra Harrison Chief Operating Officer Douglas H. Wheeler President Emeritus Development Carolyn Burke Director of Strategic Philanthropy Daren Thomas Director of Leadership and Institutional Gifts Meiyu Tsung Director of Major Gifts Roger Whyte, II Director of Special Events Michael Syphax Foundation Relations Manager Lauren Behling Donor Records Coordinator Rebecca Talisman Donor Records Coordinator Helen Aberger Membership Gifts Associate Education Katheryn R. Brewington Assistant Director of Education/ Director of Gospel Programs Megan Merchant Education Program Coordinator Koto Maesaka Education Associate Njambi Embassy Adoption Consultant Michelle Ebert Friere CIS Consultant Kristol Bond, Education Intern Christina Crawford, Education Intern Finance and Administration Allen Lassinger Director of Finance Belinda Miller Assistant Director of Finance

Robert Ferguson Database Administrator Kendra Scott, Operations Assistant Marketing and Communications Jonathan Kerr Director of Marketing and Communications Hannah Grove-DeJarnett Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications Scott Thureen Audience Development Manager Keith A. Kuzmovich Website and Media Manager Celia Anderson Graphic Designer Brenda Kean Tabor Publicist Mike Rowan Marketing and Group Sales Coordinator Corinne Baker Advertising and Marketing Coordinator Programming Samantha Pollack Director of Programming Torrey Butler Production Manager Wynsor Taylor Programming and Production Coordinator Stanley J. Thurston Artistic Director, WPAS Gospel Choirs Ticket Services Office Folashade Oyegbola Ticket Services Manager Christian Simmelink Ticket Services Coordinator Michelle Shelby Ticket Services Assistant Karen McCullough Ticket Services Assistant

Applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 109

Audra McDonald with WPAS board member Beverly Burke and guests

WPAS Legacy Society Legacy Society members appreciate the vital role the performing arts play in the community, as well as in their own lives. By remembering WPAS in their will or estate plans, members enhance our endowment fund and help make it possible for the next generations to enjoy the same quality and diversity of presentations both on stages and in our schools.

Mrs. Shirley and Mr. Albert H. Small, Honorary Chairs Mr. Stefan F. Tucker, Chair Anonymous (6) Mr. David G.† and Mrs. Rachel Abraham Dr. and Mrs. Clement C. Alpert Mr. and Mrs. George A. Avery Mr. James H. Berkson † Ms. Lorna Bridenstine † Ms. Christina Co Mather Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Cook Mr. and Mrs. F. Robert Cook Ms. Josephine Cooper Mr. and Mrs. James Deerin Mrs. Luna E. Diamond † Mr. Edison W. Dick and Mrs. Sally N. Dick Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Dickstein Ms. Carol M. Dreher

Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Eagle Ms. Eve Epstein † Mr. and Mrs. Burton Fishman Mrs. Charlotte G. Frank † Mr. Ezra Glaser † Dr. and Mrs. Michael L. Gold Ms. Paula Goldman Mrs. Barbara Gordon Mr. James Harkless Ms. Susan B. Hepner Mr. Carl Hobelman † and Mrs. Grace Hobelman Mr. Craig M. Hosmer and Ms. Daryl Reinke Charles E. Hoyt Josephine Huang, Ph.D. Dr. and Mrs. Aaron Jackson Mrs. Enid Tucker Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Charles Jones Mr. Sherman E. Katz Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Kimble

Mr. Daniel L. Korengold Dr. Marvin C. Korengold Mr. and Mrs. James Lafond Ms. Evelyn Lear and Mr. Thomas Stewart† Mrs. Marion Lewis † Mr. Herbert Lindow † Mr. and Mrs. Harry Linowes Mr. and Mrs. David Maginnes Ms. Doris McClory † Mrs. Carol Melamed Robert I. Misbin Mr. Glenn A. Mitchell Ms. Viola Musher Mr. Jeffrey T. Neal The Alessandro Niccoli Scholarship Award The Pola Nirenska Memorial Award Mr. Gerson Nordlinger † Mrs. Linda Parisi and Mr. J.J. Finkelstein Mr. and Mrs. Neale Perl Dr. W. Stephen and Mrs. Diane Piper Mrs. Mildred Poretsky † The Hon. and Mrs. Stephen Porter Mrs. Betryce Prosterman † Miriam Rose †

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Mr. James J. Sandman and Ms. Elizabeth D. Mullin Mrs. Ann Schein Mr. and Mrs. Hubert (Hank) Schlosberg Ms. Lena Ingegerd Scott Mrs. Zelda Segal Mr. Sidney Seidenman Ms. Jean Head Sisco † Mr. and Mrs. Sanford L. Slavin Mr. and Mrs. Albert H. Small Mr. Robert Smith and Mrs. Natalie Moffett Smith Mrs. Isaac Stern Mr. Leonard Topper Mr. Hector Torres Mr. and Mrs. Stefan Tucker Mr. Ulric † and Mrs. Frederica Weil Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Wheeler Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Winter Ms. Margaret S. Wu In memory of Y. H. and T. F. Wu For more information, please contact Douglas H. Wheeler at (202) 533-1874, or e-mail dwheeler@wpas.org.

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110 Applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012

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Music Center at

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important information

please contact the Ticket Office for replacements.

patrons. Both main entrances have power- assisted doors.

CHILDREN

GIFT CERTIFICATES Gift certificates may be purchased at the Ticket Office.

GROUP SALES, FUNDRAISERS

For ticketed events, all patrons are required to have a ticket regardless of age. Patrons are urged to use their best judgment when bringing children to a concert that is intended for adults. There are some performances that are more appropriate for children than others.

Some presenters do not allow children under the age of six years to non-family concerts. As always, if any person makes a disruption during a concert, it is appropriate that they step outside to accommodate the comfort and convenience of other concert attendees. Contact the Ticket Office at (301) 581-5100 for additional information.

For information, call (301) 581-5199 or email groups@strathmore.org.

PARKING FACILITIES

5301 Tuckerman Lane North Bethesda, MD 20852-3385 www.strathmore.org Email: tickets@strathmore.org Ticket Office Phone: (301) 581-5100 Ticket Office Fax: (301) 581-5101 Via Maryland Relay Services for MD residents at 711 or out of state at 1(800) 735-2258

TICKET OFFICE HOURS Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Wednesday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Sixty minutes prior to each performance in the Music Center through intermission.

All tickets are prepaid and non-refundable.

Concert parking is located in the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro garage off Tuckerman Lane. At the end of each ticketed event in the Music Center at Strathmore, the exit gates to the garage will be open for 30 minutes to exit the garage. If you leave before, or up to 90 minutes after this 30-minute period, you must show your ticket stub to the Metro attendant to exit at no cost.

For all non-ticketed events, Monday – Friday, parking in the garage is $4.75 and may be paid using a Metro SmarTrip card or major credit card.

Limited short-term parking also is available at specially marked meters along Tuckerman Lane. To access the Music Center from the GrosvenorStrathmore Metro garage, walk across the glass-enclosed sky bridge located on the 4th level.

WILL CALL

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Patrons must present the credit card used to purchase tickets or a valid ID to obtain will call tickets.

Strathmore is located immediately adjacent to the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station on the Red Line and is served by several Metro and Ride-On bus routes. See www.strathmore. org, or the Guide to the Music Center at Strathmore for detailed directions.

TICKET POLICIES Unlike many venues, Strathmore allows tickets to be exchanged.

Tickets may only be exchanged for shows presented by Strathmore or its resident partner organizations at the Music Center. Exchanges must be for the same presenter within the same season. Ticket exchanges are NOT available for independently produced shows. Please contact the Ticket Office at (301) 581-5100 for details on how to exchange tickets.

If a performance is cancelled or postponed a full refund of the ticket price will be available through the Ticket Office for 30 days after the original scheduled performance date.

TICKET DONATION If you are unable to use your tickets, they may be returned for a tax-deductible donation prior to the performance. Donations can be made by mail, fax or in person by 5 p.m. the day of the performance.

MISPLACED TICKETS If you have misplaced your tickets to any performance at Strathmore,

DROP-OFF There is a patron drop-off circle off Tuckerman Lane that brings patrons to the Discovery Channel Grand Foyer via elevator. No parking is allowed in the circle, cars must be moved to the Metro garage after dropping off

COAT CHECK Located in the Promenade across from the Ticket Office. As weather requires, the coat check will be available as a complimentary service to our patrons. If you would like to keep your coat or other belongings with you, please place them under your seat. Coats may not be placed over seats or railings.

THE PRELUDE CAFÉ The Prelude Café in the Promenade of the Music Center at Strathmore, operated by Restaurant Associates, features a wide variety of snacks, sandwiches, entrees, beverages and desserts. It is open for lunch and dinner and seats up to 134 patrons.

CONCESSIONS The Interlude intermission bars offer beverages and snacks on all levels before the show and during intermission. There are permanent bars on the Orchestra, Promenade and Grand Tier levels.

LOST AND FOUND During a show, please see an usher.

All other times, please call (301) 581-5100.

LOUNGES AND RESTROOMS Located on all seating levels, except in the Upper Tier.

PUBLIC TELEPHONES Courtesy telephones for local calls are located around the corner from the Ticket Office, in the Plaza Level Lobby, and at the Promenade Right Boxes.

ACCESSIBLE SEATING Accessible seating is available on all levels. Elevators, ramps, specially designed and designated seating, designated parking and many other features make the Music Center at Strathmore accessible to patrons with disabilities. For further information or for special seating requests in the Concert Hall, please call the Ticket Office at (301) 581-5100.

ASSISTIVE LISTENING

The Music Center at Strathmore is equipped with a Radio Frequency Assistive Listening System for patrons who are hard of hearing. Patrons can pick up assistive listening devices at no charge on a first-come, firstserved basis prior to the performance at the coatroom when open, or at the ticket taking location as you enter the Concert Hall with a driver’s license or other acceptable photo ID. For other accessibility requests, please call (301) 581-5100.

ELEVATOR SERVICE There is elevator service for all levels of the Music Center at Strathmore.

EMERGENCY CALLS If there is an urgent need to contact a patron attending a Music Center concert, please call (301) 581-5112 and give the patron’s name and exact seating location, and telephone number for a return call. The patron will be contacted by the ushering staff and the message relayed left with Head Usher.

LATECOMER POLICY Latecomers will be seated at the first appropriate break in the performance as not to disturb the performers or audience members. The decision as to when patrons will be seated is set by the presenting organization for that night.

FIRE NOTICE The exit sign nearest to your seat is the shortest route to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency, please WALK to that exit. Do not run.

In the case of fire, use the stairs, not the elevators.

WARNINGS The use of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is strictly prohibited by law. Violators are subject to removal from the Music Center without a refund, and must surrender the recording media. Smoking is prohibited in the building.

Please set to silent, or turn off your cell phones, pagers, PDAs, and beeping watches prior to the beginning of the performance.

Applause at Strathmore • MARCH/APRIL 2012 111

encore

by Sandy Fleishman Q. Your colleagues say you sometimes wear a tux to work. What’s that about?

I do a fair amount of singing with various groups after work and I occasionally wear a tux or suit to the office. … One group I’m in is the 18th Street Singers, young professionals in their 20s and 30s that put on a couple big concerts a year…. The other is the Capital Hearings, an a cappella group.

We do music from Renaissance motets to Katy Perry.

Q. What do people need to know first about group sales?

A lot of people don’t know what number qualifies as a group. The answer—at least at WPAS—is 10. So you don’t have to be a huge group, you can just get nine of your friends to come and you get a group rate. … Also, if there’s a particular group you want to support, a charity, say, WPAS gives back—meaning, we’ll take the group discount and donate it to the organization you pick.

Q. What’s the biggest group you’ve handled?

Mike Rowan

M

ike Rowan enjoys his job because it fits his “natural inclination to talk with people.” In helping groups select seats, “I get to talk to customers a little more and I get to know them a little better than if I were only selling them a single ticket,” he says. The Ann Arbor transplant’s job also fits with his 2008 organizational studies degree from the University of Michigan and his interest in music—while in school, he found time to sing in the Michigan Glee Club.

112 applause at Strathmore • march/april 2012

A business school booked a performance for some overseas visitors who were here for only a weekend, and the performer canceled. But we were able to get them into another performance at Strathmore a night before their original date and they rearranged their whole schedule. It can be very nerve-wracking when things happen like that.

MICHAEL VENTURA

Group Sales Coordinator, Washington Performing Arts Society

The biggest is coming this spring. It’s about 125 tourists coming to see Herbie Hancock at a Kennedy Center performance we’re presenting. We’re probably unique among the Strathmore partners in that we present performances in a variety of venues.

Q. What’s the most challenging thing that’s happened?

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