The
presents
SATURDAY MARCH 24 at 8pm
Ute Lemper
with Vogler Quartet and Stefan Malzew Berlin Nights / Paris Days: The Art of Chanson CHAN CENTRE AT UBC
Berlin Nights/Paris Days: The Art of Chanson Ute Lemper, Vocal Vogler String Quartet Stefan Malzew, Piano, Clarinet & Accordion
Program Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942)
Five Pieces for String Quartet 1. Alla Valse Viennese 2. Alla Serenata 3. Alla Czeca
Édith Piaf (1915-1963) Elle Fréquentait la Rue Pigalle L’Accordéoniste Kurt Weill (1900-1950)
“Surabaya Johnny” from Happy End “Mack the Knife” (Die Moritat von Mackie Messer)
Hanns Eisler (1898-1962)
Der Graben Über den Selbstmord Ballade vom Wasserrad
Russian Folk Song Chava Alberstein (b. 1947)
Tyomnaja Notch Stiller Abend
Intermission Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942)
Five Pieces for String Quartet 4. Alla Tango Milonga 5. Alla Tarantella
Chava Alberstein (b. 1947)
Ikh stey unter a Bokserboym
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) Yo Soy Maria Oblivion La última grela Jacques Brel (1929-1978) Chanson de Jacky Ne me quitte pas Amsterdam
Program subject to change. Please turn off cell phones during the performances.
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BIOGRAPHIES UTE LEMPER vocalist Ute Lemper’s career is vast and varied. She has made her mark on the stage, in films, in concert and as a unique recording artist. She has been universally praised for her interpretations of Berlin cabaret songs, the works of Kurt Weill and Berthold Brecht and the French chanson as well as her portrayals on Broadway, in Paris and in London’s West End. Her newest creation is Ultimo Tango, an entirely new show, presenting a journey through the songs of Astor Piazzolla, the fabulous Argentinian composer of tango, and the words of the poet, Horacio Ferrer. Ute sings in the original Spanish, and has created adaptations of these stories of love, abandonment, decadence and passion in Buenos Aires, Berlin, Paris and New York, in French, German and English. Very different is Ute’s other new creation, The Bukowski Project, a rather avant-garde, adventurous collage in music and songs of the poetry of Charles Bukowski. This homage to the poet was invented and largely composed by Ute herself, with a collaboration of her partner Todd Turkisher and her pianist Vana Gierig. Ute was born in Munster, Germany and completed her studies at the Dance Academy in Cologne and the Max Reinhardt Seminary Drama School in Vienna. Her professional debut on the musical stage was in the original Vienna production of Cats in the roles of Grizabella and Bombalurina. She went on to play Peter Pan in Peter Pan (Berlin) and Sally Bowles in Jerome Savary’s Cabaret (Paris), for which she received the Moliere Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She played Lola in The Blue Angel (Berlin) and Maurice Bejart created a ballet for her, La Mort Subite (Paris). Ute also appeared in many Weill revues with the Pina Bausch Tanztheater, and she created the part of Velma Kelly in London’s production of Chicago in the West End, for which she was honored with the Laurence Olivier Award, and moved to the Broadway production after one year. Ute Lemper’s solo concerts, which include Kurt Weill/Berthold Brecht recitals, Dietrich and Piaf, Jacques Brel, Leo Ferre, Kosma, Prevert and Sondheim evenings, and a Berlin cabaret evening, have been produced in prestigious venues throughout the world. Her symphony concerts include The Seven Deadly Sins, “Songs from Kurt Weill”, Songbook (Michael Nyman) and songs from Weill, Piaf and Dietrich, with the symphony orchestras of London, Israel, Boston, Hollywood, San Francisco, Berlin, the Paris Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Illusions Orchestra (Bruno Fontaine) and the Michael Nyman Band (Michael Nyman). She also appeared in Folksongs with the Luciano Berio Orchestra (Luciano Berio), and with the Matrix Ensemble (Robert Ziegler), performing Berlin cabaret songs. She has performed with the finest symphony orchestras all over the world from Buenos Aires to Sydney.
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Her celebrated recordings for the Decca label include “Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill” (Vols. I and II), “Three Penny Opera”, “The Seven Deadly Sins”, “Mahagonny Songspiel”, “Prospero’s Books” (Michael Nyman), “Songbook” (Michael Nyman/Paul Celan), “Illusions” (Piaf/Dietrich), “City of Strangers” (Prevert/Sondheim) and “Berlin Cabaret Songs” (German and English versions). She was named Billboard Magazine’s Crossover Artist of the Year for 1993-1994. In early 2000, Decca/Universal Music released “Punishing Kiss”, featuring new songs composed for her by Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Philip Glass, and Nick Cave. Her following release on Decca, “But One Day”, features new arrangements of Weill, Brel, Piazolla, Heymann and Eisler songs, as well as the first recordings of her own compositions, for which she wrote both lyrics and music. She has also recorded “Crimes of the Heart”, “Life is a Cabaret” and “Ute Lemper Live” for CBS Records and, for the Polydor label, “Espace Indecent”, “Nuits Etranges” and “She Has a Heart”. She recorded a live album and a live DVD at the Carlyle, one of New York’s hottest cabaret stages. It was released worldwide on DRG/Koch Records and EDEL Records in Europe. “All That Jazz/The Best of Ute Lemper”, which features highlights from her illustrious career to date, was released in 1998. It accompanied her playing Velma Kelly in the London production of Kander and Ebb’s Chicago, for which she received the 1998 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. After nine months in London’s West End, Ms. Lemper made her Broadway debut in September 1998. A major highlight of her eight month American engagement in Chicago was starring with Chita Rivera in the Las Vegas premiere in March 1999. Her newest album “Between Yesterday and Tomorrow” is entirely self-penned music and lyrics, and Ute was pleased to co-produce the songs together with her partner in life and work Todd Turkisher. In film, her many credits include L’Autrichienne (Pierre Granier-Deferre), Prospero’s Books (Peter Greenaway), Moscow Parade (Ivan Dikhovichni), Pret a Porter (Robert Altman), Bogus (Norman Jewison) and the most recent releases, Combat de Fauves (Benoit Lamy), A River Made to Drown In (James Merendino) and Appetite (George Milton). She has appeared on television in “Rage/Outrage, the Dreyfus Affair” (Arte), “Tales from the Crypt” (HBO), “Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill” (Bravo), “Illusions” (Granada), “Songbook” (Volker Scholendorff), “The Wall” (Rogers Waters) and “The Look of Love” (Gillian Lynn). Ms. Lemper lives in New York with her four children, Jonas, Max, Stella and Julian.
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VOGLER QUARTET TIM VOGLER - VIOLIN
FRANK REINECKE - VIOLIN
STEFAN FEHLANDT - VIOLA
STEPHAN FORCK - CELLO
Formed in East Berlin in 1985 and still with its original members, the Vogler Quartet quickly established itself as one of the finest quartets of its generation. Mastering a repertoire of over two hundred works from all periods and musical styles, they are widely recognized for their uncommon musical intelligence, homogeneous sound, insightful interpretations and unconventional programming. They now pursue an international schedule of concerts and master classes in prestigious venues all over the world. In spring 2012, the Vogler Quartet returns to North America for a special collaboration with cabaret artist Ute Lemper, which will include concerts in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Chan Centre, among many others. In 1993, the Vogler Quartet instituted its own concert series at the Konzerthaus in Berlin; because of its great popularity, they now offer a parallel series in Neubrandenburg. The quartet founded the Vogler Spring Festival in Sligo, Ireland in 1999, which brings together international artists for chamber music and workshops every spring. Ongoing collaborations are important to the quartet and have included artists such as Philippe Cassard, Angela Cheng, David Geringas, Markus Groh, Isabelle van Keulen, Daniel Mueller-Schott, Ian Parker, Alfredo Perl, Menahem Pressler, Jan Vogler, Antje Weithaas, Jörg Widmann, baritone Dietrich Henschel, and the Artemis, Pellegrini and Petersen quartets. The Vogler Quartet is also strongly committed to the performance of contemporary music. They performed Morton Feldman’s five-hour second string quartet with tremendous success at the MusikBiennale in Berlin in 1999. At EXPO 2000, all of Wolfgang Rihm’s string quartets were performed by the Vogler and Arditti Quartets. The Vogler Quartet regularly commissions and premieres new works, recently including quartets by Frank Michael Beyer, Jörg Widmann, and Mauricio Kagel. Trained at the Hanns Eisler Music Institute in Berlin, the Vogler Quartet first attained recognition in 1986 after winning First Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. Shortly thereafter, BMG/RCA produced the first of many recordings for the quartet, later followed by Nimbus Records, Col Legno and CPO. Since 2005, they have recorded for Profil/Edition Günter Hännsler and in April 2008, released a CD of works by composers from the “New Jewish School” with clarinetist Chen Halevi and pianist Jasha Nemtsov. In 2007, the Vogler Quartet assumed the prestigious Chamber Music Residency at the Stuttgart Conservatory, a position previously held by the Melos Quartet. For more information, please visit www.voglerquartet.com
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STEFAN MALZEW CLARINET, PIANO & ACCORDION A versatile musician, Stefan Malzew is one of Germany’s foremost advocates of increasing the accessibility of classical music. He has brought classical masterpieces to the German masses through his chamber orchestra version of the Magic Flute, a semi-staged version of Wagner’s Tannhäuser and transcriptions of Tosca and La Bohème for small opera theaters. His special presentations such as Mozart250, Sunday at Four, Concert Nights of Neubrandenburg, a prize-winning YouTube project entitled Stefans Musikworkshop and his own radio show for children, have allowed the German public to discover classical music in new ways. Mr. Malzew is also a gifted composer, having composed several original pieces including chamber music works, two operas (Das Opernpupp and Libuschas Tod), a prize-winning concerto for clarinet and orchestra, four concertos for jazz quartet and orchestra, a concerto for three flutes and orchestra, which was commissioned by the summer music festival of Mecklenburg, and Fragen an Mozart. As an arranger, he created the successful project MoJazzArt and arranged works for Ute Lemper and the Vogler Quartet. Stefan Malzew studied conducting, composition, clarinet and piano at the College of Music Hanns Eisler in Berlin. After completing his studies, he worked as a conductor at the State Theater in Schwerin from 1987-2000 and was the Music Director at the Theater in Gießen from 2000-2002. Mr. Malzew currently serves as the Music Director of the Neubrandenburg Orchestra, is the founder of youth orchestra festival “Baltikum 2004” and appears regularly as a pianist with his own orchestra and numerous chamber groups.
Special thanks to Dr. Steven Taubeneck from the Department of Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies and the UBC Faculty of Arts for providing this evening’s pre-performance talk on the Weimar Republic.
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THE CHAN CENTRE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR 2011/2012 SEASON SPONSORS:
CHAN ENDOWMENT FUND AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA