DEWBERRY FACULTY ARTIST SERIES Anna and Friends A 30th Anniversary Concert of the Ensemble de Camera with Claire Eichhorn, clarinet Ricardo Cyncyates, violin and viola and Anna Balakerskaia, piano
Sunday, March 6, 2022 7:00 pm Harris Theatre
PROGRAM Kegelstatt Trio, K. 498 I. Allegro II. Menuetto III. Rondeaux: Allegretto
Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 38 I. Adagio – Allegro con brio II. Adagio cantabile III. Tempo di Menuetto IV. Theme con Variazioni. Andante V. Scherzo. Allegro molto e vivace – Trio VI. Andante con molto, alla marcia - Presto
W. A. Mozart (1756 – 1791)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
PROGRAM NOTES Kegelstatt Trio: The year 1786 was unusually productive for Mozart. All manner of works appeared, including The Marriage of Figaro and his Trio for Viola, Clarinet and Piano, “Kegelstatt.” It was composed for his friend Anton Stadler, principal clarinetist of Vienna’s court orchestra and subsequent dedicatee of the composer’s Clarinet Concerto (his last concerto of any sort, written the year of his death) as well as his sublime Clarinet Quintet.
Legend has it that Mozart composed this music while playing skittles, a game redolent of bowling; hence the title “Kegelstatt.” Unusually, the Trio opens with an Andante, rather than with a traditional fast movement. Piano and viola open the movement with an emphatic flourish after which the clarinet restates the main theme. Throughout the movement Mozart varies the tone color possibilities of the three instruments to maintain a sense of renewal and freshness. The second theme is essentially the last five notes of the primary motive. Though the development section is on the short side, Mozart continues varying the material throughout the recapitulation and coda. A Menuetto follows, here too breaking with a tradition that generally valued grace and elegance over deeper emotion. It begins cheerfully enough, yet soon shows the composer investing the music with bold and sudden dynamic contrasts that at times seem to prefigure the assertiveness of Beethoven. The central Trio is a bit of an oddity. Introduced briefly by a legato phrase from the clarinet, the viola counters with a shuddering series of ardent triplets that creates a sense of conflict among the instruments. The piano largely provides a steady rhythmic underpinning. The concluding Rondo begins with a lovely song-like theme, a variant on the main theme from the first movement. Among the intervening episodes between repeats of the “A” section, an excursion into the minor and cagily led by the darktoned viola provides a strong counterpoise to the prevailingly good spirits of this enchanting movement. Source: Seattle Chamber Music Society, Steven Lowe Trio in E-flat Major: Music-making in Vienna at the dawn of the nineteenth century was a hugely social affair. Music was everywhere – in the streets, in the homes, in the courts and palaces – and was not just something that people sat and watched, but rather something they joined in with. Musical performances were social occasions, but often the occasion was the performing of music itself. And it was a marker of status that the nobility would sponsor ensembles and host concerts in their homes.
One such concert in 1800, at the home of prince Josef Schwarzenberg, saw the prince’s private orchestra premiere Beethoven’s first symphony as well as the Septet in E-flat Major, Op.20. The Septet was an immediate success. The piece ft perfectly with Viennese musical tastes of the time – works for larger ensembles meant that more people could join in the merriment, hence the popularity of the divertimento style at this time. Beethoven’s Septet shares many similarities with divertimento: it is in six movements, each containing simple, tuneful melodies; and it is scored for clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass – that arrangement of instruments on stage would immediately indicate a divertimento. But Beethoven’s major innovation in the Septet is the significant role given to the woodwinds, as opposed to their predominantly decorative function in so many divertimenti. The Septet was so popular that Beethoven’s publishers immediately rushed out several arrangements of the work for different ensembles, so that the Viennese could play the piece themselves without needing the motley crew of instruments called for in the original. Beethoven himself re-arranged the work for fortepiano, cello and clarinet (or violin) – his Op.38 – and that is the piece you will hear in this program. Remarkably, considering all the different instruments in the Septet, this trio version manages to maintain much of the original’s depth and texture. The string parts from the Septet are largely given to the fortepiano, while much of the original clarinet part is preserved. The cello is given most of the bassoon part from the Septet, with occasional forays into what was originally performed by the cello and the horn. The original Septet wears the direct influence of divertimento and serenade traditions on its sleeve, with a breezy air and an outdoorsy feel arising from the sound of the winds and strings playing in unison. By transferring the violin lines to the fortepiano, Beethoven brings the rustic Septet indoors to the more refined air of the concert hall but maintains the energy and ebullient nature of the Septet. Much of this ebullience comes from the sunny and cheerful tones of the clarinet, which is given a major role in the Septet and is largely preserved here. Beethoven’s clarinet writing is not often thought of in the same breath as Mozart’s, but his writing in this trio and in his ‘Gassenhauer’ piano trio (Op.11) demonstrate a natural affinity for its sound world. Source: Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, Hugh Robertson
MEET THE FACULTY ARTISTS Clarinetist Claire Eichhorn, Artistic Director of the Ensemble da Camera of Washington, was born in Stuttgart. She has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center Orchestra, Baltimore Opera, Virginia Chamber Orchestra, Washington Concert Opera, National Gallery Orchestra and for ten years was a member of the Washington Chamber Symphony. She has been heard in many venues throughout the area including at the Library of Congress, National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery, French and German Embassies, The Highlands Chamber Music Festival in Highlands, N.C. among many others. She has been a frequent guest artist at the annual Brahms Festival at Florida Atlantic University and among the artists with whom she has collaborated are members of the NSO, the Shanghai String Quartet, the Sistrum New Music Ensemble, cellist Tsuyoshi Tsusumi, pianist Judith Burganger (Claire's Mom!), and the Stratford Chamber Players. Ms Eichhorn recorded for the Vernissage Records Label. Her most recent CD, released Spring 2003, is dedicated to the composer Johannes Brahms. She and members of the National Symphony Orchestra - violinist Ricardo Cyncynates, violinist Jane Stewart, violist Nancy Weller and cellist Steven Honigsberg perform the Brahms Clarinet Quintet. Ms. Eichhorn is a sought-after teacher, both at The Eichhorn Clarinet Studio in Fairfax County (www.claireeichhorn.com) and as a faculty member of the Levine School of Music, where she spearheaded the Clarinet Workshop for high school students, an intensive one-week camp which ran for 10 years. She also led the development of the clarinet curriculum for Levine. Her students regularly place in the top chairs at District and State auditions. She is sought after adjudicator, judging the Inaugural Sound Espressivo Competition, the NVMTA Concerto Competition and Woodwind Achievement Awards and the Sidney Forrest Competition. Claire was instrumental in developing the Chamber Ensemble Program at the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras. Now in its 9th year, the program is highly successful and continues to receive support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Students receive coaching from the acclaimed Ensemble da Camera of Washington, have public master classes and are given performance opportunities throughout the year. On March 10, 2016, a quartet from the AYPO Chamber Ensemble Program performed in the East Landing of the White House for guests entering the Canada State Dinner, which was hosted by The President and the First Lady. Ms. Eichhorn is a graduate of the University of Michigan having also attended Indiana University. Among her teachers were Alfred Zetzer, Fred Ormand, Sidney Forrest and
Bernard Portnoy. She also worked with Menachem Pressler, Rostislav Dubinsky, and James Buswell in Chamber Music. In 1983 she was the recipient of the Alfonso D’Emilia Award given by the School of Music at Indiana University.
Violinist Ricardo Cyncynates has performed extensively as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. Mr. Cyncynates is Assistant Concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra and was appointed to this position by Mstislav Rostropovich following Mr. Cyncynates's tenure with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Since then he has appeared as soloist with the orchestra in concertos by Mozart and Vivaldi as well as in Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy, SaintSae ns's Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Sibelius's Six Humoresques and Paganini's 24th Caprice for solo violin on a program led by Music Director Leonard Slatkin for the League of American Orchestras’ National Conference Concert. Mr. Cyncynates has performed as soloist with a number of other Washington area orchestras in concertos by Bach, Brahms, Busoni, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Paganini, Saint-Sae ns, Sibelius, as well as in Bernstein's Serenade. An active chamber musician, Mr. Cyncynates frequently performs in Washington's most prestigious venues including the Library of Congress, Corcoran Gallery, National Gallery of Arts, Smithsonian Institution and the Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center. In 1990, together with clarinetist Claire Eichhorn and pianist Anna Balakerskaia, he founded The Ensemble da Camera of Washington, today widely considered one of the premier ensembles in their instrument combination. Their national concert tours, radio broadcasts and several recordings for the Vernissage Records label have met with unanimous acclaim by audiences and critics alike. Their annual concerts at the Lyceum of Old Town Alexandria are all fundraisers for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Among their many educational activities, they are the In-Residence Ensemble of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. The ensemble has developed an innovative and intensive program of chamber music instruction for the AYPO. This program, which has received generous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, includes intensive coaching, public masterclasses, and concerts. To find out more about the Ensemble da Camera of Washington, please visit www.EDCWashington.com. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Cyncynates started violin studies with his father and made his debut at age 11 as the winner of Brazil's National Young Soloists' Competition. By age 19 he had an extensive solo career to his credit and was appointed First Concertmaster of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. He completed his studies at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, Accademia Chigiana in Siena, and at Indiana University, studying under Arrigo
Pelliccia, Salvatore Accardo, and Franco Gulli. He is recipient of awards given by the Brazilian National Research Council, Schering Corporation and Encyclopædia Britannica. Mr. Cyncynates is a renowned teacher with students receiving prizes in national and international competitions. Several of his former students are also members of major orchestras in the US, Europe and Asia. He has given master classes throughout the United States, Asia and South America. His violin is the 1873, “The David” Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. Mr. Cyncynates is a Larsen Strings Performing Artist.
Dr. Anna Balakerskaia is a “consistently thrilling pianist” (Judy Gruber, Washington Post) whose expression “wells with a delightful freedom,” (Robert Dumm, Clavier) and whose sound “is warm and deep.” (Elaine Fine, American Record Guide) Indeed, the legendary Russian violinist and conductor, Viktor Tretyakov, writes this about Dr. Balakerskaia: “A unique, almost extrasensory feeling of ensemble, excellent pianism, a radiant personality – that is [Anna] Balakerskaia!” As the three-time prizewinner of the Best Accompanist Diploma at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, her career has brought her to some of today’s greatest concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Teatro Colon in Buenos-Aires, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and the Salle Gaveau in Paris, among many others. Dr. Balakerskaia has also had the pleasure of making music with a number of internationally renowned artists, including Leonid Kogan, Mikhail Gantvarg, Ilya Kaler, Kirill Kondrashin, Daniel Shafran, Valery Gergiev, and Yuri Temirkanov. She also played with Jacqueline du Pre for Mstislav Rostrapovich. Dr. Balakerskaia is a founding member of the “Ensemble da Camera of Washington”, a trio of musicians from Brazil, Germany and Russia, based in Washington, D.C., and renowned internationally for their “extraordinary technical skill and musical perception.” (Joseph McLellan, Washington Post) The Ensemble has produced several well-praised recordings, while also acting as Artists-in-Residence of the American Youth Philharmonic. They created the Chamber Music Program of the AYPO, where they hold monthly masterclasses and perform a series of concerts. This program is supported by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, Dr. Balakerskaia is the founder of her own concert series, “Anna and Friends”, regularly held at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Besides featuring the “Ensemble da Camera”, Dr. Balakerskaia has also had the distinct pleasure of featuring world-renowned violinist and conductor Zino Bogachek, with whom she has recorded several CDs, and great pianist Darya Gabay, Dr. Balakerskaia’s daughter-in-law. Dr. Balakerskaia has had a distinct
teaching career, serving on the faculties of the St. Petersburg and Moscow conservatories. She currently is in her twenty-third-year teaching at George Mason University, where she is Term Professor of Piano and Chamber Music. She also serves on the faculty of several summer music festivals in Italy, Germany, Russia, and the Netherlands. and is Artist-in-Residence at the Orfeo International Music Festival. Her students have won prizes at many international competitions, including the Rubinstein International Piano Competition and the Thomas and Evan Cooper International Competition, and currently perform and teach across the globe. Dr. Balakerskaia received her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance, Pedagogy and Chamber Music from St. Petersburg State Conservatory, where she studied piano with Elena Gugel, Nadejda Golubovskaia, chamber music with Tamara Fidler, and accompanying with Sofia Vakman. See a listing of the Dewberry School of Music’s wonderful faculty at music.gmu.edu/faculty-staff/
DEWBERRY SCHOOL OF MUSIC SPRING 2022 FACULTY ARTIST SERIES Sunday, February 13 3:00 PM Christopher Jewell, bassoon Emily Foster, oboe
Sunday, February 27 3:00 PM Julianna Nickel, flute Eunae Ko Han, piano
Sunday, February 20 3:00 PM Kathleen Mulcahy, clarinet Sophia Kim Cook, piano
Sunday, March 6 3:00 PM Glenn Smith, composition
Sunday, February 20 7:00 PM Brass Faculty
Sunday, March 6 7:00 PM Anna Balakerskaia, piano & Friends
Free tickets available at music.gmu.edu
George Mason University School of Music
For more information and a complete listing of concerts and recitals, visit the web site at music.gmu.edu George Mason University is a registered All-Steinway School