January 27, 2014- 7pm Schwan Hall Wisconsin Lutheran College
Britten and Messiaen Frank Almond, violin Joseph Johnson, cello Todd Levy, clarinet Christopher Taylor, piano
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PROGR A M Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6 (1935)................................................................Benjamin Britten March: Allegro (1913-1976) Lullaby: Lento Waltz Frank Almond, violin Christopher Taylor, piano
Suite No. 3 for solo cello, Op. 87 (1971)................................................................Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Joseph Johnson, cello
Selections from “Vingt Regards Sur L’Enfant Jesus” (1944) Christopher Taylor, piano
INTERMISSION
Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time)......................Olivier Messiaen 1. Liturgie de cristal (1908-1992) 2. Vocalise, pour l’Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps 3. Abîme des oiseaux 4. Intermède 5. Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus 6. Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes 7. Fouillis d’arcs-en-ciel, pour l’Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps 8. Louange à l’Immortalité de Jésus Frank Almond, violin Todd Levy, clarinet Joseph Johnson, cello Christopher Taylor, piano
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FR ANK ALMOND Violinist Frank Almond holds the Charles and Marie Caestecker Concertmaster Chair at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He returned to the MSO after holding positions as Concertmaster of the Rotterdam Philharmonic with Valery Gergiev, and Guest Concertmaster of the London Philharmonic with Kurt Masur. Other Guest Concertmaster appearances have included the Seattle Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, and the Grand Tetons Music Festival. He continues an active schedule of solo and chamber music performances in the US and abroad including appearances with the Ojai Festival, Frankly Music, An die Musik, the Nara Academy in Nara, Japan, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Music in the Vineyards, and various solo appearances with orchestras. He has been a member of the chamber group An die Musik in New York City since 1997, and also founded and directs the much-loved and somewhat notorious Frankly Music Chamber Series based in Milwaukee. At 17, he was one of the youngest prizewinners in the history of the Nicolo Paganini Competition in Genoa, Italy, and five years later was one of two American prizewinners at the Eighth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, which was documented in an award-winning PBS film. Since then he has kept up an eclectic mix of activities in addition to his concertmaster duties, appearing both as a soloist and chamber musician. In addition to his work with An die Musik, Mr. Almond’s work as a chamber musician has generated collaborations over the years with many of today’s well-known institutions, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Hal Leonard Corporation, the Ravinia Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Music in the Vineyards, and numerous other summer festivals. He has recorded for Summit, Albany, Boolean (his own label), Innova, Newport Classic, Wergo and New Albion and has appeared numerous times on NPR’s Performance Today. In both 2002 and 2004 An die Musik received Grammy nominations for its “Timeless Tales” series. The rerelease of Mr. Almond’s recording of the complete Brahms Sonatas, performed in collaboration with pianist William Wolfram, brought extraordinary critical acclaim, and was also listed in the American Record Guide top recordings of 2001. With pianist William Wolfram, a CD of sonatas by Respighi, Janacek, and Strauss was released on the AVIE label, and was named a “Best of 2007” by the American Record Guide. His latest CD of American violin and piano music was released on Innova Recordings with pianist Brian Zeger and has also garnered much press enthusiasm. A CD of selected works of Samuel Barber was released in 2010, in cooperation with the Hal Leonard Corporation. In April 2013 AVIE released A Violin’s Life, featuring works and composers directly associated with the “Lipinski” Stradivarius, charting in the Billboard Top 10 in its first week of release. It has received notable press in major news outlets, and was recently featured in a full 90-minute program of interviews and excerpts on SiriusXM Symphony Hall. When he’s not traveling around playing the violin he lives in Milwaukee with his wife and two young daughters. He plays on a violin by Antonio Stradivari from 1715, the “ex-Lipinski”. In December 2011, he appeared in concerts and masterclasses in Poland to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Karol Lipinski performing on his former violin. In July 2012 he was featured in an episode of NatGeo’s America’s Lost Treasures. In 2008 he started writing an online column called nondivisi. Mr. Almond holds two degrees from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay. Other important teachers included Michael Tseitlin, Felix Galimir, and Joseph Silverstein. He has held academic positions at San Diego State University, Texas Christian University, and is currently on the faculty at Northwestern University. In 2014 he joins the faculty at the Chicago Conservatory of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. 3
C H R I S TO P H E R TA Y L O R Hailed by critics as “frighteningly talented” (The New York Times) and “a great pianist” (The Los Angeles Times), Christopher Taylor has distinguished himself throughout his career as an innovative musician with a diverse array of talents and interests. He is known for a passionate advocacy of music written in the past 100 years — Messiaen, Ligeti, and Bolcom figure prominently in his performances — but his repertoire spans four centuries and includes the complete Beethoven sonatas, the Liszt Transcendental Etudes, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and a multitude of other familiar masterworks. Whatever the genre or era of the composition, Mr. Taylor brings to it an active imagination and intellect coupled with heartfelt intensity and grace. Mr. Taylor has concertized around the globe, with the most recent international tours taking him to Korea, China, Singapore, Italy, and Venezuela. At home in the U.S. he has appeared with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Houston Symphony, and the Boston Pops. In 2010 he toured with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, premiering Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Sea Orpheus with only six weeks of advance notice in which to learn it. As a soloist he has performed in New York’s Carnegie and Alice Tully Halls, in Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Ravinia and Aspen festivals, and dozens of other venues. In chamber settings, he has collaborated with many eminent musicians, including Robert McDuffie, Robert Mann, and the Borromeo, Shanghai, Pro Arte, and Ying Quartets. His recordings have featured works by Liszt, Messiaen, and present-day Americans William Bolcom and Derek Bermel. Apart from concertizing and recording, Mr. Taylor has undertaken various unusual projects. Recent examples include: the commission and premiere of a piano concerto by Derek Bermel with the Indianapolis Symphony, made possible by a Christel Award from the American Pianists’ Association; performances and lectures on the complete etudes of Gyorgy Ligeti; and a series of performances of the Goldberg Variations on the unique double-manual Steinway piano in the collection of the University of Wisconsin. He has actively promoted the rediscovery and refurbishment of the latter instrument and is in the process of developing a modernized version of it. Numerous awards have confirmed Mr. Taylor’s high standing in the musical world. He was named an American Pianists’ Association Fellow for 2000, before which he received an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1996 and the Bronze Medal in the 1993 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. In 1990 he took first prize in the William Kapell International Piano Competition, and also became one of the first recipients of the Irving Gilmore Young Artists’ Award. Mr. Taylor owes much of his success to several outstanding teachers, including Russell Sherman, Maria Curcio-Diamand, Francisco Aybar, and Julie Bees. In addition to his busy concert schedule, he currently serves as Paul Collins Associate Professor of Piano Performance at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He pursues a variety of other interests, including: mathematics (he received a summa cum laude degree from Harvard University in this field in 1992); philosophy (an article he coauthored with the leading scholar Daniel Dennett appears in the Oxford Free Will Handbook); computing (recent projects include topographic mapping software and a novel system of text entry for Android phones); linguistics; and biking, which is his primary means of commuting. Mr. Taylor lives in Middleton, Wisconsin, with his wife and two daughters. Christopher Taylor is a Steinway artist.
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JOSEPH JOHNSON Joseph Johnson has been heard throughout the world as a soloist, chamber musician and educator. His festival appearances include performances in all classical genres at the American festivals of Santa Fe, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Bard, Cactus Pear, Caramoor, Grand Teton, and Music in the Vineyards as well as the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and the Virtuosi Festival in Brazil. Highlights of Joseph Johnson’s 2012/2013 season include three performances of Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote with the Toronto Symphony and Sir Andrew Davis at the end of November, as well as the release of his new album with pianist Victor Asuncion featuring the Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich Sonatas. Joseph also recently completed a special recording project with the G. Schirmer Instrumental Library: The Cello Collection. Published in three volumes by Hal Leonard and featuring companion recordings by Mr. Johnson, this project presents cello literature appropriate for recitals and contests, and is available online and from major music retailers. In March 2012 Joseph performed the North American premiere of the Cello Concerto Grosso by Peter Oetvos with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, a co-commission with the Berlin Philharmonic. He recently completed a six-city US tour with Victor Asuncion, performed the Barber Cello Concerto with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and also performed multiple concerts in the summer of 2012 at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Principal cellist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since the 2009/2010 season, Joseph previously held the same position with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as principal cellist of the Santa Fe Opera, and during the 2008-2009 season, was guest principal cellist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Prior to his Milwaukee appointment, Joseph was a member of The Minnesota Orchestra cello section for eleven years, during which time he performed numerous chamber music works during the orchestra’s Sommerfest, both as cellist and pianist. He was a founding member of both the Prospect Park Players and the Minneapolis Quartet, the latter of which was honoured with The McKnight Foundation Award in 2005. A gifted and inspiring teacher, Joseph has conducted master classes repeatedly at The New World Symphony, The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Northwestern University, and the youth orchestras of the Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Toronto symphonies, as well as at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Joseph Johnson earned his master’s degree from Northwestern University. Awards and honours include a performer’s certificate from the Eastman School of Music and first prize from the American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition. Mr. Johnson performs on a magnificent Juan Guillami cello, crafted in 1747 in Barcelona.
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TO D D L E V Y Principal clarinet of the Milwaukee Symphony, The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and participant in the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, threetime Grammy Award-winner Todd Levy has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, the Mostly Mozart Festival, with the Israel Philharmonic and at the White House; as chamber musician with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Orion, Miami quartets, James Levine, Christoph Eschenbach and Mitsuko Uchida; as a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival for four summers; as a member of the Naumburg Awardwinning Aspen Wind Quintet; as guest principal clarinet with The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2011), The Philadelphia Orchestra (2010), The New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera; and as a frequent principal clarinet for Seiji Ozawa, Ricardo Muti and Alan Gilbert at The Tokyo Opera Nomori and Saito Kinen festivals in Japan. He has performed world premiere concerti or chamber works by composers such as John Harbison, Joan Tower, Peter Schickele, Paquito D’Rivera, Morton Subotnick, Marc Neikrug, and performs on the new 2009 release of Marc Neikrug’s Through Roses chamber work with violinist Pinchas Zukerman, actor John Rubenstein and the composer conducting. In 2012, Mr. Levy recorded the Finzi Five Bagatelles for the newly released edition for Boosey and Hawkes/Hal Leonard. In 2010, Mr. Levy co-edited and recorded the Bernstein Clarinet Sonata for the newly released edition of the work published by Boosey and Hawkes/Hal Leonard. He has recorded three book/CDs of clarinet competition works for G. Schirmer/Hal Leonard entitled The Clarinet Collection, the Brahms Clarinet Sonatas for Avie and over 20 other orchestral and chamber music CDs on the Deutsche Grammophon, Sony and Decca labels. He performs exclusively on Vandoren reeds, mouthpieces and ligatures and Selmer Signature clarinets. He is also on the faculty of UW-Milwaukee and is co-director of Chamber Music Milwaukee.
F R A N K LY M U S I C B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S Linda Tojek, President Barbara Wanless, Vice President Marta Haas, Secretary Calvin C. Kozlowski, Treasurer Dr. Russell Brooker Isaac Thompson Patricia Crump Jean Holmburg Judy Keyes Wendy Slocum Frank Almond, Artistic Director For more information please visit: http://www.franklymusic.org or email us at franklymusic@me.com and check us out on Facebook ,Twitter, and youtube! Call 414.940.8770 if you wish to be added to the mailing list, or join online. Please go to www.franklymusic.org to purchase tickets
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2 013 - 2 014 F R A N K LY M U S I C S E A S O N PAT R O N S $5000-9999 Frank Almond Demmer Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Robert Denton Tom and Kay Schanke Peter and Wendy Slocum Bert L. and Patricia Steigleder Trust United Performing Arts Fund
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Charles and Marilyn Perry Mr. and Mrs. Roger Ritzow Kathleen Ryan Steinway Piano Gallery Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Thompson Gile and Linda Tojek Mr. and Mrs. Blair Williams
$3000-4999 Angela Johnston Judy Keyes Kate and Don Wilson
$100-249 Beverly Anold Kay and Fred Austermann Bartolotta Restaurant Group Jim and Mary Beth Berkes Mr. and Mrs. John Bosbous Dr. and Mrs. Russell Brooker John Burke III Paul and Lori Cannestra Stephen and Nancy Einhorn Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Gallagher George and Anna Gaspar Katherine Grogan Ms. Karleen Haberichter David and Margarete Harvey Scott Haag Burleigh E. Jacobs Gary and Judy Jorgensen Mrs. Dorothy Kenngott Mr. and Mrs. Martin Krebs Mr. Kevin Langreck Mr. and Mrs. John Lubing Mr. and Mrs. Alexander MacGillis Clifford Madsen Keith Mardak Tanya Mazor-Posner Mae Carol Matousek John and Christine Mc Dermott Mr. and Mrs. James McGavock Merrill McLoughlin John and Susan McNally Milwaukee Ballet Cindy Molloy Dr. Richard Murray Mr. and Mrs. Duane Nadolski Mr. and Mrs. William Paul Linda Radder David Rasmussen Charles Roy
$2000-2999 CAMPAC Michael and Jeanne Schmitz The Red Headed Chef Wisconsin Arts Board $1000-1999 Greg Chrisafis Mr. and Mrs. Jim Saladin Mr. and Mrs. Alan Salzstein Elaine Schueler $500-999 Franklin Esenberg Michael Gonzalez Charles and Jean Holmburg John and Judith McGourthy MaryEllen Mitchanis William and Gwen Niewoehner Mr. and Mrs. Allen Rieselbach $250-499 Mr. and Mrs. Jim Caraway Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Crump Ms. Rachel Finger Mr. and Mrs. James Gozdowiak Mr. and Mrs. Doyne Haas Terry Haller Mr. and Mrs. David Hecker Bob and Gail Korb Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Kozlowski David and MaryAnn Lindberg Christel Mildenberg
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Schnuck Sharon Lynne Wilson Center Skylight Music Theatre Fred and Patricia Storm Barb and Harry Stratton Dr. and Mrs. Sherman Swanson David Ungermann Tom and Ellen Walvoord Dr. and Mrs. Sam Wann Otto and Reinhilde Wiegmann Prati and Norm Wojtal $99 and under Constance Almond Buzz Killer Espresso David and MaryJo Dandurand Mr. Scott Downey Mr. and Mrs. John Emory Jr. Ms. Carol Goldstein Trudy Haas Mr. and Mrs. G.O. Headrick Betty Lee Hunter Mr. and Mrs. David Jones K. Paul and Alyce Katayama Henry Koc Judith Lasca Robert and Carolyn Lawrence John and Kiara Mack Katharine Malin Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Milwaukee Repertory Theater Next Act Theatre Mary Novak Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Richman Mr. George Simonds Ms. Margaret Steinam Robert and Alice Streicher Temple Hills Coffee The Philharmonic Joy Towell L. David and Sally Waibel Ms. Marie Weiss Mr. and Mrs.Steven Witteman Greg and Gelaney Wyder C. Merrill and Mary York
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PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT CONCERT! Frank Almond and William Wolfram
A Violin’s Life February 10, 2014
7 PM Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts 19805 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield, WI
Frank Almond, violin William Wolfram, piano
Join Frank and William Wolfram for a violin and piano recital centered around A Violin’s Life, the acclaimed CD released in 2013. Featuring music of Tartini, Röntgen, Lipinski, and Beethoven’s epic Kreutzer Sonata.
Tickets at www.franklymusic.org 8