Fine Arts Quartet with
Ralph EvAns Efim BoiCo Nicolò EugElmi
& DesmonD HoEBig, guEst CEllist
S e p t e m b e r 2 5 , 2 0 11 3 p m Helen Bader Concert Hall
UWM Peck School of the Arts 1
Presented by
The UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts The Fine Arts Quartet season is supported in part by: Co-Presenting Sponsors Sheldon & Marianne Lubar Fund of the Lubar Family Foundation Katharine and Sandy Mallin
Co-Sponsor Dr. Lucile Cohn
Media Co-Sponsor
Additional Media Sponsors
Guest Artist Sponsors Susan DeWitt Davie Dr. Josette B. Grossberg and Dr. Sydney E. Grossberg
Carol and Leonard Lewensohn Kathleen E. Peebles Jane Abelson Zeft
Friends of the Fine Arts Quartet Gary A. Back Darrell and Sally Foell Debra Franzke and James Theselius Jewish Community Foundation: Jack & Barbara Recht Donor Advised Fund Anna Mary Look
Robert J. and Nancy Mitchell George W. and PatriciaTorphy Prof. Pierre L. Ulllman Otto and Hilde A. Wiegmann Barbara and Dr. Stanley Weiss Anonymous
Gifts in memory of Wolfgang Laufer Dr. Sheldon Burchman and Ms. Delores Cohen Dr. Edith A. Moravcsik Kathleen E. Peebles
Cassandra A. Plott Barbara and Dr. Stanley Weiss Jane Ableson Zeft
All gifts are added to the UWM Foundation/Fine Arts Quartet Fund Donor listing as of 8-25-11 Attire for members of the Fine Arts Quartet has been generously provided by Mark Berman & Son.
2 UWM Peck School of the Arts
PROGR A M String Quartet in D major, Op. 71, No. 2, Hob. III:70................................... Joseph Haydn Adagio-Allegro (1732-1809) Adagio cantabile Menuetto: Allegretto Finale: Allegretto Echoes for String Quartet (1965)............................................................. Bernard Herrmann (In one continuous movement) (1911-1975) Prelude Valse lente Elegy Scherzo Nocturne Habañera Scherzo macabre Pastorale Allegro -- Intermission -Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81...................................................................Antonín Dvořák Allegro ma non tanto (1841-1904) Dumka: Andante con moto Scherzo (Furiant): Molto vivace Finale: Allegro Menahem Pressler, piano PROGR A M NOTES By Timothy Noonan, Senior Lecturer – Music History and Literature Haydn, String Quartet in D Major, Op. 71 No. 2 The majority of Haydn’s 68 string quartets were published in sets of six, in keeping with the conventions of the day. In two cases, though, sets of six were divided by the publisher into two sets of three: Op. 54/55 (1788) and Op. 71/74 (1793). Op. 71, represented in today’s concert, belongs to a set known both as the “Apponyi” and “Salomon” quartets. The former refers to the Hungarian Count Anton Apponyi, who had been Haydn’s sponsor when he was initiated as a Freemason in 1784, and Johann Peter Salomon was the impresario who took Haydn to London and who played in the quartet when the works were performed for London audiences. Haydn composed the six quartets of Op. 71/74 during the period between his two visits to London, visits that led to the composition of his twelve remarkable “London” symphonies, nos. 93-104. His interim stay in Vienna extended from July 1792 to January 1794, some 18 months. During this period, in addition to composing the set of quartets, he wrote the Symphony No. 99 in E-flat, and he began to teach a young man, newly arrived in Vienna, named Ludwig van Beethoven. The first movement of the second quartet of Op. 71 begins with a brief, 4-measure slow introduction that opens with two gestures in which the first violin descends by an octave leap. Then, the main theme of the Allegro begins as each instrument, lowest to highest, enters with the descending octave, and Haydn utilizes this two-note octave descent (and ascent at times) as a central idea of the movement. Late in the exposition, in the manner of some of the “London” symphonies, Haydn adds a catchy tune of (in the words of Charles Rosen) “popular squareness,” which then figures prominently UWM Peck School of the Arts 3
P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .) in the development section. The movement ends as the opening octave descents ascend in unison. The sonata-form slow movement, in A, is an example of a technique often found in Haydn: the first and second themes are closely related. The recapitulation decorates the original theme. Dominating the minuet is a rhythmic motive that descends an octave, an apparent reference to the first movement. And the finale is a rondo in which the final refrain appears at an accelerated tempo. Herrmann, Echoes for String Quartet Bernard Herrmann was educated in music at New York University and the Juilliard School, studying composition with Bernard Wagenaar and Percy Grainger. In the 1930s he began composing music for radio programs, many of which were directed by Orson Welles. This relationship led to Herrmann’s first film score, for no less a film than Citizen Kane. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, he entered into a partnership with Alfred Hitchcock, and wrote the scores for such classics as Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho. He also composed for television, writing music for Rawhide and The Twilight Zone, and late in his career he wrote the soundtrack for Taxi Driver (1976), a film that appeared after his death in late 1975. Echoes was composed in 1965. He wrote it around the time of his divorce from his first wife, and dedicated it to a friend, Nancy Sanderson, who was experiencing a separation as well. It is a one-movement work, divided into nine sections. While Herrmann’s fame derives particularly from his brilliant film scores, today’s performance affords us a chance to sample his talents in the area of chamber music composition. Dvořák, Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81 Bohemian composer Antonín Dvořák’s fame grew considerably during the 1880s, largely as a result of his nine visits to England, beginning in 1884. His successes in the British Isles encouraged him to return again and again, and there he felt free to compose using Czech materials. This was not so on the continent where, particularly in German-speaking regions, anti-Bohemian sentiments limited his success. The use of Czech subjects in his works came naturally to Dvořák, and his work for England freed him from the prejudices of the other side of the English Channel. His increased fame led to increased wealth, enabling him to purchase a country property in the south Bohemian village of Vysoká. He lived there with his family in the summers, enjoying nature and composing. The Piano Quintet was composed from August 18 to October 3 of 1887, a period when he was also occupied with his opera Jakobín. This quintet, in A major, has been viewed as Dvořák’s attempt to “improve upon” his piano quintet of 1872, also in A. He revised the earlier work but was still dissatisfied with it, and apparently responded by starting a new one, the Op. 81, a very fine work that has long been a favorite in the chamber music repertoire. It stands easily among the other great piano quintets of the Romantic era, written by such masters as Schumann, Brahms, and Franck. The work received its first performance on January 6, 1888, and was published later that year. The first movement, in sonata form, opens with a dreamy melody in the cello that soon gives way to a highly contrasting section; such quick changes of style are characteristic in this work. The second movement is a good example of the dumka, a kind of Czech folk music that contrasts more somber music with lighter music of a dance character. The energetic scherzo is labeled as a furiant, another type of Czech folk dance, though this movement is not highly characteristic of that dance. And the optimistic finale, with portions written in strict counterpoint, closes the work brilliantly. 4 UWM Peck School of the Arts
F I N E A R T S Q UA R T E T ( c o n t .) The Fine Arts Quartet, now celebrating its 65th anniversary, is one of the most distinguished ensembles in chamber music today, with an illustrious history of performing success and an extensive recording legacy. Founded in Chicago in 1946, and based at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee since 1963, the Quartet is one of the elite few to have recorded and toured internationally for over half a century. Three of the Quartet’s artists, violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, and cellist Wolfgang Laufer, had performed together for nearly 30 years, up to the time of Laufer’s untimely death on June 8, 2011. Violist Nicolò Eugelmi joined the Quartet in 2009. Each season, the Fine Arts Quartet tours worldwide, with concerts in such musical centers as New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Moscow, Tokyo, Beijing, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Mexico City, and Toronto. The Quartet has recorded more than 200 works, over 80 of them with Evans, Boico, and Laufer. Their latest releases on Naxos include: the world premiere recording of Efrem Zimbalist’s Quartet in its 1959 revised edition, the world premiere digital recording of Eugène Ysaÿe’s long-lost masterpiece for quartet and string orchestra, “Harmonies du Soir”; Fritz Kreisler’s String Quartet, the two Saint-Saëns String Quartets, three Beethoven String Quintets; the Franck String Quartet and Piano Quintet; Fauré Piano Quintets; complete Bruckner chamber music; complete Mendelssohn String Quintets; “Four American Quartets” by Antheil, Herrmann, Glass, Evans; complete Schumann Quartets; and the Glazunov String Quintet and Novelettes. Aulos Musikado released their complete Dohnányi String Quartets and Piano Quintets, and Lyrinx released both their complete early Beethoven Quartets and complete Mozart String Quintets in SACD format. Releases planned for 2012 on Naxos include three of Robert Schumann’s greatest chamber works: the Piano Quintet, Piano Quartet, and Märchenerzählungen. The Quartet’s recent recordings have received many distinctions. Their Fauré Quintets CD on Naxos with pianist Cristina Ortiz was singled out by the 2011 Gramophone Classical Music Guide as a “Gramophone award-winner and recording of legendary status”, and was among the recordings for which musical producer Steven Epstein won a 2009 Grammy® Award (“Producer of the Year, Classical”). The Quartet’s Franck CD was named “Editor’s Choice” by Gramophone Magazine in February, 2010, and their Glazunov, Mendelssohn, and Fauré CD’s were each named a “Recording of the Year” by Musicweb International (2007-2009). In addition, their “Four American Quartets” album was designated a “BBC Music Magazine Choice” in 2008, their Schumann CD was named “one of the very finest chamber music recordings of the year” by the American Record Guide in 2007, and their Mozart Quintets SACD box set was named a “Critic’s Choice 2003” by the American Record Guide. Nearly all of the Quartet’s Naxos CDs were selected for Grammy® Awards entry lists in the “Best Classical Album” and/ or “Best Chamber Music Performance” categories. Special recognition was given for the Quartet’s commitment to contemporary music: a 2003-2004 national CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, given jointly by Chamber Music America and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. The Quartet members have helped form and nurture many of today’s top international young ensembles. They have been guest professors at the national music conservatories of Paris and Lyon, as well as at the summer music schools of Yale University and Indiana University. They also appear regularly as jury members of major competitions such as Evian, Shostakovich, and Bordeaux. Documentaries on the Fine Arts Quartet have appeared on both French and American Public Television. For more information on the Quartet, please visit: www.fineartsquartet.org.
UWM Peck School of the Arts 5
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B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .) RALPH EVANS, violinist, prizewinner in the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, concertized as a soloist throughout Europe and North America before succeeding Leonard Sorkin as first violinist of the Fine Arts Quartet. Evans has recorded over 85 solo and chamber works to date. These include the two Bartók Sonatas for violin and piano, whose performance the New York Times enthusiastically recommended for its “searching insight and idiomatic flair,” and three virtuoso violin pieces by Lukas Foss with the composer at the piano. Evans received four degrees including a doctorate from Yale University, where he graduated cum laude with a specialization in music, mathematics, and pre-med. While a Fulbright scholar in London, he studied with Szymon Goldberg and Nathan Milstein, and soon won the top prize in a number of major American competitions, including the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York, and the National Federation of Music Clubs National Young Artist Competition. His award winning composition Nocturne has been performed on American Public Television and his String Quartet No.1, recently released on the Naxos label, has been warmly greeted in the press (“rich and inventive” - Toronto Star; “whimsical and clever, engaging and amusing” - All Music Guide; “vigorous and tuneful” - Montreal Gazette; “seductive, modern sonorities” - France Ouest; “a small masterpiece” - Gli Amici della Musica). EFIM BOICO, violinist, enjoys an international career that has included solo appearances under conductors Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Guilini, Claudio Abbado and Erich Leinsdorf, and performances with Daniel Barenboim, 8 UWM Peck School of the Arts
Radu Lupu and Pinchas Zuckerman. After receiving his musical training in his native Russia, he emigrated in 1967 to Israel, where he was appointed Principal Second Violin of the Israel Philharmonic - a position he held for eleven years. In 1971, he joined the Tel Aviv Quartet as second violinist, touring the world with guest artists such as André Previn and Vladimir Ashkenazy. In 1979, Boico was appointed concertmaster and soloist of the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim, positions he held until 1983, when he joined the Fine Arts Quartet. Boico has been guest professor at the Paris and Lyons Conservatories in France, and the Yehudi Menuhin School in Switzerland. He is also a frequent juror representing the United States in the prestigious London, Evian, and Shostakovich Quartet Competitions. As music professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he has received numerous awards, including the Wisconsin Public Education Professional Service Award for distinguished music teaching, and the Arts Recognition and Talent Search Award from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. NICOLÒ EUGELMI, violist, joined the Fine Arts Quartet in July, 2009. He is described by The Strad magazine as “a player of rare perception, with a keen ear for timbres and a vivid imagination.” As soloist, recitalist, and member of chamber ensembles, he has performed around the world, collaborating most notably with conductors Mario Bernardi, Jean-Claude Casadesus, and Charles Dutoit. Eugelmi completed his musical training at the University of British Columbia and the Juilliard School. In 1999, he was appointed Associate Principal Violist of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and in 2005, he became Principal Violist of the Canadian Opera Company. Eugelmi’s recording, Brahms: Sonatas
B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .) and Songs, was named a “Strad Selection” by The Strad, and his recording, Brahms Lieder, a collaboration with Marie-Nicole Lemieux, was named “Editor’s Choice” by Gramophone. He has recorded regularly for the CBC and Radio-Canada. His mentor, Gerald Stanick, was a member of the Fine Arts Quartet from 1963 to 1968. DESMOND HOEBIG, guest cellist. Professor of Cello at The Shepherd School of Music - Rice University, has had a distinguished career as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician. Desmond was born in 1961 and raised in Vancouver, Canada. He studied with James Hunter, Jack Mendelsohn and Ian Hampton. In 1978 he moved to Philadelphia to study with David Soyer at the Curtis Institute of Music. He received his BM and MM at the Juilliard School with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins, and participated in master classes with Janos Starker and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi at the Banff Centre. Mr. Hoebig won the First Prize at the Munich International Competition (1984), the Grand Prize of the CBC Talent Competition (1981) and the Canadian Music Competition (1980). He was also an award winner at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1982). Mr. Hoebig has been a soloist with many prominent orchestras in North America, including; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Montreal, Toronto
and Vancouver. His international orchestral engagements have been in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Mexico and Columbia. As a chamber musician, Desmond was the cellist with the Orford String Quartet when they won a Juno award for the best classical music album in 1990. He has also performed for 30 years with the Hoebig-Moroz Trio and a duo with Andrew Tunis. Mr. Hoebig has taught and performed at festivals throughout North America, including; Banff, La Hoya, Marlboro, Music Bridge, Orcas Island, Sarasota and Steamboat Springs. Before joining the faculty of The Shepherd School, Mr. Hoebig had been Principal Cellist of the Cleveland, Houston, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras. MENAHEM PRESSLER, guest pianist. Founding member and pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, Pressler has established himself among the world’s most distinguished and honored musicians, with a career that spans over five decades. Now in his 87th year, he continues to captivate audiences throughout the world as performer and pedagogue, performing solo and chamber music recitals to great critical acclaim while maintaining a dedicated and robust teaching career. Born in Magdeburg, Germany in 1923, Pressler fled Nazi Germany in 1939 and emigrated to Israel. Pressler’s world
Expires October 2, 2011
UWM Peck School of the Arts 9
B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .) renowned career was launched after he was awarded first prize at the Debussy International Piano Competition in San Francisco in 1946. This was followed by his successful American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Eugene Ormandy. Since then, Pressler’s extensive tours of North America and Europe have included performances with the orchestras of New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Dallas, San Francisco, London, Paris, Brussels, Oslo, Helsinki and many others. After nearly a decade of an illustrious and praised solo career, the 1955 Berkshire Music Festival saw Menahem Pressler’s debut as a chamber musician, where he appeared as pianist with the Beaux Arts Trio. This collaboration quickly established Pressler’s reputation as one of the world’s most revered chamber musicians. With Pressler at the Trio’s helm as the only pianist for nearly 55 years, The New York Times described the Beaux Arts Trio as “in a class by itself” and the Washington Post exclaimed that “since its founding more than 50 years ago, the Beaux Arts Trio has become the gold standard for trios throughout the world.” The 2007-2008 season was nothing short of bitter-sweet, as violinist Daniel Hope, cellist Antonio Meneses and Menahem Pressler took their final bows as The Beaux Arts Trio, which marked the end of one of the most celebrated and revered chamber music careers of all time. What saw the end of one artistic legacy also witnessed the beginning of another, as Pressler continues to dazzle audiences throughout the world, both as piano soloist and collaborating chamber musician, including performances with the Juilliard, Emerson, American, and Cleveland Quartets, among many others.
been hailed as “Master Pedagogue” and has had prize-winning students in all of the major international piano competitions, including the Queen Elizabeth, Busoni, Rubenstein, Leeds and VanCliburn competitions among many others. His former students grace the faculties of prestigious schools of music across the world, and have become some of the most prominent and influential artists and teachers today. In addition to teaching his private students at Indiana University, he continuously presents master classes throughout the world, and continues to serve on the jury of many major international piano competitions.
For nearly 60 years, Menahem Pressler has taught on the piano faculty at the world renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he currently holds the rank of Distinguished Professor of Music as the Charles Webb Chair. Equally as illustrious as his performing career, Professor Pressler has
In addition to recording nearly the entire piano chamber repertoire with the Beaux Arts Trio on the Philips label, Menahem Pressler has compiled over thirty solo recordings, ranging from the works of Bach to Ben Haim.
10 UWM Peck School of the Arts
Among his numerous honors and awards, Pressler has received honorary doctorates from the University of Nebraska, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the North Carolina School of the Arts, six Grammy nominations (including one in 2006), a lifetime achievement award from Gramophone magazine, Chamber Music America’s Distinguished Service Award, the Gold Medal of Merit from the National Society of Arts and Letters. He has also been awarded the German Critics “Ehrenurkunde” award, and election into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2007 Pressler was appointed as an Honorary Fellow of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in recognition of a lifetime of performance and leadership in music. In 2005 Pressler received two additional awards of international merit: the German President’s Deutsche Bundesverdienstkreuz (German Cross of Merit) First Class, Germany’s highest honor, and France’s highest cultural honor, the Commandeur in the Order of Arts and Letters award.
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