Sphinx Virtuosi: performance program

Sunday

OCT 5 2:00 pm

Sphinx Virtuosi Award-winning Black and Latino string orchestra Sponsored by

This event is sponsored, in part, by the Lied Performance Fund.

This event is made possible through the Lena M. Stranathan Chamber Music Fund.

Please be mindful of the following in the auditorium and the Pavilion: • Please silence cellular phones and electronic devices • No food or drink • No cameras or recording devices

Sunday, October 5, 2014

AMERICANA Coqueteos (from Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout). . . . . . . . . . . . Gabriela Lena Frank

(1972– ) Prayers of Rain and Wind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John B Hedges

Xavier Foley, bass solo (1974– ) Sinfonietta No. 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson

I. Sonata Allegro (1932–2004)

II. Song Form: Largo

III. Rondo: Allegro furioso Banner! (2014 premiere). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jessie Montgomery

Catalyst Quartet with the Sphinx Virtuosi (1981– )

Commissioned by The Sphinx Organization

Intermission: 20 Minutes Allaqi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marcus Goddard

Catalyst Quartet (1973– ) Voyage for String Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Corigliano

(1938– ) Two Pieces for String Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aaron Copland

I. Lento Molto (1900–1990)

II. Rondino Elevations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark O’Connor

(1961– ) Program subject to change.

The Sphinx Virtuosi and Catalyst Quartet are represented in North America

by California Artists Management

Sphinx Virtuosi

Sphinx Virtuosi The Sphinx Virtuosi, led by the Catalyst Quartet, is one of the nation’s most dynamic professional chamber orchestras and the only all-Black/Latino string orchestra in America. Cultural ambassadors and alumni of the internationally renowned Sphinx Competition, 18 of the nation’s top classical soloists re-unite each year to reach new audiences on a month long national tour. As a bridge between minority communities and the classical music establishment, tour programs feature repertoire masterpieces contrasting with works by established composers of color.

This unique ensemble earned rave reviews from The New York Times during its highly acclaimed December 2004 debut at Carnegie Hall. Allan Kozinn described their performance as “first-rate in every way.” “The ensemble produced a more beautiful, precise and carefully shaped sound than some fully professional orchestras that come through Carnegie Hall in the course of the year.” The Sphinx Virtuosi have returned to Carnegie Hall annually since 2006, performing to sold-out halls and earning outstanding reviews from The New York Times each year. The Sphinx Virtuosi continue to garner critical acclaim during their annual national tours to many of the leading venues around the country.

The October 2014 tour has 14 concerts, including engagements at the New World Theater in Miami Beach, Chicago’s Harris Theater, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois, the Lied Center of Kansas, the University of Texas, Austin, and the University of Vermont, among others.

The Sphinx Organization has trained an immense pool of talent over the years, hundreds of whom have gone on to perform in professional orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout the country. Inspired by Sphinx’s overarching mission, the Sphinx Virtuosi work to advance diversity in classical music while engaging young and new audiences through performances of varied repertoire. Masterpieces by Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart and Tchaikovsky are performed alongside the more seldom presented works by composers of color, including Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, George Walker, Michael Abels, Astor Piazzolla and more. The Sphinx Virtuosi’s first recording was released on the White Pine label in 2011 and features music of Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Gabriela Lena Frank and George Walker.

The four principals of the Sphinx Virtuosi are members of the Catalyst Quartet, which has independently garnered acclaim in performances around the world.

(Karla Donehew Perez and Jessie Montgomery, violin; Paul Laraia, viola; and Karlos Rodriguez, cello.) Members of the Sphinx Virtuosi have performed as soloists with America’s major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. Members also

Sunday, October 5, 2014 hold professional orchestral positions, and several have been named Laureates of other prestigious international competitions, including the Queen Elizabeth and Yehudi Menuhin. Roster members have completed and continue to pursue their advanced studies at the nation’s top music schools, including Juilliard, Curtis, Eastman, Peabody, Harvard and the University of Michigan.

Program Note on “Americana” Written by Afa Sadykhly Dworkin, Artistic and Executive Director, The Sphinx Organization: This year’s program celebrates the many sounds of American music. Throughout history, artists have depicted current events and paid tribute to their respective heritage through music. From the legendary icons of the 20th century to some of today’s most promising minds, “Americana” attempts to paint the musical and societal landscape that comprises the impeccable, diverse kaleidoscope that is this country. We invite our listeners to participate in a voyage through an open prairie to the arctic regions of North America, all the way to America’s South. Today, let us stop to listen to the lined church hymns, country fiddling, be serenaded by “romanceros” and celebrate 200 years of The Star Spangled Banner!

Coqueteos (from Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout) — Gabriela Lena Frank Gabriela Frank is one of the most important, distinctive contemporary voices in today’s classical music world. An individual of a most remarkably diverse cultural background, Gabriela was born to a Peruvian/Chinese mother and a Lithuanian/ Jewish father. As a composer, she pays homage to her varied heritage, while exploring music in its native and historical sense. Composed in 2001, this important work was commissioned and premiered by the Chiara String Quartet, and released in 2007 on the New Voice Singles label. The entire work combines an indescribable plethora of colors and sounds, ranging from mystical to exciting. Of Coqueteos, the composer herself shares that “it is a flirtatious love song sung by gallant men known as romanceros. It is direct in its harmonic expression, bold, and festive. The romanceros sing in harmony with one another against a backdrop of guitars, which I think of as a vendaval de guitarras (“storm of guitars”).” The piece as a whole draws inspiration from the work of the Peruvian writer Jose Maria Arguedas, who explored an idea of varying cultures coexisting in true harmony and equality. The work was transcribed for string orchestra in 2003.

Sphinx Virtuosi Prayers of Rain and Wind — John B Hedges (Notes by Joseph Conyers, Sphinx Laureate; Assistant Principal Bass, Philadelphia Orchestra) The neat thing about this piece (well, at least for me) is that it is written about me.

Hedges went through a lot of research before writing the concerto, asking me everything from a list of my favorite composers to my favorite piece of music, to even my mother’s favorite hymn — all of which make their way into the concerto. At the end of the day, it is a very colorful, very lyrical work that highlights my serious side, my jovial side, my love of weather, and an appreciation of my southern roots and upbringing. My favorite aspect of the work is Hedges’s ability to weave three or four pivotal themes throughout the piece so seamlessly while taking the listener on a bit of an emotional roller coaster: from weighted oppressiveness to ebullient joy.

The piece performed today was conceived originally as a second movement and recently arranged as a standalone piece. It takes place in a black southern church. Much of my upbringing was in the church, and much of the church’s music influenced my musical development. What Hedges bases this movement on is the “lined hymn,” a tradition that originated in Wales and was brought over by this country’s original settlers. Hymns were lined because much of the congregation couldn’t read, so the leader would sing the words, and the audience would join in by singing the same line improvisationally. During slavery, many slaves picked up on this tradition, and it is a ritual still practiced in many churches of the south today. Lining a hymn is more improvisational than call and response. The hymns in the church take place during the “devotional” service. The middle of the devotional service usually contains a prayer led by one volunteer, while much of the congregation will hum along in sacred support. In the score, the musicians are instructed to do just that — singing from an array of pitches suggested in their parts.

Sinfonietta No. 1 for Strings (1954–55) — Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson One of America’s most versatile composers, fluent in classical mediums while equally at home with film music, jazz and blues, Perkinson wrote this work at the age of 22.

Its stylistic elements pay tribute to, arguably, the greatest master of the baroque era, J. S. Bach, with a nod to one of Perkinson’s important teachers, Vittorio Giannini. The second movement, Largo, is full of sonority, in the language of the late Romantic period. For the rest of the work, Perkinson uses incredibly sophisticated rhythmic maneuvers, including metric changes, which may be as disorienting to a listener, as they are curious and attractive. The work overall is a perfect conglomerate of dissonance, harmony, rhythmic integrity and conceptual prowess, all acutely characteristic of this great American master.

Sunday, October 5, 2014 Banner!

—Jessie Montgomery (notes by the composer) Banner! is a tribute to the 200th Anniversary of The Star Spangled Banner, which was officially declared the American National Anthem in 1814 under the penmanship of Francis Scott Key. Scored for solo string quartet and string orchestra, Banner! is a rhapsody on the theme of The Star Spangled Banner. Drawing on musical and historical sources from various world anthems and patriotic songs, I’ve made an attempt to answer the question: “What does an anthem for the 21st century sound like in today’s multi-cultural environment?” I was commissioned by the Providence String Quartet and Community MusicWorks to write Anthem in 2009: a tribute to the historical election of Barack Obama. In that piece, I wove together the theme from The Star Spangled Banner with the commonly named Black National Anthem: Lift Every Voice and Sing, by James Weldon Johnson (which coincidentally share the exact same phrase structure). Banner! picks up where Anthem left off by using a similar backbone source in its middle section, but expands further both in the amount of references and also in the role play of the string quartet as the individual voice working both with and against the larger community of the orchestra behind them. The structure is loosely based on traditional marching band form where there are several strains or contrasting sections, preceded by an introduction, and I have drawn on the drum line chorus as a source for the rhythmic underpinning in the finale. Within the same tradition, I have attempted to evoke the breathing of a large brass choir as it approaches the climax of the “trio” section. A variety of other cultural anthems and American folk songs and popular idioms interact to form various textures in the finale section, contributing to a multi-layered fanfare.

The Star Spangled Banner is an ideal subject for exploration in contradictions. For most Americans the song represents a paradigm of liberty and solidarity against fierce odds, and for others, it implies a contradiction between the ideals of freedom and the realities of injustice and oppression. As a culture, it is my opinion that Americans are perpetually in search of ways to express and celebrate our ideals of freedom — a way to proclaim, “we’ve made it!” as if the very action of saying it aloud makes it so. And for many of our nation’s people, that was the case: through work songs and spirituals, enslaved Africans promised themselves a way out, and built the nerve to endure the most abominable treatment for the promise of a free life. Immigrants from Europe, Central America and the Pacific have sought out a safe haven here, and though met with the trials of building a multi-cultured democracy, continue to find rooting in our nation and make significant contributions to our cultural landscape. In 2014, a tribute to the U.S. National Anthem means acknowledging the contradictions, leaps and bounds, and milestones that allow us to celebrate and maintain the tradition of our ideals. The Sphinx Organization commissioned Banner! for the 2014 National Tour of the Sphinx Virtuosi, made possible by major support from the Joyce Foundation.

Sphinx Virtuosi Allaqi — Marcus Goddard Composer and trumpet player Marcus Goddard created a one-of-a-kind auditory experience through his marvelous work for a string quartet, Allaqi. Its title represents the Inuit term for a clearing in the sky. The piece features a strong rhythmical opening imitating Inuit throat singing, along beautiful sonorous material based on Inuit folk song melodies. Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous people living in the Arctic areas of United States, Canada and Greenland. Allaqi was honored with the 2011 BreakOut West’s Western Canada Music Award for Outstanding Classical Composition. It is most imaginative, colorful and sweeping. Written for the St. Lawrence String Quartet as part of its 20th Anniversary Commissioning Project, the work deserves to be heard around the world. Goddard utilizes the string medium to its full extent. Listen for the song-like qualities, while being lulled by the more quiet aspects of the violin, only to be dazzled by some of the most complex, compounding meters and almost grotesque character of the lower instruments.

Whether a world music lover or chamber music purist, one is sure to leave surprised, exhilarated and uplifted after hearing this gem by a great North American composer!

Voyage for String Orchestra — John Corigliano “I care deeply about communicating with my audience,” remarks John Corigliano during an interview. “There is just no reason why a composer shouldn’t be able to reach large audiences in a worthwhile way, even if he uses advanced techniques…

If a piece is put together with care for detail and, at the same time, with attention to the overall shape, and if the composer takes note that most listeners will not hear most of his technical procedures but will be able to follow that shape, then there is a good chance the music will communicate.”

Corigliano became well known in the 1990s, though the Voyage for String Orchestra is a beautiful gem from 1970s. In 1971, Corigliano wrote an a cappella choral piece, based on Baudelaire’s 1857 poem “L’Invitation au Voyage.” In fact, he used an English translation for the piece, by the American poet Richard Wilbur. The composer himself later reset this deserving work for a string orchestra under its current title. One might describe the piece as quiet and intimate while at the same time rich in its melodious qualities.

Sunday, October 5, 2014 Two Pieces for String Orchestra (1926) — Aaron Copland Aaron Copland’s work became best known in the 1930–40s, well after this pair was conceived. However, one may already hear elements of ragtime and jazz referenced loosely in these pieces. The first movement features a simple, almost folksy melody, combining the moods of melancholy and song-like simplicity with a fairly complex harmonic setting. The Rondino introduces a truly contrasting character: rambunctious, edgy and peasant-like. There are references to the ukulele through pizzicato technique used by the stringed instruments for which the pair was set. The movement is daring, not only in terms of rhythms and special effects, but also in its harmonic complexity and avant-garde language. Copland freely utilizes dissonance to accentuate the slightly fantastical array of colors in the violins, bringing the work to an exuberant end.

Elevations — Mark O’Connor Mark O’Connor is an American icon. His phenomenal contributions to music make him an essential figure in the realms of bluegrass, jazz, country, classical and beyond. A consummate fiddler, soloist, chamber musician, spokesperson and groundbreaking educator, he is also an important composer. O’Connor’s Elevations received its world premiere with Nadja Solerno-Sonnenberg’s New Century Chamber Orchestra. This wonderful composition offers the best representation of American fiddling, woven together with pure folk singing and lush harmonies, spoken through the classical medium. Think of the open prairie, rustic American folk improvisation in a crossover space. O’Connor writes in the program notes: “The complexity of indigenous American string music is often overlooked; mastering the techniques required to perform it well is an immense challenge to string players irrespective of training. Elevations offers classically trained musicians, in particular, just this challenge — and those who overcome it unlock the door to a compelling American musical world.”