La Jollla Music Society SummerFest 2024 Program Book

SUMMERFEST 2024 LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY

Inon Barnatan, Music Director

CALENDAR OF EVENTS SUMMERFEST 2024

PERFORMANCE

COACHING WORKSHOP

ENCOUNTER

OPEN REHEARSAL

PRELUDE

ARTIST LOUNGE

† FELLOWSHIP ARTIST

PRELUDE 2 PM · The JAI Lecture by Charissa Noble

PASSIONS AND STORMS · 3 PM

ARTIST LOUNGE with Mark Simpson

Hosted by Leah Rosenthal · 1 PM

The Atkinson Room

COACHING WORKSHOPS

10 AM–12 PM · The JAI

ENCOUNTER 2 PM · The JAI

Better Listening with Music with Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

PRELUDE · 2 PM

Performance by Cohda Trio† SUITE · 3 PM

ARTIST LOUNGE with Sterling Elliott

Hosted by Leah Rosenthal · 1 PM

The Atkinson Room

COACHING WORKSHOPS 10 AM–12 PM · The JAI

ENCOUNTER · 2 PM The Last Repair Shop Screening

PRELUDE · 2 PM

Performance by Community Chorus and VOCES8 IN LOVING MEMORY · 3 PM

ARTIST LOUNGE with Paul Wiancko

Hosted by Leah Rosenthal · 1 PM

The Atkinson Room

ARTIST LOUNGE with Yura Lee

Hosted by Leah Rosenthal · 1 PM

The Atkinson Room

ENCOUNTER · 2 PM

Fellowship Artist Spotlight I

ENCOUNTER · 2 PM

Fellowship Artist Spotlight II

OPEN REHEARSAL · 4 PM Bartók’s Contrasts

COACHING WORKSHOPS

10 AM–12 PM · The JAI

PRELUDE

6 PM · The JAI

Hosted by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

MIDWEEK MASTERWORKS:

Amadeus · 7 PM

COACHING WORKSHOPS

10 AM–12 PM · The JAI

PRELUDE

6 PM · The JAI Hosted by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

TAKEOVER @ THE BAKER-BAUM:

Curated by Thomas Adès · 7 PM

PRELUDE

6:30 PM · The JAI

Interview with Inon Barnatan hosted by Leah Rosenthal

SYNERGY: OPENING NIGHT: A Deal with the Devil · 7:30 PM

PRELUDE · 6:30 PM

Performance by Abeo Quartet† DANSE MACABRE · 7:30 PM

COACHING WORKSHOPS

10 AM–12 PM · The JAI

PRELUDE

6 PM

Performance by Abeo Quartet†

MIDWEEK MASTERWORKS:

Mozart & Pärt · 7 PM

COACHING WORKSHOPS

10 AM–12 PM · The JAI

PRELUDE

6 PM · The JAI

Lecture by Ara Guzelimian

MIDWEEK MASTERWORKS: Notes on a Scandal · 7 PM

COACHING WORKSHOPS

10 AM–12 PM · The JAI

OPEN REHEARSAL · 1:30 PM

Beethoven’s Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97 “Archduke”

JAZZ @ The JAI WITH BRANDEE YOUNGER TRIO 6 PM & 8:30 PM · The JAI

PRELUDE

6:30 PM · The JAI

Lecture by Kristi Brown Montesano

BAROQUE FANTASIA · 7:30 PM

OPEN REHEARSAL · 2:30 PM

Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite for Two Pianos

PRELUDE

6:30 PM · The JAI

Lecture by Kristi Brown Montesano

RESILIENCE · 7:30 PM

COACHING WORKSHOPS

10 AM–12 PM · The JAI

PRELUDE

6 PM · The JAI

Lecture by Michael Gerdes

MIDWEEK MASTERWORKS: Instrumental Stories · 7 PM

COACHING WORKSHOPS

10 AM–12 PM · The JAI

JAZZ @ The JAI WITH DAN TEPFER Natural Machines · 6 PM & 8:30 PM The JAI

PRELUDE · 6:30 PM

Performance by Cohda Quartet†

GRATITUDE · 7:30 PM

SPECIAL EVENT: INVITED REHEARSAL 2:30 PM

Rehearsal for Community Chorus with VOCES8

SummerFest Gala 6 PM

ENCOUNTER · 2 PM · The JAI California Dreaming with Ara Guzelimian PRELUDE

6:30 PM · The JAI

Interview with Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher hosted by Molly Puryear

SYNERGY: COUNTERPOINT II · 7:30 PM

PRELUDE · 6:30 PM · The JAI Lecture by Ara Guzelimian CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ · 7:30 PM

COACHING WORKSHOPS

10 AM–12 PM · The JAI

PRELUDE · 6:30 PM

Performance by Abeo Quartet† THE ROAD TO VICTORY · 7:30 PM

PRELUDE · 6:30 PM

Performance by Cohda Quartet†

SUMMERFEST FINALE: A Song and Dance · 7:30 PM

DigIntoDeepertheMusic

PRELUDES*

Free On-Demand Viewing

Free In-Person Admission with Purchased Concert Ticket

ARTIST LOUNGE

Free Admission · Limited Seating

Find more information about pre-concert Prelude lectures, interviews, and performances on each concert program.

COACHING WORKSHOPS

Free Admission · Limited Seating

The spark of creativity is unique for every individual. The Artist Lounge is an intimate,in-depth conversation hosted by Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal.

To attend, register online at TheConrad.org.

La Jolla Music Society’s Fellowship Artist Program is one of the longest-running SummerFest traditions. Follow these musicians as they prepare for their SummerFest performances with a series of master classes.

This year we welcome Fellowship Artists Abeo Quartet: Njioma Grevious, Rebecca Benjamin, violins ; James Kang, viola ; Macintyre Taback, cello ; and Cohda Trio/Quartet: Anna Han, piano ; SooBeen Lee, violin ; Brian Isaacs, viola ; Leland Ko, cello.

ENCOUNTERS*†

Free Admission · Limited Seating

Featuring intriguing discussions, performance, and diverse perspectives, SummerFest Encounters reveal fascinating insights into the ways in which music is created, influenced, interpreted, and performed.

To attend, register online at TheConrad.org.

OPEN REHEARSALS†

Free Admission · Limited Seating

Open Rehearsals provide audience members with the rare opportunity to observe the intricate rehearsal process before the stage lights shine.

YCA ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE—NEW THIS YEAR!

JOIN US ONLINE

* These events will also be recorded and available for free on-demand viewing.

† These events will also be live streamed and available for free on-demand viewing.

Visit TheConrad.org for more information.

La Jolla Music Society has a long tradition of supporting artist development and is proud to partner with Young Concert Artists (YCA) to welcome the first SummerFest YCA Artist-in-Residence, percussionist Michael Yeung.

MONDAY

JULY 29 Artist Lounge

The Atkinson Room 1—2 PM

Coaching Workshops

The JAI 10—10:50 AM 11—11:50 AM

Artist Lounge with clarinetist and composer Mark Simpson hosted by Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal. Registration required.

Inon Barnatan coaches Cohda Trio on Schumann’s Piano Trio in F Major, Op. 80. Jay Campbell coaches Abeo Quartet on Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 20, No. 4.

TUESDAY

JULY 30

WEDNESDAY

JULY 31

THURSDAY

AUGUST 1

Encounter* The JAI 2 3:30 PM

Coaching Workshops

The JAI 10—10:50 AM 11—11:50 AM

Coaching Workshops The JAI

10—10:50 AM 11—11:50 AM

Better Listening with Music: Open your mind and ears with former New York Times contributing critic Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim in a workshop that brings together science, mindfulness, and live music with performance by SooBeen Lee, Rebecca Benjamin, and Leland Ko. Registration required.

Alexi Kenney coaches Cohda Trio on Schumann’s Piano Trio in F Major, Op. 80.

Nicole Divall coaches Abeo Quartet on Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 20, No. 4.

Joyce Yang coaches Cohda Trio on Schumann’s Piano Trio in F Major, Op. 80.

Anna Han of Cohda Quartet coaches a local student.

SATURDAY

AUGUST 3

MONDAY

AUGUST 5

TUESDAY

AUGUST 6

Open Rehearsal †

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall 2:30 3:30 PM Joyce Yang and Inon Barnatan rehearse Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite for Two Pianos.

Artist Lounge

The Atkinson Room

Coaching Workshops

The JAI

Encounter

WEDNESDAY

AUGUST 7

THURSDAY AUGUST 8

SATURDAY AUGUST 10

MONDAY AUGUST 12

1 2 PM

10—10:50 AM 11—11:50 AM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall 2 3:30 PM

Coaching Workshops The JAI

10—10:50 AM 11—11:50 AM

Artist Lounge with cellist Sterling Elliott hosted by Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal. Registration required.

Erin Keefe coaches Cohda Quartet on Bax’s Piano Quartet in One Movement.

Stefan Jackiw coaches Abeo Quartet on Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 20, No. 4.

The Last Repair Shop Screening: In this Oscar-winning documentary short film, meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to schoolchildren in Los Angeles.

Q&A with producer Josh Rosenberg hosted by Allison Boles to follow. Registration required.

Macintyre Taback of Abeo Quartet coaches a local student. Sterling Elliott coaches a local student.

Coaching Workshops The JAI 10 10:50 AM 11 11:50 AM A member of Cohda Quartet coaches a local student. Alisa Weilerstein coaches Abeo Quartet on Prokofiev’s String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 92.

Open Rehearsal†

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall 1:30 2:30 PM Inon Barnatan, Stefan Jackiw, and Alisa Weilerstein rehearse Beethoven’s Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97 “Archduke.”

Invited Rehearsal

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall 2:30 4 PM The SummerFest Community Chorus joins VOCES8 to rehearse for their Musical Prelude performance on Sunday, August 11. Pre-registered participants only.

Artist Lounge The Atkinson Room 1 2 PM Artist Lounge with cellist and composer Paul Wiancko hosted by Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal. Registration required.

TUESDAY AUGUST 13 Encounter† The Baker-Baum Concert Hall 2—3:30 PM Fellowship Artist Spotlight I: Fellowship Artist Ensembles Cohda Quartet and Abeo Quartet perform with special guest violist Matthew Lipman. Registration required.

WEDNESDAY

AUGUST 14

THURSDAY

Coaching Workshops

AUGUST 15 Coaching Workshops The Atkinson Room 10 10:50 AM 11 11:50 AM

FRIDAY AUGUST

MONDAY AUGUST 19

TUESDAY AUGUST 20

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 21

3:30

Rehearsal†

Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Paul Wiancko coaches Abeo Quartet on Glazunov’s Orientale from Five Novelettes, Op. 15 or Prokofiev’s String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 92. Conrad Tao coaches Cohda Quartet on Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 45.

Masumi Per Rostad coaches Abeo Quartet on Prokofiev’s String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 92. Inon Barnatan coaches Cohda Quartet on Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 45.

California Dreaming: Exiles and Emigrés: In the 1930s and ‘40s, an extraordinary array of artists fled wartime Europe to make a new home in the promised land of Southern California. Ara Guzelimian explores this remarkable community through personal memoirs, rare films, and musical performances. Registration required.

Artist Lounge with violinist and violist Yura Lee hosted by Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal. Registration required.

Artist Spotlight II: Fellowship Artist Ensembles Abeo Quartet and Cohda Quartet perform with special guest violinist Simone Porter. Registration required.

5 PM Yura Lee, Anthony McGill, and Gilles Vonsattel rehearse Bartok’s Contrasts.

10:50 AM 11 11:50 AM

THURSDAY AUGUST 22 Coaching Workshops The JAI 10 10:50 AM 11 11:50 AM

Jonathan Vinocour coaches Cohda Quartet on Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 45. Yura Lee coaches Abeo Quartet on Prokofiev’s String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 92.

Kyril Zlotnikov coaches Cohda Quartet on Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 45. Inon Barnatan and Allison Boles discuss the festival with Cohda Quartet and Abeo Quartet.

SUMMERFEST MUSICAL PRELUDES

Quick notes excerpted from program notes by Eric Bromberger, except where indicated.

DANSE MACABRE

Saturday, July 27 · 6:30 PM

SCHULHOFF Five Pieces for String Quartet (1894–1942) Alla Valse Viennese

Alla Serenata

Alla Czeca

Alla Tango milonga

All Tarantella Abeo Quartet

Rebecca Benjamin, Njioma Grevious, violins; James Kang, viola; Macintyre Taback, cello

SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Opus 122 (1906–1975) Introduction. Andantino

Scherzo. Allegretto

Recitative. Adagio

Étude. Allegro

Humoresque. Adagio

Elegy. Adagio

Finale. Moderato

Abeo Quartet

Njioma Grevious, Rebecca Benjamin, violins; James Kang, viola; Macintyre Taback, cello

SUITE

Sunday, August 4 · 2 PM

SCHUMANN Piano Trio in F Major, Opus 80 (1810–1856) Sehr lebhaft

Mit innigem Ausdruck In mässiger Bewegung

Nicht zu rasch

Cohda Trio

Anna Han, piano; SooBeen Lee, violin; Leland Ko, cello

MIDWEEK MASTERWORKS: Mozart & Pärt

Wednesday, August 7 · 6 PM

HAYDN String Quartet in D Major, Opus 20, No. 4 (1732–1809)

Allegro di molto

Un poco adagio affetuoso

Menuetto: Allegretto alla Zingarese

Presto e scherzando Abeo Quartet

Rebecca Benjamin, Njioma Grevious, violins; James Kang, viola; Macintyre Taback, cello

QUICK NOTES:

The Five Pieces come from a particularly fertile time in Erwin Schulhoff’s career. Following service in the Austrian Army during World War I, he returned to his native Prague, and that move seemed to energize his creativity. In December 1923, he wrote the Five Pieces for String Quartet, which were first performed at an International Society for Contemporary Music concert in Salzburg on August 8, 1924. Schulhoff dedicated the work to Darius Milhaud. The Five Pieces is a suite of (mostly) dance movements, and each of these dances has a particular national flavor.

Dmitri Shostakovich completed the String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor in 1966 following his hospitalization in a neurological unit the year prior. The work comes from a subset of quartets all dedicated to the members of the Beethoven String Quartet, with this one dedicated to the memory of Vasili Pyotrovich Shirinsky, a close friend of Shostakovich and co-founder of the Quartet who died in August 1965. The piece has a unique form of seven closely connected miniatures, and it shares characteristic tones of Shostakovich’s late style with its shifting harmonies. Still, the listener can find moments of sweetness, whimsy, and humor.

— Allison Boles

QUICK NOTE:

In June 1847, shortly after completing his Second Symphony, Robert Schumann returned to chamber music and wrote his First Piano Trio, and that seemed to interest him in the form—later that summer he wrote a second trio, the Piano Trio in F Major. A certain quality of restraint marks the Piano Trio in F Major. It has no really fast movement, and the two central movements are both at a relatively slow tempo. Instead, the emphasis in this music is on lyricism, on themes that can be sung. There are no extremes in this music, nor does Schumann show any interest at all in virtuosity—the violin part, in fact, can be played almost entirely in first position. This music charms not through drama or excitement but through a gentle melodiousness.

QUICK NOTE:

Haydn completed the six quartets that make up his Opus 20 in 1772, about a decade into his tenure as Kapellmeister for Prince Esterhazy. Though these quartets are relatively early (they are contemporaneous with his Symphonies 43–47 ), they have already left the old multi-movement divertimento form far behind and show the characteristics of Haydn’s great quartets: virtuosity, balance and interplay of four equal voices (this quartet has a distinguished cello part), and an expressive musical substance.

GRATITUDE

Friday, August 9 · 6:30 PM

FRANÇAIX String Trio (1912–1997) Allegretto vivo

Scherzo

Andante

Rondo. Vivo

Cohda Trio

SooBeen Lee, violin; Brian Isaacs, viola;

Leland Ko, cello

BAX Piano Quartet in One Movement (1883–1953)

Cohda Quartet

Anna Han, piano; SooBeen Lee, violin;

Brian Isaacs, viola; Leland Ko, cello

IN LOVING MEMORY

Sunday, August 11 · 2 PM

THE ROAD TO VICTORY

Friday, August 23 · 6:30 PM

GLAZUNOV Orientale from Five Novelettes, Opus 15 (1865–1936)

Abeo Quartet

Rebecca Benjamin, Njioma Grevious, violins; James Kang, viola; Macintyre Taback, cello

PROKOFIEV String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Opus 92 (1891–1953) (on Kabardinian Themes)

Allegro sostenuto

Adagio

Allegro

Abeo Quartet

Njioma Grevious, Rebecca Benjamin, violins; James Kang, viola; Macintyre Taback, cello

SUMMERFEST FINALE: A Song and Dance

Saturday, August 24 · 6:30 PM

FAURÉ Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor, Opus 45 (1845–1924) Allegro molto moderato

Allegro molto

Adagio non troppo

Allegro molto

Cohda Quartet

Anna Han, piano; SooBeen Lee, violin;

Brian Isaacs, viola; Leland Ko, cello

QUICK NOTES:

Born into a musical family, Jean Françaix was known for his for his prolific output from an early age. The composer completed his String Trio when he was 21, the same year that he would write three ballets and three other chamber works. The three movements marked vivo in the score are crisp and animated conversations between the three instruments, in contrast with the tender, lullaby-like Andante.

— Allison Boles

Known as a composer of the neo-romantic trend, Sir Arnold Bax wrote music that was richly orchestrated and romantically evocative, inspired by long periods living on the coasts of Ireland and Scotland. The Piano Quartet in One Movement is a powerful and compelling piece inspired by Ireland’s Easter Rising of 1916 and possibly also troubles in Bax’s marriage, the death of his father, and the Great War, in which he lost many friends. Having written it in 1922, Bax later developed this piece into a work for full orchestra, the Saga Fragment for Piano, Trumpet, Percussion and String Orchestra.

Community members join the GRAMMY®-nominated British vocal ensemble VOCES8.

QUICK NOTES:

Alexander Glazunov wrote Five Novelettes in 1886, the year he turned 21. He gives a particular character to his Novelettes by assigning each of them a national character, much like the national dances in Tchaikovsky’s ballets. The second movement, titled Orientale, does not have a distinctly “oriental” flavor to contemporary ears, and we need to remember that that title referred to anything exotic. Energetic outer sections surround a slower central episode before Orientale races to the pizzicato chord that brings it to a close.

Sergei Prokofiev rarely used folk songs in his compositions, but the parenthetical subtitle here refers to the origin of the themes in this quartet. During WWII Prokofiev and other artists were sent away from Moscow—as Hitler’s troops advanced toward the city—to the capital city of the KabardaBalkar Republic. There he was exposed to, and ultimately inspired by, the folk music of that region. His Second Quartet, written in three movements, contains a magnificent balance of vivid folk themes, rhythms, and textures treated with Prokofiev’s distinctive style and sensibility.

— Allison Boles

QUICK NOTE:

Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1 has become one of the cornerstones of French chamber music, but his Second Quartet, composed in 1885–86, is not nearly so well-known. Fauré was still struggling for recognition when he wrote the later quartet: at age 40, he was supporting himself (and a wife and infant son) by working as an organist in Paris. Real fame would not come to the gentle Fauré until late in life, but when he composed the Second Piano Quartet he was at the height of his powers. The piano is extremely active in the Second Piano Quartet, announcing themes and dominating textures even when it has a purely accompanying role. This music often sets the piano and strings in opposition, and the striking beginning offers one of the best examples of this.

— Allison Boles

MAPS & POLICIES

SEATING POLICY

All concerts begin promptly at the time stated on admission tickets. Latecomers will be seated after the first work has been performed or at the first full pause in the program as designated by the performing artists. Patrons leaving the hall while a performance is in progress will not be readmitted until the conclusion of the piece. Those who must leave before the end of a concert are requested to do so between complete works and not while a performance is in progress. If you require special seating or other assistance please notify the House Manager.

CONCERT COURTESIES

Unauthorized photography (with or without flash), audio and video recordings are strictly prohibited. Please silence all electronic devices during the performance. SummerFest concerts are recorded for archival and broadcast use, and we ask for your assistance in assuring high quality sound on these recordings.

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND A PERFORMANCE

We encourage any patron who is unable to attend a performance to return tickets to La Jolla Music Society Ticket Office so that someone else may use them. In order to ensure that returned tickets can be allocated

appropriately, La Jolla Music Society Ticket Office must receive notification and proof of destroyed tickets no later than 24 hours prior to the performance.

CHILDREN AT SUMMERFEST

Children under the age of 6 (six) are not permitted in the concert hall.

PROGRAM NOTES

All of La Jolla Music Society’s program notes are protected under copyright by the authors. For permission and information on use of contents of this publication contact Mktg@TheConrad.org.

THE CONRAD PREBYS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Valet And Self-Parking LOCATIONS

LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY / THE CONRAD

7600 Fay Avenue

La Jolla, California 92037

Administration: 858.459.3724

7600 Fay Avenue, valet service in front of The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center

909 Kline Street (344 ft)

Fred Tomaselli, Head with Flowers [detail], 1996, paper collage, datura, ephedra, hemp, and resin on wood, 60 x 60 in. (152.4 x 152.4 cm), Collection Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Museum purchase with funds from the Contemporary Collectors, 1997.14.

SUMMERFEST 2024! WELCOME TO

Dear Friends,

“When words leave off, music begins.” This profound insight from Heinrich Heine encapsulates the essence of our journey this summer. Welcome to the 2024 La Jolla SummerFest, where this season’s theme, “Inside Stories,” promises an exploration into the depth of storytelling through the universal language of music. This year, we delve into narratives woven in melodies, harmonies, and rhythms. Music, after all, has the unique ability to tell stories without uttering a single word, conveying emotions and experiences that resonate deeply within our souls. Through “Inside Stories,” we aim to unveil the tales that composers have embedded in their works, from the dramatic to the whimsical, the heart-wrenching to the uplifting.

Our opening night sets the stage for this narrative journey, with a world-premiere theatrical production and a devilishly exciting array of virtuosic performances.

Our beloved Synergy Initiative returns, exploring the intersection of music and other art forms. It starts with our opening night, bringing actors, musicians, puppeteers, and visual artists together for an exciting new production of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale. Later in the festival we feature a special collaboration between pianist Conrad Tao and tap-dance virtuoso Caleb Teicher, and experience the intersection of jazz and technology featuring the exciting jazz pianist Dan Tepfer.

I am also thrilled to bring back our Midweek Masterworks, where each Wednesday concert contextualizes one of the cornerstones of the repertoire in an intermissionfree concert followed by a social drink in the courtyard. These evenings promise a deeper understanding and appreciation of the music we love and the stories behind them.

As always, the heart of La Jolla SummerFest remains its incredible artists. This year’s lineup includes virtuosos and ensembles renowned not just for their technical excellence but for their ability to breathe life into the stories their music tells. We are especially happy to welcome an unusual number of artists from the UK this year, including a welcome return of Thomas Adès for his second year as composer-inresidence following his profoundly brilliant residency in 2023.

Join us at The Conrad for a season of “Inside Stories,” where we celebrate the power of music to tell tales, evoke emotions, and connect us all. It’s a journey through the narratives hidden within notes and rests, waiting to be discovered and cherished.

I eagerly anticipate sharing these musical stories with you. See you at the festival!

Inon Barnatan SummerFest Music Director

Inon Barnatan Music Director SUMMERFEST 2024 LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY

JULY 26 – AUGUST 24

Nicole

Teng

Smith Phillips

CONDUCTOR

Thomas Adès

Jonathan Cohen*

Ludovic Morlot*

COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE

Thomas Adès

ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE

Tony Amendola, actor

Danny Burstein, actor

Caleb Teicher*, tap dancer

ENSEMBLES

Brandee Younger Trio*

Brandee Younger, harp

Rashaan Carter, bass

Allan Mednard, drums

Dan Tepfer* — Natural Machines

The Paper Cinema*

Nicholas Rawling, illustrator & artistic director

VOCES8*

Andrea Haines, MaryRuth Miller, sopranos;

Katie Jeffries-Harris, alto; Barnaby Smith, countertenor & artistic director; Blake Morgan, Euan Williamson, tenors; Christopher Moore, Dominic Carver, basses

FELLOWSHIP ARTIST ENSEMBLES

Abeo Quartet*†

Njioma Grevious, Rebecca Benjamin, violins; James Kang, viola; Macintyre Taback, cello

Cohda Trio/Quartet*†

Anna Han, piano; SooBeen Lee, violin; Brian Isaacs, viola; Leland Ko, cello

FILMMAKER-IN-RESIDENCE

Tristan Cook

STAGE DIRECTOR

Annette Jolles*

LECTURERS & GUEST SPEAKERS

Inon Barnatan

Allison Boles

Kristi Brown Montesano

Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim*

Michael Gerdes

Ara Guzelimian

Charissa Noble*

Molly Puryear

Leah Rosenthal

*SummerFest debut

† indicates Fellowship Artist ‡ indicates Young Concert Artists (YCA) Artist-in-Residence

Emi Ferguson

In loving memory of John Anthony Belanich

This past year, San Diego lost a great arts patron and community leader in the passing of John Belanich, and this festival season we would like to acknowledge John’s long relationship with La Jolla Music Society.

For more than 30 years, John and his wife, Raffaella, have played an important role in the success of La Jolla Music Society, hosting galas, receptions, and fundraising events in their home, as well as housing many of our artists. In 2008, when the company looked to purchase its first concert grand Steinway, John and Raffaella stepped up to make that acquisition a reality. They were the first donors to sign a major commitment for the construction project of The Conrad, eventually naming the Belanich Terrace.

With an eye toward energy efficiency and environmental stewardship, John and Raffaella provided considerable support for the installation of 168 solar panels on the roof of The Conrad. John and Raffaella have been steadfast partners with and supporters of SummerFest, having for many years served as sponsors of the SummerFest Music Director.

John was a great friend of the organization, an amazing storyteller, and consummate advisor. His spirit is missed by all of us at La Jolla Music Society, and we are pleased to honor his memory this summer.

The performance SUITE, on Sunday, August 4, is dedicated to John Anthony Belanich.

In loving memory of Joan K. Jacobs

La Jolla Music Society and The Conrad join the San Diego Community in mourning the loss of Joan Jacobs, our friend and inspiration. Joan’s passion for and commitment to the performing arts and our community can be seen in the many projects that she and her husband, Irwin, championed for many years. Her vision continues to set a high water mark for leadership in the community. She and Irwin were constant presences at La Jolla Music Society concerts, showing her love for the work on our stages, and she will be greatly missed at future performances.

Much of the growth in the quality of the artists and ensembles that we present has been thanks to Joan’s and her husband Irwin’s support, especially SummerFest, which they were involved with since its inception. Joan hosted numerous SummerFest salon concerts and galas, as well as housing many artists, in her and Irwin’s home. At the SummerFest 25th Anniversary Gala in 2011, Joan and Irwin were named Honorary Directors of La Jolla Music Society. Our recognition of their generous support includes naming The JAI, which stands for Joan And Irwin.

Our deepest condolences go out to Irwin, their sons, and the entire Jacobs family as well as the San Diego arts community.

The performance IN LOVING MEMORY, on Sunday, August 11, is dedicated to Joan K. Jacobs.

Playing a Role in Fighting Climate Change

At The Conrad, as members of our community and citizens of the world, we take the issue of climate change and environmental awareness seriously. Although it can seem like an insurmountable challenge, if everyone makes even just minor changes in the way they do things, each incremental effort can have an extraordinary impact on the world.

Here are some things we’ve done to become more thoughtful and proactive stewards of the environment:

· Installed solar panels

· Partnered with the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation to reduce the waste we produce and dispose of it properly

· Adjusted the number and nature of the materials we print to cut down on waste

Here’s how you can help:

· Read the program book online in its digital version or on our app.

· If you take a printed program book, keep it and bring it back with you the next time you visit instead of throwing it away and taking a new one each time. Our program books in the Winter Season each include a quarter of the concerts, and in the summer the book contains the entirety of SummerFest.

· Pass along brochures, program books, and other printed matter you receive from us to friends or anyone who might be interested.

You may notice that in this SummerFest program book we have made a few changes. We’ve moved some of the content online, reduced the font size of some of the pages, and printed it on thinner paper. Those are all intended to reduce the overall size of the book and create less waste.

We welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Thank you for helping us do our part to be environmentally conscious!

PRELUDE · 6:30 PM THE JAI

Interview with SummerFest Music

Director Inon Barnatan hosted by Leah Rosenthal

OPENING NIGHT: A Deal with the Devil

FRIDAY, JULY 26, 2024 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

LISZT

Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S.514 “The Dance in the Village Inn” (1811–1886) Inon Barnatan, piano

TARTINI

Violin Sonata in G Minor “The Devil’s Trill” (ed. Agnese Pavanello) (1692–1770) Andante; Allegro Grave; Allegro assai

Augustin Hadelich, violin; Inon Barnatan, harpsichord; Macintyre Taback*, cello

Support for this program is provided by:

Clara Wu Tsai

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

PAGANINI

Caprice No. 24 in A Minor (1782–1840)

Augustin Hadelich, violin

INTERMISSION

STRAVINSKY

L’Histoire du Soldat (1882–1971) (The Soldier’s Tale)

Danny Burstein, narrator

Thomas Adès, conductor

English translation by Joel Fram and Annette Jolles

Part I

The Soldier’s March

Music to Scene 1

Music to Scene 2

Music to Scene 3

Part II

The Soldier’s March

The Royal March

The Little Concert

Tango

Waltz

Ragtime

The Devil’s Dance

The Little Choral

The Devil’s Song

Great Choral

Triumphal March of the Devil

Alexi Kenney, violin; Mark Simpson, clarinet ; Eleni Katz, bassoon; Chris Coletti, cornet ; James Miller, trombone; Michael Yeung‡, percussion; Anthony Manzo, bass

The Paper Cinema

Nicholas Rawling, illustrator & artistic director

Annette Jolles, stage director

Visuals by The Paper Cinema were commissioned by La Jolla Music Society for SummerFest

*2024 SummerFest Fellowship Artist, ‡YCA Artist-in-Residence

Augustin Hadelich

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Mephisto Waltz No.

1, S.514 “The Dance in the Village Inn” FRANZ LISZT

Born October 22, 1811, Raiding, Hungary

Died July 31, 1886, Bayreuth, Germany

Composed: 1861

Approximate Duration: 10 minutes

In 1860 Franz Liszt wrote a pair of orchestral works that he titled Two Episodes from Lenau’s Faust. Nicolas Lenau (1802–50) was a Hungarian–Austrian poet who wrote his own versions of the Faust legend, different from Goethe’s. Liszt’s pieces depict two scenes from Lenau’s dramatic poem. The first, Der nächtlige Zug (“The Ride by Night”), is a portrait of a religious procession passing by in the night, carrying torches as they go. It is seldom played, but the second has become one of Liszt’s most familiar orchestral works. Liszt titled it Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke (“The Dance in the Village Inn”), though it is most commonly known today under the title Mephisto Waltz No. 1. Liszt completed this music in January 1861 and led its first performance at Weimar on March 8, 1861. At the same time, Liszt prepared a piano version of this music that is virtually the same musically as the orchestral version, though it differs in a few pianistic details.

In the score Liszt printed a synopsis of the action that his music depicts. Faust and Mephistopheles wander into a village tavern, where Faust is smitten by a “black-eyed beauty.” But he is afraid to approach her, and Mephistopheles chides him for being willing to stand up to the creatures of hell but cowering at the prospect of approaching a woman. Bored with the tavern, its inhabitants, and the music, Mephistopheles challenges the local musicians to dig in and play with some life. He takes up a violin and begins to play, and his playing is so exciting that it whips those in the tavern into a frenzy. Under the spell of the music, Faust overcomes his fears and leads the “black-eyed beauty” out into the warm night, where they cross a meadow and enter a dark forest. Deep in that forest, they hear the music from the distant tavern as a nightingale sings overhead.

Liszt’s music does not set out to depict these events in the sort of realistic detail that Richard Strauss would have brought to the task a generation later. Instead, he offers a more generalized impression, and his piece is structured as a series of waltzes in 3/8: some are fiery, some languorous, and some dance with an almost Mendelssohnian lightness. After all this excitement, the music turns quiet as Faust and his companion enter the dark woods. A sudden rush of energy propels the music to its powerful final chords.

himself at law school by giving violin and fencing lessons—he even thought briefly of making a career as a fencing-master. But fate intervened, as it so often does: at age 20, Tartini eloped with one of his violin students, only to discover that his youthful bride was under the protection of her uncle, the archbishop of Padua, who came after Tartini with a vengeance. The young violin-andfencing teacher had to flee Padua for Assisi, where he hid in a monastery. Only after the archbishop had calmed down (which took two years) could Tartini return to Padua. He had used his time in the cloister to study composition, and he now devoted himself completely to music, becoming music director of Saint Anthony’s in Padua and eventually founding a violin school; this became so famous that it attracted students from all over Europe, earning it the nickname “School of the Nations.” A prolific composer (about 350 works survive), Tartini devoted himself to mathematical speculation and studies in musical theory during his later years.

His most famous work is the Violin Sonata in G Minor, which Tartini said was inspired when the devil appeared to him one night in a dream and played it through for him; the next day Tartini wrote down what he could remember of the sonata he had heard in his dream. The music acquired the nickname “Devil’s Trill” from the fiendishly difficult trilled passages in its last movement; many is the violinist who, faced with having to play these passages, has been quite ready to agree that this music did in fact come straight from the devil. The sonata’s difficulties lie not just in the last movement’s famous trills, for the violinist must also be able to execute graceful string crossings, double-stops, quick grace notes, and the sudden alternation of a cantabile line with fiery attacks.

The opening Andante, somber and wistful, gives way to an Allegro that alternates dramatic gestures with fluid and flowing passages demanding the most poised bow arm possible. The famous last movement is actually two movements in one, for Tartini alternates the opening Grave and the Allegro assai, with its infamous trills. What makes these trills so difficult is that the violinist must simultaneously play a bowed melody on another string; near the close Tartini has the violinist break away for a long solo cadenza before a grand close on the Grave melody.

The “Devil’s Trill” is one of the great violin sonatas, but Tartini was not fully satisfied with it. Much later, he wrote to a friend: “The piece I then composed, ‘The Devil’s Sonata,’ although the best I ever wrote, how far was it below the one I heard in my dream!”

(ed. Agnese Pavanello)

Born April 8, 1692, Pirano, Istria

Died February 26, 1770, Padua, Italy

Composed: 1799

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

The life of Giuseppe Tartini reads like something out of a novel, not a music history text. As a boy, he learned to play the violin and to fence and was so good at both that he supported

This sonata has been known for years in an edition for violin and piano (an instrument Tartini never heard) prepared by violinist Fritz Kreisler. At this concert it is heard in a new edition by the Swiss musicologist Agnese Pavanello. No manuscript of the sonata in Tartini’s hand has survived, and she prepared a new edition based on the many handwritten copies that circulated in Tartini’s own time. In this edition, the violin is accompanied by a harpsichord, and the continuo line is reinforced by a cello.

Violin Sonata in G Minor, “Devil’s Trill” GIUSEPPE TARTINI

Caprice No. 24 in A Minor NICCOLÒ PAGANINI

Born October 27, 1782, Genoa

Died May 27, 1840, Nice

Composed: 1817

Approximate Duration: 4 minutes

We think of Paganini as a violinist, and certainly he was one of the greatest violinists who ever lived. Beginning about age 30, he embarked on a series of tours to Vienna, Prague, Paris, London, and elsewhere that dazzled audiences (and made Paganini unbelievably wealthy). Young Chopin heard Paganini in Warsaw, Liszt heard him in Paris, Schubert heard him in Vienna, and all were struck dumb by his extraordinary abilities on the violin. It appears that Paganini taught himself such new techniques as playing in double-stopped harmonics or with lefthanded pizzicatos, and he made a specialty of playing entire compositions on one string or with massive chording. The impression of superhuman powers on the violin quickly led to rumors that Paganini had acquired these abilities by selling his soul to the devil, and controversy swirled around him. Paganini’s sickly and cadaverous appearance of course encouraged such speculation, and rumor soon had it that he had murdered a lover and learned to play the violin in prison on a one-stringed violin; some even swore that they saw sparks flying from Paganini’s bow when he played in darkened concert halls. Ever the showman, Paganini was well aware of the box office value of such rumors and did little to dispel them.

In 1820 Paganini published his Twenty-Four Caprices for Solo Violin, a set of brief études that he had composed over a fifteenyear span (1802 to 1817). Inevitably, one is alert to the number 24 in music, for that is the number of all the major and minor keys. Bach’s two books of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Chopin’s Preludes, and Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues all consist of exactly 24 pieces in all 24 keys. But Paganini made no effort to write in all the keys— the number 24 here is purely coincidental.

Each of Paganini’s Caprices challenges a violinist in different ways. The Caprice No. 24 in A Minor—which has become by far the most famous of the set—is a set of variations. It begins by stating the basic theme: the first phrase is four bars long (and is repeated), followed by an eight-bar extension of that theme. Then the variations begin, and some of these are of hair-raising difficulty: the theme is heard in octaves, thirds, and tenths; one variation is triple-stopped (played simultaneously on three strings); one features left-handed pizzicatos; others feature writing at the highest extreme of the fingerboard, and several require complex string-crossings. After eleven variations, Paganini rounds things off with a brilliant finale that concludes with a firm A-major chord.

Is the basic theme of this Caprice the most famous theme ever written? Probably not, but it has certainly haunted other composers over the last two centuries. That theme is a perfect subject for variations (as Paganini well knew), and among the many subsequent composers who have written variations on it are Liszt, Brahms, Ysaÿe, Szymanowski, Lutoslawski, and Rochberg. By far the most famous, though, is Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, composed in 1934—it has become one of the most popular pieces of classical music ever written.

Tonight, listen to Paganini’s theme as it is played in its original form. It is easy to understand why that theme, tautly sprung and full of sharp edges, has haunted composers ever since—and why it seems to carry a faint whiff of the demonic about it.

L’histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale) IGOR STRAVINSKY

Born June 17, 1882, St. Petersburg, Russia

Died April 6, 1971, New York City

Composed: 1918

Approximate Duration: 57 minutes

Stravinsky spent the period of World War I in Switzerland. These were difficult years for the composer, then in his thirties. The war prevented productions of his music, halting his income, and the Russian Revolution of 1917 cut him off from his homeland. At this moment of discouragement, Stravinsky became friends with the Swiss novelist C.F. Ramuz and suggested that they create a theater piece based on two Russian folktales about the devil and a soldier. One story told of a soldier who got the devil drunk, fed him shot by telling him it was caviar, and killed him. In the other story, the devil tricks a deserter into giving up his soul. The version that Ramuz and Stravinsky created became L’histoire du soldat—The Soldier’s Tale—completed in 1918. L’histoire du soldat reeks with the angry disillusion generated by the First World War. The tale is a bitter one: the soldier—it does not matter which country or army he is from—battles the devil and even wins a few rounds, but the ultimate triumph must belong to the devil.

Stravinsky wrote L’histoire for an ensemble of seven players and three actors (and—in the original version—a dancer). This is not a play, an opera, or a ballet, but more accurately a theater piece. The musicians sit off to one side, while the actors speak their lines and sometimes participate in the action. The reason for using such a small musical ensemble was purely pragmatic: the war made it difficult to find large performing groups, and Stravinsky hoped that with such a small number of performers, L’histoire could easily be taken on tour and performed in villages. Stravinsky chose two instruments from each instrumental family, trying to achieve the widest tonal range possible: violin and double bass, clarinet and bassoon; trumpet and trombone; he added a percussionist responsible for a number of different instruments. Many have noted the similarity between this ensemble and American jazz groups of the same period, and in fact at places L’histoire du soldat is influenced by jazz, but this music shows many influences beyond jazz—Stravinsky was consciously trying to set his earlier “Russian” music behind him and create a more international style.

At its first performance, on September 28, 1918, just a few weeks before the armistice that ended the war, L’histoire was a great success. But Stravinsky’s hopes for financial success from a tour were quickly dashed. The epidemic of Spanish flu that swept the world in 1918 hit Switzerland at this point, affecting several of the performers, and the tour had to be abandoned.

L’histoire is structured around a series of scenes, each based on a duel between the soldier and the devil; in each scene, the devil is disguised in a different way. In the early scenes, music and

dialogue tend to alternate, but as the piece proceeds Stravinsky integrates language and music, and much of the text is spoken in strict rhythmic ensemble with the music.

A brief description of the action and music:

The rhythmic Soldier’s March opens L’histoire and introduces the soldier on his way home on leave; it will recur at several points during the tale. In the first scene, the devil appears as an old man with a butterfly net. He accosts a young soldier returning home for ten days’ leave and offers to buy his fiddle (the violin symbolizes the soldier’s soul) in exchange for a magic book. The Soldier’s Violin is the music the soldier plays when, while resting by a brook, he pulls an old violin from his pack and tunes it up; this propulsive interlude is full of tricky double-stops for the violinist. When the soldier gets to his village, he realizes that he has been deceived: three years have passed, his fiancée is married to someone else and has two children, and none of his friends can even see him. Disguised as a cattle merchant, the devil appears and shows the young man how the book can make him rich.

The devil next appears as a clothes merchant to the soldier, who has become very successful financially but is unhappy. Seeing that the clothes merchant has his old violin, the soldier seizes it and tries to play, but finds that it will now make no sound and in despair hurls it offstage. Now comes the famous Royal March, with its swirling trumpet quintuplets; the influence here is Spanish—the music is in the form of a pasodoble, a Spanish two-step dance. In this scene, the king’s daughter lies ill, and the king has promised her hand to anyone who can cure her. Encouraged by the devil (now disguised as a violin virtuoso) to try to cure her, the soldier plays cards with the devil, gets him drunk, and gets back his violin. The soldier approaches the sick princess and plays the violin for her. She rises and dances three different dances, two of them influenced by jazz—Tango, Waltz, and Ragtime—and then embraces the soldier. The devil appears, this time as a devil with a pointed tail, and the soldier uses his violin to triumph over him. The Devil’s Song, with its promise of ultimate triumph, is framed by two Chorales, somewhat in the manner of Lutheran chorales of Northern Germany. During the second chorale, the narrator offers what may well be the moral of L’histoire du Soldat: “You mustn’t try to add what you once had to what you have. You cannot be both what you are and what you were. No one has the right to have everything. That is forbidden. One happiness at a time. Don’t try to double it, it can’t be done. The road to twice-as-much leads to none.”

In the last scene the devil achieves his final triumph. Several years have passed, and the soldier and princess go to visit his home. Once they pass the frontier, the devil—dressed in brilliant scarlet—appears and gets control of the violin. Defeated, the soldier slowly follows him. L’histoire du soldat began with a march, and now it concludes with another, the Triumphal March of the Devil. Brilliant and animated, this music grows leaner as it proceeds—the other instruments drop out, leaving only the percussion to bring the music to its eerie close. Many have compared this effect to stripping away the extraneous to leave only the music’s skeleton, a fitting conclusion to this tale of demonic triumph.

MUSICAL PRELUDE · 6:30 PM THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Abeo Quartet performs Schulhoff's Five Pieces for String Quartet and Shostavokich's String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Opus 122

Support for the SummerFest Fellowship Artists and the Musical Preludes is provided by:

Gordon Brodfuehrer and Jeanette Stevens

DANSE MACABRE

SATURDAY, JULY 27, 2024 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

YSAŸE

Sonata in A Minor for Solo Violin, Opus 27, No. 2 “Obsession” (1858–1931)

Obsession: Poco vivace

Malinconia: Poco lento

Dance des Ombres: Sarabande (Lento)

Les furies: Allegro furioso

Augustin Hadelich, violin

SAINT-SAËNS

Danse macabre, Opus 40 (arr. for violin and piano) (1835–1921)

Augustin Hadelich, violin; Inon Barnatan, piano

MARTIN BUTLER Dirty Beasts (b. 1960)

Settings of verse by Roald Dahl

The Pig

The Tummy Beast

The Crocodile

Danny Burstein, narrator

Rose Lombardo, flute/piccolo; Nicholas Daniel, oboe;

Mark Simpson, clarinet/bass clarinet ; Jennifer Montone, horn

Eleni Katz, bassoon; Inon Barnatan, piano

THOMAS ADÈS Catch (b. 1971)

Mark Simpson, clarinet ; Alexi Kenney, violin; Jay Campbell, cello; Thomas Adès, piano

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

RAVEL

La valse for Two Pianos (1875–1937)

Inon Barnatan, Thomas Adès, pianos

INTERMISSION

SCHUBERT

String Quartet in D Minor, D. 810 “Death and the Maiden” (1797–1828)

Allegro

Andante con moto

Scherzo: Allegro molto

Presto

Andrew Wan, Tessa Lark, violins; Teng Li, viola; Jonathan Swensen, cello

Inon Barnatan

Program notes by Eric Bromberger, except where indicated.

Sonata in A Minor for Solo Violin, Opus 27, No. 2 “Obsession” EUGÈNE YSAŸE

Born July 16, 1858, Liège, Belgium

Died May 12, 1931, Brussels

Composed: 1923

Approximate Duration: 13 minutes

Eugène Ysaÿe’s set of six sonatas for solo violin dates from 1924. Ysaÿe had become interested in the styles of particular contemporary violinists, and he dedicated each sonata to a different violin virtuoso and tried to capture something of that performer’s style in “his” sonata. The list of dedicatees includes some very distinguished names: Szigeti, Kreisler, Enesco, and Thibaud. So fascinated was Ysaÿe by the idea of adapting these pieces to individual performers that he composed this music almost overnight: he went up to his room with instructions that he was not be disturbed (meals were sent up to him), and when he came down twenty-four hours later he had sketched all six sonatas.

Ysaÿe dedicated his Sonata No. 2 to the French violinist Jacques Thibaud. Thibaud played Bach’s works for unaccompanied violin at a time when this music was not widely performed, and in fact he would practice sections of these works every day as a form of self-discipline. Ysaÿe knew this and incorporated bits of the Preludio from Bach’s Partita in E Major into the first movement of the sonata he wrote for Thibaud. The “obsession” that runs through this work, however, is not Bach, but the ancient Dies Irae plainsong tune, used by Berlioz (in the Symphonie fantastique), Rachmaninoff (virtually everywhere), and many others. This grim old tune permeates the Second Sonata, appearing in different forms in all four movements.

Ysaÿe simply “lifts” the beginning of the Preludio for the beginning of his own sonata, and bits of Bach’s passagework drift in and out of the texture of Ysaÿe’s first movement. This is a very busy movement, built—like the Bach—on a steady pulse of sixteenth-notes, and as it proceeds we begin to hear the Dies Irae tune rising from those rushing textures: sometimes its appearance is subtle, and sometimes it is shouted out as the top and bottom notes of swirling arpeggios that punch that ancient melody into our consciousness. As in the Bach Preludio, Ysaÿe makes use of bariolage as the rapid-fire rush of sixteenths glints and flashes off closed and open E’s. Both Bach and Ysaÿe’s first movements end with a great upward rush.

The first movement is titled Obsession, and its obsessive Dies Irae motif will recur in the other three movements; each of these has a title as well. The second movement, Malinconia, is indeed melancholy—muted throughout, it dances gravely along its heavily double-stopped lines, and the Dies Irae arrives only in the final seconds. That motif, however, dominates the third movement, Dance des ombres (“Dance of the Shadows”). Though nominally a Sarabande, and so a movement right out of the Bach partitas, this is in fact a series of variations on the obsession-tune. That motif is buried within the bold pizzicato beginning, and when Ysaÿe has the violinist take up the bow the variations— six of them—begin in earnest, finally driving to a grand close.

The finale, titled Les furies and aptly marked Allegro furioso, is a showpiece for virtuoso violinist, who takes the Dies Irae through a series of wild extensions, marked by some eerie sounds— ponticello passages, harmonics, and violent string-crossings.

Danse macabre, Opus 40 (arr. for violin and piano) CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

Born October 9, 1835, Paris

Died December 16, 1921, Algiers

Composed: 1875

Approximate Duration: 7 minutes

In 1873 Saint-Saëns wrote a song that set a spooky poem by Henri Cavalis. In that poem, the souls of the dead come to life in a cemetery at midnight and dance their way through a black sabbath as Death plays his violin. Cavalis’ poem has been translated freely:

Zig, zig, zig, Death is striking a tomb with his heel in cadence. Death is playing a dance tune on his violin at midnight. The winter wind blows, and the night is dark. From the linden-trees come moans. White skeletons move across the shadows, running and leaping in their shrouds. Zig, zig, zig, each one gives a tremor, and the dancer’s bones rattle. Hush! They leave off dancing, they jostle one another, they flee—the cock has crowed.

But Saint-Saëns was dissatisfied with his song—he thought it unsingable—and the following year he recast the music as a tone poem for orchestra. He could not have known that just a few years earlier and far to the east, Mussorgsky had composed a very similar portrait of diabolical revelry, Night on Bald Mountain. Premiered in Paris on January 24, 1875, Danse macabre quickly became—and remains—one of Saint-Saëns’ most popular works. It became so popular, in fact, that the following year SaintSaëns’ good friend Franz Liszt made a spectacular arrangement of Danse macabre as a virtuoso piano piece. The year after that, in 1877, Saint-Saëns himself returned to this music and arranged it for violin and piano.

Danse macabre opens with the twelve strokes of midnight, and in the orchestral version Saint-Saëns assigned those strokes to the harp. In this version, however, he gives them to the violin, which plays them as left-handed pizzicatos. Death now tunes his violin, but he doesn’t get it quite right—he tunes his E-string a half-step flat. The resulting discord is a tritone (three whole steps, or a diminished fifth), infamous from medieval times as the sound of the devil (as a result, it was banned in some music). Here Saint-Saëns lets that discord ring out stridently, and Death quickly launches into his waltz. Soon we hear the sound of dancing skeletons, and Saint-Saëns builds his dance with some skill, treating it fugally at one point and combining his two main themes at the climax. That climax breaks off into silence, and the crow of a distant rooster suggests the coming of dawn. The spirits cringe before the light but quickly bow to the inevitable. They return to their graves, and the music winks out before us.

Dirty Beasts MARTIN BUTLER

Born 1960, Romsey, Hampshire

Composed: 1988

Approximate Duration: 10 minutes

In 1983 Roahl Dahl published a collection of nine poems titled Dirty Beasts. The poems comment playfully on the interaction between sentient animals and often-unaware people, and many of the poems feature animals who take revenge on people, specifically by eating them! Dirty Beasts proved very popular, and it has gone through several editions, with appropriately lurid illustrations by different artists.

In 1988 the Canterbury Festival asked English composer Martin Butler to write a piece for that year’s festival, and he decided to set three of Dahl’s poems, at least in part because Dahl was living in Canterbury at that time. The result was an imaginative work for narrator, piano, and wind quintet titled—like its inspiration—Dirty Beasts. It was premiered at the Canterbury Festival on October 15, 1988.

Butler has said that he wrote Dirty Beasts for adults to play and for children to enjoy, and he chose three of the most striking of Dahl’s poems: “The Pig” (about a pig who realizes that it is being raised to be eaten and then turns the table on the farmer), “The Tummy Beast” (about a boy who has a ravenous beast living inside him), and “The Crocodile” (in which a father tells his children a bedtime story about a crocodile who eats boys and girls, only to discover that that crocodile is coming up the stairs). Summarized this way, the poems all tell horrifying tales, but Dahl’s tone is light, and Butler captures its spirit in his settings.

Butler deploys his forces imaginatively in Dirty Beasts. The narrator of course recites the poems. Sometimes that narrator speaks over the music, and while Dahl’s texts are never sung, at moments Butler requires that the narration be carefully coordinated with the rhythms of the music. Sometimes the six instrumentalists play by themselves, and audiences may take pleasure in the snorting and grunting of the wind instruments as they imitate the sounds of the animals they are depicting.

Martin Butler studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and at Princeton, where he earned an MFA in 1985. He currently teaches at the University of Sussex.

Catch THOMAS ADÈS

Born March 1, 1971, London

Composed: 1991

Approximate Duration: 9 minutes

Catch structures itself around various combinations of the four instruments. There are several games going on: at the start, the clarinet is the outsider, the other three are the unit, then, after a decoy entry, the clarinet takes the initiative. All four then play jovial “pig-in-the-middle” with each other. The clarinet is then phased out leaving a sullen piano and cello, with interjections based on the clarinet’s original tune. This slower passage gradually mutates back into fast music, and this time the game is in earnest: the piano is squeezed out, only to lure the clarinet finally into the snare of its own music.

— Thomas Adès

La valse for two pianos MAURICE RAVEL

Born March 7, 1875, Ciboure, Basses-Pyrenées, France

Died December 28, 1937, Paris

Composed: 1919

Approximate Duration: 11 minutes

Though Ravel, like many French composers, was profoundly wary of German music, there was one German form for which he felt undiluted affection—the waltz. As a young piano student in Paris, Ravel fell under the spell of Schubert’s waltzes for piano, and this led him in 1911 to compose his own Valses nobles et sentimentales, a set of charming waltzes modeled on the Schubert dances he loved so much. Somewhat earlier—in 1906—Ravel had planned a great waltz for orchestra. His working title for this orchestral waltz was Wien (Vienna), but the piece was delayed and Ravel did not return to it until the fall of 1919. This was the year after the conclusion of World War I (Ravel had served as an ambulance driver in the French army during the war), and the French vision of the Germanic world was quite different now than it had been when Ravel originally conceived the piece. Nevertheless, he still felt the appeal of the project, and by December he was madly at work. To a friend he wrote: “I’m working again on Wien. It’s going great guns. I was able to take off at last, and in high gear.” The orchestration was completed the following March, and the first performance took place in Paris on December 12, 1920. By this time, perhaps wary of wartime associations, Ravel had renamed the piece La valse.

If La valse is one of Ravel’s most opulent and exciting scores, it is also one of his most troubling. Certainly the original conception was clear enough, and the composer left an exact description of what he was getting at: “Whirling clouds give glimpses, through rifts, of couples waltzing. The clouds scatter little by little. One sees an immense hall peopled with a twirling crowd. The scene is gradually illuminated. The light of chandeliers bursts forth fortissimo. An Imperial Court, about 1855.” The music gives us this scene exactly: out of the murky, misty beginning, we hear bits of waltz rhythms; gradually these come together and plunge into an animated waltz in D major. If La valse concluded with all this elegant vitality, our sense of the music might be clear, but gradually the music darkens and drives to an ending full of frenzied violence, and we come away from La valse not so much exhilarated as shaken. Ravel made a telling comment about this conclusion: “I had intended this work to be a kind of apotheosis of the Viennese waltz, with which was associated in my imagination an impression of a fantastic and fatal sort of dervish’s dance.”

Is this music a celebration of the waltz—or is it an exploration of the darker spirit behind the culture that created it? Many have opted for the latter explanation, hearing in La valse not a Rosenkavalier-like evocation of a more graceful era, but the snarling menace behind that elegance. Ravel himself was evasive about the ending. He was aware of the implications of the violent close, but in a letter to a friend he explained them quite differently: “Some people have seen in this piece the expression of a tragic affair; some have said that it represented the end of the Second Empire, others that it was postwar Vienna. They are wrong. Certainly, La valse is tragic, but in the Greek sense:

it is a fatal spinning around, the expression of vertigo and the voluptuousness of the dance to the point of paroxysm.”

In the course of its composition, Ravel arranged La valse both for solo piano and for two pianos, and he and Italian composer Alfredo Casella gave the first public performance of the two-piano version in Vienna at an unusual concert that also featured Arnold Schoenberg conducting his Gurrelieder. The concert took place in the Kleiner Konzerthaussaal in Vienna on October 23, 1920, two months before the première of the orchestral version, and on that occasion La valse proved a huge success in the city that had originally inspired it.

String Quartet in D Minor, D.810 “Death and the Maiden” FRANZ SCHUBERT

Born January 31, 1797, Vienna

Died November 19, 1828, Vienna

Composed: 1824

Approximate Duration: 38 minutes

In the fall of 1822 Schubert became extremely ill, and every indication is that he had contracted syphilis. The effect on him—physically and emotionally—was devastating. He was quite ill throughout 1823, so seriously in May that he had to be hospitalized. His health had in fact been shattered permanently, and he would never be fully well again. The cause of his death five years later at 31, officially listed as typhoid, was probably at least partially a result of syphilis. Emotionally, the illness was so destructive that he never went back to complete the symphony he had been working on when he contracted the disease—it would come to be known as the “Unfinished.”

By early 1824 Schubert had regained some measure of health and strength, and he turned to chamber music, composing two string quartets, the second of them in D Minor. The nickname Der Tod und Das Mädchen (“Death and the Maiden”) comes from Schubert’s use of a theme from his 1817 song by that name as the basis for a set of variations in the quartet’s second movement. In the song, which sets a poem of Matthias Claudius, death beckons a young girl; she begs him to pass her over, but he insists, saying that his embrace is soothing, like sleep. It is easy to believe that, under the circumstances, the thought of soothing death may have held some attraction for the composer.

The quartet itself is extremely dramatic. The Allegro rips to life with a five-note figure spit out by all four instruments. This hardly feels like chamber music. One can easily imagine this figure stamped out furiously by a huge orchestra, and the dramatic nature of this movement marks it as nearly symphonic (in fact, Gustav Mahler arranged this quartet for string orchestra in 1894, and that version is performed and recorded today). A gentle second subject brings a measure of relief, but the hammering triplet of the opening figure is never far away—it can be heard quietly in the accompaniment, as part of the main theme, and as part of the development. The Allegro, which lasts a full quarter of an hour, comes to a quiet close with the triplet rhythm sounding faintly in the distance.

The Andante con moto is deceptively simple. From the song Der Tod und Das Mädchen, Schubert uses only death’s music, which is an almost static progression of chords; the melody moves quietly

within the chords. But from that simple progression Schubert writes five variations that are themselves quite varied—by turns soaring, achingly lyric, fierce, calm—and the wonder is that so simple a chordal progression can yield music of such expressiveness and variety.

After two overpowering movements, the Scherzo: Allegro molto might seem almost lightweight, for it is extremely short. But it returns to the slashing mood of the opening movement and takes up that same strength. The trio sings easily in the lower voices as the first violin flutters and decorates their melodic line. An unusual feature of the trio is that it has no repeat—Schubert instead writes an extension of the trio, almost a form of variation itself.

The final movement, appropriately marked Presto, races ahead on its 6/8 rhythm. Some listeners have felt that this movement is death-haunted, and they point out that its main theme is a tarantella, the old dance of death, and that Schubert also quotes quietly from his own song Erlkönig. Significantly, the phrase he quotes in that song sets death’s words “Mein liebes Kind, komm geh mit mir” (“My dear child, come go with me”), which is precisely the message of the song Der Tod und das Mädchen. What this movement is “about” must be left to each listener to decide, but it is hard to believe this music deathhaunted. The principal impression it makes is of overwhelming power—propulsive rhythms, huge blocks of sound, sharp dynamic contrasts—and the very ending, a dazzling rush marked Prestissimo that suddenly leaps into D major, blazes with life.

PASSIONS AND STORMS

PRELUDE · 2 PM THE JAI

Lecture by Charissa Noble

Support for this program and Thomas Adès' residency is provided by Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley

SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2024 · 3 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

JANÁČEK String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata” (1854–1928)

Adagio; Con moto

Con moto

Con moto

Con moto

Alexi Kenney, Tessa Lark, violins; Teng Li, viola; Jonathan Swensen, cello

Selections from On an Overgrown Path

They Chattered Like Swallows (Book I)

Good Night! (Book I)

Allegro (Book II)

Thomas Adès , piano

Sonata for Violin and Piano

Con moto

Ballada

Allegretto

Adagio

Augustin Hadelich, violin; Thomas Adès, piano INTERMISSION

THOMAS ADÈS Suite from The Tempest for Violin and Piano (b. 1971)

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

Caliban: “This island’s mine” (Act 1 Scene 4)

Ariel: “full fathom five thy father lies” (Act 1 Scene 5)

Miranda: Aria and Quintet

Caliban and Ariel: Free

Augustin Hadelich, violin; Thomas Adès, piano

BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata in A Major, Opus 47, No. 9 “Kreutzer” (arr. for string quintet) (1770–1827)

Adagio sostenuto; Presto

Andante con variazioni

Finale: Presto

Tessa Lark, Andrew Wan, violins; Teng Li, viola; Jay Campbell, Jonathan Swensen, cellos

Alexi Kenney

Program notes by Eric Bromberger, except where indicated.

String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata”

LEOŠ JANÁČEK

Born July 3, 1854, Hukvaldy, Moravia

Died August 12, 1928, Moravska Ostrava, Czechoslovakia

Composed: 1923

Approximate Duration: 18 minutes

Czech composer Leoš Janáček labored for years in obscurity. And at the time of his sixtieth birthday in 1914 he was known only as a choral conductor and teacher who had achieved modest success with a provincial production of his opera Jenůfa ten years earlier. Then in 1917 came a transforming event. The aging composer fell in love with Kamila Stösslová, a 25-yearold married woman and mother of a small child. This onesided love affair was platonic—Kamila was mystified by all this passionate attention, though she remained an affectionate and understanding friend. But the effect of this love on Janáček was staggering: over the final decade of his life he wrote four operas, two string quartets, the Sinfonietta, the Glagolitic Mass, and numerous other works, all in some measure inspired by his love for Kamila (he also wrote her more than 600 letters).

Not surprisingly, Janáček became consumed in these years with the idea of women: their charm, their power, and the often cruel situations in which they find themselves trapped by love. The theme of a woman who makes tragic decisions about love is portrayed dramatically in the opera Kátya Kabanová (1921) and abstractly in his two string quartets. The second of these quartets, subtitled “Intimate Pages,” is a direct expression of his love for Kamila, while the first, subtitled “The Kreutzer Sonata,” takes its inspiration from Tolstoy’s novella of the same name. In Tolstoy’s story, a deranged man tells of his increasing suspicion of his wife, who is a pianist, and the violinist she accompanies in a performance of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata. He returns home unexpectedly, finds them together, and stabs his wife to death.

Working very quickly in the fall of 1923, Janáček composed a string quartet inspired by Tolstoy’s story (the actual composition took only nine days: October 30–November 7). A few days before the première of the quartet in 1924, Janáček wrote to Kamila, telling her that the subject of his quartet was the unhappy, tormented, misused and ill-used woman as described by the Russian writer Tolstoy in his work, The Kreutzer Sonata. Janáček’s biographer Jaroslav Vogel reports that the second violinist at the première (who was in fact the composer Joseph Suk) said that “Janáček meant the work to be a kind of moral protest against men’s despotic attitude to women.”

Listeners should be wary of trying to hear exact representations of these ideas in the quartet, for this is not music that explicitly tells a story. Some have claimed to hear an elaborate “plot” in this music, but it is much more useful to approach the First String Quartet as an abstract work of art that creates an agitated, even grim atmosphere. Listeners should also not expect the normal structure of the classical string quartet. Janáček’s late music is built on fragmentary themes that develop through repetition, abrupt changes of tempo and mood, and an exceptionally wide palette of string color. The opening movement alternates Adagio and Con moto sections, and the other three

movements, all marked Con moto, are built on the same pattern of alternating sections in different speeds, moods, and sounds. There are several striking touches: the arcing melodic shape heard in the first measures of the quartet will return throughout (the quartet ends with a variation of this figure), while the opening of the third movement is a subtle quotation from the Kreutzer Sonata of Beethoven, a composer Janáček disliked. Throughout the span of the eighteen-minute quartet, the music gathers such intensity that its subdued ending comes as a surprise.

Janáček’s performance markings in the score are particularly suggestive: by turn he asks the players to make the music sound “grieving,” “weeping,” “sharp,” “lamenting,” “desperate,” “lugubrious,” and—at the climax of the final movement— “ferocious.” One does not need to know Janáček’s markings, however, to feel the intensity of this music.

Selections from On an Overgrown Path LEOS JANÁČEK

Composed: 1911

Approximate Duration: 10 minutes

The first years of the twentieth century were extremely difficult for Janáĉek. During the summer of 1902, at just the moment he was completing his opera Jenůfa, Janáĉek’s twentyyear-old daughter Olga died of typhoid fever after a long period of decline and suffering. Beginning in the midst of this, about 1901, and continuing to 1908, Janáĉek composed a series of short pieces for piano or harmonium, and in 1911 he gathered ten of these and published them as On an Overgrown Path. A second group of five more of these pieces was collected and published after the composer’s death.

The exact meaning of Janáĉek’s title is uncertain. Some feel that it refers to memories of his childhood in Hukvaldy as recalled by an adult: one moves in life along a path that gradually is grown over behind him, separating him from the world of the child. These short pieces recall scenes from youth, with children dancing or at play, and the mood here can be gentle and nostalgic. Yet some of the pieces seem to spring directly from the experience of Olga’s death, with titles like Unutterable Anguish and In Tears. Even the movements not associated with death are tinged with a sort of melancholy, as Janáĉek looks back—from beyond the path—on the world of childhood innocence. The composer himself was aware of this strange mix of emotions. He said that “there is distress beyond words” in these pieces, but he also admitted “They are so dear to me, I don’t think they will ever end . . .”

This recital offers two pieces from Book I of On an Overgrown Path and one from Book II. They Chattered Like Swallows seems at first one of Janáĉek’s “happy memories,” as the birds cry out energetically overhead, yet there is something enigmatic and wistful in the midst of all this busy energy. The piece is full of Janáĉek’s characteristic metric fluidity, with leaps between 2/4, 5/8, and 4/8.

Good Night! surely is associated with Olga’s death. Janáĉek begins with a quick four-note accompanimental figure that will recur throughout, and soon the lullaby-like main theme is heard in the right hand. This at first marked espressivo and triple piano, but it grows into full-throated statement before the piece concludes as the four-note figure dissolves into silence.

The pieces in Book II do not have evocative titles, only tempo markings in Italian, and the last of the five is marked simply Allegro. This is a big, energetic piece that waltzes gracefully along its 3/8 meter, propelled by a dotted accompanimental figure in the left hand. A curious thing happens along the way: suddenly the tempo slows to an Adagio, the waltz grows calm, and the music glides to a quiet conclusion in C major.

Sonata for Violin and Piano

LEOŠ JANÁČEK

Composed: 1914

Approximate Duration: 18 minutes

Leoš Janáček composed his Violin Sonata in 1914, just as Europe was engulfed by World War I. That war brought catastrophe to millions, but Janáček welcomed it, believing that the Russian army would sweep in and liberate his Czech homeland from German subjugation: “I wrote the Violin Sonata in 1914 at the beginning of the war when we were expected the Russians in Moravia,” he later wrote. Janáček would be disappointed by the Russians, and at first the Violin Sonata brought disappointment as well—Janáček could find no violinist interested in performing it. He set the music aside, returned to it after the war, and revised it completely; the first performance of the final version took place in Brno in 1922, when the composer was 68.

Listeners unfamiliar with Janáček’s music will need to adjust to the distinctive sound of this sonata. Janáček generates a shimmering, rippling sonority in the accompaniment, and over this the violin has jagged melodic figures, some sustained but some very brief, and in fact these harsh interjections are one of the most characteristic aspects of this music. Janáček also shows here his fondness for unusual key signatures: the four movements are in D-flat minor, E major, E-flat minor, and G-sharp minor.

The opening movement, marked simply Con moto, begins with a soaring, impassioned recitative for violin, which immediately plays the movement’s main subject over a jangling piano accompaniment reminiscent of the cimbalon of Eastern Europe. Despite Janáček’s professed dislike of German forms, this movement shows some relation to sonata form: there is a more flowing second subject and an exposition repeat, followed by a brief development full of sudden tempo changes and themes treated as fragments.

Janáček originally composed the Ballada as a separate piece and published it in 1915, but as he revised the sonata he decided to use the Ballada as its slow movement. This is long-lined music, gorgeous in its sustained lyricism as the violin sails high above the rippling piano. At the climax, Janáček marks both parts ad lib, giving the performers a wide freedom of tempo before the music falls away to its shimmering close.

The Allegretto sounds folk-inspired, particularly in its short, repeated phrases (Janáček interjects individual measures in the unusual meters of 1/8 and 1/4). The piano has the dancing main subject, accompanied by vigorous swirls from the violin; the trio section leads to an abbreviated return of the opening material and a cadence on harshly clipped chords.

The sonata concludes, surprisingly, with a slow movement, and this Adagio is in many ways the most impressive movement of the sonata. It shows some elements of the dumka form: the

rapid alternation of bright and dark music. The piano opens with a quiet chordal melody marked dolce, but the violin breaks in roughly with interjections that Janáček marks feroce: “wild, fierce.” A flowing second theme in E major offers a glimpse of quiet beauty, but the movement drives to an unexpected climax on the violin’s Maestoso declarations over tremolandi piano. Janáček regarded this passage as the high point of the entire sonata—he identified the piano tremolandi with the excitement generated by the approach of the Russian army during the first months of the war. And then the sonata comes to an eerie conclusion: this declamatory climax falls away to an enigmatic close, and matters end ambiguously on the violin’s halting interjections.

Janáček’s Violin Sonata is extraordinary music, original in conception and sonority and finally very moving, despite its refusal ever to do quite what we expect it to. For those unfamiliar with Janáček’s late music, this sonata offers a glimpse of the rich achievement of his remarkable final fourteen years.

Suite from The Tempest for Violin and Piano THOMAS ADÈS

Born March 1, 1971, London

Composed: 2022

Approximate Duration: 10 minutes

Thomas Adès’ The Tempest has been acclaimed as one of the operatic triumphs of the 21st century. In his Suite from The Tempest Adès recasts its music as a set of character studies for violin and piano. Written for Christian Tetzlaff and Kirill Gerstein, its four movements are based on key moments from the opera: Caliban – “This island’s mine” (Act I Scene 4); Ariel – “full fathom five thy father lies” (Act I Scene 5); Miranda: Aria and Quintet; and Caliban and Ariel: Free.

The Suite is one of many mercurial reworkings of Adès’ music for the stage for chamber-sized forces, underlining the essential interconnectedness of his musical imagination in scenic, symphonic, and instrumental modes. In the case of the 2004 opera it joins the Court Studies from The Tempest (2005) for violin, clarinet, cello and piano—a free transcription of six solo numbers belonging to the shipwrecked characters. The Suite, however, focuses on those raised on the island itself, in Miranda, Caliban, and Ariel.

The 12½-minute piece begins with Caliban’s resentful outburst against his mistreatment and betrayal by Prospero, both abrasive and melodious by degrees; Ariel’s music follows, with unearthly harmonics that recall the stratospheric writing for coloratura soprano in the opera. The penultimate movement’s passacaglia is derived from the reconciliatory quintet from the climax of the opera; the last movement, underpinned by a chaconne, features lyrical and expansive writing for the violin as Caliban and Ariel are released from their service to the magician, with the ethereal melody dissolving into the air.

Suite from The Tempest premiered on October 1, 2022, at the Kronberg Academy, and was commissioned by Kronberg Academy (for the opening of Casals Forum), Jennifer Wingate and Wigmore Hall.

— Faber Music

Violin Sonata in A Major, Opus 47, No. 9 “Kreutzer” (arr. for string quintet)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Born December 17, 1770, Bonn

Died March 26, 1827, Vienna

Composed: 1803/1832

Approximate Duration: 35 minutes

This concert concludes with a taste of old wine from a new bottle. Or perhaps in an old bottle, after all: we will hear Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata in an arrangement for string quintet. We’ll get to that arrangement in a moment, but first let’s recall the history of this powerful music.

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, Beethoven was beginning to get restless. The young man who had arrived in Vienna in 1792 was a tremendous pianist, but as a composer he still had much to learn, and he spent the next decade slowly mastering the High Classical form of Haydn and Mozart. By 1802 he had composed two symphonies, three piano concertos, a set of six string quartets, and numerous sonatas for piano, for violin, and for cello. These had all been acclaimed in Vienna, but in that same year Beethoven wrote to his friend Werner Krumpholz: “I’m not satisfied with what I’ve composed up to now. From now on I intend to embark on a new path.” That “new path” would become clear late in 1803 with the composition of the Eroica. That symphony revolutionized music—it engaged the most serious issues, and in music of unparalleled drama and scope it resolved them.

But even before the Eroica, there were indications of Beethoven’s “new path.” Early in 1803 the composer met the violinist George Polgreen Bridgetower (1778–1860). Bridgetower, then 25, was the son of a West Indian father and European mother; he had played in the orchestra for Haydn’s concerts in London a decade earlier and was now establishing himself as a touring virtuoso on the continent. Bridgetower and Beethoven quickly became friends, and when the violinist proposed a joint concert at which they would perform a new sonata, the composer agreed. But, as was often the case, Beethoven found himself pressed for time. He made the process easier by retrieving a final movement that he had written for a violin sonata the previous year and then discarded. Now, in effect working backwards, he rushed to get the first two movements done in time for the scheduled concert on May 22. He didn’t make it. The concert had to be postponed two days, and even then Beethoven barely got it done: he called his copyist at 4:30 that morning to begin copying a part for him, and at the concert he and Bridgetower had to perform some of the music from Beethoven’s manuscript. The piano part for the first movement was still in such fragmentary form that Beethoven was probably playing some of it just from sketches.

As soon as he completed this sonata, Beethoven set to work on the Eroica, which would occupy him for the next six months. While the sonata does not engage the heroic issues of the first movement of that symphony, it has something of the Eroica’s slashing power and vast scope. Beethoven was well aware of this and warned performers that the sonata was “written in a very concertante style, quasi-concerto-like.” From the first instant, one senses that this is music conceived on a grand scale. The sonata

opens with a slow introduction (the only one in Beethoven’s ten violin sonatas), a cadenza-like entrance for the violin alone. The piano makes a similarly dramatic entrance, and gradually the two instruments outline the interval of a rising second (E to F#). At the Presto, that interval collapses into a half-step, the movement jumps into A minor, and the music whips ahead. Beethoven provides a chorale-like second subject marked dolce, but this island of calm makes only the briefest of returns in the course of this furious movement. The burning energy of that Presto opening is never far off: the music rips along an almost machine-gun-like patter of eighth-notes, and after a hyperactive development, the movement drives to its abrupt cadence.

Relief comes in the Andante con variazioni. The piano introduces the melody, amiable but already fairly complex, the violin repeats it, and the two instruments briefly extend it. There follow four lengthy and highly elaborated variations, and while the gentle mood of the fundamental theme is never violated, these variations demand some complex and demanding playing. For all its complexities, this is a lovely movement, and Beethoven and Bridgetower had to repeat it at the première.

The final movement opens with a bang—a stark A-major chord—and off the music goes. Beethoven had composed this movement, a tarantella, a year earlier, intending that it should be the finale of his Violin Sonata in A Major, Opus 30, No. 1. But he pulled it out and wrote a new finale for the earlier sonata, and that was a wise decision: this fiery finale would have overpowered that gentle sonata. Here, it dances with a furious energy that makes it a worthy counterpart to the first movement. At several points, Beethoven moves out of the driving 6/8 tarantella meter and offers brief interludes in 2/4. These stately, reserved moments bring the only relief in a movement that overflows with seething energy, a movement that here becomes the perfect conclusion to one of the most powerful pieces of chamber music ever written.

Beethoven was so taken with Bridgetower’s playing that he intended to dedicate the sonata to him, and it is a measure of the playful relations between the two that Beethoven inscribed the manuscript to the violinist: “Mulattic sonata written for the mulatto Brischdauer, a complete lunatic and mulattic composer.” And so we might know this music today as the Bridgetower Sonata but for the fact that the composer and the violinist quarreled, apparently over a remark that Bridgetower made about a woman Beethoven knew. The two eventually made up, but in the meantime Beethoven had dedicated the sonata to the French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, and so we know it today as the Kreutzer Sonata. Ironically, Kreutzer did not like this music—Berlioz reported that “the celebrated violinist could never bring himself to play this outrageously incomprehensible composition.”

So this afternoon we’ll experience old wine in perhaps not a new bottle, but in a different one, and this familiar music will come to life for us in new ways.

PRELUDE · 6 PM THE JAI

Hosted by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

A reflection on serenades in music drawing on history, myth and literature to explore how humans use sound to reach places people can’t go and to bridge separation.

With Leland Ko, cello & Anna Han, piano

Join us for a celebration in the Wu Tsai QRT.yrd immediately following the performance. Must be 21 and older with valid I.D.

MIDWEEK MASTERWORKS: AMADEUS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2024 · 7 PM THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Selections from Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus Tony Amendola, actor

MOZART

Serenade in B-flat Major, No. 10 for Winds “Gran Partita” (1756–1791) Largo; Allegro molto

Menuetto

Adagio

Midweek Masterworks

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

Menuetto: Allegretto

Romanze: Adagio

Thema mit Variationen: Andante

Finale: Allegro molto

Nicholas Daniel, Claire Brazeau, oboes; Mark Simpson, Tommaso Lonquich, clarinets; Taylor Eiffert, Max Opferkuch; basset horns; Eleni Katz, Leyla Zamora, bassoons; Jennifer Montone, Kaylet Torrez, Tricia Skye, Mike McCoy, horns; Anthony Manzo, bass; Jonathan Cohen, conductor

Mark Simpson

Program note by Eric Bromberger

Serenade in B-flat

Major, No. 10 for Winds “Gran Partita” WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Born January 27, 1756, Salzburg

Died December 5, 1791, Vienna

Composed: ca. 1781

Approximate Duration: 49 minutes

This serenade is well nicknamed, for this truly is “grand” music, in both the quantitative and qualitative senses of that term. The title Gran Partita did not originate with Mozart, but it alerts us to what lies ahead. This is chamber music, but it is scored for a group of players so big (twelve winds and a double bass) that it sometimes approaches the sonority of orchestral music. And that title tells us not just about the forces involved but also about the scope of this music: its seven movements stretch out to a span of nearly fifty minutes, making this Mozart’s longest instrumental composition, longer by far than any of his symphonies (and longer than any Brahms symphony, for that matter).

Mozart scores the Serenade in B-flat Major for a unique group of instruments—pairs of oboes, clarinets, basset horns, bassoons, plus four French horns, and (for harmonic support) a double bass—and we need to pay particular attention to his specific choice of instruments. The basset horn, now considered almost obsolete, was a clarinet-like instrument pitched in F; it could span four octaves and also play four pitches below the standard clarinet. Mozart was particularly fond of this instrument and specified its use in his Requiem and Così fan tutte (the basset-hound was reportedly named after the sound the instrument makes). Further, Mozart divides the four French horns into two pairs, specifying that two must be in F and two in B-flat. He was of course writing for natural horns (without valves), and setting the pairs of horns in different keys increased the number of pitches available and further contributed to the richness of the sound of this music (modern performances of the Gran Partita almost always employ the valved horn).

Mozart did not play a wind instrument, but he appears to have had an instinctive grasp of the particular character of each wind instrument and its possibilities. Here he treats his pairs of winds much like individual characters in a play: each pair has a specific identity, each pair acts and sounds differently than the others, and each pair reacts to the others in unique ways. Sometimes Mozart will use all his instruments at once to create a grand, organ-like richness of sound. More often, though, he divides up his forces, combining and contrasting them in novel ways. Sometimes he contrasts the sound of clarinets and basset horns, sometimes he sets the horns in contrast to the reed instruments, sometimes he divides his forces into larger groups and plays them off against each other. Throughout, one senses a composer at the height of his powers, writing for instruments he loves and enjoying all the possibilities he discovers in the process. The result is music that is fun both to play and to hear.

A certain amount of mystery (and misty legend) continues to surround this music. The date of its composition was

uncertain for years, and tradition had it that Mozart began to write this Serenade in Munich in 1781 and finished it shortly after moving to Vienna later that year. Recent evidence, though, shows that it is entirely a product of his Vienna years. It was probably written in late 1783 and early 1784, and the first four movements were played at a concert put on in Vienna on March 23, 1784 by the clarinetist Anton Stadler, for whom Mozart would later write his Clarinet Quintet and Clarinet Concerto. As a consequence, the Koechel number for this piece, K.361, is probably wildly wrong—it should actually be in the mid-400s. Another of the legends is that Mozart loved this music so much that he chose to have it performed at his wedding to Constanze Weber. That makes a good story (and Mozart probably did love this music), but he married Constanze in August 1782, about a year before he began work on the Gran Partita.

Music as readily enjoyable as the Gran Partita requires little detailed description, but a general guide to its seven movements may be useful. The first movement opens with a solemn Largo introduction that makes full use of the opulent sonority available with all thirteen players; the music steps out quickly at the Allegro molto, and Mozart now moves from the grand tutti sound of the Largo to a leaner sonority built on pairs and recombinations of the instruments. The second movement is the first of the two minuets in the Gran Partita, and this one, in G minor, has two separate trio sections. The third movement is a noble Adagio in E-flat major whose nodding, pulsing undercurrent throbs throughout. The fourth movement is the jaunty second minuet, again with two trios—the second of these has a relaxed, Tyrolean character. The Romanze is somewhat similar in mood to the Adagio: it too is in E-flat major and shares some of the same nobility. This movement, however, is in ternary form, and Mozart enlivens matters with a saucy central Allegretto that belongs to the basset horns and bassoons; a substantial coda rounds off this movement.

Some critics have felt that after the exalted heights of the first five movements, the final two fall off a little in quality, but that is for listeners to judge—they are eminently enjoyable music. Mozart actually borrowed the sixth movement from himself: it is an arrangement for the present forces of the second movement of his Flute Quartet in C Major, K.285b. The eightbar theme is introduced by the pair of clarinets, and Mozart offers six variations, changing the character of the theme (and the instrumentation) in each variation. Briefest of the seven movements, the concluding Rondo rushes the Gran Partita to its high-spirited close.

PRELUDE · 6 PM THE JAI

Hosted by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

An ear-opening music meditation designed to deepen awareness of “feeling-tones,” the subtle likes and dislikes that accompany any sensory stimulus and shape our experience of the present.

With Jonathan Swensen, cello

Support for this program and Thomas Adès' residency is provided by

Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

TAKEOVER @ THE BAKER-BAUM CURATED BY THOMAS ADÈS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2024 · 7 PM THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

THOMAS ADÈS Forgotten Dances U.S. PREMIÈRE

(b. 1971)

DE FALLA

Sean Shibe, guitar

Concerto for Piano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin and Cello (1876–1946)

Allegro

Lento

Vivace

Thomas Adès, piano; Emi Ferguson, flute; Nicholas Daniel, oboe; Tommaso Lonquich, clarinet ; SooBeen Lee*, violin; Leland Ko*, cello

FRANCISCO COLL Turia

(b. 1985)

Sean Shibe, guitar ; Emi Ferguson, flute; Mark Simpson, clarinet/bass clarinet ; Michael Yeung‡, percussion; Njioma Grevious, violin; James Kang*, viola; Macintyre Taback*, cello, Anna Han*, piano; Thomas Adès, conductor

*2024 SummerFest Fellowship Artist , ‡YCA Artist-in-Residence

Post-concert onstage conversation with artists hosted by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

Thomas Adès

Program notes by Eric Bromberger, except where indicated.

Forgotten Dances U.S. PREMIÈRE THOMAS ADÈS

Born March 1, 1971, London

Composed: 2023

Approximate Duration: 14 minutes

Forgotten Dances is Adès’ first published work for a solo instrument other than piano. It was commissioned by the Barbican Centre and the European Concert Hall Organisation in the framework of ECHO Rising Stars. It is cast in six movements. It opens with “Overture—Queen of the Spiders,” in which shifting tempi and ornate melodic lines create an atmosphere of mystery and anticipation. “Berceuse—Paradise of Thebes” follows, whose title recalls an episode in Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel. “Here was a swift” references Max Ernst and features quicksilver passagework that calls for brilliant virtuosity. “Barcarolle—the Maiden Voyage” offers a more delicate, lyrical contrast to the preceding tumult. “Carillon de Ville” follows, a tribute to Berlioz that begins with delicate pealing before its resounding chords grow denser and more dissonant, ushering in a clamorous end. It concludes with the chaconne-like “Vesper,” dedicated to Henry Purcell and based on An Evening Hymn.

—Faber Music

Concerto for Piano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin, and Cello MANUEL DE FALLA

Born November 23, 1876, Cádiz, Spain

Died November 14, 1947, Alta Grazia, Argentina

Composed: 1923–26

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

Those who know Manuel de Falla only as the composer of the lush Nights in the Gardens of Spain or the blazing Ritual Fire Dance may find his Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin, and Cello a surprise. Falla’s early works, such as El Amor Brujo or Seven Popular Spanish Songs, used Spanish stories and tunes explicitly, but in the years following World War I he began to treat Spanish materials much more subtly. This was the period of neoclassicism, when composers were refining their style, returning to classical models, and creating a particularly lean sonority. Though they are dissimilar in mood, Falla’s Concerto is not radically different in technique from Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat: both are for small ensembles, both make use of musical forms from the past, and both evoke their respective composers’ values in the ambiguous World War I era.

Falla’s Concerto is extremely concentrated music: only fourteen minutes long, it took the composer three years (1923–26) to complete. Falla creates a quite individual sound, scoring the music for two string instruments, three winds, and—most unusual of all—a harpsichord. The use of harpsichord, long considered an archaic instrument, creates a dry, percussive sonority, which Falla accentuates through his treatment of the other instruments. The winds and strings are given almost pointillistic music—sharp chords, pizzicatos, staccato attacks (at one point, Falla marks a

passage marcatissimo). The use of harpsichord emphasizes the neo-classical roots of this music and helped lead to a revival of interest in that instrument, but Falla specified that it might be replaced by piano if necessary and scrupulously rescored some passages for those performances when a piano replaces the harpsichord.

The title Concerto needs to be understood exactly, for it seems out of place in a work for six performers. Falla meant it as a work for six soloists who play brilliant ensemble music. The neoclassical composers often made use of earlier forms and materials, and in the Concerto Falla uses early Spanish material, but his technique now is far different from his method in such works as La Vida Breve. Gone is the emphasis on color and brilliance, and in their place is a much more subtle and personal treatment. The opening Allegro is aggressive music, percussive and dry in sonority, its rhythmic complexity emphasized by the piano’s constant three-against-four rhythm. Falla uses the fifteenth-century villancico (or carol) called De los alamos verigo, madre as the second theme of the movement. The second movement is marked Lento, but Falla specifies that he wants it to sound “Jubilant and energetic.” Many commentators regard this movement, based on a theme by the sixteenth-century composer Luis Milan, as an expression of religious belief: beneath the concluding measure, Falla writes: “A.D. MCMXXVI, In Festo Corporis Christi.” After this, the animated finale makes a brilliant close. Falla specifies a meter of 3/4=6/8 and asks that the performance be flexible, playful. Some have heard the influence of Scarlatti here, though without identifying specific quotations.

The première of the Concerto took place in Barcelona on November 5, 1926. The soloist on that occasion was Wanda Landowska (also the dedicatee), who did so much herself to revive interest in the harpsichord.

Turia

FRANCISCO COLL

Born 1985, Valencia, Spain

Composed: 2018

Approximate Duration: 18 minutes

Turia, a kind of guitar concertino in five movements, was commissioned by Christian Karlsen and the ensemble Norrbotten NEO for guitar player Jacob Kellermann. The work takes its name from the river of Valencia—a very special river which contains not water, but gardens, fountains, cafés, and even an opera house by architect Santiago Calatrava. As a child I used to walk in this unusual river, full of light, flowers and people. I always thought that one day I would write the music of it. When Christian Karlsen contacted me, I immediately knew that this was my opportunity to write a piece for guitar and ensemble with Spanish luminosity. Flamenco music is very present in the surface of this work, although it is always filtered through my sonorous imagination. This soundscape evokes the light and the respective shadows of my country. The piece is dedicated to Christian Karlsen and Jacob Kellermann.

— Francisco Coll

Tessa Lark

PRELUDE · 6:30 PM THE JAI

Lecture by Kristi Brown Montesano

Support for this program is provided by: Jeff Barnouw

Support for the SummerFest Fellowship Artists and the Musical Preludes is provided by:

Gordon Brodfuehrer and Jeanette Stevens

BAROQUE FANTASIA

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2024 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

TELEMANN Don Quixote Suite, TWV 55-G10 (1681–1767) Overture

The Awakening of Don Quixote

His Attack on the Windmills

Amorous Sighs over the Princess Dulcinea

Sancho Panza Mocked

The Gallop of Rosinante; The Gallop of Sancho’s Ass

The Repose of Don Quixote

SummerFest Baroque Orchestra

PURCELL Excerpts from The Fairy Queen (1659–1695) Prologue

Prelude; Hornpipe; Tune-Jig; Second music–Air; Rondeau

Act 3

Hornpipe; Overture for the swans coming forward; Dance for the fairies; Dance for the Green Man; Dance for the haymakers

Act 5

Prelude; Monkey Dance; Entry Dance

Chaconne: Dance for the Chinese Man and Woman

SummerFest Baroque Orchestra

INTERMISSION

VIVALDI Flute Concerto in G Minor, RV 439 “La Notte” (1678–1741)

Largo; Presto; Largo Presto

Largo–Il sonno–Allegro

Emi Ferguson, flute

REBEL Les eléments (1666–1747) Le chaos

Loure I: La terre et l’eau

Chaconne: Le feu

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

Ramage: L’air Rossignols

Loure II

Tambourins I & II

Sicilienne

Rondeau: Air pour l’amour Caprice

Emi Ferguson, Rose Lombardo, flutes; Alexi Kenney, Tessa Lark, violins; Jonathan Swensen, cello; Anthony Manzo, bass; Jonathan Cohen, harpsichord & conductor

SummerFest Baroque Orchestra

Alexi Kenney †, Tessa Lark†, SooBeen Lee*, Andrew McIntosh, violins; Nicole Divall, Andrew Waid, violas; Jay Campbell, Leland Ko*, cellos; Anthony Manzo, bass; Emi Ferguson, Rose Lombardo, flutes; Michael Yeung‡, timpani; Jonathan Cohen, harpsichord & conductor

†Violins will rotate throughout the program

*2024 SummerFest Fellowship Artist , ‡YCA Artist-in-Residence

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Don Quixote Suite, TWV 55-G10

GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN

Born March 24, 1681, Magdeburg, Germany

Died June 25, 1767, Hamburg

Composed: 1720

Approximate Duration: 17 minutes

Miguel de Cervantes’ great novel Don Quixote has charmed and moved (and haunted) readers for the last four centuries. Not only has that novel contributed a word to the English language (quixotic), but everyone identifies with its hero, an idealistic man forced to live in a prosaic and compromised world. That novel has inspired many other works of art, from sculpture to painting to film, but perhaps its strongest influence has been in music. It has inspired countless operas and plays, a Broadway musical (Man of La Mancha), and pieces by composers as diverse as Mendelssohn, Ravel, de Falla, and Richard Strauss, whose tone poem Don Quixote may be the greatest of them all.

Georg Philipp Telemann was also taken with Cervantes’ tale, and late in his long life he composed what he called a “burlesque de Quixote”: an orchestral suite with movements inspired by some of the most famous scenes from the novel. Audiences should approach this music fully aware that musical scene-painting was in its infancy when Telemann wrote his Don Quixote. Richard Strauss, a master of descriptive music, once claimed that his highest aim was to write fork music that could never be mistaken for a spoon, and his musical portraits of scenes from the novel are masterly. By comparison, Telemann’s can seem more generalized, but we should not judge Telemann for failing to be Strauss, and his musical scenes are quite enjoyable on their own.

Telemann begins with an Overture in the French style. The powerful opening, full of dotted rhythms, is marked Maestoso, and the music rushes ahead at the fugal central episode before the return of the opening material. There follow five “scenes” from the novel, all but one in binary form. The Awakening of Don Quixote is followed by the spirited Attack on the Windmills. This is probably the most famous (and the most dramatic) scene in the novel, and Telemann writes a particularly active part for the first violins here. The gentle Amorous Sighs over the Princess Dulcinea is followed by Sancho Panza Mocked—here the Don’s faithful servant is tossed on a blanket when he and the knight cannot pay for their lodging. The next movement is in three-part form: the Gallop of Rosinante depicts the gait of the Don’s aged horse, while the trio section—The Gallop of Sancho’s Ass—offers a variant portraying the trot of the squire’s mount. The last movement, Repose of Don Quixote, brings the death of the noble knight, and Telemann marks this movement doucement (“gently”). Rather than ending heroically, the music simply fades away, and that conclusion is all the more effective for its understatement.

Excerpts from The Fairy Queen HENRY PURCELL

Born September 10, 1659, Westminster

Died November 21, 1695, London

Composed: 1692

Approximate Duration: 27 minutes

In 1692 Henry Purcell was asked to supply music for a semi-opera based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. First, a definition. In an opera, the main characters sing, and the action is advanced through music. A semi-opera is a dramatic presentation in which the main characters speak (essentially a stage-play), and interpolated into that play are series of songs and dances and other entertainments. These interpolations have been described as masques, and they are given to the minor characters—often rustics, fairies, shepherds, supernatural figures—who do sing and dance to the music. A semi-opera was conceived more as a grand entertainment than a cohesive drama. It appears to have originated in Italy, passed on to France, and from there to England, where it was a popular form in seventeenth-century London.

It should be noted right from the start that The Fairy Queen is not a presentation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (though much of Shakespeare’s story and language survive), but of an anonymous libretto based on that play, and much of the action of Shakespeare’s play is changed in The Fairy Queen. In Shakespeare’s play, Titania was queen of the fairies, hence the name of the semi-opera. Some of Shakespeare’s characters— Theseus, Hermia, Lysander, Bottom, and many others—appear in The Fairy Queen, and some—Hyppolita and Philostrate—do not. In his masques for The Fairy Queen Purcell does not set any of Shakespeare’s language, though the masques do function at certain points to underline the action of the play.

The Fairy Queen was first produced at the Queen’s Theatre in Dorset Gardens on May 5, 1692 in a lavish production that cost over 3,000 pounds. That budget enabled Purcell to write for professional musicians rather than amateurs, but it also meant that the production—while a popular success—lost money. The Fairy Queen was presented again the following year with some additional music by Purcell, but it then vanished for two centuries. Early in the twentieth century, the English scholar John South Shedlock edited the various surviving copies of the score to create a modern performing edition. He also gathered a number of the instrumental movements from The Fairy Queen into a suite, and this has been performed widely.

This evening’s performance offers fourteen instrumental movements drawn from the masques in The Fairy Queen. Purcell’s original orchestra consisted of two recorders, two oboes, two trumpets, timpani, strings, and continuo; at this concert the music will be performed by an ensemble of flute, strings, and continuo. These movements do not require individual description. Take them for the individual pleasures they are: jigs, hornpipes, dances, and other movements that show Purcell’s invention and vitality as a 33-year-old composer—he would die only three years later.

Flute Concerto in G Minor, RV. 439 “La Notte” ANTONIO VIVALDI

Born March 4, 1678, Venice

Died July 28, 1741, Vienna

Approximate Duration: 9 minutes

We think of Vivaldi as a composer and a virtuoso violinist, but his day job was much less imposing. For nearly forty years (1704–1740), Vivaldi served as music director of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for illegitimate, abandoned, or orphaned girls in Venice. In that era, perhaps more progressive than our own, the Ospedale believed that teaching these girls to play an instrument would give them a useful skill, rescue them from a life of poverty, and keep them from becoming burdens on the state. At the Ospedale, Vivaldi’s responsibilities were to teach the violin and to write music for the girls to play, and it was for the use of these girls that he wrote most of his 450 concertos. A survey of these concertos suggests the interests of the girls. Most were for string players: Vivaldi wrote 221 concertos for violin and 27 for cello. But there were clearly wind-players among the residents in the Ospedale, and Vivaldi wrote for them too, including 39 bassoon concertos, 20 for oboe, and 15 for flute.

Vivaldi was one of the first to write for an early version of the modern flute, a keyed instrument held horizontally while it is played (hence the name “transverse” flute to distinguish it from the recorder, which was held vertically). He published a set of six concertos for transverse flute in Amsterdam in the late 1720s, and that set, published as his Opus 10, is generally considered the first collection of flute concertos. Several of these were arrangements of concertos that Vivaldi had written earlier for other instruments, and the Flute Concerto in G Minor on this program incorporates music from two works that Vivaldi had written earlier: his Chamber Concerto for Flute, Two Violins, and Bassoon in D Major, RV.104, and—as we shall hear—a borrowing from The Four Seasons.

But the Concerto in G Minor is distinctive for other reasons. Several of the movements have evocative titles, and that programmatic element has earned this concerto the nickname “La Notte”: “The Night.” The concerto opens with a solemn and harmonically unsettled Largo that proceeds over slow dotted rhythms. This gives way to a brief Presto interlude that Vivaldi titles Fantasmi—“ghosts, phantoms”—before the tempo returns to Largo and the movement is rounded off with a poised flute solo over steady string accompaniment. That movement ends quietly and is followed by a Presto in ¾—here the flute has soaring interludes between spirited orchestral interjections. Vivaldi titles the next movement Il sonno (“sleep”), and now he mutes the strings and the flute sings quietly above that subdued accompaniment. Many will recognize this music: it is a reworking of the second movement of Autumn from The Four Seasons, where it depicts drunken peasants falling asleep. The concerto concludes with an energetic Allegro that recalls the phantoms heard earlier.

Les éléments

JEAN-FÉRY REBEL

Born April 18, 1666, Paris

Died January 2, 1747, Paris

Approximate Duration: 23 minutes

Jean-Féry Rebel was a court musician during a rich epoch in French music: the reign of Louis XIV and regency of Louis XV. Born into a musical family that was in service to Louis XIV, Rebel was so accomplished a violin prodigy that his playing—at age 8!—amazed that king. Rebel studied with Lully, then became a first violinist in the Académie Royale de Musique and later one of the 24 Violons du Roi; he eventually became Chamber Composer to Louis XV. Rebel began by writing vocal music and then turned to instrumental music and composed a number of string sonatas. Like his mentor Lully, Rebel was interested in dance, and he composed ballets and what have been called “choreographed symphonies”: orchestral works that were danced by members of the Académie Royale.

Rebel had already retired when he wrote what has become his most famous work. In 1737, when Rebel was 71, he was commissioned by Prince Carignan of Savoy to write an operaballet, and the result was Les éléments, a musical account of the creation of the earth. The first performance of the full score was given by the Académie Royale de Musique on March 17, 1738, to admiring reviews.

The most striking feature of Les éléments is its opening movement, a depiction of the primordial chaos that existed before creation (Rebel spelled it “cahos” in the first printed edition of the score). Rebel explained his method in this movement: “The introduction to this symphony was natural, It was Le cahos even, this confusion which reigned between the Elements before the moment when subjected to invariable laws they took the place which is prescribed to them in the order of nature.” Rebel depicts this chaos with an opening attack that consists of all seven notes of the D-minor harmonic scale, and the effect—nearly three centuries later—is still shocking: this appears to be the first tone-cluster ever composed (or at least the first ever written down). Out of this chaos, the four elements gradually emerge: earth by a sequence of tied notes, water by the silvery sound of the flutes, air by delicate runs from flutes and piccolos, and fire by blistering violin runs. Gradually the confusion of the opening gives way to order as the earth emerges, and the movement concludes on a calm unison B. This is an astonishing movement, and we might note that when Haydn took up the same topic sixty years later in his oratorio The Creation, his opening “Representation of Chaos” would sound positively tame by comparison.

“Cahos” is followed by nine brief movements that would have been danced at the early performances. The first loure depicts the interplay of earth and water, followed by a chaconne inspired by fire, a movement depicting air, and so on. Some of the movements are simply dances without any representational intent, though the ninth movement—Rondeau: Air pour l’amour—is a depiction of love, the force that will eventually bind all creation together.

PRELUDE · 6:30 PM THE JAI

RESILIENCE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2024 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

FANNY MENDELSSOHN HENSEL

Trio in D Minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Opus 11 (1805–1847)

Allegro molto vivace

Andante espressivo

Lied: Allegretto

Finale: Sllegro moderato

Erin Keefe, violin; Jay Campbell, cello; Joyce Yang, piano

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO

Quintet for Guitar and Strings, Opus 143 (1895–1968)

Allegro, vivo e schietto

Andante mesto

Scherzo: Allegro on spirito, alla Marcia

Finale: Allegro con fuoco

Sean Shibe, guitar; Abeo Quartet*

Njioma Grevious, Rebecca Benjamin, violins; James Kang, viola; Macintyre Taback, cello

INTERMISSION

SCHULHOFF

Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon (1894–1942)

Ouvertüre: Allegro con moto

Burlesca: Allegro molto

Romanzero: Andantino

Charleston: Allegro

Tema con variazioni e fugato: Andantino

Florida: Allegretto

Rondino-Finale: Molto allegro con fuoco

Nicholas Daniel, oboe; Tommaso Lonquich, clarinet ; Eleni Katz, bassoon

FELIX MENDELSSOHN

String Quartet No. 6 in F Minor, Opus 80 (1809–1847)

Allegro vivace assai

Allegro assai

Adagio

Finale: Allegro molto

Tessa Lark, Rebecca Benjamin*, violins; Nicole Divall, viola; Jay Campbell, cello

*2024

Lecture by Kristi Brown Montesano

SummerFest Fellowship Artist

Erin Keefe

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Trio in D Minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Opus 11 FANNY MENDELSSOHN HENSEL

Born November 14, 1805, Hamburg

Died May 14, 1847, Berlin

Composed: unknown; published 1850

Approximate Duration: 25 minutes

There is general agreement that the two most prodigiously talented young composers in history were Mozart and Mendelssohn, and there were many parallels between the two. Both were born into families perfectly suited to nurture their talents. Both showed phenomenal talent as small boys. Both began composing as boys, and from the earliest age both had their music performed by professional musicians. Both became virtuoso keyboard performers. In addition, both played the violin and viola and took part in chamber music performances. Both composed voluminously in every genre. Both drove themselves very hard. Both died in their thirties.

But there is uncanny further parallel between the two: both Mozart and Mendelssohn had an older sister whose musical talents rivaled their own. Mozart’s sister Maria Anna, five years his senior, performed as a child with her brother in all the capitals of Europe, where they were put on display by their ambitious father. She also composed (none of her music has survived), but a serious career in music was out of the question for a woman at the end of the eighteenth century: she married in 1784 and grew estranged from her brother—they did not see each other over the final years of his life.

Fanny Mendelssohn, four years older than Felix, had a much closer relationship with her brother. Like Felix, she began composing at an early age, and some of her songs were published under her brother’s name. She too was discouraged from making a career in music, and at age 24 she married the painter Wilhelm Hensel and had a son. But music remained a passion for her, and she composed an orchestral overture, chamber music, works for piano, and a great deal of vocal music (by the end of her life several of these works had been published). Fanny remained extremely close to her brother throughout her life, and her sudden death from a stroke at age 41 so devastated Felix that he collapsed on hearing the news and never really recovered—his own death six months later at age 38 was triggered at least in part by that shock.

The date of composition of Fanny’s Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello is unknown; it was published by her family in 1850, three years after her death, and assigned the opus number 11 at that time. The Trio features an extremely active piano part: the piano introduces many of the themes, frequently dominates textures, and requires a virtuoso player. The strings, by contrast, have a more melodic role: sometimes they introduce themes, but often they take up material already stated by the piano. The Trio also has an unusual structure: two fast outer movements frame two slow central movements.

The Trio gets off to a dramatic beginning with a movement marked Allegro molto vivace, a marking frequently employed

by Fanny’s brother Felix. Strings two octaves apart sing the main theme, but the striking thing here is the racing piano accompaniment—this opening feels tense, even at a quiet dynamic. The cello has the second subject, marked cantabile, over tremolandi accompaniment from the piano. This is a long movement, with a very energetic development section, and it drives to a grand close.

Piano leads the way in the ternary-form Andante espressivo, stating the espressivo main theme before the strings join it. A more active central episode, full of staccato writing, leads to a return of the opening material, and the music continues without pause into the third movement. Mendelssohn stresses the lyric nature of this movement by naming it Lied. Once again the piano leads the way, and its opening theme forms the basis of the entire movement. The finale begins with a long piano solo marked ad libitum: the pianist has the freedom here to shape the tempo as desired. Eventually the strings enter, and the tempo accelerates to the expected quick pace, but Mendelssohn quickly springs a surprise: she goes back to the opening tempo, and these two different paces will alternate throughout the movement. Along the way, alert listeners will recognize an occasional recall of material heard earlier. The music drives to a grand climax as the strings, once again set two octaves apart, soar high above the tremolandi piano, and the trio powers its way to a resounding close in D major.

Quintet for Guitar and Strings, Opus 143 MARIO CASTELNUOVOTEDESCO

Born April 3, 1895, Florence

Died March 16, 1968, Los Angeles

Composed: 1950

Approximate Duration: 25 minutes

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco trained in Italy and made his early career there. But in the years before World War II Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who was Jewish, was able (with the assistance of Toscanini and other prominent musicians) to get out of Europe and come to the United States, and thereafter he lived in this country. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was a vastly prolific composer (his list of opus number runs to well above 200), and he had prominent champions—Jascha Heifetz recorded his Violin Concerto No. 2, and Piatigorsky and Toscanini premiered his Cello Concerto. But Castelnuovo-Tedesco may have found his most successful role as a film composer. His lyric gift and fluid ability to compose quickly made him an ideal Hollywood composer, and he worked on hundreds of pictures, including And Then There Were None, Picture of Dorian Gray, and Hellcats of the Navy. He was also an influential teacher of film composers: among his students were Henry Mancini, André Previn, Jerry Goldsmith, and John Williams.

Castelnuovo-Tedesco met the great guitar virtuoso Andrés Segovia in Venice in 1932, and the two developed a close artistic relationship. Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote many pieces specifically for Segovia, including his Guitar Concerto No. 1 of 1939, and by the end of his life he had written nearly a hundred pieces for guitar, including other concertos and works in a variety of forms.

Castelnuovo-Tedesco composed his Quintet for Guitar and Strings during the winter of 1950 at the request of Segovia, who needed a piece to play for the Music Guild of Los Angeles. Segovia gave the première in Los Angeles later that year with the Paganini Quartet. At that time, the composer provided a brief introduction to the character of the work: “This was composed in less than a month (between 7 February and 5 March 1950). It is a melodious and serene work, partly neoClassic and partly neo-Romantic (like most of my works). I would say it is written almost in a Schubertian vein—Schubert has always been one of my favorite composers.”

The composer also offered a brief description of the four movements: “The first of the four movements, Allegro vivo e schietto, is in the regular sonata-allegro form. The second movement, Andante mesto, is of a lyrical character, with Spanish undertones (the second theme is marked “Souvenir d’Espagne”). The third movement, Allegro con spirito, alla Marcia, is a Scherzo with two Trios. The last movement, Allegro con fuoco, is in rondo form, very brilliant and contrapuntal—again the second theme is in a Spanish mood—what could be more appropriate for Andrés Segovia?”

Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon ERWIN SCHULHOFF

Born June 8, 1894, Prague

Died August 18, 1942, Wülzburg, Bavaria

Composed: 1927

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

Erwin Schulhoff’s musical career had early encouragement from a powerful source: Antonín Dvořák heard the boy play the piano when he was 7 and recommended that he make music his life. Trained at first as a pianist, Schulhoff studied composition in Prague, Leipzig, and Cologne, and took private lessons with Reger and Debussy. After service with the Austrian army during World War I (he was wounded and spent time in a prisoner-of-war camp), Schulhoff made his home in Dresden, where his music reflected the artistic ferment of the post-war decade. Among the influences on his music in the 1920s were Expressionism, Dadaism, Schoenberg and serialism, Bartók and folk music, Gershwin and American jazz, and Alois Haba’s experiments with quarter-tone composition. Alarmed by the rise of the Nazis, Schulhoff moved to Prague and joined the Communist Party—he turned his art to that cause with enthusiasm, composing a giant setting of the Communist Manifesto in 1932. For protection against the growing influence of the Nazis, Schulhoff took Soviet citizenship in 1938 and with the coming of war tried to flee to safety in Russia, but he was captured by the Germans. His mixture of identities—Jew, communist, and Soviet citizen—proved fatal: Schulhoff was sent to the concentration camp at Wülzburg, where he died of tuberculosis during the summer of 1942 at the age of 48.

Most of Schulhoff’s music that has made it into the active repertory today was composed during the 1920s—this early music, often experimental, reflects his ongoing search for a distinctive individual style. His Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon, completed in March 1927, lives up to its title: this is music for diversion, for pleasure, beautifully written for the three

wind instruments. Its seven movements span barely a quarter of an hour, and each should be taken as an individual pleasure. The opening Ouvertüre sets the tone: Schulhoff marks it grazioso, but one is more immediately struck by the saucy, piquant quality of this music. Working without the resonant, sustained sound of string instruments, Schulhoff opts for a more brittle sound, and at several points he specifies that he wants the playing to be sempre staccatissimo. The individual movements do not require detailed introduction: they range from the jazzy Charleston, built on syncopated rhythms, to the more “classical” fifth movement, in theme-and-variation form. This flows without pause into Florida, a title Schulhoff did not explain—it features a duet for oboe and clarinet over bassoon accompaniment. The Rondo-Finale rounds matters off with the nice sense of humor that has been a part of every movement of the Divertissement.

String Quartet No. 6 in F Minor, Opus 80 FELIX MENDELSSOHN

Born February 3, 1809, Hamburg

Died November 4, 1847, Leipzig

Composed: 1847

Approximate Duration: 27 minutes

Mendelssohn’s life was short, and its ending was particularly painful. Always a driven man, he was showing signs of exhaustion during the 1846–47 season, which included trips to London and conducting engagements on the continent. In May 1847 came the catastrophe: his sister Fanny, only 41, suffered a stroke and died within hours. She and her younger brother had always been exceptionally close—Mendelssohn collapsed upon learning of her death, and he never recovered. Worried family members took him on vacation to Switzerland, where they hoped he could regain his strength and composure.

At Interlaken, Mendelssohn painted, composed the String Quartet in F Minor, and tried to escape his sorrow, but with little success. An English visitor described his last view of the composer that summer: “I thought even then, as I followed his figure, looking none the younger for the loose dark coat and the wide brimmed straw hat bound with black crepe, which he wore, that he was too much depressed and worn, and walked too heavily.” Back in Leipzig, Mendelssohn cancelled his engagements, suffered severe headaches, and was confined to bed. After several days in which he slipped in and out of consciousness, the composer died on the evening of November 4. He was 38 years old.

Given the circumstances of its creation, one might expect Mendelssohn’s Quartet in F Minor to be somber music, and in fact it is. It is the last of Mendelssohn’s quartets (and his last major completed work), but it has never achieved the popularity of his earlier quartets—the pianist Ignaz Moscheles found it the product of “an agitated state of mind.” Yet this quartet’s driven quality is also the source of its distinction and strength. One feels this from the first instant of the Allegro vivace assai (it is worth noting that three of the four movements are extremely fast): the double-stroked writing, even at a very quiet dynamic, pushes the music forward nervously, and out of this ominous rustle leaps the dotted figure that will be a part of so much of this movement. A more flowing second subject nevertheless

maintains the same dark cast, and after a long development this movement drives to its close on a Presto coda.

The second movement, marked Allegro assai, is in ABA form: the driving outer sections keep the dotted rhythm of the opening movement, while the trio rocks along more gently. The Adagio, the only movement not in a minor key, is built on the first violin’s lyric opening idea. The music rises to a somewhat frantic climax full of dotted rhythms before subsiding to close peacefully. The finale, marked Allegro molto, pushes ahead on the vigor of its syncopated rhythms, which are set off by quick exchanges between groups of instruments. As in the first movement, there is more relaxed secondary material, but the principal impression here is of nervous energy, and at the close the music hurtles along triplet rhythms to an almost superheated close in which the F-minor tonality is affirmed with vengeance. It is not a conclusion that brings much relief, and it speaks directly from the agonized consciousness of its creator.

MUSICAL PRELUDE · 2 PM THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Cohda Trio performs Schumann's Piano Trio in F Major, Opus 80

This afternoonʼs concert is dedicated in loving memory of John Belanich.

Support for the SummerFest Fellowship Artists and the Musical Preludes is provided by:

Gordon Brodfuehrer and Jeanette Stevens

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

SUITE

SUNDAY, AUGUST 4, 2024 · 3 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

J.S. BACH Suite in E Minor, BWV 996 (arr. for marimba by Michael Yeung) (1685–1750) Praeludio: Passaggio; Presto Allemande Courante

Sarabande

Bourrée

Gigue

PAUL LANSKY Selections from Three Moves for Marimba (b. 1944) Turn Hop

Michael Yeung‡, marimba

PIAZZOLLA Histoire du Tango (1921–1992)

Bordell 1900

Café 1930

Night Club

Concert d’aujourd’hui

Tessa Lark, violin; Sean Shibe, guitar

INTERMISSION

STRAVINSKY Suite Italienne (1882–1971) Introduzione

Serenata Tarantella

Gavotte

Scherzino

Minuet; Finale

Erin Keefe, violin; Joyce Yang, piano

TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker Suite for Two Pianos (arr. by Nicolaus Economou) (1840–1893) Overture

March

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Russian Dance

Arabian Dance

Chinese Dance

Dance of the Reed Flutes

Waltz of the Flowers

Joyce Yang, Inon Barnatan, pianos

‡YCA Artist-in-Residence

Sean Shibe

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Suite in E Minor, BWV 996 (arr. for marimba by Michael Yeung)

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Born March 21, 1685, Eisenach

Died July 28, 1750, Leipzig

Composed: 1717

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

The official catalog of Bach’s works, the Bach Werke Verzeichnis, lists nearly 1,100 compositions. Among these are seven for lute, and over the last two centuries these have been gladly taken up by lutenists and guitarists. But the problem is that these pieces were probably not composed for lute. Bach did not play the lute, and he most likely wrote his “lute” music for an instrument called the lautenwerk. The lautenwerk has been described as a “lute-harpsichord”—it was small, it had gut strings and only one keyboard, and it made a much gentler sound than the harpsichord. Bach is known to have owned two of these instruments, and the suspicion now is that his lute music was really composed for the lautenwerk. Bach’s lute compositions have been recorded in arrangements for lautenwerk and also for piano, harpsichord, harp, and theorbo (and on YouTube one can hear a very nice arrangement for trumpet and cello of the Bourrée from the present Suite in E Minor).

The point is that, as someone once observed: “Bach sounds good on anything.” At this concert, his Suite in E Minor is heard in a performance on the marimba. The marimba is a percussion instrument with a very delicate sound, and it may well approach the sound of the lautenwerk much more closely than the instruments mentioned above.

The Suite in E Minor is built on the basic four-movement sequence of movements of the baroque instrumental suite— allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue—and to these Bach adds a preludial movement and an extra dance movement, a bourrée. The opening Preludio is flowing and dignified, and it gives way to a fugal Presto in 3/8. All the remaining movements in the Suite are in binary form. The steady Allemande is followed by a chordal Courante in 3/2; though the title Courante translates as “running,” this movement is not particularly fast. The Sarabande, also in 3/2, has a grave cast, while the Bourrée—by far the bestknown music from the Suite—is poised and expressive (it has been heard in arrangements by a variety of musicians, from Robert Schumann to Jethro Tull). Bach rounds things off with a quickpaced Gigue in 12/8.

Selections from Three Moves for Marimba

PAUL LANSKY

Born June 18, 1944, New York City

Composed: 1998

Approximate Duration: 8 minutes

A graduate of Queens College, Paul Lansky did his graduate work at Princeton, where he studied with George Perle and Milton Babbitt. In 1969 Lansky joined the music faculty at Princeton and then taught there for the next forty-five years, retiring in 2014. For most of his career, Lansky wrote only computer-generated music, compositions that often employed

voices or real world sounds. Then in 2004 he put electronic music behind him and turned to composing for instruments, particularly for percussion instruments.

Lansky composed Three Moves for Marimba in 1998 for the distinguished American marimba player Nancy Zeltsman, who has recorded it. At this evening’s concert, Michael Yeung will play two of the three “moves” (not “movements”). Each has a oneword title, and Lansky’s performance instructions for each are worth knowing: Hop is marked Find a Groove and Turn is marked Assertively, proudly.

Histoire du Tango ASTOR PIAZZOLLA

Born March 11, 1921, Mar de Plata, Argentina

Died July 4, 1992, Buenos Aires

Composed: 1985

Approximate Duration: 21 minutes

As a young man, Astor Piazzolla learned to play the bandoneon, the Argentinian accordion-like instrument that uses buttons rather than a keyboard, and he became a virtuoso on it. But his musical path was not at first clear: he gave concerts, made a film soundtrack, and created his own bands before a desire for wider expression drove him to the study of classical music. He received a grant to study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, and it was that great teacher who advised him to follow his passion for the Argentinian tango as the source for his own music.

Piazzolla returned to Argentina and gradually evolved his own style, one that combines the tango, jazz, and classical music. In his hands, the tango—which had deteriorated into a soft, popular form—was revitalized. Piazzolla transformed this old Argentinian dance into music capable of a variety of expression and fusing sharply-contrasted moods: his tangos are by turn fiery, melancholy, passionate, tense, violent, lyric, and always driven by an endless supply of rhythmic energy.

In the mid-1980s Piazzolla published what has become one of his most popular works, L’histoire du tango, a survey of how that form had evolved in four different decades across the twentieth century. Piazzolla originally scored his “History of the Tango” for flute and guitar as a way of evoking the tango’s origins, but this music has been heard in countless arrangements; at this concert it is presented in an arrangement for violin and guitar. The opening movement, Bordell 1900, reminds us of some of the seamier origins of the form, but the music itself is extroverted and fun— Piazzolla’s performance instruction is Molto giocoso: “very happy.” Café 1930 shows us the tango as it had become domesticated after several decades—here it functions as comfortable background music while people eat. Night Club 1960 brings us the tango in transition toward something livelier, as contemporary Latin dance forms began to reinvigorate it. The finale offers a sense of what the tango had become by the end of the twentieth century, assimilating all manner of influences, be they popular dances or classical music.

Suite Italienne

IGOR STRAVINSKY

Born June 17, 1882, St. Petersburg

Died April 6, 1971, New York City

Composed: 1933

Approximate Duration: 18 minutes

In the years after World War I Stravinsky found himself at an impasse as a composer, unwilling to return to the grand manner of the “Russian” ballets that had made him famous, but unsure how to proceed. Serge Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes, suggested a ballet based on themes by the Italian composer Giovanni Pergolesi (1710–1736) and showed him some of Pergolesi’s music. Stravinsky was entranced. Over the next year he composed a ballet with song in eighteen parts, based on themes from Pergolesi’s operas and instrumental music (though subsequent research has shown that not all these themes were written by Pergolesi). Stravinsky kept Pergolesi’s melodic and bass lines, but supplied his own harmony and brought to this music his incredible rhythmic vitality. First produced in Paris on May 15, 1920, with sets by Picasso and choreography by Massine, Pulcinella was a great success.

Ever the pragmatist, Stravinsky had become interested at this time in ballets for smaller ensembles, for he realized that they could save expense and make possible productions in places that lacked a large symphony orchestra. Pulcinella was a step in this direction—it is scored for an orchestra of 37 players—but Stravinsky was interested in ensembles of just a few players, and his arrangements of excerpts from Pulcinella may be regarded as explorations of those possibilities.

Stravinsky made several arrangements for instrumental duos of excerpts from Pulcinella. First was a Suite for Violin and Piano based on themes from the ballet, made in 1925. Next came an arrangement of different excerpts for cello and piano, made in 1932 by the composer and Gregor Piatigorsky; this version was the first be called Suite Italienne. The following year, Stravinsky and violinist Samuel Dushkin made an arrangement of excerpts for violin and piano and called it Suite Italienne as well. (Somewhat later, Jascha Heifetz and Piatigorsky made an arrangement for violin and cello, which they also called Suite Italienne.)

Stravinsky’s violin and piano version of Suite Italienne is in six movements. It opens with a jaunty Introduzione (the ballet’s Overture), followed by a lyric Serenata, based on an aria from Pergolesi’s opera Il Flaminio. A blistering Tarantella (with its surprising and sudden ending) leads to a stately Gavotte, which is followed by two ornate variations. The Scherzino flies along on an almost non-stop pulse of eighth-notes; Stravinsky specifies that he wants it played sempre staccato. The concluding section is in two parts: a slow Minuet full of complex double-stops leads without pause to the exciting Finale.

PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Born May 7, 1840, Votkinsk, Russia

Died November 6, 1893, St. Petersburg

Composed: 1892

Approximate Duration: 23 minutes

The music from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is so familiar— and so loved—that it hardly needs introduction, but the story of its creation remains a very interesting one. Early in 1891, the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg approached Tchaikovsky with a commission for a new ballet. They caught him at a bad moment. At age 50, Tchaikovsky was assailed by worries that he had written himself out as a composer, and—to make matters worse—they proposed a story-line that the composer found unappealing: they wanted to create a ballet on the old E.T.A. Hoffmann tale Nussknacker und Mausekönig, but in a version that had been retold by Alexandre Dumas as Histoire d’un casse-noisette and then furthered modified by the choreographer Marius Petipa.

Then things got worse. He had to interrupt work on the score to go on tour in America, and just as he was leaving his sister Alexandra died. The agonized Tchaikovsky considered abandoning the tour but went ahead, then returned to Russia in May and tried to resume work on the ballet. He hated it, and—probably more to the point—he hated the feeling that he had written himself out as a composer. To his brother, he wrote grimly: “The ballet is infinitely worse than The Sleeping Beauty so much is certain.” The score was complete in the spring of 1892, and The Nutcracker was produced at the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg that December, only eleven months before the composer’s death at 53. At first, it had only a modest success, but then a strange thing happened—that success grew so steadily that in the months before his death Tchaikovsky had to reassess what he had created: “It is curious that all the time I was writing the ballet I thought it was rather poor, and that when I began my opera [Iolanthe] I would really do my best. But now it seems to me that the ballet is good, and the opera is mediocre.”

This program offers eight movements from the ballet score in an arrangement for two pianos by the Cypriot pianist and composer Nicolaus Economou (1953–1993). The sparkling Overture sets the mood—in the ballet Tchaikovsky kept things light by eliminating the lower strings altogether to emphasize the brighter sound of violins and violas. The crisp little March is the music that accompanies the arrival of the guests at the house of President Silberhaus in Act I. The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy takes place very near the end of the ballet; in its orchestral version, this music had a prominent role for the celesta, an instrument almost unknown until Tchaikovsky used it here. The blazing Russian Dance (sometimes called Trepak) is a wild Cossack dance, while the murmuring Arabian Dance is—in the ballet— nicely accented by the sound of tambourine. The Chinese Dance featured the sound of busy bassoons and swirling flutes (Disney’s dancing mushrooms in Fantasia were perfect with this music), and The Dance of the Reed Flutes featured three brilliant flutes in Tchaikovsky’s original orchestration. Tchaikovsky, who was an admirer of Johann Strauss, loved waltzes, and the suite concludes with one of his finest, The Waltz of the Flowers from Act II.

The Nutcracker Suite for Two Pianos (arr. by Nicolaus Economou)

MUSICAL PRELUDE · 6 PM THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

MIDWEEK MASTERWORKS: MOZART & PÄRT

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2024 · 7 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

ARVO PÄRT Solfeggio (b. 1935) VOCES8

Andrea Haines, MaryRuth Miller, sopranos; Katie Jeffries-Harris, alto, Barnaby Smith, countertenor & artistic director ; Blake Morgan, Euan Williamson, tenors; Christopher Moore, baritone; Dominic Carver, bass

MOZART String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 “Dissonance” (1756–1791)

Adagio; Allegro Andante cantabile

Support for vocal music programs at LJMS is provided by:

Mary Ellen Clark

Join us for a celebration in the Wu Tsai QRT.yrd immediately following the performance. Must be 21 and older with valid I.D.

Midweek Masterworks

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

Abeo Quartet performs Haydn's String Quartet in D Major, Opus 20, No. 4 *2024

Menuetto: Allegro Allegro non troppo

Erin Keefe, Stefan Jackiw, violins; Nicole Divall, viola; Sterling Elliott, cello

ARVO PÄRT Spiegel im Spiegel

Stefan Jackiw, violin; Anna Han*, piano

MOZART Duo for Violin and Cello K. 423 Allegro

Adagio

Rondeau: Allegro

Blake Pouliot, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello

ARVO PÄRT Fratres for Cello, String Orchestra, and Percussion Alisa Weilerstein, cello; SummerFest String Orchestra

MOZART Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618 VOCES8; SummerFest String Orchestra

SummerFest String Orchestra

Erin Keefe, Stefan Jackiw, Njioma Grevious*, violin I; Blake Pouliot, SooBeen Lee*, Rebecca Benjamin*, violin II; Nicole Divall, James Kang*, Brian Isaacs*, violas; Alisa Weilerstein, Sterling Elliott, Leland Ko*, Macintyre Taback*, cellos

Sterling Elliott

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Solfeggio

ARVO PÄRT

Born September 11, 1935, Paide, Estonia

Composed: 1963

Approximate Duration: 5 minutes

The emergence of Arvo Pärt as a major voice at the end of the twentieth century is one of the most unusual stories in music. Pärt was almost unknown in the West until he was nearly fifty: he lived in Estonia, supported himself by composing film music and working as a recording engineer for Estonian Radio, and composed largely in private. Pärt rebelled against the strictures of Soviet control of the arts and began to experiment, first with serialism (at a time when that was forbidden in Soviet music) and later with collage techniques. Without any knowledge of minimalism as it was then evolving in the United States, Pärt arrived at similar compositional procedures, and over the last several decades he has produced scores that have moved audiences with their simplicity, their expressiveness, and an emotional impact unexpected in contemporary music.

Solfeggio is one of the earliest of Pärt’s works to have entered the repertory: he composed it in November 1963, shortly after his twenty-eighth birthday. “Solfeggio” refers to a method of singing in which different pitches are sung using their musical syllable: do-re-mi-fa-sol for C-D-E-F-G, etc.; it remains a useful method for teaching pitches, intervals, and melodies. In his Solfeggio, Pärt takes that method and uses it for his own means. He scores Solfeggio for four-part chorus, sets the piece in C major (and in the unusual meter 7/2), and then builds it on the seven-note sequence C-D-E-F-G-A-B: do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti. In this sense, Solfeggio may be thought of as serial music—it is built on a sequence of pitches. As that sequence repeats, the collision of pitches so close to each other creates dissonances, small tone clusters. Yet the slow tempo (Largo) and the generally quiet dynamic keep the mood calm, almost rapt. Solfeggio does not sound aggressive in any way, and along its course quiet triads can emerge from the progression of adjacent pitches, even when those pitches are in different octaves. Solfeggio represents an important step along Pärt’s path toward diatonic music, and the English conductor and baritone Paul Hillier has observed that it is “as if the composer got caught up in a secret garden, but is not yet ready to understand its beauty, which is perfect unto itself.”

String Quartet in C Major, K. 465 “Dissonance” WOLFGANG AMADEUS

MOZART

Born January 27, 1756, Salzburg

Died December 5, 1791, Vienna

Composed: 1785

Approximate Duration: 29 minutes

When Mozart moved to Vienna in 1781, the towering figure in music was Franz Joseph Haydn, then nearly 50. One of the first works Mozart encountered in Vienna was the set of six string quartets Haydn had just composed as his Opus 33. Mozart was impressed. Haydn had taken the string quartet,

which for the previous generation had been a divertimentolike entertainment, and transformed it. He liberated the viola and cello from what had been purely accompanying roles and made all four voices equal partners; he further made each detail of rhythm and theme and harmony an important part of the musical enterprise. In Haydn’s inspired hands, the string quartet evolved from entertainment music into an important art form. Mozart, who was 25 when he arrived in Vienna, quickly grasped what the older master had achieved with the string quartet and embarked on a group of six quartets of his own. We normally think of Mozart as a fast worker, but he worked for three years on these quartets, revising and refining until he had them just the way he wanted. When the six quartets were published in 1785, Mozart dedicated them to Haydn—we know them as Mozart’s “Haydn Quartets”—and conceded that they were indeed “the fruit of long and laborious toil.”

The Quartet in C Major, the last of the six and nicknamed the “Dissonance” Quartet, was completed on January 14, 1785. The nickname comes from its extraordinary slow introduction, a span of 22 bewildering measures that left early audiences confused and threatened. The quartet is nominally in C Major, and the music opens with a steady pulse of C’s from the cello, but as the other three voices make terraced entrances above, their notes (A-flat, E-flat, and A—all wrong for the key of C Major) grind quietly against each other, unmooring us from any sense of tonal stability and leaving us unsettled, uncertain of the music’s character or direction. But order is restored at the Allegro, where the music settles into radiant C Major and normal sonata form. This movement is quite straightforward, flowing broadly along its bright C-Major energy; the development concentrates on the first subject, Mozart offers repeats of both exposition and development, and an ebullient coda draws the movement to a quiet close. Mozart specifies that the second movement should be Andante cantabile, and it does sing, though that lyric main idea evolves and grows more conflicted as the movement proceeds. Those tensions subside, and the movement almost whispers its way to the pianissimo close. The Menuetto powers its way along a rock-ribbed strength, but Mozart surprises us when the trio moves unexpectedly into urgent C minor. After these stresses, the concluding Allegro returns to the bright spirits of the opening movement. The form here is one of those magical amalgamations in which Mozart was able to fuse rondo and sonata form. There is something both serious and lighthearted about this movement, and its firm conclusion—in resounding C Major—reminds us how far we have traveled from the harmonic uncertainty of the very beginning of the first movement. Mozart may have been deeply impressed by Haydn’s quartets, but now it was Haydn’s turn to be amazed. When he heard the “Dissonance” Quartet and two others of this cycle performed at a garden party in Vienna in February 1785, Haydn pulled Mozart’s father Leopold aside and offered as sincere a compliment as any composer ever gave another: “Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition.”

Spiegel im Spiegel ARVO PÄRT

Composed: 1978

Approximate Duration: 8 minutes

Composed in 1978, Spiegel im Spiegel was one of the final works Pärt wrote before he emigrated to Germany (he has since returned to Estonia). That title, which translates to “Mirror in the Mirror,” refers to the visual effect that results when two facing mirrors are slightly out of alignment, creating an endless pattern of visual repetitions that fade into the distance. The music is simplicity itself. The piano has a steady progression of quarter-notes (the meter is 6/4), and over this the violin has long, sustained notes, melodic lines that slowly move upward or downward. The effect of this music, with its steadily repeating quarter-notes, is hypnotic, very much like that created by the opening of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata. There is no dynamic marking in this music, but the atmosphere is subdued and calm. The cumulative effect of the held notes above a repeating pattern is not simply soothing, but quietly reassuring, and it comes as no surprise to learn that Spiegel im Spiegel has been used as part of the soundtrack of numerous films. The slow progression of quarternotes continues throughout, and at the end—as if in the most distant of mirrors—the music fades into silence.

From a technical standpoint, Spiegel im Spiegel is extraordinarily “easy”: the violin part, which can be played entirely in first position, is within the capability of any first-year student, and the piano part simply requires a steady progression of quarter-notes and widely spaced octaves. Playing the notes is not the challenge in this music. The challenge is to take these seemingly simple materials and turn them into music of expressive power.

Duo for Violin and Cello in G Major, K. 423 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Composed: 1783

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

There is a wonderful story behind Mozart’s two duos for violin and viola—perhaps true, perhaps not, but in any case worth re-telling. In the summer of 1783, Mozart returned to Salzburg for the first time since his rupture with Archbishop Colloredo. It was a nervous visit for the composer. Mozart was bringing his new wife, Constanze, to meet his father for the first time (the couple left behind in Vienna their first child, a baby boy who died in their absence), and he was worried that the archbishop might have him arrested. While in Salzburg, Mozart renewed his friendship with Joseph Haydn’s younger brother Michael, who had been music director for the archbishop since 1762, when Mozart was 6. Mozart found Michael Haydn in bad condition. He was sick, and—having been commissioned by the archbishop to provide six duos for violin and viola—had been able to complete only four. As the story has it, the enraged archbishop ordered Haydn’s salary cut off until the remaining two duos were complete. Hearing this, Mozart returned the next day with two duos and gave them to Haydn to pass off as his own.

This was a very rich period for Mozart as composer. Just before he left for Salzburg, he had completed two of the great string quartets dedicated to Joseph Haydn and had written most of the Mass in C Minor; on the way home to Vienna, he quickly dashed off the “Linz” Symphony. The two duos, the only ones Mozart ever wrote, are masterly in their handling of the two instruments in what might seem a fairly limited form. Mozart played both violin and viola, but he preferred to play the viola, and he makes the two instruments equal partners in this music rather than relegating the viola to its more familiar role as accompanying voice. In fact, the writing for viola is one of the most remarkable aspects of this music, for Mozart fully exploits its distinctively rich and expressive sound.

The Duo in G Major is in three movements: a sonata-form first movement, a lyric slow movement, and a rondo-finale. The extended opening movement, by turns extroverted and melodic, features a brilliant interchange between the two voices and at one point a graceful little canon. The slow movement is built on an aria-like main idea; here the violin introduces the theme and has most of the interest. The bustling finale makes sharp dynamic contrasts; Mozart nicely varies the rhythmic pulse with extended passages in triplets.

Fratres for Cello, String Orchestra, and Percussion ARVO PÄRT

Composed: 1977

Approximate Duration: 10 minutes

One of the first works to come out of Arvo Pärt's now-famous “creative silence” of the mid-1970s was Fratres. Composed in 1977 and first performed by the Estonian early music ensemble Hortus Musicus, Fratres is a pillar of the triad-based “tintinnabulation” style Pärt developed, influenced by his study of Franco-Flemish Gothic and Renaissance polyphony.

From this work—originally scored for string quintet and wind quintet—have come a number of further expressions of the material for various performing forces, and all titled Fratres. The first of these offspring was a set of variations for violin and piano on the theme of the original Fratres, commissioned by the 1980 Salzburg Festival and premiered by its dedicatees, Gidon and Elena Kremer. Other versions have been scored for strings and percussion, with and without solo violin, for wind octet and percussion, for string quartet, and for eight cellos. The six-bar theme is repeated—with a characteristic minimalist emphasis on patterning—and moved to new tonal levels, mostly by thirds. Its melodic structure is developed by gradually adding on new extensions.

The materials are clear and the mechanics transparent, but the effect is far from simplistic. “I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played,” Pärt commented at the time. “This one note, or a moment of silence, comforts me. I work with very few elements—with one voice, with two voices. I build with the most primitive materials—with the triad, with one specific tonality. The three notes of a triad are like bells. And that is why I call it tintinnabulation.”

— John Henken

Program note by John Henken, reprinted courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Composed:1791

Approximate duration: 4 minutes

Mozart composed Ave Verum Corpus just six months before he died. In June 1791, his wife, Constanze, was pregnant with their sixth child. As was her habit when pregnant, she left Vienna to take the waters at the nearby spa in Baden. Mozart joined her a few days later and composed this short motet for an old friend–the music director of a tiny church in the town, who had looked after Constanze during her frequent trips to Baden. Although scored frugally for mixed choir, strings, and organ and only forty-six bars long, Ave Verum Corpus is a gem of Mozartean simplicity and beauty.

— Rick Phillips

Rick Phillips is a Toronto writer, broadcaster, teacher, host and music tour guide. www.soundavice1.com.

Note courtesy of Rick Phillips and Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

Texts and Translation

Eucharistic Hymn

Ave verum corpus, Natum de Maria virgine; Vere passum immolatum In crucis pro homine.

Cuius latus perforatum

Unda fluxit et sanguine. Esto nobis praegustatum In mortis examine.

Hail, true body born of the Virgin Mary, who was truly sacrificed on the cross for man. May you whose pierced side flowed with blood be for us a foretaste as we come to think of death.

BRANDEE YOUNGER TRIO JAZZ @ THE JAI

THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2024 · 6 PM & 8:30 PM THE JAI

Brandee Younger Trio Brandee Younger, harp Rahsaan Carter, basses Allan Medford, drums

Program

Works to be announced from stage

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

ABOUT

NO INTERMISSION

The sonically innovative harpist Brandee Younger is revolutionizing harp for the digital era. Over the past fifteen years, she has worked relentlessly to stretch boundaries and limitations for harpists. In 2022, she made history by becoming the first black woman to be nominated for a GRAMMY® Award for Best Instrumental Composition. That same year, she was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Ever-expanding as an artist, she has worked with cultural icons including Common, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, and Moses Sumney. Her current album, Brand New Life, builds on her already rich oeuvre, and cements the harp’s place in pop culture. As the title of the album suggests, Brand New Life is about forging new paths—artistic, personal, political, and spiritual. On this album, Younger salutes her musical foremother, the trailblazing harpist Dorothy Ashby, while also speaking to the sentiments of more recent generations.

Brandee Younger

MUSICAL PRELUDE · 6:30 PM THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Cohda Trio/Quartet perform Françaix's String Trio and Bax's Piano Quartet in One Movement

Support for this program is provided by:

Jendy Dennis

Support for the SummerFest Fellowship Artists and the Musical Preludes is provided by:

Gordon Brodfuehrer and Jeanette Stevens

Support for vocal music programs at LJMS is provided by:

Mary Ellen Clark

GRATITUDE

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2024 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

J.S. BACH

Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150 (1685–1750)

Sinfonia

Chorus: Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich

Aria: Doch bin und bleibe ich vergnügt

Chorus: Leite mich in deiner Wahrheit

Aria: Zedern müssen von den Winden

Chorus: Meine Augen sehen stets zu dem Herrn

Chorale (ciaccona): Meine Tage in dem Leide VOCES8

Andrea Haines, MaryRuth Miller, sopranos; Katie Jeffries-Harris, alto,

Barnaby Smith, countertenor & artistic director ; Blake Morgan, Euan Williamson, tenors; Christopher Moore, baritone; Dominic Carver, bass

Stefan Jackiw, SooBeen Lee*, violins; Sterling Elliott, Leland Ko*, cellos; Inon Barnatan, organ

GIBBONS O Clap Your Hands (1583–1625)

MOUTON Nesciens mater (1459–1522)

CAROLINE SHAW and the swallow (b. 1982)

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

RACHMANINOFF Bogoroditse Devo from All-Night Vigil (1873–1943)

JAKE RUNESTAD Let My Love Be Heard (b. 1986)

REENA ESMAIL When the Violin (b. 1983) VOCES8; Sterling Elliott, cello

INTERMISSION

BEETHOVEN Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Opus 97 “Archduke” (1770–1827)

Allegro moderato

Scherzo: Allegro

Andante cantabile

Allegro moderato

Inon Barnatan, piano; Stefan Jackiw, violin; Alisa Weilerstein, cello

*2024 SummerFest Fellowship Artist

Texts and Translations

J.S BACH

Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150

Coro

Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich. Mein Gott, ich hoffe auf dich. Laß mich nicht zuschanden werden, dass sich meine Feinde nicht freuen über mich.

Psalm 25:1-2

Arie (Sopran)

Doch bin und bleibe ich vergnügt, Obgleich hier zeitlich toben Kreuz, Sturm und andre Proben, Tod, Höll und was sich fügt. Ob Unfall schlägt den treuen Knecht, Recht ist und bleibet ewig Recht.

Anon

Coro

Leite mich in deiner Wahrheit und lehre mich; denn du bist der Gott, der mir hilft, täglich harre ich dein.

Psalm 25:5

Arie (Alt, Tenor, Bass)

Cedern müssen von den Winden Oft viel Ungemach empfinden, Niemals werden sie verkehrt. Rat und Tat auf Gott gestellet, Achtet nicht, was widerbellet, Denn sein Wort ganz anders lehrt.

Anon

Coro

Meine Augen sehen stets zu dem Herrn; denn er wird meinen Fuß aus dem Netze ziehen.

Psalm 25:15

Ciaccona

Meine Tage in dem Leide Endet Gott dennoch zur Freude; Christen auf den Dornenwegen Krönet Himmels Kraft und Segen. Bleibet Gott mein treuer Schutz, Achte ich nicht Menschentrutz, Christus, der uns steht zur Seiten, Hilft mir täglich sieghaft streiten.

Anon

English translation ©Pamela Dellal Chorus

Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in Thee. Let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Aria (Soprano)

Yet I am and shall remain content, though cross, storm and other trials may rage here on earth, death, hell, and what must be. Though mishap strike Thy faithful servant, right is and remains ever right.

Chorus

Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me: for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day.

Aria (Alto, Tenor, Bass)

Cedars must before the tempest often suffer much torment, and are often uprooted. Entrust to God both thought and deed, do not heed what howls against you, for His word teaches us quite otherwise.

Chorus

Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

Chaccone

All my days of suffering are ended by God in gladness; Christians on the thorny paths are led by heaven’s power and blessing. If God remains my faithful jewel, I shall ignore human affliction; Christ, who stands by us, helps me daily win the battle.

GIBBONS

O Clap Your Hands

O clap your hands together, all ye people: O sing unto God with the voice of melody. For the Lord is high, and to be feared: he is the great King upon all the earth. He shall subdue the people under us: and the nations under our feet. He shall choose out an heritage for us: even the worship of Jacob, whom he loved. God is gone up with a merry noise: and the Lord with the sound of the trumpet. O sing praises, sing praisеs unto our God: O sing praises, sing praises unto our King. For God is the King of all thе earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon his holy seat. The princes of the people are joined unto the people of the God of Abraham. Psalm 47

MOUTON

Nesciens mater

Nesciens mater virgo virum peperit salvatorem seculorum; ipsum regem angelorum sola virgo lactabat, ubera de celo plena.

Medici Codex of 1518

CAROLINE SHAW

and the swallow

The Virgin Mother who knew not a man bore the Saviour of the world; the Virgin alone suckled the very King of the angels, her breasts were filled from heaven. Anon. English translation

How beloved is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts. My soul yearns, faints, my heart and my flesh cry. The sparrow found a house, and the swallow, her nest, Where she may raise her young. They pass through the valley of Bakka, They make it a place of springs. The autumn rains also cover it with pools. Psalm 84

RACHMANINOFF

Bogoroditse Devo from All-Night Vigil

Bogoróditse Dévo, ráduysia, Blagodátnaya Mar̃íye, Ghospód s Tobóyu. Blagosloṽénna Tï v zhenáẖ, i blagosloṽén Plod chr̃éva Tvoyegó, yáko Spása rodilá yes̃í dush náshïẖ. Church Slavonic

Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, for Thou hast borne the Savior of our souls.

JAKE RUNESTAD

Let My Love Be Heard

Text: A Prayer by Alfred Noyes Angels, where you soar Up to God’s own light, Take my own lost bird On your hearts tonight; And as grief once more Mounts to heaven and sings, Let my love be heard Whispering in your wings.

REENA ESMAIL

When the Violin

Text: Hafiz, The Gift (tr. Daniel Ladinsky) When The violin Can forgive the past It starts singing.

When the violin can stop worrying

About the future

You will become Such a drunk laughing nuisance That God Will then lean down And start combing you into Her Hair.

When the violin can forgive Every wound caused by Others

The heart starts Singing.

Program notes by Eric Bromberger, except where indicated.

Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich BWV

150

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Born March 21, 1685, Eisenach

Died July 28, 1750, Leipzig

Composed: 1707

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

Bach wrote slightly over two hundred cantatas, so it would be easy to assume that a cantata numbered 150 must be a mature work, but that is not remotely the case. The Bach Werke Verzeichnis listing of Bach’s cantatas is not chronological, and all evidence suggests the Cantata No. 150 is in fact Bach’s first cantata. In 1704, at the age of nineteen, Bach took the position of organist in the Neukirche in Arnstadt, a town slightly to the east of his native Eisenach. That church had a magnificent new organ, and Bach used his three years in Arnstadt to refine his organ playing. At some point during those three years, when Bach was between 19 and 22, he composed his cantata Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (“For you, Lord, is my longing”). The cantata shows all the characteristics of Bach’s earliest cantatas: it is not based on a chorale tune, nor does it offer da capo arias. The text in the evennumbered movements is drawn from Psalm 25, while the texts of the odd-numbered movements are by an anonymous author. All parts of the text stress the same idea: life is full of tribulations, but the soul is happiest when closest to God, who will care for us in the face of the world’s onslaughts. Bach scored the cantata for four-part chorus and a tiny orchestra that consisted of two violins, bassoon, and a continuo line that would have been made up of various instruments. The performance at this concert employs forces probably very close to what Bach wrote for in Arnstadt.

Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich is extremely concise: its seven movements span only about fourteen minutes. The brief Sinfonia (only about ninety seconds long) is full of the falling chromatic lines that will recur throughout the cantata—that stinging descending sequence of notes seems to reflect the world of pain that the soul must confront. The chorus sings Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, which alternates slow and fast sections as it establishes the message of longing that fills the entire cantata. Doch bin und bleibe ich vergnügt is a beautiful solo for soprano, and the full chorus returns for the spirited Leite mich in deiner Wahrheit. The fifth movement is unusual: it is a trio for alto, tenor, and bass. The text here states that cedars may fall before the rushing wind, but one’s soul is supported by God; the rushing cello line depicts the cedars reeling before the wind. The chorus returns in Meine Augen sehen stets zu dem Herrn, whose quick and slow sections state once again the central theme of the cantata: one always returns to the Lord for strength. The concluding Meine Tage in dem Leide brings the cantata to its strong conclusion—it is a chaconne, and the firm repetitions of that form once again underline the meaning of the texts.

TWO NOTES: Johannes Brahms, who knew all the Bach cantatas at a time when they were virtually unknown, even to accomplished musicians, was particularly attracted to No. 150. He noted that the ground bass of Bach’s concluding chaconne could—with just a little adjustment to tighten harmonic tension—become the basis for quite a different set of variations.

That theme, with Brahms’ slight adjustment, became the passacaglia theme of the final movement of Brahms’ Fourth Symphony in 1885, nearly 200 years after Bach wrote this cantata. Those interested in this evening’s performance by VOCES8 should know that their recording session of Cantata No. 150 was filmed, and that session is readily available on the internet.

O Clap Your Hands

ORLANDO GIBBONS

Born December 25, 1583, Oxford

Died June 5, 1625, Canterbury

Composed: 1622

Approximate Duration: 5 minutes

From a musical family, English composer and organist Orlando Gibbons trained at King’s College, Cambridge. He entered the Chapel Royal at age 20 and was in service to the royal family, both to James I and to the prince who would become Charles I. Gibbons composed madrigals and anthems, keyboard music (much admired by Glenn Gould), and fantasies for viols. He was named organist at Westminster Abbey in 1623, but died suddenly two years later at age 41 while on a trip to Canterbury. Gibbons’ anthem O Clap Your Hands, written in 1622 for eight-part chorus, has become one of his most famous works.

Nesciens Mater

JEAN MOUTON

Born about 1459, Wirwignes, France

Died October 30, 1522, Saint-Quentin

Composed: 1518

Approximate Duration: 5 minutes

Jean Mouton grew up in a small town in France and trained as a singer, teacher, and chorus master. He held a number of rural appointments before being placed in charge of the choirboys at Amiens cathedral in 1500. From there his rise was remarkable: early in the sixteenth century he became composer to the royal court of Louis XII, a position he held for the rest of his life. He wrote and published a great deal of music, including over a hundred motets and fifteen settings of the mass. Probably his best-known work is his Christmas motet Nesciens Mater, composed about 1518, shortly before his death. Nesciens Mater celebrates the virginity and strength of Mary, which is a common enough theme, but Mouton’s treatment of the text is remarkable. He sets it as a quadruple canon for eight voices, with each voice entering two measures later and a fifth higher than the previous one. The result is a seamless melding of text, melody, and harmony, all done with the most accomplished counterpoint imaginable.

and the swallow

CAROLINE SHAW

Born August 1, 1982, Greenville, NC

Composed: 2017

Approximate Duration: 4 minutes

Caroline Shaw’s and the swallow was first performed on November 11, 2017, by the Netherlands Chamber Choir. Shaw drew her text from Psalm 84, which is also the source from which

Brahms drew the text for the fourth movement of Ein deutsches requiem: “Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen.” Both Brahms and Shaw begin with the first two lines of that psalm—“How lovely is thy dwelling place / O Lord of hosts.” But how differently do those two composers respond to that text! Brahms makes his movement a mighty statement of faith, but Shaw ignores that part of the psalm to concentrate on just a few lines within it, an almost fragmentary account of the sparrow and the swallow who finds a home for her nest and for safety. Shaw scores and the swallow for eight-part chorus, setting the text haltingly at first, then letting the music soar through some particularly beautiful polyphonic extension, much of it wordless, before coming to an almost enigmatic close. This music has proven attractive to a number of performers, and it can also be heard in arrangements for wind ensembles and string orchestras.

Bogoroditse Devo from All-Night Vigil SERGEI RACHMANINOFF

Born April 1, 1873, Novgorod, Russia

Dies March 28, 1943, Los Angeles

Composed: 1915

Approximate Duration: 3 minutes

Rachmaninoff composed his All-Night Vigil in JanuaryFebruary, 1915, and it was sung for the first time at a concert for war relief charity in Moscow on March 23, 1915. The Vigil consists of fifteen movements for mixed a capella chorus, and it was intended to be sung as a night-long vigil on the eve of holy days. The progress of the texts is thus from night to predawn and finally to dawn. By far the most famous movement of the All-Night Vigil is the brief sixth, whose title transliterates as Bogoroditse Devo: “Rejoice, Virgin Mother of God.” Across its three-minute span, this is music of the utmost simplicity and beauty, and Rachmaninoff liked the piece so much that he asked that Bogoroditse Devo be sung as his funeral. Years later, he described the process of its composition:

Toward the end there is a passage sung by the basses, a scale descending to the lowest B-flat in a very slow pianissimo. After I played this passage Danilan [conductor of the Moscow Synodical Choir, which gave the première] shook his head, saying “Now, where on earth are we to find such basses? They are as rare as asparagus at Christmas!” Nevertheless, he did find them. I knew the voices of my countrymen, and I well knew what demands I could make upon Russian basses!

Let My Love Be Heard

JAKE RUNESTAD

Born May 20, 1986, Rockford, IL

Composed: 2015

Approximate Duration: 5 minutes

On his website, the composer has provided an introduction to this piece:

Originally a choral work written for Choral Arts Northwest, this work has taken on a new life in light of the 2015 atrocities in Paris and Beirut. Jonathan Talberg, the conductor of the choir at Cal State Long Beach, led his singers in a performance during

the memorial vigil for Nohemi Gonzalez, a Long Beach student who was killed in the Paris attacks. The day after the vigil, the choir was supposed to begin rehearsing holiday music; however, Jonathan felt that was not appropriate and wanted time for the singers to grieve this loss. So, at the beginning of rehearsal, he passed out a brand new piece of music (Let My Love Be Heard), rehearsed it, and then recorded it. It was posted on SoundCloud and shared in memory of Nohemi and as a plea for peace. Their musical offering is a powerful outpouring of grief but also a glimmer of light. I am honored that this piece, Let My Love Be Heard, has helped to provide hope in the darkness of our world.

— Jake Runestad

When the Violin REENA ESMAIL

Born February, 11, 1983, Chicago

Composed: 2018

Approximate Duration: 8 minutes

Reena Esmail, who earned her bachelor’s degree at Juilliard and her DMA from Yale, is currently composer in residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and she served as composer in residence with the Seattle Symphony in 2020–21. On her website, she has a program note for When the Violin:

As a companion piece to Victoria’s O Vos Omnes, I chose to set a beautiful text by the 14C Persian poet Hafiz. The text of O Vos Omnes is asking, simply, to be seen in a moment of sorrow—to be beheld through suffering and darkness. And Hafiz’s text responds in such a beautiful way—it moves through that darkness and begins to let those very first slivers of light in.

This piece is about that first moment of trust, of softening. About the most inward moments of the human experience, of realizing that “breakthroughs” often don’t have the hard edge, the burst of energy that the word implies, but that they can be about finding tender, warm, deeply resonant spaces within ourselves as well.

This piece is based in a Hindustani raag (p/d) called Charukeshi.

— Reena Esmail

Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Opus 97 “Archduke” LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Born December 17, 1770, Bonn

Died March 26, 1827, Vienna

Composed: 1811

Approximate Duration: 42 minutes

The archduke of this trio’s nickname was Archduke Rudolph von Hapsburg, youngest brother of Emperor Franz. Rudolph studied piano and composition with Beethoven, beginning about 1804, when he was 16. A contemporary portrait shows a young man with fair hair and the full Hapsburg lips; he appears to have been blessed with a sense of humor. Beethoven remained fond of Rudolph, who was destined for the church, throughout his life; it was for Rudolph’s elevation to archbishop that Beethoven composed the Missa Solemnis, and he dedicated a number of his greatest works to Rudolph, including the Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos, the Hammerklavier Sonata, and the Grosse

Fuge, as well as this trio. For his part, Rudolph became one of Beethoven’s most generous and reliable patrons, furnishing him with a substantial annuity for many years and maintaining a collection of his manuscripts. Rudolph, however, did not long survive his teacher—he died in 1831 at age 43.

Beethoven sketched this trio in 1810 and composed it during March 1811, shortly before beginning work on his Seventh and Eighth Symphonies. He was 40 years old and nearing the end of the great burst of creativity that has come to be known as his “Heroic Style,” the period that began with the Eroica in 1803 and ended in about 1812 with the Eighth Symphony. Beethoven was growing increasingly deaf at this time—an unsuccessful performance of the “Archduke” Trio in 1814 was his final public appearance as a pianist—and he would soon enter the six-year period of relative inactivity as a composer that preceded his late style.

The “Archduke” Trio seems well-named, for there is something noble about this music, something grand about its spacious proportions and breadth of spirit. At a length of nearly 45 minutes, it is longer than most of Beethoven’s symphonies, but unlike the symphonies, this trio is quite relaxed: it makes its way not by unleashing furious energy to fight musical battles but by spinning long, lyric melodic lines. It is as if Beethoven is showing that there is more than one way to write heroic music.

The nobility of this music is evident from the opening instant of the Allegro moderato, where the piano quickly establishes the music’s easy stride (it is characteristic of this music that both outer movements should be marked Allegro moderato rather than the expected Allegro). The piano also introduces the slightly square second theme, and this sonata-form movement develops easily over its lengthy span. Strings open the huge Scherzo, with the piano quickly picking up their theme. Particularly striking here is the trio section—its deep chromatic wanderings alternate with an exuberant waltz and furnish the material for the coda.

The gorgeous Andante cantabile is a set of variations on the piano’s expressive opening subject. These variations proceed by making this simple melody more and more complex: the music appears blacker and blacker on the pages of the score before it falls back to end quietly, proceeding without pause to the concluding Allegro moderato. Full of energy, this rondo-finale is also full of good humor and imaginative rhythms. The music flies to its close on a coda marked Presto.

IN LOVING MEMORY

MUSICAL PRELUDE · 2 PM THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Performance by Community Member Chorus and VOCES8

This afternoonʼs concert is dedicated in loving memory of Joan Jacobs.

Support for vocal music programs at LJMS is provided by:

Mary Ellen Clark

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 2024 · 3 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

RAVEL Sonata for Violin and Cello (1875–1937) Allegro

Très vif

Lent

Vif, avec entrain

Stefan Jackiw, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello

ARENSKY

Piano Trio No. 1, Opus 32 (1861–1906)

Allegro moderato

Scherzo: Allegro molto

Elegia: Adagio

Finale: Allegro non troppo

Inon Barnatan, piano; Blake Pouliot, violin; Alisa Weilerstein, cello

INTERMISSION

FAURÉ Requiem in D Minor, Opus 48 (1845–1824) Introit and Kyrie

Offertoire

Sanctus

Pie Jesu

Agnus Dei

Libera me

In Paradisum

VOCES8

Andrea Haines, MaryRuth Miller, sopranos; Katie Jeffries-Harris, alto; Barnaby Smith, countertenor & artistic director ; Blake Morgan, Euan Williamson, tenors; Christopher Moore, baritone; Dominic Carver, bass

Stefan Jackiw, violin; Matthew Lipman, Brian Isaacs*, James Kang*, violas; Sterling Elliott, Macintyre Taback*, Leland Ko*, cellos; Jeremy Kurtz-Harris, bass; Julie Smith Phillips, harp; Ruben Valenzuela, organ

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

*2024 SummerFest Fellowship Artist

Stefan Jackiw

Program notes by Eric Bromberger Sonata for Violin and Cello

MAURICE RAVEL

Born March 7, 1875, Ciboure, Basses-Pyrenées, France

Died December 28, 1937, Paris

Composed: 1922

Approximate Duration: 22 minutes

The composition of the Sonata for Violin and Cello was difficult for Ravel, and he struggled with this brief piece for some time before completing it early in 1922. Even after finishing it, Ravel was unsure about what he had written, saying “It doesn’t seem much, this machine for two instruments: it’s the result of nearly a year and a half’s slogging.” This was a bleak period emotionally for the composer: he had just gone through the torment of the First World War (in which he had served as an ambulance driver) and had suffered the death of his mother in 1917. This spare work is dedicated to the memory of Debussy, who had died in 1918.

Writing for two linear instruments without the harmonic foundation and richness of piano accompaniment brings special problems. Ravel himself noted his solution: “Economy of means is here carried to its extreme limits; there are no harmonies to please the ear, but a pronounced reaction in favor of melody.” Listeners accustomed to the rich harmonies of Ravel’s music for orchestra and for piano will find this sonata lean, at times austere, more striking for its brilliance than its emotional content.

The Sonata is in four movements. The Allegro requires the two instruments to play in different keys, and the resulting clash, often on the interval of major and minor thirds, provides much of this movement’s harmonic pungency. The cello’s opening theme is first taken up by the violin and then developed with much energy by both instruments.

The brilliant Très vif—the sonata’s scherzo—is notable for its instrumental effects, particularly the pizzicato ostinato played at times by both instruments. It has been said—incorrectly—that this movement lacks melodic content: the first distinct theme is played by the pizzicato violin. But it is true that this movement is made distinctive more by its sounds—the snapping pizzicatos, buzzing trills, and eerie harmonics—than by its melodies.

The Lent is the Sonata’s most melodic movement: the cello’s expressive opening theme is soon taken up by the violin, and their extended duet sings gracefully. An agitated middle section leads to a return of the opening material, now muted. The finale—Vif, avec entrain (“Lively, with spirit”)—is a sort of rondo based on the cello’s spiccato opening theme, which the violin takes in turn. Ravel attended the rehearsals before the sonata’s première, and he insisted that the cellist bounce his bow “like a mechanical rabbit” in this opening passage. Several brief episodes interrupt the rondo theme before this brilliant, energetic movement comes to its close on an emphatic pizzicato chord.

Ravel may have been uncertain about this music, but the audience at the première in Paris on April 6, 1922, was not: they demanded that the performers repeat the finale.

Piano Trio in D Minor, Opus 32 ANTON ARENSKY

Born July 12, 1861, Novgorod, Russia

Died February 25, 1905, Terioki, Finland

Composed: 1894

Approximate Duration: 30 minutes

The son of two passionate amateur musicians, Anton Stepanovich Arensky had his first piano lessons from his mother and was already composing by age nine. He studied with Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and received the gold medal on his graduation in 1882. That same year, at age 21, Arensky became professor of harmony at the Moscow Conservatory, where he was a friend and colleague of Tchaikovsky and taught Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Gliere (the grateful Rachmaninoff dedicated his first tone poem, Prince Rostislav, to his teacher). Arensky served as head of the Imperial Chapel in St. Petersburg from 1895 until 1901, when he retired on a generous pension and devoted himself to composition and to performing. But those plans were cut short: Arensky died at age 44 from tuberculosis, and Rimsky-Korsakov noted grimly that his early death had been hastened by a lifelong fondness for cards and alcohol.

Arensky was a prolific composer—he wrote three operas, ballet, symphonies, concertos, and chamber music—but almost all of this music has disappeared from the concert hall: of his 75 opus numbers, only the Piano Trio in D Minor remains an established part of the repertory. Arensky wrote this trio in 1894 and dedicated it to the memory of Russian cellist Karl Davidov (1838–1889), who had served for several years as principal cellist of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and who had been head of the St. Petersburg Conservatory when Arensky was a student there. Arensky has been described as an “eclectic” composer, and the influence of Tchaikovsky is strong here. Some have also heard the influence of Mendelssohn, whose own Piano Trio in D Minor is one of the most famous in the literature.

The opening Allegro moderato is a big movement in sonata form based on two principal ideas: the violin’s soaring opening melody and a more subdued second subject announced by the cello. The movement is dramatic, but Arensky surprises us with its conclusion: he slows the tempo to Adagio, and after all the excitement the movement comes to an unexpectedly quiet conclusion. The ternary-form Scherzo has a brilliant beginning where the violinist alternates harmonics, spiccatos, and pizzicatos over swirling piano runs; the middle section is a good-natured waltz with the strings dancing above the piano’s rollicking accompaniment. Rather than offering a da capo repeat of the opening section, Arensky fashions a new closing section from that same material.

The third movement, marked Elegia, is the memorial for Davidov, and Arensky has the muted cello—Davidov’s own instrument—introduce the grieving main theme, which is quickly picked up by the violin. The delicate center section of this movement sounds the most “Tchaikovsky-an,” but this sunlight is short-lived and the somber opening material returns to bring the movement to its close.

The opening of the finale seems consciously dramatic, built on contrasting blocks of sound: the piano’s massive dotted

chords and string passagework in octaves and tremolos make for a portentous beginning. All seems set for a conventional spirited finale, but the conclusion brings some surprises: just as Beethoven had done in the finale of his Ninth Symphony, Arensky now revisits themes from earlier movements, bringing back the middle section of the slow movement and the opening theme of the first movement. The trio concludes with a brisk coda derived from the opening of the finale itself.

Arensky was the pianist at the première of the Trio in D Minor in December 1894, when he was joined by violinist Jan Hrímaly and cellist Anatoly Brandukov. Shortly after that première, those three recorded the trio on wax cylinders in what was one of the earliest recordings ever made of classical music. The performance is not complete, and the sound is dim, but that recording takes us back over a century in time to Imperial Russia and lets us hear Arensky play. Those interested can find excerpts of that recording on the internet.

Requiem in D Minor, Opus 48 GABRIEL FAURÉ

Born May 12, 1845, Pamiers, France Died November 4, 1924, Paris

Composed: 1887

Approximate Duration: 35 minutes

Setting the Requiem Mass for the Dead to music is one of those challenges that make certain composers reveal their deepest nature, and when we hear their Requiem settings, we peer deep into their souls. From the self-conscious pageantry of the Berlioz Requiem to the lyric drama of Verdi, from the independence of Brahms (who chose his own texts to make it a distinctly German Requiem) to the anguish of Britten’s War Requiem, a setting of the Requiem text can become a spectacularly different thing in each composer’s hands. What most distinguishes the Requiem of Gabriel Fauré is its calm, for surely this spare and understated music is the gentlest of all settings. Where Berlioz storms the heavens with a huge orchestra and chorus (and four brass bands!), Fauré rarely raises his voice above quiet supplication. Verdi employs four brilliant soloists in an almost operatic setting, but Fauré keeps his drama quietly unobtrusive. While Brahms shouts out the triumph of resurrection over the grave, Fauré calmly fixes his eyes on paradise. Britten is outraged by warfare, but Fauré remains at peace throughout.

Much of the serenity of Fauré’s Requiem results from his alteration of the text, for he omits the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) of the traditional text. Berlioz and Verdi evoke the shrieking horror of damnation, but Fauré ignores it—his vision of death foresees not damnation, but only salvation. While he reinserts a line from the Dies Irae in the Libera me, the effect remains one of quiet confidence in redemption. Fauré underlines this by concluding with an additional section, In Paradisum—that title reminds us of the emphasis of the entire work, and Fauré brings his music to a quiet resolution on the almost inaudible final word “requiem” (rest). Responding to criticism that he did not offer the traditional terror of death, Fauré defended himself: “That’s how I see death: a joyful deliverance, an aspiration toward a happiness beyond the grave, rather than a painful existence . . . Perhaps I have sought to depart from what is conventional because for so long I was

organist at services of interment. I’m fed up with that. I wanted to do something different.”

The Fauré Requiem has become one of the best-loved of all liturgical works, but it took shape very slowly. The mid-1880s found Fauré struggling as a composer. He had achieved modest early success with a violin sonata and piano quartet, but now— in his forties—he remained virtually unknown as a composer. For over twenty-five years he supported himself by serving as choirmaster and organist at the Madeleine, and it was during these years—particularly following the death of his father in 1885—that Fauré began to plan his Requiem setting. He was just completing the score when his mother died on January 31, 1887—the first performance took place at the Madeleine two weeks later, on February 16.

But the music performed on that occasion was very different from the version we know today: it was scored for a chamber ensemble and was in only five movements rather than seven. Over the next decade, Fauré returned to the score several times and changed it significantly—the orchestration began to grow, and he added two movements: the Offertorium in 1889 and the Libera me in 1892. The “final” version dates from about 1900. Fauré had been asked by his publisher to prepare a version for full orchestra, and it appears that he delegated that task to one of his students. At this concert the Requiem is heard in an arrangement for eight voices, solo violin, three violas, three cellos, bass, harp, and organ.

The Fauré Requiem seems to come from a twilight world. There are no fast movements here (Fauré’s favorite tempo markings—they recur throughout—are Andante moderato and Molto adagio), dynamics are for the most part subdued, and instrumental colors are generally from the darker lower spectrum. The chorus almost whispers its first entrance on the words “Requiem aeternam,” and while the movement soon begins to flow, this prayer for mercy comes to a pianissimo conclusion. At this point in a Requiem Mass should come the Dies Irae, with its description of the horrors of damnation, the admission of man’s unworthiness, and an abject prayer for mercy. Fauré skips this movement altogether and goes directly to the Offertorium, with its baritone solo at Hostias. This movement, which Fauré composed and added to the Requiem the year after its original première, comes to one of the most beautiful conclusions in all the choral literature as the long final Amen seems to float weightlessly outside time and space. In the version for full orchestra Fauré does finally deploy his brass instruments in the Sanctus, but even this movement comes to a shimmering, near-silent close.

The Pie Jesu brings a complete change. In his German Requiem, Brahms used a soprano soloist in only one of the seven movements, and Fauré does the same thing here. The effect— almost magical—is the same in both works: above the dark sound of those two settings, the soprano’s voice sounds silvery and pure as she sings a message of consolation.

At the start of the Agnus Dei the violas play one of the most graceful melodies ever written for that instrument, a long, flowing strand of song that threads its way through much of the movement. Tenors introduce the text of this movement, which rises to a sonorous climax, and at this point Fauré brings back the Requiem aeternam from the very beginning; the violas return to draw the movement to its close.

The final two movements set texts from the Burial Service rather than from the Mass for the Dead. The Libera me was composed in its earliest form in 1877, and Fauré adapted it for the Requiem in 1892. Over pulsing, insistent pizzicatos, the baritone soloist sings an urgent prayer for deliverance. The choir responds in fear, and the music rises to its most dramatic moment on horn calls and the sole appearance in the entire work of a line from the Dies Irae. But the specter of damnation passes quickly, and the movement concludes with one last plea for salvation.

That comes in the final movement. Concluding with In Paradisum points up the special character of the Fauré Requiem: it assumes salvation, and if Fauré believed that death was “a happiness beyond the grave,” he shows us that in his concluding movement. Fauré “wanted to do something different” with his Requiem and he achieves that in a finale that quietly arrives at “eternal happiness.”

Fauré’s Requiem has been called pagan rather than Christian, no doubt by those who miss the imminence of judgment. But it is hard to see this gentle invocation of Christ and the mercy of God—and confidence in paradise—as pagan. Rather, it remains a quiet statement of faith in ultimate redemption and rest, one so disarmingly beautiful as to appeal to believer and non-believer alike.

Texts and Translations

FAURÉ

Requiem in D Minor, Opus 48

Requiem Mass for the Dead English translation by John Rutter (b. 1945)

Introit et Kyrie

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion, et tibi redetur

votum in Jerusalem exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.

Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison.

Offertoire

O Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas defunctorum de poenis inferni, et de profundo lacu libera animas defunctorum de ore leonis, ne absorbeat tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum.

Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus tu suscipe pro animabus illis quarum hodie memoriam facimus fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam,

Introit and Kyrie

Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. A hymn befits thee, O God in Zion, and to thee a vow shall be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer, for unto thee all flesh shall come.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Offertory

O Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, free the souls of the dead from infernal punishment, and the deep abyss. Free the souls of the dead from the mouth of the lion, do not let Hell swallow them up, do not let them fall into the darkness. Sacrifices and prayers of praise we offer to you, O Lord. Receive them for the souls of those whom we commemorate today. Lord, make them pass from death to life,

Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini eius. Amen.

Sanctus

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra Gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.

Pie Jesu

Pie Jesu Domine, Dona eis requiem, réquiem sempiternam.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam. Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, Cum sanctis tuis in aeternum quia pius es.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Libera Me

Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna in die illa tremenda

Quando coeli movendi sunt et terra Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.

Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira.

Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, Dies illa, dies magna et amara valde.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

In Paradisum

In paradisum deducant Angeli, in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.

Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam pauper, aeternam habeas requiem.

as you once promised to Abraham and his seed. Amen.

Sanctus

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna in the highest.

Pie Jesu

Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest, eternal rest.

Agnus Dei

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest everlasting. May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord, in the company of thy saints forever and ever; for thou art merciful.

Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Libera Me

Deliver me, O Lord, from death eternal, on that dreadful day when the heavens and the earth shall quake, when thou shalt come judge the world by fire.

I am seized by trembling, and I fear until the judgment should come, and I also dread the coming wrath. On that day, day of wrath, day of calamity and misery, On that day, that momentous day, Exceedingly bitter day.

Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them.

In Paradisum

May the angels lead you into paradise, May Martyrs welcome you upon your arrival, and lead you into into the holy city, Jerusalem.

May a choir of angels welcome you, with poor Lazarus of old, may you have eternal rest.

PRELUDE · 6 PM

Lecture by Ara Guzelimian

MIDWEEK MASTERWORKS: NOTES ON A SCANDAL

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2024 · 7 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Support for this program is provided by:

Join us for a celebration in the Wu Tsai QRT.yrd immediately following the performance. Must be 21 and older with valid I.D.

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

GESUALDO A Selection of Madrigals (arr. for string quintet) (1566–1613) Mercè grido piangendo Moro, lasso, al mio Non mai non cangerò Simone Porter, Blake Pouliot, violins; Matthew Lipman, Masumi Per Rostad, violas; Paul Wiancko, cello

DEBUSSY Six épigraphes antiques for Piano Four-Hands (1862–1918) To Invoke Pan, God of the Wind of Summer For a Tomb without Name That the Night Might Be Propitious For the Dancer with Miniature Cymbals For the Egyptian To Thank the Morning Rain Inon Barnatan, Conrad Tao, piano

FRANCK Piano Quintet in F Minor (1822–1890) Molto moderato Lento con molto sentimento Allegro non troppo ma con fuoco Conrad Tao, piano; Blake Pouliot, Simone Porter, violins; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello

Masumi Per Rostad

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

A Selection of Madrigals (arranged for string quintet)

Mercè grido piangendo

Moro, lasso, al mio duolo

Non mai non cangerò

CARLO GESUALDO

Born March 1566, Venice

Died September 8, 1613, Naples

Approximate Duration: 10 minutes

An almost exact contemporary of Shakespeare, Don Carlo Gesualdo was an Italian nobleman and a composer. But we had best begin with the most lurid and inescapable detail of his life: he was also a murderer. Coming home one night in 1590, Gesualdo discovered his wife, Maria, in bed with her lover, the Duke of Andria, and stabbed both of them to death. Though his standing as a nobleman prevented any prosecution, the shock waves from that event resonated across the rest of Gesualdo’s life: in his position in society, in his own subsequent mental anguish, and in his life as a composer.

Gesualdo may have been a nobleman, but his passion was music, and he wrote almost exclusively for the voice. Working in near isolation, Gesualdo developed into a most original composer, writing music characterized by intense chromaticism and complex counterpoint. So chromatic is Gesualdo’s writing that the rest of Western music did not catch up with it until near the end of the nineteenth century, and his music and his life remain a source of fascination for contemporary artists. There have been novels, plays, and at least nine operas written about Gesualdo, and late in his long life Stravinsky orchestrated several of Gesualdo’s works. In 1995 Werner Herzog made a movie about him—Gesualdo: Death in Five Voices—that the director has described as “one of the films closest to my heart.”

Gesualdo is known to have played the harpsichord, lute, and guitar, and over the final two decades of his life he published six collections of madrigals and three books of religious settings. His vocal settings are remarkable for their attention to the meaning of words, and it has been noted that some of his most expressive writing comes in his setting of texts and individual words that express torment, suffering, guilt, and pain.

This evening’s concert opens with three of Gesualdo’s madrigals arranged for a string quintet made up of two violins, two violas, and cello. While these madrigals will be heard as instrumental music, it may be useful for audiences to know the texts that this music set:

Mercè grido piangendo “Mercy!” I cry weeping. But who hears me?

Alas, I faint.

I shall die, therefore, in silence. Ah, for pity! At least, oh treasure of my heart, let me tell you before I die, “I die!”

(Translation by Mick Swithinbank)

Moro, lasso, al mio duolo

I die, alas, in my suffering And she who could give me life Alas, kills me and will not help me. O sorrowful fate, She who could give me life, Alas, gives me death

Non mai non cangerò

Never shall I change my humour, will or thought, for a cruel woman, my heart’s enemy, exerts the sweetest of dominions, turning the days and hours of my life and tempering my desires with hope, then joy, then torment.

Six épigraphes antiques CLAUDE DEBUSSY

Born August 22, 1862, Saint Germain-en-Laye, France

Died March 25, 1918, Paris

Composed: 1914

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

Debussy’s Six Épigraphes Antiques are unfamiliar to most audiences, and the music performed on this concert has an especially complex history. In 1897–98, Debussy wrote a collection of pieces to accompany a reading of his friend Pierre Louys’ Chansons de Bilitis. A photographer, poet, and author of erotic novels, Louys had published Chansons de Bilitis in 1894, the same year Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun was premiered. The Chansons, purportedly Greek poems in the manner of Sappho, were actually the work of Louys himself. They tell of the sexual awakening and experience of a Greek maiden “born at the beginning of the sixth century preceding our era, in a mountain village on the banks of the Melas forming the eastern boundary of Pamphylia.” Debussy doubted that the recitation of these poems needed music and wrote brief backgrounds for two flutes, two harps, and celesta to accompany some of them; he also wrote some brief piano pieces as part of this. In 1914, only four years before his death, Debussy rewrote these earlier pieces for piano four-hands and published them as the Six épigraphes antiques (they are sometimes performed in arrangement for chamber orchestra made after Debussy’s death)

The music itself bears some relation to Debussy’s two books of piano preludes, published in 1910 and 1913: these six brief pieces are harmonically spare and subdued in mood. Each has an evocative title—the epigraph—and all except the third end very quietly. Just as the Preludes are evocations of moods and moments, the Épigraphes may be thought of as impressions of faraway places or particular moments. The six pieces: To Invoke Pan, God of the Wind of Summer, which Debussy asks to have performed “in the style of a pastorale;” For a Tomb without Name, with outer sections in a very free 5/4 meter; That the Night Might Be Propitious, with a quietly shimmering beginning that gives way to bright flashes of sound; For the Dancer with Miniature Cymbals, which features arpeggiated chords at the beginning and bright sounds later; For

the Egyptian, which Debussy asks to have performed “without stiffness;” and To Thank the Morning Rain, where the steady patter of sixteenth-notes echoes the sound of the rain—Debussy brings back the main theme of the opening piece at the close.

Piano Quintet in F Minor CÉSAR FRANCK

Born December 10, 1822, Liège, Belgium Died November 8, 1890, Paris

Composed: 1880

Approximate Duration: 35 minutes

Few works in the chamber music literature have produced so violent a reaction at their premières as the Piano Quintet of César Franck. Franck, then 57 and a professor of organ at the Paris Conservatory, had written no chamber music for over 25 years when the Piano Quintet burst to life before an unsuspecting audience in Paris on January 17, 1880. Few in that audience expected music so explosive from a man known as the gentle composer of church music. Franck’s students were wildly enthusiastic, and a later performance is reported to have left the audience stunned into silence, some of them weeping openly. But the acclaim was not universal. Franck had intended to dedicate this music to Camille Saint-Saëns, the pianist at the première, but when he approached Saint-Saëns after the performance to offer him the personally-inscribed manuscript, Saint-Saëns is reported to have made a face, thrown the manuscript on the piano, and walked away. Franck’s wife hated the Quintet and refused to attend performances.

There appear to have been non-musical reasons for these reactions. Four years earlier, a twenty-year-old woman had begun to study composition with Franck. Augusta Holmès moved easily in the musical and literary circles of Paris. A striking figure, she attracted the attention and admiration of most of the leading musical figures of the late eighteenth-century, including Rossini, Wagner, Liszt, Rimsky-Korsakov, and many others. SaintSaëns, whose proposal of marriage she rejected, confessed that “We were all in love with her.” Holmès (she added the accent to the family name) composed on a grand scale: among her works are four operas (she wrote the librettos for all her operas), symphonies, symphonic poems, choral music, and songs.

The details of the relationship between Holmès and her teacher remain unclear. She was strongly attracted to Franck, and he confessed that his student “arouses in me the most unspiritual desires.” The première of Franck’s Piano Quintet apparently brought matters to a head. The general feeling was that the mild-mannered Franck had made clear his love for Augusta in this music, and both his wife and Saint-Saëns knew it. For those interested, the relationship between Franck and Holmès is the subject of a 1978 novel by Ronald Harwood titled César and Augusta.

Despite the tensions at its première, Franck’s Quintet has come to be regarded as one of the great piano quintets, along with those of Schumann, Brahms, Dvořák, and Shostakovich. Everyone instantly recognizes its power—this is big music, full of bold gestures, color, and sweep. Franz Liszt, one of Franck’s greatest admirers, wondered whether the Quintet was truly chamber music and suggested that it might be better heard in

a version for orchestra. Franck’s first instruction, dramatico, sets the tone for the entire work, and Liszt was quite right to wonder whether this is truly chamber music: Franck asks for massed unison passages, fortississimo dynamic levels, tremolos, and a volume of sound previously unknown in chamber music. Beyond the purely emotional and sonic impact, however, this music is notable for its concentration: the Piano Quintet is one of the finest examples of Franck’s cyclic treatment of themes, an idea he had taken from Liszt—virtually the entire quintet grows out of theme-shapes presented in the first movement.

The opening of the first movement is impressive, as Franck alternates intense passages for strings with quiet, lyrical interludes for piano. Gradually these voices merge and rush ahead at the violent Allegro, which listeners will recognize as a variant of the violin’s figure at the very beginning. This and other theme-shapes will be stretched, varied, and made to yield a variety of moods. At the end of the movement, the music dies away on Franck’s marking estinto: “extinct.”

The slow movement begins with steady piano chords, and over these the first violin plays what seem at first melodic fragments. But these too have evolved from the opening of the first movement, and soon they combine to form the movement’s main theme. Again the music rises to a massive climax, then subsides to end quietly. Out of that quiet, the concluding movement springs to life. Franck specifies con fuoco—with fire— and the very beginning feels unsettled and nervous, with the violins pulsing ahead. The main theme, when it finally arrives, has grown out of material presented in the second movement; now Franck gives it to the four strings, and their repetitions grow in power until the theme is hammered out violently. An extremely dramatic coda drives to the brutally abrupt cadence.

DAN TEPFER—NATURAL MACHINES JAZZ

@ THE JAI

Support for this program is provided by:

Clara Wu Tsai

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2024 · 6 PM & 8:30 PM THE JAI

Natural Machines

Dan Tepfer, piano

ABOUT

Dan Tepfer, born in 1982 in Paris to American parents, has recorded and performed around the world with some of the leading lights in jazz and classical music, from Lee Konitz to Renée Fleming, and released ten albums of his own. Tepfer earned global acclaim for his 2011 release Goldberg Variations / Variations. His 2019 video album Natural Machines finds him exploring in real time the intersection between science and art, coding and improvisation, digital algorithms and the rhythms of the heart. His 2023 return to Bach, Inventions / Reinventions, an exploration of the narrative processes behind Bach’s beloved Inventions, became a best-seller, spending two weeks in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Classical Charts. Tepfer has composed for various ensembles beyond jazz. His piano quintet Solar Spiral was premiered in 2016 at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, with Tepfer performing alongside the Avalon String Quartet. Current commissions include a suite for choir and piano in memory of his mother, a chorister at the Paris Opera; a song cycle for jazz great Cécile McLorin Salvant and string orchestra; and a symphonic work featuring algorithms and visuals.

Dan Tepfer

PRELUDE · 6:30 PM THE JAI

Interview with Caleb Teicher and Conrad Tao hosted by Molly Puryear

Support for this program is provided by:

Clara Wu Tsai

Support for dance programs at LJMS is provided by:

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

SYNERGY: COUNTERPOINT II

FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2024 • 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

CounterPoint II

Conrad Tao, piano & Caleb Teicher, tap

J.S. BACH

Aria from Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1685—1750)

Conrad Tao, piano; Caleb Teicher, tap dancer

C.TAO/C.TEICHER Procession (b.1994/b.1993)

Conrad Tao, piano; Caleb Teicher, tap dancer Commissioned by the Gilmore International Piano Festival

SCHOENBERG

Waltzer from 5 Klavierstücke (1874—1951)

Conrad Tao, piano

NOBEL/TATUM

Cherokee (1903—1978/1909—1956)

NIC GAREISS

Conrad Tao, piano; Caleb Teicher, tap dancer

Solo Square Dance (b. 1986)

Caleb Teicher, tap dancer

MOZART

Le nozze di Figaro, Act II: Finale (1756—1791)

Conrad Tao, piano; Caleb Teicher, tap dancer ; Blake Pouliot, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello

INTERMISSION

CALEB TEICHER Improvisation

Caleb Teicher, tap dancer

BERNSTEIN

Selections from West Side Story (1918—1990)

J.S. BACH

Variation 13 from Goldberg Variations, BWV.988

Conrad Tao, piano; Caleb Teicher, tap dancer ; Blake Pouliot, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello

GERSHWIN

Rhapsody in Blue (1898—1937)

BERNSTEIN

J.S. BACH

Conrad Tao, piano; Caleb Teicher, tap dancer

Somewhere from West Side Story

Conrad Tao, piano; Caleb Teicher, tap dancer

Aria from Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

Conrad Tao, piano; Caleb Teicher, tap dancer

Counterpoint II marks the evolution of the collaborative synergy between pianist and composer Conrad Tao and choreographer-dancer Caleb Teicher. Building upon their initial exploration, this dynamic duo delves into new dimensions of their artistic dialogue, weaving a tapestry that embraces the rich traditions from Mozart to Bernstein.

This evening's program is co-commissioned in partnership with The Irving S. Gilmore International Piano Festival

Conrad Tao & Caleb Teicher

PRELUDE · 6:30 PM THE JAI

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’

SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2024 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

A RACHMANINOFF SONGBOOK

BERLIN All By Myself (1888–1989)

RACHMANINOFF Improvisation on Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Var. 15 (1873-1943) (arr. Conrad Tao)

ARLEN Over the Rainbow (after Art Tatum) (1905–1986)

RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Var. 18

STRAYHORN Lush Life (1915–1967)

Conrad Tao, piano

RACHMANINOFF Full Moon and Empty Arms (arr. Buddy Kaye)

Daisies

STRAYHORN Day Dream

Conrad Tao, piano; Simone Porter, violin

RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in C Minor, Opus 33, No. 3

Conrad Tao, piano

RÓZSA

Sonata for Two Violins, Opus 15a (1907–1995)

Allegro risoluto

Lento assai

Support for this program is provided by: Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

Vivo e giocoso

Blake Pouliot, Simone Porter, violins

INTERMISSION

JOHN WILLIAMS Theme from Schindler’s List (b. 1932)

Simone Porter, violin; Blake Pouliot, SooBeen Lee*, violins; Matthew Lipman, Brian Isaacs*, Masumi Per Rostad, violas; Leland Ko*, cello; Inon Barnatan, keyboard

REENA ESMAIL Fantasia from String Quartet “Ragamala” (b. 1983) Abeo Quartet*

Njioma Grevious, Rebecca Benjamin, violins; James Kang, viola; Macintyre Taback, cello

Reena Esmail, Hindustani vocals

TERRY RILEY G Song (b. 1935)

Simone Porter, Blake Pouliot, violins; Matthew Lipman, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello

JOHN ADAMS Selections from John’s Book of Alleged Dances (b. 1947) Dogjam

Alligator Escalator

Toot Nipple

Habanera

Judah to Ocean

Blake Pouliot, Simone Porter, violins; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello

Blake Pouliot

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

A RACHMANINOFF SONGBOOK

Approximate Duration: 27 minutes

All By Myself

IRVING BERLIN

(1888–1989)

Irving Berlin wrote “All by Myself” on his own lyrics in 1921, and it became an immediate hit. Aileen Stanley recorded it the following year, and since then it has been covered by countless artists. The text is about being lonely and living in fear of eventually dying alone. Such a text might well be the basis for a very dark song, but Berlin’s snappy, bouncy setting is so captivating that we come away from this song exhilarated rather than depressed.

Improvisation on Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Var. 15

CONRAD TAO

(b. 1994)

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF

(1873–1943)

In the spring of 1934 Rachmaninoff, then 61, and his wife moved into a villa they had just purchased on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. That summer Rachmaninoff composed a set of variations for piano and orchestra on what is doubtless the most-varied theme in the history of music, the last of Niccolo Paganini’s Twenty-Four Caprices for Solo Violin. Paganini himself had written twelve variations on that devilish tune, a theme full of rhythmic spring and chromatic tension. Many other composers have written variations on that theme, but Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini may be the finest of them. Variation 15, marked Più vivo scherzando, is built on a steady flow of sixteenth-notes that go so fast that they seem to tumble over each other. It is a brilliant display piece for solo piano (the orchestra is silent through much of it), and on this program Conrad Tao uses it as the basis for an improvisation of his own.

Over the Rainbow (after Art Tatum)

HAROLD ARLEN

(1905–1986)

Harold Arlen’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is an indelible part of the American consciousness. The idea for this song came to Arlen while his wife was driving him to Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Arlen asked her to pull over and stop (in front of Schwab’s Drug Store), and he quickly sketched out the music for a song that became a classic. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, played by Judy Garland, sings this song while wondering if it might be possible to find a place where there is no trouble. To a generation of Americans weary of the Depression and on the verge of World War II, the song spoke for the national consciousness. In 1953 the great jazz pianist Art Tatum (1909–1956) made his own version of this song for solo piano. It offers some brilliant writing for piano, and along the way Tatum has some very original ideas about the music that sets the line “Where troubles melt like lemon drops.”

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Var. 18 SERGEI RACHMANINOFF

Perhaps the most famous of Rachmaninoff’s variations is the eighteenth, in which Paganini’s theme is inverted and transformed into a moonlit lovesong. The piano states this variation in its simplest form, and then strings take it up and turn it into a soaring nocturne. This variation has haunted many Hollywood composers, and Rachmaninoff himself noted wryly that he had written this variation specifically as a gift “for my agent.”

Lush Life

BILLY STRAYHORN

(1915–1967)

Billy Strayhorn met Duke Ellington when Strayhorn was only 23, and he quickly became Ellington’s colleague, arranger, and lifelong friend. Strayhorn was a composer, pianist, and lyricist, and at age 24 he wrote “Take the A Train,” which quickly became the signature tune of Ellington’s band. Strayhorn was even younger when he wrote “Lush Life”—he completed it in 1936, when he was only 21. Originally titled “Life Is Lonely,” it is a song about burnout and longing.

Full Moon and Empty Arms SERGEI RACHMANINOFF/ BUDDY KAYE

(1918–2002)

Rachmaninoff’s Second may be the most popular piano concerto ever written (it is certainly one of the most difficult), but some of it has become popular in ways its creator never dreamed of. The second theme of the finale, a melody broadly sung by the violas, is familiar to millions of people who have never heard of Rachmaninoff. Everyone feels the soaring lyric possibilities of this tune, and in 1945 the American songwriter Buddy Kaye used it to compose a song he called “Full Moon and Empty Arms.” Kaye’s song has been covered by many artists, including Nelson Eddy, Robert Goulet, Sarah Vaughan, and Bob Dylan, but Frank Sinatra’s 1945 recording is still the most famous. At this concert a violin substitutes for the voice and “sings” Arlen’s song.

Daisies

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF

We so readily identify Rachmaninoff with bravura works for piano and orchestra—such as the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini—that it is easy to overlook the fact that he wrote beautifully for voice. In the spring of 1916, just before he left Russia (never to return), Rachmaninoff composed his Six Romances, Opus 38, which all set texts by contemporary Russian poets. The third of these songs was “Daisies.” In this poem by Igor Severyanin, the poet looks out over a field of blooming daisies and is amazed by their beauty. It is a brief but haunting song, and today it is more often heard in instrumental arrangements than sung. Rachmaninoff himself arranged a version for solo piano (and recorded it), and Jascha Heifetz

arranged it for violin and piano; a video of Heifetz performing “Daisies” is readily available. On this program “Daisies” is heard in that violin-and-piano arrangement.

Day Dream BILLY STRAYHORN

“Day Dream” is another song from Strayhorn’s youth. He wrote it in 1939, when he was living in Ellington’s house in Harlem while the Ellington band was touring Europe. The lyrics, by John Latouche, are about being in love, daydreaming about it, and floating on air, but “Day Dream” is now most often heard in instrumental form. Its seductive main theme is perfect for being in love and lost to the world.

Étude-tableau in C Minor, Op. 33, No. 3

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF

Rachmaninoff composed his Études-tableaux, Opus 33 in August 1911, when he was 38. Études-tableaux means “picturestudies,” piano études that are meant to be expressive but not pictorial—Rachmaninoff does not set out in this music to paint exact musical portraits. In response to a question about what this music depicted, he replied: “I do not believe in the artist disclosing too much of his images. Let them paint for themselves what it most suggests.”

No. 3 is a dark meditation. Rachmaninoff marks the opening Grave, and a somber theme unfolds in the right hand over deep growls in the left. A curious feature of this étude is the way its meter changes: the piece begins in 6/4, goes to 5/4, then 4/4, and then 3/4 as the music gradually pushes ahead. It rises to a moment marked Molto tranquillo, grows agitated, and then subsides to a quiet close.

This étude may sound familiar: Rachmaninoff returned to it fifteen years later, in 1926, and used it as the basis for the slow movement of his Piano Concerto No. 4.

Sonata for Two Violins, Opus 15a MIKLÓS RÓZSA

Born April 18, 1907, Budapest

Died July 27, 1995, Los Angeles

Composed: 1933

Approximate Duration: 16 minutes

Americans think of Miklós Rózsa as one of the greatest of film composers—and he was—but there was much more to him as a composer. From an educated family in Budapest, Rózsa studied the violin as a boy, graduated from the Leipzig Conservatory at 22, and then made Paris his home. There he composed the early works that established his name: the Hungarian Serenade and his Theme, Variations, and Finale (fans of Leonard Bernstein will remember that the latter work was on the program when Bernstein stepped in for an ailing Bruno Walter in November 1943 and led the concert that brought him instant fame). Rózsa may have found success as a composer, but he was barely able to support himself, and when Swiss composer Arthur Honegger suggested that he try film music as a source of income, Rózsa was intrigued. He scored several films in England before moving to the United States in 1940. Though

he hated the Hollywood studio system, Rózsa flourished as a film composer. Across his long career, he scored over a hundred films and earned seventeen Academy Award nominations (and won three Oscars). He achieved early fame with thrillers like Spellbound, Double Indemnity, and The Killers, but he is probably best remembered for his scores to the great epics of the late 1950s: Quo Vadis, King of Kings, El Cid, and Ben-Hur, which is still considered one of the greatest film scores ever composed.

Yet Rózsa kept a clear division between his film scores and his “classical” music. He insisted on having three months off every year, and he spent that time at a villa in Italy where he wrote music in classical forms. Among these are a Violin Concerto for Jascha Heifetz (who recorded it), a Cello Concerto for János Starker, a Viola Concerto for Pinchas Zukerman, and a Piano Concerto for Leonard Pennario. Rózsa also wrote orchestral works, chamber music, and late in life—after he had been partially disabled by a stroke—he composed a series of sonatas for different instruments.

Rózsa’s Sonata for Two Violins is a relatively early work: he composed it in Paris in 1933, when he was 26, though he came back forty years later and revised it in 1973. Music for two violins brings a specific challenge: violins are linear instruments and are (generally) unable to provide the harmonic context that a piano so readily supplies. But perhaps music for two violins was in the air in the early 1930s: distinguished contemporary examples include Bartók’s 44 Duos for Two Violins (1930) and Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins (1932).

Rózsa’s Sonata for Two Violins is in three concise movements: the entire work spans only sixteen minutes. The players are equals here—there is no Violin I and Violin II, and each player has an unusually difficult part. The Allegro risoluto bursts to life with a four-note figure that will return throughout the movement. This aggressive beginning gives way to a soaring theme for one violin over pizzicato accompaniment from the other, and instantly the players exchange roles—this easy sharing of roles will characterize the entire sonata. There is a “Hungarian” flavor to much of the music in this movement, easy to sense but difficult to define—Rózsa does not quote folk material, but his own idiom has some of the shape of Hungarian folk music. A blistering coda propels the movement to its violent conclusion.

The gentle Lento assai also feels folk-inspired, though here one sometimes senses the influence of Bartók as well. Rózsa mutes both violins, and their opening theme, marked tranquillo, unfolds like a lullaby. Much of this movement has the two violins playing in double-stops, and it closes with a long passage that has both violins playing artificial harmonics. The finale, marked Vivo e giocoso (“Lively and happy”), is exactly what we expect: it is very fast, full of rapid exchanges between the two violins, and a lot of fun.

Rózsa dedicated the revised (1973) version of the Sonata for Two Violins to two longtime friends: violinist Louis Kaufman, who was for many years the concertmaster of the MGM Symphony, and his wife, Annette.

Fantasia from String Quartet “Ragamala” REENA ESMAIL

Born February 11, 1983, Chicago

Composed: 2013

Approximate Duration: 10 minutes

Indian-American composer Reena Esmail, who has been particularly interested in the interface between Indian and Western classical music, earned her bachelor’s degree at Juilliard and her DMA from Yale. She is currently composer in residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and she served as composer in residence with the Seattle Symphony in 2020–21. She has had works performed by those ensembles, as well as by the Baltimore Symphony, Kronos Quartet, Imani Winds, Brooklyn Rider, and others.

Commissioned by Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Fantasia was premiered on July 27, 2013, at that festival by the FLUX Quartet. On her website, the composer has provided a program note:

During the year I spent in India, I began to notice a beautiful thing that would happen at concerts. When the artist would announce the raag to be sung or played that evening, immediately, and almost subconsciously, many of the cognoscenti in the audience would begin humming the characteristic phrases or “pakads” of that raag quietly to themselves, intoning with the drone that was already sounding on stage. It had a magical feeling—as if that raag was present in the air, and tiny wisps of it were already starting to precipitate into the audible world in anticipation of the performance. It felt like a connection between the audience and the performer, as they prepared themselves to enjoy what was to come. Each movement of this quartet opens in exactly the same way, and it is inspired by those quiet intonations.

After the opening phrases, each movement diverges into its own distinct character. The first movement is a Fantasie inspired by the beautiful raag Bihag which layers phrases over one another to create large shapes separated by the silence of pure drones…

In Hindustani music, the elaboration of a single raag can often take an hour. I didn’t mean for this piece to exhaust these raags, but rather provide little snapshots of particular features and characters of each raag that I find beautiful and special about each one.

— Reena Esmail

collaborated with many jazz artists. And he has been strongly drawn to the music of John Cage and to improvisation.

Early in his career, Riley became good friends with David Harrington, first violinist of the Kronos Quartet, and beginning in about 1980 he began to write for that quartet. Riley has now written thirteen works for string quartet, and G Song, composed for the Kronos Quartet in 1980, was the first of them. G Song does not involve improvisation: it is a carefully written out movement that lasts about eleven minutes, and it has become one of Riley’s most frequently performed works.

In some ways, G Song feels like a fast movement from a Bach sonata or suite: it is quick, graceful, athletic, and in da capo form. The four instrumental lines interlock gracefully, and the music is quite alive metrically, setting pulses of six against four against three. Although Riley offers no tempo marking, the music clearly is intended to be played at a quick tempo, and G Song bursts to life with the first violin’s two-octave run up the scale. But a measure of harmonic tension is already present in those first measures: the key signature may say G minor, but the first violin’s initial run is in G major, and the music will flicker between different tonalities. Along the way, individual instruments have moments to shine, but the steady pulse of rapid sixteenth-notes is never far off, and the pleasing vitality of G Song lingers in the air, even after the music has come to its close.

Theme from Schindler’s List

JOHN WILLIAMS

Born February 8, 1932, Long Island Composed: 1993

Approximate Duration: 4 minutes

Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, which opened in December 1993, told the story of the German businessman Oskar Schindler, who used his position as head of an enamelware factory in Krakow to save thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. The film won a total of seven Academy Awards, and one of these was for Best Original Score, which had been composed by John Williams. The Spielberg-Williams collaboration is now nearly fifty years old (Williams has provided the scores for all but two of Spielberg’s films), and Schindler’s List proved one of their most successful efforts—it won the Academy Award for Best Picture and has been hailed as perhaps Spielberg’s finest film.

G Song

TERRY RILEY

Born June 24, 1935, Colfax, California

Composed: 1980

Approximate Duration: 10 minutes

Now 89 years old, Terry Riley has been a primal force in American music. He was one of the first composers to explore minimalist music. He was an early practitioner of electronic music and one of the first to compose using electronics and tape loops. He was one of the first American composers to immerse himself in Indian music and its rhythmic complexities. A pianist, Riley has had a lifelong passion for jazz and has

For the principal theme of the movie, Williams composed a haunting melody scored for violin and orchestra. Williams wrote it specifically with Itzhak Perlman in mind, and it was Perlman who played the violin on the movie’s soundtrack. That melody, nostalgic and achingly beautiful, captures perfectly the sense of what was lost in the Holocaust, and it has become one of Williams’ most frequently performed concert works. Its three-part form is simplicity itself: solo violin sings the main theme, the brief center section is at a slightly quicker tempo, and the opening melody—now varied—returns to round off the piece.

Selections from John’s Book of Alleged Dances JOHN ADAMS

Born February 15, 1947, Worcester, Massachusetts

Composed:1993

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

John Adams’ Violin Concerto, composed in 1993, has become one of his most successful large-scale works—it has been frequently performed and has been recorded several times. Once that concerto was complete, Adams found that he still had many ideas for stringed instruments left over, and when the California Center for the Arts commissioned a new work for the everadventurous Kronos Quartet from him, Adams was able to bring those ideas to life. John’s Book of Alleged Dances—a set of ten dances for string quartet, six of them accompanied by a pre-recorded rhythm loop made up of sounds produced by a prepared piano— was premiered by the Kronos Quartet at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido on November 19, 1994, and the Kronos has recorded this music for Nonesuch.

The term “Alleged” in the title is slightly tongue-in-cheek. Adams claimed that he used that adjective for these dances “because the steps for them have yet to be invented.” Ironically, though, John’s Book of Alleged Dances has now been danced by a number of companies—its brisk energy and funky tunes have proven irresistible to dancers.

In describing the dances, Adams has said that the “general tone is dry, droll, sardonic,” but it should also be noted that they were inspired by people, places, memories, and moments around Adams. The dances range from rough and high-energy at one extreme to gentle and nostalgic at the other; they demand a string quartet of first-class players.

Adams wrote ten Alleged Dances, but he stipulated that performers are free to choose whichever dances they want to perform and are free to perform them in any order they would like (ideally, no two performances of John’s Book of Alleged Dances should ever be the same). The present concert offers the five of the dances. On his website, Adams has provided descriptions of each of the Alleged Dances, and his concise introductions are worth quoting exactly:

Dogjam: A hoe-down in twisted hillbilly chromatics. Over a bumpy pavement of prepared piano, the first violin applies the gas and hits the road, never once using the brakes on the sharpest turns. Tailor-made for David Harrington, fearless fiddler.

Alligator Escalator: The long, sluggish beast is ascending from the basement level of the local Macy’s all the way to the top of the store and then back down again. Slow slithering scales, played flautando and sul tasto, leave invisible tracks on the escalator, splitting the octave in strange reptilian ways. Mothers are terrified, children fascinated.

Toot Nipple: “Mrs. Nipple . . . You probably don’t remember her husband, Toot. When he was young he was a big fellow, quick and clever, a terror on the dance floor.” (From Postcards by E. Annie Proulx.) Furious chainsaw triads on the cello, who rides them like a rodeo bull just long enough to hand them over to the viola.

Habanera: The quartet strums and limns a serpentine tune. The loops dance the robot habanera while the aging dictator watches

from the wings. Too many rafts headed for Miami. Had to give up his beloved cigars. Lament for a season without baseball.

Judah to Ocean: A piece of vehicular music, following the streetcar tracked way out into the fog and ultimately to the beach, where I used to rent a two-room cottage behind the Surf Theater and listen to the N Judah reach the end of the line, turn round and head back to town.

— John Adams

PRELUDE · 6 PM THE JAI

Lecture by Michael Gerdes

Support of tonight’s concert is provided by:

Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley

Join us for a celebration in the Wu Tsai QRT.yrd immediately following the performance. Must be 21 and older with valid I.D.

Midweek Masterworks

MIDWEEK MASTERWORKS: INSTRUMENTAL STORIES

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2024 · 7 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

BARTÓK

Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano (1881–1945)

Verbunkos (Recruiting Dance)

Pihenö (Relaxation)

Sebes (Fast Dance)

Yura Lee, violin; Anthony McGill, clarinet ; Gilles Vonsattel, piano

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

MICHI WIANCKO

Lullaby for the Transient (b. 1976)

Simone Porter, SooBeen Lee*, violins; Jonathan Vinocour, viola; Kyril Zlotnikov, cello; Anthony McGill, clarinet

BRAHMS String Sextet in B-flat Major, No. 1, Opus 18 (1833–1897)

Allegro ma non troppo

Andante, ma moderato

Scherzo: Allegro molto

Rondo: Poco Allegretto e grazioso

Yura Lee, Jack Liebeck, violins; Jonathan Vinocour, Brian Isaacs*, violas; Paul Watkins, Kyril Zlotnikov, cellos

*2024 SummerFest Fellowship Artist

Simone Porter

Program notes by Eric Bromberger, except where indicated.

Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano BÉLA BARTÓK

Born March 25, 1881, Nagyszentmiklos, Hungary

Died September 26, 1945, New York City

Composed: 1938

Approximate Duration: 19 minutes

Bartók wrote Contrasts during the late summer of 1938 on a commission from clarinetist Benny Goodman that had been facilitated by Bartók’s good friend and frequent recital partner, violinist Joseph Szigeti. Szigeti had long been interested in jazz, and Goodman was a classical musician as well as a jazz band leader (he commissioned the clarinet concertos of Copland and Hindemith). Bartók was somewhat familiar with American jazz, and Szigeti sent him several records of Goodman’s band before he began work on Contrasts, but this music shows the influence of jazz—if it does at all—only in the springy bounce of its final pages. One of the stipulations of the commission had been that the piece be short enough to fit on the two sides of a 78-rpm record (each of which could hold about five minutes of music), but Bartók went beyond that limit: as completed, Contrasts spans about a quarter-hour.

When it was composed in 1938, Contrasts had only two sections—the present first and third movements—but even before the first performance of that version in January 1939 Bartók had decided that it needed a central slow movement and composed the Pihenö. Bartók, Szigeti, and Goodman gave the première of the final version in Carnegie Hall on April 21, 1940, and recorded the piece the following month, a recording now available on CD. There are several charming photographs from the recording session: Szigeti looks elegant in a white rehearsal jacket, while Goodman—in shirtsleeves and suspenders and sitting with his legs crossed—is more informal. Bartók would relax only far enough to remove the coat of his three-piece suit, and he sits severely at the piano in white shirt, tie, and black vest.

Listeners unfamiliar with this music might best approach it through its incredible sonorities. Contrasts is the only one of Bartók’s chamber works that includes a wind instrument, and—as the title implies—Bartók was interested in contrasting the smooth sound of the clarinet, the resonant sound of the violin, and the percussive sound of the piano. And though he was a virtuoso pianist, Bartók gives the piano a somewhat lower profile than the other two instruments, each of which has its own cadenza.

The first movement is titled Verbunkos, which means “Recruiting Dance” and refers to an old Hungarian army ceremonial dance on the induction of recruits. The clarinet has the opening melody here, while the violin presents the syncopated second theme. Near the end, the clarinet has an elaborate cadenza, and the movement closes quietly. Pihenö (“Relaxation”) is a slow movement full of night-music, a Bartók specialty. The violin has the principal idea, but what makes this movement so distinctive are its eerie, spooky swirls of sound. The writing for piano, with its deep growls, turns, and trills, is particularly effective.

Sebes (“Fast”) is built on dance rhythms and requires extra instruments. The clarinet part is written for clarinet in A, but

the middle section of this movement calls for B-flat clarinet, and Bartók asks that for the first thirty bars the violinist use an extra violin tuned G#-D-A-Eb. The malevolent sound of the violin’s resulting open-string tritones makes the beginning of this movement sound like the opening of Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre, which also calls for a re-tuned violin. This wonderful movement, with its dance rhythms and gypsy-like melodies, blazes with vitality. A calmer middle section for clarinet in 8+5/8 time leads to a brilliant violin cadenza. The other instruments return, and Contrasts swirls and dances its way to one of the happiest conclusions Bartók ever wrote.

Lullaby for the Transient MICHI WIANCKO

Born 1976, San Clemente, CA

Composed: 2018

Approximate Duration: 9 minutes

In Lullaby for the Transient, I juxtapose two big influences on my musical style: my experience performing some of the great classical chamber and solo works of our time, and my love for song and the human voice. It begins with the simple song texture of melody plus accompaniment, though often containing an underlying feeling of conflict, expressed through unexpectedly shifting meters, percussive strikes on instrument bodies, or wildly interruptive atonal flourishes. The listener will hopefully hear that “song” transform gradually into the volatile and virtuosic voice of an instrumental soloist—our transient heroine moving from space to space, searching for a final resting place of peace and beauty, but in the end being forced to accept the persistence of unrest.

— Michi Wiancko

Sextet for Strings in B-flat Major, No. 1, Opus 18

JOHANNES BRAHMS

Born May 7, 1833, Hamburg

Died April 3, 1897, Vienna

Composed: 1960

Approximate Duration: 39 minutes

We so automatically identify Brahms with Vienna that it is easy to forget that he did not move there until he was nearly 30. By that time he had already written a great deal of music, and some of the best of these early works were composed while he was a court musician in Detmold. About 100 miles southwest of Hamburg, Detmold was a cultured court, much devoted to music, and for three seasons (1857–59) Brahms served as a court musician there. These years were quite productive for him musically. With a chorus, orchestra, and good solo performers at his disposal, Brahms could have his music performed immediately and could test his ideas. From these years came his two serenades for orchestra, the first two piano quartets, several choral works, and the completion of his First Piano Concerto.

It was during his final year at Detmold that Brahms began his Sextet in B-flat Major, completing it in 1860. Brahms is sometimes credited with “inventing” the string sextet (two violins, two violas, two cellos), but that is not true—Boccherini and others had written for this combination of instruments earlier. But Brahms’ two examples are the first great works in the form,

and they remain—with Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, Dvořák’s Sextet for Strings, and Schoenberg’s Verklaerte Nacht—the core of the slim repertory for this ensemble.

Perhaps because it is an early work, critics have been quick to detect influences on the Sextet in B-flat Major. Brahms’ admirable biographer Karl Geiringer hears the influence of Schubert in the first movement, of Beethoven in the scherzo, and of Haydn in the finale. But the Sextet already shows Brahms’ unmistakable voice, particularly in its rich sonorities and in the way a wealth of musical ideas grows out of each theme. And in contrast to the clenched intensity of some of Brahms’ later chamber music, the Sextet is (generally) full of sunlight.

From the first instant of this music Brahms fully exploits the richness of the lower sonorities a sextet makes available—there are important thematic roles here for first viola and first cello—as well as playing off combinations of instruments impossible in a string quartet. The gentle, rocking main subject of the Allegro ma non troppo, heard immediately in the first cello, is only the first in a number of thematic ideas in this sonata-form movement, but its relaxed and flowing ease sets a tone that will run throughout the Sextet—this is music that proceeds along a mellow songfulness rather than through the collision of unrelated ideas. Brahms’ performance markings tell the tale here: the first theme is marked espressivo, the second subject—for upper strings—is marked dolce and pianissimo, while the third, a winding idea for cello, is marked poco forte espressivo animato. This lengthy movement closes with a nice touch: the brief coda, played pizzicato, moves gracefully to the two concluding chords.

The second movement, in somber D minor, is a theme and six variations. The first viola immediately lays out the firmlydrawn theme, and the first three variations seem barely able to suppress a sort of volcanic fury that seethes beneath the surface of this music. Even in chamber music Brahms favored a heavy sonority, and at several points in these variations all six instruments are triple-stopped, creating huge chords played simultaneously on eighteen strings. A ray of sunlight falls across the music at the fourth variation, which moves to D major, while the sonorous fifth—also in D major—is almost entirely the province of the first viola, accompanied by the violins’ wispy octaves. The dark sixth variation serves as the coda. Here the cello, playing with an almost choked sonority, returns to the D-minor darkness of the opening and leads the movement to its quiet close.

After these two massive movements, the pleasing Scherzo zips past in barely three minutes. The scherzo section itself is playful but feels a little subdued in comparison to the slashing, full-throated trio, which suddenly races ahead (Brahms’ marking is Animato). This rises to a sonorous climax before the return of the opening scherzo; Brahms closes with a mighty coda derived from the trio. The concluding Poco Allegretto e grazioso is a rondo based on the first cello’s amiable opening theme. Significant interludes intrude on the progress of the movement, which makes use of the same kind of rhythmic underpinning that bound the first movement together so imaginatively. The rondo theme itself undergoes variation as this movement proceeds, and Brahms rounds off matters with a coda so powerful that it feels virtually symphonic.

MUSICAL PRELUDE · 6:30 PM THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Abeo Quartet performs Glazunov’s Orientale from Five Novelettes, Opus 15 and Prokofiev’s String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Opus 92 (on Kabardinian Themes)

Support for the SummerFest Fellowship Artists and the Musical Preludes is provided by:

Gordon Brodfuehrer and Jeanette Stevens

Support of tonight’s concert is provided by: Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

THE ROAD TO VICTORY

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2024 · 7:30 PM THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

BEETHOVEN

String Quartet No. 11, Opus 95 “Serioso” (1770–1827)

Allegro con brio

Allegretto ma non troppo

Allegro assai vivace ma serioso

Larghetto espressivo; Allegretto agitato

Yura Lee, Simone Porter, violins; Jonathan Vinocour, viola; Paul Watkins, cello

BRIDGE

Cello Sonata, H. 125 (1879–1941)

Allegro ben moderato

Adagio ma non troppo; Molto allegro ed agitato

Paul Watkins, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano

INTERMISSION

COLERIDGE-TAYLOR

Clarinet Quintet, Opus 10 (1875–1912)

Allegro energico

Larghetto affettuoso

Scherzo: Allegro leggiero

Finale: Allegro agitato

Anthony McGill, clarinet ; Jack Liebeck, Njioma Grevious*, violins; Yura Lee, viola; Kyril Zlotnikov, cello

*2024 SummerFest Fellowship Artist

Yura Lee

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

String Quartet No. 11, Opus 95 “Serioso” LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Born December 17, 1770, Bonn

Died March 26, 1827, Vienna

Composed: 1810

Approximate Duration: 20 minutes

Beethoven’s manuscript for the Quartet in F Minor is dated October 1810, but almost certainly he continued to work on this quartet for some years after that, and it was not published until 1816. This quartet has a nickname, “Quartetto Serioso,” that— unusually for a musical nickname—came from the composer himself. Well aware of the music’s extraordinary character, Beethoven described the quartet as having been “written for a small circle of connoisseurs and… never to be performed in public.” Joseph Kerman has described it as “an involved, impassioned, highly idiosyncratic piece, problematic in every one of its movements, advanced in a hundred ways” and “unmatched in Beethoven’s output for compression, exaggerated articulation, and a corresponding sense of extreme tension.” Yet this same quartet—virtually the shortest of Beethoven’s string quartets— comes from the same period as the easily accessible “Archduke” Trio, the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies, and the incidental music to Goethe’s Egmont, and this music’s extraordinary focus and tension seem sharply at odds with those scores. In fact, this quartet in many ways prefigures Beethoven’s late style and the great cycle of quartets written during his final years.

The first movement is extraordinarily compressed (it lasts barely four minutes), and it catapults listeners through an unexpected series of key relationships. The unison opening figure is almost spit out, passing through and ending in a “wrong” key and then followed by complete silence. Octave leaps and furious restatements of the opening figure lead to the swaying second subject, announced in flowing triplets by the viola. The development section of this (highly modified) sonata-form movement is quite short, treating only the opening theme, before the movement exhausts itself on fragments of that theme.

The marking of the second movement, Allegretto ma non troppo, might seem to suggest some relief, but this movement is even more closely argued than the first. The cello’s strange descending line introduces a lovely opening melody, but this quickly gives way to a long and complex fugue, its sinuous subject announced by the viola and then taken up and developed by the other voices. A quiet close (derived from the cello’s introduction) links this movement to the third, a violent fast movement marked Allegro assai vivace ma serioso. The movement is in ABABA form, the explosive opening section alternating with a chorale-like subject for the lower three voices which the first violin decorates. Once again, Beethoven takes each section into unexpected keys. The last movement has a slow introduction—Larghetto espressivo—full of the darkness that has marked the first three movements, and this leads to a blistering finale that does much to dispel the tension. In an oft-quoted remark about the arrival of this theme, American composer Randall Thompson is reported to have said: “No bottle of Champagne was ever uncorked at a better moment.” In contrast, for example, to the near-contemporary

Seventh Symphony, which ends in wild celebration, this quartet has an almost consciously anti-heroic close, concluding with a very fast coda that Beethoven marks simply Allegro.

Some have felt that the Quartet in F Minor is composed with the same technique as the late quartets but without their sense of spiritual elevation, and in this sense they see the present quartet as looking ahead toward Beethoven’s late style. But it is unfair to this music to regard it simply as a forerunner of another style. This quartet may well be dark, explosive, and extremely concentrated. But it should be valued for just those qualities.

Cello Sonata, H. 125 FRANK BRIDGE

Born February 26, 1879, Brighton, England

Died January 10, 1941, Eastbourne, England

Composed: 1917

Approximate Duration: 24 minutes

Frank Bridge appears fated, at least for American audiences, to be remembered as the teacher of Benjamin Britten, though Bridge was a remarkable musician and composer in his own right. He studied viola and composition at the Royal College of Music and then made his career as a violist, conductor, and composer: Bridge played viola in several string quartets and conducted in both England and the United States. As a composer, he made a gradual evolution from a conservative musician, heir to the nineteenth-century English pastoral tradition, to an explorer, interested in new ideas and willing to experiment with a new harmonic language. Bridge became interested in Britten when the latter was still a boy and for three years gave him private composition lessons. Bridge was a demanding teacher, and his concern for craftsmanship, selfcriticism, and economy of expression made a strong impression on the young Britten; Bridge’s pacifism was also an influence on Britten’s values.

It may be a measure of Bridge’s careful craftsmanship that it took him four years to compose his 23-minute Sonata for Cello and Piano. He composed the first movement in 1913, but the second and concluding movement required three years of work before he completed it in 1917. There may have been another reason for Bridge’s difficulties. A pacifist, he was appalled by the slaughter of World War I, which began in 1914. Bridge’s friends reported that he would get up during the night and walk for hours through the pre-dawn streets of Kensington, despairing. Listeners should be careful not to look for signs of this in the second movement— that movement is a piece of abstract music and is by no means pictorial—but Bridge’s difficulties completing this movement may reflect his own personal turmoil during that troubled time.

The sonata consists of two big movements. Bridge specifies that the beginning of the Allegro ben moderato should be dolce e espressivo, and that might be a good key to the character of the entire first movement. Bridge writes beautifully for the rich middle and high range of the cello, and he builds this movement on several theme-groups. The music can be by turns soaring, passionate, gentle, and agitated, and after these varying moods it comes to an understated close.

The second movement is much longer and more complex. Bridge had originally thought that the sonata would have

three movements, but during the long composition of the second movement, he decided instead to conclude with a single movement that alternates reflective and dramatic music—in effect, the last movement is a combination of slow and fast movements. Piano alone leads the way into the Adagio ma non troppo, and soon cello and piano jointly announce a rocking theme in 9/8. But suddenly the music erupts at the Molto allegro ed agitato, and this alternation of extroverted and restrained music will characterize the entire movement. Bridge’s harmonic language here is much more adventurous than it was in the first movement. The music drives to a grand climax, and Bridge rounds off the sonata with an Allegro moderato coda that recalls music from the opening movement.

Clarinet Quintet, Opus 10

SAMUEL COLERIDGETAYLOR

Born August 15, 1875, London

Died September 1, 1912, Croydon, England

Composed: 1895

Approximate Duration: 27 minutes

Born in London, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was the illegitimate son of an Englishwoman and a doctor from Sierra Leone. His father, a descendant of slaves from North America, returned to Africa before his son was born, and his mother named the boy after the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, reversing the poet’s final two names in the process. The boy was raised by his mother and her family, who were quite musical: they taught Samuel to play the violin and encouraged him to make a career in music. So talented was the boy that at age 15 he entered the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Charles Villiers Stanford.

Coleridge-Taylor was very interested in his heritage as the descendant of African-American slaves, and he dedicated himself to improving the condition of people of African descent everywhere. He made three extended tours of the United States, where he became acquainted with African-American and Native American music, and he would eventually incorporate some of this into his own music. While in the United States he conducted the Marine band and was invited to the White House by Theodore Roosevelt. Coleridge-Taylor was a prolific composer (his works include an opera, a symphony, a violin concerto, much orchestral and chamber music, incidental music, and keyboard pieces), but he died at age 37 of pneumonia that was partly the result of overwork.

Coleridge-Taylor composed his Clarinet Quintet in 1895, when he was only twenty years old and still a student at the Royal College of Music. Apparently the young man composed the piece as the result of an implicit challenge. His teacher Stanford told his composition students that after Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet, then only four years old, no one could compose a clarinet quintet without feeling the influence of that magnificent work. ColeridgeTaylor promptly proved him wrong, composing one that shows no influence at all of Brahms. Stanford immediately recognized what his student had achieved, and he took the score with him to Berlin and showed it to Joseph Joachim. Joachim, long associated with Brahms’ music, played the work with his quartet and was much

impressed (it’s too bad that Brahms, who died that year, did not get a chance to hear this music too).

Coleridge-Taylor may have escaped the influence of Brahms, but everyone senses the impact of a different composer on the Clarinet Quintet: Antonín Dvořák. In 1895 Dvořák was completing his three-year stay in the United States, and he had just composed two of his finest works, the “New World” Symphony and the “American” Quartet. The “New World” Symphony had its English première in London in 1894, and Coleridge-Taylor may well have heard that performance. His Clarinet Quintet does not sound like either that symphony or quartet, but certainly it incorporates some of the technique—some of the “feel”—of Dvořák’s music: dramatic gestures set alongside the most lyric material, an idiom that feels folk-related even when it is not directly quoting folk songs, memorable tunes, and a sturdy energy.

The Clarinet Quintet is in four movements that span just under half an hour. The opening Allegro energico is well-named: the quintet gets off to a powerful beginning as the clarinet stamps out the opening idea over surging strings. More lyric material follows, and the movement pitches between dramatic and reflective music. The writing for both clarinet and strings is idiomatic (how can a twenty-year-old write with this kind of assurance?), and the movement powers its way to a firm conclusion.

The second movement is much calmer, and it is here that the influence of Dvořák can be felt most directly. Coleridge-Taylor marks the movement Larghetto affettuoso (“affectionate”), and he further specifies that the playing should be Molto espressivo. Over muted strings, the clarinet sounds the slow and graceful main idea, and quickly the quartet takes this up and exchanges it with the clarinet. A second theme, marked tranquillo, extends the relaxed lyricism of the opening.

The Scherzo sizzles with energy. Coleridge-Taylor’s metric marking is 3/4 9/8, and the outer sections rest on the pull between those different impulses. The trio section, based on a swaying theme for the clarinet, is quite short, and ColeridgeTaylor calls for a da capo repeat of the opening section.

We feel the influence of Dvořák again in the finale, especially at the very beginning, where snapped rhythms drive the music ahead on unexpected accents. Over this crackling pulse the clarinet sounds the terrific opening theme. Some of the material in this movement sounds folk-related, though it is all the creation of Coleridge-Taylor himself, and the music proceeds with a pleasing exuberance. Just before the end, the tempo slows while the clarinet offers a quiet soliloquy, then the music rips to a close marked Pesante as the quartet spits out one final time those snapped rhythms.

Jack Liebeck

MUSICAL PRELUDE · 6:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Cohda Quartet performs Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor, Opus 45

Support for this program is provided by: Brenda and Michael Goldbaum

Additional support for this program is provided by:

Judith

Bachner and Eric Lasley

Support for the SummerFest Fellowship Artists and the Musical Preludes is provided by:

Gordon Brodfuehrer and Jeanette Stevens

La Jolla Music Society’s 2024–25 season is supported by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, Prebys Foundation, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, ProtoStar Foundation, Vail Memorial Fund, Banc of California, ResMed Foundation, San Diego Theatres Foundation, Bright Events Rentals, Cafe Coyote, Rancho Coyote, GRNFC Hospitality Group, Ace Parking, Brenda Baker and Steve Baum, Raffaella and John Belanich, Gordon Brodfuehrer, Mary Ellen Clark, Bert and Julie Cornelison, Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Helen and Keith Kim, Angelina and Fred Kleinbub, Dorothea Laub, Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong, Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert, Jeanette Stevens, Haeyoung Kong Tang, Debra Turner, Sue and Peter Wagener, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

FINALE: A SONG AND DANCE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, 2024 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

PAUL SCHOENFIELD

Selections from Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano (1947–2024)

Freylakh

March

Kozatske

Jack Liebeck, violin; Anthony McGill, clarinet ; Gilles Vonsattel, piano

BERNSTEIN

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (1918–1990)

(arranged for two pianos and percussion)

Prologue

Somewhere: Adagio

Scherzo: Vivace leggiero

Mambo: Presto

Cha-Cha: Andantino con grazia

Meeting Scene: Meno mosso

“Cool” Fugue: Allegretto

Rumble: Molto allegro

Finale: Adagio

Gilles Vonsattel, Inon Barnatan, pianos; Dustin Donahue, Sidney Hopson, percussion

INTERMISSION

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The Lark Ascending (1872–1958)

Jack Liebeck, violin

SummerFest Chamber Orchestra

DVOŘÁK

Serenade for Strings in E Major, Opus 22 (1841–1904)

Moderato

Tempo di Valse

Scherzo: Vivace

Larghetto

Finale: Allegro vivace

SummerFest Chamber Orchestra

SummerFest Chamber Orchestra

Jack Liebeck†, Simone Porter † , concertmasters; Njioma Grievous*, SooBeen Lee*, Yura Lee, Rebecca Benjamin*, violins; Jonathan Vinocour, James Kang*, Brian Isaacs*, violas; Paul Watkins, Kyril Zlotnikov, Macintyre Taback*, Leland Ko*, cellos; Jeremy Kurtz-Harris, bass

†Concertmasters will rotate throughout the program *2024 SummerFest Fellowship Artist

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Selections from Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano

PAUL SCHOENFIELD

Born January 24, 1947, Detroit

Composed: 1990

Approximate Duration: 13 minutes

Originally from Detroit, Paul Schoenfield studied piano with Rudolf Serkin and composition with Robert Muczynski and received his DMA from the University of Arizona at age 23. After many years as a professor of composition at the University of Michigan, Schoenfield retired in 2021, and he currently divides his time between Michigan and Israel. In his own music, Schoenfield has been particularly interested in combining quite different styles and traditions: his music can simultaneously be derived from jazz, classical music, klezmer music, popular songs, and many other styles, and these are combined with a great deal of energy and skill. Schoenfield’s best-known work is probably his Café Music, which he composed after spending an evening playing piano in Murray’s steakhouse in Minneapolis: scored for a classical piano trio, it manages to combine classical music, jazz, and dinner music in a wild romp. Other notable works include a piano concerto titled Four Parables, an opera The Merchant and the Pauper, and a Violin Sonata premiered at Lincoln Center in 2010 by Cho-Liang Lin and Jon Kimura Parker.

Schoenfield composed his Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano in 1990 at the request of clarinetist David Shifrin for a piece for these specific instruments. This combination of instruments is often typical of klezmer music, and Schoenfield has said that each of the four movements is based “partly on an eastern European Hasidic melody.” The result is a trio full of wild energy and a sense of humor, strongly flavored by Hasidic and klezmer music, and at the same time it is a serious “classical” composition, demanding three virtuoso performers to bring off its complex demands.

The Trio is in four movements, though the present performance omits the third movement, Niggun. The opening movement is titled Freylach, which is a general title for music for happy occasions: weddings, parties, and so on (it has been suggested that that title should translate into English as “frolic”). Such music depends on endless energy and upbeat tunes, and Schoenfield supplies those in abundance. The atmosphere is of klezmer music, and the good spirits here are enlivened by violin glissandos and a wailing clarinet (Schoenfield specifies at some points that he wants the clarinet to play with vibrato, an unusual sound).

Schoenfield marks the second movement Grotesquely; alla marcia, a perfect instruction for this music. It begins with the steady 4/4 march rhythm, and very quickly this goes off the tracks, with the clarinet often in its highest register and a violin part that Schoenfield marks whining at one point. If this march sways and stumbles as it goes, it also develops a sort of suave character along the way, and Schoenfield specifies that the playing here should be “in palm court style” (that refers to the plazas or spaces in fancy hotels, often lined with potted palms, where small orchestras would play light music).

The title of the final movement, Kozatske, refers to several different traditions. It can be the old Russian cossack dance, full of squats and forward kicks, but that lively dance was often adapted as music for Jewish weddings. Schoenfield’s Kozatske gets off to a propulsive start, dances wildly, and then gets even wilder as he leaps between different meters at every measure: 5/8, 7/8, 6/8, 6/4, 2/4, 9/8 (try counting along with this section!). The very ending is suitably ebullient.

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (arranged for two pianos

and percussion)

LEONARD BERNSTEIN

Born August 25, 1918, Lawrence, MA

Died October 14, 1990, New York City

Composed: 1961

Approximate Duration: 24 minutes

Though West Side Story has become one of the most popular musicals ever, its creation involved a number of risks. Central among these was the decision to adapt Romeo and Juliet to a contemporary New York setting: the warring Montague and Capulet families are transformed into rival street gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, while Romeo and Juliet become Tony and Maria. And the grim ending of Shakespeare’s play made for a conclusion seldom experienced in a Broadway musical.

Yet West Side Story—first produced in Washington, D.C. on August 19, 1957—turned out to be a huge success (it ran on Broadway for over a thousand performances), and Bernstein’s music is probably his most memorable score. Central to the original conception of West Side Story was the importance of dance. Jerome Robbins was both choreographer and director of the original production, and some members of the cast were chosen for their abilities as dancers—their singing ability was considered of secondary importance. The dance sequences remain some of the most impressive parts of the musical.

Several years after the première, Bernstein—with the assistance of Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal—made an orchestral suite of the dances from the musical, and the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story were first performed by Lukas Foss and the New York Philharmonic on February 13, 1961. Bernstein’s music has attracted a number of performers, and the Symphonic Dances were soon arranged for two pianos. More recently the two-piano version has been enlivened by the addition of two percussionists, who supply this music with some necessary punch.

The dances follow the action of West Side Story and in some movements incorporate bits of the songs. A brashly energetic Prologue (which requires finger snapping from the performers) leads to a section based on the song “Somewhere”, which envisions a more peaceful world. A Scherzo leads to Mambo, set at the high school dance which both the Sharks and Jets attend. Tony and Maria dance together in the ChaCha (which quotes the song “Maria”), and in the orchestral version their Meeting Scene is depicted by a quartet of muted violins. Tensions rise in the eerie, twisting Cool Fugue, and Rumble accompanies the fight in which the rival gang-leaders Bernardo and Riff are killed. The Finale incorporates Maria’s “I Have a

Love”, and—after so much vitality and violence—the Symphonic Dances come to a subdued close.

The Lark Ascending RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Born October 12, 1872, Down Ampney, England

Died August 26, 1958, London

Composed: 1914

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

Vaughan Williams originally composed The Lark Ascending, which he called a Romance for Violin and Orchestra, in 1914, just after completing his London Symphony, but World War I interrupted plans for a performance. Vaughan Williams returned from military service in France and Greece and revised the score, and it was first performed on June 14, 1921—seven years after its composition—by violinist Marie Hall and the British Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Adrian Boult. Since that moment, The Lark Ascending has been one of Vaughan Williams’ most popular works and one of the most disarmingly beautiful pieces ever written for violin. The music was inspired by a poem by the English novelist George Meredith (1828–1909), specifically three excerpts which Vaughan Williams had printed in the published score. They are worth quoting in full:

He rises and begins to round, He drops the silver chain of sound, Of many links without a break, In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake.

For singing till his heaven fills, ‘Tis love of earth that he instils, And ever winging up and up, Our valley is his golden cup, And he the wine which overflows To lift us with him when he goes.

Till lost on aerial rings

In light, and then the fancy sings.

The Lark Ascending is inspired by the wonder of the bird in flight, but listeners should not expect a literal sound-portrait of the lark—instead, this music tries to capture the spirit of Meredith’s lines. This is not a virtuoso work but a rhapsodic one, restrained, gentle, and lyric. The orchestra’s quiet introductory chords set the mood, and the violin takes wing with a long cadenza that outlines the shape of the main theme, which it will then sing as the orchestra returns. The Lark Ascending requires little description. The music grows gradually faster as it proceeds— its themes all have a folk song flavor—and Vaughan Williams’ markings are worth noting because they specify exactly the kind of performance he wants: the music moves first to Allegretto tranquillo and eventually becomes Allegro tranquillo. Gradually these speeds relax and return to the opening tempo, the orchestra fades out, and the final word is left to the violinist as this lovely music soars high and far away.

Serenade for Strings in E Major, Opus 22 ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK

Born September 8, 1841, Mühlhausen, Bohemia

Died May 1, 1904, Prague

Composed: 1875

Approximate Duration: 30 minutes

The Serenade for Strings is a product of Dvořák’s thirty-fourth year, a time when he had just begun to devote himself to fulltime composing and was achieving a wider reputation. The publication of the wildly popular Slavonic Dances several years later and his increasingly close friendship with Brahms would lead Dvořák to international renown, but when he wrote this Serenade in the brief span of twelve days—May 3–14, 1875—he had not yet attained the distinctive voice that would characterize his fully mature works. Dvořák was of course anxious to have this music performed, and the score was shown to Hans Richter, newly appointed as conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. Richter liked the work but was afraid to bring unfamiliar music before his conservative Viennese audience, and he declined performing it. The première took place in Prague on December 10, 1876, under Adolph Cech.

The Serenade is in five movements, and while its structure is straightforward, there are surprises along the way, moments when Dvořák can catch his audience off guard. The opening Moderato is in simple ABA form, built on a lovely, song-like first theme and a sprightly dotted second idea. The second movement is a waltz, but its trio section—which begins in such innocent loveliness—suddenly breaks off on its own and begins to develop an unexpected complexity before Dvořák takes up the waltz again. The scherzo is based on three separate theme-groups, and once again Dvořák almost has to wrench the music back to the initial scherzo theme.

The Larghetto is the emotional center of the work, a movement of serenity in the midst of the good-natured bustle of the other four. But the surprise here is that the movement’s main theme is closely related to the trio of the waltz—so closely related, in fact, that it seems almost a variation on that theme. The finale, a rondo, starts off in what sounds like the wrong key—F-sharp minor—and does not settle into the home key of E major until the second theme. As he goes along, Dvořák incorporates themes from the Larghetto and from the opening movement, and one senses a growing complexity that might be out of place in a serenade except that Dvořák does it with such grace and ease that he disarms all criticism. The music reaches a quiet pause and then makes a sudden rush to the end of what is one of Dvořák’s friendliest scores.

ARTIST PROFILES

Abeo Quartet

Njioma Grevious, Rebecca Benjamin, violins; James Kang, viola; Macintyre Taback, cello

The Abeo Quartet was the inaugural Graduate String Quartet in Residence at the University of Delaware from 2021–23. Abeo’s recent accomplishments include Third Prize at the 2023 Bad Tölz International String Quartet Competition, making the semi-finals at the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and being among ten quartets invited to participate in the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022. The quartet was also a First Prize and Audience Favorite Prize winner in the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition for Emerging Professional Ensembles and Silver Medal winner of the Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition, both in 2022. Additionally, Abeo was a finalist in the 2021 Young Concert Artists International Competition and the silver medal winner of the 2019 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

Thomas Adès, conductor and piano

English composer

Thomas Adès conducted a new production of his most recent opera, The Exterminating Angel, at the Paris Opera in early 2024; the critically acclaimed piece was premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 2016 and traveled to the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera in 2017, all with Adès conducting. He also led the première and revival of his opera The Tempest at the Royal Opera House, with new productions at the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, and La Scala, Milan. As conductor, Adès also appears regularly with the Berlin, Los Angeles, London, and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, the Boston Symphony (where he was Artistic Partner for four seasons), the London, BBC, Finnish Radio and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouworkest, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and the Orchestra of Santa Cecilia, Rome. Recent highlights include the première of Aquifer, a new orchestral piece, and the première of his first ballet score, Dante, at The Royal Ballet. A recording of Dante by

the Los Angeles Philharmonic was nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY® Award.

Tony Amendola, actor

Tony Amendola is a near 40-year veteran of film and television. Among his film credits are Ted Demme’s Blow with Johnny Depp; Martin Campbell’s The Mask of Zorro alongside Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas; and John Sayles’ Lone Star, with Chris Cooper. On television, Amendola has had recurring roles as Gepetto in ABC’s Once Upon a Time, Edouard Kagame in Continuum, and Master Bra-tac in STARGATE SG1. Guest appearances include roles on Blackbird, Law & Order, Dexter, Seinfeld, The Practice, Will & Grace, and Shooter. Amendola has appeared in leading roles on the stages of America’s top regional theatres, including the Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Repertory, American Conservatory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, and the Old Globe. His stage credits include Cyrano, Iago, Uncle Vanya, Shylock, Salieri, and Lear. He is a founding member and past Co-Artistic Director of the Antaeus company, a Los Angeles theatre dedicated to producing the classics.

Inon Barnatan, piano and harpsichord

Equally celebrated as a soloist, curator, and collaborator, Inon Barnatan is a regular soloist with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors, and served as the inaugural Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic for three seasons. The recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, Barnatan is also a sought-after recitalist and chamber musician. In recent seasons he played solo recitals at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall and reunited for a European tour with his frequent recital partner, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, as well as performing with soprano Renée Fleming. His most recent recording is Rachmaninoff Reflections. He has been music director of SummerFest since 2019.

Allison Boles, interviewer

Allison Boles, La Jolla Music Society’s Director of Learning and Engagement, joined the nonprofit in 2015 after beginning her career as an instrumental music editor with the Neil A. Kjos Music Company. Boles earned her BA in Music from UC San Diego and her MA in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the University of San Diego. She serves on the Advisory Council for the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Department of the San Diego Unified School District and as treasurer for the California Music Educators Association-Southern Border Section.

Claire Brazeau, oboe

American oboist Claire Brazeau holds the principal chair of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. She most recently performed concertos by Mozart, Martinu and Strauss. Brazeau has recorded for several film and TV soundtracks, including The Mandalorian, Tenet, and Call of the Wild. She plays with period instrument ensemble Musica Angelica and is a member of the new music group WildUp. Brazeau is an awarded finalist in the International Gillet-Fox Oboe Competition and has appeared as guest principal with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Lucerne Festival Alumni Orchestra, and the Phoenix Symphony. Recently she joined the faculty at Idyllwild Arts Academy, and since 2016 has maintained an active oboe studio at California State University in Long Beach. Her festival engagements include the Lucerne Festival Academy, Yale School of Music Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Pierre Monteux School, Bravo! Vail, and the Ojai Music Festival.

Danny Burstein, actor

Danny Burstein received the 2021 Tony Award for his performance as Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! on Broadway, which also earned him a Drama League Award, a GRAMMY® nomination, and

an Outer Critics Circle Award. He is also a 7-time Tony Award nominee whose Broadway credits include: My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof (2016 Tony & GRAMMY® Award nominations, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards); Cabaret (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations); The Snow Geese; Golden Boy (2013 Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations); Follies (2012 Tony, Astaire & GRAMMY® Award nominations; Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards); and many more. Film/TV credits include The Good Fight, Will Trent, Gary Jr. or Jesus of Framingham, Tick Tick Boom, Indignation (directed by James Schamus), The Family Fang (directed by Jason Bateman), Blackhat (directed by Michael Mann), Lolly Steinman on Boardwalk Empire (directed by Martin Scorsese), The Good Wife, and more.

Jay Campbell, cello

Cellist Jay Campbell has been praised by the New York Times for his “electrifying performances.”

Campbell holds the distinction of being the only artist ever to receive two Avery Fisher Career Grants—as a soloist and again as a member of the JACK Quartet. In the 2019–20 season Campbell served as co-curator of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella series opener with composer John Adams. He also performs with Stefan Jackiw and Conrd Tao as part of Junction Trio.

Cohda Trio/Quartet

Arts and Alice Tully Hall and performed concerti with orchestras across the United States and England. Han began piano studies at age four and at eleven became the national first place winner of the Baldwin Junior Piano division of the 2007 Music Teachers National Association Competition. That year she made her orchestra debut with the Chandler Symphony Orchestra. She was named a Silver Award Winner by the National YoungArts Foundation in 2013, and a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts in 2014.

Violinist SooBeen Lee has appeared as soloist with every major Korean orchestra, including the Seoul and Busan Philharmonics and KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) Symphony Orchestra. Other distinctions include performances for former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, at the Blue House for the King and Queen of Malaysia, with China’s Wuhan Philharmonic at the Seoul Arts Center, and for many state guests in Korea. As First Prize Winner of the 2014 YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, Lee was also honored with the Slomovic Soloist Prize, the Michaels Award, and three performance prizes including the Korean Concert Society Prize. Lee made her New York concerto debut performing the Chausson Poème with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Alice Tully Hall. Her concerto appearances include the Detroit Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Palm Beach Symphony, and the Aiken Symphony. She plays a Giuseppe Guadagnini Cremona 1794 on loan from Kumho Cultural Foundation.

Viridian Strings, and Yellow Barn. He plays on a viola made in 2011 by Douglas Cox in Brattleboro, VT, on generous loan from the Virtu Foundation.

A cellist of Chinese-Canadian descent, Leland Philip Ko has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in venues including Merkin Concert Hall and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in New York, and Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, and Sanders Theatre in Boston, and in Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Israel, and Spain. Ko was named a recipient of the Presidential Scholar Award at New England Conservatory for 2022–2024 and was a Young Artist in Residence for American Public Media’s Performance Today in 2023. This season sees him appear with the OSM, the NEC Philharmonia, the Symphony Pro Musica, and the Apollo Ensemble of Boston; and in recitals in Jordan Hall, for the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, at the Chautauqua Institute, and with the Wellesley Chamber Players, the Clark Chamber Series with Trio Rai, at the Goethe Institute in Boston with the Borromeo Quartet, and at the Montreal Chamber Music Festival. He plays a Spanish cello ca. 1769 attributed to Juan Guillami, nicknamed “El Tiburón,” and a bow ca. 1830 by Jean Dominique Adam, both on generous loan from the Canada Council.

Jonathan Cohen, conductor and harpsichord

Conductor, cellist, and keyboardist

Anna Han, piano; SooBeen Lee, violin; Brian Isaacs, viola; Leland Philip Ko, cello American pianist

Anna Han is a laureate of many international competitions, including the Juilliard Bachauer Competition, New York International Piano Competition, Music Academy of the West Concerto Competition, and Salon de Virtuosi Grant. Most recently, she received first prize at the 2023 National Federation of Music Clubs Competition. She has given over 60 solo and 100 chamber concerts in such venues as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing

American violist Brian Isaacs is based in Berlin as a member of both the class of Tabea Zimmermann (Konzertexamen, Frankfurt HfMDK) and the Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker (mentored by Sebastian Krunnies). He has received awards and prizes from institutions such as the Verbier Festival Academy, Yale University, Frank Huntington Beebe Fund, and international competitions including Grunewald, Nedbal, and Rubinstein. Isaacs has advanced to the semi-finals of major competitions such as ARD, Primrose, and Prague Spring. An avid chamber musician, he has participated in numerous festivals and concerts in the USA, Europe, and Asia. His festival appearances include Four Seasons, Gstaad String Academy, NUME, Taos, Thy, Verbier Festival Academy, Viridian Strings. His upcoming 2024 summer festival appearances include La Jolla SummerFest Fellowship, Methow Valley,

Jonathan Cohen is the new Artistic Director of the Handel and Haydn Society, in addition to continuing as Artistic Director of Arcangelo, Music Director of Les Violons du Roy, and Artistic Director of Tetbury Festival. During the 2023–24 season he was guest conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Kammerorchester Basel, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, and Hessischer Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester. In his first season as their new Artistic Director, Cohen led the Handel & Haydn Society in Baroque masterpieces including Handel’s Israel in Egypt and Messiah. He conducts further performances of Messiah with San Francisco Symphony, while projects with Les Violons du Roy include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and a US tour with Milos Karadaglic. Cohen founded Arcangelo in 2010; the ensemble was

the first named Baroque Ensemble in Residence at Wigmore Hall, where it enjoys a continuing close association.

Chris Coletti, trumpet

Trumpeter Chris Coletti has performed and/or recorded with top orchestras and conductors, from the Metropolitan Opera Brass, the New York Philharmonic Brass, and St. Louis Symphony, Pierre Boulez, to popular artists such as Chris Thile, Jon Batiste, Kanye West, and Quincy Jones. Coletti joined the Canadian Brass at age 22 and toured the world with the group for ten years from 2009 to 2019. His discography includes 10 full-length Canadian Brass recordings and dozens of additional singles and music videos. Coletti directs the Contemporary Ensemble at Ithaca College in NY, where he is Assistant Professor of Trumpet. Coletti is also newly appointed principal trumpet of the River Oakes Chamber Orchestra in Houston, as well as principal trumpet of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra in Huntsville, Ala. Coletti also plays baroque and natural trumpet, is a professional whistler, and has recorded and performed on theremin.

Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, lecturer

Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim is a writer, music critic, and cultural entrepreneur dedicated to elevating the art of listening. Between 2012 and 2021 she contributed hundreds of reviews, features and essays about classical music to The New York Times. Her writings on music have also appeared in The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Classical Review, Symphony Magazine, and The Strad, among many others. In 2019 she founded Beginner’s Ear, a program of transformative listening experiences centered on meditation and live music. Since then, she has brought music meditations to diverse audiences and spaces, ranging from yoga lofts and nature preserves to a federal detention center and Lincoln Center. She lives in Westchester, New York.

Nicholas Daniel, oboe

Nicholas Daniel OBE has directed several music festivals and concert series and has been Music Director of the Leicester International Music Festival for many years. As a conductor Daniel made his BBC Proms conducting debut in 2004, and he works with many ensembles in wide-ranging repertoire from Baroque to contemporary, from smaller groups to opera. He was honored in 2012 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the prestigious Queen’s Medal for Music. In October 2020 he was awarded an OBE. He has been a concerto soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, performing a huge range of repertoire from Bach to Xenakis and beyond, premiering works written for him by hundreds of composers. As a chamber musician Nicholas is a founding member of the award-winning Britten Sinfonia, the Haffner Wind Ensemble, Orsino, and the Britten Oboe Quartet and is principal oboist of Camerata Pacifica.

Nicole Divall, viola

Violist Nicole Divall was a core member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra from 2005 to 2020. She has held the position of Principal Viola with the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Cleveland–San Jose Ballet, Cleveland Opera, and Sydney Philharmonia. Divall is currently a core member of the Four Nations Ensemble and has appeared as Guest Principal with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, and, more recently, Handel & Haydn Society, Orchestra of St Luke’s, Atlanta Baroque, Philharmonia Austin, and Albany Symphony. Since her return from Australia in 2021 Nicole has appeared as soloist with New York Baroque Incorporated, and at the Baldwin Wallace University Bach Festival, and with Apollo’s Fire on the Viola and Viola D’Amore. She was Principal Viola of Apollo’s Fire from 1998 to 2004 and resumed her tenure in that position in 2021.

Dustin Donahue, percussion

Dustin Donahue is a percussionist dedicated to contemporary chamber music. He regularly performs with the Partch Ensemble, Wasteland, and ECHOI, and frequently appears with the International Contemporary Ensemble. He has performed for many of North America’s top presenters of chamber music, such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella series, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, the Ojai Music Festival, the Festival Internacional Cervantino, and the Park Avenue Armory. He appears on releases for Mode, Decca, Stradivarius, and Populist Records. After many years in Southern California, he is currently Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Maryland–Baltimore County.

James Ehnes, violin

James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after musicians on the international stage. His 2023–24 concerto highlights include the National Symphony at Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouworkest, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Philharmonia, Israel Philharmonic, and Orchestre National de France. He is the first violinist of the Ehnes Quartet and the Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society. His extensive discography has won many awards including two GRAMMY® awards, three Gramophone awards, and 12 Junos. Ehnes plays the “Marsick” Stradivarius violin of 1715, and a viola made by John Becker in 2021.

Taylor Eiffert, basset horn

Originally from Dallas, Texas, M. Taylor Eiffert is currently the bass clarinetist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He also regularly performs with the Santa Fe Opera and Santa Fe Chamber Festival. Prior to joining the MSO he was the second clarinetist of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Eiffert pursued his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University where he studied with Steve Cohen

and Lawrie Bloom. He also received a Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California where he studied with Yehuda Gilad and David Howard. In addition to his university studies, he was a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Sterling Elliott, cello

Cellist Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and a winner of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. He has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and the Dallas Symphony, among others, with conductors Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Thomas Wilkins, Jeffrey Kahane, Mei Ann Chen and others. This season, Elliott debuts with Minnesota Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Pacific Symphony, San Antonio Symphony and New Jersey Symphony. He also performs the world première of a new orchestral version of John Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria, commissioned for him by a consortium of orchestras including the Orlando Philharmonic. He made his UK recital debut at Wigmore Hall in February. He performs on a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.

Emi Ferguson, flute

A 2023 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Emi Ferguson can be heard live in concerts and festivals with groups including the Handel and Haydn Society, AMOC*, Ruckus, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Manhattan Chamber Players, and as the music director of Camerata Pacifica Baroque. Her recordings Amour Cruel and Fly the Coop: Bach Sonatas and Preludes, celebrate her fascination with reinvigorating music and instruments of the past. Emi has spoken and performed at TEDx events and has been featured on the Discovery Channel, Amazon Prime, WQXR, and Vox. As part of WQXR’s Artist Propulsion Lab, she created the series “This Composer is SICK!” with Max Fine, exploring the impact

of syphilis on composers Franz Schubert, Bedřich Smetana, and Scott Joplin, is a new host of WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase. Her book, Iconic Composers, co-written with Nicholas Csicsko with artwork by David Lee Csicsko, was released in 2023.

Michael Gerdes, lecturer

Michael Gerdes is Director of Orchestras at San Diego State University, where he conducts the

San Diego State Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Opera Orchestra. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Selected by the San Diego Union-Tribune as one of three “Faces to Watch in Classical Music” during his first year as Director of Orchestras, Gerdes is focused on creating a thriving orchestral community at San Diego State University.

Ara Guzelimian, lecturer

Ara Guzelimian is Artistic and Executive Director of the Ojai Music Festival. He served as Provost and Dean of The Juilliard School in New York City from 2007 to 2020. He continues at Juilliard as a Special Advisor. Prior to that, he was Senior Director and Artistic Advisor of Carnegie Hall from 1998 to 2006. In addition, he is a member of the Steering Committee of the Aga Khan Music Awards, the Artistic Committee of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in London, and a Board member of the Amphion and Pacific Harmony Foundations. Guzelimian is editor of Parallels and Paradoxes: Explorations in Music and Society (Pantheon Books), a collection of dialogues between Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said. In September 2003, he was awarded the title Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for his contributions to French music and culture.

Augustin Hadelich, violin

Augustin Hadelich recently gave concerts at the BBC Proms, in Aspen, La Jolla, Verbier, Tsinandali, Bucharest, and Salzburg, and was soloist at the season opening concerts of the Orchestre National de France and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. He recently made debuts at Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestra dell’ Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and the NDR Radiophilharmonie and solo recitals in Italy, Germany, and the USA. In 2016, Hadelich received a GRAMMY®Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for his recording of Dutilleux’s violin concerto “L’Arbre des songes.” Hadelich was awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2009, and a BorlettiBuitoni Trust Fellowship in 2011. He was named “Instrumentalist of the Year” by Musical America in 2018. In 2021 he was appointed to the faculty of the Yale School of Music. He plays a 1744 violin by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, known as “Leduc, ex Szeryng,” on loan from the Tarisio Trust.

Sidney Hopson, percussion

A member of the GRAMMY®nominated ensemble Wild Up, Sidney Hopson is a consummate percussionist, composer, and cultural policy consultant from Los Angeles. In his hometown, he has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, LA Chamber Orchestra, and LA Master Chorale. An alum of the Academy Awards Orchestra, Spoleto Festival USA, Ojai Music Festival, Lincoln Center Festival, and Coachella Festival, he has recorded on over 100 film and television soundtracks, including: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Coming 2 America, Encanto, PRIDE (FX), and Avatar: The Way of Water. He has performed and recorded with a broad range of artists, including Adele, John Adams, Earth Wind & Fire, Danny Elfman, Chaka Khan, Ricky Martin, the New York Philharmonic, Rihanna, the Roots, Kaija Saariaho, John Williams, and Stevie Wonder. He has presented percussion masterclasses and arts policy lectures at the Juilliard School, USC, Butler University, and the Music Academy of the West.

Stefan Jackiw, violin

Stefan Jackiw is one of America’s foremost violinists, captivating audiences with playing that combines poetry and purity with an impeccable technique. Hailed for playing characterized by “uncommon musical substance” and that is “striking for its intelligence and sensitivity” (Boston Globe), Jackiw has appeared as soloist with the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, among others. He currently performs as part of the Junction Trio alongside Conrad Tao and Jay Campbell.

Annette Jolles, stage director

Annette Jolles has created a diverse body of work as a director and producer for theater and television and is the recipient of twenty-two Emmy Awards. She has directed numerous Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts including symphonic concerts for the New York Philharmonic and Mostly Mozart, three Richard Tucker Galas, and solo concerts featuring Cynthia Erivo, Sutton Foster, Leslie Odom, Jr., Norm Lewis and Patina Miller. Stage direction includes Così fan tutte (Alice Tully Hall), Amahl and the Night Visitors (Geffen Hall), Peter and the Wolf (BAM), and John Luther Adams’ In the Name of the Earth (St. John the Divine, world première). At NYC’s Symphony Space, she has produced and directed over fifty programs and series, most notably Wall to Wall Bernstein, Wall to Wall Sondheim, and Project Broadway. Upcoming: world première of Bess Welden’s Madeleines (2022 National Jewish Plays Contest winner) at Portland Stage Company. She teaches Musical Theater Performance at Yale.

Eleni Katz, bassoon

Hailed for her virtuosity and vibrant musical spirit, bassoonist Eleni Katz has established herself as a prominent soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. Katz is a winner of the 2022 Concert Artist Guild Competition and has performed with the Saint Paul Chamber

Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Nu Deco Ensemble, the Jupiter Chamber Players, the Sarasota Orchestra, and as a member of the New World Symphony. Other recent appearances include Bridgehampton Chamber Music Series, Newport Classical, a Carnegie Hall Debut with Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner through Young Performers Career Advancement (YPCA), Death of Classical: The Crypt Sessions, the Phoenix Chamber Music Society, Dame Myra Hess Series, Music Academy of the West, and Spoleto Festival USA.

Erin Keefe, violin

Violinist Erin Keefe is Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra and on the violin faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Pro Musicis International Award, and numerous international competitions, she has made concerto and recital appearances throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. She has collaborated with artists including the Emerson String Quartet, James Ehnes, Richard Goode, Leon Fleisher, and Menahem Pressler and has recorded for Naxos, the CMS Studio label, BIS, Onyx, and Deutsche Grammophon. Her festival appearances include Music@Menlo, Marlboro, Seattle, Bravo! Vail Valley, and Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festivals, among others.

Alexi Kenney, violin

Violinist Alexi Kenney is forging a career that defies categorization, following his interests, intuition, and heart. He is equally at home creating experimental multi-media programs and commissioning new works, soloing with orchestras including those of Cleveland, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Suisse Romande, Dallas, and Detroit, and collaborating with some of the most celebrated musicians and artists of our time. He is a founding member of the inverted quartet Owls, called a “dream group” by The New York Times. Alexi’s new album, Shifting Ground, is released in June 2024.

Jeremy Kurtz-Harris, bass

In addition to performing with the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera, bassist Jeremy Kurtz-Harris was Acting Associate Principal Bass with San Francisco Symphony for the 2015–16 season (performing as principal for the majority of the season) while on sabbatical from San Diego. He has also played guest principal bass with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Kurtz-Harris is the winner of several solo competitions, regularly performs solo recitals, and recorded a CD, Sonatas and Meditations, which featured his longtime collaborator, pianist Ines Irawati. He regularly works with composers and has commissioned multiple works for the instrument. In addition to his work as a performer, Kurtz-Harris is an active pedagogue. He has been the classical bass teacher at San Diego State University since 2006, and has taught master classes in the U.S., Mexico, and Australia.

Tessa Lark, violin

Violinist Tessa Lark was nominated in 2020 for a GRAMMY® in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category, and is also an acclaimed fiddler in the tradition of her native Kentucky. Highlights of Lark’s 2023–24 season include the world première of Carlos Izcaray’s Violin Concerto and performances of Michael Torke’s violin concerto, Sky—both pieces written for her—as well as her European orchestral debut with the Stuttgart Philharmonic. Lark’s newest album, The Stradgrass Sessions, was released this past spring. Her debut commercial recording was the GRAMMY®-nominated Sky, and her discography also includes Fantasy; Invention, recorded with Michael Thurber; and a live recording of Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Lark champions young aspiring artists and supports the next generation of musicians through her work as Co-host/ Creative of NPR’s From the Top. Lark plays a ca. 1600 G.P. Maggini violin on loan from an anonymous donor through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Yura Lee, violin/viola

Violinist and violist

Yura Lee has performed with major orchestras including New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. She has given recitals in London’s Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, Salzburg’s Mozarteum, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. She is the recipient of a 2007 Avery Fisher Career Grant and was the only first prize winner awarded across four categories at the 2013 ARD Competition. Her CD Mozart in Paris, with Reinhard Goebel and the Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie, received the Diapason d’Or Award. As a chamber musician, she regularly takes part in the festivals of Seattle, Marlboro, Salzburg, Verbier, La Jolla, Caramoor, and others. Lee is currently a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City, as both violinist and violist, and the Boston Chamber Music Society. She plays a Giovanni Grancino violin loaned to her through the Beares International Violin Society by generous sponsors.

Teng Li, viola

Teng Li was recently appointed Principal Violist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic after more than a decade as Principal with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She regularly participates in the festivals of Marlboro, Santa Fe, Mostly Mozart, Music from Angel Fire, Rome, Moritzburg, and Caramoor. She has performed with the Guarneri Quartet at Carnegie Hall and with the 92nd Street Y Chamber Music Society, and is a member of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two program. Li has been featured as soloist with the National Chamber Orchestra, Santa Rosa Symphony, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Haddonfield Symphony, Shanghai Opera Orchestra, among others.

Jack Liebeck, violin

British/German violinist, director, and festival director

Jack Liebeck is the Royal Academy of

Music’s first Émile Sauret Professor of Violin and Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and he has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, conductors and chamber musicians. Liebeck’s fascination with all things scientific has led to two new concertos being written for him and regular collaborator Professor Brian Cox— Dario Marianelli’s Voyager Violin Concerto and Paul Dean’s A Brief History of Time commissioned by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in commemoration of Professor Stephen Hawking. Upcoming highlights include a tour of Australia with VOCES8 including performances at Sydney Opera House and with Queensland Symphony Orchestra performing a new arrangement of The Lark Ascending and Christopher Tin’s The Lost Birds; and return performances with Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Savannah Chamber Music Festival.

Matthew Lipman, viola

In recent seasons American violist Matthew Lipman has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, American Symphony Orchestra, Munich Symphony Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra. He has performed recitals at Carnegie Hall, Aspen Music Festival, and the Zürich Tonhalle; was invited by Michael Tilson Thomas to be a soloist at the New World Symphony Viola Visions Festival; and has appeared in chamber music with Anne-Sophie Mutter at the Berlin Philharmonie and Vienna Musikverein. An alum of the Bowers Program, he performs regularly on tour and at Alice Tully Hall with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In 2022, he made his Sony Classical debut on The Dvořák Album. An Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and prize winner at the Primrose and Tertis International Viola Competitions, Lipman is on faculty at Stony Brook University. He performs on a 2021 Samuel Zygmuntowicz viola, made for him in New York.

Rose Lombardo, flute

Hailing from Norwell, Mass., Rose Lombardo was appointed Principal Flute of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra in 2011. Rose has enjoyed a vibrant musical career traveling around the globe as an orchestral, chamber, and solo artist, collaborating with musicians in various genres of music. She has performed alongside members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and Vienna Philharmonic, and is regularly featured with Art of Élan in San Diego. During her time away from the stage, Lombardo enjoys surfing up and down the California coastline and exploring new places to catch waves around the world.

Tommaso Lonquich, clarinet

Tommaso Lonquich is solo clarinetist with Ensemble MidtVest in Denmark. He is also an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York. He has appeared on the most renowned stages of four continents, partnering with Christian Tetzlaff, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Pekka Kuusisto, Wu Han, David Finckel, Gilles Vonsattel, and the Danish, Vertavo, and Zaïde string quartets. Lonquich performs regularly as a soloist and solo clarinetist with orchestras throughout Europe, collaborating with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Fabio Luisi. In Denmark, he is co-founder and co-artistic director of Schackenborg Musikfest. He has taught masterclasses at the Juilliard School, the Royal Danish Academy, and the Manhattan School of Music, among others. Alongside his artistic career, Lonquich is a practicing psychoanalyst and co-founder of the International Center for Lacanian Psychoanalysis in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Anthony Manzo, bass

Anthony Manzo performs regularly at noted venues including Lincoln Center in NYC, Boston’s Symphony

Hall, and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, and appears with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, both in NY and across the country. He serves as the solo bassist of San Francisco’s New Century Chamber Orchestra and as a guest with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and A Far Cry in Boston. He is also a regular guest with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Smithsonian Chamber Society, and the Baltimore Symphony. Formerly the solo bassist of the Munich Chamber Orchestra in Germany, Manzo has also been guest principal with Camerata Salzburg in Austria.

Mike McCoy, horn

Mike McCoy, a San Diego native, plays 4th horn with the Las Vegas Philharmonic and is the Artist Teacher of Horn at San Diego State University and Point Loma Nazarene University as well as being active in the LA recording studios recording for movies, TV, video games and backing up celebrity albums. In 2006 he was a founding member of the Presidio Brass, an international touring brass quintet, until he resigned in 2015. When he is not rehearsing and performing for various groups he spends his time coaching the horn sections of local high schools and teaching in his private studio.

Anthony McGill, clarinet

Anthony McGill serves as the Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic—its first African American principal player. McGill is hailed for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound, and rich character” (The New York Times), as well as for his “exquisite combination of technical refinement and expressive radiance” (The Baltimore Sun). McGill also serves as an ardent advocate for helping music education reach underserved communities and for addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in classical music.

Andrew McIntosh, violin

Andrew McIntosh is a GRAMMY®nominated violinist, violist, composer, and baroque violinist who teaches at the California Institute of the Arts. As a solo artist he has performed at the San Francisco Symphony’s SoundBox series, Miller Theatre in New York, REDCAT, and festivals and concert series across Europe and the US. As a chamber musician he is a member of Wild Up, the Formalist Quartet, and Wadada Leo Smith’s Red Koral Quartet. As a baroque performer, McIntosh is a member of Tesserae and Bach Collegium San Diego, has served as guest concertmaster for baroque operas with LA Opera and Opera UCLA, and was recently both music director and concertmaster of Long Beach Opera’s all-Handel pastiche production The Feast. Revent commissions include works for the LA Philharmonic, Calder Quartet, Yarn/Wire, and Ilya Gringolts.

James Miller, trombone

James Miller is the Associate Principal Trombone with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His previous orchestral experience includes the North Carolina Symphony, the Long Island Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and the Dallas Symphony. Miller has performed with the Silk Road Ensemble, the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, Ensemble ST-X, the Michael Bublé Big Band, and a variety of jazz, rock, ska, and Latin ensembles. He can be heard on numerous movie and TV soundtracks as well as countless audio recordings. He has been a participant in the Mainly Mozart Festival, Aspen Music Festival, the Banff Institute, and Ojai Music Festival. As a soloist he has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series as well as with several orchestras internationally. As a composer, he has had world premières in New York’s Lincoln Center and continues to perform his own works in solo performances throughout the country.

Kristi Brown Montesano, lecturer Chair of the Music History Department at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, Kristi Brown Montesano is an enthusiastic “public musicologist.” She is an active lecturer for the LA Philharmonic, the Opera League of Los Angeles, the Salon de Musiques series, and Mason House Concerts. Her book, The Women of Mozart’s Operas (UC Press, 2007), offers a detailed study of these fascinating roles; more recent scholarly interests include classical music in film, women in classical music, and opera for children.

Jennifer Montone, horn

Jennifer Montone is principal horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra and is currently on the faculties of The Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School. She was formerly the principal horn of the Saint Louis Symphony, associate principal horn of the Dallas Symphony, and performer/ faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School. Named the Paxman Young Horn Player of the Year in London in 1996, she has won many solo competitions and awards, including an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2006 and a 2013 GRAMMY® Award for her recording of Penderecki’s Horn Concerto Winterreise. She has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, WDR Cologne, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. She performs regularly at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Classical Tahoe, Strings Festival, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and is a visiting coach at the New World Symphony.

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

Ludovic Morlot has been Music Director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra since 2021. He was Music Director of Seattle Symphony from 2011–2019, where he earned the orchestra five GRAMMY® Awards. He has also been Associate Artist of the BBC Philharmonic

Orchestra since 2019. He was Artistic Director and a founding member of the National Youth Orchestra of China 2017–2021, and Chief Conductor of La Monnaie from 2012–2014, conducting new productions in Brussels and at the Aix Easter Festival. This season Morlot takes the Barcelona Symphony to the Elbphilharmonie and Stockholm Royal Concert Hall, recording Ravel’s orchestral works in a new edition to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Highlights of 2023–24 include Strasbourg Philharmonic with Joyce DiDonato, the North American première of a new work by Betsy Jolas with San Francisco, Bent Sorensen’s St. Matthew Passion with the Danish National, and a staged production of Das Rheingold at Seattle Opera.

Charissa Noble, lecturer

A specialist in avant-garde and experimental music, assistant professor Dr. Charissa Noble teaches music history, art history, and music criticism as an assistant professor at the University of San Diego. Her interdisciplinary research encompasses music history in the American West and stories of 20th-century California avant-garde music and art. Noble has presented her work at numerous professional academic conferences such as the American Musicological Society, the International Society for Minimalist Music, and the Society for American Music, and her research has been published in Sound American, The Journal of Musicological Research and The Journal of Interdisciplinary Voice Studies. In addition to her academic work, Noble co-directs the local experimental vocal ensemble San Diego New Verbal Workshop and currently serves as Executive Director of San Diego New Music.

Max Opferkuch, basset horn

Max Opferkuch was appointed Second Clarinet of the San Diego Symphony in 2022. He has previously appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, and as guest principal clarinetist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Opferkuch has performed with groups such as the Colburn Chamber Music Society,

Jacaranda Music, Art of Élan, and the Mainly Mozart Festival. Opferkuch was the winner of the Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition and the USC Thornton Concerto Competition, and in 2020 he was featured as a Young Artist in Residence on Minnesota Public Radio’s Performance Today. Opferkuch has attended Music from Angel Fire, and was a Clarinet Fellow at the 2019 and 2022 Tanglewood Music Center. His principal teachers have been Theresa Tunnicliff, Michele Zukovsky, and Yehuda Gilad. Opferkuch received his Bachelor of Music degree from the USC Thornton School of Music, and his Master of Music degree from the Colburn Conservatory of Music.

The Paper Cinema

Founded in 2004 by Nicholas Rawling with Imogen Charleston and Christopher Reed, The Paper Cinema creates unique, magical performances that combine the languages of animation, music, film, and theatre. Intricate pen and ink illustrations are skillfully manipulated in front of a video camera and projected onto the big screen. The puppeteers and musicians work to a precise choreography that is as engrossing to watch as the story being played out. With a readily transferrable DIY aesthetic, the company has performed in a diverse range of venues from village halls and arts centers to major film festivals and museums.

Nicholas Rawling, illustrator and artistic director

Nicholas Rawling’s universe combines the fantasy of Lewis Carroll and Maurice Sendak, the sketchy realism of Quentin Blake, the gothicism of Hieronymus Bosch and the poise of Alexander Calder’s sculptures. It feels like being taken into your eccentric uncle’s yurt in Dorset so he can show you what he’s been up to. The cumulative charm is akin to the best children’s books or the earliest cinema and zoetrope, providing the perfect salve for all us fluro-overloaded technophobes. Who’d have thought the zeitgeist would be so spartan?

ARTIST PROFILES

Simone Porter, violin

Violinist Simone Porter recently debuted with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and renowned conductors including Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Nicholas McGegan, and Donald Runnicles. In July 2021 she resumed orchestral and recital concerts including at Aspen, Denver, St. Louis, Quebec, Sarasota, and Monterey. She appeared at the Edinburgh and Mostly Mozart festivals and performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall with Gustavo Dudamel. Internationally, Porter has performed with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, and l’Opéra de Marseilles, among others.

Blake Pouliot, violin

Violinist Blake Pouliot’s 2023–24 symphonic highlights include Shostakovich 1, Bruch 1, Tchaikovsky, Korngold and Sibelius concerti across the US and Canada with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Artis-Naples and NAC Ottawa, and Quebec City Symphony, among others. Pouliot returns this season to NAC’s Music for a Sunday Afternoon series and Aspen Music Festival and will also make his chamber debut with Festival Napa Valley at the San Francisco Conservatory. Pouliot has performed with the orchestras of Aspen, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Madison, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, and Seattle, among many others. Internationally, he has performed as soloist with the Sofia Philharmonic in Bulgaria, Orchestras of the Americas on its South American tour, and was the featured soloist for the first ever joint tour of the European Union Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Pouliot performs on the 1729 Guarneri del Gesù on generous loan from an anonymous donor.

Molly Puryear, interviewer

Molly Puryear brings passion for dance and nonprofit administration to her position as Executive Director of Malashock Dance. Puryear has worked with Malashock Dance since 2006, and previously served in the role of Education Director. She strategically aligns artistic and educational efforts to create a dynamic relationship between programs, the communities they serve, and the organization’s valuable funders. Puryear is committed to serving the San Diego community through the development and administration of vibrant dance programs. She believes that dance is an avenue for personal expression that engages people from all walks of life.

Leah Rosenthal, interviewer

Leah Rosenthal, Artistic Director for La Jolla Music Society, has held positions with some of the most prestigious nonprofit organizations in the country, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Ravinia Festival, The Recording Academy, and PBS. Rosenthal completed undergraduate studies in voice performance and went on to receive her Master’s degree in Arts Management at Columbia College of Chicago.

Masumi Per Rostad, viola

GRAMMY® Awardwinning JapaneseNorwegian violist Masumi Per Rostad has performed at the most prominent festivals, including Marlboro, Spoleto USA, Music@Menlo, Caramoor, and the Aspen Music Festival. He has collaborated with the St. Lawrence, Ying, Pavel Haas, Miró, Verona, and Emerson string quartets, and recorded on the Cedille, Naxos, Hyperion, Musical Observations, Bridge, and Tzadik record labels. As a member of the Pacifica Quartet, Rostad regularly performed in the world’s greatest halls including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, and the Musikverein, among many others.

Sean Shibe, guitar

Guitarist Sean Shibe is a former BBC New Generation Artist, Borletti–Buitoni Trust Fellowship 2012 winner, Royal Philharmonic Society 2018 Young Artist Award winner, and recipient of the 2022 Leonard Bernstein Award. This season sees him premiere new concertos by Cassandra Miller and Oliver Leith, as well as tour Thomas Adès’ first work for a nonkeyboard solo instrument. He also appears in recital at iconic venues across Europe including Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, Konzerthaus Wien and Wigmore Hall as he takes up the title of ECHO Rising Star. Further highlights comprise a US tour with tenor Karim Sulayman, performances with mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska, and the UK première of Francisco Coll’s Turia, for guitar and large orchestra with Delyana Lazorova and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Shibe’s latest album, Broken Branches, was nominated for the 2024 GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.

Mark Simpson, clarinet

Clarinetist and composer Mark Simpson’s current highlights include performing premières of

Alchymia, a new clarinet quintet by Thomas Adès dedicated to Simpson and the Diotima Quartet, while performances of his own works include his first piano concerto written for Vikingur Ólafsson (commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic, and Cincinnati Symphony). In 2023 Simpson saw several German premières: that of his first opera, Pleasure, at the Theater Erfurt; his orchestral work Israfel with Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin; and Adès’s Alchymia in the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg. This period also included the Dutch première of his violin concerto performed by Liza Ferschtman on Amsterdam’s Zaterdag Matinee series at the Concertgebouw and at Cologne’s Achtbrücken Festival with WDR Koln Symphony. Simpson’s recording of his own Geysir and Mozart’s Gran Partita won a Presto Recording of the Year award and was shortlisted for the 2021 Gramophone Awards.

Tricia Skye, horn

Tricia Skye began playing French horn with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra in 1998. Prior to that, she studied with Jerry Folsom, former co-principal horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as James Decker and Joseph Meyer, both studio musicians. After finishing high school Skye played principal horn with the Debut Orchestra and the American Youth Symphony under the baton of Mehli Mehta. At the age of 20 Skye won a position with the Philharmonic of the Nations, a touring orchestra based out of Germany; she spent the next year traveling and performing all over the world. After returning to Los Angeles, Skye worked as a recording musician, playing for numerous records, television shows and movies. She has performed concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, and Louisiana Philharmonic as well as the Mainly Mozart festival in San Diego and the former San Diego Chamber Orchestra.

Julie Smith Phillips, harp

Principal Harpist of the San Diego Symphony since 2007, Julie Smith Phillips was silver medalist in the 2004 USA International Harp Competition and bronze medalist in 2001. She made her National Symphony Orchestra debut in 2003. Phillips’ appearances include multiple performances with the San Diego Symphony, the New World Symphony Orchestra, the West Los Angeles Symphony, and the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra. A founding member of The Myriad Trio, she regularly appears on the San Diego Symphony Chamber Concert Series, Art of Elan, ECHO series, and the San Diego New Music Ensemble. She has performed abroad in Italy, Japan, and Taiwan, and with the Myriad Trio performed a five-city tour in China. Her festival credits include the Bay Chamber, Festival Mozaic, Mainly Mozart, and Tanglewood Music Festivals, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, Spoleto USA Festival, and Japan’s Pacific Music Festival.

Jonathan Swensen, cello

Jonathan Swensen is the recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant and was featured as Musical America’s “New Artist of the Month” and “One to Watch” in Gramophone Magazine. Swensen fell in love with the cello upon hearing the Elgar Concerto at the age of six, and ultimately made his concerto debut performing the work with Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música. His debut recording, Fantasia, received rave reviews from Gramophone, BBC Music, and The Strad. He has performed with the orchestras in Europe, the UK and the US, and made critically acclaimed debuts at the Kennedy Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Jordan Hall, Morgan Library and Museum, Vancouver Recital Society, San Francisco Performances and the Krannert Center. Swensen joined the Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in 2024.

Conrad Tao, piano

Conrad Tao appears worldwide as a pianist and composer, performing as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Boston Symphony. His compositions have been performed by orchestras throughout the world; his first large-scale orchestral work, Everything Must Go, received its world première with the New York Philharmonic, and its European première with the Antwerp Symphony. He is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and was named a Gilmore Young Artist. Recently Tao returned to perform Mozart with the New York Philharmonic, for whom he curated a program for their Artist Spotlight series. Upcoming collaborations include ongoing performances of Counterpoint with dancer Caleb Teicher and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with Orchestra of St. Luke’s as part of Paul Taylor Dance Company’s season at Lincoln Center. Tao’s violin concerto, written for Stefan Jackiw, was premiered by the Atlanta Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony.

Caleb Teicher, tap dancer

Caleb Teicher was a founding member of Michelle Dorrance’s tap dance company, Dorrance Dance, while also freelancing in contemporary dance (The Chase Brock Experience, The Bang Group), Lindy Hop (Syncopated City Dance Company), and musical theater (West Side Story International Tour and London). Teicher is known for choreographic collaborations with diverse musical talents: beatboxer Chris Celiz, composer/pianist Conrad Tao; the National Symphony Orchestra, and indie rock legends Ben Folds and Regina Spektor. In 2015, Teicher shifted their creative focus towards Caleb Teicher & Company (CT&Co), a creative home for incubating new concert dance works. CT&Co’s engagements and commissions include the Joyce Theater, New York City Center, the Guggenheim Museum, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and Lincoln Center Out of Doors. Caleb is the recipient of a 2019 New York City Center Choreographic Fellowship, two Bessie Awards, a 2019 Harkness Promise Award, and a 2019 NEFA National Dance Project Production Grant.

Dan Tepfer, piano

Dan Tepfer has recorded and performed with some of the leading lights in jazz and classical music, from Lee Konitz to Renée Fleming, and released ten albums. Tepfer earned global acclaim for his 2011 release Goldberg Variations / Variations. His 2019 video album Natural Machines finds him exploring in real time the intersection between science and art, coding and improvisation, digital algorithms and the rhythms of the heart. His 2023 return to Bach, Inventions / Reinventions, an exploration of the narrative processes behind Bach’s beloved Inventions, spent two weeks in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Classical Charts. Tepfer’s piano quintet Solar Spiral premiered in 2016 at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival. Current commissions include a suite for choir and piano in memory of his mother, a chorister at the Paris Opera; a song cycle for Cécile McLorin Salvant and string

ARTIST PROFILES

orchestra; and a symphonic work featuring algorithms and visuals.

Kaylet Torrez, horn

Kaylet Torrez began her musical studies in Venezuela’s “El Sistema” music program, and from 2004 to 2014 was a member of the horn section of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, performing at the Berlin Philharmonie, Royal Albert Hall, Bonn Beethoven Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and La Scala in Milan, among others. In 2014 she was appointed Principal Horn of the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, and in 2015 won a full scholarship to the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles. Since 2016 Torrez has played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony, among others. She can also be heard on the soundtracks of films such as The Lion King, Jumanji, Minions, Bumblebee, Predator, and Aquaman, among others. Torrez is currently a member of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, where she has been Assistant Principal Horn since 2017.

Ruben Valenzuela, organ

Ruben Valenzuela is the founder and Artistic Director of Bach Collegium San Diego (BCSD). As a conductor and keyboardist, he has led BCSD in acclaimed performances of music of the Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical periods. In addition to his work with BCSD, Valenzuela regularly performs as a guest director, most notably for Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity (New York City), Bach at Emmanuel Church (Boston), Julliard 415 at Lincoln Center (New York City); and Washington Bach Consort (Washington, D.C), Seraphic Fire (Miami), Bachfest Leipzig, and upcoming performances with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (San Francisco) and the Handel and Haydn Society (Boston).

Jonathan Vinocour, viola

Violist Jonathan Vinocour was appointed Principal Viola of the San Francisco Symphony in 2009, having previously served as Principal Viola of the Saint Louis Symphony and Guest Principal of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared frequently as a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and the New World Symphony where he was a featured artist of their Viola Visions Festival alongside Tabea Zimmerman, Kim Kashkashian, Roberto Diaz, and Cynthia Phelps. He is a regular guest of festivals such as the Seattle Chamber Music Society, Marlboro, Bridgehampton, and Salt Bay Festivals and Chamberfest Cleveland. He also performs frequently on the chamber music series of the San Francisco Symphony and as a recitalist and chamber musician on concert series around the country. Vinocour plays on a 1784 Lorenzo Storioni viola on loan from the San Francisco Symphony.

VOCES8

The 2023 GRAMMY®nominated British vocal ensemble VOCES8 tours globally performing an extensive repertory both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading musicians, orchestras, and conductors. VOCES8 is the flagship ensemble of the VOCES8 Foundation, which actively promotes “Music Education for All,” reaching up to 40,000 people annually. VOCES8 has performed at many notable venues from Wigmore Hall to the Sydney Opera House. This season they perform over 100 concerts globally. Online the VOCES8 Digital Academy and the LIVE From London digital festival continue. They publish music and educational material with VOCES8 Publishing and Edition Peters, including The VOCES8 Method written by Paul Smith. Ken Burton is Composer-inResidence with Jim Clements as Arranger-inResidence. The group’s latest recordings are A Choral Christmas featuring Taylor Scott

Davis’s “Magnificat,” Christopher Tin’s “The Lost Birds,” (a GRAMMY® Award nominee), and Home conducted by Eric Whitacre, featuring “The Sacred Veil” and “Seven Psalms” by Paul Simon.

Gilles Vonsattel, piano

Swiss-born American pianist Gilles Vonsattel is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and

winner of the Naumburg and Geneva competitions. He has appeared with the Boston Symphony, Tanglewood, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra, while performing recitals and chamber music at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Ravinia, Tokyo’s Musashino Hall, Wigmore Hall, Bravo! Vail, Music@Menlo, the Lucerne Festival, and the Munich Gasteig. Recent projects include Berg’s Kammerkonzert with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, a tour with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Mozart concerti with the Vancouver Symphony and Florida Orchestra, performances at Seoul’s LG Arts Centre and at the Beijing Modern Music Festival, collaborations with L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Munich Philharmonic as well as appearances internationally and in the US with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Andrew Waid, viola

Violist Andrew Waid performs with the stellar San Diego early music group Bach Collegium San Diego, also serving as music librarian and programmer of BCSD’s Bach at Noon series. He has been a core member of San Diego Baroque since 2016, helping program and present dozens of instrumental and vocal concerts all over the city. Further from home, Waid frequently makes his way to Los Angeles in a wide range of projects with both Tesserae Baroque and Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra. Outside of the realm of baroque music, Waid enjoys collaborating in opera and stage productions of all types: he has been principal viola at Opera Neo since

2017, including for a two-week residency in Budapest, Hungary in summer 2022, and occasionally has appeared at the Old Globe Theater. An engaging and creative teacher, Waid is on the faculty of the String Academy at San Diego State University.

Andrew Wan, violin

In 2008, Andrew Wan was named concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. As soloist, he has appeared in the US, China, New Zealand, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Switzerland, and Canada under conductors such as Rafael Payare, Kent Nagano, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Maxim Vengerov, Vasily Petrenko, and James DePreist. Wan has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, Jordan Hall, and Salle Gaveau with artists such as the Juilliard Quartet, Vadim Repin, Emanuel Ax, Gil Shaham, Marc-André Hamelin, and Cho-Liang Lin. He has appeared at the St. Prex, Seattle, Edinburgh, Olympic, Agassiz, Aspen, and Orford Music Festivals.

Paul Watkins, cello

Cellist Paul Watkins was appointed Principal Cellist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra at age 20. He performs regularly as a concerto soloist with major orchestras throughout the world, including eight concerto appearances at the BBC Proms. Watkins was a member of the Nash Ensemble from 1997 to 2013 and joined the Emerson String Quartet in May 2013. In 2014, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit. Since winning the 2002 Leeds Conducting Competition, he has conducted all the major British orchestras and many others in the USA, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Watkins has made over 70 recordings, including 18 solo albums for Chandos, as well as chamber music discs for Decca Gold, Deustche Grammophon and Hyperion. Watkins plays on an instrument made by Domenico Montagnana and Matteo Goffriller in Venice, circa 1730.

Alisa Weilerstein, cello

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein was recognized with a MacArthur Fellowship in 2011. An authority on Bach’s music for unaccompanied cello, Weilerstein recently released a best-selling recording of his solo suites on the Pentatone label, streamed them in her innovative #36DaysOfBach project, and deconstructed his beloved G-major prelude in a Vox.com video, viewed almost 1.5 million times. Her discography also includes chart-topping albums and the winner of BBC Music’s Recording of the Year award. As Artistic Partner of the Trondheim Soloists, she regularly tours and records with the Norwegian orchestra. She has premiered and championed important new works by composers including Pascal Dusapin, Osvaldo Golijov, and Matthias Pintscher. Other career milestones include a performance at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at nine years old, Weilerstein is a staunch advocate for the T1D community.

Paul Wiancko, cello

Paul Wiancko is an acclaimed composer, Director of Chamber Music at Spoleto Festival USA, and cellist of the Kronos Quartet, viola/cello duo Ayane & Paul, and quartet-collective “dream group” (NY Times) Owls. He has collaborated with artists ranging from Max Richter, Chick Corea, and Norah Jones—to members of the Guarneri and JACK quartets—to bands like Arcade Fire, Dirty Projectors, and Wye Oak. Wiancko’s own music has been described as “delicate, harmonically rich,” “joyous, hard-driven” (NY Times), “dazzling, compelling” (Star Tribune), and “vital pieces that avoid the predictable” (Allan Kozinn). He has been composer-in-residence at Spoleto Festival USA, Caramoor, Music from Angel Fire, Portland Chamber Music Festival, and numerous others, and has recently been commissioned by Alisa Weilerstein, Alexi Kenney, Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, and the St. Lawrence, Kronos, Aizuri, Calder, and Attacca Quartets.

Joyce Yang, piano

GRAMMY®nominated pianist Joyce Yang won the silver medal at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano

Competition—the youngest contestant at 19 years old. In 2010, Yang graduated from The Juilliard School with special honor as the recipient of the school’s Arthur Rubinstein Prize and received the Avery Fisher Career Grant. In the last decade, Yang has showcased her colorful musical personality in solo recitals and collaborations with the world’s top orchestras and chamber musicians in over 1,000 debuts and re-engagements and released 10 commercial albums. She served as the Artistic Director for the 2019 Laguna Beach Music Festival.

Michael Yeung, percussion

Michael Yeung’s solo recitals include a wide repertoire of music from the Baroque to the 21st century. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the internationally acclaimed Percussion Collective in the world première of Argentinian composer Alejandro Viñao’s Poems and Prayers. His orchestral experience has included playing timpani with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Yeung is completing his studies with world-renowned percussion pedagogue Robert van Sice in the Yale School of Music. He is the second percussionist ever to be admitted to the school’s prestigious Artist Diploma program. Each summer Yeung returns to his native Hong Kong to teach young students and curate multi-media percussion productions. This summer, Yeung also curated a series of concerts sponsored by TEDx in Shenzhen, the highlight of which was the Emmy Award-winning composer Garth Neustadter’s percussion sextet Seaborne, an audio-visual celebration of our endangered oceans.

Brandee Younger, harp

The sonically innovative harpist Brandee Younger is revolutionizing harp for the digital era. Over the past

fifteen years, she has worked relentlessly to stretch boundaries and limitations for harpists. In 2022, she made history by becoming the first black woman to be nominated for a GRAMMY® Award for Best Instrumental Composition. That same year, she was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Ever-expanding as an artist, she has worked with cultural icons including Common, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, and Moses Sumney. Her current album, Brand New Life, builds on her already rich oeuvre, and cements the harp’s place in pop culture. As the title of the album suggests, Brand New Life is about forging new paths—artistic, personal, political, and spiritual. On this album, Younger salutes her musical foremother, the trailblazing harpist Dorothy Ashby, while also speaking to the sentiments of more recent generations.

Leyla Zamora, bassoon

Leyla Zamora has been a member of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra since 2005. Before coming to San Diego, she held for 11 years the position of principal bassoon with the Memphis Symphony. She has also performed with the Saint Louis Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand, Alabama Symphony, and the Costa Rican National Symphony. Zamora has participated in orchestral and chamber music festivals such as Mainly Mozart, Britt and Cascade Festivals in Oregon, Ameropa in Prague, Apple Hill Chamber Music Center, International Orchestra in Japan, Spoleto Music Festival in Italy, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. She has presented master classes and recitals at the universities of Idaho, Wichita State, Southern Mississippi, University of Memphis, Washburn University in Kansas, and University of the Pacific in Stockton, and has performed solo concerti and recitals in Costa Rica, Colombia, Japan, and Czech Republic.

Kyril Zlotnikov, cello

Kyril Zlotnikov is a founding member of the internationally recognized Jerusalem Quartet. Along with his extensive chamber music

ARTIST PROFILES

appearances Zlotnikov has performed and been broadcast as a soloist with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Ludwigsburg Symphony Orchestra, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, and Jerusalem Camerata and enjoys artistic collaboration with acclaimed conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Lawrence Foster, Asher Fish, Simone Young. Zlotnikov is a regular guest at major chamber music and has shared the stage with artists including Daniel Barenboim, András Schiff, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Pierre Boulez, Elena Bashkirova, Mitsuko Uchida, Natalia Gutman, and Lang Lang, among many others. From 2001 to 2012 Zlotnikov was a principal cellist and a teacher of the cello group of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under Maestro Daniel Barenboim. Kyril Zlotnikov plays an Amati Brothers cello made in Cremona circa 1610, on loan from a Charitable Trust.

Photo Credits: COVER: Fred Tomaselli, Head with Flowers [detail], 1996, paper collage, datura, ephedra, hemp, and resin on wood, 60 x 60 in. (152.4 x 152.4 cm), Collection Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Museum purchase with funds from the Contemporary Collectors, 1997.14.; Pg.4: S. Jackiw, A. Wan, J. Albers, S. Elliott, M. Lipman, J. Vinocour © Ken Jacques; Pg.9: E. Keefe, A. Kenney, R. Rabinovich, E. Baltacigil, M. Per Rostad © Ken Jacques; Pg.10: I. Barnatan © Marco Borggreve, E. Ferguson © Fay Fox; Pg.12: J. Belanich courtesy of relatives of the deceased; Pg.13: J. Jacobs courtesy of relatives of the deceased; Pg.15: A. Hadelich ©Suxiao Yang; Pg.19: I. Barnatan © Marco Borggreve; Pg. 16: A. Kenney © Yang Bao; Pg. 27: M. Simpson © Katja Feldmeier; Pg.29: T. Adès © Marco Borggreve; Pg.31: T. Lark courtesy of artist; Pg.34: E. Keefe courtesy of artist; Pg.38: S. Shibe © Iga Gozdowska; Pg.41: S. Elliott courtesy of artist; Pg.45: B. Younger couresty of artist; Pg.46: VOCES8 © Andy Staples; Pg.52: S. Jackiw © Sangwook Lee; Pg.57: M. Per Rostad courtesy of artist; Pg.60: D. Tepfer courtesy of artist; Pg.61: C. Tao, C. Teicher © Em Watson; Pg.62: B. Pouliot © Lauren Hurt; Pg.67: S. Porter © Elisha Knight; Pg.70: Y. Lee courtesy of artist; Pg.73: J. Ehnes © Benjamin Ealovega; Pg.76: Abeo Quartet courtesy of artists, T. Adès © Marco Borggreve, T. Amendola courtesy of artist, I. Barnatan © Marco Borggreve, A. Boles courtesy of interviewer, C. Brazeau © Sam Zausch, D. Burstein courtesy of artist; Pg.77: J. Campbell ©Shervin Lainez, Cohda Quartet courtesy of artists, J. Cohen © Marco Borggreve; Pg.78: C. Coletti couresty of artist, C. da Fonseca-Wolheim courtesy of lecturer, N. Daniel © Eric Richmond, N. Divall courtesy of artist, D. Donahue courtesy of artist, J. Ehnes © Benjamin Ealovega, T. Eiffert courtesy of artist, S. Elliott courtesy of artist, E. Ferguson © Fay Fox, M. Gerdes courtesy of lecturer, A. Guzelimian courtesy of artist, A. Hadelich © Suxiao Yang, S. Hopson courtesy of artist; Pg. 80: S. Jackiw © Sangwook Lee, A. Jolles courtesy of artist, E. Katz courtesy of artistm E. Keefe courtesy of artist, A. Kenney © Yang Bao, J. Kurtz-Harris courtesy of artist, T. Lark © Benjamin Allen; Pg.81: Y. Lee courtesy of artist, T. Li courtesy of artist, J. Liebeck © Kaupo Kikkas, M. Lipman © Jiyang Chen, R. Lombardo courtesy of artist, T. Lonquich © Andrej Grilc, A. Manzo © GVR Photography; Pg. 82: M. McCoy © Sam Zauscher, A. McGill © Todd Rosenberg, A. McIntosh courtesy of artist, J. Miller courtesy of artist, K. Bown Montesano courtesy of lecturer, J. Montone courtesy of artist, L. Morlot courtesy of artist; Pg.83: C. Noble © WorldRider Productions, M. Opferkuch courtesy of artist, The Paper Cinema © Josh Gaunt, N. Rawling courtesy of artist, S. Porter © Elisha Knight, B. Pouliot © Lauren Hurt; Pg.84: M. Puryear courtesy of interviewer, L. Rosenthal © Sam Zausch, M. Per Rostad courtesy of artist, S. Shibe courtesy of artist, M. Simpson © Katja Feldmeier, T. Skye © Beth Ross Buckley, J. Smith Phillips courtesy of artist; Pg.85: J. Swensen courtesy of artist, C. Tao © Shervin Lainez, C. Teicher © Dan Needleman, D. Tepfer © Sylvain Gripoix, K. Torrez courtesy of artist, R. Valenzuela © Gary Payne; Pg.86: J. Vinocour © Anastasia Chernyavasky, VOCES8 courtesy of artist, G. Vonsattel courtesy of artist, A. Waid courtesy of artist, A. Wan courtesy of artist, P. Watkins © Jurgen Frank; Pg. 87: A. Weilerstein © Paul Stuart, P. Wiancko © Dario Acosta, J. Yang © KT Kim, M. Yeung © Aloha Studios, B. Younger courtesy of artist, L. Zamora courtesy of artist, K. Zlotnikov © Marco Borggreve

SUMMERFEST COMMISSION HISTORY

BRUCE ADOLPHE

Couple (1999)

David Finckel, cello; Wu Han, piano Oceanophony (2003)

Bruce Adolphe, conductor; Marisela Sager, flute; Frank Renk, clarinet; Ryan Simmons, bassoon; Aiyun Huang, percussion; Marija Stroke, piano; Tereza Stanislav, violin; Richard Belcher, cello; Allan Rickmeier, bass Into a Cloud (2005)

Bruce Adolphe, narrator; Zheng Huang, oboe; Jun Iwasaki, violin; Erin Nolan, viola; Davin Rubicz, cello; Marija Stroke, piano

Zephyronia (2006)

Imani Winds

FRANGHIZ ALI-ZADEH

Sabah (morning/tomorrow/in the future) (2003)

Aleck Karis, piano; Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Felix Fan, cello; Wu Man, pipa

JULIAN ANDERSON

String Quartet No. 2 “300 Weihnachtslieder” (2014)

FLUX Quartet

CLARICE ASSAD

Synchronous (2015)

Liang Wang, oboe; Andrew Wan, Fabiola Kim, violins; Robert Brophy, viola; JeongHyoun “Christine” Lee, cello

SÉRGIO ASSAD

Candido Scarecrow (2014)

The Assad Brothers

DEREK BERMEL

Death with Interruptions (2014)

David Chan, violin; Clive Greensmith, cello; John Novacek, piano

CHEN YI

Ancient Dances (2004)

I. Ox Tail Dance

II. Hu Xuan Dance

David Schifrin, clarinet; Andre-Michel Schub, piano

Night Thoughts (2004)

Catherine Ransom, flute; Keith Robinson, cello; Andre-Michel Schub, piano

STEWART COPELAND

Retail Therapy (2009)

Kyoko Takezawa, violin; Nico Abondolo, bass; Frank Renk, bass clarinet; Stewart Copeland, drums; Joyce Yang, piano

CHICK COREA

String Quartet No. 1, The Adventures of Hippocrates (2004)

Orion String Quartet

MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE

Quartet for Piano and Strings (2012)

Yura Lee, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Felix Fan, cello; Jeremy Denk, piano

RICHARD DANIELPOUR

Clarinet Quintet “The Last Jew in Hamadan” (2015)

Burt Hara, clarinet; Verona Quartet

BRETT DEAN

Epitaphs for String Quintet (2010)

Brett Dean, viola; Orion String Quartet

Seven Signal (2019)

Joseph Morris, clarinet; Qian Wu, piano; Liza Ferschtman, violin; Felix Fan, cello

DAVID DEL TREDICI

Bullycide (2013)

Orion Weiss, piano; DaXun Zhang, bass; Shanghai Quartet

GABRIELA LENA FRANK

Contested Eden (2021)

Canto para California in extremis

Attacca Quartet

MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN

String Quartet (2016)

Hai-Ye Ni, cello; Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano

JOHN HARBISON

String Quartet (2002)

Orion String Quartet Crossroads (2013)

Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano; Peggy Pearson, oboe; Linden String Quartet; Nico Abondolo, bass

STEPHEN HARTKE

Sonata for Piano Four-Hands (2014)

Orion Weiss, Anna Polonsky, piano

JOEL HOFFMAN

of Deborah, for Deborah (2015)

Nancy Allen, harp; Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Toby Hoffman, viola; Gary Hoffman, cello

HUANG RUO

Real Loud (2018)

Real Quiet

TOSHI ICHIYANAGI

String Quartet No. 5 (2008)

FLUX Quartet

PIERRE JALBERT

Piano Quintet (2017)

Juho Pohjonen, piano

Rolsoton String Quartet

AARON JAY KERNIS

Perpetual Chaconne (2012)

John Bruce Yeh, clarinet; Calder Quartet

LEON KIRCHNER

String Quartet No. 4 (2006)

Orion String Quartet

DAVID LANG

String Quartet “almost all the time” (2014)

FLUX Quartet

LEI LIANG

Vis-à-vis, for Pipa and Percussion (2018)

Wu Man, pipa; Steven Schick, percussion

MAGNUS LINDBERG

Konzertstück for Cello and Piano (2006)

Anssi Karttunen, cello; Magnus Lindberg, piano

JACQUES LOUSSIER

Divertimento (2008)

Jacques Loussier Trio; SoJin Kim, Shih-Kai Lin, violins; Elzbieta Weyman, viola; Yves Dharamraj, cello; Mark Dresser, bass

JULIAN MILONE

La Muerte del Angel (arr. movement from Piazzolla’s Tango Suite) (2008)

Gil Shaham, Kyoko Takezawa, Cho-Liang Lin, Margaret Batjer, violins; Chris Hanulik, bass

MARC NEIKRUG

Ritual (2007)

Real Quiet

A Song by Mahler (2018)

Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano; Kelly Markgraf, bass-baritone; David Shifrin, clarinet; FLUX Quartet; Doug Fitch, director; Nicholas Houfek, lighting design

MARK O’CONNOR

String Quartet No. 2 “Bluegrass” (2005)

Mark O‘Connor, Cho-Liang Lin, violins; Carol Cook, viola; Natalie Haas, cello

ANDRÉ PREVIN

Vocalise (1996)

Ashley Putnam, soprano; David Finckel, cello

CHRISTOPHER ROUSE

String Quartet No. 3 (2010)

Calder Quartet

KAIJA SAARIAHO

Serenatas (2008)

Real Quiet

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN

Lachen verlernt (Laughing Unlearnt) (2002)

Cho-Liang Lin, violin

PETER SCHICKELE

Spring Ahead Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet (2015)

Burt Hara, clarinet; Huntington Quartet

LALO SCHIFRIN

Letters from Argentina (2005)

Lalo Schifrin, piano; David Schifrin, clarinet; Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Nestor Marconi, bandoneón; Pablo Aslan, bass; Satoshi Takeishi, percussion

PAUL SCHOENFIELD

Sonata for Violin and Piano (2009)

Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Jon Kimura Parker, piano

GUNTHER SCHULLER

Quintet for Horn and Strings (2009)

Julie Landsman, horn; Miro Quartet

BRIGHT SHENG

Three Fantasies (2006)

Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Andre-Michel Schub, piano

Northen Lights, for Violon, Cello and Piano (2010)

Lynn Harrell, cello; Victor Asuncion, piano

SEAN SHEPHERD

Oboe Quartet (2011)

Liang Wang, oboe; Jennifer Koh, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Felix Fan, cello

String Quartet No. 2 (2015) FLUX Quartet

HOWARD SHORE

A Palace Upon the Ruins (A Song Cycle) (2014)

Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano; Catherine Ransom Karoly, flute; Coleman Itzkoff, cello; Andrew Staupe, piano; Julie Smith Phillips, harp; Dustin Donahue, percussion

WAYNE SHORTER

Terra Incognita (2006) Imani Winds

STEVEN STUCKY

Sonata for Violin and Piano (2013)

Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Jon Kimura Parker, piano

AUGUSTA READ THOMAS

Bells Ring Summer (2000)

David Finckel, cello

CONRAD TAO

Movement II from “All I had forgotten or tried to” (2019)

Stefan Jackiw, violin; Conrad Tao, piano

JOAN TOWER

Big Sky (2000)

Chee-Yun, violin; David Finckel, cello; Wu Han, piano

Trio La Jolla (2007) (Renamed Trio CAVANY)

Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Gary Hoffman, cello; Andre-Michel Schub, piano

White Granite (2011)

Margaret Batjer, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Joshua Roman, cello; Andre-Michel Schub, piano

GEORGE TSONTAKIS

Stimulus Package (2009)

Real Quiet

CHINARY UNG

AKASA: “Formless Spiral” (2010)

Real Quiet

JOHN WILLIAMS

Quartet La Jolla (2011)

Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Joshua Roman, cello; John Bruce Yeh, clarinet; Deborah Hoffman, harp

CYNTHIA LEE WONG

Piano Quartet (2011)

Joyce Yang, piano; Martin Beaver, violin; Kazuhide Isomura, viola; Felix Fan, cello

XIAOGANG YE

Gardenia for String Quartet and Pipa (2017)

Wu Man, pipa; Miro Quartet

ELLEN TAAFFE ZWILICH

Quintet for Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrabass and Piano (2011)

Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio; Michael Tree, viola; Harold Robinson, bass Pas de Trois (2016)

Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio

SYNERGY COMMISSIONS & SPECIAL PROJECTS

Co-produced by Clara Wu Tsai & Inon Barnatan

Intersection (2019)

Cécile McLorin Salvant, voice; Aaron Diehl, Inon Barnatan, pianos

TAMAR MUSKAL

Facing the Automaton (2021)

Steven Schick, percussion; Joseph Morris, clarinet; Brad Balliett, bassoon; David Byrd-Marrow, horn; David Chan, Justin DeFilippis, violins; Jonathan Moreschel, viola; Joshua Roman, cello; David Grossman, bass; Chelsea de Souza, piano

New York Counterpoint (2022)

Film directed by Tristan Cook

Cinematography by Zac Nicholson

Anthony McGill (New York Philharmonic), clarinet; On film: Alec Manassee (The Juilliard School), clarinet & bass clarinet; Ricardo Morales (Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center), clarinet; Jessica Phillips (The MET Orchestra), clarinet; Victor Goines (Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra), clarinet; Jon Manassee (The Juilliard School), clarinet; Carol McGonnell (The Juilliard School), bass clarinet; Kristina Teuschler (Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts), clarinet; Alexander Fiterstein (Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center), clarinet; Anton Rist (The MET Orchestra), clarinet; Dean LeBlanc (The MET Orchestra), bass clarinet

An Evening of Kurt Weill: Seven Deadly Spins (2022)

Directed by Zack Winokur

Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; Cécile McLorin Salvant, voice; Sullivan Fortner, piano; The Knights with Special Guests; Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Carnival of the Animals (2023)

Conceived and written by Marc Bamuthi Joseph Choreographed and directed by Francesca Harper

Composed by Sugar Vendil

Wendy Whelan, dance; Marc Bamuthi Joseph, spoken word; Joyce Yang, Inon Barnatan, pianos; Geneva Lewis, violin; Gabriel Martins, cello

Counterpoint II (2024)

Conceived and choreographed by Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher

Conrad Tao, piano; Caleb Teicher, dance

GRAND TRADITION

VIOLIN

Aguilar, Paul 2019*

Ahn, Heejeon 2022*

Allen, Isaac 2010*,’13

Almond, Frank 1988

Anthony, Adele 2001,’03,’05-’06,’18

Arvinder, Eric 2015

Ashikawa, Lori 1988◊

Bae, Angela Jiye 2021*

Banerdt, Rhiannon 2017*

Barnett-Hart, Adam 2007*,’16

Barston, Elisa 1992*◊,’94

Batjer, Margaret 2001-’03,’07-’11,’13,’17-’18

Beaver, Martin 2011,’14,’16

Beilman, Benjamin 2019,’21-’22

Bendix-Balgley, Noah 2023

Benjamin, Rebecca 2024*

Biss, Paul 1986-’87

Blumberg, Ilana 1993*◊

Borok, Emanuel 2004

Borup, Hasse 1999*

Bouey, Christina 2017*

Boyd, Aaron 2003*,’16

Cardenes, Andres 1986-’89

Chan, David 1995◊-’97*◊,2001,’04-’05,’07-’11,’13,’15,’17

Chan, Ivan 1998

Chang, Sarah 2007

Chapelle, Corinne 1997*

Chee-Yun 2000,’02,’06-’07,’10,’16-’17

Chen, Jiafeng 2013*

Chen, Robert 1990

Ching, Daniel 2014

Chiu, Lucinda 2018

Cho, Yumi 2007,’09

Choi, Jennie 1997*

Choi, Jennifer 1994*◊

Cohen, Diana 2021, ’23

Copes, Steven 2008, ’23

Cosbey, Catherine 2013*

Coucheron, David 2010*

DeFilippis, Justin 2021*

Derkervorkian, Armen 2017

Deutsch, Lindsay 2006*

Dicterow, Glen 2017

Dolkas, Bridget 2001-’02,’07, 09-’10,’12-’18

Drucker, Eugene 1988-’89, 2000,’17

Ehnes, James 2019-’22,’24

Emes, Catherine 1988◊

Englund, Meri 2013-’14

Fedkenheuer, William 2014

Ferschtman, Liza 2019,’22

Frank, Pamela 1994-’95

Frankel, Joanna 2007*

Frautschi, Jennifer 1990*-’92*◊,’94*◊-’95◊,’14

Frautschi, Laura 1990*-’92*◊

Fried, Miriam 1986-’87, 2006

Freivogel, J 2009*

Fujiwara, Hamao 1992-’94

Fullana, Francisco 2022

Ganatra, Simin 1995◊

Gerard, Mary 1988◊

Georgieva, Mila 1996*◊

Gigante, Julie 2011

Gilbert, Alan 2023

Goldstein, Bram 2010*

Grevious, Njioma 2024*

Gringolts, Ilya 2001

Gruppman, Igor 1988◊

Gruppman, Vesna 1988◊

Gulli, Franco 1990

Hadelich, Augustin 2010-’13,’15,’19,’21-’24

Harasim, Sonja 2011*

Hatmaker, Kathryn 2012-’19,’22-’23

Hershberger, Amy 1997◊

Horigome, Yuzuko 1991

Hou, Yi-Jia Suzanne 2003*

Hsu, Luke 2016*

Hsu, Shu-Ting 2010

Huang, June 1988◊

Huang, Paul 2016,’18,’21

Hyun, Eileen 1988◊

Hyun, Katie 2012*

Iwasaki, Jun 2005*,’19,’21

Jackiw, Stefan 2019,’21-’24

Jacobson, Benjamin 2009

Jeong, Stephanie 2013

Jiang, Yi-Wen 2003

Josefowicz, Leila 2002,’04,’08

Kaplan, Mark 2001

Kavafian, Ani 1988,’94,’98, 2000,’06

Kavafian, Ida 1998

Keefe, Erin 2019,’22-’24

Kenney, Alexi 2022-’24

Kerr, Alexander 2009,’14

Kikuno, Rintaro 2023*

Kim, Benny 1999

Kim, Fabiola 2015*

Kim, Helen Hwaya 1996*◊-’97*◊

Kim, Michelle 1992◊,’93*◊-’95*◊,’96◊,’08,’12-’13,’15,’17

Kim, SoJin 2008*-’09*

Kim, Young Uck 1990-’91

Kitchen, Nicholas 2010

Koh, Jennifer 2008,’11,’17

Koo, Daniel 2015*

Kraggerud, Henning 2002

Kruspe, Emily 2018*

Kwon, Yoon 2002*,’05,’07,’09

Kwuon, Joan 1996*◊, 2004,’07

Laredo, Jaime 2011

Lark, Tessa 2020-’24

Lee, Bryan 2011*

Lee, Byungchan 2021*

Lee, Gina 1992◊,’93*,’94*◊-95*◊

Lee, Joanna 2017

Lee, Kristin 2014,’16-’17

Lee, Luri 2018*

Lee, Se-Yun 1999*

Lee, SooBeen 2024*

Lee, Yura 2012,’14,’16-’20,’24

Lewis, Geneva 2023

Liebeck, Jack 2024

Lin, Cho-Liang 1989-’93,’95-’99, 2001-’19

Lin, Jasmine 2008

Lin, Shih-Kai 2008*

Ling, Andrew 2010

Link, Joel 2011*

Lippi, Isabella 1993*◊

Lockwood, Kathryn 1993*

Ma, Michael 2009

Martin, Philip 2017*

Martinson, Haldan 1993*◊-’95*◊

Marwood, Anthony 2021,’23

McDermott, Kerry 2003,’07,’15

McDuffie, Robert 1999

McElravy, Sarah 2013*

McIntosh, Andrew 2019,’24

Meyers, Anne Akiko 2005

Midori 2011

Misawa, Kyoka 2023*

Monahan, Nicole 1992◊

Namkung, Yuri 2004*

Nelson, Maureen 2003*

Nightengale, Helen 2005,’07

Niwa, Sae 2009*

Nosky, Aisslinn 2014-’15

Nuttall, Geoff 2021-‘22

O’Connor, Mark 2001,’05,’09

Oland, Frederik 2016

Ong, Jonathan 2016*

Otani, Reiko 1996*◊

Park, Alyssa 2016-’19

Park, Tricia 2003*-’04*

Pauk, Gyorgy 1986-’87,’90

Peskanov, Mark 1990

Phillips, Daniel 1992-’93,’95-’97, 2002,’04

Phillips, Todd 1992-’93, 2002,’04

Place, Annaliesa 1999*

Porter, Simone 2022,’24

Pouliot, Blake 2021-’24

Preucil, Alexandra 2005*

Preucil, William 1999, 2000

Qiang, Xiaoxiao 2011*,’14

Quint, Philippe 2012-’13,’19

Redding, Deborah 1990

Ro, Dorothy 2016*

Robinson, Cathy Meng 1998

Roffman, Sharon 1999*

Roos, Tatjana 2019*

Rosenfeld, Julie 1989-’99

Setzer, Philip 1999, 2000,’03,’15

Shaham, Gil 2001,’03,’05-’06,’08,’11,’16,’18

Shay, Yvonne 2012-’14

Shih, Michael 2003

Shimabara, Sae 1996◊

Sitkovetsky, Dmitry 2015

Skene, Delphine 2022*

Skrocki, Jeanne 2009-’19,’21

Smirnoff, Joel 2004,’07

Sohn, Livia 2021

Southorn, David 2012*

Stanislav, Tereza 2003*,’12,’14

Staples, Sheryl 1990*-’91*,’92◊-’94◊,’95, 2006-’07,’09,‘11,’14,’16

Stein, Eddie 1988◊

Steinhardt, Arnold 2002,’06

Stenzel, Rachel 2019*

Stoyanovich, Sophia 2022*

Sussmann, Arnaud 2014

Swensen, Joseph 1989, 2013

Takezawa, Kyoko 1998-’99,2001,’03,’05-’06,’08-’09,‘11,’15,’18

Tan, Max 2023*

Thayer, Jeff 2005,’23

Tognetti, Richard 2005

Tong, Kristopher 2010

Toyoshima, Yasushi 1997

Tree, Michael 2002

Troback, Sara 2002*,’05

Tursi, Erica 2014*

Ung, Susan 2002

Urioste, Elena 2008*

Ushikubo, Ray 2017

Ushioda, Masuko 1986-’87,’89

Vergara, Josefina 1993*◊,’95◊,97◊

Wan, Andrew 2012,’14-’16,’19,’22,’24

Warsaw-Fan, Arianna 2012*

Weilerstein, Donald 1986

Wilkie, Roger 1991,’97,’17

Wu Jie 2007*

Wu, Tien-Hsin Cindy 2011,’18,’21

Yang, Jisun 2007

Yoo, Hojean 2015*

Yoshida, Ayako 1991*

Yu, Mason 2014*

Zehetmair, Thomas 1988

Zehngut, Jeffrey 2010

Zelickman, Joan 2002

Zhao, Chen 1994*◊

Zhao, Yi 2014*

Zhu, Bei 2006*,’07,’10

Zori, Carmit 1993

VIOLA

Albers, Rebecca 2023

Ando, Fumino 1996*◊

Baillie, Helena 2011

Barston, Elisa 1994

Benjamin, Rebecca 2024*

Berg, Robert 1988◊

Biss, Paul 1986-’87

Brooks, Colin 2017*

Brophy, Robert 2003*,’13,’15-’16

Bulbrook, Andrew 2009

Carrettin, Zachary 2011*

Chen, Che-Yen 2005,’07-’10,’12-’13,’15-’16,’18

Chen, Chi-Yuan 2022-’23

Choi, En-Sik 1990*

Choong, Angela 2010*,’19

Cook, Carol 2005

Dean, Brett 2010,’19

Dirks, Karen 1986-’87

Divall, Nicole 2024

DuBois, Susan 1993*,’95*◊

Dunham, James 2007,’09,’12

Dutton, Lawrence 1999, 2003,’15

Frankel, Joanna 2007*

Gilbert, Alan 2003

Gulkis, Susan 1992*

Ho, Shirley 1994*◊,’95*,’96*◊,’97*◊, 2006

Hoffman, Toby 1989-’92,’95-’96,’98, 2000-’01,’11-’12,‘15,’17,’18

Holtzman, Carrie 1988◊

Huang, Hsin-Yun 2008

Husum, Marthe 2015*

Huang, Hsin-Yun 2019

Imai, Nobuko 1986

Isaacs, Brian 2024*

Isomura, Kazuhide 2011

Jacobson, Pamela 2009

Kang, James 2024*

Kam, Ori 2003,’14,’15,’21

Karni, Gilad 1993*◊

Kavafian, Ida 1998

Kennedy, Eva 2019*

Kraggerud, Henning 2002

Lapointe, Pierre 2007*,’16

Largess, John 1994*◊-’96*◊,’14,’17

Lee, Scott 1997*◊, 2002,’04,’07

Lee, Sung Jin 2022*

Lee, Yura 2014,’16-’20,’22,’24

Leung, Hezekiah 2018*

Li, Honggang 2003

Li, Teng 2022-’24

Lin, Wei-Yang Andy 2012*

Lipman, Matthew 2023-’24

Liu, Yun Jie 1990*

Lockwood, Kathryn 1995◊

LoCicero, Joseph 2014*

Longhi, Caterina 2016-’17,’19

Martin, Francesca 1988-’90

Maril, Travis 2009-’14,’16-’19,’21

Moerschel, Jonathan 2009

Molnau, Michael 2012

Motobuchi, Mai 2010

Neubauer, Paul 1992-’96,’98-’99, 2001,’03-’07,’09-’12,’15,’17-’18

Neuman, Larry 1991*

Ngwenyama, Nokuthula 2000

Nilles, AJ 2014

Nolan, Erin 2005*

Norgaard, Asbjorn 2016

Ohyama, Heiichiro 1986-’97, 2004,’06,’08-’09,’11,’14-’16,’18

O’Neill, Richard 2013-’15,’19,’22

Pajaro-van de Stadt, Milena 2011*

Papach, Maiya 2023

Per Rostad, Masumi 2019,’21-’24

Pernela, Ethan 2021

Phelps, Cynthia 1989-’90,’99-2002,’05-’08,’10-’11,’13-’14,’16,’19,’22

Quincey, Brian 1992*◊-’93*◊

Quintal, Sam 2009*

Richburg, Lynne 1992*◊

Rojansky, Abigail 2016*

Runde, Ingrid 1988◊

Sanders, Karen 1988

Strauss, Michael 1991*

Suzuki, Leo 1994*◊,’99*

Tenenbom, Steven 2004

Thomas, Whittney 2005

Toyoshima, Yasushi 1997

Tree, Michael 2001-’02,’08,’11

Ung, Susan 2010

Vernon, Robert 1987-’88

Vinocour, Jonathan 2021-’24

Waid, Andrew 2024

Walther, Geraldine 1993-’95

Weyman, Elzbieta 2008*

Wickert, Eve 2003*

Wilson, Evan N. 2001-’02

Wu, Tien-Hsin Cindy 2017-’18,’21

Wong, Eric 2013*

Yamamoto, Itsuki 2023*

Zannoni, Benjamin 2021*

Zehngut, Gareth 2010

CELLO

Albers, Julie 2022-’23

Arron, Edward 2017,’19

Baltacigil, Efe 2021-’23

Belcher, Richard 2003*

Braun, Jacob 2008

Brey, Carter 1990-’91,’93,’95-’96,’99-2001,’03-’06,‘08-’10, ’12-’13,’16,’18-’19,’22

Bruskin, Julia 2003*

Byers, Eric 2009

Byun, Andrew 2022*

Campbell, Jay 2021-‘22,’24

Canellakis, Nicholas 2014

Castro-Balbi, Jesus 2002*

Chaplin, Diane 1989-’90

Chien, Chia-Ling 2012,’15-’18

Cho, Eunghee 2021*

Cho, Stella 2015*

Cooper, Kristina 2003

Cottrell, Nathan 2022*

Cox, Alexander 2014*

Crosett, Rainer 2016*

Curtis, Charles 2003,’05,’09

DeMaine, Robert 2017

DeRosa, William 2002

Dharamraj, Yves 2008*

Diaz, Andres 1992,’94,’99, 2000

Drakos, Margo Tatgenhorst 2009-’10

Eddy, Timothy 1993, 2004

Eldan, Amir 2004*

Elliot, Gretchen 1999

Elliott, Sterling 2022-’24

Fan, Felix 1992*◊-’96*◊,’97◊,’98-’99, 2001,’03,‘06-’13,’16,’19

Fiene, Sarah 1999

Fife, Stefanie 1988◊

Finckel, David 1992-’96,’98-2000,’06

Geeting, Joyce 1999

Gelfand, Peter 1999

Gerhardt, Alban 1998

Gindele, Joshua 2014

Greenbaum, Alex 2017-’18

Greensmith, Clive 2015-’23

Haas, Natalie 2005

Hagerty, Warren 2016*

Haimovitz, Matt 1986

Halpern, Joshua 2017*

Hammill, Rowena 1999

Han, Eric 2010*

Handy, Trevor 2011-’12

Harrell, Lynn 2005-’07,’10,’14,’18

Henderson, Rachel 2009*

Herbert, Oliver 2021,’23

Ho, Grace 2017*

Hoebig, Desmond 2010,’12,’14

Hoffman, Gary 1987-’93,’95-’97,’99, 2001,‘03-’04,’06-’07,’10, ’12-’13,’15,’18

Hong, Ben 1990*,2001,’13-’16,’18

Houston, Russell 2021*

Hunt, Shirley 2014

Itzkoff, Coleman 2014*,’23

Iwasaki, Ko 1995

Jacobs-Perkins, Annie 2019*

Janecek, Marie-Stephanie 2007*

Janss, Andrew 2007*

Kabat, Madeleine 2009*

Kalayjian, Ani 2008*

Kang, Kristopher 2010

Karoly, Jonathan 2005,’07

Karttunen, Anssi 2006

Kim, Eric 1998, 2004,’06,’11,’14

Kim, Yeesun 2010

Kirshbaum, Ralph 1986-’89,’91,2001-’04,’07-‘08,’11,’15

Kloetzel, Jennifer 1992*◊-’93*◊

Ko, Leland 2024*

Kostov, Lachezar 2011*

Kubota, Maki 2018

Kudo, Sumire 1995*◊,’96◊,’97, 2006

Langham, Jennifer 1999

Lee, Daniel 2005

Lee, JeongHyoun “Christine” 2015*

Lee, Jiyoung 2013*

Lee, Julia 2023*

Lee, Nina 2022

Leonard, Ronald 1986-’88,’90-’91, 2002

Levenson, Jeffrey 1986-’87

Little, Dane 1988◊

Liu, Yun Jie 1990*

Lo, Jonathan, 2018*

Ma, Yo-Yo 2005

Maisky, Mischa 2016

Marica, Mihai 2012*

Martins, Gabriel 2023

Mollenauer, David 1988◊

Moon, Eileen 2016

Moores, Margaret 1986-’87,’99

Moses, Hannah 2019*

Moser, Johannes 2022

Myers, Peter 2011

Ni, Hai-Ye 2003-’04,’08,’11,’14,’16,’18

Olsen, Kenneth 2019

Ostling, Kristin 1991*

Ou, Carol 1993*◊-’94*◊

Ou, Samuel 1994*◊

Pereira, Daniel 2002

Putnam, Dana 1994*◊

GRAND TRADITION

Rejto, Peter 1987,’89

Roman, Joshua 2011-’13,’15,’21

Rosen, Nathaniel 1994

Rubicz, Davin 2005*

Saltzman, David 1999

Samuel, Brent 1996*◊-’97*◊

Sharp, John 2015-’16

Shaw, Camden 2011*

Sherry, Fred 2000,’09

Shulman, Andrew 2010,’15

Sjolin, Fredrik Schoyen 2016

Smith, Ursula 1991*

Smith, Wilhelmina 1990*,’92*◊

Speltz, Brook 2016

Starker, Janos 1999

Sutherland, Wyatt 1999

Swallow, Gabriella 2013

Swensen, Jonathan 2024

Szanto, Mary 2001

Taback, Macintyre 2024*

Toettcher, Sebastian 1999

Tsan, Cecilia 1996

Tsukiji, Anri 2023*

Tzavaras, Nicholas 2003

Umansky, Felix 2013*

Vamos, Brandon 1995◊

Wang, Jian 2002,’05,’11,’18

Watkins, Paul 2021,’24

Weilerstein, Alisa 2006-’08,’11,’17,’19-’21,’23-‘24

Weiss, Meta 2012*

Wiancko, Paul 2023-‘24

William-Olsson, Kajsa 2023

Wirth, Barbara 1999

Yoon, Han Bin 2012

Zeigler, Jeff 1999

Zhang, Yuan 2010*

Zhao, Yao 2009,’18

Zlotnikov, Kyril 2024

BASS

Abondolo, Nico 1989-’93,’97◊, 2002–’03,’07,’09,‘11-’19

Aslan, Pablo 2005,’13,’16

Balliett, Doug 2022

Cho, Han Han 2010

Coade, Sarah 1992◊

Cobb, Timothy 2019,’21-’23

Danilow, Marji 1994◊-’95◊,’97◊

Dresser, Mark 2005,’08

Finck, David 1996

Foley, Xavier 2021

Green, Jonathan 1986

Grossman, David 2021

Gurrola, Mike 2023

Haden, Charlie 1995

Hager, Samuel 2011-’18,’23

Hanulik, Christopher 2007-’10,’15

Hermanns, Don 1994◊,’96◊

Hovnanian, Michael 1988◊

Kurtz, Jeremy 2004-’05,’24

Lloyd, Peter 2018

Magnusson, Bob 2001

Manzo, Anthony 2022,’24

Meyer, Edgar 1996

Meza, Oscar 1987

Palma, Donald 2000

Pitts, Timothy 2013-’14

Ranney, Sue 1986

Revis, Eric 2012

Rickmeier, Allan 2001-’03

Robinson, Harold 2011

Thurber, Michael 2020,’23

Turetzky, Bertram 2002

Van Regteren Altena, Quirijn 1999

Wais, Michael 2000-’01

Worn, Richard F. 1993*

Wulff, Susan 2009-’10

Zhang, DaXun 2004,’11,’13-’14,’17-’18

Zory, Matthew 1992◊

BARYTON

Hunt, Shirley 2014

THEORBO

Holmes Morton, Paul 2022

Leopold, Michael 2014

PIANO

Adès, Thomas 2023-‘24

Adolphe, Bruce 2001

Andres, Timo 2019

Asuncion, Victor Santiago 2010

Ax, Emanuel 1990, 2010,’18

Ax, Yoko Nozaki 1990

Barnatan, Inon 2012-’14,’17,’19-’24

Battersby, Edmund 1994

Biss, Jonathan 2006,’13,’19

Blaha, Bernadene 1996-’97

Bolcom, William 2003

Bookstein, Kenneth 1990*

Bronfman, Yefim 1989,’92, 2003,’06,’14,’18

Brown, Alex 2016 Brunetti, Octavio 2013

Chen, Weiyin 2006-’07*

Cole, Naida 2004

Cooper, Imogen 2022

Corea, Chick 2004

Coucheron, Julie 2010

Cuellar, Scott 2017*

Cunliffe, Bill 2023

de Souza, Chelsea 2021*

Denk, Jeremy 2012

Diehl, Aaron, 2019,’21

Fejérvári, Zoltán 2023

Feltsman, Vladimir 2008,’10,’15

Fitzgerald, Kevin 1997

Fleisher, Katherine Jacobson 2008

Fleisher, Leon 2000,’02-’03,’08

Follingstad, Karen 1986-’87

Fortner, Sullivan 2022

France, Hal 2001

Francois, Jean-Charles 1987

Goldstein, Gila 1993*

Golub, David 1986-’93,’95-’97

Graffman, Gary 1999

Haefliger, Andreas 2009,’11

Hamelin, Marc-André 2011,’16,’22

Han, Anna 2024*

Harris, John Mark 2002

Hewitt, Angela 2005

Hewitt, Anthony 1991*

Higuma, Riko 2003*-’04*

Hsiao, Ching-Wen 2004*

Hsu, Julia 2015

Huang, Helen 2001,’06,’09

Jablonski, Peter 2008

Jian, Li 2003

Julien, Christie 1997*

Kahane, Gabriel 2012

Kahane, Jeffrey 1986-’89,2002,’04,’06,’12-’13

Kalichstein, Joseph 1998, 2006-07,’10,’13,’15

Kalish, Gilbert 1998-’99

Karis, Aleck 2003

Kern, Olga 2011,’17

Kern, Vladislav 2011

Kodama, Mari 2012

Kogan, Richard 2014

Kramer, Henry 2012*

Kuerti, Anton 1986

Laredo, Ruth 1994

Lee, Jeewon 2008*

Levinson, Max 1990*-’91*,’94-’95◊,’97, 2000,’06

Li, George 2019

Li, Ying 2019*

Licad, Cecile 1998, 2005,’07

Lifschitz, Konstantin 2000

Lin, Gloria 2002*

Lin, Steven 2013*

Lindberg, Magnus 2006

Ling, Jahja 2004

Litton, Andrew 2004

McDermott, Anne-Marie 2007-’09

Montero, Gabriela 2010

Murphy, Kevin 2002,’07

Mustonen, Olli 2017

Naughton, Christina 2017

Naughton, Michelle 2017

Neikrug, Marc 2007

Newman, Anthony 2001-’02,’07,’10,’13

Noda, Ken 2008-’10,’12,’14,’18

Novacek, John 1992*, 2002,’08-’10,’12,’14-’18

O’Riley, Christopher 1999, 2000,’02,’06,’10

Ohlsson, Garrick 2003,’08,’22

Orloff, Edith 1986-’88

Park, Jeongwon 1995*

Parker, Jon Kimura 2002,’06,’09,’12-’13,’16-’18

Piemontesi, Francesco 2022

Pohjonen, Juho 2016,’18

Polonsky, Anna 2014

Pressler, Menahem 1998, 2009

Previn, Andre 1987,’90-’92,’96

Rabinovich, Roman 2021,’23

Russo, Andrew 2007

Schifrin, Lalo 2005

Schub, Andre-Michel 1990-’91,2001,’04-’07,’11

Schumann, Sonya 2023

Serkin, Peter 2015

Shaham, Orli 2009

Sheng, Bright 1993

Staupe, Andrew 2014*

Stepanova, Liza 2009*

Strokes, Marija 2003,’05

Tao, Conrad 2019,’23-‘24

Taylor, Christopher 2008

Taylor, Ted 2007

Tepfer, Dan 2024

Tramma, Marzia 1996*

Trifonov, Daniil 2013,’21

Vonsattel, Gilles 2017-’18,’24

Wang, Wynona Yinuo 2022*

Watts, Andre 2005

Weilerstein, Vivian Hornik 1986

Weiss, Orion 2007-’10,’13-’14,’18

Woo, Alan 2015*

Wosner, Shai 2005-’08,’16-’18

Wu Han 1992-’96,’98-2000,’06

Wu, Qian 2019

Wuu, Elliot 2023*

Yrjola, Maria 2002

Yang, Joyce 2008-’11,’13,’15,’18,’22-’24

Zhang, Haochen 2017

Ziegler, Pablo 2012

HARMONIUM & HARPSICHORD

Barnatan, Inon 2019

Beattie, Michael 2013-’14

Chong, Tina 2019

Fowler, Colin 2019

Koman, Hollace 1992◊-’94◊,’96

Kroll, Mark 1991

Luedecke, Alison 2019

Mabee, Patricia 2007,’14-’15

McGegan, Nicholas 2011,’19

McIntosh, Kathleen 1997◊

Newman, Anthony 2001-’02,’04-’05,’07,’09,’12-’13

Novacek, John 1992◊

Valenzuela, Ruben 2022

Zearott, Michael 1987-’88◊

Zhang, Angie 2022

ORGAN

Beattie, Michael 2014

Newman, Anthony 2002,’10,’14

Valenzuela, Ruben 2024

BANDONEÓN

Del Curto, Hector 2013

Marconi, Nestor 2005

FLUTE

Anderson, Arpi C. 1994*

Bursill-Hall, Damian 1986-’89

Ellerbroek, Clay 2002

Ferguson, Emi 2024

Giles, Anne Diener 1990

Heide, Henrik 2019

Karoly, Catherine Ransom 2001-’02,’04-’05,’07-’09,’11-’18,’21

Lombardo, Rose 2019,’21,’23-‘24

McGill, Demarre 2007-’08,’10

Martchev, Pamela Vliek 2011-’18,’21

O’Connor, Tara Helen 1997

Piccinini, Marina 1991

Sager, Marisela 2002-’04

Tipton, Janice 1997,’99, 2002-’03

Wincenc, Carol 1990,’92,’94, 2000

RECORDER

Petri, Michala 2012

OBOE

Avril, Franck 2008

Barrett, Susan 2003

Boyd, Thomas 1988

Brazeau, Claire 2024

Daniel, Nicholas 2024

Davis, Jonathan 2014-’15

DeAlmeida, Cynthia 1996

Enkells-Green, Elizabeth 1986

Ghez, Ariana 2013

Gilad, Kimaree 1997

Griffiths, Laura 2016-’19

Horn, Stuart 1997

Hove, Carolyn 1991

Huang, Zheng 2004-’06

Hughes, Nathan 2017,’21

Janusch, J. Scott 2001-’02

Kuszyk, Marion Arthur 2002

Lachat, Marc 2023

Lynch, Mary 2021

Michel, Peggy 1996◊

Overturf, Andrea 2009-’15,’17

Parry, Dwight 2007

Paulsen, Scott 1996◊

Pearson, Peggy 2013

Rapp, Orion 2007

Reed, Electra 2002

Reed, Leslie 1993,’95

Resnick, Lelie 2014-’15

Reuter, Gerard 1989-’90

Smith, James Austin 2019

Vogel, Allan 1987-’89,’91-’95,’97-’99, 2008-’10

Wang, Liang 2011-’12,’14-’16,’18

Whelan, Eileen 1994*

Wickes, Lara 2009-’11,’19

Woodhams, Richard 2003-’04,’07,’09

ENGLISH HORN

Hove, Carolyn 1991

CLARINET

Calcara, Tad 1994*

Dover, Mark 2023

D’Rivera, Paquito 2016

Hara, Burt 2003,’05,’07,’11-’16

Lechusza, Alan 2004

Levee, Lorin 2005-’07

Liebowitz, Marian 1986

Livengood, Lee 1991*,’93*

Lonquich, Tommaso 2024

McGill, Anthony 2017-’19,’21-’24

Moffitt, James 2011

Morris, Joseph 2019,’21

Palmer, Todd Darren 1999

Peck, David 1986-’90

Reilly, Teresa 2004,’14,’16,’18

Renk, Frank 1993,’97, 2003-’04,’08-’09,’19

Renk, Sheryl L. 1993-’95, 2001-’02,’04,’08,’11-’13,’17

Risk, Anton 2023

Rosengren, Hakan 1995

Shankar, Jay 2021

Shifrin, David 1986-’87,’92-’93,’96-’98, 2000,’04-’05,’13,’21

Simpson, Mark 2023-‘24

Vänskä, Osmo 2019,’22

Yeh, John Bruce 2001-’02,’04,’08-’14,’16,’18,’22

Zelickman, Robert 2002–’04

BASSET HORN

Eiffert, Taylor 2024

Opferkuch, Max 2024

BASS CLARINET

Howard, David 1990

Renk, Frank 2002,’08-’09

Renk, Sheryl 2002

Yeh, John Bruce 2002

BASSOON

Balliett, Brad 2019,’21-‘22

Buncke, Keith 2016-’18

Farmer, Judith 1997,’99

Fast, Arlen 1993

Goeres, Nancy 1996

Grego, Michele 1991,’94-’95

Katz, Eleni 2023-‘24

Mandell, Peter 1993

Martchev, Valentin E. 2004-’05,’07-’09,’11-’15,’19

Michel, Dennis 1986-’90,’92-’95

Nielubowski, Norbert 1991

Simmons, Ryan 2001-’04,’08,’11-’13,’16-’18

Zamora, Leyla 2009,’14-’15,’17,’24

CONTRABASSOON

Savedoff, Allen 2013

Zamora, Leyla 2008,’17

SAXOPHONE

Marsalis, Branford 2012

Rewoldt, Todd 2007

Sundfor, Paul 2004

HORN

Bain, Andrew 2014

Byrd-Marrow, David 2021-‘22

Dohr, Stefan 2023

Drake, Susanna 1996◊

Folsom, Jerry 1987

Grant, Alan 2003

Gref, Warren 1986,’93, 2001-’02,’04,’07-’10

Hart, Dylan 2018,’21

Jaber, Benjamin 2012-’13

Landsman, Julie 1994-’95◊,’97,2009

Lorge, John 1990,’93,’95◊,2004

McCoy, Mike 2011,’15-’17,’19,’24

Montone, Jennifer 2005,’16-’17,’21,’24

Popejoy, Keith 2002-’04,’07-’11,’13-’15,’17,’19

Ralske, Erik 2012,’18

Ruske, Eric 2013-’14

Skye, Tricia 2009,’11,’17,’24

Thayer, Julie 2013

Todd, Richard 1988-’89,’92-’94,’99, 2004,’07-’09,’11

Toombs, Barry 2002

Torrez, Kaylet 2023-‘24

TRUMPET

Balsom, Alison 2014

Bensdorf, Ethan 2021

Coletti, Chris 2024

Lindemann, Jens 2022

Marotta, Jennifer 2016-’18

Nowak, Ray 2009-’12,’14

Owens, Bill 2010-’11

Perkins, Barry 2004,’09

Price, Calvin 1993,’95,’97

Reynolds, John 2021

Ridenour, Brandon 2023

Ruiz, Eduardo 2021,’23

Shinogle, Ellen 2022

Stevens, Thomas 1991

Washburn, David 2002-’04,’07,’09-’10,’12-’14,’16-’18

Wilds, John 2001

TROMBONE

Buchman, Heather 1993

Gordon, Richard 2004

Hoffman, Mike 2001

Mendiguchia, Kyle 2023

Miller, James 2002,’24

Panos, Alexander J. 2002

Reusch, Sean 2012,’14

Starr, Eric 2022-’23

Trumbore, Rachel 2021

PERCUSSION

Aguilar, Gustavo 2006

Copeland, Stewart 2009

Cossin, David 2006-’07,’09-’10,’12

Derr, Eric 2021

Donahue, Dustin 2012-’14,’19,’21-’24

Dreiman, Perry 1993

Esler, Rob 2006

Ginter, Jason 2009-’12,’18-’19

Hopson, Sidney 2023-‘24

Huang, Aiyun 2002-’03,’16

Mack, Tyler 1993

McCurdy, Roy 2023

GRAND TRADITION

Nestor, Ryan 2018

Nichols, Don 2006

Palter, Morris 2004

Pfiffner, Pat 2012

Plank, Jim 1995◊

Rhoten, Markus 2013

Schick, Steven 1997, 2002-’04,’06,’13,’15,’18,’21

Smith, Bonnie Whiting 2012

Stuart, Greg 2006

Szanto, Jonathan 2001

Takeishi, Satoshi 2005,’13

Yeh, Molly 2014,’16

Yeung, Michael 2024

HARP

Allen, Nancy 2005,’15

Hays, Marian Rian 1986-’87

Hoffman, Deborah 1990,2001,’10-’12

Kibbey, Bridget 2022

Smith-Phillips, Julie 2021,’23-‘24

Sterling, Sheila 2002-’03,’07

PIPA

Wu Man 2003,’10,’15,’17-’18

MANDOLIN

Jewell, Joe 2003

GUITAR

Cato, Louis 2023

Isbin, Sharon 2003

Johnson, Art 2001

Kahane, Gabriel 2012

Mackey, Steven 2001

Romero, Celin 2001

Romero, Pepe 2001

Shibe, Sean 2024

Sprague, Peter 2001

Viapiano, Paul 2003

ELECTRIC GUITAR

Johnson, Derek 2019

DIGITAL SAMPLER

Chen, Yuanlin 2012

VOICE

Boone, Sherri 2002

Bryant, Stephen 2012

Burdette, Kevin 2006

Cairns, Christine 1990

Cano, Jennifer Johnson 2013-’14,’21

Cooke, Sasha 2009,’23

Costanzo, Anthony Roth 2022

Dix, Marjorie Elinor 2003

Duncan, Tyler 2019

Ferguson, William 2006

Fischer, Nora 2019

Gould, Vanisha 2023

Groves, Paul 2023

Hall, Cecelia 2014

Hellekant, Charlotte 2010

Holiday, John 2019

Hong, Haeran 2012-’13

Huang, Ying 2007,’12

Hughs, Evan 2013

Kahane, Gabriel 2012

Kim, Young Bok 2006

Kuznetsova, Dina 2006

Leonard, Isabel 2006

Lindsey, Kate 2007

Markgraf, Kelly 2010,’21

McNair, Sylvia 2001,’07

Molomot, Mark 2006

Morris, Joan 2003

Mumford, Tamara 2008,’18

Murphy, Heidi Grant 2002,’04,’07

Paz, Guadalupe 2021

Pershall, David 2019

Petrova, Lyubov 2015,’17-’18

Phillips, Susanna 2019

Plantamura, Carol 1987

Plenk, Matthew 2013

Putnam, Ashley 1996

Salvant, Cécile McLorin 2019,’22

Saffer, Lisa 1993

Trakas, Chris 2002

Trebnik, Andrea 2000

Trischler, Robin 2019,’22

Wolfson, Sarah 2006

Yeghiazaryan, Lucy 2023

Zetlan, Jennifer 2019

Zhang, Jianyi 2003

NARRATOR/SPOKEN WORD

Adolphe, Bruce 2001

Amendola, Tony 2024

Burstein, Danny 2024

Eichenthal, Gail 1988-’89

Ellsworth, Eleanor 2009

Goldman, Kit 1988

Joseph, Marc Bamuthi 2023

McNair, Sylvia 2007

Mark Pinter 2018

Rubinstein, John 1997, 2002

York, Michael 2009

CONDUCTOR

Adolphe, Bruce 2001

Beattie, Michael 2013

Cohen, Jonathan 2024

Conlon, James 2016-’17

Edmons, Jeff 2010-’13,’16-’17

Gilbert, Alan 2003,’23

Hermanns, Carl 1994-’95

Huang Ruo 2008

Jacobsen, Eric 2021

Kahane, Jeffrey 2006

Kapilow, Robert 2002,’04

Laredo, Jamie 2011

Leppard, Raymond 2013

Lin, Cho-Liang 2011

Ling, Jahja 2006,’09

Litton, Andrew 2004

Mackey, Steven 2008

McGegan, Nicholas 2011,’19

Mickelthwate, Alexander 2007

Morlot, Ludovic 2024

Nagano, Kent 1993,’12

Neikrug, Marc 1997

Newman, Anthony’09-’10

Ohyama, Heiichiro 1988,’90-’97, 2006,’09,’11,’16

Previn, Andre 1990-’91

Salonen, Esa-Pekka 2002

Schick, Steven 2008-’09

Slatkin, Leonard 2014

Swensen, Joseph 2013

Tan Dun 2003,’12

Vanska, Osmo 2019

Zinman, David 2017-’18

ENSEMBLES

Aaron Diehl Trio 2021

Abeo Quartet 2024*

Aestas Trio 2022*

Amelia Piano Trio 2000*

American String Quartet 2007

Amphion String Quartet 2012*

Andre Previn Jazz Trio 1991

Arioso Wind Quintet 1993

Arcadian Academy 2013

Assad Brothers 2011,’14

Attacca Quartet 2021

Australian Chamber Orchestra 2005

Avalon String Quartet 2000*

Balourdet String Quartet 2021*

Beacon Street Trio 2016*

Bettina String Quartet 1996*

BodyVox 2007

Borromeo String Quartet 2000-’01,’10,’15

Brandee Younger Trio 2024

Brentano Quartet 2019

Calder Quartet 2005,’09-’10,’12,’21,’23

Calidore String Quartet 2021

Callisto Quartet 2019*

Cambridge Trio 2018*

Cécile McLorin Salvant 2022

Cohda Trio/Quartet 2024*

Colorado String Quartet 1989-’90

Coolidge String Quartet 1999*

Dance Heginbotham 2022

Danish String Quartet 2016

Dover Quartet 2022

Eclat Quartet 2011*

Ehnes Quartet 2019

Emerson String Quartet 2018

Enso String Quartet 2001*,’03*

Escher String Quartet 2007*,’15-’16

Firebird Quartet 1998*

FLUX Quartet 2014,’16,’18,’21

Formosa Quartet 2008

Gemini Trio 1998*

Goffriller Piano Trio 1999*

Hausmann Quartet 2010*

Huntington Quartet 2015*

Igudesman & Joo 2012

Imani Winds 2006

International Sejong Soloists 2006

Jacques Loussier Trio 2008

Jasper String Quartet 2009*

Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio 2002,’11,’17

KahaneSwensenBrey 2013

Kings Return 2021

La Jolla Symphony 2008-’09

Late Night with Leonard Bernstein 2018

Linden String Quartet 2013*

Louis Cato Trio 2023

Lucy Yeghiazaryan & Vanisha Gould 2023

Malashock Dance 2002

Mark Morris Dance Group 2019

Miami String Quartet 1998,2003-’04

Miró Quartet 2009,’14,’17,’19,’22

Montrose Trio, The 2016

Newbury Trio 2012*

New Orford String Quartet 2018

Old City String Quartet 2011*

Omer Quartet 2014*

Orion String Quartet 1992-’93,2002,’04,’06,’10

Ornati String Quartet 2000*

Pablo Ziegler Classical Tango Quartet 2012

Pacifica Quartet 1995*

Pegasus Trio 2014*

Pelia Quartet 2022*

Phaedrus Quartet 2001*

John Pizzarelli Trio 2018 Quartet Integra 2023*

Real Quiet 2007-’10

red fish blue fish 2004,’08-’09,’15,’19

Regina Carter Quartet 2017

Ridge String Quartet 1991

Rioult 2008

Rodin Trio 2017*

Rolston String Quartet 2018*

SACRA/PROFANA 2013

San Diego Chamber Orchestra 1987-’88

San Diego Master Chorale 2012,’18

San Diego Symphony 1990, 2004

SDYS’ International Youth Symphony 2010-’13,’16-’17

Shanghai Quartet 2003,’07,’13

Silk Road Ensemble 2005

Sonora String Quartet 2008*

St. Lawrence String Quartet 1999

SummerFest Ensembles 1988,’92-’97

Sycamore Trio 2015*

Takács Quartet 2023

The Knights 2022

The Paper Cinema 2024

Time for Three 2015-’16

Tokyo String Quartet 2008,’11,’12

Trio Agape 1998*

Trio Clara 2019*

Trio Syzygy 2021*

Trio Vivo 2013*

trioJEM 2023*

Turtle Island String Quartet 1998

Ulysses Quartet 2017*

Vega String Quartet 2001*

Verona Quartet 2016*

VOCES8 2024

Wayne Shorter Quartet 2006

Westwind Brass 1994-’95,’97

Xando Quartet 1999*

Zukerman Trio 2016

VISITING COMPOSER

Adams, John 2002

Adès, Thomas 2023-‘24

Adolphe, Bruce 1998-2003,2005-’06

Ali-Zadeh, Franghiz 2003

Anderson, Julian 2014

Assad, Clarice 2015

Assad, Sergio 2014

Bermel, Derek 2015

Bolcom, William 2003

Chen Yi 2004

Copeland, Stewart 2009

Corea, Chick 2004

Dalbavie, Marc-Andre 2012

Dean, Brett 2010

Del Tredici, David 2013

Dutton, Brent 1997

Frank, Gabriela Lena 2021

Golijov, Osvaldo 1999

Hamelin, Marc-Andre 2016

Harbison, John 2002,’13

Hartke, Stephen 2014

Hoffman, Joel 2015

Huang Ruo 2008

Kahane, Gabriel 2012

Kapilow, Robert 2002,’04

Kirchner, Leon 2006

Lang, David 2019

Lindberg, Magnus 2006

Loussier, Jacques 2008

Mackey, Steven 2001,’08

Meyer, Edgar 1996

Neikrug, Marc 1997,’07,’21

O’Connor, Mark 2001,’05,’09

Powell, Mel 1989

Previn, Andre 1990,’96

Rouse, Christopher 2005,’10

Salonen, Esa-Pekka 2002

Schoenfield, Paul 2009

Schifrin, Lalo 2005

Schuller, Gunther 2009

Shaw, Caroline 2022

Sheng, Bright 1993, 2004,’06,’10

Shepherd, Sean 2011,’16

Shorter, Wayne 2006

Stucky, Steven 2013

Tan Dun 2003,’12

Thomas, Augusta Read 2000

Tower, Joan 2000,’07,’11

Tsontakis, George 2009

Ung, Chinary 2003,’10

Wong, Cynthia Lee 2011

Ye, Xiaogang 2017

Zigman, Aaron 2021

Zwilich, Ellen Taaffe 2011

CHOREOGRAPHER

Greene, Allyson 2005-’06

Harper, Francesca 2023

Heginbotham, John 2022

Malashock, John 1994, 2002

DANCER

Teicher, Caleb 2024

Whelan, Wendy 2023

DIRECTOR

Jolles, Annette 2024

Winokur, Zack 2022

SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE

Bromberger, Eric 2014-’18

Kogan, Richard 2014

Pollack, Howard 2013

Reveles, Nicolas 2016

Taruskin, Richard 2015

Sam Zygmuntowicz 2018

LECTURER & GUEST SPEAKER

Adamson, Robert, M.D. 2001

Adolphe, Bruce 1999

Agus, Ayke 2003

Allison, John 2000

Amos, David 1994

Barnatan, Inon 2023

Bell, Diane 2001

Beres, Tiffany Wai-Ying 2017

Boles, Allison 2017-’20,’23-‘24

Brandfonbrener, Alice G. 2002

Bromberger, Eric 1988-’96,’98-2009,’11-’13,’19-‘21

Brooks, Geoffrey 1988

Brown Montesano, Kristi 2019,’22-’24

Cassedy, Steve 2007-’10,’12-’14,’16

Chapman, Alan 1988

Child, Fred 2001-’06

da Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna 2024

Davies, Hugh 2000

DeLay, Dorothy 2001

Drexler, Dave 2022

Eichenthal, Gail 1987

Epstein, Steven 2001

Erwine, Dan 2000-’01

Fay, Laurel 1991

Feldman, Michael 1999-2000

Fiorentino, Dan 2003

Flaster, Michael 2001

Gatehouse, Adam 2000

Gerdes, Michael 2022-’24

Guzelimian, Ara 1987,’89-’90,’23-‘24

Hampton, Jamey 2007

Hanor, Stephanie 2003

Harris, L. John 2001

Helzer, Rick 2006

Hermanns, Carl 1997

Hughes, Robert John 2019,’21

Koner, Karen 2023

Lamont, Lee 2002

Liang, Lei 2017

Longenecker, Martha W. 2003

Malashock, John 2000

Mehta, Nuvi 2010,’16-’17

Mello, Scott 2022

Mobley, Mark 2001-’03

Morel, Rene 2000

Noda, Ken 2000

O’Connor, Sandra Day 2004

Overton, Marcus 2000-’01,2004-’18

Paige, Aaron 2021

Pak, Jung-Ho 2001

Perl, Neale 2000-’01

Prichard, Laura 2021

Puryear, Molly 2023-‘24

Quill, Shauna 2005

Reveles, Nicolas 1994-’95,’99,2000,’11,’13-’14,‘18-’19,’21

Roden, Steve 2007

Rodewald, Albert 1990

Roe, Benjamin K. 2001,’04-’05,’10

Rosenthal, Leah Z. 2010-’24

Roland, Ashley 2007

Ross, Alex 2019,’21-’23

Ruggiero, Dianna 2011

Russell, Claudia 2008,’18

Salzman, Mark 2001

Sanroman, Lucia 2007

Scher, Valerie 2000-’01

Schick, Steven 2010,’21

Schomer, Paul 2001

Schultz, Eric 2003-’04

Shaheen, Ronald 2007-’08

Silver, Jacquelyne 1994,’96-’97

Smith, Ken 2000

Stein, Leonard 1992

Steinberg, Russell 2007-’11

Stevens, Jane R. 1991

Stokes, Cynthia 2011

Sullivan, Jack 2000

Sutro, Dirk 2001-’04

◊ SummerFest Ensembles

* Fellowship Artists, Workshop participant ^ in collaboration with the University Art Gallery, UC San Diego

# in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego

BOLD Newcomers to SummerFest

GRAND TRADITION

Teachout, Terry 2000

Valenzuela, Ruben 2012

Varga, George 2004

Walens, Stanley 2007,’11

Walker, Jennifer 2022

Wallace, Helen 2000

Willett, John 1991

Winter, Robert 1987, 2000

Yeung, Angela 2008

Youens, Susan 2012

Yung, Gordon, M.D. 2001

VISUAL ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

Cook, Tristan 2019-’24

Chihuly, Dale 2000^

Curry, Stephen P. 2001 # Engle, Madelynne 1996

Farber, Manny 1997

Fitch, Doug 2019,’21

Fonseca, Caio 1998-’99^,’19

Ohyama, Gail 1986-’95

Roden, Steve 2007 #

Rodig, Lutz 2019

Rozin, Daniel 2021

Scanga, Italo 2000^

Smithey, Zack 2019

Zamora, Michelle 2019

SUMMERFEST MUSIC & ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

Inon Barnatan 2019-’24

Lin, Cho-Liang 2001-’18

Finckel, David and Wu Han 1998-2000 Ohyama, Heiichiro 1986-’97

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2024–25

Vivian Lim – Chair

Bert Cornelison – Vice Chair

Mary Ellen Clark - Treasurer

Stacy Kellner Rosenberg - Secretary

Stephen L. Baum

David Belanich

Marla Bingham

Eleanor Y. Charlton

Ric Charlton

Sharon Cohen

Ellise Coit

Peter Cooper

Ann Parode Dynes

Jennifer Eve

Debby Fishburn

Stephen Gamp

Lehn Goetz

John Hesselink

Susan Hoehn

LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY STAFF

Diana Lombrozo

Sue Major

Richard A. Norling

Arman Oruc

Tom Rasmussen

Sylvia Ré

Sheryl Scarano

Marge Schmale

Stephanie Stone

Debra Turner

H. Peter Wagener

Lise Wilson

Bebe L. Zigman

HONORARY DIRECTORS

Brenda Baker

Stephen L. Baum

Raffaella Belanich

Joy Frieman, Ph.D.

Irwin M. Jacobs

Joan Jacobs (1933—2024)

Lois Kohn (1924—2010)

Helene K. Kruger (1916—2019)

Conrad Prebys (1933—2016)

Peggy Preuss

Ellen Revelle (1910—2009)

Leigh P. Ryan, Esq.

Dolly Woo

*Listing as of July 1, 2024

Todd R. Schultz – President & CEO | Leah Rosenthal – Artistic Director | Inon Barnatan – SummerFest Music Director

ADMINISTRATION

Brady Stender – Controller

Breanne Self - Human Resources and Finance Manager

PROGRAMMING & PRODUCTION

Grace Smith – Artistic Planning and Operations Director

Meghann Veynar – Production Manager

Anne-Marie Dicce – Artistic Planning Manager

Juliet Zimmer – Venue Sales Manager

George Pritzker – Artistic Operations Coordinator

Lauren Cernik-Price – Production Coordinator & Stage Manager

John Tessmer – Lead Artist Liaison

Maya Greenfield-Thong – Artist Liaison

Eric Bromberger – Program Annotator

Sam Bedford – Primary Stage Manager

Madison Mercado – Assistant Stage Manager

Amelia Simpson – Assistant Stage Manager

Jonnel Domilos – Piano Technician

OPERATIONS

Tom Jones – Director of Facilities & Technology

Colin Dickson – Facilities Coordinator

Tyler Merrihew – Technical Coordinator – Audio Lead

Kim Chevallier – Security Supervisor

Benjamin Maas – Recording Engineer

Lori Lopez – Recording Assistant

Ella Markus – Recording Assistant

LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT

Allison Boles – Director of Learning & Engagement

Jade Lewenhaupt – Learning & Engagement Coordinator

Altana Schweitzer – SummerFest Artistic/Learning & Engagement Assistant

Serafin Paredes – Community Music Center Director

Aimee Alvarado – Community Music Center Administrative Assistant

Community Music Center Instructors:

Juan Tomás Acosta, Marcus Cortez, Ian Lawrence,

Marko Paul, Eduardo Ruiz, Juan Sanchez, Rebeca Tamez

DEVELOPMENT

Ferdinand Gasang – Director of Development

Camille McPherson – Individual Giving & Grants Officer

Anne Delleman – Development Manager

Wadeaa Jubran – Development Coordinator

Nicole Slavik – Special Events & Catering Director

Vivian Vu – Special Events Coordinator

MARKETING & TICKET SERVICES

Mary Cook – Director of Marketing

Stephanie Saad Thompson – Communications & Public Relations Director

David Silva – Marketing Manager

Cristal Salow – Data & Marketing Analysis Manager

Mariel Pillado – Graphic Designer

Marsi Bennion – Box Office & Guest Services Manager

Patrick Mayuyu – Box Office & Guest Services Assistant Manager

Kaitlin Barron Lupton – Box Office & Guest Services Lead Associate

Sam Crowley – Box Office & Guest Services Associate

Mitch Maker – Box Office & Guest Services Associate

Shaun Davis – House Manager

TRANSFORMATIVE SUPPORT

Our gratitude to these Medallion Society Pillars founding members who have made significant four-year commitments that will help us better serve all of the San Diego region. The Conrad can be a catalyst to bring thousands of adults and children together through a common appreciation of the performing arts, which enhance the artistic fabric of our community.

$1 MILLION and above

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

$400,000 and above

Raffaella and John* Belanich

$400,000 and above

Debbie Turner

$1 MILLION and above

Irwin and Joan* Jacobs

$500,000 and above

Dorothea Laub

$400,000 and above

Mary Ellen Clark

$200,000 and above

Julie and Bert Cornelison

$400,000 and above

Jacqueline and Jean-Luc Robert

$200,000 and above

Herbert Solomon and Elaine Galinson

$200,000 and above

Keith and Helen Kim

$200,000 and above

Haeyoung Kong Tang

$200,000 and above

Angel and Fred Kleinbub

$200,000 and above

Sue and Peter Wagener

$200,000 and above

Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

THANK YOU!

The wonderful array of musical activity that La Jolla Music Society offers would not be possible without support from its family of donors. Your contributions help bridge the gap between income from ticket sales and the total cost to present the finest musicians and the best chamber music repertoire in San Diego. Your generosity also supports our programs in local schools and throughout the community.

FESTIVAL FOUNDING UNDERWRITERS

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

SYNERGY INITIATIVE UNDERWRITER

Clara Wu Tsai

SUMMERFEST MUSIC DIRECTOR UNDERWRITERS

Raffaella and John* Belanich

In addition to our Underwriters, the following pages pay tribute to all of our partners who make it possible to share the magic of the performing arts with our community.

FESTIVAL SPONSORS, CHAIRS, AND HOSTS

SummerFest Chair

Sue Wagener

Gala Chair

Maureen Shiftan

Artist Hosting Committee

Brenda Baker

Martha Bingham

Vivian Lim

Sheryl Scarano

Maureen Shiftan

Sue Wagener

Dolly Woo

Festival Founding Underwriters

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

The Synergy Initiative Producers

Inon Barnatan

Clara Wu Tsai

SummerFest Music Director Underwriters

Raffaella and John* Belanich

Medallion Society and Festival Sponsors

Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

Jeff Barnouw

Raffaella and John* Belanich

Mary Ann Beyster

Ginny* and Bob Black

Karen and James Brailean

Lisa Braun-Glazer and Jeff Glazer

Gordon Brodfuehrer

Eleanor and Ric Charlton

Mary Ellen Clark

Julie and Bert Cornelison

Jendy Dennis Endowment Fund

Martha and Ed Dennis

Silvija and Brian Devine

Barbara Enberg

Sue and Chris Fan

Joy Frieman

Wendy Frieman

Pam and Hal Fuson

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon

Peg and Buzz Peg Gitelson

Lehn and Richard Goetz

Brenda and Michael Goldbaum

Margaret and Michael Grossman

John Hesselink

Teresa and Harry Hixson

Joan* and Irwin Jacobs

Theresa Jarvis

Jo Kiernan

Helen and Keith Kim

Angel and Fred Kleinbub

Dorothea Laub

Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

Viviana and Enrique Lombrozo

Kathleen and Ken Lundgren

Elaine and Doug Muchmore

Arlene and Louis Navias

Susan Shirk and Sam Popkin

Peggy and Peter Preuss

Sylvia and Steven Ré

Catherine Rivier

Jacqueline and Jean-Luc Robert

Stacy and Don Rosenberg

Leigh P. Ryan

Sheryl and Bob Scarano

Marge and Neal Schmale

Maureen and Tom Shiftan

Jeanette Stevens

Gloria and Rodney Stone

Haeyoung Kong Tang

Debra Turner

Susan and Richard Ulevitch

Sue and Peter Wagener

Abby and Ray Weiss

Dolly and Victor Woo

Clara Wu Tsai

Anna and Edward Yeung

Bebe and Marvin Zigman

Anonymous (2)

Festival Hosts

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

Mary Ann Beyster

Marla Bingham and Gary Gallagher

Alicia and Rocky Booth

Jane Burns and John Gordon

Mary Caffery and Marty Stein

Linda Christensen and Gonzalo Ballon-Landa

Mary Ellen Clark

Julie and Bert Cornelison

Ann Craig

Martha and Ed Dennis

Carol Diggs

Barbara Enberg

Jennifer and Kurt Eve

Sue and Chris Fan

Diane and Elliot Feuerstein

Eve and David Fine

Beverly Fipp

Lisa Braun-Glazer and Jeff Glazer

Lehn and Ritch Goetz

Cindy and Tom Goodman

Patricia Heestand

John Hesselink

Irwin Jacobs

Diane and John Kane

Angel and Fred Kleinbub

Karen Kohlberg

Marilee and Peter Kovacs

Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

Sara Long and Simon Fang

Diana Vines and John Maulgen

Margaret McKeown and Peter Cowhey

Susan Minnicks

Elaine and Doug Muchmore

Garna Muller

Rimma and Jay Rosenberg

Cindy Rosenthal

Collette and Ivor Royston

Carol Rynard

Stacy and Don Rosenberg

Arlene and Peter Sacks

Jane Sagerman

Sheryl and Bob Scarano

Clifford Schireson and John Venekamp

Marge and Neal Schmale

Maureen and Tom Shiftan

Robert Singer

Elizabeth Taft

Haeyoung Kong Tang

Susan and Richard Ulevitch

Kathleen Vaughan

Sue and Peter Wagener

Abby and Ray Weiss

Lise Wilson and Steve Strauss

Dolly and Victor Woo

Sissy Xie

Susan and Gavin Zau

Listing as of July 1, 2023

* in memorium

ANNUAL SUPPORT

La Jolla Music Society depends on contributed income for more than 60% of its annual budget. We are grateful to all of our contributors who share our enthusiams and passion for the arts. Every donor is a valued partner and they make it possible for one of San Diego’s premier music organizations to present year-round.

It is our honor to recognize the following donors.

FOUNDER

($250,000 and above) ANGEL

($100,000 - $249,999)

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

Wendy Brody Estate

The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture

Mary Ellen Clark

The Conrad Prebys Foundation

Joan* and Irwin Jacobs

Anna and Edward Yeung

Raffaella and John* Belanich

Lynda Fox Estate

Dorothea Laub

Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert

Debra Turner

Clara Wu Tsai and Joseph Tsai

BENEFACTOR

($50,000 - $99,999)

Eleanor and Ric Charlton

Peter Cooper and Erik Matwijkow

Julie and Bert Cornelison

Silvija and Brian Devine

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon

Lehn and Richard Goetz

Helen and Keith Kim

Angelina and Fredrick Kleinbub

Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

Marge and Neal Schmale

Haeyoung Kong Tang

Sue and Peter Wagener

Bebe and Marvin Zigman

GUARANTOR

($25,000 - $49,999)

Mary Ann Beyster

Marla Bingham and Gary Gallagher

Gordon Brodfuehrer

Karen and Don Cohn

Barbara Enberg

Jennifer and Kurt Eve

Ingrid and Theodore Friedmann

Jeanne Herberger

John Hesselink

Susan and Bill Hoehn

The Lodge at Torrey Pines

Diana and Eli Lombrozo

Viviana and Enrique Lombrozo

Sue and John Major

Arlene and Lou Navias

Jeanne and Rick Norling

The Parker Foundation

ProtoStar Foundation

Sylvia and Steve Ré

Stacy and Don Rosenberg

Sheryl and Bob Scarano

Jeanette Stevens

Elizabeth and Joseph* Taft Revocable Trust

Vail Memorial Fund

Abby and Ray Weiss

Lise Wilson and Steven Strauss

SUSTAINER

($15,000 - $24,999)

Judith Bachner and Dr. Eric L. Lasley

Banc of California | Stephen Gamp

Jim Beyster

Café Coyote and Rancho Coyote Wines

California Arts Council

Sharon L. Cohen

Ellise and Michael Coit

Jendy Dennis Endowment Fund

Dr. Seuss Foundation

Ann Parode Dynes and Robert Dynes

Monica Fimbres

Debby and Wain Fishburn

Hal and Pam Fuson

Elisa and Rick Jaime

Jo Kiernan

Andy Nahas

Peggy and Peter Preuss

Thomas Rasmussen and Clayton Lewis

Maureen and Thomas Shiftan

Dagmar Smek and Arman Oruc

Stephanie and Nick Stone

SUPPORTER

($10,000 - $14,999)

Anonymous

Celeste and Timothy Bailey

Jeff Barnouw

Valerie and Harry Cooper

County of San Diego Community Enhancement Fund

Una Keyes Davis and Jack McGrory

Martha and Edward Dennis

Nina and Robert Doede

Sue and Chris Fan

Pamela Farr and Buford Alexander

Joy Frieman

Wendy Frieman

Brenda and Michael Goldbaum

Ingrid Hibben

Marilee and Peter Kovacs

Elaine and Doug Muchmore

Samuel Popkin and Susan Shirk

ResMed Foundation

Susan and Stephen Schutz

June and Doctor Bob Shillman

Iris and Matthew Strauss

ANNUAL SUPPORT

AMBASSADOR

($5,000 - $9,999)

Anonymous (2)

Arleene Antin and Leonard Ozerkis

Brad and Gigi Benter

Carolyn and Giovanni Bertussi

Ginny* and Bob Black

Karen and Jim Brailean

Lisa and David Casey

Eric Cohen and Bill Coltellaro

The Hon. Diana Lady Dougan

Beverly Fredrick

Sarah and Mike Garrison

Buzz and Peg Gitelson

Lisa Braun Glazer and Jeff Glazer

Lynn Gorguze and The Hon. Scott Peters

Margaret Stevens Grossman and Michael Grossman

Richard Harris and Sonya Celeste-Harris

Norma Hidalgo-Del Rio

Nellie High-Iredale

Barbara and Paul Hirshman

Teresa and Harry Hixson

Theresa Jarvis

Barbara Kjos

Kate Leonard and Richard Forsyth

Sylvia Liwerant

Barbara Loonin

Kathleen and Ken Lundgren

Jain Malkin

Gail and Edward Miller

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Linda Platt

Vivien Ressler

Catherine Rivier

James Robbins and Jill Esterbrooks

Kathleen Roche-Tansey and David Tansey

Leigh P. Ryan

Joan and Jack Salb Estate

Clifford Schireson and John Venekamp

Todd R. Schultz

Reesey and David Shaw

Gigi and Joe Shurman

Gerald and Susan Slavet

Diane and DJ Smith

Gloria and Rod Stone

Gwynn and Brian Thomas

Susan and Richard Ulevitch

Ayse Underhill

Mary L. Walshok

Erika Walter*

Lisa Widmier

Armi and Al Williams

Shara Williams and Benjamin Brand

Mary and Joseph Witztum

Dolly and Victor Woo

AFICIONADO

($2,500 - $4,999)

Anonymous

Judith Adler

Emily and Barry Berkov

Abdul Rahman Bitar

William Boggs

DeAnn Cary

Carol and Jeff Chang

June Chocheles

Julie and Robert Cowan Novak

D'Addario Foundation

Debbe Deverill

Phyllis and Dan Epstein

Diane and Elliot Feuerstein

Richard Forsyth

Cheryl Hintzen-Gaines and Ira Gaines

Virginia Graham

Carrie Greenstein

Lori Haynes

Ida Houby and Bill Miller

Susan and David Kabakoff

Sallay and Tae Kim

Veronica and Miguel Leff

Christine and Charles Lo

Muchnic Foundation

Marina and Rafael Pastor

Nancy Linke Patton and Rip Patton

Robert and Allison Price

Carol Randolph and Robert Caplan

Eva and Doug Richman

Noni and Drew Senyei

Stephanie and Steve Steinberg

Diana and Roger Van Duzer

Yvonne E. Vaucher

Carol Young

ASSOCIATE

($1,000 - $2,499)

Anonymous (3)

Albertsons-Safeway Foundation

Jadwiga Alexiewicz

Dede and Mike Alpert

Axel's Gift

David and Yasna Belanich

Ryan Bordelon

James Carter

Michael and Cathy Casteel

Kathleen Charla

Anthony Chong and Annette Nguyen

Ann Rea Craig

Caroline DeMar

Linda and Wallace Dieckmann

Renee and James Dunford

Lyndie and Sam* Ersan

July F. Galper

Carol* and Lawrence Gartner

Anne Graves

Lee Ann Groshong

Pamela Hamilton Lester

Carol Harter and William Smith

Linda Howard

Lulu Hsu

Dwight Kellogg

Melvin Knyper

James Kralik and Yunli Lou

Robin Luby

Eileen A. Mason

Dennis McConnell and Kimberly Kassner

M. Margaret McKeown and Peter Cowhey

Ted McKinney

Eleanor Merl

Virginia Meyer

Sandra Miner

Anne and John Minteer

Chandra Mukerji

Brian Munden

Virginia Oliver

Sandra Redman

Arlene and Peter Sacks

Anne and Ronald Simon

Robert Singer

David and Phyllis Snyder

Dale and Mark Steele

Lester Stiel

Jean Sullivan and David Nassif

Molly Thornton

Pam Wagner

Karen M. Walter

Jo Weiner

Karen and Richard P. Wilson

Christy and Howard Zatkin

Bart Ziegler

FRIEND

($500 - $999)

Anonymous (4)

K Andrew Achterkirchen

The Leonard B. and Martha M.

Allen Fund

Elise Angel

Terence Balagia

Mary and Gene Barduson

Carol and Bruce Boles

Edwin Chen

Diane and David Child

Thayne Clark

Betty Clarquist

Robert Conn

Jeanette Day

Sandra and Henry Den Uijl

Marilou Dense

Linda and Rick Dicker

Gail Donahue

Kim Doren

Joyce and Paul Dostart

Jeane Erley

Irene and Eduardo Feller

Jack C. Fisher

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

Barbara Giammona

Beth Goodman

Cynthia and Tom Goodman

John Gordon and Jane Burns

Patt and Jeff Hall

Laura Henson Hueter and Geof-

frey Hueter

Sofia and Leon Kassel

Kathleen Kovacs

Carol Lynne Krumhansl

Lewis Leicher

Greg Lemke

Patricia and Stephen Lending

Charles Letourneau

Ann and Gerald Lipschitz

Elizabeth Lucas

Linda and Michael Mann

Nita Mehta

Debra Medel

Desiree Michelle

Betsy Mitchell

Esther Nahama

Norman Needel

Rosalva Parada

Sigrid Pate

Kirk L. Peterson

Dana and Stella Pizzuti

Paula M. Pottinger

Jacqueline Powell

Mikhail Prishchepa

Sharon Rearwin

Sasha Richards

Clark Ritter and John Gowan

Esther Rodriguez

Barry Rosenbush

James F. Sallis

Denise Selati

Michael Sellett

Tatjana Soli

Tom Son

Mary Sophos and William Pitts

Annemarie and Leland Sprinkle

Lisa Stennes-Laikind

Karen L. Valentino

Victor A. Van Lint

Paul Viani

Cynthia Walk

Ruth Waterman

Patricia and Christopher Weil

Suhaila White

Joyce Williams

Olivia and Martin Winkler

Bonnie J. Wright

Barbara and Michel Zelnick

ENTHUSIAST

($250 - $499)

Anonymous

Robin Allgren

Mr. Rogerio Ampudia

Sue Andreasen

Christine and Craig Andrews

Bruce H. Athon

Steve Axel

Youn Joo Bae

Mary Lonsdale Baker

Gayle Barsamian and David

Clapp

Clyde Beck

C M Boyer

Ms. Donna Gray Bowersox

Linda Brown

Scott Brinkerhoff

Debirah Carnick

Linda Christensen and Gonzalo

Ballon-Landa

Kathy Chambery

Tiffany Chow

Patty and Jim Clark

Amy Corton

Linda Cory Allen

Jeffrey Cullen

Mrs. Lesley Davis

Dr. Zofia Dziewanowska

Gerhard Engel

Lucy and Stephen Eskeland

Juan C. Figueroa

Bruce Galanter

Tony Gild

Hany Magdy Girgis

Phyllis and Morris Gold

John Graul

Lola and Walter Green

Margie and Paul Grossman

Andrea Harris

Phyllis and Gordon Harris

Terence J. Hart

Walter Hickey

Christine Hickman and Dennis

Ragen

Vivian and Greg Hook

Patricia Jasper

David K. Jordan

Diane and John Kane

H. and Susan Koshkarian

Marti Kutnik

Carolynn La Pierre

Leslie Learn

Linda Low-Kalkstein and Allen

Kalkstein

Ms. Margo Maeder

Patricia Manners

Mr. Neil Marmor

Jim Martin

Maggie and Paul Meyer

Pamela and Martin Morris

Richard Obetz

Antje Olivie

Pascual Ortiz Rubio

Renee Levine Packer

Elizabeth Phelps

Carol Plantamura

Joely Pritzker

Bill Purves and Don Schmidt

Ellen M. Quandahl

Rick Rand

Barbara Rosen and Bob Fahey

Carolyn Rynard

Jane and Eric Sagerman

Alice and Brad Saunders

Hermeen Scharaga

Sharron Seal

Deborah Serra

Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz

Julie Swain

Lee Talner

Gayle and Philip Tauber

Ms. Anne Turhollow

Joy Vaccari

Jen-Yi Wang

Jo Weiner

Suzanne Weiner

Carol West

Paul Woody

Margaret Wypart

Tanya Young and Michael McManus

*in memoriam

DANCE SOCIETY GIFTS IN HONOR/MEMORY

HONORARIA GRANDE JETÉ

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon

Bebe and Marvin Zigman

JETÉ

Marla Bingham and Gary Gallagher

ARABESQUE

Ellise and Michael Coit

Jeanette Stevens

POINTE

Carolyn Bertussi

We are grateful for each patron for their passion and support of our dance programs.

In Memory of John Belanich:

Martha and Ed Dennis

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

Todd Schultz

In Memory of Bjorn Bjerede:

Anonymous

Jenna Aviano

Martha and Edward Dennis

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

Wendy G. and Greg Hein

James Hobza

Jo Kiernan

Amy and Bill Morris

Michael Laprey

Pat M. Laprey

Patricia Laprey

Annemarie and Leland Sprinkle

Maggie S. Wolfe-Johnson

In Honor of Ginny Black:

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

In Honor of Maureen Clancy: Lester and Elizabeth Stiel

In Honor of Ferdie Gasang: Benjamin Guercio

In Memory of Joan Jacobs:

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

Todd Schultz

John Venekamp and Clifford Schireson

In Memory of Teddie Lewis:

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

Dolly Woo

In Honor of Dr. Oleson: Susan Dramm

In Honor of Leah Rosenthal: Bart Ziegler

In Memory of Joanne Snider:

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

Jud, LeeAnn, and Tyler Groshong

Glenn Mosier

Kevin Pearson and Stephen Murphy

Renee Roth

Reissa Schrager-Cole and Hilary Cole

Kerry Symonds

Dolly and Victor Woo

In Memory of Alan Springer: Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

Barbara Maggio

In Honor of Susan and Richard Ulevitch:

Leslie Simon

In Honor of the marriage of David Ulevitch and Stephanie Nass: Susan and Richard Ulevitch

In Memory of Mrs. Erika Walter and in honor of Dr. Johannes Walter: KyungAh Chung-Benedetti

PLANNED GIVING / ENDOWMENT

LEGACY SOCIETY

Anonymous (2)

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

June L. Bengston*

Joan Jordan Bernstein

Bjorn Bjerede and Jo Kiernan

Dr. James C. and Karen A. Brailean

Gordon Brodfuehrer

Wendy Brody*

Barbara Buskin*

Trevor Callan

Geoff and Shem Clow

Anne and Robert Conn

George and Cari Damoose*

Teresa and Merle Fischlowitz*

Lynda Fox*

Ted and Ingrid Friedmann

Joy and Ed* Frieman

Sally Fuller

Maxwell H. and Muriel S. Gluck*

Dr. Trude Hollander*

Eric Lasley

Theodora Lewis*

Joani Nelson*

Maria and Dr. Philippe Prokocimer

Bill Purves

Darren and Bree Reinig

Jay W. Richen*

Leigh P. Ryan

Jack and Joan Salb*

Johanna Schiavoni

Pat Shank

Reesey Shaw and David Joseph Shaw, M.D.

Drs. Joseph and Gloria Shurman

Karen and Christopher Sickels

Todd R. Schultz

Jeanette Stevens

Elizabeth and Joseph* Taft

Norma Jo Thomas

Dr. Yvonne E. Vaucher

Lucy and Ruprecht von Buttlar

Ronald Wakefield*

John B. and Cathy Weil

Carolyn Yorston-Wellcome and H. Barden Wellcome*

Karl and Joan Zeisler

Josephine Zolin

*in memoriam

REMEMBERING LJMS IN YOUR WILL

It is easy to make a bequest to La Jolla Music Society, and no amount is too small to make a difference.

Here is a sample of language that can be incorporated into your will:

“I hereby give ___% of my estate (or specific assets) to La Jolla Music Society, Tax ID 23-7148171, 7600 Fay Avenue, La Jolla, CA 92037, for its artistic programs (or education, general operating, or where needed most)."

Then, please contact Ferdinand Gasang at FGasang@TheConrad.org or 858.526.3426 and let him know you have included LJMS in your estate plans.

The Legacy Society recognizes those generous individuals who have chosen to provide for La Jolla Music Society’s future. Members have remembered La Jolla Music Society in their estate plans in many ways—through their wills, retirement gifts, life income plans, and many other creative planned giving arrangements. We thank them for their vision and hope you will join this very special group of friends. If you have included LJMS in your estate plans, please let us know so we may recognize you. Contact Ferdinand Gasang at FGasang@TheConrad.org or 858.526.3426.

MEDALLION SOCIETY

CROWN JEWEL

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

Joan* and Irwin Jacobs

DIAMOND

Raffaella and John* Belanich

Mary Ellen Clark

Dorothea Laub

Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert

Debra Turner

RUBY

Julie and Bert Cornelison

Silvija and Brian Devine

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon

Helen and Keith Kim

Angelina and Fred Kleinbub

Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

Haeyoung Kong Tang

Sue and Peter Wagener

Anna and Edward Yeung

EMERALD

Barbara Enberg

Arlene and Louis Navias

GARNET

Pam and Hal Fuson

Peggy and Peter Preuss

SAPPHIRE

Raymond Chinn

John Hesselink

Elaine and Doug Muchmore

Elizabeth and Joseph* Taft

Bebe and Marvin Zigman

TOPAZ

Anonymous

Jeff Barnouw

Mary Ann Beyster

Virginia* and Robert Black

James C. and Karen A. Brailean

Buzz and Peg Gitelson

Lisa Braun-Glazer and Jeff Glazer

Brenda and Michael Goldbaum

Margaret Stevens Grossman and Michael Grossman

Theresa Jarvis

Kathleen and Ken Lundgren

Don and Stacy Rosenberg

Leigh P. Ryan

Sheryl and Bob Scarano

Neal and Marge Schmale

Susan and Gerald Slavet

Diane and DJ Smith

Jeanette Stevens

Gloria and Rodney Stone

Susan and Richard Ulevitch

Shara Williams and Benjamin Brand

Dolly and Victor Woo

*in memoriam

We are honored to have this extraordinary group of friends who have made multi-year commitments to La Jolla Music Society, ensuring that the artistic quality and vision we bring to the community continues to grow.

TERRA LAWSON-REMER

JOIN OUR FAMILY

For more than 50 years, La Jolla Music Society has nurtured a love of music by keeping one vision in mind: To present diverse programs of great music performed by the best musicians in the world. Today, that vision has reached beyond the intimate beauty of the chamber music ensemble and into new and diverse offerings such as orchestras, jazz ensembles, dance companies, renowned speakers, and robust education programs.

This impressive growth has been carefully conducted by an active and highly committed volunteer board of directors and dedicated staff. But most importantly, La Jolla Music Society’s progress has been sustained by the generosity of the community and ticket buyers.

TheConrad.org/donate

To make a donation by phone or if you are interested in sponsoring an artist, concert, an artistic or learning & engagement program, please contact Ferdinand Gasang, Director of Development, at 858.526.3426 or FGasang@TheConrad.org

Classical Music Festivals of the West 2024

CALIFORNIA

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music cabrillomusic.org

Santa Cruz, CA

July 29-August 11

Carmel Bach Festival bachfestival.org

Carmel, CA

July 13-27

In loving memory of Steve Friedlander

La Jolla Music Society SummerFest

TheConrad.org

La Jolla, CA

July 26-August 24

Mainly Mozart

All-Star Orchestra Festival mainlymozart.org

La Jolla, CA

June 20-29

Music@Menlo musicatmenlo.org

Atherton, CA

July 19-August 10

COLORADO

NEW MEXICO

Aspen Music Festival and School

aspenmusicfestival.com

Aspen, CO

June 26-August 18

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival santafechambermusic.org

Santa Fe, NM

July 14-August 19

Bravo! Vail Music Festival bravovail.org

Vail, CO

June 20-August 1

OREGON

Chamber Music

Northwest Summer Festival cmnw.org

Colorado Music Festival

coloradomusicfestival.org

Boulder, CO

July 5-August 4

IDAHO

Strings Music Festival stringsmusicfestival.com

Steamboat Springs, CO

June 21-August 25

Sun Valley Music Festival svmusicfestival.org

Sun Valley, ID

July 29-August 22

Portland, OR

June 27-July 28

Oregon Bach Festival oregonbachfestival.org

Eugene, OR

June 28-July 14

WASHINGTON

Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival seattlechambermusic.org

Seattle, WA

July 1-26

WYOMING

Grand Teton Music Festival gtmf.org

Jackson, WY

June 27-August 17

Photo: Jenna Poppe

Photo: Chris Lee

Photo: Tom Cohen

Photo: Steven Ovitsky

Photo: J. Kat Photography

Photo: Lovethearts

Photo: Eric Berlin

LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY

Board of Trustees

Edward A. Dennis, PhD Chairman

Mary F. Berglund, PhD Treasurer

Peter C. Farrell, PhD, DSc Secretary

Charles G. Cochrane, MD

Michael P. Coppola, MD

Anthony DeMaria, MD

Sir Neil Douglas, MD, DSc, FRCPE

Klaus Schindhelm, BE PhD

Jonathan Schwartz, MD

Kristi Burlingame Executive Director

"Candor is La Jolla's hidden gem!"

Brian L. — Tripadvisor

OCTOBER

FRED HERSCH* & ANAT COHEN*

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2024 · 5 PM & 7:30 PM Concerts @ The JAI

AIDA CUEVAS*

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2024 · 7 PM Global Roots Series · Balboa Theatre

CHRIS BOTTI

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2024 · 7 PM Jazz Series · Balboa Theatre

ABEL SELAOCOE & BANTU ENSEMBLE*

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2024 · 7:30 PM ProtoStar Innovative Series

TAKÁCS QUARTET

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2024 · 7:30 PM Revelle Chamber Music Series

DANILO PEREZ,* JOHN PATITUCCI*, BRIAN BLADE*

LEGACY OF WAYNE SHORTER WITH SPECIAL GUEST MARK TURNER*

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024 · 7 PM Jazz Series

NOVEMBER

SAMMY MILLER AND THE CONGREGATION* PRESENTS 100 YEARS OF JAZZ

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2024 · 6 PM & 8:30 PM Concerts @ The JAI

HÉLÈNE GRIMAUD, piano

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2024 · 7:30 PM Piano Series

TRIO BOHÉMO*

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2024 · 3 PM Discovery Series

ENCANTO SING-ALONG FILM CONCERT*

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2024 · 3 PM ConRAD Kids Series · Balboa Theatre

DECEMBER

BARBARA HANNIGAN*, soprano & BERTRAND CHAMAYOU*, piano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2024 · 7:30 PM Recital Series

JOYCE DIDONATO AND KINGS RETURN present KINGS ReJOYCE! With Craig Terry

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024 · 7:30 PM Special Event

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2024 · 4 PM Free Community Event

SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA: SALSA NAVIDAD

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2024 · 7:30 PM Jazz Series

CONNIE HAN TRIO*

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2024 · 5 PM & 7:30 PM Concerts @ The JAI

JANUARY

JEREMY DENK, piano

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2025 · 7:30 PM Piano Series

GUIDO SANT’ANNA*, violin

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2025 · 3 PM Discovery Series

FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES: OPERA SUITE IN CONCERT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2025 · 7 PM ProtoStar Innovative Series

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY

SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2025 · 7:30 PM Dance Series · Civic Theatre

JAHARI STAMPLEY TRIO*

SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2025 · 5 PM & 7:30 PM Concerts @ The JAI

ANTHONY MCGILL, clarinet & EMANUEL AX, piano

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2025 · 7:30 PM Recital Series

ALBERT LIN*: IN SEARCH OF LOST CITIES

THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2025 · 7:30 PM Speaker Series

FEBRUARY

EVREN OZEL*, piano

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2025 · 3 PM Discovery Series

KODO ONE EARTH TOUR 2025: WARABE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025 · 7:30 PM Global Roots Series · Balboa Theatre

TWYLA THARP DANCE Diamond Jubilee

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025 · 7:30 PM Dance Series · Balboa Theatre

HAROLD LÓPEZ-NUSSA*

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2025 · 6 PM & 8:30 PM Concerts @ The JAI

HAGEN QUARTET

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2025 · 7:30 PM Revelle Chamber Music Series

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Antonio Pappano*, conductor

Yunchan Lim*, piano

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025 · 8 PM

Special Event · Jacobs Music Center

DREAMERS’ CIRCUS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Global Roots Series

YUNCHAN LIM, piano

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Piano Series

MARCH

ELISABETH BRAUSS*, piano

SUNDAY, MARCH 2, 2025 · 3 PM

Discovery Series

GERLINDE KALTENBRUNNER*:

DEFYING LIMITS: CLIMBING THE 14 HIGHEST PEAKS

THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Speaker Series

ZAKIR HUSSAIN & THIRD COAST PERCUSSION

SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2025 · 7:30 PM

ProtoStar Innovative Series

BLAKE POULIOT, violin & HENRY KRAMER, piano

FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Recital Series

COLLISION OF RHYTHM*

SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2025 · 10 AM & 11:30 AM

ConRAD Kids Series · The JAI GOITSE

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2025 · 5 PM & 7:30 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

LES ARTS FLORISSANTS

VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS AT 300

SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Revelle Chamber Music Series

BALLET FOLKLÓRICO DE MEXICO* DE AMALIA HERNÁNDEZ

SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2025 · 7 PM

Dance Series · Balboa Theatre

NOBUYUKI TSUJII*, piano

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Piano Series

APRIL

UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN

THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Special Event · Balboa Theatre

SONA JOBARTEH*

SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Global Roots Series

GIL SHAHAM, violin & ORLI SHAHAM, piano

SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2025 · 3 PM

Recital Series

THE PARAMOUNT QUARTET*

featuring Joe Lovano, Julian Lage, Sant Debriano and Will Cahoun

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Jazz Series

LUCAS DEBARGUE,* piano

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Piano Series

JESS CRAMP*: THE UNTOLD STORY OF SHARKS

THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Speaker Series

AMERICAN PATCHWORK QUARTET*

FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2025 · 6 PM & 8:30 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

COMMUNITY ARTS OPEN HOUSE

SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 2025 · 1 PM

Free Community Event

MAY

ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER, violin

PABLO FERRÁNDEZ, cello

YEFIM BRONFMAN, piano

SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Revelle Chamber Music Series · Balboa Theatre

MAMES BABEGENUSH*

SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2025 · 5 PM & 7:30 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

LUCKY DIAZ

SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2025 · 10 AM & 11:30 AM

ConRAD Kids Series · The JAI

CAMERON CARPENTER*, organ

FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Special Event

St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church

CAMERON CARPENTER, organ

METROPOLIS

SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2025 · 7:30 PM

ProtoStar Innovative Series

St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church

WYNTON MARSALIS

LOUIS

SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2025 · 7 PM

Jazz Series · Balboa Theatre

SHEKU KANNEH-MASON, cello & ISATA KANNEH-MASON, piano

SATURDAY, MAY 31, 2025 · 7:30 PM

Recital Series

JUNE

TRES SOULS*

SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 2025 · 5 PM & 7:30 PM

Concerts @ The JAI

JAEMIN HAN*, cello

SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2025 · 3 PM

Discovery Series