La Jolla Music Society Season 56 Program Book 2 by La Jolla Music Society

THE CONRAD

Home of 24—25

JANUARY—FEBRUARY

Yunchan Lim

2025 Calendar of Events

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

Sir Antonio Pappano*, chief 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

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

THÉOTIME LANGLOIS DE SWARTE, violin

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

Sona Jobarteh

The 56th Winter Season is presented in loving memory of Joan K. Jacobs.

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

JOE LOVANO’S PARAMOUNT QUARTET featuring Julian Lage, Asante Santi Debriano, and Will Calhoun

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

LOUIS: A Silent Film with Live Musical Performance by WYNTON MARSALIS AND CECILE LICAD

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

*LJMS debut

Cameron Carpenter

JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY

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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

$500,000 and above

Irwin and Joan* Jacobs 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

and

$200,000 and above

Haeyoung Kong Tang

$200,000 and above

and

$200,000 and above

$200,000 and above Marco Londei and Liqun Wang

Sue and Peter Wagener

Keith

Helen Kim

Angel

Fred Kleinbub

Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

Spring Highlights

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner

Defying Limits: Climbing The 14 Highest Peaks

Thursday, March 6 • 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Blake Pouliot, violin & Henry Kramer, piano

Friday, March 14 • 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

Thursday, April 3 • 7:30 PM

Balboa Theatre

40th Anniversary Tour

Les Arts Florissants

Théotime Langlois De Swarte, violin

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at 300

Saturday, March 22 · 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Lucky Diaz

Saturday, May 10 • 10 AM & 11:30 AM

JAI

for ages 3-8!

American Patchwork Quartet

Friday, April 25 • 6 PM & 8:30 PM

The JAI

Gil Shaham, violin & Orli Shaham, piano

Sunday, April 6 • 3 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Mutter Bronfman Ferrández Trio

Saturday, May 3 • 7:30 PM

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello & Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano

Saturday, May 31 • 7:30 PM

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Thoughtfully Prepared by Executive Chef Kelli Crosson For reservations, call (858) 777-6635

THE CONRAD

Home of La Jolla Music Society

Winter Season

From classical, jazz, and dance to global music, exciting speakers, and family concerts, each season Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal brings the best artists in the world to the San Diego community. This season will feature more than 60 artists, including superstars like Wynton Marsalis, Joyce DiDonato, Yunchan Lim, AÍda Cuevas, London Symphony Orchestra, Martha Graham Dance Company, Hélène Grimaud, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yefim Bronfman, Twyla Tharp Dance, Zakir Hussain, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Kodo, an Encanto sing-along, and many more.

SummerFest

La Jolla Music Society’s acclaimed chamber music festival, SummerFest, curated by award-winning pianist and festival Music Director Inon Barnatan, engages more than 80 of the world’s finest musicians to perform at The Conrad throughout the month of August. In addition to remarkable mainstage performances, SummerFest offers over 50 free and open-to-the-public educational activities. To learn more, visit TheConrad.org/SummerFest.

The Conrad

The Conrad opened in 2019 and serves as a gathering place for cultural, arts education, and community activity. As the permanent home of La Jolla Music Society, The Conrad hosts world-class performances presented by LJMS and other local arts organizations in its four outstanding performance and activity spaces, The Baker-Baum Concert Hall, The JAI, The Atkinson Room, and the picturesque Wu Tsai QRT.yrd.

Learning and Engagement

La Jolla Music Society’s award-winning Learning and Engagement Programming provides unmatched access and learning opportunities to more than 11,000 students and community members throughout San Diego County annually. With learning and engagement at the heart of our mission, we work closely with each visiting artist and ensemble to create outreach activities that highlight their unique talents and

expertise at both The Conrad and in the community. With our state-of the-art video and streaming capabilities at The Conrad, we are able to provide live streaming for events such as our annual SummerFest and education events for free in our Digital Concert Hall.

Land Acknowledgment

The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center acknowledges the ancestral, unceded territory of the Kumeyaay people, on which The Conrad was built. We hold great respect for the land and the original people of the area where our performing arts center is located. The Kumeyaay continue to maintain their political sovereignty and cultural traditions as vital members of the San Diego community.

HEARING ASSISTANCE

Personal listening and Hearing Assist is available through the “ListenWIFI” app, through your mobile device, or complimentary devices provided at our Concierge Desk.

Please visit https://theconrad.org/listening-assistance/ for details.

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

David Kabakoff

Nancy Linke Patton

Diana Lombrozo

Sue Major

Richard A. Norling

Arman Oruc

Tom Rasmussen

Sylvia Ré

Sheryl Scarano

Marge Schmale

Stephanie Stone

Debra Turner

H. Peter Wagener

Liqun Wang

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

LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY STAFF

Todd R. Schultz – President & CEO

Leah Rosenthal – Artistic Director

Inon Barnatan – SummerFest Music Director

ADMINISTRATION

Karen Jordan – Interim Director of Finance

Brady Stender – Controller

Breanne Self – Human Resources and Finance Manager

ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION

Grace Smith – Artistic Planning and Operations Director

Anne-Marie Dicce – Artistic Planning Manager

George Pritzker – Artistic Operations Coordinator

Juliet Zimmer – Artistic Rentals and Partnerships Director

Meghann Veynar – Production Manager

Caren Heintzelman – Assistant Production Manager

Lauren Cernik-Price – Production Coordinator & Stage Manager

John Tessmer – Lead Artist Liaison

Kaitlyn Thomas – Artist Liaison

Eric Bromberger – Program Annotator

Jonnel Domilos – Piano Technician

FACILITIES & TECHNOLOGY

Tom Jones – Director of Facilities & Technology

Adam Wiebe – Technical Director

Tyler Merrihew – Technical Coordinator – Audio Lead

Bradlee Kingston – Technical Coordinator – Lighting Lead

Colin Dickson – Facilities Manager

Evan Calderon – Facilities Coordinator

Kim Chevallier – Security Supervisor

LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT

Allison Boles – Director of Learning & Engagement

Jade Lewenhaupt – Learning & Engagement Coordinator

Serafin Paredes – Community Music Center Director

Aimee Alvarado – Community Music Center Administrative Assistant

Community Music Center Instructors:

Juan Tomás Acosta, Marcus Cortez, Ian Lawrence, Sofia Magallanes

Marko Paul, Eduardo Ruiz, Juan Sanchez

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 – 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

Welcome to La Jolla Music Society’s 56

Winter Season

Dear friends,

It fills me with delight to welcome you to a new year of exciting concerts and events at La Jolla Music Society. And we are truly beginning 2025 in spectacular fashion, enjoying some of the biggest names in music and dance as well as discovering up-and-coming talents you are sure to be talking about again and again.

La Jolla Music Society continues to bring the brightest stars in dance to San Diego, and this year we are incredibly fortunate to be able to showcase not one but two of the greatest masters of modern dance in milestone performances. First, the groundbreaking Martha Graham Dance Company brings us some of its most iconic works to celebrate its centennial, at the Civic Theatre, then a few weeks later the inimitable Twyla Tharp celebrates her company’s Diamond Jubilee—60 years—with us at the Balboa Theatre. Dance aficionados will be dazzled by this wealth of standout performances.

For something a little bit different, I am thrilled to be bringing a concert staging of the opera Fire Shut Up In My Bones, by jazz legend Terence Blanchard, to The Conrad. Featuring a production designed by Andrew F. Scott and the combined talents of the E-Collective, the Turtle Island Quartet, baritone Justin Austin, and soprano Adrienne Danrich, this opera suite will demonstrate why the Metropolitan Opera in New York chose Fire Shut Up In My Bones to be the first opera by an African American composer to be staged in its 138-year history, to great acclaim. It’s a vital and arresting work and I hope you will join us to experience it.

I can’t go without mentioning what is sure to be the highlight of our 56th season, the return of the mighty London Symphony Orchestra, this time under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano and featuring at the piano the talk of the classical piano world, the South Korean phenom Yunchan Lim.

There’s so much more in January and February to look forward to—the return of KODŌ on their One Earth Tour 2025: Warabe tour, clarinet virtuoso Anthony McGill teaming up with beloved pianist Emanuel Ax, and the return of fan favorites Dreamers’ Circus. But those of you who love to discover new talent will also be pleased by the young violinist Guido Sant’Anna, pianist Evren Ozel, Cuban jazz phenom Harold López-Nussa, and the Jahari Stampley Trio. I hope you’ll come back often to enjoy the wide range of offerings we’ve laid out to start this year, with much more coming in the spring.

Finally, I was heartbroken to hear in December of the untimely passing of one of the most exceptional artists of our time, Zakir Hussain. Zakir previously performed with us in 2019 and 2023, both times to the wild acclaim that was his due as a globally acknowledged award-winning master of the tabla. To say we were looking forward to his concert here with Third Coast Percussion in March is an understatement. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and wide network of friends and colleagues.

Warmly,

Artistic Director

PRELUDE

6:30 PM

Lecture by Kristi Brown-Montesano

JEREMY DENK, piano

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2025 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

C. SCHUMANN

Romance in A Minor, Opus 21, No. 1 (1819–1896)

TANIA LEÓN Rituál (b. 1943)

CHAMINADE La Lisonjera (The Flatterer) (1857–1944)

MISSY MAZZOLI Heartbreaker (b. 1980)

BEACH

In Autumn from Four Sketches, Opus 15 (1867–1944)

MEREDITH MONK Paris (b. 1942)

FARRENC Mélodie in A-flat Major (1804–1875)

CRAWFORD SEEGER Piano Study in Mixed Accents (1901–1953)

PHYLLIS CHEN SumiTones (b. 1988)

BEACH Dreaming from Four Sketches, Opus 15

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, Liqun Wang and Marco Londei, Anna and Edward Yeung, Bebe and Marvin Zigman, and Anonymous.

INTERMISSION

BRAHMS Four Pieces for Piano, Opus 119 (1833–1897) Intermezzo in B Minor Intermezzo in E Minor Intermezzo in C Major Rhapsody in E-flat Major

R. SCHUMANN Fantasy in C Major, Opus 17 (1810–1856) Jeremy Denk, piano

Jeremy Denk last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Piano Series on May 12, 2017.

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Romance in A Minor, Opus 21, No. 1 CLARA SCHUMANN

Born September 13, 1819, Leipzig

Died May 20, 1896, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Composed: 1853

Approximate Duration: 5 minutes

In a famous line in her diary Clara Schumann, who was one of the finest pianists of the nineteenth century, suggested her ambivalence about composing: “I once thought that I possessed creative talent, but I have given up this idea; a woman must not desire to compose—not one has been able to do it, and why should I expect to? It would be arrogance, although, indeed, my father led me into it in earlier days.” She was nineteen when she wrote those lines, but in fact she did compose a small number of works over the next decade. Her list of opus numbers runs only to 23, however, and she stopped composing completely about the time of the death of her husband, Robert, in 1856. Thereafter, the demands of being a single mother to a large family and maintaining a career as concert pianist and teacher occupied her time fully.

The Three Romances are among her final compositions: they are Opus 21 on her list of 23. Clara composed these three brief pieces in 1853, during a momentous period in her life. That September Johannes Brahms—twenty years old and with rosy cheeks that “a maiden might kiss without blushing”—knocked on the door of the Schumann household in Düsseldorf. Robert and Clara were captivated by the young man’s playing, his compositions, and the force of his personality. In a journal article, Robert hailed Brahms as “a young eagle” and predicted that “When he holds his magic wand over the massed resources of chorus and orchestra, we shall be granted marvelous insights into spiritual secrets.” Catastrophe followed swiftly: Robert went into steep mental decline, attempted suicide by throwing himself in the Rhine, and was placed in the mental asylum where he died two years later. Brahms stood by the Schumann family through all of this, and in the process he and Clara formed what would be a lifelong relationship—sometimes tender, sometimes stormy, but crucially important to each.

Clara composed the Three Romances during the summer of 1853, just before the couple met Brahms—it is a measure of the impact of the young man on Clara’s life that when the Romances were published several years later, she dedicated them to Brahms. By the middle of the nineteenth century the title romance had come to suggest a work of expressive character but without specified form. The first of these Romances is a dark and inward Andante in A minor.

Rituál

TANIA LEÓN

Born May 14, 1943, Havana, Cuba

Composed: 1987

Approximate Duration: 7 minutes

Tania León studied piano in Havana, but she left her native country in 1967 at age 24 and relocated to New York, where she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from New York University. Over the last half-century she has made a distinguished career as a composer, conductor, and educator. From 1969 to 1980 León was music director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem,

for which she composed a number of ballet scores. She has also composed opera, chamber music, vocal pieces, and orchestral works. Her Stride, dedicated to the memory of Susan B. Anthony, was written as part of the New York Philharmonic’s Project 19, which commissioned nineteen women composers to write pieces to commemorate the Nineteenth Amendment; it won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2021. León has conducted such orchestras as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Santa Cecilia, and New York Philharmonic, and she has taught at Harvard, Yale, Brooklyn College, and City University of New York. She was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2022, and she currently serves as composer-inresidence to the London Philharmonic.

León composed Rituál in 1987. She has described the piece: “It’s about the spiritual fire of people who inspire other people, because sometimes they see something in that person that they themselves don’t see. It’s the fire that starts something.” Rituál gets off to a slow beginning (the marking is Lento serioso e rubato), then gradually leaps ahead to suggest “the spiritual fire” that inspired it. León dedicated Rituál to Arthur Miller and Karel Shook, both of whom had been dancers and choreographers at the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

La Lisonjera (The Flatterer) CÉCILE CHAMINADE

Born August 8, 1857, Paris

Died April 13, 1944, Monte Carlo Composed: 1890

Approximate Duration: 4 minutes

Cécile Chaminade was one of the first women to achieve fame as a composer. Chaminade showed her musical talent very early: she was composing at age eight, and she made her first tour as a pianist at 18. Her tours, which took her to the United States and repeatedly to England, and her compositions (hundreds of them) made her vastly popular in the years before World War I—in fact, Chaminade was the first woman composer to be awarded the Legion of Honor, in 1913. But music in the twentieth century passed Chaminade by, and most of her compositions, which include about two hundred short pieces for piano, have suffered the faint praise of being labeled “salon music”: tuneful, agreeable, not very difficult, and intended for domestic performance. By the time of her death at age 86, Chaminade’s music had virtually disappeared from concert life. Her one work to achieve a measure of lasting popularity is her suavely melodic Concertino for Flute and Orchestra, composed in 1902 and currently available in a number of recordings.

Chaminade published La Lisonjera in 1890, when she was 33. There is a distinctly Spanish flavor to this music, easy to sense but difficult to define (her performance marking is Moderato, molto capriccioso). Early in the last century, Chaminade made a number of recordings, including one of La Lisonjera. That performance, beautifully and gracefully played, is surprisingly fast.

Heartbreaker

MISSY MAZZOLI

Born October 27, 1980, Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Composed: 2013

Approximate Duration: 5 minutes

Described by the New York Times as “one of the most consistently inventive, surprising composers now working in New York,” Missy Mazzoli is certainly one of the most successful young composers from any part of this country. Trained at the Yale School of Music, the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, and Boston University, Mazzoli has had works performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Kronos Quartet, Emanuel Ax, Jennifer Koh, and many other performers. She has had particular success with her nine operas, which have been produced by such companies as New York City Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and Opera Philadelphia. A pianist, Mazzoli leads and tours with the new music ensemble Victoire, and she currently teaches at the Mannes College of Music in New York City.

On her website, the composer has provided an introduction to Heartbreaker, which was composed in 2013:

As a composer who started her musical life as a pianist, it was unexpectedly difficult to write a short piece for the American Pianists Association’s competition. I wanted to write something virtuosic but something that stood out from traditionally showy “competitive” pieces. My new work, Heartbreaker, is virtuosic in subtle, unusual ways. It starts out deceptively simple, and quickly spirals into something that is just within the limits of the pianist’s control. It requires a virtuosity that is not about playing faster than everyone else, or even about playing more accurately than everyone else, but more about striking a balance between rhythmic precision and the free-wheeling abandon the piece requires.

— Missy Mazzoli

In Autumn from Four Sketches, Opus 15 AMY BEACH

Born September 5, 1867, Henniker, NH

Died December 27, 1944, New York City

Composed: 1892

Approximate Duration: 3 minutes

A child prodigy, Amy Marcy Cheney appeared as piano soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 17 and began composing while still a girl. At age 18 she married the Boston surgeon H.H.A. Beach, who—though a cultivated man musically—did not want his wife performing in public. He did, however, encourage her to compose. Beach had no formal training as a composer (which in her day meant European training), and was essentially self-taught. Nevertheless, over the next several decades she produced a sequence of successful large-scale works. Her Mass in E-flat (1890) was the first work by a woman composer presented by Boston’s Haydn and Handel Society, and her Symphony in E Minor (1896), subtitled “Gaelic,” was performed in both the United States and Europe. Upon the death of her husband in 1910, Beach—then 43—resumed her career as a concert pianist, making a particularly successful series of tours through Europe. She composed prolifically throughout her life: though her list of

opus numbers runs to 152, she actually wrote about 300 works. She was still active as pianist and composer at the time of her death in 1944 at 77.

In 1892 Beach, then 25 years old, published a set of four short pieces for piano under the title Sketches; each is prefaced with a line by a French poet that hints at its inspiration. Though the first piece, In Autumn, is prefaced by a quotation from Alphonse de Lamartine—“Yellowed leaves on the scattered grass”—listeners should not search for a musical depiction of that image. Rather, this is a brief and poised mood-piece that dances easily along some nicely shaded chromatic writing before vanishing delicately in front of us.

Paris

MEREDITH MONK

Born November 20, 1942, New York City

Composed: 1972

Approximate Duration: 2 minutes

Meredith Monk is an artist of many talents. A composer and a performance artist, she has created a number of multi-disciplinary works—including film, opera, and stage-works—that often involve extended vocal techniques. And at the same time, she has created many works that are simple and straightforward in their appeal. In 2014, Monk published a collection of twelve brief pieces for one or two pianos that she titled Piano Songs; all had been composed over the previous four decades. One of these was Paris, a threeminute piece composed in 1972. In the published score, Monk offered a concise introduction to this work: “‘Paris’ evokes the atmosphere of working-class Paris at the turn of the 20th century It is episodic, like an old silent movie. Each section is unique but fits into the whole; the pianist should think of each as a scene, so the tempi could vary from section to section. Since the left hand is repetitive, this variety of approach keeps the piece alive and surprising. There is a plaintive quality as well as a lurching, wry wit to ‘Paris.’ It should be played honestly and straightforwardly.”

— Meredith Monk

Mélodie in A-flat Major LOUISE FARRENC

Born May 31, 1804, Paris

Died September 15, 1875, Paris

Composed: 1847

Approximate Duration: 2 minutes

Born into a family of sculptors and painters, Louise Farrenc became so brilliant a pianist as a child that she studied with Moscheles and Hummel. She married the flutist Aristide Farrenc when she was 17, and she toured throughout Europe with him until he gave up the flute to become a music publisher. The couple had a daughter when Louise was 22, and at that point she dedicated herself to composing, eventually producing three symphonies, a vast amount of chamber music, and music for piano and for voice. This music, all published by her husband, drew the admiration of both Berlioz and Schumann. In 1842, at the age of 38, Farrenc was named Professor of Piano at the Paris Conservatory. She was the only woman to hold so prestigious a position in 19th-century France, and she taught there for over thirty years (learning that her male colleagues were paid more than she was, she demanded—and got—equal pay). Farrenc died in Paris at age 71, two years after her retirement from the Conservatory.

Farrenc composed her Mélodie in A-flat Major in 1846-47, shortly after she began teaching at the Paris Conservatory, and it was published as part of a collection of tribute pieces to Beethoven on the twentieth anniversary of his death. The piece is based on a lovely “melody,” set in 3/8 and marked both Andante cantabile and dolce. This is extended briefly, the music grows more animated, and then—in a very nice moment—the opening melody returns in the left hand under high tracery from the right hand, and the Melodie closes very gently.

Piano Study in Mixed Accents RUTH CRAWFORD SEEGER

Born July 3, 1901, East Liverpool, Ohio

Died November 18, 1953, Chevy Chase, Maryland

Composed: 1930

Approximate Duration: 2 minutes

Born in the Midwest, Ruth Crawford Seeger studied at the American Conservatory in Chicago from 1920 to 1924, and her talents attracted the interest of many composers, including Henry Cowell, Dane Rudhyar, and Edgard Varèse; she also became close friends with poet Carl Sandburg. The first woman ever to win a Guggenheim Fellowship, Crawford studied composition with Charles Seeger in New York City, and she spent 1930–31 in Europe, where she met Hindemith, Berg, and Bartók. On her return to the United States, she married Seeger (who was, by a previous marriage, the father of Pete Seeger, the folk singer) and continued to compose.

The Depression had a profound impact on Crawford and her family. The family’s politics moved far to the left (Charles Seeger became music critic for the Daily Worker), and she realized that there was no audience among the masses for the kind of dissonant and closely argued music that she wanted to write. So she turned her music to social causes and protest. Perhaps naturally, this led to an interest in American folk music, and here she was encouraged by Sandburg’s passion for folk song—she collected over 3,000 folk songs and wrote piano accompaniments for many of them. Her interest in folk music and the demands of raising four children kept her from composing much new music of her own, and she left behind a comparatively small catalog of works when she died at age 52 of cancer.

Crawford composed her Piano Study in Mixed Accents in December 1930, during the year she spent in Europe. This is an extremely concentrated piece of music, and it suggests the imagination and discipline of the music she was writing in her late twenties. The Piano Study lasts only about eighty seconds, and the pianist’s two hands play in octaves throughout: there is no harmony in this music at all. Instead, it consists of a steady stream of sixteenth-notes that are stemmed in patterns of six, five, three, and four, and Crawford asks that the first note of each group be accented. She specifies in the score that the Piano Study can be played in three different versions: either fortissimo throughout or in two other options, which offer different dynamic phrasing. Further, the Piano Study is constructed as a palindrome. While the notes are not exactly the same when played backwards, the groupings of sixteenth-notes are the same, and the piece sails to its climax at the exact center as these groupings swiftly pass each other.

SumiTones PHYLLIS CHEN

Born March 21, 1988, Schenectady, New York

Composed: 2019

Approximate Duration: 7 minutes

Phyllis Chen studied piano at the Oberlin Conservatory and Indiana University, but in the course of her studies she injured her hand so seriously that she had to stop playing for a while. She returned to the keyboard by playing a toy piano, and in the process she became enchanted by what was for her a new instrument and by the entire sound-world that the toy piano opened up for her. Chen has written for the toy piano alone and in combination with other instruments, and she has composed an entirely original and often quirky body of works. Chen was a founding member of ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), and she has received commissions from that group and from the Baryshnikov Arts Center and the Singapore International Festival of the Arts. Among her works is music for the play The Other Mozart, about Mozart’s sister Nannerl.

Chen composed SumiTones in 2019 for pianist Jacob Greenberg. SumiTones might be described as a study in evolving sonorities, but it is more than that. Chen’s performance marking for the piece is Floating, suspended, delicate, and over its sevenminute span this music offers a different sense of time expressed through soft, bell-like sonorities. There are no barlines here, and the music proceeds at an unpaced tempo. The piano sonorities are gentle and understated, full of bell sounds or what might be described as the sound of wind chimes. The writing may be full of dissonances, but those dissonances are stated so delicately that one never feels any kind of harmonic tension. There is no progress toward a climax here, and no resolution, no denouement. SumiTones exists within the moment, and each moment is enriched by delicate and surprising sounds.

Dreaming from Four Sketches, Opus 15 AMY BEACH

Composed: 1892

Approximate Duration: 5 minutes

Dreaming is the third of Beach’s four Sketches. It is prefaced by a line from Victor Hugo: “You speak to me from the depths of a dream.” Beach marks the piece Andante con molto espressione, and the music rides quietly along a murmuring background of triplets. Beach returned to this piece 45 years later, in 1937, and arranged it for cello and piano. That version has become almost better known than the original.

Four Pieces for Piano, Opus 119

JOHANNES BRAHMS

Born May 7, 1833, Hamburg

Died April 3, 1897, Vienna

Composed: 1893

Approximate Duration: 14 minutes

As he approached his sixtieth birthday, Brahms returned to the instrument of his youth, the piano. The young Brahms—the “heaven-storming Johannes,” as one of his friends described him—had established his early reputation as the composer of dramatic piano works: of his first five published works, three were big-boned piano sonatas, and he next produced a series of

extraordinarily difficult sets of virtuoso variations. And then suddenly, at age 32, Brahms walked away from solo piano music, and—except for some brief pieces in the late 1870s—that separation would last nearly three decades.

When the aging Brahms returned to the instrument of his youth, he was a very different man and a very different composer from the “heaven-storming Johannes” of years before. During the summers of 1892–93, Brahms wrote twenty brief piano pieces and published them in four sets as his Opp. 116–119. While perhaps technically not as demanding as his early piano works, these twenty pieces nevertheless distill a lifetime of experience and technical refinement into very brief spans, and in their focused, inward, and sometimes bleak way they offer some of Brahms’ most personal and moving music. Someone once astutely noted that a cold wind blows through these late piano pieces; Brahms himself described them as “lullabies of my pain.”

Brahms’ Opus 119, published in 1893, consists of three intermezzos and a concluding rhapsody. Most of these brief pieces are in ABA form: a first theme, a countermelody usually in a contrasting tempo and tonality, and a return to the opening material, usually varied on its reappearance. One of the shortest of Brahms’ late piano pieces, the Intermezzo in B Minor is also one of the most subtle, particularly in matters of rhythm. It opens with chains of falling thirds that seem to ripple like flashes of iridescence, and before we know it, Brahms has seamlessly transported us into the firmer center section. The return is just as subtle, and the music trails off into silence. In the Intermezzo in E Minor, which Brahms marks Andantino un poco agitato, the pianist’s two hands seem to be chasing each other through the murmuring, rhythmically fluid opening section. The central episode dances gently (Brahms’ marking is teneramente: “tenderly”); the music gradually makes its way back to the opening material, now varied, and Brahms concludes with a faint whiff of the waltz-melody. The Intermezzo in C Major, marked Grazioso e giocoso (“Graceful and happy”), dances easily on its 6/8 meter. This piece has no true contrasting theme in its center— Brahms simply slows down his opening idea and uses that as the central episode before the return of the theme at its original tempo.

Brahms’ late piano music concludes with the powerful Rhapsody in E-flat Major. Brahms marks this music Allegro risoluto, and resolute it certainly is: the pounding chords from the beginning seem to echo throughout—they intrude even into the grazioso middle section. Instead of having that thunderous opening reappear in its original form, Brahms takes it through a subtle evolution on its return, and—rather than returning to the home key of E-flat major—he drives the music to its (resolute) close in E-flat minor.

Fantasy in C Major, Opus 17

ROBERT SCHUMANN

Born June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Germany

Died July 29, 1856, Endenich, Germany

Composed: 1839

Approximate Duration: 29 minutes

In 1835, the 25-year-old Robert Schumann learned of plans to create a Beethoven monument in Bonn and—fired with enthusiasm for the project—resolved to compose a piano sonata and donate all receipts from it to support the monument. He wrote to his publisher, suggesting an elaborate publication in which the

score would be bound in black and trimmed with gold, and he proposed a monumental inscription for that cover: Ruins. Trophies. Palms. Grand Piano Sonata For Beethoven’s Monument

Yet when Schumann began composing this music the following year, his plans had changed considerably. He had fallen in love with the young piano virtuosa Clara Wieck, and her father had exploded: Friedrich Wieck did everything in his power to keep the lovers apart, forbidding them to see each other and forcing them to return each other’s letters. The dejected Schumann composed a three-movement sonata-like piece that was clearly fired by his thwarted love: he later told Clara that the first movement was “the most passionate thing I have ever composed—a deep lament for you.” Yet the score, published under the neutral title Fantasy in 1839, contains enough references to Beethoven (quotations from the song cycle An die ferne Geliebte at the end of the first movement and from the Seventh Symphony in the last) to suggest that some of Schumann’s original plans for a Beethoven sonata remained in this music. And finally, to complicate matters even further, Schumann dedicated the score not to Clara but to Franz Liszt, who would become one of its great champions.

If the inspiration for this music is in doubt, its greatness is not: the Fantasy in C Major is one of Schumann’s finest compositions, wholly original in form, extremely difficult to perform, and haunting in its emotional effect. Schumann was right to call this music a Fantasy—it may seem like a piano sonata on first appearance, but it refuses to conform exactly to the rules of sonata form. The first movement, marked “Fantastic and passionate throughout,” begins with an impassioned falling figure that Schumann associated with Clara. In the quiet middle section, which Schumann marks “In the manner of a legend,” the music moves to C minor; yet the conclusion does not recapitulate the opening material in the correct key—the music returns to C major only after the reference to Beethoven’s song from An die ferne Geliebte

The second movement is a vigorous march full of dotted rhythms; Schumann marks it “Energetic throughout.” Curiously, Clara—the inspiration for the first movement—liked this movement the best; she wrote to Schumann: “The march strikes me as a victory march of warriors returning from battle, and in the Ab section I think of the young girls from the village, all dressed in white, each with a garland in her hand crowning the warriors kneeling before them.” Schumann concludes with a surprise: the last movement is at a slow tempo—it unfolds expressively, and not until the final bars does Schumann allow this music to arrive, gently and magically, in the home key of C major.

The Fantasy in C Major is one of Schumann’s finest works, yet within years of its composition, Schumann himself was hard on this music, calling it “immature and unfinished . . . mostly reflections of my turbulent earlier life.” By this time, he was happily married to Clara and may have identified the Fantasy with a painful period in his life, yet it is precisely for its turbulence, its pain, and its longing that we value this music today.

PRELUDE 2 PM

Musical Prelude by students from the Colburn School

GUIDO SANT’ANNA, violin & HENRY KRAMER, piano

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2025 · 3 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

CHAUSSON

Poème, Opus 25 (1855–1899)

RAVEL

Sonata in G Major for Violin and Piano (1875–1937)

Allegretto

Blues: Moderato

Perpetuum mobile

GERSHWIN/FROLOV

Concert Fantasy on Themes of Porgy and Bess, Opus 19 (1898–1937/1937–2013)

INTERMISSION

Support for this program is provided by:

Gordon Brodfuehrer

Jeanette

Stevens

C. SCHUMANN

Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Opus 22 (1819–1896)

Andante molto

Allegretto: Mit zartem Vortrage

Leidenschaftlich schnell

SCHUBERT

Fantasy in C Major for Violin and Piano, D. 934 (1797–1828)

Andante molto

Allegretto

Andantino

Allegro

Allegretto

Presto

Guido Sant’Anna, violin; Henry Kramer, piano

This performance marks Guido Sant’Anna’s La Jolla Music Society debut. Henry Kramer last performed for La Jolla Music Society during SummerFest on August 22, 2012.

Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Poème, Opus 25

ERNEST CHAUSSON

Born 1855, Paris

Died 1899, Limay, France

Composed: 1896

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

Ernest Chausson grew up in an educated and refined family who believed that he should have a career in law. But the lure of music proved too strong, and after completing law school at age 24, he entered the Paris Conservatory. Perhaps because of this late start, it took Chausson some years to refine his art and develop a personal style, and it was not until his late 30s that he began to produce a series of carefully crafted works, particularly for voice. The promise demonstrated in this music was cut short, however, when Chausson was killed in a bicycle accident at age 44.

A cultivated man, Chausson was particularly attracted to the work of Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev. When he set out to write a piece for the great Belgian violinist Eugene Ysaÿe, Chausson turned to Turgenev’s work for inspiration, choosing a short story called (in its French translation) Le chant de l’amour triomphant. Chausson composed this music in the spring of 1896, although he finally chose the much simpler title Poème. This 15-minute piece for violin and orchestra is neither a concerto nor a tone poem that sets out to tell Turgenev’s tale in music. Rather, it is a mood-piece—expressive, dark, almost voluptuous in its lush harmonies and melodies—meant to reflect the atmosphere of Turgenev’s tale. The musical form of Poème is difficult to define: It is episodic, somewhat in the manner of a slow rondo. After the orchestra’s misty introduction, marked Lento e misterioso, the unaccompanied violin lays out the long and graceful main theme, which is repeated by the orchestra. The violin’s music grows more intense and florid, rushing ahead into the contrasting section, marked Animato, where it soars high above the murmuring orchestra. Chausson alternates these sections before the Poème moves to a quiet close on a return of the opening material. This ending drew particular praise from Debussy who, some years after Chausson’s death, wrote in a review: “Nothing touches more with dreamy sweetness than the end of this Poème, where the music, leaving aside all description and anecdote, becomes the very feeling which inspired its emotion.”Although Poème is not consciously a display piece, it is nevertheless quite difficult for the violinist, who must sustain a singing line (often high in the instrument’s register) and project the complex runs, trills, and arabesques that give this music its distinctive character. Ysaÿe was very fond of Poème and performed it several times (both privately and publicly) before the Paris première on April 4, 1897. Chausson had not had much success with critics or audiences, and the response to the Poème caught him by surprise: One of his friends told of seeing a look of astonishment on Chausson’s face as he stood backstage listening to the waves of applause that greeted the première: “I can’t get over it,” was all the amazed composer could say. A century later, Poème remains Chausson’s most famous work, a favorite of audiences and violinists alike.

Sonata in G Major for Violin and Piano MAURICE RAVEL

Born March 7, 1875, Ciboure, France

Died December 28, 1937, Paris

Composed: 1927

Approximate Duration: 18 minutes

Ravel began making sketches for his Violin Sonata in 1923, the year after he completed his orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. He was composing a number of works for violin during these years, including Tzigane, but the Violin Sonata proved extremely difficult for him, and he did not complete it until 1927. The first performance, by violinist Georges Enescu and the composer, took place on May 30, 1927, in Paris while that city was still in a dither over the landing of Charles Lindbergh the week before.

In the Violin Sonata, Ravel wrestled with a problem that has plagued all who compose violin sonatas—the clash between the resonant, sustained sound of the violin and the percussive sound of the piano—and he chose to accentuate these differences: “It was this independence I was aiming at when I wrote a Sonata for violin and piano, two incompatible instruments whose incompatibility is emphasized here, without any attempt being made to reconcile their contrasted characters.” The most distinctive feature of the sonata, however, is Ravel’s use of jazz elements in the slow movement.

The opening Allegretto is marked by emotional restraint. The piano alone announces the cool first theme, which is quickly picked up by the violin. A sharply rhythmic figure, much like a drum tattoo, contrasts with the rocking, flowing character of the rest of this movement, which closes on a quietly soaring restatement of the main theme.

Ravel called the second movement Blues, but he insisted that this is jazz as seen by a Frenchman. In a lecture during his American tour of 1928, he said of this movement: “While I adopted this popular form of your music, I venture to say that nevertheless it is French music, Ravel’s music, that I have written.” He sets out to make violin and piano sound like a saxophone and guitar, specifying that the steady accompanying chords must be played strictly in time so that the melodic line can sound “bluesy” in contrast. The “twang” of this movement is accentuated by Ravel’s setting the violin in G major and the piano in A-flat major at the opening.

Thematic fragments at the very beginning of the finale slowly accelerate to become a virtuoso perpetual motion. Ravel brings back themes from the first two movements before the brilliant close, which features complex string-crossings for the violinist.

Concert Fantasy on Themes of Porgy and Bess, Opus 19 IGOR FROLOV

Born January 10, 1937, Moscow

Died July 30, 2013, Moscow

Composed: 1991

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

Igor Frolov came from a most musical family: his father was concertmaster of the State Radio Symphony Orchestra, and his mother was an equally distinguished pianist.

The boy studied violin first with his father, entered the Moscow Conservatory at 18, and eventually studied privately with David Oistrakh. He was a finalist in both the Jacques Thibaud and Tchaikovsky Competitions, and he made his career as a performer, composer, and teacher—he taught for many years at the Moscow Conservatory.

Frolov, who had a particular fondness for jazz, is best remembered for his arrangements of popular music for violin. Many of these can be seen and heard on the internet, including a particularly successful version of “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” By far his best-known work, though, is his Concert Fantasy on Themes of Porgy and Bess, which he composed in 1991. There have, of course, been many violin arrangements of music from that opera, including one by Jascha Heifetz, but Frolov’s arrangement is particularly successful. He takes a number of favorite songs from Porgy and Bess (including “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’”; “Bess, You Is My Woman Now;” “Summertime;” “It Ain’t Necessarily So;” and others) and then extends them in some very attractive ways. He is quite sensitive to Gershwin’s music, which he treats with affection, and he writes wonderfully for the violin. This music also gives some sense of how good a violinist Frolov must have been—it includes such challenges as trilled octaves, artificial harmonics, ricochet glissandos, and even a brief cadenza. Frolov’s infatuation with jazz is evident at many points here, as well.

The Concert Fantasy is clearly a labor of love, beautifully written for the violin and sensitive to Gershwin’s wonderful melodies, even as it pushes them in new directions. It is a real showpiece for an excellent violinist, and—for the audience—it’s lots of fun.

Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22 CLARA SCHUMANN

Born: September 13, 1819, Leipzig, Germany

Died: May 20, 1896, Frankfurt

Composed: 1853

Approximate Duration: 10 minutes

In 1853 Robert and Clara Schumann welcomed into their home in Düsseldorf two young men who would go on to become giants of nineteenth-century German music: Johannes Brahms and Joseph Joachim. Brahms and Joachim would develop a lengthy (and frequently stormy) relation of their own, but they quickly became true friends of the Schumann family. Robert’s mental health was now in rapid deterioration, and they stood by during his decline and death in an asylum, visiting him frequently and helping Clara and the seven children. In turn, Clara remained close to both men over the remaining forty years of her life. Her long and intense friendship with Brahms is familiar, but she was also close to Joachim: she gave a number of duo-recitals with him after Robert’s death, and she was close enough to give the violinist financial and domestic advice as he approached his own marriage. Brahms and Joachim were among the most intense mourners at her death in 1896.

In 1853, during the first rush of the Schumanns’ friendship with Joachim, Clara wrote—specifically for him—the Three Romances for Violin and Piano. She did not compose a great deal. The demands of being wife, mother, and pianist left her little time, and in any case she was ambivalent about composing:

in a diary entry at age 19 she wrote, “a woman must not desire to compose—not one has been able to do it, and why should I expect to?” In fact, these romances were virtually her final composition (her list of opus numbers runs only to 23): after Robert’s death, she stopped composing altogether.

A romance is a type of music without strict formal meaning: that title simply suggests music of an expressive character. All three of these romances are in ternary form plus coda, and all end quietly. Though they were composed during the stress that accompanied Robert’s decline, these pieces show absolutely no sign of that pain—they may be regarded as brief explorations of gentle moods. In the Andante molto, the violin soars easily over the piano accompaniment, though the music’s characteristic quintuplet turn appears in both parts.

The Allegretto, in G minor, is more intense, though Clara’s instruction is “With tender performance.” Some have heard the influence of Mendelssohn in this music, which moves into G major for its center section, full of trills and grace notes; this romance winks out with quiet pizzicato strokes that return to G major in the last measure. The final romance, marked Leidenschaftlich schnell (Passionately fast), is also the longest: the violin sings above a rippling piano accompaniment; when this section returns, the composer effectively varies the sound by making the piano accompaniment entirely staccato.

Joachim very much liked the Three Romances, and he and Clara performed them frequently. When she published the set in 1855, she had this inscription printed in the score: “Dedicated to Joseph Joachim with the greatest friendship.”

Fantasy in C Major for Violin and Piano, D.934 FRANZ SCHUBERT

Born January 31, 1797, Vienna

Died November 19, 1828, Vienna Composed: 1827

Approximate Duration: 25 minutes

Schubert wrote the Fantasy for Violin and Piano in December 1827, only eleven months before his death at age 31. The music was first performed in public on January 20, 1828, by violinist Joseph Slavik and pianist Karl von Bocklet, one of Schubert’s close friends. That premiere was a failure. The audience is reported to have begun to drift out during the performance, reviewers professed mystification, and the Fantasy was not published until 1850, twenty-two years after Schubert’s death.

Hearing this lovely music today, it is hard to imagine how anyone could have had trouble with it, for the only thing unusual about the Fantasy is its structure. About twenty minutes long, it falls into four clear sections that are played without pause. Though it seems to have some of the shape of a violin sonata, the movements do not develop in the expected sonata form—that may have been what confused the first audience—and Schubert was quite correct to call this piece a “fantasy,” with that term’s implication of freedom from formal restraint.

Melodic and appealing as the Fantasy may be to hear, it is nevertheless extremely difficult to perform, and it demands players of the greatest skill. The first section, marked Andante molto, opens with shimmering ripples of sound from the piano, and the lovely violin line enters almost unnoticed. Soon, though,

it rises to soar high above the accompaniment before brief cadenza-like passages for violin and then piano lead abruptly to the Allegretto. Here the violin has the dance-like opening idea, but the piano immediately picks this up, and quickly the instruments are imitating and answering each other. The violin writing in this section, full of wide skips and string-crossings, is particularly difficult. The third section, marked Andantino, is a set of variations. The piano alone plays the melody, which comes from Schubert’s song Sei mir gegrüsst (“Greetings to Thee”), written in 1821. Some of Schubert’s best-known compositions— the “Death and the Maiden” Quartet and the “Trout” Quintet— also build a movement out of variations on one of the composer’s own songs, and in the Fantasy Schubert offers four variations on Sei mir gegrüsst. These variations grow extremely complex—some have felt that they grow too complex—and once again the music makes great demands on its performers. At the conclusion of the variations, the shimmering music from the beginning returns briefly before the vigorous final section, marked Allegro vivace. Schubert brings the Fantasy to a close with a Presto coda, both instruments straining forward before the violin suddenly flashes upward to strike the concluding high C.

Content Advisory:

Fire Shut Up in My Bones addresses adult themes and contains adult language.

TERENCE BLANCHARD'S FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES: OPERA SUITE IN CONCERT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2025 · 7 PM THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

PROGRAM

JAZZ SET

Works to be announced from stage

OPERA EXCERPTS

Suite from Fire Shut Up in My Bones (2019)

Music by Terence Blanchard

Libretto by Kasi Lemmons

Adapted from the memoir by Charles M. Blow

Tears of Anger and Shame

Don’t Be In Such a Rush

Leave It In the Road

Golden Button

Support for this program is provided by: ProtoStar Foundation

JAZZ SET

Peculiar Grace

Peculiar Grace (Instrumental)

There Was a Storm

A Piece for Billie

In the Car

Peculiar Grace Reprise

Works to be announced from stage

THIS PERFORMANCE HAS NO INTERMISSION

Terence Blanchard last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Jazz Series on April 18, 2024. This performance marks E-Collective’s, Turtle Island Quartet’s, Justin Austin’s, and Adrienne Danrich’s La Jolla Music Society debuts.

TERENCE BLANCHARD & E-COLLECTIVE

Terence Blanchard, trumpet/synths; Charles Altura, guitar; Taylor Eigsti, piano/keyboard/synths; David Ginyard, Jr., electric bass; Oscar Seaton, drums

TURTLE ISLAND

QUARTET

David Balakrishnan, Gabriel Terracciano, violins; Benjamin von Gutzeit, viola; Naseem Alatrash, cello

VOCAL SOLOISTS

Adrienne Danrich, soprano; Justin Austin, baritone

VISUALS

Andrew F. Scott

PROGRAM NOTE

The material for this theatrical concert is taken from Fire Shut Up in My Bones, an opera based on the memoir of the same title by New York Times Op-Ed columnist Charles Blow. The original story opens with Charles, age 20, driving down a Louisiana backroad with a gun, haunted by memories of his traumatic childhood. Before revealing the source of his grief, the opera flashes back to Charles growing up in poverty with his overwhelmed mother, Billie, and four brothers. Subsequent scenes highlight the turmoil of their family life during his youth, with the most painful moment being Charles’ sexual abuse by his older cousin Chester, leaving him with deep, irreparable wounds. Flashing forward, teenage Charles seeks redemption through baptism and a fresh start at Grambling State University, but feelings of isolation persist, especially after a failed romance, which brings the story back to the opening scene. Following a breakup, Charles learns that Chester is visiting his childhood home and decides to confront his past and possibly kill Chester. At a crossroads between revenge and healing, the story culminates in Charles choosing whether to let go of his bitterness or follow a darker path.

Like the opera, this project uses quasi-cinematic transitions into flashbacks to explore memories of childhood trauma that serve as the emotional core of Blow’s story. Mirroring the opera’s structure, recurring material from the original work changes subtly with each return, reframing the subliminal moods buried in Charles’s psyche. The first aria, “Tears of Anger and Shame”—also the opera’s opening—features college-aged Charles driving

to confront his abuser in a fit of rage. This intense present moment transitions into a flashback of Charles’ childhood, where Billie urges him not to grow up too quickly in “Don’t Be in Such a Rush.” Also part of this flashback, “Leave It in the Road” follows Billie’s decision to separate from Charles’ father. “Golden Button” is a melancholy, dreamlike scene, suspended in time, in which Charles and Loneliness sing about his loss of innocence and longing for connection. Among the tunes in the opera, “Peculiar Grace” is the most iconic, encapsulating Charles’ story with the gentle touch of a fragile child—the austere language and setting of previous arias are softened, mirrored by subdued harmonic and melodic lines. The most tumultuous aria, “There Was a Storm,” is sung in the present, as Charles recounts his abuse to his love interest, Greta. After framing his mother’s story in “A Piece for Billie,” the narrative closes with a reprise of “Peculiar Grace,” bringing the story full circle in this tale of pain and selfdiscovery.

This project was developed as a companion work for the opera, to celebrate the cultural impact of the original and to offer the audience the rare catharsis of seeing the creator perform in his own masterpiece.

— Michael Fox, Epstein Fox Productions

Special thanks to Brandon Bell and DACAMERA in Houston, TX, for production support.

PRELUDE 6:30 PM

Interview hosted by Molly Puryear

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY

SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2025 · 7:30 PM

SAN DIEGO CIVIC THEATRE

PROGRAM

APPALACHIAN SPRING (1944) PAUSE

WE THE PEOPLE (2024)

INTERMISSION

CAVE (2022)

Support for this program is provided by:

Dorothea Laub

Elaine Galison and Herbert Solomon

Amy Corton and Carl Eibl

FEATURING

THE COMPANY

Lloyd Knight, Anne Souder, Richard Villaverde, Meagan King, Amanda Moreira, Xin Ying, Laurel Dalley Smith, Devin Loh, Ane Arrieta, Jai Perez, Leslie Andrea Williams, So Young An, Antonio Leone, Zachary Jeppsen-Toy, Ethan Palma

Artistic Director Janet Eilber

Choreography by Martha Graham, Jamar Roberts, Hofesh Shechter

Lighting Designers

Jean Rosenthal, Beverly Emmons, Yi-Chung Chen

Executive Director LaRue Allen

Creative Producer Daniil Simkin

Costume Design

Martha Graham, Karen Young, Caleb Krieg

Martha Graham Dance Company last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Dance Series on January 22, 2020.

PROGRAM

APPALACHIAN SPRING (1944)

Choreography and Costumes by: Martha Graham

Music by: Aaron Copland†

Set by: Isamu Noguchi

Original lighting by: Jean Rosenthal, adapted by Beverly Emmons Première: October 30, 1944, Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Springtime in the wilderness is celebrated by a man and woman building a house with joy and love and prayer; by a revivalist and his followers in their shouts of exaltation; by a pioneering woman with her dreams of the Promised Land.

The Bride Anne Souder

The Husbandman Lloyd Knight

The Preacher Antonio Leone

The Pioneering Woman Leslie Andrea Williams

The Followers So Young An

Meagan King

Devin Loh

Amanda Moreira

Commissioned by the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The original title chosen by Aaron Copland was “Ballet for Martha,” which was changed by Martha Graham to “Appalachian Spring.” †Used by arrangement with the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, copyright owners; and Boosey and Hawkes, Inc., sole publisher and licensee.

Appalachian Spring tells the story of a young frontier couple on their wedding day. Created as the war in Europe was drawing to end, the ballet captured the imagination of Americans who were beginning to believe in a more prosperous future, a future in which men and women would be united again. Themes from American folk culture can be found throughout the dance. Aaron Copland weaves a Shaker tune, “Simple Gifts,” throughout his luminous score, while Martha Graham’s choreography includes square dance patterns, skips and paddle turns and curtsies, even a grand right and left. The spare set by Isamu Noguchi features a Shaker rocking chair. With its tale of a new life in a new land, the dance embodies hope. Critics called Appalachian Spring “shining and joyous,” “a testimony to the simple fineness of the human spirit.”

PAUSE

WE THE PEOPLE (2024)

Choreography by: Jamar Roberts

Music by: Rhiannon Giddens

Arranged by: Gabe Witcher

Costume Design by: Karen Young

Lighting Design by: Yi-Chung Chen

Dancers: So Young An, Ane Arrieta, Zachary Jeppsen-Toy, Laurel Dalley Smith, Meagan King, Lloyd Knight, Devin Loh, Jai Perez Richard Villaverde, Leslie Andrea Williams

We the People was made possible with a significant commissioning grant from The O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation. This production was also made possible by the 92nd Street Y, as part of 92NY’s 150th anniversary celebration, in honor and continued support of Martha Graham’s rich 92NY legacy. Production support was provided by the University of Michigan.

Premièred in February 2024, this dance of 21st Century Americana references and reverberates with our history. Its new score by Rhiannon Giddens, as arranged by Gabe Witcher, offers the historic sound of American folk music. While the choreography by Jamar Roberts is very much of today and in counterpoint to the music. The choreographer has said, “We the People is equal parts protest and lament, speculating on the ways in which America does not always live up to its promise. Against the backdrop of traditional American music, We the People hopes to serve as a reminder that the power for collective change belongs to the people.”

CAVE (2022)

Choreography by: Hofesh Shechter

Creative Producer: Daniil Simkin

Music by: Âme†and Hofesh Shechter

Costumes by: Caleb Krieg

Lighting by: Yi-Chung Chen

Choreography Assistant: Kim Kohlmann

World première: April 6, 2022, New York City Center

Dancers: Ane Arrieta, Laurel Dalley Smith, Meagan King, Lloyd Knight, Antonio Leone, Amanda Moreira, Jai Perez Anne Souder, Richard Villaverde, Leslie Andrea Williams, Xin Ying

In 2022, the versatile artist Hofesh Shechter created this work for and with our Company dancers while searching for the essence that makes crowds of people move (dance) together in a deeply primal and connected way. In CAVE, this essence is rendered so powerfully that it reaches beyond the dancing onstage to include and inspire our audiences. The result is a visceral, cathartic movement experience with an inescapable shared kinetic energy.

CAVE was made possible with a significant commissioning grant from The O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation. Major support for CAVE was provided by Sharon Patrick, the Clayton-Royer Family Fund, Monica Voldstad and Jeff & Susan Campbell and Barbara Goldstein. Production support was provided by Vassar College. CoProducing support provided by Studio Simkin and Sharing Spaces. †Samples of “Fiori” by Âme; Sample of “The Witness” by Âme & Karyyn. Frank Wiedemann and Kristian Beyer are members of the German collecting society GEMA and published by Innervisions GmbH.

Major support for the Martha Graham Dance Company is provided by Arnhold Foundation

Howard Gilman Foundation

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs In partnership with the New York City Council New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the New York State Legislature

National Endowment for the Arts

The Shubert Foundation

The Artists employed in this production are members of the American Guild of Musical Artists AFL-CIO. In the tradition of its founder, the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance remains committed to being a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist organization, and will honor this pledge through its ongoing practices, policies and behaviors.

PRELUDE 6:30 PM

Lecture by Michael Gerdes

ANTHONY McGILL, clarinet & EMANUEL AX, piano

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2025 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

R. SCHUMANN Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 (1810–1856)

Zart und mit Ausdruck

Lebhaft, leicht

Rasch und mit Feuer

JESSIE MONTGOMERY Peace for Clarinet and Piano (b. 1981)

SCHUBERT Sonata in A Minor for Clarinet and Piano, D.821 “Arpeggione” (1797–1828)

Allegro moderato

Adagio

Allegretto

Anthony McGill, clarinet; Emanuel Ax, piano

INTERMISSION

BEETHOVEN

Piano Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Opus 27, No. 2 "Moonlight" (1770-1827)

Adagio sostenuto

Allegretto

Presto agitato

Emanuel Ax, piano

PRICE Adoration (1887–1953)

JAMES LEE III Ad anah? (b. 1975)

BERNSTEIN

Clarinet Sonata (1918–1990) Grazioso

Andantino; Vivace e leggiero

Anthony McGill, clarinet; Emanuel Ax, piano

Anthony McGill last performed for La Jolla Music Society during SummerFest on August 24, 2024. Emanuel Ax last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Piano Series.

Program notes by Eric Bromberger except where indicated

Fantasiestücke, Op. 73

ROBERT SCHUMANN

Born: June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Saxony

Died: July 29, 1856, Endenich, Germany

Composed: 1849

Approximate Duration: 11 minutes

Program note written by Kai Christiansen

The music of Robert Schumann is full of contrasts on many levels. He wrote massive, complex works for orchestra, chamber music, and piano on one hand, and then intimate character pieces and art songs on the other, where, even in miniature proportions, he juxtaposed contrasts of mood and motion with wonderful spontaneity. Schumann’s penchant for favoring expression over “textbook” form emphasizes the romantic credo of personal subjectivity of which he was a prime innovator. Indeed, a tendency for “flights of fancy” finds Schumann frequently using the term Fantasiestücke, or “fantasy pieces,” suggesting short, free-form character studies almost as “in the moment” improvisations.

Schumann composed the three Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 swiftly over just a few days in 1849. They were originally for clarinet and piano, but he then made an arrangement for cello and piano, the version more often heard in performance. Although the title suggests a collection of individual pieces, the three parts seem to form a unified whole as Schumann characteristically joins them in subtle ways using tonality and motive. Still, contrast is primary both between the pieces and within each piece, itself a little three-part form enclosing a nested duality. The first piece, marked “tenderly, with expression,” is lyrical and melancholy but its primary minor key eventually brightens into a major tonality. The second piece maintains the new key with a more upbeat playfulness, a sort of nimble intermezzo with Schumann’s title being “lively and light.” A trajectory from inward reflection to outward projection culminates in the third piece that is “quick with fire,” with impetuous outbursts contrasting with lyrical poise. These vivid instrumental songs evoke Mendelssohn’s famous phrase that music is more specific than words.

Peace for Clarinet and Piano

JESSIE

MONTGOMERY

Born December 8, 1981, New York City

Composed: 2020

Approximate Duration: 5 minutes

The daughter of theater and musical artists, Jessie Montgomery learned to play the violin as a child and earned her bachelor’s degree in violin performance from Juilliard and her master’s in composition from New York University. She is one of the featured composers of the New York Philharmonic’s Project 19, in which nineteen women composers have been commissioned to write a work in celebration of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave American women the right to vote. Montgomery is currently a Graduate Fellow in composition at Princeton as well as a Professor of Violin and Composition

at The New School in New York City. In 2021 she began her tenure as composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Montgomery’s Peace comes from a very particular moment in recent history, the spring of 2020, when it dawned on our collective consciousness that the COVID pandemic was going to isolate and endanger every one of us, and for a very long time. The composer has provided a brief introduction to Peace that makes clear her motivation in writing this music:

“Written just a month after the Great Sadness of the first quarantine orders due to COVID-19, facing the shock felt by the whole globe as well as personal crisis, I find myself struggling to define what actually brings me joy. And I’m at a stage of making peace with sadness as it comes and goes like any other emotion. I’m learning to observe sadness for the first time not as a negative emotion, but as a necessary dynamic to the human experience.”

— Jessie Montgomery, May 12, 2020

Peace was commissioned by British-American arts administrator Victoria Robey for violinist Elena Urioste and her husband, the pianist Tom Poster, and they premièred it as part of their #UriPosteJukeBox broadcasts. Other musicians were quickly attracted to this music, and clarinetist Anthony McGill asked Montgomery if she would prepare a version for clarinet; she has also arranged Peace for viola. Peace is a brief moodpiece (Montgomery’s performance instruction is Reflective), slow in tempo, subdued in mood but never pitching over into darkness. It is, as the composer suggests, a meditation on sadness and how it is an inevitable part of human life.

Sonata in A Minor for Clarinet and Piano, D.821 “Arpeggione” FRANZ SCHUBERT

Composed: 1824

Approximate Duration: 25 minutes

In 1823, the Viennese instrument maker Johann Georg Stauffer invented a new instrument, which he called the “guitarvioloncello” or the “guitarre d’amour.” About the size of a cello, it had six strings and frets and was tuned like a guitar; unlike a guitar, however, it had a curved bridge and was played with a bow. The instrument never caught on. Performers did not take it up, few composers were interested, and the instrument quickly lapsed into the obscurity where it would have remained were it not for one piece of music composed for it.

A musician named Vincenz Schuster had learned to play the new instrument, and he asked his friend Franz Schubert to write a piece for him to play on it. In November 1824, Schubert composed a three-movement sonata for Schuster and in the process contributed a new name for the instrument—Schubert referred to it as an “arpeggione,” and that name has stuck to the now nearly-forgotten instrument. The instrument may have been relegated to the history books, but the music Schubert wrote for it is so good that it has refused to join the arpeggione in obscurity. A number of different musicians have wanted this sonata for their own instrument, and it has been transcribed for (and recorded upon) such instruments as cello, viola, violin, double bass, flute, clarinet, and guitar; on this program the “Arpeggione” Sonata is heard in a transcription for clarinet.

The most striking characteristic of this music is how gentle it is. Though full of Schubert’s characteristic fine shading, the sonata remains serene throughout; the composer appears to have been impressed with an element of tonal restraint built into Stauffer’s instrument. The opening Allegro moderato is constructed on two ideas: a dark and lyric opening melody and a busy, good-natured second subject. The development of these ideas, though extended, stays within the restrained character of these themes. A brief Adagio in E major leads without pause into the rondo-finale, marked Allegretto, which swings along agreeably on its 3/8 meter. There are vigorous episodes along the way—and one episode full of wistful Viennese charm—but the amiable spirit that pervades this sonata is never violated.

Piano Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Opus 27, No. 2 “Moonlight” LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Born December 16, 1770, Bonn

Died March 26, 1827, Vienna

Composed: 1801

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

When Beethoven composed this piano sonata in 1801, he could not possibly have foreseen that it would become one of the most popular pieces ever written. But Beethoven, then 30 years old, was aware that he was trying to rethink sonata form. The keyboard sonata of the classical period had taken a fairly standard shape: sonata-form first movement, a slow movement, and a rondo-finale. While Haydn and Mozart had written some very good keyboard sonatas, no one would argue that their best work lies in such music, and in fact those two often composed keyboard sonatas for home performance by amateurs or for students.

So radical was Beethoven’s rethinking of the form that he felt it necessary to append a qualifying description to the two sonatas of his Opus 27: “quasi una fantasia”—more like a fantasy than a strict sonata. In the Sonata in C-sharp Minor, he does away with sonata-form altogether in the first movement, writing instead an opening movement that functions as an atmospheric prelude. This haunting music, full of a bittersweet melancholy, feels almost improvisatory, and one senses that Beethoven is trying to avoid beginning with a conflict-centered movement that will overpower all that follows. Here the gently rippling triplet accompaniment provides a quiet background for some of the most expressive music Beethoven ever wrote. The middle movement becomes not the traditional slow movement of the classical sonata, but a brief Allegretto that dances on gracefully falling phrases. Formally, this movement resembles the classical minuet, though Beethoven eliminates the repeat of the first strain. Phrases are short, and Beethoven makes clear that he wants unusually strong attacks by specifying accent marks rather than a simple staccato indication.

Nothing in the sonata to this point prepares one for the finale, which rips to life with a searing energy far removed from the dreamy atmosphere of the opening movement. Here, finally, is the sonata-form movement: Beethoven has moved the dramatic movement to the end as a way of giving it special significance. His marking Presto agitato is crucial: this is agitated music, and the pounding pulse of sixteenth-notes is never absent for long. Beethoven asks for an exposition repeat,

builds the development around the dotted second subject, and at the close offers a series of arabesque-like runs and a moment of repose before the volcanic rush to the close.

The nickname that has become an inescapable part of the way we think of this music did not originate with the composer, and Beethoven would be as surprised to learn that he had written a “Moonlight” Sonata as Mozart would be to learn that he had written a “Jupiter” Symphony. It was the poet-critic Ludwig Rellstab who coined the nickname in 1832, five years after Beethoven’s death, saying that the music reminded him of the flickering of moonlight on the waters of Lake Lucerne. One can only guess what Beethoven would have thought of such a nickname, particularly since it applies only to the first movement.

Adoration FLORENCE PRICE

Born April 9, 1887, Little Rock

Died June 3, 1953, Chicago

Composed: 1951

Approximate Duration: 4 minutes

The life and career of Florence Price form one of the most interesting chapters in American music, and her achievement is becoming clear only now, over seventy years after her death. At age 15 she entered the New England Conservatory, where she studied piano and organ and took composition lessons from George Whitefield Chadwick and Frederick Converse. Her Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, composed in 1931–32, won the Wanamaker Competition and was performed in 1933 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Chicago World’s Fair—it was the first work by an African-American woman to be performed by a major American symphony orchestra. Price wrote over 300 works, including four symphonies, two violin concertos, a piano concerto, piano music, and a large number of songs and choral compositions. Her songs were championed by Marian Anderson, but in the years following Price’s death in 1953 her music drifted into obscurity. Perhaps in a new century her music will find the audience it deserves.

Price published Adoration in 1951, shortly before her death, but the piece may have been written earlier. Price had studied organ at the New England Conservatory, and she apparently intended this piece to be used as a prelude or interlude during a church service. Adoration has become one of Price’s most widely performed works—it can be heard in arrangements for violin, viola, cello, string orchestra, brass quintet, and many others. Only about three minutes long, this is music of dignity and quiet beauty; the pace is slow, and Price’s nice melodic sense is evident throughout. Adoration is heard at this concert in an arrangement for clarinet and piano.

Ad anah?

JAMES LEE III

Born November 26, 1975, St. Joseph, Michigan

Composed: 2015

Approximate Duration: 5 minutes

James Lee III learned to play the piano as a boy and earned his bachelor’s degree in piano performance. But rather than

make his career as a pianist, Lee chose to become a composer, and he earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in composition from the University of Michigan. He studied with some very distinguished teachers, including William Bolcom, Bright Sheng, Osvaldo Golijov, and Kaija Saariaho. Lee has been a vastly prolific composer in all forms—orchestral music, choral settings, piano music, as well as works for varied chamber ensembles and for band—and his music has been performed widely; he currently teaches at Morgan State University. Two highlights mark the 2024–25 season for Lee: he is serving as composer-in-residence with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Anthony McGill will give the première of his Clarinet Concerto with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra.

This beautiful composition, Ad Anah? means “How Long?” It is based on a Hebrew Prayer, and in the words of Anthony McGill before a recent performance, this short song reflects “…what we’re going through in this time… the struggle.”

—

Anna Polonsky and Anthony McGill

Clarinet Sonata

LEONARD BERNSTEIN

Born August 25, 1918, Lawrence, Massachusetts Died October 14, 1990, New York City

Composed: 1942

Approximate Duration: 11 minutes

The Clarinet Sonata was Leonard Bernstein’s first published composition, and when the 23-year-old composer wrote this music (between September 1941 and February 1942) he was still virtually unknown. Bernstein had graduated from Harvard in 1939 and then studied at the Curtis Institute for two years. He was an assistant to Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra when he wrote this sonata, and he would not achieve fame until nearly two years later, when he was a last-minute substitute for the ailing Bruno Walter with the New York Philharmonic in a nationally broadcast concert.

Dedicated to clarinetist David Oppenheim, the two-movement Clarinet Sonata lasts only about ten minutes. The opening Grazioso emphasizes the clarinet’s smooth and liquid sonority. From a quiet beginning, the music gradually grows faster and more animated, though Bernstein reminds the players: dolce and leggiero (light). The music pulls back to close at the initial tempo and on a fragment of the clarinet’s opening tune.

The second movement changes tempo sharply a number of times, and the effect is of a slow movement and a fast-paced finale combined in one movement. It opens with a quiet Andantino, which soon gives way to a Vivace e leggiero in 5/8 meter. This unusual meter, particularly when played at so fast a tempo, gives the music an infectious, perky bounce—at one point, Bernstein marks the clarinet part giocoso, un poco crudo. Lyric interludes provide moments of calm, and along the way Bernstein makes use of such clarinet techniques as echo-tone and the sneering glissando before this music rushes to its close on the wildly dancing 5/8 meter.

The first performance of the Clarinet Sonata took place on April 21, 1942, at the Institute of Modern Art in Boston. David Glazer was the clarinetist, with the composer at the piano.

ALBERT LIN IN SEARCH OF LOST CITIES

THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2025 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL PROGRAM

Presentation

Question & Answer Session

THIS PRESENTATION HAS NO INTERMISSION

ABOUT

Albert Lin is a professional explorer, blurring boundaries between human and machine, while uncovering the lost relics of our past. Despite losing his leg below the knee in 2016, Albert maintains a relentless quest into the farthest reaches of our planet—from Mongolia to the Mayan jungle—employing a technologist’s approach to unearth lost cultural stories and rituals.

His first National Geographic expedition was to Mongolia to locate the elusive tomb of the leader Genghis Khan. Today, he continues his search using cutting-edge satellite technology to locate the lost cities of the Maya and uncover timeless insights in the Arabian desert, exploring human resilience and ancient wisdom.

This presentation marks Albert Lin’s La Jolla Music Society debut.

PRELUDE 2 PM

Musical Prelude by students from the Colburn School

EVREN OZEL, piano

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2025 · 3 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Opus 27, No. 2 “Moonlight” (1770–1827) Adagio sostenuto Allegretto

Presto agitato

DEBUSSY Images , Book II (1862–1918) Cloches à travers les feuilles Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fût Poissons d’or

BARTÓK Out of Doors , Sz.81 (1881–1945) With Drums and Pipes: Pesante

Barcarolla: Andante

Musettes: Moderato

Musiques nocturnes: Lento

The Chase: Presto

Support for this program is provided by: Gordon Brodfuehrer

Jeanette Stevens

INTERMISSION

SCHUMANN Fantasiestücke, Opus 12 (1810–1856) Des Abends

Augschwung

Warum?

Grillen

In der Nacht Fabel

Traumes Wirren Ende vom Lied

RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit (1875–1937) Ondine

Le gibet Scarbo

Evren Ozel, piano

This performance marks Evren Ozel’s La Jolla Music Society debut.

Piano Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Opus 27, No. 2 “Moonlight” LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Born December 16, 1770, Bonn

Died March 26, 1827, Vienna

Composed: 1801

Approximate Duration: 15 minutes

The middle movement becomes not the traditional slow movement of the classical sonata, but a brief Allegretto that dances on gracefully falling phrases. Formally, this movement resembles the classical minuet, though Beethoven eliminates the repeat of the first strain. Phrases are short, and Beethoven makes clear that he wants unusually strong attacks by specifying accent marks rather than a simple staccato indication.

Images, Book II CLAUDE DEBUSSY

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

Died March 25, 1918, Paris

Composed: 1907

Approximate Duration: 14 minutes

In the early years of the twentieth century, Debussy’s piano music, already a miracle of subtlety and tone color, took on a new depth and sophistication. It may be possible to find reasons for this in the composer’s life. After years of struggle, Debussy—now in his early forties—had two significant successes: the opera Pelléas et Mélisande was produced in 1902, and the orchestral piece La Mer followed three years later. With these achievements behind him—and with a new sense of orchestral sonority derived from composing the opera and La Mer—Debussy returned to composing for piano. He produced the first book of Images in 1905, the second in 1907.

Audiences should both take the title Images seriously and they should ignore it. It is true that some of these six individual pieces have visual titles and seem at first to proceed from the images they suggest. Yet Debussy’s intention here is much more subtle than mere tone-painting: he aims not for literal depiction of the title but for a refined projection of mood, a combination of title, rhythm, and sonority to create an evocative sound-world all its own. Debussy was quite proud of his achievement in this music. When he sent the first set off to his publisher, he wrote: “With no false vanity, I believe that these three pieces are a success and that they will take their place in the literature of the piano, on the left hand of Schumann, or the right hand of Chopin, as you like it.” Few would argue with that claim.

Book II of Images offers much greater complexity than its predecessor: it is written in three staves throughout and shows new attention to color. Cloches à travers les feuilles (“Bells Heard through Leaves”) is meant to suggest the sound of distant church bells heard through a forest on Halloween. It is marked by the sonority of ringing bells and layers of sound at different dynamics; it is a sign of the refinement of Debussy’s thinking here that he asks that one passage sound “like an iridescent vapor.” Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fût (“And the Moon Descends on a Ruined Temple”) has a static quality, and some have heard in this steady chordal progression the play of light from the sinking moon over solitary ruins; that title, though, was suggested to Debussy by a friend after the piece was written. The entire work is at a very quiet dynamic, often at the level of pianississimo. The final piece—Poissons d’or (“Goldfish”)—is another water-music piece, but with a difference: it was inspired not by actual goldfish but by a piece of Chinese lacquer with a goldfish on a shiny black background. Flashes of movement and color leap from out of the rippling accompaniment.

Out of Doors, Sz. 81

BÉLA BARTÓK

Born March 25, 1881, Nagyszentmiklos, Hungary

Died September 26, 1945, New York City

Composed: 1926

Approximate Duration: 13 minutes

In 1926 Bartók made some changes in the direction of his career, and his music changed as a result. After years of teaching

at the Budapest Royal Academy of Music, Bartók decided to resume his career as a virtuoso pianist. He needed music of his own to play on tour, and so—after an interval of some years— he began to compose again for the piano. In 1926 Bartók wrote his First Piano Concerto (it would promptly assault audiences from Frankfurt to New York with its dissonance and percussive piano writing), as well as his Sonata for Piano, Nine Little Pieces, and a collection of five brief movements that he called Out of Doors. Bartók gave the première of Out of Doors (at least of several of its movements) at a recital in Budapest on December 8, 1926.

Out of Doors is remarkable music—it is one of Bartók’s most impressive (and difficult) works for the piano, and it shows several unusual influences. Over the preceding several years, Bartók had been editing collections of baroque keyboard music (works by Couperin, Scarlatti, Frescobaldi, and others). Bartók had no interest in the neoclassical movement then in vogue in Europe, but he found himself intrigued by the form of the baroque suite (a collection of movements that might be unrelated) and by the descriptive keyboard music of baroque composers, particularly that of Couperin. He combined the general shape of the baroque suite with his own new interest in the percussive possibilities of the piano to compose Out of Doors, a suite of five concise movements, each with a title and descriptive in intention. This is charming music, but for all its appeal to audiences, it is extraordinarily difficult for the pianist: extended sections are written on three staves, and the music is full of rhythmic and harmonic difficulties. Out of Doors also demands a performer with unusual touch, one who can master the percussive outer movements while creating the full range of color—much of it quite subtle—that Bartók demands in the interior movements.

With Drums and Pipes is a good illustration of Bartók’s percussive writing for piano. Set in a steady 2/4, the music pounds along, its propulsive progress made more pungent by the stinging sound of seconds. Much of this movement is set deep in the piano’s register, and its steady pulse slows only at the end.

A barcarolle is the song of the Venetian gondoliers, and a number of composers—Chopin and Liszt among them—have written keyboard works in this form. Bartók’s Barcarolla preserves the murmuring, rocking sound typical of the form, but his pulse of eighth-notes is enlivened by the fact that he changes meter in almost every measure. Above this, the music shimmers quietly. In Musettes Bartók portrays the bagpipes with whirling dissonances; the bagpipes clatter and wheeze, and tunes emerge from these thick layers of sound.

The most unusual (and impressive) movement in Out of Doors is the fourth, Musiques nocturnes. This is one of the earliest of Bartók’s “night-music” movements, and here he evokes the sounds of nature at night: insects chirp, frogs croak, birds twitter. This movement is written on three staves, and it includes tone clusters that blur the sound, swirls, and murmurs, all broken by the occasional peep of a very high note. Out of these subdued night-sounds, simple tunes emerge and sing, and in the closing section Bartók combines these tunes with his opening material. This movement was clearly close to its creator’s heart. He dedicated it to his wife, and nineteen years later, as he lay dying in New York, he composed his Third Piano Concerto and dedicated that to his wife as well—the slow

movement of that concerto is exactly this same sort of nightmusic movement.

Out of the soft close of the fourth movement, the final movement—The Chase—bursts to life. The keyboard style here is very similar to that of the first movement: both pound along vigorously, and here Bartók has the left hand playing steady sixteenths while the right plays octave eighths. The music pounds its way without any relief right to the sudden stop.

Fantasiestücke, Opus 12 ROBERT SCHUMANN

Born June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Germany

Died July 29, 1856, Endenich, Germany

Composed: 1837

Approximate Duration: 27 minutes

Schumann very much liked the title Fantasiestücke (“Fantasy Pieces”)—he used it for four different works: these piano pieces, written in 1837; again in 1842 for a collection of pieces for piano trio; in 1849 for a group of pieces for clarinet and piano; and in 1851 for another cycle of short piano pieces. Schumann took the term from German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, who had used it as the title for a collection of tales that wove together realistic and fantastic strands, often touched with a streak of the macabre. Schumann was especially drawn to the idea of a short piece that presented a particular impression, mood, or sketch, and each of his eight Fantasiestücke has a descriptive title.

But what is striking about these titles is that they came after the music, not before. Instead of choosing a subject and then writing music inspired by it, Schumann composed the music, then went back to find a title and a program for it. Some of these programs are fairly elaborate and seem—to neutral ears—to have nothing to do with the music. Schumann himself, however, was amazed by how he was able—ex post facto—to discover “meaning” in his own music: “It is astonishing how it all fits,” he exclaimed to a friend.

Each piece has a title and then a performance marking in German that suggests the character of the music. In Des Abends the main theme emerges from the arpeggios that accompany it. Schumann marks the music “To be played with great intimacy,” and it features cross-rhythms and unexpected key changes—it moves between B-flat minor and C-sharp minor—before the quiet close. The popular Augschwung (“Soaring,” marked “Very quick”) alternates pounding chords with lyric sections, while Warum? (“Why?” marked “Slow and tender”) is built on syncopated slow melodies. The long Grillen (“Whims”: “With humor”) is built on chordal melodies. Schumann claimed that In der Nacht (“In the Night”) told the story of Hero and Leander, and he explained the program in great detail to the young Clara Wieck:

“Every night Leander swims across the water to his beloved, who waits in the lighthouse and lights the way for him with a torch. It is a wonderful romantic old legend. When I play ‘In der Nacht,’ I cannot get the picture out of my mind—first, how he dives into the sea. She calls, he answers. He swims through the waves and arrives safely at the other side. Then comes the Cantilena, when they embrace; then he has to return but cannot bear to part—until night again shrouds the whole

scene in darkness.” This is powerful music—Schumann marks it “With passion”—and listeners are free to search for signs of the story of Hero and Leander as this music contrasts sections (and moods) before the powerful conclusion.

The charming Fabel (“Fable”) alternates slow and fast sections, while Traumes Wirren (“Dream Confusions”) is in ABA form: the sparkling outer sections fly, and the middle is built on a quiet chordal melody. Schumann brings the collection to a close with Ende vom Lied (“End of the Song”: “With good humor”), which alternates slow and fast sections; the very ending is surprising, for the music turns quiet and solemn. To Clara, Schumann wrote: “I thought that, now I had reached the end, everything would resolve itself in a merry wedding. But as I thought of you, sorrow came over me, and the result was a chime of wedding bells mingled with a death knell.”

Gaspard de la nuit MAURICE RAVEL

Born March 7, 1875, Ciboure, Basses-Pyrenées Died December 28, 1937, Paris

Composed: 1908

Approximate Duration: 22 minutes

Maurice Ravel had a lifelong fascination with magic and the macabre, and they shaped his music in different ways. While still a student at the Paris Conservatory, he fell in love with a curious book written sixty years earlier: Gaspard de la nuit, a collection of prose-poems by Aloysius Bertrand (1807–1841). Bertrand said that these spooky tales from the middle ages were “after the manner of Callot and Rembrandt” (it was an engraving by Callot—“The Huntsman’s Funeral”— that inspired the third movement of Mahler’s First Symphony), and Bertrand gave these tales a further whiff of brimstone by claiming that the manuscript had been delivered to him by a stranger: Gaspard himself, simply an alias for Satan.

Ravel composed his Gaspard de la nuit—a set of three pieces that blend magic, nightmare, and the grotesque—in 1908, at exactly the same time he was writing his collection of luminous fairyland pieces for children, Ma mère l’oye Ravel’s completed work descends from a curiously mixed artistic ancestry: Bertrand’s prose-poems were originally inspired by the visual arts (paintings, etchings, and woodcuts), and in turn—his imagination enlivened by Bertrand’s literary images—Ravel composed what he called “three poems for piano.” This heterogeneous background makes itself felt in the music, for at its best Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit blends word, image, and sound.

Each of the three pieces in Gaspard de la nuit was inspired by a particular prose-poem, and Ravel included these in the score. But Gaspard de la nuit should not be understood as the attempt to recreate each tale in music; rather, these pieces evoke the particular mood inspired by Bertrand’s prose-poems. Still, there are moments of such detailed scene-painting that one imagines Ravel must have had specific lines in mind as he wrote.

Ondine pictures the water sprite who tempts mortal man to her palace beneath the lake. Ravel’s shimmering music evokes the transparent, transitory surfaces of Bertrand’s text, the final line of which reads: “And when I told her that I was in love with a mortal woman, she began to sulk in annoyance, shed a

few tears, gave a burst of laughter, and vanished in a shower of spray which ran in pale drops down my blue window-panes.” It is impossible not to hear a conscious setting of these images over the closing moments of this music, which vanishes as suddenly as the water sprite herself.

Le gibet (“The Gallows”) evokes quite a different world, and all commentators sense the influence of Poe here (during his American tour of 1928, Ravel made a point of visiting Poe’s house in Baltimore). Bertrand’s text begins with a question: “Ah, what do I hear? Is it the night wind howling, or the hanged man sighing on the gibbet?” He considers other possibilities, all of them horrible, and finally offers the answer: “It is the bell that sounds from the walls of a town beyond the horizon, and the corpse of a hanged man that glows red in the setting sun.” Muted throughout, this piece is built on a constantly repeated B-flat, whose irregular tolling echoes the sound of that bell.

The concluding Scarbo is a portrait of some bizarre creature—part dwarf, part rogue, part clown—who seems to hover just outside clear focus. The text concludes: “But soon his body would start to turn blue, as transparent as candle wax, his face would grow pale as the light from a candle-end—and suddenly he would begin to disappear.” Ravel’s music—with its torrents of sound, sudden stops, and the unexpected close— suggests different appearances of this apparition.

It should be noted that Gaspard de la nuit is music of stupefying difficulty for the performer, and this was by design: Ravel consciously set out to write a work that he said would be more difficult than Balakirev’s Islamey, one of the great tests for pianists (alert listeners may detect hints of the beginning of Islamey in Scarbo, perhaps an act of homage on the part of Ravel). In his effort to write blisteringly difficult music for the pianist, Ravel succeeded brilliantly. From the complex (and finger-twisting) chords of Ondine through the dense textures of Le gibet (written on three staves) and the consecutive seconds of Scarbo, Gaspard de la nuit presents hurdles that make simply getting the notes almost impossible. And only then can the pianist set about creating the range of tone color, dynamics, and pacing that bring this evanescent music to life.

KODŌ ONE EARTH TOUR 2025: WARABE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025 · 7:30 PM

BALBOA THEATRE

PROGRAM

KOE

Composed by Yuta Sumiyoshi, dance arranged by Koki Miura (2021)

MIYAKE

Arranged by KOD Ō

NIWAKA

Composed by Masayasu Maeda (2021)

HAE

Composed by Motofumi Yamaguchi (1982)

UMINARI

Composed by Yuta Sumiyoshi (2021)

INTERMISSION

SHINKA

Composed by Koki Miura (2021)

OKOSHI

Composed by Masayasu Maeda, dance arranged by Koki Miura (2021)

DOKUSO

Composed by Reo Kitabayashi (2021)

INOCHI

Composed by Ryotaro Leo Ikenaga (2021)

O-DAIKO

KODO appears by arrangement with IMG Artists, LLC, 7 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019. 212-994-3500

Arranged by Kod ō , Kenta Nakagome

YATAI-BAYASHI

Traditional, arranged by KOD Ō

The following pieces are based on these regional traditional performing arts:

Koe: Kanatsu-ryu Yanagawa Shishi Odori (Oshu, Iwate)

Miyake: Miyake-jima Kamitsuki Mikoshi Daiko (Miyake Island, Tokyo)

Okoshi: Onidaiko and Shishi (Sado Island, Niigata)

Yatai-bayashi: Chichibu Yatai-bayashi (Chichibu, Saitama)

KODŌ last performed for La Jolla Music Society in a Special Event on February 11, 2023.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Let your soul dance to the rhythm of life. In Japanese, the word “Kodō” holds a double meaning. It can be translated as “heartbeat,” the primal source of all rhythm. However, our group’s name is written with different characters, which mean “drum” and “child.” This reflects KODŌ’s desire to play the drums with the simple heart of a child. For our 40th anniversary in 2021, we created two works based on our name: “Tsuzumi” takes its name and theme from the drum character, and “Warabe” from the child element. “Tsuzumi” was our touring production in 2023 across North America, and we are happy to present you now with the continuing production, “Warabe.”

In “Warabe,” KODŌ looks to its classic repertoire and aesthetics from the ensemble’s early days. This production blends simple forms of taiko expression that celebrate the unique sound, resonance, and physicality synonymous with KODŌ—forever children of the drum at heart. Come and experience the soul-stirring rhythm of life firsthand.

— Yuichiro Funabashi, Director / KODŌ Ensemble Leader

KOD Ō ONE EARTH TOUR 2025: WARABE

KODŌ Performers

Eiichi Saito, Jun Jidai, Koki Miura, Masayasu Maeda

Kodai Yoshida, Seita Saegusa, Chihiro Watanabe, Taiyo Onoda Shun Takuma, Moe Niiyama, Kei Sadanari, Jumpei Nonaka, Kazuma Hirosaki, Hana Ogawa

Director

Yuichiro Funabashi

Technical Director

Kei Olivier Furukata

Lighting Designer

Kenichi Mashiko (S.L.S.)

Stage Manager

Takeshi Arai

Production Manager

Yui Kamiya

Music Advisor

Tatsuya Shimono

Photographer

Takashi Okamoto

Posture & Movement Instructor

Tatsuo Kudo

Tour Managers

Natsumi Ikenaga, Rena Tsukamoto

Assistant Stage Manager

Kengo Kosugi

Assistant Manager

Donnie Keeton

International Tour Management

IMG Artists

Promotional Video Director

Sokichi Sogawa

Physical Trainer

Kiyoaki Sakai

Promotional Artwork

Hiroomi Hattori (COM Works)

Voice Instructor

Yumi Nogami

Special Thanks

Ranjo, Shingo Tokihiro, Kawachi Wakate, Rengebuji Temple Kodō Cultural Foundation

Planning & Production Company

Kitamaesen Co., Ltd.

North America Tour Marketing SoloShoe Communications, LLC

Website: www.kodō.or.jp Facebook | X | Instagram:

PRELUDE 6:30 PM

Interview hosted by Molly Puryear

For artist profiles please click here:

TWYLA THARP DANCE DIAMOND JUBILEE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025 · 7:30 PM

BALBOA THEATRE

Support for this program is provided by:

Dorothea Laub

Elaine Galison and Herbert Solomon

Amy Corton and Carl Eibl

PROGRAM

Diabelli (1998)

INTERMISSION SLACKTIDE (2025)

FEATURING THE COMPANY

Renan Cerdeiro, Angela Falk, Zachary Gonder, Oliver Greene-Cramer, Kyle Halford, Daisy Jacobson, Miriam Gittens, Nicole Ashley Morris, Marzia Memoli, Alexander Peters, Molly Rumble, Reed Tankersley

Choreography by Twyla Tharp

Artistic Associate

Alexander Brady

Production Supervisor & Stage Manager

Tony Crawford

Wardrobe Supervisor

Jeffrey Shirbroun

Lighting Supervisor

Jesse Campbell & Stacey Boggs

Company Manager

Jesse Ontiveros

Tour Booking & Management

Opus 3 Artists

Robert Berretta, managing director

Benjamin Maimin, chief operating officer

Jemma Lehner, associate manager

Twyla Tharp last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Dance Series on October 22, 2016.

PROGRAM

Diabelli (1998)

Choreography by: Twyla Tharp

Music: 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Opus 120 by Ludwig Van Beethoven

Live musical performance by: Vladimir Rumyantsev, piano

Costume Design by: Geoffrey Beene

Costume Coordinator: Victoria Bek

Lighting Design by: Justin Townsend

Performed by: Renan Cerdeiro, Angela Falk, Miriam Gittens, Oliver Greene-Cramer, Kyle Halford, Daisy Jacobson, Marzia Memoli, Nicole Ashley Morris, Alexander Peters, Reed Tankersley

Covers: Zachary Gonder, Molly Rumble

Diabelli was commissioned by The Cité de la Musique (Paris); The Barbican Center (London); University of Iowa, Hancher Auditorium (Iowa City)

SLACKTIDE (2025)

Choreography by: Twyla Tharp

Music: Aguas Da Amazonia by Philip Glass

Arranged and performed by: Third Coast Percussion (Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore) and Constance Volk, flute

Costume Design by: Victoria Bek

Lighting Design by: Justin Townsend

Performed by: Renan Cerdeiro, Angela Falk, Miriam Gittens, Zachary Gonder, Oliver Greene-Cramer, Kyle Halford, Daisy Jacobson, Marzia Memoli, Nicole Ashley Morris, Alexander Peters, Molly Rumble, Reed Tankersley

SLACKTIDE was commissioned by New York City Center (New York), The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), The University of California, Arts & Lectures (Santa Barbara)

This arrangement by Third Coast Percussion of Aguas da Amazonia by Philip Glass was commissioned with support from Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, the Zell Family Foundation, the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation, the Julian Family Foundation, and Steph and Daniel Heffner. Major support for the Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation is provided by Jay Franke and David Herro. Funding for the 60th Tour made possible by Jody and John Arnhold, Valerie and Chuck Diker, Peter and Sarah Finn, Sarah Hoover, Bill Miller, James Nederlander Jr., Patsy and Jeff Tarr, Stephen and Cathy Weinroth, and Vicente Wolf.

PRELUDE 6:30 PM

Lecture by Michael Gerdes

HAGEN QUARTET

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2025 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

HAYDN String Quartet in G Major, Opus 54, No. 1 (1732–1809) Allegro con brio

Allegretto

Menuetto: Allegretto

Finale: Presto

String Quartet in E Major, Opus 54, No. 3

Allegro

Largo cantabile

Menuetto: Allegretto

Finale: Presto

INTERMISSION

SCHUMANN String Quartet in A Major, Opus 41, No. 3 (1810–1856) Andante espressivo; Allegro molto moderato Assai agitato; un poco Adagio Adagio molto

Finale: Allegro molto vivace Hagen Quartet

Lukas Hagen, Rainer Schmidt, violins; Veronika Hagen, viola; Clemens Hagen, cello

Hagen Quartet last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Revelle Series on October 25, 2014.

Two Quartets from Haydn’s Opus 54 FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN

Born March 31, 1732, Rohrau, Austria

Died May 31, 1809, Vienna

Haydn composed the three string quartets of his Opus 54 during the summer of 1788, which he spent at the Esterhazy family’s handsome summer palace at Eisenstadt, about thirty miles south of Vienna. At age 56, he was an experienced and very successful composer—he had already written ninety symphonies, including the just-completed “Paris” Symphonies, and nearly sixty string quartets. Haydn dedicated the Opus 54 quartets to Johann Tost, who served as the principal second violinist in the Esterhazy orchestra between 1783 and 1788. Tost left the orchestra, married a wealthy widow, and set himself up as a successful cloth merchant in Vienna. Haydn’s dedication of this set “To the Wholesaler Tost” is a wry comment on his friend’s change of fortunes (and perhaps it reflects a touch of envy on the composer’s behalf). At this point Tost was about to leave on a trip to Paris, and Haydn entrusted the manuscript of these three quartets to him, asking Tost to find a publisher for them in Paris. This Tost did, and Seiber published these quartets in Paris in June 1789, just weeks before the storming of the Bastille and the beginning of the French Revolution.

The most popular of the three quartets of Opus 54 has always been the second (and in fact the Takács Quartet performed that quartet on this stage last October). The first and third quartets of Opus 54, however, have remained much less familiar, and in this concert the Hagen Quartet offers the extremely unusual opportunity to hear both of them.

String Quartet in G Major, Opus 54, No. 1

Composed: 1788

Approximate Duration: 24 minutes

The Quartet in G Major may not be well known, but this is a fun piece of music, full of energy, humor, and some exciting writing. On the evidence of these quartets, Tost must have been a remarkable violinist and artist, for the first violin part in the three quartets of Opus 54 can be extroverted and virtuosic. And this in turn raises a different issue. The textbook cliché is that Haydn liberated the string quartet and made all four voices equal participants in the musical discourse, but there is no question that the first violin is often the “star” of these quartets.

We feel that from the first measure of the Allegro con brio, where the first violin soars above the other voices on the movement’s energetic opening theme. There is a hint of a second subject, but Haydn builds the first movement almost exclusively on its opening theme. The development moves through a series of minor keys before coming to a firm close in G major.

The Allegretto moves to C major, with the first violin laying out the dolce principal theme over steady 6/8 accompaniment from the other voices. There are surprises along the way: the first violin flies up to a very high C at several points, and as this seemingly gentle movement proceeds we hear a series of grindingly dissonant entries from the four players. Haydn must surely have been thinking here of Mozart’s “Dissonant” Quartet, written three years earlier and dedicated to Haydn: the effect

of the quietly unsettling entrances is the same in both quartets. The spirited Menuetto is built on five-measure phrases, rather than the expected four, and its trio section features an unusually active role for the cello.

Listen carefully to the first three notes of the Presto finale: those three eighth-notes will dominate the movement. There’s lots of energy in this rondo-like finale, and we come to feel that Haydn is having a good time with his players—and with his audience: he throws in a number of unexpected pauses along the way, and he brings that three-note pattern back again and again, mixed into passages of brilliant writing for all four players. After all the energy, the surprises, and the brilliance, the ending is wonderful.

String Quartet in E Major, Opus 54, No. 3

Composed: 1788

Approximate Duration: 25 minutes

The final quartet of Opus 54 is in E major, an unusual key for string quartets and a difficult one for string players, yet this is very relaxed and pleasing music. The genial and full-throated opening of the Allegro quickly gives way to brilliant triplet exchanges between the violins. A second theme, marked dolce, soon arrives, but Haydn neglects this completely to build the movement on the opening idea. The movement drives to a firm close on ringing E-major chords.

The second movement is in some ways the most distinctive movement of this quartet. Haydn moves to A major here and marks the movement Largo cantabile, which suggests a singing slow movement. That is what we get, and the movement is built around an increasingly elaborate extension of the gentle opening melody. But the surprise is just how elaborate that extension becomes. Gradually that theme is encrusted with trills, turns, and grace-notes, and the tempo seems to rush ahead (much of the first violin part is written in 64th-notes). What had begun so gently now seems over-elaborated in the extreme (Haydn scholar Rosemary Hughes has described this movement as “Floridity runs to seed”). Eventually all this energy subsides, and the movement concludes quietly.

The Menuetto is written in Lombard rhythms (dotted rhythms with the short note coming first), while the finale, marked Presto, is in sonata-form. Second violin leads the way here with a graceful tune that Haydn specifies should be played mezzo voce: “middle voice”—not too loud. That is the key to this movement: Haydn repeats that instruction repeatedly before this relaxed and appealing music—punctuated by some deft silences—rushes to a very pleasing conclusion.

String Quartet in A Major, Opus 41, No. 3

ROBERT SCHUMANN

Born June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Germany

Died July 29, 1856, Endenich, Germany

Composed: 1842

Approximate Duration: 30 minutes

Schumann’s marriage to the young Clara Wieck in 1840 set off a great burst of creativity, and curiously he seemed to change genres by year: 1840 produced an outpouring of song, 1841 symphonic works, and 1842 chamber music. During the winter of 1842, Schumann had begun to think about composing

string quartets. Clara was gone on a month-long concert tour to Copenhagen in April, and though he suffered an anxiety attack in her absence Schumann used that time to study the quartets of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. His wife’s return to Leipzig restored the composer’s spirits, and he quickly composed the three string quartets of his Opus 41 in June and July of that year; later that summer he wrote his Piano Quartet and Piano Quintet. Writing string quartets presented special problems for the pianist-composer. The string quartets are his only chamber works without piano, and—cut off from the familiar resources of his own instrument—he struggled to write just for strings. Though he returned to writing chamber music later in his career, Schumann never again wrote a string quartet.

The Quartet in A Major, composed quickly between July 8 and 22, is regarded as the finest of the set and shows many of those original touches that mark Schumann’s best music. The first movement opens with a very brief (seven-measure) slow introduction marked Andante espressivo. The first violin’s falling fifth at the very beginning will become the thematic “seed” for much of the movement: that same falling fifth opens the main theme at the Allegro molto moderato and also appears as part of the second subject, introduced by the cello over syncopated accompaniment. Schumann’s markings for these two themes suggest the character of the movement: sempre teneramente (“always tenderly”) and espressivo. Schumann’s procedures in this movement are a little unusual: the development treats only the first theme, and the second does not reappear until the recapitulation. The movement fades into silence on the cello’s pianissimo falling fifth.

The second movement brings more originality. Marked Assai agitato (“Very agitated”), it is a theme-and-variation movement, but with a difference: it begins cryptically—with an off-the-beat main idea in 3/8 meter—and only after three variations does Schumann present the actual theme, now marked Un poco Adagio. A further variation and flowing coda bring the movement to a quiet close. The Adagio molto opens peacefully with the soaring main idea in the first violin. More insistent secondary material arrives over dotted rhythms, and the music grows harmonically complex before pulsing dotted rhythms draw the movement to a close.

Out of the quiet, the rondo-finale bursts to life with a main idea so vigorous that it borders on the aggressive. This is an unusually long movement. Contrasting interludes (including a lovely, Bach-like gavotte) provide relief along the way, but the insistent dotted rhythms of the rondo tune always return to pound their way into a listener’s consciousness and finally to propel the quartet to its exuberant close.

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO, chief conductor YUNCHAN LIM, piano

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025 · 8 PM

JACOBS MUSIC CENTER

RACHMANINOFF

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Opus 18 (1873–1943)

Support for this program is provided by:

Helene and Keith Kim

Major Support for the WinterFest Gala is provided by:

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

Raffaella Belanich

Susan and Bill Hoehn

Debra Turner

MAHLER

Moderato; Allegro Adagio sostenuto

Allegro scherzando Yunchan Lim, piano

INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 1 in D Major (1860–1911)

Langsam. Schleppend. Wie ein Naturlaut

Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell

Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen

Stürmisch bewegt

London Symphony Orchestra

Sir Antonio Pappano, chief conductor

London Symphony Orchestra last performed for La Jolla Music Society in the Orchestra Series on March 29, 2015. This performance marks Sir Antonio Pappano’s and Yunchan Lim’s La Jolla Music Society debuts.

FIRST VIOLINS

Andrej Power, Leader

Cellerina Park

Clare Duckworth

Stefano Mengoli

Ginette Decuyper

Maxine Kwok

Elizabeth Pigram

Claire Parfitt

Laurent Quénelle

Harriet Rayfield

Olatz Ruiz de Gordejuela

Sylvain Vasseur

Rhys Watkins

Caroline Frenkel

Dániel Mészöly

Djumash Poulsen

SECOND VIOLINS

Julián Gil Rodríguez

Thomas Norris

Miya Väisänen

Matthew Gardner

Naoko Keatley

Alix Lagasse

Belinda McFarlane

Iwona Muszynska

Csilla Pogány

Louise Shackelton

Ingrid Button

Mitzi Gardner

Polina Makhina

Shoshanah Sievers

VIOLAS

Eivind Ringstad

Gillianne Haddow

Malcolm Johnston

Mizuho Ueyama

Steve Doman

Sofia Silva Sousa

Thomas Beer

Regina Beukes

Michelle Bruil

Errika Collins

Philip Hall

Martin Schaefer

CELLOS

Rebecca Gilliver

Alastair Blayden

Salvador Bolón

Daniel Gardner

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

CHIEF CONDUCTOR: SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO

CONDUCTOR EMERITUS: SIR SIMON RATTLE

PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTORS: GIANANDREA NOSEDA, FRANÇOIS-XAVIER ROTH

ASSOCIATE ARTISTS: BARBARA HANNIGAN, ANDRÉ J THOMAS

CONDUCTOR LAUREATE: MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS

Amanda Truelove

Morwenna Del Mar

Silvestrs Kalnins

Ghislaine McMullin

Miwa Rosso

Peteris Sokolovskis

DOUBLE BASSES

Rodrigo Moro Martín

Patrick Laurence

Thomas Goodman

Chaemun Im

Joe Melvin

Jani Pensola

Simon Oliver

Colin Paris

FLUTES

Gareth Davies

Julien Beaudiment

Imogen Royce

PICCOLO

Sharon Williams

OBOES

Juliana Koch

Olivier Stankiewicz

Rosie Jenkins

COR ANGLAIS

Sarah Harper

CLARINETS

Sérgio Pires

Chris Richards

Chi-Yu Mo

Sonia Sielaff

BASS CLARINET

Ferran Garcerà Perelló

BASSOONS

Daniel Jemison

Todd Gibson-Cornish

Joost Bosdijk

CONTRA BASSOON

Martin Field

HORNS

Diego Incertis Sánchez

Mihajlo Bulajic

Timothy Jones

Angela Barnes

Jonathan Maloney

Daniel Curzon

Meilyr Hughes

James Pillai

TRUMPETS

James Fountain

Thomas Fountain

Adam Wright

Katie Smith

Gerald Ruddock

TROMBONES

Merin Rhyd

Helen Vollam

Jonathan Hollick

BASS TROMBONE

Paul Milner

TUBA

Ben Thomson

TIMPANI

Nigel Thomas

Patrick King

PERCUSSION

Neil Percy

David Jackson

Sam Walton

HARP

Bryn Lewis

ADMINISTRATION

Dame Kathryn McDowell DBE DL, Managing Director

Frankie Sheridan, Tours Manager

Mary Phillips, Tours Manager

Emily Rutherford, Personnel Manager

Kenneth Chung, Librarian

Fern Wilson, Stage Manager

Jakub Drewa, Stage Manager

Liana Richards, Director of Advancement

Becky Lees, Head of LSO Live

Chris Millard,Head of Press & External Affairs

With special thanks to the LSO’s 2025 US Tour syndicate, who have helped to make our visit possible.

We would also like to extend our thanks to those who support the wider work of the LSO through the American LSO Foundation.

Program notes by Eric

Bromberger

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Opus 18 SERGEI RACHMANINOFF

Born April 1, 1873, Oneg, Novgorod, Russia

Died March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills

Composed: 1897

Approximate Duration: 34 minutes

Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto may be the bestloved piano concerto on the planet, but it almost did not get written, and the tale of its creation is one of the most remarkable in all of music. Rachmaninoff graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1892 with its highest award, the gold medal, and quickly embarked on a career as a touring pianist. But he wanted to compose. He had written a piano concerto while still a conservatory student, and early in 1895 the 21-yearold composer took on the most challenging of orchestral compositions, a symphony. The première of that symphony, on March 27, 1897, was a catastrophe. Conductor Alexander Glazunov was unprepared (some said drunk), the orchestra played badly, and young Rachmaninoff saw the disaster coming. Unwilling to enter the hall, he sat hunched in a stairwell of the auditorium with his fists clenched against the sides of his head. Inside, it was as bad as he feared: audience and critics alike hated the music, César Cui describing it as a “program symphony on the Seven Plagues of Egypt . . . [music that would give] acute delight to the inhabitants of Hell.” What should have been a moment of triumph for the young composer instead brought humiliation.

Rachmaninoff may have been a powerful performer, but he was a vulnerable personality, and the disaster of the première plunged him into a deep depression. His first act was to destroy the score to the symphony. It was never performed again during his lifetime, but after his death it was reassembled from the orchestral parts, and the painful irony is that his First Symphony is now admired as one of the finest works of his youth. But in the aftermath of the fiasco of its première, Rachmaninoff lost confidence in himself—for the next three years he wrote no music at all.

Alarmed, the composer’s family and friends arranged for him to see Dr. Nicholas Dahl, an internal medicine specialist who sometimes treated patients through hypnosis. Dahl was also an extremely cultured man—he was an amateur cellist— and Rachmaninoff’s friends were hopeful that contact with such a man would improve the composer’s spirits. During a lengthy series of visits, the composer heard a steady message of encouragement from the doctor: “You will begin to write your concerto . . . You will work with great facility . . . The concerto will be of excellent quality.” To the composer’s astonishment, Dahl’s treatment worked. He later said: “Although it may sound incredible, this cure really helped me. By the beginning of summer I again began to compose. The material grew in bulk, and new musical ideas began to stir within me—more than enough for my concerto.” With the dam broken, new music rushed out of the rejuvenated composer. Across the summer and fall of 1900, Rachmaninoff composed what became the second and third movements of his Second Piano Concerto. These were performed successfully that December, and Rachmaninoff

composed the opening movement the following spring. The first performance of the complete concerto, in Moscow on November 9, 1901, was a triumph. Not surprisingly, Rachmaninoff dedicated the concerto to Dr. Dahl.

The very beginning of the concerto seems so “right” that it is hard to believe that this movement was written last. Throughout his life Rachmaninoff loved the sound of Russian church bells. He once noted: “The sound of church bells dominated all the cities of Russia I used to know—Novgorod, Kiev, Moscow. They accompanied every Russian from childhood to the grave, and no composer could escape their influence . . . All my life I have taken pleasure in the differing moods and music of gladly chiming or mournfully tolling bells . . .” Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto begins with the sound of those bells, as—all alone—the solo piano echoes their tolling. Into that swirling sound, the orchestra stamps out the impassioned main theme, one of those powerful Slavic melodies that instantly haunt the mind; the solo piano has the yearning second subject. This music demands a pianist of extraordinary ability (this is one of the most difficult concertos in the literature), and Rachmaninoff writes with imagination throughout this movement: the orchestra reprises the main theme beneath the soloist’s dancing chordal accompaniment, while the solo horn recalls the second subject in a haunting passage marked dolce

A soft chorale for muted strings introduces the Adagio sostenuto, but—in a wonderful touch—the solo flute sings the main theme as the pianist accompanies. The theme is repeated, first by the clarinet and then the strings, growing more elaborate as it proceeds, and only then is the piano allowed to take the lead. A brief but spectacular cadenza leads to a recall of the tolling bells from the very beginning and a quiet close. The Allegro scherzando begins quietly as well, but this march-like opening is full of suppressed rhythmic energy. Rachmaninoff makes an effective contrast between the orchestra’s opening— powerful but controlled with an almost military precision—and the piano’s entrance, which explodes with an extraordinary wildness. The second theme, broadly sung by the violas, has become one of those Big Tunes for which Rachmaninoff was famous. Unfortunately, this wonderful melody would become an inspiration for countless Hollywood composers and—many years later—it was used to set the words “Full moon and empty arms.” If one can escape those associations and listen with fresh ears, this remains lovely music, a reminder of Rachmaninoff’s considerable melodic gift. The concerto rushes to its conclusion on a no-holds-barred coda (another Rachmaninoff specialty) that resounds in every measure with the young composer’s recently restored health.

Symphony No. 1 in D Major GUSTAV MAHLER

Born July 7, 1860, Kalischt, Bohemia Died May 18, 1911, Vienna

Composed: 1889

Approximate Duration: 52 minutes

Mahler’s First Symphony is one of the most impressive first symphonies ever written, and it gave its young creator a great deal of trouble. He began it late in 1884, when he was only

24, and completed a first version in March 1888. But when it was first performed—to a mystified audience in Budapest on November 20, 1889—it had a form far different from the one we know today. Mahler would not even call it a symphony. For that first performance he called it Symphonic Poem, and it was in two huge parts that seemed to tell a story: the opening three-movement section was called “Days of Youth,” while the concluding two movements made up what Mahler called the “Human Comedy.” But as Mahler revised the symphony for later performances, he began to let slip quite different hints about the “meaning” of this music. At one point he called it the “Titan,” borrowing the title of Jean Paul Richter’s novel about a wild young hero who feels lost in this world. Some further sense of its content comes from the fact that the symphony borrows several themes from Mahler’s just-completed Songs of a Wayfarer, which are about his recovery from an ill-fated love affair. But finally Mahler, who had a love-hate relation with verbal explanations of his music (denouncing them one moment, releasing new ones the next), abandoned any mention of a program. When he finally published this symphony in 1899, he had cut it to only four movements, greatly expanded the orchestration, and suppressed all mention of the “Titan” or of any other extra-musical associations. Now it was simply his Symphony No. 1

And what a first symphony it is! The stunning beginning— Mahler asks that it be “like a nature-sound”—is intended to evoke a quiet summer morning, and he captures that hazy, shimmering stillness with a near-silent A six octaves deep. The effect is magical, as if we are suddenly inside some vast, softly humming machine. Soon we hear twittering birds and morning fanfares from distant military barracks. The call of the cuckoo is outlined by the interval of a falling fourth, and that figure will recur throughout the symphony, giving shape to many of its themes. Cellos announce the true first theme, which begins with the drop of a fourth—when Mahler earlier used this same theme in his Wayfarer cycle, it set the disappointed lovers embarking on his lonely journey: “I went this morning through the fields, dew still hung upon the grass.” A noble chorus of horns, ringing out from a forest full of busy cuckoos, forms the second subject, and the brief development—by turns lyric and dramatic—leads to a mighty restatement of the Wayfarer theme and an exciting close.

Mahler marks the second movement Kraftig bewegt (“Moving powerfully”); his original subtitle for this movement was “Under Full Sail.” This movement is a scherzo in ABA form, and Mahler bases it on the ländler, the rustic Austrian waltz. Winds and then violins stamp out the opening ländler, full of hard edges and stomping accents, and this drives to a powerful cadence. Out of the silence, the sound of a solo horn rivets our attention—and nicely changes the mood. The central section is another ländler, but this one sings beautifully, its flowing melodies made all the more sensual by graceful slides from the violins. The movement concludes with a return of the opening material.

The third movement opens what, in Mahler’s original scheme, was the second part of the symphony. Deliberately grotesque, this music was inspired by a woodcut picturing the funeral of a hunter, whose body is borne through the woods

by forest animals—deer, foxes, rabbits, shrews, birds—who celebrate his death with mock pageantry. Over the timpani’s quiet tread (once again, the interval of a fourth), solo double bass plays a lugubrious little tune that is treated as a round; the ear soon recognizes this as a minor-key variation of the children’s song “Frère Jacques.” The first episode lurches along sleazily over an “oom-pah” rhythm; Mahler indicates that he wants this played “with parody,” and the music echoes the klezmer street bands of Eastern Europe. But a further episode brings soft relief: muted violins offer another quotation from the Wayfarer songs, this time a theme that had set the words “By the wayside stands a linden tree, and there at last I’ve found some peace.” In the song cycle, these words marked the disappointed lover’s escape from his pain and his return to life. The march returns, and the timpani taps this movement to its nearly silent close.

Then the finale explodes. It is worth quoting Mahler on this violent music: “The fourth movement then springs suddenly, like lightning from a dark cloud. It is simply the cry of a deeply wounded heart, preceded by the ghastly brooding oppressiveness of the funeral march.” Mahler’s original title for this movement was “From Inferno to Paradise,” and while one should not lean too heavily on a program the composer ultimately disavowed, Mahler himself did choose these words and this description does reflect the progress of the finale, which moves from the seething tumult of its beginning to the triumph of the close. Longest by far of the movements, the finale is based on two main themes: a fierce, striving figure in the winds near the beginning and a gorgeous, long-lined melody for violins shortly afterwards. The development pitches between extremes of mood as it drives to what seems a climax but is in fact a false conclusion. The music seems lost, directionless, and now Mahler makes a wonderful decision: back comes the dreamy, slow music from the symphony’s very beginning. Slowly this gathers energy, and what had been gentle at the beginning now returns in glory, shouted out by seven horns as the symphony smashes home triumphantly in D major, racing to the two whipcracks that bring it to a thrilling conclusion.

What are we to make of Mahler’s many conflicting signals as to what this symphony is “about”? Is it about youth and the “human comedy”? Is it autobiographical, the tale of his own recovery from an unhappy love affair? Late in his brief life, Mahler even suggested another reading. When he conducted his First Symphony with the New York Philharmonic in 1909, Mahler wrote to his disciple Bruno Walter that he was “quite satisfied with this youthful sketch,” telling him that when he conducted the symphony, “A burning and painful sensation is crystallized. What a world this is that casts up such reflections of sounds and figures! Things like the Funeral March and the bursting of the storm which follows it seem to me a flaming indictment of the Creator.”

Finally we have to throw up our hands in the face of so much contradictory information. Perhaps it is best just to settle back and listen to Mahler’s First Symphony for itself—and the mighty symphonic journey that it is.

DREAMERS’ CIRCUS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2025 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

Dreamers’ Circus

Nikolaj Busk, accordion, piano, synthesizers

Ale Carr, cittern, kannel, violin and other instruments

Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin and other instruments

PROGRAM

Works to be announced from stage.

THIS PERFORMANCE HAS AN INTERMISSION

ABOUT

The three members of Dreamers’ Circus first encountered each other at a late night, postconcert jam session in Denmark over ten years ago. They immediately hit it off both on a musical and a personal level. Since then, the band has toured all over the Nordic countries and Europe, they’ve played the Sydney Opera House in Australia and have made a number of tours to Japan. Dreamers’ Circus has shared stages with folk luminaries such as The Chieftains, Sharon Shannon and Vasen and have been invited to compose and perform music for stage and television shows in Denmark. A Danish critic observed that, “playing violin, piano, accordion and cittern they display a playful inventiveness allied with a Nordic sensibility that is at once refined and cool.”

Dreamers’ Circus last performed for La Jolla Music Society at the State of The Conrad on October 11, 2023.

PRELUDE 6:30 PM

Lecture by Kristi Brown-Montesano

ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

YUNCHAN LIM, piano

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2025 · 7:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

HANURIJ LEE …round and velvety-smooth blend…(2025) (b. 2006)

J.S. BACH Aria with Thirty Variations, BWV 988 “Goldberg Variations” (1685–1750) Aria

Variation 1

Variation 2

Variation 3 Canone all’ Unisono

Variation 4

Variation 5

Variation 6 Canone alla Seconda

Variation 7 Al tempo di Giga

Variation 8

Variation 9 Canone alla Terza

Variation 10 Fughetta

Variation 11

Variation 12 Canone alla Quarta

Variation 13

Variation 14

Variation 15 Canone alla Quinta

Variation 16 Ouverture

Variation 17

Variation 18 Canone alla Sesta

Support for this program is provided by:

Helene and Keith Kim

Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

Variation 19

Variation 20

Variation 21 Canone alla Settima

Variation 22

Variation 23

Variation 24 Canone all’ Ottava

Variation 25

Variation 26

Variation 27 Canone alla Nona

Variation 28

Variation 29

Variation 30 Quodlibet

Aria

Yunchan Lim, piano

THIS PERFORMANCE HAS NO INTERMISSION

Yunchan Lim last performed for La Jolla Music Society in a Special Event with the London Symphony Orchestra on February 21, 2025.

Aria with Thirty Variations, BWV 988 “Goldberg Variations” JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Born March 21, 1685, Eisenach, Germany

Died July 28, 1750, Leipzig

Composed: 1741

Approximate Duration: 80 minutes

In November 1741 Bach, then 56 years old, made the hundred-mile trip east from Leipzig to Dresden to visit an old friend, Count Hermann Keyserlingk, the Russian ambassador to the Saxon court. Keyserlingk’s court harpsichordist was the fourteen-year-old Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who at age ten had been a student of Bach. There are several stories as to what happened next, all impossible to confirm. One is that Keyserlingk commissioned a work for his young harpsichordist and gave Bach a goblet full of gold coins in payment. Another is that Keyserlingk was an insomniac who specified that he wanted a piece that Goldberg could play to him as he went to sleep. What is certain is that the following year Bach published (as the fourth part of his edition of keyboard works, the Clavier-Übung) a work he called simply Aria with Thirty Variations, composed for two-manual harpsichord. The score bore no dedication, nor any mention at all of Keyserlingk or Goldberg. But Bach did give the count a copy of this music, and the conclusion is that this is the piece that had been requested in Dresden. By a process of (perhaps random) association, one of the greatest works ever written immortalizes a fourteen-year-old harpsichord player, and we know this music today simply as the Goldberg Variations.

For his theme—which he calls Aria—Bach uses a sarabande melody that he had written as part of Anna Magdalena Bach’s Notebook. It is 32 measures long and already ornately embellished on its first appearance, though it is not this melody that will furnish the basis for the variations that follow but the bassline beneath it. This lengthy harmonic progression will become the backbone of the Goldberg Variations, functioning much like the ground bass of a passacaglia. The thirty variations that follow are grouped in ten units of three, of which the third is always a canon, and each successive canon is built on an interval one larger than the previous. Such a description makes the Goldberg Variations sound like one of the more densely argued products of the Second Viennese School, but in fact this is some of Bach’s most moving and exhilarating music, and it is a measure of his genius that such expressive music can grow out of such rigorous compositional procedures.

In fact, listeners do not really need to understand the complexity of Bach’s techniques to feel the greatness of this music. One is certainly aware of the original bassline as a structuring element, but beyond that each successive variation can be taken as an individual pleasure. Some incidental observations: the keyboard writing here is unusually brilliant— this is virtuoso music, and that virtuosity appears not just in the dazzling runs across the range of the keyboard but in the complexity of the contrapuntal writing, where the pianist— limited to just two hands—must keep multiple strands clear. Bach changes meter at virtually every variation, with the music leaping from its original 3/4 meter through such permutations as 4/4, 3/8, 2/4, and on to 12/16 and 18/16. The tenth variation

is written as a Fughetta, and of special importance to the work are the three minor-key variations (Nos. 15, 21, and 25): all of these are slow, all begin in G minor (but can go far afield harmonically), and all are darkly expressive. In particular, No. 25—which lasts well over six minutes by itself—forms the emotional climax of the work before the spirited conclusion. That close is unusual all by itself. The thirtieth and final variation is marked Quodlibet, which means simply a gathering of tunes. Here Bach incorporates into the harmonic frame of his variations some of the popular tunes that he had heard sung around him on the streets of Leipzig. Donald Francis Tovey has identified two of these, and their first lines translate “It is so long since I have been at your house” and “Cabbage and turnips have driven me away. If my mother’d cooked some meat, I might have stopped longer.” To a listener of Bach’s day, the joke would have been obvious, though it has to be explained to us—we feel only that the work is approaching its close in an unusually relaxed and tuneful manner. And then, a masterstroke: rather than rounding off the Goldberg Variations with a rousing display of contrapuntal brilliance, Bach instead concludes with a simple repetition of the opening Aria

ARTIST PROFILES

Emanuel Ax made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists Series, and in 1974 won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1979 he won the Avery Fisher Prize. Ax’s 2024–25 season begins with a continuation of the Beethoven For Three touring and recording project with partners Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma. As guest soloist he will appear during the New York Philharmonic’s opening week, his 47th visit to the orchestra. During the season he will return to the Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras, National, San Diego, Nashville, and Pittsburgh symphonies and Rochester Philharmonic. A fall recital tour from Toronto and Boston includes San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles, culminating in Chicago and his annual Carnegie Hall appearance. An extensive European tour will include concerts in Paris, Oslo, Hamburg, Berlin, and Warsaw. Ax has been a Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987. He has received GRAMMY® Awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas and his recordings with Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano.

Jeremy Denk, piano

Jeremy Denk is one of America’s foremost pianists, a New York Times bestselling author, winner of both the MacArthur Genius Fellowship and the Avery Fisher Prize, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Denk recently returned to London’s Wigmore Hall for a threeconcert residency, as well as collaborating with the Danish String Quartet, and performing works by Charles Ives with violinist Maria Włoszczowska. He has performed multiple times at Carnegie Hall and in recent years has worked with such orchestras as Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra. He has appeared at the BBC Proms and Klavierfestival Ruhr, and in such halls as the Köln Philharmonie, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Boulez Saal in Berlin. His recording of the Goldberg Variations for Nonesuch Records reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Charts, and his recording of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op. 111 paired with Ligeti’s Études was named one of the best discs of the year by the New Yorker, NPR, and the Washington Post.

Dreamers’ Circus

in the acoustic realm right now. They mine their solid backgrounds in traditional and roots music to present a genre-bending amalgam of folk sensitivity, jazz-tinged improvisation and classical complexity distilled through an openness to popular music influences. Dreamers’ Circus display virtuosic and incendiary musical ability across a range of instruments that includes fiddle, accordion, piano, and cittern, and with a resolutely contemporary approach they have taken the new Nordic music scene by storm.

Fire Shut Up In My Bones

Terence Blanchard & E-Collective

Born in New Orleans in 1962, Terence Blanchard is a musical polymath who launched his solo career as a bandleader in the 1990s. Since then, he has released 20 solo albums, garnered 15 GRAMMY® nominations, composed for the stage and for more than 60 films, and received 10 major commissions. He has been named an official 2024 NEA Jazz Master as well as a member of the 2024 class of awardees for the esteemed American Academy of Arts and Letters. An eight-time GRAMMY® winner and twice Oscar-nominated film composer, Blanchard became only the second African-American composer to be nominated twice in the original score category at the 2022 Academy Awards. The Metropolitan Opera premiered Fire Shut Up In My Bones in 2021 to open its 2021–22 season, making it the first opera composed by an African American composer to premiere at the Met in its 138year history. The recording of those performances received a GRAMMY® Award for Best Opera Recording. Fire returned to the Met for a second run in April 2024. Blanchard frequently performs with his band, E-Collective. Experimental, electric and exotic, E-Collective consists of Blanchard on trumpet, Charles Altura on guitar, Fabian Almazan on piano and synthesizers, Oscar Seaton on drums, and David “DJ” Ginyard on bass.

Turtle Island Quartet

Nikolaj Busk, piano and accordion; Ale Carr, Nordic cittern; Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin

The ambitiously inventive Nordic trio Dreamers’ Circus are one of the most talked-about acts

David Balakrishnan, Gabriel Terracciano, violins; Benjamin von Gutzeit, viola; Naseem Alatrash, cello Since its inception in 1985, the Turtle Island Quartet has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. Winner of the 2006 and 2008 GRAMMY® Awards for Best Classical Crossover Album, Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet aesthetic with contemporary American musical styles. The journey has taken Turtle Island through forays into folk, bluegrass, swing, bebop, funk, R&B, new age, rock, hip hop, as well as music of Latin America and India, a repertoire consisting of hundreds of ingenious arrangements and originals. It has included over a dozen recordings, soundtracks for major motion pictures, TV and radio credits such as the Today Show, All Things Considered, A Prairie Home Companion, and Morning Edition,

Emanuel Ax, piano

feature articles in People and Newsweek magazines, and collaborations with famed artists such as clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, guitar legends such as Leo Kottke and the Assad brothers, the Manhattan Transfer, pianists Billy Taylor, Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut and Ramsey Lewis, singers Tierney Sutton and Nellie McKay, the Ying Quartet, and the Parsons and Luna Negra Dance Companies.

Andrew F. Scott, visual artist

Andrew Scott is an artist and educator working at the intersection of digital fabrication technologies and traditional fine arts practice. Trained in sculpture, he employs laser cutters, CNC mills, 3D printers and scanning to fabricate objects and create installations and immersive visual experiences using projection mapping. His creative practice spans more than three decades. Working at a variety of scales and in diverse materials, he creates works that are both technically compelling and socially relevant. His work has been exhibited worldwide in galleries, museums and other venues. He has completed several permanent public art projects and participated on design teams with architects and engineers on major civic projects.

Justin Austin, baritone

Drama Desk Award-nominated baritone

Justin Austin was named Rising Star of the Year at the 2024 International Opera Awards and is a recipient of the 2024 Marian Anderson Vocal Award.

Following the world premiere of Damien Geter’s American Apollo at Des Moines Metro Opera and appearances at Caramoor and the Sag Harbor Song Festival in summer 2024, Austin began the 2024–25 season with his house debut at Los Angeles Opera as Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, returning to the company later in the season in his role debut as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. He also returns to Opera Theatre of St. Louis starring in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s This House. In concert, he returns to Carnegie Hall for Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem with the Cecilia Chorus of New York. He also returns to Stuttgart, Germany, for a concert with the Stuttgart Philharmonic and Opera for Peace. Austin enjoys performing a wide range of repertoire, from jazz, R&B, and musical theater to opera and oratorio. He has collaborated, performed, and recorded with groups and artists such as Aretha Franklin, the Boys Choir of Harlem, Mary J. Blige, Elton John, Lauryn Hill, The Roots, and John Cale, plus jazz legends Reggie Workman, Hugh Masekela, and Wynton Marsalis.

Adrienne Danrich, soprano

Adrienne Danrich is most notably recognized for winning a Midwest EMMY for her performance and narration of This Little Light of Mine: The Stories of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price. The show, which Danrich created, also received a Midwest EMMY nomination. Most recently, Danrich sang the role of Serena in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with Dayton Opera, Sister Rose in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Fort Worth Opera, and Patience in excerpts from Paula Kimper’s Patience and Sarah with American Opera Projects. Danrich has also sung the role of Rosalinda in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with Lyric Opera of San Antonio, Azelia in Still’s Troubled Island for the William Grant Still Festival, and Mrs. Gloop in the workshop of Peter Ashe’s opera Golden Ticket. Danrich made her soloist debut at Carnegie Hall with the New England Symphonic Ensemble in Beethoven’s Mass in C and Mozart’s Mass in G. She made her Alice Tully Hall debut with the Little Orchestra of New York performing arias and duets by Vivaldi. She has recorded Only Heaven by Ricky Ian Gordon, Age to Age, Original Songs of Sacred Slumber and Solitude with Soli Deo Gloria Productions and A Tribute to William Warfield with the Eastman School of Music.

Hagen Quartet

Lukas Hagen, Rainer Schmidt, violins; Veronika Hagen, viola; Clemens Hagen, cello For nearly four decades, the Hagen Quartet has performed throughout the world and amassed a discography of nearly 50 recordings. Based in Salzburg, the Hagen Quartet recently celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021. The Quartet’s previous seasons featured performances in the world’s major music capitals, including multiple concerts at the Wigmore Hall and Cité de la Musique. The quartet has traveled to Amsterdam to open the Concertgebouw’s First Biennial String Quartet Festival, to Asia for a tour that included three performances in Tokyo, and collaborated in programs together with Sol Gabetta and Jörg Widmann. The Hagen Quartet has performed regularly in North America for decades. Recent highlights include a complete Beethoven cycle at 92Y in New York and concerts in Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Montreal, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

KODŌ

Exploring the limitless possibilities of the traditional Japanese drum, the taiko, KODŌ is forging new directions for a vibrant living art form. Since the group’s debut at the Berlin Festival in 1981, KODŌ has

ARTIST PROFILES

given over 6,500 performances on all five continents, spending about a third of the year overseas, a third touring in Japan, and a third rehearsing and preparing new material on Sado Island. KODŌ strives to both preserve and reinterpret traditional Japanese performing arts. Beyond this, members on tours and research trips all over the globe have brought back to Sado a kaleidoscope of world music and experiences which now exerts a strong influence on the group’s performances and compositions. Collaborations with other artists and composers extend right across the musical spectrum and KODŌ’S lack of preconceptions about its music continues to produce startling new fusion and forms.

Yunchan Lim, piano

In June 2022, Yunchan Lim at 18 became the youngest person ever to win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The video of his Rachmaninoff performance trended globally on YouTube in the days after, and has now become the most-watched version of that piece on the platform, amassing well over 10 million views. The New York Times later listed it as one of the Top 10 Classical Music Performances of 2022. Lim’s 2024–25 season highlights include orchestral debuts with Washington National Symphony, London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Vienna Radio Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, and WDR Symphony Orchestras, as well as returning to New York Philharmonic, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra de Paris. This season will also see his recital debut at the Kennedy Center, and a return to Carnegie Hall. As an exclusive Decca Classics recording artist, Lim’s acclaimed debut studio album, Chopin Études Opp.10 & 25, has gone double platinum in South Korea and topped the classical charts around the world.

Albert Lin, explorer

Albert Lin is a modern-day high-tech explorer, blurring the boundaries between human and machine while redefining how we explore our own humanity. Despite losing his leg below the knee in 2016, Lin maintains a relentless quest into the farthest reaches of our planet. Lin’s journey began in Mongolia’s Valley of the Khans, a pioneering initiative that harnessed technology to search for Genghis Khan’s tomb. This project marked the genesis of his using similar approaches that led to groundbreaking discoveries across the globe. Lin’s most noteworthy accomplishment involves using lidar (laser mapping) to uncover ancient cities concealed beneath the canopies of remote jungles, mountain ranges, and deserts. His expeditions have been brought to a global audience in adventure-driven factual TV series, including “Lost Treasures of the Maya,” “Buried Secrets of the Bible,” and “Lost Cities with Albert Lin.” Fueled by a Ph.D. in engineering, Lin surveys ancient civilizations with a keen eye.

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra believes that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere—from orchestral fans in the concert hall to firsttime listeners all over the world. The LSO was established in 1904 as one of the first orchestras shaped by its musicians. Since then, generations of remarkable talents have built the LSO’s reputation for quality, ambition and a commitment to sharing the joy of music with everyone. The LSO performs some 70 concerts every year as Resident Orchestra at the Barbican, with its family of artists: Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas, and Associate Artists Barbara Hannigan and André J Thomas. The LSO has major artistic residencies in Paris, Tokyo and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and a growing presence across Australasia. Through LSO Discovery, the LSO’s learning and community programme, 60,000 people each year experience the transformative power of music. The LSO’s record label LSO Live is a leader among orchestra-owned labels, bringing to life the excitement of a live performance in a catalogue of over 200 acclaimed recordings, and reaching millions through streaming services and online broadcasts.

Martha Graham Dance Company

The Martha Graham Dance Company has been a leader in the evolving art form of modern dance since its founding in 1926. It is both the oldest dance company in the United States and the oldest integrated dance company. Today, the Company is embracing a new programming vision that showcases masterpieces by Graham alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary artists. During its 90-year history, the Company has received acclaim from audiences and critics in more than 50 countries. “These men and women easily embody the choreographer’s sense of dancers as angelic athletes,” says Robert Greskovic of The Wall Street Journal, while Marina Kennedy of Broadway World notes, “This is contemporary dance at its very best.” Siobhan Burke of The New York Times asks, “Can this please never go away?”

Martha Graham, founder

Martha Graham (1894–1991) is recognized as a primal artistic force of the 20th century, alongside Picasso, James Joyce, Stravinsky, and Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1998, TIME magazine named Martha Graham “Dancer of the Century,” and People

magazine named her among the female “Icons of the Century.” As a choreographer, she was as prolific as she was complex. She created 181 ballets and a dance technique that has been compared to ballet in its scope and magnitude. Her approach to dance and theater revolutionized the art form and her innovative physical vocabulary has irrevocably influenced dance worldwide.

Janet Eilber, artistic director

Janet Eilber has been Martha Graham Dance Company’s Artistic Director since 2005. Her direction has focused on creating new forms of audience access to Martha Graham’s masterworks. These initiatives include contextual programming, educational and community partnerships, use of new media, commissions from today’s top choreographers and creative events such as the Lamentation Variations. Earlier in her career, as a principal dancer with the Company, Eilber worked closely with Martha Graham. She danced many of Graham’s greatest roles, had roles created for her by Graham, and was directed by Graham in most of the major roles of the repertory. She soloed at the White House, was partnered by Rudolf Nureyev, starred in three segments of Dance in America, and has since taught, lectured, and directed Graham ballets internationally. Apart from her work with Graham, Eilber has performed in films, on television, and on Broadway directed by such greats as Agnes deMille and Bob Fosse and has received four Lester Horton Awards for her reconstruction and performance of seminal American modern dance.

Anthony McGill, clarinet

Hailed for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound and rich character” (New York Times), clarinetist Anthony McGill enjoys a dynamic international solo and chamber music career and is principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic—the first AfricanAmerican principal player in the organization’s history. He is the recipient of the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize, one of classical music’s most significant awards. McGill appears as a soloist with top orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, and the Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. He performed alongside Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Gabriela Montero at the inauguration of President Barack Obama, premiering a piece by John Williams. As a chamber musician, McGill is a collaborator of the Brentano, Daedalus, Guarneri, JACK, Miró, Pacifica, Shanghai, Takács, and Tokyo Quartets, and performs with leading artists including Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnatan, Gloria Chien, Yefim Bronfman, Gil Shaham, Midori, Mitsuko Uchida, and Lang Lang.

Evren Ozel, piano

ARTIST PROFILES

American pianist Evren Ozel is the recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and is currently represented by Concert Artists Guild as an Ambassador Prize Winner of their 2021 Victor Elmaleh Competition. Since his debut at age 11 with the Minnesota Orchestra, Ozel has gone on to be a featured soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, Boston POPS Orchestra, and The Orchestra Now at Bard College. In the 2023–24 season, he recorded Mozart Concertos with the Radio Symphonieorchester Wien. Ozel has performed solo recitals at important venues across the US, and as a chamber musician, has played at the Marlboro Music Festival and ChamberFest Cleveland. Ozel recently made his debuts at the Gardner Museum in Boston and the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. with violinist Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux. He frequently collaborates with violinist Geneva Lewis, including concerts for Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Capital Region Classical, and Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center.

Sir Antonio Pappano, chief conductor

One of today’s most sought-after conductors, acclaimed for his charismatic leadership and inspirational performances in both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Sir Antonio Pappano is Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and was Music Director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden from 2002 until 2024. He is Music Director Emeritus of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, having served as Music Director from 2005 to 2023. Pappano was appointed Music Director of Oslo’s Den Norske Opera in 1990, and from 1992 to 2002 served as Music Director of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. From 1997 to 1999 he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Pappano is in demand as an opera conductor at the highest international level, including with the Metropolitan Opera New York, the State Operas of Vienna and Berlin, the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Teatro alla Scala, and has appeared as a guest conductor with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras.

Twyla Tharp, founder

Since graduating from Barnard College in 1963, Twyla Tharp has choreographed more than 160 works: 129 dances, twelve television specials, six Hollywood movies, four fulllength ballets, four Broadway shows, and two figure skating routines. She has received one Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, 19 honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of

ARTIST PROFILES

America President’s Award, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts, the 2008 Jerome Robbins Prize, and a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor. Her many grants include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1965, Tharp founded her dance company, Twyla Tharp Dance. Her dances are known for creativity, wit and technical precision coupled with a streetwise nonchalance. By combining different forms of movement—such as jazz, ballet, boxing, and inventions of her own making—Tharp’s work expands the boundaries of ballet and modern dance.

Guido Sant’Anna, violin

Born in 2005 in São Paulo, Brazil, Guido Sant’Anna received international acclaim in 2022 when he became the first South American violinist to win the prestigious Fritz Kreisler International Competition in Vienna. A few months later he made his major European debut at the opening concert of the Rheingau Musik Festival 2023. Sant’Anna has developed a close connection to the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra; subscription concerts, his debut recording project for the Naxos Records label, and an upcoming tour in China comprise their activities together. In Germany, he returned to the Rheingau Musik Festival in 2024 to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and reunited with hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt at the Kronberg Academy Festival. Further orchestral debuts include the Danish Philharmonic Orchestra under Hans Graf, the Athens State Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and the New Mexico Philharmonic. In spring 2025 he makes his debut at the Elbphilharmonie as part of a European tour. Sant’Anna plays a violin made in 1874 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, on generous loan from the luthier Marcel Richters.

Winter Season 2024–25 Prelude Lecturers, Interviewers,

and Performers

Kristi Brown-Montesano, Piano Series lecturer

As a faculty member at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music from 2003–22, Dr. Kristi BrownMontesano served as Chair of Music History and helped shape the degree programs of the institution. Today, she is a Lecturer in Musicology at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. She also collaborates with many of Southern California’s most distinguished musical organizations, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, La Jolla Music Society, and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. For more information, please visit kristibrownmontesano.com.

Michael Gerdes, Revelle Chamber Music and Recital Series 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.

Robert John Hughes, Jazz Series interviewer

Journalist, broadcaster, musician, author, and record producer Robert John Hughes has interviewed hundreds of musical artists in classical, jazz, pop, rock, R&B, and blues, including Sting, Wynton Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, B.B. King, Adele, and Peter Gabriel. As a record producer and member of the GRAMMY® Academy, Hughes has released five albums of live performances by artists heard on San Diego FM station 102.1 KPRi. Hughes has hosted La Jolla Music Society Preludes since 2018.

Molly Puryear, Dance Series 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

The Colburn School, Discovery Series Musical Preludes

A performing arts institution located in the heart of Los Angeles, the Colburn School trains students from beginners to those about to embark on professional careers. The academic units of the school provide a complete spectrum of music and dance education united by a single philosophy: that all who desire to study music or dance should have access to top-level instruction. Each year, nearly 2,000 students from around the world come to Colburn to benefit from the renowned faculty, exceptional facilities, and focus on excellence that unites the community. colburnschool.edu

COVER: Y. Lim © James Hole; Pg.2-3: S. Jobarteh courtesy of artist, C. Carpenter © Dovile Sermokas; Pg.12-13: G. Kaltenbrunner courtesy of lecturer, Z. Hussain and Third Coast Percussion © Martine Severin, T. Langlois de Swarte & Les Arts Florissants courtesy of artists, Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain © Stefan Mager, L. Diaz & A. Gaddis © Corey Nickols, G. Shaham © Chris Lee & O. Shaham © Christian Steiner, American Patchwork Quartet © Matt Carr, A. Mutter, Y. Bronfman, P. Ferrández © Josh Milteer, S. Kanneh-Mason & I. Kanneh-Mason © Decca Photography; Pg.15: SummerFest Fellowship artists © Darren Bradley; Pg.16: Miró Quartet and The Baker-Baum Concert Hall courtesy of The Conrad; Pg.18: L. Rosenthal © Sam Zausch; Pg.19: J. Denk © Josh Goleman; Pg. 24: G. Sant’Anna © Clara Evens, H. Kramer courtesy of artist; Pg. 28: Performers of Fire Shut Up in My Bones courtesy of artists; Pg. 30: Martha Graham Dance Company dancers © Isabella Pagano; Pg. 33: A. McGill © Todd Rosenberg, E. Ax © Lisa Marie Mazzucco; Pg. 37: A. Lin courtesy of presenter; Pg. 38: E. Ozel © Mike Grittani; Pg. 42: KODŌ performers © Takashi Okamoto; Pg. 44: Twyla Tharpe Dance performers © Mark Seliger; P. 46: Hagen Quartet © Harald Hoffman; London Symphony Orchestra © John Davis; Pg. 53: Dreamers’ Circus © Søren Lynggaard; P. 54: Y. Lim © James Hole; Pg. 56-57: E. Ax © Lisa Marie Mazzucco, J. Denk courtesy of artist, Dreamers’ Circus © Søren Lynggaard, T. Blanchard © Cedric Angeles, Turtle Island Quartet © Sylvia Elzafon, A. F. Scott courtesy of artist, J. Austin © Dario Acosta, A. Danrich courtesy of artist, : Hagen Quartet © Harald Hoffman, KODŌ © Takashi Okamoto; Pg. 58-59: Y. Lim © James Hole, A. Lin courtesy of presenter, London Symphony Orchestra © John Davis, Martha Graham Dance Company dancers © Isabella Pagano, M. Graham © Martha Graham Dance Company, J. Eilber © H. Nash, A. McGill © Todd Rosenberg, A. Pappano © Frances Marshall, T. Tharp © Twyla Tharp Dance Company, G. Sant’Anna courtesy of artist

Fantasy Under the Sea

Friday, February 21, 2025 · 5 PM

The University Club atop Symphony Towers

GALA CHAIR

Honoring

Brenda Baker and Steve Baum

London Symphony Orchestra

Sir Antonio Pappano, conductor

Yunchan Lim, piano

Jacobs Music Center

International superstar Yunchan Lim will make his San Diego debut performing the glorious Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 alongside the world-renowned London Symphony Orchestra led by Musical America’s 2024 Conductor of the Year Sir Antonio Pappano. The evening will conclude with the stirring Mahler First Symphony, considered one of the greatest first symphonies of all time.

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 to La Jolla Music Society 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 the local schools and throughout the community.

On the following pages La Jolla Music Society pays tribute to you, the leading players who make it possible to share the magic of the performing arts with our community.

Hagen Quartet

Anne-Sophie-Mutter

Sona Jobarteh

Yunchan Lim

Ballet Folklórico de Mexico de Amalia Hernández

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)

BENEFACTOR

($50,000 - $99,999)

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

Dorothea Laub

Jaqueline and Jean-Luc Robert

Debra Turner

Clara Wu Tsai and Joseph Tsai

Eleanor and Ric Charlton

Peter Cooper and Erik Matwijkow

Julie and Bert Cornelison

Silvija* and Brian Devine

Farfy Foundation

Elaine Galinson and Herbert Solomon

Lehn and Richard Goetz

Jeanne Herberger

Susan and Bill Hoehn

Helen and Keith Kim

Angelina and Fredrick Kleinbub

Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

Sheryl and Bob Scarano

Marge and Neal Schmale

Haeyoung Kong Tang

Sue and Peter Wagener

Liqun Wang and Marco Londei

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

John Hesselink

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

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

Jeffrey Barnouw

Jasna and David Belanich

Jim Beyster

Café Coyote and Rancho Coyote Wines

California Arts Council

Sharon L. Cohen

Ellise and Michael Coit

Cushman Foundation

Jendy Dennis Endowment Fund

Martha and Edward Dennis

Dr. Seuss Foundation

Ann Parode Dynes and Robert Dynes

Debby and Wain Fishburn

Ingrid and Theodore Friedmann

Hal and Pam Fuson

Elisa and Rick Jaime

Jo Kiernan

Nancy Linke Patton and Rip Patton

Jacqueline Mars

Andy Nahas

Peggy and Peter Preuss

Thomas Rasmussen and Clayton Lewis

Robert Singer

Maureen and Thomas Shiftan

Dagmar Smek and Arman Oruc

Stephanie and Nick Stone

SUPPORTER

($10,000 - $14,999)

Anonymous

Celeste and Timothy Bailey

Abdul Bitar

Raymond Chinn

Eric Cohen and Bill Coltellaro

Amy Corton and Carl Eibl

County of San Diego

Community Enhancement Fund

Nina and Robert Doede

Pamela Farr and Buford Alexander

Monica Fimbres

Beverly Frederick

Joy Frieman

Wendy Frieman

Brenda and Michael Goldbaum

Ingrid Hibben

Angela and Cory Homnick

Marilee and Peter Kovacs

Kathleen and Ken Lundgren

Elaine and Doug Muchmore

Reesey and David Shaw

Samuel Popkin and Susan Shirk

ResMed Foundation

Susan and Stephen Schutz

June and Doctor Bob Shillman

Iris and Matthew* Strauss

Greta and Steve Treadgold

Susan and Richard Ulevitch

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

William Boggs

Karen and Jim Brailean

Lisa and David Casey

Lori and Aaron Contorer

Debbe Deverill

The Hon. Diana Lady Dougan

Jill Esterbrooks and James Robbins

Sue and Chris Fan

Diane and Elliot Feuerstein

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

Nellie High-Iredale

Barbara and Paul Hirshman

Teresa and Harry Hixson

Theresa Jarvis

Susan and David Kabakoff

Barbara Kjos

Kate Leonard and Richard Forsyth

Christine and Charles Lo

Barbara Loonin

Jain Malkin

Miguel Rodolfo Mata Dadillo

Gini and Dave Meyer

Gail and Edward Miller

Marina and Rafael Pastor

Linda Platt

Vivien Ressler

Catherine Rivier

Leigh P. Ryan

Joan and Jack Salb Estate

Clifford Schireson and John Venekamp

Todd R. Schultz

Gigi and Joe Shurman

Gerald and Susan Slavet

Diane and DJ Smith

Gloria and Rod Stone

Gwynn and Brian Thomas

Ayse Underhill

Mary L. Walshok

Erika Walter*

Armi and Al Williams

Shara Williams and Benjamin Brand

Mary and Joseph Witztum

Dolly and Victor Woo

Carol Young

AFICIONADO

($2,500 - $4,999)

Anonymous

Carson Barnett and Tom Dubensky

Emily and Barry Berkov

DeAnn Cary

Carol and Jeff Chang

Katherine and Dane Chapin

Julie and Robert Cowan Novak

Melanie Cruz

D'Addario Foundation

Marilyn and Ernie Dronenburg

Sheryl and Michael Durkin

Phyllis and Dan Epstein

Feary Media

Cheryl Hintzen-Gaines and Ira Gaines

Virginia Graham

Deborah and Ronald Greenspan

Lori Haynes

Linda Howard

Ida Houby and Bill Miller

Marilyn K. James and Rick Phetteplace

Karen and Warren Kessler

Sallay and Tae Kim

Wally Klein

Carol Lam and Mark Burnett

Veronica and Miguel Leff

Ann and Gerald Lipschitz

Sylvia Liwerant

Dennis McConnell and Kimberly Kassner

Andrea Migdal and Mike Tierney

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Muchnic Foundation

Joyce and Ron Nelson

Virginia Oliver

Robert and Allison Price

Christine Purcell

Carol Randolph and Robert Caplan

Eva and Doug Richman

Colette Carson Royston and Ivor Royston

Adriana and Brian Scott

Noni and Drew Senyei

Stephanie and Steve Steinberg

Jean Sullivan and David Nassif

Diana and Roger Van Duzer

Yvonne E. Vaucher

Jo Weiner

ASSOCIATE

($1,000 - $2,499)

Anonymous (3)

Judith Adler

Albertsons-Safeway Foundation

Jadwiga Alexiewicz

Dede and Mike Alpert

Axel's Gift

Nicholas and Samantha Binkley

Ryan Bordelon

Molly Brazell

Isabel and Stuart Brown

James Carter

Michael and Cathy Casteel

Kathleen Charla

June Chocheles

Anthony Chong and Annette Nguyen

Linda Christensen and Gonzalo Ballon-Landa

Ann Craig

Caroline DeMar

Linda and Wallace Dieckmann

Karen Dow

Susan Dramm

Renee and James Dunford

Lyndie and Sam* Ersan

July F. Galper

Jeffrey Goldman

The Granada Fund

Anne Graves

Marcia Green

Carrie Greenstein

Lee Ann Groshong

Pamela Hamilton Lester

Terence Hart

Carol Harter and William Smith

Lulu Hsu

Zella Kahn-Jetter

Dwight Kellogg

John Graul and Cynthia King

Melvin Knyper

H. and Susan Koshkarian

Robin Luby

Stacey J. Lucchino

Eileen A. Mason

Ted McKinney

Eleanor Merl

Sandra Miner

Anne and John Minteer

Chandra Mukerji

Brian Munden

Charles Perrin

Ursula Pfeffer

Barbara Rabiner

Jay Rosen

Arlene and Peter Sacks

Cristina and Victor Saldivar

Doreen and Myron Schonbrun

Anne and Ronald Simon

David and Phyllis Snyder

Dale and Mark Steele

Lester and Elizabeth Stiel

Molly Thornton

Jennifer Tillman

Pam Wagner

Karen M. Walter

Suzanne Ward and Lawrence Gartner

Lisa Widmier

Karen and Richard P. Wilson

Christy and Howard Zatkin

Bart Ziegler

FRIEND

($500 - $999)

Anonymous (4)

K Andrew Achterkirchen

Robin Allgren

Elise Angel

Paddi and Nicolas Arthur

Youn Joo Bae

Stephanie Bergsma and Dwight Hare

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

Melissa Foo

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

Barbara Giammona

Beth Goodman

Cynthia and Tom Goodman

John Gordon and Jane Burns

Patt and Jeff Hall

Andrea Harris

Nicole Holland

Laura Henson Hueter and Geoffrey Hueter

Nancy and Michael Kaehr

Sofia and Leon Kassel

Kathleen Kovacs

Carol Lynne Krumhansl

Lewis Leicher

Patricia and Stephen Lending

Linda and Michael Mann

Nita Mehta

Desiree Michelle

Betsy and Greg Mitchell

Norman Needel

Rosalva Parada

Sigrid Pate

John David and Mary Peters

Kirk L. Peterson

Dana and Stella Pizzuti

Paula M. Pottinger

Jacqueline Powell

Irina and Mikhail Prishchepa

Sasha Richards

Clark Ritter and John Gowan

Nathan Rosenblatt

Barry Rosenbush

James F. Sallis

Tracy and Tim Sanford-Wachtel

Hannah Schlachet

Denise Selati

Michael Sellett

Tatjana Soli

Mary Sophos and William Pitts

Annemarie and Leland Sprinkle

Lisa Stennes-Laikind

Lee Talner

Anne Turhollow

Karen L. Valentino

Victor A. Van Lint

Cynthia Walk

Ruth Waterman

Patricia and Christopher Weil

Suhaila White

Joyce Williams

Olivia and Martin Winkler

Bonnie J. Wright

ENTHUSIAST

($250 - $499)

Anonymous

Rogerio Ampudia

Sue Andreasen

Christine and Craig Andrews

Gayle Barsamian and David Clapp

Clyde Beck

C M Boyer

Donna Gray Bowersox

Linda Brown

Ron Campnell

Debirah Carnick

Patty and Jim Clark

Marilyn Colby

Linda Cory Allen

Susan Crutchfield

Jeffrey Cullen

Lesley Davis

Bernadette Dobbs

Zofia Dziewanowska

Gerhard Engel

Lucy and Stephen Eskeland

Robert Fahey

Franco Ferrari

Juan C. Figueroa

Beverly Fremont

Margareta and Bruce Galanter

Tony Gild

Hany Magdy Girgis

Phyllis and Morris Gold

Lola and Walter Green

Douglas Hall Jr.

Walter Hickey

Christine Hickman and Dennis Ragen

Vivian and Greg Hook

Gregory A. Jackson

Patricia Jasper

David K. Jordan

Diane and John Kane

Marti Kutnik

Carolynn La Pierre

Leslie Learn

Linda Low-Kalkstein and Allen Kalkstein

Margo Maeder

Patricia Manners

Neil Marmor

Jim Martin

M. Margaret McKeown and Peter Cowhey

Maggie and Paul Meyer

Brigitte and Richard Obetz

Kyomi O'Connor

Antje Olivie

Pascual Ortiz Rubio

Elizabeth Phelps

Carol Plantamura

Joely Pritzker

Bill Purves and Don Schmidt

Hanna Reisler

Jessica and Eberhard Rohm

Barbara Rosen and Bob Fahey

Anne Rudolph

Carolyn Rynard

Jane and Eric Sagerman

Alice and Brad Saunders

Hermeen Scharaga

Sharron Seal

Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz

Katherine Michaud Silver and Mark Silver

Kinga S. Soni

Julie Swain

Gayle and Philip Tauber

Joy Vaccari

Richard Vasquez

Jen-Yi Wang

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

Amy Corton and Carl Eibl

ARABESQUE

Ellise and Michael Coit

Jeanette Stevens

POINTE

Carolyn and Giovanni 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

Sylvia and Steve Ré

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

Sylvia and Steve Ré

In Honor of Maureen Clancy:

Lester and Elizabeth Stiel

In Memory of Silvija Devine:

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

Sylvia and Steve Ré

In Memory of Alan Gary:

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

David Rosenthal

Natasha Wong and Kevin Chen

Dolly Woo

Ellen Worthington

In Honor of Ferdie Gasang: Benjamin Guercio

In Memory of Joan Jacobs:

Ferdinand Marcus Gasang

Sylvia and Steve Ré

Todd Schultz

John Venekamp and Clifford Schireson

In Honor of Marilyn Perrin:

Charles Perrin

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

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*

Trude Hollander*

Joan* and Irwin Jacobs

Eric Lasley

Theodora Lewis*

Vivian Lim and Joseph Wong

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.

Joseph and Gloria Shurman

Karen and Christopher Sickels

Todd R. Schultz

Jeanette Stevens

Elizabeth and Joseph* Taft

Norma Jo Thomas

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

Bebe and Marvin Zigman

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. Please contact Ferdinand Gasang at FGasang@TheConrad.org or 858.526.3426.

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

Liqun Wang and Marco Londei

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

Abdul Bitar

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

Christine and Charles Lo

Barbara Loonin

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.

VAIL MEMORIAL FUND

TERRA LAWSON-REMER

JOE LACAVA

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

COMING UP

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

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

THÉOTIME LANGLOIS DE SWARTE, violin

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