Western Health Advantage Season of Performing Arts
Jan–Feb 2017 Venice Baroque Orchestra FEB 25
Black Arm Band FEB 8
WELCOME
A MESSAGE FROM THE INTERIM CHANCELLOR
RALPH J. HEXTER
UC DAVIS INTERIM CHANCELLOR
We understand that artistic expression and the enjoyment and passion it engenders is essential.
“Art,” the author and social activist Thomas Merton said, “enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” At UC Davis, we have spent decades celebrating a diverse presentation and appreciation of the arts because we understand that artistic expression and the enjoyment and passion it engenders is essential not only to a well-rounded education but also to a satisfying and well-lived life. Looking through the program for the 2016-17 Mondavi Center season, one cannot help but be struck by the range and quality of artistic offerings. There truly is something wonderful for everyone in our community and region to enjoy. You might choose to spend an evening with George Takei, who mixes wry wit and wisdom as he reflects on the amazing journey that is his life. Perhaps you’ll want to settle into your seats and be transported to another world by the virtuoso brilliance of violinists Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell. There is music for lovers of jazz and multiple classical genres, including Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Alexander String Quartet and the Rising Stars of Opera with members of the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows and our own UC Davis Symphony Orchestra. If your musical preferences run more to funk, we have a true pioneer in the genre, Maceo Parker, with The Jones Family Singers, to get your feet tapping and your souls soaring. The Mondavi Center will also be hosting cutting-edge comedians, thoughtprovoking lecturers, extraordinary dancers and authors and the provocative L.A. Theatre Works production of Judgment at Nuremberg, a unique live radio theaterstyle performance that will be sure to make us reflect on the human condition. The great dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp once said, “Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” At UC Davis this season, we can experience inspiring performances from around the world right here in Davis thanks to the outstanding work of our Mondavi Center staff and because of your support. Some of my most enjoyable experiences on campus have been as an enchanted member of the Mondavi Center audience. I am confident that you, too, will be captivated and inspired as so many have been over the center’s first 14 seasons. On behalf of the entire UC Davis community, thank you for being a part of the performing arts on our campus. Please enjoy whatever shows you’ve chosen and we hope to see you again very soon.
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SPONSORS SEASON SPONSOR
MONDAVI CENTER STAFF Don Roth, Ph. D.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jeremy Ganter
ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Debbie Armstrong SENIOR DIRECTOR
Liz King
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
CORPORATE PARTNERS
ARTS EDUCATION
SERIES
Jennifer Mast
ARTS EDUCATION COORDINATOR
DEVELOPMENT
TICKET AGENT LEADS Laura Elbaum Kali Sullivan
HEAD STAGE MANAGER & CREW CHIEF
Phil van Hest
MASTER CARPENTER/RIGGER
Russ Postlethwaite
Holly McNeill
FINANCE & BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST BILLING SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR AND RENTAL COORDINATOR
Kathy Di Blasio
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Paul Altamira
APPLICATIONS ADMINISTRATOR & PCI COMPLIANCE COORDINATOR
MARKETING Rob Tocalino
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND TICKETING
Dana Werdmuller
MARKETING MANAGER
Erin Kelley
4 MONDAVIART S.ORG
Christopher C. Oca
TICKET AGENT
AUDIENCE SERVICES Marlene Freid
Debbie Armstrong
Winds of Change House
Russell St. Clair
Raymond Christy
FINANCE AND BUSINESS SERVICES
ART DIRECTOR/SENIOR DESIGNER
Mike Tentis
DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST
El Macero Country Club
ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Ciocolat
TICKET OFFICE SUPERVISOR
Herb Garman
Liz King
Boeger Winery
Adrian Galindo
Mandy Jarvis
MEMBERSHIP RELATIONS SPECIALIST
Black Pine Catering
Jessica Turner
PRODUCTION MANAGER
AUDIO ENGINEER, VANDERHOEF STUDIO THEATRE
Jill Pennington
Asante Catering
EVENT SUPERVISOR AND GROUP SALES COORDINATOR
SENIOR DIRECTOR
MEMBERSHIP MANAGER
SPECIAL THANKS
PRODUCTION Donna J. Flor
BUILDING ENGINEER
OPERATIONS
Niki Fay Palmer
MONDAVI CENTER GRANTORS AND ARTS EDUCATION SPONSORS
Susie Evon
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF TICKETING
Rodney Boon
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
EVENT
FACILITIES Ryan Thomas
TICKET AGENTS Jordan Bhanji Alexandria Butler Zoe Ehlers Stephen Fan Andrea Gonzalez Castillo Mei Lin Jackson Ally Lopez Bianna Nikdel Alexis Pena Tomasetti Sarah Rankin Olivia Schlanger Mallory Sellens Viviana Valle Tayler Ward
Nancy Petrisko
OFFICE OF CAMPUS COMMUNITY RELATIONS
TICKET OFFICE Sarah Herrera
HEAD AUDIO ENGINEER
Christi-Anne Sokolewicz SENIOR STAGE MANAGER, JACKSON HALL
David M. Moon
SENIOR EVENTS COORDINATOR/ LIAISON TO UC DAVIS DEPARTMENTS
Eric Richardson
MASTER ELECTRICIAN
Wai Kit Tam
LEAD VIDEO TECHNICIAN
Daniel Villegas
ASSISTANT ELECTRICIAN STAGE MANAGER
AUDIENCE SERVICES AND VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
Maya Severson
Yuri Rodriguez
John F. Bologni
PUBLIC EVENTS MANAGER
SENIOR STAGE TECH
Natalia Deardorff
Karl Metts
ASSISTANT PUBLIC EVENTS MANAGER
Dawn Kincade
STAGE MANAGER
SENIOR STAGE TECH
Ian Strother
SENIOR STAGE TECH
ASSISTANT PUBLIC EVENTS MANAGER
PROGRAMMING
Lorrie Bortuzzo
Jeremy Ganter
ASSISTANT PUBLIC EVENTS MANAGER
Nancy Temple
ASSISTANT PUBLIC EVENTS MANAGER
HEAD USHERS Ralph Clouse Eric Davis John Dixon George Edwards Maria Giannuli Donna Horgan Paul Kastner Steve Matista Jan Perez
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING
Jenna Bell
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ARTIST SERVICES
Laurie Espinoza
ARTIST SERVICES COORDINATOR
Ruth Rosenberg
ARTIST ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR
Lara Downes
CURATOR, YOUNG ARTISTS PROGRAM
Inspired & Exhilarating ADAMS
LAMSMA GAFFIGAN
JAN 19–22
FEB 16–18
Mussorgsky’s A Night on Bald Mountain
John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary
Conductor James Gaffigan leads an exhilarating program featuring the “absolutely stunning” (Chicago Tribune) Simone Lamsma performing Prokofiev's passionate Violin Concerto No. 2 and showcasing the Symphony in the original orchestration of Mussorgsky's A Night on Bold Mountain.
Join the San Francisco Symphony in celebrating John Adams’ 70th birthday with “the most sophisticated, majestic, and moving [music] of his career.” (Los Angeles Times) With a libretto by Peter Sellars, Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary is a powerful and moving experience not-to-be-missed.
sfsymphony.org 415-864-6000
$15*
Concerts at Davies Symphony Hall. Programs,artists, and prices subject to change. *Subject to availability. Box Office Hours Mon–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat noon–6pm, Sun 2 hours prior to concerts Walk Up Grove Street between Van Ness and Franklin Inaugural Partner
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TICKETS START AT
DON ROTH, Ph.D. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
In addition to being the first month of the year, January is the time our planning for upcoming seasons begins to shift into high gear. The annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference in New York City is a global marketplace, one where we meet with representatives of performing artists from around the world. I always am amazed that the overcrowded and overheated pedestrian environment of an old convention hall in an aging NYC hotel can be the place where we discover a new, vibrant and emerging talent. Bassem Youssef is a great example of the type of artist who might fly below our radar but we nonetheless discovered him several years ago during our meetings in New York. Often called “the Jon Stewart of Egypt,” Youssef is a former doctor who discovered a gift for satire during the Arab Spring uprising. As the political situation in Egypt settled, Youssef relocated to the United States, largely for his own and his family’s safety. As he builds his career on this side of the Atlantic, we are proud to bring him to you. He represents an important voice in a time when satire is too often mistaken for real news. In an example of fortuitous planning, comedy is an important theme over the next few months. Hasan Minhaj grew up in Davis, California, and his new show, Homecoming King, explores the special challenges of that upbringing. Minhaj will be filming a Netflix special of this piece at the Mondavi Center and will also do a special late-night show just for UC Davis students. And we’ve got stand-up maestro Brian Regan bringing his sharp, observational work to our stage. On a very different note (many notes in fact), don’t miss the return of Experience Hendrix, a celebration of rock guitar featuring a who’s who of fret-masters filtered through the abiding influence of Jimi Hendrix. If there was a Beethoven in rock music, someone whose music composition and playing grew and deepened during a too-short lifetime, Hendrix was indeed the one. We look forward to announcing our 2017–18 season this spring. In the meantime, join us for the second half of this Mondavi Center season—music, dance, theater and speakers for a varied artistic and intellectual palate. Sincerely,
Don 6 MONDAVIART S.ORG
IN THIS ISSU
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ROBERT AND MARGRIT
MONDAVI CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
8
Itzhak Perlman and Rohan De Silva
10 Curtis on Tour: Curtis Chamber Orchestra 16 PKF—Prague Philharmonia 25 Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo 32 Bassem Youssef 34 Joshua Bell and Sam Haywood 38 Black Arm Band 42 Bruckner Orchester Linz 48 The Chieftains 51 Venice Baroque Orchestra 56 Lightwire
BEFORE THE SHOW • The artists and your fellow audience members appreciate silence during the performance. • As a courtesy to others, please turn off all electronic devices. • If you have any hard candy, please unwrap it before the lights dim. • Please remember that the taking of photographs or the use of any type of audio or video recording equipment is strictly prohibited. Violators are subject to removal. • Please look around and locate the emergency exit nearest you. That exit may be behind, to the side or in front of you and is indicated by a lighted green sign. In the unlikely event of a fire alarm or other emergency, please leave the building through that exit. • As a courtesy to all our patrons and for your safety, anyone leaving his or her seat during the performance may be seated in an alternate seat upon readmission while the performance is in progress. Readmission is at the discretion of Management. • Assistive Listening Devices and binoculars are available at the Patron Services Desk near the lobby elevators. Both items may be checked out at no charge with a form of ID.
January/February 2017 Volume 4, No. 3
Paul Heppner Publisher Susan Peterson Design & Production Director Ana Alvira, Robin Kessler, Shaun Swick, Stevie VanBronkhorst Production Artists and Graphic Design Mike Hathaway Sales Director Marilyn Kallins, Terri Reed, Rob Scott San Francisco/Bay Area Account Executives Brieanna Bright, Joey Chapman, Ann Manning Seattle Area Account Executives Jonathan Shipley Ad Services Coordinator Carol Yip Sales Coordinator
RDS
Paul Heppner
Anaïs Mitchell President
iano Y
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Complimentary wine pours in the Bartholomew Room for Inner Circle Donors: 7–8PM and during intermission if scheduled.
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ITZHAK PERLMAN, VIOLIN ROHAN DE SILVA, PIANO A Concert Series Event Saturday, January 14, 2017 • 8PM Jackson Hall INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Hansen Kwok Helen and Jerry Suran
PROGRAM Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, Vivaldi op. 2, No. 2 (R. 31) Preludio a Capriccio: Presto—Adagio— Presto—Adagio—Presto Corrente: Allegro Adagio Giga: Allegro Sonata No. 5 for Violin and Piano Beethoven in F Major, op. 24, “Spring” Allegro Adagio molto espressivo Scherzo: Allegro molto Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo Fantasiestücke for Violin and Piano, Schumann op. 73 Zart und mit Ausdruck Lebhaft, leicht Rasch und mit Feuer
INTERMISSION Suite Italienne for Violin and Piano Stravinsky Introduzione: Allegro moderato Serenata: Larghetto Tarantella: Vivace Gavotta con due Variazioni Scherzino: Presto all breve Minuetto e Finale: Moderato—Molto vivace ADDITIONAL WORKS TO BE ANNOUNCED FROM THE STAGE.
8 MONDAVIART S.ORG
ITZHAK PERLMAN
VIOLIN Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable artistry but also to his irrepressible joy for making music. Having performed with every major orchestra and at venerable concert halls around the globe, Perlman was granted a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Obama in 2015; a Kennedy Center Honor in 2003; a National Medal of Arts by President Clinton in 2000; and a Medal of Liberty by President Reagan in 1986. He has also been honored with 16 Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Genesis Prize. In the 2016–17 season, Perlman performs season-opening gala concerts with the Baltimore Symphony and the Milwaukee Symphony and appears with the Toronto, Cincinnati, Houston and San Diego symphonies, among others. He conducts the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Israel Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia Festival. Throughout the season, he performs with his regular collaborator, pianist Rohan De Silva, in recitals that take them across North America including Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In Fall 2016, Warner Classics released a new album that Perlman recorded earlier in the year in Paris with one of the greatest pianists of our
ITZHAK PERLMAN AND ROHAN DE SILVA time: Martha Argerich. The release marks a historic first studio album for this legendary duo exploring masterpieces by Bach, Schumann and Brahms. It has been 18 years since their last album together: a live recital from the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Earlier in 2016, Perlman recorded a bonus track for the original cast recording of the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof, released on Broadway Records in March 2016. The cast recording features Perlman on a track titled “Excerpts from Fiddler on the Roof,” arranged by John Williams. Over the past two decades, Perlman has become actively involved in music education through his work with the Perlman Music Program and the Juilliard School, where he currently holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair.
ROHAN DE SILVA
PIANO Rohan De Silva’s partnerships with violin virtuosi Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Cho-Liang Lin, Midori, Joshua Bell, Benny Kim, Kyoko Takezawa, Vadim Repin, Gil Shaham, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Julian Rachlin, James Ehnes and Rodney Friend have led to highly acclaimed performances at recital venues all over the world. With these and other artists he has performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Philadelphia Academy of Music, Ambassador Theater in Los Angeles, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall in London, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, La Scala in Milan and in Tel-Aviv, Israel. De Silva’s festival appearances include Aspen, Ravinia, Interlochen, Seattle Chamber Music, Manchester, SchleswigHolstein, Pacific Music Festival and the Wellington Arts Festival in New Zealand. He has performed chamber music in Beijing with the American String Quartet and has appeared in recital worldwide with Itzhak Perlman. Alongside Perlman, De Silva has performed multiple times at the White House, most recently in 2012 at the invitation of President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama for Israeli President and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Shimon Peres; and at a State Dinner in 2007, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. A native of Sri Lanka, De Silva was invited in 2015 by the prime minister of his country to perform at a luncheon for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on his historic visit to Sri Lanka.
In the 2016–17 season, De Silva performs with Itzhak Perlman in recitals that take them across North America, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Kravis Center of West Palm Beach, Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center and San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall. In the 2015–16 season, De Silva toured with Perlman in sold-out concerts throughout Asia and to Europe in their first appearances as a duo in London (Barbican Centre), Paris (Philharmonie de Paris) and Munich (Gasteig). De Silva began his piano studies with his mother, the late Primrose De Silva, and with the late Mary Billimoria. He spent six years at the Royal Academy of Music in London as a student of Hamish Milne, Sydney Griller and Wilfred Parry. While in London, he received many awards, including the Grover Bennett Scholarship, the Christian Carpenter Prize, the Martin Music Scholarship, the Harold Craxton Award for advanced study in England and upon his graduation, the Chappell Gold Medal for best overall performance at the Royal Academy. De Silva was the first recipient of a special scholarship in the arts from the President’s Fund of Sri Lanka. This enabled him to enter the Juilliard School, where he received both his Bachelor and Master of
Music degrees, studying piano with Martin Canin, chamber music with Felix Galimir and working closely with violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. He was awarded a special prize as Best Accompanist at the 1990 Ninth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and received the Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artist Award as presented to him by Itzhak Perlman at the 2005 Classical Recording Foundation Awards Ceremony at Carnegie Hall. De Silva joined the collaborative arts and chamber music faculty of the Juilliard School in 1991, and in 1992 was awarded honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. In 2015, he was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music. In 2001, he joined the faculty at the Ishikawa Music Academy in Japan, where he gives master classes in collaborative piano. De Silva additionally has served as a faculty member at the Great Wall International Music Academy in Beijing, China, and at the International String Academy in Cambridge, UK since 2011. He was on the faculty of the Perlman Music Program from 2000–2007.
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CURTIS ON TOUR: CURTIS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Shmuel Ashkenasi, violin; Roberto Díaz, viola Saturday, January 21, 2017 • 3PM
PROGRAM
Jackson Hall
The Complete Violin Concertos of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
This performance is broken into two parts
3PM: Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Major, K. 207 Allegro moderato Adagio Presto Hsuan-Hao Hsu, violin
around an extended break. Curtis On Tour is the Nina von Maltzhan Global Touring Initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music.
Concerto No. 3 in G Major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 216 (“Strassburg”) Allegro Adagio Rondo: Allegro Angela Sin Ying Chan, violin INTERMISSION Concerto No. 5 in A Major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 219 (“Turkish”) Allegro aperto Adagio Tempo di Menuetto—Allegro — Tempo di Menuetto Stephen Kim, violin BREAK
10 MONDAVIART S.ORG
8PM: Concerto No. 2 in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 211 Allegro moderato Andante Rondo: Allegro Abigail Fayette, violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 218 Allegro Andante cantabile Rondeau: Andante grazioso— Allegro ma troppo Brandon Garbot, violin INTERMISSION Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E-flat Major, K. 364 Allegro maestoso Andante Presto Shmuel Ashkenasi, violin Roberto Díaz, viola
CURTIS ON TOUR: CURTIS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PROGRAM NOTES
THE COMPLETE VIOLIN CONCERTOS OF WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) The name Mozart first calls to mind the breathtaking array of compositions he left to posterity. To his contemporaries, however, he was almost equally well known as one of the foremost performers of his day. His masterful piano playing was lauded in Vienna and elsewhere, and his reputation for excellent musicianship was common knowledge for several decades after his death. Less known than Mozart’s keyboard ability was his extraordinary talent on the violin. His father, Leopold, was a renowned teacher of the instrument who issued a popular tutor for violin instruction in 1756, the year of Wolfgang’s birth. Young Mozart learned to play the violin early and well, and it was one of the chief accomplishments with which he dazzled his listeners on his first tour in 1763. He was 7. On his initial trip to Italy seven years later, two of the day’s finest violinist-composers, Giovanni Sammartini and Pietro Nardini, were so impressed with the boy’s playing that they each wrote special sets of exercises for him. Back in Salzburg after his southern travels, Mozart was appointed concertmaster of the court orchestra on November 27, 1770, a position he held until he moved to Vienna in 1781. Leopold had a justifiably high opinion of his son’s ability, and told him, “You have no idea how well you play the violin. If you would only do yourself justice, and play with boldness, spirit and fire, you would be the first violinist in Europe.” Wolfgang was, however, more interested in the keyboard than in the violin, and replied tartly, “When performing is necessary, I decidedly prefer the piano and I probably always shall.” Even Leopold’s argument that, since the violin was the most popular instrument of the time he could gain greater financial success as a violinist-composer than as a pianist-composer did not sway Wolfgang. After Wolfgang left Salzburg in 1781, he refused to touch the violin again, even preferring to play the viola in his informal string quartet sessions in Vienna. Mozart’s five authentic violin concertos were all products of a single year,1775. At 19 he was already a veteran of five years’ experience as concertmaster, for which his duties included not only playing but also composing, acting as coconductor with the keyboard player (modern orchestral conducting was not to originate for at least two more decades) and soloing in concertos. It was for this last function that Mozart wrote his violin concertos.
CONCERTO NO. 1 IN B-FLAT MAJOR, K. 207 (1775)
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The Violin Concerto No. 1 (which some recent researches suggest may date from 1773, but these theories remain conjectural) opens with a compact orchestral introduction that presents the movement’s two most important themes: a vigorous, sunny strain given by the full ensemble with a demure response led by the oboes; and a motive in snappier rhythms that alternates quickly between loud and soft. The soloist enters and elaborates these ideas before an orchestral tutti leads to the movement’s central section, which is a digression through varied keys using new material rather than a development of the exposition’s themes. The movement is rounded out by the recapitulation of the earlier subjects, appropriately adjusted as to key, and an opportunity for a solo cadenza just before the close. The Adagio, more pretty than profound, follows a loose sonata form that encompasses a typically Mozartian abundance of well-crafted thematic materials, most notably an elegant melody presented by the violins at the outset and a brief, nimble motive of separated notes that again contrasts loud and soft. The sparkling finale is organized in three large structural paragraphs that all draw upon the plentitude of motives given in the orchestral introduction, the first and last in the home key, like sonata form, the middle one in a contrasting key; a quick leap up to a held note in the solo violin signals the start of each section.
CONCERTO NO. 3 IN G MAJOR, K. 216 (“STRASSBURG”) (1775) The opening Allegro of the G-major concerto is one of Mozart’s perfectly balanced sonataconcerto forms. The orchestral introduction presents at least four thematic kernels: the bold opening gesture; a mock fanfare; a subsidiary melody with long notes in the woodwinds; and a motive with quick, flashing notes in the violins. The soloist enters with the bold opening gesture, and continues with elaborations upon the themes from the introduction. The development is largely based on the subsidiary theme decorated with some rapid figurations from the soloist. A recitative-like passage links this central section to the recapitulation, which, with the exception of the cadenza, follows the progression of the exposition. The slow movement proceeds in sonata form with an exquisite grace and refined elegance that no composer ever surpassed. The finale is an effervescent rondo.
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SUPPORTING
THE ARTS We are nearly 50 Sacramento-based attorneys who provide legal services in bankruptcy, corporate, employment, healthcare, litigation, real estate and tax, as well as estate planning, probate and trust law. We support the Mondavi Center, and other arts programs, because we believe when our arts thrive, our entire community thrives. At heart, we are a local law firm comprised of accomplished lawyers who enjoy practicing law, feel a responsibility to our employees and the community, and want nothing more than to work hard to help you achieve your business goals.
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CONCERTO NO. 5 IN A MAJOR, K. 219 (“TURKISH”) (1775) The opening movement is in sonata-concerto form but has some curious structural experiments more associated with the music of Haydn than with that of Mozart. After the initial presentation of the thematic material by the orchestra, the soloist is introduced with the surprising device of a brief, stately Adagio. When the Allegro tempo resumes, the soloist plays not the main theme already announced by the ensemble, but a new lyrical melody for which the original main theme becomes the accompaniment. More new material fills the remainder of the exposition. The development section is invested with passages of dark harmonic color that cast expressive shadows across the generally sunny landscape of the movement and lend it emotional weight. The recapitulation calls for restrained, elegant virtuosity from the soloist. The second movement is a graceful song in sonatina form (sonata-allegro without development). The final movement is an extended rondo in the style and rhythm of a minuet.
CONCERTO NO. 2 IN D MAJOR, K. 211 (1775) The unison flourish that opens the Violin Concerto No. 2 is common to many such rococo compositions from various countries, but coming at the beginning of this refined, galant movement, it seems particularly French. The many trills and decorative figurations in the movement reinforce the Gallic influence, to which Mozart had first been exposed at the tender age of 7 during his visit to the royal family of Louis XV at Versailles. In several passages, the orchestration of the opening movement shows the influence of the Italian concerto in its reduction of the accompaniment to only violins, which support the soloist in a trio texture. This technique was common in the works of many Italian composers, including Pietro Nardini, whom Mozart met in Florence during the spring of 1770. The tunefulness of the movement is yet another product of Mozart’s boundless melodic inventiveness, a quality that was fostered by John Christian Bach while the two played fugues to each other in London—Mozart was 6 at the time. The soulful Andante derives from the style of the opera aria, as did most slow movements of 18th-century concertos. The long, expressive arches of the soloist’s melody are often accompanied by only the violins to produce, as in the preceding movement, a delicate trio texture. The finale, a Rondeau, is not only French in its title but also shows such
CURTIS ON TOUR: CURTIS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Parisian technical niceties as the immediate appearance of the soloist with the main theme and the inclusion of a minor-key episode half way through the movement.
CONCERTO NO. 4 IN D MAJOR, K. 218 (1775) The opening movement begins with a mockmilitary fanfare on the notes of the D-major chord, answered immediately by a balancing phrase full of grace and characteristic Mozartian suavity. The orchestral introduction continues with a sweetly lyrical contrasting theme presented by oboe and violins before the soloist enters to embroider the melodic material with tasteful ornamentation. The central section of the movement is less a true development of earlier motives than a free fantasia of pearly scales and flashing arpeggios. The recapitulation begins without fuss as the soloist tosses off an altered version of the main theme. (How Mozart loved to vary, even slightly, repeated material!) The remaining themes are recalled before the soloist is allowed a cadenza, after which a brief coda draws the movement to a lively close. The second movement is sonatina in form (sonata-allegro without development section) and moonlight-tender in mood. Like so many slow concerto movements of the late 18th century, it contains music that would not be out of place in an operatic love scene. In contrast, the finale is dance-like and outgoing, an ingenious international blend of open-faced Italian melody, French elegance (Mozart used the French title Rondeau for the movement) and German structural sophistication in its blend of rondo and sonata forms.
SINFONIA CONCERTANTE FOR VIOLIN, VIOLA AND ORCHESTRA IN E-FLAT MAJOR, K. 364 (1779) From stylistic evidence within the music of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra, the date of its composition is placed during late summer 1779, about six months after he had returned from his exhausting journey through Germany and France in a fruitless attempt to find a secure position. He came back to his “Salzburg slavery,” as he rather injudiciously called his local employment, and reluctantly resumed his hated job as composer, orchestra musician and organist in Archbishop Colloredo’s provincial musical establishment. This time, though, when he put on the Archbishop’s livery (how demeaning he thought it was to be dressed like a common servant!), he refused to play the violin in the orchestra any
longer despite his father’s insistence that he could be the best player in Europe if he would just put his mind to it. He chose instead the viola—still a distant second choice to his beloved piano—and it is a charming thought that he might have composed the Sinfonia Concertante for a father-son musical outing: Papa on violin, Wolfgang on viola. There is, however, not a shred of evidence to support this or any other conjecture. This beautiful work is not mentioned in his correspondence or in other known records, and its provenance will probably remain forever open to speculation.
The first movement’s orchestral introduction comprises a bold opening gesture in a distinctive rhythm, a tripping phrase divided between violins and oboes, a martial strain and a rising line intensified by repeated trills. The soloists emerge on a long-held high note to introduce a new set of melodies. The central section is less a true thematic development of what has preceded than a spirited conversation between the soloists. The recapitulation commences with the bold gesture that began the work. The passionate second movement is one
FURTHER LISTENING by Jeff Hudson
CURTIS INSTITUTE AND MOZART VIOLIN CONCERTOS
The Curtis Institute of Music, founded in 1924 in Philadelphia, is one of this nation’s great music conservatories, with many famous graduates (composer Samuel Barber, conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, and pianist Yefim Bronfman, to name only three of their famous B’s). Since 2008, Curtis has fielded the Curtis on Tour program—essentially a “road show” that sends advanced Curtis students (on the cusp of a career, so they can get the flavor of life as a touring soloist) and a few faculty members to perform chamber music. The Mondavi Center has hosted Curtis on Tour concerts for several years. Today’s programs by the Curtis Chamber Orchestra are part of that series—covering the five Mozart violin concertos (written when he was a teenager) with five advanced Curtis students featured as soloists; along with the Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra (featuring faculty artists Shmuel Ashkenasi on violin, and Roberto Díaz, who has played here before, on viola.) Mondavi patrons with a long memory may recall the March 2003 performance at the Mondavi Center of the Sinfonia Concertante by the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra (under the baton of D. Kern Holoman) with soloists Jorja Fleezanis (violin, formerly associate concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony, but by 2003 the concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra) and Geraldine Walther (then principal viola with the San Francisco Symphony). Fleezanis now teaches at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music; Walther plays with the distinguished Takács String Quartet. Mondavi patrons may also recall violinist Rachel Barton Pine performing the five Mozart violin concertos at Mondavi (in a single evening) in February 2012 with the Chamber Soloists of New York. (She’s also appeared regionally with the Sacramento Philharmonic and generously performed at a fundraiser locally for the Davis High School Baroque Ensemble, one of the few high school-level period instrument groups in the nation). But did you know that Rachel Barton Pine subsequently teamed up with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and recorded the five Mozart violin concertos—and the Sinfonia Concertante (with violist Matthew Lipman) for a double CD recorded in 2013 and released in 2015? It was one of the last recordings conducted by Sir Neville Marriner (who passed away in October 2016). The program notes for the recording appear to resemble Rachel Barton Pine’s program notes for her Mondavi Center appearance a few years earlier. JEFF HUDSON CONTRIBUTES COVERAGE OF THE PERFORMING ARTS TO CAPITAL PUBLIC RADIO, THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE AND SACRAMENTO NEWS AND REVIEW.
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of Mozart’s most moving creations. The finale is a rondo whose ingratiating theme is reminiscent of a rising trill motive of the first movement. ©2017 Dr. Richard E. Rodda
CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC Drawing upon 90 years of artistry, the Curtis Institute of Music pairs tradition and innovation, educating exceptionally gifted young musicians as artist-citizens who engage a local and global community through musicmaking of the highest caliber. Each year 175 students come to Curtis, drawn by a tuitionfree, performance-inspired learning culture. In this intimate environment, they are nurtured by a celebrated faculty and inspired by the school’s distinctive “learn by doing” approach, offering more than 200 concerts each year in Philadelphia as well as performances around the world through Curtis on Tour. “One of the world’s finest music academies” (BBC Culture), Curtis reaches global audiences through Curtis Performs, the school’s dedicated HD performance video site. Online music courses and Summerfest programs offer lifelong learners further ways to listen, explore and learn. And students hone 21stcentury skills through social entrepreneurship programs that bring arts access and education to the community. The extraordinary young musicians of Curtis graduate to join 4,000 alumni who have long made music history. Each season leading orchestras, opera houses and chamber music series around the world feature Curtis alumni. They are in the front rank of soloists, composers and conductors and hold principal chairs in every major American orchestra. Curtis graduates are musical leaders, making a profound impact on music onstage and in their communities.
CURTIS ON TOUR Curtis on Tour is the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music. An embodiment of the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy, it offers students real-world, professional touring experience alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. In addition to performances, musicians offer master classes, interactive programs and community engagement activities while on tour. Curtis on Tour also facilitates solo performances of Curtis students and alumni with professional orchestras and recital series. Since the program was established in 2008, students, faculty and alumni have performed
14 MONDAVIART S.ORG
more than 200 concerts in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
HSUAN-HAO HSU
VIOLIN Hsuan-Hao Hsu, from Taipei, Taiwan, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2009 and studies with renowned violinist Pamela Frank. Hsu is the Herbert R. and Evelyn Axelrod Fellow. In recent seasons Hsu has given solo recitals at the Macao Cultural Centre and at Taipei’s National Theater and Concert Recital Hall. Hsu has performed as a soloist with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra as winner of its competition. He was a member of the Orchestra of the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University for two years. Hsu previously studied with Juin-Ying Lee, director of National Chiao Tung University.
ANGELA SIN YING CHAN
VIOLIN Angela Sin Ying Chan, from Hong Kong, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2013 and is a violin student of Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand. She is the Milka Violin Artist Fellow and was chosen as a 2012 Junior Competitor for the Yehudi Menuhin Competition Beijing. Chan was recently awarded first prize and a concerto prize in the senior division of the 8th Louis Spohr International competition for young violinists.
STEPHEN KIM
VIOLIN Stephen Kim, from Cupertino, California, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2013 and studies violin with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand. Kim is the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Annual Fellow. He has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Aspen, Sendai and Suwon philharmonic orchestras; the Terre Haute, Carmel, Fremont and Prometheus symphony orchestras; the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra; and the San Francisco, Palo Alto and Monta Vista chamber orchestras, among others. Kim was the winner of the Aspen Music Festival’s 2014 Violin Competition, the 2013 Dorothy DeLay Memorial Fellowship and the 2011 American
Academy of Conducting at Aspen’s Violin Competition. Kim has won prizes in numerous other competitions, including the Sendai, Yehudi Menuhin and Seoul international music competitions. He began playing the violin at age 3 and previously studied with Stuart Canin, Leor Maltinski and the late Joseph Silverstein.
ABIGAIL FAYETTE
VIOLIN Abigail Fayette, from Wading River, New York, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2012 and studies violin with Ida Kavafian. Fayette is the Joseph and Marie Field Annual Fellow. Fayette has performed as a soloist with the Sound Symphony Orchestra, Massapequa Philharmonic Orchestra, Juilliard Pre-college Chamber Orchestra, El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestra and Bachanalia; and has collaborated with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players. She served as the concertmaster of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra for the 2015–16 season and as associate principal violin for the 2014–15 season. Fayette was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in 2016 and has attended the Artosphere Festival, the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music School and Festival, Greenwood Music Camp, Music from Angel Fire, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, the Hotchkiss School’s Summer Portals Program and the Taos and Meadowmount schools of music. She studied previously with Joseph Silverstein, Min-Young Kim, Shirley Givens, Ann Setzer and Kyung-Wha Chung.
BRANDON GARBOT
VIOLIN Brandon Garbot, from Portland, Oregon, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2013 and studies violin with Ida Kavafian and Arnold Steinhardt. Garbot is the Edwin B. Garrigues Annual Fellow. Garbot is a substitute violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and has been a guest artist at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He served as the concertmaster of the New York String Orchestra in 2014. Garbot has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Oregon Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Meridian Symphony and Brevard Music Center Festival Orchestra. He made
CURTIS ON TOUR: CURTIS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA his debut at the Kennedy Center in 2012 as part of the Conservatory Project. Garbot has performed as part of the Taos School of Music, Perlman Music Program, Music from Angel Fire, Chamber Music Northwest, Festival Mozaic and with the inaugural season of Chamber Music Encounters with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He performs regularly as the violinist of Trio St. Bernard and has collaborated with members of eighth blackbird and the Cavani Quartet. He previously studied with William Preucil, concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra. He also holds a Young Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
SHMUEL ASHKENASI
VIOLIN Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Shmuel Ashkenasi attended the Musical Academy of Tel Aviv and gave his first public performance at the age of 8. After studying with Ilona Feher, he came to the United States to study with Efrem Zimbalist at the Curtis Institute of Music. He won the Merriweather Post Competition, was a finalist in Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth competition, and received second prize in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In 1969, he formed the famed Vermeer Quartet and remained its first violinist throughout the quartet’s 39-year career, gaining a reputation as one of the world’s outstanding chamber musicians. Ashkenasi has toured the former Soviet Union twice and concertized extensively in Europe, Israel, the Far East and the United States; and he has collaborated with Rudolf Serkin, Thomas Hampson, Murray Perahia, Peter Serkin and Menahem Pressler. He has performed as soloist with many leading orchestras, such as those of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Moscow and Tokyo. Ashkenasi joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2007 and also teaches at Bard College.
ROBERTO DÍAZ
VIOLA A violist of international reputation, Roberto Díaz is president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music, following in the footsteps of renowned soloist/directors such as Josef Hofmann, Efrem Zimbalist and Rudolf Serkin. As a soloist, Díaz collaborates with leading conductors of our time on stages throughout the world. He has also worked directly with important 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Krzysztof Penderecki, whose viola concerto he has performed numerous times with the composer on the podium and whose double concerto he premiered in the United States, as well as Edison Denisov, Jennifer Higdon, Ricardo Lorenz and Roberto Sierra. A frequent recitalist, Díaz enjoys collaborating with young musicians, bringing a fresh approach to the repertoire and providing invaluable opportunities to artists at the beginning of their careers. In addition to performing with major string quartets and pianists in chamber music series and festivals worldwide, he is a member of the Díaz Trio. His recordings include a Grammy-nominated disc of viola transcriptions by William Primrose for Naxos, as well as releases on the Artek, Bridge Records, Dorian, Nimbus and New World labels. In addition to his decade-long tenure as principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Díaz was also principal viola of the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich and was a member of the Boston Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he continues to serve on the faculty, holding the James and Betty Matarese Chair in Viola Studies and the Nina von Maltzahn President’s Chair. Díaz plays the ex-Primrose Amati viola.
CURTIS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA VIOLIN
Maria Ioudenitch Concertmaster Hsuan-Hao Hsu Abigail Fayette Angela Sin Ying Chan Brandon Garbot Stephen Kim
VIOLA
Michael Casimir Principal Matthew Sinno Assistant Principal
CELLO
Joshua Halpern Principal Andres Sanchez Associate Principal
BASS
William Karns
FLUTE
Lydia Roth Brendan Dooley
OBOE
Cassie Pilgrim Rex Yape
HORN
Alexander Lane Jonathan McCammon
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PKF–PRAGUE PHILHARMONIA
Emmanuel Villaume, music director and chief conductor; Gautier Capuçon, cello An Orchestra Series Event Saturday, January 28, 2017 • 8PM Jackson Hall SPONSORED BY
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
PROGRAM “Vltava” (The Moldau) from Má vlast (My Country) Smetana Cello Concerto in B Minor, op. 104 Dvořák Allegro Adagio, ma non troppo Finale: Allegro moderato Gautier Capuçon, cello INTERMISSION
Dr. Jim P. Back Symphony No. 8 in G Major, op. 88 Dvořák Allegro con brio Adagio Allegretto grazioso Allegro ma non troppo
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PROGRAM NOTES
“VLTAVA” (THE MOLDAU) FROM MÁ VLAST (MY COUNTRY) (1874)
BEDŘICH SMETANA (1824–1884) Early in 1874, Smetana began to suffer from severe headaches. That symptom came and went, and he noted no other physical problems until October. “One night I listened with great pleasure to Leo Delibes’ Le Roi l’a dit,” he reported. “When I returned home after the last act, I sat at the piano and improvised for an hour on whatever came into my head. The following morning I was stone deaf.” Smetana was terrified. He wrote to his friend J. Finch Thorne that a ceaseless rushing filled his head: “It is stronger when my brain is active and less noticeable when I am quiet. When I compose it is always in evidence.” He tried many unguents, ointments and treatments during the ensuing months but they brought no relief; Smetana did not hear a sound for the last decade of his life. He continued to compose, but withdrew more and more from the world as he realized he could not be cured, eventually losing his reason (in the margin of score of the 1882 D-minor quartet he scrawled, “Composed in a state of disordered nerves—the outcome of my deafness”) and ending his days in a mental ward. It is one of the great ironies in 19thcentury music that Smetana conceived the first melody for Má Vlast (My Country), the splendid cycle of six tone poems inspired by the land and lore of his native Bohemia, at the same time he lost his hearing. Had he not been able to look to the example of the deaf Beethoven, he might well have abandoned this work, but he pressed on and completed “Vyšehrad” by November 1874 and immediately began ”Vltava,” which was finished in less than three weeks, on December 8th. “Sárka” and “From Bohemia’s Woods and Meadows” date from the following year; “Tábor” was finished in 1878 and “Blaník” in 1879. Vltava (“The Moldau” in German) is the principal river of Bohemia, rising in the hills in the south and flowing north through Prague to join with the Elbe. Smetana’s tone poem seems to trace its inspiration to a country trip he took along the river in 1870, a junket that included an exhilarating boat ride through the churning waters of the St. John Rapids. “Vltava” is disposed in several sections intended to convey both the sense of a journey down the river and some of the sights seen along the way, as Smetana noted in his preface to the score:
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I’m savoring The future life’s simple looks bright pleasures again. to me! You wouldn’t know it to see him today, but Teddy Reynolds was born blind – his lenses covered by hereditary cataracts. If not corrected early, Teddy’s brain would never “learn” to see. But within his first two months of life, pediatric ophthalmologists at UC Davis surgically removed both cataracts and equipped him with special high-powered lenses – which get swapped out regularly as he grows and his vision changes. Today, Teddy studies Taekwondo, plays soccer and is learning to surf. This is one little boy with a bright future.
See Teddy’s story at healthierworld.ucdavis.edu
PKF—PRAGUE PHILHARMONIA “Two springs pour forth in the shade of the Bohemian Forest, one warm and gushing, the other cold and peaceful. Their waves, gaily flowing over rocky beds, join and glisten in the rays of the morning sun. The forest brook, hastening on, becomes the river Moldau. Coursing through Bohemia’s valleys, it grows into a mighty stream. Through thick woods it flows, as the gay sounds of the hunt and the notes of the hunter’s horn are heard ever nearer. It flows through grass-grown pastures and lowlands where a wedding feast is being celebrated with song and dance. At night, wood and water nymphs revel in its sparkling waves. Reflected on its surface are fortresses and castles—witnesses of bygone days of knightly splendor and the vanished glory of fighting times. At the St. John Rapids, the stream races ahead, winding through the cataracts, hewing out a path with its foaming waves through the rocky chasm into the broad river bed—finally, flowing on in majestic peace toward Prague and welcomed by the time-honored castle Vyšehrad. [At this point, Smetana recalled the main theme of the complete cycle’s preceding tone poem, entirely devoted to depicting the ruined castle and its aura of ancient battles and forgotten bards.] Then it vanishes far beyond the poet’s gaze.”
CELLO CONCERTO IN B MINOR, OP. 104 (1894–95)
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK (1841–1904) During the three years that Dvořák was teaching at the National Conservatory of Music in New York City, he was subject to the same emotions as most travelers away from home for a long time: invigoration and homesickness. America stirred his creative energies, and during his stay from 1892 to 1895 he composed some of his greatest scores: the “New World” Symphony, the op. 96 Quartet (“American”) and the Cello Concerto. He was keenly aware of the new musical experiences to be discovered in the land far from his beloved Bohemia when he wrote, “The musician must prick up his ears for music. When he walks he should listen to every whistling boy, every street singer or organ grinder. I myself am often so fascinated by these people that I can scarcely tear myself away.” But he missed his home and, while he was composing the Cello Concerto, looked eagerly forward to returning. He opened his heart in a letter to a friend in Prague: “Now I am finishing the finale of the Cello Concerto. If I could work as free from cares as at Vysoká [site of his country home], it would have been finished long ago. Oh, if only I were in Vysoká again!”
The Concerto’s opening movement is in sonata form, with both themes presented by the orchestra before the entry of the soloist. The first theme is heard immediately in the clarinets. “One of the most beautiful melodies ever composed for the horn” is how the esteemed English musicologist Sir Donald Tovey described the major-key second theme. Otakar Šourek, the composer’s biographer, called the second movement a “hymn of deepest spirituality and amazing beauty.” It is in three-part form (A–B–A). A touching bit of autobiography is attached to the composition of this movement. While working on its middle section, Dvořák learned that his sister-in-law, Josefina Kaunitzová, who had aroused in him a secret passion early in his life, was seriously ill. He showed his concern by using one of her favorite pieces in the central portion of this Adagio—his own song, Let Me Wander Alone with My Dreams, op. 82, No. 1. She died a month after he returned to Prague in April 1895, so he revised the finale to include another reference to the same song to produce the autumnal slow section just before the end of the work. The finale is a rondo of dance-like nature. Following the second reprise of the theme, the Andante section recalls both the first theme of the opening movement and Josefina’s melody from the second. A brief and rousing restatement of the rondo theme led by the brass closes this majestic Concerto.
SYMPHONY NO. 8, OP. 88 (1889)
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK (1841–1904) You would probably have liked Dvořák. He was born a simple (in the best sense) man of the soil who retained a love of country, nature and peasant ways all his life. In his later years he wrote, “In spite of the fact that I have moved about in the great world of music, I shall remain what I have always been—a simple Czech musician.” Few passions ruffled his life: music, of course; the rustic pleasures of country life; the company of old friends; caring for his pigeons; and a child-like fascination with railroads. When he was in Prague during the winters, he took daily walks to the Franz Josef Station to gaze in awe at the great iron wagons. The timetables were as ingrained in his thinking as were the chord progressions of his music, and he knew all the specifications of the engines that puffed through Prague. When his students returned from a journey, he would pester them until they recalled exactly which locomotive had pulled their train. Milton Cross sketched him thus: “To the end of his days he remained shy, uncomfortable in the presence of those he regarded as his social
superiors, and frequently remiss in his social behavior. He was never completely at ease in large cities, with the demands they made on him. He was happiest when he was close to the soil, raising pigeons, taking long, solitary walks in the hills and forests of the Bohemia he loved so deeply. Yet he was by no means a recluse. In the company of his intimate friends, particularly after a few beers, he was voluble, gregarious, expansive and goodhumored.” His music reflected his salubrious nature, and Harold Schonberg concluded, “He remained throughout his entire creative span the happiest and least neurotic of the late Romantics.... With Handel and Haydn, he is the healthiest of all composers.” The G major symphony, in its warm emotionalism and pastoral contentment, mirrors its creator. It was composed during Dvořák’s annual summer retreat to the country at Vysoká, and his happy contentment with his surroundings shines through the music. Dvořák was absolutely profligate with themes in the opening movement. In the exposition, which comprises the first 126 measures of the work, there are no fewer than eight separate melodies which are tossed out with an ease and speed reminiscent of Mozart’s fecundity. The first theme is presented without preamble in the rich hues of trombones, low strings and low woodwinds in the dark coloring of G minor. This tonality soon yields to the chirruping G major of the flute melody, but much of the movement shifts effortlessly between major and minor keys, lending the work a certain air of nostalgia. The opening melody is recalled to initiate both the development and the recapitulation. In the former, it reappears in its original guise and even, surprisingly, in its original key. The recapitulation begins as this theme is hurled forth by the trumpets in a stentorian setting greatly heightened in emotional weight from its former presentations. The coda is invested with the rhythm and high good spirits of an energetic country dance to bring the movement to a rousing close. The second movement contains two kinds of music, one hesitant and somewhat lachrymose, the other stately and smoothly flowing. The first is indefinite in tonality, rhythm and cadence; its theme is a collection of fragments; its texture is sparse. The following section is greatly contrasted: its key is unambiguous; its rhythm and cadence points are clear; its melody is a long, continuous span. These two antitheses alternate, and the form of the movement is created as much by texture and sonority encoreartsprograms.com 19
PKF—PRAGUE PHILHARMONIA as by the traditional means of melody and tonality. The third movement is a lilting essay in the style of the Austrian folk dance, the Ländler. Like the beginning of the symphony, the movement opens in G minor with a mood of sweet melancholy, but gives way to a languid melody in G major for the central trio. Following the repeat of the scherzo, a vivacious coda in faster tempo paves the way to the finale. The trumpets herald the start
of the finale, a theme and variations with a central section resembling a development in character. The bustling second variation returns as a sort of formal mile marker—it introduces the “development” and begins the coda. The symphony ends swiftly and resoundingly amid a burst of high spirits and warmhearted good feelings. ©2017 Dr. Richard E. Rodda
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PKF—PRAGUE PHILHARMONIA The PKF—Prague Philharmonia, originally called the Prague Philharmonia, was founded in 1994 at the initiative of the world-famous conductor Jiří Bělohlávek to bring a breath of fresh air to the Czech and the global music scene in the form of a contagious élan and a drive to achieve superior performance of every detail of the score. Soon after its founding, the PKF—Prague Philharmonia joined the ranks of the most respected Czech orchestras and established great renown in Europe and elsewhere in the world. In its “manifesto”, the orchestra highlighted vigor, energy and perfectionism as well as a tremendous love for the music, with which it imbues each and every concert. The PKF—Prague Philharmonia is beloved for its characteristic sound, created in large part by the key focus of its repertoire: Viennese Classicism, pieces by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. This area is the ensemble’s primary domain, and an area at which it excels. The spirit of the art from this historical period is perfectly reflected in the PKF—Prague Philharmonia credo: to play with crystal-clear purity and a straightforward, sparkling passion that will ensure that every listener, regardless of age or profession, may understand every detail of the music performed and return home from its concerts full of joie de vivre. The art presented by the PKF—Prague Philharmonia is both exceptional and accessible to everyone. The repertoire also includes Romance compositions, as well as modern and contemporary music, performed within a special concert series unique among the selections of Czech orchestras. Since the beginning of the 2008–2009 season, the orchestra has been headed by Chief Conductor and Music Director Jakub Hrůša, who despite his young age already enjoys great international renown. The ensemble’s founder, the globally celebrated Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek, was at its helm until 2005, when he was named the orchestra’s Conductor Laureate. From 2005 to 2008, the Chief Conductor of the PKF—Prague Philharmonia was the Swiss conductor and flautist Kaspar Zehnder. Since the beginning of the 2015–16 season, the post of music director and chief conductor has been held by the distinguished French conductor Emmanuel Villaume. The PKF—Prague Philharmonia is a regular guest at international music festivals, frequently performs at prestigious world concert halls and is a regular partner of
world‑famous conductors and soloists, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Milan Turković, Jefim Bronfman, András Schiff, Shlomo Mintz, Sarah Chang, Isabelle Faust, Mischa Maisky, Magdalena Kožená, Anna Netrebko, Natalie Dessay, Rolando Villazón, Plácido Domingo, Elina Garanča, Juan Diego Flórez, Radek Baborák, Thomas Hampson and many others. To date, the orchestra has recorded more than 60 CDs for prominent Czech and foreign labels, including Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Supraphon, EMI, Warner Music and Harmonia Mundi. Some of its albums have received such prestigious accolades as the RAC Canada Gold Disc (2000), the Harmonie Award (2001) and the Diapason d’Or (2007). Guest artists featured on the PKF—Prague Philharmonia’s recordings include Anna Netrebko, Eva Urbanová, Magdalena Kožená, Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Iva Bittová, Peter Dvorský, Dagmar Pecková and many others. The most critically acclaimed album is the live recording of the orchestra’s performance of Smetana’s My Country at Prague Spring 2010, conducted by Jakub Hrůša.
EMMANUEL VILLAUME
MUSIC DIRECTOR AND CHIEF CONDUCTOR French-born conductor Emmanuel Villaume has led captivating performances with the most prominent opera companies and symphony orchestras around the world. In 2015, Villaume began his tenure as music director and chief conductor of the PKF— Prague Philharmonia. Recent projects with the PKF include a Deutsche Grammophon recording with Anna Netrebko, a Warner Classics release with Bryan Hymel and a New Year’s celebration concert at the Royal Opera House Muscat. Villaume is now entering his fourth season as music director of The Dallas Opera. The Chicago Classical Review praised Villaume’s conducting of Roméo et Juliette at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, writing, “Villaume is almost without peer in this repertory, and his conducting provides a virtual seminar in how French opera should be performed.” His recent orchestral performances include at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall for the 2014 Richard Tucker Gala, with the Juilliard Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Grant Park Music Festival, the White Nights Festival at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, and a European concert tour of Iolanta. He was artistic director and chief conductor of the National Slovenian Philharmonic and chief conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra from 2009 to 2016. As author of noted articles of musicology, Villaume was
The UC Davis Office of Campus Community Relations is a proud supporter of the Mondavi Center The Campus Community Book Project was initiated to promote dialogue and build community by encouraging diverse members of the campus and surrounding communities to read the same book and attend related events. The book project advances the Office of Campus Community Relations’ mission to improve both the campus climate and community relations, to foster diversity and to promote equity and inclusiveness.
Stuffed and Starved, 2016-2017 CCBP featured book
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encoreartsprograms.com 21
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22 MONDAVIART S.ORG
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of the foremost cellists of his generation and has received consistently high critical praise for his recordings and performances. Born in Chambéry in 1981, Capuçon began playing the cello at the age of 5. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris with Philippe Muller and Annie Cochet-Zakine, and later with Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. The winner of various first prizes in many leading international competitions, including the International André Navarra Prize, Capuçon was named ‘New Talent of the Year’ by Victoires de la Musique (the French equivalent of a Grammy) in 2001; in 2004 he received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award since which time he has received several Echo Klassik awards. Capuçon performs regularly as a soloist with the major orchestras worldwide and is a favorite of conductors at the highest level, including Gergiev, Bychkov, Haitink, Eschenbach and Nézet-Seguin. In recent seasons, he has performed with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Mariinsky Orchestra, Tonhalle, Munich Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as all of the major orchestras across France. Highlights of his 2014–15 season include European tours with the London Symphony Orchestra with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Oslo Philharmonic with Vasily Petrenko, and concerts with Leipzig Gewandhaus with Emmanuel Krivine, Vienna Philharmonic with Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Los Angeles Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel, Cleveland Orchestra with Lionel Bringuier, San Francisco Symphony with Charles Dutoit and Boston Symphony with Andris Nelsons. In 2015–16, highlights included a European trio tour with Leonidas Kavakos and Nikolai Lugansky, a Japanese recital tour, and recitals and chamber performances at the Vienna Musikverein, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Cité de la musique (Paris), Tonhalle Zurich, Wigmore Hall and the Schubertiade festival. Capuçon plays a 1701 Matteo Goffriller.
PKF—PRAGUE PHILHARMONIA FIRST VIOLINS
Jan Fišer Concertmaster Miloslav Vrba Hana Jarošová Kubisová Roman Hranička Veronika Panochová Martin Bialas Zuzana Bialasová František Kosina Martina Bačová Dmitry Samojlov Eva Schäferová Tomáš Bařinka
SECOND VIOLINS
Jan Adam Marta Hajšmanová Lada Ševčíková Lukáš Kroft Alena Miřácká Iva Středová Matěj Polášek Jan Zrostlík Veronika Šenová Martin Balda
VIOLAS
Stanislav Svoboda Anna Cibulková Dagmar Mašková Emi Sawahata Zdeněk Suchý Ondřej Martinovský Angelika Boué Anna Šimková
VIOLONCELLI
Lukáš Pospíšil Concertmaster Teodor Brcko Balázs Adorján Judita Škodová Martin Havelík Marie Dorazilová
DOUBLE BASSES
Pavel Klečka Jan Prokop Dalibor Tkadlčík Lubomír Čížek
FLUTES
Jiří Ševčík Oto Reiprich Lenka Schichová
OBOES
Jan Souček Lenka Filová
CLARINETS
Jindřich Pavliš Jan Czech
BASSOONS
Václav Fürbach Jiří Jech
FRENCH HORNS
Fine Italian Cuisine
Jan Musil Mikuláš Koska Adéla Triebeneklová Eva Mlázovská
TRUMPETS
Svatopluk Zaal Lubomír Kovařík
TROMBONES
Stanislav Penk Vít Kořínek Václav Kotek
TUBA
Petr Salajka
TIMPANI
Pavel Rehberger
PERCUSSION
Radek Doležal Anton Zdanovich Štěpán Hon
HARP
Hana Müllerová
2657 Portage Bay East #8 Davis CA 95616 (530) 758-1324 osteriafasulo.com
For Opus 3 Artists: David V. Foster, President and CEO Leonard Stein, Senior Vice President, Director, Touring Division Jeffrey Vanderveen, Vice President, Manager, Artists & Attractions Irene Lönnblad, Associate, Touring Division Aaron Grant, Associate, Artists & Attractions John Gilliland, Tour Manager Donald Irving, Stage Manager U.S. Tour Management: Opus 3 Artists 470 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor North, New York, NY 10016 www.opus3artists.com The PKF—Prague Philharmonia would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions towards the U.S. tour: Tour Founders: Christel DeHaan, Cynthia Fisher, Holly and Tom Mayer Friends of the PKF: Terry Adamson, Arlene And John Dayton, Antony and Katherine Francis, Peter Frank, Gisele Galaxie and Andy Chulak, Joy and Ron Mankoff - Mankoff Family Foundation, Alan and Sandra Silvestri, Mabelle Sonnereich, Joanna and T. Peter Townsend The PKF—Prague Philharmonia is subsidized by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the City of Prague. encoreartsprograms.com 23
Exhibition: A Site for Convergence and Exchange: Designing the 21st Century Art Museum Jan. 9 - apr. 23
UC Davis Design MUseUM, CrUess Hall MonDay–FriDay: noon–4 PM, sUnDay: 2-4 PM
Free
Music: ann Lavin, Clarinet
Works by Brahms, Debussy, gershwin & others
Jan. 27 @ 7 pM
ann e. Pitzer Center, reCital Hall
Art Studio Visiting Artist Lecture Series: Dona nelson Feb. 9 @ 4 pM
Jan sHreM anD Maria Manetti sHreM MUseUM oF art
Free
Music: UC Davis Symphony Orchestra: Nocturnes and Dreams Works by Dallapiccola, ravel & sciarrino
Feb. 18 @ 7 pM
roBert anD Margrit MonDavi Center For tHe PerForMing arts, JaCkson Hall
Theatre: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Feb. 23 - 25 & Mar. 2 - 4 @ 7 pM Main tHeatre, WrigHt Hall
Feb. 25 & Mar. 4 @ 2 pM
Art History Art studio
arts.ucdavis.edu For tiCkets And tHe lAtest Arts inFormAtion
CinemA & digitAl mediA design musiC tHeAtre & dAnCe
LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO A With A Twist Series Event Sunday, January 29, 2017 • 7PM Jackson Hall SPONSORED BY
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Patti Donlon
THE COMPANY Colette Adae Varvara Bratchikova Nadia Doumiafeyva Lariska Dumbchenko Nina Enimenimynimova Helen Highwaters Irina Kolesterolikova Nina Immobilashvili Maria Paranova Eugenia Repelskii Moussia Shebarkarova Alla Snizova Olga Supphozova Guzella Verbitskaya Yakatarina Verbosovich Doris Vidanya Tatiana Youbetyabootskaya
Jacques d’Aniels Ilya Bobovnikov Roland Deaulin Pepe Dufka Ketevan Iosifidi Stanislas Kokitch Araf Legupski Marat Legupski Sergey Legupski Vladimir Legupski Vyacheslav Legupski Mikhail Mudkin Boris Mudko Boris Nowitsky Yuri Smirnov Innokenti Smoktumuchsky Kravlji Snepek
Tory Dobrin artistic director Isabel Martinez Rivera associate director Liz Harler general manager
encoreartsprograms.com 25
PROGRAM LE LAC DES CYGNES (SWAN LAKE, ACT II) Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: after Lev Ivanovich Ivanov Costumes: Mike Gonzales Décor: Jason Courson Lighting: Kip Marsh
“PAS DE SIX” FROM ESMERALDA Music: Cesare Pugni Choreography: after Marius Petipa Staging: Elena Kunikova Costumes: David Tetrault Lighting: Kip Marsh
Swept up into the magical realm of swans (and birds), this elegiac phantasmagoria of variations and ensembles in line and music is the signature work of Les Ballets Trockadero. The story of Odette, the beautiful princess turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer, and how she is nearly saved by the love of Prince Siegfried, was not so unusual a theme when Tchaikovsky first wrote his ballet in 1877—the metamorphosis of mortals to birds and vice versa occurs frequently in Russian folklore. The original Swan Lake at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow was treated unsuccessfully; a year after Tchaikovsky’s death in 1893, the St. Petersburg Maryinsky Ballet produced the version we know today. Perhaps the world’s best-known ballet, its appeal seems to stem from the mysterious and pathetic qualities of the heroine juxtaposed with the canonized glamour of 19th century Russian ballet.
La Esmeralda is a three-act ballet based upon Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris. Originally choreographed by Jules Perrot, the ballet premiered in London in 1844, with Carlotta Grisi in the title role. The Russian premiere, with new choreography by Marius Petipa, was in St. Petersburg in 1886. The story is of the hopeless love of the deaf and hunchback Quasimodo for the gypsy girl Esmeralda. The great Russian ballerina Alexandra Danilova wrote in her memoirs: “...Esmeralda was in love with a very handsome officer who was romancing her while he was betrothed to another woman—the usual story—and, of course, he wouldn’t marry her. She was burned at the stake. Very tragic.” In this scene during the second act of the ballet, the heartbroken Esmeralda laments the twotiming officer while being consoled by her friend, Pierre Grengoire, and her fellow gypsies.
Benno: Innokenti Smoktumuchsky (friend and confidant to…) Prince Siegfried: Vyacheslav Legupski (who falls in love with…) Queen of the Swans: Yakatarina Verbosovich Swans: Colette Adae, Nadia Doumiafeyva, Nina Immobilashvili, Irina Kolesterolikova, Maria Paranova, Eugenia Repelskii, Doris Vidanya, Tatiana Youbetyabootskaya (all of whom got this way because of…) Von Rothbart: Jacques d’Aniels (an evil wizard who goes about turning girls into swans)
Esmeralda: Nina Immobilashvili Pierre Grengoire: Jacques d’Aniels Gypsies: artists of the Trockadero
INTERMISSION
INTERMISSION
DON QUIXOTE Music: Ludwig Minkus Choreography: after Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky Costumes: Mike Gonzales Lighting: Kip Marsh Décor: Robert Gouge Scene: The outdoor cafe of Lorenza’s Inn Waitresses: Colette Adae, Guzella Verbitskaya, Helen Highwaters, Nina Immobilashvili Gypsies: Nadia Doumiafeyva, Eugenia Repelskii Lorenza (mother to Kitri): Maria Paranova Kitri (the prettiest girl in the village, madly in love with Basil): Alla Snizova Basil (a peso-less barber with a roving eye and a weakness for strong drink): Ilya Bobovnikov The Marquise Cristobal Iglesias Habsburgo de Azuza y Cycamonga (a rich nobleman, desperately seeking a beautiful young wife): Boris Mudko Amour (who neatly ties together all the loose ends): Olga Supphozova Fairies: artists of the Trockadero Don Quixote and Sancho Panza* *Due to economic reasons, these two characters have been eliminated. You may, if you like, imagine the aristocratic vagrant and his constant companion, Sancho Panza, wandering about aimlessly and getting in everyone’s way, which in most versions is all they do anyway.
26 MONDAVIART S.ORG
LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO Founded in 1974 by a group of ballet enthusiasts for the purpose of presenting a playful, entertaining view of traditional, classical ballet in parody form and en travesti, Les Ballets Trockadero first performed in the late-late shows in Off-Off Broadway lofts. The Trocks, as they are affectionately known, quickly garnered a major critical essay by Arlene Croce in The New Yorker, and combined with reviews in The New York Times and The Village Voice, established the company as an artistic and popular success. By mid-1975, the Trocks’ inspired blend of their loving knowledge of dance, their comic approach, and the astounding fact that men can, indeed, dance en pointe without falling flat on their faces was being noted beyond New York. Articles and notices in publications such as Variety, Oui, The London Daily Telegraph, as well as a Richard Avedon photo essay in Vogue, made the company nationally and internationally known. The 1975–76 season was a year of growth and full professionalization. The company found management, qualified for the National Endowment for the Arts Touring Program and hired a full-time teacher and ballet mistress to oversee daily classes and rehearsals. Also in this season, the company made its first extended tours of the United States and Canada. Packing, unpacking and repacking tutus and drops, stocking giant size pointe shoes by the case, running for planes and chartered buses all became routine parts of life. Since those beginnings, the Trocks have established themselves as a major dance phenomenon throughout the world. They have participated in dance festivals worldwide and there have been television appearances as varied as a Shirley MacLaine special, The Dick Cavett Show, What’s My Line?, Real People, On-Stage America, with Kermit and Miss Piggy on their show Muppet Babies and a BBC Omnibus special on the world of ballet hosted by Jennifer Saunders. Awards that the Trocks have garnered over the years include for best classical repertoire from the prestigious Critic’s Circle National Dance Awards (2007) (UK), the Theatrical Managers Award (2006) (UK) and the 2007 Positano Award (Italy) for excellence in dance. In December 2008, the Trocks appeared at the 80th anniversary Royal Variety Performance in London to benefit the Entertainment Artistes’ Benevolent Fund, which was attended by members of the British royal family.
The Trocks’ numerous tours have been both popular and critical successes—their frenzied annual schedule has included appeared in over 35 countries and over 600 cities worldwide since its founding in 1974, including seasons at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the Chatelet Theater in Paris. The company continues to appear in benefits for international AIDS organizations such as DRA (Dancers Responding to AIDS) and Classical Action in New York City; the Life Ball in Vienna, Austria; Dancers for Life in Toronto, Canada; London’s Stonewall Gala; and Germany’s AIDS Tanz Gala. A documentary about the company, Rebels on Pointe, was recently completed and will travel to film festivals throughout 2017. The original concept of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo has not changed. It is a company of professional male dancers performing the full range of the ballet and modern dance repertoire, including classical and original works in faithful renditions of the manners and conceits of those dance styles. The comedy is achieved by incorporating and exaggerating the foibles, accidents and underlying incongruities of serious dance. The fact that men dance all the parts—heavy bodies delicately balancing on toes as swans, sylphs, water sprites, romantic princesses, angst-ridden Victorian ladies—enhances rather than mocks the spirit of dance as an art form, delighting and amusing the most knowledgeable as well as novices in the audiences. For the future, there are plans for new works in the repertoire: new cities, states and countries to perform in; and for the continuation of the Trocks’ original purpose: to bring the pleasure of dance to the widest possible audience. They will, as they have done for more than 40 years, “Keep on Trockin’.”
MEET THE ARTISTS
COLETTE ADAE was orphaned at the age of 3 when her mother, a ballerina of some dubious distinction, impaled herself on the first violinist’s bow after a series of rather uncontrolled fouette voyage. Colette was raised and educated with the “rats” of the Opera House but the trauma of her childhood never let her reach her full potential. However, under the kind and watchful eye of the Trockadero, she has begun to flower, and we are sure you will enjoy watching her growth. VARVARA BRATCHIKOVA, People’s Artist and Cat’s Meow, was educated at the Revanchist Institute. She began her career as Pistachia in V. Stolichnaya’s production of The Nutcracker and achieved stardom as
Odette/Odile/Juliet/Giselle/Aurora in the famous Night of the 1000 Tsars. Her repertoire encompasses nearly all the works she appears in. NADIA DOUMIAFEYVA No one who has seen Heliazpopkin will soon forget the spiritual athleticism of Nadia Doumiafeyva, a child of Caucasus who changed her name for show business reasons. Her fiery attack, combined with lyric somnolence, produces confusion in audiences the world over, especially when applied to ballet. LARISKA DUMBCHENKO Before defecting to the West, Lariska’s supreme agility aroused the interest of the Russian space program, and in 1962 she became the first ballerina to be shot into orbit. Hurtling through the stratosphere, she delivered handy make-up tips to an assembled crowd of celebrities back on earth, including the now legendary “Whitney Houston, we have a problem....” NINA ENIMENIMYNIMOVA’s frail spiritual qualities have caused this elfin charmer to be likened to a lemon soufflé poised delicately on the brink of total collapse. Her adorably over-stretched tendons exude a childlike sweetness that belies her actual age. HELEN HIGHWATERS has defected to America three times and been promptly returned on each occasion—for “artistic reasons.” Recently discovered en omelette at the Easter Egg Hunt in Washington, D.C., she was hired by the Trockadero, where her inexplicable rise to stardom answers the musical question: Who put the bop in the bop-shibop shibop? NINA IMMOBILASHVILI, for more years than she cares to admit, has been the Great Terror of the international ballet world. The omniscient and ubiquitous Immobilashvili is reputed to have extensive dossiers on every major dance figure, living and/or dead. This amazing collection has assured her entree into the loftiest choreographic circles; the roles she has thus been able to create are too numerous to mention. We are honored to present this grand dame in her spectacular return to the ballet stage. IRINA KOLESTEROLIKOVA was discovered, along with Rasputin’s boot, adrift in a basket on the River Neva by kindly peasants. Her debut at the Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, was marred by her overzealous grand jete into the Tsar’s box, impaling a Grand Duchess. encoreartsprograms.com 27
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Banished from Russia, she made her way arduously to New York, where she founded— and still directs—the Ecole de Ballet de HardNox. Her most famous exercise is the warmup, consisting of a martini and an elevator. MARIA PARANOVA’s remarkable life story— only now coming to light after 19 dark years in near hopeless conviction that she was Mamie Eisenhower—will never fully be told. The discovery of her true identity (at a Republican fundraiser in Chicago) brought her to the attention of the Trockadero, where she is slowly recovering her technical powers. EUGENIA REPELSKII The secrets of Mme Repelskii’s beginnings lie shrouded behind the Kremlin wall; in fact, no fewer than six lie in the wall (in jars of assorted sizes). Dancing lightly over pogroms and other sordid reorganizational measures, Eugenia has emerged as a ballerina nonpareil whose pungency is indisputable.
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MOUSSIA SHEBARKAROVA A celebrated child prodigy back in the Brezhnev era, Moussia Shebarkarova astounded her parents at the age of 2 by taking a correspondence course in ballet. Sadly, due to the unreliable Russian postal system, she has only just graduated. ALLA SNIZOVA enjoyed great success as a baby ballerina at the mere age of 9. Being a child prodigy, she developed serious allergy problems and could only perform short pieces. Known as the “little orphan,” Miss Snizova joined the Trockadero on tour, appearing cloaked in an enigma (complete with zip-out lining). A consummate actress, she has danced the part of Little Miss Markova and the title role of Glinka’s Popoy-the Sailor Man. OLGA SUPPHOZOVA made her first public appearance in a KGB lineup under dubious circumstances. After a seven-year-to-life hiatus, she now returns to her adoring fans. When questioned about her forced sabbatical, Olga’s only comment was “I did it for Art’s sake.” Art, however, said nothing.
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28 MONDAVIART S.ORG
GUZELLA VERBITSKAYA was born on a locomotive speeding through the Ural Mountains. She quickly realized the limitations of her native folk dancing and quaint handicrafts. After her arrival in America, she learned everything she now knows about ballet from a seminar entitled “Evil Fairies on the Periphery of the Classical Dance.”
YAKATARINA VERBOSOVICH Despite possessing a walk-in wardrobe so large that it has its own postcode, Yakatarina remains a true ballerina of the people. Indeed, she is so loved in her native Russia that in 1993 the grateful citizens of Minsk awarded her the key to the city. That might well have remained the “golden moment” of this great ballerina’s career had they not subsequently changed the locks. DORIS VIDANYA The legendary Vitebsk Virago first achieved recognition as a child performer, appearing with the famous Steppe Brothers in the world premiere of Dyspepsiana (based on an unfinished paragraph by M. Gorki). As a favorite of Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and the czarevich, La Effhrvia (as she is known to her admirers) was compelled to flee St. Petersburg disguised as a Karsky shashlik. Upon arrival in the New World, she established herself as the Prima Ballerina Assoluta de Kalamazoo, a title she still retains. TATIANA YOUBETYABOOTSKAYA comes to the ballet stage after her hairraising escape from the successful (but not terribly tasteful) overthrow of her country’s glamorous government. She made a counterrevolutionary figure of herself when she was arrested for single-handedly storming the People’s Museum, where her fabulous collection of jewels was being insensitively displayed alongside a machine gun. The resilient Madame Youbetyabootskaya is currently the proprietress of American’s only mail order Course in Classical Ballet. JACQUES D’ANIELS was originally trained as an astronaut before entering the world of ballet. Strong but flexible, good natured but dedicated, sensible but not given to unbelievable flights of fantastic behavior, Mr. d’Aniels is an expert on recovering from ballet injuries (including the dreaded “Pavlova’s clavicle”). ILYA BOBOVNIKOV, the recipient of this year’s Jean de Brienne Award, is particularly identified for his Rabelaisian ballet technique. A revolutionary in the art of partnering, he was the first to introduce crazy glue to stop supported pirouettes. ROLAND DEAULIN Having invented the concept of the “bad hair year” or “annus hairibilis,” French-born Roland now devotes his spare time to selling his new line of Michael Flatley Wigs on the QVC shopping channel.
LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO PEPE DUFKA The ballet world was rocked to its foundations last month when Pepe Dufka sued 182 of New York’s most ardent ballet lovers for loss of earnings. Mr. Dufka claims that 19 years of constant exposure to rotten fruit and vegetables has led to painful and prolonged bouts of leafmould, cabbage root fly and bottom-end rot. Sadly, this historic court case comes too late for a former colleague whose legs were recently crushed by a genetically modified avocado: he will never dance again. KETEVAN IOSIFIDI was dismissed from the Kirov Ballet in 1991 when he blackmailed the horn section of the orchestra and forced them to play Papa Don’t Preach in the third act of Romeo and Juliet while he vogued en pointe. Though Ketevan’s appreciation of high culture is second to none, he still thinks that “prima donna” means any song recorded before Like a Virgin. STANISLAS KOKITCH, “The Forgotten Man” of ballet, is hardly ever mentioned in reviews by critics or in discussions by devoted balletomanes, despite having created several important roles in now-forgotten ballets. He is the author of The Tragedy of My Life, an autobiography not at all reliable. THE LEGUPSKI BROTHERS Araf, Marat, Sergey, Vladimir and Vyacheslav are not really brothers, nor are their names really Araf, Marat, Sergey, Vladimir or Vyacheslav, nor are they real Russians, nor can they tell the difference between a pirouette and a jete...but...well... they do move about rather nicely ...and...they fit into the costumes. MIKHAIL MUDKIN, the famed Russian danseur for whom the word “Bolshoi” was coined, comes to America from his triumphs as understudy to a famous impresario in the role of the Bear in Petrushka. BORIS MUDKO is the Trocks’ newest danseur, having joined only last year. Boris is a drunken but talented Russian from Dzerzhinsk, in the former Soviet Union, who insisted on an audition while the company was on tour. It took some time to sober him up to make him coherent—he was given gallons of tea and several enemas—but finally he was accepted into the company. He has since given up all drink and is doing quite well.
BORIS NOWITSKY has been with the greatest ballerinas of our time; he has even danced with some of them. One of the first defective Russian male stars, he left the motherland for purely capitalistic reasons. Amazingly, between his appearances on television and Broadway as well as in movies, commercials, magazines, special events and women’s nylons, he occasionally still has time to dance. YURI SMIRNOV At the age of 16, Yuri ran away from home and joined the Kirov Opera because he thought Borodin was a prescription barbiturate. Luckily for the Trockadero, he soon discovered that he didn’t know his arias from his elbow and decided to become a ballet star instead. INNOKENTI SMOKTUMUCHSKY is known only to the most cultured and refined balletomanes in the dark alleyways of St. Petersburg. Originally a promising dancerchoreographer, his only ballet—Le Dernier Mohicain—was stolen by the director of the company. In severe depression and shock, he burned his ballet slippers and fled to the sewers, only to surface these 40 years later. KRAVLJI SNEPEK comes to the Trockadero from his split-level birthplace in Siberia, where he excelled in toe, tap, acrobatic and Hawaiian. This good natured Slav is famous for his breathtaking technique: a blend of froth and frou-frou centered on a spine of steel, painfully acquired at the hands and feet of his teacher, Glib Generalization, who has already trained many able dancers. As an artist in the classical, heroic, tragical mold, young Kravlji wrenched the heart of all who saw him dance Harlene, the Goat Roper in The Best Little Dacha in Sverdlovsk.
DANCERS
ROBERT CARTER (Olga Supphozova, Yuri Smirnov) Birthplace: Charleston, South Carolina. Training: Robert Ivey Ballet School, Joffrey Ballet School. Joined Trockadero: November 1995. Previous companies: Florence Civic Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem Ensemble, Bay Ballet Theater. PAOLO CERVELLERA (Moussia Shebarkarova, Vyacheslav Legupski) Birthplace: Putignano (Bari), Italy. Training: San Carlo Opera House Ballet School. Joined Trockadero: November 2012. Previous company: San Carlo Opera House Ballet Company, Naples Italy.
JACK FURLONG, JR. (Guzella Verbitskaya, Mikhail Mudkin) Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts. Training: Valentina Kozlova. Joined Trockadero: September 2014. Previous company: Quark Contemporary Dance Theater. GIOVANNI GOFFREDO (Varvara Bratchikova, Sergey Legupski) Birthplace: Noci, Italy. Training: BallettAkademie Munchen, La Scala Opera Ballet School. Joined Trockadero: October 2013. Previous companies: DeMa Dance Company, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company. DUANE GOSA (Helen Highwaters, Vladimir Legupski) Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois. Training: University of Akron, Ailey School. Joined Trockadero; September 2013. Previous companies: Jennifer Muller/The Works, Brooklyn Ballet, The Love Show. CARLOS HOPUY (Alla Snizova, Innokenti Smoktumuchsky) Birthplace: Havana, Cuba. Training: Escuela Nacional de Arte, Havana. Joined Trockadero: February 2012. Previous companies: National Ballet of Cuba, National Ballet of Costa Rica, Ballet San Antonio. Awards: International Ballet Competitions in Havana (Gold medalist 1999, 2001, 2002), Nagoya (Gold medalist 2002) and Jackson, Mississippi (finalist, 2010). CHASE JOHNSEY (Yakatarina Verbosovich, Roland Deaulin) Birthplace: Winter Haven, Florida. Training: Harrison Arts Center, Virginia School of the Arts. Joined Trockadero: April 2004. Previous company: Florida Dance Theatre. Named Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch in 2008. LASZLO MAJOR (Tatiana Youbetyoubootskaya, Araf Legupski) Birthplace: Mosonmagyaròvàr, Hungary. Training: Györ Dance and Art School. Joined Trockadero: September 2014. Previous companies: North Carolina Dance Theater, Atlantic City Ballet, Compagnie Pàl Frenàk. PHILIP MARTIN-NIELSON (Nadia Doumiafeyva, Kravlji Snepek) Birthplace: Middletown, New York. Training: Natasha Bar, School of American Ballet, Chautauqua Institution of Dance. Joined Trockadero: September 2012. Previous company: North Carolina Dance Theater.
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LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO RAFFAELE MORRA (Lariska Dumbchenko, Pepe Dufka) Birthplace: Fossano, Italy. Training: Estudio de Danzas (Mirta & Marcelo Aulicio), Accademia Regionale di Danza del Teatro Nuovo di Torino. Joined Trockadero: May 2001. Previous company: Compagnia di Danza Teatro Nuovo di Torino.
LONG ZOU (Nina Enimenimynimova, Ketevan Iosifidi) Birthplace: Li Ling, China. Training: Central School of Ballet (London), Guangzhou Art School. Joined Trockadero: May 2009; rejoined 2016. Previous Companies: Ballet Central (UK), Guangzhou Ballet, Jin Xing Dance Theatre.
CHRISTOPHER OUELLETTE (Colette Adae, Marat Legupski) Birthplace: San Francisco, California. Training: San Francisco Ballet School. Joined Trockadero: May 2014. Previous company: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
Tory Dobrin artistic director Isabel Martinez Rivera associate director, production manager Liz Harler general manager George Daugherty music director Barbara Domue associate production manager Raffaele Morra ballet master Erika Johnson lighting supervisor Ryan Hanson wardrobe supervisor Lauren Gibbs development manager Ken Busbin costume designer Jeffrey Sturdivant costume designer Marius Petipa stylistic guru Dr. David S. Weiss orthopedic consultant Zoran Jelenic photographer
MATTHEW POPPE (Doris Vidanya, Ilya Bobovnikov) Birthplace: Phoenix, Arizona. Training: School of American Ballet, School of Ballet Arizona. Joined Trockadero: June 2014. Previous companies: Boston Ballet, Ballet Arizona. ALBERTO PRETTO (Nina Immobilashvili, Stanislas Kokitch) Birthplace: Vicenza, Italy. Training: Academie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace, Monaco. Joined Trockadero: February 2011. Previous companies: English National Ballet, Stadttheater Koblenz. GIOVANNI RAVELO (Irina Kolesterolikova, Boris Mudko) Birthplace: Bucaramanga, Colombia. Training: Ballet Anna Pavlova (Bogota), The Rock School, Escuela del Ballet Nacional de Cuba. Joined Trockadero: October 2008. Previous Companies: Roxey Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Colombia. CARLOS RENEDO (Maria Paranova, Boris Nowitsky) Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain. Training: Jorge Fdez-Hidalgo Estudi de Dansa Barcelona, Steps on Broadway (NYC). Joined Trockadero: February 2012. Previous companies: Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Steps Ensemble, Rebecca Kelly Ballet. JOSHUA THAKE (Eugenia Repelskii, Jacques d’Aniels) Birthplace: Providence, Rhode Island. Training: Boston Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, Brae Crest School of Classical Ballet. Joined Trockadero: November 2011. Previous company: Man Dance Company of San Francisco.
30 MONDAVIART S.ORG
COMPANY STAFF
Makeup Provided By M·A·C Special thanks to: Elena Kunikova; Karina Elver; Lynn Shipley of Ballet Hispanico; and Jenny Palmer of IMG Artists LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO, Inc. is a nonprofit dance company chartered by the State of New York. All contributions are tax-deductible as provided by law. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Vaughan de Kirby president Lucille Lewis Johnson vice president Tory Dobrin secretary/treasurer James C. P. Berry Martha Cooper Program subject to change without notice. Music for Swan Lake is conducted by Pierre Michel Durand with the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Pavel Prantl, leader.
ADDED! On Sale Now! < Hasan Minhaj FRI, JAN 27 Dianne Reeves TUE, FEB 14 Brian Regan FRI, FEB 17 Experience Hendrix FRI, FEB 22 José González & The Göteborg String Theory FRI, MAR 3 Alton Brown Live Eat Your Science WED, MAR 22 Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs THU, MAR 30 Release The Hounds: An Evening with Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge | Aoife O’Donovan SUN, APR 23
mondaviarts.org
encoreartsprograms.com 31
BASSEM YOUSSEF
The Joke is Mightier than the Sword A Speakers Series Event Wednesday, February 1, 2017 • 8PM Jackson Hall SPONSORED BY
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
The Lawrence Shepard Family Fund IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE
UC Davis Humanities Institute Question & Answer Session Moderated by Scott Syphax, CEO of The Nehemiah Companies; host and co-executive producer of Studio Sacramento on PBS affiliate KVIE.
32 MONDAVIART S.ORG
BASSEM YOUSSEF Bassem Youssef, dubbed “the Jon Stewart of the Arab World,” was the host of popular TV show AlBernameg, which was the first-of-itskind political satire show in the Middle East. Originally a five-minute show on YouTube, AlBernameg became the first online-to-TV conversion in the Middle East and the most watched show across the region with 30 million viewers every week. AlBernameg received wide acclaim around the world with coverage in some of the biggest media outlets, topping it off with Youssef’s appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart twice in June 2012 and April 2013. In June 2013, Youssef hosted Jon Stewart on AlBernameg in Cairo, marking the second season’s peak. Throughout its three seasons, AlBernameg remained controversial through its humorous yet bold criticism of the ruling powers, which led to lawsuits being filed against the show and its host. Youssef was issued an arrest warrant in March 2013 and turned himself in the next day where he was questioned for five hours and released on bail. In recognition of his success, Youssef was named among the Time magazine most influential list for 2013 under the “Pioneers” category, was awarded the International Press Freedom Award by the CPJ and was chosen by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the global thinkers during the same year. During its third season, the show achieved unprecedented weekly viewership ratings for 11 consecutive weeks. In June 2014, and after a six-week break, the AlBernameg team held a
press conference where Youssef announced the termination of the show due to overwhelming pressures on both the show and the airing channel. In the spring of 2015, Youssef served as resident fellow at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government for one semester. During his stay in the U.S. he appeared twice as a senior Middle East correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, commenting on the recent political situation in the region. He has recently hosted the International Emmy Awards gala of 2015 as well as the 49th Carthage Film Festival in Tunis. Youssef majored in cardiothoracic surgery, passed the U.S. Medical License Exam (USMLE) and is a member of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS). SCOTT SYPHAX is the Emmy Award-winning executive producer, head writer and host of the California Capital Region’s program of record, Studio Sacramento, discussing the issues and events that shape our region, our state and our nation. In his day job, Syphax is the CEO of The Nehemiah Companies—a Sacramento-based national economic development, social enterprise and real estate development corporation focused on empowering low-wealth communities. Syphax serves on the boards of Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, Norcal Mutual Insurance Company, Medicus Insurance Company, FD Insurance Company, Valley Vision, the Bay Area Council, American Leadership Forum, as well as the Mondavi Center’s Advisory Board.
JOSHUA BELL, VIOLIN SAM HAYWOOD, PIANO A Concert Series Event Thursday, February 2, 2017 • 8PM Jackson Hall
PROGRAM Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano in D Major, op. 12, no. 1 Allegro con brio Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto Rondo: Allegro
Beethoven
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Ken and Joyce Adamson
Scherzo for Violin and Piano in C Minor, Brahms from the “F.A.E.” Sonata, WoO 2 Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano in D Minor, op. 108 Allegro Adagio Un poco presto e con sentimento Presto Agitato INTERMISSION Air for Violin and Piano Kernis Sonata No. 3 (“Ballade”) for Unaccompanied Violin Ysaÿe in D Minor, op. 27, no. 3 Vocalise for Violin and Piano, op. 34, no. 14 Rachmaninoff Fantasy after Bizet’s Carmen for Violin and Piano, op. 25 Sarasate Allegro moderato Moderato Lento assai Allegro moderato Moderato *Program is subject to change*
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JOSHUA BELL AND SAM HAYWOOD PROGRAM NOTES
SONATA NO. 1 FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO IN D MAJOR, OP. 12, NO. 1 (1798)
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)
Beethoven took some care during his first years after arriving in Vienna from his native Bonn in November 1792 to present himself as a composer in the day’s more fashionable genres, one of which was the sonata for piano and violin. The op. 12 sonatas of 1798 are products of his own practical experience as both pianist and violinist, an instrument he had learned while still in Bonn and on which he took lessons shortly after settling in Vienna. An abundance of themes shared with conversational equality by the participants opens the D-major sonata: a heroic unison motive; quietly flowing scales in the piano supporting a striding phrase in the violin; and several related ideas in quicker rhythms cobbled from conventional scale and chord patterns. Tension accumulates in the transition and is relaxed for the second theme, a scalar melody gently urged on by syncopations. The closing material begins with strong block chords, which return to mark the start of the brief development section. A full recapitulation of the exposition’s themes, appropriately adjusted as to key, gives formal and expressive balance to the movement. The Andante takes as its theme a tender melody presented in alternate periods by piano and violin. Four variations follow, the third of which drops into a somber minor mode for some dramatic strains that hint at the musical worlds Beethoven was soon to explore. The finale is a large, thematically rich Rondo that takes as its principal subject a bounding melody of opera buffa jocularity.
SCHERZO FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO IN C MINOR, FROM THE “F.A.E.” SONATA, WoO 2 (1853)
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897)
In April 1853, the 20-year-old Johannes Brahms set out from his native Hamburg for a concert tour of Germany with the Hungarian violinist Eduard Reményi. The following month in Hanover, they met the violinist Joseph Joachim, whom Brahms had heard give an inspiring performance of the Beethoven Concerto five years earlier in Hamburg. The two became friends and spent the following summer together at Göttingen, discussing music, studying scores, playing chamber works together and setting the foundation for a creative partnership that would last for almost half a century. Joachim learned of
Brahms’ plan to take a walking tour through the Rhine Valley, and as a parting gift he gave him a letter of introduction to Robert and Clara Schumann in Düsseldorf. On the last day of September 1853, Brahms met the Schumanns for the first time. “Here is one of those who comes as if sent straight from God,” Clara recorded in her diary. Brahms was introduced around town, and among those he befriended was the young composer and conductor Albert Dietrich, a favorite student of Schumann and a frequent visitor to his home. Joachim was scheduled for an appearance in Düsseldorf at the end of October to premiere Schumann’s Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra (op. 131) and as a surprise for him, Schumann, Dietrich and Brahms each agreed to contribute to a sonata for violin and piano—Dietrich was assigned the opening movement, Schumann volunteered an intermezzo and finale and Brahms offered to supply the scherzo. They dubbed the project the “F.A.E.” Sonata, after the phrase that Joachim had taken as his motto: Frei aber einsam (“Free but alone”). Joachim was delighted with the gift. Brahms’ scherzo follows the traditional three-part scherzo form, with a rather stormy C-minor paragraph at the beginning and end surrounding a more lyrical central trio.
SONATA NO. 3 FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO IN D MINOR, OP. 108 (1887)
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897)
For many years, Brahms followed the sensible practice of the Viennese gentry by abandoning the city when the weather got hot. He spent many happy summers in the hills and lakes of the Salzkammergut, east of Salzburg, but in 1886 his friend Joseph Widmann, a poet and librettist of considerable distinction, convinced Brahms to join him in the ancient Swiss town of Thun, 25 kilometers south of Bern in the foothills of the Bernese Alps. Those periods away from Vienna were not merely times of relaxation for Brahms, however, but were really working holidays. The three summers he spent at Thun (1886– 1888) were especially productive and include the Third Violin Sonata, which he began during the summer of 1886 and finished two years later. Violin and piano share equally the thematic material of the sonata’s opening movement: the violin presents the lyrical principal subject; the piano’s arching second theme is constructed from a two-measure motive of step-wise motion followed by a hesitant dotted-rhythm gesture. The development is largely occupied with a discussion of the main
theme. A full recapitulation and an ethereal coda close the movement. The Adagio is an instrumental hymn of delicately dappled emotions, touching melody and suave harmonies. The third movement replaces the traditional scherzo with an intermezzo of precisely controlled intensity and masterful motivic development. The sonata-form finale resumes the darkly expressive eloquence of the opening movement with its impetuous main theme. A chordal subject initiated by the piano provides contrast, but the unsettled mood of the first theme remains dominant through the movement.
AIR FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO (1995)
AARON JAY KERNIS (b. 1960)
Aaron Jay Kernis started teaching himself piano and violin at age 12 and began composing soon thereafter. He took his professional training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (with John Adams), Manhattan School of Music (Elias Tanenbaum and Charles Wuorinen), Yale (Morton Subotnik, Bernard Rands, and, principally, Jacob Druckman), and the American Academy in Rome; he was appointed to the faculty of the Yale School of Music in 2003. Kernis has held extended residencies with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Nashville Symphony and Mannes College of Music. In 1998, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his String Quartet No. 2, “Musica Instrumentalis”; his other recognitions include the University of Louisville’s prestigious Grawemeyer Award, Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Guggenheim Fellowship, Rome Prize, a grant from the NEA and awards from BMI and ASCAP. Kernis wrote that his Air (1995), nominated for a Grammy in 2000 as Best Contemporary Composition in Joshua Bell’s Argo recording, “is song-like and melodic, one of the ‘purest’ and sparest pieces I’ve written. It contains many hymn- or chant-like elements, and though rooted in E-flat major, it retains a kind of plaintive quality more reminiscent of minor or modal tonalities.”
SONATA NO.3 (“BALLADE”) FOR UNACCOMPANIED VIOLIN IN D MINOR, OP. 27, NO. 3 (1923)
EUGÈNE YSAŸE (1858–1931)
Eugène Ysaÿe was one of the most beloved musicians in the decades surrounding the turn of the 20th century, a violinist revered by his peers and lionized by audiences, a teacher of immense influence, a conductor of international repute and a composer of excellent skill. Ysaÿe began studying violin encoreartsprograms.com 35
when he was 4 and three years later was admitted to the Liège Conservatory, where he won a prize for his playing and a scholarship for study with Henryk Wieniawski at the Brussels Conservatory from 1874 to 1876. Ysaÿe learned in 1876 that Henri Vieuxtemps had recovered sufficiently from a recent stroke to accept a few students, so he moved to Paris to receive that virtuoso’s instruction for the next three years. After serving as concertmaster of Benjamin Bilse’s orchestra (predecessor of the Berlin Philharmonic) and touring Germany, Scandinavia and Russia, Ysaÿe settled from 1883 to 1886 in Paris, where he formed close ties with many of the city’s leading musicians: Franck, Chausson, Debussy and others composed works for him. From 1886 to 1898, Ysaÿe was professor of violin at the Brussels Conservatory, where he also established the Ysaÿe String Quartet (for which Saint-Saëns wrote his Quartet No. 1) and founded the orchestral Concerts Ysaÿe, both of which were principally dedicated to promoting new French and Belgian music. Increasing commitments for tours as violinist and conductor required him to leave the Conservatory in 1898, though he continued to live in Brussels until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Following his debut in the United States in 1894, Ysaÿe’s American prestige equaled that which he enjoyed in Europe, and he was named music director of the Cincinnati Symphony in 1918. He returned to Europe in 1922 to revive the Concerts Ysaÿe and resume his tours. Declining health caused by diabetes and an affliction of his bowing arm began to limit his activities in his later years, and in 1929 he was forced to have a foot amputated. He died in Brussels in May 1931. In 1937, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, a long-time violin student of his, inaugurated an annual violin competition in Brussels—the Prix International Eugène Ysaÿe (rechristened the Queen Elisabeth Competition after World War II)—in his honor. The one-movement Sonata No. 3 (subtitled Ballade), dedicated to the celebrated Romanian violinist, composer and teacher Georges Enesco, is a work whose imposing technical requirements do not obscure the deeply felt sentiments and powerful expressive substance of the music.
VOCALISE FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO, OP. 34, NO. 14 (1915) SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873–1943) The op. 34 songs of 1912 were written during the most successful and rewarding period of Rachmaninoff’s life. The Revolution that was to crush the culture into which he had been 36 MONDAVIART S.ORG
born was still several years in the future, he was in demand as a pianist and conductor, he was composing as suited his desire, and his family life was happy. Wrote Oskar von Riesemann, editor of Rachmaninoff’s memoirs, of the wordless Vocalise from op. 34, “The wonderfully curved melodic arch, with its even tranquility, spans the song from beginning to end in one unbroken line.... We find in it a resemblance, without any similarity of notes, to Bach’s Air on the G String, which moves in the same clarified atmosphere of divine tranquility.”
FANTASY AFTER BIZET’S CARMEN FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO, OP. 25 (1882)
PABLO DE SARASATE (1844–1908)
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascuez—economized to Pablo de Sarasate when he became a star—occupied, with Nicolò Paganini and Joseph Joachim, the pinnacle of 19th-century fiddledom. The son of a military bandmaster in Pamplona, Spain, he started violin lessons at 5, gave his first public performance at 8 and rocketed past the pedagogical prowess of the best local teachers so quickly thereafter that he had to be sent to the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 12. Within a year, he won a premier prix in violin and solfège at the Conservatoire, acquired another prize, in harmony, in 1859, and then set off on the tours of Europe, Africa, North and South America and Asia that made him one of the foremost musicians of his time. (His first tour of the United States was in 1870; his last in 1889.) Whereas Paganini was noted for his flamboyant technical wizardry and emotional exuberance, and Joachim for his high-minded intellectualism and deep musical insights, Sarasate was famed for his elegance, precision, apparent ease of execution and, in the words of Eduard Hanslick, the Vienna-based doyen of Europe’s music critics, his “stream of beautiful sound.” The Carmen Fantasy, devised for a Paris concert in 1883, borrows some of the bestloved melodies from Bizet’s masterpiece: the Entr’acte between Acts III and IV; Carmen’s Habanera; the scene of Carmen, Don José and Zuniga, “Mon officier c’était une querelle”; the Séguidille from Act I; and the Chanson Bohème from Act II. ©2017 Dr. Richard E. Rodda
JOSHUA BELL
VIOLIN
With a career spanning more than 30 years as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and conductor, Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated violinists of his era. An exclusive Sony Classical artist, Bell has recorded more
than 40 CDs garnering Grammy, Mercury, Gramophone and Echo Klassik awards and is recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize. Named the Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in 2011, he is the only person to hold this post since Sir Neville Marriner formed the orchestra in 1958. Bell’s 2016/17 season includes season-opening appearances with the Atlanta Symphony and Minnesota Orchestra and performances with the New York Philharmonic under Alan Gilbert, Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, plus the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Seattle, Montreal and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Abroad he performs with the Vienna Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony and Czech Philharmonic. He embarks on four international orchestral tours: To the U.K., Benelux, Germany and Australia with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields; to Switzerland with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra; to Austria, Germany, Italy and Sweden with the Swedish Radio Symphony under Daniel Harding; and to Korea and Japan with the Orchestra de Paris also with Harding. He makes recital appearances throughout North America with his recital partners Alessio Bax including at Lincoln Center and with Sam Haywood in a Westcoast tour. A highlight of the season features Bell in a week-long residency in Washington, D.C., where he will serve as 2016-2017 Artist-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center and National Symphony Orchestra. Performing and collaborating across artistic and educational mediums, Bell will explore the depths of artistic possibilities examining synergies between music, dance, the culinary arts, literature, education, and technology. Featured events will include an evening with Gourmet Symphony, a collaboration with Brooklyn’s Dance Heginbotham, a recital with literature celebrating John F. Kennedy’s Centennial, and a world premiere co-commission from Anne Dudley in a family concert based on the bestselling children’s book The Man with the Violin, inspired by Bell’s incognito 2007 D.C. Metro performance. Convinced of the value of music as both a diplomatic and educational tool, Bell is a member of President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and in April 2016, he participated in the U.S. government’s inaugural cultural mission to Cuba. He is involved in Turnaround Arts, a signature program of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities led by Michelle Obama, providing arts education to lowperforming elementary and middle schools. Bell has performed for three U.S. Presidents as well as the President of China and devoted himself to several charitable causes, most notably Education Through Music, which helps put instruments in
JOSHUA BELL AND SAM HAYWOOD the hands of thousands of children in America’s inner cities. In September 2016, Sony Classical released Bell’s newest album, For the Love of Brahms, with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Jeremy Denk. Bell’s 2014 Sony release was a Bach album recorded with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields that coincided with an HBO YoungArts documentary special, Joshua Bell: A YoungArts MasterClass. In 2013, Sony released Bell’s holiday CD, Musical Gifts from Joshua Bell and Friends, featuring collaborations with Chris Botti, Chick Corea, Gloria Estefan, Renée Fleming, Plácido Domingo, Alison Krauss and others. Other releases include French Impressions with pianist Jeremy Denk, featuring sonatas by Saint-Saëns, Ravel and Franck, At Home with Friends, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, The Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic, as well as The Red Violin Concerto, The Essential Joshua Bell, Voice of the Violin, and Romance of the Violin which Billboard named the 2004 Classical CD of the Year, and Bell the Classical Artist of the Year. Bell received critical acclaim for his concerto recordings of Sibelius and Goldmark, Beethoven and Mendelssohn, and the Grammy Awardwinning Nicholas Maw concerto. His Grammynominated Gershwin Fantasy premiered a new work for violin and orchestra based on themes from Porgy and Bess. Its success led to a Grammy-nominated Bernstein recording that included the premiere of the West Side Story Suite as well as the composer’s Serenade. Bell appeared on the Grammy-nominated crossover recording Short Trip Home with composer and double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer, as well as a recording with Meyer of the Bottesini Gran Duo Concertante. He collaborated with Wynton Marsalis on the Grammy-winning spoken word children’s album Listen to the Storyteller and Béla Fleck’s Grammy Award-winning recording, Perpetual Motion. Highlights of the Sony Classical film soundtracks on which he has performed include The Red Violin which won the Oscar for Best Original Score, the Classical Brit-nominated Ladies in Lavender and the films Iris and Defiance. Seeking opportunities to increase violin repertoire, Bell has premiered new works by John Corigliano, Aaron Jay Kernis, Nicholas Maw, Edgar Meyer, Behzad Ranjbaran and Jay Greenberg. Perhaps the event that helped most to transform Bell’s reputation from “musician’s musician” to household name was his incognito performance in a Washington, D.C. subway station in 2007. Ever adventurous, he had agreed to participate in a Washington Post story by Gene Weingarten which thoughtfully examined art and context. The story earned
Weingarten a Pulitzer Prize and sparked an international firestorm of discussion. The conversation continues to this day and inspired the 2013 release of the children’s book The Man with the Violin by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Dušan Petričić from Annick Press. Bell has collaborated with numerous artists outside the classical arena. In 2012, Bell starred in his sixth Live from Lincoln Center Presents broadcast titled One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch. Other PBS shows include Joshua Bell with Friends @ The Penthouse, Great Performances – Joshua Bell: West Side Story Suite from Central Park, Memorial Day Concert performed on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol and A&E’s Biography. He has twice performed on the Grammy Awards telecast, performing music from Short Trip Home and West Side Story Suite. He was one of the first classical artists to have a music video on VH1 and he was the subject of a BBC Omnibus documentary. At age 4, he received his first violin after his parents, both mental health professionals, noticed him plucking tunes with rubber bands he had stretched around his dresser drawer handles. By 12, he was serious about the instrument, thanks in large part to the inspiration Josef Gingold, his beloved teacher and mentor. Two years later, Bell came to national attention in his debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. His Carnegie Hall debut, an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a notable recording contract further confirmed his presence. In 1989, Bell received an Artist Diploma in Violin Performance from Indiana University where he currently serves as a senior lecturer at the Jacobs School of Music. His alma mater honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Service Award; he has been named an “Indiana Living Legend” and is the recipient of the Indiana Governor’s Arts Award. Bell has received many accolades: In 2013 he was honored by the New York Chapter of The Recording Academy; in 2012 by the National YoungArts Foundation, in 2011 he received the Paul Newman Award from Arts Horizons and the Huberman Award from Moment Magazine. Bell was named “Instrumentalist of the Year, 2010” by Musical America and received the Humanitarian Award from Seton Hall University. In 2009 he was honored by Education Through Music and received the Academy of Achievement Award in 2008. He was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 2007 and was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2003 Bell was invited to perform at the World Economic Forum for an audience of global leaders and was later recognized by
that prestigious organization as a Young Global Leader. He serves on the artist committee of the Kennedy Center Honors, the New York Philharmonic Board of Directors, and Education Through Music. Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin and uses a late 18th century French bow by François Tourte. Joshua Bell records exclusively for Sony Classical – a MASTERWORKS Label www.joshuabell.com Mr. Bell appears by arrangement with Park Avenue Artists and Primo Artists. www.parkavenueartists.com www.primoartists.com
SAM HAYWOOD
PIANO
Sam Haywood has performed to critical acclaim in many of the world’s major concert halls. The Washington Post hailed his ‘dazzling, evocative playing’ and ‘lyrical sensitivity’ and The New York Times his ‘passionate flair and sparkling clarity’. This season includes solo and chamber music (with Joshua Bell) tours of the U.S. and Europe, a solo recital at Kings Place, recitals with Mark Padmore (Schubert Winterreise), the Elias Quartet and Mariko Hara. He will also be recording his second solo album for Hyperion. For Hyperion he has recorded the piano works of Russian pianist-composer Julius Isserlis, (grandfather of cellist Steven Isserlis) and is due to record Stanford Preludes. His album Composers in Love brings together both well-loved and lesser known music inspired by composers’ muses. To celebrate Chopin’s bicentennial year, Haywood made the world première recording on Chopin’s own Pleyel piano, part of the Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands. Following Haywood’s early success as a BBC Young Musician of the Year, the Royal Philharmonic Society awarded him its prestigious Isserlis Award. He studied with Paul Badura-Skoda in Vienna, where he began his enduring love affair with opera. At the Royal Academy of Music in London, he was mentored by the great teacher Maria Curcio, pupil of Artur Schnabel. Haywood is co-founder and artistic director of the Solent Music Festival, which combines recitals by internationally-renowned artists with projects in the local community. Haywood attaches great importance to his work with young people. He is an Ambassador to the West Lakes Academy, has written a children’s opera and is regularly involved in family concerts, workshops and masterclasses. His “Song of the Penguins,” for bassoon and piano, is published by Emerson Editions. encoreartsprograms.com 37
BLACK ARM BAND dirtsong A World Stage Series Event
BLACK ARM BAND
Wednesday, February 8, 2017 • 8PM
VOCALISTS
Jackson Hall
James Henry Troy Brady Ursula Yovich Shellie Morris Nicole Lampton
SPONSORED BY OFFICE OF CAMPUS COMMUNITY RELATIONS
BAND 7PM Pre-Performance Talk, Jackson Hall Speakers: Members of Black Arm Band in conversation with Jeremy Ganter, Associate Executive Director and Director of Programming, Mondavi Center, UC Davis
Tjupurru yidaki, didjeribone Michael Meagher bass Rory McDougall drums
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS Patrick Wolff tenor saxophone, clarinet Benito Cortez violin, viola Jacob Smolowe piano
PROGRAM
dirtsong
Created by Black Arm Band Original Text Alexis Wright Original Concept Steven Richardson Black Arm Band Artistic Director Emma Donovan dirtsong Artistic Director Fred Leone Musical Director Michael Meagher Arrangements and Orchestrations Andrea Keller, Eugene Ball and Julien Wilson with artists of Black Arm Band Lighting Designer Michelle Preshaw Production Management Daniel Gosling Stage Management Brock Brocklesby Audio Engineer Patrick Murray Screen Visuals Natasha Gadd, Rhys Graham, Daybreak Films Producer Sarah Greentree
Inspired by the words of author Alexis Wright, Australia’s Black Arm Band perform songs from 11 different Aboriginal languages in this soulful show, which will bring to you the heart and humanity of the country and its most celebrated musicians. Rich with complex harmonies and powerful melody, it will “send a shudder down your spine and bring a tear to your eyes” (The Age). Meanwhile, the cinematic screen behind the musicians opens a window on to the landscapes the music comes from, taking you on an immersive journey across a country you’ll never see quite the same way again.
38 MONDAVIART S.ORG
BLACK ARM BAND “Far Away Home / Gungalaira” Sung in English and Bundjalung. Composed by Graham Tardif with lyrics by Rolf de Heer. Words and music from the award-winning film The Tracker directed by Rolf de Heer. “dirtsong” Sung in Yorta Yorta. Written by Lou Bennett, Alexis Wright. From the Echuca, Barmah region, the heartland of Yorta Yorta country, it is a song of the connection of people, song and country. ‘Baiyan Woka’ is Yorta Yorta for singing for country/land. This song comes from the depths of knowing and understanding that we all have connection, we just have to learn ‘Gulpa Ngarwal’ (deep listening).
and this song is a hunting story, telling the story of how to watch ‘Burad’ find fish. “This Land is Mine” Written by Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody. Composed for the film One Night The Moon directed by Rachel Perkins. Originally set on Andyamathanha land in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, “This Land is Mine / This Land is Me” reflects on possession and belonging. “Old Fitzroy” Written by Dan Sultan. “Gungalairla” Written by Archie Roach.
“Coming up close now” Devised and arranged Mark Atkins, Julien Wilson. In the spirit of the Wongi word ‘GrunGada’ or ‘gathering’ from the Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie regions of Western Australia, this is an invitation for people, performers and storytellers to share experiences, songs and music—old and new.
“Dron Wanga” Sung in Gumatj.Written by Neil Murray.Performed with permission from the family of GR Burrarrawanga. This version is dedicated to GRB and sung in Gumatj from the Yolŋu Matha languages of North East Arnhem Land.
“Big Law” Sung in Alyawarre and Yalanji. Written by Leah Flanagan, Deline Briscoe, Alexis Wright. This piece is based on text by Alexis Wright. Briscoe’s language comes from Kuku Yalanji, the rainforest country of the Daintree. Flanagan has written in the language of her Nana from east of Alice Springs. She was born Ivy Upurla-Dempsey but as part of the Stolen Generation her name was changed to Dorothea (Dempsey) Berto. “All you People, Come and listen to this Spiritual connection to land”
“Rainstorm” Sung in Gundjeihmi.Written by Shellie Morris, Mandy Muir, Alexis Wright.’Rainstorm’ is sung in the language from the southern end of Kakadu National Park which is still spoken fluently all over the region. My sister Mandy Muir, with the help of her mother Jesse Alderson, a Traditional Owner in Kakadu, translated this piece for me as she is fluent in the language and helping me to regain some language in my life to feel like I belong and that I have a place.
“Giidang” Sung in Gumbayngirr. Written Emma Donovan, Alexis Wright. The Gumbayngirr language comes from the mid-north coast of New South Wales. ‘Giidang’ means ‘Heartbeat’, and the song tells the story of my connection to ‘jagun’ (country) how I am the country, how I’m keeping the heartbeat of my country going, I am asking you to ‘ngarraanga’ (listen). The other women in the song keep the heartbeat almost like a pulse, we always call our country our ‘miminga’ (mother) and this song gives me a voice to call out like the mother who we have always referred to as country, too. “Yarian Mi Tji (What’s My Name)” Sung in Ngarrindjeri.Written Ruby Hunter.A song of questions looking for answers for your name, your story, your land. Ngarrindjeri language is from the Lower Murray River, South Australia. “Burad” Sung in Badjtala. Written by Fred Leone. Badjtala language is from the Fraser Coast region of South East Queensland. ‘Burad’ is the white crested eagle
BLACK ARM BAND Black Arm Band (BAB) is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) organization and one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies, widely acclaimed for its distinctive music theatre performances, celebration of indigenous music, culture and language and uniquely powerful visual imagery. BAB shares the stories and heart of indigenous culture with audiences in the spirit of resilience, understanding, hope and reconciliation,through presentations that are a contemporary expression of 40,000 years of living culture. At the heart of BAB’s work is a deep connection with indigenous communities across Australia. Their remote music workshops and performance programs have positively impacted over 2,500 participants with inspiration drawn from the ongoing relationships developed with community, grounded in connections to people and places. BAB develops, performs, promotes, educates and celebrates contemporary ATSI
music as a vehicle for social change centered on self-determination, empowerment and development of indigenous communities. BAB is a flexible ensemble of highly skilled musicians, composers, performers, directors and artistic technicians, working together representing the apogee of Australian music theatre. The BAB model was formed, and is based on, blackfulla alongside whitefulla artists passionate to promote and celebrate ATSI music and culture in the spirit of reconciliation, with a commitment to creating opportunities for emerging artists. The BAB company continually explores new modes of expression and engagement seeking opportunities to inspire, educate and entertain diverse communities. The long-term vision for the BAB company is an ongoing presence—a national and international resource hub for the development and performance of indigenous music in all its forms. First presented as part of the 2009 Melbourne Festival, dirtsong is a powerful musical passage through Australia’s cultural heartland. Set against a stunning backdrop, the performance features unforgettable songs, performed in 11 different Aboriginal languages, by some of the most extraordinary performers in the land.
JAMES HENRY
VOCALS
James Henry is a singer/songwriter, composer, producer, musical director and accomplished photographer. He’s involved in many fields of the music industry; a guitarist on the recent BAB tour of the UK; choir member and guitarist as part of the Archie Roach Into the Bloodstream tour and as a composer for various dance and theatre projects. His skills have attracted commissions from the City of Melbourne to compose for experimental media and as musical director of the Melbourne Festival opening ceremonies.
TROY BRADY VOCALS Troy “Jungaji” Brady keeps cultural fires burning through his lyrics and music, sharing these stories around the world. The Western GuGuYalanji and Birri Gubba songman shares his stories of country, love and law in language and through contemporary folk/roots music. Currently touring as a feature artist with BAB as well as performing as a solo artist, Brady is a consummate performer. Forging a career over 20 years, he has led a number of bands before hitting out on his own, his current music exploring more of his language and connection to the country of his ancestors north of Cairns and Proserpine. encoreartsprograms.com 39
URSULA YOVICH
VOCALS
Recently listed as one of the “top 21 most iconic women of the Australian stage” (The Sydney Morning Herald), six-time Helpmann nominee Ursula Yovich has become one of Australia’s most celebrated performers. From Maningrida in North East Arnhem Land to Carnegie Hall in New York, Yovich has amazed her audiences. She has also played significant roles in the feature films Australia directed by Baz Luhrman, Ray Laurence’s Jindabyne and Sarah Spillane’s
Around the Block. Yovich has appeared in the television series Redfern Now, The Gods of Wheat Street and The Code and has performed with every major theatre company in Australia.
SHELLIE MORRIS VOCALS Proud Yanyuwa and Wardaman woman Shellie Morris is a multi-award-winning singer/songwriter creating and singing in 17 Australian Aboriginal languages. While
she has been in the spotlight over the years for her involvement with BAB, ARIA nominations, Music Australia award and G.R. Burarrawanga Memorial Award, by and large, she works on the ground empowering and gently effecting change. She is the 2014 NT Australian of the Year, the 2014 NAIDOC National Artist of the Year, a multi Deadly Award winner, a driving force of the acclaimed album Ngambala Wiji li-Wunungu and the internationally award-winning musical documentary Prison Songs.
NICOLE LAMPTON VOCALS
FREE CONCERTS IN THE CORIN COURTYARD
All shows last about an hour and are free! Food and drinks available for purchase.
T ic k O f f et i ce
MONDAVI CENTER
Nicole Lampton grew up singing gospel in choir and lead in family church. She ventured into musical studies at the age of 17 and achieved a diploma in World Music at EORA Centre, Sydney. Eventually, she became involved in local music groups in Sydney and Cairns, which included soul, hip hop and alternative styles of music. In 2002 she joined local Cairns hip hop artist Carl Fourmile to support hip hop with soulful melodies. Lampton assists other artists with songwriting and musical arrangement and has performed as a support act with Jordan Oliver for the Umi Arts Big Talk One Fire festival and Xzibit hip hop concert.
TJUPURRU YIDAKI, DIDJERIBONE
One Eyed Reilly
Prior to: Dervish and Le Vent du Nord
Friday, March 17 • 5:30PM
Davis High School Chamber Orchestra Prior to: St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Saturday, March 18 • 6:30PM
One Button Suit
Prior to: The Real Nashville: The Del McCoury Band & Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn
Tuesday, March 21 • 6:30PM
Graham Sobelman Graham-A-Rama
Prior to: Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs
Thursday, March 30 • 6:30PM
Jessica Malone Duo Prior to: Arlo Guthrie
Saturday, April 15 • 6:30PM
mondaviarts.org
40 MONDAVIART S.ORG
Subject to change. The Corin Courtyard is located just to the north side of the Mondavi Center Box Office.
Tjupurru Yidaki is a proud descendant of the Djabera Djabera tribe of the West Australia Kimberleys. He plays a unique slide didjeridu named “The Didjeribone” because it can slide through different notes and tones—a cross between a didj and a trombone. Since being discovered at The Big Sound Festival in Brisbane, Yidaki has supported Kaki King (U.S.), Leo (France), Babylon Circus (France), Rodrigo Y Gabriela and many more. He performed at the Jazz in the Domain festival collaborating with world renowned percussionist Airto Moreira and has been invited to appear at festivals across Australia, New Caledonia, Japan and the U.S. His latest album was produced by Lee Groves (Gwen Stefani, Black Eyed Peas, Marilyn Manson).
MICHAEL MEAGHER BASS, MUSICAL DIRECTOR Michael Meagher is a graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Music improvisation degree. He currently plays with BAB, The Meltdown and Emma Donovan, and The Putbacks. He has worked as a freelance bassist for bands such as The Bamboos, The Pigram Brothers, Kate Ceberano and Ross Hannaford. In 2011 Meagher performed with international superstars Joss Stone, Mavis Staples and Rickie Lee Jones through the BAB’s
BLACK ARM BAND Melbourne Festival production Notes from the Hard Road. He works with a wide array of artists and is also a passionate teacher.
RORY MCDOUGALL DRUMS Rory McDougall graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2000, with a Bachelor of Music performance (repertoire), specializing in percussion. He has collaborated with many Australian musicians such as Shane Howard (of Australian group Goanna), The Conglomerate (featuring members of the Cat Empire) and the Chris Hale Ensemble amongst many others. McDougall has spent six years as drummer with BAB and has also worked in the rhythm section for numerous projects featuring artists Melbourne hip hop group T.Z.U, Ross Hannaford Trio, Mavis Staples, Joss Stone, Ricki Lee Jones, Paul McDermott, HOY, Tim Rogers, Kate Ceberano, Rhonda Burchmore, Matt Hetherington, Shane Howard, City City City, David Arden, Illzilla, The Red Eyes, Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, The Putbacks, Labjacd, San Lazaro, Scott Edgar, Tripod, The Firemen (Bamboos) and many others. 27850 County Road 26 · Winters, CA · 530.669.3692 · parkwinters.com
Black Arm Band is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
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Jeremy Ganter became the Associate Executive Director and Director of Programming at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis, in September of 2006, after serving as the Artistic Administrator and then Director of Programming for five years. Ganter oversees the curation and implementation of each Mondavi Center season, manages the Mondavi Center’s programming and arts education departments, and as Associate Executive Director oversees the Mondavi Center’s operations division and plays a leadership role in the Center’s overall management and strategic direction.
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BRUCKNER ORCHESTER LINZ
Dennis Russell Davies, chief conductor Robert McDuffie, violin Friday, February 10, 2017 • 8PM Jackson Hall
Saturday, February 11 2017 • 8PM Jackson Hall
PROGRAM (FEB 10)
PROGRAM (FEB 11)
Black, Brown & Beige Suite Ellington (arr. Maurice Peress) Black Brown Beige
Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, op. 38 (“Spring”) Schumann Andante un poco maestoso— Allegro molto vivace Larghetto Scherzo: Molto vivace Allegro animato e grazioso
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Anne Gray 7PM Pre-Performance Talk, Jackson Hall Speaker: Dennis Russell Davies, music director and chief conductor, in conversation with Don Roth, Executive Director, Mondavi Center, UC Davis Don Roth is the executive director of the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis. A native of New York City, Roth joined the Mondavi Center in June 2006, arriving from the Aspen Music Festival and School, where he served as president from 2001–06. His tenure at the Mondavi Center has seen the initiation of new artistic and educational partnerships; the development of residencies by world-renowned companies; and the beginnings of the popular Just Added events. Under his leadership, engagement with UC Davis faculty and students has increased through programs such as the free student ticket program and bi-annual festivals with UC Davis Music and other departments. 42 MONDAVIART S.ORG
Violin Concerto No. 1 Glass Movement I Movement II Movement III INTERMISSION Symphony No. 11 Glass Movement I Movement II Movement III
INTERMISSION Violin Concerto, op. 14 Barber Allegro Andante Presto in moto perpetuo Robert McDuffie, violin Der Rosenkavalier Suite Strauss
*PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE* COLUMBIA ARTISTS MANAGEMENT LLC Tour Direction: R. DOUGLAS SHELDON 1790 Broadway, New York, NY 10019 www.cami.com The Bruckner Orchester Linz is the Philharmonic Orchestra of the State of Upper Austria, represented by Governor Dr. Josef Puehringer. The Bruckner Orchester Linz is supported by presto – friends of Bruckner Orchester.
BRUCKNER ORCHESTER LINZ PROGRAM NOTES (FEB 10) BLACK, BROWN & BEIGE SUITE (1943)
DUKE ELLINGTON (1899–1974)
Pianist, composer and bandleader Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington lifted the dance band from simple nightclub entertainment to a profound form of music and social commentary. From his Carnegie Hall debut in 1943 to the “Sacred Concerts” he created in his final years, Ellington proved that he and his improvising ensemble were as adept with large-scale compositions as any “classical” artist. As the choreographer Alvin Ailey once said of Ellington, “His band was his Stradivarius.” For that historic 1943 appearance at Carnegie Hall, Ellington created a sweeping, 50-minute suite for jazz orchestra entitled Black, Brown and Beige, which he described as a “tone parallel to the history of the American Negro,” depicting everything from an African’s arrival on a slave ship to the vibrant culture of Harlem in the 1920s. With Ellington’s blessing, the conductor Maurice Peress created an orchestral suite in 1970, distilling the seven sections of the original Black, Brown and Beige into the three movements heard here, and preserving the flavor of Ellington’s band in a fully notated score for a symphony orchestra (augmented by saxophones and drum set). The first section, Black, bears the subtitle “A Work Song,” and its main theme is an anthem of power and pride, offset by passages of bright and casual swing. A solo for trombone channels the sound of “Tricky Sam” Nanton, the longtime trombonist in Ellington’s band who pioneered the use of a plunger mute and its characteristic “wah-wah” effect. The middle movement, Brown, centers on the melody of “Come Sunday,” the most wellknown song from the suite and one that has become a jazz standard in its own right. Once again, swinging sections arise as counterpoint to the church-like atmosphere. The alto saxophone solo, with its luxurious glissandos between pitches, honors the signature sound of Johnny Hodges, who played with Ellington from 1928 until his death in 1970. Beige celebrates the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural flowering that Ellington witnessed firsthand and shaped in his own way. A masterful stroke occurs at the point when the “Work Song” theme from Black and “Come Sunday” from Brown reappear simultaneously, reinforcing the unbroken lineage of AfricanAmerican culture. © 2017 Aaron Grad
VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 (1987)
PROGRAM NOTES
Although he prefers the term “music with repetitive structures,” Philip Glass is one of the founding fathers of the compositional style known more widely as Minimalism. In his early career he worked outside of the musical establishment, leading the amplified Philip Glass Ensemble while earning a living driving a taxi, among other odd jobs. His breakthrough opera Einstein on the Beach (1976) led to new opportunities in theater and film, but it was not until 1987, at the age of 50, that he was finally invited to compose music for symphony orchestras, beginning with the violin concerto commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra led by Dennis Russell Davies. Glass has since made up for lost time, creating a number of orchestral tone poems, concertos and, as of his 80th birthday, 11 symphonies. Glass dedicated his breakthrough violin concerto to its original conductor, Davies, as well as its debut soloist, Paul Zukovsky. (Glass unveiled a second violin concerto in 2009, subtitled “The American Four Seasons”, so the earlier work now deserves to be listed as the Violin Concerto No. 1.) Glass began with a concept for a five-movement structure, but as he progressed the concerto settled into the established pattern of three movements, organized fast-slow-fast. The musical language builds on the same signature patterns of triads and sequences that gave Glass’ operas and small-ensemble works such a distinctive and modern sheen, but in the violin concerto these materials feel eerily familiar, echoing the halcyon days of the Italian Baroque. The streaming arpeggios of the fast first movement channel concerto pioneers like Vivaldi and Torelli, while more expansive melodic phrases riding over churning accompaniments recall those cinematic textures that have made Glass one of the finest film composers of our era. A Baroque sensibility also informs the slow middle movement, with its cycling ground bass supporting delicate, voice-like strands of melody from the violin. A fast finale filled with violin pyrotechnics relaxes into a coda that recalls themes from the earlier movements.
SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN B-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 38 (“SPRING”) (1841)
PHILIP GLASS (B. 1937)
© 2017 Aaron Grad
SYMPHONY NO. 11 (2016)
PHILIP GLASS (B. 1937) Please see insert.
(FEB 11)
ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810–1856)
In 1840, the year Robert Schumann finally married his beloved Clara, he composed almost nothing but songs—168 of them. The next year, he turned his attention to orchestral music, even though past efforts had produced only two draft movements of a symphony from 1832 and numerous other false starts. This new Schumann, happily married and supported by a partner with a musical mind to match his, began an orchestral frenzy: by year’s end, he had completed two symphonies, a Fantasy for piano and orchestra, and a “Symphonette,” which later became the Overture, Scherzo and Finale. Schumann’s first symphony followed on the heels of a song cycle he co-authored with Clara titled Liebesfrühling (Love’s Springtime). He needed only four days in January to draft the symphony, and the orchestration was ready the following month. Schumann attended the symphony’s debut on March 31 by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. With a few revisions that summer, his First Symphony was complete. In his sketches, Schumann inscribed titles for each movement: Frühlingsbeginn (Beginning of Spring), Abend (Evening), Frohe Gespielen (Merry Playmates), and Voller Frühling (Spring at its Height). He eventually suppressed those headings, and in later correspondence he downplayed the extramusical associations. Clara, for her part, linked the symphony to a spring-themed poem by their friend Adolph Böttger, noting a resemblance between the poem’s meter and the rhythm of the symphony’s opening fanfare motive. That theme announces the majestic and suspenseful introduction, and a sped-up version of the same theme later launches the movement’s up-tempo portion. Only five measures into the work, a sudden modulation ventures to an unexpected key, establishing a sense of harmonic wanderlust in which the musical atmosphere, like spring itself, is apt to change at any moment. The Larghetto employs similar harmonic disturbances. After the gorgeous first melody, the answer comes in the unprepared foreign key of C major, the first of several tonal surprises. The movement ends on a hanging chord that the ensuing Scherzo obligingly resolves, except that the opening sonority encoreartsprograms.com 43
contradicts the true key of the movement. The finale continues the harmonic gamesmanship, migrating through a range of major and minor keys that support spry melodies and conversational exchanges.
VIOLIN CONCERTO, OP. 14 (1939)
SAMUEL BARBER (1910–1981)
Samuel Barber graduated from the Curtis Institute in the same class as Iso Briselli, a Russian-born violinist. Briselli’s patron and guardian, the soap tycoon Samuel Fels, later commissioned Barber to write the violinist a concerto, providing a $500 advance that allowed Barber to work on the score in Europe until the advent of World War II drove him back to the United States. After Barber delivered the first two movements, the concerto ran into its first trouble when Briselli’s violin teacher, Albert Meiff, wrote to Fels, “The composition possesses beautiful romantic moods, many somber and quite interesting parts typical of that composer—in any event, very interesting. However, it bears a serious defect: it is not a composition gratifying for a violinist to perform. The technical requirements are very far from the requirements of a modern violinist, and … some of the parts are childish in details.” In light of the feedback he received, Barber made a point of incorporating “brilliant technique” in the perpetual motion finale, which he delivered two months before the planned premiere. A story that has been widely circulated since its publication in a 1954 biography claims that Briselli then rejected the concerto on the grounds that the finale was unplayable, which Barber countered by setting up a test reading by another violinist, proving its viability. Briselli did in fact object to the finale, but judging from a letter from Barber to Fels, the dispute appeared to be a matter of taste and not technique; the reasons mentioned include complaints that the finale was “not violinistic” and “rather inconsequential.” Barber stood by the “concertino” as he called it in the letter—a title that matched his conception of a work more compact than a grand violin concerto in the 19th-century mold—and Fels and Briselli ultimately relinquished their claim on the exclusive performance rights. The Violin Concerto’s opening movement is indeed lyrical and understated, more an expression of intimate chamber music than virtuosic bluster. The soloist enters with no fanfare at all, launching the soaring first theme right on the downbeat. The other distinctive theme, with its vigorous rhythmic 44 MONDAVIART S.ORG
snap, appears only in the orchestra until the soloist finally takes it up in a throbbing coda. In the central Andante movement, the melodious oboe solo that prefaces the violinist’s entrance is perhaps the greatest concerto melody not written for a soloist since Brahms penned a similar oboe solo in the slow movement of his own Violin Concerto. The solo violin waits patiently through the first quarter of the movement, building anticipation for its delicate entrance and moody counter-theme. The perpetual motion finale, the source of so much trouble for Barber at the birth of the concerto, is a dazzling tour de force, not just for its rapid figurations but also for its seamless construction and ceaseless variety in the musical material. An accelerated coda has the white-knuckled intensity of a gymnast’s final dismount.
DER ROSENKAVALIER SUITE (1945, ARRANGED 1944)
RICHARD STRAUSS (1864–1949)
Richard Strauss was already an established conductor and composer of orchestral tone poems when he catapulted himself to the top of the opera world with the shocking debut of Salome in 1905. Strauss based Salome on an earlier play by Oscar Wilde, and he repeated that winning formula by building his next opera, Elektra, from an existing play by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Elektra did not enjoy the runaway success of Salome, but it did launch one of the great collaborations between composer and librettist, with Strauss and Hofmannsthal teaming up for six more works spread over 30 years. Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) was the first opera Strauss and Hofmannsthal conceived together from scratch, loosely following an 18th-century story by JeanBaptiste Louvet de Couvrai. The opera was an immediate success, rivaling even Salome; after debuting in Dresden in 1911, it reached Milan’s La Scala and Vienna’s Hofoper by the end of the year, and opened in London’s Royal Opera House and New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1913. A silent film adaptation in 1925, to be accompanied by orchestra without singers, spurred the first orchestral suite based on Der Rosenkavalier. Strauss left the adaptation to assistants, who used excerpts from the opera along with other unrelated orchestral numbers. Strauss probably took a more active role in a separate arrangement of two waltz sequences for orchestra, which played up a striking though anachronistic element of the opera. (Waltzes really flowered in Vienna
about a century later than the opera’s setting, above all in the music of “Waltz King” Johann Strauss II, of no relation to Richard.) The Rosenkavalier Suite heard on this program was the result of yet another extraction, this one executed in 1944 with the help of the Polish conductor Artur Rodziński, then the music director of the New York Philharmonic. The opera begins in the bedroom of a princess and Field Marshal’s wife, known as the Marschallin, who is with her young lover, the knight Octavian. The opening music of the suite, taken from the opera’s prelude, peaks with a salacious braying figure from the French horns. The Marschallin’s boorish cousin, a country baron named Ochs, wants to marry Sophie, the young daughter of a wealthy nobleman. By tradition, a suitor announces his proposal by sending a knight with a silver rose, and the Marschallin suggests her own beau Octavian for the job. Dressed in silver and bearing the precious rose, Octavian as the Rosenkavalier is represented by a sparkling theme played by flutes, celesta, harp and violins; this music reappears in the suite as a leitmotif, suggesting otherworldly beauty and the love that arose between Octavian and Sophie at first sight. The rude interruption and the ensuing waltz (with its tendency to wander offkey) are hallmarks of Ochs, the bumbling philanderer who eventually gets his comeuppance after a series of comic mishaps and deceits. After the waltz, a romantic passage takes music from the final love duet of Octavian and Sophie, and then the suite concludes with another big waltz number adapted from the third act. © 2017 Aaron Grad
BRUCKNER ORCHESTER LINZ The history of the Bruckner Orchester Linz spans 200 years of tradition and excellence. In the last three decades, it has won an international reputation as one of the leading orchestras of Central Europe. Consisting of 130 musicians, the orchestra is not only the concert orchestra for the state of Upper Austria but also the opera orchestra at the Landestheater Linz and participates in the Bruckner Festival, the Ars Electronica Festival and the Linzer Klangwolke. The Bruckner Orchester Linz has performed extensively in the United States (2005, 2009), Germany, Spain and Italy under Chief Conductor Dennis Russell Davies, in addition to appearances in Japan and France. Recent tours have featured concerts in Cologne,
BRUCKNER ORCHESTER LINZ Paris, Vienna and Istanbul, and since 2012 the Orchestra is having its own concert cycle at the Musikverein Wien. The Bruckner Orchester records prolifically including recent productions of Bruckner’s “Nullte” and Fifth Symphonies in completion of a Bruckner cycle for arte nova/SONY as well as of Symphonies No. 6, 7, 8 and 9, The Voyage and the opera Kepler as CD and DVD by Philip Glass. The orchestra has already gained an excellent reputation for its recordings of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Siegfried Matthus, Franz Schmidt, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Gustav Holst. During its long and venerable history, the orchestra has performed with such luminaries as Clemens Krauss, Hans Knappertsbusch, Sergiu Celibidache, Kurt Eichhorn, Vaclav Neumann and Christoph von Dohnányi. In recent times, the distinguished roster has included Zubin Mehta, Serge Baudo, Horst Stein, Vladimir Fedosejew, Michael Gielen, Bernhard Klee, Steven Sloane, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Michael Schønwandt and Franz Welser-Möst. The Resident Conductor is Ingo Ingensand. Maestro Heinrich Schiff appears regularly with the orchestra, both as soloist and as conductor. He was named the Principal Guest Conductor in 2004.
DENNIS RUSSELL DAVIES
MUSIC DIRECTOR AND CHIEF CONDUCTOR Dennis Russell Davies is a native of Toledo, Ohio. He studied piano and conducting at The Juilliard School of Music New York. He began his career as chief conductor of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, Connecticut (1969–1973), the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (1972–1980) and the American Composers Orchestra, New York (1977–2002). He was one of the founders of the American Composers Orchestra. In 1980, Davies emigrated to Europe, moving first to Germany and later to Austria. Once in Europe, Davies established himself as one of the leading conductors of his era. He became the general music director of the Staatstheater Stuttgart (1980–1987), followed by his appointment as the general music director of the City of Bonn, which encompassed the Beethovenhalle Orchester Bonn, the Opera, and the Internationales Beethovenfest (1987–1995). He returned to Stuttgart in 1995 as the conductor of the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, a position he held until 2006. In 1996, Davies added the positions of chief conductor with the RadioSymphonieorchester Wien and as professor of conducting at the Mozarteum Salzburg to his credentials. During his tenure in
Stuttgart, Davies recorded the complete 107 Symphonies by Joseph Haydn; it took him 11 years to accomplish this remarkable feat. To this day, these recordings hold the distinction of being only the third complete edition of Haydn’s Symphonies worldwide. In 2009, Davies was appointed chief conductor of the Sinfonieorchester Basel, in Switzerland. In 2002 Davies became the chief conductor of the Bruckner Orchester Linz and the Opera Director of the Landestheater Linz. He and the orchestra have extended their devotion to Bruckner’s music to include a wide range of international composers with a significant focus on new works. Highly respected in the U.S., Davies has returned to his country to conduct performances with the Symphony Orchestras of Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Cleveland. He is a frequently guest conductor with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Dresdner Philharmonie, the Filarmonica della Scala Milano and the Münchner Philharmoniker. Davies leads several new opera and ballet productions at the Landestheater Linz each season. Further operatic performances have taken him to such legendary venues as the Bayreuther Festspiele and the Salzburger Festspiele, the Lincoln Center Festival in New York, Houston Grand Opera, the Staatstheater Hamburg and Nationaltheater München. He has collaborated with distinguished opera directors including Harry Kupfer, Götz Friedrich, Achim Freyer, Peter Zadek, Robert Altmann, Juri Ljubimov, Olivier Tambosi, Robert Wilson and Ken Russell. His most recent operatic successes have been at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Teatro Real in Madrid, The Metropolitan Opera New York and the Opéra National de Paris.
ROBERT MCDUFFIE
VIOLIN
Grammy-nominated violinist Robert McDuffie enjoys a dynamic and multifaceted career. While appearing as soloist with the world’s foremost orchestras, he can also be found sharing the stage with Gregg Allman and Chuck Leavell in “Midnight Rider,” with actress/ playwright Anna Deavere Smith in Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” or playing Bach for Memphis Jook dancer Li’l Buck. Philip Glass dedicated his second violin concerto, “The American Four Seasons,” to McDuffie. Mike Mills of the iconic band R.E.M. has composed a concerto for violin and rock band for him. McDuffie is the founder of both the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy and The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at
Mercer University in his native city of Macon, Georgia. McDuffie has appeared as soloist with most of the major orchestras of the world, including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, the Chicago, San Francisco, National, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, Montreal, and Toronto Symphonies, the Philadelphia, Cleveland, Minnesota Orchestras, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the North German Radio Orchestra, the Düsseldorf Symphony, the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Hamburg Symphony, Bruckner Orchestra Linz, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, Orquesta Sinfónica de Mineria, and all of the major orchestras of Australia. His recent appearances abroad have been at the Royal Festival Hall in London with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Philharmonie in Cologne, the Seoul and Daejeon Arts Centers in Korea, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, the Brucknerhaus in Linz, the Musikhalle and the Staatsoper in Hamburg and at the National Theater in Santo Domingo. McDuffie gave the world premiere of Philip Glass’ Violin Concerto No. 2, “The American Four Seasons” with the Toronto Symphony. He completed a 30-city U.S. tour with the Venice Baroque Orchestra, pairing the Glass Four Seasons with the Vivaldi Four Seasons. He has also played the Glass concerto with the National Symphony of Mexico, the Düsseldorf Symphony, the Hamburg Ballet, the Nashville, Louisiana, San Diego, Dallas, San Antonio, and Colorado Symphonies, the Poznan Philharmonic of Poland, the Prague Philharmonia at the Prague Spring Festival, with the Scottish Ensemble in Glasgow, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta in Holland and Belgium, at the Belgrade Music Festival, at the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado, and, paired with the Vivaldi Four Seasons, with the Zürich Chamber Orchestra at the Zürich Tonhalle, at the St. Christopher Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania, and with the Israel Chamber Orchestra in Tel Aviv. McDuffie recorded “The American Four Seasons” with the London Philharmonic and Marin Alsop on Philip Glass’ Orange Mountain Music label. Mike Mills’ Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra is also on the Orange Mountain label. McDuffie’s acclaimed Telarc and EMI recordings include the violin concertos of Mendelssohn, Bruch, encoreartsprograms.com 45
BRUCKNER ORCHESTER LINZ FIRST VIOLIN
Tomasz Liebig Concertmaster Lui Chan Concertmaster Piotr Gladki Chie Akasaka-Schaupp Ana Pauk Josef Herzer Peter Beer Simone Schreiberhuber Vera Kral Elisabeth Nusko Judith Längle Julia Kürner Magdalena Hofmann Elisabeth Eber Ulla Obereigner Anna Dirnberger
SECOND VIOLIN
Jochen Gröpler Johanna Bohnen Răzvan Negoită Hartwig Munz Alois Mares Wolfgang Zimmermann Sonja Hollerweger Rieko Aikawa Shiori Horiguchi Shushanik Aleksanyan-Frühwirt Cornelia Neumann Sebastian Gogl Nina Pohn Barbara Wincor
VIOLA
Walter Haas Gerhard Paal Ulrike Landsmann Monika Hemetsberger Sabine Luger Joachim Brandl Matthias Frauendienst Ekaterina Timofeeva Johann Ratschan Anna Siakala Georg Hübner Stefanie Kropfreiter
CELLO
Elisabeth Bauer Bernhard Walchshofer Stefan Tittgen Maria Vorraber Mitsuaki Vorraber Eva Voggenberger Annekatrin Flick Ji In Choi Un Mi Han Stefanie Prenn
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DOUBLE BASS
Stanislaw Pasierski Filip Cortés Herwig Krainz José Cortez Cortés Yamato Moritake Sarah Bruderhofer Jakob Hornbachner Paul Salomon
FLUTE
Ildiko Deak Anneliese Fuchsluger Gudrun Hirt-Hochreiner Ting-Wei Chen
OBOE
Franz Scherzer Jan Andreas Mendel Susanne Spitzer
CLARINET
Günther Gradischnig Kathrin Moser Josef Fahrnberger Gernot Fresacher Christian Hopfgartner
BASSOON
Johannes Platzer Clemens Wöss Johannes Wregg
HORN
Robert Schnepps Christian Pöttinger Daniel Loipold Bernhard Obernhuber Walter Pauzenberger
TRUMPET
Gerhard Fluch Markus Eder Johannes Peer Regina Angerer-Bründlinger
TROMBONE
James Justin Kent Walter Schiffler Anton Miesenberger
TUBA
Jernej Oberzan
PERCUSSION
Leonhard Schmidinger Alfred Steindl Vladimir Petrov Fabian Homar Viktor Burgstaller Sebastian Wieland Sofia Garzotto Felix Lindner
PIANO
Reinhold Puri-Jobi Na Kyeong Kim
HARP
Christoph Bielefeld Maria-Theresia Trefny
GUITAR
Wolfgang Brüdlinger EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Uwe Schmitz-Gielsdorf ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Dr. Heribert Schröder GENERAL SECRETARY Oliver Deak PUBLIC RELATIONS Marietta Tsoukalas ASSISTANT Christiane Bähr STAGE CREW Herbert Wiederstein René Höglinger Martin Edtmayr COLUMBIA ARTISTS MANAGEMENT LLC Tour Direction: R. Douglas Sheldon Senior Vice President Karen Kloster Tour Coordinator Renee O’Banks Tour Manager Christopher Rose Backstage Manager Matthew Densing Driver Maestro! Travel & Touring Hotels Flight Directors Barbara Lintner International Air Sintec-Tur Domestic Air
Adams, Glass, Barber, Rózsa, Bernstein, William Schuman and Viennese violin favorites. He has been profiled on NBC’s Today, CBS Sunday Morning, PBS’s Charlie Rose, A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts, and in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He has recently performed Violin Conterto No. 1 with the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings Ensemble in New York City at (Le) Poisson Rouge and returned to Hamburg for additional performances with the Hamburg Ballet. Future plans include additional appearances with actor/playwright Anna Deavere Smith, a return to Korea and his annual visit to the Aspen Music Festival. He will perform with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic. On June 19, 2016 he will perform the world premiere of Mills Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and Orchestra with the Toronto Symphony. In 2017 he will tour the U.S. with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, alternating the Barber Violin Concerto with the Glass Violin Concerto No. 1. The tour will begin at Carnegie Hall on Philip Glass’ 80th birthday, January 31, 2017, with a performance of Violin Concerto No. 1. As founder of the Rome Chamber Music Festival, McDuffie has been awarded the prestigious Premio Simpatia by the mayor of Rome in recognition of his contribution to the city’s cultural life. He served for 10 years on the board of directors of the Harlem School of the Arts in New York City, where he was chairman of the artistic and education committee. McDuffie holds the Mansfield and Genelle Jennings Distinguished University Professor Chair at Mercer University in his native city of Macon, Georgia. He plays a 1735 Guarneri del Gesù violin, known as the “Ladenburg.” This instrument is owned by a limited partnership formed by McDuffie. McDuffie lives in New York City with his wife, Camille. They are proud parents of Eliza and Will.
FURTHER LISTENING by Jeff Hudson
DENNIS RUSSELL DAVIES, ROBERT MCDUFFIE AND PHILIP GLASS (AND COUSIN IRA) I met Dennis Russell Davies in the early 1980s when he was music director of the Cabrillo Music Festival (then held at Cabrillo College in Aptos). He was a rising star, fresh off a stint with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and clearly bound for glory. He was still in his 30s, and (befitting someone who came of age in the 1960s) he wore his hair long (thinning on top, extending to his shoulders). He rode a motorcycle, dressed in leather. And he was passionately committed to conducting the music of living composers alongside the classics from earlier eras. At Cabrillo, he brought visiting composers like Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt, Alan Hovhannes, William Bolcom and especially Lou Harrison (from whom Davies commissioned “Grand Duo” for piano and violin, later taken up by choreographer Mark Morris, whose company performed “Grand Duo” at Mondavi in 2011). Decades have passed. Davies, now in his 70s, has enjoyed a long career, mostly in Europe. He’s recorded all 104 Haydn symphonies, the Bruckner symphonies and more. But his advocacy for contemporary composers remains central to his career. Davies has worked closely with Glass over decades, including new works at the Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera. He’s also commissioned, premiered and recorded numerous orchestral works, including the Violin Concerto No. 1 (on the Friday evening program). With the Bruckner Orchester Linz, Davies commissioned the composer’s 8th symphony (which they performed at Mondavi in 2005) and the 11th symphony (also on Friday’s program) and many other new pieces. Davies has also recorded a boxed set (11 CDs) containing the first 10 Glass symphonies. Violinist Robert McDuffie, who will perform Glass’ first violin concerto tonight, was at the Mondavi Center with the Venice Baroque Orchestra in 2010, performing the composer’s second violin concerto (subtitled “The American Four Seasons”), which McDuffie commissioned, and also recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop. Glass himself has been to Davis several times, performing at the Mondavi Center, and over at Freeborn Hall (now mothballed) and at the Sacramento Community Center Theater under the old UC Davis Presents program. Lastly, a trivia point: Philip Glass is a first cousin once removed of public radio personality Ira Glass (of “This American Life”), who has appeared at Mondavi multiple times. JEFF HUDSON CONTRIBUTES COVERAGE OF THE PERFORMING ARTS TO CAPITAL PUBLIC RADIO, THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE AND SACRAMENTO NEWS AND REVIEW.
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THE CHIEFTAINS A World Stage Series Event Sunday, February 19, 2017 • 7PM Jackson Hall SPONSORED BY
THE CHIEFTAINS Paddy Moloney uilleann pipes, tin whistle Kevin Conneff bodhrán, vocals Matt Molloy flute JOINED BY Triona Marshall harp, piano Ályth McCormack vocals Tara Breen violin Jeff White guitar Jon Pilatzke fiddle, Ottawa Valley stepdancer Nathan Pilatzke Irish stepdancer Cara Butler Irish stepdancer
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THE CHIEFTAINS Six-time Grammy Award winners, The Chieftains, have been highly recognized for reinventing traditional Irish music on a contemporary and International scale. Their ability to transcend musical boundaries to blend tradition with modern music has notably hailed them as one of the most renowned and revered musical groups to this day. As cultural ambassadors, their performances have been linked with seminal historic events, such as being the first Western musicians to perform on the Great Wall of China, participating in Roger Water’s “The Wall” performance in Berlin in 1990, and being the first ensemble to perform a concert in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. In 2010, their experimental collaborations extended to out of this world, when Paddy Moloney’s whistle and Matt Molloy’s flute travelled with NASA astronaut, Cady Coleman, to the international space station. Although their early following was purely a folk audience, the range and variation of their music and accompanying musicians quickly captured a much broader audience. In Ireland they have been involved in many major occasions, such as Pope John Paul II’s visit to Ireland in 1979 when they performed to an audience of over 1.3 million, and in 2011 as part of the historic visit to Ireland of HRH Queen Elizabeth II. In 2012, they were awarded the inaugural National Concert Hall Lifetime Achievement Award at a gala event in Philadelphia hosted by The American
Ireland Fund “in recognition of their tremendous contribution to the music industry worldwide and the promotion of the best of Irish culture.” 2012 marked the group’s 50th anniversary, and to celebrate this momentous occasion, The Chieftains once again invited friends from all musical styles to collaborate on their latest album, Voice of Ages. Featuring some of modern music’s fastest rising artists (Bon Iver, The Decemberists and Paolo Nutini among them), this album is proof that their music transcends not only stylistic and traditional boundaries, but generational as well. The Chieftains are never afraid to shock purists and push genre boundaries and the trappings of fame have not altered The Chieftains’ love of, and loyalty to, their roots, and they are as comfortable playing spontaneous Irish sessions as they are headlining a concert at Carnegie Hall. After 55 years of making some of the most beautiful music in the world, The Chieftains’ music remains as fresh and relevant as when they first began.
PADDY MOLONEY
UILLEANN PIPES, TIN WHISTLE, VOCALS The Chieftains were formed in 1962 by Paddy Moloney by enlisting top folk musicians, fiddler Martin Fay, flautist Michael Tubridy, tin whistle virtuoso Seán Potts, and bodhrán player David Fallon. Moloney’s love of Irish music came from his parents’ native County Laois and the music that surrounded him at home. His first instrument was a plastic tin whistle and by the age of 8, he was learning to play the uilleann pipes from the great pipe master, Leo Rowsome. It was when he heard Leon Rowsome, son of Leo,
THE CHIEFTAINS play his pipes in the Scoil Mhuire school band in Marino, that he began to beg his parents to have Leo make him his very first set. Moloney always had a vision from his early days playing. A sound he wanted to create, a sound that had never been heard before. He knew it would take much experimentation with different combinations of instruments and so he formed several groups with other musicians in duets and trios. In particular he played with Seán Potts, Michael Tubridy and Sean Keane in various combinations who would all later become Chieftains. It was not until he had formed the original line up for The Chieftains in 1962 that he finally achieved the sound that had eluded him, a sound created by Moloney’s inspired choice of instruments, styles and players. It was only at this point did Moloney feel ready to give his group the title The Chieftains (a name which was inspired by the Irish poet John Montague) and confident enough to take his band into studio to record the very first of many, award-winning albums. As a result of The Chieftains’ ability to blend their traditional sound with a never-ending variety of musical genres from around the world, they have been able to collaborate with many artist and groups. Some of those include Elvis Costello, Sting, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Diana Krall and the Rolling Stones. The sound that Moloney created some 40 years ago has become the instantly recognizable sound of The Chieftains, which lives on fresh today and has always set them apart from any other traditional line up throughout out the world. It is simply the sound of The Chieftains.
KEVIN CONNEFF BODHRÁN, VOCALS Kevin Conneff, the voice and rhythm of The Chieftains, joined the group in 1976 replacing Peadar Mercier. Vocals now became a new element in The Chieftains’ sound as up to this time, there was no regular vocalist. Conneff was born in Donore, a rare musical suburb of Dublin and one of the city’s most historical places. At first a jazz fan, Conneff discovered traditional music in his teens, and soon learned to play the bodhrán and developed his singing, particularly sean nós, influenced by Paddy Tunney and Christy Moore. Conneff was also a founder member of the Tradition Club at Slattery’s in Dublin. It soon became a meeting place for those who wanted to hear traditional music performed by wellknown performers of the tradition, allowing musicians to play with others in an organized setting. Some of the musicians and performers who played in the club even included a Chieftain
or two in a solo or duet setting. In the late 1960s, Conneff joined Christy Moore and others for the recording for the now famous album Prosperous, which laid the groundwork for the group of Planxty. He was asked by Paddy Moloney to record a couple of tracks with The Chieftains in London for Bonaparte’s Retreat, and became a permanent member soon after. Conneff’s singing is in the old-style which reflects interpretation and is generally unaccompanied. On the bodhrán, he can demonstrate a subtle rhythm or really heat things up. Conneff has also released a solo album, The Week Before Easter released in 1988.
MATT MOLLOY FLUTE Matt Molloy was born in County Roscommon, into one of the long lines of flute players for which the area is famous. He learned flute and whistle from his father, was playing in the school fife and drum band at the age of 8 and by 18 had won first prize in the major traditional music competitions. He moved to Dublin in the early 1970s to work for the Irish national airline as an engineer. He started playing in the music scene where he first became acquainted with Paddy Moloney. Molloy co-founded The Bothy Band with Donal Lunny, and they recorded four albums in as many years, all highly regarded to this day. In his own words: “We made great music and had a great time but financially we were a bit of a disaster. We had too much of a good time!” Following the group’s demise, Molloy joined the reformed Planxty before finally becoming a member of The Chieftains in 1979. In addition to his group work, Molloy has featured on many other albums and was featured soloist with the Irish Chamber Orchestra on the centerpiece of composer Micheal o Suilleabháin’s album Oileán/Island.
TRIONA MARSHALL HARP, PIANO Hailing from a musical family in Portlaoise, Ireland, Triona Marshall began studying harp at age 7. Her natural talent led her to receive tuition under Aileen McArdle and by age 18, she began a four-year degree at Koninklijk Conservatorium in Den Haag studying under Professor Edward Witsenburg. Marshall undertook her postgraduate studies at London’s Royal College of Music, under the tutelage of Daphne Boden, graduating in 1998. From this time until 2003, Marshall was principal harpist with The RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
Highlights from this period include numerous performances, television and radio broadcasts of the Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo and the Harp Concerto in B-flat by George Freidrich Handel. Other work as a soloist with the Concert Orchestra includes her performance of The Seville Suite by Bill Whelan and The Pilgrim by Shaun Davey. In 2003, a chance ticket to a Martin Hayes concert and a one-off performance with The Chieftains at the BBC Proms in the Park ignited an enduring passion for Irish traditional music, beginning the journey that Marshall has been on ever since. Six months after what was intended to be a one-off guest performance with The Chieftains, Marshall was asked back and has been performing with them ever since, engaging in extensive world-wide tours, recording on platinum-selling albums and even receiving an Honorary Doctorate from DIT in 2013. Marshall’s eponymous first solo album, comprising entirely of Irish traditional music was released in 2006 to critical acclaim. Shortly thereafter, along with fellow Chieftain colleagues Cara Butler, John and Nathan Pilatzke, Marshall recorded an album and performed internationally with the traditional band Tread. As a soloist on the traditional harp, she has played at events such as the opening ceremony of The Special Olympics in Croke Park Stadium, the Festival Mundial de Arpa in Paraguay and The Ninth World Harp Congress. Marshall recently released a new groundbreaking harp-album called Between Two Ways, which combines a host of both newlycommissioned pieces and old tunes, all performed in a captivating array of styles.
ÁLYTH McCORMACK VOCALS Born and raised on the Island of Lewis, in the Hebrides off the wild North West coast of Scotland Ályth McCormack grew up immersed in the culture of the islands. She is an artist who thrives on discovery and diversity. Her love of her own tradition gave her a thirst for music and culture, which is evident in the variety of her collaborations. McCormack has shared the stage with folk greats such as Martin Carthy and Norma Waterston, jazz singers Jacqui Dankworth, Sara Colman and Leanne Carol, the legendary Ry Cooder, Brazilian ensembles and Bulgarian voice choirs and Scotland’s own Eddi Reader. She is a founding member of the vocal and harp trio Shine and is lead singer with dance show The StepCrew. In 2007 she started touring with Grammy and Oscar award winners The Chieftains and has been their featured singer encoreartsprograms.com 49
THE CHIEFTAINS ever since, touring worldwide. Her most recent collaboration is with Nashville Country Star Trace Adkins with whom she toured extensively last year following the release of Trace’s album The King’s Gift, on which McCormack was featured. She has sung in most of the best-known concert venues in America and Europe including Carnegie Hall in New York, Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and The Festival and Albert Halls in London, and has performed with the Symphony Orchestra of Atlanta, the Pacific Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. McCormack’s performance is inspired by the beautiful and harsh, natural landscape of her childhood, its vibrant oral and musical tradition and the passion of the songs she learnt as she grew up. It’s this passion, which drives her interpretation and performance as an adult. She has recorded as a guest on well over 20 albums and has three solo albums to date. The latest, Homelands, was released at Hebridean Celtic Festival, on Lewis, in 2015.
TARA BREEN VIOLIN Tara Breen started playing fiddle at the tender age of 7. She has achieved All Ireland titles in every age category over the years, culminating with the Senior Fiddle Title in 2012. She is a member of the Awbeg Céilí Band who won the Senior Céilí Band competition in 2013. Breen has played all over the world including the U.S., China, India, Philippines and most European countries. She was selected by Donal Lunny for the band Ciorras, and from there went on to join the Galician piper Carlos Núñez, with whom she continues to play on a regular basis in Europe. She is also a member of The Tri Tones with Conor Moriarty and Stephen Rooney and they released their debut album in 2015. Breen is very much in demand as a music teacher and tutor and has taught at the Willie Clancy School in Miltown Malbay for the past few years. She has also taught at numerous music festivals abroad.
JEFF WHITE GUITAR Jeff White has been a part of the North American bluegrass music scene since the mid-1980s appearing first as singer and guitarist with Alison Krauss and Union Station. He recorded two CDs with Krauss, one of which won the Grammy award for Best Bluegrass Recording. He has since worked with artists such as Tim O’Brien, Lyle Lovett, Patty Loveless and for nearly 20 years has been touring and recording with Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill. In 1992 White did his first tour with The Chieftains and has returned over the ensuing 50 MONDAVIART S.ORG
years to add his guitar and vocal style to their concerts. He helped Paddy Moloney produce the Grammy- nominated Down the Old Plank Road and Further Down the Old Plank Road recordings. He is still active in the bluegrass world these days producing the last four recordings of the fiddler Michael Cleveland, who has been voted best fiddler for seven years running by the International Bluegrass Music Association. He tours with the bluegrass group the Travelin’ McCoury’s part of the time and has had his songs recorded by Del McCoury, Dan Tyminski, and Alison Krauss and Union Station.
JON PILATZKE FIDDLE PLAYER, OTTAWA VALLEY STEPDANCER Jon Pilatzke is a creator of and performer in one of the most dynamic and unique dance shows touring the world today called The StepCrew. This production brings together Irish, tap, and Ottawa Valley stepdancing and boasts an entire collective of virtuosic percussive dancers and musicians. Hailing from the Ottawa Valley of Ontario, Canada, Pilatzke has been stepdancing and playing the fiddle for over three decades and is the three-time winner of the Canadian Open Stepdancing Championships. He has had the pleasure of performing in many different musical and theatre productions including Bowfire, a virtuosic display featuring 10 of Canada’s best violinists from all different genres. For the past 15 years, Pilatzke has been ecstatic to stepdance and play lead fiddle all over the world as a permanent fixture with The Chieftains. Performances with them have included everything from Late Night with David Letterman to the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Awards to the wedding reception of Elvis Costello and Diana Krall. In recognition for their talents, Pilatzke and his brother received a Gemini Award (the Canadian equivalent of an American Emmy) in 2005 and performed alongside The Chieftains for the 2006 Grammy-nominated album The Chieftains Live From Dublin: A Tribute to Derek Bell. Pilatzke was happy to expand his horizons in the summers of 2009 and 2012 as the violinist for international sensation Loreena McKennitt, playing at some of the most prominent outdoor music festivals across Canada and throughout Europe. Summer 2013 saw him join forces with longtime friend and European folk music superstar Carlos Nunez, touring western Europe and much of South America. At one time or another, Pilatzke has been proud to share the stage with trailblazers of Irish music such as Cherish The Ladies, Altan, Dervish, Lunasa, and Danu.
NATHAN PILATZKE IRISH STEPDANCER Undoubtedly one of the most dynamic and energetic stepdancers to ever hit the stage, Nathan Pilatzke has been performing since the age of 8. Hailing from the Ottawa Valley of Ontario, Canada, Pilatzke (who has been aptly nicknamed “Crazy Legs”) started stepdancing at the tender age of 5. He has performed everywhere from The Ryman Auditorium with Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, and Allison Krauss to Late Night with David Letterman and Conan O’Brien. 2005 proved triumphant for Pilatzke when, together with his brother they garnered a Gemini Award (the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy) for Best Performance in a Variety Program on The Chieftains in Canada. Since 2002 Pilatzke has been touring the world with Irish supergroup The Chieftains, visiting countries including Sweden, Norway, China, Japan, Australia and most of Europe and North America.
CARA BUTLER IRISH STEPDANCER Cara Butler is a six-time national champion and student of renowned Irish dance master Donny Golden. For over 20 years she has toured the world with the greatest of Irish bands including Solas, Cherish the Ladies, Danu and Dervish and in 1992 became the principal Irish dancer for six-time Grammy winners The Chieftains. Butler starred in the nationwide Folgers commercial “A Dancer’s Morning”, was featured in Shania Twain’s video, “Don’t Be Stupid”, and throughout her career has worked closely with sister and original star of Riverdance Jean Butler. Together with Jon and Nathan Pilatzke she created The StepCrew, an electrifying dance show featuring Irish, tap, and Ottawa Valley stepdancing. Butler’s expertise lies in her formal Irish dance training but is not limited by it. She is a performer at heart and her various talents have enabled her to excel in many mediums. From her adopted home in Canada, she has toured as both a singer and dancer with multi-platinum recording artist Ashley MacIssac and recorded with Alan Doyle of Great Big Sea. In 2015 she received high acclaim as the choreographer of A Celtic Sojourn with the Boston Pops and was recently inducted into the Irish American Young Leaders Hall of Fame. For the past two years she has had the pleasure of being the Dance Director for Brian O’Donovan’s A Christmas Celtic Sojourn in Boston and continues to work with young people around the world promoting her love of dance and Irish culture.
VENICE BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Nicola Benedetti, violin A Concert Series Event Saturday, February 25, 2017 • 8PM Jackson Hall INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Dean and Karen Karnopp
PROGRAM
Concerto a Quattro No. 2 in G Major for Strings and Continuo Galuppi Andante Allegro Andante Allegro assai Concerto Grosso No. 8 in E Minor, after D. Scarlatti Avison Adagio Allegro Amoroso Vivace Concerto Grosso No. 12 in D Minor, after Corelli’s Geminiani Violin Sonata in D Minor, op. 5, no. 12 (“La Folia”) Largo e staccato Allegro Largo Vivace Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in D Major, R. 212a Vivaldi (“Fatto per la solennità della S. Lingua di St. Antonio in Padua”) Allegro Largo Allegro INTERMISSION The Four Seasons for Violin and Orchestra, op. 8, nos. 1–4 Vivaldi “Spring” (R. 269): Allegro—Largo e pianissimo sempre—Danza Pastorale (Allegro) “Summer” (R. 315): Allegro non molto—Adagio—Presto “Autumn” (R. 293): Allegro—Adagio—Allegro “Winter” (R. 297): Allegro non molto—Largo—Allegro
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PROGRAM NOTES
CONCERTO A QUATTRO NO. 2 IN G MAJOR FOR STRINGS AND CONTINUO (CA. 1750)
BALDASSARE GALUPPI (1706–1785)
Baldassare Galuppi’s importance in the 18thcentury’s radical evolution of musical taste is in almost precisely inverse proportion to his notoriety today—he was an influential agent of change from the deeply expressive profundities of the Baroque (he was born in Venice in 1706, when Bach was just beginning his first job, as organist in Arnstadt) to the elegant reserve of High Classicism (he died in 1785, the zenith of Mozart’s career in Vienna) but is now almost unknown. Galuppi got his early musical instruction from his father, a barber and theater violinist living on the island of Burano in the Venetian lagoon. He took his formal training with Antonio Lotti, principal organist at San Marco, and by age 20 had established himself as a harpsichordist in the Venetian theaters and started to compose. His first attempt at an opera, written before his studies with Lotti, did not succeed, but Dorinda of 1729 did, and it set the direction for a career that would make him one of the most popular and widely performed composers of his day. Galuppi was based in Venice throughout his life—his works were regularly produced at the city’s theaters and across Italy, he taught at the Ospedale dei Mendicanti and Ospedale degli Incurabili, girls’ orphanages with rigorous programs of music education for their wards, and served as vice-maestro and later as maestro di coro at San Marco— but he also held extended residencies at King’s Theatre in London and at the court of Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg. When Galuppi died in Venice in January 1785, the city’s musicians showed their respect by establishing a fund to pay for his elaborate funeral Mass at Santo Stefano. Galuppi was best known for his many operatic and sacred works, but he also composed numerous harpsichord pieces, sinfonias and concerti a quattro for strings and continuo. The dates of the concerti are unknown, though their transitional style suggests they were composed at the Baroque-Classical nexus around 1750. The Concerto a Quattro No. 2 in G Major has characteristics of the old sonata da chiesa (“church sonata,” a musical type often used during services in Italy)—four succinct movements disposed slow–fast–slow–fast, showcasing a fondness for contrapuntal textures—as well as encroaching Classicism— clear phrasing, symmetrical melodies, largely 52 MONDAVIART S.ORG
diatonic harmonies. Indeed, the Concerto seems to bridge the two musical generations, with a noble opening Andante leading to an imitative Allegro, and a somber, sparsely scored Andante paired with a dance-like finale.
CONCERTO GROSSO NO. 8 IN E MINOR, AFTER D. SCARLATTI (CA. 1744)
CHARLES AVISON (1709–1770)
The career of the English composer, conductor, organist and writer on music Charles Avison followed an unusual path—he chose to make his professional life not in the Empire’s major cities, declining important positions in London, Dublin, York and Edinburgh, but in the provinces, working contentedly in his native city of Newcastle upon Tyne. Avison was the fifth of nine children born to a Newcastle town wait (i.e., municipal musician), and began his musical training at home at an early age. Around 1730, he moved to London, probably to study with the Italian composer and violin virtuoso Francesco Geminiani. In June 1736, he returned home to Newcastle to assume the position of organist at St. John’s Church, and four months later moved to a similar post at St. Nicholas (now the city’s cathedral). In 1738, Avison was promoted to the post of the church’s music director, by which time he had also become director of concert series in Newcastle and Durham. Avison was also active as a teacher of harpsichord, organ, violin and flute, and in 1752 issued An Essay on Musical Expression, one of the first treatises in English to discuss the effect of music upon the emotions and the proper manner of instrumental performance. As a composer, Avison is best known for his 60 concerti grossi, works unrepentantly influenced by the music of Corelli, which appeared in a halfdozen collections of six, eight and 12 works each between 1740 and 1769. There are, in addition, some 20 trio sonatas, an oratorio (Ruth), a few liturgical pieces in English, and the 12 concerti grossi based on individual movements from the harpsichord sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757). The British taste for Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas may be traced to Thomas Roseingrave, a harpsichordist and organist born in Winchester in 1690 who met the Italian composer during his studies in Venice. After returning to London in 1720, Roseingrave produced Scarlatti’s opera Narcisa and in 1739 published a collection of his own Essercizi (“Exercises”), the onemovement harpsichord sonatas upon which
his slim historical reputation as a composer rests. By 1744, Avison had arranged a dozen concerti grossi in the manner of Corelli and Geminiani, with a solo group set off from the larger ensemble, from some three dozen of Scarlatti’s sonatas. The thematic sources for the four movements of the Concerto No. 8 in E Minor have been traced to Scarlatti’s sonatas, K[irkpatrick] 81a, 20, 81d and 15. Avison retained the essential melodic and harmonic elements of Scarlatti’s originals but excised some repeated passages and skillfully transcribed the remainder for string ensemble. The E Minor Concerto consists of a somber introductory Adagio, a spirited Allegro in a brighter key, a gently poignant Amoroso and supple finale in the nature of a swaying dance.
CONCERTO GROSSO FOR STRINGS IN D MINOR, “LA FOLLIA” (1732)
FRANCESCO GEMINIANI (1687–1762)
Francesco Geminiani was baptized (therefore, presumably, born) in Lucca, Italy in 1687. He first studied violin with his father, a player in the Signoria Orchestra in Lucca, then went to Milan as a pupil of Carlo Ambrogio Lonati and finally traveled to Rome, where his teachers were Arcangelo Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti. He joined the Lucca orchestra in 1707, but was discharged in 1710 “for frequent absences.” He settled in Naples in 1711 as concertmaster of the opera orchestra there, and three years later moved to London. Little is known of Geminiani’s activities during the decade after 1716; in 1726, he published his arrangements of Corelli’s Op. 5 Sonatas as concerti grossi, and was again demonstrably active in London. The period from 1726 to 1748 was a busy time for Geminiani of performing, teaching, composing, producing concerts and touring extensively in Britain and on the Continent to perform his works. He continued his travels during his later years, dividing his time among Paris, London and Dublin, where he died in 1762. Geminiani’s teacher Arcangelo Corelli published his 12 Sonatas for Violin and Continuo, op. 5 in Rome on January 1, 1700, and they proved to be among the most popular musical items of their time. All 12 were arranged as concerti grossi by Francesco Geminiani in 1726– 1727. The last, op. 5, No. 12 in D Minor, is not a sonata in the traditional sense but rather a set of two dozen brilliant and contrasted variations on the old progression of modal harmonies known as La Follia di Spagna (“The Folly of Spain”). La Follia originated as the accompaniment to wild dances in Portugal and Spain in the 15th century, but it had been domesticated for more sedate musical purposes by Corelli’s time.
VENICE BAROQUE ORCHESTRA CONCERTO IN D MAJOR FOR VIOLIN, STRINGS AND BASSO CONTINUO, R. 212A, “FATTO PER LA SOLENNITÀ DELLA S. LINGUA DI S. ANTONIO IN PADUA” (1712)
ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678–1741)
The Violin Concerto in D Major (R. 212)—”Fatto per la solennità della S. Lingua di St. Antonio in Padua” (composed for the Feast of the Holy Tongue of St. Anthony in Padua)—is a rarity among Vivaldi’s works, a piece whose exact premiere date and first executant are known: February 15, 1712; Padua’s Basilica di Santo; Vivaldi. The work’s curious title is explained by the venue and occasion for which it was written. The Basilica Pontificia de Sant’Antonio di Padova was begun around 1232, soon after its patron saint’s death in that city and the year that he was canonized, to house his relics. His body was placed in an elaborate side chapel, but his tongue and chin, memorials of the forceful preaching of the Gospel for which he was known, were preserved separately in a golden reliquary. St. Anthony was venerated at the Basilica twice annually, on his nominal feast day (June 13, the date of his death in Padua) and at a special service on February 15 honoring the church’s most precious relic— the Feast of the Holy Tongue of St. Anthony. The Basilica in Padua had a strong musical tradition and the services honoring its patron saint were observed with splendor, with new works composed specially for the occasion and extra performers brought in from Venice, the great city of music just 30 miles to the east. The Venetian violinist Giovanni Battista Vivaldi, Antonio’s father and his principal teacher, participated in services in 1698, 1699 and 1700, and both father and son took part in the February service in 1712, for which Antonio wrote the D major Violin Concerto and appeared as soloist in its first performance. The purpose of the service, of course, was to focus the congregation’s attention on the holy relics, but the flamboyant virtuosity of Vivaldi’s new concerto, one of the most technically demanding pieces he ever wrote, could not have helped but draw some notice to himself as well—he even allowed for solo cadenzas, an adventurous departure from established practice and form, by fully notating one in the finale and providing a place for an improvised one in the first movement. Sometime between 1718 and 1720, he created a second version of the Concerto (R. 212a) by making a few cuts in the outer movements and substituting a more lyrical and expressive slow movement (which he liked well enough to use again intact in his Sonata for Violin and Continuo in G Major, R. 22).
The concerto’s framing Allegro movements are brilliant, energetic and built according to the Baroque formal principle that embedded solo episodes within a recurring orchestral refrain (ritornello, in Italian). The central movement is melodic and deeply felt.
THE FOUR SEASONS (1723)
ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678–1741)
The Gazette d’Amsterdam of December 14, 1725 announced the issuance by the local publisher Michele Carlo Le Cène of a collection of 12 concertos for solo violin and orchestra by Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)—Il Cimento dell’Armonia e dell’Inventione, (or “The Contest between Harmony and Invention,” ) op. 8. The works were printed with a flowery dedication typical of the time to the Bohemian Count Wenzel von Morzin, a distant cousin of Haydn’s patron before he came into the employ of the Esterházy family in 1761. Vivaldi probably met Morzin when he worked in Mantua from 1718 to 1720 for the Habsburg governor of that city, Prince Philipp of Hessen-Darmstadt, and apparently provided the Bohemian count with an occasional composition on demand. (A bassoon concerto, RV 496, is headed with Morzin’s name.) As the first four concertos of the op. 8 concertos, Vivaldi included musically onomatopoetic depictions of the seasons of the year. ©2017 Dr. Richard E. Rodda
VENICE BAROQUE ORCHESTRA Founded in 1997 by Baroque scholar and harpsichordist Andrea Marcon, the Venice Baroque Orchestra (VBO) is recognized as one of the very finest period instrument ensembles. The orchestra has received wide critical acclaim for its concert and opera performances throughout North America, Europe, South America, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China, and has appeared in many more cities across the United States than any other Baroque orchestra in history. Committed to the rediscovery of 17th- and 18th-century masterpieces, under Marcon’s leadership the VBO has given the modernday premieres of Francesco Cavalli’s L’Orione, Vivaldi’s Atenaide, Andromeda liberata, Benedetto Marcello’s La morte d’Adone and Il trionfo della poesia e della musica, and Boccherini’s La Clementina. With Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the orchestra has staged Cimarosa’s L’Olimpiade, Handel’s Siroe, and Galuppi’s L’Olimpiade, and reprised Siroe at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York
in its first full staging in the U.S. The orchestra has been seen worldwide through several television specials, including films by the BBC, ARTE, NTR (Netherlands), and NHK. They are the subject of three recent video recordings, and their performances were also featured on Swiss TV in the documentary film by Richard Dindo, Vivaldi in Venice. 2016–17 season highlights include celebrating the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s Juditha triumphans premiere in Venice with performances at London’s Barbican Centre, NYC’s Carnegie Hall and the Brussels Palais des Beaux-Arts; performances with violinist Viktoria Mullova at Vienna’s Musikverein and in Budapest; an 18-city tour of the U.S. featuring violinist Nicola Benedetti; and a tour of Japan with mandolinist Avi Avital. Performance highlights include extensive tours of Europe, the U.S. and Asia with countertenor Philippe Jaroussky; concerts with contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux in France and Belgium; concerts with mandolinist Avi Avital in Italy, Croatia, Germany, Spain, France, Mexico, and a 12-concert tour of the U.S. and Canada; performance in the Frauenkirche with soprano Karina Gauvin for the Dresden Music Festival; and a tour with mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, including the Istanbul Festival and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Highly unusual for a Baroque ensemble, the VBO premiered Philip Glass’ violin concerto “The American Four Seasons.” With violinist Robert McDuffie, the orchestra appeared in 28 cities across the continent in 2010. The orchestra’s latest recording, of Vivaldi concertos with Avi Avital, was released by Deutsche Grammophon in 2015. The previous release, featuring Philippe Jaroussky in Porpora arias on the Erato label, received a Grammy nomination. The 2012 release on Naïve, a pasticcio of Metastasio’s L’Olimpiade featuring the recording premieres of many 18th-century opera arias, was awarded Choc du Monde de la Musique. The VBO has an extensive discography with Sony and Deutsche Grammophon. Its world-premiere recording of Andromeda liberata for DG was followed by violin concertos with Giuliano Carmignola; Vivaldi sinfonias and concertos for strings; Vivaldi motets and arias with soprano Simone Kermes, two discs with Kožená—Handel arias and Vivaldi arias; Vivaldi violin concertos with Viktoria Mullova and Carmignola, and Italian arias with Petibon. The Orchestra’s earlier discography on Sony with Carmignola includes The Four Seasons, previously unrecorded Vivaldi concertos, and a collection of Bach arias featuring Angelika encoreartsprograms.com 53
VENICE BAROQUE ORCHESTRA Kirchschlager. The orchestra has also been honored with the Diapason d’Or, Echo Award and the Edison Award. The Venice Baroque Orchestra is supported by Fondazione Cassamarca in Treviso.
NICOLA BENEDETTI
VIOLIN
Nicola Benedetti is one of the most sought after violinists of her generation. Her ability to captivate audiences with her innate musicianship and dynamic presence, coupled with her wide appeal as a high profile advocate for classical music, has made her one of the most influential classical artists of today. With concerto performances at the heart of her career, Benedetti is in much demand with major orchestras and conductors across the globe. Recent and future performances include engagements with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, WDR Cologne, Camerata Salzburg, Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice, Mariinsky Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Strasbourg Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C., Cincinnati Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Melbourne Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic orchestras amongst others. The 2014–15 season saw Benedetti further her passion for music of the Italian Baroque and historical performance, which was realized in collaborations with Andrea Marcon and WDR Cologne, Venice Baroque Orchestra and a European tour with La Cetra Barokorchester Basel. These international appearances have resulted in her working with a host of distinguished conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Stéphane Denève, Christoph Eschenbach, James Gaffigan, Valery Gergiev, Alan Gilbert, Jakub Hrusa, Vladimir Jurowski, Louis Langrée, Andrew Litton, Jiří Bělohlávek, Sir Neville Marriner, Diego Matheuz, Kristjan Järvi, Neeme Jaarvi, Paavo Järvi, Donald Runnicles, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Pinchas Zukerman and Jaap van Zweden. With her regular duo partner, pianist Alexei Grynyuk, Benedetti frequently performs in recital making appearances in in the world’s leading concert halls. Most recently she appeared in her capacity as Artist-in-Residence at this year’s Cheltenham International Music Festival, Dresden
Musikfestipiele, the Sapienza in Romea and Maison Symphony in Montreal, and prior to this she has given recitals in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Paris, Sacile, New York, Boston and Washington D.C. Future recitals include performances at the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Aix en Provence and Trieste Italy. Benedetti is a devoted chamber musician and collaborates with cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk, who have been performing as a trio since 2008. They recently undertook an extensive tour of Scotland, including performances at the Edinburgh Usher Hall and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Recent and future highlights include concerts at LSO St. Luke’s, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Die Glocke Bremen, Hong Kong City Hall, two tours of South America and at the Ravinia, Schloss Elmau, Istanbul and Cheltenham Festivals. Fiercely committed to music education and to developing young talent, Benedetti has formed associations with education establishments, including schools, music colleges and local authorities. In 2010, she became Sistema Scotland’s official musical “Big Sister” for the Simón Bolívar). As a board member and teacher, Benedetti embraces her position of role model to encourage young people to take up music and work hard at it, and she continues to spread this message in school visits and master classes, not only in Scotland, but all around the world. In addition, Benedetti recently developed her own education and outreach initiative entitled The Benedetti Sessions. Piloted in March 2013 at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, these sessions gave hundreds of aspiring young string players the opportunity to rehearse, undertake and observe masterclasses culminating in a performance alongside Benedetti. She presented The Benedetti Sessions at the Royal Albert Hall in September 2013. Winner of Best Female Artist at the 2013 Classical BRIT Awards, Benedetti records exclusively for Decca (Universal Music). Her most recent recording, The Silver Violin, is particularly renowned for its success in reaching No. 30 in the UK pop charts simultaneously to topping the classical charts for months. Her past six recordings on Universal/Deutsche Grammophon include a varied catalogue of works including the Szymanowski Concerto (London Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Harding), newly commissioned works by Tavener and The Lark Ascending (London Philharmonic/ Andrew Litton), a disc of virtuosic works (Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic/Vasily Petrenko), Tchaikovsky and Bruch Concertos (Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Jakub Hrusa) and most recently Vivaldi, Tartini and Veracini Concerti (Scottish Chamber Orchestra/ Christian Curnyn). Benedetti was appointed as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours in recognition of both her international music career and for her work with musical charities throughout the UK. In addition, she has received eight honorary degrees to date. Born in Scotland of Italian heritage, Benedetti began violin lessons at the age of 5 with Brenda Smith. In 1997, she entered the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she studied with Natasha Boyarskaya. Upon leaving, she continued her studies with Maciej Rakowski and then Pavel Vernikov, and continues to work with multiple acclaimed teachers and performers. Benedetti plays the Gariel Stradivarius (1717), courtesy of Jonathan Moulds.
VENICE BAROQUE ORCHESTRA Gianpiero Zanocco Concertmaster Giacomo Catana First Violin Mauro Spinazzè First Violin Francesco Lovato First Violin Giorgio Baldan Second Violin David Mazzacan Second Violin Giuseppe Cabrio Second Violin Claudio Rado Second Violin Alessandra Di Vincenzo Viola Meri Skejic Viola Massimo Raccanelli Zaborra Cello Federico Toffano Cello Alessandro Pivelli Double Bass Ivano Zanenghi Lute Lorenzo Feder Harpsichord encoreartsprograms.com 55
LIGHTWIRE
DINO-LIGHT, A Glow-in-the-Dark Adventure A Marvels Series Event Sunday, February 26, 2017 • 3PM Jackson Hall
SPONSORED BY:
LIGHTWIRE THEATER Ian Carney creator, artistic director, choreographer Eleanor B. Carney creator, executive director Corbin Popp creator, technical director Whitney Popp creator Stephen Charles Nicholson tour manager, performer Johnathon Whalen tour manager, performer Elizabeth Daniels dance captain
56 MONDAVIART S.ORG
DINO-LIGHT DINO-LIGHT, formerly known as Darwin the Dinosaur, was the recipient of the prestigious Jim Henson Foundation Grant and first feature-length theatrical production created and performed by creators Ian Carney and Corbin Popp. In this original storyline, a famous scientist with magic powers brings a friendly dinosaur to life. When the dinosaur wanders away from home, he discovers a wonderful world full of creatures that light up the darkness and help him find the true meaning of love. This glow-in-the-dark adventure is visually amazing and has been praised for its cutting edge blend of puppetry, technology and dance by audiences all over the world.
THE BUILD The process of building Lightwire Theater’s electroluminescent characters starts with the creators and the cast. They build everything themselves from the ground up, with each sculpture taking nearly 200 hours of intensive labor. The foundation begins with a base that includes triggers and armatures. They utilize recyclable materials including aluminum rods, election signs, skate board wheels, dryer ducting, plumbing supplies, PVC pipes, fishing poles, duct tape, zip ties and back packs to help define peaks and angles. These common household items help create durable and pliable sculptures
that can withstand the movement of the dancers and multiple performances. Black fabric is added to the sculpture for dimension and then lined with electroluminescent wire known as “el wire,” which is soldered everywhere the wire is connected. Unlike black lights, “el wire” can be powered by batteries, requires no theatrical lighting and gives a 360-degree of glowing light. Once the character is “turned on,” it can use up to 16 AA or rechargeable batteries per performance. The result…anything your inner child can dream of, including 16-ft. tall birds, dinosaurs, ducks, soldiers, swords and more!
LIGHTWIRE THEATER Ian and Eleanor Carney were both born and raised in New Orleans and met at the age of 13 through ballet class. Their successful dancing careers took them to New York, and it was on Broadway when Ian met co-creator Corbin Popp while dancing in Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out. An immediate connection was made between the kindred spirits as they discovered their mutual love of art, theater and technology. After coming across a product called, “el wire,” the lights turned on and the possibilities seemed endless. Together, with their wives Eleanor and Whitney, they began to experiment with shapes and designs to develop puppetrybased neon creatures that quickly came to life.
LIGHTWIRE After years of engineering and development, they initially founded CORBiAN Visual Arts and Dance. Although New York offered many opportunities, Ian and Eleanor wanted to return to New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit their hometown. With the hopes of helping to rebuild their city, they were joined by Corbin and Whitney Popp and eventually founded Lightwire Theater. Since then, they have become internationally recognized for their signature brand of electroluminescent artistry, poignant storytelling and music scores designed to evoke imagery. Lightwire Theater continues to create and deliver innovative theatrical experiences to audiences worldwide based out of New Orleans, Louisiana.
IAN CARNEY
CREATOR, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER Ian Carney is best known for his long run in Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp’s musical Movin’ Out on Broadway. A New Orleans native, he started dancing as a child, studying ballet with Harvey Hysell and Diane Carney in New Orleans and in New York City. He danced lead roles in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and many other ballets, as well as being a guest dancer, teacher and choreographer in companies across the United States. While still performing, Ian earned a degree in English literature from Tulane University. He is the co-creator of DINO-LIGHT, the family show that continues to delight audiences around the world. Carney has appeared on television with Lightwire Theater on the Season 7 semifinals of America’s Got Talent, TF1’s The Best: Le Meilleur Artiste in France and on the series premiere of truTV’s Fake Off.
ELEANOR B. CARNEY
CREATOR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Originally from New Orleans, Eleanor Carney began her dance training with Harvey Hysell and Joseph Giaccobbe. She graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BFA in dance and a B.A. in anthropology. She has danced professionally with Indianapolis Ballet Theater, and the Lexington, Northwest Florida, Delta Festival and Montgomery Ballets. Career highlights include dancing Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Desdemona in The Moor’s Pavane, the title roles in Romeo
and Juliet, Cinderella, Giselle and Coppelia, and of course, the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Carney was delighted to appear with Lightwire Theater on the Season 7 semifinals of America’s Got Talent, TF1’s The Best: Le Meilleur Artiste in France and on the series premiere of truTV’s Fake Off.
CORBIN POPP
CREATOR, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Corbin Popp is from Lincoln, Nebraska. He earned a degree in biochemistry at University of Nebraska-Lincoln while also studying math, physics and dance. Opting for dance, Popp performed in The Phantom of the Opera and Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out on Broadway. He has toured throughout the United States with many shows, and all over Europe with Tharp’s dance company. Popp speaks German, studied in Germany on a Fulbright scholarship and recently graduated from dental school, yet still continues to perform and collaborate with Lightwire Theater.
WHITNEY POPP
CREATOR
Whitney Popp began her training in her hometown in eastern Washington at the Tri-Cities Academy of Ballet. She trained with the Mid-Colombia Ballet under the direction of Debra Rogo. Popp later studied with the Pacific Northwest Ballet and went on to become a principal dancer with the Sacramento Ballet. After moving to New York, she was discovered by Twyla Tharp and later received honorable reviews for works such as The Fugue and Surfer at the River Styx. Popp spent three years with Movin’ Out, dancing the lead roles of Judy and Brenda. Recently she has enjoyed dancing works by Corbian LLC and setting works for Twyla Tharp both locally and internationally with her husband Corbin Popp. She currently enjoys raising her three children while teaching dance to the next generation of performing artists.
from Colgate University and an MFA in acting from The Actors Studio Drama School at The New School. He is an alumnus of Teach for America.
JOHNATHON WHALEN
TOUR MANAGER, PERFORMER Johnathon Whalen is a New Orleans native and is very excited to have been a part of Lightwire Theater for several years. He currently tour manages DINO-LIGHT as well as performing in the show. Whalen also enjoys set design, construction, and makeup/prosthetic effects. He has performed at many theaters in and around New Orleans, including The Stage Door Canteen at The National World War 2 Museum. Whalen also enjoys being a part of the film industry in New Orleans. He would like to thank his Lightwire family for helping to create an atmosphere of creativity and love that he is truly grateful to be a part of everyday!
ELIZABETH DANIELS
DANCE CAPTAIN
Elizabeth Daniels has been a New Orleansbased actress, singer and dancer since the summer of 2010. Before moving to the Crescent City, she spent 10 years auditioning and performing in New York City. She holds a BFA in musical theatre from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, CAP21 Conservatory. Some favorite credits include the Broadway’s Rising Stars Concert at the legendary Town Hall in NYC; The Sound of Music, Asian Tour with Troika Entertainment; Let Freedom Swing! at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans; The Parrot, at the Flea Theater in NYC, and Cold As Ice, starring Olympic Gold medalist, Oksana Baiul, at the Gateway Playhouse. She loves working with Lightwire Theater and helping to bring the joy of live performance to audiences across the globe.
STEPHEN CHARLES NICHOLSON
TOUR MANAGER, PERFORMER
Stephen Nicholson has appeared in many independent films and Off-Broadway stage productions. He is pleased to be part of the building team, a performer and tour manager with Lightwire Theater. He has a B.A. in religion with an Asian studies minor encoreartsprograms.com 57
THE ART OF GIVING The Mondavi Center is deeply grateful for the generous contributions of our dedicated patrons whose gifts are a testament to the value of the performing arts in our lives. Annual donations to the Mondavi Center directly support our operating budget and
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For more information on supporting the Mondavi Center, visit mondaviarts.org or call 530.754.5438.
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ENCORE CIRCLE
$600 - $1,499
Drs. Ralph and Teresa Aldredge Shirley and Mike Auman* Alicia and Antonio Balatbat* Robert and Susan Benedetti In Memory of Marie Benisek Karen Zito and Manuel Calderon de la Barca Sanchez Anne and Gary Carlson* Carole Cory and Jan Stevens Jack and Gale Chapman Robert D. and Nancy Nesbit Crummey Anne Duffey John and Cathie Duniway Robert and Melanie Ferrando Doris Flint Jennifer D. Franz E. F. and Paul Goldstene David and Mae Gundlach Robin Hansen and Gordon Ulrey Paul and Nancy Helman Leonard and Marilyn Herrmann John and Katherine Hess B.J. Hoyt Patricia Hutchinson* Vince Jacobs and Cecilia Delury Louise Kellogg and Douglas Neuhauser Paul Kramer Paula Kubo Ruth Lawrence Michael and Sheila Lewis* Robert and Betty Liu Gary C. and Jane L. Matteson Roland and Marilyn Meyer Nancy Michel Katharine and Dan Morgan Don and Sue Murchison Bob and Kinzie Murphy John and Carol Oster Frank Pajerski J. and K. Redenbaugh Joanna Regulska Carrie Rocke Heather and Jeep Roemer Alan M. Roth, M.D. Tom and Joan Sallee David Scheuring Judith Smith William and Jeannie Spangler* Elizabeth St. Goar Sherman and Hannah Stein Judith and Richard Stern Ed and Karen Street* Eric and Patricia Stromberg* Lyn Taylor and Mont Hubbard Captane and Helen Thomson Roseanna Torretto* Henry and Lynda Trowbridge* Dennis and Judy Tsuboi Louise and Larry Walker Jack and Rita Weiss Steven and Andrea Weiss* Kandi Williams and Dr. Frank Jahnke Ardath Wood Paul Wyman Drs. Matthew and Meghan Zavod Karl and Lynn Zender And 4 donors who prefer to remain anonymous
ORCHESTRA CIRCLE
$300 - $599
Mitzi Aguirre Elinor Anklin and George Harsch Peter and Margaret Armstrong Carol Benedetti
Jane D. Bennett Robert Biggs and Diane Carlson Biggs Paul Braun John and Christine Bruhn Dr. Margaret Burns and Dr. Roy W. Bellhorn Bruce and Mary Alice Carswell* Simon and Cindy Cherry Stuart and Denise Cohen In Memory of Jan Conroy Charles and Mary Anne Cooper Nicholas and Khin Cornes James Cothern Mr. and Mrs. David Covin Kim Dao Nguyen Larry Dashiell and Peggy Siddons Daniel and Moira Dykstra Micki and Les Faulkin Janet Feil Kerstin and David Feldman Helen Ford Lisa Foster and Tom Graham Edwin and Sevgi Friedrich* Nancy Gelbard and David Kalb Marvin and Joyce Goldman Larry and Bev Greene Dr. Paul and June Gulyassy Darrow and Gwen Haagensen Marylee Hardie Michael and Margaret Hoffman Jan and Herb Hoover Steve and Nancy Hopkins Mun Johl Don and Diane Johnston Mary Ann and Victor Jung Susan Kauzlarich and Peter Klavins Charles Kelso and Mary Reed Peter G. Kenner Robert Kingsley and Melissa Thorme Ruth Ann Kinsella* Darnell Lawrence Carol Ledbetter Stanley and Donna Levin Barbara Levine Mary Ann and Ernest Lewis Robert and Patricia Lufburrow Jeffrey and Helen Ma Julin Maloof and Stacey Harmer Bunkie Mangum Katherine F. Mawdsley* David Miller William and Nancy Myers Margaret Neu* Rebecca Newland Dr. Yvonne Otani Sally Ozonoff and Tom Richey John and Barbara Parker Henri and Dianne Pellissier Harriet Prato John and Alice Provost Evelyn and Otto Raabe Lawrence and Celia Rabinowitz Francis E. Resta David and Judy Reuben* Dr. Ron and Sara Ringen Tracy Rodgers and Richard Budenz Bob and Tamra Ruxin Saltzen Family John and Joyce Schaeuble James Smith Robert Snider and Jakkrit Jararjakkrawhal Pieter Stroeve, Diane M. Barrett and Jodie Stroeve Tony and Beth Tanke Virginia and Butch Thresh Ramon and Karen Urbano Ann-Catrin Van Ph.D. Robert Vassar and Sandra Burgner Rita Waterman Charles White and Carrie Schucker Iris Yang and G. Richard Brown Janet and Wesley Yates Jane Yeun and Randall Lee
Ronald M. Yoshiyama Hanni and George Zweifel And 6 donors who prefer to remain anonymous
MAINSTAGE CIRCLE
$100 - $299
Leal Abbott Mary Aften Michelle Agnew Susan Ahlquist Fritz Albrecht David and Penny Anderson Janice and Alex Ardans Debbie Arrington Charlotte Ballard and Robert Zeff Charles and Diane Bamforth Dawn Barlly Paul and Linda Baumann Jonathan and Mary Bayless Lynn Baysinger* Marion S. Becker Bee Happy Apiaries Lorna Belden and Milton Blackman Merry Benard Robert Bense and Sonya Lyons Bevowitz Family Dr. Robert and Sheila Beyer Roy and Joan Bibbens* John and Katy Bill Roger and Dorothy Bourdon Brooke Bourland* Jill and Mary Bowers Clyde and Ruth Bowman C and B Brandow Dan and Mildred Braunstein* M. Therese Brown* Valerie and David Brown Valerie Brown and Edward Shields Elizabeth and Alan Brownstein Mike and Marian Burnham Meredith Burns William and Karolee Bush Robert and Elizabeth Bushnell John and Marguerite Callahan Peter Camarco John and Nancy Capitanio William and Pauline Caple James and Patty Carey Michael and Susan Carl Lynn D. Case Dorothy Chikasawa* Carol Christensen* Craig Clark and Mary Ann Reihman Ed and Jacqueline Clemens Linda Clevenger and Seth Brunner James W. Cline and Linda Cline Sheri and Ron Cole Marj Collins Steve and Janet Collins Terry Cook Larry and Sandy Corman Ann and Fred Costello Catherine Coupal* Victor Cozzalio and Lisa Heilman-Cozzalio Crandallicious Clan Tatiana Cullen Susan and Fitz-Roy Curry Sharon Cuthbertson* Nita A. Davidson Relly Davidson Judy and David Day Lynne de Bie* Fred Deneke and James Eastman Carol Dependahl-Ripperda Sabine Dickerson; Marietta Bernoco Joel and Linda Dobris Gwendolyn Doebbert and Richard Epstein Marjorie Dolcini* Katherine and Gordon Douglas Marlene and Ray Dunaway*
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THE ART OF GIVING Leslie A. Dunsworth Eliane Eisner Sidney England and Randy Beaton Carol Erickson and David Phillips Nancy and Don Erman Wallace Etterbeek Andrew D. and Eleanor E. Farrand* Michael and Ophelia Farrell Joshua Fenton and Lisa Baumeister Liz and Tim Fenton* Curt and Sue Ann Finley Kieran and Marty Fitzpatrick Dave and Donna Fletcher Glenn Fortini Louis J. Fox and Marnelle Gleason* Marion Franck and Robert Lew Elaine A. Franco Barbara and Edwin Frankel Anthony and Jorgina Freese Larry Friedman and Susan Orton Kerim and Josie Friedrich Myra A. Gable Anne Garbeff* Dr. Gordon and Renee Garcia Peggy Gerick Barbara Gladfelter Eleanor Glassburner Pat and Bob Gonzalez* Drs. Michael Goodman and Bonny Neyhart David Goodrich Douglas Gramlow Sandra and Jeffrey Granett Steve and Jacqueline Gray Stephen and Deirdre Greenholz Paul and Carol Grench John Griffing and Shelley Mydans Alex and Marilyn Groth Wesley and Ida Hackett* Bob and Jen Hagedorn Jane and Jim Hagedorn Frank Hamilton Katherine Hammer William and Sherry Hamre M. and P. Handley Jim and Laurie Hanschu Vera Harris The Hartwig-Lee Family Sally Harvey* Rand and Mary Herbert
Paula Higashi and Fred Taugher Larry and Elizabeth Hill Roberta Hill Bette Hinton and Robert Caulk Dr. Calvin Hirsch and Deborah Francis Frederick and Tieu-Bich Hodges Jorja Hoehn* Lorraine Hwang Dr. and Mrs. Ronald C. Jensen Karen Jetter Karen and Gary Johns* Michelle Johnston and Scott Arrants Warren and Donna Johnston Jonsson Family Andrew and Merry Joslin James and Nancy Joye Shari and Tim Karpin Peter James Kassel Anthony and Beth Katsaris Yasuo Kawamura Patricia Kelleher* Sharmon and Peter Kenyon Robert and Cathryn Kerr Leonard Keyes Jeannette Kieffer Larry Kimble and Louise Bettner Katy King-Goldberg and Lenny Goldberg Roger and Katharine Kingston Bob and Bobbie Kittredge Mary and John Klisiewicz* Jane Knopke Alan and Sandra Kreeger Marcia and Kurt Kreith Sandra Kristensen Elizabeth and C.R. Kuehner Leslie Kurtz Marsha Lang Susan and Bruce Larock Sevim Larsen Peggy Leander* Iva and Charles Learned Steve and Nancy Lege Jeannette and Joel Lerman Evelyn Lewis Melvyn and Rita Libman Barbara Linderholm* David and Susan Link Motoko Lobue
Mary Lowry Melissa Lyans and Andreas Albrecht Ariane Lyons Ed and Sue MacDonald David and Alita Mackill Subhash Mahajan Karen Majewski Dr. Vartan Malian and Nova Ghermann Joseph and Mary Alice Marino Pam Marrone and Mick Rogers David and Martha Marsh J. A. Martin Harry Matthews and Lorraine Jensen Leslie Maulhardt Karen McCluskey* Nora McGuinness* Tim and Linda McKenna Martin A. Medina and Laurie Perry Barry Melton Sharon Menke Beryl Michaels and John Bach Leslie Michaels and Susan Katt Lisa Miller Sue and Rex Miller Kei and Barbara Miyano Vicki and Paul Moering Ken and Elaine Moody Kate Morejohn* Margaret Morita Richard L. Morrison and Carolyn Langenkamp Marcie Mortensson Rita Mt. Joy Robert and Janet Mukai The Muller Family Robert and Susan Munn* Elaine Myer Cathy Neuhauser and Jack Holmes Bill and Anna Rita Neuman Robert Nevraumont and Donna Curley Nevraumont* Patrice Norris and Tom Ahern A. Mobile Notary Dana Olson Jim and Sharon Oltjen Mary Jo Ormiston* Bob and Elizabeth Owens Jesse Ann Owens
Mike and Carlene Ozonoff Michael Pach and Mary Wind Thomas Pavlakovich and Kathryn Demakopoulos Erin Peltzman Mr. Luis Perez-Grau and Michele Barefoot Ross and Karen Peters Ann Peterson and Marc Hoeschele Jane Plocher Chuck and Chris Powell Jerry and Bernice Pressler Deanna and William Pritchard Jan and Anne-Louise Radimsky Lawrence and Norma Rappaport Olga C. Raveling Sandi Redenbach* Catherine Reed Fred and Martha Rehrman* Eugene and Elizabeth Renkin Ralph and Judy Riggs* Richard Robbins Sue Robison John and Carol Rominger Richard and Evelyne Rominger Sharon and Elliott Rose* Linda Roth Cynthia Jo Ruff* Paul and Ida Ruffin Dagnes/Vernon Ruiz Hugh Safford Kirsten Salomon Terry Sandbek and Sharon Billings* Elia and Glenn Sanjume Cindy Sato Carolyn Savino* Patsy Schiff Leon Schimmel and Annette Cody Dan Shadoan and Ann Lincoln Jackie Shelby and Russell Greve Barbara and Walter Sherwood Jeanie Sherwood Jo Anne S. Silber Bradford and Elizabeth Smith Jean Snyder Roger and Freda Sornsen Curtis and Judy Spencer Dolores and Joseph Spencer William Stanglin Alan and Charlene Steen
Miriam Steinberg and Ben Glovinsky Harriet Steiner and Miles Stern Johanna Stek Deb and Jeff Stromberg Stewart and Ann Teal* Francie F. Teitelbaum Julie A. Theriault, PA-C, DFAAPA Henry and Sally Tollette Robert and Victoria Tousignant Allen and Heather Tryon James E. Turner Nancy Ulrich* Chris and Betsy van Kessel Diana Varcados Bart and Barbara Vaughn* Richard Vorpe and Evelyn Matteucci Carolyn Waggoner and Rolf Fecht Kim and James Waits Maxine Wakefield and William Reichert Carol L. Walden Vivian and Andrew Walker Andy and Judy Warburg Marny and Rick Wasserman Georgie Waugh Doug West Martha West Robert and Leslie Westergaard* Susan and Edward Wheeler Nancy and Richard White* Mrs. Jane Williams Jonathan and Trayce Williams Tom Wilson Janet G. Winterer Peggy Wygal* Timothy and Vicki Yearnshaw Jeffrey and Elaine Yee* Dorothy Yerxa and Michael Reinhart The Yetman Family Dr. Norman and Manda Yeung Sharon and Doyle Yoder Phillip and Iva Yoshimura Jiayi Young Verena Leu Young* Phyllis and Darrel Zerger* Tim and Sonya Zindel Dr. Mark and Wendy Zlotlow And 45 donors who prefer to remain anonymous *Friends of Mondavi Center
ARTISTIC VENTURES FUND
We applaud our Artistic Ventures Fund’s members, whose major gift commitments support artist engagement fees, innovative artist commissions, artist residencies and programs made available free to the public.
Ralph and Clairelee Leiser Bulkley John and Lois Crowe Richard and Joy Dorf
Anne Gray Barbara K. Jackson
Thank you to the following donors for their special program support:
YOUNG ARTISTS COMPETITION AND PROGRAM John and Lois Crowe Merrilee and Simon Engel
Mary B. Horton Barbara K. Jackson
LEGACY CIRCLE
Thank you to our supporters who have remembered the Mondavi Center in their estate plans. These gifts make a difference for the future of performing arts and we are most grateful.
Wayne and Jacque Bartholomew Karen Broido Ralph and Clairelee Leiser Bulkley John and Lois Crowe Dotty Dixon Nancy Dubois Anne Gray Mary B. Horton Margaret Hoyt Barbara K. Jackson Roy and Edith Kanoff Robert and Barbara Leidigh
Yvonne LeMaitre° Jerry and Marguerite Lewis Robert and Betty Liu Don McNary Verne Mendel Kay Resler Hal and Carol Sconyers Joe and Betty Tupin Lynn Upchurch Clive Watson and Joy Mench And one donor who wishes to remain anonymous ° In Memoriam
If you have already named the Mondavi Center in your own estate plans, we thank you. We would love to hear of your giving plans so that we may express our appreciation. If you are interested in learning about planned giving opportunities, please contact Nancy Petrisko, Director of Development (530.754.5420 or npetrisko@ucdavis.edu).
We appreciate your support! Note: Please contact the Mondavi Center Development Office at 530.754.5438 to inform us of corrections. 60 MONDAVIART S.ORG
BOARDS & COMMITTEES
MONDAVI CENTER ADVISORY BOARD The Mondavi Center Advisory Board is a support group of University Relations whose primary purpose is to provide assistance through fundraising, public outreach and other support for the mission of UC Davis and the Mondavi Center.
2016–17 ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Tony Stone, Chair • Anne Gray, Vice-chair • Jim Bigelow • Camille Chan • John Crowe • Patti Donlon • Phyllis Farver • Janlynn Fleener • Karen Karnopp • Hansen Kwok • Nancy Lawrence • Garry Maisel • Cliff Popejoy • Nancy Roe • Grace Rosenquist • Lawrence Shepard • Scott Syphax
EX OFFICIO Ralph J. Hexter, Interim Chancellor, UC Davis Ken Burtis, Interim Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor, UC Davis Susan Kaiser, Dean, Division of Humanities, Arts, & Cultural Studies, College of Letters & Sciences, UC Davis Don Roth, Executive Director, Mondavi Center, UC Davis Yevgeniy Gnedash, Chair, Arts & Lectures Administrative Advisory Committee Francie Lawyer, Chair, Friends of the Mondavi Center
THE ARTS & LECTURES ADMINISTRATIVE ADVISORY COMMITTEE is made up of
interested students, faculty and staff who attend performances, review programming opportunities and meet monthly with the director of the Mondavi Center. They provide advice and feedback for the Mondavi Center staff throughout the performance season.
2016–17 ADVISORY BOARD Trisha Barua Yevgeniy Gnedash, Chair Ian Koebner Marielle Berman Jaimie Lee Kriti Garg Victoria Nguyen Stephanie Hartfield Luna Qiu Greg Ortiz Jasmyn Tang Kenneth Beck Hannah Vahldick Jochen Ditterich Michelle Wang Carol Hess Amy Yip Petr Janata Yolanda Zhang Gina Werfel
THE FRIENDS OF MONDAVI CENTER is an active, donor-based volunteer organization that supports activities of the Mondavi Center’s presenting program. Deeply committed to arts education, Friends volunteer their time and financial support for learning opportunities related to Mondavi Center performances. For information on becoming a Friend of Mondavi Center, email Jennifer Mast at: jmmast@ucdavis.edu or call 530.754.5431. 2016–17 FRIENDS EXECUTIVE BOARD Francie Lawyer, President Leslie Westergaard, Vice President Karen Broido, Secretary COMMITTEE CHAIRS: Wendy Chason, Friends Events Marge Dolcini, Gift Shop Barbara Linderholm, Membership Judy Fleenor, Mondavi Center Tours Verena Leu Young, School Matinee Support Lynne de Bie, School Matinee Ushers/ Front of House Liaison Lynette Ertel, School Outreach Marlene Freid, Audience Services and Volunteer Engagement Manager, Ex-Officio
The Mondavi Center is pleased to offer Dance for Parkinson’s, a partnership with the Pamela Trokanski Dance Theatre and the Parkinson Association of Northern California, in association with the Mark Morris Dance Group. Launched in 2010, the program offers free weekly dance classes in Davis and Sacramento to people with Parkinson’s Disease and their caregivers. The program is built on the premise that professionally trained dancers are movement experts whose knowledge is useful to persons with PD. Dancers know all about stretching and strengthening muscles, and about balance and rhythm. Most importantly, dancers understand the power of dance to concentrate the mind, body, and emotions on movement. They use their eyes and ears, imaginations and thoughts to control their bodies. For more information, or to enroll in a class, contact Mondavi Center Artist Engagement Coordinator Ruth Rosenberg, (530) 752-6113 or rrosenberg@ucdavis.edu.
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POLICIES & INFORMATION TICKET EXCHANGES • Tickets must be exchanged over the phone or in person at least one business day prior to the performance. (Closed Sundays) • Returned tickets will not scan valid at the door. • A $5 per ticket exchange fee may apply. • Tickets may not be exchanged or donated after the performance date. • For tickets exchanged for a higher priced ticket, the difference will be charged. The difference between a higher and lower priced exchanged ticket is not refundable. • Gift certificates will not be issued for returned tickets. • Event credit may be issued to subscribers and donors for all Mondavi Center Presenting Program events and expire June 30 of the current season. Credit is not transferable. • All exchanges are subject to availability. • All ticket sales are final for events presented by non-UC Davis promoters. • PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE. • NO REFUNDS.
PARKING You may purchase parking passes for individual Mondavi Center events for $9 per event at the parking lot or with your ticket order. Rates are subject to change. Parking passes that have been lost or stolen will not be replaced.
GROUP DISCOUNTS Entertain friends, family, classmates or business associates and save! Groups of 10 or more qualify for a 10% discount off regular prices. Payment options with a deposit are available. Please call 530.754.4658.
STUDENT TICKETS
UC Davis students are eligible for a 50% discount on all available tickets. Proof Requirements: School ID showing validity for the current academic year. Student ID numbers may also be used to verify enrollment. Non-UC Davis students age 18 and over, enrolled full-time for the current academic year at an accredited institution and matriculating towards a diploma or a degree are eligible for a 25% discount on all available tickets. (Continuing education enrollees are not eligible.) Proof Requirements: School ID showing validity for the current academic year and/or copy of your transcript/report card/tuition bill receipt for the current academic year. Student
62 MONDAVIART S.ORG
discounts may not be available for events presented by non-UC Davis promoters.
YOUTH TICKETS (AGE 17 AND UNDER)
Youth are eligible for a 50% discount on all available tickets. For events other than the Children’s Stage series, it is recommended for the enjoyment of all patrons that children under the age of 5 not attend. A ticket is required for admission of all children regardless of age. Any child attending a performance should be able to sit quietly through the performance.
PRIVACY POLICY The Mondavi Center collects information from patrons solely for the purpose of gaining necessary information to conduct business and serve our patrons efficiently. We sometimes share names and addresses with other nonprofit arts organizations. If you do not wish to be included in our email communications or postal mailings, or if you do not want us to share your name, please notify us via email, U.S. mail or telephone. Full Privacy Policy at mondaviarts.org.
TOURS Group tours of the Mondavi Center are free, but reservations are required. To schedule a tour call 530.754.5399 or email mctours@ucdavis.edu.
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR PATRONS WITH DISABILITIES
The Mondavi Center is proud to be a fully accessible state-of-the-art public facility that meets or exceeds all state and federal ADA requirements. Patrons with special seating needs should notify the Mondavi Center Ticket Office at the time of ticket purchase to receive reasonable accommodation. The Mondavi Center may not be able to accommodate special needs brought to our attention at the performance. Seating spaces for wheelchair users and their companions are located at all levels and prices for all performances. Requests for sign language interpreting, real-time captioning, Braille programs and other reasonable accommodations should be made with at least two weeks’ notice. The Mondavi Center may not be able to accommodate last-minute requests. Requests for these accommodations may be made when purchasing tickets at 530.754.2787 or TDD 530.754.5402.
BINOCULARS Binoculars are available for Jackson Hall. They may be checked out at no charge from the
Patron Services Desk near the lobby elevators. The Mondavi Center requires an ID be held until the device is returned.
ASSISTIVE LISTENING DEVICES Assistive Listening Devices are available for Jackson Hall and the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre. Receivers that can be used with or without hearing aids may be checked out at no charge from the Patron Services Desk near the lobby elevators. The Mondavi Center requires an ID to be held at the Patron Services Desk until the device is returned.
ELEVATORS The Mondavi Center has two passenger elevators serving all levels. They are located at the north end of the Yocha Dehe Grand Lobby, near the restrooms and Patron Services Desk.
RESTROOMS All public restrooms are equipped with accessible sinks, stalls, babychanging stations and amenities. There are six public restrooms in the building: two on the Orchestra level, two on the Orchestra Terrace level and two on the Grand Tier level.
SERVICE ANIMALS Mondavi Center welcomes working service animals that are necessary to assist patrons with disabilities. Service animals must remain on a leash or harness at all times. Please contact the Mondavi Center Ticket Office if you intend to bring a service animal to an event so that appropriate seating can be reserved for you.
LOST AND FOUND HOTLINE 530.752.8580
Music touches the heart From a simple tune to the richest harmony, music expresses emotion in ways that can resonate with all of us. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re proud to salute Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
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