2020/21 North Carolina Symphony Concert Program for James Ehnes Plays Beethoven

JAMES EHNES PLAYS BEETHOVEN SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2020 | 8PM Filmed and recorded live from Meymandi Concert Hall Woolner Stage Raleigh

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JAMES EHNES PLAYS BEETHOVEN Saturday, October 24, 2020 | 8pm

Filmed and recorded live from Meymandi Concert Hall Woolner Stage Raleigh Joseph Peters, host

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 I. Adagio – Allegro con brio II. Adagio cantabile III. Tempo di menuetto IV. Tema con variazioni: Andante V. Scherzo: Allegro molto e vivace VI. Andante con moto alla marcia James Ehnes, violin Samuel Gold, viola Bonnie Thron, cello Leonid Finkelshteyn, bass Samuel Almaguer, clarinet Aaron Apaza, bassoon Christopher Caudill, horn

This concert is made possible in part by The Hulka Fund for Chamber Music.

This concert is part of the North Carolina Symphony’s LVB250 Festival.

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ABOUT THE MUSIC

Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) THE STORY: • Composed in 1799, the Septet in E-flat Major was one of the chief compositions that built up Beethoven’s fame in the early 19th century.

• Cheerful and elegant, it was so popular that many arrangements were created for various instrument combinations—everything from piano four-hands to guitar duet!

• Eventually Beethoven came to resent the popularity of the septet, feeling that it overshadowed his more “serious” compositions. He once exclaimed, “That damn work; I wish it could be burned!” At one point, he tried to pass it off as being composed by Mozart.

• The septet was, in fact, modeled on Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major, and it was dedicated to Empress Maria Theresa, the last Holy Roman Empress.

• The instrumentation was innovative for its time—typically, wind instruments had been used in pairs, but here, the

clarinet, bassoon, and horn each stand on their own. The clarinet is especially prominent, with many soloistic passages.

• The Septet in E-flat Major was first performed on a concert that also included the premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1. A music critic called it “truly one of the most interesting concerts in a long time.”

LISTEN FOR: • The grand-scale, symphonic structure of the first movement • In the Adagio cantabile, the lyrical melody passed back and forth between the violin and clarinet, and later taken up by the horn before the recapitulation • The main theme of the third movement, which Beethoven recycled from his own Piano Sonata No. 20 • The fourth movement’s five different variations on a theme; some suggest that the theme was based on a German folk song • The cello’s floating tune in the middle of the Scherzo • A solemn march to introduce the finale, and a magnificent violin cadenza that concludes the work

ABOUT THE ARTISTS James Ehnes, violin The long list of orchestras James Ehnes has worked with includes the Boston, Chicago, London, and NHK symphony orchestras; the Los Angeles, New York, Munich, and Czech philharmonics; and the Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras. His most recent NCS appearances featured the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 in February 2020.

James was 2019/20 Artist-in-Residence with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Recent orchestral highlights include the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Frankfurt Radio Symphony, as well as his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Lincoln Center in spring 2019.

As part of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, James was invited to perform the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas at Wigmore Hall throughout the 2019/20 season. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with leading artists and, in 2010, established the Ehnes Quartet. He is Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

James has an extensive discography and has won awards including a Grammy Award (2019) for his live recording of Aaron Jay Kernis’ Violin Concerto with the Seattle Symphony and Ludovic Morlot, and a Gramophone Award for his live recording of the Elgar Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Andrew Davis. His recording of the Korngold,

Barber, and Walton violin concertos won a Grammy Award for “Best Instrumental Soloist Performance” and a JUNO award for “Best Classical Album of the Year.” Recent releases include the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrew Manze.

A violin student from the age of five, James made his orchestral debut with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal at 13. He continued his studies at the Meadowmount School of Music and The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation in 1997. James is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was awarded the 2017 Royal Philharmonic Society Award in the Instrumentalist category.

He plays the “Marsick” Stradivarius of 1715.

Samuel Gold, viola The Florence Spinks and Charles Jacob Cate and Alma Yondorf and Sylvan Hirschberg Chair North Carolina Symphony Principal Viola Samuel Gold began studying the viola at the age of four with Sherida Josephson of the Des Moines Symphony. He graduated from the New England Conservatory as a student of Roger Tapping and Martha Strongin Katz, and from the University of Iowa as a student of Elizabeth Oakes and Christine Rutledge.

Samuel has performed at the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Taos School of Music, and the Montreal International NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY • 4

String Quartet Academy. In May of 2008, he performed as soloist with the University of Iowa Chamber Orchestra after winning the school’s concerto/aria competition, and he participated in a 2016 performance of the complete Beethoven string trios at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He has been featured as a soloist in NCS concerts and often performs in NCS chamber ensembles.

Bonnie Thron, cello The Herman and Marga Roberg Chair Bonnie Thron joined the North Carolina Symphony as Principal Cello in 2000. She has been a guest artist locally with the Mallarmé Chamber Players and Ciompi Quartet, as well as occasionally joining the Jacobowitz-Larkin Duo to form a clarinet trio called Three For All. In the Washington, D.C. area, she has been a guest artist with the American Chamber Players and the Washington Musica Viva series. Summer engagements have included the East Carolina University Summer Chamber Music Institute and the Sebago Long Lake Music Festival in Maine.

Previously Bonnie was a member of the Peabody Trio at the Peabody Institute, and was Assistant Principal Cellist of the Denver Symphony for a season. She has been active with the Apple Hill Chamber Players and has performed concertos with NCS, the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, Juilliard Orchestra, Panama National Orchestra, and various others.

Bonnie received both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from The Juilliard School. She also received a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and worked for several years as a nurse and as a case manager, during which time she was also a cello teacher at the Baltimore School for the Arts.

Leonid Finkelshteyn, double bass The Martha and Peyton Woodson Chair Principal Bass of the North Carolina Symphony since 1996 and the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra since 1999, Leonid Finkelshteyn also serves on the faculty of North Carolina State University and the Eastern Music Festival and has a private studio. Among numerous concerto appearances, his premieres include the Double Bass Concerto by Terry Mizesko, dedicated for him and premiered with NCS in 2018.

A native of Leningrad in the former Soviet Union, Leonid joined the Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Philharmonic at 19 years of age—while still a student at the Leningrad Conservatory, where he earned a master’s degree.

Since immigrating to the U.S. in 1990, his artistic pursuits have also included many chamber music performances, leading sectionals for local youth philharmonic orchestras and the North Carolina All-State Orchestra, and tours with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic.

Samuel Almaguer, clarinet The Mr. and Mrs. J. Christopher Walker, II Chair

musician, he most recently was a member of Incontri Musicali in Spoleto, Italy. His performances have been broadcast on WGBH Boston, WUNC, and on local television in Los Angeles.

At a young age he was featured on National Public Radio’s From the Top with pianist Christopher O’Riley.

Samuel has been featured as a guest artist with the Festival of Contemporary Music at Tanglewood, Wild Up! in Los Angeles, and with NCS. He received his undergraduate degree at The Colburn School in Los Angeles and attended Rice University for graduate studies. While in school, he was a fellow at both the Tanglewood Music Center and Music Academy of the West. His primary teachers include Yehuda Gilad, Richie Hawley, and Ilya Shterenberg. He was a 2013 Vandoren Emerging Artist.

Aaron Apaza, bassoon The Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald S. Hudson Chair A native of South Dakota, Aaron Apaza joined NCS as Principal Bassoon in 2020. Previously, he was Principal Bassoon with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (20132020) and Lecturer of Bassoon at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (2016-2020). He has also served as Acting Assistant Principal Bassoon with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Acting Assistant Principal Bassoon with the Colorado Symphony.

Aaron spent two years at the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he studied with The Cleveland Orchestra’s Assistant Principal Bassoon, Barrick Stees. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and his master’s degree from Yale University. After completing his studies, he was invited to join Miami’s New World Symphony. He has also performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, and Alabama Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Christopher Caudill, horn The Roger Colson and Bobbi Lyon Hackett Chair Christopher Caudill began playing the horn at age ten while living in London, England, with his family. Piano and violin lessons had failed to do the trick, but a London Symphony Orchestra concert at the Barbican with famous soloist Barry Tuckwell made him fall in love with the horn.

At Northwestern University, he studied with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s solo horn Dale Clevenger and was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He spent two summers at Tanglewood, and toured Russia with the American-Russian Youth Orchestra.

Christopher was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach for three years (where he met his wife, NCS horn section colleague Rachel Niketopoulos) before being invited to play Principal Horn for a season with the Honolulu Symphony. After two seasons with the Virginia Symphony, he joined the North Carolina Symphony in 2003.

A native of San Antonio, Samuel Almaguer is North Carolina Symphony Principal Clarinet and previously played second clarinet with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY • 5

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ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL Grant Llewellyn, Music Director Laureate The Maxine and Benjamin Swalin Chair

Suzanne Kelly

Wesley Schulz, Associate Conductor The Lucy Moore Ruffin Chair

Anton Shelepov

VIOLIN I Brian Reagin, Concertmaster The Annabelle Lundy Fetterman Chair Dovid Friedlander, Associate Concertmaster** The Assad Meymandi and Family Chair To Be Filled, Assistant Concertmaster The Anne Heartt Gregory Chair Karen Strittmatter Galvin, Assistant Concertmaster

Oskar Ozolinch

Jeanine Wynton VIOLA Samuel Gold, Principal The Florence Spinks and Charles Jacob Cate and Alma Yondorf and Sylvan Hirschberg Chair Kurt Tseng, Associate Principal The Betty Ellen Madry Chair To Be Filled, Assistant Principal Petra Berényi

DOUBLE BASS Leonid Finkelshteyn, Principal The Martha and Peyton Woodson Chair Robert K. Anderson, Associate Principal The Dr. and Mrs. Preston H. Gada Chair Craig Brown The Mark W. McClure Foundation Chair Erik Dyke The Harllee H. and Pauline G. Jobe Chair Bruce Ridge The John C. and Margaret P. Parker Chair FLUTE Anne Whaley Laney, Principal The Mr. and Mrs. George M. Stephens Chair

Robert Anemone**

Paul Malcolm

Emily Rist Glover The Jessie Wyatt Ethridge Chair

Christine Martin

Mary E. Boone, Assistant Principal The Dr. and Mrs. Shaler Stidham, Jr. Chair

Amy Mason The J. Sidney Kirk Chair

Elizabeth Anderton Lunsford The Jack and Sing Boddie Chair

Paul Goldsberry The Richard and Joy Cook Chair So Yun Kim The Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. Chair Marilyn Kouba The Phyllis (“Pat”) Conrad Wells Chair Eric McCracken The James C. Byrd and Family Chair Maria Meyer The Tom and Mary Mac Bradshaw Chair Eileen Wynne The Harvey At-Large Chair Erin Zehngut The J. Felix Arnold Chair VIOLIN II Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky, Principal The Nancy Finch Wallace Chair

Sandra Schwarcz The Samuel H. and Anne Latham Johnson Viola Chair CELLO Bonnie Thron, Principal The Herman and Marga Roberg Chair Elizabeth Beilman, Associate Principal The Sarah Carlyle Herbert Dorroh Chair Peng Li, Assistant Principal Anonymously Endowed Yewon Ahn Anonymously Endowed Sunrise Kim The William Charles Rankin Chair David Meyer The Nell Hirschberg Chair

PICCOLO Elizabeth Anderton Lunsford The Jean Dunn Williams Chair OBOE Melanie Wilsden, Principal The Hardison and Stoltze Chair Joseph Peters, Associate Principal The Lizette T. Dunham Chair Sandra Posch The Clarence and Alice Aycock Poe Chair ENGLISH HORN Joseph Peters The Bruce and Margaret King Chair

To Be Filled, Associate Principal The Blanche Martin Shaw Chair

Lisa Howard Shaughnessy The Sara Wilson Hodgkins Chair

CLARINET Samuel Almaguer, Principal The Mr. and Mrs. J. Christopher Walker, II Chair

David Kilbride, Assistant Principal

Nathaniel Yaffe The Secretary of Cultural Resources Betty Ray McCain Chair

To Be Filled, Assistant Principal The Kathryn Powell and Green Flavie Cooper Chair

Qi Cao Janet Gayer Hall

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ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL BASSOON Aaron Apaza, Principal The Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald S. Hudson Chair Wenmin Zhang, Assistant Principal The Beethoven Chair FRENCH HORN Rebekah Daley, Principal The Mary T. McCurdy Chair Kimberly Van Pelt, Associate Principal The James Marion Poyner Chair Christopher Caudill The Roger Colson and Bobbi Lyon Hackett Chair Rachel Niketopoulos The Paul R. Villard and Gabriel Wolf Chair To Be Filled The Mary Susan Kirk Fulghum Chair TRUMPET Paul Randall, Principal The George Smedes Poyner Chair To Be Filled, Associate Principal The Henry and Martha Zaytoun and Family Chair Don Eagle Anonymously Endowed

continued

TROMBONE John Ilika, Principal The Thomas Warwick Steed, Jr. Family Chair Jonathan Randazzo, Assistant Principal The Frances Armour Bryant Chair BASS TROMBONE Matthew Neff Anonymously Endowed TUBA Seth Horner, Principal The Governor and Mrs. James G. Martin, Jr. Chair HARP Anita Burroughs-Price Vonda Darr TIMPANI Colin Hartnett, Principal The Patricia R., Steven T. and George F. Hackney III Chair PERCUSSION Richard Motylinski, Principal The Margery and Earl Johnson, Jr. Chair Rajesh Prasad, Assistant Principal The Abram and Frances Pascher Kanof Chair

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ORGAN To Be Filled The Albert and Susan Jenkins and Family Organ Chair LIBRARY Stephanie Wilson, Principal The Mary Colvert and Banks C. Talley Chair *Acting position **Leave of absence Named musician chairs are made possible through very meaningful gifts to the Symphony’s endowment. As such, these donor families are also members of the Lamar Stringfield Society.

Learn more.

All string players rotate stands on a periodic basis in each section with the exception of titled players: Principals, Associate Principals, and Assistant Principals.

The North Carolina Symphony is a member of the League of American Orchestras and the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians.

The North Carolina Master Chorale is the Resident Chorus of the North Carolina Symphony.

The North Carolina Symphony Foundation gratefully acknowledges the generous gift of the Lupot violin from Arnold and Zena Lerman.

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