Recital Series: Matthew Polenzani & Ken Noda

WELCOME

Park Avenue Armory strives to engage audiences with eclectic, immersive, and thought-provoking works that are in direct dialogue with the Armory’s unconventional spaces, whether it is the soaring Wade Thompson Drill Hall or the intimate period rooms. And with its pristine acoustics and austere elegance, the Board of Officers Room is like no other in offering the chance to enjoy the art of the recital and music-making in the most personal of settings.

For the 2024 Season, the Recital Series focuses on the sheer power and beauty of the human voice, with thoughtfully curated programs of lieder, art song, and contemporary works that take the art form in bold new directions in the hands of some of today’s most exciting musical interpreters.

February welcomes Trinidadian soprano Jeanine De Bique to the Armory for a rare New York appearance; joined by pianist Warren Jones, she displays her artistic versatility and endless wealth of color and nuance with a global program of French melodies, American art songs, and folk songs from the Caribbean. One of the most gifted and distinguished lyric tenors of his generation, American tenor Matthew Polenzani comes to the Board of Officers Room in May with pianist Ken Noda for a program of lieder and art songs by Schubert, Finzi, Schumann, and Ives.This fall, soprano Leah Hawkins returns to the Armory to showcase her global journey with a collection of folk songs and proverbs from various cultural and religious traditions, including works by composers and arrangers including Jasmine Barnes, Peter Ashbourne, Robert De Cormier, and a thrilling world premiere. Lebanese American tenor Karim Sulayman brings his inventive programming to the Armory this September; featuring wide ranging works from Monteverdi, Britten, and Purcell to Takemitsu, Layale Chaker, and traditional Sephardic songs, this intimate recital with guitarist Sean Shibe inspects the artists’ own ethnic identities through song that at once was seen to exotify but through playful juxtaposition subverts that narrative into one of celebration. Finally, soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan makes her highly anticipated return to the Board of Officers Room to close out the 2024 Recital Series; she will perform a program of works by Scriabin and Messiaen with pianist Bertrand Chamayou that is sure to captivate Armory audiences once again.

Over the past decade of recitals at the Armory, we are proud to have held more than 120 intimate performances by almost 250 internationally renowned musicians, including 16 important North American, US, and New York debuts including the North American recital debuts of pianist Igor Levit and tenor Allan Clayton as well as the US recital debut of soprano Barbara Hannigan. We have also been proud to serve as the locale for 17 premieres by contemporary composers, including works by Michael Hersch, Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, John Zorn, Dai Fujikura, Michael Gordon, Jake Heggie, Chris Cerrone, Viet Cuong, and others.

This year’s lineup offers audiences even more chances to enjoy the intimacy of a beautiful range of chamber music experiences performed by artists with a highly distinctive international profile, in one of the only spaces that could provide such a personal encounter—the Board of Officers Room. We hope you join in our excitement for witnessing these magical moments in music.

Rebecca Robertson

Adam R. Flatto Founding President and Executive Producer

Pierre Audi

Anita K. Hersh Artistic Director

SEASON SPONSORS

2024 RECITAL SERIES IN

THE RESTORED BOARD OF OFFICERS ROOM

MATTHEW POLENZANI, tenor KEN NODA, piano

monday, may 20, 2024 at 7:30pm wednesday, may 22, 2024 at 7:30pm

PUBLIC SUPPORT

The Recital Series is supported, in part, by the Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation.

Support for Park Avenue Armory’s artistic season has been generously provided by the Thompson Family Foundation, Charina Endowment Fund, the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, The Shubert Foundation, Wescustogo Foundation, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Marc Haas Foundation, Mary W. Harriman Foundation, the Reed Foundation, the Leon Levy Foundation, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg, The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation, the Richenthal Foundation, and the Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Armory’s Artistic Council. Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature as well as the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council under the leadership of Speaker Adrienne Adams.

Cover photo: James Ewing.

PROGRAM

Franz Schubert

Gerald Finzi

Intermission

Robert Schumann

Charles Ives

“Im Frühling” “Frühlingsglaube”

“Der Einsame” “Ständchen” (Leise flehen meine lieder) “Im Abendrot”

A Young Man’s Exhortation

A Young Man’s Exhortation

Ditty

Budmouth Dears

Her Temple

The Comet at Yell’ham Shortening Days

The Sigh Former Beauties Transformations

The Dance Continued

Liederkreis, op. 24

1. In der Fremde I

2. Intermezzo

3. Waldesgespräch

4. Die Stille

5. Mondnacht

6. Schöne Fremde

7. Auf einer Burg

8. In der Fremde II

9. Wehmut

10. Zwielicht

11. Im Walde

12. Frühlingsnacht

“In Feldeinsamkeit” “The World’s Highway” Memories “The Greatest Man” “When Stars are in the Quiet Skies”

This program is approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes including a 15-minute intermission.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Our recital opens with five songs by Franz Schubert, the first two of which are about springtime. In “Im Frühling” (1826), spring stands for love, and love in turn for loss and sad (yet sweet) memories. Ernst Schulze, a remarkable poetic talent, had an even shorter life than Schubert, as he died of a stroke at the age of 28. In “Frühlingsglaube” (1820), after the eminent Romantic poet Ludwig Uhland, spring becomes a transcendent experience, as the soul expects liberation from all suffering. The song projects feelings of quiet joy and confidence, intimacy and ecstasy at once.

The protagonist of “Der Einsame” (1825) enjoys his solitude, yet the frequent melodic repetitions suggest a certain monotony, as if Schubert looked at that contentment with a certain irony. Poet Karl Lappe lived on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea, and was known primarily for his works celebrating his Northern province of origin.

“Ständchen” (1828), one of Schubert’s most popular songs, was published posthumously in the collection Schwanengesang (“Swan Song”). It is one of seven songs in that collection using poems by Ludwig Rellstab, a Berlin-based poet and music critic. Its sweet melody intensifies at the end of the song where the gentle plea for love becomes a fervent entreaty.

Next to “Der Einsame,” “Im Abendrot” (1825) is the only other Schubert song after Lappe. The simple harmonic progressions convey some profound emotions: the quiet awe that the protagonist feels before the beauty of nature will accompany him even in death.

The songs of Gerald Finzi are among the finest to come from England. Finzi’s favorite literary figure was Thomas Hardy, whom one commentator aptly described as a “19th-century novelist and a 20th-century poet.” Hardy came of age during the Victorian era, yet he wrote his greatest poetry much later, after he had stopped writing novels.

In A Young Man’s Exhortation, an early set of songs written between 1926 and 1929, Finzi organized the poems, which had originally been published in several different volumes, into a unified song cycle. He resonated not only with the evocations of youth and love in the first half of the cycle, but also with the images of aging evoked in the second. Each of the two halves bears an inscription from the Latin Bible: Mane floreat et transeat (“in the morning it springs up new”) and Vespere decidat, induret et arescat (“by evening it is dry and withered,” Psalm 90:6). In turn melancholy, playful, and dramatic, the ten songs employ a variety of harmonic and rhythmic styles. Some of them show the influence of English folksong, while others evoke Baroque associations in their use of counterpoint.

The poetry of Heinrich Heine had a liberating influence on Robert Schumann. Heine’s unique combination of passion and ironic detachment struck a deep chord with the composer and inspired him to create similarly complex musical characters. “I turn my great suffering into little songs,” Heine famously said; and Schumann did full justice to this paradox with his own amalgam of tragic feelings and light, almost playful forms.

The nine songs of the present Liederkreis (“Song Cycle”), written during Schumann’s legendary “year of songs” (1840) when he wrote nothing else, portray the changing states of mind of a romantic lover, in turn joyfully exuberant, melancholy, and desperate, and faithful even beyond the grave…

In 1922, Charles Ives published a collection of 114 Songs, which included some of his most experimental vocal compositions as well as many early works that were traditional and even popular in tone.

The present selection begins with “The World’s Highway” (1906), on a poem by Harmony Twichell, whom Ives married in 1908. Upon publication, Ives placed this piece among “8 Sentimental Ballads,” but that description does not do full justice to this song, in which an innocent opening and ending frame some serious turbulence “where the way was rough.”

“Feldeinsamkeit” (1898) was an exercise Ives wrote as a student at Yale. It is a new setting of a poem by Hermann Allmers on which Brahms wrote one of his most famous songs. While staying close to a German Lied style, Ives added some novel harmonies that make his setting quite an original contribution.

“The Greatest Man” (1921), a song as touching as it is funny and light-hearted, was based on a poem by Anne Timoney Collins, published in the New York Evening Sun. Ives noted that the song must be performed “in a half boasting and half wistful way.”

In the pair of Memories, “Very Pleasant” and “Rather Sad” (1897), the young Ives placed a song that would not be out of place in a popular revue (it should be sung “as fast as it will go”) next to what is essentially a lyrical parlor song. The words this time are by Ives himself.

The recital will end by one of Ives’s most charming juvenilia, “When Stars are in the Quiet Skies,” a song written in 1891—when Ives was only 17—on a poem by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, an English writer very popular in the 19th century.

— Peter Laki

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

MATTHEW POLENZANI

American tenor Matthew Polenzani is one of the most gifted and distinguished lyric tenors of his generation. His elegant musicianship, innate sense of style, dramatic commitment, and timeless artistry have established his continued presence at leading operatic, concert, and recital venues worldwide. Matthew Polenzani began the 2022-2023 season starring as Giasone in Cherubini’s rarely performed masterpiece Medea at the Metropolitan Opera, where he also appeared as Cavaradossi in Tosca. After his successful role debut as Verdi’s titular Don Carlos last season, he performed the role in Italian at Teatro di San Carlo and later sang the title role of Massenet’s Werther at Houston Grand Opera. At Staatsoper Hamburg, he starred as The Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto and Hoffmann in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and this past summer he appeared as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Ravinia Festival. He made two highly anticipated role debuts: first as Jean in a concert performance of Massenet’s Hérodiade at Deutsche Oper Berlin and then as Orombello in Bellini’s Beatrice di Tenda at Teatro di San Carlo. On the concert stage, Polenzani reunited with tenors Michael Fabiano and Bryan Hymel for their “Three American Tenors” program with the Fort Worth Symphony, led by Robert Spano, and sang Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Utah Symphony.

KEN NODA

Ken Noda is Musical Advisor to the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. After a 28-year tenure, he retired from his full-time Met position as a coach and teacher in July 2019. He is a guest coach at the Carnegie Hall/Weill Music Institute, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, the Marlboro Music Festival, and the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center. From 2020 to 2023, he coached a Mozart/da Ponte opera cycle in Salzburg conducted by András Schiff that will be repeated from 2026 to 2028 in Vicenza, Italy. He studied piano with Daniel Barenboim and in his first career as a piano soloist, played with the Berlin, Vienna, Israel, New York, and Los Angeles Philharmonics; the London, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, and Montreal Symphonies; the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Cleveland Orchestra, and L’Orchestre de Paris under Abbado, Barenboim, Chailly, Kubelik, Leinsdorf, Levine, Mehta, Ozawa, and Previn. He has collaborated in chamber music with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Lynn Harrell, Nigel Kennedy, Cho-Liang Lin, and the Emerson String Quartet, and as vocal accompanist to Paul Appleby, Kathleen Battle, Hildegard Behrens, Maria Ewing, Ying Fang, Ryan Speedo Green, Kate Lindsey, Tamara Mumford, Aprile Millo, Erin Morley, Lisette Oropesa, James Morris, Kurt Moll, Jessye Norman, Ailyn Pérez, Matthew Polenzani, Morris Robinson, Russell Thomas, Dawn Upshaw, and Deborah Voigt.

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797 – 1828)

“Im Frühling,” D.882 (1826) Text by Ernst Schulze

Still sitz ich an des Hügels Hang, Der Himmel ist so klar, Das Lüftchen spielt im grünen Tal, Wo ich beim ersten Frühlingsstrahl Einst, ach, so glücklich war.

Wo ich an ihrer Seite ging So traulich und so nah, Und tief im dunkeln Felsenquell Den schönen Himmel blau und hell, Und sie im Himmel sah.

Sieh, wie der bunte Frühling schon Aus Knosp’ und Blüte blickt! Nicht alle Blüten sind mir gleich, Am liebsten pflückt’ ich von dem Zweig, Von welchem sie gepflückt.

Denn alles ist wie damals noch, Die Blumen, das Gefild; Die Sonne scheint nicht minder hell, Nicht minder freundlich schwimmt im Quell Das blaue Himmelsbild.

Es wandeln nur sich Will und Wahn, Es wechseln Lust und Streit, Vorüber flieht der Liebe Glück, Und nur die Liebe bleibt zurück, Die Lieb’ und ach, das Leid!

O wär ich doch ein Vöglein nur Dort an dem Wiesenhang! Dann blieb’ ich auf den Zweigen hier, Und säng ein süsses Lied von ihr, Den ganzen Sommer lang.

In Spring English translation by Richard Wigmore

I sit silently on the hillside. The sky is so clear, the breezes play in the green valley where once, in the first rays of spring, I was, oh, so happy.

Where I walked by her side, so tender, so close, and saw deep in the dark rocky stream the fair sky, blue and bright, and her reflected in that sky.

See how the colourful spring already peeps from bud and blossom. Not all the blossoms are the same to me: I like most of all to pluck them from the branch from which she has plucked.

For all is still as it was then, the flowers, the fields; the sun shines no less brightly, and no less cheerfully, the sky’s blue image bathes in the stream.

Only will and delusion change, and joy alternates with strife; the happiness of love flies past, and only love remains; love and, alas, sorrow.

Oh, if only I were a bird, there on the sloping meadow! Then I would stay on these branches here, and sing a sweet song about her all summer long.

“Frühlingsglaube,” D.686 (1820)

Text by Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787 – 1862)

Die linden Lüfte sind erwacht, Sie säuseln und weben Tag und Nacht, Sie schaffen an allen Enden.

O frischer Duft, o neuer Klang! Nun, armes Herze, sei nicht bang! Nun muss sich Alles, Alles wenden.

Die Welt wird schöner mit jedem Tag, Man weiss nicht, was noch werden mag, Das Blühen will nicht enden. Es blüht das fernste, tiefste Tal: Nun, armes Herz, vergiss der Qual! Nun muss sich Alles, Alles wenden.

“Der Einsame,” D.800 (1825)

Text by Karl Lappe (1773 – 1843)

Wenn meine Grillen schwirren, Bei Nacht, am spät erwärmten Herd, Dann sitz’ ich mit vergnügtem Sinn Vertraulich zu der Flamme hin, So leicht, so unbeschwert.

Ein trautes, stilles Stündchen Bleibt man noch gern am Feuer wach, Man schürt, wenn sich die Lohe senkt, Die Funken auf und sinnt und denkt: „Nun abermal ein Tag!“

Was Liebes oder Leides

Sein Lauf für uns dahergebracht, Es geht noch einmal durch den Sinn; Allein das Böse wirft man hin, Es störe nicht die Nacht.

Zu einem frohen Träume, Bereitet man gemach sich zu, Wenn sorgenlos ein holdes Bild Mit sanfter Lust die Seele füllt, Ergibt man sich der Ruh.

Oh, wie ich mir gefalle

In meiner stillen Ländlichkeit! Was in dem Schwarm der lauten Welt

Dar irre Herz gefesselt hält, Gibt nicht Zufriedenheit.

Zirpt immer, liebe Heimchen, In meiner Klause eng und klein. Ich duld’ euch gern: ihr stört mich nicht, Wenn euer Lied das Schweigen bricht, Bin ich nicht ganz allein.

Faith in Spring English translation by Richard Wigmore

Balmy breezes are awakened; they stir and whisper day and night, everywhere creative. O fresh scents, O new sounds! Now, poor heart, do not be afraid. Now all must change.

The world grows fairer each day; we cannot know what is still to come; the flowering knows no end. The deepest, most distant valley is in flower. Now, poor heart, forget your torment. Now all must change.

The Solitary English translation by Richard Wigmore

When my crickets chirp at night, by the late-glowing hearth, I sit contentedly, confiding in the flame, so light-hearted and untroubled.

For one cosy, peaceful hour it is pleasant to stay awake by the fire, kindling the sparks when the blaze dies down, musing and thinking, ‘Well, yet another day!’

What joy or grief its course has brought us we run once again through our mind. But the bad is discarded lest it disturb the night.

We gently prepare ourselves for pleasant dreams. When a sweet image fills our carefree soul with gentle pleasure we succumb to rest.

Oh, how happy I am with my quiet rustic life. What in the bustle of the noisy world keeps the heart fettered does not bring contentment.

Chirp on, dear crickets, in my narrow little room. I like to hear you: you don’t disturb me. When your song breaks the silence I am not completely alone.

“Ständchen,” D.957d (1828)

Text by Ludwig Rellstab (1799 – 1860)

Leise flehen meine Lieder

Durch die Nacht zu Dir; In den stillen Hain hernieder, Liebchen, komm’ zu mir!

Flüsternd schlanke Wipfel rauschen

In des Mondes Licht; Des Verräters feindlich Lauschen Fürchte, Holde, nicht.

Hörst die Nachtigallen schlagen?

Ach! sie flehen Dich, Mit der Töne süssen Klagen Flehen sie für mich.

Sie verstehn des Busens Sehnen, Kennen Liebesschmerz, Rühren mit den Silbertönen Jedes weiche Herz.

Lass auch Dir die Brust bewegen, Liebchen, höre mich!

Bebend harr’ ich Dir entgegen! Komm’, beglücke mich!

“Im Abendrot,” D.799 (1825)

Text by Karl Lappe (1773 – 1843)

O wie schön ist deine Welt, Vater, wenn sie golden strahlet! Wenn dein Glanz herniederfällt, Und den Staub mit Schimmer malet; Wenn das Rot, das in der Wolke blinkt, In mein stilles Fenster sinkt!

Könnt’ ich klagen, könnt’ ich zagen?

Irre sein an dir und mir?

Nein, ich will im Busen tragen Deinen Himmel schon allhier. Und dies Herz, eh’ es zusammenbricht, Trinkt noch Glut und schlürft noch Licht.

Serenade English translation by Richard Wigmore

Softly my songs plead through the night to you; down into the silent grove, beloved, come to me!

Slender treetops whisper and rustle in the moonlight; my darling, do not fear that the hostile betrayer will overhear us.

Do you not hear the nightingales call?

Ah, they are imploring you; with their sweet, plaintive songs they are imploring for me.

They understand the heart’s yearning, they know the pain of love; with their silvery notes they touch every tender heart.

Let your heart, too, be moved, beloved, hear me! Trembling, I await you! Come, make me happy!

In the glow of the evening English translation by Richard Wigmore

How lovely is your world, Father, in its golden radiance when your glory descends and paints the dust with glitter; when the red light that shines from the clouds falls silently upon my window.

Could I complain? Could I be apprehensive? Could I lose faith in you and in myself? No, I already bear your heaven here within my heart. And this heart, before it breaks, still drinks in the fire and savours the light.

GERALD FINZI (1901 – 1956)

A Young Man’s Exhortation for tenor and piano, op. 14 (1933)

Words by Thomas Hardy (1840 – 1928)

Part I

1. A Young Man’s Exhortation

Call off your eyes from care

By some determined deftness; put forth joys Dear as excess without the core that cloys, And charm Life’s lourings fair.

Exalt and crown the hour

That girdles us and fill it full with glee, Blind glee, excelling aught could ever be, Were heedfulness in powe.r

Send up such touching strains That limitless recruits from Fancy’s pack Shall rush upon your tongue, and tender back All that your soul contains.

For what do we know best?

That a fresh love-leaf crumpled soon will dry, And that men moment after moment die, Of all scope dispossest.

If I have seen one thing It is the passing preciousness of dreams; That aspects are within us; and who seems Most kindly is the King.

2. Ditty

Beneath a knap where flown Nestlings play, Within walls of weathered stone, Far away

From the files of fomral houses, By the bough the firstling browses, Lives a Sweet: no merchants meet, No man barters, no man sells Where she dwells.

Upon that fabric fair ‘Here is she!’

Seems written everywhere Unto me.

But to friends and nodding neighbours, Fellow-wights in lot and labours, Who descry the times as I, No such lucid legend tells Where she dwells.

Should I lapse to what I was Ere we met; (Such will not be, but because Some forget Let me feign it)—none would notice That where she I know by rote is Spread a strange and withering change, Like a drying of the wells Where she dwells.

To feel I might have kissed—

Loved as true— Otherwhere, nor Mine have missed My life through, Had I never wandered near her, Is a smart severe—severer

In the thought that she is nought, Even as I, beyond the dells Where she dwells.

And Devotion droops her glance To recall What bond-servants of Chance We are all.

I but found her in that, going On my errant path unknowing, I did not out-skirt the spot

That no spot on earth excels, —Where she dwells!

3. Budmouth Dears

When we lay where Budmouth Beach is, O, the girls were fresh as peaches, With their tall and tossing figures and their eyes of blue and brown!

And our hearts would ache with longing

As we paced from our sing-songing, With a smart Clink! Clink! up the Esplanade and down.

They distracted and delayed us

By the pleasant pranks they played us,

And what marvel, then, if troopers, even of regiments of renown, On whom flashed those eyes divine, O, Should forget the courtersign, O,

As we tore Clink! Clink! back to camp above the town.

Do they miss us much, I wonder, Now that war has swept us sunder,

And we roam from where the faces smile to where the faces frown?

And no more behold the features

Of the fair fantastic creatures, And no more Clink! Clink! past the parlours of the town?

Shall we once again there meet them?

Falter fond attempts to greet them?

Will the gay sling-jacket glow again beside the muslin gown?

Will they archily quiz and con us

With a sideway glance upon us, While our spurs Clink! Clink! up the Esplanade and down?

4. Her Temple

Dear, think not that they will forget you:

—If craftsmanly art should me mine I will build up a temple, and set you

Therein as its shrine.

They may say: ‘Why a woman such honour?’

—Be told, ‘O, so sweet was her fame, That a man heaped this splendour upon her; None now knows his name.’

5. The Comet at Yell’ham

It bends far over Yell’ham Plain, And we, from Yell’ham Height, Stand and regard its fiery train, So soon to swim from sight.

It will return long years hence, when As now its strange swift shine Will fall on Yell’ham; but not then On that sweet form of thine.

Part II

1. Shortening Days

The first fire since the summer is lit, and is smoking into the room: The sun-rays thread it through, like woof-lines in a loom. Sparrows spurt from the hudge, whom misgivings appal That winter did not leave last year for ever, after all. Like shock-headed urchins, spiny-haired, Stand pollard willows, their twigs just bared. Who is this coming with pondering pace, Black and ruddy, with white embossed, His eyes being black, and ruddy his face

And the marge of his hair like morning frost? It’s the cider-maker, And appletree-shaker, And behind him on wheels, in readiness, His mill, and tubs, and vat, and press.

2. The Sigh

Little head against my shoulder, Shy at first, then somewhat bolder, And up-eyed;

Till she, with a timid quaver, Yielded to the kiss I gave her; But, she sighed.

That there mingled with her feeling Some sad thought she was concealing It implied.

—Not that she had ceased to love me, None on earth she set above me; But she sighed.

She could not disguise a passion, Dread, or doubt, in weakest fashion

If she tried:

Nothing seemed to hold us sundered, Hearts were victors; so I wondered Why she sighed.

Afterwards I knew her throughly, And she loved me staunchly, truly, Till she died; But she never made confession Why, at that first sweet concession, She had sighed.

It was in our May, remember; And though now I near November, And abide Till my appointed change, unfretting, Sometimes I sit half regretting That she sighed.

3. Former Beauties

These market-dames, mid-aged, with lips thin-drawn, And tissues sere, Are they the ones we loved in years agone, And courted here?

Are these the muslined pink young things to whom We vowed and swore In nooks on summer Sundays by the Froom, Or Budmouth shore?

Do they remember those gay tunes we trod Clasped on the green; Aye; trod till moonlight set on the beated sod A satin sheen?

They must forget, forget! They cannot know What once they were, Or memory would transfigure them, and show Them always fair.

4. Transformations

Portion if this yew Is a man my grandsire knew, Bosomed here at its foot: This branch may be his wife, A ruddy human life Now turned to a green shoot. These grasses must be made Of her who often prayed, Last century, for repose; And the fair girl long ago Whom I often tried to know May be entering this rose. So, they are not underground, But as nerves and veins abound In the growths of upper air, And they feel the sun and rain, And the energy again That made them what they were!

5. The Dance Continued

Regret not me;

Beneath the sunny tree

I lie uncaring, slumbering peacefully.

Swift as the light I flew my faery flight; Ecstatically I moved, and featred no night.

I did not know

That heydays fade and go

But deemed that what was would be always so.

I skipped at morn

Between the yellowing corn, Thinking it good and glorious to be born.

I ran at eves

Among the piled-up sheaves, Dreaming, ‘I grieve not, therefore nothing grieves’

ROBERT

SCHUMANN (1810 – 1856)

Liederkreis, op. 39 (1840)

Texts by Joseph von Eichendorff (1788 – 1857)

1. In der Fremde I

Aus der Heimat hinter den Blitzen rot Da kommen die Wolken her, Aber Vater und Mutter sind lange tot, Es kennt mich dort keiner mehr.

Wie bald, ach wie bald kommt die stille Zeit, Da ruhe ich auch, und über mir Rauscht die schöne Waldeinsamkeit, Und keiner kennt mich mehr hier.

2. Intermezzo

Dein Bildnis wunderselig Hab’ ich im Herzensgrund, Das sieht so frisch und fröhlich Mich an zu jeder Stund’.

Mein Herz still in sich singet Ein altes, schönes Lied, Das in die Luft sich schwinget Und zu dir eilig zieht.

3. Waldesgespräch

Es ist schon spät, es ist schon kalt, Was reit’st du einsam durch den Wald? Der Wald ist lang, du bist allein, Du schöne Braut! Ich führ’ dich heim!

„Groß ist der Männer Trug und List, Vor Schmerz mein Herz gebrochen ist, Wohl irrt das Waldhorn her und hin, O flieh! Du weißt nicht, wer ich bin.“

So reich geschmückt ist Roß und Weib, So wunderschön der junge Leib, Jetzt kenn’ ich dich—Gott steh’ mir bei!

Now soon will come

The apple, pear, and plum, And hinds will sing, and autumn insects hum.

Again you will fare

To cider-makings rare, And junketings; but I shall not be there.

Yet gaily sing

Until the pewter ring

Those songs we sang when we went gipsying.

And lightly dance

Some triple-timed romance

In coupled figures, and forget mischance; And mourn not me

Beneath the yellowing tree; For I shall mind not, slumbering peacefully.

Song Cycle

English translation by Richard Stokes

1. In a Foreign Land

From my homeland, beyond the red lightning, The clouds come drifting in, But father and mother have long been dead, Now no one knows me there.

How soon, ah! how soon till that quiet time When I too shall rest Beneath the sweet murmur of lonely woods, Forgotten here as well.

2. Intermezzo

I bear your beautiful likeness Deep within my heart, It gazes at me every hour So freshly and happily. My heart sings softly to itself An old and beautiful song That soars into the sky And swiftly wings its way to you.

3. A Forest Dialogue

It is already late, already cold, Why ride lonely through the forest? The forest is long, you are alone, You lovely bride! I’ll lead you home!

‘Great is the deceit and cunning of men, My heart is broken with grief, The hunting horn echoes here and there, O flee! You do not know who I am.’

So richly adorned are steed and lady, So wondrous fair her youthful form, Now I know you—may God protect me!

Du bist die Hexe Loreley.

„Du kennst mich wohl—von hohem Stein Schaut still mein Schloß tief in den Rhein. Es ist schon spät, es ist schon kalt, Kommst nimmermehr aus diesem Wald!“

4. Die Stille

Es weiß und rät es doch Keiner, Wie mir so wohl ist, so wohl!

Ach, wüßt’ es nur Einer, nur Einer, Kein Mensch es sonst wissen soll!

So still ist’s nicht draußen im Schnee, So stumm und verschwiegen sind

Die Sterne nicht in der Höh’, Als meine Gedanken sind.

Ich wünscht’, ich wär’ ein Vöglein

Und zöge über das Meer, Wohl über das Meer und weiter, Bis daß ich im Himmel wär’!

5. Mondnacht

Es war, als hätt’ der Himmel, Die Erde still geküßt, Daß sie im Blütenschimmer Von ihm nun träumen müßt’.

Die Luft ging durch die Felder, Die Ähren wogten sacht, Es rauschten leis die Wälder, So sternklar war die Nacht.

Und meine Seele spannte Weit ihre Flügel aus, Flog durch die stillen Lande, Als flöge sie nach Haus.

6. Schöne Fremde

Es rauschen die Wipfel und schauern, Als machten zu dieser Stund’ Um die halb versunkenen Mauern

Die alten Götter die Rund’.

Hier hinter den Myrtenbäumen

In heimlich dämmernder Pracht, Was sprichst du wirr, wie in Träumen, Zu mir, phantastische Nacht?

Es funkeln auf mich alle Sterne Mit glühendem Liebesblick, Es redet trunken die Ferne Wie von künftigem großen Glück!

You are the enchantress Lorelei.

‘You know me well—from its towering rock

My castle looks silently into the Rhine. It is already late, already cold, You shall never leave this forest again!’

4. Silence

No one knows and no one can guess

How happy I am, how happy! If only one, just one person knew, No one else ever should!

The snow outside is not so silent, Nor are the stars on high So still and taciturn As my own thoughts.

I wish I were a little bird, And could fly across the sea, Across the sea and further, Until I were in heaven!

5. Moonlit Night

It was as though Heaven Had softly kissed the Earth, So that she in a gleam of blossom Had only to dream of him.

The breeze passed through the fields, The corn swayed gently to and fro, The forests murmured softly, The night was so clear with stars.

And my soul spread Her wings out wide, Flew across the silent land, As though flying home.

6. A beautiful foreign land

The tree-tops rustle and shudder As if at this very hour The ancient gods Were pacing these half-sunken walls. Here beyond the myrtle trees In secret twilit splendour, What are you saying, fantastic night, Obscurely, as in a dream?

The glittering stars gaze down on me, Fierily and full of love, The distant horizon speaks with rapture Of some great happiness to come!

7. Auf einer Burg

Eingeschlafen auf der Lauer

Oben ist der alte Ritter; Drüben gehen Regenschauer, Und der Wald rauscht durch das Gitter.

Eingewachsen Bart und Haare, Und versteinert Brust und Krause, Sitzt er viele hundert Jahre Oben in der stillen Klause.

Draußen ist es still und friedlich, Alle sind in’s Tal gezogen, Waldesvögel einsam singen In den leeren Fensterbogen.

Eine Hochzeit fährt da unten Auf dem Rhein im Sonnenscheine, Musikanten spielen munter, Und die schöne Braut, die weinet.

8. In der Fremde II

Ich hör’ die Bächlein rauschen Im Walde her und hin, Im Walde, in dem Rauschen Ich weiß nicht, wo ich bin.

Die Nachtigallen schlagen

Hier in der Einsamkeit, Als wollten sie was sagen

Von der alten, schönen Zeit.

Die Mondesschimmer fliegen, Als säh’ ich unter mir

Das Schloß im Tale liegen, Und ist doch so weit von hier!

Als müßte in dem Garten

Voll Rosen weiß und rot, Meine Liebste auf mich warten, Und ist doch so lange tot.

9. Wehmut

Ich kann wohl manchmal singen, Als ob ich fröhlich sei, Doch heimlich Tränen dringen, Da wird das Herz mir frei.

Es lassen Nachtigallen, Spielt draußen Frühlingsluft, Der Sehnsucht Lied erschallen Aus ihres Kerkers Gruft.

Da lauschen alle Herzen, Und alles ist erfreut, Doch keiner fühlt die Schmerzen, Im Lied das tiefe Leid.

7. In a Castle

Up there at his look-out

The old knight has fallen asleep; Rain-storms pass overhead, And the wood stirs through the portcullis.

Beard and hair matted together, Ruff and breast turned to stone, For centuries he’s sat up there In his silent cell.

Outside it’s quiet and peaceful, All have gone down to the valley, Forest birds sing lonely songs In the empty window-arches.

Down there on the sunlit Rhine A wedding-party’s sailing by, Musicians strike up merrily, And the lovely bride—weeps.

8. In a Foreign Land

I hear the brooklets murmuring Through the forest, here and there, In the forest, in the murmuring I do not know where I am.

Nightingales are singing Here in the solitude, As though they wished to tell Of lovely days now past. The moonlight flickers, As though I saw below me The castle in the valley, Yet it lies so far from here!

As though in the garden, Full of roses, white and red, My love were waiting for me, Yet she died so long ago.

9. Sadness

True, I can sometimes sing As though I were content; But secretly tears well up, And my heart is set free.

Nightingales, when spring breezes Play outside, sing Their song of longing From their dungeon cell. Then all hearts listen And everyone rejoices, Yet no one feels the pain, The deep sorrow in the song.

10. Zwielicht

Dämmrung will die Flügel spreiten, Schaurig rühren sich die Bäume, Wolken ziehn wie schwere Träume— Was will dieses Graun bedeuten?

Hast ein Reh du lieb vor andern, Laß es nicht alleine grasen, Jäger ziehn im Wald und blasen, Stimmen hin und wieder wandern.

Hast du einen Freund hienieden, Trau ihm nicht zu dieser Stunde, Freundlich wohl mit Aug’ und Munde, Sinnt er Krieg im tück’schen Frieden. Was heut gehet müde unter, Hebt sich morgen neugeboren. Manches geht in Nacht verloren— Hüte dich, sei wach und munter!

11. Im Walde

Es zog eine Hochzeit den Berg entlang, Ich hörte die Vögel schlagen, Da blitzten viel Reiter, das Waldhorn klang, Das war ein lustiges Jagen!

Und eh’ ich’s gedacht, war alles verhallt, Die Nacht bedecket die Runde; Nur von den Bergen noch rauschet der Wald Und mich schauert’s im Herzensgrunde.

12. Frühlingsnacht

Über’m Garten durch die Lüfte Hört’ ich Wandervögel zieh’n, Das bedeutet Frühlingsdüfte, Unten fängt’s schon an zu blühn. Jauchzen möcht’ ich, möchte weinen, Ist mir’s doch, als könnt’s nicht sein! Alte Wunder wieder scheinen Mit dem Mondesglanz herein.

Und der Mond, die Sterne sagen’s, Und im Traume rauscht’s der Hain Und die Nachtigallen schlagen’s: Sie ist Deine, sie ist Dein!

10. Twilight

Dusk is about to spread its wings, The trees now shudder and stir, Clouds drift by like oppressive dreams— What can this dusk and dread imply?

If you have a fawn you favour, Do not let her graze alone, Hunters sound their horns through the forest, Voices wander to and fro.

If here on earth you have a friend, Do not trust him at this hour, Though his eyes and lips be smiling, In treacherous peace he’s scheming war.

That which wearily sets today, Will rise tomorrow, newly born. Much can go lost in the night— Be wary, watchful, on your guard!

11. In the Forest

A wedding procession wound over the mountain, I heard the warbling of birds, Riders flashed by, hunting horns peeled, That was a merry chase!

And before I knew, all had faded, Darkness covers the land, Only the forest sighs from the mountain, And deep in my heart I quiver with fear.

12. Spring Night

Over the garden, through the air

I heard birds of passage fly, A sign that spring is in the air, Flowers already bloom below.

I could shout for joy, could weep, For it seems to me it cannot be! All the old wonders come flooding back, Gleaming in the moonlight.

And the moon and stars say it, And the dreaming forest whispers it, And the nightingales sing it: ‘She is yours, is yours!’

CHARLES IVES (1874 – 1954)

“Feldeinsamkeit” (1898)

Text by Hermann Allmers (1821 – 1902)

Ich ruhe still im hohen grünen Gras Und sende lange meinen Blick nach oben, Von Grillen rings umschwirrt ohn Unterlaß, Von Himmelsbläue wundersam umwoben.

Die schönen weißen Wolken ziehn dahin

Durchs tiefe Blau, wie schöne stille Träume; Mir ist, als ob ich längst gestorben bin Und ziehe selig mit durch ew’ge Räume.

Memories (1897)

Text by Charles

A. Very Pleasant

Ives

We’re sitting in the opera house; We’re waiting for the curtain to arise With wonders for our eyes; We’re feeling pretty gay, And well we may, “O, Jimmy, look!” I say, “The band is tuning up And soon will start to play.” We whistle and we hum, Beat time with the drum.

We’re sitting in the opera house; We’re waiting for the curtain to arise With wonders for our eyes, A feeling of expectancy, A certain kind of ecstasy, Expectancy and ecstasy… Sh’s’s’s. “Curtain!”

B. Rather Sad

From the street a strain on my ear doth fall, A tune as threadbare as that “old red shawl,” It is tattered, it is torn, It shows signs of being worn, It’s the tune my Uncle hummed from early morn, ‘Twas a common little thing and kind ‘a sweet, But ’twas sad and seemed to slow up both his feet; I can see him shuffling down To the barn or to the town, A humming.

Alone in fields English translation by Richard Stokes

I rest at peace in tall green grass And gaze steadily aloft, Surrounded by unceasing crickets, Wondrously interwoven with blue sky. The lovely white clouds go drifting by Through the deep blue, like lovely silent dreams; I feel as if I have long been dead, Drifting happily with them through eternal space.

Sentimental Ballads, no. 6 “The World’s Highway” (1906)

Text by Charles Ives

For long I wander’d happily Far out on the world’s highway

My heart was brave for each new thing and I loved the far away. I watch’d the gay bright people dance, We laughed, for the road was good.

But Oh! I passed where the way was rough I saw it stained with blood.

I wander’d on till I tired grew, Far on the world’s highway

My heart was sad for what I saw I feared, I feared the far away, the far away.

So when one day, O sweetest day, I came to a garden small, A voice my heart knew called me in I answered its blessed call;

I left my wand’ring far and wide The freedom and far away

But my garden blooms with sweet content That’s not on the world’s highway.

“The Greatest Man” (1921) by

Anne Collins

My teacher said us boys should write about some great man, so I thought last night ‘n thought about heroes and men that had done great things, ‘n then I got to thinkin’ ’bout my pa; he ain’t a hero ‘r anything but pshaw! Say! He can ride the wildest hoss ‘n find minners near the moss down by the creek; ‘n he can swim ‘n fish, we ketched five new lights, me ‘n him! Dad’s some hunter too, Oh, my! Miss Molly Cottontail sure does fly. When he tromps through the fields ‘n brush! (Dad won’t kill a lark ‘r thrush.) Once when I was sick ‘n though his hands were rough he rubbed the pain right out. “That’s the stuff!” he said when I winked back the tears. He never cried but once ‘n that was when my mother died. Ther’re lots o’ great men, George Washington ‘n Lee, but Dad’s got ’em all beat holler, seems to me!

“When stars are in the quiet skies” (1891) Text by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803 – 1873)

When stars are in the quiet skies, Then most I pine for thee; Bend on me then thy tender eyes As stars look on the sea. For thoughts, like waves that glide by night, Are stillest when they shine; Mine earthly love lies hush’d in light Beneath the heaven of thine.

There is an hour when angels Keep familiar watch o’er men, When coarser souls are wrapp’d in sleep –Sweet spirit, meet me then! There is an hour when holy dreams Through slumber fairest glide; And in that mystic hour it seems Thou shouldst be by my side. My thoughts of thee too sacred are For daylight’s common beam: I can but know thee as my star, My angel and my dream; When stars are in the quiet skies, Then most I pine for thee; Bend on me then thy tender eyes, As stars look on the sea!

ABOUT THE RECITAL SERIES

Park Avenue Armory presents more intimate performances and programs in its acclaimed Recital Series, which showcases musical talent from across the globe in an intimate salon setting. Performed in the restored Board of Officers Room—which The New York Times has called “one of the most intimate and ideal spaces for vocal recitals”—these enchanting musical moments utilize the pristine acoustics and intimate scale intended by many composers while invoking the Salon culture of the Gilded Age. The 2024 Recital Series focuses on the sheer power and beauty of the human voice, with thoughtfully curated programs of lieder, art song, and contemporary works that take the art form in bold new directions in the hands of some of today’s most exciting musical interpreters. Since its inception in 2013, the series has held the debuts of many world-class artists, including: the North American recital debuts of pianist Igor Levit, soprano Sabine Devieilhe, tenors Ilker Arcayürek and Allan Clayton, baritones Benjamin Appl and Roderick Williams, clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer, and cellist István Várdai; the North American solo recital debuts of tenor Michael Spyres and mezzo soprano Emily D’Angelo; the US Recital debuts of sopranos Barbara Hannigan and Anna Lucia Richter and baritone Thomas Oliemans; and the New York debuts of pianist Severin von Eckardstein and the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam.

The Recital Series has programmed the world premieres of: Roger Reynolds’ FLiGHT, performed by the JACK Quartet; Michael Hersch’s “…das Rückgrat berstend,” performed by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellist Jay Campbell; and Chris Cerrone’s Ode to Joy, performed by Sandbox Percussion and commissioned by the Armory. Actor Charlotte Rampling and cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton gave the US premiere of The Night Dances on the series in 2015, which brought together Benjamin Britten’s suites for solo cello and poetry by Sylvia Plath; WiederAtherton returned to the Armory in 2017 for the North American premiere of Little Girl Blue, a program that reimagined the music of Nina Simone. New York premieres include: Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s In the Light of Air and Shades of Silence performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble; Dai Kujikura’s Minina, John Zorn’s Baudelaires, and a new arrangement of

Messiaen’s Chants de terre et de ciel, also performed by ICE; Michael Gordon’s Rushes performed by the Rushes Ensemble; Michael Harrison’s Just Constellations performed by Roomful of Teeth; David Lang’s depart, Gabriel Jackson’s Our flags are wafting in hope and grief and Rigwreck, Kile Smith’s “Conversation in the Mountains” from Where Flames A Word, Louis Andriessen’s Ahania Weeping, Suzanne Giraud’s Johannisbaum, David Shapiro’s Sumptuous Planet, Benjamin CS Boyle’s Empire of Crystal, and Ted Hearne’s Animals (commissioned by Park Avenue Armory), all performed by The Crossing under conductor Donald Nally; John Zorn’s Jumalatteret sung by soprano Barbara Hannigan with pianist Stephen Gosling; and Viet Cuong’s Next Week’s Trees, performed by Sandbox Percussion.

Additional notable programs include performances by: baritone Christian Gerhaher with pianist Gerold Huber; the Flux Quartet ; tenor Ian Bostridge with pianist Wenwen Du ; pianist David Fray; soprano Lisette Oropesa with pianist John Churchwell countertenor Andreas Scholl with harpsichordist Tamar Halperin; soprano Kate Royal with pianist Joseph Middleton; pipa player Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet; tenor Lawrence Brownlee with pianists Myra Huang and Jason Moran; mezzo soprano Isabel Leonard with pianist Ted Sperling; soprano Nadine Sierra with pianist Brian Wagorn; soprano Rosa Feola with pianist Iain Burnside; cellist Nicolas Altstaedt; tenor Paul Appleby with pianist Conor Hanick; baritone Will Liverman with pianist Myra Huang; mezzo soprano Jamie Barton with pianist and composer Jake Heggie; new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound; French period choir and chamber orchestra Ensemble Correspondances under the direction of harpsichordist and organist Sébastien Daucé; baritone Justin Austin and pianist Howard Watkins; soprano Ying Fang with pianist Ken Noda; baritone Stéphane Degout with pianist Cédric Tiberghien; pianist Pavel Kolesnikov in a two-night residency featuring Bach’s Goldberg Variations and a program entitled Celestial Navigation, inspired by Joseph Cornell’s orrery of the same name; soprano Julia Bullock with pianist John Arida; and mezzo soprano Kate Lindsey with pianist Justina Lee.

NEXT IN THE SERIES

LEAH HAWKINS & KEVIN MILLER

SEPTEMBER 13 & 15

Soprano Leah Hawkins returns to the Armory recital stage with pianist Kevin Miller to showcase her global journey with a collection of folk songs and proverbs from various cultural and religious traditions, from American and Yiddish to Jamaican, Swahili, and others. The program features works by composers and arrangers including Jasmine Barnes, Peter Ashbourne, Robert De Cormier, and a thrilling world premiere.

KARIM SULAYMAN & SEAN SHIBE

OCTOBER 8 & 10

Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman displays his sensitive and intelligent musicianship, riveting stage presence, beautiful voice, and inventive programming in a varied program of works examining the relationship of East and West performed with guitarist Sean Shibe. Featuring wide ranging works from Monteverdi, Britten, and Purcell to Takemitsu, Layale Chaker, and traditional Sephardic songs, this intimate recital inspects the artists own ethnic identities through song that at once was seen to exotify but through playful juxtaposition subverts that narrative into one of celebration.

BARBARA HANNIGAN & BERTRAND CHAMAYOU

DECEMBER 12

Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan makes her highly anticipated return to the Board of Officers Room with another dazzling program with pianist Bertrand Chamayou that beautifully spotlights her standing at the forefront of creation, embodying music with an unparalleled dramatic sensibility and adding a kind of virtuosity and artistry that contemporary music has rarely seen before.

NEXT AT THE ARMORY

SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER

MAY 21

WORLD PREMIERE

The Oxford Bach Soloists under the music direction of Tom Hammond-Davies and The Choir of Trinity Wall Street are joined by countertenor Reginald Mobley, tenor Nick Pritchard, and sheng player Wu Tong to perform a selection of Bach cantatas intermingled with spirituals in a staging by the celebrated director Peter Sellars. This musical call to action, presented in collaboration with the Asia Society, illuminates the undeniable truth that water is life, and that music is a universal language that can unite and inspire.

MAKING SPACE AT THE ARMORY ANTAGONISMS

JUNE 1

Led by playwright and poet Claudia Rankine, this symposium is punctuated with performances, panels, investigations of group dynamics, as well as imagined conversations between revolutionary thinkers. Participants include renowned postcolonial theorist Homi Bhabha, acclaimed cultural historian Saidiya Hartman, and Guggenheim fellow and choreographer Shamel Pitts.

INSIDE LIGHT

JUNE 5–15

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

Karlheinz Stockhausen’s magnum opus Licht—a seven opera cycle each representing a day of the week—is an epic 29-hour work for vocal, instrumental, and electronic forces that is rarely performed given its length and the different configurations of musicians and spaces needed. Several electronic compositions from this opus, performed by one of his original collaborators Kathinka Pasveer, are presented as two parts on separate evenings or in a full marathon with transformative lighting and video projections to fully immerse the audience in the all-encompassing, octophonic sound and surroundings in the vastness of the Wade Thompson Drill Hall.

ABOUT PARK AVENUE ARMORY

Part palace, part industrial shed, Park Avenue Armory supports unconventional works in the performing and visual arts that cannot be fully realized in a traditional proscenium theater, concert hall, or white wall gallery. With its soaring 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall—reminiscent of 19th-century European train stations—and an array of exuberant period rooms, the Armory provides a platform for artists to push the boundaries of their practice, collaborate across disciplines, and create new work in dialogue with the historic building. Across its grand and intimate spaces, the Armory enables a diverse range of artists to create, students to explore, and audiences to experience epic, adventurous, relevant work that cannot be done elsewhere in New York.

The Armory both commissions and presents performances and installations in the grand Drill Hall and offers more intimate programming through its acclaimed Recital Series, which showcases musical talent from across the globe within the salon setting of the Board of Officers Room; its Artists Studio series curated by Jason Moran in the restored Veterans Room; Making Space at the Armory, a public programming series that brings together a discipline-spanning group of artists and cultural thought-leaders around the important issues of our time; and the Malkin Lecture Series that features presentations by scholars and writers on topics related to Park Avenue Armory and its history. In addition, the

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chairman Emeritus

Elihu Rose

Co-Chairs

Adam R. Flatto

Amanda J.T. Riegel

Vice Presidents

David Fox

Pablo Legorreta

Emanuel Stern

Treasurer

Emanuel Stern

Armory also has a year-round Artists-in-Residence program, providing space and support for artists to create new work and expand their practices.

The Armory’s creativity-based arts education programs provide access to the arts to thousands of students from underserved New York City public schools, engaging them with the institutions artistic programming and outside-the-box creative processes. Through its education initiatives, the Armory provides access to all Drill Hall performances, workshops taught by Master Teaching Artists, and in-depth residencies that support the schools’ curriculum. Youth Corps, the Armory’s year-round paid internship program, begins in high school and continues into the critical post-high school years, providing interns with mentored employment, job training, and skill development, as well as a network of peers and mentors to support their individual college and career goals.

The Armory is undergoing a multi-phase renovation and restoration of its historic building led by architects Herzog & de Meuron, with Platt Byard Dovell White as Executive Architects.

Marina Abramović

Abigail Baratta

Joyce F. Brown

Cora Cahan

Hélène Comfort

Paul Cronson

Jonathan Davis

Tina R. Davis

Jessie Ding

Sanford B. Ehrenkranz

Roberta Garza

Kim Greenberg

Samhita Jayanti

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Edward G. Klein, Brigadier General NYNG (Ret.)

Ralph Lemon

Jason Moran

Janet C. Ross

Stephanie Sharp

Joan Steinberg

Dabie Tsai

Avant-Garde Chair

Adrienne Katz

Directors Emeriti

Harrison M. Bains

Angela E. Thompson*

Wade F.B. Thompson* Founding Chairman, 2000-2009

Pierre Audi

Anita K. Hersh Artistic Director

PARK AVENUE ARMORY STAFF

Rebecca Robertson Adam R. Flatto Founding President and Executive Producer

Pierre Audi Anita K. Hersh Artistic Director

ARTISTIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING

Michael Lonergan Senior Vice President and Chief Artistic Producer

Kevin Condardo General Manager, Programming

Rachel Rosado Producer

Samantha Cortez Producer

Darian Suggs Associate Director, Public Programming

Kanako Morita Company Manager/Associate Producer

Oscar Peña Programming Coordinator

ARTISTIC PRODUCTION

Paul E. King Director of Production

Claire Marberg Deputy Director of Production

Nicholas Lazzaro Technical Director

Lars Nelson Technical Director

Aidan Nelson Technical Director

Rachel Baumann Assistant Production Manager

ARTS EDUCATION

Cassidy L. Jones Chief Education Officer

Monica Weigel McCarthy Director of Education

Aarti Ogirala Associate Director of Education, School Programs

Biviana Sanchez School Programs Manager

Nadia Parfait School Programs Coordinator

Ciara Ward Youth Corps Manager

Bev Vega Youth Corps Manager

Milen Yimer Youth Corps Assistant

Drew Petersen Education Special Projects Manager

Emily Bruner, Donna Costello, Alexander Davis, Asma Feyijinmi, Hawley Hussey, Larry Jackson, Drew Petersen, Leigh Poulos, Neil Tyrone Pritchard, Vickie Tanner Teaching Artists

Wilson Castro, Shar Galarza, Daniel Gomez, Nancy K. Gomez, Maxim Ibadov, Amo Ortiz Teaching Associates

Arabia Elliot Currence, Victoria Fernandez, Sebastian Harris Teaching Assistants

Felipe Aguirre, Terry Beaupierre, Jordan Busey, Marc Keven Chaudry, Chelsea Dennis, Moon Emigli, Annalisa Fortune, Juni Garcia, Raven Garcia, Jade Hernandez, Melina Jorge, Yenupaak Konlan, Nephthali Mathieu, Sofia Maza, Kailo Meng, Nino Morrison, Alan Munoz, MJ Polanco, Elijah Tejeda, Aniyah Suce, AJ Volkov, Milen Yimer Youth Corps

BUILDING AND MANAGEMENT

OPERATIONS

Karen Quigley Vice President of Capital Projects and Facilities

Ashlee Willaman Director of Human Resources

Marc Von Braunsberg Director of Operations and Security

Xavier Everett Security/Operations Manager

David Burnhauser Collection Manager

Emma Paton Administrative and Office Coordinator

Williams Say Superintendent

Olga Cruz, Leandro Dasso, Mayra DeLeon, Mario Esquilin, Jeferson Avila, Jose Campoverde, Branden Fell,

Jason Moran Curator, Artists Studio Tavia Nyong’o Curator, Public Programming

Jacob Garrity, Ira Martin, Juan Parker, Joshua Rosa, Tyrell

Shannon Castillo Maintenance Staff

Oku Okoko Director of IT

Jorge Sanchez IT Helpdesk Administrator

DEVELOPMENT

Patrick Galvin Chief Development Officer

Alan Lane Director of Development

Caity Miret Executive Assistant to the Chief Development Officer

Chiara Bosco Individual Giving Coordinator

Angel Genares Director of Institutional Giving

Hans Rasch Manager of Institutional Giving

Margaret Breed Director of Special Events

Séverine Kaufman Manager of Special Events

Michael Buffer Director of Database and Development Operations

Maeghan Suzik Development Coordinator

EXECUTIVE OFFICE

Lori Nelson Executive Assistant to the President

Nathalie Etienne Administrative Assistant, President’s Office

Simone Elhart Rentals and Project Manager

FINANCE

Judy Rubin Chief Financial Officer

Tejal Patel Controller

Khemraj Dat Accounting Manager

Zeinebou Dia Junior Accountant

MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS, AND AUDIENCE

SERVICES

Tom Trayer Chief Marketing Officer

Nick Yarbrough Associate Director of Digital Marketing

Allison Abbott Senior Press and Editorial Manager

Mark Ho-Kane Graphic Designer

Joe Petrowski Director of Ticketing and Customer Relations

Monica Diaz Box Office Manager

John Hooper Assistant Box Office Manager

Meghan Lara Hrinkevich Box Office Lead

Victor Daniel Ayala, Fiona Garner, Isabelle Graham, Jordan Isaacs, Sarah Jack, Matthew Kamen, Emma Komisar, Michelle Meged, Caleb Moreno, Miciah Wallace Box Office Associates

Anne Wolf, Grace Kent Tour Guides

Natasha Michele Norton Director of House Management

Nancy Gill-Sanchez House Managers

Adonai Fletcher-Jones, Beth Miller, Eboni Greene, Eileen Rourke, Glori Ortiz, Lana Hankinson, Melina Jorge, MJ

Ryerson, Nas Aidid, Rachel Carmona, Sarah Gallick, Sebastian

Harris Ushers

Resnicow + Associates Press Representatives

PRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Sarah Billinghurst Solomon Artistic Consultant for Vocal Recitals

Steinway & Sons

JOIN THE ARMORY

Become a Park Avenue Armory member and join us in our mission to present unconventional works that cannot be fully realized elsewhere in New York City. Members play an important role in helping us push the boundaries of creativity and expression.

FRIEND $100

$64 is tax deductible

• 10% discount on tickets to all Armory tours and performances*

• 20% discount on member subscription packages*

• Invitations to member preview party for visual art installations

• Complimentary admission for two to visual art installations

• Access to the Membership Hotline for ticket assistance

• Discounts at local partnered restaurants

SUPPORTER $250

$194 is tax deductible

• All benefits of the Friend membership plus:

• Fees waived on ticket exchanges*

• Two free tickets to Armory Public Tours***

• Invitation to annual Member event

ASSOCIATE $500

$348 is tax deductible

All benefits of the Supporter membership plus:

• Complimentary admission for two additional guests (total of four) to visual art installations and member preview party

• Two free passes to annual fairs held at the Armory, such as TEFAF, The Art Show, Salon Art + Design, etc.**

• Access to the Patron Lounge at select productions

BENEFACTOR $1,000

$824 is tax deductible

All benefits of the Associate membership plus:

• Recognition in the Armory printed programs

• No-wait ticket pick up at the patron desk

• Handling fees waived on ticket purchases*

• Invitation for you and a guest to a private Chairman’s Circle event

• Two complimentary tickets to the Malkin Lecture Series*

CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE

starting at $2,500

Chairman’s Circle members provide vital support for the Armory’s immersive arts and education programming and the restoration of our landmark building. In grateful appreciation of their support, they are provided unique and exclusive opportunities to experience the Armory and interact with our world-class artists.

AVANT-GARDE

starting at $350

The Avant-Garde is a group for adventurous art enthusiasts in their 20s to early 40s. Members enjoy an intimate look at Armory productions, as well as invitations to forward-thinking art events around New York City.

*Subject to ticket availability **Certain restrictions apply ***Reservations required

For information on ticketing, or to purchase tickets, please contact the Box Office at (212) 933-5812 or visit us at armoryonpark.org.

For more information about membership, please contact the Membership Office at (212) 616-3958 or members@armoryonpark.org.

Each membership applies to one household, and one membership card is mailed upon membership activation.

ARTISTIC COUNCIL

The Artistic Council is a leadership group that champions and supports groundbreaking “only at the Armory” productions.

Co-Chairs

Noreen Buckfire

Lisa Miller

Anonymous (2)

Anne-Victoire Auriault/Goldman Sachs Gives

Abigail and Joseph Baratta

Noreen and Ken Buckfire

Jeanne-Marie Champagne

Hélène and Stuyvesant Comfort

Caroline and Paul Cronson

Courtney and Jonathan Davis

Jessie Ding and Ning Jin

Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz

LEGACY CIRCLE

The Lehoczky Escobar Family

Adam R. Flatto

Roberta Garza and Roberto Mendoza

Lorraine Gallard and Richard H. Levy

Barbara and Peter Georgescu

Kim and Jeff Greenberg

Lawrence and Sharon Hite

Samhita and Ignacio Jayanti

Wendy Keys

Irene Kohn

Fernand Lamesch and Maria Pisacane Almudena and Pablo Legorreta

Christina and Alan MacDonald

Andrew Martin-Weber and Beejan Land

John and Lisa Miller

Lily O’Boyle

Valerie Pels

Amanda J.T. and Richard E. Riegel

Susan and Elihu Rose

Janet C. Ross

Caryn Schacht and David Fox

Stephanie and Matthew Sharp

Brian S. Snyder

Joan and Michael Steinberg

Emanuel Stern

Slobodan Randjelović and Jon Stryker

Merryl and James Tisch

Mary Wallach

Saundra Whitney

The Armory’s Legacy Circle is a group of individuals who support Park Avenue Armory through a vitally important source of future funding, a planned gift. These gifts will help support the Armory’s out-the-box artistic programming, Arts Education Programs, and historic preservation into the future.

Founding Members

Angela and Wade F.B. Thompson

Co-Chairs

Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz

Marjorie and Gurnee Hart

PATRONS

Members

The Estate of Ginette Becker

Wendy Belzberg and Strauss Zelnick

Emme and Jonathan Deland

Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz

Adam R. Flatto

Roberta Garza

Marjorie and Gurnee Hart

Anita K. Hersh

Ken Kuchin

Heidi McWilliams

Michelle Perr

Amanda J.T. Riegel

Rebecca Robertson and Byron Knief

Susan and Elihu Rose

Francesca Schwartz

Joan and Michael Steinberg

Angela and Wade F.B. Thompson

Park Avenue Armory expresses its deep appreciation to the individuals and organizations listed here for their generous support for its annual and capital campaigns.

$1,000,000 +

Charina Endowment Fund

Citi

Empire State Local Development Corporation

Adam R. Flatto

Marina Kellen French

Barbara and Andrew Gundlach

Anita K. Hersh Philanthropic Fund

Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Inc.

Mr. and Mrs. Peter L. Malkin and The Malkin Fund, Inc.

Richard and Ronay Menschel

New York City Council and Council Member

Daniel R. Garodnick

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

New York State Assemblymember Dan Quart and the New York State Assembly

The Pershing Square Foundation

Susan and Elihu Rose

The Arthur Ross Foundation and J & AR Foundation

Joan Smilow and Joel Smilow*

Sanford L. Smith

The Thompson Family Foundation

Wade F.B. Thompson*

The Zelnick/Belzberg Charitable Trust

Anonymous

$500,000 to $999,999

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz

Almudena and Pablo Legorreta

Adam R. Rose and Peter R. McQuillan

Marvin and Donna K Schwartz

Emanuel Stern

Anonymous

$250,000 to $499,999

Rose Family Foundation

$100,000 to $249,999

The Achelis and Bodman Foundations

Linda

Blavatnik

Hélène

Jessie

Marjorie and Gurnee Hart

Samhita and Ignacio Jayanti

Judy and Leonard Lauder

Mr. and Mrs. Lester Morse

New York State Assembly

New York State Council on the Arts

Stavros Niarchos Foundation

The Pinkerton Foundation

Slobodan Randjelović and Jon Stryker

Amanda J.T. and Richard E. Riegel

Daniel and Joanna S. Rose

Mrs. Janet C. Ross

Caryn Schacht and David Fox

Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust

Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation

Barbara and Peter Georgescu

Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation

John R. and Kiendl Dauphinot Gordon

Mindy and Jon Gray Agnes Gund

Janet Halvorson

Robert and Monica Hanea

The Keith Haring Foundation

Mary W. Harriman Foundation

Suzie and Bruce Kovner

The Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Foundation

Fernand Lamesch and Maria Pisacane

The Lehoczky Escobar Family

Christina and Alan MacDonald

Christine and Richard Mack

Marc Haas Foundation

National Endowment for the Arts

Katharine Rayner

Rhodebeck Charitable Trust

Genie and Donald Rice

Rebecca Robertson and Byron Knief

The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation

The Shubert Foundation

Sydney and Stanley S. Shuman

Amy and Jeffrey Silverman

Brian S. Snyder

TEFAF NY

Terra Foundation for American Art Tishman Speyer

Barbara D. Tober

Jane Toll and Robert Toll*

Mary Wallach

Wescustogo Foundation Winston & Strawn LLP

Anonymous (5)

$10,000 to $24,999

AECOM Tishman

Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation

Gabrielle S Bacon Foundation

Harrison and Leslie Bains

$25,000 to $99,999

The Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation

Jody and John Arnhold / Arnhold Foundation

Anne-Victoire Auriault / Goldman Sachs Gives

The Avenue Association

Melanie Bouvard and Matthew Bird

Noreen and Ken Buckfire

Jeanne-Marie Champagne

The Cowles Charitable Trust

Caroline and Paul Cronson Dalio Philanthropies

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Andrew L. Farkas & Island Capital Group LLC

Lorraine Gallard and Richard H. Levy

Agnieszka and Witold Balaban

Mercedes Bass

Amanda M. Burden

Sergey G Butkevich

Tim Cameron

Betsy and Edward Cohen

Con Edison

Antoinette Delruelle and Joshua L. Steiner

Cora and Luis Delgado

Jeanne Donovan Fisher

William F. Draper

Elliot Friman / Friman and Stein, Inc.

Sarah Jane and Trevor Gibbons

Harkness Foundation for Dance

Lawrence and Sharon Hite

Claire King

Leon Levy Foundation

Marie Nugent-Head Marlas and James C Marlas

Danny and Audrey Meyer

John and Lisa Miller

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Beth and Joshua Nash

Lily O’Boyle

O’Donnell-Green Music And Dance Foundation

Michael Peterson

Joan R. and Joel I. Picket

Kathryn Ploss

The Reed Foundation

Fiona and Eric Rudin

Mrs. William H. Sandholm

Christine Schwarzman

Cynthia and Tom Sculco

Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation

Michael and Veronica Stubbs

The Terra Foundation

The Polonsky Foundation

Susan Unterberg

Deborah C. van Eck

Saundra Whitney

Maria Wirth Anonymous (3)

$5,000 to $9,999

Amy and David Abrams

Gina Argento

Page Ashley

The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation

Nicholas Brawer

Catherine and Robert Brawer

Dr. Joyce F. Brown and Mr. H. Carl McCall

David Bruson

Trevor Buchanan

Mary and Brad Burnham

Cindy and Tim Carlson

Arthur and Linda Carter

Orla Coleman and Rikki Tahta

Judith-Ann Corrente

FX and Natasha de Mallmann

Jennie L. and Richard K.* DeScherer

The Felicia Fund

Andrew and Theresa Fenster

Ella M. Foshay and Michael B. Rothfeld

Jill and Michael J. Franco

Amandine and Stephen Freidheim

Mary Ann Fribourg

Bart Friedman and Wendy A. Stein

Buzzy Geduld

The Georgetown Company

Great Performances

George and Patty Grunebaum

Sumiko Ito

Gregory James

Ann Kaplan

Adrienne Katz

David L. Klein, Jr. Foundation

Lazarus Charitable Trust

Chad A. Leat

Gail and Alan Levenstein

David and Simone Levinson

Hon. and Mrs. Earle Mack

Joanie Martinez

Helen Nash

James and Margo Nederlander

Benjamin K. Needell

Jesse and Stéphanie Newhouse

Elyse and Michael Newhouse

David Orentreich, MD / Orentreich Family Foundation

Susan Porter

Anne and Skip Pratt

Preserve New York, a grant program of Preservation League of New York

Janine and Steven Racanelli Richenthal Foundation

Laura and Gerald Rosberg

Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation

Valerie Rubsamen and Cedomir Crnkovic

May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc.

Jane Fearer Safer

Susan Savitsky

Philip Schmerbeck/Herzog & de Meuron USA

Nicholas and Shelley Schorsch

Sara Lee and Axel Schupf

David Schwartz Foundation Inc.

James Seger, PBDW Architects

Denise Simon and Paulo Vieira da Cunha

Lea Simonds

Daisy M. Soros

Beatrice Stern

Melissa Stewart

Michael Tuch Foundation, Inc.

Peter van Egmond Rossbach

Anastasia Vournas and J. William Uhrig

George Wang and Shanshan Xu

Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg

Michael Weinstein

Gary and Nina Wexler

Cynthia Young and George Eberstadt

Toni Young

Elham Yousefi

Samiah Zafar and Minhaj Patel

Zubatkin Owner Representation, LLC

Anonymous (5)

$2,500 to $4,999

Allen Adler and Frances Beatty

Fabrizio and Enrica Arengi Bentivoglio

Ate Atema

Tony Bechara

Catherine Behrend

and Blythe

James Buresh

Hugh Burns and Molly Duffy

Michael Carlisle and Sally Peterson Alexandre and Lori Chemla

David and Peri Clark

Sana Clegg

Betsy Cohn

Margaret Conklin

Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany New York

Ellie and Edgar Cullman

Peter Droste

Jason Drucker and Joseph Ortiz

Dr. Nancy Eppler-Wolff and Mr. John Wolff

Gina Giumarra MacArthur

Robert S. MacDonald

Arielle & Ian Madover

Charles and Georgette Mallory

Bonnie Maslin

Nina B. Matis

Peter and Leni May

Mr. and Mrs. Matthew McLennan

Ryan McNaughton and Anastasia Antoniev

Constance and H. Roemer McPhee

Israel Meir & Steve Rivera

Joyce F. Menschel

Saleem and Jane Muqaddam

New England Foundation for the Arts

Anthony Napoli and Gary Newman

Susan and Peter* Nitze

Gwendolyn Adams Norton and Peter Norton

Stephen Novick

Susan Numeroff

Ellen Oelsner

Kathleen O’Grady Arlena Olsten Patsy Orlofsky

Peter and Beverly Orthwein

Gregory Ostling and Angela Tu

Robert Ouimette and Lee Hirsch Ji Park Kwak Lee and Lori Parks

Sanjay and Leslie Patel

Dennis Paul Louis and Barbara Perlmutter

Richard and Rose Petrocelli Marnie Pillsbury

Maya Polsky & Nicolas Bridon

Stan Ponte

Phyllis Posnick and Paul Cohen

Rajika and Anupam Puri

Jennifer Reardon

Diana and Charles Revson

Dale Riedl and Adam Dworkin

Marjorie P. Rosenthal

Deborah and Chuck Royce

Susan Rudin

Danielle Ryan

Kevin and Pascaline Ryan

Leslie Rylee Sana Sabbagh

Sadler’s Wells

Susan and Charles Sawyers

Jana

Lizbeth

Harrison LeFrak

Kim Lovejoy, EverGreene Architectural Arts

Stephen Ludwig

Jeffrey and Tondra Lynford

Benjamin Schor & Isabel Wilkinson Schor

Lisa Schultz

Shelley Sonenberg

Stephen and Constance Spahn

Andre Spears and Anne Rosen Squadron A Foundation

Michael and Marjorie Stern

Leila Maw Straus

Stella Strazdas and Henry Forrest

Studio Institute

A. Alfred Taubman Foundation

Luby

Valentine Lysikatos-Carey and Erich Carey

Bill and Jane Macan

Match65

Diane L. Max

Larry and Mary McCaffrey

Charles McDonald

Scott McDonald and Michael Heyward

Bella Meyer and Timothy Simonds

Virginia A Millhiser

Whitney Mogavero

Julia Moody

David and Casey Moore

Larry Morse and

David

Stephanie Neville & Alan Beller

Nancy Newcomb and John Hargraves

Lynn Nottage and Tony Gerber

and Micheal Palitz Mary Margaret Cunney and Gautam Patel

Harlan Peltz Marc Alexander Perruzzi

John and Marie Noelle Pierce

Platt

Robert A Press MD Prime Parking Systems

David and Leslie Puth Constanza Quezada

Raberin Martin and Anna Rabinowitz

Joseph Risico David RitterAllen and Heidi Roberts

John and Lizzie Robertshaw Richard and Elisa Rosen

Chuck and Stacy Rosenzweig

Meg Roth

Rottenstreich

Whitney Rouse

Julia and John Ryan

Will W. Sachse and Carolyn M. Hazard

John and Shelby Saer

Alexander and Sarah Saint-Amand

David and Elizabeth Saltzman

Andres and Lauren Santo Domingo

Herbert A Satzman

Paul H. Scarbrough, Akustiks, LLC. Benjamin and Louise Schliemann Pat Schoenfeld

Victoria Schorsch

Halsey Schroeder

David and Whitney Schwartz

Laura Schwartz and Arthur Jussel

The Binkley-Sebring Fund

He Shen & Michelle Mao

Lauryn Siegel

Adrianne and William Silver Esther Simon Charitable Trust Brooke and William Sinclair Ileene Smith and Howard Sobel

Doug and Charlotte Snyder

James Spindler

List

ABOUT THE BOARD OF OFFICERS ROOM

“The restoration of the Park Avenue Armory seems destined to set a new standard, not so much for its scale, but for its level of respect and imagination.”

— The New York Times

The Board of Officers Room is one of the most important historic rooms in America and one of the few remaining interiors by Herter Brothers. After decades of progressive damage and neglect, the room completed a revitalization in 2013 by the architecture team at Herzog & de Meuron and executive architects Platt Byard Dovell White Architects to transform the space into a state-ofthe-art salon for intimate performances and other contemporary art programming. The Board of Officers Room is the third period room at the Armory completed (out of 18) and represents the full range of design tools utilized by the team including the removal of accumulated layers on the surfaces, the addition of contemporary lighting to the 1897 chandeliers, new interpretations

of the stencil patterns on areas of loss, the addition of metallic finishes on new materials, new programming infrastructure, and custom-designed furniture. The room’s restoration is part of an ongoing $215-million transformation, which is guided by the understanding that the Armory’s rich history and the patina of time are essential to its character. A defining component of the design process for the period rooms is the close collaboration between architect and artisan. Highly skilled craftspeople working in wood, paint, plaster, and metals were employed in the creation of the building’s original interiors and the expertise—and hand—of similar artisans has been drawn upon for the renovation work throughout.

The renovation of the Board of Officers Room was made possible through the generosity of The Thompson Family Foundation.