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festival history
Festival history Laguna Beach Music Festival Artists 2003-2011 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Claude Frank, piano, with the Calder Quartet and Trio Movado. Bruno Canino, piano, with the Biava Quartet and Orion Wind Quintet. Christopher O’Reilly, piano, with Abraham Feder, cello; Bella Hristova, violin; Yao Guang Zhia, clarinet. Edgar Meyer, double bass, with Joy Song, cello; Christine Grossman, viola; Bridget Dolkas, violin; Kathryn Eberle, violin; Katie Hyun, violin; Kevin Kwan Loucks, piano; Soyeon Lee, piano; Mihai Marica, cello; Mirabai Weissmehl, violin; Mike Marshall, mandolin. The Ahn Trio with David Benoit Trio; Fernando Otero, piano and bandoneón; Paul Chihara, Nguyen Le, Aroop Kar and Brandon Collins, composers. Turtle Island Quartet with Stefon Harris, percussion; Enso Quartet; Karin Al-Zand, composer. Lynn Harrell, cello, with Victor Santiago Asunción, piano; Ryan Lee and Nigel Armstrong, violins; Miguel Hernandez, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello; Daniel Rothmuller, cello; Shoko Fukumaro, piano; Yoo Jin Oh, cello; Colin Murphy, clarinet; Francis Young, soprano. Paul Chihara, composer, and Greg MacGillivray, filmmaker, with The Claremont Trio; Maria Bachmann, violin; Jon Klibonoff, piano; Claire Chase, flute; Sharon Farber, Donald Crockett and Pamela Madsen, composers. Brooklyn Rider string quartet with Kayhan Kalhor, kamancheh (Persian fiddle); Kojiro Umezaki, shakuhachi (Japanese flute); Kelsey Blumenthal and Elicia Silverstein, violins; Robin Kesselman, bass; Mindy Park, cello; and Christopher Zack, viola.
Where are they now? News and updates from Music Festival emerging artists The Biava Quartet (LBMF 2004) recently won the coveted Naumburg Award for Chamber Music and has performed at the Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall. They record on the Naxos Label. Their violist, Mary Persin, is director of a new festival in Pittsburgh: Music for the Spirit. Orion Winds (‘04) stood out as excellent educators interacting with school groups; they continue to do outreach work. Of their members back then: Myka Miller, oboe, is executive director of the “Harmony Project” (similar to “El Sistema” of Venezuela), an award-winning, non-profit music program that reaches nearly 1,000 inner-city kids in Los Angeles. Damian Montano, bassoon, has been commissioned to write, among others, for the Houston Symphony Orchestra and the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, of which he is a member. He has also performed on film scores by Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer. Bella Hristova (‘05), the Bulgarian violinist who took First Prize at the Michael Hill International Competition in New Zealand, has been mentored by Jaime Laredo, and has concertized throughout the US, New Zealand, Mexico, and the UK. Abraham Feder (‘05), after graduating from the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia, became principal cellist of the Sarasota Orchestra, which emphasizes the performance of chamber music. Chinese clarinetist Yao-Guang Zhai (‘05) won a Pacific Symphony Concerto Competition, and is now associate principal clarinet for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The California Quartet (‘06) has participated in numerous Festivals throughout the US and Europe, and is strongly committed to school education and outreach programs. Its members play in several professional orchestras in California. Kathryn Eberle (‘06), violin, plays with the St. Louis Symphony. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. South Korean pianist Soyeon Lee (‘06) won the prestigious 2010 Naumberg Award for Piano, and in 2011 was invited to join the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two. Pianist Kevin Kwan Loucks (‘06) is the teaching assistant for the Emerson Quartet, and has performed across North America. Romanian cellist Mihai Marica (‘06), graduate of Yale, made his debut at both Weill and Zankel Halls in Carnegie Hall in 2008. In 2011, he was invited to join the roster of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two.
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Robin Kesselman (’11) continues to play concerts with LA ensembles including two weeks as a substitute with LA Phil last May, and a week with LACO. He was awarded the 2011 Maurice Schwarz Prize at Tanglewood.
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WELCOME
Dear Music Lovers, Thank you for joining us at this, the Tenth Anniversary Festival. We hope you’ll enjoy the concerts, and we hope also that you’ll choose to immerse yourself in music this week, by attending one of the many free events that will provide insight into what you’ll hear on the concert stage, by dropping into the Hotel Laguna to say hello, by meeting musicians and music lovers, by thinking differently about the music you listen to as you go about your day. We pride ourselves on creating Laguna-style events – intimate without being intimidating, both artful and accessible – and we urge you to plan now to return next year for more adventures. Thank You in Appreciation,
Lucinda Prewitt, President Laguna Beach Live!
Dean Corey, President and Artistic Director. Philharmonic Society of Orange County
The 2012 Music Festival honors local philanthropist and businessman
ED HALVAJIAN (1935-2009) Ed was born and raised in the East Coast and worked on Wall Street until his firm, Lazard Feres, sent him to Bakersfield to run one of California’s largest farms. This background served him well when he came to Newport Beach to begin a family and a career as an entrepreneur.
WELCOME / ED HALVAJIAN
letter from the presidents
A very successful land developer and citrus farmer, Ed was also a strong supporter of numerous charities. He is best remembered for his many years as a member, President and Chairman of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. Ed was succeeded on the Philharmonic Board by his wife, Joan, who began working on making the idea of a Music Festival in Laguna a reality. Ed loved the idea of high caliber artists in the informal settings of our Music Festival. His generous legacy gift to the Philharmonic Society included recognition of the Laguna Beach Music Festival and we are pleased to honor him in this our tenth anniversary with such esteemed artists in intimate spaces that he so enjoyed. Our sincere appreciation to Ed, his daughters Alexis and Andrea, and former wife and business partner Joan.
a project of Laguna Beach Live and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. Cover Photo by Jenn Prewitt, jpexposure.com
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2012 guest artistic director
2012 Guest artistic director
photo: Lisa Marie Mazzucco
JOSHUA BELL
San Francisco and National Symphony orchestras. A Carnegie Hall recital, appearances with the Joshua Bell has enchanted audiNew York Philharmonic and ences worldwide with his breathtak- European tours conclude 2011. 2012 ing virtuosity and tone of rare beauty, includes a U.S. recital tour and a earning him the title “classical music tour with the Academy of St. Martin superstar.” An Avery Fisher Prize in the Fields in the U.S. Bell tours recipient and Musical America’s 2010 Europe with the London Instrumentalist of the Year, Bell is the Philharmonic Orchestra and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields’ Vladimir Jurowski and in recital with newly named Music Director. Jeremy Denk. violin
Bell came to national attention at age 14 in his debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Today he is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestra leader and composer who performs his own cadenzas to several of the major concerto repertoire.
An exclusive Sony Classical artist, Bell released French Impressions, his new album of French sonatas with Jeremy Denk, in January, 2012.
Since his first LP recording at 18, Bell has recorded more than 36 CDs garnering Mercury, Grammy, Gramophone and Echo Klassik Bell’s 2011 festival appearances Awards. Recent releases include At include Ravinia, Tanglewood, Verbier Home With Friends, the Defiance and Mostly Mozart. He performs with soundtrack, Vivaldi’s The Four the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seasons and The Tchaikovsky Violin Montreal, Dallas, Colorado, Atlanta,
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Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic. He has recorded critically acclaimed performances of Sibelius and Goldmark and the Beethoven and Mendelssohn concertos both featuring his own cadenzas; and the Oscar winning soundtrack, The Red Violin. Bell received his first violin at four and by age 12 was serious about the instrument thanks to violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold. Bell performs on the 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius. Joshua Bell records exclusively for Sony Classical – a MASTERWORKS Label www.joshuabell.com Mr. Bell appears by arrangement with IMG Artists, LLC 152 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 www.imgartists.com
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FESTIVAL ARTISTS
As a composer, Mr. Meyer has carved out a remarkable and unique niche in the musical world. In the 2011-12 season, he is composer in residence with the Alabama Symphony and will premiere his third concerto for double bass. The fall of 2009 saw the release of The Melody of Rhythm, a collection of trio pieces co-composed with Béla Fleck and Zakir Hussain; the album also featured their triple concerto EDGAR MEYER for double bass, banjo, and tabla, double bass which was commissioned for the opening of the Schermerhorn In demand as both a performer and Symphony Center in Nashville, and a composer, Edgar Meyer has was recorded in January 2009 with formed a role in the music world the Detroit Symphony Orchestra unlike any other. Hailed by the New and Leonard Slatkin. The trio Yorker as “...the most remarkable toured extensively throughout the virtuoso in the relatively unchroniUS and Europe in the 2009-10 and cled history of his instrument,” Mr. 2010-11 seasons. Meyer’s unparalleled technique and musicianship in combination with Mr. Meyer began studying bass at his gift for composition have the age of five under the instruction brought him to the fore, where he is of his father and continued further appreciated by a vast, varied audito study with Stuart Sankey. In 1994 ence. His uniqueness in the field he received the Avery Fisher Career was recognized by a MacArthur Grant and in 2000 became the only Award in 2002. bassist to receive the Avery Fisher As a solo classical bassist, Mr. Meyer has released a concerto album with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra featuring Bottesini’s Gran Duo with Joshua Bell, Meyer’s Double Concerto for Bass and Cello with Yo-Yo Ma, Bottesini’s Bass Concerto No. 2, and Meyer’s Concerto in D for Bass. Just prior to that, he released an album of three of Bach’s Unaccompanied Suites for Cello. In 2006, he released a selftitled solo recording on which he wrote and played all of the pieces, incorporating instruments including piano, guitar, mandolin, dobro, banjo, gamba, and double bass. In 2007, recognizing his wide-ranging recording achievements, Sony/BMG released a compilation of “The Best of Edgar Meyer”. 2011 saw the release of a new Sony Masterworks recording on which Mr. Meyer
Prize. In 2005 he participated in Laguna Beach Music Festival as mentor musician. Currently, he is Visiting Professor of Double Bass at the Royal Academy of Music and at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Edgar Meyer appears by arrangement with IMG Artists, LLC 152 W. 57th St, New York, NY 10019 212-994-3500
SAM HAYWOOD piano Sam Haywood is a critically acclaimed British pianist whose performances have thrilled audiences worldwide. A frequent collaborator
with Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis, upcoming dates include recitals in the UK, Germany, France, Indonesia, Japan, Poland, Austria, Russia, Romania, Switzerland, Greece, USA and the Czech Republic.
festival artists
joined Yo-Yo Ma, mandolinist Chris Thile, and fiddler Stuart Duncan, titled The Goad Rodeo Sessions.
Haywood’s latest release, Chopin’s Own Piano, is the first to have been made on Chopin's own 1846 Pleyel piano. To celebrate the Chopin anniversary, he performed at Lancaster House with Steven Isserlis in the presence of HRH Princess Alexandra on the same day and at the same venue as Chopin’s own performance for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1848. Haywood has composed several small-scale works for solo piano and various duos, including the Song of the Penguins, published by Emerson Editions which was inspired by the film, "March of the Penguins.” He is also involved in educational projects and has co-written a children's opera. Haywood began playing the piano at age four, inspired by evenings listening to crackly LPs of Beethoven Sonatas with his grandmother. Following his success at age thirteen in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, he received the Isserlis prize from the Royal Philharmonic Society and later studied with Paul Badura-Skoda, and at the Royal Academy of Music with the late Maria Curcio, a pupil of Artur Schnabel.
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FESTIVAL ARTISTS
FESTIVAL ARTISTS Haywood is keen to include lesserknown works in his solo recital programs. Rosetti, Gade, Franz Xaver Mozart, Alkan, Field, Isserlis, McLeod (commission) and Hummel have recently been featured. He has also edited a new edition of piano works by Julius Isserlis and Carl Frühling's Clarinet Trio and a new solo piano transcription of the Romance from Chopin's First Piano Concerto. Outside his musical world, Haywood enjoys walks in his native England’s Lake District and is a keen amateur magician and photographer. For more information on Mr Haywood, please visit www.samhaywood.com.
CALDER QUARTET
Benjamin Jacobson, violin Andrew Bulbrook, violin Jonathan Moerschel, viola Eric Byers, cello The Calder Quartet, called "outstanding" and "superb" by the New York Times, defies boundaries through performing a broad range of repertoire at an exceptional level, always striving to channel the true intention of the work's creator. Already the choice of many leading composers to perform their works including Christopher Rouse, Terry Riley and Thomas Adès - the group's distinctive approach is exemplified by a musical curiosity brought to everything they perform, whether it's Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, or soldout rock shows with bands like The National or The Airborne Toxic Event. Known for the discovery, com-
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missioning, recording and mentoring of some of today's best emerging composers (over 25 commissioned works to date), the group continues to work and collaborate with artists across musical genres, spanning the ranges of the classical and contemporary music world, as well as rock, dance, and visual arts; and in venues ranging from art galleries and rock clubs to Carnegie and Walt Disney concert halls. Inspired by innovative American artist Alexander Calder, the Calder Quartet's desire to bring immediacy and context to the works they perform, creates an artfully crafted musical experience. The 2011-12 season kicked off with the Calder Quartet's debut at CAL Performances in Berkeley with Thomas Adès, a Calder curated event at the Blum & Poe Gallery in Los Angeles featuring the quartet with iconic composer Terry Riley and DJ/artist Dave Muller, and performances at the Carlsbad Music Festival. On September 11, the Calder performed at a commemoration event at USC and in the evening at the Hollywood Bowl. Other season highlights the Edinburgh International Festival, the acclaimed new music series Jacaranda: Music at the Edge in Santa Monica, CA, as well as an Austrian debut at the Esterhazy Palace. The Calder also looks forward to a tour with So Percussion. The 2010-11 season featured performances at Carnegie Hall, Washington Performing Arts Society, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Cleveland Museum of Art with Iva Bittova, a residency at BRAVO! Vail Valley Festival, the Melbourne Festival with Thomas Adès, as well as concerts at Stanford Lively Arts and Le Poisson Rouge (New York) with Grammywinning pianist Gloria Cheng. The Washington Post said "The Calder's Beethoven was full of flaring drama, furrowed brows and quiet intensity. But, with the tightest of ensemble playing and well-judged balancing
of instrumental voices, the piece retained its classical integrity and polished finish. Most striking, here, as in the other pieces, was the intense beauty of tone these musicians produced—which blossomed to full lusciousness in their surging, extroverted reading of the Ravel." The Calder Quartet has been featured on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, the Late Show with David Letterman, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel, and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. The Calder is the first quartet in two decades to have a work written for them by composer Christopher Rouse. The quartet's album of Christopher Rouse works, Transfiguration, was also released in 2010. Of this album, Gramophone says, "Rouse's disquieting quartets are given powerful performances by the Calder." In 2008, the Calder Quartet released its first album, which featured the music of Thomas Adès, Mozart, and Ravel. What started as working directly with Thomas Adès on a performance of Arcadiana has evolved into concerts together in Stockholm, Melbourne, and Berkeley. The Calder Quartet formed at the USC Thornton School of Music and continued studies at the Colburn Conservatory of Music with Ronald Leonard, and at the Juilliard School as the Juilliard Graduate Resident String Quartet.
CALIDORE QUARTET Jeffrey Myers, violin Ryan Meehan, violin Jeremy Berry, viola Estelle Choi, cello Grand Prize and Gold Medal winner of the 2011 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Calidore String Quartet was
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FESTIVAL ARTISTS
As top prize winner of the 2011 Fischoff competition, CSQ partici-
The Quartet aims to present performances that share the passion
and joy of string quartet playing. With the help of their strong friendship, four distinct musical personalities unite to bring chamber music to life for their audiences. Using an amalgamation of “California” and “doré”, (French for “golden”), the ensemble’s name represents a reverence for the diversity of culture and the strong support it has received from its home base in California, the golden state.
FESTIVAL ARTISTS
formed in 2010 at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music. Hailing from across North America, the young musicians of the Calidore combine their musical backgrounds to bring a fiery brilliance to the concert stage. The Quartet made its debut with guitarist Angel Romero to a sold-out audience at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.
pated in a tour of the Midwestern United States, performing at venues such as the Debartolo Arts Center, Nichols Concert Hall, and a live radio broadcast on WFMT's Impromptu! Program. Later this year, the Calidore will perform several concerts at the venerated 2012 Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy. Members of the Quartet have collaborated with artists and ensembles including the Tokyo, Cypress, St. Lawrence, and Cavani string quartets, and Paul Coletti, Joseph Silverstein, Menahem Pressler, Ronald Leonard, and John Perry. Teachers and mentors of the quartet include Paul Coletti, Ronald Leonard, Robert Lipsett, and Arnold Steinhardt.
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Thursday, FEBRUARY 9, 8PM
PROGRAM NOTES
Concert Sponsor: Lynda Thomas Laguna Playhouse Edgar Meyer, double bass
PROGRAM J.S. Bach Suite No. 1, BWV 1007 Prelude Allemande Courante Sarabande Menuet I Menuet II Gigue
Edgar Meyer Work in Progress for unaccompanied double bass I II III Commissioned by Linda and Stuart Nelson, the Savannah Music Festival, and San Francisco Performances, and funded by a generous grant from Linda and Stuart Nelson
INTERMISSION Selections will be announced from the stage.
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Friday, FEBRUARY 10, 8PM Concert Sponsor: Joan Halvajian Laguna Playhouse
PROGRAM Mendelssohn Violin Sonata in F Major Allegro vivace Adagio Assai vivace
Gershwin Three Preludes Ravel Sonata for Violin and Piano Allegretto (sol majeur) Blues. Moderato (la bémol majeur) Perpetuum mobile. Allegro (sol majeur) Joshua Bell, violin Sam Haywood, piano
INTERMISSION Tchaikovsky String Sextet in D minor, Op. 70, “Souvenir de Florence” Allegro con spirito Adagio cantabile e con moto Allegretto moderato Allegro con brio e vivace Joshua Bell, violin Andrew Bulbrook, violin Jonathan Moerschel, viola Jeremy Berry, viola Eric Byers, cello Estelle Choi, cello
NOTES Mendelssohn Violin Sonata in F Major In the summer of 1838, happy with a new wife and an infant son, Mendelssohn found himself interested in chamber music. To
his friend Ferdinand Hiller, he wrote, “A very important branch of piano music which I particularly like–trios, quartets, and other things with piano accompaniment— is quite neglected these days, and I feel strongly the need for something new in that line ...With this in mind I have just written the sonata for violin, and the one for cello, and I am now thinking of writing a couple of trios.” Chamber music did pour out of Mendelssohn over the next two years, and almost all of it has become part of the standard repertory: the Cello Sonata in Bflat Major, two of the string quartets of op. 44, and the famous Piano Trio in D minor. But the Violin Sonata, completed on June 15, 1838, promptly vanished. Mendelssohn never published it, and this music remained completely unknown until the young Yehudi Menuhin discovered Mendelssohn’s manuscript and had it published in 1953. Menuhin wrote, “This work has never been published, and the original manuscript is the only source of the photo copy which has come into my possession. This Sonata fills a great gap in violin literature as there is only one other work which Mendelssohn wrote for violin and piano – an earlier sonata in F minor.”
pitch gives this prelude its jazz feel. The last prelude, also known as Spanish Prelude, is a short but exciting combination of jazz rhythms and syncopations. Ravel Sonata for Violin and Piano The Sonata for Violin and Piano by Maurice Ravel was dedicated to Hélène Jourdan-Morhange, an accomplished violinist of the day. Although she had originally requested a concerto, Ravel was occupied with his contractual requirement to finish his opera L'Enfant et les sortileges. This might also explain Ravel’s procrastination; the work began in 1923 and was completed in 1927. The first movement begins with the piano playing a swaying melody reminiscent of folk music. The violin then follows playing a similar melody, but quickly deviates in mood and character. Ravel then integrates both instruments contrapuntally while creating lush harmonies throughout the piece. It is interesting to hear Ravel's use of repeated notes as a structural element and restrictive register use as a neoclassical element.
PROGRAM notes
ARTISTS Joshua Bell, violin Sam Haywood, piano Jonathan Moerschel, viola Eric Byers, cello Edgar Meyer, double bass
The famous Blues second movement comes from Ravel's love for American jazz and blues. Ravel himself stated that he did not intend to copy other genres, but to simply adapt them in his own style and voice, yet also in a Gershwin Three Preludes French manner. Quite simply, the The Three Preludes were first per- movement is Ravel's own “French formed by the composer himself blues.” in 1926. They were later transcribed for violin by the great vio- Perpetuum Mobile, or perpetual linist, Jascha Heifetz. Each prel- motion, is the last movement of ude captures a specific style of the Sonata. The indication means the jazz idiom. The first begins that the music should be in a state with a blues motif followed by a of unending, constant movement. syncopation in the baseline. The Technically difficult for the violinist, movement develops with virtuthe rapid sixteenth-note passages osic passages and finishes with a yield no breaks. The first performbravura ascending scale in ance was given by Ravel himself at fourths. The second movement, the piano and George Enescu or Blues Lullaby, starts with a playing the violin. steady baseline and a lyrical - Notes by Alex Fong melody. The major/minor third
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 8PM
PROGRAM notes
Concert sponsors: Lauren & Richard Packard Laguna Playhouse ARTISTS Joshua Bell, violin Sam Haywood, piano Edgar Meyer, double bass Calder Quartet Benjamin Jacobson, violin Andrew Bulbrook, violin Jonathan Moerschel, viola Eric Byers, cello PROGRAM Mozart String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, KV 465 “Dissonance” Adagio-Allegro Andante cantabile Menuetto. Allegro Allegro molto
Edgar Meyer Trio #1 Allegro moderato Andante Moderato Allegro vivace
INTERMISSION Schubert Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 “Trout” (1819) Allegro vivace Andante Scherzo: Presto Andantino – allegretto Allegro giusto
NOTES
Schubert “Trout” Quintet
Meyer Trio #1
The Piano Quintet in A major by Franz Schubert was composed in 1819, when he was only 22 years old; it was not published, however, until 1829, a year after his death. The piece comes from Schubert's song Die Forelle ("The Trout") which is stated in the fourth movement in variation form.
This piece was written in 1986 as the first of a set of three string trios for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. The three trios were premiered in the summers of 1986, 1987 and 1988 by Daniel Phillips, Carter Brey and the composer. Stylistically, these pieces are eclectic, with influences from classical, jazz, bluegrass and other folk and ethnic musics.
Schubert breaks free of the traditional form of the piano quintet by removing the second violin Trio #1 can be split in two sepaand adding a double bass. This rate pieces between the first and quintet has become one of second movements. The second, Schubert’s more enduring chamthird and fourth movements form ber works, and it is typical of his a continuous structure that is early style. Another unique feaheld together by increasing activ- ture is how Schubert integrates ity and harmonies that are not the piano part into the musical fully resolved until the finale. The texture, on equal terms with first movement, however, is more those of the string players. In his self-contained. It is clear cut with own writing, Schubert referred to a simple melody and a noodly typical piano music as “damnable idea to contrast it. These two thumping” and insists in this items are presented individually, work, as in the others, that it then smashed together in the behave as an orderly and equal loud and busy middle section, member of an ensemble. and pulled back apart for the end of the movement. The first movement is disproportionately long, at 13 minutes, The second movement consists nearly a third of the length of the of alternating sections of violin entire five-movement work. It is a wanderings over an ostinato and joyful movement in sonata allecello/bass duets. Toward the end gro form. A lyrical andante folof the movement the violin is lows, sweetly expressive in the finally given the melody and minor tonality, and avoiding any things come together for a brief sense of melancholy. The brief moment. third movement, a presto, begins aggressively but becomes a sort The emphasis shifts to rhythm in of “dance poem” containing the last two movements. Austrian folk tunes. This leads to Performance techniques from the the work’s signature movement, outside of classical music are the theme and variations on “Die used, including bowing patterns Forelle.” The final movement is and pitch embellishments comsimple and light with a swirling, mon to different types of tradialmost ‘gypsy’ sound that is tional fiddle music. The finale is easily reminiscent of Dvořák at an energetic rondo. times. Like the third and fourth movements, the last seems to be - Notes by Edgar Meyer, 1990 broken into smaller units, in the style of a set of dances. - Notes by Alex Fong
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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 3PM Concert Sponsor: Hotel Laguna Laguna Playhouse
Calder Quartet Benjamin Jacobson, violin Andrew Bulbrook, violin Jonathan Moerschel, viola Eric Byers, cello Calidore Quartet Jeffrey Myers, violin Ryan Meehan, violin Jeremy Berry, viola Estelle Choi, cello PROGRAM Dvořák String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 77 Allegro con fuoco Scherzo. Allegro vivace Poco andante Finale. Allegro assai Edgar Meyer, double bass Calder Quartet
Terry Riley Cadenza on the Night Plain Calder Quartet
INTERMISSION Mendelssohn Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20 Allegro moderato ma con fuoco Andante Scherzo Presto Calder Quartet Calidore Quartet
NOTES Dvořák String Quintet The String Quintet in G Major, Op. 77, was written much earlier in Dvořák’s career than its opus number would suggest. It is written in 1875, when Dvořák was 32 years old, but remained unknown for over a decade until Dvořák returned to some of his earlier unpublished works to polish and print in order to keep up with the demands of his wellestablished fame. Though it is an early chamber work, it is unmistakably Dvořák. The breadth and range of sound is notable in this lush quintet in at least three ways: the surprisingly deep baselines, the liberation of the cello, and the sheer fullness of sound. With Dvořák’s skill, what borders on the edge of a chamber orchestra maintains a rich chamber texture throughout. The first movement is an energetic con fuoco, or with fire, sonata with crystal clear themes and a powerful development. The second movement comes closest to Dvořák’s later style characterized by lively folk dance and his ability to expand the scherzo form with cogent variety. The third movement slows into a lyrical song, tinged with a blend of melancholy and nobility that earned Dvořák comparisons with Schubert. The finale restores the drive and drama of the earlier movements with yet more winning melodies, the fullest textures and the most prominent parts for the mighty groundswell of the bass.
players. According to an autograph score by the composer himself, the octet, “must be played in the style of a symphony in all parts; the pianos and fortes must be precisely differentiated and be more sharply accentuated than is ordinarily done in pieces of this type.” Not merely a doubled quartet, the piece is a true octet in which counterpoint, texturing, and harmonic complexity are every bit as sophisticated as in any symphony. In four movements, the work unfolds like a symphony, with a brilliant first movement allegro giving way to a marvelously dreamy second andante movement. A third movement, scherzo, is chamber-like in its texture and transparency, yet again symphonic in scope and size. The presto finale opens with outright bizarre chuffing from the cellos, but explodes immediately into a vigorous romp which plunges ahead, barely taking a breath, to a large, truly symphonic finale. This was also the first string octet to be written as a true eight-part work and to this day remains the finest work in the forms extent.
PROGRAM notes
ARTISTS Edgar Meyer, double bass
- Notes by Alex Fong
Mendelssohn Octet Mendelssohn composed his remarkable String Octet, Op.20 in October of 1825, when he was only 16 years of age. This highly complex work may be compared to a full scale symphony, even though written for eight string
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THE ONLY THING BETWEEN YOU AND THE
PACIFIC OCEAN...
THE SAND
211 N. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA 92651 949.497.9722 | Reservations 800.544.4479 | innatlagunabeach.com
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Laguna Beach Music Festival is a project of Laguna Beach Live! and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County
LAGUNA BEACH MUSIC FESTIVAL 2011-2012 BOARD Co-chairs Judith Jelinek and Lauren Packard
Members Vanita Ajitsaria, Chimo Arnold, Diane Arnold John Benecke, Dean Corey, Jane Grier, Anita Halton Joan Halvajian, Ron Harris, Vince (Tim) Le Pore Pamela Madsen, Alex Maridudin, Pat Morgan Nancy Posch, Lucinda Prewitt, Carol Reynolds Sharon Tetrault, Sheila Woodward
LAGUNA BEACH LIVE! 2011-2012 BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS Lucinda Prewitt, President Sam Goldstein, Treasurer Joe Hanauer, Secretary
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Joe Becker, Tom Ellebie, S. Cody Engle, Paul Freeman Judith Jelinek, Betsy Jenkins, Danny Melita, Elizabeth Pearson
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY 2011-2012 BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS Sabra Bordas, Chairman, CEO Alan T. Beimfohr, Immediate Past Chairman Noel Hamilton, Secretary / Treasurer
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Darrel Anderson, Concerts/Marketing Eleanor Anderson, Strategic Planning Douglas T. Burch, Jr., Donor Affairs / Special Events William P. Conlin, Nominating Jane K. Grier, Member-at-Large Douglas H. Smith, Technology Task Force Bobbitt C. Williams, Special Activities Karen L. Wolff, President, The Committees Christopher Zumberge, Finance
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Elizabeth An, John W. Benecke, Warren G. Coy Stephen Gordon, Jerry Harrington, Dr. Burton Karson Donna L. Kendall, David H. Koontz Sharon C. McNalley, Karen Ridout, David Rosenberg Toni Sobel, Dr. Daniel Stein, David Troob, George Wentworth
President and Artistic Director Dean Corey
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GRATITUDE
GRATITUDE Laguna Beach Music Festival thanks the following individuals and organizations, without whom this week would have been impossible! We are deeply grateful to your generous support.
CONCERT SPONSORS / FESTIVAL COUNCIL Joan Halvajian Lauren & Richard Packard Lynda Thomas David Anderson Joan Halvajian in honor of Will Martin Hotel Laguna PRODUCERS CIRCLE Tom Ellebie & Paula Mathis Judith & Howard Jelinek Betsy & Gary Jenkins, MD Cathy & David Krinsky Laguna Beach Books, Jane Hanauer Justus & Helen Schlichting
MEMBERS Vanita & Rajiv Ajitsaria Bill Anderson, MD John Benecke Marlene Burnett & Bruce Rubin Veronica Callaghan Ronald & Martha Erickson Steve & Jill Edwards Pat & Ken Morgan Charles & Julia Petrauskas Bonnie Scidmore Lizanne Witte Sheila Woodward AGENCIES, FOUNDATIONS & CORPORATIONS National Endowment for the Arts The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation Laguna Beach Community Foundation Meet-the-Composer Creative Connections
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FESTIVAL FRIENDS Diane & Chimo Arnold Donald Crevier Sabra & Peter Bordas Deborah & Cody Engle Sam & Pamela Goldstein Jane & Stan Grier Anita & Denis Halton Ron & Ellen Harris Tim Le Pore & Sharon Tetrault Dr & Mrs. Eugene Levin John Miedema Alex & Peggy Maradudin Judy McKay Chris Quilter Nancy Posch Lucinda & Paul Prewitt, MD Carol Reynolds Lisa & Harvey Triebwasser, MD US Trust
AND THANKS ALSO Sandra Jones Campbell Cheryl Ekstrom Michael Obermeyer Lucas Risé Shannon Richardson Kirsten Whalen JoAnne Artman Gallery DeBilzan Gallery Miranda Galleries Pacific Edge Gallery S Cube Gallery Sotheby’s/Visitors Bureau Sarah Lawson Georgia Anderson Jonathan Mariott Marie Songco-Torres Chantel Chen Uchida Jean Hsu Allison Wright Michelle Van de Riet Karen Wood SusiQ Senior Center Sage Hill School
Chris Marshall Rita Major Dean Corey Jeff Mistri Thurston Middle School Laguna Beach High School Top of the World Elementary School El Moro Elementary School SusiQ Senior Center Nadia Babayi José Gurri-Cardenas Mikel Jollett Jeremy Chung Lightopia Laguna Culinary Arts Joslyn Aiken Vera Martinez Carol Roman Gail Sahara Dao & Darren Whissen Select Portfolio Mgmt. Marshall Donovan
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GRATITUDE
GRATITUDE
Leadership support for New Music USA’s MetLife Creative Connections program is generously provided by MetLife Foundation. Additional support is provided by ASCAP, BMI Foundation, Inc., Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Jerome Foundation, mediaThe foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation and the Virgil Thomson Foundation, Ltd.
LAGUNA BEACH MUSIC FESTIVAL Sandy Robertson, festival director Steve Baker, technical director Joey Dye, operations Ava Burton, administration
VOLUNTEERS John Bjornson, marketing & merchandise Alex Fong, music events Margarette Homan, patron services Joanne Mahaffey, Festival concierge desk Tracey Mora, Festival concierge desk
JOIN NOW Purchase a Music Festival membership before March 1st and you’ll be invited to the 2013 Festival Announcement and Patron’s Private Thank-You Concert Friday, March 30, 2012 Aliso Creek Inn Plus… you’ll be able to purchase tickets for the 2013 Laguna Beach Music Festival before they go on sale to the general public, and you’ll be eligible for lots of great benefits… like seeing your name in print, on this page.Visit the membership & merchandise table at intermission or after the performance for more information. Festival memberships begin at $100.
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