chamber & solo music of
Krzysztof Penderecki april 28, 2010 and a conversation between Robert Blocker and Krzysztof Penderecki
Robert Blocker, Dean
april 28, 2010 路 morse recital hall
Krzysztof Penderecki Three Miniatures for Clarinet and Piano (1956) paul won jin cho, clarinet amy jiaqi yang, piano
Cadenza for Viola (1984) ettore causa, viola
Serenata for Three Cellos (2008) arnold choi, sunhee jeon, & ying zhang, cello
Capriccio for Solo Tuba (1980) jerome stover, tuba
String Quartet No. 2 (1968) jasper string quartet j freivogel & sae niwa, violin sam quintal, viola rachel henderson, cello
krzysztof penderecki b. 1933
Krzysztof Penderecki was born in 1933 in Dębica, Poland. He studied violin and piano at a very early age and entered the Conservatoire in Krakow at age 18. He studied composition with Artur Malewski and Stanislas Wiechowicz at the Krakow Academy of Music, where he was subsequently appointed as professor. One year later, Penderecki won all three available prizes at the Second Warsaw Competition for Young Composers. With the first performance of Anaklasis for 42 string instruments at the Donaueschingen Festival in 1960, he became part of the international avant garde. Penderecki gained a reputation with a wider public with the 1966 premiere of the St. Luke Passion in Münster Cathedral. The composer taught at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen from 1966 to 1968. His first opera, The Devils of Loudon (based on a book by Aldous Huxley), received its premiere at the Hamburg State Opera House in 1969. In 1972, Penderecki was appointed as rector of the State Academy of Music in Krakow and taught at Yale University from 1973 to 1978. Penderecki gained an international reputation as the conductor of both his own compositions and other works. Penderecki composed several of his works in remembrance of catastrophes in the 20th century.
Threnos for 52 string instruments, composed in 1960, is dedicated to the victims of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and the piano concerto Resurrection was composed as a reaction to the terror attacks of 11 September 2001. For Penderecki, these associations in content are not merely an abstract concept, but also in their instrumental tonal colouring and dramatic sounds emotionally comprehensible for listeners. Extensive political-social associations can also be found in the Polish Requiem, begun in 1980 with the composition of the Lacrimosa, which is dedicated to Lech Walesa. The composer dedicated other movements of this work to the Polish victims of Auschwitz and the Warsaw uprising in 1944. This was supplemented by the Ciaccona in memory of Pope John Paul II in 2005. Numerous compositions from a variety of genres originated from direct cooperation with outstanding soloists, including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mstislav Rostropovitsch, and Boris Pergamenschikow. The composer focused his interest on large-scale musical forms, particularly the symphony. Penderecki has received a great number of awards: in 1966 he received the Grand Art Prize from the federal state of NorthRhine Westphalia, in 1967 the Prix Italia and the Sibelius Gold Medal, and in 1970 the prize from the Polish Composers’ Association. He has also received the Prix Arthur Honegger (1977), the Sibelius Prize of the Wihouri Foundation, the National Prize of Poland (both in 1983), the Premio Lorenzo Magnifico (1985), the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition (1992), the Prize of the International Music Council/UNESCO (1993) and the Music Prize of the City of Duisburg (1999), the Cannes Award as “Living Composer of the Year” (2000), the Romano Guardini Prize of the Catholic Academy in Bavaria (2002) and the Praemium Imperiale (2004).
about the performers
krzysztof penderecki (continued) Since 1990 he has held the Grand Cross for Distinguished Services of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and Chevalier de Saint Georges. In 1995, he became a member of the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin and in 1998 a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. In 2006, he was made Commander of the Three Star Order in Riga, Latvia and is a member of the Order of the White Eagle in Poland. Penderecki is an honorary doctor and honorary professor of numerous international universities. Penderecki has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Yale, beginning with his years on the faculty of the School of Music. He has made a number of memorable appearances conducting his music with the Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale. His 1977 New York conducting debut featured the Yale Philharmonia in a Carnegie Hall program that included The Awakening of Jacob, the Capriccio for Violin and Orchestra, and the North American premiere of Magnificat.
ettore causa viola Ettore Causa was appointed Associate Professor (adjunct) of viola at the Yale School of Music in 2009. He studied at the International Menuhin Music Academy with Alberto Lysy, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, and Johannes Eskar, and with Michael Tree at the Manhattan School of Music. He has been first solo viola of the Carl Nielsen Philharmonic (Denmark) and leader of the Copenhagen Chamber Soloists. In 2000, he won the Peter Schidlof Prize and the John Barbirolli Prize at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. He has since made solo and recital appearances around the world, performing in such halls as Victoria Hall (Geneva), Zurich Tonhalle, Madrid National Auditorium, Barcelona Auditorium, Salle Cortot (Paris), Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Tokyo and Osaka Symphony Hall, and MSM Auditorium (New York). He has played at major festivals including the Menuhin, Festival de Estoril, Salzburg, Festival del Pontino, Tivoli (Copenhagen), Perth, Prussia Cove (England), Savonlinna, and Lanaudiere (Canada). He is a member of the Aria Quartet and is regularly invited to play with colleagues such as Pascal Rogé, Thomas Adès, Jeremy Menuhin, Ani Kavafian, and others. In 2001 Ettore Causa was appointed professor of viola and chamber music at the International Menuhin Music Academy. He is regularly invited to give master classes in Europe and Argentina. His first recording, for Claves, was crowned with the 5 Diapason. A new recording (also on Claves) has already been highly praised by critics worldwide. Ettore plays on a viola made for him by Frederic Chaudiere in 2003.
about the performers
paul won jin cho clarinet
Music Competition, Mr. Choi has won first prize at the Pasadena Showcase Instrumental Competition, Kingsville International String Competition (junior division), the Canadian National Music Festival, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, among others. In 2008, he received the grand prize at the International Stepping Stone Competition. He has soloed with the Calgary Philharmonic, Montreal and Quebec Symphony Orchestras, Edmonton Symphony, Shanghai Opera House Orchestra, Schleswig-Holstein Orchestra, and others. At age 14, he was invited to give a solo recital tour of Mexico. Mr. Choi is a founding member of the Janaki String Trio, which received the Grand Prize at the 2005 Coleman Chamber Music Competition and the 2006 Concert Artists Guild International Competition. The Janaki Trio released its debut album on Yarlung Records to great acclaim and released its second album on Naxos. Mr. Choi received his bachelor’s degree from the Colburn Conservatory and now studies with Aldo Parisot at the Yale School of Music. He plays a Carlo Tononi 1725 (Venice) cello, on loan from an anonymous donor.
Paul Won Jin Cho received his bachelor’s degree from Korean National University of Arts and his master’s degree from Seoul National University. He finished his Graduate Certificate in University of Southern California under Yehuda Gilad. Mr. Cho has won awards in numerous competitions, including first place in the Donga Competition in Korea. The recipient of the 2006 Leni Fe Bland Music Scholarship Award, recently he won the Woolsey Hall Competition and received a Koussevitzky Young Artists Award. He has been invited to solo with Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Torrance Symphony Orchestra, and recently performed the Nielsen clarinet concerto with the Yale Philharmonia. As an orchestra member, Mr. Cho has played at Tanglewood, Youth Orchestra of the Americas, American Youth Symphony, and Asian Youth Orchestra under conductors including Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Sergiu Commissiona, Myung-Hun Chung, Placido Domingo, James Levine, and Carlos Miguel Prieto. Mr. Cho currently studies with David Shifrin at the Yale School of Music, pursuing jasper string quartet his artist diploma, and will continue his musical The Jasper String Quartet is the winner of the activity in New York City with The Academy. Grand Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2008 Plowman Chamber Music Competition, the Grand Prize at the 2008 Coleman Competition, arnold choi First Prize at Chamber Music Yellow Springs cello 2008, and the Silver Medal at the 2008 and Born in 1985, cellist Arnold Choi has already 2009 Fischoff Chamber Music Competitions. performed to great acclaim throughout North They are currently the graduate quartet-inAmerica, Europe, and Asia. A prizewinner at residence at the Yale School of Music, studying Korea’s Gyeongnam (Isang Yun) International with the Tokyo String Quartet. In 2010 they
joined the roster of Astral Artists as a winner of their national auditions. The Jaspers are the 2009-10 Ernst C. Stiefel String Quartet-inResidence at the Caramoor Center for Music and Arts and were the first ensemble to win the Yale School of Music’s Horatio Parker Memorial Prize, an award established in 1945 and selected by the faculty for “best fulfilling… lofty musical ideals.” Originally formed at Oberlin Conservatory, the Jaspers began pursuing a professional career when they became Rice University’s graduate quartet-in-residence in 2006. J and Rachel are married, and all four members are close friends, living within a block of each other in New Haven, Conn. The quartet is named for Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.
jerome stover tuba
A native of Columbia, South Carolina, tubist Jerome Stover holds degrees in music performance from Indiana University and DePaul Univeristy, and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Yale School of Music. He has performed with many of the finest ensembles throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. He has played with the Chicago, Oregon, Alabama, New Mexico, and New World Symphonies and was the principal tubist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 1999 to 2000. Stover also held the post of principal tubist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra from 2001-2003, where he appeared as soloist » www.jasperquartet.com of the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto. He can be heard on recordings with the Chicago and Honolulu Symphonies as well as the DePaul sunhee jeon Wind Ensemble. He has also served on the facello culties of the University of Hawaii and Rochester College of Michigan. Stover has been a principal Prize-winning cellist Sunhee Jeon has performed musician of the Tanglewood Music Center, throughout the United States, Finland, France, Cascades Music Festival, and the Sun River Germany, Italy, Russia, Sweden, and her native Music Festival. From 2005 to 2008, he was a South Korea. Following her initial musical Senior Banker at Quicken Loans Inc., one of studies on the piano at the age of four, she the nation’s largest mortgage firms. started playing the cello at the age of eleven. Within several years she had gained public recognition as a cellist by winning several com- amy yang petitions. At the age of eighteen she moved to piano Europe to further her musical endeavors, studying with Ventin Erben at the University of Music Hailed by Harris Goldsmith of New York Concert in Vienna and with Arto Noras at the Sibelius Review as “a magnificent artist and poet: everyAcademy in Helsinki. She is currently an Artist thing she touches turns to gold,” pianist Amy Diploma student of Aldo Parisot at the Yale Jiaqi Yang has appeared at the White House, School of Music. Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, the New School, Rockefeller
University, Columbia University, and on the Rising Star Series of Ravinia Festival. Guest artist at the OK Mozart Festival and Music from Angel Fire, she has also participated in the Verbier Academy, Music Academy of the West, Ravinia Festival (where she was chosen to participate in its 2008 U.S. tour), and Marlboro Music Festival. A devoted chamber musician, Ms. Yang has collaborated with David Soyer, Arnold Steinhardt, Peter Wiley, Ani and Ida Kavafian, Miriam Fried, Paul Neubauer, and Anne-Marie McDermott, among others. She is in a professional duo with violinist and Yale alumnus Adrian Anantawan. In 2002, she made her debut with the Houston Symphony. Ms. Yang holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School. Her teachers include Timothy Hester, Claude Frank, Robert McDonald, and Peter Frankl.
ying zhang cello Ying Zhang, a brilliant young Chinese cellist, has shown outstanding musical talent since she was a child. She was admitted at age nineeteen to the Central Conservatory of Music (Beijing), where she studied under renowned cello virtuoso Chu Yi Bing. She has also been fortunate to work with such world-renowned musicians as Wang Jian Rodin, Kirill Shakhovskaya, Natalia, Andress Diaz, Desmond Hebig, and Matian Wasiolka. During her studies, she won the gold medal at the Sixth Cello Concerto Competition of the Central Conservatory of Music and received a
number of awards in the Fourth Central Conservatory of Music Cello Competition and the Fifth National Cello Competition. In June 2008, she recorded the cello version of the Olympic theme song, “You and Me,� for the Olympic Games. Currently she is a student at the Yale School of Music, studying under Aldo Parisot.
upcoming events
http://music.yale.edu listen live at
music.yale.edu/media box office 203 432-4158 concerts & media Vincent Oneppo Dana Astmann Monica Ong Reed Danielle Heller Elizabeth Martignetti operations Tara Deming Christopher Melillo piano curators Brian Daley William Harold recording studio Eugene Kimball Jason Robins
April 29 penderecki conducts penderecki 8 pm, Woolsey Hall, Free Krzysztof Penderecki conducts the Yale Philharmonia in four important works from across his career. With faculty soloists Syoko Aki, violin, and William Purvis, horn.
May 3 liederabend 8 pm, Morse Recital Hall, Free Yale Opera presents an evening of French art song, with selections by Bizet, Poulenc, Duparc, Saint-Saëns, Fauré, and Debussy. With Timothy Shaindlin and Kyle Swann, piano.
May 4 chamber music society at yale 8 pm, Morse Recital Hall Tickets $10-$15, Students $5 Winning performances from the 2010 Chamber Music Competition. Elliott Carter: Wind Quintet; Brahms: Clarinet Quintet; Mauricio Kagel: Dressur for percussion trio.
May 5 guitar chamber music 8 pm, Morse Recital Hall, Free Benjamin Verdery, director. Verdery’s Give for eight guitars (U.S. premiere), Tedesco’s Quintet for guitar and string quartet, and music by Giuliani and Goss.
Robert Blocker, Dean