Recital Notes for October 3, 2006
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Today's musical environment is
remarkably different than previous epochs in that musics from diverse historical periods are all present simultaneously. Through the growth of sound recordings and portable players,
the music of Bach, Mozart, and Schubert is no more distant than that of Ellington, Bartók, or the most recent popular songs. This affords listeners and musicians alike to participate
in a creative collaboration that spans both temporal and geographical distance. Each work on tonight's concert offers the chance for such collaboration, either in conception or
presentation.The Pedal-Exercitium
is a work whose attribution to J.S. Bach has been doubted. It was suggested that this brief piece (of which the original manuscript does not exist) was actually the work of his son, C.P.E. Bach. However, recent research has readmitted the work to its place in the collected works of the former. As the title suggests, the piece is an exercise for the organ foot-pedals, though some have suggested that this may have been intended as a work for solo cello. David Taylor performs this work on bass trombone and takes the didactic nature of the piece as a chance to "deal with Bach on my own terms". The piece may be presented literally, as written or not. The fixed notation becomes an invitation to spontaneity, which may include the use of multiphonics, seeming to produce chords from this monophonic instrument; an original plunger mute might shade notes, lines, or phrases from others. Mr. Taylor looks to communicate what he calls the "heraldic" quality of this music, announcing the living presence of the creative in our midst.
Bass trombonist David Taylor describes his solo interpretation of Schubert's Der Doppelgänger as "delineating the piece a la fantasia". The primary elements of
Schubert's notated score are the vocal melody, the piano accompaniment, and the text (from the poem by Heinrich Heine). All three elements will be heard in this performance, though
not necessarily simultaneously. Listen for portions of the text (sometimes through the trombone itself), arpeggiations of the harmony (sometimes played as multiphonics), and
appearances of the melodic line. Mr. Taylor suggests that the static nature of this melody allows for the expansive fantasia
aspect of his performance. By doing so, all the parts of what may be a familiar song become new and surprising, offering a unique portal that blasts away any preconceptions of this music. With the performer's help, we become capable of listening across two centuries with ears unencumbered by the past.
Originally part of a commission from the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, the ailing Michael Haydn asked his friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to complete his unfinished set of violin
and viola duos for him. The surprising sweep of Mozart's Duo no. 2
owes as much to its formal ambitions as to its egalitarian treatment of the instruments. Presented in three movements, the violin and viola often exchange roles as leader and follower. A high point of this interaction arrives in the development section of the first movement, with its conversational canonic interchange. After the rhapsodic eloquence of the violin melody in the second movement, the finale further highlights the robust instrumental exchange in a set of six variations, culminating in a dance-like coda.
Duke Ellington's Come Sunday was part of the 1943 suite Black, Brown, and Beige, which the composer called a "tonal parallel to the history of the American
Negro". While negative critical reception kept Ellington from ever presenting the work again in its entirety, the gospel-inspired Come Sunday
seemed to lead a life of its own. The tune was later incorporated into his 1965 "Concert of Sacred Music", which the composer considered "the most important thing I ever did". Michael Abene's arrangement for violin, bass trombone, and piano is featured on the New World Records disc by David Taylor, who describes it as " . . . a distillation of the original down to its melodic essence, especially in the passage where the notes of the melody are split between the three instruments in a bell-like
klangfarbenmelodie" (Arnold Schoenberg's term meaning "sound-color-melody"). Mr. Taylor has said that the use of his personalized bucket mute on the bass trombone suggests a
vocal quality through its dark, burnished tone. The amiable mood of Romanze
stands in stark contrast to the infamously surly disposition of composer Max Bruch. Due to his uncompromising attitude as a conductor, all members of his Orchestervien
resigned rather than continue performing with him. Although the designation Romanze originally referred to vocal works, the term was used by many 19th
-century composers to indicate a song-like instrumental piece. Bruch's 1911 Romanze
exhibits all the diverting, tuneful qualities associated with the form. Though originally written with orchestral accompaniment, this version with piano conveys the sonorities and textures of a larger ensemble. The work was dedicated to French violist Maurice Vieux,
The most widely performed of Eugčne YsaĽe's landmark set of sonatas for solo violin is the Ballade
of 1924. Unlike the others in the set, this was written by the Belgian violinist as a single movement and dedicated to Romanian composer and violinist George Enescu, a teacher of Yehudi Menuhin. The sonata's pensive opening recitative gives way to a fiery peasant dance in 5/4 meter. Formidable double-stops on the instrument often give the impression of multiple players, a mind-bending four-string ensemble. The sonata journeys through a restless contrasting section before the returning dance theme erupts into a dazzling coda.
Sparked by a conversation with clarinetist Benny Goodman, violinist József Szigeti requested a new work from his countryman and good friend, Béla Bartók. The commission, paid for
by Goodman, specified that "If possible, the composition should consist of two independent parts [for possible separate accompanied performances] . . and, of course, we
hope that it will also contain brilliant clarinet and violin cadenzas". The result was Contrasts, which was recorded by the trio in 1940. The work features the composer's
characteristic synthesis of folk and classical elements in three movements, marked respectively Verbunkos, Pihenö, and Sebes. The Verbunkos
is based on a dance performed by Hungarian soldiers to lure new recruits into military service, alternating hypnotic pulsing rhythms with phantasmagorical excursions into shimmering soundscapes with shadowy undertones. The second movement translates as "Relaxations", providing the naturalistic repose of Bartók's trademark "night music". Movement three,
Sebes
or "last dance", is a rondo with rustic, shifting compound meters to keep the dancers on their toes. For this final movement, the violinist alternates between two violins, each tuned differently
(scordatura)
to evoke the sounds of Bulgarian folk music. Collaboration between composer and performers produced this work; the performance by tonight's performers are an invitation for the audience to collaborate in hearing old sounds as new, traversing time and distance without leaving their seats.
Program notes by Marc McAneny Biographies Salvatore Andolina:
In the worlds of classical music and jazz, cross-over versatility is rarely found in a single individual. But over the past decade or so the Buffalo Philharmonic has witnessed the keen achievements of one of Buffalo's native sons in the person of Salvatore Andolina, who is now the Orchestra's switch-hitter in his permanent position as clarinetist, bass clarinetist and saxophonist. While Mr. Andolina has been a full-time member of the BPO for the past eleven seasons, his association with the Orchestra began in the late 70s when he was a standout performance major at UB as a full-scholarship student on clarinet. Sal then pursued advanced clarinet studies with Stanley Hasty at the Eastman School of Music and coaching with Benny Goodman in New York City. Mr. Andolina's performance career was launched very early as a founding member of the renowned Amherst Saxophone Quartet with which he toured and recorded widely. More recently he has formed the Da Capo Saxophone Quartet and recorded a new CD of American rag-time favorites, 'Blue Thoughts'. As a soloist and chamber player Sal has made many appearances at major concert venues across the United States and abroad, including spotlight performances from coast to coast at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York and in Los Angeles with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. In addition to appearing as a recent soloist with the BPO under JoAnn Falletta, Sal has been featured with the Rochester Philharmonic, the Grand Rapids Symphony, Niagara Symphony, the Fresno Philharmonic, the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra under Marylouise Nanna and the Artpark Festival Orchestra. As an active teacher Mr. Andolina has taught at Buffalo State College, SUNY-Buffalo, Houghton College and Fredonia State. Sal's various CDs feature his artistry as both a clarinetist and saxophonist. Of special significance is the release by QRS Piano Rolls Company of his tribute to Benny Goodman on a solo CD titled "Like Benny to Me," now distributed Koch International. About the tribute to Goodman Mr. Andolina relates how he first met the jazz-great at a chamber concert in New York: "It was amazing to have a legend sitting so close, hearing and watching every note! Afterward, Benny came up to me and said '...next time you're in town, call me.' Without missing a beat, I said, 'Well, I'm here tomorrow.'" Andolina went to Goodman's home the next day. Sal relates: "We played for two hours - Mozart and Bach duets, went through some of the literature, Brahms, Copland and Poulenc. I asked Benny to play a song for me. I remember how beautifully he played the melody, adding his trademark embellishments. It was perfection." With a marvelous jazz combo as backup, Andolina's CD revives fifteen Goodman favorites - a joyous excursion into the Golden Age of Swing. Happily, good news travels fast in that Mr. Andolina is now beginning to accept special engagements on the national scene. At the end of August he was the featured soloist at the prestigious Frick Historical Center concerts in Pittsburgh. Brilliant reviews followed the sold-out event, complete with encores and a standing ovation. Appearances at the Chautauqua Institute yielded duplicate results. This past season Sal performed a Tribute to Benny Goodman as featured artist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and followed that up with The Sal Andolina Big Band appearing on the very successful Artpark Big Band Series. Sal is also in the planning stages for several new recordings to be released later this year. Look for these releases at salandolina.com.
Charles Castleman: Medalist in the Tchaikovsky and Brussels
Competitions, Charles Castleman has performed as soloist with the orchestras of Boston, Brisbane, Chicago, Kiev, Mexico City, Moscow, New York, Philadelphia, Hong Kong, Seoul and
Shanghai, and made appearances at the Australian, Budapest, Fuefukigawa, Marlboro and Vienna Festivals. A recently released boxed CD set of the 17 best prize-winning violin
performances of the Brussels
competition's 50-year history includes his Jongen Concerto. Charles Castleman's solo CDs include Hubay Csardases, Ysaye solo Sonatas, and Sarasate cameos on Music and Arts
, Gershwin and Antheil on Musicmasters, and his Ford Foundation Concert Artists commission - the David Amram Concerto - on Newport Classic.
In the Raphael Trio he recorded Dvorak, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Wolf-Ferrari on Sony Classical, Nonesuch, Unicorn, Discover and ASV; in the String Trio of N.Y.,
Reger and Martin for BASF. His seven-week summer workshop for solo and chamber music performance The Quartet Program, now at Bucknell University in its 37th
season, has been praised by Yo-Yo Ma as "the best program of its kind, a training ground in lifemanship". Chair of Strings at Eastman,
his international pedagogical reputation has led to master-classes in Australia, Austria, China, England, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Ukraine. Charles Haupt
was given his first lessons by the celebrated violinist and pedagogue Joseph Gingold. He attended the Julliard School of Music, studying with Dorothy DeLay and Ivan Galamian and the Manes College of Music where he worked with William Kroll. Mr. Haupt won a Fulbright Scholarship to Paris where he studied with the revered Nadia Boulanger in both performance and composition. During this time he also performed extensively in France, England, Holland and Belgium. Mr. Haupt became the youngest concertmaster of a major symphony orchestra in the U.S. when he was engaged by the San Antonio Symphony under Victor Allesandro. He was invited to Buffalo by Lucas Foss in 1966 to join The Center for the Creative and Performing Arts at UB , and in turn was awarded the position of concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic in 1969, a post he has filled with distinction, including his duties as yearly soloist with the BPO in a diverse repertoire of concertos by Bach, Beethoven , Brahms, Barber, Delius, Amram and others. Apart from his Buffalo responsibilities Mr. Haupt has also performed as first violin with the Stravinsky and Koussevitzky chamber music festivals at Lincoln Center, was concertmaster and soloist for several years at the Caramoor Music Festival under Julius Rudel and performed for 21 years at the Mostly Mozart Festival as concertmaster and soloist, also in Lincoln Center. He has been a featured soloist with the N.Y. Philharmonic on several occasions and served as concertmaster for Leonard Bernstein on his last recording of
West Side Story
for Deutsche Gramophon, the video of which has been shown widely on PBS among the Bernstein documentaries. Mr. Haupt has also performed with the American String Project in Seattle, was the violinist in the Baird Trio in residence at UB for several years and participated in many festivals around the world, including performances in Italy with renowned pianist Fabio Bidini. He also performs with the new music festival "June in Buffalo" at UB. Mr. Haupt is a member of the faculty of the Eastman School of Music and has been a frequent coach of members of the New World Symphony in Miami, Florida. He is also the founder of the highly successful concert series "Musical Feast" in Buffalo, NY.
Claudia Hoca is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where her teachers included Eleanor Sokoloff and Mieczyslaw Horszowski. She has a Master's
degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where studied with Leo Smit. A Fulbright grant enabled her to return to her native Austria, where she pursued advanced studies
under Bruno Seidlhofer. Ms. Hoca is the recipient of numerous awards, including top prizes in the Chopin Young Pianist Competition and the Washington International Bach Competition.
She has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Pops and the Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York. During the 1990s she played over twenty
different concertos with the Buffalo Philharmonic as conducted by Semyon Bychkov, Christopher Keene, Kazuyoshi Akigama, Hermann Michael, Carlos Kalmar, and Maximiano Valdes. She has
appeared in recital throughout the United States and abroad, and she is much sought after as a chamber music collaborator. He repertoire ranges far and wide, extending from Bach,
Mozart, Chopin and Brahms to Stravinsky, Bernstein and Messiaen. Her Spectrum recording of the piano music of Leo Smit was included in a list of best classical recordings of 1984 by
Buffalo News critic Herman Trotter, and subsequently on Harris Goldsmith's 1985 "Christmas Shopping List" in Opus
Magazine. Her critically-acclaimed recordings of Swiss composer Frank Martin's Petite Symphonie Concertante
with harpsichordist Anthony Newman and the Philharmonia Virtuosi was released in 1991 on Richard Kapp's Essay label. Her live performance at SUNY Purchase of Poulenc's Aubade
with the Philharmonia Virtuosi has recently been release on Essay. The CD, titled French Dressing, is available at www.essaycd.com .Jesse Levine, violist and
conductor, is Professor (Adjunct) of Viola and Chamber Music and Coordinator of the String Department at the Yale School of Music, and Music Director and Conductor of the Purchase
Symphony Orchestra at the Conservatory of Music at the State University of New York at Purchase. Mr. Levine has held the positions of Music Director and Conductor of the Norwalk
Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta del Principado de Asturias in Spain, the Chappaqua Orchestra and the Feld Ballet. A noted violist as well as conductor Mr. Levine has been Principal
Violist of the Buffalo, Dallas, Baltimore and New Jersey symphony orchestras and has appeared as conductor or as viola soloist, recitalist and chamber musician in Europe, South
America, Israel, Australia, Mexico and throughout the United States. As an active guest conductor some of the many orchestras directed by Mr. Levine include the Puerto Rico Symphony,
the Granada Symphony Orchestra (Spain), the Rochester Philharmonic, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the Kennedy Center, the National Orchestral
Association at Carnegie Hall, the Ives Center Orchestra, the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Texas Festival Orchestra at the Round Top Festival, the
Orchestras of Paraiba and San Paulo (Brazil), the Orchestre Symphonique Francaise in Paris and the New York Chamber Symphony at Lincoln Center. Mr. Levine, known for his work in
contemporary music, had frequently been invited to conduct the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in its annual North American New Music Festival, and continues to participate in the
annual June-in-Buffalo Festival, both Festivals devoted to the performance of new music. With the June-in-Buffalo Festival Orchestra he recently recorded Morton Feldman's "The Viola
in my Life" (IV), the first recording of this major work, for EMF. In the dual role as Conductor/Teacher Mr. Levine has conducted the National Youth Orchestra of Spain in Madrid, the
Youth Orchestra of Andalucia in Seville, and the Youth Orchestra of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. As a member of the Bruch Trio he has recorded the music of Max Bruch, Rebecca
Clarke, Jean Francaix, Gordon Jacob and Mozart for Summit Records. In addition to his active performing schedule as conductor and violist Mr. Levine has been a member of the faculties
of the State University of New York at Buffalo and Stony Brook, and at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. Frequently invited to present Master Classes in viola, Mr.
Levine has offered these Classes at Festivals in Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, Morella, Segorbe, San Sebastian, Cartagena and Vitoria (Spain), Festival Flaine Musique (France), and the
Paris and Lyon Conservatories of Music. David Taylor:
Receiving B.S. and M.S degrees from the Juilliard School of Music, David Taylor started his playing career as a member of Leopold Stokowski's American Symphony Orchestra, and by appearing with the New York Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez. Almost simultaneously, he was a member of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Band, and recorded with Duke Ellington (
The New Orleans Suite), the Rolling Stones, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Mr. Taylor has recorded four solo albums (Koch, New World, and DMP) and has presented numerous
recitals throughout the world, including Carnegie Recital Hall, Kaufman Auditorium at the Y at 92nd
Street, and Merkin Hall. He has appeared as a soloist with the St. Luke's Chamber Orchestra, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Caramoor Festival Orchestra, The NY Chamber Symphony, The Basil Sinfonietta, The Adelaide Philharmonic, and The Group for Contemporary Music, among others. He has been involved in dozens of commissioning projects for the bass trombone in solo and chamber music idioms; collaborating with composers including Alan Hovhaness, Charles Wuorinen, George Perle, Frederic Rzewski, Lucia Dlugoszechewski, Eric Ewazen, David Liebman, and Daniel Schnyder. He has appeared and recorded with many major jazz and popular artists including Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra, and Aretha Franklin. Mr. Taylor has won the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Most Valuable Player Award for five consecutive years, the most it could be awarded, and has been awarded the NARAS Most Valuable Player Virtuoso Award, an honor accorded to no other bass trombonist. He has been a member of the Gil Evans Band, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Band, George Russell's Band, the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, and the Chuck Israel Band, to name a few. Although he has performed on numerous Grammy Award winning recordings, 1998 was special. In 1998, Taylor performed on four Grammy Award nominated CDs: The J.J. Johnson Big Band, Dave Grusin's
West Side Story, the Joe Henderson Big Band, and the Randy Brecker Band. The latter two CDs were awarded Grammys. David Taylor currently performs with the Chamber Music Society
of Lincoln Center, The Charles Mingus Big Band, Eos Orchestra, The NY Chamber Symphony, The Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, The Michelle Camillo Band, Areopagitica (a brass trio in
residence at Mannes College), The Bob Mintzer Band, and the Daniel Schnyder, David Taylor, and Kenny Drew, Jr. Trio. He appears frequently with the Orpheus, and the St. Luke's Chamber
Orchestra, and he is on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and Mannes College. Some upcoming events include appearances with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber
Music Northwest, and master classes and recitals in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. David has appeared with the Absolute Ensemble under the direction of Kristian Jarvi (this project was
broadcasted on European TV and recorded for Enja Records), the Niederosterrichische Tonkunstlerorchester and the Tiroler Symphonie Orchester Innsbruck. |
