Arizona Friends of Chamber Music program

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Arizona Friends of Chamber Music 2014–2015 Season

Contents of Book Two

2 Wednesday, December 10, 2014, at 7:30 pm Pacifica Quartet with Anthony McGill, clarinet

6 Thursday, December 11, 2014, at 3:00 pm Pacifica Quartet

9 Sunday, January 18, 2015, at 3:00 pm Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute

14 Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 7:30 pm Hermitage Piano Trio

18 AFCM Donors

Please turn off cell phones and electronic signals on watches and pagers.

Taking photographs or making recordings is prohibited during performances.

Steinway Piano is the official piano of AFCM

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Pacifica QuartetRecognized for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often-daring repertory choices, over the past two decades the Pacifica Quartet has gained international stature as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. The Pacifica tours extensively through-out the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia, performing regularly in the world’s major concert halls. Named the quartet-in-residence at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music in March 2012, the Quartet also serves as resident performing artist at the University of Chicago.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014 7:30 pm

Evening Series 67th Season

Pacifica QuartetSimin Ganatra, violin Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin Masumi Per Rostad, viola Brandon Vamos, cello

with Anthony McGill, clarinet

Melvin Kaplan, Inc. 115 College Street Burlington, VT 05401

ACM 360 Artists 2101 Green Acres Road Fayetteville, AR 72703

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Anthony McGillJust named Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, Anthony McGill served as Principal Clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for the past decade and has been recognized as one of the classical music world’s finest solo, chamber and orchestral musicians. Mr. McGill also serves on the faculty of the Juilliard School, the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins Universi-ty, Bard College Conservatory of Music, and Manhattan School of Music, and has given master classes throughout the United States, Europe and South Africa.Mr. McGill will give a master class at the University of Arizona, School of Music, on Thursday, December 11, 10:00 am to 12 noon, in room 232. This class is sponsored by the College of Fine Arts, the School of Music, and Cal and Nancy Turner. Admission is free and open to public.

PROGRAM

Felix Mendelssohn (1810–1847)

Quartet in F Minor, Op. 80

Allegro vivace assai Allegro assai Adagio Finale: Allegro molto

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)

Quartet No. 12 in D-flat Major, Op. 133

Moderato — Allegretto Allegretto — Adagio — Moderato — Allegretto

INTERMISSION

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings, K. 581

Allegro Larghetto Menuetto Allegretto con variazioni

This evening’s concert is partially sponsored by the generous contribution of Wesley C. Green. Anthony McGill’s appearance is sponsored by the generous contribution of Jean-Paul Bierny and Chris Tanz.

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Program Notes

ONE OF MENDELSSOHN’S few autobiographical works, the Opus 80 string quartet expresses his grief over the death of his beloved sister Fanny, a gifted musician and a constant source of inspira-tion for him. In May 1847 Mendelssohn returned from a successful but exhausting trip to England, where he had conducted numerous performances of his recently revised oratorio Elijah. Two days later Fanny, in apparent good health, died suddenly of a stroke; she was only 41. “God help us all!” Mendelssohn wrote. “I’ve been incapable of saying or thinking anything beyond that. For many days to come, I’ll be unable to write anything beyond — God help us, God help us!” On the opening page of his Opus 80 Mendelssohn inscribed the initials of this phrase in German, “Hilf du mir.”

Mendelssohn himself would live only another year, one that was marred by constant infirmities. In the summer of 1847 he and his wife Cecile traveled to Interlaken, Switzerland with hopes that he would recuperate. There he completed a working draft of his F minor quartet and that October, a month before his death, premiered the work at his home. A friend wrote after this occasion: “The passionate character of the entire piece seems to me to be consistent with his deeply disturbed frame of mind. He is still grappling with grief at the loss of his sister.” The quartet was published posthu-mously in 1850.

Before he allowed a work to be published, Mendels-sohn customarily made extensive revisions during the proofreading stage. (“It’s my habit and there’s no cure for it,” he wrote in apology to his publish-er.) Since Mendelssohn died before he could review the work in a publishing context, one might conclude that Opus 80 had not reached its defini-tive form for Mendelssohn. Possible thematic and developmental omissions are most evident in the quartet’s stark finale. However, the structural simplicity of this movement and the reiterations of its opening idea recall his fervent repetitions of “God help us!”

Profound emotion characterizes each of the quartet’s four movements, three of which are related by their F minor key structure. The sono-rous opening movement, in sonata form, develops two themes that are propelled by energetic figures in the accompanying voices. The movement concludes with an agitated coda (Presto).

The Allegro assai is Mendelssohn’s most poignant scherzo. Its syncopated theme, heard first in the violin, moves with persistent accents that suggest agitation. The sustained Adagio (A-flat major) recalls Mendelssohn’s earlier “Songs without Words.” Wide dynamic ranges contribute to the emotional intensity.

The fervent F minor finale develops two restless themes in sonata form. Tremolo passagework in the accompanying voices intensifies its implicit anguish. The movement concludes with an impassioned high-register statement in which the first violin declaims its opening motto in a fortissimo dynamic.

THE LEADING COMPOSER OF THE neo-Russian school, Shostakovich wrote his fifteen string quartets during the period from 1936 until his death in 1975. Since he began to compose quartets only after Stalin’s dangerous denouncement of the expressionist opera “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District,” they are often perceived to represent the composer’s private, uncensored thoughts in contrast to the “official” statements embodied in his symphonies — through which he regained favor with the musically conservative Communist regime. While this belief is a simplification that minimizes the personal importance of the sym-phonies, it is undeniable that Shostakovich’s most daring innovations of form and harmony are heard in his string quartets.

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Quartet No. 12 (1968) was composed in a “non- conformist” two-movement format and dedicated to the violinist Dmitri Tsyganov, a player known for his dark, typically Russian string sound. Shostakovich himself provided a brief explanation of the quartet: “The first movement portrays the world of high ideals. The second movement stands in sharp contrast to it. Its first (as well as fourth) section presents a disturbing ‘Scherzo,’ an agony, which is unable to cope with the contradictions of life.” Perhaps to achieve his philosophical ends, Shostakovich immediately sets up a harmonic duality between atonality and tonality. The work opens with an atonal twelve-note row, articulated by the cello; a singing passage in a clear D-flat major tonality follows. The ensuing five sections are connected by solo restatements of the twelve-note row.

The large-scale Movement II combines a scherzo, adagio, and finale into one continuous statement. Its rapid, atonal first Allegretto concludes with a ponticello section (played “on the bridge,” where the tone becomes glassy), perhaps the most sinister and unusual passage in all of Shostakovich’s quartets. The Adagio section that follows consists of an extended cello solo accompanied by chords in the other instruments. The movement closes with a second Allegretto, a dramatic synthesis of material that has been developed throughout the quartet.

MOZART SUBTITLED HIS K. 581 Clarinet Quintet (1789) the “Stadler Quintet” in honor of his virtuoso clarinetist friend, Anton Stadler. Stadler was not regarded as one of Vienna’s finer citizens, since he was a careless spender with a mistress, but he was respected as one of its finest musicians. He contributed to the development of the clarinet by promoting extensions of its lower register, and he enhanced its repertoire through his collaborations with Mozart, who also wrote his clarinet concerto for him. Aside from their musical association, Mozart thoroughly enjoyed his company, despite Stadler’s occasionally outrageous exploitation of his generosity.

As is typical of Mozart, the Allegro develops a glorious succession of singing melodies. In the first theme group alone, three distinct melodies are joined to form a graceful arc. After a brief pause the violin presents the second theme, which is soon followed by a lyrical third idea shared by the clarinet and violin.

The second movement (D major) is an extended song for clarinet accompanied by the muted strings. The third movement, the expressive Menuetto, departs from tradition in that it con-tains two trios rather than the customary single trio — first, a mysterious statement for strings in the minor mode and second, a rustic dance that features the clarinet. The final Allegretto is a set of six buoyant variations that suggest German folk music.

Notes by Nancy Monsman

“The passionate character of the entire piece seems to me to be consistent with Mendelssohn’s deeply dis-turbed frame of mind. He is still grappling with grief at the loss of his sister.”

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Thursday Matinée 67th Season

Thursday, December 11, 2014 3:00 pm

Pacifica QuartetSimin Ganatra, violin Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin Masumi Per Rostad, viola Brandon Vamos, cello


Pacifica QuartetRecognized for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often-daring repertory choices, over the past two decades the Pacifica Quartet has gained international stature as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. The Pacifica tours extensively through-out the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia, performing regularly in the world’s major concert halls. Named the quartet-in-residence at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music in March 2012, the Quartet also serves as resident performing artist at the University of Chicago.

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PROGRAM

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)

Crisantemi

György Ligeti (b. 1923)

Quartet No. 1 (“Métamorphoses nocturnes”)

Allegro grazioso Vivace, capriccioso Adagio, mesto Presto Prestissimo Andante tranquillo Tempo di Valse, moderato, con eleganza, un poco capriccioso Subito prestissimo Allegretto, un poco gioviale Prestissimo Ad libitum, senza misura Lento

INTERMISSION

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, no. 2

Allegro Molto adagio Allegretto (Thème russe) Finale: Presto

Program Notes

PUCCINI FIRST COMPOSED “Crisantemi,” or “Chrysanthemums”—the favored flower at Italian funerals—after the death of Duke Amadeo d’Aosta in 1890. Originally an elegy for string quartet, the work later served as the source material for both the prison window and death scenes in the third act of his opera Manon Lescaut. A single sustained andante movement in C-sharp minor, the work develops with poignant chromaticisms and subtle changes of tempo.

HUNGARIAN COMPOSER GYÖRGY Ligeti describes his early String Quartet No. 1: “Métamorphoses nocturnes” was written in Budapest in 1953–54 but was intended only for my bottom drawer, since a public performance was out of the question. Life in Hungary at that time was in the grip of the Communist dictatorship, the country completely cut off from all information from abroad: outside contacts and foreign travel were impossible, Western radio broadcasts were jammed, and scores and books could neither be sent nor received. Even the Eastern bloc countries were isolated from each other. Instead, in Budapest there arose a culture of “closed rooms,” in which the majority of artists opted for “inner emigration.” The official art foisted on us was “Socialist Realism,” a cheap kind of art aimed at the masses and designed to promote prescribed political propaganda. But the fact that everything “modern” had been banned merely served to increase the attractiveness of the concept of modernity for non-conformist artists. All was done in secret. To work for one’s bottom drawer was regarded as an honor.

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I was inspired to write String Quartet No. 1 by Bartók’s two middle quartets, his Third and Fourth, although I knew them only from their scores since performances of them were banned. In the present instance, “metamorphoses” signifies a set of character variations without an actual theme but developed out of a basic motivic cell (two major seconds, displaced by a minor second). Melodically and harmonically, the piece rests on total chromat-icism, whereas, from a point of view of form, it follows the criteria of Viennese Classicism—that is, periodic structure, imitation, the spinning out of motivic material, the development section and the technique of phrases, which are then distribut-ed among the different voices. Apart from Bartók, Beethoven’s “Diabelli Variations” were my secret ideal. In short, the work is “modern” in its melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic writing, but the articula-tion of the form—what I would call the “dis-course”—is traditional.

IN 1805 COUNT Andreas Razumovsky, the longtime Russian ambassador to the Imperial Court at Vienna, commissioned Beethoven to write three string quartets for concerts to be held in his newly constructed Viennese palace. His only stipulation was that each of the quartets include a Russian theme as a patriotic gesture. An amateur violinist who maintained a string quartet as part of his household staff, the aristocratic Razumovsky had known and supported Beethoven since his arrival in Vienna. Beethoven devoted his full attention to the three quartets comprising the Opus 59, and they were completed within a year.

Each of these middle period quartets opens with a movement in sonata form—an established classical framework organizing motivic state-ments, their development and recapitulation—that grounded Beethoven’s adventurous thematic explorations. The compact opening Allegro of Opus 59 No. 2 begins with two terse chords followed by a fragmentary theme. Although subsequent reiterations are gradually woven into an extended melodic line, shifting rhythms and numerous short pauses create an aura of uncertainty that is only resolved at the assertive coda.

The eloquent Molto adagio, also in sonata form, develops a theme possibly derived from the spelling of Bach’s name, which in German is B-flat–A–C–B-natural. According to Beethoven’s friend Czerny, this movement occurred to its composer “when contemplating the starry sky and thinking of music of the spheres.” As homage to Razumovsky, the Allegretto showcases the Russian patriotic hymn “Slava” in its trio section. The brilliant finale, in sonata-rondo form, gains tension with unexpected harmonic relationships. One hears the Russian herd heading to the front in its spectacular coda.


But the fact that everything “modern” had been banned merely served to increase the attractiveness of the concept of modernity for non-conformist artists. — GYÖRGY LIGETI

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Sunday, January 18, 2015 3:00 pm

Piano & Friends 20th Season

Ravinia’s Steans Music InstituteMichael Brandenburg, tenorCatherine Martin, mezzo-soprano Simone Osborne, soprano Kevin Murphy, program director and piano

Above: Kevin Murphy and soprano Nadine Sierra perform at the Tucson Desert Song Festival in 2014.

Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute is the Ravinia Festival’s professional studies program for young musi-cians, and the program for singers exists to promote the art of song, focusing upon the central repertoire of German and French art song.Please note that the master class with Kevin Murphy, scheduled for Saturday, January 17, will take place the following week at the University of Arizona. For more information, please visit the web site of the Tucson Desert Song Festival at tucsondesertsongfestival.org.

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Michael Brandenburg, tenorMichael Brandenburg, a native of Austin, Indiana, began studying voice while pursuing a master’s degree in aquatic biology at Ball State University. He received a Jacobs Fellowship from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music to pursue a performer diploma. In 2013, Mr. Brandenburg was chosen as one of the six grand finalists in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and he was one of the two grand finalists in the Bel Canto Competition in Chicago.

Catherine Martin, mezzo-sopranoMezzo-soprano Catherine Martin is gaining experience on the opera and concert stage. Recently with the Houston Grand Opera, Ms. Martin performed as Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly under the baton of Patrick Summers. Described by the Washington Post and the Houston Examiner respectively as “a big talent” and “sure to have a promis-ing and prosperous career,” critics and audiences are recognizing the promise of her bright future in opera.

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Simone Osborne, sopranoCanadian soprano Simone Osborne was one of the youngest winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and recently completed her tenure as a member of the Canadian Opera Company Studio Ensemble. Last season, Ms. Osborne returned to the Vancouver Opera and made her debuts with Opera Hamilton, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, and at Carnegie Hall with pianist Warren Jones as a part of the Marilyn Horne Song Celebration. As the first winner of Canada’s Jeunesses Musicales Maureen Forrester Award, she toured Canada in recital with pianist Anne Larlee.

Kevin Murphy, pianoPianist Kevin Murphy serves on the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Prior to returning to his alma mater, he was director of music administration at New York City Opera, after serving as the directeur des études musicales at the Opéra National de Paris. In addition to his on- and off-stage partnership with his wife, soprano Heidi Grant Murphy, he has collaborated in concert and recital with many of today’s leading artists. A native of Syracuse, New York, Mr. Murphy received his bachelor’s in piano performance from Indiana University and master’s in piano accompaniment from the Curtis Institute.

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PROGRAM

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)

Notre amour Les roses d’Isphahan Mandoline En prière

Simone Osborne, soprano

Gustav Mahler (1860–1911)

Ich atmet einen linden Duft Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder Liebst du um Schönheit Um Mitternacht

Catherine Martin, mezzo-soprano

Henri Duparc (1848–1933)

L’invitation au voyage Chanson triste Phydilé

Michael Brandenburg, tenor

Franz Liszt (1811–1886)

O quand je dors Comment disaient-ils S’il est un charmant gazon Enfant, si j’étais roi


INTERMISSION

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)

A Charm of Lullabies

A Cradle Song The Highland Balou Sephestia’s Lullaby A Charm The Nurse’s Song

Catherine Martin, mezzo-soprano

Franz Liszt (1811–1886)

Benedetto sia ‘l giorno Pace non trovo I vidi in terra angelici costumi


Aaron Copland (1900–1990)

Long Time Ago Simple Gifts (Shaker Song) At the River


Joseph Marx (1882–1964)

Nocturne Der Ton


This afternoon’s concert is sponsored by the generous contribution of The Tucson Desert Song Festival.

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Program Notes

Although perhaps best known for his chamber music and piano works, GABRIEL FAURÉ is consid-ered one of the great masters of French art song. Mélodies are among his earliest compositions, and he wrote them throughout his career. The songs on this afternoon’s program date from ca. 1879 to 1891 and represent a cross-section of poets: “Notre amour” (Our Love) by Armand Silvestre (ca. 1879), “Les roses d’Isphahan” (The Roses of Isphahan) by Lecount de Lisle (1884), “Mandoline” by Paul Verlaine (1891), and “En prière” (At prayer) by Stéphane Bordèse (1890).

GUSTAV MAHLER composed nearly all of his settings of poetry by Friedrich Rückert during the summer of 1901, including “Ich atmet einen linden Duft “ (I breathed a gentle fragrance), “Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder” (Do not eavesdrop on my songs), and “Um Mitternacht” (At Midnight); “Liebst du um Schönheit” (If you love for beauty’s sake) was written the following year. Often per-formed together, Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder are not a cycle in the traditional sense, though there are themes of reflection and resignation throughout.

As a result of his own destruction of much of his music, HENRI DUPARC has one of the smallest catalogs of any composer — less than forty works, seventeen of which are songs — all written before the age of 37, after which time he was unable to compose. It is a small but exquisite legacy, influen-tial on composers such as Fauré and Debussy, including “L’invitation au voyage” (Invitation to a voyage) to text by Charles Baudelaire (1870), “Chanson triste” (Sad song) to text by Leconte de Lisle (1868), and “Phydilé,” also to text by de Lisle (1882).

FRANZ LISZT is remembered today almost exclu-sively for his transcendental virtuosity at the piano, but he also wrote numerous songs in French, German, and Italian. His French songs reveal a refined taste in poetry: “O quand je dors” (Oh when I dream), “Comment disaient-ils” (How, they said), “S’il est un charmant gazon” (If there be a charming lawn), and “Enfant, si j’étais roi” (Child, if I were king), all to texts by Victor Hugo, and published in their final versions in 1860.

BENJAMIN BRITTEN’S A Charm of Lullabies (1947) was written for Nancy Evans, a mezzo-soprano who premiered the title role in his opera, The Rape of Lucretia. For his texts, Britten drew upon a variety of English and Scottish poets: William Blake, Robert Burns, Robert Greene, Thomas Randolph, and John Philip. None of these poems could be considered typical cradle-songs: they eschew sentiments of innocence in favor of a more realistic future for the child, while Britten’s music avoids overt underlining of the text.

The Italian poetry set to music by LISZT was inspired by his “years of pilgrimage,” the travels he made throughout central Europe with the Count-ess Marie d’Agoult, including a period of two years in Italy (1837–1839). It was the sonnets of Francesco Petrarca that especially attracted him, including Sonnetto 47, “Pace non trovo” (I find no peace), 104, “Benedetto sia ‘l giorno” (Blessed be the day), and 123, “I vidi in terra angelici costumi” (I beheld on earth angelic grace), written by the poet in praise of his Laura, and transferred by Liszt to his Marie.

It was the great French pedagogue Nadia Boulanger who advised AARON COPLAND to find inspiration in the music of his own country. He took her advice, first investigating jazz and later folk songs and ballads. Although Copland rarely incorporated actual folk songs into his works (Billy the Kid and Appalachian Spring being notable exceptions), he arranged two sets of “Old American Songs” in 1950 and 1952 for voice and piano, later orchestrating them. “Long Time Ago” and “Simple Gifts” are from Book I, and “At the River” is from Book II.

JOSEPH MARX was an Austrian composer known for his Lieder, of which he composed over 150. “Der Ton” (The Tone), a German translation by Heinrich Goebel from a Norwegian text by Knut Hamsun, was among his earliest songs, composed in 1911, musing on the riches of a musical sound. “Nocturne” was also written in 1911, to a poem by Otto Erich Hartleben, in which he evokes the scents and sounds of the night.

Notes by Jay Rosenblatt

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Wednesday, January 21, 2015 7:30 pm

Evening Series 67th Season

Hermitage Piano TrioIlya Kazantsev, piano Misha Keylin, violin Sergey Antonov, cello


Heritage Piano TrioDescended from the great Russian musical tradition, the Hermitage Piano Trio is distinguished by its exuberant musicality, interpretative range, and sumptuous sound. Following a recent performance, The Washington Post raved, “three of Russia’s most spectacular young soloists… turned in a performance of such power and sweeping passion that it left you nearly out of breath.”

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PROGRAM

Alexander Alyabiev (1787–1851)

Piano Trio in E-flat Major (unfinished)

Anton Arensky (1861–1906)

Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 32

Allegro moderato—Adagio Scherzo: Allegro molto Elegia: Adagio Finale: Allegro non troppo

INTERMISSION

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)

Piano Trio No. 2 in D Minor (“Élégiaque”), Op. 9

Moderato—Allegro vivace Quasi variazione: Andante Allegro risoluto—Moderato

Sergey Antonov’s appearance is sponsored by the generous contribution of Dagmar Cushing.

Program Notes

ALTHOUGH HE IS LITTLE KNOWN outside his native Russia, Alexander Alyabiev is revered in his homeland as a father of its art song. The wealthy son of a Siberian governor, Alyabiev was trained as a pianist after the family relocated from the provinces to St. Petersburg. During the Napoleonic War of 1812, Alyabiev joined the Russian army and earned highest honors for his valor at Dresden and Paris. After retirement from the army, his radical-ized politics aroused suspicion. He was suspected of being a Decembrist, notorious for their failed assassination attempt on the Czar in 1825. Soon after this event, Alyabiev was arrested for murder after the disappearance and death of a gambling companion. Although this possibly bogus charge could not be proved, Alyabiev was sent to prison in Siberia on the order of Czar Nicholas I. Because of his fragile health, Alyabiev was transferred to the Caucasus, where he remained until 1843. Much of his music was written in this relatively gentler area.

Alyabiev is most famed for his original song “The Nightingale,” based on a poem by Anton Delvig. For generations Russians have dubiously honored this appealing lullaby by claiming it as their own folksong; a favorite childhood song of Tchaikovsky, it found Western recognition after Rossini intro-duced it in “The Barber of Seville” during Rosina’s singing lesson. Alyabiev’s other works, most existing only as scores, fell into oblivion after his death. After World War II, Soviet researchers discovered these works in remote archives and have gradually reintroduced them. A prolific composer, Alyabiev favored chamber genres; most probably he produced three string quartets, two piano trios, a piano quintet, a woodwind quintet, and numer-ous instrumental sonatas. A centennial commem-oration in 1950–51 resulted in several important publications of his work.

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Alyabiev wrote his Piano Trio in E-flat major in 1812, a time when he also experimented with art song. Because he joined the Czar’s army to fight the French during that same year, the trio remained unfinished. Although the work’s single movement suggests the classical influence of Mozart and early Beethoven, its expansive lyricism brings it into the early Romantic era. The movement develops with brilliant passagework in the piano and songful passages for the strings.

BORN INTO A MUSICAL FAMILY, Russian composer, pianist, and conductor Anton Arensky studied composition with the brilliant tonal colorist Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservato-ry. After graduation, he was appointed Professor of Composition at the Moscow Conservatory, where his notable pupils included Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Glière. Tchaikovsky became his friend and mentor. After an important but brief period as Director of the Imperial Chapel, Arensky retired at age 40 with a generous pension and planned to devote his life to concertizing and composition. Unfortunately, his alcoholism led to a fatal case of tuberculosis, and he died at age 45. Appalled at the waste of tremendous gifts, Rimsky- Korsakov predicted that Arensky would soon be forgotten. His reputation as an important Russian late Romantic was established nevertheless.

An eclectic, Arensky was influenced by Europe’s leading romantic composers, particularly Chopin and Mendelssohn. Arensky’s works all reveal singing melodic lines and an affinity for unusual rhythmic patterns. A keen sense of instrumental color pervades his work.

Arensky created two piano trios, but is best known for his first trio (1894), performed on tonight’s concert. He dedicated the work to cellist Karl Davidov, an associate from his student days. Davidov, who had died five years earlier, estab-lished the expressively intense Russian school of cello playing, and Arensky pays tribute to his achievement in the numerous songful passages for cello.

The first movement is based on three lyrical themes which are developed in sonata form; the movement concludes with a reflective coda. Arensky was fond of dance, and the playful Scherzo features a leisurely waltz in its central section. The Elegia (G minor) opens with a somber muted statement in the cello against quiet detached chords in the piano; a dialogue with the violin follows. The major-key central section highlights the piano. Two contrasting ideas are developed in the dramat-ic rondo finale. Motives from both the first move-ment’s opening theme and the Elegia return as a reprise.

WHILE STILL a student at the Moscow Conservatory, Rachmaninoff composed his first piano trio (also subtitled “élégiaque”) in the style of Tchaikovsky, his adored friend and mentor. In late 1893 Tchaikovsky died suddenly during a cholera epidemic, most probably because he refused to take the precaution of drinking boiled water (leading to the rumor that he had committed suicide). That same day, November 6, the grief- stricken Rachmaninoff began his Trio No. 2, Opus 9. A memorial to Tchaikovsky, the trio was completed in 1893 and dedicated “to the memory of a great artist.” Rachmaninoff himself performed the trio’s massive piano part at its premiere, held in Moscow in January, 1894. He revised the work extensively from 1907–17.

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Like his first piano trio, Rachmaninoff ’s Opus 9 Piano Trio reveals affinities to his mentor’s monumental Piano Trio in A minor. Both are turbulent, lyrical works executed with fine craftsmanship and clear harmonic structure. Haunting, passionate, and mystic, these trios can be heard as nationalistic Russian statements. Rachmaninoff himself confided in a rare interview: “I am a Russian composer, and the land of my birth has influenced my temperament and outlook. My music is the product of my temperament, and so it is Russian music.”

After a somber piano introduction, the strings intone the Moderato movement’s opening themes—an elegiac idea followed by a sustained song. The movement develops with dramatic tempo changes that expressively delineate its large structure. Rapid string figuration and cascading piano lines alternate with calmer moments. A declamatory solo cello line suggests inward grief; but quasi-symphonic passagework soon follows to suggest rage. In the final section the opening theme returns in the piano, and the strings articulate a muted accompaniment. The movement ends in a mood of quiet resignation.

The second movement (F major) offers eight variations on a theme introduced in a substantial passage for solo piano. The variations appear in contrasting guises, and the movement ends quietly.

The brief but fervent Allegro risoluto (D minor) opens with a lengthy piano statement. A passage that suggests the pealing of funeral bells brings in the violin and cello. Numerous tempo changes dramatize the dialogue among the three instru-ments. The movement ends softly as if to suggest calm acceptance of fate.


“I am a Russian composer, and the land of my birth has influenced my temperament and outlook. My music is the product of my temperament, and so it is Russian music.”— SERGEI RACHMANINOFF

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$10,000 & above

Jean-Paul Bierny & Chris Tanz Joyce & David Cornell Jim Cushing Mr. Wesley C. Green Mrs. Ghislaine Polak Boyer Rickel

$5,000 – $9,999

Arizona Commission on the Arts Stan Caldwell & Linda Leedberg Robert & Ursula Garrett Joan Teer Jacobson Mr. Thomas Polk Drs. John & Helen Schaefer Walter Swap Ms. Carla Zingarelli Rosenlicht

$2,500 – $4,999

Nancy Bissell EOS Foundation Dr. & Mrs. Elliott & Sandy Heiman Dan Leach Tom Lewin Grace McIlvain Mr. Hal Myers Serene Rein Jayant Shah & Minna Mehta Jerry & Kathy Short Randy Spalding Wendy & Elliott Weiss

$1,000 – $2,499

Ms. Nevenka Bierny Celia A. Balfour Ted & Celia Brandt Ms. Dagmar Cushing Mr. & Mrs. Bryan & Elizabeth Daum Caleb & Elizabeth Deupree Mr. & Mrs. John & Terry Forsythe Ms. Beth Foster Thomas Hanselmann Drs. John Hildebrand & Gail Burd Claire B. Norton Fund Mr. & Mrs. Charles M. Peters Herschel & Jill Rosenzweig Mr. & Mrs. John Rupley Si & Eleanor Schorr Paul A. St. John & Leslie Tolbert Mrs. Betsy Zukoski

$500 – $999

Mr. & Mrs. Frank & Betsy Babb Ms. Selma Bornstein Richard & Galina De Roeck Raul & Isabel Delgado Mr. Richard E. Firth Leonid Friedlander Milton Francis Harold Fromm Drs. J. D. & Margot Garcia Elizabeth Giles Dr. Marilyn Heins Ms. Ruth B. Helm Helen & Jerry Hirsch Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Hirsh Mr. & Mrs. Joe & Janet Hollander Paul & Marianne Kaestle Mr. I. Michael Kasser Keith Kumm & Sandy Pharo Dr. & Mrs. Wayne Magee Mr. & Mrs. Larry & Rowena G. Matthews

Mr. Eddy Muka George & Irene Perkow Mr. John Raitt Reid & Linda Schindler Ted & Shirley Taubeneck George Timson John Wahl & Mary Lou Forier

$250 – $499

Mr. Robert Alpaugh Ms. Anna Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Dennis & Anna Bourret Mr. & Mrs. Tim & Diane Bowden Cynthia & Lee J. Cannon Peter & Deborah Coogan James & Frances Dauber Mr. Philip M. Davis Bob Foster Mr. Brad Holland Arthur & Judy Kidder Dr. & Mrs. Henry Koffler Dr. Daniela Lax Dr. Alan Levenson & Rachel Goldwyn Ms. Mary Lonsdale Baker Ms. Martha Mecom Harry Nungesser Nancy Pitt Mr. Herbert Ploch Dr. Glenn Prestwich Mr. Teresa Pusser Dr. Elaine Rousseau Dr. & Mrs. Richard Sanderson Susan S. Small Mr. Steven Strong Ms. Pamela Sutherland Mr. & Mrs. Lester & Carol Welborn Jan Wezelman & David Bartlett Mr. & Mrs. John & Helen Wilcox Mr. James Wittenberg Mrs. Peggy Wolf

AFCM Donors

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$100 – $249

Helmut Abt Thomas & Susan Aceto Mr. & Mrs. Mark & Jan Barman Mrs. Margaret Bashkin Dr. Nathaniel Bloomfield Gary Blumenshine Ms. Joyce Bolinger Ms. Laurie Camm William & Barbara Carpenter James Cassady Shirley Chann Nancy Cook Phyllis Cutcher Ms. Ruth Davis Ms. C. Jane Decker Anne Denny Marilyn & John Dettloff Mr. Martin Diamond Stephen Doctoroff Mr. & Mrs. John & Mary Enemark Phillip & Nancy Fahringer Dr. & Mrs. Lionel & Karen Faitelson Carol & Peter Feistmann Mr. & Mrs. James & Ruth Friedman Mr. Tommy Friedmann Dr. & Mrs. Gerald & Barbara Goldberg Mr. & Mrs. Marvin & Carol Goldberg Mr. Ben Golden Ms. Rachael Goldwyn Ms. Kathryn Gordon Ms. Marilyn Halonen Ms. Clare Hamlet Mr. Ted & Jeanne Hasbrook Dr. & Mrs. M.K. Haynes James Hays Evan & Lydia Hersh Mary Lou Hutchins Dr. David Johnson

Ms. Lee L. Kane Carl Kanun Barbara Katz Boris & Billie Kozolchyk Keith & Adrienne Lehrer Mr. & Mrs. Amy & Malcolm Levin Ms. Mary Ellen Lewis Mr. Robert Lupp Dr. Dhira Mahoney Ms. Ana Mantilla Dr. & Mrs. Frank Marcus Mrs. Marjory Margulies Mr. & Mrs. Warren & Felicia May Mr. William McCallum Ms. Sally McGreevy-Gorman Joan Mctarnahan Mr. Lawrence & Nancy Morgan Ms. Gisele Nelson David & Cookie Pashkow Drs. Lynn Nadel & Mary Peterson Donn Poll Mr. & Mrs. Jim & Debbie Quirk Ms. Lynn Ratener Richard & Harlene Reeves Ms. Kay Richter Jay & Elizabeth Rosenblatt Dror & Lea Sarid Howard & Helen Schneider Dr. Stephen & Janet Seltzer Goldie & Isidore Shapiro Barbara Silvian Ms. Donna Somma Ms. Jennalyn Tellman

Carl Tomizuka & Sheila Tobias Mr. Stokes Tolbert Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Tolliver Allan & Diane Tractenberg Ms. Ellen Trevors Ms. Barbara Turton Ms. Karla Van Drunen Littooy Mr. Clague Van Slyke III Ms. Iris C. Veomett Mrs. Rudolf von Glinski Ms. Gail Wahl Ms. Patricia Wendel Sam & Grace Young Stephen Zegura Ms. Carol Zuckert

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Gifts in honor of

JEAN-PAUL BIERNYby William & Bonnie Carpenter by Raul & Isabel Delgado by Joe & Janet Hollander by Barbara Katz by Dan Leach by Paul A. St. John & Leslie Tolbert by Sam & Grace Young

ERIC HOLTANby Raul & Isabel Delgado

ANNE NARDby her daughter, Linda Leedberg

PETER REJTOby Stefanie Fife

ALLAN & DIANE TRACTENBERGby Mark Barmann

Gifts in memory of

DR. MURRAY BORNSTEINby Selma Bornstein

JACK CHAIKINby Goldie & Isidore Shapiro

CLIFFORD & WENDY CROOKERby Beth Foster

MIKE CUSANOVICHby Marilyn Halonen

RUDOLF VON GLINSKIby Elfriede von Glinski

ANN JENSENby Barbara Katz

KATHY KAESTLEby Paul & Marianne Kaestle

PATTE LAZARUSby Jean-Paul Bierny & Chris Tanz by Nancy Bissell by Dagmar Cushing by Beth Foster by Joan Jacobson by Randy Spalding by Joseph Tolliver

RHODA LEWINby Tom Lewin

DANA NELSONby Carla Zingarelli Rosenlicht

HARRY & LOUISE RICKELby their son, Boyer Rickel

ALAN ROSENLICHTby his mother, Carla Zingarelli Rosenlicht

NORMAN VAINIOby Marilyn Halonen

This program lists contributions made to the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music from November 1, 2013 through October 31, 2014. The next update will be for donations made from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014 and will appear in the program covering our concerts beginning February 1, 2015. Space limita-tions prevent us from listing contributions less than $100. We are grateful, however, for every donation, each of which helps us to secure the future of AFCM.

Please advise us if your name is not listed properly or inadvertently omitted.

TO DONATE, please call our office at 520–577–3769 or e-mail [email protected].

AFCM Donor Tributes

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AFCM 2014–2015 Season

22nd Annual Tucson Winter Chamber Music FestivalMarch 15–22, 2015 Peter Rejto, Artistic Director

Festival Musicians

Bernadene Blaha, piano Katerina Englichová, harp Jiri Gemrot, composer Marie-Catherine Girod, piano Clive Greensmith, cello Bernadette Harvey, piano Bil Jackson, clarinet Lowell Liebermann, composer Joseph Lin, violin Paul Neubauer, viola Nokuthula Ngwenyama, viola Axel Strauss, violin Prazak Quartet

Evening Concert Series67th Season

HAGEN QUARTETWednesday, October 29, 2014 7:30pm

MORGENSTERN PIANO TRIOWednesday, November 5, 2014 7:30pm Thursday, November 6, 2014 3:00pm

PACIFICA QUARTET WITH ANTHONY MCGILLWednesday, December 10, 2014 7:30pm Thursday, December 11, 2014 3:00pm

HERMITAGE PIANO TRIOWednesday, January 21, 2015 7:30pm

AURYN QUARTETWednesday, February 25, 2015 7:30pm

ARTEMIS QUARTETWednesday, April 8, 2015 7:30pm

Piano & Friends20th Season

BEHZOD ABDURAIMOV, PIANOSunday, November 9, 2014 3:00pm

RAVINIA’S STEANS INSTITUTE ON THE ROADSunday, January 18, 2015 3:00pm

STEFAN JACKIW, VIOLINSunday, February 1, 2015 3:00pm

NAREK HAKHNAZARYAN, CELLOSunday, April 12, 2015 3:00pm

Master classes are open to the public on the Saturday preceding our Sunday concerts at 3:00pm

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Auryn Quartet

Wednesday, February 25, 2015, 7:30 pm

Beethoven: Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, no. 5 Beethoven: Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130 (with “Grosse Fuge,” Op. 133)

Stefan Jackiw, violin Anna Polonsky, piano

Sunday, February 1, 2015, 3:00 pm

Bach: Partita No. 3 in E Major for Solo Violin, BWV 1006 Lutosławski: Partita for Violin and Piano Saariaho: Nocturne for Solo Violin (to the memory of Witold Lutosławski) Franck: Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano

Artemis Quartet

Wednesday, April 8, 2015, 7:30 pm

Beethoven: Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, no. 1 Peteris Vasks: Quartet No. 5 (2004) Smetana: Quartet No. 1 in E Minor (“From My Life”)

Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello

Sunday, April 12, 2015, 3:00 PM

Program to be announced.

Upcoming Concerts at AFCM Evening Series and Piano & Friends

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The 22nd Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, March 15–22, 2015

Sunday, March 15, 2015 3:00 pm

Mozart: String Quartet in D Major (“Hoffmeister”), K. 499

Bodorová: Mysterium Druidum

Dupont: Piano Quintet

Tuesday, March 17, 2015 7:30 pm

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414

Dahl: Concerto-a-Tre

Saint-Saëns: Fantasy for Violin and Harp, Op. 124

Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 87

Wednesday, March 18, 2015 7:30 pm

Martinu: Musique de Chambre No. 1

Gemrot: String Quartet No. 2 (World Premiere)

Dale: Romance for Viola and Piano

Dvorák: Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81

Thursday, March 19, 2015 10:30 am

YOUTH CONCERTSelections from prior concerts with commentary by Festival musicians. School attendance by reservation only.

Friday, March 20, 2015 7:30 pm

Schumann: Märchenerzählungen, Op. 132

Bacewicz: Piano Quintet No. 2

Lukas: Quintet for Harp and Strings

Korngold: String Sextet in D Major, Op. 10

Saturday, March 21, 2015

3:00 & 4:00 PM MASTER CLASSES Attendance is free and open to the public

6:00 PMGala Dinner and concert at the Arizona Inn

Cocktails and open wine bar

7:00 PM PERFORMANCE8:00 pm Dinner

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

Sunday, March 22, 2015 3:00 pm

Lutosławski: Dance Preludes

Debussy: Danses sacrée et profane

Liebermann: Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Viola (World Premiere)

Enescu: Octet for Strings in C Major, Op. 7

All events at the Leo Rich Theater. Tickets available at the box office.PHONE520-577-3769

[email protected]

WEBSITEarizonachambermusic.org

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Documents

Arizona Friends of Chamber Music program