THE NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC - Stageview · The National Philharmonic program is published in ... NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC 2017-18 CALENDAR. ... NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC 7 Egmont Overture,

FALL & WINTER2017-2018 PROGRAM

at the Music Center at StrathmorePiotr Gajewski, Music Director & Conductor

THE NATIONALPHILHARMONIC

N A T I O N A L P H I L H A R M O N I C 1

2 N A T I O N A L P H I L H A R M O N I C

3 | Welcome

4 | 2017-18 Season Calendar

6 | Star-Studded Season Opening

13 | Bach and Bachianas

20 | Handel’s Messiah

29 | Cosmic Designs

33 | Brian Ganz Plays Chopin

37 | Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess

43 | National Philharmonic Orchestra

44 | National Philharmonic Chorale

45 | Board of Directors

45 | Supporters

49 | NP Endowment

49 | Heritage Society

49 | National Philharmonic Staff

50 | General Information

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Welcome to the 2017-2018 season of the National Philharmonic at the Music Center at Strathmore!

The stars are out at the season opening concerts as the Philharmonic is joined by violin royalty Sarah Chang, Grammy-winning cellist Zuill Bailey and the phenomenal pianist Santiago Rodriguez. The star-studded theme continues with Metropolitan Opera soprano Danielle Talamantes’ enchanting performances of rarely heard Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras followed by the annual favorite - Handel’s Messiah with the National Philharmonic Chorale under the direction of Artistic Director Stan Engebretson.

Not to be missed this winter: a multimedia collaboration with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center using stunning images from earth and space, accompanied by Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets.

Pianist Brian Ganz continues his quest to present the complete works of Chopin with his eighth program entitled Hidden Gems and All-Time Favorites; and rounding out the winter concerts, National Philharmonic celebrates Black History Month with a “simply staged” concert performance of Gershwin’s groundbreaking folk opera Porgy and Bess, featuring an all-star cast led by baritone Kevin Deas and soprano Marlissa Hudson.

I look forward to seeing you at the concerts of this exciting 2017-2018 season!

Piotr GajewskiMusic Director & Conductor

Photo credit Jay Mallin

WELCOME...


STAR STUDDED SEASON OPENING SAT OCT 14, 2017 8pmMembers-Only Encore Q&ASarah Chang, violin Zuill Bailey, cello Piotr Gajewski, conductor Beethoven Egmont OvertureBruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor Dvořák Cello Concerto in B minor

STAR STUDDED SEASON OPENING SUN OCT 15, 2017 3pmMeet the Instruments 2-2:30pm Members-Only Encore Q&ASarah Chang, violin Santiago Rodriguez, piano Piotr Gajewski, conductor Beethoven Egmont OvertureBruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minorGrieg Piano Concerto in A minor

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER PLAYERS AT POTTER VIOLINS*SUNDAY, OCT 29, 2017 3-5pm Colin Sorgi & Henry Flory, violin Julius Wirth, violaLori Barnet, celloCrossing BordersWolf Italian Serenade (1887) Barber Adagio from String Quartet Op. 11 Gabriela Lena Frank Leyendas – An Andean Walkabout (2001) Hamza El Din Escalay (Water Wheel) (1971) Dvořák String Quartet No. 12 “American”

BACH AND BACHIANASSAT NOV 11, 2017 8pmDanielle Talamantes, sopranoMagdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano Matthew Smith, tenorKerry Wilkerson, baritone National Philharmonic Chorale Piotr Gajewski, conductorVilla-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 for 8 cellos Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for soprano and 8 cellos Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9 for chorusJ.S. Bach Magnificat

HANDEL’S MESSIAH SAT DEC 16, 2017 8pmSUN DEC 17, 2017 3pmEsther Heideman, soprano Yvette Smith, mezzo-soprano Norman Shankle, tenor Trevor Scheunemann, baritone National Philharmonic Chorale Stan Engebretson, conductor

COSMIC DESIGNS A multimedia/music production!Journey through a stunning multimedia/music presentation featuring the National Philharmonic, original NASA footage of our solar system, exhibits about the latest NASA discoveries and missions, and conversations with Goddard scientists and engineers about their cutting-edge work.SAT JAN 27, 2018 8pm SUN JAN 28, 2018 3pm For Young People: Participate in the Color the Music ProjectNational Philharmonic ChoralePiotr Gajewski, conductorDebussy La MerHolst The PlanetsIn collaboration with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

BRIAN GANZ PLAYS CHOPIN’S HIDDEN GEMS SAT FEB 10, 2018 8pm Note: No pre-concert lecture Chopin Bolero, Op. 19 2 Bourrées Fugue in A minor Souvenir de Paganini “Minute” Waltz Fantasy-Impromptu Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53 Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40, No. 1 and much more!

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER PLAYERS AT POTTER VIOLINS*SUNDAY, FEB 18, 2018 3-5pm Cheryl Hill, clarinet Colin Sorgi, violin and viola Lori Barnet, celloStory TimeSchumann Märchenerzählungen, Op. 132 Stravinsky Suite from The Soldier’s Tale (1919) Thomas Ádes Court Studies from The Tempest (2005) Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 (arr. Steuermann)

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC 2017-18 CALENDAR


GERSHWIN’S PORGY AND BESS A Concert Opera SAT FEB 24, 2018 8pmPorgy Kevin DeasBess Marlissa HudsonCrown Michael ReddingSportin’ Life Chauncey PackerSerina Aundi Marie MooreJake Edward PleasantClara/Maria NaGuanda NoblesMingo/Peter Robbins Colin EatonNational Philharmonic Chorale Members of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Concert ChoirStan Engebretson, conductor

SPIRITED BRAHMSSAT MARCH 17, 2018 8pmSUN MARCH 18, 2018 3pmSat + Sun: Members-Only Encore Q&A Sun: Meet the Instruments 2-2:30pm Melissa White, violin Piotr Gajewski, conductor Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major Symphony No. 4 in E minor

SCHOOL FOR LOVERS Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte A Concert Opera SAT APRIL 14, 2018 8pm Fiordiligi Danielle Talamantes Dorabella Shirin Eskandani Guglielmo Trevor Scheunemann Ferrando Norman Shankle Despina Arianna Zukerman Don Alfonso Kenneth KelloggNational Philharmonic Chorale Piotr Gajewski, conductor

NORTHERN LIGHTSSAT APRIL 28, 2018 8pmMembers-Only Encore Q&A Guest Artist Ola Gjeilo, pianoMontgomery College Chorus Strathmore Children’s ChorusNational Philharmonic ChoraleStan Engebretson, conductor Rachmaninoff Vespers (selections)Ola Gjeilo Dark Night of the Soul Luminous Night of the Soul Northern Lights The GroundAlistair Coleman Premiere of Commissioned Work(Composer-in-Residence)

BEETHOVEN’S PASTORAL SYMPHONY SAT MAY 5, 2018 8pmMembers-Only Encore Q&AFor Young People: Participate in the Color the Music Project Colin Sorgi, violin Piotr Gajewski, conductor Marjorie Merryman Windhover FantasyProkofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 Beethoven Symphony No. 6 in F Major (“Pastoral”)

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER PLAYERS AT POTTER VIOLINS*SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2018 3-5pm Herbert Greenberg, guest violin Colin Sorgi, violinJulius Wirth, violaLori Barnet, celloStudents from MCYO and National Philharmonic Summer String InstitutesNext GenerationLeclair Sonata for Two Violins in A Major, Op. 3, No. 2 Andrew Norman The Companion Guide to Rome (2010)Mendelssohn Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20

100th ANNIVERSARY OF POLAND’S INDEPENDENCESAT JUNE 2, 2018 8pmKrzesimir Debski Hussars’ PolonaiseChopin Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minorSzymanowski Stabat MaterBrian Ganz, piano Esther Heideman, soprano Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano Tyler Duncan, baritoneNational Philharmonic Chorale Miroslaw Jacek Blaszczyk, conductor

*Potter Violins John Kendall Recital Hall7711 Eastern Ave Takoma Park, MD

Free pre-concert lectures by National Philharmonic Associate Conductor Victoria Gau are offered 75 minutes before concerts throughout the season. Please check nationalphilharmonic.org for up-to-date information. Ph

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Sphinx Winner!


Sponsor: Ameriprise Financial Saturday sponsor: Ingleside at King Farm

All Kids, All Free, All The Time is sponsored in part by Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore and Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. and Dieneke Johnson.

The Music Center at StrathmoreMarriott Concert Stage

Star-Spangled Banner Francis Scott Key (1779-1843) Conducted by County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett

Egmont Overture, Op. 84 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 Max Bruch (1838-1920) Vorspiel: Allegro moderato Adagio Finale: Allegro energico

INTERMISSION

Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Allegro Adagio, ma non troppo Finale: Allegro moderato – Andante – Allegro vivo

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017, 8 PM

The National Philharmonic Piotr Gajewski, Music Director and Conductor

Star-Studded Season Opening Sarah Chang, violin

Zuill Bailey, cello Piotr Gajewski, conductor

STAR-STUDDED SEASON OPENING


Egmont Overture, Op. 84 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 Max Bruch (1838-1920) Vorspiel: Allegro moderato Adagio Finale: Allegro energico

INTERMISSION

Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) Allegro molto moderato Adagio Allegro moderato molto e marcato— Quasi presto—Andante maestoso

Sponsor: Ameriprise Financial

All Kids, All Free, All The Time is sponsored in part by Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore and Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. and Dieneke Johnson.

The Music Center at StrathmoreMarriott Concert Stage

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2017, 3 PM


Star-Studded Season Opening Sarah Chang, violin

Santiago Rodriguez, pianoPiotr Gajewski, conductor

STAR-STUDDED SEASON OPENING


Piotr Gajewski, conductorAn “immensely talented and insightful conductor, whose standards, taste and sensitivity are impeccable,” raves The Washington Post. Piotr Gajewski, a student and disciple of the

late Leonard Bernstein, continues to thrill audiences all over the world with inspiring performances of great music. “His courtly, conservative movements matched the music’s mood. A flick of the finger, and a fanfare sounded. He held up his palm, and the musicians quieted. It was like watching a race car in the hands of a good driver,” reports The Buffalo News.

With one foot in the United States, as Music Director & Conductor of the National Philharmonic at the Music Center at Strathmore, and the other in Europe, as Principal Guest Conductor of the Silesian Philharmonic (Katowice, Poland) and frequent guest at other orchestras, the jet-set maestro’s seemingly limitless repertoire, most conducted without a score, amazes critics and audiences alike.

Maestro Gajewski is one of a select group of American conductors equally at home in nearly all musical genres. A sought-after guest conductor, he recently conducted Bach at the Northwest Bach Festival, Prokofiev with the South Florida Symphony, and Copland in Jelenia Góra, Poland. While Gajewski freely admits that Mozart is perhaps his favorite composer, he ventures as far as Barry Manilow and beyond at Pops Concerts, and has led several dozen world premieres, including one of the opera Lost Childhood by the American composer Janice Hamer.

A committed arts educator, Maestro Gajewski is the muscle behind National Philharmonic’s groundbreaking “All Kids, All Free, All the Time” initiative, as well as the creation of summer institutes for young

string players and singers and master classes with esteemed visiting artists. Working with the local school system, Gajewski also established annual concerts for all Montgomery County second-grade students—some 12,000 each year!

In his native Poland, Gajewski has appeared with the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Krakow Philharmonic and with most other major orchestras. Since 2007, he also regularly serves as the only American on the jury of the prestigious Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors.

Gajewski began studying piano at age four. After immigrating to the United States, he continued his studies at the Preparatory Division of the New England Conservatory, at Carleton College in Minnesota, and at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, where he earned B.M. and M.M. degrees in orchestral conducting. His conducting mentors, in addition to Bernstein, with whom he studied at the Tanglewood Music Center on a Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship, include such luminaries as Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Gunther Schuller and Maurice Abravanel.

Maestro Gajewski’s many honors include Poland’s Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit bestowed on him by the President of Poland, and a prize at New York’s Leopold Stokowski Conducting Competition.

A true Renaissance man, when away from music, Gajewski continues to play competitive soccer, holds a law degree and a license to practice law in two states and, from 2007-2011, served on his hometown (Rockville, Maryland) City Council.

Maestro Gajewski is represented worldwide by Sciolino Artist Management.

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ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES


Sarah Chang, violinistRecognized as one of the foremost violinists of our time, Sarah Chang has performed with the most esteemed orchestras, conductors, and accompanists in an

international career spanning more than two decades. Since her debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of eight, Ms. Chang has continued to impress audiences with her technical virtuosity and emotional depth.

In 2006, Ms. Chang was honored as one of 20 Top Women in Newsweek’s “Women and Leadership, 20 Powerful Women Take Charge” issue. In 2008, Ms. Chang was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

In 2012, Sarah Chang received Harvard University’s Leadership Award, and in 2005, Yale University dedicated a chair in Sprague Hall in her name. In addition, Ms. Chang was selected to carry the Olympic Torch in New York, was awarded the Internazionale Accademia Musicale Chigiana Prize in Sienna, Italy, and became the youngest person ever to receive the Hollywood Bowl’s Hall of Fame award.

Other previous distinctions include the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Gramophone’s “Young Artist of the Year” award, Germany’s “Echo” Schallplattenpreis, “Newcomer of the Year” honors at the International Classical Music Awards in London, and Korea’s “Nan Pa” award. In 2011, Ms. Chang was named an official Artistic Ambassador by the United States Department of State.

Zuill Bailey, celloZuill Bailey, widely considered one of the premiere cellists in the world, is a Grammy winner, distinguished soloist, recitalist, Artistic Director, and teacher. His rare

combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry, and engaging personality has secured his place as one of the most sought-after and active cellists today.

A consummate concerto soloist, Mr. Bailey has been featured with the symphony orchestras of Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Louisville, Honolulu, Milwaukee, Nashville, Toronto, Minnesota, Utah, Israel, Cape Town, and the Bruckner Orchestra in Linz, Austria. He has collaborated with such conductors as Itzhak Perlman, Alan Gilbert, Andrew Litton, James DePriest, Jun Markl, Carlos Kalmar, Jacques Lacombe, Grant Llewellyn, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. He also has been featured with musical luminaries Leon Fleisher, Jaime Laredo, the Juilliard String Quartet, Lynn Harrell, and János Starker. Mr. Bailey has appeared at Disney Hall, the Kennedy Center, the United Nations, Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd St. Y, and Carnegie Hall, where he made his concerto debut performing the U.S. premiere of Miklos Theodorakis’ Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra.

Mr. Bailey is an internationally renowned recording artist with over 20 titles. Mr. Bailey’s extensive discography includes the Bach Cello Suites and the recently released Britten Cello Symphony/Sonata with pianist Natasha Paremski, both of which immediately soared to the number-one spot on the Classical Billboard Charts. Mr. Bailey won a best solo performance Grammy Award in 2017 for his live recording of Tales of Hemingway, by composer Michael Daugherty. The CD, recorded with the Nashville Symphony, Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor, also won a Grammy for Best Composition, Tales of Hemingway, and Best Compendium. Other celebrated releases include the complete works for cello and piano of Brahms, Beethoven and Barber in addition to concertos of Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Dvořák, Elgar, Haydn, Schumann, Korngold, Saint-Saëns, Bloch, Brahms, Beethoven, and the world premiere recordings of the Muhly and Daugherty Works for Cello and Orchestra.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES


Kalmus Ludwig Masters has released his musical editions of the core repertoire in celebration of his appearances and recordings.

Mr. Bailey performs on the “Rosette” 1693 Matteo Goffriller Cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet. He is the Artistic Director of El Paso Pro-Musica (Texas), the Sitka Summer Music Festival/Series and Cello Seminar, (Alaska), the Northwest Bach Festival (Washington), guest Artistic Director of the Mesa Arts Center (Arizona), and Professor of Cello at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Santiago Rodriguez, pianoSantiago Rodriguez has been called “a phenomenal pianist ” (The New York Times) and “among the finest pianists in the world” (The Baltimore Sun).

He has performed internationally with leading orchestras, including the London Symphony, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the

Weimar Philharmonic, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra of Japan, the Tampere Philharmonic of Finland, the Berliner Symphoniker, the Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, Seattle, Indianapolis, American Composers’, and Houston Symphony Orchestras, the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C., and the American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. Mr. Rodriguez has appeared in recital at the Schauspielhaus in Berlin, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Montreal’s Theatre Maisonneuve, the Santander Festival in Spain, Alice Tully Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, and at the prestigious Ravenna Festival in Italy where the critics proclaimed that “he conquered the audience.” Mr. Rodriguez made his Carnegie Hall debut under the baton of Dennis Russell Davis, and also traveled to Finland for a series of concerts with Eri Klas conducting. In the 2016-2017 season, Santiago Rodriguez had return engagements in China, Korea and Taiwan.

Egmont Overture, Op. 84

Ludwig van Beethoven(born December 1770 in Bonn, Germany;died March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria)

When Beethoven received a commission to write the incidental music for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s play Egmont in 1809, he eagerly accepted the project. He had a lifelong admiration for Goethe’s poetry and drama, and the subject of Egmont in particular was very close to Beethoven’s own artistic and humanistic ideals. The hero of Goethe’s play, Count of Egmont, was a Flemish nobleman who

led a rebellion in the Netherlands against Spanish invaders during the 16th century, and as a consequence was executed by the Spanish Inquisition in 1567. There are some romantic underpinnings in Goethe’s play, but what really attracted Beethoven was the depiction of a hero standing up for justice and leading an uncompromising fight for freedom. Beethoven wrote the complete incidental music between 1809 and 1810, and although the various sections contain music of superlative beauty, the overture acquired an independent life as a standalone concert piece. In the Egmont Overture, Beethoven created a powerful dramatic narrative through purely instrumental

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

PROGRAM NOTES


PROGRAM NOTES

means. The structure of the work unfolds from an ominous opening in somber and mysterious sonorities to a finale that is completely transformative and victorious. In between, Beethoven used a tight sonata form in which harmonic tension is coupled with thematic transformation to depict the evolving drama of Egmont’s defiance of the Spanish Inquisition, the conflicts between his upstanding character and the authoritarian regime, and the personal tragedy befalling someone crushed by the machinery of the state. Beethoven’s work functions thus as a summary of Goethe’s drama. This emotionally concentrated work stands as one of the finest products of Beethoven’s heroic period, a phase of his career that best represents Beethoven as someone who, according to his own words, would “grab fate by the horns and make it do his bidding.” The message embodied in the Egmont Overture is that, although Egmont himself was destroyed, his cause survived, thus achieving vindication over oppression.

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26

Max Bruch(born January 6, 1838 in Cologne, Germany;died October 20, 1920 in Friedenau, Germany)

Max Bruch was a composer deeply steeped in the great tradition of Austro-German instrumental music that originated in the glorious days of Viennese Classicism and continued throughout the 19th century. His entire oeuvre is predicated on the cultivation of the forms, genres, and compositional techniques inherited from that tradition, and his Violin Concerto No. 1 is in many ways a highly successful distillation of all these techniques, enriched by quintessentially Romantic elements. Since its premiere on January 7, 1868, the work has become one of the most popular violin concertos in the history of Western music, and Bruch’s most popular composition. In fact, it was so popular that the composer eventually came to begrudge that success, which he viewed as detrimental to the reception of his other works. Cast in the traditional concerto layout of three movements (fast-slow-fast),

Bruch reinterpreted this pattern in two significant ways: by making the opening movement a prelude (“Vorspiel”) to the other two, and by linking all the movements together into a single design, without pause between movements. The thematic material is luxuriously Romantic, with broad and profoundly lyrical melodies that sometimes span the entire range of the violin. The supremely beautiful slow movement is unquestionably the emotional heart of the work; its contemplative mood is offset by the lively and energetic third movement, to which the second movement is connected by a single note. The third movement, infused by the spirited character of a dance, ends with a mounting accelerando and crescendo that leads to a powerfully rhetorical finale.

Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104(Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, 8 pm)

Antonín Dvořák (born September 8, 1841 in Nelahozeves, Czech Republic; died May 1, 1904 in Prague, Czech Republic)

Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor has been called the “king” of all cello concertos and the “supreme” work in this genre. Ironically, Dvořák himself had misgivings about the work because he found the relationship between the sonority of the cello and that of the full orchestra a bit troublesome. He loved the middle register of the instrument, but he had trouble working out a balance between the two outer registers and the massive sounds of the orchestra. This is the reason why his earlier attempt at a cello concerto was left unfinished. This time, however, while he was living in New York City as director of the National Conservatory, Dvořák had the opportunity to listen to a performance by the composer Victor Herbert featuring Herbert’s own cello concerto. Dvořák was impressed by Herbert’s success with this particular combination, motivating him to finally compose a cello concerto of his own. The work was completed in 1895, and it achieved canonical status almost immediately after its premiere. Brahms, who worked on the proofs of the concerto for publication, had


unreserved admiration for the work. Dvořák conceived the work not as a piece for virtuosic display (he even rejected the two cadenzas that had been added by the cello virtuoso Hanuš Wihan), but rather as a highly involved and emotionally complex work. He was particularly adamant that the finale should be special, a gradual fading out by the cello, as if the music were dissolving in the air; then the orchestra picks up the thread in the last few measures and brings the work to an end in a stormy swirl of sounds. The slow movement, a tribute to Dvořák’s sister-in-law, Josefina Kaunitzová, gained an added poignancy due to the fact that Kaunitzová died shortly after the completion of the work. In the third movement, Dvořák incorporated rhythmic and melodic elements drawn from Czech traditional dances, no doubt as a way of ameliorating his homesickness and reconnecting with his native country while living abroad. The premiere of this magnificent work took place in London in March 1896, with the British cellist Leo Stern and Dvořák himself conducting.

@ James Melo, 2017

Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16(Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017, 3 pm)

Edvard Grieg (born June 15, 1843 in Bergen, Norway;died September 4, 1907 in Bergen, Norway)

Grieg is universally recognized as the foremost Norwegian composer, one of the greatest representatives of the musical traditions of Scandinavia, and one of the seminal composers of the Romantic period. His output shows a confluence of many distinct elements, ranging from the heritage of the Austro-German musical tradition to the skillful incorporation of melodies and

rhythms from Norwegian traditional music. In that respect, Grieg fits perfectly within the line of nationalist composers who flourished in the second half of the 19th century. Such is the case with the Piano Concerto in A minor, a work that breathes the influence of Mendelssohn and Schumann but which is, nevertheless, permeated by a patina of Norwegian sensibility (he once remarked, “I am sure my music tastes like codfish”), even though Grieg avoided any overt quotation of Norwegian folk music. Grieg composed the concerto in 1868, but revised it several times throughout his life. Altogether, Grieg revised it seven times, with more than 300 changes in the orchestration. The final version was completed only a few weeks before Grieg’s death. Among the earliest admirers of the work was Franz Liszt, who reportedly sight read it on the spot in 1869. Each of the three movements is a superb demonstration of the genre, form, and style of the Romantic concerto: a tightly constructed sonata form in the first movement, including innovative harmonic digressions; a lyrical and songlike slow movement that demonstrates Grieg’s absolute command of melody; and a virtuosic, rhapsodic, and almost improvisational third movement that showcases the technical prowess of the performer. Even though Grieg composed the concerto as a work for his own performance, the premiere was given by soloist and composer Edmund Neupert in Copenhagen on April 3, 1869. The reception of the work was quite enthusiastic and, ever since, Grieg’s piano concerto has remained one of the staples of the piano concerto repertoire, very often coupled with the piano concerto in the same key by Robert Schumann as an ideal pair in sound recordings.

@ James Melo, 2017

PROGRAM NOTES


Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 for 8 cellos Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) Introdução (Embolada) Prelúdio (Modinha) Fuga (Conversa)

Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 Heitor Villa-Lobosfor soprano and 8 cellos Ária (Cantilena) Dança (Martelo)

Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9 for chorus Heitor Villa-Lobos

INTERMISSION

Magnificat in D major, BWV 243 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) 1. Chorus: Magnificat anima mea Dominum 2. Soprano aria: Et exsultavit spiritus meus 3. Soprano aria: Quia respexit humilitatem 4. Chorus: Omnes generationes 5. Bass aria: Quia fecit mihi magna 6. Alto, Tenor aria: Et misericordia 7. Chorus: Fecit potentiam in bracchio suo 8. Tenor aria: Deposuit potentes 9. Alto aria: Esurientes implevit bonis 10. Chorus: Suscepit Israel puerum suum 11. Chorus: Sicut locutus est 12. Chorus: Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto

All Kids, All Free, All The Time is sponsored in part by Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore and Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. and Dieneke Johnson

The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Concert Stage

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2017, 8 PM


Stan Engebretson, Chorale Artistic Director

Bach and Bachianas Danielle Talamantes, soprano

Magdalena Wór, mezzo-sopranoMatthew Smith, tenor

Kerry Wilkerson, baritoneNational Philharmonic Chorale

Piotr Gajewski, conductor

BACH AND BACHIANAS


Piotr Gajewski, conductor(For Piotr Gajewski’s biography, please see page 8.)

Danielle Talamantes, soprano“It’s not often that a fortunate operagoer witnesses the birth of a star!,” critics hailed for Danielle Talamantes’ recent role début as

Violetta in La traviata. This season she returns to the Metropolitan Opera in the role of Beatriz in the brand new Thomas Adès opera Exterminating Angel. Additional performances include Mozart’s Requiem with the Cathedral Choral Society of Washington; the Villa-Lobos Bachianas brasileiras No. 5, Bach Magnificat, and the role of Fiordilgi in Così fan tutte with the National Philharmonic; Handel’s Messiah with the US Naval Academy and the Austin Symphony; Poulenc’s Gloria with the Arizona State Symphony Orchestra; Mimì in Bohème with the Symphony of NW Arkanas; as well as guest solo appearances with El Paso Pro Musica, Close Encounters with Music in Scottsdale and the Berkshires.

After Ms. Talamantes’ critically-acclaimed debut album, Canciones españolas released she got right to work on Heaven and Earth: A Duke Ellington Songbook; a luscious collection of brand-new arrangements of Duke Ellington standards and irreplaceable gems of the American Songbook – written especially for Ms. Talamantes. Both albums are available on the MSR Classics record label.

Last season, Talamantes performed the role of Anna in Nabucco and Frasquita in Carmen with The Metropolitan Opera;

performed the soprano solo in Händel’s Messiah and Brahms’ Requiem with National Philharmonic; Mozart’s Requiem with Phoenix Symphony Orchestra; Verdi’s Requiem with the Choral Artists of Sarasota; and Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with Manchester Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she was a featured soloist with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Close Encounters with Music Festival.

Other recent engagements include the soprano solo in Haydn’s Creation with Cathedral Choral Society; Händel’s Messiah at Phoenix Symphony and National Philharmonic; Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Mozart’s Requiem and Exsultate Jubilate at the National Philharmonic; Haydn’s Creation with the Choral Artists of Sarasota; as the soprano soloist in Bob Chilcott’s Requiem at Alice Tully Hall; the soprano lead in a world première production of Janice Hamer’s Lost Childhood with the National Philharmonic; Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the City Choir of Washington; Dvořák’s Stabat Mater at North Carolina Master Chorale; and turns as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Mimì in La bohéme, Violetta in La traviata and a début at Spoleto Festival USA as Sergente in Veremonda.

Ms. Talamantes performs courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera.

Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano

“...and Magdalena Wór almost stole the show as a well-defined and well-sung Suzuki,” proclaimed Anne

Midgette of The Washington Post following Wór’s debut in Madama Butterfly with Virginia Opera.

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ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES


In 2016-17, Wór debuted with the Seattle Symphony as a soloist for their performances of Handel’s Messiah. She portrayed Maddalena in Opera Birmingham’s Rigoletto and performed with the National Philharmonic in Bach’s Mass in B minor and Handel’s Messiah. Wór has sung in Alexander Nevsky and in Opera Birmingham’s Madama Butterfly in the role of Suzuki. In 2011-2012, Wór performed in Carmen for Lyric Opera of Virginia, Handel’s Messiah with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Alabama Symphony Orchestras, was a soloist for Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with the Cathedral Choral Society of the Washington National Cathedral, Bach’s Magnificat with the National Philharmonic, and gave recitals at the Polish and Hungarian Embassies in Washington, D.C.

Magdalena Wór is winner of the Heinz Rehfuss Vocal Competition, a Metropolitan Opera Competition National Finalist, and an alumna of the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Summer Opera Program and Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera. Wór is originally from Poland and has lived in the United States since 1991.

Matthew Loyal Smith, tenorMatthew Loyal Smith is an accomplished tenor soloist, having performed with many prestigious ensembles including the Washington

Bach Consort, Cathedral Choral Society, Washington Concert Opera, Niagara Symphony Orchestra, Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, and Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia. Matthew received the Carmel Bach Festival’s Adams Fellowship for the performance and study of the music of Bach in 2008. A finalist in the 2002 San Francisco Opera Center auditions and a semifinalist in the 2005 Montreal

International Musical Competition, his operetta and operatic roles have included Frederic in Pirates of Penzance, Baron Zsupàn in Countess Maritza, the Prologue in The Turn of the Screw, Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, the Mayor in Albert Herring, and Torquemada in L’heure Espagnol. He was a resident artist with the Pine Mountain Music Festival in 2003, where he covered the role of Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore. Matthew has studied voice with Beverley Rinaldi and Christine Anderson while earning a B.M. in Voice from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a M.M. in Opera from Temple University. Smith currently serves with the Air Force Singing Sergeants in Washington, D.C., performing at the White House, with the National Symphony Orchestra, for nationally televised events including the funeral of former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, and on tours across the United States.

Kerry Wilkerson, baritoneKerry Wilkerson has sung with the professional choruses of the United States Air Force, United States Army, Carnegie Hall Choral Workshops,

and the critically acclaimed Robert Shaw Festival Singers. He currently serves as Assistant Director of Music Ministries at Vienna Presbyterian Church where he oversees a program for teenage musicians that includes a chorus, orchestra, hand bells, and worship teams. As a military musician, he has sung extensively throughout the United States and Canada in some of the area’s finest performance halls. Washington, D.C. audiences also know him as a local recitalist and frequent guest soloist with community-based orchestras and choruses. Wilkerson is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (BMEd) and George Mason University (MA).

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES


Bachianas Brasileiras Nos. 1, 5, and 9

Heitor Villa-Lobos (born March 5, 1887 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; died November 17, 1959 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Heitor Villa-Lobos was unquestionably the most important and influential composer in the history of Brazilian music. His vast and diverse output (by some accounts, he was the most prolific composer of the 20th century) is infused with the very nature of Brazil, its rhythms and colors, and the lushness of its landscapes. Brazilian folklore was so integral to Villa-Lobos’ conception of his music that, when asked about its influence on his works he replied, decisively, “I am the Brazilian folklore.” There was no arrogance in the statement, but rather the recognition that his very existence as a composer was equivalent to being a conduit for the rich musical traditions of Brazil.

Villa-Lobos, who was mostly an autodidact, nurtured a lifelong admiration for the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, a composer whom he considered to be the ultimate master and fountainhead of Western music. Between 1930 and 1945, he embarked on a large-scale compositional project that produced one of the most glorious and accomplished sets of works in the entire history of Brazilian music: the collection of nine Bachianas Brasileiras, written as a demonstration of the compositional techniques inherited from Bach and the Baroque, combined with a bewildering variety of Brazilian melodic motives, rhythms, forms, genres, instruments, and other traditional elements. The dual nature of these works is made explicit in the titles of the movements, most of which have an abstract, “Bachian” title (prelude, fugue, toccata, etc.) and a second title that is descriptive of the Brazilian form or genre to which it is adapted (embolada, martelo, cantiga, etc.). The nine Bachianas Brasileiras are scored for a great variety of instrumental and vocal forces, covering the gamut from intimate, chamber-like textures, to full and exuberant orchestral sonorities.

The Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 (1930), scored for orchestra of cellos, provides a fitting opening to the series. The cello was Villa-Lobos’ instrument, and his fondness for it is immediately evident in the range of technical and expressive resources that he coaxed from it in this work. The three abstract titles

(“Introdução,” “Prelúdio,” and “Fuga”) refer to the Baroque practice of pairing preludes and fugues, of which Bach provided several examples. The Brazilian titles are perfectly matched to their abstract models, especially the “Conversa” (conversation) as exemplifying the dialogic and polyphonic nature of the fugue. The “Embolada” is an improvisational song cultivated in northeastern Brazil, based on the continuous variation of a poetic and musical pattern, while the “Modinha” is the Brazilian equivalent of a salon-like song.

The Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (1938), scored for soprano and orchestra of cellos, is the most famous of the set, and one of the most popular works in the history of Brazilian music. It is cast in two movements, “Ária (Cantilena)” and “Dança (Martelo),” each representing a distinct element of the Brazilian soul: the melancholy, introspective strain that pervades most of the Brazilian genres, and the extrovert, exuberant, energetic rhythmic drive that informs many Brazilian folk traditions. The “Ária (Cantilena)” is the section for which the Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 is most famous. It unfolds a lush, soaring melody, which is textless at the beginning and end. A text by Ruth Valadares Corrêa (who also sang the premiere in 1938) makes up its central section. The final appearance of the melody, after an interlude with the orchestra of cellos and the texted section, is to be sung bocca chiusa (humming with closed mouth), an extremely difficult vocal technique. The “Dança (Martelo)” is a lively movement inspired by a competitive singing tradition from northeastern Brazil; its text inventories several birds of Brazil, all of which remind the poet of his native and distant home.

The Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9 (1945) is scored for string orchestra or, alternatively, for wordless chorus. This is the only one of the Bachianas in which the titles of all the movements are given solely in an abstract form (“Prélude” and “Fugue”) without their Brazilian equivalents. This pairing is quintessentially Bachian, and refers directly to the coupling of preludes and fugues in the keyboard music of the Baroque, of which Bach’s own Well-Tempered Clavier (a total of 48 preludes and fugues) is the best example. The version for wordless chorus is rarely performed, and its inclusion in tonight’s program offers a welcome opportunity to hear a work in which the human voice shines forth as a pure and abstract instrument, through highly unusual sonorities and textures. Fittingly, the

PROGRAM NOTES


Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9 is the most abstract of the set, as if Villa-Lobos wanted to conclude his great collection with an unvarnished tribute to his great spiritual and artistic mentor.

Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243

Johann Sebastian Bach(born March 31, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany; died July 28, 1750 in Leipzig, Germany)

Bach’s supremely beautiful Magnificat, an elaborated setting of the hymn of the Virgin Mary, is the first of his major religious works to be derived directly from the Catholic liturgy (the other being the Mass in B minor, BWV 232). The text of the Magnificat comes from the Gospel According to Luke; it is the Virgin Mary’s answer to her cousin Elizabeth, after Elizabeth greets her as the mother of God. It has always been a central work in the Catholic Vespers services, and Bach composed his version originally for the Christmas service in Leipzig in 1723 (in E-flat Major and with the addition of Christmas hymns), which he revised as an Easter work (in D Major and without the Christmas sections)

in 1733. As with virtually all of Bach’s religious works, the Magnificat displays a wide array of forms, textures, and vocal and instrumental combinations. Homophonic and polyphonic textures alternate with melismatic passages of great beauty. The instrumentation takes advantage of the largest orchestra that Bach could use at the time, including not only the regular strings and woodwinds, but also drums and trumpets. The large choir is made even more prominent by being cast in five parts (in which the sopranos are divided) instead of the more common four. The twelve movements are arranged symmetrically (in terms of keys, rhythmic and metrical patterns, and contrapuntal procedures) around the central seventh movement. The Magnificat remains one of Bach’s most popular vocal works, performed mostly in its second version in D Major. It has also served as the model for several 20th-century composers (such as Vaughan Williams, Arvo Pärt, and Krzysztof Penderecki, among others) in their own settings of the hymn.

@ James Melo, 2017

PROGRAM NOTES


Heitor Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5Ária (Cantiga) – text by Ruth Valadares Corrêa

Tarde uma nuvem rósea lenta e transparente. Evening, a rosy, slow, and transparent cloud Sobre o espaço, sonhadora e bela! Crosses the space, dreamy and beautiful. Surge no infinito a lua docemente, The moon rises sweetly in the horizon, Enfeitando a tarde, qual meiga donzela Adorning the afternoon like a gentle maiden Que se apresta e alinda sonhadoramente, Who rushes to dreamily embellish herself Em anseios d’alma para ficar bela With an anxious soul to become beautiful. Grita ao céu e a terra toda a Natureza! All nature shouts to the sky and to the Earth! Cala a passarada aos seus tristes queixumes All birds fall silent to the moon’s complaints E reflete o mar toda a Sua riqueza... And the sea reflects all its splendor… Suave a luz da lua desperta agora The moonlight softly awakens A cruel saudade que ri e chora! The cruel longing that laughs and cries! Tarde uma nuvem rósea lenta e transparente Evening, a rosy, slow, and transparent cloud Sobre o espaço, sonhadora e bela! Crosses the space, dreamy and beautiful.

Dança (Martelo) – text by Manuel BandeiraIrerê, meu passarinho Irerê, my little bird Do sertão do cariri, From the wilderness of Cariri, Irerê, meu companheiro, Irerê, my companion. Cadê viola? Where is my guitar? Cadê meu bem? Where is my sweetheart? Cadê Maria? Where is Maria? Ai triste sorte a do violeiro cantadô! Ah! What a sad fate of him who has to sing Sem a viola em que cantava o seu amô, Without the lute that sings of his love. Seu assobio é tua flauta de irerê: His whistle is shrill like the flute of Irerê. Que tua flauta do sertão quando assobia, This flute when it whistles through the wilderness A gente sofre sem querê! Makes us suffer unwittingly.Teu canto chega lá do fundo do sertão Your song comes from the depths of the wilderness Como uma brisa amolecendo o coração. Like a breeze softening the heart.

Irerê, solta teu canto! Irerê, bring forth your song! Canta mais! Canta mais! Sing more! Sing more! Pra alembrá o Cariri! Sing to remind me of my Cariri!

Canta, cambaxirra! Sing, cambaxirra! Canta, juriti! Sing, juriti! Canta, irerê! Sing, irerê! Canta, canta, sofrê! Sing, sing of pain and sorrow! Patativa! Bem-te-vi! Patativa! Bem-te-vi!

Maria-acorda-que-é-dia! Maria, wake up! The day has dawned! Cantem, todos vocês, Sing, all of you, Passarinhos do sertão! Birds of my heartlands!

Bem-te-vi! Bem-te-vi! Eh sabiá! O, sabiá! Lá! Liá! liá! liá! liá! liá! Lá! Liá! liá! liá! liá! liá! Eh sabiá da mata cantadô! O, sabiá, singer of the wild woods! Lá! Liá! liá! liá! Lá! Liá! liá! liá! Lá! Liá! liá! liá! liá! liá! Lá! Liá! liá! liá! liá! liá! Eh sabiá da mata sofredô! O, sabiá, bird of the mournful woods!

O vosso canto vem do fundo do sertão Your song comes from the depths of the wilderness Como uma brisa amolecendo o coração. Like a breeze softening the heart.

SONG TEXTS


Johann Sebastian Bach: Magnificat in D Major, BWV 2431. ChorusMagnificat anima mea Dominum My soul proclaims the glory of God2. Soprano ariaEt exsultavit spiritus meus And my spirit rejoices In Deo salutari meo in God, my savior.3. Soprano aria: Quia respexit humilitatem Because he looked kindly upon His servant Ancillae suae. In her humbleness. Ecce nim ex hoc Behold, from now on Beatam me dicent They will call me fortunate.4. ChorusOmnes generationes Throughout the generations of men5. Bass ariaQuia fecit mihi magna Because He who is mighty Qui potens est, has done great things for me Et sanctum nomem eius, and holy is His name6. Alto, Tenor ariaEt misericordia And His mercy continues A progenie in progenies from generation to generation Timentibus eum. For those who fear Him.7. ChorusFecit potentiam in bracchio suo With the power of His arm Dispersit superbos He has scattered the arrogant Mente cordis sui. In the pride of their minds.8. Tenor ariaDeposuit potentes He has brought low the mighty ones De sede et exaltavit humiles from their thrones and exalted the humble.9. Alto ariaEsurientes implevit bonis He has been generous to the hungry Et divites dimisit inanes. And sent the rich away empty handed.10. ChorusSuscepit Israel puerum suum Mindful of His mercy, Recordatus misericordiae suae He has helped His servant, Israel11. ChorusSicut locutus est As He had promised Ad patres nostros, to our forefathers Abraham et semini eius in saecula. Abraham and his progeny, for centuries to come.12. ChorusGloria Patri, gloria Filio Glory to the Father, glory to the Son Gloria et Spiritui Sancto Glory to the Holy Spirit, Sicut erat in principio As it was in the beginning, Et nunc et semper As it is now and will be forever, Et in saecula saeculorum. And for ages and ages. Amen. Amen.

SONG TEXTS


HANDEL’S MESSIAH

Messiah George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

PART I

SinfoniaRecitative (tenor) Comfort ye, my people, saith your GodAria (tenor) Every valley shall be exaltedChorus And the glory of the Lord shall be revealedRecitative (bass) Thus saith the Lord of HostsAria (alto) But who may abide the day of His coming?Chorus And He shall purify the sons of LeviRecitative (alto) Behold, a virgin shall conceiveAria (alto) O thou that tellest good tidings to ZionChorus O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, ariseRecitative (bass) For behold, darkness shall cover the earthAria (bass) The people that walked in darknessChorus For unto us a child is bornPastoral SymphonyRecitative (soprano) There were shepherds abiding in the fieldRecitative (soprano) And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon themRecitative (soprano) And the angel said unto them: Fear not, for beholdChorus Glory to God in the highestAria (soprano) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of ZionRecitative (soprano) Then shall the eyes of the blind be openedAria (alto and soprano) He shall feed His flock like a shepherdChorus His yoke is easy, and His burthen is light

INTERMISSION

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2017, 8 pmSUNDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2017, 3 pm



Handel’s MessiahEsther Heideman, soprano

Yvette Smith, mezzo-sopranoNorman Shankle, tenor

Trevor Scheunemann, baritoneNational Philharmonic ChoraleStan Engebretson, conductor


PART II

Chorus Behold the lamb of GodAria (alto) He was despised and rejected of menChorus Surely He hath borne our griefsChorus All we like sheep have gone astrayRecitative (tenor) All they that see Him laugh Him to scornChorus He trusted in God that He would deliver HimRecitative (tenor) Thy rebuke hath broken His heartAria (tenor) Behold and see if there be any sorrowRecitative (tenor) He was cut off out of the land of the livingAria (tenor) But Thou didst not leave His soul in hellAria (bass) Why do the nations so furiously rage togetherChorus Let us break their bonds asunderRecitative (tenor) He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scornAria (tenor) Thou shalt break them with a rod of ironChorus Hallelujah!

PART III

Aria (soprano) I know that my redeemer livethChorus Since by man came deathRecitative (bass) Behold, I tell you a mysteryAria (bass) The trumpet shall soundChorus Worthy is the Lamb that was slainChorus Amen

Weekend sponsor: Ameriprise Financial

All Kids, All Free, All the Time is sponsored in part by Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore and Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. and Dieneke Johnson.



Stan Engebretson, conductor

Stan Engebretson has served as the Artistic Director of the National Philharmonic Chorale since its inception. In addition to leading the Chorale in masterworks ranging in size from

Handel’s Messiah to Berlioz’ Requiem at The Music Center at Strathmore, Engebretson has appeared on concert stages throughout the United States and in Europe, Asia, and Australia. He has studied with the great masters of choral music, including Robert Shaw, Gregg Smith, Richard Westenburg, Roger Wagner and Eric Ericson, Conductor Emeritus of the world-renowned Swedish Radio Choir in Stockholm, Sweden.

A native of North Dakota, Engebretson grew up in a musical environment, receiving his early training singing in the Scandinavian choral tradition. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano and Voice from the University of North Dakota, and then went on for his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from Stanford University. He has held faculty positions within the University of Texas system and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, he served as the Artistic Director of the Midland-Odessa Symphony Chorale and was the Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Chorale.

In Washington, DC since 1990, Dr. Engebretson also is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at George Mason University, and is the Director of Music at the historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. From 1993-2003, he was the Artistic Director of the predecessor to the National Philharmonic Chorale, the Masterworks Chorus and Orchestra and their smaller ensemble, the National Chamber Singers. In 2009 he served as a Fulbright Scholar to Iceland. Since 1992, Engebretson has lectured for the Smithsonian Institution during summer tours including the Bach Festival in Carmel, CA; the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, CO; and the Spoleto-USA Festival in Charleston, SC. Abroad in recent seasons he performed in workshops presented by the Europa Cantat and AMJ (Arbeitskreis Musik in der Jugend) events, plus others in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Russia, Lithuania, Iceland, Switzerland, China, Korea, and Australia.

Esther Heideman, soprano

Angelic is the word that has most often been used to describe the silvery pure, sweet tone of Esther Heideman’s vocal artistry. In 2000, she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the

Licia Albanese Competition. In 2001, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut singing Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. These performances were immediately followed by her debut with the New York Philharmonic in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and her European debut with the Prague Radio Symphony, singing in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2.

Heideman’s career began with her Carnegie Hall debut, singing Handel’s Messiah. Since then, she has performed with major orchestras throughout world, such as the Baltimore Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Aspen Music Festival, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

In addition to performing the staples of traditional concert repertoire, such as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Orff’s Carmina Burana, Heideman has been featured prominently in the premieres of some of today’s most respected contemporary composers. These have included the role of Jenny Lind in Libby Larsen’s opera Barnum’s Bird, Sister Angelica in The Three Hermits by Stephen Paulus, and The Revelation of St. John by Daniel Schnyder.

Upcoming performances include R. Evan’s Ireland’s Poet Patriots with the National Cathedral, Britten’s War Requiem with Music Worcester, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater with the National Philharmonic, and a holiday concert at the Kennedy Center in 2018. Esther is also currently recording a CD to be released on iTunes. When not performing, she enjoys teaching lessons and masterclasses and sharing her knowledge and experience with young performers.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

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Yvette Smith, mezzo soprano

Yvette Smith has been recognized for her “rich tone and great vocal control” by The Washington Post. In addition, The Capital praised her concert work with Annapolis Opera, saying

“she demonstrated excellent vocal and dramatic ranges, moving effortlessly from the composer’s quiet solemnity to his venting of futile rage.”

Smith is an accomplished concert artist and has soloed in more than 40 orchestral works. Some of her favorites include appearances as alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Washington National Cathedral and National Philharmonic; and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra.

She debuted Harraldson’s Lincoln Mass, which was written for the bicentennial celebration of President Lincoln’s former church, New York Avenue Presbyterian. She made her debut with Washington National Opera in 2009 in their production of Strauss’ Elektra as First Maidservant. She has also performed Katisha in The Mikado at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, Emilia in Otello with Summer Opera Theater, and The Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte with the National Philharmonic.

She has been singing with the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the past nine seasons where she has been a featured soloist in Handel’s Hercules and has performed the roles of the First Maidservant in Elektra and The Voice in Parsifal.

A native of North Carolina, Ms. Smith earned her Bachelor’s degree at UNC-Greensboro and then earned her Master of Music degree from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Norman Shankle, tenor

The Boston Globe has called tenor Norman Shankle “a real find, a singer of elegance, grace and conviction,” and the San Francisco Chronicle praised him equally as “clearly a singer to watch.” This season,

Shankle sang Nick in La Fanciulla del West with

Opera Colorado, and returned to the Phoenix Symphony for Handel’s Messiah. He also joined the Pittsburgh Opera as Elder Barber/Gus Greenlee in The Summer King, a new opera that explores the life of Josh Gibson, “one of the greatest Negro League baseball players” and performed the role of Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri with Piedmont Opera.

Shankle began his career with the San Francisco Opera (SFO) in the Merola Opera Program and as an Adler Fellow. He officially made his company début as Valletto in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and subsequently appeared in SFO’s productions of Tristan und Isolde, Don Carlo, Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery, Louise, Lucia di Lammermoor, Idomeneo, and Don Giovanni. In 2001, Shankle was selected as a winner of the distinguished ARIA award. Other awards include a 1999 Richard Tucker Career Grant, and the 1998 McAllister Award.

Trevor Scheunemann, baritone

Praised by Opera News for his “lovely timbre,” and “dramatic timing,” as well as The Washington Post for his “rich and gleaming” voice, baritone Trevor Scheunemann has

quickly established himself as one of opera’s leading baritones. Scheunemann is in demand at revered houses around the world for his thoughtful, original portrayals of opera’s leading baritones. Highlights of his resume include performances as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse and Teatro Municipal Santiago; Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with the San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, and Opéra National de Bordeaux; Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Oper Frankfurt and Washington National Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni with Opéra de Monte-Carlo; Escamillo in Carmen with Ópera de Puerto Rico; and Marcello in La Bohème with the Atlanta Opera and Washington National Opera.

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Messiah

George Frideric Handel (born February 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany; died April 14, 1759 in London, England)

On April 10, 1742, the following note appeared in the Dublin News-Letter: “Yesterday morning, at the Musick Hall, there was a public rehearsal of the Messiah, Mr. Handel’s new sacred oratorio, which in the opinion of the best judges, far surpasses anything of that nature, which has been performed in this or any other Kingdom. The elegant entertainment was conducted in the most regular manner, and to the entire satisfaction of the most crowded and polite assembly.”

The announcement, coming immediately after a highly successful concert season that Handel had just completed in Dublin, raised high expectations for the premiere of the new oratorio, which took place on April 13, 1742. Advertisements went out requesting that gentlemen attended without their swords, and ladies without hoops in their dresses, in order to maximize the capacity of the concert hall, so that at the premiere 700 people crowded in the Musick Hall. The performance was a resounding success. Handel not only directed from the keyboard but also played a selection of his own concertos for organ between the different sections of Messiah. The Dublin Journal summarized its review of the performance by stating that “the sublime, the grand, and the tender, adapted to the most elevated, majestic and moving words, conspired to transport and charm the ravished heart and ear.”

The man who composed Messiah was, by all accounts, a very difficult person. Handel was subject to violent outbursts and often engaged in quite unreasonable behaviors. In one such tantrum, during rehearsals with the renowned soprano Francesca Cuzzoni, Handel lost patience because she refused to follow his instructions and, in a fit of rage, grabbed her by the waist and threatened to throw her out of the window. This explosive side of his personality, however, was

balanced by his open-hearted generosity to charities, orphans, retired musicians, and the ill.

At the time of the composition of Messiah, Handel was in the midst of a major career change. For most of his life, he had been known primarily as an outstanding composer of Italian operas, which he produced at a seemingly unstoppable rate. He was also a savvy businessman, well attuned to the expectations of his audience and his patrons. The opera season of 1740-41, however, was extremely disappointing, well below the kind of economic and artistic success with which Handel had grown accustomed. Handel realized that the failure of that particular opera season was not an isolated event, but an indication that his many years of undiminished success as an opera composer and producer were drawing to a close. It was then that he turned full tilt to the composition of English oratorios, which had the advantage of not requiring elaborate sets and costumes, nor the hiring of international opera stars. Among Handel’s closest friends was the Shakespearean scholar Charles Jennens (1770-1773), who had been a devoted champion of Handel’s music since 1725. At the time of the disappointing opera season of 1740-41, Handel had already produced a few successful English oratorios, and these early ventures may have given Jennens the impetus to propose a new subject. In a July 1741 letter to his friend Edward Holdsworth, Jennens commented that Handel had nothing planned for the following winter, and that he hoped to persuade him to “set another Scripture collection” that he had made for him, and he predicted that, if Handel lavished all his skills upon this new project, it would surpass everything he had done before, because the subject itself excelled all the others. This was the libretto for Messiah.

Jennens’s libretto is rather unusual, consisting of references and allusions to the figure of Jesus Christ culled from several sections of the Bible (only one of which was taken directly from the Gospels), and from the version of the Psalms in the Book of

PROGRAM NOTES


PROGRAM NOTES

Common Prayer. This approach produced a libretto in which there is no particular narrative center, as if everything were being told from an oblique and mediated perspective. The unusual nature of the libretto inevitably influenced Handel’s musical conception, making Messiah quite unique among his many oratorios.

Handel composed Messiah at breakneck speed—in 24 days between August 22 and September 14, 1741. Statistics have placed the total number of notes in the oratorio at approximately a quarter of a million, which means that Handel would have to write an average of 15 notes per minute, for 10 hours straight, every day. Unlike most of Handel’s oratorios, Messiah does not have well-defined characters. A cursory glance at its many arias, recitatives, choruses, and duets is enough to show that Handel conceived the musical structure of Messiah as an ongoing reflection on the story of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, direct characterization is consistently avoided in Messiah. The singers do not assume dramatic roles, as it happens in most of Handel’s other oratorios. Also, while the choruses have a relatively secondary role in Handel’s oratorios, in Messiah they achieve an importance that remains unique among works of this genre. Handel wrote Messiah for modest vocal and instrumental forces (the choir for the premiere consisted of 26 boys and five men from the combined choirs of St. Patrick’s and Christ Church Cathedrals), and the tradition of big Messiahs, with large choirs and orchestras, is a late development. Overall, the music of Messiah is characterized by a carefully balanced orchestration, in which Handel opted for restraint instead of rhetorical prowess. He uses instruments judiciously, such as the beautifully delayed use of the trumpets to create a highly effective contrast as they color the “Hallelujah” chorus and the final chorus, “Worthy is the Lamb.”

The London premiere of Messiah took place at Covent Garden on March 23, 1743, almost a full year after the Dublin premiere. Legend has it that, during the “Hallelujah” chorus, King George II was so moved that he stood up, even though there is no evidence that he was ever present at that or any other performance of the oratorio. Since then, nevertheless, a tradition was established (mentioned for the first time in 1756) of standing during this portion of the oratorio.

In all, Handel gave 36 performances of Messiah from 1742 to 1759, the year of his death. His fondness for Messiah is also attested by the fact that, eight days before he died, frail and blind, he insisted upon attending a performance of it at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. The growing popularity of Messiah led several composers (including Mozart) to re-orchestrate it, sometimes substantially revising Handel’s original orchestration. Handel himself revised and changed the oratorio significantly in several occasions, often to adapt it to available performance forces or to the demands of a particular singer. One of the most extravagant performances of Messiah on record was at the Crystal Palace in London in 1857. Part of a Handel festival, it included a chorus of 2000 singers and an orchestra of 500 instrumentalists. Performances of Messiah calling for large vocal and instrumental forces have continued to this day, as has the tradition of performing Messiah as a staple of the Christmas holidays.

© James Melo, 2017


Recitative (Tenor) Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Air (Tenor) Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low: the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.

Chorus And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Recitative (Bass) Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: The Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

Air (Bass) But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire.

Chorus And he shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Recitative (Mezzo-soprano) Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, “God-with-us.”

Air (Mezzo-soprano) and Chorus O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up they voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

Recitative (Bass) For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Air (Bass) The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Chorus For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL’S MESSIAH TEXT

PART ONE

OVERTURE

SONG TEXTS


SONG TEXTS

Recitative (Soprano) There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock at night.

Arioso (Soprano) And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Recitative (Soprano) And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Arioso (Soprano) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Chorus Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will towards men.

Air (Soprano) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is the righteous Saviour. And he shall speak peace unto the heathen.

Recitative (Mezzo-soprano) Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.

Air (Mezzo-soprano and Soprano) He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: and he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. Come unto Him, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Chorus His yoke is easy, and His burthen is light.

Chorus Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.

Air (Mezzo-soprano) He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He gave his back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. He hid not His face from shame and spitting.

Chorus Surely, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.

Chorus And with His stripes we are healed.

Chorus All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Recitative (Tenor) All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn. They shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying:

Chorus He trusted in God that He would deliver Him, let Him deliver Him, if He delight in Him.

PIFA (“PASTORAL SYMPHONY”)

INTERMISSION

PART TWO


Air (Soprano) I know that my Redeemer liveth and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And tho’ worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep.

Chorus Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Recitative (Bass) Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be chang’d in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.

Air (Bass) The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised, incorruptible.

Chorus Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing. Blessing, and honour, glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen.

Recitative (Tenor) Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man, neither found He any to comfort Him.

Air (Tenor) Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow!

Recitative (Tenor) He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of Thy people was He stricken.

Air (Tenor) But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; nor didst Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.

Air (Bass) Why do the nations so furiously rage together, and why do the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His anointed.

Chorus Let us break their bonds asunder and cast away their yokes from us.

Recitative (Tenor) He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall have them in derision.

Air (Tenor) Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Chorus Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah! The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

PART THREE

SONG TEXTS


La Mer: Trois esquisses Claude Debussy (1862-1918)symphoniques pour orchestre De l’aube à midi sur la mer: Très lent – animez peu à peu Jeux de vagues: Allegro (dans un rythme très souple) – animé Dialogue du vent et de la mer: Animé et tumultueux – cédez très légèrement

INTERMISSION

The Planets, Op. 32 Gustav Holst (1874-1934) Mars, the Bringer of War Venus, the Bringer of Peace Mercury, the Winged Messenger Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age Uranus, the Magician Neptune, the Mystic

In collaboration with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Weekend sponsors: Ameriprise Financial Ms. Jane Liu and Mr. Edward Brinker

Sunday sponsor: Ingleside at King Farm



SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 2018, 8 PM SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 2018, 3 PM



Cosmic Designs

National Philharmonic Chorale Piotr Gajewski, conductor

COSMIC DESIGNS


Piotr Gajewski, conductor(For Piotr Gajewski’s biography, please see page 8.)

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ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

PROGRAM NOTES

La Mer

Claude Debussy (born August 22, 1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France; died March 25, 1918 in Paris, France)

It has become common to label Claude Debussy as an “impressionist” composer, by analogy with the visual arts movement that swept France in the late 19th century, but Debussy himself was very displeased with this label. Throughout his life, he railed against this characterization of his music, insisting that the prevalence of visual and poetic imagery in his works had nothing necessarily to do with impressionism; rather, it sprang from purely musical needs. Given how successful Debussy was in portraying visual images through music, however, it is unlikely that music lovers will be able to disassociate themselves from the impressionist background when listening to his works. Such is the case with La Mer (1903-1905), Debussy’s most brilliant orchestral work and certainly one of the glories of the symphonic repertoire. The work is cast in one of Debussy’s favorite structural layouts, a suite in three movements in the sequence “fast-slow-fast.” La Mer is given the subtitle “Three Symphonic Sketches,” and the visual element comes across in the highly descriptive title of each of the movements: the changing light, the vagaries of the weather, and the rhythm and luminescence

of water are evoked in the first movement, “From Dawn to Midday on the Sea,” in a manner similar to the impressionist painters’ practice of painting the same subject under different light. The second movement, “Play of Waves,” is concerned primarily with the physical and psychological sensations of motion and the reflection of sunlight on the water in a perpetually changing pattern; in the last movement, “Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea,” the menacing and mysterious nature of the sea comes to the fore, depicted through massive waves of orchestral sound that swell and retreat like mighty waves in the open sea. La Mer remains as striking today as when it was composed more than 100 years ago, making it one of the cornerstones of modern orchestral music.

The Planets, Op. 32

Gustav Holst (born September 21, 1874 in Cheltenham, United Kingdom; died May 25, 1934 in London, United Kingdom)

As an English composer working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Gustav Holst could not afford to ignore the musical developments that were sweeping through the continent, especially as England began to reclaim its place on the European musical scene after a long stretch of unremarkable production. Holst kept up with these developments through constant attention


PROGRAM NOTES

to the compositional procedures at the forefront of the European musical scene in the first decade of the 20th century—such as Schoenberg’s early atonal music and Stravinsky’s revolutionary treatment of rhythm and orchestration, which left echoes in the structure and sonority of Holst’s most popular work, the seven-movement suite, The Planets. Holst composed The Planets during a relatively low period in his career, when most of his large-scale works failed to achieve widespread recognition. In 1913, during a trip to Spain, the original idea for The Planets was born, spurred by Holst’s friend Clifford Bax (the brother of the composer Arnold Bax). It was Bax who rekindled Holst’s interests in astrology, a subject that seems to have intrigued Holst since childhood. Further inspiration for The Planets came from a book which Holst had in his private library, The Art of Synthesis by Alan Leo, an astrologer and Theosophist who discussed the influences of each planet on the human psyche and temperament. Each chapter in Leo’s book is headed by one of the planets, an arrangement that provided Holst with the model for his own orchestral suite. Holst even kept the same heading for “Neptune, the Mystic,” as found in Leo’s book.

The composition and premiere of The Planets took place against the background of the horrors of World War I. Holst worked on the suite from 1914 to 1916, and the premiere occurred as the war was drawing to a close, on September 29, 1918. Initially, Holst gave the work a purely abstract title, Seven Pieces for Large Orchestra, perhaps under the influence of Schoenberg’s Five Pieces for Orchestra, which Holst heard in 1914 in London. However, even in the earlier stages of composition it was clear that Holst had a programmatic element in mind, since he referred to the work as “a series of mood pictures.” It was from the association of each movement with a particular planet that the “mood” of each piece eventually crystallized. Conspicuously absent are Pluto (which was not discovered until 1930 and, since 2006, has been demoted to the rank of a “dwarf planet”) and, most interestingly, Earth. When asked about the absence of our planet, Holst

explained that the intention of the work was “astrological” and not “astronomical”; that is, he did not intend to create an objective picture of the solar system, but rather portray the influence of those planets that are foreign to us. Thus each movement of the suite is titled after an individual planet and a descriptive epithet meant to encapsulate its overall character.

In order to achieve the variety of mood, texture, tone, and symbolic references throughout The Planets, Holst scored the work for a large orchestra that includes an array of percussion instruments. Unusually, “Neptune, the Mystic” calls for six timpani (which requires two players) and two three-part women’s choruses that are placed in adjoining rooms to be screened from the audience. The order in which the planets appear in the suite has been discussed from several perspectives, ranging from a correlation with the sequence of the signs in the Zodiac, to a formal interpretation in which Jupiter is seen as the structural center of the suite, around which the other planets are arranged symmetrically.

When it was time to orchestrate The Planets, Holst, who suffered from neuritis in his right arm, had to enlist the help of several copyists. The premiere, a hasty affair conducted by Sir Adrian Boult in Queen’s Hall with the financial support of Holst’s friend, the composer H. Balfour Gardiner, was nothing short of miraculous. The musicians saw the score for the first time only two hours before the performance. The women’s choruses were made up of pupils from the St. Paul’s Girls’ School at which Holst taught. The Planets became Holst’s most popular work, to the point of obscuring all his other compositions. Holst resented this fact bitterly, nurturing a certain dislike for the work. His own favorite movement was “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age.”

@ James Melo, 2017


Tarantella, Op. 43 Frédéric François Chopin (1810-1849)Bolero, Op. 19 Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40, No. 1

2 Bourrées, Op. Posth. No. 1 in G Major No. 2 in A MajorPrelude in A Major, Op. 28, No. 7

Canon in F minor (unfinished)Mazurka in C-sharp minor, Op. 63, No. 3Fugue in A minor, Op. Posth. Mazurka in C-sharp minor, Op. 50, No. 3

Souvenir de Paganini, Op. Posth. Etude in A minor, Op. 25, No. 11 (“Winter Wind”)

INTERMISSION

Waltz in A-flat Major, Op. Posth. Waltz in D-flat Major, Op. 64, No. 1 (“Minute”)

Largo in E-flat Major, Op. Posth.Prelude in C minor, Op. 28, No. 20

Trois Nouvelles Études No. 1 in F minor No. 2 in A-flat Major No. 3 in D-flat MajorFantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor, Op. 66

Polonaise in F minor, Op. 71, No. 3Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53 (“Heroic”)



SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2018, 8 PM


Brian Ganz Plays Chopin Hidden Gems and All-Time Favorites

Brian Ganz, piano

BRIAN GANZ PLAYS CHOPIN


Frédéric François Chopin (born March 1, 1810 in Żelazowa Wola, Poland; died October 17, 1849 in Paris, France)

More than any other composer in Western music, Chopin was able to respond to the expressive and technical resources of the piano and transform them into music of astonishing individuality and originality. His innate gift for broad and expansive melodies was combined with a sophisticated and adventurous feeling for harmony, a highly intuitive understanding of musical form, and a piano technique that was dazzlingly virtuosic and infinitely nuanced.

It is no exaggeration to say that his oeuvre represents the very essence of Romantic piano music.

Chopin’s reputation as a performer and improviser was legendary. Contemporary accounts of his performances and style of piano playing emphasize his lyricism and delicacy of touch, the variety and subtlety of his dynamic shadings, and his sophisticated use of the pedal. The exquisite beauty of his music, which on the surface is enlivened by an endless stream of filigree, ornamentation, and subtle melodic inflections, is the outer dress of a world dense

Brian Ganz, piano

Brian Ganz is widely regarded as one of the leading pianists of his generation. A laureate of the Marguerite Long Jacques Thibaud and the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International

Piano Competitions, Mr. Ganz has appeared as soloist with the St. Louis Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the City of London Sinfonia. He has performed with such conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Mstislav Rostropovich and Piotr Gajewski.

The Washington Post has written: “One comes away from a recital by pianist Brian Ganz not only exhilarated by the power of the performance but also moved by his search for artistic truth.” For many years, Ganz has made it his mission to join vivid music-making with warmth and intimacy onstage to produce a new kind of listening experience, in which great works come to life with authentic emotional power. As one of Belgium’s leading newspapers, La Libre Belgique, put it, “We don’t have the words to speak of this fabulous

musician who lives music with a generous urgency and brings his public into a state of intense joy.”

Ganz’s 2016 performance highlights included Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Cathedral Choral Society at Washington’s National Cathedral, a recital for the Washington International Piano Festival, Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto with the National Philharmonic, and a recital in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Mr. Ganz was particularly honored to have had the opportunity to collaborate with J. Reilly Lewis and the Cathedral Choral Society just a few weeks before the conductor’s sad and untimely death.

In January of 2011, Mr. Ganz began a multi-year project in partnership with the National Philharmonic in which he will perform the complete works of Chopin at the Music Center at Strathmore. After the inaugural recital, The Washington Post wrote: “Brian Ganz was masterly in his first installment of the complete works [of Chopin].”

Mr. Ganz is on the piano faculty of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where he is artist-in-residence, and is also a member of the piano faculty of the Peabody Conservatory. He is the artist-editor of the Schirmer Performance Edition of Chopin’s Preludes (2005).

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

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PROGRAM NOTES


PROGRAM NOTES

with intense emotions and agonized feelings. Contrary to the virtuoso pianists of the day, Chopin detested the large public stages, preferring to express his innermost feelings in a hushed and intimate manner. The composer Robert Schumann, one of the greatest admirers of Chopin’s music, summarized to perfection the aesthetic nature of Chopin’s music when he characterized it as “a cannon buried in flowers.”

Tonight’s program, organized in judicious and imaginative pairings according to keys, moods, and genres, offers a varied, broad, and intriguing panorama of Chopin’s style. The pieces demonstrate how Chopin was able to unfold the musical discourse through a combination of formal control and highly inflected emotional utterances. Some of his earliest compositions still reflect the influence of the brilliant style of keyboard writing that he had inherited from the past. Examples of this style can be seen, for example, in his early polonaises and sets of variations. The polonaise, a type of dance that was all the rage in the Polish salons of the early 19th century, attracted Chopin primarily because of its connection with Polish traditions. The three polonaises featured in the program come from different periods in Chopin’s career. The Polonaise in F minor, Op. 71, No. 3, belongs to a set that Chopin composed in 1827-28, but was published only in 1855. Like many of Chopin’s early polonaises, it is in ternary form. The other two come from Chopin’s mature period in Paris, and therefore represent a further refinement of the genre. The Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40, No. 1 (1838) is often dubbed the “Military” polonaise due to the clearly martial rhythms that permeate its outer sections, which in turn frame a more lyrical central section that, despite its greater lyricism, retains the power and dignity of the entire work. The great Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53 (1842-43) approaches the technical and emotional landscape of the ballades in the range of its textures and expressive resources, almost as if Chopin were transfiguring the original dance form into a vehicle for deeper emotional probing.

While the polonaise had aristocratic origins, the mazurka was a dance associated with the rural and popular contexts of the Mazovian plains of central Poland. As with the polonaise, however, Chopin continued to transform and refine the original models toward greater stylization. His mature mazurkas retain the typical ternary

meter and modal patterns of the earlier dances, but they are now clothed in the same kind of filigree melodic lines that characterize his more abstract pieces, and in musical forms that are not completely dependent on the dance model. The Mazurka in C-sharp minor, Op. 50, No. 3 (composed and published in 1842) and the Mazurka in C-sharp minor, Op. 63, No. 3 (composed in 1847 and published in 1848) are superb examples of the genre, combining the underlying dance character with delicate melodic turns and innovative harmonies, in music of such elegance that it is difficult to relate it to the original rural models of the dance. While the polonaises and mazurkas project Chopin’s nationalist sentiments, in the Bolero, Op. 19 (ca. 1833) and the Tarantella, Op. 43 (1841) he responded to the vogue for exoticism that swept European music in the 19th century, in this case by adopting iconic dance genres from Spain and Italy, respectively. The waltz was another favorite dance genre of Chopin’s, and like the mazurkas they are in triple meter, but contrary to the mazurkas, waltzes display relatively smooth rhythmic textures with more flowing and spinning than gesturing, and fewer accents. The famous Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64, No. 1 (dubbed the “Minute Waltz” in reference to its “miniature” structure, not its tempo) has been a favorite with pianists and as a ballet piece, while the Waltz in A-flat Major, published posthumously, has the distinction of being the only one Chopin composed in a 3/8 time signature.

Chopin composed 24 preludes, one in each key, and collectively they are one of his most important and enigmatic sets of piano pieces. The Prelude in A Major, Op. 28, No. 7 (the shortest composition by Chopin, with only 16 measures) has the character of a miniature mazurka, while the Prelude in C minor, Op. 28, No. 20, resembles a funeral march with its processional rhythm and stately chords. The Trois Nouvelles Études were composed in 1839 as a contribution to a piano method by Ignaz Moscheles and François-Joseph Fétis. They are technically less demanding than Chopin’s two large sets of etudes (Opus 10 and 25), but they are characterized by the same concern for lyricism, technical suppleness, and nuanced touch that are hallmarks of Chopin’s music. The Etude in A minor, Op. 25, No. 11 (nicknamed “Winter Wind”) is an exceedingly brilliant and fiendishly difficult composition


PROGRAM NOTES

in which Chopin explores the entire range of the keyboard in a cascade of figurations that positively make the piano shimmer with sound. The Fantasy-Impromptu, Op. 66 (composed in 1834 but published posthumously in 1855) is one of Chopin’s most popular works. Many commentators have discerned the influence of Beethoven in this work, but the intensely lyrical melody of the central section and the brilliant figurations of the outer sections are quintessential Chopin.

The remaining works in the program come from several phases of Chopin’s career and represent a great variety of compositional techniques. We hear differing examples of Baroque influence in the Two Bourrées, the Fugue and the Canon. The brief but spirited Two Bourrées (1846) capture the quick footwork of the dance in simple harmonic language reminiscent of the drone fifths often found in the mazurkas. The Fugue in A minor (1841), and the Canon in F

minor (ca. 1839, which remained unfinished), are the only two examples of deliberate polyphonic composition by Chopin. Variation techniques appear in the Souvenir de Paganini (1829), a work that has attracted attention due to the uncertainty of Chopin’s authorship, but which nevertheless continues to be listed in the catalogue of his works. The Largo in E-flat Major (1847), a late work that could have been intended as a movement of a larger composition, was published almost a century after its composition, in 1938.

Tonight’s program, then, by combining old favorites with lesser-known and unknown works in an ingenious way, offers the audience a wide sample of Chopin’s exquisite and finely calibrated piano writing, reminding us again why he is one of the most universally beloved composers in the history of Western music.

@ James Melo, 2017

Adults at

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ACT I

Scene 1: Catfish Row, a summer evening Scene 2: Serena’s Room, the following night

ACT II

Scene 1: Catfish Row, a month later, in the morning

INTERMISSION

Scene 2: Kittiwah Island, that evening Scene 3: Catfish Row, a week later, just before dawn

Scene 4: Serena’s Room, dawn of the next day

ACT III

Scene 1: Catfish Row, the next night Scene 2: Catfish Row, the next afternoon

Scene 3: Catfish Row, a week later

Sponsors: Patricia Haywood Moore and Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. Ingleside at King Farm

All Kids, All Free, All the Time is sponsored in part by Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore and Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. and Dieneke Johnson


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2018, 8 PM



GERSHWIN’S PORGY AND BESS A Concert Opera

Porgy Kevin Deas Bess Marlissa Hudson Crown Michael Redding Sportin’ Life Chauncey Packer Serena Aundi Marie Moore Jake Edward Pleasant Carla/Maria NaGuanda Nobles Mingo/Peter Robbins Colin D. Eaton

National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale Stan Engebretson, Conductor

With Special Guests Members of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Concert Choir

Samuel Bonds, Director

Michael J. Bobbitt, Stage Director

GERSHWIN’S PORGY AND BESS


Stan Engebretson, conductor

(For Stan Engebretson’s biography, please see page 22.)

Kevin Deas (Porgy)

Kevin Deas has gained international renown as one of America’s leading bass-baritones. He is most acclaimed for his riveting portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess with the New York Philharmonic, National

Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, and the symphonies of Atlanta, Baltimore, Calgary, Columbus, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Montreal, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Utah, and Vancouver, and at the Ravinia, Vail and Saratoga festivals. His recordings include Die Meistersinger with the Chicago Symphony under the late Sir Georg Solti and Varèse’s Ecuatorial with the ASKO Ensemble under Ricardo Chailly, both on Decca/London. Other releases include Bach’s B Minor Mass and Handel’s Acis & Galatea on Vox Classics and Dave Brubeck’s To Hope! with the Cathedral Choral Society on the Telarc label.

Marlissa Hudson (Bess)

American soprano Marlissa Hudson has been described as a “superb lyric coloratura” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). At home both on the operatic and concert stage, Hudson made her professional debut with the Boston Pops

Orchestra under the baton of Marvin Hamlisch. Recognized as an international concert performer, she has been featured in concerts in Bulgaria, Paraguay, Brazil and the U.S. Her most recent performances include Carmina Burana with the National Philharmonic.

Hudson received her B.A. in music and sociology from Duke University and her Master of Music (voice) from the Peabody Conservatory. As a student, she performed

such roles as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Javotte in Manon, and the Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas. She has also performed the title role in Treemonisha with the Municipal Opera Company of Baltimore and the role of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Summer Opera Theatre Company. She was the soprano soloist for Masterworks Chorale’s performance of Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and appeared as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly with the Municipal Opera Company of Baltimore. In addition, Hudson is the soprano soloist with the historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.

Michael Redding (Crown)

Atlanta-born baritone Michael Redding has been thrilling audiences in the U.S. and Europe with his vocalism and theatrical presence in roles ranging from Handel to classic American Music Theatre.

He has performed several roles in Porgy and Bess including Porgy, Crown and Jake, with the Atlanta Opera, New York Harlem Productions, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera Carolina, the Natchez Festival of Music, New Orleans Opera, Seattle Opera, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and La Verdi Orchestra. Most recently, Mr. Redding appeared in an extensive tour of Europe and the U.S. of Porgy and Bess with York Harlem Theatre including performances in Geneva and Toulouse. Other recent performances include Belcore in L’Elisir D’Amore with Sarasota Opera and Schaunard in La Bohème with Virginia Opera.

Chauncey Packer (Sportin’ Life)

Tenor Chauncey Parker of New Orleans has performed the roles of Peter and Sportin’ Life in the touring production of Porgy and Bess throughout Europe and Asia. He most recently performed as Lord

Pinkleton as part of the Broadway touring cast of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. He has appeared in productions of Porgy and Bess with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Mozart’s Requiem with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Other performances include Tamino

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES


in The Magic Flute and Rudolfo in La Bohème with the Soo Theatre Project. Mr. Parker has a B.A. in Music from Mobile University and a M.A. in Music Performance from the University of New Orleans.

Aundi Moore (Serena)

Soprano Aundi Moore is quickly establishing herself as one of America’s leading young sopranos, receiving accolades from audience and critics alike. Celebrated as the 2015 winner of the American Prize in Voice,

Moore was recently hailed for possessing a voice of “clarion beauty” by The Washington Post and singled out by The Richmond Times as “riveting—a dazzling stage presence.” Career highlights include her international operatic debut as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with L’Opéra de Monte Carlo and the Charlottesville Opera; Nedda in I Pagliacci with Sarasota Opera; Serena in Porgy and Bess with Atlanta Opera and Virginia Opera; Young African American Soprano in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Rappahannock County with Virginia Opera; and Odessa Clay in the world premiere of Approaching Ali with Washington National Opera. Additional engagements of note include Lady Thiang in The King and I with Lyric Opera of Virginia, Nettie Fowler in Carousel with Ash Lawn Music Festival, and Martha Sheldon in The Crucible with Chautauqua Opera.

Edward Pleasant (Jake)

Baritone Edward Pleasant is critically acclaimed in opera, oratorio, musical theater and recordings. He has distinguished himself as a gifted actor with brilliant comic timing and a luscious baritone voice. Pleasant

champions the proliferation of the artistic contributions of early 20th century African-American writers, singers and composers, through live performances and recordings. He is thrilled to return to the National Philharmonic reprising the role of Jake in this concert performance of Porgy and Bess.

A native of Midland, Texas, Pleasant gained national attention when he appeared with the New York City Opera as Jake in Porgy and Bess, which included an Emmy-nominated Live from Lincoln Center telecast on PBS. This telecast marked the first time a live performance of the Gershwin masterpiece had ever been televised. Pleasant has appeared at Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Texas State Capitol, and the White House.

NaGuanda Nobles (Carla/Maria)

Soprano NaGuanda Nobles began singing within the supportive walls of her home church. She was awarded Shreveport Opera’s “Singer of the Year” award and performed the role of Sister

Rose in the Southwestern premiere of Dead Man Walking. She performed the role of Clara in Porgy and Bess with the Pensacola Opera, under the baton of Jerome Shannon, who later invited her to perform an encore performance with the Mobile Opera. Ms. Nobles joined the Pittsburgh Opera and proudly performed several roles. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described her in Xerxes as “outstanding as the bad girl...with a sizeable voice and riveting persona to match.” Ms. Nobles performed the charming role of Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, leaving the Post-Gazette to question why Mozart and his librettist didn’t introduce her character earlier in the opera “after seeing Nobles excel in the role and capturing the silly yet sexy birdwoman with ease.”

Colin Eaton (Mingo/ Peter Robbins)

“Commanding tenor” (The Washington Post) Colin Eaton has appeared in Treemonisha with the Municipal Opera Company of Baltimore and Pinocchio with Opera NOVA. Mr. Eaton is a native

of East Palo Alto, California and received his musical training at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where he appeared in such operas as L’Elisir d’Amore, Gianni Schicchi and Dido and Aeneas. In 2004, Mr. Eaton was a soloist at President Ronald Reagan’s interment service in Simi Valley, CA, where he performed

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES


Porgy and Bess

George Gershwin (born September 26, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York; died July 11, 1937 in Hollywood, California)

One of the most important and popular American composers of all time, and one of the truly universal ambassadors of American music, George Gershwin (born Jacob Gershvin) was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants who came to the United States to escape the growing persecution of Jews in Russia and the Ukraine. He and his older brother, Ira, had a relatively carefree and unsupervised childhood in the tenements of New York City, where he was exposed to a variety of experiences. His musical inclinations became evident only at

age ten, when he heard a violin recital by his friend Maxie Rosenzweig and was enchanted by the sound of the music. From then on, he had musical training of various kinds, mostly unstructured and without the rigors of a classical music education, but these explorations served to reveal his innate talent and facility for composition and improvisation. He soon began attending classical music concerts and, back at home, attempted to play by ear what he had heard in the concert hall. While still in his teens, he became involved in several jazz and popular music projects, and it soon became clear where his talents lay.

His first major classical work, Rhapsody in Blue, was composed when he was 26 years old and eventually became his most popular composition. Gershwin continued to study

“Precious Lord.” He is also the tenor soloist at the historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. and currently sings first tenor with the U.S. Army Chorus.

Michael Bobbitt (Stage Director)

Michael has directed, choreographed and performed at many theatres in the DC region, including Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre Society, Next Stop Theatre,

The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Metro Stage, Rorshach Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Center Stage, Roundhouse Theatre, 1st Stage, The Music Center at Strathmore, The Kennedy Center, The Helen Hayes Awards and the Washington National Opera. He has been nominated for numerous Helen Hayes Awards.

His national and international credits include the NY Musical Theatre Festival, Mel Tillis 2001, La Jolla Playhouse, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Jefferson Performing Arts Center, and 1996 Olympics. He studied creative writing and music at Susquehanna University and theater and dance at The Washington Ballet, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy and NY University’s Tisch School of the Arts (Cap 21). As a writer, his work has been accepted in the 2006 NYC International Fringe Festival, The New York Musical Theatre Festival. His new musicals, Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds and Caps for Sale appeared at the New Victory Theatre in NYC, toured Nationally and Three Little Birds received a Charles MacArthur Award Nomination for Outstanding New Play or Musical.

Michael has taught theater and dance at George Washington University, Catholic University, Montgomery College, Howard University, and the Washington Ballet. He is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

PROGRAM NOTES


PROGRAM NOTES

classical piano and composition, and during a brief stay in Paris in the 1920s, he attempted to study with Nadia Boulanger (by then a renowned composition teacher who had mentored several American composers) and with the composer Maurice Ravel. Both of them refused to accept him as a student, not because they thought him untalented, but rather because they felt his free and jazz-inflected style would be ruined by classical training. Ravel, who had been influenced by jazz in some of his own compositions, went as far as to write, in his letter of rejection to Gershwin, “Why become a second-rate Ravel when you are already a first-rate Gershwin?” And so it was that Gershwin’s musical style continued to develop as an amalgam of classical and popular elements primarily drawn from the rich jazz scene of the first decades of the 20th century and strengthened by his growing experience in writing for the Broadway musical theater, an activity that produced a number of masterpieces in collaboration with his brother Ira as lyricist. It was through this genre and, later, as a film music composer, that he consolidated his reputation and popularity.

The compositional history of Porgy and Bess, Gershwin’s most ambitious work, must be understood within this context. It represents the fulfillment of Gershwin’s long-nurtured desire to compose a new kind of opera, one that would blend the classical operatic genre with the elements of jazz, popular music, and folk music that were so much a part of his career as a Broadway composer. From the very beginning, Gershwin took care to draw attention to the special nature of the work. In an often-quoted article published in 1935 in The New York Times he described his conception:

Porgy and Bess is a folk tale. Its people naturally would sing folk music. When I first began work in the music I decided against the use of original folk material because I wanted the music to be all of one piece. Therefore I wrote my own spirituals and folksongs. But they are still folk music, and therefore being in operatic form, Porgy and Bess becomes a folk opera.

The genesis of Porgy and Bess can be traced to 1930, when Gershwin received a commission from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to write a grand opera that was to be distinctly

American, both in style and subject. The Metropolitan Opera gave Gershwin complete freedom to select the libretto. At the time, he had already contemplated an opera based on DuBose Heyward’s novel Porgy, which had been adapted as a play and performed on Broadway in 1927. The subject of the play, a drama centered completely on the lives of African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, in a derelict place called Catfish Row that was once an aristocratic mansion, posed a number of problems. Both Gershwin and Heyward wanted the opera to be performed not in blackface (as was the custom at the time for the theater), but by a cast of classically trained African American singers. This was a major impediment because, at the time, the Metropolitan Opera did not allow African American performers on its roster. Some of the Broadway producers with whom Gershwin had worked for decades also made it clear that they would allow the work to be performed only by white singers in blackface. Gershwin and Heyward were adamant that the cast had to be of African American singers. The composition of the opera went on very smoothly, aided by a highly effective libretto written jointly by Heyward and Ira Gershwin, who brought to the project his experience in writing lyrics for Broadway musicals. Gershwin spent approximately eleven months composing the music and nine more months completing the orchestration. The opera premiered in Boston on September 30, 1935, at the Colonial Theatre, and soon thereafter moved to Broadway in New York City, where it opened at the Alvin Theatre on October 10, 1935.

It had a mixed and controversial reception from the very beginning, in part because of its genre-defying nature, but mostly because of the daring subject matter and the use of African American soloists. It initially ran for 124 performances, which was far below expectations for a Gershwin show on Broadway. Porgy and Bess touched a nerve on virtually every segment of the audience. Fans of Gershwin’s jazz compositions were intimidated by the opera’s seriousness and the lofty tone of the vocal delivery. Opera fans were uncomfortable with its saucy and popular style, while African Americans resented the perpetuation of stereotypes: in fact, some of the most prominent African American operatic singers refused to be associated with the opera. Yet others felt that


SYNOPSIS (from Encyclopedia Britannica)

Porgy and Bess is set in Catfish Row, a dockside area of Charleston, South Carolina, about 1930.

Act I

Clara sings a lullaby (Summertime) to her baby while a group of men gamble. When an argument breaks out, one of the men (Crown) strikes another (Robbins) dead. Crown flees, telling Bess, who is his girlfriend, that he will be back for her. The drug dealer Sportin’ Life offers Bess refuge, but instead she hides with Porgy, a disabled beggar. During Robbins’s wake, the police arrive in search of his killer.

Act II

A month later, Jake and the other fishermen prepare to go to sea. They are seen off by Porgy, who is a happy man: having nothing worth stealing, he need not fear thieves, and he has the love of Bess. Sportin’ Life is still seeking customers for his “happy dust.” When Sportin’ Life makes overtures to Bess, Porgy orders him off. Porgy and Bess pledge their love before she departs for a community picnic on a nearby island. At the picnic, Sportin’ Life diverts the gathering with his scandalously cynical views. Crown—the fugitive murderer—appears from

the bushes and confronts Bess. She tells him that she is Porgy’s girl now, but Crown prevents her from taking the boat back to the mainland with the others. Back at Catfish Row a week later, Bess is unwell, and Porgy and the neighbors pray for her. She is recovering, but then the hurricane bell rings, energizing the community. As the storm rages, the community worries about the missing fishermen, including Clara’s husband, Jake. Consigning her baby to Bess’s care, Clara runs out in the storm in search of Jake. Crown has returned and quarrels with Porgy before himself going back out into the storm.

Act III

Clara, Jake, and Crown are all thought to have died in the hurricane. Sportin’ Life arrives to taunt Bess. When Crown arrives, he and Porgy fight. Porgy gains the upper hand and kills Crown. When the police arrive, they take Porgy away to identify the body. In Porgy’s absence, Sportin’ Life tells Bess that Porgy will be gone for a long time and regales her with tales of the high life in New York City. She finally consents to leave with him. A week later, Porgy is back. Seeing that Bess has gone and hearing of her destination, he sets off to retrieve her, full of hope for their future.

PROGRAM NOTES

SYNOPSIS

Porgy and Bess offered a serious platform for the portrayal of African Americans on a wider and more universal stage. Be that as it may, Porgy and Bess has never been completely free from controversy. Although it is now recognized as a seminal opera in the repertoire of opera houses all over the world, and unquestionably the most important American opera, it continues to divide audiences in significant ways. It has achieved the status of a classic, and the pertinence of its subject matter has inspired

countless adaptations to a wide variety of media. Defiantly, Gershwin’s masterpiece has towered over the landscape of American music for more than half a century, reaffirming with each production its enduring status as a classic: a work that never fails to mobilize our deepest emotions and invite ever-renewed interpretations.

@ James Melo, 2017


VIOLIN 1: Colin Sorgi*,

Concertmaster Jody Gatwood,

Concertmaster Emeritus Olga Yanovich* Leslie Silverfine* Lysiane Gravel-Lacombe*Hanbing Jia Brenda Anna Soojin Chang Eva Cappelletti-Chao Doug Dube Linda Leanza Mary Loftus Regino Madrid Jennifer Rickard Matthew Richardson Christian Tremblay

VIOLIN 2:Henry Flory*,

Principal (Leave of Absence)Sara Matayoshi,

Acting Principal Arminè Graham* Kay Budner* Jennifer Shannon* Cathy Stewart* Lisa Cridge Anne Donaldson Yevgeniy Dovgalyuk Justin Gopal June Huang Laura Knutson Alexandra Mikhlin Laura Miller Ning Ma Shi

VIOLAS:Julius Wirth*,

PrincipalJudy Silverman*,

Associate Principal EmeritusLeonora Karasina*Mark Pfannschmidt*Jaclyn DorrPhyllis FreemanJim KellyStephanie KnutsenMargaret LangMaria MontanoJennifer RendeTiffany RichardsonChris ShiehElizabeth O’Hara Stahr

CELLOS:Lori Barnet*,

PrincipalTodd Thiel*Kerry van Laanen*Barbara BrownApril ChisholmDanielle ChoJlhea ChoiIsmar GomesKathryn HufnagleCatherine MikelsonBeth PetersonLauren Weaver

BASSES:Bob Kurz*,

PrincipalKelly AliMark StephensonBarbara FitzgeraldAlec HillerLaura Ruas

FLUTES: David Whiteside*,

PrincipalNicolette Oppelt*David LaVorgna

PICCOLO:David LaVorgna

OBOES:Mark Hill*,

PrincipalKatherine Ceasar-Spall*Fatma Daglar

ENGLISH HORN:Ron Erier

CLARINETS:Cheryl Hill*,

PrincipalCarolyn Alvarez Agria*Suzanne Gekker

BASS CLARINET:Carolyn Alvarez Agria*

BASSOONS:Erich Heckscher*,

PrincipalRebecca Watson*

CONTRABASSOON:Nicholas Cohen

FRENCH HORNS:Michael Hall*,

PrincipalMark Wakefield*Andrew DowningJustin DrewMargaret TungTony Valerio

TRUMPETS: Chris Gekker*,

PrincipalRobert Birch*,

Robert and Margaret Hazen Chair

John AbbracciamentoBrent MadsenCarlton Rowe

TROMBONES:David Sciannella*,

PrincipalJames ArmstrongJeffrey Cortazzo

TUBA:Willie Clark

TIMPANI & PERCUSSION:Tom Maloy*,

PrincipalAubrey AdamsTony AseroCurt DuerRobert JenkinsGerald NovakBill Richards

HARP: Rebecca Smith

KEYBOARD:William NeilJeffery WatsonTheodore Guerrant,

Theodore M. Guerrant chair

* core orchestra member

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

The musicians employed in this production are members of and represented by Washington, D.C. Federation of Musicians, Local 161-710 of the American Federation of Musicians.


SOPRANOS Jacqueline AndrosAnnette AnfinrudEmily A. BellMary Bentley*Jocelyn BondRosalind BreslowAnne P. ClaysmithAnn CoffmanNancy A. ColemanTaylor CortrightEileen S. DeMarcoLauren DrinkwaterLisa EdgleySelmy ElbertMeg FlanaganSarah B. FormanCaitlin A. Garry**Stefanie GrayCarole L. HaasDenise R. HardingRoma HartLisa Wickman HarterKathleen HenryJessica HoldenJulie HudsonJade JeonLauren KuhnJoanna LamCarolyn Rodda LincolnLaila LindenAmanda Liverpool-CumminsSharon Majchrzak-HongMalina MarkovaAnaelise MartinezKathryn McKinleySharon A. MerrickAllison MosesSara W. MosesCecilia MuñozKatherine Nelson-Tracey*Mary Beth NolanGloria NutzhornJuliana S. O’NeillLynette PosorskeLeila RaoLisa RomanoTheresa RoysKatherine SchnorrenbergAnita SmallinCarolyn J. SullivanKatherine SzocikIzabella TabarovskyCathlin Tully**Ellen van ValkenburghSusanne VillemaretteCindy Williams

ALTOS Helen R. AltmanLynne Stein BenzionCarol BrunoEllen L. CarletonCarolyn Chuhta Janet CrossenSandra L. DaughtonDeirdre FeehanFrancesca Frey-KimMaria A. FriedmanJulia C. FriendElizabeth Bishop GemoetsSarah GilchristLois J. GoodsteinJacque GrenningGlenda GroganStacey A. HenningJean HochronGinger HunterSara M Josey*Marilyn KatzIrene M. KirkpatrickMartha J Krieger**Laurie LeeMelissa J. Lieberman*Corinne LoertscherEleanor LynchNansy MathewsMeg McCormickLee MitchellSarah Wagoner Moore**Danielle MorrisSusan E. MurrayDaryl NewhouseMartha NewmanPatricia PillsburyAnn E. Ramsey-MoorL’Shauntée RobertsonBeryl M. RothmanLisa RovinJan SchiavoneNicole ShyongDeborah F. SilbermanLori J. SommerfieldCarol A. SternBonnie S. TempleVirginia Van BruntChristine VockeWendy J. Weinberg

TENORS Kenneth BailesJ.I. CanizaresColin ChurchGary R. CorrellPaul J. DeMarcoThomas Epps

Ruth W. Faison**Don JanskyJane LyleMichael McClellanChantal McHaleDuncan McHaleWayne Meyer*Tom MilkeTom NessingerSteve NguyenDrew RiggsJason SaffellDennis Vander Tuig

BASSES William BrownRonald CappellettiPete ChangRichard ChittyMark H. CobbStephen CookBopper DeytonCharles G. EdmondsRonald P. FrezzoJ. William GadzukRobert GerardMike HiltonFilbert HongJohn IobstSean JeffersWilliam W. Josey**Allan K. KirkpatrickStorm KowaleskiJack LeglerLarry MaloneyDavid J. McGoffKent Mikkelsen*John Milberg**Oliver MolesMason MoleskyLeif NeveAlec PetkoffAnthony RadichHarry Ransom, Jr.Edward Rejuney*Frank RoysCharles SerpanScott SimonJason James SmokerDonald A. TrayerWeeun WangWayne R. WilliamsPaul Zoccola

* section leader** assistant section leader

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC CHORALE

Theodore Guerrant, accompanist


BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dr. Ron Cappelletti Carol Evans* Ruth Faison* Joan FidlerDr. Bill Gadzuk Dieneke Johnson* Albert Lampert*,

Chair Emeritus Marie LeeJoan Levenson Wayne Meyer Roscoe Moore, Jr.

Matt Riddle Lori Sommerfield* Sally Sternbach Dr. Charles Toner Elzbieta Vande Sande Ms. Katya Vert-Wong* Carla Wheeler*

BOARD OFFICERSTodd Eskelsen*, Chair Ken Hurwitz*, Vice Chair Paul Dudek*, Secretary William Lascelle*, Treasurer

BOARD OF ADVISORSJoel AlperAlbert LampertChuck LyonsRoger TitusJerry D. Weast

*Executive Committee

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

As of July 1, 2017

SUPPORTERS OF THE NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

Maestro Circle $10,000+Concertmaster Circle $7,500 to $9,999Principal Circle $5,000 to $7,499Benefactor Circle $2,500 to $4,999

Sustainer Circle $1,000 to $2,499Patron $500 to $999Contributor $250 to $499Fellow $125 to $249

ORGANIZATIONSMAESTRO CIRCLEAmeriprise FoundationPaul M. Angell FoundationArts and Humanities Council of

Montgomery CountyMorris and Gwendolyn Cafritz FoundationClark-Winchcole FoundationGloria Miner Charitable Music FundIngleside at King FarmMaryland State Arts CouncilMontgomery County, MDMontgomery County Public SchoolsSchiff Hardin, LLPThe State of MarylandUS Pharmacia International, Inc.

PRINCIPAL CIRCLEChosun Daily USAExecutive’s Ball for the ArtsAnn and Gordon Getty FoundationKolar Charitable Foundation of

BuckleySandler LLP

BENEFACTOR CIRCLECapital BankCity National BankChrist Episcopal Church, donation of spaceDallas Morse Coors Foundation

MCYO Educational PartnershipJim & Carol Trawick FoundationUnited Way of the National Capital Region

SUSTAINER CIRCLEThe Chaparrel Charitable Gift FundDimick FoundationHenry B. & Jessie W. Keiser FoundationIBMMetro Washington DC Federation of Musicians

PATRONAmerican String Teachers’ Association

DC/MD ChapterCatoctin Breeze VineyardCharles and Margaret Levin Family FoundationGailes Violin Shop, Inc.Lashof ViolinsPotter Violin CompanyWashington Music Center

CONTRIBUTORBrobst Violin ShopViolin House of Weaver

INDIVIDUALSNAMED GIFTSAnne Claysmith* for the Chorale

Chair - Soprano II Fund

The National Philharmonic takes this opportunity to gratefully acknowledge the following businesses, foundations and individuals that have made the Philharmonic’s ambitious plans possible through their generous contributions.


Jean & Paul Dudek for the Pre-Concert Lecture Series Fund

Ann & Todd Eskelsen for the Chorale Music Fund

Dieneke Johnson for the All Kids Free FundMrs. Patricia Haywood Moore &

Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. for the All Kids Free Fund

Tanya & Albert Lampert for the Chorale Music Fund

Misbin Family Student Performance Fund

GIFTS OF $50,000+Mrs. Margaret Makris

GIFTS OF $25,000+Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore &

Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr.Robert & Margaret HazenDr. Robert Misbin

GIFTS OF $15,000+Dale Collinson Family

MAESTRO CIRCLEMr. Edward Brinker & Ms. Jane LiuJean & Paul DudekKenneth Hurwitz & Susan WeissMs. Dieneke Johnson, in honor of

Johanna van der ZalmMr. & Mrs. Albert LampertHarris Miller & Deborah KahnMr. Jeffrey P. Naimon & Ms. Carla WheelerDr. Theodora D. Vanderzalm, in honor of

Johanna van der Zalm

CONCERTMASTER CIRCLEDr. & Mrs. John V. EvansMs. Lori J. Sommerfield* & Mr. Dennis DullingerJ. William & Anita Gadzuk*

PRINCIPAL CIRCLEMr. Robert Dollison, in memory of

Krystyna DollisonMr. & Mrs. Todd R. EskelsenDr. & Mrs. Val G. HemmingMr. & Mrs. David HofstadMr. William A. Lascelle & Ms. Blanche Johnson*Ms. Florentina MehtaMr. & Mrs. Kent Mikkelsen*Mr. & Mrs. William E. PairoMr. & Mrs. Matthew Riddle

BENEFACTOR CIRCLEFred & Helen R. Altman*Mrs. Ruth B. BermanDr. Ronald CappellettiMr. Steven C. Decker & Ms. Deborah W. DavisPaul J. & Eileen S. DeMarco*John and Julie HamreMr. & Mrs. Richard F. LarkinMr. David LeeMrs. Joan M. Levenson

Mr. Winton E. Matthews, Jr.Dr. Wayne Meyer*David and Lottie MosherMs. Martha Newman*Michael and Janet RowanMr. & Mrs. Steven SeeligSternbach Family FundDr. Charles B. Toner & Dr. Cecile M. Toner*Mrs. Elzbieta Vande Sande, in memory of

George Vande Sande, Esq.Ms. Katya Vert-Wong

SUSTAINER CIRCLEAnonymousMrs. Rachel AbrahamMs. Lori BarnettMr. Donald Sternoff BeyerRabbi Leonard S. CahanMs. Anne Claysmith*Mr. & Mrs. Gary R. Correll*Mr. & Mrs. Erik CuddMr. Sanford M. Cummings, Jr.Ms. Cornelia DjuhMr. & Mrs. William DuncanDr. Stan Engebretson*Ms. Ruth FaisonMr. & Mrs. Voytek FizytaDr. Maria A. Friedman*Piotr & Tiesha GajewskiMs. Janet Garry and Ms. Caitlin A. Garry*Mr. & Mrs. Joseph GatwoodDarren & Elizabeth Gemoets*Dr. Robert Gerard & Ms. Carol Goldberg*Ms. Sarah Gilchrist*Mr. Barry GoldbergDr. Joseph E. Gootenberg &

Dr. Susan LeibenhautDr. Stacey Henning*Ms. Sue HenryWilliam W. & Sara M. Josey*Ms. Kathleen KnepperMs. Martha Jacoby Krieger*Mr. & Mrs. John R. LarueMr. & Mrs. Eliot Lieberman*Mr. Pardee Lowe, Jr.Ms. Jane Lyle*Mr. Larry Maloney*Ms. Linda B. MercuroMr. & Mrs. Raymond MountainSusan & Jim Murray*Ms. Katherine Nelson-Tracey*Mr. Thomas Nessinger*Mr. Steve Nguyen*Mr. Mark OrdanDr. & Mrs. Goetz OertelMs. Julie PangelinanMr. & Mrs. Jerome PinsonMr. Alan SalisburyMrs. Janice H. Schiavone*Ms. Kathryn Senn, in honor of

Johanna van der ZalmMr. Noah SilvermanDr. Hanna Siwiec & Mr. Spencer Meyer


Mr. & Mrs. Thomas StanleyCarol A. Stern*Dr. & Mrs. Robert Temple*Mrs. Carol TrawickMs. Ellen van Valkenburgh*Mr. George VradenburgMr. & Mrs. Royce WatsonDrs. Jack & Susan YanovskiMr. & Mrs. Bernard J. Young

PATRONAnonymousMs. Olivia AdlerMs. Ann E AlbertsonMs. Robin L. BurtonMiriam & Jim CoffmanMs. Irene CoopermanLarry & Antoinette DelaneyDr. Lawrence Deyton* & Dr. Jeff LeviMr. John EklundDr. & Mrs. Joseph FainbergMs. Dianne FavreLeanne & Joe FerfoliaMs. Julia Friend*Dr. Renata GreenspanMr. & Mrs. David W. HarrisMrs. Roma HartDr. & Mrs. John HelmsenMr. & Mrs. William L. HickmanMr. & Ms. Gerald HoeflerMr. & Mrs. Allan Kirkpatrick*Mr. Ira Lechner & Ms. Winifred E. HaagDr. Elizabeth Marchut-MichalskiMr. & Mrs. David McGoff*Mr. Ron Murch & Ms. Natanya NobelMr. Leif Neve*Dr. Ruth S. NewhouseDavid Nickels & Gerri HallMrs. Jeanne NoelMr. W. Larz Pearson and Mr. Rick TrevinoDr. & Mrs. Joram PiatigorskyDr. & Mrs. Manuel PorresMrs. Dorothy PratsMr. Anthony Radich*Ms. Beryl Rothman*Dr. Michael Sapko & Ms. Kari WallaceMs. Virginia SchultzMs. Judy ShinDr. Michael SilvermanMr. & Ms. Robert SmithMr. & Mrs. Carl TretterMr. & Ms. Robert Vocke*Ms. Krystyna WassermanMr. & Mrs. Mark C. WilliamsMr. & Mrs. John B. WingMr. Michael Wu*

CONTRIBUTORMr. and Mrs. Joel AlperMike and Cecilia BallentineMrs. Michelle Benecke, in honor of

Dr. Jeff Levi & Dr. Lawrence DeytonDrs. John E. and Shirley Bennett

Mr. Paul Bennett and Ms. Carol HerndonMr. and Mrs. Roger BerlinerMr. and Mrs. Arthur BushkinMs. Nancy Chesser and Mr. J. Michael RoweDr. F. Lawrence ClareMr. Mark CohenMr. and Mrs. Steve K. Cook*Dr. and Mrs. Gordon M. CraggMs. Janet S. CrossenDr. and Mrs. James B. D’AlboraMs. Sandra Daughton*Ms. Carla DurneyMr. and Mrs. J. Steed EdwardsMs. Linda EdwardsMs. Deirdre Feehan*Mr. Richard FidlerDr. and Mrs. Mayo FriedlisMs. Else H. FrobergMr. and Mrs. William GarryDr. D.S. GerhardMr. and Mrs. Mitch GreenMr. Steven Gunby and Ms. Margaret PearsonDrs. William and Marlene HaffnerMr. and Mrs. Rue B. HelselMr. Philip Henjum and Mrs. Sarah D. WilsonMr. and Mrs. Jean Hochron*Mr. Robert JordanMr. and Mrs. Gerald KaizKalkstein & AssociatesMr. and Mrs. David KeatonMr. Benjamin Kloda and Dr. Jessica H. Kloda*Mr. and Mrs. Joseph KolarMr. John Legler*Mr. and Mrs. Herbert J. LernerDr. Marcia D. LitwackMr. and Mrs. Kevin MacKenzieMr. Bruce MaclauryMr. Jerald C. MaddoxMr. David E. Malloy and Mr. John P. Crockett*Ms. Anna MastersMrs. Nancy C. MayMr. Randy McVeyDr. Maria MillerMr. Jason MumfordDr. Stamatios Mylonakis &

Ms. Maureen O’ConnorEvelyn and Pete PhilippsDr. and Mrs. Benjamin A. PontanoMs. Lisa Rovin*Dr. Kenneth Holum & Dr. Marsha RozenbiltMr. Charles Z. Serpan*Sam and Susan SimonMr. and Mrs. John R. StonerDr. Maria M. TomaszewskiMr. and Mrs. Dennis TorchiaGeneral & Mrs. William UsherMs. Virginia W. Van Brunt*Mr. Dexter WalkerMs. Kate WestraWayne WilliamsMr. and Mrs. John WilsonDr. and Mrs. Kevin Woods*Mrs. Doris E. Wright


FELLOWAnonymousMr. & Mrs. Dan AbbottMr. Jose ApudMs. Jean ArnoldMs. Elisabeth BahlMs. Shirley BakerMr. & Mrs. Stephen BaldwinPriscilla Huffman & Richard HuffmanMr. & Mrs. Edward E. BarrMs. Eileen BinnsMs Jocelyn P. Bond*Dr. Rosalind Breslow*Mr. & Mrs. Frederick BrownJames K. Queen & Katherine BudnerMs. Patricia BulhackMr. & Mrs. Marvin E. CageMr. John CahillMs. Ellen L. Carleton*Ms. Melissa CarocciMr. Michael Casassa & Mrs. Joan SchmaderMr. & Mrs. Peter Chang*Mr. & Mrs. Edward ChenMs. Carolyn Chuhta*Ms. Ellie CollinsonMr. Alan T. CraneMr. & Mrs. J. R. CroutMr. Dean CullerSushi DamoMs. Margretta DiemerMs. Pippa EibelElville Center for the Creative ArtsMrs. Nancy A. EnglishMs. Jennifer ErasMr. and Mrs. Elliott FeinMr. Harold FreemanMs. Katherine GekkerMr. Bernard GelbMr. & Mrs. Philip GrimleyMrs. Janice HamerMrs. Denise R. Harding*Ms. Lisa W. Harter*Mr. Scott HermanMr. Eric HerttingDr. & Mrs. J. Terrell HoffeldMr. Myron HoffmanPriscilla Huffman & Richard HuffmanMr. Richard H. Israel, Ph.D., P.A.Mr. & Mrs. Douglas JacobsonMs. Barbara JarzynskaBeth & Andy JewellMr. Kenneth JordanMrs. Marilyn Katz*Dr. & Mrs. Meir KendeMs. Francesca KimMs. Rae KingDr. Mark A. Knepper & Dr. Cathy D. KnepperMr. Edward KnightMr. Edward KnoxMr. David KoffMr. & Mrs. Don Koller

Mr. & Mrs. Steven KrasnowMs. Dorothy KrassMs. Laurie Lane*Mr. Robert LeibenluftMs. Carolyn LincolnMr. E. D. LuriaMr. Michael MaddenMr. & Mrs. Warren ManisonMr. & Mrs. Forbes ManerDr. & Mrs. Steven MazerMr. & Mrs. Michael McClellan*Mr. & Mrs. James F. McDermottMr. & Mrs. Robert McGuireMr. Jim McIntyreMr. & Mrs. Curtis MenyukMr. & Mrs. Michael MerchlinskyMr. & Mrs. James MielkeMs. Donna MikelsonMs. Frances MillhouserMr. & Mrs. Edward MillsDr. Oliver Moles, Jr.*Ms. Stephanie MurphyDr. Richard Z. Okreglak & Dr. Edwarda M. BudaMs. Sima Osdoby & Mr. Arthur KatzMs. Dolores PatrizioMr. Daniel T PierceMr. Charles A. O’Connor & Ms. Susan F. PlaegerMr. Mark Price, in memory of Dale CollinsonMr. & Mrs. Robert ProvineMr. Kazimierz PukownikMs. Leila Rao*Mr. & Mrs. James M. RenderMr. & Mrs. William RichardsMr. Donald RiggsMr. Keith RobertsMr. Gregory Sulsa & Ms. Lisa Romano*Miss Audrey A. RossMr. & Mrs. Phillip SchachterMs. Melinda SchenkMr. & Mrs. Sydney SchneiderMs. Katherine Schnorrenberg*Mr. & Mrs. Charles L. Short, Jr.Dr. & Mrs. Paul SilvermanMs. Jean SperlingMs. Carol StarleyMr. & Mrs. Richard StinsonMs. Elaine StrassMs. Irma TetzloffMr. Brian ThielMs. Sarah ThomasMs. Claudia TordiniMr. & Mrs. Gerald VogelMs. Mary WalshMr. David B. WardMr. & Mrs. Bernard WassertzugMs. Wendy J. WeinbergMr. Jonathan WeissMr. C.J. WesleyMs. Katherine WilliamsonMr. Hans WyssMr. and Mrs. Brad Yoder


Piotr Gajewski, Music Director & ConductorStan Engebretson, Choral Artistic Director Victoria Gau, Associate Conductor Colin Sorgi, Director of Chamber

Music Programs

Leanne Ferfolia, PresidentKatie Tukey, Director of DevelopmentDeborah Birnbaum, Director of

Marketing & PRKyle Schick, Operations and

Production ManagerEliana Schenk, Orchestra LibrarianJim Kelly, Orchestra Personnel Manager

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC STAFF

HERITAGE SOCIETY

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ENDOWMENT

Ms. Ann AlbertsonFred & Helen AltmanRobert B. Anderson*Mrs. Ruth BermanRabbi Leonard CahanDr. Ron CappellettiDale Collinson FamilyJean & Paul DudekAnn & Todd EskelsenDr. & Mrs. John V. EvansMs. Ruth FaisonPiotr & Tisha Gajewski and

Hania Gajewskai, in memory of Ryszard GajewskiDr. Robert Gerard & Ms. Carol GoldbergDr. & Mrs. Val G. HemmingMr. and Mrs. Ken HurwitzDieneke JohnsonMr. & Mrs. Al Lampert

Mr. William Lascelle & Ms. Blanche Johnson Mr. Greg Lawson & Mr. Sai CheungMrs. Joan M. LevensonDr. Lawrence Deyton & Dr. Jeff LeviMr. & Mrs. Kent MikkelsenMr. Thaddeus Mirecki, in memory of

Irene MireckiDr. Kenneth P. Moritsugu &

Ms. Lisa R. KorySusan & Jim MurrayRobin & Paul PeritoMr. Charles SerpanDr. & Mrs. Paul SilvermanDr. Hanna Siwiec & Mr. Spencer MeyerSternbach Family FundDr. Theodora Vanderzalm, in honor of

Dieneke Johnson*Deceased

Mr. Dan AbbottMr. David Abraham*Mrs. Rachael AbrahamMr. Joel AlperMs. Ruth BermanMs. Anne ClaysmithMr. Todd EskelsenMs. Christine FeinthalMs. Wendy Hoffman, in honor of

Leslie SilverfineMs. Dieneke JohnsonMs. Joanna Lam

Mr. & Mrs. Albert LampertMrs. Margaret MakrisDr. Robert MisbinMr. Kenneth Oldham, Jr.Mr. W. Larz PearsonMs. Lori Sommerfield &

Mr. Dennis DullingerMs. Carol A. SternMs. Elzbieta Vande SandeMr. Mark Williams*Deceased


GENERAL INFORMATION5301 Tuckerman LaneNorth Bethesda, MD 20852-3385www.strathmore.orgEmail: [email protected] Office Phone: (301) 581-5100Ticket Office Fax: (301) 581-5101Via Maryland Relay Services for MD residents at 711 or out of state at 1(800) 735-2258

TICKET OFFICE HOURSMonday, Tuesday, Thursday,Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.Wednesday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.Sixty minutes prior to each performance in the Music Center through intermission.

GROUP SALESFor information, call (301) 493-9283or email [email protected].

TICKET POLICIESTickets may only be exchanged for shows presented by Strathmore or its resident partner organizations at the Music Center. Tickets for National Philharmonic concerts can be exchanged at any time for any concert, up to four hours before the performance through the Strathmore Ticket Office (subject to availability).

If a performance is cancelled or postponed a full refund of the ticket price will be available through the Ticket Office for 30 days after the original scheduled performance date.

TICKET DONATIONIf you are unable to use your tickets, they may be returned for a tax-deductible donation prior to the performance. Donations can be made by mail, fax or in person by 5 p.m. the day of the performance.

All tickets are prepaid and nonrefundable.

WILL CALLPatrons must present the credit card used to purchase tickets or a valid ID to obtain will call tickets.

MISPLACED TICKETSIf you have misplaced your tickets to any performance at Strathmore, please contact the Ticket Office for replacements.

CHILDRENFor ticketed events, all patrons are required to have a ticket regardless of age. Patrons are urged to use their best judgment when bringing children to a concert that is intended for adults. There are some performances that are more appropriate for children than others. Some presenters do not allow children under the age of six years to non-family concerts. As always, if any person makes a disruption during a concert, it is appropriate that they step outside to accommodate the comfort and convenience of other concert attendees.

PARKING FACILITIESConcert parking is located in the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro garage off Tuckerman Lane. At the end of each ticketed event in the Music Center at Strathmore, the exit gates to the garage will be open for 30 minutes to exit the garage. If you leave before, or up to 90 minutes after this 30-minute period, you must show your ticket stub to the stanchion video camera at the exit gate to exit at no cost. For all nonticketed events, Monday-Friday, parking in the garage is $5.20 and may be paid using a Metro SmarTrip card or major credit card. Limited short-term parking also is available at specially marked meters along Tuckerman Lane. To access the Music Center from the Grosvenor- Strathmore Metro garage, walk across the glass-enclosed sky bridge located on the fourth level. Valet Parking is $15 per vehicle for all public Concert Hall performances. Valet drop-off and pickup is located at the Circle Plaza entry to the Music Center at Strathmore at 5301 Tuckerman Lane.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATIONStrathmore is located immediately adjacent to the Grosvenor- Strathmore Metro station on the Red Line and is served by several Metro and Ride-On bus routes. See www.strathmore.org for detailed directions.

DROP-OFFThere is a patron drop-off circle off Tuckerman Lane that brings patrons to the Discovery Channel Grand Foyer via elevator. No parking is allowed in the circle, cars must be moved to the Metro garage after dropping off patrons. Both main entrances have power-assisted doors.

GIFT CERTIFICATESGift certificates may be purchased at the Ticket Office.

GENERAL INFORMATION


COAT CHECKLocated in the Promenade across from the Ticket Office. As weather requires, the coat check will be available as a complimentary service to our patrons. If you would like to keep your coat or other belongings with you, please place them under your seat. Coats may not be placed over seats or railings.

ALLEGRO KITCHENThe Café in the Promenade of the Music Center at Strathmore, operated by Ridgewells Catering, features a wide variety of snacks, sandwiches, entrees, beverages and desserts. It is open for lunch and dinner and seats up to 134 patrons.

FOOD & BEVERAGEThe intermission bars offer beverages and snacks on all levels before the show and during intermission. There are permanent bars on the Orchestra, Promenade and Grand Tier levels.

LOST AND FOUNDDuring a show, please see an usher. All other times, please call (301) 581-5112.

LOUNGES AND RESTROOMSLocated on all seating levels, except in the Upper Tier.

PUBLIC TELEPHONESCourtesy telephones for local calls are located around the corner from the Ticket Office, off the Circle Plaza entry, and at the Promenade Right Boxes.

ACCESSIBLE SEATINGAccessible seating is available on all levels. Elevators, ramps, specially designed and designated seating, designated parking and many other features make the Music Center at Strathmore accessible to patrons with disabilities. For further information or for special seating requests in the Concert Hall, please call the Ticket Office at (301) 581-5112.

ASSISTIVE LISTENINGThe Music Center at Strathmore is equipped with a Radio Frequency Assistive Listening System for patrons who are hard of hearing. Patrons can pick up assistive listening devices at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis prior to the performance at the coatroom when open, or at the ticket taking location as you enter the Concert Hall with a driver’s license or other acceptable photo ID. For other accessibility requests, please call (301) 581-5100.

ELEVATOR SERVICEThere is elevator service for all levels of the Music Center at Strathmore.

EMERGENCY CALLSIf there is an urgent need to contact a patron attending a Music Center concert, please call (301) 581-5112 and give the patron’s name and exact seating location, and telephone number for a return call. The patron will be contacted by the ushering staff and the message relayed left with Head Usher.

LATECOMER POLICYLatecomers will be seated at the first appropriate break in the performance as not to disturb the performers or audience members. The decision as to when patrons will be seated is set by the presenting organization for that night.

FIRE NOTICEThe exit sign nearest to your seat is the shortest route to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency, please WALK to that exit. Do not run. In the case of fire, use the stairs, not the elevators.

WARNINGSThe use of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is strictly prohibited by law. Violators are subject to removal from the Music Center without a refund, and must surrender the recording media. Smoking is prohibited in the building.

Please set to silent, or turn off your cell phones, pagers, PDAs, and beeping watches prior to the beginning of the performance.


National Philharmonic Chamber Players 2017-18 Season: Cultural Cross-Currents

Crossing BordersOctober 29, 2017, 3-5pm

Hugo Wolf: Italian Serenade (1887) Samuel Barber: Adagio from String Quartet Op. 11 Gabriela Lena Frank: Leyendas – An Andean Walkabout (2001) Hamza El Din: Escalay (Water Wheel) (1971) Antonin Dvořák: String Quartet no. 12 “American”

Colin Sorgi & Henry Flory, violinsJulius Wirth, violaLori Barnet, cello

Story TimeFebruary 18, 2018, 3-5pm

Cheryl Hill, clarinetColin Sorgi, violin and violaLori Barnet, cello

Robert Schumann: Märchenerzählungen, Op. 132 Igor Stravinsky: Suite from The Soldier’s Tale (1919) Thomas Ádes: Court Studies from The Tempest (2005) Arnold Schoenberg (arr. Steuermann): Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4

Next GenerationMay 20, 2018, 3-5pm

Jean-Marie Leclair: Sonata for Two Violins in A Major, Op. 3, No. 2 Andrew Norman: The Companion Guide to Rome (2010) Felix Mendelssohn: Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 Herbert Greenberg, guest violinColin Sorgi, violinJulius Wirth, violaLori Barnet, celloStudents from MCYO and National Philharmonic Summer String Institutes

Potter Violins, John Kendall Recital Hall, 7711 Eastern Ave., Takoma Park, MDFor tickets and more information, visit nationalphilharmonic.org

National Philharmonic Chamber Music Playersat Potter Violins

Documents

THE NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC - Stageview · The National Philharmonic program is published in ... NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC 2017-18 CALENDAR. ... NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC 7 Egmont Overture,