Sunday, October 10, 2004 ~ 7:30 PM- Opening Gala Concert
... Conductor: Allen Robert Gross Program Notes
... Soloist: Martin Chalifour, violin Program Notes
...... William Schuman: New England Triptych Program Notes
...... Peter Knell: Rhythm Changes (world premiere) Program Notes
...... Ravel: Tzigane Program Notes
INTERMISSION
...... Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3 'Rhenish' Program notes
The Santa Monica Symphony celebrates its 60th Anniversary Season with four admission-free Sunday concerts in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, under the baton of Music Director & Conductor Allen Robert Gross.
The first concert, Sunday, October 10, at 7:30 features acclaimed violinist Martin Chalifour and presents music with wide appeal.
William Schuman’s ‘New England Triptych’ is based on melodies of Colonial America. Schuman began as a jazz musician and those rhythms can be heard in his classical compositions, which Leonard Bernstein said have rhythmic impetuosity, vitality, and enthusiasm.
Ravel’s ‘Tzigane’ was inspired by the fiery violin music of Hungarian Gypsies and was composed as a showcase of technical skill that only the greatest violinists can play. This concert will present such a virtuoso violinist, Martin Chalifour, concertmaster of the LA Phil.
Martin Chalifour will also play the world premiere of the very challenging ‘Rhythm Changes’ by acclaimed young composer Peter Knell, who says ‘Rhythm Changes’ riffs on the jazz tradition exemplified by George Gershwin’s ‘I Got Rhythm’ and displays the virtuosity of the violin, from lush lyricism, to delicate harmonics, to technical fireworks.
Robert Schumann’s Symphony No.3, the glorious 'Rhenish', is one of the most romantic and melodic symphonies ever written. It is also profoundly introspective, being composed in Schumann’s last years before the terrible death he knew was coming.
The First Movement begins by celebrating Schumann's love for the majestic Rhine River, then turns sadly introspective, before concluding with the main theme sounded on four horns.
The Second Movement begins with a folk dance, then interweaves sonata and rondo, as if Schumann is comparing the simplicity of the countryside with the complexities of his life as a composer and conductor.
The Third Movement is a lyrical intermezzo which may have been Schumann’s loving farewell to his wife, the brilliant pianist and composer Clara Wieck, who devoted herself to Schumann and their eight children, and then to perpetuating his music.
The Fourth Movement is Schumann's expression of awe in Cologne Cathedral, using polyphonic passages for horns and trombones which reach deep into the musical tradition of Western religion.
The Fifth Movement transforms the minor key of the cathedral theme into the glorious major key conclusion to the symphony.
Program notes by D'Lynn Waldron
PETER KNELL, American composer, (b. 1970) has received awards in numerous national and international competitions and his grants include a Fullbright Fellowship.
Peter Knell’s awards include First Prizes in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's 10th New Music Festival International Composers Competition, the Indiana State University Contemporary Music Festival Louisville Orchestra Competition, and the Omaha Symphony Guild International New Music Competition, and Second Prizes in the Fourth International Witold Lutoslawski Composers Competition, the First International Composers' Competition In Memoriam Zoltan Kodaly, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's Young Composers Competition.
Peter Knell has received a Fulbright Fellowship, a BMI Student Composer Award, two ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composers Awards, grants from the Paloheimo Foundation and Meet the Composer, and commissions from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, Pacific Serenades, Oakland East Bay Symphony, Renee B. Fisher Foundation, and Dale Warland Singers.
Peter Knell’s music has been performed at the Aspen, Bowdoin, Chautauqua, June in Buffalo, Norfolk, Oregon Bach, Ernest Bloch, New Music North, and MATA festivals and by ensembles such as the Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Winnipeg, Omaha, Richmond, Memphis, and Oakland East Bay Symphony Orchestras, Volti, Onyx String Quartet, Verdi Quartett, Southwest Chamber Music, Continuum Ensemble (UK), Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, ModernWorks, Poné Ensemble, Stern-Schoenhals Duo, Ensemble Musicattuale (Italy), and German contralto Ingeborg Danz.
His music has been broadcast nationally in Canada and Hungary, statewide on Nebraska Public Radio, and on stations in Charlottesville [VA], Richmond, Austin, Omaha, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, and Helsinki.
Peter Knell’s compositions are available on CD. His ‘Seven Last Words’, based on paintings of Rolf Stein, is in a book/CD format from Valve-Hearts, Cologne. A compact disc featuring his orchestral work, ‘...the weakening eye of day’ in a live performance by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, is on the Artisjus label.
Dr. Knell holds degrees from Princeton University (BA), the Juilliard School (MM), and a doctorate in music from University of Texas at Austin (DMA). His principal teachers have included Dan Welcher, Donald Grantham, and David Diamond.
Peter Knell is a freelance composer based in Los Angeles.
On October 10, 2004 Peter Knell’s ‘Rhythm Changes’ will have it’s world premiere with the Santa Monica Symphony under Maestro Allen Robert Gross.
In November, 2004, Dr. Knell will serve as Composer-in-Residence for the American Music Festival in Cluj, Romania, where his ‘Charged Particles’ will be premiered by the Festival Orchestra and ‘Sing, Praise!’ will be premiered by the Festival Chorus.
KNELL1@aol.com
Martin Chalifour has held the prestigious post of Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1995. He previously held the positions of Associate and Acting Concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony, and more recently of the Cleveland Orchestra. In addition to his orchestral schedule, Mr. Chalifour maintains an active career as a guest soloist and chamber musician, traveling across his native Canada, the U.S. as well as Europe, Australia, Mexico and the Orient.
Mr. Chalifour received a Certificate of Honor at the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and was a laureate of the 1987 Montreal International Competition. Since then he has concertized extensively, playing in a short time span more than a hundred concerto performances in a repertoire of more than fifty works. He appeared as soloist with conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach and Esa-Pekka Salonen. In recent years he had solo debuts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Taipei National Symphony Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonia.
Chalifour is often heard in recitals and is a frequent guest with chamber ensembles throughout North America and Europe. He participates regularly in a number of summer music festivals including the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego and the Sarasota Music Festival. Over the years he has collaborated in chamber music with flutist Emmanuel Pahud, violists Yuri Bashmet and Paul Neubauer, pianists Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman, as well as cellists Janos Starker, Lynn Harrell and YoYo Ma.
Born in Montreal, Canada, Martin Chalifour began playing violin at the age of four with the Suzuki Method. At the age of eighteen, he was awarded three distinct top national awards in a single year including the Tremplin International, subsequently graduating from the Montreal Conservatory with the highest honors. He then did graduate studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. His teachers have included Jascha Brodsky, David Cerone, Taras Gabora and Ivan Galamian.
Mr. Chalifour is a regular featured soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at home and on tour. He is a professor at the USC Thornton School of Music and was formerly on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music. He recently completed a very successful series of concerts entitled “The Three Concertmasters” with colleagues from the Atlanta Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra, culminating in an acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall. Last season he made his debut with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuala Lumpur.
ROBERT SCHUMANN: Symphony No.3 in E flat, Opus 97 'Rhenish'
This program note is a personal interpretation by D'Lynn Waldron,PhD©04
Schumann's 'Rhenish' is his most love-filled and joyous symphony, and also his most introspective. Bruno Walter said of the 'Rhenish' that it requires a conductor with a romantic heart.
Though numbered Schumann's Third, the 'Rhenish' is actually his final symphony, composed in his last productive years before the terrible death he knew was coming, and that is the key to understanding it.
The 'Rhenish' has four distinct subjects in five movements.
The First Movement, Lebhaft (Lively), Sonata form in E flat.
The First Movement begins with a celebration of Schumann's love for majesty of the River Rhine. Then the music turns sadly introspective as if Schumann is sitting on the bank by a quiet stretch of the river, thinking about how little time is left to him. Both these themes are then developed until the majestic main theme, on four horns, proclaims the triumph of his love of life over what he knows will be his death in syphilitic insanity, an inevitablity that led him to attempt suicide in this very river.
The Second Movement, Scherzo (Fast), Sonata and Ternary synthesis with variations.
This movement starts as a Landler (rustic dance) that has the seeming simplicity of a folk dance, but then Schumann weaves in sonata and rondo, which at times are made to sound almost threatening. It is as if Schumann were comparing the simple, happier life of the country folk with the attacks on him as a conductor in Dusseldorf, when he should have been devoting his last years to writing music.
The Third Movement, Nicht Schnell (Not Fast), Ternary form
The Third Movement is a lyrical intermezzo with a lilting melody for woodwind. This is the romantic heart of the 'Rhenish' and may have been Schumann's loving farewell to his wife Clara Wieck, the brilliant pianist and fellow composer who devoted herself to Schumann and their eight children, and then to perpetuating his music in recitals after his death.
The Fourth Movement, Feierlich (Solemnly), contrapuntal fantasia in E flat minor.
This movement is Schumann's depiction of the awesomeness of Cologne Cathedral. It's polyphonic passages for horns and trombones reach deep into the musical traditions of Western religion, and it ends in a triumphant chorale in B major. Perhaps in this movement Schumann is looking beyond his life in this world, which is soon to end.
The Fifth Movement, Lebhaft (Not Lively), in modified Sonata form.
The last movement begins by bringing peaceful acceptance, then it freely recapitulates previous themes as if Schumann is thinking back on his life. Finally the minor key theme of the cathedral is transformed into the splendor of E flat major, lifting the listener with Schumann to a realm of glory.
PETER KNELL: Rhythm Changes
The Santa Monica Symphony’s performance of ‘Rhythm Changes’ is the world premiere of this important work by Peter Knell, one of America’s most honored young composers.
‘Rhythm Changes’ riffs on the jazz tradition of writing new works based on the chord progression (or ‘changes’) from George Gershwin’s ‘I Got Rhythm’, loosely interpreted. Unable to resist the pun, the work also explores the idea of constantly shifting rhythms. At the same time, it exploits the virtuosity of the violin: from lush lyricism to delicate harmonics to technical fireworks.
Rhythm Changes was composed during the fall of 2002 and was orchestrated in the early spring of 2003. It was awarded ‘Special Distinction’ in the ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim Competition, and was selected for reading by New York’s Riverside Symphony. It now has it’s world premiere with the Santa Monica Symphony under Maestro Allen Robert Gross.
RAVEL: Tzigane a violin concerto
Tzigane is French for ‘Gypsy’ and also the name of the fiery violin music associated with the Hungarian Gypsies.
In 1922, Ravel went to a private concert to hear a famed Hungarian violinist play his Violin Sonata, and after that he asked her to play some authentic Gypsy music. Ravel and the violinist then discussed Hungarian Gypsy music until dawn. Out of this seed of inspiration grew Ravel’s Tzigane.
Tzigane is not an imitation of authentic Hungarian Gypsy music, but Ravel’s own extraordinary composition inspired by Gypsy violin music.
Ravel composed the solo parts of Tzigane with the help of a violinist friend. Together they made it a showcase for the technical capabilities of the most highly skilled of violinists.
Tzigane opens with a spectacular solo cadenza that requires the violinist play with the fire of a Gypsy and the virtuosity of a Paganini.
The orchestra joins the violinist to provide a background for the violinist’s ever-more-complicated display of virtuoso techniques, including rapid harmonics, quadruple stops, and pizzicatti with the left hand in the midst of bowed arpeggios.
Ravel's Tzigane is a spectacular showcase of virtuosity that only the most accomplished violinists can play.
WILLIAM SCHUMAN: New England Triptych
William Schuman was a man of many interests and talents. His influence on music in America as an administrator was so great that his compositions are under-appreciated.
Schuman’s classical compositions drew upon American themes, often in a lighthearted way. His Mail Order Madrigals took its text from the Sears Roebuck catalog. His opera The Mighty Casey reflected his love of baseball.
Schuman’s orchestral piece, New England Triptych, featured in the Santa Monica Symphony’s October 2004 concert, is based on American songs from the 1700s.
William Schuman was born in New York City in 1910. As a young man, his instrument was the violin and he played jazz and composed popular music.
While studying for his degree in business administration from NYU, Schuman’s worked in an advertising agency. His background in business administration and promotion, together with his musical talent and knowlege, were to shape his future.
At the age of 20, Schuman was taken to symphony concert and immediately realized he wanted to be a classical composer. He took a BA in music education at Columbia, and later an MA.
While doing classical composition, Schuman supported himself, his wife, and their two children, as a professor of music at Sarah Lawrence. Thanks to his education in business, he also got the position of Director of Publications at the music publisher G. Schirmer.
When he was 33, Schuman received the first Pulitzer Prize in music for his cantata A Free Song.
At the amazingly young age of 35, Schuman became President of the Julliard. He brought many innovations in how music is taught and instituted the department of dance.
Schuman next became the first President of the Lincoln Center. After health forced him to retire from that position in 1969, he devoted himself to fostering the careers of young composers.
Schuman died in 1992, laden with honors for his many contributions to music and culture in American.
Opening Concert of the Santa Monica Symphony’s Sixtieth Anniversary Season
Peter Knell, composer, Martin Chalifour, violin, and Allen Robert Gross, conductor, receive a standing ovation at the world premiere of Knell's 'Rhythm Changes' in the opening concert of the Santa Monica Symphony's 60th Season
The audience gave a standing ovation to the world premiere of ‘Rhythm Changes’ by LA's honored young composer Peter Knell, played by the Santa Monica Symphony under the baton of Music Director Allen Robert Gross, and featuring Martin Chalifour, acclaimed principal violinist of the LA Philharmonic.
Peter Knell was introduced by Maestro Gross and told the audience how ‘Rhythm Changes’ riffs on the jazz tradition exemplified by George Gershwin’s ‘I Got Rhythm’ and displays the virtuosity of the violin, from lush lyricism, to delicate harmonics, to technical fireworks.
‘Rhythm Changes’ begins with a ravishingly beautiful passage for the violin that Martin Chalifour played to perfection, then goes on to exploit the many capabilities of the violin, which displayed Chalifour's virtuosity.
The concert opened with the spirited ‘New England Triptych’ by American composer William Schuman, featuring the talents of the Symphony’s principal wind players.
Next on the program was the world premiere of 'Rhythm Changes'
After the intermission, Martin Chalifour awed the audience with Ravel’s ‘Tizgane’ one of the most difficult showpieces ever written for the violin.
This was followed by Robert Schumann’s romantic and glorious ‘Rhenish’ Symphony, during which the audience had a oneness with conductor and musicians which made it a marvelous experience for everyone.
