Saturday, March 13, 2010

Paris in the 20s

THE AMERICAN CHAMBER PLAYERS

Gabriel Pierné
Sonata da camera for flute, cello, and piano, Op. 48 (Paris, 1927)
Prélude
Sarabande
Finale

Albert Roussel
Trio for flute, viola, and cello, Op. 40 (Paris, 1929) 
Allegro grazioso
Andante
Allegro non troppo

Bohuslav Martinu
Duo No. 1 for violin and cello, H. 157 (Paris, 1927)
Preludium: Andante moderato
Rondo: Allegro con brio

INTERMISSION

Frederic Chopin
From Preludes, Op. 28 - Choreographed by Isadora Duncan
Nos. 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11
Ingrid Zimmer, Dancer accompanied by Carlos Rodriguez, piano

Gabriel Fauré
Quartet No. 2 in G Minor for piano and strings, Op. 45 (1886)
Allegro molto moderato 
Allegro molto
Adagio non troppo
Allegro molto

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ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Much has been written about Paris between the two world wars, and particularly about the unprecedented and—still to this day—unique atmosphere found there in the 1920s. The sheer numbers of artists, writers, musicians, and dancers who came from different parts of the world to fill the City of Light would partially account for the unparalleled creative enterprises of the day. In today’s corporate parlance, however, we might say that the synergy of the moment was a result of many factors: attraction to France’s social freedoms, especially appealing to a new breed of Americans; a young population hungry for distraction from the horrors of WWI; an infrastructure of salon culture; a formal system of artistic pedagogy that boasted centuries of excellence. The causes are many, and the results are seemingly endless.

The literary narrative provided tonight comes from Ernest’s Hemingway’s A Movable Feast, a posthumously published account of the author’s experiences in 1920s Paris. Like the sets of metal rings that contract and multiply in the hands of the magician, one of Hemingway’s circles, including Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, overlaps with another circle made up of Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and Nadia Boulanger’s Fontainebleu students, and yet another of artists such as Picasso and Chagall. Legendary synergy.

Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937)
Sonata da camera for flute, cello, and percussion [1927]

As a student at the Paris Conservatoire, Henry Constant Gabriel Pierné was awarded the coveted Prix de Rome in 1882, a testament to the young musician’s immense skill and talent. Today, however, his works are not well known, and audiences are the poorer for it. A 1937 obituary in a music periodical noted that, as a composer, Pierné produced compositions filled with “imagination, delicacy, and warmth of sentiment.” Pierné was highly gifted as an organist and conductor, as well as a composer. He succeeded the great César Franck as organ master at Sainte-Clotilde in 1890 before taking on the position of assistant to conductor Edouard Colonne, who ran one of the prominent orchestras in Paris. Pierné then assumed the post of director of the Colonne Concerts in 1910, upon the founder’s retirement, and later devised a way for his own performance series and that of a rival conductor to stay afloat during the First World War, when most of the players in Paris had gone off to fight in the trenches. Highly successful, Pierné remained with the orchestra until his own retirement.

The three-movement Sonata da Camera was written in memory of flutist Louis Fleury, to whom Debussy had dedicated his famous flute solo Syrinx. Fleury died in 1926, and Pierné lost no time in composing this quintessentially French tribute to his friend. The manuscript of the Sonata, which was composed with the financial help of American arts patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, bears a poem by Virgil written on the first page in Pierné’s hand, along with the composer’s fashionable Paris address: 8 Rue de Tournon. The three-movement Sonata boasts an airy texture in which the instrumental voices mingle effortlessly, creating an atmosphere of pure elegance and refinement.

Albert Roussel (1869-1937)
Trio for flute, viola, and cello, Op. 40 [1929]

Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel did not intend to be a composer. Rather, he studied math and then joined the French Navy. Roussel first started writing music in earnest when he was serving on board a ship. His works met with the approval of his shipmates, so he was thus encouraged to leave the Navy in 1894 and begin formal music studies. He enrolled at the Schola Cantorum—noted for its instruction of classical counterpoint—where he became a pupil of Vincent d’Indy. A few years later, he was assigned students of his own, among them Erik Satie, Edgard Varèse, and Martinů; Roussel’s influence as a teacher was far-reaching. As a composer, Roussel covered much territory, from his early Impressionistic works to his own brand of neo-classical compositions. In all, however, he wrote with his own style and always-refined taste.

In 1929, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge commissioned Roussel’s Trio for flute, viola, and cello, Op. 40, and she may have directed the composer to write for this particular combination of instruments. He wrote with amazing speed, completing the work in two weeks. Roussel’s classical training and preferences are clearly reflected in the contrapuntal aspects of this work. The cello serves more of an accompanying role in the second movement, joined by the viola in the finale in a lengthy arpeggiated passage over which the flute takes prominence. The work is delicate, finely crafted, and wholly appealing.

Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959)
Duo No. 1 for violin and cello, H. 157 [1927]

As a second violinist in the Czech Philharmonic, Bohuslav Martinů went on tour in 1919 to Geneva, London, and Paris, where he was instantly and irresistibly drawn to the French capital. A few years later, as a new resident of Paris in 1923, the 33-year-old musician believed he had arrived in the place he was meant to be. Attracted to all aspects of French cultural life, Martinů could not have been more removed from his upbringing in the rural Czech countryside. He was a bit overwhelmed at first, as his French was not especially good, and money was tight. Up until then, Martinů had been a fairly prolific composer. In this somewhat intimidating—or, perhaps overstimulating—new environment, however, he wrote little, thinking it better to take in new ideas and experiences. Much time was spent reading in his tiny room in the 14th arrondissement, talking to artist friends, and listening to music that was all-new to him. He also took composition lessons for a while with Albert Roussel, whose work appears on tonight’s program. This relationship soon moved from one of teacher-student, to one of friends and colleagues.

As Martinů became more comfortable in Paris, he began to compose again. Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor Serge Koussevitzky, one of the 20th century’s greatest advocates for composers and new music, decided Martinů was deserving of his assistance, offering financial help and programming the composer’s orchestral works. Until his departure just prior to WWII, Martinů’s time in Paris was extremely productive. It was a period when the composer both honed his compositional style and expanded his musical vocabulary, most notably to include jazz elements in his works.

The Duo No. 1 for violin and cello dates from 1927. The opening movement of this challenging work is both painfully austere and eerily sweet. At times, the two instruments seem to be fighting to occupy the same spot, while they wander in opposite directions in other passages. The insistent imitative motion of the concluding movement conveys a nervy, tightly-wound persona. Martinů’s growing reputation shows in the confidence of this music, which surely was at the forefront of works produced in Paris at the time.

Isadora Duncan (1877-1927)
Choreography to Preludes by Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Born in San Francisco, Isadora Duncan is credited with inventing one of the leading styles of modern dance. From a very young age, she seemed to know her philosophy of natural, individual movement, and she set out teaching her ideas when she was still a girl. Later, she articulated her goal to “not teach...children to imitate my movements, but to make their own…I shall help them to develop those movements which are natural to them.” Duncan first came to Paris in 1900, and she soaked up all of the art and music that the city could offer. Clad in free-flowing Grecian tunics for performances, she soon became a “destination” for artists, musicians, and writers who sought creative inspiration and release from the traditional.

From notes called “choreochronicles,” we know that Duncan used the music of Chopin more than that of any other composer for her works. She danced to music of the Chopin Preludes from 1902 to at 1922. For one thing, it was easy to take piano music “on the road,” but for Duncan there certainly was a deeper connection than is suggested by mere convenience. It is important to note that Duncan’s movements to the Chopin, and other music, were not improvisatory. Her “free and natural” movements were thoughtfully and carefully plotted; and even if it did not convey the constraints of classical ballet, her dancing—just as the new music produced at the time—surely drew on formal training and discipline.

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)
Quartet No. 2 in G Minor for piano and strings [1886]

Fauré’s G Minor Quartet was written in 1887, when the composer had reached a secure point in his compositional style. Here, Fauré brought all of his muses together—Chopin, Liszt, Saint-Saëns, and César Franck-—to produce a fully mature work that pushes harmony in a new direction. The quartet frequently pits the piano against the strings, as passages of fever and hallucination, tender recollection, anger, and moonlit revelation unfold during the course of the four movements. The opening allegro, bittersweet with rapidly shifting harmonies that stretch beyond ordinary chromaticism, leads to the infectious perpetuum mobile of the second movement. Of the third movement adagio, Fauré wrote to his wife nearly twenty years after its composition: “the slow movement…is one of the few places where I realize that, without really meaning to, I recalled a peal of bells we used to hear of an evening, drifting over to Montgauzy from a village called Cadirac whenever the wind blew from the West. Their sound gives rise to a vague reverie…” The quartet’s non-stop finale pushes the listener, almost breathless, to the end.

Fauré’s schooling was intended to prepare him to be a church musician—an organist and choirmaster. After being told that the boy had musical talent, his parents sent him to Paris, several days’ journey from their home, to enroll at a new music school founded by composer and pianist Louis Niedermeyer. The lessons of polyphony and plainchant, staples of church music, certainly stayed with Fauré, and probably can be credited with some of the composer’s traits. Following Niedermeyer’s death, Camille Saint-Saëns was hired by the school, and he succeeded in diverting the planned church music courses to include new material such as Wagner and Liszt, which proved crucial to Fauré’s compositional style.

Even though Fauré was a composer of immense vision and importance, he really did not make his living off of his compositions. For one thing, he had entered into a most egregious business arrangement with his publisher, essentially robbing him of the opportunity to profit from his own compositions. Instead, he really supported his wife and two sons with teaching and with church duties, as he was earnestly prepared to do. Fauré was organist and choirmaster at several Paris churches, ultimately arranging services at the Madeleine. After Fauré took the post as Director of the Paris Conservatoire, he had even less time to compose during the academic terms. It took full retirement in 1920, at age 75, for Fauré to finally gain the time to devote all of his energies to writing. He continued to produce masterpieces of chamber literature and song before his death four years later.

Kate Rivers

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

THE AMERICAN CHAMBER PLAYERS

“They have established standards of chamber music performance equal to any in the world,” in the words of The Washington Post.  And The New York Times said, "They appealed to the heart and the head, offering a warm, seductively luxurious sound and an impressive precision and unity of purpose."  Among today's most exciting and innovative chamber music ensembles, The American Chamber Players were formed in 1985 by Miles Hoffman from a core group of artists of The Library of Congress Summer Chamber Festival.  The six members of the ensemble perform repertoire ranging from familiar masterpieces to neglected gems to newly commissioned American works, and their fascinating and delightful programs with varied instrumental combinations have been as enthusiastically praised as their extraordinary, dynamic performances.  They have toured throughout North America, engaged and re-engaged by prestigious concert series from Florida to  British Columbia, and they have traveled to Paris for a series of special gala concerts at the Paris Opera and the Bibliothèque Nationale. They have also been heard countless times on National Public Radio's Performance Today and on local radio stations throughout the United States.  They are Artists in Residence at the Society of the Four Arts, in Palm Beach, Florida, and the resident ensemble of the June Chamber Festival at the Kreeger Museum, in Washington, DC.

The American Chamber Players have recorded music of Mozart, Bruch, Bloch, Stravinsky, Harbison, and Rochberg for a series of compact discs distributed internationally on the Koch International Classics label.

Violist Miles Hoffman, founder of The American Chamber Players, is dean of the Petrie School of Music at Converse College, in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  He made his New York recital debut in 1979 at the 92nd Street Y and has since appeared frequently around the country in recital, as chamber musician, and as soloist with many orchestras.  In 1982 he founded the Library of Congress Summer Chamber Festival, which he directed for nine years, and which led to the formation of the American Chamber Players. His musical commentary, “Coming to Terms,” was heard weekly throughout the United States for thirteen years – from 1989 to 2002 – on NPR’s Performance Today, and now, as Music Commentator for National Public Radio’s flagship news program, Morning Edition, he is regularly heard by a national audience of nearly 14 million people.Mr. Hoffman isthe author of The NPR Classical Music Companion, now in its tenth printing from the Houghton Mifflin Company.  He is a graduate of Yale University and the Juilliard School, and in 2003 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Centenary College of Louisiana in recognition of his achievements as a performer and educator.

Born and raised in Colorado, violinist Joanna Maurer has performed as orchestral soloist and recitalist throughout the United States, as well as in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.  After initial studies with her parents, she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Juilliard School, where she studied with Dorothy DeLay and Robert Mann.  She has won first prizes in a number of competitions, including the E. Nakamichi Violin Competition, the Denver Young Artist Orchestra Competition, the Young Musicians Foundation Competition, and the National MTNA Selmer Competition. Now a resident of New York City, Ms. Maurer performs regularly with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and she is a member of the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, with whom she has appeared as soloist and concertmaster. She also served as concertmaster of the Prometheus Chamber Orchestra for their final two seasons. A versatile artist with a broad repertoire, Ms. Maurer has collaborated with fiddler/violinist Mark O’Connor in, among other projects, performances of his Double Violin Concerto.

Born in Italy, cellist Alberto Parrini has performed throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia.  He spent the 2002-03 season as cellist of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, in residence at Stanford University, and joined the American Chamber Players in 2004. Prior to that he was Assistant Principal cellist with the Richmond Symphony. In addition to touring with the American Chamber Players, Mr. Parrini has, since 2007, served as Principal Cellist of the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic.  He is also a member of the chamber ensemble Proteus, and he has toured extensively with Mikhail Baryshnikov and the White Oak Dance Project and performed with Continuum, the Lenape Chamber Ensemble, and the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra. His festival appearances include Evian, Tanglewood, Taos, Verbier, Ottawa, Montreal, San Miguel de Allende, Spoleto U.S.A., Music@Menlo, and the Piatigorsky seminar. Mr. Parrini’s principal studies were with Timothy Eddy, Joel Krosnick and David Soyer. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School.

Flutist Sara Stern leads an active and varied career as a recitalist and chamber musician.  As solo flutist of the 21st Century Consort, in residence at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., she has premiered countless important new works and made many recordings.  She has presented solo recitals in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Recital Hall, and at many other concert halls around the country, and she has appeared as guest artist with the Emerson String Quartet and other distinguished chamber ensembles.  Ms. Stern has also toured both here and abroad as one half of the duo "Stern and Levalier," with harpist Dotian Levalier, and she is a founding member of the Eastwind Consort, a critically acclaimed woodwind ensemble. 

Since winning the prestigious Ettore Pozzoli International Piano Competition in Milan, Italy, at age seventeen, Bulgarian pianist Anna Stoytcheva has performed throughout North America, Europe and Japan.  She has appeared as soloist with the Orchestra del' Angelicum in Milano, the Juilliard Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra, among many others, and she has been the subject of several documentaries on Bulgarian National Radio and Television.  In New York City, where she now makes her home, she has graced the stages of Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Merkin Hall, and her extensive chamber music experience includes performances at the Marlboro Music Festival, the Banff Center for the Arts, the Music Academy of the West, Kneisel Hall, and the Bowdoin Music Festival.  She has also recorded two solo albums, distributed internationally on the GEGA NEW label, and she is a co-founder of the concert series “Bulgarian Concert Evenings in New York,” which takes place at the Consulate of Bulgaria. Ms. Stoytcheva holds Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees in Piano Performance from the Juilliard School, where among her many honors were the Vladimir Horowitz and William Petschek scholarships and the Rockefeller Award, the Peter Jay Sharp Award, and the Helen Fay Prize. 

Ingrid Zimmer earned a B.A. in Dance/Theatre from Pomona College where she was trained in the Limon Technique. Upon graduating, she moved to Europe where she toured, performed and studied dance at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germany under the artistic direction of Pina Bausch. Ms. Zimmer has been dancing professionally, teaching and choreographing in the Washington, D.C. area for the last 14 years. She has performed with local companies Bowen McCauley Dance and Rincones & Company. Currently Ms. Zimmer is Associate Director of and performs with Word Dance Theater. She also performs and tours with the Isadora Duncan International Institute. Having recently returned from a tour in Greece, Ms. Zimmer has also danced in national and international venues including the Kennedy Center, Jacobs Pillow, Spoleto Festival,Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, France, and the Gran Festival Internacional de Danza Contemporanea in Monterey, Mexico.

Carlos César Rodríguez has gained recognition as a virtuoso pianist who not only generates unusual excitement in the Spanish and Latin-American keyboard repertoire (in recordings on the Omicron, Brioso labels) but also displays an extraordinary flair for Mozart and the great Romantics. An expert on early instruments as well, enjoying entrée to the Smithsonian Institution’s rare collection, he was chosen by the Smithsonian to perform in its one 150th anniversary concert in Washington, DC as well as a solo recital celebrating the 300th anniversary of the piano as part of the museum’s Piano300 exhibit. Mr. Rodríguez was heard on national television collaborating with Placido Domingo, with whom he works very closely as coach of the Washington Opera’s Young Artists program. Mr. Rodríguez made his New York debut at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall at age 21, and has since has performed in such major venues as the John F. Kennedy Center, the White House, the Corcoran Gallery, the Phillip Collection and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, Merkin Hall in New York City, and the Royal Palace of Music in Salzburg, Austria.

Martin Goldsmith is the daily morning programmer and host of Symphony Hall at Sirius XM Satellite Radio in Washington, DC. For ten years, from 1989 to 1999, he served as the host of Performance Today, National Public Radio’s daily classical music program. He joined NPR in 1986; before that he worked at member station WETA-FM in Washington, DC, for a dozen years.

Goldsmith is also the author of “The Inextinguishable Symphony: A True Story of Music and Love in Nazi Germany.” Hailed by The Washington Post as “a literary journey reminiscent of Art Spiegelman’s in Maus,” the book tells the riveting story of the Jewish Kulturbund, an all-Jewish performing arts ensemble maintained by the Nazis between 1933 and 1941, an ensemble that included Mr. Goldsmith’s parents.