The Edmonton Chamber Music Society presents

2013 SUMMER SOLSTICE FESTIVAL
June 21, 22, 23, 2013

Convocation Hall | U of A Campus

Musical Prodigies | Friday, June 21, 2013
The New World: Music of America | Saturday, June 22, 2013
Summer Passion | Sunday, June 23, 2013

Community Outreach Performances

Master Classes: June 18 & 20, 2013


Judy Kang | Violin
Judy Kang 

Violin

Andrew Wan | Violin

Andrew Wan  
Violin

James Campbell  Clarinet
Jacques Després  Piano
Adrian Fung  Cello
David Harding   Viola

Marina Hoover  Cello
Jasmine Lin  Violin
Meng-Chieh Liu  Piano
Patricia Tao  Piano & Festival Director


top

Musical Prodigies

FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2013

7:15 PM

 

Pre-concert Recital:
Jack Forestier  Violin
Sebastien Robles  
Guitar
Maya Budzinski  
Violin

 


Jessica Ma  
Piano
Mendelle Robles  
Cello
Gabrielle Després
 Violin

8 PM | Program notes PDF

Felix Mendelssohn
(1809-1847)

Overture to Midsummer Night’s Dream,
op. 61  (Arrangement for piano, 4-hands)

Meng-Chieh Liu  Piano
Patricia Tao  Piano

Wolfgang A. Mozart
(1756-1791)

Quintet for clarinet and strings, K. 581
I. Allegro
II. Larghetto
III. Menuetto
IV. Allegretto con Variazioni

James Campbell  Clarinet
Andrew Wan  Violin
Jasmine Lin  Violin
David Harding   Viola
Marina Hoover  Cello

Isaac Albéniz
(1860-1909)
El Albaicín and Málaga from Iberia
Solo piano
Meng-Chieh Liu  Piano

Samuel Barber
(1910-1981)

Sonata for cello and piano, op. 6
I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Adagio
III. Allegro appassionata

Adrian Fung  Cello
Jacques Després  Piano

Camille Saint-Saëns
(1835–1921)

Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, op. 28
Judy Kang  Violin
Patricia Tao  Piano

At the age of six, Mozart toured to Vienna with his father and sister and played the harpsichord in the court of the Empress Maria Theresa. Felix Mendelssohn was nine years old when he first performed in public on piano and ten at the first public performance of one of his compositions. Saint-Saëns made his debut as a pianist at the age of ten, astonishing his audience by playing from memory, piano concertos by Mozart and Beethoven. The Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz began a long career as a virtuoso pianist with a debut at age five.

The precocious musical talent of these composers is the stuff of legend but their works in later life – including Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, Mendelssohn’s Overture to Midsummer Night’s Dream, Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, plus El Albaicín and Málaga from Albéniz’s masterwork, Iberia – confirm an enduring genius. 

A notable prodigy of more recent times is also represented on Friday’s program. The 20th century American composer Samuel Barber wrote his first work at the age of seven and composed an operetta three years later. His devotion to melodic line and classical tradition is evident in his Cello Sonata of 1932.


top

The New World: Music of America

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2013 | 7:15 PM

 

Pre-concert Recital featuring Maria Protodyakonova  Piano
Winner of the ECMS Scholarship
Works by Prokofiev, Ravel, Barber

8 PM | Program notes PDF

Aaron Copland
(1900-1990)

Nocturne
Ukulele Serenade
Judy Kang  Violin
Patricia Tao  Piano

John Corigliano
(b. 1938)

Snapshot: Circa 1909
Judy Kang  Violin
Jasmine Lin  Violin
David Harding   Viola
Marina Hoover  Cello

John Adams
(b. 1947)

John’s Book of Alleged Dances
Rag the Bone
Toot Nipple
Habanera
Dogjam
Ständchen: The Little Serenade
Judah to Ocean

Judy Kang  Violin
Jasmine Lin  Violin
David Harding   Viola
Marina Hoover  Cello

Mark O’Connor
(b. 1961)

Appalachia Waltz
Jasmine Lin  Violin

Aaron Jay Kernis
(b. 1960)

Air
Andrew Wan  Violin
Patricia Tao  Piano

Peter Schickele
(b. 1935)

Quartet for clarinet, violin, cello and piano
I. Moderate, flowing
II. Fast, driving
III. Slow, elegiac, but with motion
IV. Quite fast, dancing


James Campbell  Clarinet
Andrew Wan  Violin
Adrian Fung  Cello
Meng-Chieh Liu  Piano

Saturday’s program celebrates the musical idioms of 20th century America, their singular rhythms and sounds. From the unlikely juxtaposition of cool blues and country jauntiness in Aaron Copland’s paired Nocturne and Ukulele Serenade to the nostalgic reflections of John Corigliano’s Snapshot for String Quartet, the program highlights the influence of uniquely American voices and instrumental styles.

The six pieces from John Adams John’s Book of Alleged Dances move from bluegrass to jazz to Latin beat against a backdrop of a taped rhythm track. Mark O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz evokes traditional melodies and fiddle styles. Aaron Jay Kernis’ lyrical Air, written for the violinist Joshua Bell, displays the deeply felt response to a personal world that characterizes many of Kernis’ compositions. Peter Schickele’s comic alter ego, P.D.Q. Bach, is nowhere evident in his fine Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano. Alternately dreamy and fast-paced, the work suggests the grandeur and energy of the American landscape.


top

Summer Passion

SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2013
3 PM | Program notes PDF

Claude Debussy
(1862–1918)

Première Rhapsodie
James Campbell  Clarinet
Jacques Després  Piano

Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)

Piano Trio no. 1 in B major, op. 8
I. Allegro con brio
II. Scherzo: Allegro molto
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro

Jasmine Lin  Violin
Marina Hoover  Cello
Patricia Tao  Piano

Ernő Dohnányi
(1877-1960)

Piano Quintet no. 1 in c minor, op. 1
I. Allegro
II. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
III. Adagio, quasi andante
IV. Finale: Allegro animato

Judy Kang  Violin
Andrew Wan  Violin
David Harding   Viola
Adrian Fung  Cello
Meng-Chieh Liu  Piano

Sunday’s program features three glorious works from the chamber music repertoire. Claude Debussy wrote his Première Rhapsodie for clarinet and piano as an examination piece for the Paris Conservatory; its beauty and dynamic range have made it a favorite of clarinet virtuosos and their audiences.

Johannes Brahms published his Piano Trio in B Major when he was just twenty-one and an impassioned Romantic. Thirty-five years later he revised the work, tempering its excesses but leaving intact its intensity and expressiveness.

The Piano Quintet in C minor was the first published composition of the Hungarian pianist, conductor and composer Ernő Dohnányi. Written in 1895, an early expression of the Romanticism that infused all his compositions, the work is moody and majestic; an enduring masterpiece.


top

COMMUNITY OUTREACH PERFORMANCES

To add to the excitement, the Summer Solstice Festival will be sponsoring two community outreach performances.

Thursday, June 20, 2013 | 7:30 PM
Judy Kang will be performing at the The Works Festival of Art and Design. The performance will be on main stage at The Works Festival site on Churchill Square.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013 | 12:05 PM
Andrew Wan, Adrian Fung and David Harding will be performing at the CBC Centre Stage in City Centre Mall. Bring your lunch and get a free taste of the Summer Solstice Festival programming.


top

MASTER CLASSES

Both Master Classes are free and open to the public

Andrew Wan | Violin

Tuesday, June 18, 2013
3 – 5 PM
Studio 2-7
Fine Arts Building | University of Alberta

 | photo: Dodo 5 Studio


Meng-Chieh Liu | Piano

Thursday, June 20, 2013
4 – 6 PM
Convocation Hall | University of Alberta

If you are interested in performing, please contact Patricia Tao.


top

Edmonton Chamber Music Society VUE Weekly Tix on the Square The Gramophone
Alberta Foundation for the Arts Edmonton Arts Council  City of Edmonton CKUA
Campus Tower Suite Hotel Corporate Copy    

top