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Home , Kaija Saariaho, Magnus Lindberg, Paavo Heininen

CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS

Saturday, February 11, 2012, 8pm Hertz Hall Eco Ensemble David Milnes, conductor

PROGRAM

Kaija Saariaho (b. 1952) Trois Rivières Delta (2001) percussion Loren Mach, Chris Froh, Daniel Kennedy, Stan Muncy

Magnus Lindberg (b. 1952) Corrente (China Version) (2000)

, Stacey Pelinka 1 Hrabba Atladottir oboe, English horn Andrienne Malley violin 2 Dan Flanagan bass Peter Josheff viola Ellen Ruth Rose trombone Brendan Lai-Tong Leighton Fong percussion Loren Mach double bass Richard Worn Ann Yi

INTERMISSION

Saariaho Ballade (2005) Prelude (2007) piano Gloria Cheng

Franck Bedrossian (b. 1971) Swing (2009)

flute, alto flute Stacey Pelinka Travis Andrews bass clarinet Peter Josheff violin 1 Hrabba Atladottir baritone saxophone, violin 2 Dan Flanagan soprano saxophone David Wegehaupt viola Ellen Ruth Rose percussion Loren Mach cello Leighton Fong piano Ann Yi double bass Richard Worn

Electronics by Jay Cloidt, Yotam Mann (Trois Rivières Delta) and Tom Craft (Swing).

Cal Performances’ 2011–2012 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo.

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Kaija Saariaho (b. 1952) listening experience her pieces offer audiences, appearance is more forceful, driven emotionally sections are recalled and rethought in a different Trois Rivières Delta (2001), Prelude (2007), engaging their intellect as well as their senses. in gestures reminiscent of Liszt and Chopin. context. Their reorganization does not render Ballade (2005) In 2000 Saariaho solidified her reputation as Although the solo-piano ballade has no set form unfamiliar the various previously heard compo- one of the most important of her gen- (apart from a loose connection to the French po- nents, but rather changes their perception and Kaija Sarriaho’s diverse training and experience eration with her opera L’Amour de loin (“Love etic form involving three stanzas), or any expect- perceived meaning. has shaped her unique compositional approach. from Afar”) premiered at the ed overall feeling, what connects all the pieces Saariaho uses the human voices of the per- Having grown up in Laakkonen, , be- under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen and di- written under this title by numerous composers cussionists in this piece to add to its diverse fore her family eventually moved to , rected by . Here Saariaho combined since the early Romantic period is the idea of a sonic world. As source material for their spoken Sarriaho often highlights her love of nature, its her wish to express nature with the overall struc- narrative being expressed musically. recitation, Saariaho uses the poem La nuit de colors, textures and sonic world in her composi- ture of the opera. The sea in L’Amour de loin is Saariaho’s Ballade draws upon stylistic attri- lune sur le fleuve (“Moonlit Night on the River”) tions. Throughout her formative years, Sarriaho as much a dramatic force, creating a natural butes of the Romantic period namely in terms by the Chinese poet Li Po (701–762). Echoes was trained to think about music from a myr- barrier between two lovers, as a compositional of gesture, and the articulation of musical mate- of this poem are amplified, electronically en- iad of perspectives. She simultaneous pursued one, serving as a mirror through which Saariaho rial rather than the material itself. She also uses hanced, and combined creating various textures graphics at the Industrial School of Arts and explores musical symmetry. The opera won her the form as narration, not to express a specific and colors that sometimes adhere to strictly Crafts, piano, organ, theory and composition at much public acclaim, as well as the prestigious story in her music, but rather to guide the piece notated rhythms, while at other moments, re- the Helsinki Conservatory, as well as musicol- for Music Composition along through an unfolding of musical mate- call the rhythmically free atmosphere from the ogy, art history and literature at the University in 2003. rial in various contexts. This material expresses first section. of Helsinki. Prelude (2007) exhibits Saariaho’s inti- itself lyrically and is driven forward by under- Ultimately, Saariaho turned to musical cre- mate connection with the physical aspects of lying dense, cloudlike harmonies, whose elusive ation as her preferred mode of artistic expres- the piano. Its rich opening texture draws from pitches are constantly in flux. These harmonies (b. 1952) sion, and she entered ’s com- both extremes of the instrument’s register, as if provide a rich sensual background for Saariaho’s Corrente (China Version) (2000) position class at the in 1976. to outline the limits of its physical boundaries. melodic material, whose beauty and purpose of There, inspired in part by her teacher’s atonal Saariaho then pushes forward into the interior motion speak to her sophistication as well as her Magnus Lindberg has shown himself capable counterpoint classes, she embraced a post-seri- of the opening texture, exploring the various innate ability to convincingly convey emotion. of reaching wide audiences in a number of alist language as a response to the nationalist, colorful harmonies found within. A slow osti- Trois Rivières Delta (2001) is a piece for per- different styles throughout his compositional neo-romantic mainstream present in Finland nato (repeated figure) emerges near the center of cussion and electronics divided into three sec- career and has become one of the most widely during the 1960s and 1970s. During her time this texture issuing a paradox over the sensory tions. As the title suggests, these sections flow heard composers of his generation. A native of at the Sibelius academy, Saariaho, along with aspects of this piece. The constant repetition of into one another and ultimately join together Finland, Lindberg studied piano and composi- her classmate the and conductor Esa- the ostinato creates a static feeling, one out of to form a diverse but somewhat unified whole. tion at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Pekka Salonen, formed the Ears Open! (Korvat sync with time, all the while suggesting forward These three sections can be thought of as dif- Paavo Heininen. Along with Kaija Saariaho auki!) society, which was devoted to promoting motion at a walking pace. Saariaho’s use of this ferent aspects or approaches to a single type of and Esa-Pekka Salonen, he was instrumental in the performance and study of post-serial music ostinato and her loosely following the form of a saturated matter. In the opening section, the the founding of the Ears Open! (Korvat auki!) in Finland. piano prelude bring to mind Debussy’s prelude diverse sound world of the piece is presented in society, which provides one of many examples After studying composition with Brian …des pas sur la niège. concretely distinguishable instrumental colors. of Lindberg’s actions as a contemporary music Ferneyhough at the Freiburg Musikhochshule, The serene atmosphere created by the lush Without a clear rhythmic aspect, the focus is advocate. In the early 1980s, Lindberg traveled Saariaho enrolled in an electronic composition textures of this piece are accented by intense centered on colors, resonances, attacks and tex- throughout Europe, attending summer courses class at IRCAM, ’s state-funded electro- gestures enunciated using the whole range of tures. Here unpitched instruments are given a in Siena with , with Brian acoustic studio, in 1982. There Saariaho was the piano’s keyboard. These bursts of energy are primary role. Ferneyhough at , and studying pri- drawn toward different stimuli for composition- highly personal, and highlight the physical re- In the second section, rhythm comes to vately with Gérard Grisey in Paris. al expression, namely the nature of sound itself. sponse soloists have with the piano. Often their the fore, providing the previously stated colors Also having spent time in Berlin, Lindberg This approach, often referred to as Spectralism, delayed decay creates other textures and colors and textures another framework in which to developed an interest in punk rock, which served which used computer technology to study the from which, in turn, more pianistic gestures be experienced. As in a number of other pieces as an inspiration for (1985), a work whose various spectra of acoustic sounds as an impetus emerge. Prelude highlights Saariaho’s interest heard during this concert, an ostinato is devel- rhythmic punch and abrasive sonorities broke for musical composition was pioneered in the late in allowing musical material to present itself oped in this section, which marks the passage with his earlier styles of composition and propelled 1970s by the French composers Gérard Grisey in various ways throughout a piece being ever of time as well as moves the piece forward in him onto the international stage. At one point in and , among others. Creating changed by its surroundings. varying directions. the piece, the score calls for a 70-note harmony, “music for the ears, and not for the eyes,” as she Ballade (2005) also showcases intense pia- Finally, in the third part of this piece, as- made up of acoustic instruments, as well as the once put it, Saariaho is ever conscious of the nistic passagework, although in this case, their pects of the material from the two preceding ensemble’s playing of various household objects.

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In the late 1980s, Lindberg’s shifted his fo- Although the framework of the piece pri- of the field of saturated sounds. Certainly, implicit reference to jazz music must once again cus from experimental electronics toward the marily highlights the textural transitions of the the serial system tended towards an excess of be considered as an expression of an allusive expression of harmonic continuity through con- continuums, the development of certain motivic sounds— as well as irony, since the connotation of each musical trapuntal techniques, all the while retaining his gestures also contributes to the piece’s narra- perceived this quite well in their time. But rather component is diverted away, emerging then characteristic energy. He brought his experience tive. Most notably, a descending gesture comes than consider it a ‘sound barrier,’ a limit not to disappearing behind a sound that at times in- working in an electronic studio to the orchestra, to light early on in the piece. It is enunciated be crossed, the ‘saturationists’ apprehend this trudes and is often unpredictable. An often and proved to be quite successful writing in this multiple times throughout Corrente in various situation of sound accumulation as the natural conflicting dialectic is established between the medium, as his works have been championed by forms, including its ascending inverse, and vari- condition of sound today.” reference features and the dominant tone, thus many renowned conductors. During an inter- ous combinations as the two are blended. The Detailed study into the physical nature of taking on a structural role. It takes the form of view in 2000, conductor described blurring of divisions through nuanced blending sounds and how their elements can be manipu- twelve episodes, the sequences flowing without Lindberg as “one-man living proof that the or- techniques is also of note in Lindberg’s rich or- lated was a major part of Bedrossian’s composi- interruption. Its hidden dramatic tension gener- chestra is not dead.” chestration. His various colors and textures pre- tional training at the Paris Conservatoire with ates a specific form of rhythm, characterized by Among the numerous composition prizes sented in the piece are highly balanced orches- the late Gérard Grisey and Marco Stroppa. the rotary motion of events with a temporality that Lindberg has won are the Prix Italia in trally, creating a blended unity of sound that is He was then taught by a number of promi- that is slowly toned down, spuriously static or 1986, the UNESCO International Rostrum of in constant motion. Corrente (China Version) is nent composers at IRCAM including Philippe violently stepped up to a faster pace. The notion Composers in the same year, the Nordic Music a revision of Lindberg’s Corrente II, which was Leroux, , Tristan Murail and of swinging suggested in the title of this work is Prize in 1988 and the Royal Philharmonic composed in 1992. Philippe Manoury. There he further explored omnipresent. It proves to be representative of the Society Prize in 1992. how electronics can be used to create saturat- tone (a symbol of the up-and-down nature of its Throughout the various styles in which he ed sounds, and transition between them. His structure) and the general architecture (the flex- has composed, Lindberg has maintained his Franck Bedrossian (b. 1971) compositional work at IRCAM culminated in ibility of the interludes).” electric ability to speak to an audience. He has Swing (2009) Transmission (2002) for bassoon and electron- Swing plays with expectations of sound taught composition at UC Berkeley and is cur- ics, whose multiple performances speak to its quality, rhythm, and form and actively engages rently the composer in residence at the New One of Franck Bedrossian’s main compositional importance for the studio. its audience to enter its saturated sound world. York Philharmonic. interests is the sonic phenomena that catego- Bedrossian’s works have been performed The extended instrumental techniques bring Corrente (China Version) (2000) bears refer- rize our modern audio culture. He has often in Europe and more recently in the United the performers’ breath and voice to the fore and ence at least in part, to the baroque dance form mentioned influences coming from outside the States by a number of prestigious new-music suggests a particularly human attempt at com- the courante, based on a succession of shift- realm of contemporary composition, including ensembles, including l’Itineraire, 2e2m, Ictus, munication. The messages being communicated ing ostinati. Lindberg has also alluded to the jazz, rock and various oral traditions. He also Cairn, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the are saturated, presented on top of one another, Baroque era in this piece by using a quotation has been heavily influenced by the sound world Orchestre National de Lyon, the San Francisco shifting focus between individual voices, and from Henry Purcell’s Funeral Music for Queen made possible by electronic technology, and Contemporary Music Players, and the Danel the texture as a whole. Their abrupt attacks and Mary. Lindberg has described the baroque dance how that technology can be used to manipu- and Diotima string quartets. Many prominent endings fall out of line with expectations of form as simply the “tip of the iceberg” for this late natural acoustic sounds, such as the human festivals have seen performances of his works, complete musical phrases, highlighting ambigu- rhythmically and harmonically dense piece for voice in particular. Throughout his composi- and he has been the precipitant of numerous ity and rapid change of direction, not unlike the chamber ensemble. The various continuums, or tions, the ways in which sounds are communi- awards such as the Hervé-Dugardin prize at work of experimental jazz artist John Zorn. In rhythmic loops present in Corrente are continu- cated through music are rethought, and notions Sacem, the Prix Pierre Cardin from the Institut Swing, even the silences can be thought of as sat- ally weaving in and out of each other, blending of pure, acoustic sounds upended. Bedrossian de France, and was a Rome Prize Fellow at the urated. Dense with memory, tension and expec- together to obscure clear points of transition. embraces instead a sonic phenomenon of a dif- Villa Medicis from 2006–2008. In September tation, moments of sonic absence in Swing create Particular continuums may seem reminiscent of ferent nature, one categorized by saturation. 2008, Bedrossian joined the music department a rhythm of their own in relation to the diverse minimalist techniques, but the irregular transi- As stated during a conference devoted to the at UC Berkeley, where he has since served as sound blocks that flank them. A constant feeling tions between them, as well as their superimpo- concept at Paris’s Centre de documentation Assistant Professor of Composition. of uncertainty drives this piece along with ener- sition, shows Lindberg’s unique and complex de la musique contemporaine, “the saturated Swing (2009) is a highly energetic piece for getic motion that eludes and distorts the piece’s approach to the use of ostinato to form a nar- phenomenon in the acoustic domain is an ex- a chamber ensemble that demonstrates various form put in place in part by its complex meta- rative. The piece becomes then not about the cess of matter, energy, movement and timbre.” ways in which the concept of saturation can rhythms. The ever-shifting context for Swing’s continuums per se, but rather about how they In the words of Omer Corlaix, French music be employed. As the title suggests, jazz is ref- musical material saturates the meanings and interact with one another. Their ever-changing critic and producer for the radio station France erenced in the piece’s musical material, but in emotions it so exuberantly conveys. relationship serves as the driving force behind Musique: “Inharmonic, distorted and multi- diverse electric bursts that abruptly retreat into this energetic work, and provides one of the con- phonic sounds, the Berio tremolo doubling a various textures often moments after their ap- necting threads of its continuity. flatterzunge, Larsen effects, static, etc. are part pearance. In the composers own words: “The Notes by Alexander Stalarow

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Li Po (701–762) TheEco Ensemble, under the direction of David National Symphony. Recent engagements have Moonlit Night on the River Milnes, is a new group of leading Bay Area mu- included appearances at the MANCA Festival in Translation by Harold Slamovitz sicians dedicated to exploring and sharing the Nice, France, with the Philharmonic Orchestra work of adventurous composers. Its mission is of Nice; in Mexico, at the International Festival Softly the breeze rises on the river, to bring exciting, contemporary music to both “El Callejón del Ruido” with the Guanajauto Sadly the trees shiver near the lake. experienced audiences and new listeners. Symphony Orchestra; and in Russia, with the I go up to the prow in the calm, beautiful night. Novosibirsk Symphony Orchestra. He has col- The mats are spread out and the boat springs lightly forward. David Milnes laborated in performances with Frederica von The moon follows the fleeing of the dark mountains, serves as Music Stade, , Bill T. Jones, Paul Hillier, The water flows with the blue sky, Director of the James Newton, David Starobin and Chanticleer, As deeply, upside down, as the celestial sky. Eco Ensemble, and has appeared at the Santa Fe, Tanglewood, Nothing is visible, only the blended shadow of tree and cloud. Berkeley’s profes- Aspen and Monadnock music festivals. sional new music A dedicated proponent of new music, from The road of return is long, long; ensemble in resi- 2002 to 2009 Mr. Milnes was Music Director of The immensity of the river is sad, sad. dence, as well as the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, I am alone, the orchid flowers disappear, Music Director with whom he commissioned and premiered The song of the fisherman recalls my sadness. of the UC Berkeley University Symphony many new works from around the world. He The steep detour hides the shore behind, Orchestra since 1996. In his early years, he stud- has made recordings of music by John Anthony The pale sand shows a reef in front. ied piano, organ, clarinet, cello and voice, and Lennon, James Newton, Edmund Campion, I think of you, Lord, my sight no longer reaches you, briefly entertained a career as a jazz pianist, ap- Jorge Liderman and Pablo Ortiz. And my vision, lost in the distance muses on my regret. pearing with Chuck Mangione, Gene Krupa, Billy Taylor and John Pizzarelli. After receiving The UC Berkeley Center for New Music and advanced degrees in conducting from SUNY Audio Technologies (CNMAT) houses a dy- Stony Brook and the Yale School of Music, and namic group of educational, performance and studying with Otto-Werner Müller, Herbert research programs focused on the creative Blomstedt, Erich Leinsdorf and Leonard interaction between music and technology. Bernstein, he won the prestigious Exxon CNMAT’s research program is highly inter- Assistant Conductor position with the San disciplinary, linking all of UC Berkeley’s disci- Francisco Symphony, where he also served as plines dedicated to the study or creative use of Music Director of the highly acclaimed San sound. CNMAT’s educational program inte- Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, which he grates a Music and Technology component into led on its first European tour in 1986. the Department of Music’s graduate program in Mr. Milnes has conducted frequently in music composition and also supports the under- Russia and the Baltics, serving as Music Director graduate curriculum in music and technology of the Riga Independent Opera Company and for music majors and nonmusic majors. Learn as a principal guest conductor of the Latvian more at www.cnmat.berkeley.edu.

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