GUEST ARTIST RECITAL

The Mann Quartet

Robert Mann, violin Peter Winograd, violin Nicholas Mann, David Geber, cello

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 8:00 p.m. Lillian H. Duncan Recital Hall PROGRAM

Clarinet Quintet in A Major, op. 146 Max Reger Moderato ed amabile (1873-1916) Vivace Largo Poco allegretto

Michael Webster, clarinet Dover Bryan Lee, violin Joel Link, violin Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola Camden Shaw, cello

INTERMISSION

Serenade No. 1 in D Major, op. 11 Johannes Brahms Allegro molto (1833-1897) Scherzo: Allegro non troppo (arr. Chris Nex) Adagio non troppo Menuetto I; Menuetto II Scherzo: Allegro Rondo: Allegro Leone Buyse, flute Robert Atherholt, oboe Michael Webster, clarinet Benjamin Kamins, bassoon Matthew Berliner, horn Eric Halen, violin Kenneth Goldsmith, violin Sheldon Person, viola Jesse Christeson, cello Ian Hallas, double bass

The reverberative acoustics of Duncan Recital Hall magnify the slightest sound made by the audience. Your care and courtesy will be appreciated. The taking of photographs and use of recording equipment are prohibited. PROGRAM NOTES

Clarinet Quintet in A Major, Op. 146 ...... Max Reger often leave a final work unfinished, but Max Reger was able to complete his clarinet quintet in December, 1915, make corrections and final refinements in April, 1916, and submit it to his publisher on May 1. He died of a sudden heart attack ten days later, May 11. Reger enclosed this note to the publisher: “Do not be alarmed at the length of the enclosed manuscript; this work really will not require appreciably more printed pages than, for example, Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet.” There is no doubt that he was think- ing of it as an homage to Brahms and also to Mozart, whose clarinet quintet shares with Reger’s the key of A major and a theme and variations as a finale. Reger’s admiration for Brahms began in his teenaged years, his Vio- lin Sonata, Op. 3 (1891) “clearly modeled on Brahms” according to the New Grove Dictionary. In 1895 he sent his Suite, Op. 16 for solo organ to Brahms, who sent an encouraging reply. In 1900, Reger honored Brahms by writing a pair of clarinet sonatas, Op. 49, patterned after Brahms’s Op. 120. By comparison with Brahms, they are quite bland, but Reger did come closer to emulating the master with his third and final clarinet sonata,Op. 106, the highlight of which is a gorgeous slow movement. It was written just after Reger had established himself as professor of composition at Leipzig Univer- sity, where Brahms had spent time as well. Reger’s clarinet quintet would never be mistaken for Brahms because its harmonic language is much more chromatic and modulatory. Yet certain me- lodic gestures and formal procedures bear striking resemblance to Brahms’s clarinet quintet. For example, an important building block in Reger’s first movement is the same six-note triple-meter figure that first appears in the third measure of the Brahms and eventually finishes the first and last move- ments. Its most recognizable appearance in the Reger comes immediately after the second theme of the traditional sonata-allegro form, itself a simple downward scale with great poignancy of expression. Reger recognized the special expressivity of this theme and used it to link the development section with the recap. Like Brahms, Reger uses a cyclic approach, choosing this tender theme to reappear as the second theme of the slow movement and again in its development section. Reger was even able to compete with Brahms on the Viennese front! The furtive scherzo, in which the bars are divided in two and three simultane- ously, becomes an ingratiating Ländler in the middle section, complete with a canon between the clarinet and viola reminiscent of the third movement of Brahms’s Clarinet (or Viola!) Sonata, Op. 120, No. 1. The variation form of the finale is reminiscent of both the Mozart and Brahms clarinet quintets, the third variation containing a rapid downward arpeggio in the clarinet, startlingly similar to a moment in the third movement of the Brahms quintet. Yet in spite of all the references to Brahms, both overt and covert, Reger’s quintet remains clearly his own. None of the references is overly obvious, and all are written with the greatest affection for the master. Fifty-seven years passed between Brahms’s Op. 11 and Reger’s Op. 146, yet they clearly grow from the same family tree. Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11 ...... Johannes Brahms It was a huge burden for the twenty-year-old Johannes Brahms to live up to the words that Robert Schumann wrote about him in an article called “New Roads” in 1853: “If he aims his magic wand where the massed powers of chorus and orchestra lend him their forces, then we are in store for even more awe-inspiring glimpses into the secrets of the world of spirits.” So Brahms had great misgivings when he contemplated rewriting his first serenade, written for chamber ensemble in 1857-8, as a symphony. A private performance of the ensemble version was given during the summer of 1858, and on December 8 Brahms told his friend and advisor, the violinist Joseph Joachim, that he was planning to transform the serenade into a sym- phony, with this caveat: “I realize that the work is a hybrid in its present form, nothing authentic. I had such a wonderful, grand idea for my first symphony, and now this!” Later he added: “By God, symphonies – if one even dares to write them after Beethoven – will have to look completely different!” By March 1859, Brahms, ever the perfectionist, conducted a performance of the chamber version before finally finishing the orchestration in December followed by a première with the title, Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11, on March 3, 1860, conducted by Joachim. The original version disappeared completely, and I suspect that Brahms destroyed it, as he did many of his early works that didn’t completely satisfy him. In 2000, Chris Nex published the version that you will hear tonight, captur- ing the flavor of Brahms’s original, but not necessarily the exact instrumenta- tion. Working from the orchestral score, he arranged it for the convenient grouping of string quintet and woodwind quintet. As a chamber piece, it is certainly more serenade-like than symphonic, but the work remains as Brahms described it: a hybrid. The first three movements are, in fact, longer than the first three movements of any of his symphonies! All that Brahms would have needed to do to create a true symphony would have been to eliminate the fourth and fifth movements and write a more extended finale. Instead, he chose to keep the character of a serenade by writing an ingratiating minuet, an al fresco scherzo and a very concise rondo. The serenade as a whole is also longer than any of his symphonies, but that is in keeping with the tradition Mozart had es- tablished with his extended serenades, the Haffner, Posthorn, and Gran Partita for winds, clocking in at 58, 40, and 43 minutes respectively. In either version, the Serenade No. 1 evinces the “magic wand” that Schumann summoned up. Of all the magic moments, my favorite is the re- capitulation of the slow movement, which began in B-flat major. The theme sneaks up on us in the unexpected key of B major and spends a few measures in F-sharp major before gliding back into B-flat. Brahms, the master of the de- ceptive recap (e.g. the first movements of the second piano concerto and fourth symphony), got an early start! –Program notes by Michael Wenbster

BIOGRAPHIES

Grand Prize-winner of the 2010 Fischoff Competition, the DOVER STRING QUARTET (formerly known as the Old City String Quartet) is the graduate quartet in residence at the Shepherd School. Formed at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2008, when its members were just 19 years old, the Quartet draws from the musical lineage of both the Vermeer and Guarneri Quartets. The Strad recently raved that the Quartet is “already pulling away from their peers with their exceptional interpretative maturity, tonal refinement and taut ensemble.”

Violinist BRYAN LEE has performed as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Delaware, Lansdowne, and Temple University Symphony Orchestras, among others. He has been a featured artist at Ravinia's Steans Institute, La Jolla Summerfest, Artosphere Festival, and Music from Angel Fire. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Bryan has studied with Pamela Frank, Victor Danchenko, and Choong-Jin Chang.

Violinist JOEL LINK has been a top prize winner of numerous compe- titions including the Johansen International Competition in Washington D.C. and the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition in England. As a result of his prize at the Menuhin Competition, Link was featured in The Strad magazine and has also appeared on numerous radio shows, including NPR’s “From the Top.”

MILENA PAJARO-VAN DE STADT is the First Prize winner of the 2010 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. In addition to appearances as soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Jacksonville Symphony, and the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra, she has performed in recitals and chamber music concerts throughout the United States, Latin America, and Europe, including a recent acclaimed 2011 debut recital at London’s Wigmore Hall.

Cellist CAMDEN SHAW has performed with such orchestras as the Philadelphia Orchestra and recently released a CD with the label Unipheye Music. Recent teachers include Peter Wiley and Steven Isserlis. He is cur- rently enrolled in the Shepherd School's string quartet program, under the tutelage of Norman Fischer.

LEONE BUYSE is the Mullen Professor of Flute at the Shepherd School of Music, where she has taught since 1997. Previously she was a professor at the University of Michigan, principal flutist of the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras, and a member of the San Francisco Symphony and Rochester Philharmonic.

Shepherd School Professor of Oboe ROBERT ATHERHOLT retired from his position as Principal Oboe of the Houston Symphony in 2011 to continue his nearly thirty years of teaching at Rice. His summer teaching activities include the National Orchestral Institute, the Texas Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival.

MICHAEL WEBSTER is Professor of Music at the Shepherd School and Artistic Director of the award-winning Houston Youth Symphony. He is for- mer Principal Clarinet of the Rochester Philharmonic and Acting Principal of the San Francisco Symphony.

BENJAMIN KAMINS is Professor of Bassoon at the Shepherd School of Music and former Principal Bassoon of the Houston Symphony.

MATTHEW BERLINER, horn, is currently a second-year Master's stu- dent of William VerMeulen at the Shepherd School. Previously, he studied at and Conservatory with Roland Pandolfi and with Mark Robbins from the .

ERIC HALEN, Associate Concertmaster of the Houston Symphony, toured internationally as a member of the Houston Symphony Chamber Play- ers and recorded for Koch International. A participant at the Aspen, Cascade Head, and Pacific Music Festivals, he teaches Orchestral Repertoire at the Shepherd School.

KENNETH GOLDSMITH has been Professor of Violin at the Shepherd School of Music since 1991. His professional teaching and performing ca- reer spans more than fifty years.

SHELDON PERSON has studied viola at Rice University, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Indiana University. Sheldon was previously a member of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and is currently a mem- ber of the Houston Symphony.

Hailing from Daytona Beach, Florida, JESSE CHRISTESON is a Mas- ter's student in cello at the Shepherd School in the studio of Norman Fischer. He is currently singing in the chorus of Houston Grand Opera’s Showboat.

IAN HALLAS is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in double bass performance at Rice University. He has attended the Tanglewood Music Cen- ter, Spoleto Festival USA, Music Academy of the West, and Domaine Forget. BIOGRAPHIES

At 92 years of age, ROBERT MANN has been a driving force in the world of music for more than seventy years. As founder and first violinist of the Juil- liard String Quartet, and as a soloist, , teacher, and conductor, Mr. Mann has brought a refreshing sense of adventure and discovery to chamber music performances, master classes, and orchestral performances world- wide. In 1946, at the invitation of Juilliard’s president, , Robert Mann founded the , serving as the ensemble’s first Violinist for 51 years until his retirement from the Quartet. The Juil- liard String Quartet, which celebrated its golden jubilee during the 1996–97 season, performed approximately 5,000 concerts and more than 600 works, including some 100 premieres, with Mr. Mann. The Quartet’s discography, the recipient of three Grammy awards, in- cludes recordings of more than 100 compositions. Mr. Mann has conducted throughout his professional career, leading ensembles such as the New York Chamber Symphony, MSM Symphony, and ensembles at the Ravinia, Tangle- wood and Aspen music festivals. Robert Mann is a mentor to younger genera- tions of string players including the Alexander, American, Concord, Emer- son, LaSalle, New World, Mendelssohn, Tokyo, Brentano, Lark, St. Lawrence, and Colorado String Quartets. In December 2009, School of Music heralded him with an evening of chamber music bringing together ten string quartets who paid homage with musical performances that celebrated their colleague, mentor, teacher and friend. Mr. Mann received the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2011. He is on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music and has served as president of the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation since 1971. At the invita- tion of Seiji Ozawa, he has been in residence at Japan’s Saito Kinen Music Festival as a conductor, teacher, and performer. Robert Mann is married to Lucy Rowan Mann.

Born into a gifted musical family, PETER WINOGRAD began his studies with his parents. His father was the founding cellist of the Juilliard Quartet and his mother a professional pianist. He gave his first solo public perfor- mance at the age of 11, and at 17 was accepted as a scholarship student of Dorothy DeLay at the . Recognized early as an exceptionally promising young artist, Peter Winograd was a top prizewinner in the 1988 Naumburg International Violin Competition. Since his critically acclaimed New York debut, he has been heard with orchestras and in recital across the country. Mr. Winograd joined the American String Quartet in 1990. He continues to appear as soloist in the U.S. and abroad. Highlights of recent solo appearances include performances in Brussels, Helsinki, Parma, and the Great Hall at the Moscow Conservatory. In 2010 he performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Hartford Symphony; his father, Arthur Winograd, was the featured guest conductor. He is a member of the violin and chamber music faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and Aspen Music School. His wife, violinist Caterina Szepes, is a regular participant in the Marlboro Festival and a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. His violin is by Giovanni Maria del Bussetto (Cremona, 1675). NICHOLAS MANN, violinist/violist, was a founding member of the Men- delssohn String Quartet. He grew up surrounded by music and musicians, col- laborating from an early age with such noted artists as , Lynn Harrell, and his father, violinist Robert Mann. Mr. Mann has performed exten- sively as a recitalist and soloist throughout the United States and Canada. In New York alone, he has appeared on the Great Performers Series at Alice Tully Hall, performed with Chamber Music at the “Y,” and served as concertmaster of the Jupiter Symphony. After receiving his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1983. His participation in summer music festivals includes ten years at the Yellow Barn Music Festival and the Santa Fe Music Festival, several seasons at Ravinia, and at the Aspen Music Festival, and frequent engagements with San Francisco’s Chamber Mu- sic West and Colorado’s Baca Ensemble. Mr. Mann has been on faculty at Juil- liard since 2002 and is Chair of the String Department at Manhattan School of Music.

Cellist DAVID GEBER, Vice President for Instrumental Performance at Manhattan School of Music, had his early musical training in Los Angeles, where he was raised in a family of professional cellists. He studied at the East- man School of Music and the Juilliard School, from which he holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. His principal teachers included Claus Adam and Ronald Leonard. Mr. Geber has been the recipient of numerous cello and chamber music awards, including the Walter W. Naumburg Award and the Coleman Chamber Music Prize. He has appeared as soloist at Tanglewood and Aspen, as well as with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Montreal Symphony. A strong supporter of new music, he has premiered numerous works for cello as well as varied chamber music combinations. As a founding member of the American String Quartet, he concertized with that ensemble for twenty-eight years, giving up to 100 annual concerts and performing regularly in most ma- jor musical centers of the world. In 2002, Mr. Geber retired from the Quartet, in order to direct more attention to music administration and teaching. As Vice President for Instrumental Performance at Manhattan School of Music, Mr. Geber is responsible for all instrumental departments and related performance areas. A member of the Manhattan School of Music College faculty since 1984 and of the Precollege faculty since 2004, he also maintains summer teaching and performing affiliations with Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara and the Tanglewood Music Center. He has recorded for Albany Records, Capstone Records, CRI, Musical Heritage Society, New World Records, Nonesuch Records, and RCA. Mr. Geber frequently gives recitals and master classes in North America and has adjudicated for major international string competitions including Bordeaux, Evian, and Naumburg. He is on the Board of Directors of the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation and the American Friends of Kronberg Academy. His cello is a rare G. B. Ruggieri, made in Cremona in 1667.