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put Lo- SEASON ren here 27 Sheltering Sonata- for Solo Viola 7’ Phyllis Kamrin viola Elliott Carter Steep Steps 3’ Jerome Simas Robert Schumann Bird as Prophet 3’ Eric Zivian piano

Pēteris Vasks Landscape with Birds 8’ Stacey Pelinka flute Veronika Krausas Cloisonné 7’ Michel Taddei double bass Jörg Widmann selections from 24 Duos for and Cello 8’ I. Tempo giusto II. Alla breve, ma pesante XIII. Vier Stophen vom Heimwach–– In großer Ruhe, von weit XXI. Valse bavaroise Anna Presler violin • Leighton Fong cello Michel Blavet Gigue en Rondeau from Le Premier Recueil 4’ Stacey Pelinka flute

Ruth Crawford Seeger Diaphonic Suite No. 1 6’ I. Scherzando II.Andante III.Allegro IV.Moderato, ritmico Stacey Pelinka flute Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-Sharp Major, op. 78 10’ I. Adagio cantabile –– Allegro ma non troppo II. Allegro vivace Eric Zivian piano

Left Coast gratefully acknowledges the support of San Francisco Grants for the Arts. Monday, June 1, 2020, 7:30 PM Webcast from The Doug Adams Gallery of the Graduate Theological Union Special thanks to Elizabeth Peña and the Center for Arts and Religion for hosting this concert. program notes

Aram Khachaturian Khachaturian wrote. He died in 1978 in Moscow and Sonata-Song for Solo Viola is buried in . ram Khachaturian was born in 1903 in Tbilisi, - Phyllis Kamrin AGeorgia (Russia) to an Armenian family. As a child he loved the he would hear on the Elliott Carter streets of Tbilisi but didn’t take formal music lessons Steep Steps until he was 19 years old and had moved to Moscow teep Steps was written for the greatly admired with his brother. In 1929, he transferred to the Sclarinetist and friend, Virgil Blackwell, during the Moscow Conservatory where he studied under Nikolai summer of 2001. Its title comes from the fact that, Myaskovsky. Due to his humble roots, he embraced unlike the other woodwind instruments, the clarinet socialist ideology and, with his fellow colleagues, overblows at the twelfth, a large interval that forms Prokofieff, and Shostakovich, thrived under Lenin’s the basis of much of this composition. socialism. Under Stalin however, he and these others - Elliott Carter were denounced as being too “formalistic” and “anti- people” and Khachaturian entered a depression that Robert Schumann stayed with him for several years until composing his Vogel als Prophet, from Waldszenen Op. 40 last big ballet work, “Spartacus” in the 1950s. obert Schumann was at his best when channeling Rhis surging emotional currents through his While Khachaturian was a classically trained compositions, and nowhere does he do that of the Soviet school, his style is firmly rooted more than in his works for solo piano. Personal, in the folk music of Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, intimate, and confessional, they can seem well- as well as the . This Sonata-Song inhabits nigh autobiographical or even psychotherapeutic. the shorter forms of these ethnic worlds and is very In the Waldszenen of 1849, Schumann allowed his fragmented and cadenza-like in feel, starting with a imagination free rein in a series of contemplations rhythmic section that wends its way through various about that favorite Romantic theme, the forest—or, technical and musical challenges in an almost off the to be more precise, the woods as metaphor for our cuff, improvised style. He also uses irregular rhythmic internal selves and our relationship with the larger patterns with repeated notes and small repeated world. The individual pieces may be short and made ornamental figures to build tension and create up of thematic fragments, but they pack a bevy of transitions. associations and resonances. This is no humdrum trip to the woods, in other words: it is a journey into the The use of the interval of a second is a key feature psyche, comforting and beautiful on the one hand, of Khachaturian and also of this piece. According unknowable and mysterious on the other. to the composer himself, “these seconds come from the numerous sounds of folk instruments which I had The nine Waldszenen, written over a mere three heard as a child: sazandartar (a family of long- days, explore Romantic forest symbolism at its most necked ), gyamancha (a traditional, bowed evocative, from the sounds of the hunting horn or the ) and drum (an Armenian traditional twittering of birds, while often edging into chaotic instrument played with the hands or a stick).” disruptions, formal ambiguities, and seeming non- sequiturs. The seventh-place Vogel als Prophet (Bird This piece, composed in 1976, is the last in in a as Prophet) encapsulates the essence of Schumann’s trilogy of unaccompanied solo sonatas, the first for thoughts. To describe it as a mere imitation of violin, the second for cello and the final (in a nod birdsong (although Schumann does a pretty good job to Shostakovich’s final composition written in 1975) with that) is to ignore the apparent discongruity of the for viola. This piece is also the last composition that middle section, a gravely lovely chorale-like affair

2019 2020 season 27, program 5 - june 2020 program notes

reminiscent of the lyric musings of Dichterliebe. Thus intricate metal designs containing different enamels human consciousness is juxtaposed with a fluttering and gems). The regularity of the watch mechanism aural fantasy, shunning either explanation is reflected in the continuous pulse of the music. The or justification. containment of the enamel in cloisonné is reflected by - Scott Fogelsong the compound melody always having one open string acting as a boundary. Pēteris Vasks - Veronika Krausas Landscape with Birds ēteris Vasks is a Latvian composer born in 1946. He Jörg Widmann Psuffered as an artist under the cultural oppression 24 Duos for Violin and Cello of the , but has had much success and avid Allen’s New York Times article about Jörg recognition in the Post-Soviet era. His music shares DWidman caught my attention in March. He wrote: roots with music from Finland and other Baltic countries, rather than leaning toward Russian music. “One of the most performed orchestral works written Within the framework of his contemporary musical this century is a piece by Jörg Widmann. Commissioned language, Vasks incorporates many programmatic by Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony elements: he cares deeply about environmental issues Orchestra and given its premiere in 2008, “Con Brio” and many of his pieces explore the relationship has had over 200 performances. Before coronavirus- (both positive and destructive) between humans and related cancellations, it was scheduled to be played 63 nature; he incorporates autobiographical elements times by 28 orchestras this season alone. into his music; and he uses many themes from Latvian folk music. Landscape with Birds, written in So what’s the appeal? Like much of Mr. Widmann’s 1984, uses extreme ranges and dynamics to reflect work, “Con Brio” aims to give the past a fresh spin, landscape forms. Singing and playing are used to so that those who love old music and those who love produce a slightly unstable, fragile sound; there is no the new can both enjoy it. Using basically the same regular pulse or meter, lending the music a sense of instrumentation as Beethoven’s Seventh and Eighth improvisation. Birdsong, laced throughout the piece, Symphonies, “Con Brio” is playful and cheeky, distorted can be understood to be nature in its pristine state and provocative — yet somehow familiar, as if it is or a human longing for freedom. The structure of the pulling on the mystic chords of our musical memories.” piece is a free-form arc from fragile peace, through extreme agitation, back to an altered peace. Reading this, I was so intrigued that I hunted on my - Stacey Pelinka shelves for 24 Duos for Violin and Cello, written, like “Con Brio,” in 2008. It is a piece of Widman’s that has been gathering dust in the music room for Veronika Krausas years, ordered from some sheet music store, but never Cloisonné played. Once I started it, I found that I love just about loisonner (Fr. verb): to divide up, partition, to every note. Although the composer prefers that all Ccompartmentalize. the movements be played cyclically, in order, he says they can be performed individually as well. Eventually This piece for solo double bass echoes images in I do hope to play all the movements, but for the time Nana Tchitchoua’s film Movement Cloisonné (2002) of being, I’m just happy to be able to play something by contained and precise movement in Georgian ballet this remarkable composer for our Left Coast audience. dancers, time mechanisms, writing in a journal, and the eponymous title of the work, cloisonné (ancient Leighton and I have picked 4 of the 24 Duos to play technique for decorating metalwork objects, with for you. The movement marked Tempo Giusto (the

2019 2020 season 27, program 5 - june 2020 program notes very first piece in Volume I of the Duos) starts out interwoven, and everything one instrument does has impetuously. In the first few phrases the music keeps consequences for the other. They attract each other, accelerating; half way through it finds its balance reject each other, love and hate each other, sometimes and settles down. Alla breve, ma pesante is the second throw balls back and forth in play and then suddenly piece in Volume I, and answers to Tempo giusto. It with an almost destructive intent. The playful elements is robust, steady, and vertical, and it so much fun to of the work therefore always remain serious and the play. We follow with Four Verses of Homesickness, serious elements playful. Tricks and effects are totally a distant chorale, deeply sentimental, astonishingly absent: I have concentrated on the bare and essential tender, and never saccharine. The last movement we’ll musical substance right down to the most miniature phrases.” play is an elegant Bavarian waltz, with all kinds of - Anna Presler ungainly and unexpected twists mixed in. Michel Blavet In the preface to the Duos, Widman describes the Gigue en Rondeau evolution of his approach to this economical but igue en Rondeau is from the Premier Recueil powerful pairing of instruments: Gfor two flutes. It was the style of the time to publish collections of original and arranged works in “My initial intention was to write a few small duos for a “Recueil” (collection). Blavet’s three collections of violin and violoncello. I could not then have imagined duets for two flutes were most likely later works, and that this would ultimately produce 24 duos created in contain of popular tunes of the time elated compositional excess. The result is two volumes as well as pieces by Couperin, Rameau, and Handel. containing 13 and 11 duos respectively. This gigue, one of very few solo works in the Recueil, is titled Gigue en Rondeau de Blavet, which means it’s For a while I retained a great respect for the an original composition. It has a very simple structure, vulnerability and reductive nature of this duo a chromatically descending line with ornamentation, constellation, and my tonal powers of imagination which is haunting in its melancholic simplicity. The remained curiously inhibited and one-dimensional. I phrase structure is irregular, typical of the French was somehow only able to produce a small number style, and the last phrase goes on about 3 beats too of scattered and tonally extremely brittle and sparse long, something I find very charming. tonal constellations. I then decided to make these - Stacey Pelinka unprotected and naked two-part structures deliberately audible in certain movements. In almost all remaining Ruth Crawford Seeger pieces, I extended the harmony to form a three –– and Diaphonic Suite No. 1 frequently even four-part structure. The substantial uth Crawford Seeger (née Ruth Porter Crawford) number of the resulting double stops represents a Rremains a relatively unknown voice in 20th century particular technical challenge for both instruments, but American music. Part of that has to do with the brevity it is precisely this almost continuously used technique of her active compositional career: she married which produces the specific tonal quality of the work.” Charles Seeger in 1931 and focused her energies on a family that was eventually to include seven Later he adds: “Violin and violoncello simultaneously children. But another important factor was the Great form a comparable and incomparable pair. In these Depression of the 1930s, during which she came to duos, both instruments are inseparably dependent doubt the validity of modernist music aimed at a small on one another and cannot exist without each other. and elite audience, as opposed to everyday music It is also essential to visualize the predominant for everyday living. As a result, from the mid-1930s compositional technique in the literal sense of “note onward she dedicated herself to collecting folk against note” as strictly contrapuntal. Everything is and teaching music in private schools.

2019 2020 season 27, program 5 - june 2020 program notes

In her heyday she was a modernist à la Henry Cowell, amongst Beethoven’s circle of friends—but Thayer which is to say not particularly concerned with also stooped to fudging the (very limited) data. For European models à la Aaron Copland. Her works of two centuries, scholars and flim-flammers alike have the 1920s were often shot through with philosophical proposed a bevy of candidates, basing their claims or even theosophical threads, but upon meeting and on research, wishful thinking, or downright forgery. studying with Charles Seeger in 1929 she began Modern Beethoven biographer Maynard Solomon exploring the hierarchy of consonance/dissonance and makes a good case for Antonie Brentano, a experimented with rhythm. well-to-do young woman from a distinguished Viennese family. Her four Diaphonic Suites date from 1930 and 1931, nearly the end of her active compositional career, When all is said and done, the thing’s a silly and as such represent her ultra-modernist thinking sideshow, save how it might intersect with the music at its most advanced. Written for just one or two itself. That brings us to Piano Sonata No. 24 in instruments, they are a series of two-part invention- F-sharp Major, Op. 78, which Beethoven dedicated like works, explorations of counterpoint divorced from to Thayer’s candidate Therese von Brunsvik. That she traditional tonal or rhythmic considerations. was a friend is clear enough, and Beethoven did have - Scott Fogelsong a habit of dedicating works to ladies who caught his fancy. But she wasn’t the Immortal Beloved. At least Ludwig van Beethoven not this week. Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-Sharp Major, Op. 78 verybody likes a good mystery, especially the Op. 78 is Beethoven’s only piano sonata in F-sharp Eunsolvable type for which all answers are equally major. That’s surprising. One would think that (im)plausible. Shakespeare’s Dark Lady. Amelia Beethoven, crackerjack pianist that he was, would Earhardt. The Grassy Knoll. offers some show the same preference for the higher sharp delectably persistent mysteries. The disease that killed and flat keys as did later Romantics such as Chopin Mozart. The ‘enigma’ of Elgar’s Enigma Variations. and Liszt. F-sharp might be ‘difficult’ for reading, but it conforms naturally to the shape of the hand A letter, found among Beethoven’s papers after and lends itself well to flowing passagework. Thus his death and mum about both year and recipient, in Beethoven’s choice of key we find a guide to the triggered a particularly toothsome imbroglio that sonata’s character: it is a graceful work, quite unlike has preoccupied biographical treasure hunters ever the heaven-storming Op. 57 ‘Appassionata’ sonata since. “My angel, my all, my very self,” it begins. that precedes it in the catalog. There’s an essay-like “My thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved,” feel to this brief, relatively unassuming and often it continues. It’s indubitably a love letter. But nobody overlooked sonata, surely one of Beethoven’s most knows who the Immortal Beloved actually was. ingratiating creations.

Naturally, everybody has an opinion. Beethoven’s The first movement is based on a melodic ‘cell’ that is factotum Anton Schindler declared it to be Giuletta heard as the introductory Adagio cantabile; despite Guicciardi of Moonlight Sonata fame and in the its lyricism, the Allegro ma non troppo proper is tautly absence of any actual proof salted the letter with constructed, manifesting the intense compression a few extra dates as ‘evidence.’ Eminent Beethoven that would come to character Beethoven’s ‘late’ biographer Alexander Wheelock Thayer dismissed style. The second-place Allegro vivace, on the other Schindler’s nonsense but tossed his own random dart hand, is whimsical, almost droll, its main theme subtly at the target by way of Therese von Brunsvik, one of referencing ‘Hail, Britannia!’ and the whole bubbling a pair of sisters (the other being Josephine) who were along its way with nary a dark stretch in sight. - Scott Fogelsong 2019 2020 season 27, program 5 - june 2020 biographies

CELLO Leighton Fong, longtime member of LCCE, VIOLIN Anna Presler, a longtime member of Left is Principal Cello of Symphony. He plays Coast and its artistic director, teaches violin at regularly with Eco Ensemble and Empyrean Ensemble, Sacramento State School of Music. She was a member and was a member of San Francisco Contemporary of the New Century Chamber Orchestra for two Players. Fong studied at the San Francisco decades, and has been a fellow at Banff Art Center, Conservatory, New England Conservatory, Bern the International Music Seminar (Cornwall), and the Conservatory, and the Royal Danish Conservatory in Tanglewood Music Center––where her chamber Copenhagen. He has taught at UC Berkeley music coaches included Eugene Lehner, Gil Kalish since 1997. and Julius Levine. She studied at Yale University, SF Conservatory of Music, and North Carolina School of VIOLA Phyllis Kamrin holds degrees from Curtis the Arts. Institute and the New England Conservatory. She is a member of the string quartet within LCCE, and of CLARINET Jerome Simas was appointed to the San Alma Duo, an ensemble with guitar. She has played Francisco Symphony as bass clarinetist in 2012. He with Sierra String Quartet, New Century Chamber has performed as a guest clarinetist with orchestras Orchestra, and Philharmonia Baroque. Kamrin is across the US, including the San Francisco Opera Director of Adult Chamber Music at the Crowden (principal clarinet) and The Cleveland Orchestra. School in Berkeley. As a chamber musician, he studied and performed at Marlboro Music in Vermont and also represented FLUTE Stacey Pelinka began performing with the the New World Symphony in chamber music Left Coast Chamber Ensemble in 1998. She is also oncerts in Europe and the US. He won first Prize at a member of the Eco Ensemble, with whom she the International Clarinet Society’s Young Artist’s toured to Venice for the 2014 Biennale. She plays Competition and Grand Prize at the Fischoff National principal flute with San Francisco Opera’s Merola Chamber Music Competition. He was a fellow with Program productions and is a member of the Santa the New World Symphony as principal clarinet Rosa Symphony, the Berkeley Symphony, the San under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas (with Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and the Midsummer whom he recorded Rhapsody in Blue and Stravinsky’s Mozart Festival. A certified Feldenkrais Method® Ebony Concerto for BMG Classics and RCA) He held practitioner, Stacey enjoys applying principals of the principal clarinet positions with the IRIS Orchestra, method in teaching and performing. She teaches flute California Symphony, Oakland East Bay Symphony, at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, and Feldenkrais at the Modesto Symphony, Monterey Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony. Stacey attended Cornell Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, a group dedicated to University and the San Francisco Conservatory, where promoting a mix of contemporary music alongside she studied with Timothy Day. traditional masterworks. He has appeared as soloist with the California Symphony, New World Symphony, Monterey Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Iris Chamber Orchestra, and the Cleveland Institute of Music Symphony, where he received his BM and MM as a student of Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinetist, Franklin Cohen. He has taught at UC Davis, Stanford University, San Francisco Conservatory, and was most recently Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance.

2019 2020 season 27, program 5 - june 2020 musician biographies

DOUBLE BASS Michel Taddei is a founding member PIANO Eric Zivian grew up in Toronto, Canada, of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and frequently where he graduated from the Royal Conservatory performs with other ensembles including the San of Music. At age fifteen, he left home to attend the Francisco Contemporary Music Players and Earplay. Curtis Institute of Music, where he received a Bachelor He was principal bassist of the Orchestra of the of Music degree. He holds graduate degrees from Opéra National de Lyon for seven seasons, and is the Juilliard School and the Yale School of Music. currently principal bassist for the Berkeley Symphony He studied piano with Gary Graffman and Peter and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. Michel Serkin and composition with Ned Rorem, Jacob toured with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble Druckman, and Martin Bresnick. He attended the and has performed at the Aspen, Moab, and Tanglewood Music Center both as a performer Tanglewood Music Festivals.. He has recorded for and as a composer. He has given solo recitals Decca, EMI, Erato, Nonesuch, Philips, and Virgin in Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, and the San Classics. He is a graduate of Columbia University, Francisco Bay Area. He has played concertos with where he was a John Jay National Scholar, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Rosa also studied at Juilliard and UC Berkeley. He is Symphony, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Administrative Director of Music at the Crowden the Portland Baroque Orchestra. Since 2000, he School in Berkeley. has performed extensively on original instruments, playing fortepiano in the Zivian-Tomkins Duo and the Benvenue Fortepiano Trio. A longtime member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, he has performed with the Empyrean Ensemble and Earplay. He is a frequent guest artist on the San Francisco Conservatory’s faculty chamber music series. Eric Zivian’s compositions have been performed widely in the and in Tokyo, Japan. He was awarded an ASCAP Jacob Druckman Memorial Commission to compose an orchestral work, Three Character Pieces, which was premiered by the Seattle Symphony.

2019 2020 season 27, program 5 - june 2020 about left coast

Left Coast Chamber Ensemble (LCCE) is a consortium of 15 Bay Area who create exciting performances of all types of music for all types of audiences. We work as a cohesive collective of artists who share values of integrity, quality, inclusion, service, curiosity, and advocacy. LCCE embraces a dialogue between music of the present together with musical influences of the past, combining a vast repertoire into thematic performances in our established and well-received concert series. We are also committed to continuing and evolving our broad-based education program, sponsoring our annual composition contest, and collaborating with current and diverse artists, thinkers, and scholars. LCCE brings all types of music including small ensemble, vocal, orchestral, multi-media, and operatic productions to our listeners, conveying an essential and profound experience. With Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, nothing is out of bounds, and anything is possible.

LEFT COAST MUSICIANS BOARD OF DIRECTORS STAFF THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS Nikki Einfeld Leighton Fong PRESIDENT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR The Aaron Copland Fund for Michael Goldberg Anthony Cascardi Anna Presler Music Matilda Hofman Alice M Ditson Fund of Phyllis Kamrin VICE PRESIDENT ARTISTIC ADVISOR Columbia University Loren Mach Elizabeth Peña Kurt Rohde Tom Nugent ACMP - Associated Chamber Stacey Pelinka TREASURER MANAGING DIRECTOR Music Players Andrea Plesnarski Will Schieber Susan Thieme Amphion Foundation Anna Presler Kurt Rohde SECRETARY PUBLICITY Ann and Gordon Jerome Simas Amanda Wu Genevieve Antaky Getty Foundation Michel Taddei First Baptist Church Tanya Tomkins DIRECTORS WEBSITE of Berkeley Eric Zivian Jonathan Arons Lena Zentall Carol Christ The Bernard Osher Foundation Michael Goldberg PHOTOGRAPHY Nancy Hall Jordan Murphy Fleishhacker Foundation Kurt Rohde Vivian Sachs Kurt Rohde Commission Fund Marilyn Schuster Bonnie Rae Mills Susan Shalit Jeanette Yu National Endowment Lena Zentall Lena Zentall for the Arts Popper Opera Fund at ADVISORY BOARD PROGRAM DESIGN the University of Nick Benavides Maria Fong California, Davis Kate Knickerbocker Thomas Laqueur Roger Shapiro Fund for New Carl Schimmel Music The Ross McKee Foundation Sam Mazza Foundation

CONTACT US San Francisco Arts Commission 55 Taylor Street San Francisco Grants San Francisco, CA 94102 for the Arts 415.617.LCCE (415.617.5223) www.LeftCoastEnsemble.org [email protected]