CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS PROGRAM

Thursday, November 8, 2012, 8pm Salonen Mania (2000) Hertz Hall Kacy Clopton, cello Eco Ensemble Composer Portrait David Milnes, conductor Hrabba Atladottir, violin I Esa-Pekka Salonen Tod Brody, flute, piccolo Kyle Bruckmann, , Dan Flanagan, violin II PROGRAM Hall Goff, Karen Gottlieb, harp David Granger, Sandra Gu, Esa-Pekka Salonen (b. 1958) knock, breathe, shine (2010) Peter Josheff, , Kacy Clopton, cello Loren Mach, percussion Leonard Ott, Ellen Ruth Rose, viola Alicia Telford, horn Salonen Homunculus (2007) Richard Worn, double bass I. Scherzo II. Slow movement This concert will be performed without intermission. III. Main movement IV. Chorale Benjamin Jacobson, violin The Philharmonia ’s residency under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen is made Andrew Bulbrook, violin possible, in part, by Ann and Gordon Getty, whose gift was made in honor of Jan Shrem and Jonathan Moerschel, viola Maria Manetti Shrem. Additional support is provided by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Eric Byers, cello Foundation and by Patron Sponsors Shirley D. and Philip D. Schild.

Cal Performances’ 2012–2013 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo.

Salonen (2000) I. Mécanisme II. Organisme

Gloria Cheng, piano As this program book was going to press, we learned of the death of composer Elliott Carter at the age of 103. Elliott Carter was a towering, defining figure in American musical culture, and a composer whose music both traced and redefined the music of our time. He will be sorely missed.

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Esa-Pekka Salonen (b. 1958) Homunculus (2007) Dichotomie (2000) them to their physical (or mental) limits, but al- ways with respect and empathy. The best thing Homunculus is a short (ca. 15-minute) work for Dichotomie was originally intended to become a about conducting to me (apart from the mu- knock, breathe, shine (2010) , which I wrote during the autumn short encore-type of piece. I wanted to write a sic itself) is the thrill of sensing the energy of months of 2007 for the Johannes Quartet. surprise new work for Gloria Cheng for a con- talented and dedicated people on stage. When Twenty-four years separate Salonen’s first piece I wanted to compose a piece that would be cert dedicated to my music in in composing, I try to imagine that particular kind for solo cello, YTA III, and knock, breathe, shine. very compact in form and duration, but still January 2000. I soon realized that the material of radiation, especially when the lonely existence A lot has changed in his music between the two contain many different characters and textures. I had invented had a tendency to grow into two in my studio feels frustratingly slow and devoid pieces, but much remains the same—his ob- In other words, a little piece that behaves like a very different kinds of music. It became obvious of adrenaline, which performers of course enjoy session for the extreme, for one. Although he big piece. that this was going to be a longer piece in two sometimes more than they would wish. wrote that YTA III was “the ugliest and most In Homunculus the four main characters movements, since the material seemed to have Mania was written for Anssi Karttunen, violent piece” he had composed, much of knock, (in order of appearance) are “Scherzo,” irregu- that sort of genetic code. I missed my deadline a close friend and a much admired colleague, breathe, shine is definitely not ugly. There are larly pulsating, jagged music; “Slow movement,” for the January concert, and kept working dur- whom I have known since the distant days of many gestures in this piece that resemble a rath- continuous metamorphosis of an easily identi- ing the early months of 2000. I put the piece playing first horn in my early teens in the Junior er normal cello piece, but most of what is seem- fiable slow phrase; “Main movement,” intricate aside for the summer, and finally completed it in Orchestra of the Sibelius Academy, where Anssi ingly familiar comes in such strange context that mid-tempo web of four voices densely woven to- October of the same year. was the solo cellist. the piece is like no other. It is as if the composer gether; and “Chorale,” a static, somewhat mel- The first movement, “Mécanisme,” is indeed In the late 1980s, I wrote a short solo piece imagined a classical cello piece, twisted and ancholy progression of chords. These characters, like a machine, but not a perfect one: more like for him, YTA III, which is still the most extreme turned it around until only a skeleton is left, which in a traditional string quartet form would one of the Tinguely sculptures (or mobiles; they piece of music I’ve composed: bizarre and violent, then builds new flesh around it. In this piece each form their own movement, are here inter- really defy all attempts to categorize them), very ugly, but a virtuoso vehicle nevertheless. one meets beautiful friends in unusual places. rupted by each other, and interspersed through- which are very active, extroverted, and expres- In the spring of 2000, I finally decided to The fascination for virtuosity has certainly not out the single movement of Homunculus. They sive, but produce nothing concrete. I imagined write a concertante piece for Anssi and a small left Esa-Pekka Salonen; again he shows what the keep developing and changing throughout a machine that could feel some sort of joie de orchestra, a plan I had had for a decade or so. cello could do, even if the cellist has a hard time the piece, however, so when a character reap- vivre, and in that process—i.e. becoming hu- I wanted to compose music which consists of a keeping up. pears it is rarely, if ever, an exact repetition of a man—would lose its cold precision. number of relatively simple gestures, or arche- knock, breathe, shine has three movements. previous appearance. “Organisme,” the second movement, be- types, which are constantly evolving and chang- “knock”—like its name lets us expect—has a lot At the end, the “Scherzo” music brings the haves very differently. Again, the music is busy ing; not so much through traditional variation of pizzicatos of different kinds, which eventually piece to a violent climax on a C major chord in on the surface, but it breathes a lot slower and techniques, but through a kind of metamorpho- get very mixed up, the bow getting more and an impossibly high register followed by a long deeper. The music is completely continuous; all sis. A maggot becomes a cocoon, which becomes more in their way. “breathe” is about breathing, glissando down. All of the other characters ap- of the different sections grow into each other or- a butterfly: very different gestalts indeed, but the about singing, about melodies. Singing even at pear one more time. Homunculus ends with ganically. A metaphor I had in mind was indeed DNA is the same. altitudes with no oxygen. It is about the power a prolonged chorale, which in my ears sounds a tree, not a huge one, more like a slender willow Mania is about movement that never stops. of a melody. “shine” shows us all the brilliance of somewhat sad and deeply nostalgic. that moves gracefully in the wind but returns The tempo fluctuates between extremes, ges- what one could do on the cello if one were able The title of the piece refers to the arcane always to its original shape and position. tures become other gestures. Transitions are to play it while sitting on a roller coaster. spermists’ theory, who held the belief that the quite often seamless, telescopic (N.B. not tele- The title “knock, breathe, shine” comes from sperm was in fact a “little man” (homunculus) scopical): A new thing starts before the previous the 14th sonnet by John Donne (1572–1631). that was placed inside a woman for growth into Mania (2000) one has ended. (Not entirely coincidentally, this Although the title seems to describe the music to a child. This seemed to them neatly to explain is the main formal principle in the late works the letter, it was chosen well after the piece was many of the mysteries of conception. I have always been interested in virtuosity. There of Sibelius, especially in the Seventh Symphony finished; therefore the piece is not descriptive. I decided to call my piece Homunculus is a very strange kind of beauty in the idea of and Tapiola.) despite the obvious weaknesses of the 17th- a performer doing extremely difficult things for The role of the cello varies from a clear solo/ Anssi Karttunen, 2011 century theory, as my goal was to write a small- other people to enjoy. accompaniment situation to merely being a part scale piece that would nevertheless contain all of The best kind of virtuoso is a musician who of a chamber ensemble—and all of the shades the elements of a “fully grown” string quartet. is willing to go to places nobody has gone be- between these extremes. Therefore, Mania has fore; a virtuoso of mind as well as fingers. little to do with a traditional concerto form. Esa-Pekka Salonen, July 24, 2009 Most of my instrumental music is about challenging fellow performers, sometimes pushing © 2000 Esa-Pekka Salonen

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Kacy Clopton began States) led by Anssi Karttunen, an ardent pro- Cleveland Museum of Art with Iva Bittova, playing the cello at age ponent of contemporary compositions for solo a residency at Bravo! Vail Valley Festival, the five in her hometown of cello. It was here that she was first introduced to Melbourne Festival with Thomas Adès, as Charlottesville, Virginia. Esa-Pekka Salonen’s music, along with music of well as concerts at Stanford Lively Arts and She received a graduate several other leading contemporary composers. Le Poisson Rouge () with Grammy diploma and a master’s Ms. Clopton is a passionate and avid cham- Award-winning pianist Gloria Cheng. Other degree from the New ber musician, and recently left her residence in recent highlights include performances at Walt England Conservatory Lucerne, Switzerland, where she was the cellist Disney Concert Hall on the Green Umbrella (NEC), studying under of the Excelsa Quartet. For the past two years, series, the in Knoxville, New Natasha Brofsky of the the Quartet split their time between a cham- Haven’s International Festival of Arts and Ideas, Peabody Trio. She holds a Bachelor of Music de- ber music master’s degree at the Conservatory and the world premiere of a new work by com- gree from the School of Music at the University of Hochschule Luzern, and studying with the poser for the USC Presidential of Maryland, where she studied with Evelyn Quartett at the Hochschule Köln, Inauguration. The Calder Quartet also toured Elsing and Peter Wiley. Ms. Clopton won the Germany. In February 2011, Excelsa Quartet across North America with Andrew W.K. and 2010 Strings Concerto Competition at NEC won the Prix du “Jeune Jury” et Prix du Public and has been featured and had the honor of performing Prokofiev’s at the Illzach International Autumn de Wilde on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, The Late Sinfonia Concertante in with Hugh Competition in France. They also won First composers (over 25 commissioned works to Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show Wolff conducting the NEC Philharmonia. She Prize and the Grand Prize at the Charles Hennen date), the group continues to work and collabo- with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show with Conan was a semi-finalist at the Hudson Valley International Chamber Music Competition rate with artists across musical genres, spanning O’Brien, Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel, and The Philharmonic Concerto Competition in 2009. in the Netherlands in April 2011. The Quartet the ranges of the classical and contemporary Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. She has won several other prestigious concerto participated in the renowned Premio Paolo music world, as well as rock, dance, and visual The group has longstanding relationships competitions, giving her the privilege of per- Borciani, Salieri-Zinetti, and Credit Suisse in- arts; and in venues ranging from art galleries with composers , Christopher Rouse, forming the Dvořák Cello Concerto with vari- ternational string quartet competitions. They and rock clubs to Carnegie and Walt Disney and Thomas Adès. The Calder Quartet first ous . She has performed frequently at have given extensive performances throughout concert halls. Inspired by innovative American met Riley when they shared a concert as part Jordan Hall and Sanders Theatre in Boston, the Europe from 2010 to 2012, and recently com- artist Alexander Calder, the Calder Quartet’s of the ’s Minimalist Millennium Stage and the Terrace Theatre at the pleted their joint master’s degree. desire to bring immediacy and context to the Jukebox Festival in 2006 and recently released Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art, Ms. Clopton currently resides just outside works they perform creates an artfully crafted a limited edition vinyl release of Riley’s Trio and at various museums of the Smithsonian Washington DC, where she freelances, teaches, musical experience. and Quartet in commemoration of the compos- Institution in Washington DC. By invitation and is always pursuing new collaborations. She The 2011–2012 season included the Calder ers’ 75th birthday. The Calder is also the first from the White House, she has performed for is happy to be reunited with the works of Esa- Quartet’s Cal Performances debut with Thomas quartet in two decades to have a work written the First Lady of China. Pekka Salonen once again. Adès, a Calder curated event at the Blum & Poe for them by composer Christopher Rouse. This Ms. Clopton has performed in master class- Gallery in Los Angeles featuring the quartet work was commissioned by , New es with Anner Bylsma, Pieter Wispelwey, János The Calder Quartet (Benjamin Jacobson and with iconic composer Terry Riley and DJ/artist Haven’s International Festival of Arts and Ideas, Starker, Truls Mørk, , Lynn Andrew Bulbrook, violins; Jonathan Moerschel, Dave Muller, and performances at the Carlsbad La Jolla Music Society, and Santa Fe Chamber Harrell, Orland Cole, David Sawyer, Eleanor viola; Eric Byers, cello) defies boundaries through Music Festival. On September 11, the Calder Music Festival and premiered in the 2010–2011 Schoenfeld, and Yo-Yo Ma. She has collaborated performing a broad range of repertoire at an ex- performed at a commemoration event at the season. The Quartet’s album of Christopher with and been coached by members of the Alban ceptional level, always striving to channel the University of Southern and in the Rouse works, Transfiguration, was also released Berg Quartett, the , the Beaux Arts true intention of the work’s creator. Already the evening at the Hollywood Bowl. Other season in 2010. Trio, the Peabody Trio, the , choice of many leading composers to perform highlights include performances at the Laguna In 2008, the Calder Quartet released its first the , David Takeno, and Roger their works—including Christopher Rouse, Beach Festival alongside and Edgar album, which featured the music of Thomas Tapping. In 2011, she attended the Carteret Solo Terry Riley, and Thomas Adès—the group’s Meyer, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Adès, Mozart, and Ravel. What started as work- Cello Festival in France, where she studied un- distinctive approach is exemplified by a musi- acclaimed new music series Jacaranda: Music at ing directly with Thomas Adès on a performance der Alexander Baillie. In summer 2010, she at- cal curiosity brought to everything they per- the Edge in Santa Monica, as well as an Austrian of Arcadiana as part of the Green Umbrella Series tended the Yellow Barn Summer Festival, where form, whether it’s Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, debut at the Esterházy Palace. The Calder also at the in 2008 has she collaborated with Donald Weilerstein, Peter or sold-out rock shows with such bands as The toured nationally with . evolved into collaborating on concerts together Frankl, and Bonnie Hampton. In 2009, she was National or The Airborne Toxic Event. Known In 2010–2011, the quartet performed at at the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s a participant in the Sibelius Academy Creative for the discovery, commissioning, recording, Carnegie Hall, Washington Performing Arts Konserthuset in 2009, the Melbourne Festival Dialogue (between Finland and the United and mentoring of some of today’s best emerging Society, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the in 2010, and at Cal Performances in 2011.

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The Calder Quartet formed at USC’s Festival highlights include recitals at Ojai, briefly entertained Thornton School of Music and continued stud- Bad Gleichenberg (), the Chicago a career as a jazz ies at the Colburn Conservatory of Music with Humanities Festival, the William Kapell Festival, pianist, appear- Ronald Leonard, and at the , and Tanglewood’s Festival of Contemporary ing with Chuck where it received the artist diploma in chamber Music. She has been featured on leading con- Mangione, Gene music studies as the Juilliard Graduate Resident cert series that include Carnegie Hall’s Making Krupa, Billy String Quartet. They have also studied with Music, Cal Performances, the St. Paul Chamber Taylor, and John Professor Eberhard Feltz at the Hochschule für Orchestra’s Engine408 series, Stanford Lively Pizzarelli. After Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, and collaborated Arts, and at (le) Poisson Rouge. earning advanced with such notable performers as Anne-Marie In Los Angeles Ms. Cheng has appeared degrees in conducting from SUNY Stony Brook McDermott, Menahem Pressler, and Joseph on countless Los Angeles Philharmonic Green and the , and studying with Kalichstein. The Quartet regularly conducts Umbrella concerts in repertoire that ranged Otto-Werner Müller, Herbert Blomstedt, Erich master classes and has been featured in this ca- from John Cage’s Concerto for Prepared Piano Leinsdorf, and , he won the pacity at the Colburn School (where the quar- to Elliott Carter’s Double Concerto for Piano prestigious Exxon Assistant Conductor position tet was in residence for four years), the Juilliard and Harpsichord. She presents an annual recital with the , where he also School, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the on the Piano Spheres series founded by Leonard served as Music Director of the highly acclaimed University of Cincinnati College Conservatory, Stein, and collaborates with a number of cham- San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the USC Thornton School of Music. ber ensembles, most notably with the Calder which he led on its first European tour in 1986. Quartet and on the Jacaranda Music series. At the Mr. Milnes has conducted frequently in Acclaimed, Grammy- request of film composers, including Don Davis, Russia and the Baltics, serving as Music Director winning pianist Gloria James Horner, Maurice Jarre, and John Williams, of the Riga Independent Company and Cheng is widely hailed Ms. Cheng has been featured in numerous movie as a principal guest conductor of the Latvian as a compelling and el- soundtracks that range from the Matrix trilogy to National Symphony. Recent engagements have oquent performer of The Adventures of Tin Tin. included appearances at the MANCA Festival in new works. She is often She is on the faculty at UCLA, and is cur- Nice, France, with the Philharmonic Orchestra cited for tapping the rently completing a 2012 Regents Lectureship of Nice; in Mexico, at the International Festival emotional core of con- at UC Berkeley. Ms. Cheng holds a B.A. in eco- “El Callejón del Ruido” with the Guanajauto temporary music, and nomics from Stanford University, and graduate Symphony Orchestra; and in Russia, with the her recitals and record- degrees in music from UCLA and the University Novosibirsk Symphony Orchestra. He has col- ings are noted for ex- of Southern California. In addition to solfège and laborated in performances with Frederica von

ploring significant in- Lefterisphoto.com piano studies in and Barcelona, Ms. Cheng’s Stade, Dawn Upshaw, Bill T. Jones, Paul Hillier, terconnections between composers. primary teachers were Isabelle Sant’Ambrogio, James Newton, David Starobin and Chanticleer, Ms. Cheng has commissioned, premiered, Aube Tzerko, and John Perry. and has appeared at the Santa Fe, Tanglewood, and been the dedicatee of works by dozens of Aspen and Monadnock music festivals. the most eminent composers of our era. She ap- TheEco Ensemble, under the direction of David A dedicated proponent of new music, from pears on more than 20 recordings, and has pro- Milnes, is a new group of leading Bay Area mu- 2002 to 2009 Mr. Milnes was Music Director of duced four solo discs that showcase the range of sicians dedicated to exploring and sharing the the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, her taste in contemporary music. Her most re- work of adventurous composers. Its mission is with whom he commissioned and premiered cent Telarc recording, Piano Music of Esa-Pekka to bring exciting, contemporary music to both many new works from around the world. He Salonen, Steven Stucky, and Witold Lutosławski, experienced audiences and new listeners. has made recordings of music by John Anthony garnered international accolades culminating in Lennon, James Newton, Edmund Campion, her 2009 Grammy for Best Instrumental Soloist David Milnes serves as Music Director of the Eco Jorge Liderman, and Pablo Ortiz. Performance. A forthcoming disc of solo and Ensemble, Berkeley’s professional new music en- chamber works by and Kaija semble in residence, as well as Music Director of Saariaho, in collaboration with the award-win- the UC Berkeley University Symphony Orchestra ning Calder Quartet, will appear in March 2013 since 1996. In his early years, Mr. Milnes stud- on the Harmonia Mundi label. ied piano, organ, clarinet, cello and voice, and

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