Bernard Hoffer

Acknowledgments This recording was made at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland, June 8-9, 2011. Engineer: Anton Timoney Assistant Engineer: Richard McCullough Synthesizer Sounds: Ronan O’Reilly Edited, mixed, and mastered by Tom Hamilton at the Pickle Factory, New York, New York Produced by Bernard Hoffer and Tom Hamilton Cover image (detail of Radiance) and inside images by Richard Pousette-Dart (1916-1992), a member of the New York expressionists. Images courtesy of the estate of Richard Pousette-Dart.

www.albanyrecords.com TROY1356 albany records u.s. ¦ ¦ 915 broadway, albany, ny 12207 MacNeil/Lehrer Variations Elegy for a Friend tel: 518.436.8814 fax: 518.436.0643 albany records u.k. Elegy for Violin and String Orchestra ¦ ¦ Symphony “Pousette-Dart” box 137, kendal, cumbria la8 0xd tel: 01539 824008 © 2012 Albany Records made in the usa DDD Alan Smale, violin ¦ ¦ Deborah Clifford, English horn warning: copyright subsists in all recordings issued under this label. RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra ¦ ¦ Richard Pittman, conductor The Composer The Music Bernard Hoffer was born October 14, l934 in Zurich, Switzerland. He MacNeil/Lehrer Variations received early musical training at the Dalcroze School in New York, and In 1975 the Public Broadcasting System stations in New York and Washington endeavored to create a revolution- attended Eastman School of Music (BM-MM) in Rochester, New York ary format for a daily evening news program. It would take one major news story and cover it in depth through where he studied composition with Bernard Rogers and Wayne Barlow, and interviews, analysis, and commentary. The anchors were to be Robert MacNeil in New York and Jim Lehrer in conducting with Paul White and Herman Genhart. After serving as arranger Washington. I was invited to submit an entry for the theme music for this program. At my request a meeting with for the U.S. Army Field Band of Washington, D.C., he came to New York as the principals was held where I played records and discussed the type of music that would be appropriate. It was a freelance musician/pianist, composer, conductor, and arranger. decided that the music should be “contemporary” sounding with rock influences. The following days I submitted He has written extensively for films, television, and commercials for three pieces of which the second was chosen to be the theme. A recording session was then planned and the which he has won several Emmy nominations, including the music for the music was recorded the following week. The instrumentation was two trumpets, two horns, and a “rock” rhythm MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour on PBS. His commercials have won six Clio section that consisted of electric guitar, electric piano, electric (Fender) bass and percussion. The result was a Awards. He has scored the hit children’s’ cartoon series “Thundercats” and Jazz-Rock Waltz in five bar phrases, which became the Theme Music for the MacNeil/Lehrer Report. This music “Silverhawks” and orchestrated the Emmy Award winning theme to PBS’s was subsequently nominated for an Emmy Award but lost out in the finals to the theme for another show for which “The American Experience.” He has received grants from Meet the Composer and the Margaret Fairbanks Jory I had also done the arrangements, orchestrations and recording. Copying Assistance Program. Eight years later the show, already a PBS network staple was to be enlarged to an hour. It was decided that Concert works have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, the Spokane Symphony, the Greenwich the theme music was to be retained but was to be “upgraded” to a more “classical” format. A symphonic orchestra (CT) Symphony Orchestra, the Amherst Saxophone Quartet, the Boston Musica Viva, and the Composers String was to be used and the “Jazz-Rock” influences were to be downplayed. The result was the music that we hear Quartet. Divertimento for Octet (1988) was awarded second prize in the 1994 New Music Delaware Competition. today, although all the thematic materials remained true to the original. Concerto for Viola and Orchestra received its premiere at the International Viola Congress in Chicago on June 26, When the opportunity arose for me to create a large orchestra work based on the MacNeil/Lehrer Theme 1993. Capriccio “Settembre Musica” (1994) for solo violin and Jazz ensemble, written for the Boston Musica Viva, I jumped at it because I enjoy working with materials that are both familiar to me and to my audience. After was awarded a prize in the 1997 New Music Delaware. all how many “serious” composers can work on new music that is already familiar to listeners throughout the His recordings include St. Lucia Morning for Symphonic Band with the West Texas AM University Band; Suite United States and Canada—which leads me to the structure of the music at hand. I will give you a road map After Baroque Styles for Alto/Soprano Saxophone and String Trio with Albert Regni, sax (Sons of Sound SSPCD005); through the Variations: Variations on a Theme of Stravinsky performed by the American Saxophone Quartet (Sons of Sound SSPCD004); The Toy Chest, Ron Odrich, clarinet, with the American Saxophone Quartet (Sons of Sound SSPCD009); and two recordings on the Albany Records label (Ma Goose and Neoteric Plays Hoffer). VARIATION I: INTRODUCTION: Since I was working under the assumption that the thematic materials are VARIATION VIII: THE HAMILTON VARIATION (KALEIDOSCOPE) Tom Hamilton is an avant-garde composer already familiar to most listeners I felt that the it was not necessary to state the Theme at the beginning, or was and electronic genius friend who writes music where the thematic material is programmed into his synthesizers it necessary to state it in its entirety until such a time when it was emotionally or structurally satisfying to do so, and then is allowed to feed upon itself to form permutations or is triggered by him to form other permutations. hence, the first variation uses the theme in a dissembled form and then gradually reassembles it until it is stated Sometimes the changes are only textural and sometimes they occur as changes in the materials. The effect is completely. often Kaleidoscopic where the colors and forms change as they turn from themselves. I have tried to simulate THEME: PART I: This is the statement as it appears at the top of the television program. Added to that is the these effects with an orchestra. Instruments or combinations weave in and out. Colors are constantly changing “tail,” a suspended chord in the strings which on television leads to the next news segment but here leads to a through the addition or subtraction of instruments. Repetition is one of the basic elements and gives this variation fuller statement of the Theme. a minimalistic aura. THEME: PART II: The Theme now appears in a more complete form scored for woodwinds. VARIATION IX: This features the strings in what is an inversion of the theme, a device used successfully by VARIATION II: The last three notes of the theme are used as a basis over which horns and trumpets play a many composers most notably Rachmaninoff in his Paganini Variations, which leads me to an aside comment. The richly chorded melody. theme is inadvertently similar (intervallicly) to the famous Paganini theme that has inspired many composers and VARIATION III: This variation is an extension of the previous one only scored for winds strings and drum therefore has led me into some curious traps as I was composing. machine. VARIATION X is an enlargement and continuation of Variation IX. (Note that Variation II and Variation III were VARIATION IV: ECHOES takes the fifth and sixth notes of the theme and builds a structure out of reverbera- also materially connected.) This movement flies off to a high place and holds until we hear the Finale begin. tions of the two notes. VARIATION XI: FINALE begins with a long G chord over which all the materials are recapitulated and built to a VARIATION V: THE TWELVE WIND VARIATION is a scherzo featuring the woodwind section in a fugue of sorts. grand climax. At the very end the “tail” that is never resolved on television is resolved for us! Also heard are three triangle players. VARIATION VI: THE PERCUSSION VARIATION is an argument between two timpani players as to which one is Elegy for a Friend playing in the right key! These two are being egged on by the piano and the snare drum. A crowd gathers as the Elegy for a friend was written for a memorial concert for a close friend and colleague, George Marge. The premiere rest of the orchestra yells louder and louder until it is proven that neither timpanist is right. The trumpet then plays was given in New York by Thomas Stacy and the Composers Quartet in December of 1985. I had always felt that the theme (in the correct key). the piece should be revised for English horn and string orchestra. In the fall of 1993, another good friend, Bruce THEME: PART III: The theme is now played in the full version (including the “Bridge”) the way it appears Ferden, the conductor of the Spokane Symphony, passed away. The revised version was premiered by the Spokane under the crawl at the end of the television program. Symphony at a memorial service for Bruce in the Cathedral in Spokane, Washington. VARIATION VII: The material from the “Bridge” section of the theme is heard in large blocks of sound played very softly. Elegy for Violin and String Orchestra Symphony “Pousette-Dart” I have had a long and successful relationship with the Northeast Youth Ballet and its wonderful choreographer In the summer of 2007, I went to the Guggenheim Museum in New York to see a comprehensive showing of the Denise Cecere. For years she had been fascinated by the children’s story of Sadako and the Thousand Cranes, a works of the New York abstract expressionist Richard Pousette-Dart (1916-1992). I was so impressed and moved Japanese girl who was in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing and subsequently died of leukemia. This was a real that I immediately set out to compose some music influenced and inspired by these works. The mature works of person with a statue of her in the Peace Park in Hiroshima. this artist appear to be minimalist, but meticulously fashioned in every minute detail, millions of tiny dots in various In the spring of 2009 I composed a ballet score using Japanese instruments based on that story. Elegy for color gradations assembled to form a large, mainly abstract image. Violin and Orchestra is an extension and elaboration of a scene “In The Hospital” from that score with the solo Today we live in a hybrid world with hybrid automobiles, hybrid art forms. My symphony is a hybrid work, as I violin playing the theme played by a Koto. believe Pousette-Dart’s work is. It is a combination of modernism (tone rows etc.) and minimalism (repetitions). As In 2008 and 2009, some of my dear friends passed away, and in the fall of 2009 I wrote the Elegy in their in the paintings, figures move in and out of focus. The four movements of the symphony are based on four paintings, memory. They were Rosemarie Koczy, a world class painter and sculptor; Raymond Beckenstein, a New York studio the titles of which define the movements. reed player and long time friend; Alexis Shumate, my sergeant in the army with whom we had always kept in I. Time is the Mind of Space, Space is the Body of Time. (1979-82) The painting is in three panels: a diamond, touch; and Sigmond Singer, my long time musical copyist whom I miss dearly. a circle, and a triangle. My movement is in three sections each embodying the form of the individual panels. I have The music is scored for solo violin and an orchestra string section, and is about 10 minutes long. literally written these forms on the musical page surrounding them with the tiny figures and dots that serve as background for each painting. I have assembled these dots in tone rows using a row on each 12 notes of the scale and its inversions, and retrogrades. I have used a triadic row so as to give the background a harmonic sense as well. No row is repeated until all 48 versions are used. II. Radiance (1973-74) a huge three panel long painting 72 x 108 inches. A sky like background filled with hundreds circular images floating in and out past each other. These are musically represented by repeated triads (circles) that fade in and out of each other using crescendos and diminuendos. III. White Garden Sky (1951) This painting features tiny graphite lines assembled to form figures and flowers which are seen only in white. The entire painting is gray and white. This movement was written as an afterthought, I had originally intended only a three movement work, but the painting gave me an idea that I felt compelled to explore. I use only strings and percussion instruments playing very softly, featuring a solo string quartet for highlights. IV. Blood Wedding (1958) a very violent painting, mostly in reds and oranges with black lines, of vertical figures standing side by side. I have written these as vertical musical explosions separated by interludes of extremes featuring piccolo and contrabassoon. The painting ends softly as does my piece. ▼ Time is the Mind of Space, Space is the Body of Time. ▲ Blood Wedding

▼ White Garden Sky

▲ Radiance The Performers Versatility is the keyword for conductor Richard Pittman, marked by the large, varied Deborah Clifford was born in Salford, Great Manchester, and has been Principal English horn in the RTÉ National repertoire he has led with a wide range of orchestras, ensembles, and opera companies Symphony Orchestra for 19 years. After starting her musical career with a scholarship to Chethams School of across the world. His lucid baton and highly efficient rehearsal technique enable Pittman Music in Manchester at the age of ten, she then won an ABRSM Scholarship to the Royal College of Music in to bring out the very best in orchestras at every level. With interpretive insights into the London. After graduating she pursued a freelance career in London and around the British Provinces for five years most diverse areas of the repertoire, Pittman’s performances have been noted for their before taking up her position in Dublin in 1992. sensitivity to character and style, rhythmic vitality, shaping of melodic lines, clarity of structure and dramatic pacing. Alan Smale is one of Ireland’s best known and respected musicians. He is Leader of The founder of the prestigious Boston Musica Viva, Richard Pittman has led that the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, former Leader of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and group to international prominence as one of the finest new music ensembles in the world. He has a special ability is renowned as a soloist and chamber music player. Originally from Devon, England, Alan to bring new works to life and possesses an ear for talent that has led to the commissioning of works for the Boston studied privately with Harold Petts, a pupil of the great English violinist Albert Sammons, Musica Viva that have entered the international repertoire and garnered major awards for many of those composers. before moving to Leeds and then to London, to the Royal Academy of Music, for study Pittman has been recognized for his creative programming, receiving ASCAP Adventurous Programming Awards with Clarence Myerscough, violin, and Sidney Griller, chamber music. with Boston Musica Viva as well as with both of his other orchestras, the New England Philharmonic and the Concord On being appointed Leader of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in 1984, Alan became Orchestra. In addition, Pittman has been given the Laurel Leaf Award from the American Composers Alliance for the well known to a wider audience in many solo appearances on television, as well as fostering and nurturing of American music and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Peabody Conservatory. directing and leading his own chamber group, the Degani Ensemble, and working with Ireland’s premier contempo- Richard Pittman has also won kudos as an experienced opera conductor with a theatrical flair and sensitivity rary ensemble, Concorde. He was a frequent guest leader of the Ulster Orchestra in the 80’s and 90’s, and began to singers’ needs. He has a repertoire of 65 operas, from the staples of the standard repertoire to world premieres, building up an impressive list of credits on Irish and international films as Leader of the Irish Film Orchestra since first US performances and first European performances. 1993, a role that continues to this day. With the RTÉ NSO he has recorded the solos from Richard Strauss’s tone poems Ein Heldenleben and Don The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra plays a central role in classical music in Ireland through regular live Quixote for Naxos, and two contemporary Irish concertos by Raymond Deane and James Wilson (the latter written performance and broadcasts alongside regional touring and residential projects. As an integral part of the state for and dedicated to him) for Marco Polo. broadcaster (RTÉ), the orchestra reaches thousands of listeners through its weekly live performances on RTÉ lyric Alan gained a Master of Arts Degree with first class honors in 2003. He plays on a Venetian violin by Eugenio fm and from this association broadcasts via the international radio stations of the EBU. The RTÉ National Symphony Degani, dated 1896. Orchestra’s annual concert season runs from September to May at the National Concert Hall, Dublin. It includes weekly concerts and pre-concert talks; FORTÉ, the musical discovery educational programme; Late Night concerts; a mentoring scheme for young musicians; open rehearsals and regional concerts. The orchestra also presents Horizons, the contemporary music series featuring works by Irish composers; as well as weekly lunchtime and eve- ning concerts in June and July. The RTÉ NSO is critically acclaimed at home and abroad for its recordings across a variety of labels, including RTÉ’s own lyric fm label: notable have been Editor’s Choice in Gramophone (Stanford), Classic FM CD of the Month (Fleischmann), and international press acclaim for RTÉ lyric fm’s CD of works for solo clarinet and orchestra featuring RTÉ NSO Principal Clarinet, John Finucane. (rte.ie/nationalsymphonyorchestra) Bernard Hoffer

MacNeil/Lehrer Variations Bernard Hoffer 15 Elegy for a Friend [11:41] Deborah Clifford, English horn troy1356 MacNeil/Lehrer Variations 1 Variation I: Introduction [2:19] 16 Elegy for Violin and String Orchestra [11:03] 2 Theme: Part I [0:15] Alan Smale, violin 3 Theme: Part II [0:26] Symphony “Pousette-Dart” 4 Variation II [2:33] I. Time is the Mind of Space, Space is the Body of Time 5 Variation III [0:54] 17 Panel I, Diamond [2:43] 6 Variation IV: Echoes [1:15] 18 Panel 2, Circles (with Diamond) [3:03] 7 Variation V: The Twelve Wind Variation [1:22] 19 Panel 3, Triangles [2:42] 8 Variation VI: The Percussion Variation [1:46] 20 II. Radiance [6:01] 9 Theme: Part III [1:15] 21 III. White Garden, Sky [6:16] 10 Variation VII [2:16] 22 IV. Blood Wedding [6:28]

11 Variation VIII: The Hamilton Variation [3:30] troy1356 Total Time = 75:43 12 Variation IX [2:05] 13 Variation X [2:34] RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra 14 Variation XI: Finale [3:07] Richard Pittman, conductor MacNeil/Lehrer Variations www.albanyrecords.com

TROY1356 albany records u.s. 915 broadway, albany, ny 12207 tel: 518.436.8814 fax: 518.436.0643 albany records u.k. box 137, kendal, cumbria la8 0xd tel: 01539 824008 © 2012 Albany Records made in the usa DDD warning: copyright subsists in all recordings issued under this label. Bernard Hoffer