WHAT’S INSIDE LETTER FROM THE RCO | 3 BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STAFF | 5 PROGRAM | 7 NICHOLAS CARTHY BIOGRAPHY | 9 HOPE BRIGGS BIOGRAPHY | 11 PROGRAM NOTES | 12 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 19

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LETTER FROM THE RCO

This weekend marks the halfway point in our yearlong search for the next RCO Music Director. We have seen three of six conductors, and are excited to present finalist Nicholas Carthy. He leads a program of classic Germanic works set against lively, folk-driven dances from Eastern Europe and South America.

As a reminder, our final two conductors take the stage March 14-15, and April 4-5. After each performance, please join us in the lobby for a reception and meet the conductor, as well as responding to our email survey for feedback. This spring, our Search Committee of board members, musicians, staff, and community members Dear RCO patrons, will rely on this feedback as we evaluate the Welcome to 2020, and the start of a new six candidates. decade! I hope you were able to ring in Enjoy today's performance, the new year with us at the 16th Nevada Chamber Music Festival. Our inaugural year under the leadership of Artistic Director Clive Greensmith featured new artists (including guest ensembles Calidore Thom Mayes, Executive Director String Quartet and WindSync) and new concert venues (including the stunning new Hall Recital Hall here at UNR). All these new features were warmly received by our audiences, setting a high bar for the festival in years to come.

RENO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 3 4 RENO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STAFF

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Amy Booth STAFF Jennifer Smith Kay Dean Thom Mayes, President William Douglass Executive Director Gail McAllister John Tozzi Jane Nichols Erica Schmitt, Vice President Lloyd Rogers Director of Administration Judith Simpson Cleta Dillard Karen Stout-Gardner Joseph Peterson, Second Vice President Holly Walton-Buchanan Artistic Planning & Operations Manager Fred Jakolat Secretary Dustin Budish, Personnel Manager Tasha Reisz Treasurer Sophie Ralston, Marketing & Graphic Design Mark MacDonald Past President Korona Phelps, Bookkeeper

Stuart Murtland, Audio/Visual & Operations Support

Reno Chamber Orchestra This project is funded, in part, by a grant from 925 Riverside Drive, Suite 5 Reno, NV 89503 Phone (775) 348-9413 the Nevada Arts Council, Email: [email protected] a state agency, and www.RenoChamberOrchestra.org the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Member of the

These concerts have been made possible, in part, by the support of

The mission of the Reno Chamber Orchestra is to create intimate, inspirational musical experiences by engaging the community through vibrant music-making by the Chamber Orchestra and chamber ensembles. Superb Music. Shared Experience. Enriched Lives.

RENO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 5 6 RENO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PROGRAM SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2020 7:30 P.M. SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2020 2:00 P.M. SCHUMANN Overture, Scherzo and Finale, Op. 52 (1841) 18´ NIGHTINGALE CONCERT HALL, UNR BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) “Ah! Perfido” Recitative and Aria, Op. 65 (1796) 14´

INTERMISSION GABRIELA LENA FRANK (1972-) Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout (2001) 20´ Toyos Tarqueda Himno de Zampoñas Chasqui Canto de Velorio KODALY (1882-1967) Galántai táncok (Dances of Galánta) (1933) 18´ Lento Allegretto moderato Allegro con moto, con grazioso Allegro Allegro vivace

Mr. Carthy’s appearance is made possible by a generous donation from Rachel Rosemann.

Ms. Briggs’ appearance is made possible by a generous donation from fans of Hope Briggs. NICHOLAS CARTHY, Please disable all noise-making devices—cell phones, watches, etc.—during the Music Director finalist performance. Audio or video recording of RCO concerts is strictly prohibited. The mission of the Reno Chamber Orchestra is to create intimate, inspirational musical experiences by engaging the community through vibrant music making by HOPE BRIGGS, the Chamber Orchestra and chamber ensembles. Superb Music. Shared Experience. Enriched Lives. Soprano

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MUSIC DIRECTOR FINALIST BIOGRAPHY

Festival, the Concertgebouw and the Goldener Musikvereinssaal in .

As a guest conductor Nicholas Carthy has worked with orchestras including Camerata Academica , Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Orchestra RAI di Torino, Orchestra San Carlo di Napoli, Orchestra di Padua e del Veneto, Pomeriggi Musicale di Milano, Israel Contemporary Players, Stadtorchester Winterthur, RSO Prague, Slovak Philharmonic, Orquesta de San Sebastian and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia di Roma, where he collaborated closely with . He has worked NICHOLAS CARTHY with soloists such as , Alicia de Larrocha, Natalia Gutman, Viktoria icholas Carthy enjoys a varied career as Mullova, and . Nconductor, pianist, and teacher. Born in Bedford, England, he studied at the As a collaborative pianist he has Guildhall School of Music in , performed in Carnegie Hall, Suntory and at the Mozarteum, Salzburg. In 1998 Hall, Wigmore Hall, The Bolshoi Theatre, he was appointed at the Wiener Konzerthaus, La Scala, La Fenice, Landestheater in Salzburg, and assistant Santa Cecilia, and the Gewandhaus conductor at the , Leipzig, amongst others. He has also working under both and performed at festivals including Salzburg, Sir . Schleswig-Holstein and the Schubertiade in Hohenems. From 1990 until 1993 Carthy was assistant to , assisting and playing As a teacher, he has held guest professorships on the Erato recording of ‘Don Giovanni’ and visiting tutor posts at the Royal in , Wozzeck at Le Châtelet, , House, Covent Garden, the Royal Northern and the Ring in Bayreuth. College of Music, Opera School. He is currently Professor of Music In June 1992, Nicholas Carthy was and Opera Music Director at the University appointed Musical Director of the of Colorado, and Artistic Director of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and Helgelands Sinfonietta in Norway. performed with them at the Lucerne

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Ms. Briggs is hailed as “an artist of vocal sensitivity, theatrical wisdom and integrity.” Her commanding stage presence and moving interpretations have brought her to great success singing the title role in Aida with Nevada Opera, Sacramento Opera and Cedar Rapids Opera and Leonora in Il Trovatore with El Paso Opera, Opera Roanoke and Festival Opera of Walnut Creek.

As a soloist, Ms. Briggs’ performances include: The Opening Night Gala Concert with Oakland East Bay Symphony, The Wondrous Sounds of Christmas at the San Francisco Symphony, and Hope Briggs and Friends: A Musical Valentine at San HOPE BRIGGS Francisco’s Herbst Theater. By special invitation, Ms. Briggs performed for Jessye ope Briggs drew a rave review from Norman at Alliance Française Trophée des HOpera News for her San Francisco Opera Arts Gala and for Rev. Billy Graham at the debut as the Duchess of Parma in Busoni’s Billy Graham Crusade. Doktor Faust “… Hope Briggs was stellar, delivering one of the evening’s highlights with Hope Briggs is a Metropolitan Opera her lusciously intoned, lovelorn aria.” National Council Auditions National Finalist, and International Vocal Most recently, Ms. Briggs appeared as Competition Award Winner. Hope Briggs Marschallin in excerpts of Der Rosenkavalier, is also an ABC KGO-TV 2012 African performed Bruckner’s Te Deum, returned American Salutes Honoree, Marion to Baton Rouge for Opéra Louisiane’s th Anderson Historical Society Scholar and 10 Anniversary Gala, and made two a 2013 Heritage Keeper Award Recipient important role debuts: Nedda in I Pagliacci from Friends of Negro Spirituals. and the title role in Joplin’s Treemonisha. Ms. Briggs is featured on PBS performing She also sang Cio Cio San in Madama the role of Emma Hyers in the Butterfly with Opéra Louisiane, debuted documentary film: Voices for Freedom - at Carnegie Hall, and sang Verdi’s Messa The Hyers Sisters’ Legacy. da Requiem with the San Francisco Choral Society.

RENO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 11 PROGRAM NOTES BY CHRIS MORRISON

his right hand, so he focused on composing and writing. His music was often written in feverish bursts of activity—1840, for instance, saw the creation of over 140 songs, and 1842 was a year of chamber music. While he composed in larger forms such as opera, symphony, and concerto, many feel that Schumann’s true genius came to the fore in his songs and piano miniatures. As a critic he co-founded the influential Neue Zeitschrift für Musik and wrote articles praising composers like Chopin and Brahms. Having long suffered from mental problems, in 1854 Schumann tried to drown himself in the Rhine, and he spent his final years in an asylum. Overture, Scherzo and Finale in E major, Op. 52 Composed: 1841 Duration: 18 minutes Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings

840 was Schumann’s “year of song,” as 1he produced around 140 lieder in that one year alone. In September of that same year, after a long courtship and a legal battle SCHUMANN with her father, Schumann finally married Clara Wieck. Now settled and happy, Schumann turned to orchestral music in ROBERT SCHUMANN 1841, completing his Symphonies Nos. 1 Born: June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Germany and 4 along with the Overture, Scherzo Died: July 29, 1856, Endenich, Germany and Finale. Schumann wrote the latter quickly, completing it in just three weeks. chumann was one of the quintessential But he was uncertain as to what exactly the Sartists of music’s Romantic era. piece was. For a time he regarded it as his Encouraged in a wide range of studies Second Symphony. He also referred to it as by his writer/publisher father, Schumann a Sinfonietta. And in a note to a potential became a law student at the University of publisher, he called it a Suite, saying that Leipzig. But music was his first love. He “the individual movements can be played studied piano with Friedrich Wieck, and separately.” Dedicated to the Dutch violinist later married Wieck’s daughter Clara, one of and conductor Johannes Verhulst, it was the finest pianists of her time. Schumann’s published in 1846 after a few revisions to efforts to become a piano virtuoso were the Finale the preceding year. foiled when he developed partial paralysis of

12 RENO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PROGRAM NOTES BY CHRIS MORRISON

After a slow introduction in which two ideas are immediately introduced—a graceful theme for the violins and a descending phrase in the cellos—the first movement speeds to a propulsive Allegro with a skipping theme. As that theme is developed, the ideas from the slow introduction make brief reappearances before an exciting coda. In 6/8 time, the Scherzo opens with a tune in the strings with a distinctive dotted rhythm. That lively music contrasts with a lovely, lazy Trio section led by the winds that, in its second appearance, incorporates the descending cello theme from the Overture. A rising melody in the strings, unfolding in counterpoint, opens the Finale, with contrast provided by a slower, elegant theme. These themes dominate the movement, alternating between one and the other as the music builds to a grand conclusion. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Born: December 16, 1770, Bonn, Germany Died: March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria

ne short biographical sketch on Beethoven Obegins “The events of Beethoven’s life are the stuff of Romantic legend, evoking images of the solitary creator shaking his fist BEETHOVEN at Fate and finally overcoming it through a supreme effort of creative will.” Those biographical details, however, such as the around the age of thirty that Beethoven deafness that plagued his last three decades first noticed his encroaching deafness, of life, his stormy love affairs and his famous but soon thereafter began the second, or ill temper, are dwarfed by his artistic output, “middle,” of his creative periods, which one of the monuments of music history. He included groundbreaking works like the literally mastered and transformed all the “Eroica” Symphony, the “Appassionata” and musical forms of his day, and extended the “Waldstein” piano sonatas, and the opera range and depth of expression available to Fidelio. After a period of relative musical composers. Beethoven was no Mozart-like inactivity in the late 1810s, he entered prodigy, although even in his teens he was his so-called “late” period, highlighted by composing and playing in orchestras. But the Ninth Symphony and the late string by his twenties – after studies with the likes quartets and piano sonatas, in which his of Franz Josef Haydn and Antonio Salieri music gained a new, very personal depth —both his compositions and piano playing and freedom. had garnered considerable attention. It was

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Ah! perfido, Op. 65 There is still love in her complaint of his Composed: 1796 cruel treatment, as she tries at the end to Duration: 14 minutes evoke his pity. Instrumentation: flute, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, strings, solo soprano GABRIELA LENA FRANK Born: September, 1972, Berkeley, California h! perfido, or Ah! Deceiver, is a concert Aaria for soprano and orchestra. The text ncluded in the Washington Post’s 2017 list of of its opening recitative is taken from the Ithe 35 most significant women composers play Achille in Sciro by Pietro Metastasio in history, identity has always been at the (1698-1782), the Italian poet who provided center of composer/pianist Gabriela Lena libretti for dozens of , oratorios, and Frank's music. Born to a mother of mixed other works. The words in the aria that Peruvian/Chinese ancestry and a father of follows are by an unknown poet. Ah! perfido Lithuanian/Jewish descent, Frank explores was first performed in Leipzig on November her multicultural heritage most ardently 21, 1796 with soloist Josefa Dušek, a well- through her compositions. Inspired by known singer for whom Mozart had also the works of Bela Bartók and Alberto written a couple of arias. The work was also Ginastera, Frank is something of a musical part of the famous four-hour concert on anthropologist. She has traveled extensively December 22, 1808 in Vienna, at which throughout South America and her pieces Beethoven led the premieres of the Fifth often reflect and refract her studies of Latin and Sixth Symphonies, the Piano Concerto American folklore, incorporating poetry, No. 4, and the Choral Fantasy, along with mythology, and native musical styles into a several other works. The opus number of western classical framework that is uniquely 65, by the way, was assigned over twenty her own. Winner of a Latin Grammy and years after the aria was written and is nominated for Grammys as both composer deceptive, as this is actually a quite early and pianist, she also holds a Guggenheim work of Beethoven’s. Fellowship and a USA Artist Fellowship given each year to fifty of the country’s In the work, a young woman expresses her finest artists. anger after having been betrayed by her lover. With stormy strings, the recitative Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout begins with the soprano passionately asking, Composed: 2001 “Ah, unfaithful liar! vile deceiver, you leave Duration: 24 minutes me?” She wants the gods to punish him, Instrumentation: strings but then asks for mercy for him. At “Ah no! Ah no!” she turns the curses on herself, abriela Lena Frank has written the saying that she should be condemned and Gfollowing about her composition: not he – “though he has changed, I am what I was.” After a breath, the orchestra takes up This piece was written for string quartet a new, consoling theme for the aria, “For in 2001 and arranged for string orchestra pity’s sake, do not leave me,” as the singer in 2003. turns to her sadness at their parting. Gentle woodwind phrases accompany her song, Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout draws as she laments the fact that she is likely to inspiration from the idea of mestizaje as die unhappy. Another breath, and the third envisioned by Peruvian writer José María section returns to the storminess of the first. Arguedas, where cultures can coexist without

14 RENO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PROGRAM NOTES BY GABRIELA LENA FRANK the subjugation of one by the other. As such, this piece mixes elements from the western classical and Andean folk music traditions.

“Toyos” depicts one of the most recognizable instruments of the Andes, the panpipe. One of the largest kinds is the breathy toyo which requires great stamina and lung power, and is often played in parallel fourths or fifths.

“Tarqueda” is a forceful and fast number featuring the tarka, a heavy wooden duct flute that is blown harshly in order to split the tone. Tarka ensembles typically also play in fourths and fifths.

“Himno de Zampoñas” features a particular type of panpipe ensemble that divides up melodies through a technique known as hocketing. The characteristic sound of the zampoña panpipe is that of a fundamental tone blown fatly so that overtones ring out on top, hence the unusual scoring of double stops in this movement.

“Chasqui” depicts a legendary figure from the Inca period, the chasqui runner, who sprinted great distances to deliver messages FRANK between towns separated from one another by the Andean peaks. The chasqui needed to travel light. Hence, I take artistic license chant Dies Irae is quoted as a reflection of to imagine his choice of instruments to the comfortable mix of Quechua Indian be the charango, a high-pitched cousin religious rites with those from Catholicism. of the guitar, and the lightweight bamboo quena flute, both of which are featured in “Coqueteos” is a flirtatious love song sung this movement. by gallant men known as romanceros. As such, it is direct in its harmonic expression, “Canto de Velorio” portrays another well- bold, and festive. The romanceros sing known Andean personality, a professional in harmony with one another against a crying woman known as the llorona. Hired backdrop of guitars which I think of as a to render funeral rituals even sadder, the vendaval de guitarras (“storm of guitars”). llorona is accompanied here by a second llorona and an additional chorus of —Gabriela Lena Frank mourning women (coro de mujeres). The

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Liszt Academy of Music, where he earned diplomas in composition and music education, and in 1906 was awarded a Ph.D. for his analysis of Hungarian folk song. During those and subsequent years he made numerous trips into the countryside, often with his friend Béla Bartók, collecting and recording folk songs (the program for folk music research they began eventually resulted in the collection and analysis of over 100,000 folk songs from all over central and eastern Europe). Kodály maintained parallel careers as a composer and conductor while continuing his researches and teaching at Budapest’s Academy of Music, where he greatly influenced future generations of Hungarian musicians. Late in life he served as president of the International Folk Music Council and the International Society of Music Educators. Dances of Galánta Composed: 1933 Duration: 16 minutes Instrumentation: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, percussion, strings

odály celebrated his fiftieth birthday in KODÁLY K1932. The following year, he received a commission from the Budapest Philharmonic, for a work to be performed ZOLTÁN KODÁLY at a gala concert celebrating the orchestra’s Born: December 16, 1882, eightieth anniversary, that caused his Kecskemét, Hungary thoughts to turn to his youth. When Died: March 6, 1967, Budapest, Hungary Kodály was three, his family had moved to Galánta, a small market town in northern ne of Hungary’s most important Hungary (now in Slovakia). There he had Ocomposers, Zoltán Kodály was also an the first musical experiences he could innovator in the field of ethnomusicology, remember, hearing classical music played and his teaching method, including by his father, an amateur violinist and textbooks and a considerable amount of railroad stationmaster, and his mother, who music written specially for children, has sang and played the piano. He also became been embraced worldwide. After early enamored of the Romani bands that often studies with his father, Kodály took classes performed in town. Kodály remembered in literature and languages at Budapest those seven childhood years in Galánta as University. He also attended the Franz the happiest in his life. Later, as he became

16 RENO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PROGRAM NOTES BY CHRIS MORRISON an expert on the folk music of his native of the joys of service (the name derives Hungary – traveling through the country, from the German werben, to recruit), collecting, analyzing, and publishing the the verbunkos is a syncopated dance that songs and dances he encountered – one of traditionally alternates fast and slow his expeditions took him again through tempos. A slow, dark-hued introduction the Galánta region. He also ran across a leads into a cadenza for the clarinet, an Viennese publication from around 1800 instrument commonly found in gypsy that collected melodies from that area. bands. Soon the flute and oboe take their All these experiences and memories went turns as soloists. As the tempo increases, into the creation of the Dances of Galánta, new melodies are introduced in a sort of which were premiered by the Budapest medley, alternating with reappearances of Philharmonic on October 23, 1933. the clarinet’s original tune, with surprising off-kilter accents, lively syncopation, and In his Dances, Kodály employs five colorful orchestration. examples of the old Hungarian verbunkos. Originally a song-dance used by army Chris Morrison is Content Coordinator recruiters to convince potential soldiers and Producer at KNCJ Public Radio.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

his program is yours with our compliments, thanks to the businesses whose advertisements are Tincluded and whose services to the RCO are cited throughout the program. Please give our business supporters an opportunity to serve you when you next need their products or services, and be sure to tell them you saw them mentioned in the RCO program! WE ARE GRATEFUL TO OUR LIFE MEMBERS: THE RCO ALSO EXTENDS ITS THANKS TO: Yvonne and Allen Brady All of the RCO’s great volunteers. Lynn Bremer Tanglewood Productions for making Susan Cadena* our archival recordings. Marsha* and Les Cohen Kathy and Fred Jakolat RCO photographer Stuart Murtland. Cleta and Walter* Dillard David Lan and Focused Computing for Trudy Larson maintaining our office computers. Elizabeth and Gilbert* Lenz Barbara Long* The Reno Philharmonic, for sharing its music Nancy and Jack* Rose stands and other equipment for RCO rehearsals. Vera Stern Gary Inouye and MidTown Printing for local Toni Tennille and Daryl Dragon printing services. Sue and Dieter von Hennig Robbi and Jim* Whipp Jill M. Winter PRE-CONCERT TALKS *In memoriam The RCO invites you to attend pre-concert talks prior to each of this season’s programs. These informative and entertaining presentations start 45 minutes before each of our performances— Saturday at 6:45 p.m. and Sunday at 1:15 p.m. —and take place inside Nightingale Concert Hall. The pre-concert talks provide an excellent introduction to the music you’ll hear played by the RCO.

PLANNED GIVING

HELP ENSURE THE RCO’S FINANCIAL HEALTH There are other possibilities as well. Always Your investment in the Reno Chamber Orchestra consult your attorney or tax advisor to discuss helps ensure continuing funding for our concerts any effects your gift may have on your personal and programs. Including the RCO in your tax or estate situation. financial and estate planning may also provide tax advantages and/or a regular income stream. If you have already made arrangements concerning the RCO, we kindly request that you let us Your gift can take many forms: know. Your information will be held in strictest • Securities confidence, upon request. • Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust • Bequest through a will, estate plan, or For more information, call the RCO at family trust (775) 348-9413. • Life Insurance • IRA or retirement plan assets

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