BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC
Ndnly I llu~111 BAM BROOKLYN Rll hard W lhtllwrl ACADEMY OF MUSC F'tut<' o( Fujol,rru• Kr1t\l't' I ~l.lnl<·y Km·~t·l PATRONS 1981-82 J.tc.:k l.awrtnu• The Brooklyn Academy of MusiC as Ph yilt\ llnlhrcw>k l.t< hlc·n\lc'lll 1>wncd by the City of New York and llam"h Muwrll admanastered by the Brooklyn Alan• Hnlhrcw>k Platt Frt·drru:k W R ~rhmo nd Fnundtttton Academy of Musac. Inc The Brook· Ruc.:kmradow Foun,ldttnn lyn Academy of Musac gratefully ac· The Starr Foundt1tton knowledges the support of the Na Wilham Tnllt')' laona! Endowment for the Arts. The Mu.: hael TUl:h Fuundauon New York State Council on the Arts. Jnhn T Untlerwood Fnundatmn and the Department of Cultural Af Tht Vmmnnt Foundatum faars of the City of New York In ad Harold Wrat> Duanr Wtldrr dillon. the Board of Trustees washes Rohert \V \Vtl.-.on Found.11um to thank the followang foundatons. Sanfnrd I Zlmmt:rm.m corporahons and andavaduals who. thn>ugh thear leadership and sup· PRODl CFRS S500 S'l'l'l port, help make these programs Rnht"rt H Arnow possable :O.otl D Chn,mnn Tho Henry Goldner~ F~undatlon .\lr & \lr. Phthp )o"ur Harvey l.!chttn\ttln \.lr & Mrs Rt chard ,\.lrn\Cht•l INDIVIDUALS AND \lr & .\lr. ,\ldrttn Sc~dl FOUNDATIONS Dan ~ymnur Tht' 7cttl Foundat1nn LEAOERS III P S25,000 a nd above ASSOCIATE PROD! CERS Achelas Fnundaaon S250 S499 Bodman Founda110n Boolh Ferns Foundation Robert Davenport Louas Calder Foundation Mr & Mrs AI Krontek Edna McConnell Clark Foundation Naa Lefknwlt7 Robert Sterling Clark Foundation Mr & Mrs Jack Lttwack Ford Foundation Dr & Mrs James McGroarty Charles Hayden Foundation Rev Francas J MuRavrro Alex Hallman Famaly Foundotlon Mr & Mrs Arthur J Radm Samka Run Foundation Stephen H Scheuer J M Kaplan Fund Inc .\lr & \.Irs trwm Schnetderman Stanley Kaplan .\>lr & Mr~ Norman StRal Andrew W .\>lellon Foundation \1r & Mrs Norman Sher Nataonal Endowmenl for the Arts .\>lr & \>I rs Harry Stlver.,etn The New York Community Trust The New York Counctl for the SPONSORS S 100 S249 Humamhes Dr Edward W Altman New York Statt Coucal on the Arts Elatne Ander"'n Edward John Noble Foundation R Steven & Jan C K Anderson Rockefeller Foundation Roger Backer Surdna Foundation Mr & Mrs Werner Barusek Mr & Mrs Arne Vennema BenJamm Bank"'n Wilham & Juha Bndenkopf PACESETTERS john B•aton S 10,000 · S24 ,999 Meyer Berger Charles Ulrack & Joseph me Bay Aaron Bernstt1n Foundatton Mr & Mrs H Gerard Bts (Patron listings continued on inside back cover) ICi{/F,[)/JoJ BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC BAM'S CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES Scott Nickrenz, Music Director LEPERCQ SPACE Friday, October 30, 1981, 8:30pm Saturday, October 31 , 1981, 8:30 pm Sunday, November 1, 1981, 2:00pm OSCAR SHUMSKY violin COLIN CARR cello LEE LUVISI piano Wolfang Amadeus Mozart Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano, in E Major, K. 542 Allegro - Andante grazioso - Allegro Oscar Shumsky, violin; Colin Carr, cello and Lee Luvisi, piano Richard Strauss Sonata in E Flat Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 18 Allegro rna non troppo - Improvisation: Andante cantabile Finale: Andante-Allegro Oscar Shumsky, violin and Lee Luvisi, piano (Intermission) Felix Mendelssohn Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano, No. 2, in C Minor, Op. 66 Allegro energico e fuoco - Andante espressivo Scherzo: Molto allegro quasi presto Finale: Allegro appassionata Oscar Shumsky, violin, Colin Carr, cello, and Lee Livisi, piano Thb program IS supp<>rt..-d hy funding from the Edward John l':oble Founda· lion the Mary Duk..- Biddlt• Foundation the Nat1onal Endowment for the Arts and tht• New York State Council on the Arts Baldwin i> tht• official p1.mo of the BAM Chamhl'r Music Series. WHO'S WHO OSCAR SHUMSKY - As a soloist Oscar Shumsky has concerti1ed with most of tlw maJor orchestras of the United States, Canada, and abroad While serving as arllslln-residcnce at the Canadian Stratford Festival in 1959, he made his con ductmg debut and smcc that time has appeared as conductor with orchestras thrnughout North Ameraca He was subsequently appointed Music Director of the Stratford Fesllval a post which he held unil 1967 A frequent guest arhst at marw <'f the leading festivab rn the U.S., and as far afield as Japan, he performed a> ,·rolrn soloist and nmductor at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival in the summer of 1978 and has h.:en a frequent guest arhst in the concerts of the Chamt>er Music Soc1ety nf I.rncoln Center. As a rcc1talrst. Mr. Shumsky has often performed in the same program on both violin and viola and has been praised fc>r his v1rtuosity on both instruments Last spring 11980). he was featured gu<"st soloist in the Ernest Block Centennial Concert at Alice Tully Hall w1th the Jupitl'r Symphony at Lincoln Center The Jupiter Symphony held a special event at Lin· coin Center in February 198 t enlttled An Evening w1th Oscar Shumsky. whKh drew a capacity audience and critical praise. COLI'\ CARR - Twenty·om··year-old English cellist Cohn Carr performed 111 h1s \:ew York rec1tal debut on january 16, 1979 as wrnner of the 1978 Young Con cert Artists International Auditions last spring. As an arhst·member of the roster of Young Concert Artists ~1r . Carr will have an opportunit)· to establish h1s solo career rn the United Staks. Colin Carr has already performed widely rn h1s natrve England and throughout Europe He made his acclaimed London recital dehut rn the Purcell Room in 1975. where he reappeared in 1977 and performed solo recitals in London's Wigmore Hall in 1966 and 1978 Mr Carr's radio recitals include performances on the BBC in England for Stuttgart Frankfurt and Berlin Rad1o in Germany; and on all the Dutch Radio '\etwork stations LbE Lu\o lSI is today one of the most highly respected arhsb on the American musical scene. Born in 1937 rn Louisville Kentucky, Luvisi was a student of Rudolf Serkin and Mieczyslaw Hors1.owski at Philadelphia s Curtis Institute of Music Upon his graduation there he became the youngest faculty member in the history of that institutron Lee Luvisi's solo activ11tes through the years have rncluded a formidable list of major recital and orchestral engagements across the United States, Canada, Mex· icn, and Europe. As a chamber pianist Mr Luvisi collaborates regularly with many of the world's foremost musicians and ensembles. Among these have been the Juilliard, Guarneri and Cleveland Quartets. violinrsts ltzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman. THE PROGRAM Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, in E Major, K. 542 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) 1. Allegro 2. Andante grazioso 3. Allegro ne b1g difference between Mozart and Haydn IS that the latter composer was far more adventurous is his usc of tonality For whatever reasons 0 !probably psychological ones). Mozart seldom ventured into keys bear ing more than three sharps or flats. There are, to be sure, a few vocal arias !e.g in Die Zauberflote) set in E major and sundry episodes within large pieces Ithe cen· tral. F minor trio section in the Andante of the K 330 Piano Sonata, for example) but it almost unheard of for Mozart to use as the main tonality a key like E major as he does here. I suppose that by 1788 IK. 542 was composed in June of that year) Mozart was in his fullest maturity and slightly more willing to venture afield. Those of you familiar with Kochel listings will deduce that the E major Trio is a product of the same spurt that brought the miraculous three final sym phonies, K. 543, 550 and 551 There are, as a matter of fact, certain parallelisms between this work and the E flat Symphony, K. 543. For one thing, both first movements are in triple trme, lilting in character, and using themes that are rather similar in intervallic construction !built around a rising triad, yet with some descending chromaticism). Then, too, both Trio and Symphony follow an identical tonal relationship --tonic to subdominant -between first and second movements IE major to A major in the trio; E flat to A flat in the symphony) The Trio's Allegro begins quietly with the aforementioned first subject stated rather casually by the piano. When the restatement comes. twelve measures hence the piano's left hand introduces a touch of drama by way of brilliant upward scales Ia point not lost on the Beethoven who composed hrs piano sonata, Op. 14, No. I . in the very same key of E major; Indeed, there are many other points of similarlity between these two masterpieces -some of them even more striking than those cited above in the two Mozart pieces). The second subject is first introduced by the violin , then taken over by the piano and finally heard in imitation. The An dante grazioso is a bit sprightly - even jaunty - in its crisp 2/4 duple metre. Its main theme reminds me of the central movement of the "Coronation" Concerto, K. 537. The form here IS a compact A-B-A prime construction. The Allegro (Alia breve} is a clear cut Rondo. As is so common with Mozart's solo and chamber music, there is something very concertante about the way he manipulates his material. Take, for instance . the principal idea which is always first stated quietly as a 'solo" and then immediately thereafter, in a quasr-tulli manner !the strings suggesting the imaginary orchestra). Another facet worth noting in this move ment is its essentially monothematic character. The " B" section is mostly without a true melody of its own, providing contrast merely by key and reliance on brilliant runs. Sonata in E flat for Violin and Piano, Op. 18 RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949) 1. Alle~ro rna non troppo 2. Improvisation: Andante cantabile 3. Finale: Andante-Allego ichard Strauss began h1s musical life with p1ano studies at the age of four Hi> father the wise and kindly Franz, blew his horn for all that was good R(i.e establishment) in music and saw to it that the lad's musical educa tion consisted of nothing harder to digest than Mendelssohn, with a judicious selection of Mozart Haydn and Beethoven. Inevitably, little Richard ran away from his moralistic background and fell in with some " bab" company - most specifically a violinist named Von Ritter (his friends call him " lampwick"!) who filled the boy's head with Wagner and the other demoralizing inOuences his father had shielded him from. The earliest Strauss composition known to me is his Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 5 This c1rca 1882 effort could really bafne your musical friends. Its fi rst movement sounds like a cross between Mendelssohn and Brahms (the former's gentility and the latter's chordal. solid textures) while the Adagio's cantabile bears an uncanny resemblance to of all things. the Fairy Queen's big number in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Iolanthe (which came into being at just about the same time as th1s JUVenile opus) Another early work, the Stimmingsbllder of three years later, on the other hand shows a real advancement. Whereas the sonata wa~ mnocuous and rather academic, these short piano pieces have lilt, grace and touches of harmon1c ingenuity. One hears more than a trace of the later lieder In other words. Strauss had formidible talent - genius, even - and gifts of that magnitude would inevitably show up despite imposed parental blinders Strauss Violin /Piano Sonata, on today's program, dates from the composer·s twenty-fourth year It is an impassioned large scale work a sort of Don juan before puberty Gost as the slightly earlier but just as characteristically Straussian cello/piano sonata more perky and less sensual. represents Till Eulenspiegel s schoolboy pranks) In both of these scores - the Violin Sonata, in particular - the ne~tling has shed his pinfeathers and is patently ready for the " big time . his greatest orchestral compositions - Till Eu/ensp1egel, Don juan, Tod und Verhlaerung et a/. were just around the corner (and with them, the prosperity that would ultimately tarnish Strauss the human being). Op. 18 is a ''big ' work in all three of its copiously filled movements. The fi rst, Allegro ma no11 troppo as an expansive sonata-allegro structure The violin part notably spans a range of over two octaves and the piano writing is no less demanding in terms of breadth and sustained energy There are at least three clearly defined themes plus many more of a subordinate nature. For all that, the structural dimensions are strongly defined. never rambling. The movement comes to an imprc~~ive culmination with a final reprise of the audacious opening theme The central movement Improvisation-Andante cantabile, is more tenderly introspective. Here Strauss eroticism is as clearly suggested as in the central episode - for oboe and harp - in Don juan. But it is another well known work that nickers about this movement. At least one musician -a pianist, naturally -has noted a phantom similarity between the principal theme of this slow movement and the Adag1o from Beethoven·s "Pathellque" Sonata. Op 13 In the finale one theme alludes to - if you can believe - Happy Birthday· (that tune similarly figures in the opening movmcnt of Brahms· F maJOr Cello Sonata I Strauss bt•gms this third movement with a foreboding interlude for p.ano al n< in which the pnncipal idea is stated in embryonic form Once the movemt>nt gets underway, one notes the utterly orchestral quality of the writing: both mstruments roam about the musical staff with splediforous aplomb Even Cesar I ranck s sonata doesn't boast more thrillng use of tumbling arpeggios or ~oaring arabesques. But for all the abandon summoned from both protagonists, there a1c no inherent balance problems - the fiddle's soaring line is always fully audible over the untrammeled keyboard part (no mean feat when one thinks about the respecllvt> decibel potentials of the two instruments). By any reckoning <;trauss' only violin/piano sonata IS a masterpiece Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, No. 2, in C Minor, Op. 66 FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) 1. Allegro energico e fuoco 2. Andante espressivo 3. Scherzo: Molto Allegro quasi Presto 4 . Finale: Allegro appassionata he Mendt'lssohn~ grew up in a musical enviroment. Young Felix was a brilhant pmmst ami though he didn' t work at it , was also somethtng ot a T violinist Sister ~anny s keyboard ability almost equaled her brother·~ another sister, Rcben:a was a singer and brother Paul played the cello. Small wonder then. that tlw prodigious young composer discovered chamber mus1c at a tcmder age Indeed, when the publisher Nageli requested that the seventeen year-old burgeoning master send him some solo piano pieces. the modest youth (who had actually ah t•ady amassed a cons1derable stockptle of skillful though highly derivative works in that category) replied that he had nothing to of!N smce "sonatas with v10hn or tt'nor, quartets. etc have always had more attrac tum for me.' Tht• work under d1"ussion, hkc its more famous predcccs~r Tno No. I m D Mmor Op 49 is not one of tht• many brilhant efforts composed by Mendt'ls">hn tht• Boy Gem us. r.atlwr it is u thonmghly reasoned and seasoned essay by a thirty· fivt'·yt.ar-old mastt•r .at tht• tl'nith of h1s powers l.tkl' tb sibling of five yt•.trs prior, the C minor Trio is dt•tht·att•d to the violinist 'cOmJX>scr Ludwig Spohr l'ht' work s gestation period was not the most pleasant lime in the comfX>Scr s lift• \ kmklssohn wrote to hrs sister Rebecca that he was dog hred and rn need of ph,.,,,·al n•st He had reorgamzed the cathedral ch01r and was embrorled m biller n>ntrowrsy as a result He was also m doubt about a pending appomtmenl 1ll n,•rhn .md found rt necessary to decline a highly flallenng invrtalion to come to \i,•w York Apart from the trio the harvest anna 1845 consisted of a new volume 111 Son11s Without Words· lOp. 67 mcluding the famous "Spinning Song ). the ''' Or11an Sonatas and a choru~ to Sophicles The Allegro e•rergrco e (uoco first movement opens rather dramatically with the pr.mo along stating the first subject The second theme is more songful and thus tlw dramatic contrast is ~harper than in the D mmor Trio which rs for all its pas· '"lll borne along 'on wing~ of song throughout The second movement An· ,f.mlt' t'. INDIVIDUALS AND THE CORPORATE FOUNDATIONS FUND FOR BAM jcontinued) Leadership $25,000 and shove Amcon Group. Inc. Consolidated Edison Company of Mr & MrS llerl (.nulnt•d New York Stt·phrn Craham Martha Green Exxon Corporation Herman Grt'111rr Mohil Foundation Inc Kenneth Gnllon Philip Morris Incorporated Rev & Mrs llnward C Hageman Senti M lland Mr & Mrs Sanlnrd Hecht Pacesetters S 10,000 to S24,999 Clinton G Ht>1ner Abraham & Straus Mr & Mrs Nnrman Henkon Bankers Trust Company Marvon Hnllman Mr & Mf\ Allred II llnrnwotz Brooklyn Unton Gas Company lrwm HorOWitZ International Paper Company Mork R ll.orwoch Foundation Charle~ N Jnhn<,on Manufacturers Hanovers Trust Ht·~rer jnhn\On Company Mary 1'. Jnllnn Morgan Guaranty Trust Company Frank Kan.·r01d Pfizer Foundation \1r & Mr\ Samut•l Kleon Schlumherger Ltd Cla1re W l..ah1nt• .\lr & M" Seymour Lampert Chmtopher l.oGreco & S5,000 to S9,000 Roher! 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