<<

CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS PROGRAM

Thursday, January 24, 2013, 7pm (1876–1946) Siete Canciones Populares Españolas (1914) Zellerbach Hall El Paño Moruno: Allegretto vivace Seguidilla Murciana: Allegro spiritoso Asturiana: Andante tranquillo Yo-Yo Ma, Jota: Allegro vivo Nana (Berceuse): Calmo e sostenuto , piano Canción: Allegretto Polo: Vivo

PROGRAM INTERMISSION

Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) Suite Italienne (1932) (1908–1992) Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus, Introduzione: Allegro moderato from Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (1940–1941) Serenata: Larghetto Aria: Allegro Tarantella: Vivace Minuetto e Finale: Moderato — Molto vivace Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 (1886–1888)

Allegro Adagio Three Pieces Un poco presto e con sentimento Presto agitato Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) Chôros No. 5, “Alma Brasileira” (1925) arr. Jorge Calandrelli

Ástor Piazzolla (1921–1992) Oblivion (1984) arr. Kyoko Yamamoto

Camargo Guarnieri (1907–1993) Dansa Negra, from Three Dances (1928) arr. Calandrelli This performance is made possible in part by Corporate Sponsor U.S. Bank and by Patron Sponsors Gail and Dan Rubinfeld, Susan Graham Harrison and Michael Harrison, and Diana Cohen and Bill Falik.

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

16 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 17 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES

Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) out the concert, together they arranged excerpts which to apply earlier styles and techniques to ceremonies. Beginning with his earliest works, Suite Italienne for Cello and Piano from some of his , including , his own compositional needs, a discovery that around 1910, his music shows the influence of The Fairy’s Kiss, , and . was to provide the inspiration for his works for the melodies, rhythms, and sonorities that he Composed in 1932. (Dushkin extracted the parts from the the next 30 years. “Music about music” is Eric discovered. He began to compose prolifically, orchestral scores; Stravinsky made the piano ar- Salzman’s perfect phrase describing the essence and, though often ridiculed for his daring new Late in 1930, Willy Strecker, co-owner and di- rangements.) The best known of this set of tran- of Stravinsky’s aesthetic during the ensuing style by other Brazilian musicians, he attracted rector of the prestigious German publishing scriptions is the Suite Italienne, derived from three decades. the attention of the pianist Artur Rubinstein, house of Schott, suggested to Igor Stravinsky Stravinsky’s luminous score for , the The plot of Pulcinella was based on an 18th- who helped him receive a Brazilian government that a violin concerto might make a welcome 1920 based on works of Giovanni Battista century manuscript of commedia dell’arte plays grant in 1923 that enabled him to spend several addition to the catalog of his music, and told Pergolesi (1710–1736), a musical meteor who that Diaghilev discovered in Naples. Stravinsky years in Paris, where his international reputation the composer that the violinist Samuel Dushkin flashed briefly across the Italian artistic firma- provided the following synopsis: “All the local was established. Upon his permanent return to was willing to offer technical advice for the ment during the early years of the 18th century girls are in love with Pulcinella; but the young Rio de Janeiro in 1930, Villa-Lobos became an project. Stravinsky was, however, somewhat and created several important instrumental and men to whom they are betrothed are mad with important figure in public musical education, reluctant to accept the proposal because of his operatic pieces that laid the foundations of the jealousy and plot to kill him. The minute they urging the cultivation of Brazilian songs and lack of confidence in writing for the violin as a Classical style. The ballet became a success, and think they have succeeded, they borrow cos- dances in the schools. He made his first visit to solo instrument and his concern that Dushkin its style led the way to a new attitude about the tumes resembling Pulcinella’s to present them- the in 1944, and spent the remain- might be one of those performers interested only relationship between 20th-century music and selves to their sweethearts in disguise. But ing years of his life traveling in America and in “immediate triumphs…[through] special ef- that of earlier eras, a trend that became known Pulcinella—cunning fellow!—had changed Europe to conduct and promote his own works fects, whose preoccupation naturally influences as “Neo-Classicism.” In 1922, Stravinsky ex- places with a double, who pretends to succumb and those of other Brazilian composers. their taste, their choice of music, and their man- tracted an orchestral suite from Pulcinella. Three to their blows. The real Pulcinella, disguised as The Chôros No. 5 is from a series of 16 ner of treating the piece selected.” He agreed years later, he arranged five of its numbers for a magician, now resuscitates his double. At the works by Villa-Lobos bearing that title which to meet the young violinist, however, and their violin and piano, and with the help of the vir- very moment when the young men, thinking are scored for a varied instrumentation rang- first encounter proved to be warm and friendly. tuoso Gregor Piatigorsky in 1932, he transcribed they are rid of their rival, come to claim their ing from solo guitar to full combined Stravinsky recalled that he found in his new col- four of the same movements for cello and piano; sweethearts, Pulcinella appears and arranges with mixed chorus. The term derived from the league, “besides his remarkable gifts as a born the following year, Stravinsky reworked the all the marriages. He himself weds Pimpinella, popular bands of Rio de Janeiro that originat- violinist, a musical culture, a delicate under- 1925 violin suite with Dushkin’s advice, added a receiving the blessing of his double, who in ed in the mid–19th century that freely mixed standing, and—in the exercise of his profes- sixth movement (the Scherzino), and issued it as his turn has assumed the magician’s mantle.” winds, guitars, and simple percussion instru- sion—an abnegation [of selfish interest] that is the Suite Italienne. Though the Suite Italienne is a sort of vest- ments. Their repertory at first comprised polkas, very rare.” Their initial contact blossomed into The idea for Pulcinella originated with pocket version of the original ballet, it fully cap- waltzes, and other European imports, but later sincere friendship, and the Violin Concerto Serge Diaghilev, the legendary impresario of tures the wit, insouciance, and joie de vivre that came to be associated with such characteristic was composed eagerly during the first months the Ballet Russe, who suggested the music of place this music among the most delicious of all Brazilian dances as the maxixe, brasileiro, of 1931. Pergolesi to Stravinsky. The composer, perhaps Stravinsky’s creations. and samba. Villa-Lobos believed that these So successful was the premiere of the new with Diaghilev’s help, selected from Pergolesi’s bands epitomized Brazilian native music, and he Concerto on October 23, 1931, in Berlin (the works several movements from the trio sonatas attempted to capture their essence in his series composer conducted) that Stravinsky and and arias from two . To these he added Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) of Chôros. “The Chôros,” he wrote, “represents a Dushkin received invitations to present the several musical bits by other composers. In gen- Chôros No. 5, “Alma Brasileira” new form of musical composition in which are piece all over Europe, from Florence to London eral, he kept the bass lines and melodies of his synthesized the different modalities of Brazilian, to Madrid. This resulting series of concerts models intact, but added to them his own spicy Composed in 1925. Indian, and popular music, having for principal made Stravinsky realize, however, that a good harmonies and invigorating rhythmic fillips. elements Rhythm, and any typical Melody of performance of the Concerto demanded both Stravinsky’s role in Pulcinella, however, was far Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazil’s greatest composer, popular character.” a first-rate orchestra and an adequate number more than that of simply transcriber or arranger. had little formal training. He learned the cello The Chôros No. 5 of 1925, subtitled Alma of rehearsals, circumstances which could not He not only created a cogent work of art from a from his father and earned a living as a young Brasileira (“Brazilian Soul”), was dedicated be taken for granted in all cities, so for a sub- wide variety of previously unrelated pieces, but man playing with popular bands, from which he to the industrialist and arts patron Arnaldo sequent tour with Dushkin he devised several he also gave a new perspective to both his own derived much of his musical background. From Guinle, who, two years later, helped to finance recital pieces for violin and piano that would en- and Pergolesi’s music. “Pulcinella,” he recalled his earliest years, Villa-Lobos was enthralled Villa-Lobos’s second stay in Paris. The compos- able them to play almost anywhere without dif- in Dialogues and a Diary, “was my discovery of with the indigenous songs and dances of his er wrote, “The most interesting aspects of the ficulty. The centerpiece of the tour program was the past—but it was a look in the mirror, too.” native land, and he made several trips into the Chôros No. 5 are the irregular rhythmic and me- the of 1931–1932, but to round With this music, Stravinsky found a manner in Brazilian interior to study the native music and lodic formulas, giving an impression of a rubato,

18 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 19 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES or a melody with a ritardando. This seems to perhaps, superior to ordinary life in its construc- hundred works—two operas, four symphonies, and Vela gave their premiere at the Ateneo in cause a slight delay or pause, which is exactly tion of a satisfying reality. The play finds dra- piano and violin concertos, , pia- Madrid on January 14, 1915. The idiom of the the practice of the seresteiros [street musicians].” matic strength in its hero’s choice of retirement no pieces, songs, choruses—is imbued with the piano accompaniments that Falla devised for his into unreality in preference to life in the uncer- spirit and idioms of his native Brazil. Seven Popular Spanish Songs was, according to tain world.” Bellocchio thought that Piazzolla Guarnieri traced the origin of Dansa Negra the composer’s biographer Suzanne Demarquez, Ástor Piazzolla (1921–1992) found “a very strong point of contact” in the (“Negro Dance,” 1946) the last of the Three derived from “the natural resonance…and Oblivion character of the King, which he captured in the Dances, to a 1937 visit to the eastern Brazilian modal nature of each song, without in any way deeply nostalgic number Oblivion written for region of Bahia, when he witnessed an outdoor neglecting the grace, the sensitivity, the delicate Composed in 1984. the film. candomblé ceremony, which syncretizes tra- style of his pianistic inspiration.” Though the ditional African religions, Brazilian spiritual- Siete Canciones Populares Españolas is virtually The greatest master of the modern tango ism, and Roman Catholicism. The shape of the the only work of Falla to quote existing Spanish was Ástor Piazzolla, born in Mar Del Plata, (1907–1993) Dansa Negra—soft at beginning and end, loud themes (two tiny folksong fragments were em- Argentina, a resort town south of , Dansa Negra, from Three Dances at the center—follows the composer’s approach, ployed in The Three-Cornered Hat), so potent in 1921 and raised in , where he observation, and departure from the ritual. were these pieces in defining a national style of lived with his father from 1924 to 1937. Before Composed in 1928. art song that Gilbert Chase said they provide “a Ástor was ten years old, his musical talents had model for contemporary song-writers through- been discovered by Carlos Gardel, then the Camargo Guarnieri—his father, a flutist born Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) out the Spanish-speaking world, in which popu- most famous of all performers and compos- in Sicily and likely a descendent of the famous Siete Canciones Populares Españolas, G. 40 lar and artistic elements are closely and often ers of tangos and a cultural hero in Argentina. Cremonese violin makers, gave him the middle inextricably intertwined.” At Gardel’s urging, the young Ástor returned name “Mozart,” which he thought too preten- Composed in 1914. Premiered on January 14, 1915, El Paño Moruno (“The Moorish Cloth”), to Buenos Aires in 1937 and joined the popu- tious to use—was born in Tietê, Brazil, near São in Madrid by soprano Luisa Vela and the composer. whose accompaniment was inspired by the steely lar tango orchestra of Anibal Troilo as arranger Paulo, on February 1, 1907. He studied piano, brilliance of the guitar, comes from Murcia in and bandoneón player. Piazzolla studied clas- conducting, and composition at the São Paulo When Falla was preparing his La Vida southeastern Spain. Seguidilla Murciana, also sical composition with in Conservatory and took over conducting duties Breve for its first Paris performance, at the from the province of Murcia, is a popular dance Buenos Aires, and in 1954 he wrote a symphony for the newly established São Paulo Department Opéra Comique on December 30, 1913 (it had song in quick triple time. Asturiana is a lament for the Buenos Aires Philharmonic that earned of Culture in 1935 before accepting a govern- been premiered in Nice on April 1), he received from the northern region of Asturias. The Jota, him a scholarship to study in Paris with Nadia ment fellowship three years later to take courses two requests—one from the soprano Luisa Vela, mainly associated with the central province of Boulanger. When Piazzolla returned to Buenos in Paris with composer and who was performing the leading role of Salud Aragon, is one of the most familiar of Spanish Aires in 1956, he founded his own performing conductor Frans Ruhlmann. Guarnieri was in the cast of La Vida Breve; the other, from a dance forms. Nana is an Andalusian lullaby. group, and began to create a modern style for forced to return to Brazil by the outbreak of Greek singing teacher. Vela was planning a se- Canción (“Song”) exhibits the pattern of mixed the tango that combined elements of traditional war in 1939; he was appointed conductor of the ries of solo recitals during the coming months, rhythmic stresses that characterizes much of tango, Argentinean folk music, and contem- São Paulo Philharmonic the following year. He and she asked Falla to provide some songs in Spain’s indigenous music. Polo, Andalusian in porary classical, jazz, and popular techniques first visited the United States in 1942 under the Spanish style for her programs; the Greek sing- origin, evokes the Gypsy world of flamenco. into a “Nuevo Tango” that was as suitable for auspices of the Pan American Union to receive ing teacher wanted advice about the appropriate “For Falla,” wrote Gilbert Chase, “a folk song is the concert hall as for the dance floor. Piazzolla a prize for his Violin Concerto, and thereafter accompanimental style for some melodies from not a simple tune to be arbitrarily adorned. Each toured widely, recorded frequently, and com- returned frequently to conduct his works with his homeland. Falla experimented with setting folk song, he believes, conceals a deep musical posed incessantly until he suffered a stroke in the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, one of the Greek songs, and discovered that he meaning, a latent wealth of expression, that the Paris in August 1990. He died in Buenos Aires and other leading . In 1960, he was ap- could extrapolate a suitable harmonic idiom arranger should endeavor to fathom and extract. on July 5, 1992. pointed director of the São Paulo Conservatory; from the implications of the melody itself. He Complex and difficult as are some of his accom- In 1984, Piazzolla went to Rome to compose four years later he joined the faculty of the tried out this new technique in the songs he paniments, they represent the re-creation on an the score for director Marco Bellocchio’s screen Santos Conservatory. He died in São Paulo on was preparing for Vela, which he had decided artistic plane of the inherent melos of each song. version of Luigi Pirandello’s drama Enrico IV, January 13, 1993. Guarnieri’s many distinctions would be settings of seven popular indigenous Such a feat can only be accomplished when a starring Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia include Honorary Presidency of the Brazilian melodies culled from various regions of Spain. great artist and a profound folklorist are found Cardinale. “The theme in Henry IV,” wrote Academy of Music, first prizes in the São Paulo The Siete Canciones Populares Españolas (“Seven in the same person.” John Humphreys Whitfield of the University Fourth Centenary Competition and the Caracas Popular Spanish Songs”) were largely complet- of Birmingham, England, “is madness, which International Competition, and the Golfinho de ed by the time he retreated to Spain in 1914 in lies just under the skin of ordinary life and is, Ouro Prize. Guarnieri’s large output of several the face of the German invasion of France; he

20 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 21 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES

Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) piano for the theater and instruments for Le saying: There shall be time no longer; but on there. Brahms began the Third , Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus, Boulaire and Pasquier, and supplied Messiaen the day of the of the seventh angel, the Op. 108, at Hofstetten during the summer of from Quatuor pour la fin du Temps with manuscript paper, writing materials, and a mystery of God shall be finished.” 1886, but composed most of the score during his quiet place to work, where he composed a trio Messiaen wrote of the fifth movement, Praise sojourn two years later. The Sonata’s premiere Composed in 1940–1941. Premiered January 15, for his fellow prisoners that served as the seed to the Eternity of Jesus, “Jesus is here considered was given on December 22, 1888, in Cologne 1941, at Stalag VIIIA in Görlitz, Silesia for one of the most remarkable pieces in the as one with the Word. A long phrase, infinitely by the composer and the celebrated Hungarian (now ). chamber repertory—the Quatuor pour la fin du slow, by the cello, expiates with love and rever- violinist, composer and pedagogue Jenö Hubay. Temps (“Quartet for the End of Time”). After ence on the everlastingness of the Word. The D minor Sonata (performed on cello by When World War II erupted across Europe they had read through this Intermède, Messiaen “—And I repeat anew: All this is mere striv- Yo-Yo Ma) was dedicated to Hans von Bülow, a in 1939, Messiaen, then organist at Trinity prefaced it with the Abyss of the Birds he had ing and childish stammering if one compares it musician of gargantuan talent celebrated as both Cathedral in Paris, a teacher at the École written for Akoka at Verdun and then revised a to the overwhelming grandeur of the subject!” pianist and conductor, who played Brahms’s Normale de Musique and the Schola Cantorum, section from his Fêtes des belles eaux for six ondes compositions widely and made them a mainstay and a composer of rapidly growing reputation, Martenon (created in 1937 for a son et lumière in the repertory of the superb court orchestra at was called up for service but deemed unfit for show on the banks of the Seine) as Louange à Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) Meiningen during his tenure there as music di- military duty because of his poor eyesight. He l’Éternité de Jésus (“Praise to the Eternity of Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 (originally rector from 1880 to 1885. Cello and piano share was instead first assigned as a furniture mover at Jesus”) for cello and piano (for Pasquier) and a for violin and piano) equally the thematic material of the opening Sarreguemines and then as a hospital attendant 1930 organ piece titled Diptyque as Praise to the movement: the cello presents the principal sub- at Sarrabbe before ending up with a medical unit Immortality of Jesus for violin and piano (for Le Composed in 1886–1888. Premiered December 22, ject, a lyrical inspiration marked by long notes in Verdun, where he met Henri Akoka, a clari- Boulaire); the remaining four movements of the 1888, in Cologne, with Jenö Hubay as violinist and that give way to quick neighboring tones; the netist with the Strasbourg Radio Orchestra, and Quartet were completed by November 1940. The the composer as pianist. piano’s arching second theme is superbly con- Etienne Pasquier, cellist in an internationally sympathetic German commandant scheduled structed from a two-measure motive of stepwise renowned string trio with his brothers, violinist the premiere for January 15, 1941, granted the For many years, Brahms followed the sensible motion followed by a hesitant dotted-rhythm Jean and violist Pierre. Inspired by the dawn bird musicians four hours a day to rehearse, and even practice of the Viennese gentry by abandoning gesture. The development section is largely oc- songs that marked the end of his night watch ordered programs printed for the event. Though the city when the weather got hot. He spent cupied with a discussion of the main theme. A at Verdun, Messiaen composed the Abyss of the Messiaen claimed that “5,000” of their fellow in- many happy summers in the hills and lakes of full recapitulation and an ethereal coda grown Birds for solo , but even before Akoka mates heard the concert, the camp theater could the Salzkammergut, east of Salzburg, but in from the main theme close the movement. could try it out, the Germans invaded France in have held no more than about 400 (outside per- 1886, his friend Joseph Widmann, a poet and The Adagio is one of Brahms’s most en- May 1940, and all three musicians were captured formance would have been impossible in Silesia’s librettist of considerable distinction, convinced dearing creations, an instrumental hymn of the following month and sent to a prisoner-of- frigid winter), but he was accurate in describ- Brahms to join him in the ancient Swiss town of delicately dappled emotions, touching melody, war camp—Stalag VIIIA—at Görlitz, Silesia ing the heterogeneity of the audience, many of Thun, 25 kilometers south of Bern in the foot- and suave harmonies that caused Peter Latham (now in Poland). At Stalag VIIIA, they met the whom he thought may have been hearing cham- hills of the Bernese Alps. Brahms rented a flow- to note in his biography of the composer, violinist Jean Le Boulaire, who had graduated ber music for the first time: “The most diverse er-laden villa on the shore of Lake Thun in the “Brahms wrote nothing more gracious than from the Paris Conservatoire but spent much classes were mingled: farmers, factory workers, nearby hamlet of Hofstetten, and settled in for these Sonatas, in which he never seeks grandeur of his life in military service (and who would intellectuals, professional servicemen, doctors, a long, comfortable summer. The periods away and woos rather than compels.” The third move- become a successful actor under the name Jean and priests.... Never was I listened to with such from Vienna were not merely times of relaxation ment (which the score instructs should be played Lanier after the war). rapt attention and comprehension.” Messiaen’s for Brahms, however, but were actually work- “con sentimento”) replaces the traditional Though Messiaen later recalled “the cruelty incarceration ended the following month, and ing holidays. Some of his greatest scores (Violin with an intermezzo of precisely controlled in- and horror of the camp,” conditions were not he joined the faculty of the Paris Conservatory Concerto; Second, Third, and Fourth sympho- tensity and masterful motivic development. The nearly as bad at Görlitz as in the Nazis’ deso- in May 1941. nies; Piano Concerto No. 2; Haydn Variations; sonata-form finale resumes the darkly expressive late and deadly concentration camps: he and his Messiaen’s introduction to the score of the Tragic Overture; and numerous smaller works) eloquence of the opening movement with its im- musician friends were in no immediate mortal Quartet for the End of Time bespeaks the inter- were largely realized at his various summer re- petuous main theme. A chordal subject initiated danger (except from lack of food), the camp had penetration of cosmology, religion, and music in treats in earlier years. The three summers that he by the piano provides contrast, but the unset- such amenities as a library and a theater, and the his visionary universe: “I saw a mighty angel de- spent at Thun (1886–1888) were equally produc- tled mood of the first theme remains dominant commander encouraged stage and musical per- scend from heaven, clad in mist; and a rainbow tive: the Violin Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3, C minor through the remainder of the movement. formances to occupy the prisoners with prepara- was upon his head. He set his right foot on the Piano Trio, Second Cello Sonata, Gypsy Songs, tions and entertainment. One of the German of- sea, his left foot on the earth, and standing thus Choral Songs (Op. 104), Lieder of Opp. 105– ficers, a music-loving lawyer named Karl-Albert on sea and earth, he lifted his hand to heaven 07, and Double Concerto were all written © 2013 Dr. Richard E. Rodda Brüll who was fluent in French, found a battered and swore by Him who liveth for ever and ever,

22 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 23 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS

o-yo ma’s multifaceted career is testament and for Chicago Symphony artistic initiatives. as many as four titles simultaneously on the list. Yto his continual search for new ways to com- Mr. Ma’s work focuses on the transformative In fall 2009, Sony Classical released a set of municate with audiences, and to his personal power music can have in individuals’ lives, and over 90 albums to commemorate Mr. Ma’s 30 desire for artistic growth and renewal. Whether on increasing the number and variety of oppor- years as a Sony recording artist. performing new or familiar works from the cello tunities audiences have to experience music in Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese par- repertoire, coming together with colleagues for their communities. Mr. Ma and the Institute ents living in Paris. He began to study the cello chamber music, or exploring cultures and musi- have created the Citizen Musician Initiative, a with his father at age four and soon came with cal forms outside the Western classical tradition, movement that calls on all musicians, music lov- his family to New York, where he spent most of Mr. Ma strives to find connections that stimu- ers, music teachers, and institutions to use the his formative years. Later, his principal teacher late the imagination. art form to bridge gulfs between people and to was Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. He Mr. Ma maintains a between his create and inspire a sense of community. Stories sought out a traditional liberal arts education to engagements as soloist with orchestras through- of Citizen Musician activity across the globe are expand upon his conservatory training, gradu- out the world and his recital and chamber mu- featured at www.citizenmusician.org. ating from Harvard University in 1976. He has sic activities. He draws inspiration from a wide Mr. Ma is strongly committed to education- received numerous awards, including the Avery circle of collaborators, creating programs with al programs that not only bring young audiences Fisher Prize (1978), the Glenn Gould Prize such artists as Emanuel Ax, Daniel Barenboim, into contact with music but also allow them to (1999), the National Medal of the Arts (2001), Christoph Eschenbach, Kayhan Kalhor, Ton participate in its creation. While touring, he the Dan David Prize (2006), the Sonning Koopman, Bobby McFerrin, Edgar Meyer, takes time whenever possible to conduct master Prize (2006), the World Economic Forum’s Mark Morris, Riccardo Muti, Mark O’Connor, classes as well as more informal programs for Crystal Award (2008), the Presidential Medal Kathryn Stott, Michael Tilson Thomas, Wu DanelianStephen students—musicians and nonmusicians alike. of Freedom (2010), the Kennedy Center Honors Man, Wu Tong, Damian Woetzel, and David ongoing partnerships with arts and educational At the same time, he continues to develop new (2011), and most recently the Polar Music Zinman. Each of these collaborations is fueled organizations in New York City, it continues to concert programs for family audiences, for in- Prize (2012). Appointed a CultureConnect by the artists’ interactions, often extending expand Silk Road Connect, a multidisciplinary stance, helping to inaugurate the family series Ambassador by the United States Department the boundaries of a particular genre. One of educational initiative for middle-school students at Carnegie Hall. In each of these undertak- of State in 2002, Mr. Ma has met with, trained, Mr. Ma’s goals is the exploration of music as a in the city’s public schools. Developing new ings, he works to connect music to students’ and mentored thousands of students world- means of communication, and as a vehicle for music is also a central undertaking of the Silk daily surroundings and activities, with the goal wide, in countries including Lithuania, Korea, the migration of ideas, across a range of cultures Road Project, which has been involved in com- of making music and creativity a vital part of Lebanon, Azerbaijan, and China. Mr. Ma serves throughout the world. To that end, he has taken missioning and performing more than 60 new children’s lives from an early age. He has also as a U.N. Messenger of Peace and as a member time to immerse himself in subjects as diverse musical and multimedia works from composers reached young audiences through appearances of the President’s Committee on the Arts and as native Chinese music with its distinctive in- and arrangers around the world. Through his on Arthur, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and the Humanities. He has performed for eight struments and the music of the Kalahari bush work with the Silk Road Project, as through- Sesame Street. American presidents, most recently at the invi- people in Africa. out his career, Mr. Ma seeks to expand the cello Mr. Ma’s discography of over 75 albums tation of President Obama on the occasion of Expanding upon this interest, in 1998 repertoire, frequently performing lesser known (including more than 15 Grammy Award- the 56th Inaugural Ceremony. Mr. Ma established the Silk Road Project, a music of the 20th century and commissions of winners) reflects his wide-ranging interests. He Mr. Ma and his wife have two children. He nonprofit arts and educational organization that new concertos and recital pieces. He has pre- has made several successful recordings that defy plays two instruments, a 1733 Montagnana cello takes its inspiration from the historic Silk Road miered works by a diverse group of composers, categorization, among them Hush with Bobby from Venice and the 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius. trading routes as a modern metaphor for multi- among them Stephen Albert, , McFerrin, Appalachia Waltz and Appalachian Yo-Yo Ma records for Sony Masterworks. cultural and interdisciplinary exchange. Under Chen Yi, Richard Danielpour, Osvaldo Golijov, Journey with Mark O’Connor and Edgar Meyer, He is represented by Opus 3 Artists, 470 Park his artistic direction, the Silk Road Project pres- John Harbison, Leon Kirchner, Peter Lieberson, and two Grammy-winning tributes to the music Avenue South, Ninth Floor North, New York, ents performances by the acclaimed Silk Road Christopher Rouse, Bright Sheng, Tan Dun, of Brazil, Obrigado Brazil and Obrigado Brazil: New York 10016: opus3artists.com. Ensemble, engages in cross-cultural exchanges John Williams, and Dmitry Yanov-Yanovsky. Live in Concert. His recent collaborations with and residencies, leads workshops for students, As the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, and Stuart Duncan and partners with leading cultural institutions Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, resulted in The Goat Rodeo Sessions. Across this to create educational materials and programs. Mr. Ma is partnering with Maestro Riccardo full range of releases, Mr. Ma remains one of the The Project’s ongoing affiliation with Muti to provide collaborative musical leadership bestselling recording artists in the classical field. Harvard University has made it possible to and guidance on innovative program develop- All of his recent albums have quickly entered the broaden and enhance educational program- ment for the Institute for Learning, Access and Billboard chart of classical bestsellers, remaining ming. Since the 2010–2011 school year, with Training at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, in the 15 for extended periods, often with

24 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 25 ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Kathryn Stott is rec- Ms. Stott has been the artistic vision be- ognized internationally hind several major festivals and concert series. as one of Britain’s most “Piano 2000” and “Piano 2003” ( Bridgewater versatile and imaginative Hall, ) established her reputation musicians and among as an astute programmer; and, following the today’s most engaging earlier “Fauré and the French Connection,” she pianists. She is in de- was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts mand for a wide variety et Lettres by the French government. In 2008, of chamber music alli- she was appointed Artistic Director of the ances, playing with some Manchester Chamber Concerts Society and was of the world’s leading in- Guest Artistic Director, in 2010 and 2011, of the

strumentalists, as well as Jonathan Wilkinson chamber music festival Incontri in Terra di Siena. appearing on major international concert plat- A regular visitor to international festivals forms in recitals and concerto performances. She both as soloist and chamber musician, Ms. Stott has also directed several distinctive concert se- has recently performed in Australia, Switzerland, ries and festivals and has developed an extensive Italy, Norway, Holland, and Austria. She and exceptionally varied catalog of recordings. also enjoys teaming up with trumpeter Tine Born in Lancashire, she studied at the Thing Helseth for concerts and recordings and and the Royal College they will be touring the United Kingdom and of Music and was a prize-winner at the Leeds Norway in 2013 to coincide with the release of International Piano Competition 1978. In addi- their CD for EMI. tion to her busy career as a performer worldwide, Kathryn (Kathy) Stott has a daughter, Lucy, she is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy and lives with her partner Huw, a landscape ar- of Music in London. chitect, in Hebden Bridge, England. In 2008, Ms. Stott enjoys associations with many or- she celebrated her 50th birthday with 25 musi- chestras and is a favored partner of many dis- cian friends raising £30,000 for HIV research tinguished chamber musicians. She has been and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, of whose performing and recording with Yo-Yo Ma for fundraising committee she is a member. She also nearly 30 years and future tours include visits is on the Board of the Hallé Concerts Society. to Europe, South America, the Far East, and the As her range of engagements and activities il- United States. She has developed shared musi- lustrates, Ms. Stott’s diverse career remains truly cal interests with an eclectic group of performers international as she continues to captivate audi- and has a close involvement with many leading ences worldwide with her eloquent musicianship string quartets. A particular interest in contem- and outgoing personality. porary music has led to several world premieres. She is a remarkable exponent of tango and other Latin dance music, reflected in her collabora- tion with Mr. Ma and leading South American musicians on the Grammy-winning Sony CD Soul of the Tango and its successor, Obrigado Brazil. In the recording studio, she has cre- ated a large and eclectic body of work including concertos and solo repertoire; of particular note is her recording for Hyperion of the complete solo works by Fauré. Apart from her CDs with Mr. Ma, she has also recorded with Truls Mørk, Christian Poltéra, the Hermitage Piano Trio, , and the Doric String Quartet.

26 CAL PERFORMANCES