Sunday, May 14, 2017 • 2:00 p.m

Emily Margevich

Senior Recital

DePaul Recital Hall 804 West Belden Avenue • Chicago

Sunday, May 14, 2017 • 2:00 p.m. DePaul Recital Hall

Emily Margevich, soprano Senior Recital Luciano Laurentiu, piano Audrey Lidke, trumpet Kelsey Castellanos, clarinet Madeline Ehlinger, soprano

PROGRAM

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) “Let the Bright Seraphim” from Samson, HWV 57 (1743)

Luciano Laurentiu, piano Audrey Lidke, trumpet

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen” (1828)

Luciano Laurentiu, piano Kelsey Castellanos, clarinet

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) “Sull’aria”, from Le Nozze di Figaro (1786)

Luciano Laurentiu, piano Madeline Ehlinger, soprano

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) From Cigánské melodie, no. 50 Songs My Mother Taught Me (1880)

Luciano Laurentiu, piano

Intermission

Emily Margevich • May 14, 2017 Program

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Seste Romanze II (1845) I. Ad una stella II. La Zingara

Luciano Laurentiu, piano

Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) Poema en forma de canciones Op.19 (1917) I. Nunca olvida IV. Las locas por amor

Luciano Laurentiu, piano

Ricky Ian Gordon (1965) The Red Dress A Horse With Wings Joy

Luciano Laurentiu, piano

George Gershwin (1898-1937) Blah Blah Blah Lorelei By Strauss

Luciano Laurentiu, piano

Emily Margevich is from the studios of Nicole Cabell and Julia Faulkner. This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the degree Bachelor of Music.

As a courtesy to those around you, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. Flash photography is not permitted. Thank you.

Emily Margevich • May 14, 2017

PROGRAM NOTES

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) “Let the Bright Seraphim” from Samson, HWV 57 Duration: 6 minutes George Frideric Handel was a German-born British composer and arguably the best composer of the Baroque era. He perfected the da capo aria, in which the characters are able to show their virtuosity through personal ornamentation and emotional complexity. This technique was adopted by fellow and subsequent Baroque and Classical composers. Glorious arias with trumpet obbligatos were standard practice for the grandiose works of this time, allowing the voice and trumpet to be equal partners.

One of the most famous Baroque arias, “Let the Bright Seraphim” is from Samson, a three act oratorio that premiered at the Covent Garden Theatre in 1743 to rave reviews. The libretto was taken from John Milton’s poem, Samson Agonistes, as well as the biblical story from the Book of Judges. This aria comes at the very end of the final act, and was added by Handel a year into his work on this oratorio in order to end the work in a rejoicing tone. It is sung by an “Israelitish Woman”, who sings to celebrate the life and death of the hero, Samson.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen” Duration: 14 minutes Franz Schubert was an Austrian composer who wrote over 650 art songs, many of which are the best of the genre. Because of Schubert’s incredible talent for brilliant text setting, the story of Schubert’s can be found so eloquently in the line and character of his important accompaniments. This song, with text by German poet Wilhelm Müller, was written in 1828 barely a month before Schubert’s death at age 31.

Emily Margevich • May 14, 2017 Program Notes Schubert composed this specifically for his friend and operatic soprano, Pauline Anna Milder-Hauptmann, to show her artistry and variety of skill in one multilayered, aria-like masterpiece.

This piece is in three parts, with the vocal line echoing the beautiful clarinet phrases. The first part of the song has the shepherd lamenting about the distance between him and his beloved, leading to the sadder section of loneliness and reflection. The song finishes on a joyous celebration of hope with the arrival of spring. The evolving feelings of this piece are colored perfectly with Schubert’s genius of word painting and eloquent, theatrical text setting.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) “Sull’aria”, from Le Nozze di Figaro Duration: 2 minutes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is considered by many as the greatest natural genius in the history of music. He wrote generously and intelligently for the voice and expanded ideas of music in his day, paving the way for the Romantic movement. Mozart’s works have immediate human connections that draw audiences in decade after decade to enjoy his plethora of excellent . The years 1786-90 mark the production of Mozart’s three famous Italian comedies, beginning with the four act opera buffa, Le Nozze di Figaro. “Sull’aria” comes in during the third act, after the Countess and her maid, Susanna, have learned that the Count is after Susanna. He has been making advances to her, and it is his plan to have his way with her. Ever the clever wife, the Countess has a plan of her own that will trick the Count and teach him a lesson, allowing sweet Susanna and Figaro to get happily married in the process. The two women will change clothes and put the Count in a trap! The Countess dictates to Susanna a letter that Susanna will give to the Count, inviting him to a rendezvous in the garden, where the ladies’ plan will take place.

Emily Margevich • May 14, 2017 Program Notes

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Songs My Mother Taught Me Duration: 2 minutes Antonín Dvořák was born in Nelahozeves, Bohemia and became internationally famous after winning the Australian State Prize contest in 1877. One of the judges for this competition was . He recommended Dvořák’s music to his publisher, Fritz Simrock, who instantly commissioned Dvořák to write a set of dances and many other works. All of this success lead to the composition of seven Gypsy songs set to the poetry of Adolf Heyduk. The songs were written for the popular opera , Gustav Walter. Dvořák’s compositions are unique because they express a variety of emotions, with his passionate, beautifully memorable melodies seasoned with his native musical characters.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Seste Romanze Duration: 6 minutes Giuseppe Verdi stands as the patriarch of Italian opera and his career stretches throughout different musical eras. Verdi combined the elegance of the period with a more direct form of address with his dramatist mindset. Although he is known for his operas, he wrote songs throughout his entire life, with the core of his song output being between 1838-45. La Zingara is a delightful bolero full of brilliantly elaborate vocal decorations. Ad una stella is one of Verdi’s finest and most sophisticated songs. Although they do not form a cycle, these songs show the best of Verdi’s song production and demonstrate how the character and colors of the texts are displayed so honestly in Verdi’s exceptional musicianship.

Emily Margevich • May 14, 2017 Program Notes

Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) Poema en forma de canciones, Op.19 Duration: 5 minutes Joaquin Turina was a Spanish composer of the Classical era, who maintained an intense concert performing career throughout his compositional practice. He gained the reputation of a child prodigy when he would improvise music on the family accordion. In the following years, Turina began to study with García Torres, who insisted Turina move to Madrid. Out of all the musical performances Turina experienced there, he was most impressed and influenced by the orchestral concerts more than even opera, zarzuela, recitals or the chamber ensembles. He was also drawn to Paris where his music was influenced by the French song style. He studied with Vincent D’Indy and later met Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz, who suggested that he research the folk elements of Spain. Poema en forma de canciones Op.19 is a prime example of Turina’s use of colorful Spanish character, feeling, and musicality. This cycle contains energetic emotions, intense, dance-like rhythms, lyrical melodies, lively spirits, and interesting text settings. His accompaniment serves as its own thematic element adding to the singer’s artistry and the clever texts. Each piece has its own captivating story, but they are all connected with the folk-like, inviting, memorable melodies and nuances.

Emily Margevich • May 14, 2017 Program Notes

Ricky Ian Gordon (1965) Duration: 6 minutes Ricky Ian Gordon was born in Oceanside, New York and raised on Long Island. He studied music all of his life, and focused on piano, composition and acting, at Carnegie Mellon University. He later settled in , where he quickly emerged as a leading writer of vocal music ranging from art song, to opera, to musical theater. Mr. Gordon's songs have been performed and/or recorded by renowned singers such as Renée Fleming, , Nathan Gunn, Audra McDonald, Nicole Cabell, and , just to name a few.

These three songs are not in a cycle, but A Horse With Wings is from an album of songs which Gordon released with himself as the vocalist. That song speaks to our current world, and how people are always wishing, wanting, and hoping that our future will be brighter. The Red Dress uses the poem of witty Dorothy Parker, who shows poetic stylings similar to Heinrich Heine in her final zinger of a comment that throws off what you initially thought about the poem. The last song, Joy, shares the youth and beauty of love and searching for the joy in one’s life.

George Gershwin (1898-1937) Duration: 6 minutes George Gershwin grew up on New York’s Lower East Side to the son of Russian Jewish parents. George’s musical gifts were evident early on, when he worked as a song plugger (before YouTube, he would play new songs, demonstrating pieces to interested customers) on Tin Pan Alley. In fact, Gershwin went to Irving Berlin, who was looking for a musical secretary to transcribe his music, as he only wrote in one key and would simply memorize his melodies, but when Gershwin came to inquire about the position, Berlin told him he was too talented and he should go write his own music. Gershwin earned great fame as one America’s most gifted songwriters with incredible success of the song Swanee at age 19, and later fantastic works like Rhapsody in Blue.

Emily Margevich • May 14, 2017 Program Notes Gershwin was very interested in jazz and the wide ranges of all music genres, and pursued his curiosity with composition and piano teachers such as Rubin Goldmark, Ernest Hutchenson, and Henry Cowell. He later studied composition scientifically with Joseph Schillinger, and it is said that this method helped him marshall the large forms and concepts required for his legendary work, . Another magnificent detail to Gershwin’s success was his partnership with his brother Ira, who wrote the lyrics for many of George’s works. When George brought him a particular song that needed lyrics, Ira was completely puzzled as to how he would ever put words to the music that George just composed because of its crazy, syncopated beats. Without missing a beat Ira said, “Still, it’s a fascinating rhythm”. These three songs, all with Ira’s lyrics, are different, well known, and adorable Gershwin hits: Blah, Blah, Blah (composed in 1931, originally for the show East is West, but ultimately used for the 1931 film Delicious, and much later in the 2012 Broadway production of Nice Work If You Can Get It”), Lorelei (written for their musical Pardon My English in 1933), and By Strauss (a song the brothers composed in 1936 that was performed often by the brothers at private parties, featured in Vincente Minnelli’s 1936 revue The Show is On, later performed by Gene Kelly in the 1952 film An American in Paris, and also featured in Nice Work If You Can Get It). George and Ira’s humor, theatrical genius, and influential, outstanding musical talents are an era all their own.

Notes by Emily Margevich.

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