559205 bk Crumb US 14/9/06 10:40 Page 8 George AMERICAN CLASSICS CRUMB (b. 1929) George 1 Vox Balaenae (1971) for Three Masked Players 18:50 (Amplified Flute, Amplified Cello, and Amplified Piano) CRUMB Federico’s Little Songs for Children (1986) 13:24 Vox Balaenae 2 1. La Señorita del Abanico (Señorita of the Fan) 2:13 3 2. La Tarde (Afternoon) 1:49 (Voice of the Whale) 4 3. Canción Cantada (A Song Sung) 1:19 5 4. Caracola (Snail) 2:36 New Music Concerts Ensemble • Robert Aitken 6 5. El Lagarto está Llorando! (The Lizard is Crying) 2:06 7 6. Cancioncilla Sevillana (A Little Song from Seville) 1:51 8 7. Canción Tonta (Silly Song) 1:31 9 An Idyll for the Misbegotten (Images III) (1986) 9:51 0 Eleven Echoes of Autumn (Echoes I) (1965) 17:36 for Violin, Alto Flute, Clarinet and Piano This recording was made possible by the generous support of The Herbert Green Family Charitable Foundation Inc. 8.559205 8 559205 bk Crumb US 14/9/06 10:40 Page 2 George Crumb (b. 1929) Ryan Scott Vox Balaenae • Federico’s Little Songs for Children • An Idyll for the Misbegotten • Eleven Echoes of Autumn Ryan Scott is an acclaimed marimba and multi-percussion soloist. He also plays with the Toronto Symphony George Crumb’s reputation as a composer of hauntingly (1977), for soprano, solo trombone, antiphonal Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, New Music Concerts, the Composers’ beautiful scores has made him one of the most children’s voices, male speaking choir, bell ringers and Orchestra, the Bob Becker Ensemble, Soundstreams Canada, Continuum, ArpaTambora, and the Evergreen Club. frequently performed composers in today’s musical large orchestra. George Crumb’s most recent works He has collaborated numerous times with the violist Rivka Golani, and has been a guest artist on several occasions world. From Los Angeles to Moscow, and from include Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik for solo piano with NEXUS. He has made CDs for Centrediscs, CBC Records, hatART and Naxos. Ryan Scott is currently writing Scandinavia to South America, festivals devoted to the (2001), Otherworldly Resonances for two pianos (2002) a cycle of etudes for the marimba, the first of which had its première recently by the composer on Two New Hours music of George Crumb have sprung up like and a four-part song cycle, American Songbook (The on CBC RadioTwo. wildflowers. Now approaching his 75th birthday year, River of Life, A Journey Beyond Time, Unto the Hills, Crumb, the winner of a 2001 Grammy Award and the The Winds of Destiny) (2001-2004). David Swan 1968 Pulitzer Prize in Music, continues to compose new George Crumb’s music often juxtaposes contrasting scores that enrich the musical lives of those who come musical styles. The references range from music of the A native of Saskatoon, the pianist David Swan gained national exposure at the age of sixteen as winner of the first in contact with his profoundly humanistic art. western art-music tradition, to hymns and folk music, to Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition for the Performance of Canadian Music. After completing doctoral studies at the George Henry Crumb was born in Charleston, West non-Western musics. Many of Crumb’s works include University of Indiana, he settled in Toronto, where he has freelanced continuously since 1986. His varied activities Virginia on 24th October 1929. He studied at the Mason programmatic, symbolic, mystical and theatrical include ensemble and solo performances, accompaniment, recording and teaching, and he retains a special interest College of Music in Charleston and received the elements, which are often reflected in his beautiful and in twentieth-century repertoire. He served for many years as organist of St Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Toronto, and Bachelor’s degree in 1950. Thereafter he studied for the meticulously notated scores. A shy, yet warmly appears regularly with New Music Concerts. Master’s degree at the University of Illinois, Champaign- eloquent personality, Crumb retired from his teaching Urbana under Eugene Weigel. He continued his studies position at the University of Pennsylvania after more Trevor Tureski under Boris Blacher at the Hochschule für Musik, Berlin than thirty years of service. Awarded honorary from 1954-1955. He received the D.M.A. in 1959 from doctorates by numerous universities and the recipient of The percussionist and composer Trevor Tureski has performed throughout Canada and Europe. His solo the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, after studying dozens of awards and prizes, he makes his home in performances have been recorded for broadcast by the CBC and Radio France, as well as Dutch, German and Swiss with Ross Lee Finney. Pennsylvania, in the same house where he and his wife networks. Tureski also appears on compact disc recordings by such labels as Empreintes Digitales, Centre Pieces George Crumb’s early compositions include Three of more than fifty years raised their three children. His and Radio Canada. He studied percussion with Russell Hartenberger at the University of Toronto and with Gaston Early Songs (1947), for voice and piano, Sonata (1955) music is published by C.F. Peters. Sylvestre in Paris, and has also studied electronic and computer music at the Institute of Sonology in The Hague. He for solo violoncello, and Variazioni (1959) for George Crumb’s many awards include the Elizabeth is principal percussionist with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and a regular performer with the Toronto orchestra, the composer’s doctoral thesis. In the 1960s Croft fellowship for study, Berkshire Music Centre Symphony, New Music Concerts, Esprit Orchestra and the National Ballet Orchestra. and 1970s, George Crumb produced a series of highly (1955), Fulbright Scholarship (1955-6), BMI student influential pieces that were immediately taken up by award (1956), Rockefeller grant (1964), National Joaquin Valdepeñas soloists and ensembles throughout the world. Many of Institute of Arts and Letters grant (1967), Guggenheim these were vocal works based on the poetry of Federico grant (1967, 1973), Pulitzer Prize for Echoes of Time Considered one of the most distinguished clarinetists of his generation, Joaquin Valdepeñas has performed with García Lorca, including Ancient Voices of Children and the River (1968), UNESCO International Rostrum such artists as Kathleen Battle, Glenn Gould, Cho-Liang Lin, Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg, Rudolf Serkin, Richard (1970), Madrigals, Books 1-4 (1965-69), Night of the of Composers Award (1971), Koussevitzky Recording Stoltzman and Pinchas Zukerman. He has also performed with orchestras around the world, including the English Four Moons (1969), and Songs, Drones and Refrains of Award (1971), Fromm grant (1973), Member, National Chamber Orchestra, with which he recorded Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto to critical acclaim. He is Principal Death (1968). Other major works from this period Institute of Arts and Letters (1975), Ford grant (1976), Clarinetist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Joaquin Valdepeñas is a founding member of Amici, Canada’s include Black Angels (1970), for electric string quartet, Prince Pierre de Monaco Gold Medal (1989), Brandeis foremost chamber ensemble, and has collaborated with the American, Muir and Orford String Quartets, as well as Vox Balaenae (1971), for electric flute, electric cello University Creative Arts Award, Honorary member, with members of the Cleveland, Guarneri, Vermeer and Tokyo Quartets. He often participates in chamber music and amplified piano, Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 and 2 Deutsche Akademie der Kunste, Honorary member, festivals, including those of Banff, Casals in Puerto Rico, Evian, New York’s Mostly Mozart and the Aspen Music (1972, 73) for amplified piano, Music for a Summer International Cultural Society of Korea, six honorary Festival. As Adjunct Professor of Music at the University of Toronto he has taught many students who now occupy Evening (1974) for two amplified pianos and degrees, 1998 Cannes Classical Award: Best CD of a positions in symphony orchestras around the world. percussion, and Crumb’s largest score, Star-Child Living Composer (Bridge 9069), 2001 Grammy for Best 8.559205 2 7 8.559205 559205 bk Crumb US 14/9/06 10:40 Page 6 David Hetherington Contemporary Composition (Star-Child), 2004 Musical perhaps because the light-hearted and whimsical American “Composer of the Year”. character of these little poems contrasted so sharply A member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 1970, David Hetherington served in recent years as the with the more somber poetry I had chosen for my earlier orchestra’s Acting Principal Cellist. As a chamber musician he has toured Canada, the United States and Europe and Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale) settings. And thus, after a hiatus of sixteen years, I is a founding member of the Amici Chamber Ensemble, which presents an annual series of concerts at Glenn Gould for Three Masked Players (1971) found myself once again immersed in Lorca’s magical Studio and has made six recordings for Summit Records and Naxos. He is a member of the string quartet Accordes imagery. which performs regularly for New Music Concerts and constitutes the core string-players of the New Music Each of the three players should wear a black half-mask The seven little poems constituting the Canciones Concerts Ensemble. Accordes has recorded music of Jean Papineau-Couture, Harry Freedman, Alexina Louie, (vizor-mask) throughout the performance of the work. para Niños reflect many different aspects of a child’s Harry Somers and Norma Beecroft on the Centrediscs label of the Canadian Music Centre and has been nominated The masks, by effacing a sense of human projection, fantasy world. The mood can be reflective, playful, for several Juno Awards. Hetherington also made the première recording of Talivaldis Kenins’ prize-winning cello will symbolize the powerful impersonal forces of nature mock-serious, gently ironic, or simply joyous.