Piezas for Voice, Flute, Piccolo, Piano

April 29, 2023

Deh vieni, non tardar from Le Nozze de Figaro                                                           W. A. Mozart                                                                Exsultate jubilate, K. 165                                                                                                          (1756-1791) 

Wehmut D. 772                                                                                                                       Franz Schubert                                                                  Ganymed D. 544                                                                                                                           (1797-1828)                                                                    Nähe des Geliebten                                                                                                                             

                                       Alina Roitstein-Anderies, soprano     Natalia Hudson, piano 

 

Sonata for flute and piano                                                                                                     Cynthia Folio                                                                                       II.   Tema del Mar                                                                                                                   (b. 1954)                                                                                       III.  Joropo* (Venezuelan) 

                                                Dr. Kim Kilmer, flute      Natalia Hudson, piano 

 

Shéhérazade                                                                                                                                Maurice Ravel                                                                                    II.   Le flûte enchantée                                                                                                      (1875-1937)                                                                                  III.  L’indifferent                     

                        Alina Roitstein-Anderies, soprano     Dr. Kim Kilmer, flute    Natalia Hudson, piano                                                                                                                             

 

Philadelphia Portraits: A Spiritual Journey                                                                          Cynthia Folio                                                                              II.    John Coltrane                                                                                                                           (b. 1954)                                                                              III.   Marian Anderson*  

                                                 Dr. Kim Kilmer, piccolo    Natalia Hudson, piano             

 

Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios                                                                                                   Joaquín Rodrigo                                                                          1. Con qué la lavaré?                                                                                                                    (1901-1999)                                                                          2. Vos me matásteis                                                                                                                                                                                                                      3. De donde venís, amore?                                                                                                                                                                                                          4. De los álamos vengo, madre                         

                                        Alina Roitstein-Anderies, soprano     Natalia Hudson, piano 

 

El Mariachi Desperado                                                                                                        Michael Glenn Williams                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              (b. 1957)                                                                                                          Dr. Kim Kilmer, flute      Natalia Hudson, piano                 

Franz Schubert (1797- 1828) Although Schubert died at the age of 31, he left behind a remarkable quantity and quality of compositions, including around 600 Lieder, sometimes composing as many as seven songs a day. He greatly admired the German poet Goethe as shown by the 70+ songs he set to Goethe’s poems. Schubert’s mastery of giving each of his poets an unmistakable musical voice is unsurpassed, and so is the overwhelming number of his settings dealing with death and his longing for finding eternal peace. “My compositions spring from my sorrows. Those that give the world the greatest delight were born of my deepest griefs.” 

Cynthia Folio (b. 1954) is Professor of Music Studies at Temple University, where she was honored with the Creative Achievement Award in 2012 and the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1994. She received her Ph.D. in music theory and Performers Certificate in flute from the Eastman School of Music. As a theorist, Cynthia has published music theory articles, reviews, and chapters in books, on topics that focus primarily on the analysis of jazz, the analysis of contemporary music, and the relationship between analysis and performance.  Cynthia’s compositions have been described by reviewers as “confident and musical in expressing ideas of great substance,” “intriguing and enjoyable,” and “imaginatively scored” (Philadelphia Inquirer). She has received commissions from Network for New Music, the Relâche Ensemble, the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia and she earned 20 consecutive ASCAP Awards for composition. Cynthia’s pieces are recorded on many CD’s, including Invierno Azul on the BCM+D label; and Flute Loops: Chamber Music for Flute by Centaur Records. www.cynthiafolio.com  

*Inspired by the Venezuelan Joropo, a genre that combines fast-paced and virtuosi music and dance. The basic meter of this movement is 6/8 but there are frequent polyrhythms, syncopations, and hemiolas (often implying ¾ meter). 

*Marian Anderson, the central movement of Philadelphia Portraits, is based on the spiritual, “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” often performed by Anderson.  Born in Philadelphia, Marian Anderson (1897–1993) became one of the most celebrated singers of the 20th century. She continued to break many barriers for black artists in the U.S., becoming the first black person, American or otherwise, to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1955.  Marian said, “I dearly love Negro Spirituals. They are the unburdenings of the sorrows of an entire race, which, finding scant happiness on earth, turns to the future for its joys.”          

Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999) was a Spanish composer and became a virtuoso pianist in spite of becoming almost completely blind at the age of 3 from a diphtheria epidemic. Although most famous for his Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra, the voice proved to be Rodrigo’s favored medium of musical expression. Rhodes Draayer reported in 1999, “Rodrigo considers the voice to be the perfect instrument, and his most favorite is the soprano voice.” 

Michael Glenn Williams (b. 1957) "Californian man-of-many musics – symphonic, choir, electronic, pop, free jazz, columnist, you-name-it. Michael Glenn Williams has tried on all these hats, and all of them fit."                                                    Alan Rich, columnist, critic for NY Times, New Yorker and Variety                                                                                                              "Indeed, for this composer, who has been called “the American Prokofiev,” color, sound and character are essential elements....a composer with a wide imagination—and a commitment to reach out to a wide audience." Stuart Isacoff, Wall Street Journal                                                                                                                                                                                                                      "Strangeness pervades (Williams') “Black Widow Waltz” so much that one can viscerally imagine Tim Burton’s creations." Colin Clarke, Fanfare                                                                                                                                                                               "Michael is a wonderfully colorful composer, whose pieces are full of character and imagination. There is clearly a jazz influence, as well as some inspiration from more popular styles. The music is also very cinematic. It’s music that is interesting and fun to listen to, as well as to play." Sean Chen, Van Cliburn Prizewinner                       www.michaelglennwilliams.com

Piano Duo Program, June 24 2023

PIANISTS TAMILA AZADALIYEVA AND NATALIA HUDSON

Sonata in D Major K. 381                                                                                                                                                         W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)   I.    Allegro                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           II.   Andante                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       III.  Allegro molto                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Fantasie in F Minor                                                                                                                                                           Franz Schubert (1797-1828)    Allegro molto moderato--Largo--Allegro vivace--Allegro molto moderato  

Slavonic Dances, Op. 46                                                                                                                                                 Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904)    No. 5 in A Major (Skočná)                                                                                                                                                                                                          No. 6 in D major (Sousedská)                                                                                                                                                                                                  No. 7 in C minor (Skocná)                                                                                                                                                                                                            No. 8 in G minor (Furiant)                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Six Morceaux, Op. 11                                                                                                                                              Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)    1. Barcarolle                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      2. Scherzo                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          3. Thème russe                                                                                                                                                                                                                                4. Valse                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                5. Romance                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        6. Slava! (Glory)

 

W.A. Mozart’s Sonata in D major K. 381 for four hands at one piano was composed in 1772, the year in which Mozart later returned to Italy with his father Leopold to supervise the opening of his new opera Lucio Silla. Composed for Mozart and his sister Nannerl to play, they performed the work at the arch-episcopal court in Salzburg in 1780. The three-movement work is best described as a reduction of an Italian symphony where the distinctive writing for strings and winds and of solos and tuttis is clearly laid out. 

Schubert’s Fantasie in F minor, one of his most important works, was dedicated to Caroline Esterházy with whom Schubert was in unrequited love, and is also one of the most important works in the complete repertoire written for more than one pianist. The four movements of the Fantasie are interconnected and played without pause, which represents a stylistic bridge between the traditional sonata form and the free-form tone poem: allegro, slow movement, scherzo, allegro with fugue. The piece opens with a lyrical melody with dotted rhythms that is reminiscent of the Hungarian style. The theme is eventually repeated in F major, before briefly repeating in F minor, and transitioning into a somber, almost funeral, second theme. After developing the two themes, the second movement opens with an angry, somewhat turbulent fortissimo theme in F♯ minor. The Largo tempo coupled with double-dotted rhythms creates a great deal of tension in this movement. Eventually the first theme gives way to a quiet, lyrical second theme. The themes in this movement were inspired by Paganini's second violin concerto, which Schubert had recently heard. The third movement scherzo is a bright, lively movement in the same key, reminiscent of the scherzos of other works Schubert wrote at this time, like those of his piano trios. The finale begins with a restatement of the first movement's primary theme in both F minor and F major, before transitioning into a fugue based on its second theme. The fugue builds to a climax, ending abruptly on the C major dominant, instead of resolving into either F major or minor. After a bar of silence, the first theme briefly reprises, subsiding into a quiet end. Condensing the dichotomies of the two themes into the final eight bars, it is considered the most remarkable cadence in the whole of Schubert's work. 

The Slavonic Dances are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets as Op. 46 and Op. 72. Originally written for piano four hands they were orchestrated at the request of Dvořák's publisher soon after composition. Inspired by the Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms, they are lively and full of national character. Whereas Brahms made use of actual Hungarian folk melodies, Dvořák only used the characteristic rhythms and structure of Slavic folk music to evoke their style and spirit; the melodies are entirely his own. Slavic folk dance forms including the skočná; the Bohemian furiant, and the Ukrainian dumka are found in both Op. 46 and Op. 72.  These delightful pieces earned Dvořák international acclaim and are still considered among his most memorable works. 

The Six Morceaux, Op. 11 are among the earliest of Rachmaninoff's mature works, composed in 1894 following his studies at the Moscow Conservatory. Often considered forerunners of his later 13 Preludes, Op. 32, from 1910, these pieces portray many themes of yearning and display some of Rachmaninoff's famous intricate passagework.  The opening Barcarolle in G minor is dark and mysterious with gentle rocking rhythms depicting a gondolier in the Venetian canals beneath the moonlight. Building to a dazzling climax with rapid figurations atop Rachmaninoff's signature rich and powerful chords of his piano music and then closing the piece in a much brighter mood than it began. The following Scherzo in D major is a brilliant composition with a relentless rhythmic drive. Chanson Russe, is a set of variations on an unknown folk song. The piece begins quietly but builds quickly into a grand variation in which the theme is heard against a rushing counterpoint of sixteenth notes. Next, the Valse is reminiscent of Chopin in its mingling of different waltz tunes. The style, however, is certainly Rachmaninoff's and has a character quite different than the typical graceful Viennese dance and the musings of Chopin. The Romance in C minor is a passionate piece with a principal theme that seems to anguish over some grief. Brief moments of light shine and offer a glimmer of hope but do not break the overall gloomy atmosphere. Lastly, Slava! (Glory) closes the set. A set of variations based on the Russian chant used by Mussorgsky in Boris Godunov, it provides the opus 11 with a fitting majestic and powerful ending.

Portraits of Spain, November 2 2019

                                                                                            PORTRAITS OF SPAIN PROGRAM     

Estudio                                                                                                                                                                                                         Francisco Tárrega  Lágrima "Teardrop"                                                                                                                                                                                          (1852-1909)  Adelita                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Recuerdos de la Alhambra                                                                                                                                                

Taranto                                                                                                                                                                         Kilinos Jimenez/Gerardo Morales  Bulerías                                                                                                                                                                                                           Gerardo Morales                                                                                              Gerardo Morales, guitar                                                                          

 

Spanish Dance No. 5, Andaluza                                                                                                                                                         Enrique Granados                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       (1867-1916)  Danse Espagnole from La Vida Breve                                                                                                                                                  Manuel de Falla   *arranged by Fritz Kreisler                                                                                                                                                                            (1876-1946) Zapateado                                                                                                                                                                                                     Pablo de Sarasate                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (1844-1908) 

                                                                                    Agnes Schwartz, violin    Natalia Hudson, piano 

 

Cant dell Ocells                                                                                                                                                                                                   Pablo Casals  "Song of the Birds”                                                                                                                                                                                            (1876-1973) 

Danza del terror  “Dance of Terror”                                                                                                                                                    Manuel de Falla  Danza ritual del fuego  “Ritual Fire Dance”                                                                                                                                            (1876-1946)         from El amor brujo

                                                                                         Pola Benke, cello     Natalia Hudson, piano 

 

Piano Trio No. 2 in B minor                                                                                                                                                                       Joaquín Turina      I.    Lento – Allegro molto moderato- Allegretto                                                                                                                              (1882-1949)      II.   Molto vivace – Lento – Molto vivace                                                                                                                                                                            III.  Lento – Andante mosso – Allegretto -  Allegro vivo 

                                                                       Agnes Schwartz, violin     Pola Benke, cello     Natalia Hudson, piano