Artistry in Action: Chamber Series

JOHANNES BRAHMS: Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Op. 114
Allegro
Adagio
Andantino grazioso
Allegro

Jan Halloran, clarinet
Owen Young, cello
Roberto Poli, piano

ULYSSES SIMPSON KAY: Pietà

Rob Sheena, English horn
Jonathan Bass, piano

—INTERMISSION—

GERNOT WOLFGANG: Three Short Stories

Jan Halloran, clarinet
Margaret Phillips, bassoon

IGOR STRAVINSKY: L’Histoire du Soldat (Story of a Soldier)
The Soldier’s March
The Soldier’s Violin
Little Concert
Tango-Valse-Ragtime
The Devil’s Dance

Katie Lansdale, violin
Jan Halloran, clarinet
Jonathan Bass, piano
Joy Arcolano, narrator

JOHANNES BRAHMS: Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Op. 114

Because Brahms was a composer burdened with a perfectionist nature and the high expectations of his mentor and friend Robert Schumann, his compositional output was subject to meticulous scrutiny. This resulted in the destruction of many of his pieces and revisional delays in the premiere of seminal works like his first Symphony (1876). This laborious approach to composing took its toll on the German master, and, in 1890, at the age of 58, Brahms declared in his will that he would retire from composing. 

The following year, however, he was so inspired by the playing of Meiningen court clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld that he composed 4 final chamber works featuring the clarinet: a trio, a quintet, and two sonatas (Op. 114, 115, and 120 Nos. 1 and 2). Today, the quintet overshadows the trio with its heavier texture and darker tonality and color, but one can certainly admire the trio for Brahms’s excellent timbral writing for the versatile clarinet, as well as his mastery of balance among the three contrasting instruments.

The first movement (Allegro) starts with a lone cello melody answered by the clarinet. The two instruments weave together, with the clarinet expanding on thematic material first presented by the cello. The piano elaborates as a chamber music equal, with typical Brahmsian integrity, resulting in a hearty opening to the work. The second movement (Adagio), in only 54 leisurely-paced measures, offers a brief respite. The clarinet sets an autumnal atmosphere, with caramel melodies in the clarion and chalumeau registers. The third movement (Andantino grazioso) is a lilting waltz, reminiscent of Brahms’s Liebeslieder waltzes. The clarinet lines in this movement are a nod by Brahms to Mühlfeld, who captured Brahms’ attention with his sweet tone, earning him the nickname “Fräulein Klarinette” (“Miss Clarinet”). The work closes with a rhythmically deceptive fourth movement (Allegro). Brahms’s distinct compositional style shines throughout, with clever hemiolas, syncopations, and thematic elaboration built upon a lifetime spent striving for perfection.

Chamber works in the standard repertoire that feature the clarinet are few and far between. Thanks to Herr Mühlfeld, we get to enjoy a few more masterworks from the twilight years of this fiercely Romantic craftsman.

—Amanda Tan

ULYSSES SIMPSON KAY: Pietà

Born in Tucson, Arizona, Ulysses Kay Jr. (1917–1995) composed more than 140 works in a wide variety of styles and mediums, including opera, orchestral works, chamber works, ballet, and many others for solo instruments, voice, and film/television.

Kay came from a musical family. Kay’s mother, Elizabeth Davis Kay, was an amateur pianist; his uncle was the famous jazz cornet player and band leader, Joseph Nathan “King” Oliver (often called “King Oliver”). Kay’s father, Ulysses S. Kay, was not a trained musician, but he loved to sing. King Oliver encouraged Kay to study piano in high school, which he did. Kay went on to learn to play flute, saxophone, and piccolo. Later in his career, Kay would largely credit his broad compositional perspective to his instrumental education.

Kay earned a Bachelor of Music at the University of Arizona, where he studied piano with Julia Rebeil and theory with John L. Lowell. He received a Master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music in 1940, studying composition with Bernard Rodgers. He also studied composition at Yale University with Paul Hindemith, Columbia University, and the Berkshire Music Center. Among many other awards, in 1964 Kay won a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.

—Steph Davis

GERNOT WOLFGANG: Three Short Stories

Gernot Wolfgang’s background as a jazz musician strongly influences the rhythmic content of his concert works, which he describes as groove-based. He defines grooves as rhythms, often focused on offbeats, that “possess an inherent forward propulsion which in turn creates an almost inevitable physical reaction.” According to Wolfgang, “The prospect of convincingly incorporating grooves into chamber music or orchestral settings is the single most compelling incentive for me to write concert music.”

Wolfgang studied jazz composition in his native Austria, then came to Berklee in 1987 on a Fulbright scholarship. Although he initially intended to continue his jazz studies at Berklee, he decided that he already had a solid background in jazz composition and changed his area of study to film scoring. He eventually moved to Los Angeles, where he has built a career composing both film/TV scores and concert works.

In the first and last movements of Three Short Stories, Wolfgang uses the clarinet and bassoon to build rhythmic grooves in several different ways: by having both instruments play in rhythmic unison, by having them play two different complementary rhythms, or by having one instrument establish a consistent rhythm while the other plays an irregular counterpoint. In all of these instances, his use of accents on the off-beats is similar to the technique that a jazz drummer might use to achieve the “forward propulsion” of a good groove. In the middle movement, the writing is more lyrical and gestural, rather than groove-based.

The title of the first movement, “Uncle Bebop,” came from the name of a coffee cart business that the composer happened upon in Moab, Utah. According to Wolfgang, “Uncle Bebop's first name was Bob. He had a little nephew who, when he was beginning to talk, tried saying his name. But he couldn't quite do it. Instead of ‘Bob’ out came ‘Bebop.’ The name stuck.”

—Ruth Hertzman-Miller

Igor Stravinsky, L’Histoire du Soldat

The early 1910s found Igor Stravinsky garnering international recognition through the success of his ballets The Firebird and Petrushka, along with the riotous premiere of The Rite of Spring in 1913. The following year, his wife suffered a severe attack of tuberculosis and Stravinsky, then 32, moved with his family to the Alps in western Switzerland for the sake of her health. They would remain in Switzerland until 1920 due to political revolutions in Russia and the start of World War I. The next few years proved to be difficult for Stravinsky as he suffered personal losses and the war impacted his income, leading to a deteriorating financial situation. It was here in Switzerland that Stravinsky befriended Swiss novelist C. F. Ramuz, and the pair came up with the idea of creating a theatrical work for a small ensemble that would be cheap to produce and could tour easily. This collaboration culminated in L’Histoire du Soldat.

Based on a Russian folk tale, L’Histoire du Soldat tells the Faustian tale of a soldier who trades his fiddle and ultimately his soul to the devil in exchange for wealth. Stravinsky originally set Ramuz’s French libretto for a seven-piece ensemble with 3 actors who dance and narrate throughout. The work premiered in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1918, but 1919’s Spanish Influenza epidemic prevented the theater piece from touring. As a result, Stravinsky reduced the performing forces further and arranged the suite on Histoire for clarinet, violin, and piano that is heard on today’s program. This arrangement is dedicated to Werner Reinhart, a Swiss philanthropist and respected amateur clarinetist who underwrote the 1919 Lausanne premier and performed the clarinet part.

The five-movement suite opens with “The Soldier’s March,” depicting the soldier’s journey as he returns from leave. It begins with a rhythmic, folk-like melody that is passed throughout the trio as the piece develops, interrupted at times by other musical ideas that invite images of bird calls or the soldier whistling as he walks. Stravinsky’s characteristic uses of bitonality (two instruments playing in different keys at once), complex rhythmic patterns, and short musical motives are immediately apparent and remain present throughout the work. The piano’s steady bass movement mirrors his march as he ventures onward, until he tires and sits to rest beside a stream. While resting, the soldier begins to play his fiddle, taking us into the second movement, “The Soldier’s Violin.” Full of technically challenging double stops in which multiple strings are played at once on the violin, this movement shows off the rhythmic and dramatic intensity of the instrument as the devil appears and convinces the soldier to sell his violin and his soul in exchange for untold riches. The third movement, “A Little Concert,” depicts a moment of triumph for the soldier after he beats the devil in a game of cards and takes possession of his violin once more. Emboldened by this victory, the soldier goes on to play the three dances depicted in the fourth movement, “Tango, Waltz, and Ragtime,” to cure a sick princess and win her hand. Stravinsky is deft in his musical emulations of these styles, conjuring images of Spain through his use of slides in the violin’s Tango melody and guitar-style arpeggiation in the piano accompaniment, while the Waltz is immediately distinguishable with its oom-pa-pa rhythmic figure in the piano and energetic melody in violin and clarinet. The Ragtime references American jazz, a highly improvisatory style that Stravinsky had studied exclusively through written scores; he uses dotted rhythms to imitate the swung (“ragged”) rhythmic quality that gives ragtime its name. The soldier succeeds in curing the princess and the suite culminates in its 5th and final movement, “The Devil’s Dance,” in which the soldier and devil battle once more for the soldier’s soul. Stravinsky employs similar sonic techniques as in earlier works like The Rite of Spring with frenetic rhythms and dense harmonies from which the violin’s theme bursts forth in brief moments of clarity. The suite ends with a frantic slide that leaves the ending open-ended for listeners: while the original work ends with solo percussion depicting the devil’s triumph, the prevalence of the violin in the closing moments of the suite suggests respite for the soldier’s soul, however temporary it may be.

—Merced Stratton

Owen Young, cello, is a frequent collaborator in chamber music concerts and festivals, and has  performed as a concerto soloist with numerous orchestras. He has appeared in the Tanglewood, Aspen, Banff, Davos, Sunflower, Gateway, Brevard, and St. Barth's music festivals and is a founding member of the innovative chamber ensemble Innuendo. Young's performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio, WQED in Pittsburgh, WITF in Harrisburg, and WGBH in Boston. He has performed frequently with singer-songwriter James Taylor, including the nationally televised concert James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Formerly on the faculties of Boston Conservatory, New England Conservatory Extension Division, and the Longy School of Music, Young is currently on the faculty of Berklee College of Music and is active in Project STEP (String Training and Education Program for students of color). From 1991 to 1996 he was a Harvard-appointed resident tutor and director of concerts in Dunster House at Harvard University. His teachers included Elinor Osborn, Michael Grebanier, Anne Martindale Williams, and Aldo Parisot. Young holds both bachelor's and master's degrees from Yale University. He was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow in 1986 and 1987. After winning an Orchestra Fellowship in 1987, he played with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 1988 and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in 1988-89. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony in 1986–1987 and of the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1989 until he joined the BSO in 1991.

Jan Halloran, clarinet, is praised for her “soulful intensity,” and renowned for her versatility. She is principal clarinetist of both Boston Lyric Opera and Odyssey Opera and a member of the Grammy Award-winning ensemble Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), with whom she has premiered and recorded numerous new works. Other notable orchestral appearances include the Boston Symphony and Pops, Baltimore Symphony, Boston Ballet, and Boston Landmarks Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, Halloran performs with the Boston Conservatory faculty woodwind quintet and has appeared with such diverse groups as Walden Chamber Players, Collage New Music, the Radius Ensemble, Improbable Beasts, and the New England Reed Trio. Halloran pursues her passion for music education on the faculties of the Boston Conservatory and Dartmouth College. 

Roberto Poli, piano, is an eloquent exponent of the music of Frederic Chopin, which he has comprehensively studied and performed worldwide. Director of the Chopin Symposium, Poli’s recordings include Frederic Chopin: the Late Works (Reubus label), featuring a live performance of opuses 58 through 62, and a recording of his complete Chopin recordings (Piano Classics). Shall We Dance (Americus Records) showcases his transcription of Maurice Ravel’s “La Valse” for solo piano. Poli has also recorded 11 works selected from William Byrd’s My Ladye Nevels Booke (Piano Classics). Also an author, Poli has written books analyzing Chopin’s manuscripts and early editions, and in his second book, examining time, rhythm, pulse, and rubato. A student of Russell Sherman, Poli studied at the Venice Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory.  Faculty member at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and New England Conservatory, Poli has been a guest lecturer at institutions such as Cornell University, University of Virginia, Dartmouth College, New England Conservatory, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania. 

Robert Sheena, English horn, has been the English horn player for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra since 1994. An active teacher of the both the oboe and the English horn, he is on the faculty of Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Boston University’s School of Music and Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) as well as Tanglewood Music Center. Prior to joining the BSO he was assistant principal oboe and English horn with the Hong Kong Philharmonic (1987–1991) and in the same position with the San Antonio Symphony (1991 to 1994). A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and Northwestern University’s School of Music, he  was a member of the Civic Orchestra as well as a frequent substitute oboist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. An active proponent of new music, many of today’s most notable composers have written works for the English horn for him: Marti Epstein, Gabriel Gould, William Pfaff, and Dan Pinkham. In 2016 he premiered “Sonnets: tone poems for English horn and Orchestra” by George Tsontakis—a work the BSO commissioned expressly for him. He greatly enjoys playing chamber music and regularly performs with BSO colleagues as well as the many other fine professional musicians in the Boston area.

Margaret Phillips, bassoon and contrabassoon, performs and teaches extensively in the Boston and New England area. She is on the faculties of Boston University, Berklee College of Music, and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Margaret has enjoyed many years of performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops as a frequent substitute and extra player. Her adventures with them have taken her to Asia, Carnegie Hall, and the Super Bowl. She has recorded extensively with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and can be found performing on recordings ranging from the Boston Pops to Phish. Margaret is the first bassoon player in the U.S. to become a Certified Music Practitioner and as a therapeutic musician has played for many patients with dementia as well as end-of-life situations. An ensemble leader with Shelter Music Boston, Margaret feels strongly about bringing music to those in need.

Katie Lansdale, violin, winner of grand prizes at the Fischoff and Yellow Springs national chamber competitions, has collaborated in chamber concerts with Yo-Yo Ma, Felix Galimir, Donald Weilerstein, Charles Neidich, Robert MacDonald, the Shanghai Quartet, and the Miami and Shanghai quartets. She has been a member of the internationally acclaimed Lions Gate Trio for more than 30 years, recording for Centaur and Triton records and performing in Europe and the Eastern U.S. In New York, where she founded the acclaimed Locrian new music group, Lansdale appears regularly in Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall with the Festival Chamber Society. Lansdale has performed concerti with the National Symphony, the Austin Mozart Orchestra, the Schroeder Classical Orchestra, the Pioneer Valley Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the NY Spectrum Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the New York Repertory Orchestra, and others. Lansdale is particularly acclaimed for performances of Bach: “This is one of the best recordings of this music,” wrote the American Record Guide of her recording (Amazon.com). Lansdale studied at Yale (B.A.), Cleveland Institute of Music (M.M.) and Manhattan School of Music (D.M.A). She teaches at the University of Hartford and at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Matthew M. Marsit, clarinet, has led ensembles and performed as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician throughout the United States. Currently serving as the chair of Instrumental Studies at Boston Conservatory, Matthew also serves as the artistic director of the Charles River Wind Ensemble. Marsit has previously held conducting positions at Ithaca College, Dartmouth College, Williams College, Cornell University, Drexel University, the Chestnut Hill Orchestra, the Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary, and the Eastern U.S. Music Camp. A champion of new music and of original works for wind ensemble, he has led premiere performances from Christopher Marshall, Louis Andriessen, Daniel Basford, Christopher Theofanidis, Richard Marriott, Michael Gandolfi, Matthew Herman, Edward Green, and Thomas Miller, among others.

Jonathan Bass, piano, appears frequently throughout the United States as soloist and chamber musician, and has performed internationally in China, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Spain. Bass made his New York debut at Weill Hall upon winning first prize at the 1993 Hodges International Piano Competition. He has appeared with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall on four occasions and with numerous orchestras across the country. His other awards include First Prize in the 1989 American Pianists Association Beethoven Fellowship Competition and First Prize in the 1984 American National Chopin Competition. Bass was a founding member of the Walden Chamber Players, with whom he toured extensively and made three recordings. A regular guest of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Bass has performed at Jordan Hall, Symphony Hall, and Tanglewood with violinist Joseph Silverstein and many other past and present members of the Boston Symphony. He and his wife, BSO violinist Tatiana Dimitriades, appear frequently throughout New England as the Boston Duo. Professor of Piano at Boston Conservatory at Berklee since 1993, Jonathan Bass was chair of the Piano Department from 2008 to 2015 and was previously piano chair at Boston University. He is also on the faculty of the New England Conservatory Preparatory Division and the Walnut Hill School. Bass studied for a year at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School. He also earned his D.M.A. degree at Indiana University, where he was a student of Menahem Pressler, as well as his teaching assistant.

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