Monthly Spotlight - August 2021

[Monthly Sportlight 11] (Season 1 Finale)

JENNIFER HIGDON’s NOCTURNE

Stella Chen violin Albert Cano Smit piano

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

---

[PROGRAM NOTE]

Nocturne...that piece of night-night of peace.

This work was commissioned in 2006 for violinist, Jennifer Koh, by San Francisco Performances, San Francisco, CA; The Carlsen Center, Johnson City Community College, Overland Park, KS; 92nd Street Y, New York, NY; Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin, OH; and The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA.

—Jennifer Higdon

Monthly Spotlight - July 2021

[Monthly Sportlight 10]

AUGUSTA READ THOMAS’s Caprice for Solo Violin

Emma Frucht violin

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

---

[PROGRAM NOTE]

Caprice for solo violin was made as a wedding gift to Greg and Rachel Barton Pine.

The work, which is about five minutes in duration, is marked with this performance indication: "Passionate and rubato; like a jazz improvisation. Accentuate the variety of characters."

Made up of several phrases, each of which ends on a fermata, the works characters include: majestic, playful, elegant, spirited, jazzy, calmly floating, bold, with repose, passionate, resolute, assertive, and graceful. The form is slightly unusual in that the five phrases are of asymmetrical length. They last 20, 30, 40, 110, 120 seconds long, respectively, giving the feeling that the first three phrases are warming up to, and building energy and material for, the longer final two phrases. As if the "improviser" takes the materials a little further "out" (in the jazz sense of that word) with each successive phrase. The piece accumulates - rather than being in one of the standard forms, such as ABA form, or rondo form. While the music was very carefully made, and is highly nuanced, and is a "serious" piece of music, it should sound free, spontaneous, jazzy, playful, as if improvised, and alive.

- Augusta Read Thomas

Interview with Emma Frucht, violin

Monthly Spotlight - June 2021

[Monthly Sportlight 9]

MICHAEL SCHACHTER’s Capriccio for Two Cellos

Madeline Fayette cello Michael Katz cello

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

---

[PROGRAM NOTE]

This piece was written for a project organized by Richard Aaron, cello professor at the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School. University of Michigan composers teamed up with cellists (either as soloists, in pairs, or with piano) to write works somehow incorporating elements of Brahms’ Cello Sonata in E minor. My take on this project draws all its material from the original work, juggling and refracting it as if wandering through a Brahms-permeated dream.

- Michael Schachter

Interview with Michael Schachter, composer

Madeline and Michael talk about Capriccio

Monthly Spotlight - May 2021

[Monthly Sportlight 8]

NING KAM’s Theme and Variations on Amazing Grace

Siwoo Kim violin

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

---

[About the Piece]

An arrangement made in 2009 for solo violin on one of the world's most beloved hymn tunes, "Amazing Grace" by John Newton. This arrangement here is in a high-energy and exciting mix of blues, jazz and rock and roll, arranged by renowned Singaporean violinist and Queen Elisabeth Competition prizewinner, Ning Kam.

Siwoo Kim talks about the piece

Monthly Spotlight - Apr 2021

[Monthly Sportlight 7]

JÖRG WIDMANN’s Fantasie for Solo Clarinet

Yoonah Kim clarinet

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

---

[PROGRAM NOTE]

"'Fantasie' for solo clarinet is my first real piece for my own instrument, the clarinet. With its eccentric virtuosity and its cheerful, ironic fundamental character, it reflects the experience with Stravinsky's 3 Pieces for solo clarinet of 1919 and the tonal innovations which did not appear in music before Carl Maria von Weber's notation for the clarinet, and takes them further in a new way. It is a little imaginary scene uniting the dialogues of different people in close proximity in the spirit of the commedia dell'arte." "It would be important to take the title completely literally – which is why the performer should of course play the piece with imagination. The most important information on the structure: the complete absence of bar lines – whenever the piece is played to me by students or other persons, I am always pleased about the player's own ideas and about the fact that the musical text is taken literally and seriously, with all its dynamic and articulation marks, and yet filled with life and imagination. What I always notice, however, is that the rhythmic fast pulse part is often played like an étude, rather than with imagination. What is most important to me, personally, is to take pleasure in making tonal distinctions, even despite the strict timing. Use your imagination and enjoy playing my 'Fantasie'!"

- Jörg Widmann

Yoonah Kim talks about the piece

Monthly Spotlight - Mar 2021

[Monthly Sportlight 6]

ERIC NATHAN’s Duo for Violin and Piano

Stella Chen violin Albert Cano Smit piano

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

---

[PROGRAM NOTE]

Sadly, I cannot say that I am bilingual. My native tongue is English, and while I studied both French and Chinese for a number of years and have a love of both languages, I am not fluent in either. An invitation to compose a new work for violinist Xiang Yu and pianist Mei Rui for their debut recital at the Louvre Museum in Paris reignited my love of these languages, and inspired me to attempt a bilingual musical pun of sorts. DUO takes inspiration from the English word “duo,” imagining a virtuoso dialogue between two characters of equal importance, but also references four different meanings of the word “duo” in Chinese, corresponding to each of the four tones that are used in the language. Duō (first tone) means “much” or “a lot”; duó (second tone) means “to win someone’s heart”; duǒ (third tone) means to “hide” or “evade”; and duò (fourth tone) means to “chop” or “stomp.” Each of these meanings inspires the conversation between the violin and piano in my work. I think of each instrument as embodying a unique personality and musical theme, trying to “win” the other’s heart. Over the course of the piece the two players exchange ideas and by the end they have reversed roles, adopting the other’s themes, only to quickly return to their original places by the final measures. The middle section evokes the energy of a chase, where each player tries to “catch” the other, who are always just out of reach. The piece highlights both players’ virtuosity and as a result contains lots of notes and a heightened level of expressivity. And if you listen carefully, you may hear some “stomping” in the piece, as the duo’s chase winds to a close.

- Eric Nathan

Interview with Eric Nathan, composer

Stella and Albert talk about Nathan's Duo

Monthly Spotlight - Feb 2021

[Monthly Sportlight 5]

Mystery Variations on a Theme by Colombi (selections)

GIUSEPPE COLOMBI / TAN DUN / KAIJA SAARIAHO / KIMMO HAKOLA

MICHAEL KATZ, cello

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

---

Interview with MICHAEL KATZ, cellist

---

[PROGRAM NOTE]

This video features selections from the Mystery Variations, a collection of 30 short works by 30 different composers, each inspired by a 17th century Chiacona by Giuseppe Colombi. The collection was written in 2010 to celebrate the 50th birthday of Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen. At the time of writing, none of the composers were told who the other collaborators were, nor were they given any instructions on how they should approach the Chiacona, hence the Mystery. The result is an incredible variety of styles, techniques, and imaginations, and a true treasure for cellists.

I have chosen 3 variations which are profoundly different from each other. In the first variation, Chiacone After Colombi, Tan Dun transports us to the world of traditional Chinese music, imitating the sounds of Chinese instruments such as the Pipa, Chinese percussion, and even vocal gestures inspired by the Peking Opera. Next is Kaija Saariaho's Dreaming Chaconne. Like much of her music, this piece is less concerned with melody or rhythm, at least not in the way we are accustomed to, but rather with sonority, the manipulation of color, and tambour. She cleverly hides the Chaconne theme throughout the variation, and if you listen closely you can hear a distorted quote towards the end. Finally, to cap things off, Kimmo Hakola's Colombi Variation is pure insanity, a hyperactive relentless fantasy which pushes the boundaries of what is possible on the cello while still maintaining a humorous and entertaining approach. Thank you so much for watching and hope you enjoy the music.

- Michael Katz

Monthly Spotlight - Jan 2021

[Monthly Sportlight 4]

ANDREW NORMAN’s Gran Turismo scored for violin octet

VIOLIN

Brian Hong | Elizabeth Fayette | Amelia Dietrich | Stephanie Zyzak | Rannveig Sarc | Christine Wu | Emma Frucht | Siwoo Kim

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

---

[PROGRAM NOTE]

Rewind my life a bit and you might find a particular week in 2003 when I was researching the art of Italian Futurist Giacomo Balla for a term paper, watching my roommates play a car racing video game called Gran Turismo, and thinking about the legacy of Baroque string virtuosity as a point of departure for my next project. It didn’t take long before I felt the resonances between these different activities, and it was out of their unexpected convergence that this piece was born.

- Andrew Norman

Monthly Spotlight - Dec 2020

[Monthly Sportlight 3]

SAMUEL ADLER’s Duo for Eight Strings for Violin and Viola

Stephanie Zyzak violin Ramón Carrero Martínez viola

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

---

[PROGRAM NOTE]

The DUO for EIGHT STRINGS was written in the summer of 2020 for two of my friends in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley and the principal violist Amihai Grosz who performed it soon after it was finished. It is a short 61/2 minute piece beginning and ending in a slow contemplative mode with an energetic middle section showing off the virtuosity of the performers. I wrote it at a time of isolation when most of the music world had to content itself with performances from home and in Berlin the orchestra's members put on streamed concerts featuring small ensembles made up of the personal of the orchestra. I felt that as a composer I wanted to aid and abet that effort and wrote a series of pieces for them to perform. I am delighted that the New York Classical Players are doing this in our country since I believe music is a healing balm in times like these.

- Samuel Adler

Interview with Stephanie Zyzak, violin

Interview with Ramón Carrero Martínez, viola

Monthly Spotlight - Nov 2020

[Monthly Sportlight 2]

ALVIN SINGLETON’s Argoru IV for Viola

JORDAN BAK viola

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

Interview with JORDAN BAK, violist

---

[Program Note by Carman Moore]

A work from early in his career and during an extremely left-brained-heavy period in contemporary music history, Argoru IV on the page is dense with rhythmic and notational difficulties. Ironically enough, a young Singleton during this same period was also experimenting with improvisation in his scores. A fiendishly difficult work on the written page, to the ear Argoru IV is dramatic and expressively gratifying, especially for the performer.

One is moreover convinced that the bee hive of written difficulties in this work for solo viola is not about showing off its math, but really shows precisely what was heard in the composer’s head. Here notation controls everything, including rates of vibrato and even slight tempo changes. A section of notes approached via multiple grace notes is a choice over simply writing the grace notes out as regular rhythms… a subtle aid to the player’s expression.

One finds many factors in this early work that will appear in the other of his works throughout Singleton’s career. The tantalizing querulous first lick followed by silence is one. The playing with both audience expectations but also those of the musicians are there… for example the first two 8th notes of the piece are to be executed after an 8th note breath rest, not as a down-beated first 2 notes. Long tones (some very long) are typically contrasted with quick short ones. Contrast is the key. It is very deep into the work before pizzicato is called for yet one solitary forte pizz at 7 minutes in the midst of so much arco playing as a powerful effect… much like a single contrasting movement in the midst of Kabuki acting.

Monthly Spotlight - Oct 2020

[Monthly Sportlight 1]

TEXU KIM’s Homage to Anonymous Ancient Fiddlers

RANNVEIG SARC violin 1 BRIAN HONG violin 2

When we think of the great violinists throughout history, we think Paganini, Heifetz. Today’s great artists like Hilary Hahn or Gil Shaham. In this piece, composer Texu Kim pays tribute to not only the legendary virtuosos, but to “those anonymous ancient fiddlers...their impressive skills and their endeavor to acquire them.” Listen closely for the hockets, detuning effects, and triple/quadruple stops - a hat trick of tributes to pre-Baroque artists whose legacy is the modern violin.

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO (B-side)

Interview with TEXU KIM, composer

[Program Note by the composer]
Homage to Anonymous Ancient Fiddlers (2015)

Entertainment has been one of the most significant functions of music and virtuosity is one of the keys to that. One may recall some representative examples such as Paganini and Liszt, but I believe that there have been many more unknown heroes in music history. This piece, as the title attempts to show, is about the anonymous ancient fiddlers – their impressive skills and their endeavor to acquire them. This piece has numerous virtuosic variations of a simple imaginary ancient melody. In order to add some more ‘ancient flavor’ and to make the piece more virtuosic, I incorporated several techniques such as hockets (distributed melody between two players), triple and quadruple stops, and detuning effect, all of which are from pre-Baroque era.

Note: before playing the piece, violin 2 needs to be tuned slightly lower (about a quarter tone) than violin 1. It should be done on the stage so that the audience can understand the out-of-tune effect is intended. To do so, violin 1 should tune first and then play a note between G# and A – roughly a sixth tone below A would work the best.

Interview with RANNVEIG MARTA SARC, violin

Interview with BRIAN HONG, violin