A Secrest Artists Series Event ST. lAWRENCE

A Secrest Artists Series Event

ST. lAWRENCE STRING QlARTET_t!

Thursday November 6, 2003

8PM

Brendle Recital Hall Wake Forest University

Wi11sw11-Slllem, NMtl, Cumlirta

The St. Lawrence String Quartet Geoff N111tall, violin Barry Shiff,11411, violi11 Lesley Robertso11, viola Christopher Costa11za, cello

,,.._, BIOGRAPHIES ,__,

! laving walked on stage together over I 500 time-sin the past fourteen years, the St. Lawrence String Quartet has established itself among the world-clas$ charnher ensembles ()fits generation. In 1992, they won both the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Young Concert Artists Auditions, launching them on a performing career tlmt has brought them across North and South America, Euroµe and Asia.

The long awaited initial recording of the St. Lawrence Quartet, Schumann's First and Third Quartets, was released in May 1999 to great critkal acclaim. The CD, first in a series with EMI Classics, received the coveted German critics award, the Preis der Deurschen Schallplattenkritik, as well as Canada's annual Juno Aw~rd, granted by the Canadi ,rn Academy of Recording Art, and Sciences fo.r"13est ClassiqJ Album: Solo or Chamber Ensemble." BBC Music Magazi11e gave the recording its "highest rating," calling it the benchmark recording of the Works. In October of 200 I, EMI released their recording of string quartets of Tchaikovsky. In 2002 EM! released their recording Yiddis/1bbuk featuring the chamber music of Lhe celebrated Argentinean-American composer Osvaldo Golijov; receiving two Grammy nOJninations .

Highlights of the 02/03 season included a 15-dty tour of Europe and an 18-city tour of Australia and New Zealand . The quariet continued its presence in New York with their debut appearances for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall. They were in recital at the Metropolitan Museum in November, and participared in a festival of the music of John Adams presented by LincQln Center's Great Performers Series i,1 May. The SLSQ Joined forces with Lhe renowned Pilobolus Dance Company, in a collaborative evening of music and dance featuring the premiere of M)' Brathers Kellper with music by Canadian Composer Christos Hatzis and choreography b)' Michael Tracy. This exciting collaboration debuted a, Stanford University's Lively Arts Series in Janu.iry and will tour lhroughout the United States in the 03/04 season.

The quartet's summer calender featured their 300th performance in their 9th year a~ Resident Q11arte110 the Spoleto USA Festival in Charleston. SC. Other summer festival ,1ppearances included Music@Menlo in Californ.ia, and the Ottalva and Montreal Chamber Music Festivals.

The follfsome regularly delivers traditional quartet repertoire, but is also passionately committed to performing and expanding the works o( living composers. Among those with whom the St. L~wrence Quartet currently has active working relationships are R. Murray Schafer. Osvaldo Golijov, Christos Hatisi~. Jonathan Berger Melissa Hui and Mark Applebaum.

Having been privileged lu study with the Emerson, Tokyo and Juilliard String Quartets the St. Lawrence, are themselves passionate educators. Since 1998 they have held the position of Ensemble in Residence at Stanford University. In addition to teaching in the Department of Music the group i; deepl)' committed to bringiDg music 10 less traditional venues than the classroom or concert hall. The foursome's passion for opening up musical arenas to players and listeners alike i5 evident in their annual chamber music institute for adult amateurs at Stanford and their many forays into the depths of musical meaning with preeminent music educator Robert Kapilow. Whether Lincoln Center or an elementary school classroom, the St. Lawrence players maintain a strong desire to share the wonders of chamber music with their listeners, a characteristic of the four,ome that has led them to a more informal performance styk than one might expect from chamber mu~icians. Alex Ross of The New \llrker Af11gazl11e writes, "the St. Lawrence are remarkable not simply for the qual ity of their music making, exalted as ii is, but for the joy they take in the act of connection."

co11ti1111ed 011 inside /Jack cover

ST. LAWRENCE STRING Q!JARTET Geoff Nuttall, violin

Lesley Robertson, viola with

Barry Shiffman, violin Christopher Costanza, cello

Todd Palmer, clarinets

String Quartet in D major, Op. 76, No. 5 Allegretlo-Allegro Largo (Cantabile e mesto) Menuetto (Allegro) Finale (Presto)

String Quartet in F majo r Allegro moderato (tres doux.) Assez vif - (tres rythme) - Lent - Tempo 1 Tre~ lent Vif et agite

Franz Josef Haydn ( 1732-1809)

Maurice Ravel ( 1875-1937)

,......_, Intermission r--•

The Drearns and Prayers of Isaac the Blind Osva ldo Golijov (b. 1960) Prelude: Cal mo, sospe~o 1. AgitatO - Con fuoco - Macstoso - Senza misura, oscillante II. 1e1wramente - Ruvido - Presto 111. Calmo, sospeso - Allegro pesante Postlude: Lento, liberamente Todd Palmer, clarinets

The St. Lawrence Stri ng Quartet appears by arrangement with David Rowe Artis ts, Marblehead, MA, and records exclusively with EMI/ANGEL. The St. Lawrence String Quartet is the resident ensemble at Stanford University.

,-._, PROGRAM NOTES ,__, JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809) Quartet ill D, Op. 76 No. 5 The heart of this favorite string qua net is its magnlfiren1 slow movement, marked l.,1rgo. Almos t a, long as the other three movements together , it is one of the finest such movements that Haydn wrote. Some printed scores subti tle the entire \<Ork "'Famous Largo:· Oth.-r quartets in the set of six puhlished as Haydn's Opus 76 have rather more convinclng nickn•mes - the Emperor and The Sunrise for example. But the nicki\ame for the D major work does, ~t least, serw to highlight the imp(mance of tbe slow movcrne111 to the rest of the work.

PROGRAM NOTES, co11t11111cd

I laydn wrl)le hu, Op. 70 la1c 111 life, when he JlrcJdy had been wmposing for J half cent11ry. The quarlcts wen· wrillcn for a dedicated w Counl Jnseph Erdtldy. The IR1h ccnturr Engli,h musician <111d m,111 oflellcr., Cli.,rles Burney, heard 1he ,et 111 Lnndon 111 1799 and wrote 10 Haydn ,aving 1hat rn,1rumcntal musit h.1d ncvcrgiven him more plea,urc. ·rhey are full of invcnt,on, lire. goc.l<l l,1'1C. and new eflech and seem 1hc produciion, 1101 of a sublime geniu, who ha, wnuen w much and w " ell alreadv. l'iut of one of highly cuhl\·•tcd 1alent,, who had c,pcnded none of h" fire l>efore tlurney's co111111cn1, rdh'I.I the high c,1cc111 in whkh Haydn was held throughout Europe He wa,, qu11c -imply, 1he grcate,1 living rnmposer of 1hc time and he knew 1ha1 mu,ici,111, everywhere were judging h1~ latest oomposition, by the h1p,h s1,mdards he himsdf h.1d e,tablished. During his h><>, recent visit\ 10 England I lanln had 1hrived wn11ng hoth chamlwr mu,ic and ,ymph,,n,es for publi, ,oncert room,. He founJ them unlike the inlilnJte, privJtc salon, of h" we•lth)· f'Jlron JI fa1erhaZJ. In London. he rcJli,cJ that he could he more dema11d1n11 of his performc" .ind call for h!llder, more urchNral effects in h" music. All m Op. 76 quarte1, ,peJk 10 a public ,1udicn,e. Gone Jre 1he days when ,iring chamber mn,il wa, designed a, a background for wining a11d dining or for four ~mateurs t<1 enioy 1111))e priva,y of 1heir own 11lll'1C >Jlon.1 he l) major quar1,·t ind11des ,iring writing of such richne,, and sonoritv 1ha1 listener, often me 1he term, ",1 mphonic" and "orchestral" to dc"ril>e i1s impa,t. The D ma1or Quartet opem \\1th a gracefulh· lyrical movement. bJsed on a theme 1hat ha, the chuJ'1er of J '1cihenne. It"s an unu,uJI \\J)' of ,1art1ng ,1 quarte1. The tempo" almo,t 1hat of a ,low movement and thr form is a sci ol variauons. The first violin line is elabor,tld)· decorated throughout and there 1, strong mter,1tt1on between all 1he four p.1r1s, frequemly in intricate. rnntrapuntal writing. lly its under,wcment ,rnd exuberant condu,iun, the movement provides 1lw perfect foil for the L11r110 tha1 follow,. Thi, slow movcmc111 is wr111cn 1n the dista111 kc) of F ,hart' which righ1 away c,1Jblishes an ethereJI, al1110,t other wnrldlv .rnd genii)' pulsing mood. The marking JI the lop of the mmemenl, amw/11/c r mes10. mean, ",mg,ng and sad." Indeed, as II con,1an1h reaches out I<> cver-di,,1a111 key,, the entire mO\cment take, on an air of melancholy, a feeling of no,1alg1a tinged with ,,1dness. The mu,ic po1111s 1he wJy fomard IO\\Ud, romanLJC expre,"on in diaml,er mu,ic. The ,\1,·1111ruo quid!)· hrmg, us back 10 reality. ·1 hen 1he l·inalc imroduces tongue 111-cheek good humor. It, beginnintl, ,01111d, like Jn ending, were ,1 not for J hidden cache of thowughly convinrn1g developmental material. Overall, 1he music both sum, up the grea1 cl,1,silal er,1 of chamher mu.sic and 1,x,ks Jhead to the d.,wning age of ro111J1111cism.

MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937) Quartet inf

Sor,•; Ke11/1 1/onirr, !003.

In a fanwu, dc,aiption, Str,1vinsky called Ravel "the most p~rfcct of Sw,;; wa1chmakers:· Now, Ravel, ever 1he ,hild di hcar1, had a larg(' collect1on of mechanical 1ovs throughout his house at Montfort li\naury. ll11t 11 wa.~n•1 this love of me~hanicJI precision 1ha1 S1r.1\'111skv wa.s referring to. Neither wa, ii the Swi" ances1rv of h" f.uhcr 1hat RJvd •hsorhed growing up in the Ba!.que southl\est corner of !'ranee, where the A1l,mtic meet, the jagged, moum.1inous coa,tline. Rather, 11 i, the fa,1id10u, craftsman,lup of hi, mu,ic. 1hc iran,pareni tc,1ures, the precisely drawn rhythms. the unerring feeling ol logic .rnd d .i-,ical restraint. Claude Dchu,,y ;1lso recogni,cd 1hi, quali1y in the music of his younger colleague. When Rawl, ~till in his 1wc111ies, wro1e his only qua net. Debussy as.sured him: '' In the name of the god, ol music and in mv 1t,tme 100, do 1101 alter a thmg ,n your quar1e1:· IJchusw reali1ed 1he pre,~ure Ravel was under and, at 1hc -ame time, recogni1ed the tc<hnical polish of h,, "orl... But Ravel rema,ned uncer1a111. Year, later 1n a ,hort autoh10graph1Cal ske1eh he modes11) wrote: "/.Iv Quartet m I re,ponds to a desire for mus,cal con,lru<llon, which undouhtedh' is inadequateh· reali,cd, but which emerge< much more dearlv than in my preceding cornposiuon,.'' This i, a rnnsiderable undcr-ia1emcnt for music that has withstood the 1es1 of time over the cenwry ~ince its fir,1 performance a1 the Socicte Nationale in l'ari, on l\farch 5, I 904. When compared with Debu,,y to whom he frequently was in hi\ lifc1ime and after• Ravel i, the perfectionist, the polisher of dassical gems. Debussy, on the 01her hand, i, 1he dreamer, 1hc visionary who ,ummom up e111irelv new sound wmld< from the dcp1hs. Just a do,en ,~ar, separated 1he two Fren,h wmposel",. They knc,, and ,mdicd one another\ mu~ic. At 1he time R,,-d ,,·as wri1ing hi, quartet, in 1902 ·,.he went to every one of the fir,1 30 performan,cs of Debt"").-, opera /'('///!<JS ,·1 Mdmmde. He had 1he ,ound of Dchussy\ earlier q11,me1 so much in hi, blood 1ha1 ,i111ilari1ies 1111he1r 1he111c, ,an easily I>~ tr,lted. Still, Dchu"y had al read)' borrowed 1he idcJ of Spanish coloring from R,ivel's I lcthaiicm. I le remained hea\'ily inOucn,ccl by the roungcr «lmposer\ (i11<p11rd de /11111111 and b>· his piJ1lo writing 111 !\en er al. In h" q11ar1ct, Ravel borrowed the u,e of Eas1ern exoticism and mod.1l ity in the harmony from Uehu,,y. I le al~o horrowed the richl) scored 1exture,, Jnd lhe idea of a p1zzm11,1 second mO\'ement. Ro1h quartets aho Iran.form J ,ingle theme. both mdodically .ind harmonically, 1hroughout JII four movements. The ide.a 1, also found in the D maJor quar1e1 of Cesar 1-r,rn,k, wriuen ten years before the Dcbussr qu,1r1c1. Critic~ were qui<k 10

comme,11 on the siinilarity of Ravel's quartet to that of Dehussi•-They divided themselves and the follower~ of the composers i<lto two cam~>s. From this point on, the relativnship of these two rcvoh11ionary Frend, composers grew uneasy. Of the Ravel quartet, the cruic in the Mermre de franff wrote: "Its new and delicious hann"n) ' evokes that ()f Claude Debussy.'' He had the wisdom to add: "Yclll should rememher the name of Maurice Rawl. It is the name of one of the masters of the future."

OSVALDO GOLIJOV Nmes@ Keith I lamer, 200,J.

The Dreams a11d Prayers of Isaac The Blind Eig)H -crnturie, ago Isaac the Blind. the great kabbalist rabbi of Provence, dictated a manuscr ipt in which he asserted thJt all things and events in the universe are the produc t of combinations of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. 'Their r<IC>t is in a name, for the letters are like branches. which a/,p<>ar in the mauner of nicker ing names, mobile, ret nevertheless linked 10 rhecoaJ'. J,;iac's lifelong d,,votion to his art is as striking as that of string quarters and klezmer mu,kians. In their search for something lhat arises from tangible elements but trans,:ends them, they afe all reaching J stare of commu,iion. Gersbom Scholem, the pre-eminent scholar of Jewish mysticism. says thJt ' Isaac ,tnd his disciples dll not speak of ecslasy, of a unique act of stepping outside onese lf in whk h human consciOusnes~ abo lishes it~elf. Dfb/1e,1111h (communion) is a cons1an1 slate, nurtured and renewed through me<litalion', How else would one explain the strange life 1hat fsa3' led, or the wav in which gr@ups of four ~ouls dissolve their in<lividualit)' into single, higher organisms, string quartets? How eL~e w\mld one explain the chain of kle7mer generations tha t, while blessing births, weddings, and burials, were trying lo disco,·er the melody that could be set free from it.1elf and become air.~pirit, ruakh? The movements of this work sound w me as if lher were written in three of the differe111 languases spoken by rhc Jewish peopl{' throughout our histor)', This somehow renects the compositfon's epic nature. I hear the prelude and the first movement in the most ancient, Aramaic; the second movemenl is in Yiddish, the ricn and fragile language of a long exile; the third movement and postlude arc in sJcred J lcbrew. The prelude and the first movemcm sin111lta11<:ously explore lw<I prarers in different ways: the quartet pl<1ys the first part of the centrJ I prayer of the High Holidays, 'We ,viii oi)scrve the mighty holiness of this day', while the clarinet dreams the motif, from 'Our Father, Our Kint The second lllO\'Cment is based on 'The 0/tl Klezmu Bwur, • traditional dance tune, which is surrounded here by contrasting manifesta~ions of its own ha lo. The third movement was written before all the others. It is an instrumenta l ve~ion of K'vakamt, a work that I wro te a year e,irlier than Dreams and Prayen for the Kronos Qua net and cantor Misha Alexandrovich. This movement, 1ogc1he.r with the po$tlude, hring to ronclusion the prayer left open in the first movement. Osvaldo Golijov and the St. Lawren ce St ring Quart et If it's 1rne, as Borges said, !hat in every man's life there is a moment that defines his exc;tence, then meeting the. St L.1wrmce String Quartet wa, tl1al m\lment for me. In trurh, I had experienced other defining musical moments u{) to that on~: as a child listening 10 mr mother practice Bach, and being struck br the m)'stery of simultaneo\Js Ii Ms, each complete and beau tiful in its own right, making perfect sense together; seeing Pi~nol la play in La Plata when I wns ten, and be ing unable 10 sleep tha t night; listening for the first time to a •~cording C>f n,e Fird,ird and then, as J teenager, lO Mahler's Second S)'lnphony. Years later, freshly arrived in tl1e United States from Jerusalem, Twas shaken by the Krc)llos Quartet playing Reich's Different '/'mins. And Qf rnurse there hlld been 'l ife' moments 100,,ome of them beautiful, some tragic, s0111se sad. But life and music converged like ne"er before when I met this quartet in Tanglew0od in the summer of 1992. I had written Yirhli;hbbuk for the St Lawrence " ' ithout knowing who they were, trusting 10 the excitement that Gilbert Kalish and Richard Ortner fell for them. I was. as usual, late with the piece and came to the first rehearsa l, two weeks before the premiere, with onli• the lirst movement wrirren. llefore playing a single note they told me in so man)' words that they could make no sen,e of it. I was completely taken Jback by th.eir open mistrust, but ready to fight. Barry challenged me to sing it: I sang for a minute and they all said, 'OK, now we get it'. They grabb,·d their instruments and played that fir~t moveme nt. It felt like lightning . For the first time in my lifer was listening to what I hacl written being played as vividly as I heard it in my head. I was frozen, ~peechless, and heard Geoff ask, '01.zie, when '"i ll yC>u bring the re,t of the piece?'. ('Ozz ie?' I just met this guy ten minutes ago, he said he didn 't knt>w what to make of my music and now I'm 'Ozz ie'?) r n !he event, I wrote the rest ofil and then some more. There w.,s tJO further need to sing: now we were able to work by telepathy. At the premiere chey came on stage like hungry cannibals and I felt a strange scn5c of 1ranquilli1y. In March 1995 the Cleveland Quartet and Grora Feidman were touring the US withDre,m,s mu/ l'myns in their program. I was co1winced rhat only kleimer clarinetists would he able to plar the piece, but the St L.awrences 1hough1 otherw i~e.

Biographie~ • .-1,11tm11cd fom 1m11h-from rm·a

Todd Darren Palmer, Clnri11eti.<t Todd 1'.1lrner\ ,irtU<hitv, an of phra,ing anJ t•bullient ,t.1gc pre,encc h.1vc brought h1111 a stcll.ir rcputauon a, .1

,olo d.mneti\t th,ll is ,lltained ll\ few .irthts 011 hi, in,trumcnt. Born in Hager1,t<I\, n. \t.irrland. he began plJl'ing

the cl,1rinct ,1t age II> following "'WI\ ye.us of ,tudy on the trumpet. In :-;cw York. he ,tudied .u the 11,lannes Coll,•ge

o l 1'tu,k under tlw tutelage of Gnv,N' de Pewr, ,rnd recei, cd the Ouls1,1nt!ing Pcrforn1.mce an<l Ac.,ckmic Excellence

.'\wmb upon gradu,lling. l k made his l\'Y rcci1,1I debut ,11 \\'cill l l,111 ,ind hi, rnnccnu <lebut with the Hou1ton

Symphom· ,h the tir,t wind plaiw crer 10 rt•«·1w the Grand Pri,e in the lnld Hogg Young.,\ni,1 <:ompetition

Sinu• winning th,· 1990 Young C.uncert Arti,1 International Auditions, ~Ir. P,1lmer h,1, ,1ppeared a, m:11alist, wn .. •rto

sol01,1 .111d dinici,m ,11 major performing .ir1, centers and universities in 47 StMcs .ind has bct·n given virtu,1lly

unanimou5 pr.,i,c for hi, suprrme mJstcry of his instru111en1 Jnd unerring musici,rn,hip. He h.1, ,1110 been

rnn,iste111lr lauded for hi, eng.1ging and inspirational outrcJ,h progrJms for voung ,1udience,. I Ii, appear an,,·,

.ihro.1d have included concerto. recital and ch.unber mu,i, perform.me,·, in erm,11w ranee, h.1Jy, LnglJml,

Can,1d,1, l\.kxirn, llrMil, the C.1ribbc,1n, and J,1p,in "'here hi, perform.me.· w th pi.mi,1 nal Sol,hcnitsrn w,1,

bro,uka,t n,llionwidc.

I Remaining Events in the 2003-2004 Secrest Artists Season

Wake Pores, Umversit)' expresses ir~ de,·p apprecwt1011 ,o Mrs. Marnm Secn:sr 11nd he,

h11sba11d, d,e lard)r. Willis Secrest, far gmero11sly e11rlawi11g the

Secrest Artists Serie!.!. Ushers for 1onigh1's performance

are members of Alpha Phi Omega Service

Fraternity

The Seem.I Artists Series w(slies to thank Dr. Sco11 Klein,

Assoda te Pro(essQr, Department of English, for bis pre-concert talk.

Tickets for all Secrest events are av.lilable without charge to all

Wake Forest sr,1dents, facult)•, and s1,iCf. The)' are sold, individuJlly and by seii,on subscription, 10 the general public. To purchase tickets,

call the Theatre l3ox Office at 336,758.5295 or the Secre;t Serie;

at 336.758.5101. MC and Visa ac~ep1ed.

Visit the Secrest web site at www. wfu.edulsecrestart ists

for more information. Your courtesy in turning off all

electronic devices b appreciated. The use of tape recorders and

"idco equipment is not allowed.

WAKE FalliST t I I t R '> I t \

Brad MenJdau Jau Trio-Thursday I /23 A jau review in the Los A11geles Tinr/$ in 1999 reported that Brad Mchldau is "universally admired as one of the must adventurous pianist~ to arrive on the Jazz s,ene in years." Since then his once blossoming career has come lO fruition. His trio builds on its classical trainitig in its extraordinary improvisational intuition. They have toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe. ''While his work tends to be courageously complex ... he never gets lost in the labyrinth of his intclkct" (Time Magazine). Visit http://www.imnworld.com/mehldau for more information.

National Symphony Orchestra wt Leonard Slatkin, Conductor -Thursday2/19 As the ordiestra of the U.S. capital, the National Symphony Orchestra regularly participate, in events of national and international importance, including performance$ (or state occasion.s, presidential inaugurations, and official holiday celebrations. The National Symphony also fills an important international role with its tours spanning four con I i11ents. Now in its 72nd season, the NSO is g~nerally recognized as one of today's finest orchestras. In his seventh season as Music Director of the NSO, Leonard Slatkin b international!)' acclaimed as one of today's leading conductors. Mr. Slat kin's insightful comments about Mahler's re-touchings of the 3t?ethoven Eroica will be an unusual and tasty musical treat. Also included in 1he program will be the Carnival Overture 0/Dvofdk and 71irec Place [11 New England of Charles fi,es. Dr. David Levy, Ch~irman of ihe Department of Music and noted Beethoven scholar, will give the pre-concert talk. Visit http://www.kennedy-centcr.org,lnso for more information.

Masters of Mexican Music-Friday 3/26 These master musicians from four distinct regional traditions explore the musical histories of Mexico: the mariachi of Jalisco, the Veracruz harp ensemble, the accordion-based conjunto tejano of the Texas-Mexican border area, and the marimba of southern i\lexico. The featured player in the tejano tradition is 1wo-ti111e Grammy nominee, Domingo Saldivar, T/1e Da11ci11g Cawboy, recemly awarded a Nationa) Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowmem for the Art~. This event is presented in partnership with Arblgnire and the Ans Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. Major support for this national tour is provided by the National Endowmen1 for the Arts, the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation and the NEA Regional Touring Program. Vi&it hnp://www.n(.'ta.net for more information.

t Recent recotdi11gs of the St. Lawrence Srri11g Quartet

are available for purchase in the lobby.