2018-2019 season - Onstage: Audience Access

EASTMAN • THEATRE

2 0 1 8 - 2 0 1 9 S E A S O N

E X P E R I E N C E E A S T M A N E XC E L L E N C EKILBOURNCONCERTSERIES

EASTMANRANLETSERIES

FERNANDOLAIRES PIANOSERIES

BARBARA B. SMITHWORLD MUSICSERIES

MARCH 2019 – APRIL 2019

CONTACT US:Location: Eastman School of Music – ESM 101Phone: (585) 274-1109E-mail: [email protected]

Mike Stefiuk, Director of Concert OperationsJulia Ng, Assistant Director of Concert OperationsGreg Machin, Ticketing and Box Office ManagerJoseph Broadus, Box Office SupervisorChristine Benincasa, SecretaryRon Stackman, Director of Stage Operations,

Eastman TheatreJules Corcimiglia, Assistant Director of Stage

Operations (Kodak Hall)Daniel Mason, Assistant Director of Stage

Operations (Kilbourn Hall)Michael Dziakonas, Assistant Director of Stage

Operations (Hatch Recital Hall)

EASTMAN THEATRE BOX OFFICE Mailing AddressEastman School of Music Concert Office26 Gibbs StreetRochester, NY 14604Eastman Theatre Box Office433 East Main StreetRochester, NY 14604

PhoneEastman Theatre Box Office: (585) 274-3000Lost & Found: (585) 274-3000Eastman Concert Office: (585) 274-1109Hall Rentals: (585) 274-1109

Welcome From the Director | 5

The Historian’s Corner | 8

Beatrice Rana | 10

Joshua Roman | 13

Disney in Concert: A Silly Symphony Celebration | 17

Elias String Quartet | 25

Ying Quartet with PUSH Physical Theatre | 28

Roby Lakatos Ensemble | 32

Ying Quartet | 36

Joshua Bell & David Zinman | 39

Afro-Cuban All Stars | 44

Gamelan Lila Muni & Gamelan Sanjiwani | 48

what’sinside

This program is published in association with Onstage Publications, 1612 Prosser Avenue, Kettering, OH 45409. This program may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. JBI Publishing is a division of Onstage Publications, Inc. Contents © 2019. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

ADVERTISINGOnstage Publications937-424-0529 | 866-503-1966e-mail: [email protected]

EASTMAN PERFORMANCE SERIES 3

Did You Know?

Young people who participate in the arts

for at least three hours on three days each

week through at least one full year are:

• 4 times more likely to be

recognized for academic achievement

• 3 times more likely to be elected

to class office within their schools

• 4 times more likely to participate

in a math and science fair

• 3 times more likely to win an award

for school attendance

• 4 times more likely to win an award

for writing an essay or poem


The phrase Something for everyone may be a cliché, but it’s an accurate description of our

concert offerings at Eastman this winter and spring. It’s a list of amazing breadth, starting with our Eastman Presents series and continuing through our chamber music, world music, and piano performance series.

Some of our guests have appeared in Rochester many times, such as the esteemed conductor, David Zinman, whom many of you will remember as the longtime Music Director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In April, Maestro Zinman will lead our Philharmonia in a not-to-be-missed concert of German Romantic music with superstar violinist Joshua Bell.

Our other concert series offer such outstanding musicians as pianist Beatrice Rana, who had a spectacular Rochester debut last fall, now appearing in a solo recital; and the “dream team” of the Afro-Cuban All-Stars, made famous by the Buena Vista Social Club documentary and album, who bring together all the different styles of Cuban music in a grand mix. We have also added a joint appearance that will combine the music of Eastman’s Ying Quartet with the amazing stage pictures of PUSH Physical Theatre – two performances of this “creative collision” are not to be missed!

The next few months truly offer something for every musical taste, as well as plenty of opportunities to expand your musical horizons, with the help of some of the world’s great musicians. Please join us!

Mike StefiukDirector of Concert Activities

PS – Details of the 2019/2020 Eastman Performance Series will soon be announced! If you haven’t done so already, please consider joining our mailing list to receive the exciting full-season line up! Sign up by visiting the Hospitality Table at any performance.

welcome f rom the director


Kilbourn Hall was named in honor of George Eastman’s mother, Maria Kilbourn Eastman.

It is the principal recital hall for the Eastman School of Music. Designed in an Italian Renaissance style, it is widely regarded as being one of the most beautiful and most acoustically perfect recital halls to be found anywhere in the world. It is not an infrequent occurrence when a guest artist will comment on the hall’s exquisite beauty.

Although renovated twice, the first time in the mid-1970s and more recently in 2016, the hall retains much of its original look. Improved house lighting, new seats, and additional handrails may be the most noticeable changes within the hall itself. The change that perhaps most altered the visual appearance of Kilbourn Hall occurred at the time of the first renovation. Tapestries that covered the stone facing on either side of the stage were removed and found to be in such poor condition that they could not be cleaned and reinstalled. The stone walls are now bare.

Kilbourn has been the location of many thousands of recitals, concerts, and other events since it was formally dedicated on March 4, 1922. Performers have included students, members of the faculty, and visiting artists. Operas have been performed on the stage. Symposia and lectures have been given there as well. The three programs given here as illustrations of the hall’s rich and varied history include a student recital from March 14, 1922, only ten days after the dedication of the hall. There were five performers on the recital, all piano students of Raymond Wilson. Roslyn Weisberg Cominsky was a member of the Eastman School’s first

graduating class in 1922, there being only two graduating seniors that year. Many years later she made a most generous gift to her alma mater, and the second floor corridor of the school is now named in her honor and in recognition of her generosity. Ruth Northrop Tibbs, Florence Alexander Schoenegge, and George MacNabb all subsequently joined the school's faculty. Tibbs taught as a member of the theory department from 1924 to 1952. Schoenegge and MacNabb both taught piano, the former from 1924 to 1938 and the latter from 1922 to 1960.

The second program is from a faculty recital during the summer of 1928. The performer was organist Harold Gleason. Gleason had served as George Eastman’s personal organist prior to the opening of the Eastman School of Music in 1921. He then was the founder of the organ department at the school and was additionally

Kilbourn Hall

the historian’s corner

By Vincent Lenti


responsible for the selection and design of the concert organs installed in the Eastman Theatre and in Kilbourn Hall, as well as the teaching organs and practice organs installed on the school’s fourth floor.

The third program is from a recital given by Walter Gieseking in 1937. At the time of his Rochester recital Gieseking was widely regarded as one of the greatest living pianists. Among others appearing in Kilbourn Hall during its long

history have been such diverse musicians as guitarist Andres Segovia, pianist Alfred Cortot, organist Louis Vierne, the Budapest String Quartet, jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, and the sitarist Ravi Shankar. During the current 2018-19 season, Kilbourn serves as the location for many student recitals, faculty recitals, and other school presentations, in addition to an exciting Kilbourn Concert Series, the Fernando Laires Piano Series, the Eastman-Ranlet Series, and the Barbara B. Smith World Music Series.

the historian’s corner


F e r n a n d o L a i r e s P i a n o S e r i e s

Friday, March 1, 2019 Kilbourn Hall7:30 pm

Beatrice RanaÉtudes, Op. 25 Frédéric Chopin Aeolian Harp (1810-1849) The Bees The Horseman Paganini Wrong Note Thirds Cello Sixths Butterfly Octave Winter Wind Ocean

INTERMISSION

Miroirs Maurice Ravel Noctuelles (Moths) (1875-1937) Oiseaux tristes (Sad Birds) Une barque sur l’océan (A Boat on the Ocean) Alborada del gracioso (The Jester’s Aubade) La valleé des cloches (The Valley of Bells)

L’oiseau de feu (The Firebird) (trans. 1928) Igor Stravinsky Danse infernale du roi Kastcheï (1882-1971) (Infernal Dance of the King of Katscheï) trans. Guido Agosti Berceuse (Lullaby) Finale

Management for Beatrice Rana: Primo Artists, New York, NYEASTMAN PERFORMANCE SERIES 10

BEATRICE RANA

At only 25 years old, Gramophone’s 2017 “Young Artist of the Year” Beatrice Rana

has shaken the international classical music world already and aroused admiration and interest from concert presenters, conductors, critics and audiences in many countries.

The year 2017 will remain as a milestone in Ms. Rana’s career with the release of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on Warner Classics and a 30-city tour of the work. Debuting at No. 1 on the U.K. Classical Charts, the recording was praised by reviewers worldwide and crowned by two major awards: Gramophone’s “Young Artist of the Year” and Edison Klassiek’s “Discovery of the Year” Award. In 2018, she was nominated as 2018 Female Artist of the Year at the Classic BRIT Awards, where she performed for a nationally televised audience at Royal Albert Hall.

Ms. Rana performs at the world’s most esteemed concert halls and festivals including Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Zurich’s Tonhalle, London’s Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall, Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Lucerne’s KKL, Cologne Philharmonie, Munich’s Philharmonie, Prinzregententheater and Herkulessaal, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, Milan’s Società dei Concerti, Ferrara Musica, Verbier Festival, Klavier Festival Ruhr, Lugano’s LAC, La Roque d’Anthéron Festival, Montpellier Radio-France Festival, Rencontres Musicales d’Evian, Bucharest Enescu Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, San Francisco Performances, Los Angeles Disney Concert Hall and Hollywood Bowl, and Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center.

She collaborates with conductors of the highest level such as Riccardo Chailly, Antonio Pappano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Fabio Luisi, Yuri Temirkanov, Gianandrea Noseda, Emmanuel Krivine, James Conlon, Jun Märkl, Trevor Pinnock, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, Lahav Shani, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, James Gaffigan, Susanna Mälkki, Leonard Slatkin and Zubin Mehta. Orchestral appearances include the London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Tonkünstler Orchester, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI, Filarmonica della Scala, Helsinki Philharmonic and St. Petersburg Philharmonic.

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During the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, Ms. Rana makes debuts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Bayerische Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, Hessischer Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Melbourne Symphony. She performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Seguin at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center and New York’s Carnegie Hall, Tonkünstler Orchester with Yutaka Sado at the Musikverein, Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Kent Nagano; tours with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski; and starts a residency at the Zurich Opera with Fabio Luisi and the Philharmonia Zurich for a complete Beethoven concerto cycle. She will play recitals at Geneva’s Great Performers series at Victoria Hall, Munich’s Prinzregententheater, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall, Essen Philharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie’s Kammermusiksaal, Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Foundation, Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Madrid’s Scherzo Great Performers series, Gilmore Keyboard Festival and at Zankel Hall in her Carnegie debut.

An exclusive Warner Classics recording artist, Ms. Rana released her first album in 2015, featuring Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with

Antonio Pappano and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. The disc received unanimous international acclaim including Gramophone’s “Editor’s Choice” and BBC Music Magazine’s 2017 “Newcomer of the Year” Award. In August 2018, Warner Classics released an album that features Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety with Pappano and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Beatrice Rana came to public attention in 2011 after winning First Prize and all special jury prizes at the Montreal International Competition. Her very promising career was brought to an even higher level in 2013 when she won the Silver Medal and the Audience Award at the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. In 2015, she was named a BBC New Generation Artist, and in 2016 she was awarded a fellowship from the Borletti-Buitoni Trust.

Born in Italy into a family of musicians, Ms. Rana began her piano studies at the age of four and made her orchestral debut at the age of nine, performing Bach Concerto in F Minor. She obtained her Piano Degree under the guidance of Benedetto Lupo, her lifetime mentor, at the Nino Rota Conservatory in Monopoli, where she also studied composition with Marco della Sciucca. She later studied with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule fur Musik in Hannover. She is based in Rome.

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Igor Stravinsky, the composer of L’oiseau du feu (The Firebird) was in residence at the Eastman School of Music for the week of March 7-11, 1966.

Vincent Lenti

Did you know…


K i l b o u r n C o n c e r t S e r i e s

Tuesday, March 5, 2019 Kilbourn Hall7:30 pm

Joshua Roman, celloAndrius Zlabys, piano

ˆ

Cello Sonata Claude Debussy Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto (1862-1918) Sérénade: Modérément animé Final: Animé, léger et nerveux

Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69 Ludwig van Beethoven Allegro, ma non tanto (1770-1827) Scherzo. Allegro molto—Trio Adagio cantabile—Allegro vivace

Only Once (An Improvisation) Joshua Roman/Andrius Zlabys (b. 1983)/(b. 1977)

Louange à l'éternité de Jésus Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

Pohádka (Fairy Tale) Leoš Janácek (1854-1928)

Fratres (Brothers) (1977) Arvo Pärt (b. 1935)

Le Grand Tango (1982) Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)

Joshua Roman appears courtesy of Opus 3 Artists, New York, NY


JOSHUA ROMAN

“A ce l l i s t o f e x t rao rd inary techn ica l and musical gifts.”

–San Francisco Chronicle

Joshua Roman has earned an international reputation for his wide-ranging repertoire, a commitment to

communicating the essence of music in visionary ways, artistic leadership and versatility. As well as being a celebrated performer, he is recognized as an accomplished composer and curator, and was named a TED Senior Fellow in 2015.

During the 17-18 season, Roman will make his Detroit Symphony Orchestra debut, and perform his own Cello Concerto, Awakening, with the Princeton Symphony in collaboration with conductor Teddy Abrams. In Europe, Roman will perform one of his favorite 20th Century Cello Concertos, that of Polish composer Witold Lutosławski, with the Szczecin Philharmonic of Poland. Other season highlights include performances of Tornado with the JACK Quartet with San Francisco Performances, Town Hall Seattle, Interlochen and numerous presenters throughout the country.

Notable events from the 16-17 season include the premiere of Tornado, a new work composed by Joshua Roman and commissioned by the Music Academy of the West and Town Hall Seattle. The lauded premiere took place with the JACK Quartet at the Music Academy of the West in June of 2017. He also gave his debut at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, comprised of not only performances with high caliber musicians from the St. Lawrence String Quartet and other corners of the chamber music world, but a performance of his solo piece Riding Light. Orchestral highlights of the season included performances of the Mason Bates Cello Concerto with the Portland, Berkeley, Spokane, and Memphis Symphonies. The concerto is dedicated to the cellist, who gave its “world-class world premiere” (Seattle Times) with the Seattle Symphony in 2014, and has since performed it with orchestras around the U.S. At TED2017 in Vancouver, Roman opened the conference during its first-ever live simulcast to movie theaters around the world with a collaborative music and dance piece created and danced by Huang Yi, with the industrial robot KUKA as dance partner, followed by an original composition to kickstart the first session of speakers. In November of 2016, Roman’s musical response to the tension around the U.S. Presidential election - “Let’s Take A Breath” - brought almost one million live viewers to TED’s Facebook page to hear his performance of the complete Six Suites for Solo Cello by J.S. Bach.

Prior seasons have seen Roman premiere Awakening, his own Cello Concerto, with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and subsequently perform it with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra; make his debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra playing Dvorák’s Cello Concerto; give a solo performance on the TED2015 main stage; perform a program of chamber works by Lera Auerbach at San Francisco Performances with Auerbach and violinist Philippe Quint; and make appearances with the Columbus, Fort Worth, New World, Seattle Symphonies as well as with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He also served as Alumnus-in-Residence at the prestigious Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.

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Roman has demonstrated inspirational artistic leadership throughout his career. As Artistic Director of TownMusic in Seattle he has showcased his own eclectic musical influences and chamber music favorites, while also promoting newly commissioned works. Under his direction, the series has offered world premieres of compositions by some of today’s brightest young composers and performances by cutting-edge ensembles. In the 2015-16 season at TownMusic he presented his own song cycle, … we do it to one another, based on Tracy K. Smith’s book of poems Life on Mars, with soprano Jessica Rivera. He has also recently been appointed the inaugural Artistic Advisor of award-winning contemporary streaming channel Second Inversion, launched by Seattle’s KING-FM to cultivate the next generation of classical audiences. In the summer of 2016 the cellist took on the role of Creative Partner with the Colorado Music Festival & Center for Musical Arts. The same organization sponsored him in April 2016 at the 68th Annual Conference on World Affairs on the University of Colorado campus, where he contributed his innovative ideas about how classical music is conceived and presented. Roman performed at the Kennedy Center Arts Summit that same month and was a member of the 2016 Kennedy Center Honors artists committee.

Roman’s cultural leadership includes using digital platforms to harness new audiences. In 2009 he developed “The Popper Project,” performing, recording and uploading the complete etudes from David Popper’s High School of Cello Playing to his dedicated YouTube channel (youtube.com/joshuaromancello). In his latest YouTube project, “Everyday Bach,” Roman performs Bach’s cello suites in beautiful settings around the world. He has collaborated with photographer Chase Jarvis on Nikon video projects, and Paste magazine singled out Roman and DJ Spooky for their cello and iPad cover of Radiohead’s “Everything in Its Right Place,” created for the Voice Project. For his creative initiatives on behalf of classical music, Roman was named a TED Fellow in 2011, joining a select group of next generation innovators who show potential to

positively affect the world. He acted as curator for an outdoor amphitheater performance at the TED Summit in Banff in the Canadian Rockies this past summer.

Beyond these initiatives, Roman’s adventurous spirit has led to collaborations with artists outside the music community, including his co-creation of “On Grace” with Tony Award-nominated actress Anna Deavere Smith, a work for actor and cello which premiered in February 2012 at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. His outreach endeavors have taken him to Uganda with his violin-playing siblings, where they played chamber music in schools, HIV/AIDS centers and displacement camps, communicating a message of hope through music.

Before embarking on a solo career, Roman spent two seasons as principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony, a position he won in 2006 at the age of 22. Since that time he has appeared as a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, New World Symphony, Alabama Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Ecuador, among many others. An act ive chamber mus ic ian , Roman has collaborated with established artists such as Andrius Zlabys, Cho-Liang Lin, Assad Brothers, Earl Carlyss, Christian Zacharias and Yo-Yo Ma, as well as other dynamic young soloists and performers from New York’s vibrant music scene, including the JACK Quartet, Talea Ensemble, Derek Bermel and the Enso String Quartet.

A native of Oklahoma City, Roman began playing the cello at the age of three on a quarter-size instrument, and gave his first public recital at age ten. Home-schooled until he was 16, he then pursued his musical studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Richard Aaron. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance in 2004, and his Master’s in 2005, as a student of Desmond Hoebig, former principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra. Roman is grateful for the loan of an 1899 cello by Giulio Degani of Venice.

guest artists


guest artists

The first cellist to perform at Eastman was the legendary Pablo Casals, who appeared for a recital in the Eastman Theatre on February 6, 1923.

Vincent Lenti

Did you know…

ANDRIUS ZLABYS

Grammy-nominated pianist has received international acclaim for his appearances with

many of the world’s leading orchestras, including The New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Rotterdam Symphony, and Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires.

He is a featured soloist in “Between two Waves” by Victor Kissine for piano and string orchestra released on ECM in 2013 in collaboration with Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica.

In 2012 Andrius Zlabys made his concerto debut at the Salzburg Festival performing Mozart’s Concerto K.467 with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra conducted by Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla.

Andrius Zlabys—born in Lithuania and trained at the Curtis Institute of Music—was 18 years old when the Chicago Tribune wrote: “Pianist-composer Andrius Zlabys is one of the most gifted young keyboard artists to emerge in years.” Zlabys was also heralded by The New York Sun in a review titled “A Shining Hope of Pianists” after his recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Zlabys’s artistry has received many other accolades from the press for his performances of “easy virtuosity” (The Strad), “generous and all encompassing” sound (The Philadelphia Inquirer),“spell-binding interpretation” (The Plain Dealer) and his “wealth of musical perception” (The Greenville News). This international acclaim has followed his uniquely honest approach to music, as described by The Philadelphia Inquirer: “The beloved C-major chord... rippled off Zlabys’ hands with such open-hearted rightness that you couldn't escape the notion that the pianist was acting as Bach’s ventriloquist...”

Mr. Zlabys’s concerts have included appearances on many of the world’s leading stages, such as Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, Phillips Collection, Teatro Colón, Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein and Suntory Hall. He has also appeared at numerous festivals both in the U.S. and abroad, including the Menuhin, Salzburg, Lockenhaus and Caramoor music festivals, and made his Carnegie Hall debut at the Isaac Stern Auditorium with the New York Youth Symphony conducted by Misha Santora in 2001 in a performance of Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto. He was also invited the following season as soloist with Kremerata Baltica to perform Benjamin Britten’s Young Apollo at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall.

Andrius Zlabys has enjoyed collaborations with several esteemed musicians, including violist Yuri Bashmet, violinist Hilary Hahn, and an enduring collaboration with violinist Gidon Kremer with whom Zlabys has toured extensively in Europe, Japan, South America, and the U.S.

In 2003, Zlabys received a Grammy nomination for his recording of Enescu’s Piano Quintet with Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica. A multifaceted musician of wide-ranging repertoire, Andrius Zlabys holds a special reverence for J. S. Bach, while remaining a strong advocate for the contemporary stage with numerous works commissioned by and written for him. He was a winner of 2000 Astral Artists National auditions.

Andrius Zlabys began piano studies at the age of six in his native Lithuania with Laima Jakniuniene at the Ciurlionis Art School, and continued his studies in the U.S. with Victoria Mushkatkol (Interlochen Arts Academy), Seymour Lipkin (Curtis Institute of Music), Sergei Babayan (Cleveland Institute of Music), and Claude Frank (Yale School of Music).


E a s t m a n P r e s e n t s S e r i e s

Friday, March 8, 2019 Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre7:30 pm

Disney in Concert: A Si l ly Symphony Celebration

The Skeleton Dance (1929) Carl Stalling/Edvard Grieg (1891-1972)/(1843-1907)

Flowers and Trees (1932) Bert Lewis/Frank Churchill (1879-1948)/(1901-1942)

Three Little Pigs (1933) Frank Churchill

The Country Cousin (1936) Leigh Harline (1907-1969)

INTERMISSION

Entr’acte: Montage of Songs from the Silly Symphonies

The Old Mill (1937) Leigh Harline

The Ugly Duckling (1939) Albert Hay Malotte (1895-1964)

Music Land (1935) Leigh Harline

Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts © All rights reserved.


MARK WATTERS

Emmy Award-winning composer and conductor Mark Watters’ vast resume includes music for

motion pictures, television, DVD, video games, and special events such as the Olympics. In addition to serving as director of the Beal Institute, Watters oversees Eastman’s newly established Master of Music degree in Contemporary Media/Film Composition and teaches graduate courses.

Watters holds the distinction of serving as music director for two Olympics—the 1996 Centennial Games in Atlanta and the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City—which garnered him two of his six Emmys. He also received Emmys for Outstanding Music Direction for Movies Rock; Outstanding Music for True Life Adventure Alaska: Dances of the Caribou; and two Outstanding Music Direction and Composition Daytime Awards for Aladdin and Tiny Toon Adventures.

As a film composer, Watters wrote the scores for MGM’s The Pebble and the Penguin and All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, and for Disney’s Doug’s First Movie and Get a Horse, a new animated short featuring characters from 1920s Mickey Mouse cartoons that accompanied the theatrical release of Frozen. In addition, his music can be heard on almost two dozen direct-to-video/DVD releases, including Aladdin and the King of Thieves and several Winnie-the-Pooh features for Disney, My Little Pony and Candyland movies for Hasbro, and a Tom and Jerry feature for Warner Brothers.

Television viewers have heard his music across several networks and channels including CBS, Hallmark, and Disney on such series as Paradise and The Little Mermaid, made-for-TV movies including The Longshot, and documentaries such as Medal of Honor and the nature series True Life Adventures. Watters has also created original scores for theater productions of The Raft of the Medusa, Snitch, and Hamlet. Watters’s video games music oeuvre includes Coraline, two Ben 10 installments, Toy Story 3, Cars Mania, Disney Princesses 1 and 2, and Disney Fairies: Tinkerbell.

As a guest conductor, Watters has led the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the New York Pops, and many other orchestras. In 2002, John Williams asked him to co-conduct the Academy Awards. In 2015, Watters led the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in a concert saluting 90 years of Disney animation, for which he also wrote new scores for two late-1920’s “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit” shorts. He conducted three “Star Wars in Concert” tours, including one in Japan with the Tokyo Philharmonic.

In addition, Watters has worked as a conductor for individual artists Trisha Yearwood, Carrie

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Underwood, Beyoncé, Mary Jo Blige, John Legend, Sting, Barry Manilow, Jessye Norman, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and others.

Watters has taught film scoring at UCLA and for Columbia College of Chicago. He served several terms on the Television Academy’s Board of

Governors and as Co-Chair of the Academy’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards Committee. Recent projects include serving as music director for the highly acclaimed animated series “Have A Laugh,” a three-year project to restore and re-record 60 classic Disney shorts from the ’30s and ’40s.

Welcome to the 2019 presentation of Disney in Concert: A Silly Symphony Celebration

with the Eastman Studio Orchestra. This year’s program features all Disney animation in the beautiful setting of Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Tonight’s program features seven of the finest Silly Symphonies produced at Disney, which includes five that won Academy Awards © for Best Animated Short. And we are especially thankful to Disney Concerts for make tonight’s presentation possible.

The Silly Symphony shorts grew out of a discussion between Walt Disney and his first musical director Carl Stalling. The concept was simple, could a musical composition be completed first and then the story and animation created to that score. The Silly Symphony shorts were different from the popular Mickey Mouse and the later Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto cartoon in that they did not feature any of the standard characters but were considered as one-off cartoons. There were some exceptions where a few of the shorts had sequels.

In all, Disney produced 75 Silly Symphony shorts during a ten-year period from 1929 through 1939. Many of these shorts were used to experiment with special effects and camera techniques. Tonight’s program features the very first Silly Symphony, The Skeleton Dance, and the last one, The Ugly

Duckling as well as Flowers and Trees, The Three Little Pigs, The Old Mill, The Country Cousin, and Music Land. The performance showcases a wide variety of musical styles from symphonic to lively jazz all under the baton of maestro Mark Watters.

–By David A. Bossert

The Skeleton Dance (1929)The Skeleton Dance is the first Silly Symphony created at the Disney Studios. It was produced and directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks, Les Clark, and Wilfred Jackson. The animation is of four human skeletons dancing and making music in a graveyard at night. The skeletons go through a series of gags during thissix-minute short including one inventive moment in which one skeleton plays a standup bass by fiddling a bow over a cat’s tail that has been stretched as the strings of the instrument. And a skeleton plays the “xylophone” using bones as mallets on the spine of another skeleton posing as the instrument.

The music, of course, was composed by Carl Stalling and based on a “foxtrot set in a minor key” according to a late 1960s interview with the composer. A foxtrot is a dance usually noted by long, continuous and smooth movements around the dance floor and was popular during the 1930s.


program note

This black & white short opens with a flash of lightning and the close up on a pair of eyes with the camera pulling back revealing an owl silhouetted against a full moon. A dilapidated graveyard and old church are revealed complete with howling dog, bats in the belfry, a spider and fighting cats before the appearance of the first skeleton. The other skeletons emerge and go through a series of dancing routines and sight gags.

Towards the end of this short a rooster crows a cock-a-doodle-do, denoting sunrise and the beginning of a new day, which the skeletons react to in a classic cartoon take. Running around they smash into one another breaking apart into a pile of bones and then reconfiguring into one giant quadruped-like animal, with many extra legs, running back to an open grave, jumping in with the grave cover bouncing back on top and an iris out to black.

As you watch these shorts tonight, pay close attention to the stylistic development of the animation. In each successive short the animation becomes more sophisticated and the overall production value increases. You can see the animation craft evolving over tonight’s program, all of which was leading down the artistic path of eventually doing a feature length animated film.

Flowers and Trees (1932)The Silly Symphony short Flowers and Trees began as a black & white production but was quickly scrapped when the decision was made to use a new Technicolor three-strip color process. Up until that point all the Disney animated shorts were in black & white. Walt Disney, convinced of the potential of this new color process, negotiated a contract with Technicolor for the exclusive use of three-strip process in animation. This effectively prevented other animation studios from using

the process until after September of 1935 giving Disney a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Flowers and Trees showcases nature in all its springtime glory coming to life, literally with anthropomorphic trees and flowers. The trees and flowers begin by waking up, yawning, and washing. Once refreshed, a male tree creates a harp-like instrument by stretching some vines down from a bent tree trunk and playing music. A female tree begins to dance slightly while another tree conducts a group of chirping birds on its arm-like limb and flowers dance about.

The music was composed by Bert Lewis and Frank Churchill and uses a number of familiar public domain tunes. Musically the short starts out with a serene quality, which harkens back to Walt Disney’s midwestern roots in Marceline, Missouri. Many of the scores for the Silly Symphony shorts have a simpler more languid, symphonic quality in comparison to the jazz based themes found in the Fleischer cartoons being produced in New York at the time.

That symphonic pastoral score plays as the courtship begins between the young male and female tree characters with the guy giving a flower tiara to the girl. The music quickly changes as rather creepy, villainous old tree grabs the girl and starts dragging her off. The introduction of conflict was something that was absent from some of the earlier seasonally themed shorts.

The young male tree rescues her and does battle with the old villainous tree eventually forcing him backwards and tripping over a rock. The villain falls on his back, arms folded and pretending to be dead, a flower walking onto his chest while the well-known Funeral March theme by Chopin plays. But the creepy tree is not dead. Getting up, he starts a fire as revenge against the young tree couple.


Some of the other trees try to outrun the fire while the flowers attempt to extinguish it using water in a series of gags. The young male tree, protecting his love interest, continues to try and stamp out the fire. Meanwhile, the flames attack the creepy tree that set the fire to begin with.

Eventually a group of birds punch holes into a cloud and it begins to rain and the fire is dowsed. Vultures circle the charred remains of the creepy, old tree and the forest is renewed to a sense of order once again. And the short ends with nuptials for the young couple and the ubiquitous Wedding March in C major by Felix Mendelssohn. This is one of Mendelssohn’s best known pieces which he wrote and is from a suite of music for Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The Three Little Pigs (1933)The Three Little Pigs is arguably one of the most successful and well known of the Silly Symphony series. It is based on the popular fairy tale of the same name, which dates back hundreds of years. The Disney interpretation is the most recognized version and went on to win the 1934 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

It is the story of three swine brothers, Practical Pig, Fiddler Pig and Fifer Pig, who each build their own homes. Fifer Pig plays the flute “doesn't give a hoot and plays around all day” and builds his home of straw. Fiddler Pig “plays on his fiddle and dances all kinds of jigs” builds his home out of sticks and, of course, Practical Pig who plays the piano builds his house out of bricks and mortar. We all know the outcome of this story once the Big Bad Wolf shows up!

The animation in this short was done by a number of Disney legends including Fred Moore, Norm Ferguson, Art Babbitt, and Dick Lundy. The short was a milestone in adding personality to the animated characters. You can see this in the

pigs as well as the Big Bad Wolf in comparison to the characters in the previous short, Flowers and Trees.

Carl Stalling who went on to become the legendary music director/composer for the classic Warner Bros. Looney Tunes composed the score for The Three Little Pigs.

This short featured the song Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?, which became a smash hit in the 1930s. Frank Churchill wrote the song with additional lyrics by Ann Ronell. Mary Moder and Dorothy Compton, who voiced Fiddler Pig and Fifer Pig respectively, sang it in the film. Billy Bletcher voiced the Big Bad Wolf and is best known for voicing Peg Leg Pete.

Aside from the commercial success of Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?, Frank Churchill wrote some of the most endearing music in the Disney catalogue. Among those include Heigh-Ho, Whistle While You Work, and Some Day My Prince Will Come from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He co-wrote the Academy Award © winning score for Dumbo and was nominated with Ned Washington for Best Song from that film for Baby Mine. Churchill was also nominated posthumously for co-writing the score for Bambi as well as the song, Love is a Song, from that film.

Finally, it is certainly worth noting that the Library of Congress added The Three Little Pigs to the National Film Registry in 2007. According to the Library of Congress, “Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act of 1992, each year the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the National Film Preservation Board, names 25 films to the National Film Registry to be preserved for all time. The films are chosen because they are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.”

program note


program note

The Country Cousin’ (1936)The County Cousin’ won a Best Animated Short Award at the ninth annual Academy Awards © ceremony in 1936. It is based on the Aesop Fable, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, which tells the story of a country mouse named Abner coming to the big city to visit his cousin Monty.

This was one of the more popular Silly Symphony cartoons and showcases advancements in character animation with much stronger poses, more naturally fluid motion, and snappier action. Abner and Monty display much personality in their animation, which shows the further honing of the animation craft at Disney. This short pushes the art form, which benefited from the training going on at the studio during those years. It was a reflection of the desire to eventually do a feature film.

Some of the animators that were assigned to this short included Jack Hannah, Les Clark, Art Babbitt, and Cy Young handling effects. It should be noted that Art Babbitt and Les Clark did the bulk of the animation for The Country Cousin’ short with the others doing some additional animation.

Les Clark had joined Disney in 1927. He worked on the original Mickey Mouse cartoons as an assistant to Ub Iwerks and began animating on the Silly Symphony Skeleton Dance in 1929. On The Country Cousin’ he animated much of the section with Abner and Monty on top of table where they sample the cheese just before Abner spots the Champagne. He went on to animated on most of the features from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through One Hundred and One Dalmatians.

Art Babbitt started at Disney as an assistant and became a top animator and director. His first great piece of animation is considered the drunk Abner animation in The Country Cousin’.

Abner slurping champagne, licking the side of the glass for every last drop, and slumping into the shallow, broad-bowl of the glass like a lounge chair is a wonderful display of his animation prowess. He is also credited with developing the character Goofy and animated the Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Geppetto in Pinocchio.

As with all Silly Symphony cartoons, this short was created around a score. This one was written by Leigh Harline. His scores are noted for their “musical sophistication that was uniquely ‘Harline-esque,’ by weaving rich tapestries of mood-setting underscores and penning memorable melodies for animated shorts and features.”

One of the very interesting aspects of this cartoon is that a storybook of the same title was issued when the film was released to theaters. David McKay Company of Philadelphia printed The Country Cousin’s picture book; at the time they were a large publisher of literature, textbooks, comics and children’s books. Issuing a book simultaneously with the release of the film was a common practice in the 1930s for the most popular Silly Symphony cartoons including the earlier The Three Little Pigs, which had a book of its own as well. It is a great example of the merchandise tie-ins that Disney pioneered and is known for.

The Old Mill (1937)The Academy Award © winning The Old Mill was released on November 5,1937. This is one of my favorite Silly Symphony shorts because it was full of testing and experimentation. The animated effects and camera/optical techniques developed and proved out in The Old Mill were then employed in the first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.


program note

The film centers on an old abandoned windmill in the country and the animals that populate the structure and surrounding area. It starts out placid until a summer storm starts to build complete with wind blowing, rain pelting, and lightning. Many of the legendary Disney effects animators worked on this short including Cy Young, Dan McManus, George Rowley and Ugo D’Orsi among others.

These were the artists that went on to form the first special effects department at Disney animation studio and contributed their talents to some of the most memorable moments if the early feature films. For example, the ocean water effects in the Monstro the Whale sequence in Pinocchio and the forest fire in Bambi. The effects artists developed realistic representations of rain, fire, water ripples, lightning, reflections, and other natural phenomenon.

The Old Mill is also the first film to use the famed Disney multiplane camera which added the illusion of three-dimensional depth to the animated films. The multiplane camera also allowed for the use of special optical effects such as complex top and bottom light effects; and the use of ripple glass, which were plates of optically clear glass that had special patterns ground in them to achieve various types of rippled distortions when artwork was filmed through the glass.

The music for The Old Mill was written by Leigh Harline and incorporates Johann Strauss’ song One Day When We Were Young from the operetta The Gypsy Baron. Harline is best known for composing the song When You Wish Upon a Star from Pinocchio, which won an Academy Award © for Best Original Song. Harline wrote the song with Ned Washington and it has become ubiquitous to The Walt Disney Company.

The Old Mill won Academy Award © for Best Animated Short Film in 1937. It was added to the National Film Registry in 2015.

The Ugly Duckling (1939)This version of The Ugly Duckling is actually a remake of the black & white Silly Symphony that was made in 1931. Both are based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale of the same name which tells the story of a homely looking duck who is ostracized until he grows into a beautiful swan.

There are some basic similarities between the two versions but they are also quite different as well. The 1939 color short is truer in tone to the original fairy tale and a more pleasing story interpretation then the black & white 1931 short. This one won the Academy Award © for 1939 Academy Award for Best Animated Short and was the last of the 75 Silly Symphony cartoons made.

The music, although un-credited in the short, is attributed to Albert Hay Malotte who is known for writing stock music for films in the 1930s and 1940s. He also composed twenty-two Silly Symphony shorts and is also well-known for the Lord’s Prayer.

Musicland (1935)Musicland, which was released eighty-one years ago in 1935, epitomizes this idea of crafting stories around pieces of music. This short revolves around a romance between a princess and prince, which causes a war between the Land of Symphony and the Isle of Jazz. It is a take on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet as only Disney could do in animation.

All of the characters and architecture are derived from musical instruments. It showcases the inventiveness of the artists to craft an entire world around elements found in music, including


program note

sheet music and music notes. The filmmakers use the score to create the character dialogue as well as the sound effects for the action.

The main focus is on the princess from Land of Symphony falling in love with the prince from the Isle of Jazz. The Queen of the Land of Symphony disapproves and when the prince mistakenly kisses her, she has him arrested and thrown in a metronome prison. The prince manages to write out a musical note and gives it to a bird to take back to his father, the King of the Isle of Jazz.

The two lands go to war. The princess tries to stop it by waving a white flag and paddling a raft out into the Sea of Discord. Her raft is destroyed by gunfire from the Isle of Jazz and she flounders in the water and begins to drown. The prince paddles a raft out to save her and his raft is hit by a music note and destroyed. He swims to the princess to rescue her.

The Queen realizes the desperate situation and stops the shelling from the Land of Symphony. The King of the Isle of Jazz does the same. The King and Queen respectively take boats out to rescue the young lovers and eventually are smitten with one another. The prince and princess get married and so do the King and the Queen, ultimately establishing a “Bridge of Harmony” to create the consummate happy ending.

* * *

We truly hope that you enjoy tonight’s presentation of these classic Silly Symphony animated shorts from The Walt Disney Company along with the live musical accompaniment by the Eastman Studio Orchestra.

Dave BossertProducer/Creative DirectorThe Walt Disney Company

Sources referenced include the author’s own research, studio achieves, and original production notes, where available, for the various films.

About the AuthorDavid A. Bossert is an award winning artist, filmmaker, and author. He is a 32 year veteran of The Walt Disney Company is currently serving as a producer and creative director. Dave is considered an authority and expert on Disney animation and history. He co-authored Disney Animated, which was named iPad App of 2013 by Apple and won a prestigious British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award. Dave is also the author of the books: Remembering Roy E. Disney: Memories and Photos of a Storied Life; An Animator’s Gallery: Eric Goldberg Draws the Disney Characters; and Dali and Disney: Destino.


E a s t m a n - R a n l e t S e r i e s

Sunday, March 24, 2019 Kilbourn Hall3:00 pm

El ias String Quartet Fantasia in E Minor, Z. 741 Henry PurcellFantasia in D Minor, Z. 739 (1659-1695)

String Quartet No. 2 in C Major, Op. 36 Benjamin Britten Allegro calmo, senza rigore (1913-1976) Vivace Chacony: sostenuto

INTERMISSION

String Quartet No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 41, No. 1 Robert Schumann Andante espressivo — Allegro (1810-1856) Scherzo: Presto Adagio Allegro

Sara Bitlloch, violinDonald Grant, violin

Simone van der Giessen, violaMarie Bitlloch, cello


ELIAS QUARTET

Sara Bitlloch, Donald Grant violinsSimone van der Giessen violaMarie Bitlloch cello

The Elias String Quartet take their name from Mendelssohn’s oratorio, Elijah, of which Elias

is its German form, and have quickly established themselves as one of the most intense and vibrant quartets of their generation. The Quartet was formed in 1998 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where they worked closely with the late Dr. Christopher Rowland. They also spent a year studying at the Hochschule in Cologne with the Alban Berg quartet. Between 2005 and 2009 they were resident String Quartet at Sheffield’s “Music in the Round” as part of Ensemble 360, taking over from the Lindsay Quartet. They are now ensemble in residence at the RNCM and regularly go back there to teach and perform.

This season they present their three-concert “Schumann series” at Wigmore Hall and elsewhere, which includes a collaboration with long term musical partner and friend Jonathan Biss, and two world premieres: a newly commissioned work by Sally Beamish, and a piece written by the winner of their composition competition at Manchester’s RNCM, alongside the three Schumann string quartets. They also return to the US with concerts in Boston, San Francisco, Vancouver and Houston.

In 2009 the Elias was chosen to participate in BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists’ scheme and was also a recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. With the support of the Trust, the Elias Quartet mounted “The Beethoven Project”: studying and performing all of Beethoven’s string quartets as cycles whilst sharing their experience through a special website (www.thebeethovenproject.com) and social media. The project culminated with a cycle at Wigmore Hall, all six concerts recorded live for the Wigmore live label.

The Quartet is steadily building a recording catalogue that has been met with widespread critical acclaim. They have recorded the Schumann and Dvor ák piano quintets with Jonathan Biss, a Britten Quartets disc for Sonimage, a Mendelssohn disc for ASV Gold and most recently Schumann string quartets for Outhere. Their two mixed programme recordings for Wigmore Live were praised unanimously, the first winning a BBC Music Magazine Newcomers award. The final volume of their complete Beethoven Quartet Cycle had just been released.

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S p e c i a l P r e s e n t a t i o n

Friday, March 29, 2019 Kilbourn Hall7:30 pm

Saturday, March 30, 2019 Kilbourn Hall7:30 pm

Ying Quartetwith PUSH Physical Theatre

Program to be announced f rom s tage


YING QUARTET

“The Y ing Quar te t came as c l ose t o the ideal as possible, delivering chamber music of astonishing, refreshing exaltation and exhilaration.”

– The Los Angeles Times

The Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence in the classical music world,

combining brilliantly communicative performances with a fearlessly imaginative view of chamber music in today’s world. Now in its third decade, the Quartet has established itself as an ensemble of the highest musical qualifications. Their performances regularly take place in many of the world’s most important concert halls; at the same time, the Quartet’s belief that concert music can also be a meaningful part of everyday life has also drawn the foursome to perform in settings as diverse as the workplace, schools, juvenile prisons, and the White House. In fact, the Ying Quartet’s constant quest to explore the creative possibilities of the string quartet has led it to an unusually diverse array of musical projects and interests.

The Ying’s ongoing LifeMusic commissioning project, created in response to their commitment to expanding the rich string quartet repertoire, has already achieved an impressive history. Supported by the Institute for American Music, the Ying Quartet commissions both established and emerging composers to create music that reflects contemporary American life. Recent works include Billy Childs’ Awakening; Lera Auerbach’s Sylvia’s Diary; Lowell Liebermann’s String Quartet No. 3, To the Victims of War; Sebastian Currier’s Next Atlantis; and John Novacek’s Three Rags for String Quartet. In August 2016 the Ying Quartet released a new Schumann/ Beethoven recording on Sono Luminus with the cellist Zuill Bailey, and in 2016-17 the five toured with the Schumann Cello Concerto transcribed for cello and string quartet along with Beethoven’s “Kreutzer Sonata,” also reimagined for cello quintet. The 2017-18 season will see the Quartet continuing its work in the relatively new field of medicine, music, and healing with the staff at Houston Methodist, while simultaneously maintaining its busy touring schedule.

The Ying Quartet’s many other recordings reflect many of the group’s wide-ranging musical interests and have generated consistent, enthusiastic acclaim. The group’s CD “American Anthem” (Sono Luminus), heralding the music of Randall Thompson, Samuel Barber, and Howard Hanson, was released in 2013 to rave reviews; their 2007 Telarc release of the three Tchaikovsky Quartets and the Souvenir de Florence (with James Dunham and Paul Katz) was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Chamber Music Performance category.

The Ying Quartet first came to professional prominence in the early 1990s during their years as resident quartet of Jesup, Iowa, a farm town of 2000 people. Playing before audiences of six to six hundred in homes, schools, churches, and banks, the Quartet had its first opportunities to enable music and creative endeavor to become an integral part of community life. The

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Quartet considers its time in Jesup the foundation of its present musical life and goals.

As quartet-in-residence at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, the Ying Quartet teaches in the string department and leads a rigorous, sequentially designed chamber music program. One cornerstone of chamber music activity at Eastman is the

noted “Music for All” program, in which all students have the opportunity to perform in community settings beyond the concert hall. The Quartet is the ensemble-in-residence at the Bowdoin International Music Festival and at Arizona State University, and from 2001- 2008, the members of the Ying Quartet were the Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University.

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PUSH PHYSICAL THEATRE

Intense athleticism, gravity-defying acrobatics, and soulful artistry are the trademarks of

award-winning, genre-defining PUSH Physical Theatre. Founded in Rochester, NY in 2000 by husband-and-wife team, Darren and Heather Stevenson, out of a desire to “push” the boundaries of conventional theatre, PUSH has since earned an international reputation as one of the U.S.’s leading physical theatre companies.

Recently featured in acclaimed collaborations with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ying Quartet, and Pulitzer Prize-nominated composer Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon’s two multi-media operas (Comala and No Se Culpe with fellow composer Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez), PUSH has also produced its own full-length works including DRACULA, Jekyll & Hyde, and Arc of Ages. Additionally, its wide-ranging repertory includes many shorter works such as “Red Ball,” a hilarious take on the interplay between the real and virtual worlds using iPad technology.

PUSH was a season finalist on TruTV’s national series, Fake Off, a competition/reality show featuring what producers dubbed “the captivating art of ‘faking’”–a mix of theatre, acrobatics, and illusion. Their performances caused judge and Glee star Harry Shum Jr. to exclaim: “You guys are superhuman!”

These masters of physical storytelling have received the Community of Color/Anton Germano Dance Award, the Performing Artist of the Year Award from the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester, and the University of Rochester’s Lillian Fairchild Award.

In addition to a busy touring schedule, PUSH is passionate about arts-in-education programs and runs its own summer day camp for kids, teen training, and summer intensive for adult students from all over the world. More information is available at pushtheatre.org.


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DARREN AND HEATHER STEVENSON ( founding art ist ic d irectors/PUSHers)

Born and raised in England, Darren met New Jersey native Heather during their mutual

studies at The Center in St. Louis. Their shared love of theatre and performing planted the seeds for their relationship and eventual collaboration.

After founding the Studio School of the Arts in Atlanta, Georgia, the couple relocated to Rochester, NY with their two children in 2000. There, they created PUSH Physical Theatre, growing it over the next 18 years into the international touring company that it is today.

The Stevensons received the 2009 Performing Artist of the Year Award from the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester, the Community of Color/Anton Germano Dance Award, and the University of Rochester’s Lillian Fairchild Award in 2017 for PUSH’s collaborative work on a multi-media opera that brought together U.S. and Mexican artists.

Cross-genre collaborations with other world-renowned artists are becoming more and more frequent for the genre-defining company, such as its recent partnerships with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ying Quartet.

The first string quartet from Great Britain to perform at Eastman was the London String Quartet, founded in 1908. It appeared on six different occasions between 1923 and 1932.

Vincent Lenti

Did you know…



K I L B O U R N C O N C E R T S E R I E S

Tuesday, April 9, 2019 Kilbourn Hall7:30 pm

Roby Lakatos Ensemble


ROBY LAKATOS

Roby Lakatos is not only a virtuoso on the violin, but also an extremely versatile

musician who is equally adept to performing classical music, jazz and the folk idiom of his home country of Hungary. He is hard to define: most often, he is described as a Gypsy violinist, a devil’s fiddler, classical master, jazz improviser, composer and arranger – and his unique artistic personality is all that. He is a universal musician combining brilliant technique that makes him one of the best violinists in the world with creativity in improvisation and composing power.

Roby Lakatos was born in 1965 to a legendary family of Romani musicians as a member of the seventh generation of direct descendants to János Bihari - the famous “King of Gipsy Violinists”, who was admired by Ludwig van Beethoven, introduced Johannes Brahms to the themes for his Hungarian Dances and of whom Franz Liszt said: “The sweet tones drawn from his magic violin fell like drops of nectar on our

enchanted ears.” From early childhood, Roby Lakatos lived with the musical tradition of his family – he played in his uncle Sándor and father Antal’s band and appeared as the first violinist of a Gipsy orchestra at the age of nine.

Thus, he learned the tradition of violin technique and ornamentation at an early age, but also gained formal education at the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest. After winning the first prize for violin at the age of 19, he left for Belgium and first played in Liège, and then in the newly opened club Les Ateliers de la Grande Ile in Brussels, which quickly became a hotspot thanks to him and his ensemble. In the ten years of performing in the club, the ensemble attracted numerous fans: the shows were regularly visited by Sir Yehudi Menuhin, for example, and Roby made connections and collaborated with a number of musicians, including violinist Vadim Repin and his role model for violin jazz music performances Stéphane Grappelli.

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His concert career developed gradually, and now Roby Lakatos spends most of his time performing in various stages around the world. His ensemble has appeared, among other places, at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, in Académies Musicales de Saintes, Ottawa Chamber Music Fest ival , Ludwigsburg Schloßfestspiele and the Helsinki Festival, as well as in prestigious concert halls (Santa Cecilia in Rome, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Zankel Hall – Carnegie Hall in New York). His versatility has given him and his ensemble the opportunity to collaborate with major orchestras–The London Symphony Orchestra, French National Radio Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, to name a few – as well as with numerous exceptional artists, including Giora Feidman, Herbie Hancock, Joshua Bell, Maksim Vengerov, Nigel Kennedy and Randy Brecker. In Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan he first performed in 1999, and has since been regularly playing in Asia. He records for Hungarian and Belgian television networks and has also appeared on German television an German national radio stations, as well as on BBC in London.

He plays a rare instrument made by the 18th century Venetian violin maker Anselmo Bellosi.

Seven years after the release of their 1991 album Gypsy Syle for MW Records, The Roby Lakatos Ensemble recorded their first CD for Deutsche Grammophon, titled Lakatos. With a presentation of a unique style, which is a fusion of typical Gipsy music elements and jazz with improvisation as an important feature and specific technical effects, some of which he created himself (such as the fascinating left- hand pizzicato), Roby Lakatos and his ensemble also reflected a universal approach to the musical material by including on their CD the works by composers ranging from Zoltán Kodály and Johannes Brahms to John Williams’s music for Schindler’s List and Charles Aznavour’s chanson La Bohème. This album, which received

the prestigious German Echo Klassik award, was followed by four more releases for Deutsche Grammophon: Lakatos Gold and Post Phrasing (1998/1999), Live From Budapest (1999), and As Time Goes By (2002) offering an equally exciting combination of jazz and Gipsy music idioms with contemporary and classical elements. Apart from recording for other labels – With Musical Friends (Universal, 2001), Kinoshita Meets Lakatos (Prime Direction, Inc., 2002), Prokofiev... (Avanticlassic, 2005), Fire Dance (Avantijazz, 2005) and Klezmer Karma (Avanticlassic, 2006) – Roby Lakatos also started his own label Lakatos Recording Company to present somewhat different music, i.e. experimental works such as the project named The Legend of the Toad (2004), which is a sort of musical story told through his performances and the performances of his ensemble whose member, pianist Kálmán Cséki, also arranged the music.

Except for his long-time associate, violinist Lászlo Bóni, Roby Lakatos’s ensemble today is composed of young virtuoso musicians with classical musical education who are also well versed in the folklore tradition of Hungarian Gypsies.

Roby currently takes a leading role in production of the project Lakatos Rock Tales. The idea of the project is to travel through the chronological evolution of rock music from the ‘60s, so fertile and enthralled with that new sound that involved the enthusiasm of millions of young people around the world and made artists interact of the most diverse extras, to our day.

The originality of this musical program is based on the cooperation and unique sound produced by musicians who despite of coming from different musical genres – classical, jazz, rock, traditional Gipsy style – they found the common language of music: iconic pop-rock songs in a unique form full of fantasy and improvisation.

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E a s t m a n - R a n l e t S e r i e s

Sunday, April 14, 2019 Kilbourn Hall3:00 pm

Ying QuartetString Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 22 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Adagio—Moderato assai (1840-1893) Allegro giusto Andante ma non tanto Allegro con moto

INTERMISSION

String Quintet in C Major, D. 956 Franz Schubert Allegro ma non troppo (1797-1828) Adagio Scherzo Allegretto

Ahrim Kim, cello


YING QUARTET

“The Y ing Quar te t came as c l ose t o the ideal as possible, delivering chamber music of astonishing, refreshing exaltation and exhilaration.”

– The Los Angeles Times

The Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence in the classical music world,

combining brilliantly communicative performances with a fearlessly imaginative view of chamber music in today’s world. Now in its third decade, the Quartet has established itself as an ensemble of the highest musical qualifications. Their performances regularly take place in many of the world’s most important concert halls; at the same time, the Quartet’s belief that concert music can also be a meaningful part of everyday life has also drawn the foursome to perform in settings as diverse as the workplace, schools, juvenile prisons, and the White House. In fact, the Ying Quartet’s constant quest to explore the creative possibilities of the string quartet has led it to an unusually diverse array of musical projects and interests.

The Ying’s ongoing LifeMusic commissioning project, created in response to their commitment to expanding the rich string quartet repertoire, has already achieved an impressive history. Supported by the Institute for American Music, the Ying Quartet commissions both established and emerging composers to create music that reflects contemporary American life. Recent works include Billy Childs’ Awakening; Lera Auerbach’s Sylvia’s Diary; Lowell Liebermann’s String Quartet No. 3, To the Victims of War; Sebastian Currier’s Next Atlantis; and John Novacek’s Three Rags for String Quartet. In August 2016 the Ying Quartet released a new Schumann/ Beethoven recording on Sono Luminus with the cellist Zuill Bailey, and in 2016-17 the five toured with the Schumann Cello Concerto transcribed for cello and string quartet along with Beethoven’s “Kreutzer Sonata,” also reimagined for cello quintet. The 2017-18 season will see the Quartet continuing its work in the relatively new field of medicine, music, and healing with the staff at Houston Methodist, while simultaneously maintaining its busy touring schedule.

The Ying Quartet’s many other recordings reflect many of the group’s wide-ranging musical interests and have generated consistent, enthusiastic acclaim. The group’s CD “American Anthem” (Sono Luminus), heralding the music of Randall Thompson, Samuel Barber, and Howard Hanson, was released in 2013 to rave reviews; their 2007 Telarc release of the three Tchaikovsky Quartets and the Souvenir de Florence (with James Dunham and Paul Katz) was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Chamber Music Performance category.

The Ying Quartet first came to professional prominence in the early 1990s during their years as resident quartet of Jesup, Iowa, a farm town of 2000 people. Playing before audiences of six to six hundred in homes, schools, churches, and banks, the Quartet had its first opportunities to enable music and creative endeavor to

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become an integral part of community life. The Quartet considers its time in Jesup the foundation of its present musical life and goals.

As quartet-in-residence at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, the Ying Quartet teaches in the string department and leads a rigorous, sequentially designed chamber music program. One cornerstone of chamber music activity at Eastman is the

noted “Music for All” program, in which all students have the opportunity to perform in community settings beyond the concert hall. The Quartet is the ensemble-in-residence at the Bowdoin International Music Festival and at Arizona State University, and from 2001- 2008, the members of the Ying Quartet were the Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University.

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Die Hebriden Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26 Max Bruch Vorspiel: Allegro moderato (1838-1920) Adagio Finale: Allergo energico

INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61 Robert Schumann Sostenuto assai— Allegro, ma non troppo (1810-1856) Scherzo: Allegro vivace Adagio espressivo Allegro molto vivace

Joshua Bell appears by arrangement with Park Avenue Artists (www.ParkAvenueArtists.com) and Primo Artists (www.PrimoArtists.com)

E a s t m a n P r e s e n t s

Friday, April 12, 2019 Kodak Hall7:30 pm

Joshua Bell & David Zinmanwith Eastman Philharmonia


JOSHUA BELLPrimoartists.com

With a career spanning more than 30 years as a soloist, chamber musician, recording

artist and conductor, Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated violinists of his era. An exclusive Sony Classical artist, Bell has recorded more than 40 CDs garnering Grammy, Mercury, Gramophone and Echo Klassik awards and is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize. Named the Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in 2011, he is the only person to hold this post since Sir Neville Marriner formed the orchestra in 1958.

In Summer 2017, Bell leads the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in residency appearances at the Edinburgh Festival and the Bravo! Vail Festival. He performs as soloist at the BBC Proms in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Charles Dutoit, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Tanglewood and the

Hollywood Bowl. In the Fall, he joins the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and partakes in the New York Philharmonic’s celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s centennial, performing Bernstein’s Serenade led by Alan Gilbert. A nine-city North American recital tour with pianist Alessio Bax includes Chicago’s Symphony Center and Washington D.C.’s Strathmore Center. He makes appearances with the Vienna Symphony and the Monte Carlo Philharmonic and performs multiple concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. In Spring 2018, Bell continues with the Academy in tours covering the United Kingdom, United States and Asia, with highlights in London, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai. With pianist Sam Haywood, he performs 10 recitals in Europe and America that take them to the Philharmonie de Paris, Zurich Tonhalle and beyond. On February 7, 2018, Bell reunites with longtime collaborator pianist Jeremy Denk for a recital broadcast live from Carnegie Hall. Further season highlights include the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Cristian Macelaru, Danish National Symphony with Macelaru, and an all-Beethoven play/direct program with the Orchestre National de Lyon.

Convinced of the value of music as a diplomatic and educational tool, Bell participated in President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities’ first cultural mission to Cuba. He is also involved in Turnaround Arts, another project implemented by the Committee and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which provides arts education to low-performing elementary and middle schools. Bell has performed for three U.S. Presidents as well as the President of China and devoted himself to several charitable causes, most notably

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Education Through Music, which put instruments in the hands of thousands of children in America’s inner cities.

Planned for August 2018 release is a 14 CD set of Bell’s Sony recording highlights. In September 2016, Sony Classical released Bell’s newest album, For the Love of Brahms with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Jeremy Denk. Bell’s 2014 Sony release was a Bach album recorded with the Academy that coincided with an HBO YoungArts documentary special, Joshua Bell: A Young Arts Master Class. His 2013 release with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, featured him conducting Beethoven’s Fourth and Seventh symphonies and debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts.

In 2013, Sony released Bell’s holiday CD, Musical Gifts from Joshua Bell and Friends, featuring collaborations with Chris Botti, Chick Corea, Gloria Estefan, Renée Fleming, Plácido Domingo, Alison Krauss and others. Other releases include French Impressions with pianist Jeremy Denk, featuring sonatas by Saint-Saëns, Ravel and Franck, At Home with Friends, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, The Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic, as well as The Red Violin Concerto, The Essential Joshua Bell, Voice of the Violin, and Romance of the Violin which Billboard named the 2004 Classical CD of the Year, and Bell the Classical Artist of the Year.

The Eastman Philharmonia was founded in the fall of 1958. Three years later they made a three-month tour of Europe and the Middle East under the auspices of the U.S. State Department, presenting forty-nine concerts over a period of ninety-three days.

Vincent Lenti

Did you know…


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DAVID Z INMAN

Conductor Laureate of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, having completed his 19-year tenure

as Music Director in summer 2014, David Zinman has held positions as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic and Baltimore Symphony orchestras and more recently at the Orchestre Français des Jeunes, Principal Conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and Music Director of the Aspen Music Festival and School and American Academy of Conducting.

A regular guest with the world’s leading orchestras, this season includes appearances with Wiener Symphoniker for their season opening conducting Mahler Symphony No.2, as well as Orchestre national de Lyon, Orchestre de Paris, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen,

Konzerthaus Berlin and Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Zinman also returns to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich for concerts and his now world-renowned masterclasses.

He has long-standing collaborations with soloists such as Mitsuko Uchida, Alfred Brendel, Yefim Bronfman, Radu Lupu, Truls Mørk, Lisa Batiashvili, Gil Shaham, Julia Fischer, Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax and András Schiff.

David Zinman’s extensive discography of more than 100 recordings has earned him numerous international honours, particularly for his interpretation of Beethoven’s symphonies with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, including five Grammy awards, two Grand Prix du Disque, two Edison Prizes, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis and a Gramophone Award. Recent releases include a 50 CD box set David Zinman: Great Symphonies – The Zurich Years, which commemorates his recording legacy with the Tonhalle-Orchester.

In 2000 the French Ministry of Culture awarded David Zinman the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in October 2002 the City of Zürich Art Prize was awarded to him for his outstanding artistic efforts – making him the first conductor and first non-Swiss recipient of this award. More recently, Zinman received the prestigious Theodore Thomas Award in recognition of outstanding achievement and extraordinary service to one’s colleagues in advancing the art and science of conducting. In 2008 he won the Midem Classical Artist of the Year award for his work with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He was also the 1997 recipient of the prestigious Ditson Award from Columbia University in recognition of his exceptional commitment to the performance of works by American composers.


E a s t m a n P r e s e n t s S e r i e s , B a r b a r a B . S m i t h W o r l d M u s i c S e r i e s

Saturday, April 20, 2019 Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre7:30 pm

Afro-Cuban Al l Stars



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AFRO-CUBAN ALL STARS

After gaining international fame for reviving the classic sound of Cuban son, tres master

Juan de Marcos turned the Afro-Cuban All Stars into a sensational showcase for Cuba’s most prodigious young musicians. While long revered in Latin America and Europe as a founding member of Cuba’s great son revival band Sierra Maestra, de Marcos first gained notice in the US as founder of the Buena Vista Social Club. It was de Marcos who assembled Ibrahim Ferrer, Eliades Ochoa, Ruben Gonzalez and the rest of the crew for Ry Cooder when he came to Havana looking for illustrious old timers. But de Marcos is just as interested in promoting Cuba’s brilliant young musicians as in highlighting Cuba’s senior talent. The Afro-Cuban All Stars not only features a rotating, multi-generational cast; the group draws on both classic Cuban styles, like son and danzón, and contemporary dance rhythms like timba. “What I’m trying to do is create a bridge between contemporary and traditional Cuban music,” de Marcos says. “I’m trying to mix both things so people can realize that Cuban music didn’t stop in time, that it developed in this long period when Cuban music disappeared from the market.”

Juan de Marcos was born in Havana in 1954 and grew up surrounded by music (his father was a singer and played with Arsenio Rodríguez

amongst others). At university he studied hydraulic engineering and Russian before working as a consultant at the Agronomic Science Institute, gaining his doctorate in 1989. While at university he co-founded the group Sierra Maestra in 1978. Styled as a traditional Cuban septeto group (tres, trumpet, bass, percussion and vocals), the dynamic young band’s aim was to bring about an appreciation of Cuban son by the youth of the island. The band achieved great success, recording fourteen albums in Cuba, touring Africa and Europe and receiving various awards.

In 1994, Juan de Marcos began his association with the London based record label World Circuit, when the band recorded the album ‘¡Dundunbanza!’. For this recording, World Circuit’s Nick Gold encouraged the group to expand their line-up to include piano, congas and a trumpet section in a tribute to the forties and fifties styles of Arsenio Rodríguez. Having found success and a common ground, de Marcos and Gold looked to develop this understanding further with a big band recording in Havana, featuring the neglected stars of this ‘golden age’ of Cuban music.

Juan de Marcos had long harbored a dream to put together a band combining the ‘old masters’ and the new generation of Cuban musicians. “I wanted to mix the generations so there is the experience of the older guys and the energy of the younger players”, says Juan. He went in search of his heroes and found many of them ‘retired’ from music, forgotten figures delighted that someone was showing faith in them. He recruited the singers Manuel ‘Puntillita’ Licea, Pío Leyva and Raúl Planas, all in their seventies. Despite the doubts of others in his ability to still reach the heights, he approached the legendary pianist Rubén González. Rubén did not own a piano, so Juan found him a place to practice and encouraged him to rehearse with his chosen bass player, Orlando ‘Cachaíto’ López. Juan


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continued to assemble his dream band and the Afro-Cuban All Stars were born.

Juan de Marcos and Gold planned to record two albums in Havana’s EGREM studios in 1997: the debut from the All Stars and a collaboration between West African and Eastern Cuban musicians for which Gold had invited Ry Cooder as producer. Due to passport complications the African musicians were unable to travel to the recording. However, the two week recording trip yielded an extraordinary trio of albums: The debut albums from the Afro-Cuban All Stars A Toda Cuba le Gusta and Ruben Gonzalez’ Introducing… and the Buena Vista Social Club.

The All Stars album was the first to be recorded and Juan de Marcos’s band provided both the springboard and many of the musicians for the Buena Vista album that followed. The All Stars’ rhythm section was retained along with the band’s trumpet soloist ‘Guajiro’ Mirabal, pianist Rubén González and various singers. The great Santiago guitarist and singer Eliades Ochoa and the laoud player Barbarito Torres had already been recruited at Gold’s suggestion. The day after the All Stars album was completed Ry Cooder arrived in Havana to be greeted by this ensemble for the start of what was to become the Buena Vista Social Club. Other musicians were added during the sessions including the singer Ibrahim Ferrer (who was at the time also ‘retired’) whom Juan contacted and brought to the studio within hours of Cooder’s request for a ‘singer with a soft voice’. Juan de Marcos acted as consultant, coordinator and conductor during the sessions and when Gold suggested

making an album with Rubén González in the two days remaining, Juan was recruited as musical director for that project as well. In 2000, he also collaborated on the debut album by Ibrahim Ferrer.

Following the albums’ release Juan de Marcos led the Afro-Cuban All Stars and Rubén González on their debut European and U.S. tours and directed the only ever two Buena Vista Social Club concerts in Amsterdam and New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Despite the new-found worldwide success of Cuban music, it is the appreciation of the music within Cuba itself that Juan de Marcos finds most satisfying. “When you live in an isolated country you always think things are better elsewhere. Because of that the influence of American music has been very strong. People were trying to play American music before they learned Cuban music. We have to use what is good from around the world, but first we have to be conscious of the importance of our own music. A few years ago young Cuban musicians didn’t care about real Cuban music. Now there are hundreds of bands playing traditional music. Of course music will change, there will be new dances and styles. But we are going to keep the roots. I am very confident about that.”

The impact of these albums internationally would also affect the music industry in Cuba; not only did it resurrect the career of several ‘forgotten’ legends, but left the record buying public worldwide with an appetite for Cuban music, and a receptiveness to new recordings that previously didn’t exist. As for the Afro-Cuban


All Stars, they evolved from being a musical dream, to a one-off recording, to the formation of a full-time touring and recording group.

Having been instrumental in the formation of the project, Juan de Marcos moved center stage with his new edition Afro-Cuban All Stars and their ambitious new, forward-looking album Distinto, diferente. “We have to use all the heritage of Cuban music to create a sound of the future,” says Juan. “It’s important to have that continuity and to fight for the identity of Cuban music.” Whilst retaining the stars of the debut album, the follow up record brought in some additional legendary figures of Cuban music including Omara Portuondo, Lina Borges, Polo Tamayo, Jesús ‘Aguaje’ Ramos, and Amadito Valdés. Some prominent names from current generation of Cuban music such as Orlando ‘Maracas’ Valle, David Alfaro, and Yaure Muñiz, showcased their talents on this album. The result is again multi-generational but with a sound much closer to the vanguard of Cuban dance music, with lyrics – in some cases – that have even greater social relevance now.

Juan de Marcos is not a man to stand still and although he will continue his association with World Circuit, Juan formed his own production company/ record label, ‘ DM Ahora’ to deal with the wealth of talent in Cuba. In addition to his continued involvement with the development of Cuban music, Juan de Marcos has also maintained the Afro-Cuban All Stars as an active touring band, performing to ecstatic audiences around the globe. 2004 saw the release of a live CD/DVD from the group, and the accompanying tour included a series of concerts with World Circuit’s Senegalese superstars Orchestra Baobab. The long awaited third studio album from the group ‘Step Forward’ was released in 2005 on DM Ahora, and the group embarked on a world tour continuing through 2006.

What direction the Afro-Cuban All Stars go in next remains to be seen, but with Juan de Marcos at the helm, one can be sure they are in safe hands.

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B a r b a r a B . S m i t h W o r l d M u s i c S e r i e s

Monday, April 29, 2019 Kilbourn Hall7:30 pm

Gamelan Li la Muni & Gamelan Sanjiwani

Gamelan San j iwan i

Jaya Semara (1964) I Wayan Beratha (1924-2014)

Panij Semirang (1942/43) I Nyoman Kaler (1892-unk.)

Sekar Genotan (ca. 1930) I Wayan Lotring (1883-1983)

Persimpangan (2011) Lena Nietfeld (b. 1985)

Membawa gunug (2018) Evan Henry (b. 1990)

Gamelan L i la Muni

Puspanjali (1989) I Nyoman Windha (b. 1954) arr. I Nyoman Suadin

Janger I Nyoman Windha adpt. I Nyoman Suadin

Margapati (1942) I Gede Manik (1912-1984) adpt. I Nyoman Suadin


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ANUBRATA CHATTERJEE

Gamelan at Eastman, as in Bali, is a communal effort. Our members include

Eastman students, faculty, and staff, as well as many members of the Rochester community. The music is learned through the oral/aural tradition without the use of notation, and therefore requires the players to work together closely for long periods of time. The result is a sense of group unity and pride as the audience hears the music and witnesses the collective efforts of the ensemble.

Since 1993, Eastman Gamelan has provided students and members of the Rochester community the privilege to learn music from two very different Balinese gamelan ensembles: Gamelan Lila Muni (Heavenly Sound) and Gamelan Sanjiwani (Life Force). Gamelan Lila Muni is an ancient four-tone gamelan angklung which traditionally performs music for rituals and ceremonies. Gamelan Sangi Wani, of the five-tone gamelan gong kebyar, is an ensemble developed in the 20th century associated with youthful exuberance and characterized by explosive changes in tempo and dynamics.

Eastman’s gamelan ensembles perform throughout the northeastern United States and in Canada in programs of traditional and contemporary Balinese music, present interactive workshops for audiences of all ages, and engage in creative collaborations with Western musicians and composers. In recent years, we have collaborated with Bobby McFerrin and the Paul Winter Consort, and have premiered new compositions by composers Wayne Vitale, Robert Morris, Jennifer Fontana Graham, Daniel Ianantuono, John Orfe, and Payton McDonald, including a number of Eastman student composers.

New members are welcomed into the Eastman gamelan ensembles each year, regardless of musical experience.

Perhaps the first non-Western music performed in Kilbourn Hall was a concert of traditional folk music of India performed by Wasantha Wana Singh and His Group on November 15, 1949.

Vincent Lenti

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2018-2019 season - Onstage: Audience Access

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Transcript of 2018-2019 season - Onstage: Audience Access