Saturday, August 6, 2011, 8pm Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Elena Kats-Chernin: Re-Collecting ASTORoids [U.S. Premiere] Behzad Ranjbaran: Concerto for Piano (Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano) [West Coast Premiere] Mark Adamo: Prepositions and the Names of Fish [World Premiere | Festival Commission] Shuko Mizuno: Symphonic Poem: Natsu (Summer) [U.S. Premiere] John Corigliano: Cabrillo Lullaby [World Premiere | Festival Commission]
Two World Premieres, two U.S. Premieres, and one West Coast Premiere are celebrated this evening. Soviet-born Elena Kats-Chernin is considered one of Australia’s leading contemporary composers and she returns for the U.S. Premiere of Re-Collecting ASTORoids–her homage to the music of the great Argentinean composer, Astor Piazzolla. Iranian-born Behzad Ranjbaran makes his Festival debut for the West Coast Premiere of his Concerto for Piano written for and featuring soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Ranjbaran’s Persian roots are woven into the fabric of the work, synthesizing old and new, East and West, all the while striving to capture “Thibaudet’s elegance and brilliance as well as his enormously colorful artistry.”
The World Premiere of Mark Adamo’s Prepositions and the Names of Fish is the first of the evening’s anniversary “nightcaps.” Then one of Japan's preeminent composers, Shuko Mizuno joins us for the U.S. Premiere of his Symphonic Poem: Natsu (Summer), a work that the composer says represents the culmination of a 30-year pursuit for his own orchestral sound. Mizuno spent summers in the Shinshu highland and was influenced by the sun, mountain peaks, thundering storms, light breezes, fiery sunsets, and misty nights of the season––all are reflected in this work and give moving tribute to the beauty of Japan. The evening closes with the World Premiere of Academy Award-winning composer John Corigliano’s anniversary “nightcap” titled, Cabrillo Lullaby.
A Talkback Session with Marin Alsop, composers, and guest artist follows the concert.
This concert will be delay broadcast and webstreamed on KUSP radio, Friday, August 19, 8:00 pm.
Program Notes may be read below.
Program Notes
Re-Collecting ASTORoids (2010) - U.S. Premiere Elena Kats-Chernin (b. 1957)
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Elena Kats-Chernin studied music at the Gnessin Musical College in Moscow before immigrating to Australia in 1975. After graduating from the New South Wales Conservatory of Music in 1981, she spent the next thirteen years in Germany studying with composer Helmut Lachenmann before returning to Sydney in 1994, where she now lives. She has composed extensively for dance, chamber ensemble and piano, including two piano concertos.
Last year the Cabrillo Festival performed the American premiere of her piece Heaven is Closed (2000). This year she returns with the American premiere of Re-Collecting ASTORoids. This piece actually had two premieres, a partial premiere on October 30, 2009 performing movements 1, 2 and 5 by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paul Daniel. The Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Northey performed the complete premiere in Brisbane on February 6, 2011. The composer writes:
When the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra asked me to write a tribute to Astor Piazzolla, Huw Humphreys, their artistic director, encouraged me to simply let myself be “inspired” by Piazzolla, rather than use actual melodies or motives from his works. I completely agreed, as Piazzolla’s melodies are perfect the way they are. I set out on this task by listening to his beautiful pieces and just letting myself be driven by the impressions his music made on me. The process was like an inner dialogue between Piazzolla’s world and my own. My piece uses some of Piazzolla’s unusual harmonic turns, with clear nods to composers that I hear in his music, as diverse as Bach and Legrand. There is of course the obligatory tango element, even though I tend to write substantially simpler rhythms.
As for the major differences, my piece has no Argentinean influence (one can probably identify elements of Russian Tango in this piece) and there is no bandoneón (though I love this instrument and own one).
There are five movements:
Prologue: Slowly unfolding, sliding, brooding chords in the strings with harp arpeggios, followed by a muted trumpet solo.
Tango in A minor: A fast tango movement quoting my own piece Peggy’s Rag (composed in 1995).
Walking: A moderate tempo movement, in quite a dark mood, starting with an almost Baroque-style “walking bass.”
At Night: The start of this movement is in a rather film-noir style. A wistful melody enters, leading to a sudden change of pace (in 5/8 meter), returning later to the introductory material in 4/4.
Epilogue: a reflection on all that has gone before, like a journey coming to a quiet, peaceful and slightly sad end.
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (2008) - West Coast Premiere Behzad Ranjbaran (b. 1955)
Born in Teheran, Iran, Behzad Ranjbaran entered the Teheran Conservatory of Music at age nine. In 1974 he came to the United States for studies at Indiana University and at The Juilliard School, where he obtained his doctorate and where he currently serves as a member of the faculty. Previous commissions include works from the Virginia and Santa Rosa Symphony Orchestras, and he has served as composer-in-residence for the Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra and the 40th anniversary season of the Saratoga Music Festival.
The Piano Concerto received its premiere on June 4, 2008 with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra conducted by Music Director Robert Spano.
The composer writes:
I was thrilled when Jean-Yves Thibaudet approached me to write a piano concerto for him. My intention was to write a concerto that would capture his elegance and brilliance as well as his enormously colorful artistry. I also saw this as an opportunity to weave my Persian roots into the fabric of a virtuoso concerto: a synthesis of old and new, East and West.
From my early years growing up in Iran, I was particularly attracted to the sound of Persian “Deraz Nay” (Alpine horn). The Deraz Nay was used in grand celebrations of Nowruz (Persian New Year) in Persepolis (the capital of Persia, circa 500 B.C.) as well as in recent centuries for expression of grief and lamentation in Taziyeh (the Shiite liturgical drama). The opening theme heard in the horns and the accompanying heartbeat, played by the drums, evoke elements of these ancient rituals. This theme is echoed throughout the concerto in many forms and characters, particularly in the powerful climaxes. The second theme is lyrical and scalar in character, introduced by the solo piano at the beginning of the first cadenza. These two themes are the melodic and harmonic basis of the three interrelated movements of the entire concerto.
The energetic first movement is the longest of the three and it is marked with huge orchestral passages as well as three piano cadenzas. The harp often introduces the solo piano with a gentle and seductive character. The duo passages for harp and solo piano highlight the lyrical and soft qualities of the piano. It also contrasts the percussive passages in which the solo piano is battling the might of the orchestra. The character of Taziyeh from the opening horn theme returns in a powerful and climactic orchestral unison that evokes passages of Marsiyeh Khani (the traditional Persian mourning singing).
The second movement is titled “Distant Dreams,” as it is haunting and nocturnal in character. It often engages the solo piano with only a few instruments in an intimate chamber setting. A passage for harp and one-hand piano completes this movement in one of the softest moments in the concerto.
The festive third movement begins with a solo piano cadenza. The “Daf”, a very large Persian framed drum, enhances the festive and dance-like character of this movement. In Iran, the Daf is often used in outdoor festivities and weddings. I particularly like the distinct sound of tens of brass rings hanging from the frame brushing against the skin of the drum. In this movement many passages from earlier movements are woven into a polyphonic texture. It reaches a climax with a fugal passage for brass that mirrors a similar passage from the first movement. The concerto, with continuous flashbacks to the earlier movements, races to the end with a huge burst of energy.
The score of the piano concerto is dedicated to my dear friend, Jean-Yves Thibaudet.
Over the last fifty hears Shuko Mizuno has established himself as one of Japan’s most important 20th century composers, with a particular focus on improvisational music. His works are regularly performed by the Japan Opera Foundation and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Making his Cabrillo Festival debut this year, he has written the following note for the American premiere of his 1988 work Kokyoshi “Natsu”:
This piece was composed in 1988 and first performed on May 8, 1989 on the occasion of the “Orchestra Project” by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hideomi Kuroiwa.
I had been looking for my own sound of orchestral music for thirty years, until I finally found it in my symphonic poem “Summer” which I completed in 1988. I think that, in the field of orchestral music, the most fruitful sound is found in the music composed by Wagner, Berg and Messiaen. On the other hand, I believe that jazz harmony has a nice spicy effect on music. I have been attracted by jazz because of its effective use of harmony - especially the use of harmonic tension. My music is the result of blending various types of music, mellow melody, fruitful harmony and lively rhythm.
As for title “Summer,” I spent almost every summer in Shinsyu high land in early years. Shining sun, peaks of mountains surrounded by huge clouds, thundering storms of fierce winds and violent rains, breezes in the shade of trees, flaming reflections of sunset, and misty evenings are all influences on this piece.
Suggested recording: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hideomi Kuroiwa Camarata B00004Y6VV
