ITAMAR ZORMAN, VIOLIN Itamar Zorman is one of the most soulful, evocative artists of his generation, distinguished by his emotionally gripping performances and gift for musical storytelling. Since his emergence with the top prize at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition, he has wowed audiences all over the world with breathtaking style, causing one critic to declare him a “young badass who’s not afraid of anything.” His “youthful intensity” and “achingly beautiful” sound shine through in every performance, earning him the title of the “virtuoso of emotions. Awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award for 2014, violinist Itamar Zorman is the winner of the 2013 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia. Mr. Zorman has performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the Mariinsky Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, KBS Symphony Seoul, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, German Radio Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Kremerata Baltica, RTE National Symphony Orchestra (Dublin) and American Symphony. In 2024 he performed with the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in their traditional televised Christmas concert, following the Pope’s blessing.He has worked with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Michael Tilson-Thomas, David Robertson, Valery Gergiev, James DePreist, Karina Canellakis, Yuri Bashmet, and Nathalie Stuztmann. Mr. Zorman has performed around the world in halls such as Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Zurich Tonhalle, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, and Teatro Massimo Palermo. As a recitalist he performed at Carnegie Hall's Distinctive Debut series, Wigmore Hall, People's Symphony Concerts, Merkin Hall, the Louvre Museum, Suntory Hall Laeiszhalle Hamburg and HR-Sendesaal Frankfurt. Mr. Zorman was invited to the Verbier, Marlboro, Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brevard, Classical Tahoe, MITO SettembreMusica, and Radio France Festivals. He has also collaborated with a number of legendary artists such as Richard Goode (including performances at Carnegie Hall and Library of Congress), Mitsuko Uchida, Steven Isserlis and Jörg Widmann. Mr. Zorman’s latest CD, “Violin Odyssey”, a collection of works for violin from five continents, was released in 2022 by First Hand Records to critical acclaim. As part of an ongoing exploration of the music of Paul Ben-Haim, Mr. Zorman released a CD of the works for violin and orchestra with BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Philippe Bach for BIS Records, in April 2019, entitled “Evocation”. His first solo CD recording, entitled “Portrait”, features works by Messiaen, Schubert, Chausson, Hindemith, and Brahms and was released by Profil - Editions Günther Hänssler. Described as a “poet of the violin”, Itamar Zorman is also a committed chamber player. He is a founding member of the Israeli Chamber Project and a member of the Lysander Piano Trio, with which he won the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Grand Prize in the 2011 Coleman Chamber Music Competition, 1st prize in the 2011 Arriaga Competition, and a bronze medal in the 2010 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Born in Tel-Aviv in 1985 to a family of musicians, Itamar Zorman began his violin studies at the age of six with Saly Bockel at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel-Aviv. He graduated in 2003 and continued his studies with Professor David Chen and Nava Milo. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance as a student of Hagai Shaham, and his Master of Music from The Juilliard School in 2009, where he studied with Robert Mann and Sylvia Rosenberg. He then went on to receive an Artist Diploma from Manhattan School of Music in 2010 and an Artist Diploma from Julliard in 2012 under the tutelage of Sylvia Rosenberg, and he is an alumnus of the Kronberg Academy where he studied with Christian Tetzlaff and Mauricio Fuks. He is also the recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and has taken part in numerous master classes around the world, working with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Shlomo Mintz, Ida Haendel, and Ivry Gitlis. Mr. Zorman is an Associate Professor of Music (Violin) at Indiana University’s Jacob’s School of Music. He plays on a 1734 Guarneri del Gesù, from the collection of Yehuda Zisapel.

February 18, 2024: Anthony McGill, clarinet; Stefan Jackiw, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Stephen Brown, piano Olivier Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time February 18, 2024: Anthony McGill, clarinet; Stefan Jackiw, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Michael Stephen Brown, piano The outbreak of the Second World War occurred one week after Messiaen had finished his organ work Les corps glorieux on August 25, 1939. Messiaen was called into service but was found unfit for active duty because of his poor eyesight. When the Germans invaded in May 1940 Messiaen was serving as a medical auxiliary at Verdun. He and three other musicians made it on foot to Nancy, but there they were captured. Messiaen was taken to a prison camp at Görlitz, Silesia (now Poland), where he remained until the spring of 1941, staunchly guarding “a haversack containing all my treasures, i.e., a little library of scores . . . going from the Brandenburg Concertos of Bach to the Lyric Suite of Berg [also including scores by Beethoven, Ravel, and Stravinsky].” Messiaen composed in order to help himself survive “the cruelties and horrors of the camp”—first a short trio for a violinist, clarinetist, and cellist whom he met in the camp, which they performed in the washrooms. (The former two had their instruments with them; the Germans supplied the cellist with a cello with only three strings.) He then embarked on a full-scale chamber work for these musicians with himself as pianist, the Quatuor pour la fin du temps, which included the trio as the fourth movement. For the first performance of the Quartet on the savagely cold night of January 15, 1941, a rickety, out-of-tune old upright piano with many non-functional keys was brought into the Stalag, and the piece was played in the unheated Barrack 27 before an audience of 5,000 inmates. “Never,” said Messiaen later, “have I been heard with as much attention and understanding.” The title Quartet for the End of Time, asserted Messiaen, was not to be interpreted as a response to his imprisonment; rather he wished to pay homage to “the Angel of the Apocalypse, who raises his hand heavenward saying: ‘There will be no more Time’” (Revelation of St. John). The composer also pointed out that the title has another meaning: his wish for an end of musical time based on the equal durational divisions of traditional music. The Quartet for the End of Time exhibits the polyrhythmic structures that he employed to achieve this aim, and which became very important in his later works. Messiaen also wanted the rhythmic structure to be independent of the harmony and melody, “in the manner of Guillaume de Machaut [c.1300–1377] whose work I did not know at the time.” The first movement, Liturgy of crystal, serves to illustrate Messiaen’s complex musical language. Two independent rhythmic ostinatos, one for the piano and a non-retrogradable (palindromic) one for the cello, are colored by the repeating patterns of twenty-nine different chords (showing Messiaen’s fondness of prime numbers). The melodic and harmonic patterns are not congruent with the rhythmic patterns, bringing to mind medieval isorhythmic motets, such as those by Machaut. Messiaen’s pitches are derived from his own system of modes. These combined structures are superimposed on two independent bird songs, played by the violin and clarinet. Here in a nutshell can be found some of the most important features in Messiaen’s development as a composer: complex polyrhythms, harmonic modes, his “banishment of temporalities,” and above all, the introduction of bird song. It is important to note, however, that Messiaen’s manufactured structures do not dictate the form of the movement or its duration—they are cut off abruptly; it is the bird song that shapes the movement. Otherwise Messiaen would have been exchanging one kind of tyranny for another. Interesting relationships exist between the movements of the Quartet. The second shows thematic links with the seventh, both the third and sixth movements are monodies (clarinet alone, and all four instruments in octaves, respectively), and the fourth movement (the former trio) is related thematically to both the third and the sixth. The fifth and eighth movements are related in style, slow tempo, E major tonality, solo stringed instrument with piano, and theological basis. The Quartet for the End of Time remains one of the most important chamber music compositions of the twentieth century, in part because of Messiaen’s techniques, but also because it speaks to those who are totally unaware of them, as it did to the inmates that cold winter. In the preface to the score, Messiaen provided the following description, which is worth quoting in full: “Conceived and written in the course of my captivity, the Quartet for the End of Time was performed for the first time in Stalag 8-A on January 15, 1941, by Jean Le Boulaire, violinist; Henri Akoka, clarinetist; Etienne Pasquier, cellist; and myself at the piano. It is directly inspired by this excerpt from ‘The Revelation of St. John.’ Its musical language is essentially transcendental, spiritual, catholic. Certain modes, realizing melodically and harmonically a kind of tonal ubiquity, draw the listener into a sense of the eternity of space or time. Particular rhythms existing outside the measure contribute importantly toward the banishment of temporalities. (All this is mere striving and childish stammering if one compares it to the overwhelming grandeur of the subject!) “This Quartet contains eight movements. Why? Seven is the perfect number, the creation of six days made holy by the divine Sabbath; the seventh in its repose prolongs itself into eternity and becomes the eighth, of unfailing light, of immutable peace. “I. Liturgy of crystal. Between the morning hour of three and four, the awakening of the birds: a thrush or a nightingale soloist improvises, amid notes of shining sound and a halo of trills that lose themselves high in the trees. Transpose this to the religious plane: you will have the harmonious silence of heaven. “II. Vocalise, for the angel who announces the end of Time. The first and third parts (very short) evoke the power of that mighty angel, his hair a rainbow and his clothing mist, who places one foot on the sea and one foot on the earth. Between these sections are the ineffable harmonies of Heaven. From the piano, soft cascades of blue-orange chords, encircling with their distant carillon the plainchant-like recitativo of the violin and cello. “III. Abyss of the birds. Clarinet solo. The abyss is Time, with its sadness and tediums. The birds are the opposite of Time; they are our desire for light, for stars, for rainbows, and for jubilant outpourings of song! “IV. Interlude. Scherzo. Of a more outgoing character than the other movements but related to them, nonetheless, by various melodic references. “V. Praise to the eternity of Jesus. Jesus is here considered as one with the Word. A long phrase, infinitely slow, by the cello expatiates with love and reverence the everlastingness of the Word, mighty and dulcet, ‘which the years can in no way exhaust.’ Majestically the melody unfolds itself at a distance both intimate and awesome. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ “VI. Dance of fury, for the seven trumpets. Rhythmically the most idiosyncratic movement of the set. The four instruments in unison give the effect of gongs and trumpets (the first six trumpets of the Apocalypse attend various catastrophes, the trumpet of the seventh angel announces the consummation of the mystery of God). Use of extended note values, augmented or diminished rhythmic patterns, non-retrogradable rhythms—a systematic use of values which, read from left to right or from right to left, remain the same. Music of stone, formidable sonority; movement as irresistible as steel, as huge blocks of livid fury or ice-like frenzy. Listen particularly to the terrifying fortissimo of the theme in augmentation and with change of register of its different notes, toward the end of the piece. “VII. Cluster of rainbows, for the angel who announces the end of Time. Here certain passages from the second movement return. The mighty angel appears, and in particular the rainbow that envelops him (the rainbow, symbol of peace, of wisdom, of every quiver of luminosity and sound). In my dreamings I hear and see ordered melodies and chords, familiar hues and forms; then, following this transitory stage I pass into the unreal and submit ecstatically to a vortex, a dizzying interpenetration of super-human sounds and colors. These fiery swords, these rivers of blue-orange lava, these sudden stars: Behold the cluster, behold the rainbows! “VIII. Praise to the immortality of Jesus. Expansive violin solo balancing the cello solo of the fifth movement. Why this second glorification? It addresses itself more specifically to the second aspect of Jesus—to Jesus the man, to the Word made flesh, raised up immortal from the dead so as to communicate His life to us. It is total love. Its slow rising to a supreme point is the ascension of man toward his God, of the son of God toward his Father, of the mortal newly made divine toward paradise. “And I repeat anew what I said above: All this is mere striving and childish stammering if one compares it to the overwhelming grandeur of the subject!” —historical background ©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

YOOBIN SON, FLUTE Flutist Yoobin Son was the first Korean to join the New York Philharmonic’s wind section when she became a member of the Orchestra in November 2012. She has served as the principal flute of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and principal flute of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Son has performed as a soloist with ensembles including the New Haven, New Jersey, Florida, William Paterson University, and Korean symphony orchestras, and the Prime and Seoul Philharmonic orchestras. She has appeared in recital throughout the United States, among them the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago, as well as on the Young Artist Series of the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation in Seoul, South Korea. A dedicated chamber musician, Ms. Son has participated at festivals including the Marlboro Music Festival and Music from Angel Fire. She is an alumna of Carnegie Hall’s The Academy, where she was an active performer in the acclaimed Ensemble ACJW. As part of the Academy’s fellowship program, Ms. Son was a teaching artist at P.S. 207K in Brooklyn. She has received honors including the Grand Prize at the Florida Orchestra Young Artist Competition, First Prize at the National Flute Association Soloist Competition, Second Prize at the Koussevitzky International Winds Competition, and the Conductor’s Award at the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Auditions. Yoobin Son received her bachelor of music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music, master’s degree from Yale University, and professional studies and artist diploma from the Manhattan School of Music. Her principal teachers have included Robert Langevin, Ransom Wilson, Jeffrey Khaner, and Bradley Garner.

November 4, 2018: Yoobin Son, solo flute; Sheryl Staples, violin; Qian-Qian Li, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Eileen Moon, cello; Tim Cobb, bass; Alessio Bax, harpsichord ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741) Flute Concerto in D, RV428, (The Goldfinch) November 4, 2018: Yoobin Son, solo flute; Sheryl Staples, violin; Qian-Qian Li, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Eileen Moon, cello; Tim Cobb, bass; Alessio Bax, harpsichord If one were to compose a concerto a month every year for thirty-five years, one would still not match Vivaldi’s feat. He composed close to 500 concertos, including numerous solo concertos and many for different numbers of soloists in a variety of combinations. Of these, twelve complete concertos survive for solo flute—many reworked from other versions—and ten as chamber concertos that include flute. In addition he managed to compose solo and trio sonatas, operas, oratorios, masses, motets, and cantatas, all the while maintaining a heavy schedule of performing, teaching, and traveling. Vivaldi’s extraordinary mastery of instrumental forms and orchestration influenced generations of composers. To him goes the credit for establishing the three-movement norm for concertos. He typically cast his first and last movements in ritornello form, in which periodic returns of thematic material alternate with contrasting episodes. Dating proves difficult with many of Vivaldi’s compositions, but most of his concertos were written for the Ospedale della Pietà, the famous orphanage and music school for girls in Venice. He served as maestro di violino there beginning in 1703 and remained associated with the institution in some capacity for the rest of his life. The present Flute Concerto was published in 1728 in a set of six as Opus 10—the first collection of flute concertos published in Italy. As with most of its companions, Vivaldi adapted it from an earlier version. At several times in his career Vivaldi showed great interest in pictorial composing, most famously in the four Violin Concertos known as “The Four Seasons.” In the present Flute Concerto, which he reworked from an earlier version for chamber ensemble, he focused on the depiction of bird song—not in the type of exact rendering Messiaen would later employ, but in a charming, stylized manner. The Concerto is nicknamed “Il gardinello”—alternately translated as goldfinch, green finch, or bull finch—for its depiction of the finch in raucous and more lyrical moods, with abundant trills, repeated notes, and arpeggios. After the opening ritornello, striking for its forceful unison pattern, the solo flute gives a wonderful free bird-song impression. In other solo passages the flute is joined by solo violin, which also takes an avian role. Certain conventional musical patterns may be superimposed, but the overall effect is delightfully picturesque. The lovely slow movement avoids birdlike representations in favor of a general pastoral atmosphere, with the flute lilting a tender melody in Siciliano style. In contrast to the outer movements, the accompaniment is reduced to continuo alone (keyboard with supporting bass instruments). In between the decisive descending scales in the third-movement ritornello, beguiling pairings of flute and violin again suggest our feathered friends. The solo passages offer more twitterings, some again pairing flute with violin—or two violins—and some pitting the flute alone against the entire ensemble. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

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March 8, 2026: Jonathan Biss, piano Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Fantasy in C, Op. 17 March 8, 2026: Jonathan Biss, piano Rarely does a work so thoroughly combine life and art. Schumann composed the first movement of his Fantasy in June 1836 during the depths of despair at being separated from his beloved Clara Wieck. He later wrote her, “You can understand the Fantasy only if you think back to the unhappy summer of 1836, when I had to renounce you,” and in another letter he called the first movement “a deep lament for you.” Originally Schumann considered the first movement an independent piece, which he titled Ruines . Then in September of 1836 he hit upon the idea of adding two movements and donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the work toward the public fund for erecting a Beethoven monument in Bonn. Titled “Ruins. Trophies. Palms. Grand Sonata for the Pianoforte for Beethoven’s Monument,” the novel work failed to interest two publishers, so in May 1837 Schumann offered the work to Breitkopf & Härtel under the title “Fantasies,” with no mention of the Beethoven project. By the time it appeared in print in the spring of 1839, Schumann had considered a number of titles—Fantasy Pieces, Fata Morgana (referring to the optical illusions of the sorceress), Fantasy in Three Movements, and Poems: Ruins, Triumphal Arch, and Constellation—before finally settling on Fantasy. The publication carried the following motto from a poem by Friedrich Schlegel: “Through all the tones there sounds / in this colorful earthly dream / a gentle tone, sustained / for the one who secretly hears.” Robert wrote to Clara in 1839: “Write and tell me what you think to yourself in the first movement of the Fantasy. Does it also conjure up many pictures for you? Are not you really the ‘tone’ in the motto?” Though adding Schlegel’s motto was something of an afterthought, it still brings up the important idea of allusion. Of the many references Schumann made in the work, one in particular stands out to many listeners: in his first-movement coda he alludes to the final song of Beethoven’s cycle An die ferne Geliebte (To the distant beloved), in particular the phrase “take them then, these songs.” In Beethoven’s setting the poet means that these songs will lessen the distance between the separated lovers, which would have held so much meaning for Robert and Clara that the reference can hardly have been accidental. This and other allusions attest to the personal biographical significance of the work, but what of Schumann’s aesthetic desire, often expressed in his critical writings, to create something new out of old forms? His own indecision about what to call the piece and the widely divergent analyses with elements that “don’t fit” old forms lend weight to the idea that Schumann really created a unique form here. The first movement relies in part on sonata form but brings other elements into play. Most listeners hear three basic sections in the first movement, of which the second is an introspective character piece, “Im Legendenton” (In the style of a legend). But is this self-sufficient section the development section? Its main theme does, in fact, employ a transformed version of a motive from the first section, but this stable section does not behave like a development. Does it interrupt a development section already in progress? Does it interrupt a recapitulation? Cases have been presented for all these views. It bears remembering that this movement was originally conceived as a one-movement fantasy, which in historic terms—the fantasies of Mozart and Haydn, for example—meant a piece with a number of connected sections that exhibited novel features. By adding two more movements, with various hidden connections among them, Schumann also incorporates the idea of a multimovement fantasy as in Beethoven’s Opus 27 Piano Sonatas, which are both labeled “Quasi una fantasia.” Thus with Schumann we have a fantasy within a fantasy. Novel structure, however, would be nothing without great thematic ideas, such as the memorable opening, which begins as if one has just then “tuned in.” Liszt, to whom Schumann dedicated the Fantasy and who played it for the composer several times, warned that this theme should not be played too vigorously, but somewhat “dreamily.” Equally inspired is the second movement’s march theme. Clara particularly adored the second movement, which she learned to play first, saying she reveled in it and that “it makes me hot and cold all over.” This movement presents an original march-trio-march form in which the frequent returns of the march theme also lend the suggestion of a rondo. The thrilling coda strikes terror even into a virtuoso’s heart—each hand must execute extremely wide leaps simultaneously in opposite directions at full speed. The final movement also offers an innovative form that might best be described as a kind of parallel structure: two similar sections followed by a contrasting episode, then a transposed return that is first shortened by omitting the first of the two similar sections and then lengthened by the addition of a coda. The most striking thing about the movement, however, is its poetic, improvisatory atmosphere—highly unusual in a closing movement. Thus Schumann boldly reversed the typical sequence of events by placing his virtuoso showpiece as the work’s centerpiece and a spacious, radiant meditation as its conclusion. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

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2021-2022 SEASON June 5, 2021 Dear Friends, Greetings and welcome back to Parlance Chamber Concerts! I am delighted to announce the resumption of our live events during the 2021-22 season. Nine Sunday afternoon concerts will showcase the talents of thirty-five of the world’s most extraordinary performing artists . There will be many notable Parlance debuts, eagerly anticipated returns, and musical riches for you to savor throughout our 14th season. Sunday, September 26 at 3 PM : PCC’s celebratory Opening Gala will feature fifteen remarkable artists in a program of perennial favorites. Highlights will include the ever-popular Four Seasons of Antonio Vivaldi and a star-studded performance of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6. Sunday, October 17 at 3 PM : Our second concert, Haydn Seeking , will illuminate the wit, eloquence, and profundity of Joseph Haydn . The brilliant Haydn interpreter pianist Roman Rabinovich will collaborate with the superb Escher String Quartet in a survey of the master’s sparkling works for keyboard, piano trio, and string quartet. As a special treat, the multitalented Roman Rabinovich will accompany his own delightful animations in his short film, Imaginary Encounters with Haydn . Sunday, November 14 at 3 PM : The dazzling Schumann String Quartet will make their Parlance debut. Hailed worldwide for their fire, energy, and supreme technical accomplishment, this fast-rising ensemble will perform three best-loved string quartets by Mendelssohn, Ravel, and Mozart . Sunday, December 5 at 3 PM : It will be an honor to welcome back America’s foremost organist, Paul Jacobs . The inimitable virtuoso will introduce and perform a selection of towering masterpieces by Johann Sebastian Bach , composed and arranged especially for the King of Instruments Sunday, February 20 at 3 PM : Two scintillating violinists, Paul Huang and Danbi Um , will collaborate with the superlative Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen in an exhilarating afternoon of musical treasures by Beethoven , Erich Korngold , Pablo Sarasate , and others. The musical centerpiece will be Afterword , a mesmerizing new work created especially for the ensemble by the award-winning young American composer Chris Rogerson . Sunday, March 13 at 3 PM : Impressions of Debussy and Ravel will showcase glittering musical highlights from La Belle Époche. Three of today’s most charismatic young musicians, violinist Kristin Lee, cellist Nicholas Canellakis, and pianist Michael Brown will perform Claude Debussy’s beguiling violin and cello sonatas in alternation with Maurice Ravel’s ravishing duo for violin and cello — Ravel’s elegy to Debussy — and his kaleidoscopic piano trio. Sunday, April 24 at 3 PM : It will be a thrill to welcome the celebrated Canadian master pianist Marc-André Hamelin to our stage. Renowned for his compelling artistry, jaw-dropping technique, and inventive programming, his Parlance debut will include works of CPE Bach , Prokofiev , Scriabin , and a culminating performance of Beethoven’s Olympian “Hammerklavier ” Sonata . Sunday, May 8 at 3 PM : Our 14th season will conclude with a special, multimedia event, Meeting Mozart . I will connect the biographical facts of Mozart’s life with three magnificent works to be performed by a distinguished ensemble of Mozartians: violinist Arnaud Sussmann, pianist Anna Polonsky, violist Paul Neubauer, and cellist Fred Sherry. Sunday, June 19 at 3 PM : The star-studded Zukerman Trio will return for an all-Beethoven afternoon. The legendary violinist Pinchas Zukerman will be joined by the passionate cellist Amanda Forsyth and the eloquent pianist Shai Wosner , for performances of Beethoven’s “Spring” violin sonata , G-minor cello sonata , and soaring “Archduke” Trio . I look forward to welcoming you back soon to Parlance Chamber Concerts! Michael Parloff 2021-2022 SEASON Sun., Sept. 26, 2021 Gala Opener Featuring The Four Seasons Sun., Oct. 17, 2021 Haydn Seeking Sun., Nov. 14, 2021 Schumann String Quartet Mendelssohn, Ravel, and Mozart Sun., Dec. 5, 2021 Paul Jacobs, Organ Welcome Bach! Sun., Feb. 20, 2022 Paul Huang & Danbi Um, violins Juho Pohjonen, piano Sun., Mar. 13, 2022 Impressions of Debussy and Ravel Sun., Apr. 24, 2022 Marc-André Hamelin, piano The "HAMMERKLAVIER" Sonata Sun., May. 8, 2022 Meeting Mozart Sun., Jun. 19, 2022 Zukerman Trio Beloved Beethoven Artist Roster Parlance Program Notes LOCATION At West Side Presbyterian Church 6 South Monroe Street Ridgewood, NJ 07450 For map and directions, click here . CONCERT AMENITIES Whee lchair Accessible Fr e e Parking for all concerts

March 24, 2019: Gilles Vonsattel, solo piano; Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Wen Qian, violin; Kristin Lee, violin; Sarah Crocker Vonsattel, violin; Ming-Feng Hsin, violin; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Edward Arron, cello; Joel Noyes, cello; Tim Cobb, bass JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Piano Concerto in D Minor for BWV 1052 March 24, 2019: Gilles Vonsattel, solo piano; Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Wen Qian, violin; Kristin Lee, violin; Sarah Crocker Vonsattel, violin; Ming-Feng Hsin, violin; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Edward Arron, cello; Joel Noyes, cello; Tim Cobb, bass As the busiest and most important musician in one of the most active musical centers in Germany in the 1730s and ’40s, how did Bach find time to meet all of his obligations? He was serving as director of church music in Leipzig with all the myriad duties that entailed, and he directed the Collegium Musicum, which presented weekly concerts. (For more about the Collegium see the notes for his Double Violin Concerto.) Like many an enterprising composer before and after him, Bach borrowed from materials he had composed earlier to meet the constant demand. For his keyboard concertos he drew on preexisting violin concertos, cantata movements, and harpsichord and organ pieces. Instead of being frowned upon, such borrowing was considered a practical and artful way of providing a great amount of music. He also tapped concertos by other composers, notably Vivaldi, adopting his three-movement model—fast, slow, fast—together with his ritornello form (in which a refrain alternates with episodic excursions). Was Bach aware that he was creating an entirely new genre with his keyboard concertos? His older sons carried the concept to other German centers, and, though too young to have participated in the Collegium concerts, his son Johann Christian brought the genre to London. Mozart, often considered the father of the modern piano concerto, was profoundly influenced by the keyboard concertos of the “London Bach,” whom he greatly admired. Probably the best known of Bach’s keyboard concertos, the D minor Concerto borrowed its first and second movements from Cantata 146: “Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal” (1726–28); the third movement had also been employed as the sinfonia of Cantata 188: “Ich habe meine Zuversicht” (c. 1728). The cantata movements in turn had probably been transcribed from a violin concerto that no longer exists, but which has been reconstructed. The D minor Concerto presents an earnest and dark-hued world. The Allegro opens with a driven theme, played by soloist and tutti (ensemble) strings in unison and octaves, which returns in a developmental episode and then closes with the theme’s final statement in the original key, again in unison and octaves. Bach’s use of a minor key (G minor) for the slow movement further emphasizes the Concerto’s dark color—in his other minor-mode concertos and sonatas the slow movement is usually in a major key. The Adagio is structured on a repeating pattern in the bass (basso ostinato or ground bass) of thirteen measures, which is played in unison and octaves at the opening and again at the close of the movement. The soloist plays a poignant cantilena (lyrical melody) over the intervening presentations of the ground bass. Short passages are introduced between patterns for the purposes of changing from one key to another. A driving rhythmic motive launches and pervades the closing movement. Brief respite from the prevailing relentless quality comes in the form of a cadenza (improvisatory passage for the soloist alone) just before the final statement of the main theme. Bach is said to have liked a very brisk tempo for such movements. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

ABOUT PARLANCE CHAMBER CONCERTS MISSION STATEMENT The Mission of Parlance Chamber Concerts is to: Promote the appreciation and understanding of classical chamber music in Northern New Jersey by presenting the world’s finest singers and instrumentalists in affordable, innovatively programmed public concerts. Inspire and build tomorrow’s audience for classical music in Northern New Jersey by creating public educational events designed specifically for children and young adults. Make a contribution to the cultural life of the Northern New Jersey community by establishing it as a recognized center for high-quality classical music events. NARRATIVE STATEMENT Founded in the 2007-2008 season by Metropolitan Opera Orchestra principal flutist Michael Parloff, Parlance Chamber Concerts is dedicated to bringing world-class instrumentalists and singers to Northern New Jersey in affordable, innovatively programmed concerts and educational events. Two events were presented during the inaugural 2007/08 season, and subsequent seasons saw a steady increase in the number of events offered. Nine public events are being presented during the 2024-25 season. All events take place in the acoustically superb sanctuary of West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Parlance Chamber Concerts grew out of the success of more than a decade of benefit concerts organized and presented by Michael Parloff in his Ridgewood, New Jersey, home. These semiannual fundraising events supported various local nonprofit organizations. Michael Parloff’s reputation as one of America’s preeminent flutists and a leader in the chamber music world has enabled him to feature top-flight singers and instrumentalists from the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and New York City’s extraordinary chamber music community. A significant number of attendees came to these events initially as novice concertgoers and subsequently told Mr. Parloff that they learned to love and appreciate classical music through exposure to world class performers in the intimate, relaxed ambiance of his home. This gave rise to the idea of widening the audience for classical music in our community by presenting innovatively designed public concerts and educational events for listeners of all ages and levels of concert-going experience. The sense of connection between performers and audience members is strengthened by informal spoken introductions and program notes delivered during the course of the concerts and through post-concert receptions. The receptions provide audience members with opportunities to meet the performing artists and learn more about the music, the composers, and the performers themselves. Parlance Chamber Concerts are priced affordably to demonstrate our commitment to making chamber music available to as many people in our community as possible. In addition, sets of complimentary tickets are offered to local teachers and staff members of community organizations, including schools, hospitals, and mental health clinics. An important part of Parlance Chamber Concerts’ goals is to introduce children and newcomers to classical music. Parlance Chamber Concerts presents regular family concerts featuring leading members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Narrators have included well-known actors and New York City’s leading classical radio personalities. In addition, Parlance Chamber Concerts reaches out to underprivileged audiences in neighboring communities, offering free and discounted tickets to children and adults to many events over the course of each season. Parlance Chamber Concerts is also exploring the possibility of in-school fundraising concerts to benefit the music and arts programs in the public schools of Ridgewood, New Jersey. Past Parlance Chamber Concerts events have featured such world-renowned instrumentalists, singers, and chamber ensembles as The Emerson, Brentano, Jerusalem, Escher, Danish, Schumann, and Goldumund; pianists Jonathan Biss, Emanuel Ax, Richard Goode, Peter Serkin, Jeremy Denk, Garrick Ohlsson, Marc-André Hamelin, Paul Lewis, Orion Weiss, Anne-Marie McDermott, Lucille Chung, Simone Dinnerstein, Wu Han, Alessio Bax, Warren Jones, Conrad Tao, Jeewon Park, and Shai Wosner; flutists, Denis Bouriakov, James Galway; clarinetist Richard Stoltzman; violinists Chee-Yun, Pinchas Zukerman, Anne Akiko Meyers, Frank Huang, Benjamin Beilman, Elmar Oliveira and Stefan Jackiw; cellists Steven Isserlis, David Finckel and André Díaz; classical guitarists Sharon Isbin, Jason Vieaux, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet; harpists Mariko Anraku and Emmanuel Ceysson; and Metropolitan Opera star singers including sopranos Angel Blue, Danielle de Niese, Susanna Phillips, and Ying Fang, mezzo-sopranos Stephanie Blythe, Isabel Leonard, and Kate Lindsey, tenor Matthew Polenzani, baritones Thomas Hampson and Nathan Gunn, and bass Morris Robinson. The early music special Jordi Savall and his ensemble Hespèrion XXI have appeared on Parlance Chamber Concerts, as have Jazz artists including The Paquito D’Rivera Quintet, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, The Bill Charlap Trio, and noted guitarists Bucky Pizzarielli, Frank Vignola, and Howard Alden. Leading instrumentalists from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society have been featured each season on Parlance Chamber Concerts.

December 13, 2015 – Kristin Lee, violin; Paul Watkins, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Piano Trio in D major, op. 70, no. 1, “Ghost” December 13, 2015 – Kristin Lee, violin; Paul Watkins, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano In the fall of 1808 when Beethoven began writing his two Piano Trios, op. 70, he was living in rooms generously furnished to him by Countess Marie Erdödy. (For more background about their relationship see the notes for the Cello Sonata above.) Beethoven participated in the first performance of the Opus 70 Trios at Countess Erdödy’s home around Christmas in 1808, and sent them off to his publisher with a dedication to her. At one point he changed his mind and wished to dedicate them to Archduke Rudolph, but in the end let the dedication to the Countess stand. It had been ten years since Beethoven had composed his Opus 11 Trio for clarinet (or violin), cello, and piano, and twelve years since he had composed his last major works in the piano trio genre—his three Opus 1 Trios, which had served as his public entrée. By 1808 he was at the pinnacle of his productivity and popularity, and the Opus 70 Trios are surrounded by the masterpieces he presented on that famous marathon concert in December 1808—the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the C major Mass, the Choral Fantasy —and equally important works such as his Coriolan Overture and A major Cello Sonata. The first of the Opus 70 Trios came to be called the “Ghost” because of a comment made after Beethoven’s death about the amazing slow movement. Carl Czerny, Beethoven’s former pupil, wrote in 1842 that the Largo assai ed espressivo “resembles an appearance from the underworld. One could think not inappropriately of the first appearance of the ghost in Hamlet.” The nickname stuck for the entire Trio, and only afterwards it was discovered that Beethoven may have had something supernatural on his mind, because sketches for this movement appear near those for a Witches’ Chorus for a projected Macbeth opera. The forthright unison opening of the first movement sounds almost as if Beethoven derived it from the first movement of the his Piano Sonata, op. 10, no. 3, and injected it with new energy. He contrasts this immediately with a sweeter phrase begun by the cello. Beethoven allows himself an expansive development section with quite a bit of counterpoint after his extremely concise exposition. The tranquil coda relies on his sweet second phrase until a bright recall of the opening idea ends the movement. The celebrated “Ghost” movement is one of those marvels that fired the Romantic imagination with its alternating-repeating fragments, plaintive melodic lines, sudden contrasts, agitated tremolos, unsettled harmonies (diminished seventh chords), and above all the eerie floating descents of the piano right hand and rumbling bass notes in the left. As with many of Beethoven’s most startlingly original movements, the overall sonorities mask the quite traditional aspects of his structure, in this case a simple three-part form with coda. Beethoven opted to return to a three-movement format for this Trio, and hence there is no scherzo. The sonata-form finale returns to the light of day, with a cheerful main theme that keeps halting and digressing. This good-natured meandering flows so naturally that occasional harmonic surprises are swept right along without ceremony. Just before the conclusion, a clever diversion with pizzicato effects, seamless splitting of the melody between the two strings, and piano right-hand glitter gives added urgency to the cadential flourish. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

TOMMY MESA, CELLO Cuban-American cellist Dr. Tommy Mesa has established himself as one of the most charismatic, innovative, and engaging performers of his generation. The recipient of Lincoln Center’s 2025 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Sphinx Organization’s 2023 Medal of Excellence, its highest honor, Mesa has appeared as soloist at the Supreme Court of the United States on four occasions and with major orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Indianapolis, Madison, New Jersey, San Antonio, and Santa Barbara, among others. Mesa gave the world premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s cello concerto Divided in 2022 and has been the exclusive soloist since, performing at major halls across the United States and Brazil including Miami’s New World Center, Nashville’s Schermerhorn Center, and Carnegie Hall. His orchestral recording debut of the work was released in July 2023 on Deutsche Grammophon. In addition to serving as Artist in Residence with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra in the 2024-25 season, orchestral highlights this season include debuts with the Delaware, Glacier, and Rogue Valley Symphony Orchestras as well as the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, a return to the Madison Symphony, and a performance of the rarely heard Lucid Dreams by Canadian composer Jocelyn Morlock with the Windsor Symphony. Last season Mesa celebrated enthusiastic performances with the Calgary and Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestras and the Ann Arbor, Columbus, Greenwich, Knoxville, Quad City, and Reading Symphony Orchestras, among others.