November 2, 2025 BENJAMIN APPL BENJAMIN APPL ON DIETRICH FISCHER-DIESKAU November 2, 2025 He let poetry resound and music speak‘ Franz Grillparzer's draft for Schubert's gravestone inscription An die Musik expresses my great gratitude to Dieter Fischer-Dieskau for the many hours we spent together: ‘Beloved art, for this I thank you!‘ I met Fischer-Dieskau for the first time in 2009 when I took part in a masterclass at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. Afterwards he offered me the opportunity to study with him privately. From that point on until just a few weeks before his death, I had the incredible fortune of working with him regularly at his homes in Berlin and Berg. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was born in Berlin in 1925. His father was a schoolmaster who loved to compose, for example he wrote the Singspiel Sesenheim (Heidenröslein ). Dieter's mother was denied the opportunity to become a singer, so she ensured that great care was taken over the musical education of her three sons Klaus, Martin and Dietrich. The eldest brother, Klaus began composing at an early age and dedicated Nocturne to his mother, and Wehmut to his brother. It soon became clear that Dieter wanted to be a singer, and the first song he studied was Wie bist du, meine Königin . Shortly before his military service in 1944, he became engaged to Irmgard ‘Irmel’ Poppen, his future wife. Torn from his homeland, he wrote many love letters full of longing for and memories of (Andenken ) his distant beloved. In 1944, the Nazis murdered Dieter’s younger brother Martin. During the early years of the war and Dieter’s subsequent imprisonment in Italy, he learned countless pieces of music, regularly hearing of the atrocities at the hand the National Socialists. Reimann's Tenebrae deals with the suffering of Jewish victims during the Holocaust in a haunting way, and was written for Dieter. His singing gave strength to thousands of prisoners. Shortly after the end of the war, he sang songs from previously hostile countries for example Sinding's Sylvelin and Tchaikovsky's Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt . His repertoire also included operetta (Ich bin nur ein armer Wandergesell ). In 1947 he finally returned to Germany (Die Heimkehr ) and started his international career in Berlin where he began to receive major recognition (Vier ernste Gesänge ). Irmel gave birth to three sons, but tragically she died during the birth of her third child ( Süßes Begräbnis ). As is so often the case, Dieter saw music as the only path out of suffering (An mein Klavier ). Benjamin Britten dedicated his Songs and Proverbs of William Blake to him – ‘For Dieter: The past and the future‘ (Proverb III ) after this terrible loss. Another bitter moment of grief was the death of his beloved and mother Theodora (Mutters Hände ) to whom he was very close. His private life in the years to come was not very stable: his marriage to the actress Ruth Leuwerik (1965-1967), famous from the film Vater braucht eine Frau , only lasted a short time, as did his marriage to Kristina Pugell (1968-1975) (Liebhaber in allen Gestalten ). In 1977 he married the soprano Julia Varady (Liebst du um Schönheit ). Fischer-Dieskau received countless commissioned compositions during his lifetime, and took part in important premieres, such as the historically significant and emotionally stirring premiere of Britten's War Requiem in 1962 which he then translated into German. Additionally,Samuel Barber wrote his three songs op. 45 especially for him. Teaching played an important role in Dieter’s later decades. Often demanding, strict and with a great attention to detail, he shared his unfathomable knowledge with his students. I fondly recall him telling me that he liked my recording of Sterb' ich, so hüllen in Blumen meine Glieder so much, that he would like to mentor me. From the many hours we then spent together, I particularly remember the moments when he felt unobserved, sharing his mischievous sense of humour and dancing through the living room. When I visited Fischer-Dieskau for the final time, it was just a few weeks before his death in May 2012. Coming away that day, I somehow felt that could be the last time I would see Dieter. I wrote him a very long letter, thanking him for the experiences we had shared and expressing my gratitude for all I had learned from him. And then a few weeks later, I learnt that he’d passed away. This concert (and the accompanying CD recording) is both a personal and public dedication to this fine artist. I was and remain inspired by Dieter both from our private time together and his recordings, and this moment gives us all the chance to celebrate his enormous legacy on his 100th birthday. Return to Parlance Program Notes

VIDEOS PARLANCE PERFORMANCE VIDEOS VIDEO CONCERT PREVIEWS PARLOFF MULTIMEDIA LECTURES AND INTERVIEWS Watch in full screen Go to the video you'd like to watch. Press the red button with white arrow to play video. At the bottom-right of the video player, click full screen icon. May 17, 2026 Brahms' Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 Chee-Yun, violin; Henry Kramer, piano Brahms' Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 Sterling Elliott, cello, Henry Kramer, piano Michael Parloff Introduces Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 Chee-Yun, violin • Sterling Elliott, cello • Henry Kramer, piano October 12, 2025 Donizetti’s “Una furtiva lagrime” from L’elisir d’amore Lawrence Brownlee, tenor; Kevin J. MIller, piano Mozart’s“Un’aura amorosa” from Così fan tutte Lawrence Brownlee, tenor; Kevin J. MIller, piano September 14, 2025 Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat, K. 495 Brad Gemeindardt, horn; Michael Parloff, conductor Members of the Met Orchestra Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto in B-flat, K. 191 William Short, bassoon; Michael Parloff, conductor Members of the Met Orchestra Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A, K. 622 Anton Rist, clarinet; Michael Parloff, conductor Members of the Met Orchestra Haydn’s Symphony No. 6 in D, (The Morning) Hob. 1/6 Michael Parloff, conductor Members of the Met Orchestra March 9. 2025 Maurice Ravel’s Shéhérazade Erika Baikoff, soprano; Soohong Park, piano February 9, 2025 Camille Saint-Saëns’ Romance, Op. 36 Steven Isserlis, cello; Connie Shih, piano December 15, 2024 Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 1 in G, K. 313 Denis Bouriakov, flute; Michael Parloff, conductor Musicians from the New York Philharmonic François Devienne’s Flute Concerto No. 7 in E minor Denis Bouriakov, flute; Michael Parloff, conductor Musicians from the New York Philharmonic October 20, 2024 Michael Parloff Introduces Joachín Turina’s La oración del torero ("The Bullfighter’s Prayer”) Joaquín Turina’s La oración del torero ("The Bullfighter’s Prayer”) Modigliani String Quartet September 29, 2024 Cellobration (Part 1) Carter Brey, Rafael Figueroa, Edward Arron, and Zvi Plesser, cello Jeewon Park, piano Cellobration (Part 2) Carter Brey, Rafael Figueroa, Edward Arron, and Zvi Plesser, cello Jeewon Park, piano June 2, 2024 Michael Parloff Introduces Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364 Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364 Oliver Neubauer, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola Members of the Met Orchestra; Michael Parloff, conductor MAY 12, 2024 Michael Parloff Introduces Dvorak’s Songs My Mother Taught Me Dvorak’s Songs My Mother Taught Me Chee-Yun, violin; Alessio Bax, piano Michael Parloff Introduces Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite Alesso Bax and Lucille Chung, piano Brahms’s Trio for violin, horn, and piano, Op. 40 Chee-Yun, violin; Brad Gemeinhardt, horn; Alessio Bax, piano March 10, 2024 Michael Parloff Introduces Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, Op. 120 Richard Goode, piano JANUARY 14, 2024 Michael Parloff Introduces Anton Webern’s Langsamer Satz for String Quartet Anton Webern’s Langsamer Satz Goldmund String Quartet Michael Parloff Introduces Alexander Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2 in D Alexander Borodin’s Quartet No. 2 in D Major Goldmund String Quartet Robert Schumann’s Quartet No. 3 in A, Op. 42, No. 3 Goldmund String Quartet DECEMBER 3, 2023 Bruce Adolphe and Michael Parloff discuss Bruce Adolphe's “Memory Believes (a requiem)” Bruce Adolphe: Memory Believes (a requiem) Brentano String Quartet & Antioch Chamber Ensemble (choir) October 15, 2023 Michael Parloff Introduces Amanda Maier’s Piano Trio in E-flat Major Amanda Maier’s Piano Trio in E-flat Major The Lysander Piano Trio MAY 21, 2023 Michael Parloff Introduces Béla Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1 for cello and piano Béla Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1 for cello and piano, BB94c, Sz. 88 Zlatomir Fung, cello; Albert Cano Smit, piano Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque No. 2, Op. 9 Kevin Zhu, violin; Zlatomir Fung, cello; Albert Cano Smit APRIL 2, 2023 Brahms’s E-minor Cello Sonata, Op. 38 Paul Watkins, cello; Boris Berman, piano MARCH 19, 2023 Bach’s French Suite in C minor, BWV 813 Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Three Bach Transcriptions by Egon Petri and Ferruccio Busoni Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Bach’s Italian Concerto, BWV 971 Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano FEBRUARY 12, 2023 Three Pieces by Fritz Kreisler Benjamin Beilman, violin; Gloria Chien, piano Michael Parloff Introduces Johann Strauss’s Emperor Waltz and Korngold’s Suite, Op. 23 (arr. Schoenberg) Johann Strauss’s Emperor Waltz; Arranged for Chamber Ensemble by Arnold Schoenberg Gloria Chien, piano; Benjamin Beilman and Alexi Kenney, violin; Milena Pajaro-Van de Stadt, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Yoobin Son, flute; Pascual Martínez-Forteza, clarinet Michael Introduces Erich Korngold’s Suite for Two Violins, Cello, and Piano Left-Hand, Op. 23 Erich Korngold - Suite for 2 violins, cello, and piano left-hand; Parlance Chamber Concerts Gloria Chien, piano; Benjamin Beilman and Alexi Kenney, violin; Mihai Marica, cello JANUARY 29, 2023 Mozart, Divertimento in F, K. 318 The Danish String Quartet Benjamin Britten, Three Divertimenti The Danish String Quartet Elvis Presley, Can’t Help Falling in Love, arr. Danish String Quartet The Danish String Quartet DECEMBER 4, 2022 Sam Perkin, Freakshow The Sitkovetsky Trio NOVEMBER 20, 2022 Michael Parloff Introduces Erwin Schulhoff’s Hot Sonata for Saxophone and Piano Erwin Schulhoff’s Hot Sonata Steven Banks, saxophone and Xak Bjerken, piano Michael Parloff Introduces Claude Debussy’s Rapsodie for Saxophone and Piano Claude Debussy’s Rapsodie for Saxophone and Piano Steven Banks, saxophone and Xak Bjerken, piano OCTOBER 30, 2022 Brahms, String Sextet No. 2 in G, Op. 36 Emerson String Quartet with Guillermo Figueroa, viola, and David Finckel, cello NOVEMBER 14, 2021 Michael Parloff introduces Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13 Mendelssohn, String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13 Schumann String Quartet Ravel, String Quartet in F Schumann String Quartet FEBRUARY 16, 2020 Verdi, Caro Nome (from Rigoletto) Meigui Zhang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano JANUARY 19, 2020 Beethoven, Sonata in C# minor, Op. 27, No. 2 (“Moonlight”) Paul Lewis, piano DECEMBER 15, 2019 Michael Parloff introduces Stravinsky’s “The Soldiers Tale” (Music from the 1918 pandemic) Stravinsky, “The Soldier’s Tale” Benjamin Luxon, narrator; Benjamin Beilman, violin; Innhyuck Cho, clarinet; Frank Morelli, Bassoon; Chris Coletti, trumpet; Demian Austin, trombone; David J. Grossman, bass; Ian Rosenbaum, percussion; Anni Crofut, dancer-choreographer OCTOBER 27, 2019 Boccherini, String Quartet in C, Op. 2, No. 6 Quartetto di Cremona Respighi, String Quartet No. 3 in D Quartetto di Cremona Verdi, “Quando le sere al placido” (from Luisa Miller) Quartetto di Cremona MAY 19, 2019 Michael Parloff introduces Mozart’s Adagio & Rondo, K. 617 for glass harmonica, flute, oboe, viola, and cello Mozart, Adagio & Rondo, K. 617 Friedrich Heinrich Kern, glass harmonica; Chelsea Knox, flute; Elaine Douvas, oboe; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello APRIL 14, 2019 Michael Parloff Introduces Corelli’s “La Folia” Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 5, No. 12 Corelli (arrg. Poxon), “La Folia”: Sonata in D minor, Op. 5, No. 12 Anne Akiko Meyers, violin; Jason Vieaux, guitar Michael Parloff introduces Rentarō Taki’s Kōjō no Tsuki (The Moon Over the Ruined Castle) Rentarō Taki, Kōjō no Tsuki (The Moon Over the Ruined Castle) Anne Akiko Meyers, Violin Elvis Presley, Can’t Help Falling in Love Anne Akiko Meyers, violin, and Jason Vieaux, guitar MARCH 24, 2019 Bach, Violin and Keyboard Sonata in E Major, BWV 1016 Sarah Crocker Vonsattel, violin, and Gilles Vonsattel Bach, Keyboard Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052 Gilles Vonsattel, piano soloist, and chamber orchestra JANUARY 27, 2019 Michael Parloff Introduces Beethoven’s “Kakadu Variations,” Op. 121A Beethoven, “Kakadu Variations”, Op. 121A for piano trio Pinchas Zukerman Piano Trio Anton Arensky, Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 32 Pinchas Zukerman Piano Trio DECEMBER 16, 2018 Michael Parloff introduces Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110 Shostakovich, String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110 Emerson String Quartet Schubert, String Quintet in C Major, D. 956, Op.Posth 163 Emerson String Quartet with cellist David Finckel NOVEMBER 4, 2018 Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals Alessio Bax & Lucille Chung, pianos with Members of the New York Philharmonic Michael Parloff introduces Vivaldi’s Flute Concerto in D, Op. 10, No. 3 (“The Goldfinch”) Vivaldi, Flute Concerto in D, Op. 10, No. 3 (“The Goldfinch”) Yoobin Son, flute Members of the New York Philharmonic SEPTEMBER 23, 2018 Michael Parloff introduces Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 14 in E flat, K. 449 (Chamber Version) Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 14 in E flat, K. 449 Michael Brown, piano, and string quintet Schubert, Rondo in A, D. 438, for violin and string quartet Sean Lee, violin, and string quartet Chausson, Concerto in D, Op. 21, for violin, piano, and string quartet Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Michael Brown, piano, and string quartet APRIL 8, 2018 Michael Parloff Introduces Beethoven’s Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 (Razumovsky No. 1) Ludwig van Beethoven: Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 Danish String Quartet Michael Parloff Introduces Beethoven’s Quartet in C# minor, Op. 131 Ludwig van Beethoven: Quartet in C# Minor, Op. 131 Danish String Quartet MARCH 11, 2018 Beethoven, Sonata No. 10 in G, Op. 96 for violin and piano Benjamin Beilman, violin, and Orion Weiss, piano Ravel, “Blues” from Sonata No. 2 in G, for violin and piano Benjamin Beilman, violin, and Orion Weiss, piano A pre-performance conversation about Frederic Rzewski’s “Demons” (2017) Michael Parloff interviews Benjamin Beilman and Orion Weiss Frederic Rzewski, “Demons” (2017) for violin and piano Benjamin Beilman, violin, and Orion Weiss, piano FEBRUARY 17, 2018 Michael Parloff introduces the history of Haydn’s “Seven Last Words of Christ.” (5 minutes) Haydn, “The Seven Last Words of Christ” Chiara String Quartet Michael Parloff’s multimedia lecture on the history and music of Haydn’s “Seven Last Words of Christ” (55 minutes) DECEMBER 17, 2017 Rachmaninoff, Romance from Suite No. 2, Op. 17 for 2 pianos) Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, pianos Rachmaninoff, Tarantella from Suite No. 2, Op. 17 for 2 pianos Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, pianos Lutosławski, Variations on a Theme of Paganini for 2 pianos Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, pianos NOVEMBER 19, 2017 Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, Mvt. 1 Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, Mvts. 2 & 3 Los Angeles Guitar Quartet OCTOBER 29, 2017 Michael Parloff Introduces Mozart’s Adagio in B minor, K. 540 Mozart, Adagio in B minor, K. 540 Peter Serkin, piano Mozart, Sonata in B-Flat Major, K. 570 Peter Serkin, piano Bach, The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 Peter Serkin, piano SEPTEMBER 24, 2017 Michael Parloff introduces Mendelssohn’s Octet for Strings, Op. 20 Mendelssohn, String Octet in E-flat, Op. 20 Arnaud Sussmann, Sean Lee, Emily Daggett Smith, & Danbi Um, violins; Mark Holloway & Paul Neubauer, violas; Rafael Figueroa & Mihai Marica, cellos Strolling Violist Paul Neubauer plays Schulenburg’s Puszta-Märchen Fauré, Romance in B-flat, Op. 28 for violin and piano Arnaud Sussmann, violin, and Michael Brown, piano Saint-Saëns, Romance in F, Op. 36 for cello and piano Mihai Marica, and Michael Brown, piano MARCH 26, 2017 Michael Parloff introduces Haydn’s Quartet in D, Op. 64, No. 5 (The Lark) Joseph Haydn, Quartet in D, Op. 64, No. 5 (The Lark) Jerusalem String Quartet DECEMBER 18, 2016 Gilad Cohen, Trio for a Spry Clarinet, Weeping Cello, and Ruminative Harp Michael Parloff interviews the composer followed by the trio performance Michael Parloff introduces Debussy’s Sacred and Profane Dances & Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro Claude Debussy, Sacred and Profane Dances Harpist Mariko Anraku with Met Orchestra principal musicians Maurice Ravel, Introduction and Allegro Harpist Emmanuel Ceysson with Met Orchestra principal musicians NOVEMBER 20, 2016 Michael Parloff introduces Dvořák’s Quartet No. 12 in F (American Quartet) Antonín Dvořák, String Quartet No. 12 in F (American) New York Philharmonic String Quartet George Gershwin, Lullaby New York Philharmonic String Quartet OCTOBER 30, 2016 Michael Parloff introduces Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8 Shostakovich, Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8 Wu Han, piano; David Finckel, cello; Philip Setzer, violin APRIL 3, 2016 Bach, Badinerie from Suite in B Minor BWV 1067 Sir James Galway, flute Benjamin Beilman and Danbi Um, violins Mark Holloway, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello Timothy Cobb, bass; Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord MARCH 6, 2016 Michael Parloff introduces Schubert’s String Quartet in D minor, K. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”) Escher String Quartet Schubert, String Quartet in D minor (“Death and the Maiden”), Mvts 1 & 2 Escher String Quartet Schubert, String Quartet in D minor (“Death and the Maiden”), Mvts 3 & 4 Escher String Quartet DECEMBER 13, 2015 Michael Parloff introduces Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 4 in C Paul Watkins, cello, Gilles Vonsattel, piano Beethoven, Cello Sonata in C, Op. 102, No. 1 – Full Performance Paul Watkins, cello, Gilles Vonsattel, piano Michael Parloff introduces Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 in A, Op. 47 (The “Bridgetower-Kreutzer”) Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 Violin Sonata No. 9 in A, Op. 47 (The “Bridgetower-Kreutzer”) Kristin Lee, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano NOVEMBER 15, 2015 Charles Ives: Violin Sonata No. 1 Stefan Jackiw, violin; Jeremy Denk, piano and speaker OCTOBER 4, 2015 Mozart, Sonata in F, K. 563 & K. 494 Richard Goode, piano Brahms: 4 Klavierstücke, Op. 119 Richard Goode, piano APRIL 26, 2015 Jules Styne, I Fall in Love Too Easily Stefon Harris, vibraphone/marimba, Alex Brown, piano MARCH 29, 2015 Frederic Weatherly, Danny Boy Matthew Polenzani, tenor, Ken Noda, piano Ravel, Five Popular Greek Songs Matthew Polenzani, tenor, Ken Noda, piano Michael Parloff introduces Samuel Barber’s Hermit Songs Samuel Barber, Hermit Songs, Op. 69 Matthew Polenzani, tenor; Ken Noda, piano Beethoven, Adelaide Matthew Polenzani, tenor; Ken Noda, piano FEBRUARY 8, 2015 Michael Parloff introduces Prokofiev’s Cello Sonata in C, Op. 119 Prokofiev, Cello Sonata in C, Op. 119 David Finckel, cello, Wu Han, piano JANUARY 4, 2015 Beethoven, Quartet No. 12 in E-flat, Op. 127 Emerson String Quartet Movement 1 Movement 2 Movement 3 Movement 4 NOVEMBER 2, 2014 Manuel de Falla, Polo from Seven Popular Songs Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano, Sharon Isbin, guitar OCTOBER 5, 2014 Mozart, Violin Sonata in E Minor, K. 308 Arnaud Sussmann, violin, Gilles Vonsattel, piano Michael Parloff introduces Mozart’s Violin Sonata in E minor, K. 308 Movement 1 Movement 2 OCTOBER 5, 2014 Brahms, Piano Quintet in F minor, 3rd Movement Erin Keefe, Arnaud Sussmann, violins, Hsin-Yun Huang viola, Rafael Figueroa, cello, Gilles Vonsattel, piano APRIL 27, 2014 William Walton, Façade Highlights Stephanie Blythe & Raymond Menard, reciters, Members of the Met Orchestra, Michael Parloff, conductor JANUARY 27, 2013 Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat, Op. 110 Richard Goode, piano Movement 1 Movement 2 Movement 3 OCTOBER 31, 2012 Mozart, Concerto in C, K. 299 for Flute and Harp Stefán Höskuldsson, flute, Deborah Hoffman, harp, Members of the Met Orchestra, Michael Parloff, conductor Michael Parloff introduces Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299 Movement 1 Movement 2 Movement 3 Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf (Introducing the instrumental characters) Midge Woolsey, narrator, Members of the Met Orchestra, Michael Parloff, conductor Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf (Complete performance) Midge Woolsey, narrator, Members of the Met Orchestra, Michael Parloff, conductor SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 Reicha: Sinfonia in D, Op. 12 for four flutes Sir James Galway, Robert Langevin, Stefán Höskuldsson, Denis Bouriakov, flutes Movement 1 Movement 2 Movement 3 Movement 4

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NINETEEN YEARS OF BRINGING THE WORLD’S FINEST MUSICAL ARTISTS TO OUR COMMUNITY Piano Anderson & Roe Emanuel Ax Inon Barnaton James Baillieu Alessio Bax Boris Berman Jonathan Biss Xak Bjerken Michael Boriskin Wendy Chen Gloria Chien Lucille Chung Jeremy Denk Simone Dinnerstein Richard Goode Julie Gunn Marc-André Hamelin Wu Han Warren Jones Henry Kramer Rachel Naomi Kudo Paul Lewis Anne-Marie McDermott Philip Moll John Musto Ken Noda John Novacek Garrick Ohlsson Jeewon Park Soohong Park Juho Pohjonen Anna Polonsky Roman Rabinovich Peter Serkin Connie Shih Albert Cano Smit Conrad Tao Andrew Tyson Gilles Vonsattel Bryan Wagorn Shai Wosner Orion Weiss Vocal Benjamin Appl, baritone Erika Baikoff, soprano Angel Blue, soprano Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano Lawrence Brownlee, tenor Amy Burton, soprano Danielle de Niese, soprano Ying Fang, soprano Nathan Gunn, baritone Thomas Hampson, baritone Wendy Bryn Harmer, soprano Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano Susanna Phillips, soprano Dimitri Pittas, tenor Matthew Polenzani, tenor Morris Robinson, bass Lucy Shelton, soprano Meigui Zhang, soprano String Quartet Brentano Calidore Cremona Danish Emerson Escher Goldmund Jerusalem Modigliani New York Philharmonic Schumann Viano Quartet* Piano Trio Lysander Trio Pinchas Zukerman Trio Sitkovetsky Trio Violin Benjamin Beilman Jeanelle Brierley Benjamin Bowman David Chan Stella Chen* Chee-Yun Tim Fain Ming-Feng Hsin Quan Ge Frank Huang Paul Huang Katharine Fong Stefan Jackiw Erin Keefe Alexi Kenney Michelle Kim Soovin Kim Aline Kobialka Yoon Kwon Kristen Lee Sean Lee Qian-Qian Li Kerry McDermott Nathan Melzer Anne Akiko Meyers Clara Neubauer Oliver Neubauer Elmar Oliviera Wen Qian Catherine Ro Philip Setzer Emily Daggett Smith Sheryl Staples Arnaud Sussmann James Thompson Danbi Um Sarah Crocker Vonsattel Audrey Wright Kevin Zhu Viola Abraham Appleman Maurycy Benaszak Isabella Bignasca Ettore Causa Karen Dreyfus Lawrence Dutton Guillermo Figueroa Mark Holloway Mary Hammann Hsin-Yun Huang Matthew Lipman Milan Milisavljević Paul Neubauer Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt Cynthia Phelps Robert Rinehart Dov Scheindlin Cong Wu String Bass Timothy Cobb Jon Deak Richard Fredrickson David J. Grossman Brendan Kane Leigh Mesh Cello Edward Aaron Carter Brey Nicholas Canellakis Brannon Cho* Matthew Christakos Sterling Elliott David Finckel Andrés Díaz Rafael Figueroa Zlatomir Fung Jerry Grossman Sihao He Steven Isserlis Mihai Marica Tommy Mesa* Eileen Moon Joel Noyes Zvi Pressler Jonathan Swenson Paul Watkins Nathan Vickery Viola da Gamba Jordi Savall Accordion Radu Ratoi Flute Sarah Beaird Denis Bouriakov Erin Bouriakov Emi Ferguson* Sir James Galway Lady Jeanne Galway Érik Gratton Stefán Höskuldsson Maron Anis Khoury Seth Morris Chelsea Knox Robert Langevin Lauren Scanio Yoobin Son Oboe Michal Cieślik Lillian Copeland* Elaine Douvas Nathan Hughes Joseph Jordan Ryan Roberts John Upton Clarinet Innhyuck Cho David Gould (basset horn) Dean LeBlanc (basset horn) Jon Manasse Anthony McGill Jessica Phillips Anton Rist Richard Stoltzman Osmo Vänskä Stephen Williamson Bassoon Jensen Bocco Evan Epifanio Kara LaMoure* Frank Morelli Mark Romatz William Short Horn Javier Gándara Brad Gemeinhardt Liana Hoffman Erik Ralske Anne Scharer Hugo Valverde Tanner West Trumpet Chris Coletti Billy R. Hunter, Jr.* David Krauss Trombone Demian Austin Weston Sprott Percussion Barry Centanni Ian Rosenbaum Gregory Zuber Organ Paul Jacobs Guitar Rupert Boyd* Sharon Isbin Los Angeles Guitar Quintet Jason Vieaux Harp Nancy Allen Mariko Anraku Emmanuel Ceysson Michelle Gott Deborah Hoffman Saxophone Steven Banks Lino Gomez Harpsichord Paolo Bordignon Theremin Darryl Kubian Glass Harmonica Cecelia Brauer Friedrich Heinrich Kern Large Ensembles Antioch Chamber Ensemble (Choir) Hespèrion XXI Members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus Ruckus (period-instrument ensemble)* The Tallis Scholars Jazz Artists Bill Charlap Trio Stefon Harris, vibraphone Paquito D’Riviera Quintet Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar Howard Alden, guitar Frank Vignola, guitar Narrator Jamie Bernstein Stephanie Blythe Ann Crumb Gareth Icenogle Benjamin Luxon Ray Menard Michael Parloff Midge Woolsey Dancer Anni Crofut Narrator Michael Parloff *2026 – 2027 Parlance Debut Artist

COVID-19 POLICIES AND PROTOCOLS COVID-19 INFORMATION FROM PARLANCE CHAMBER CONCERTS An Updated Message to Our Audience Members About Attendance Policies and Protocols Date: August 1, 2026 The safety and security of our audience members, artists, and staff remain our highest priority. In view of recent changes in CDC guidelines and the availability of vaccines and boosters, please note the following updates in Parlance Chamber Concerts’s COVID-19 policies: Masking is optional at Parlance Chamber Concerts’s events. Proof of vaccination is no longer required at PCC performances. If you receive a positive test for Covid-19 or have any onset symptoms in the days prior to our events, please do not attend a Parlance Chamber Concert. You may request refunds, donate your tickets, or request ticket exchanges by writing to parlance@parlancechamberconcerts.org Please review Parlance Chamber Concerts’s Liability Waiver . Complete and up-to-date safety protocols —including any changes— will be included in pre-concert email reminders and our Covid-19 information Page . PCC will continue to monitor all state, federal, and local public health guidelines. We will continue to adjust our policies and protocols accordingly as the situation evolves.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2025 AT 4 PM THE VIRTUOSO CELLIST STEVEN ISSERLIS, CELLO CONNIE SHIH, PIANO “Steven Isserlis can have the listener in perpetual wonder at the ingredients of his art…” — The Australian “Isserlis's incomparable technique, phrasing, expression and sensitivity across all the tempi and dynamics, quite simply, were incredible. There can be no doubt that Isserlis is an inspired and inspiring - musician” — Limelight Magazine “Connie Shih proved a terrific, imaginative partner, with enough lightness, speed and power” — Washington Post ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS Acclaimed worldwide for his profound musicianship and technical mastery, British cellist Steven Isserlis enjoys a unique and distinguished career. A sovereign artist and a commanding virtuoso, Isserlis radiates the transcendent joy of music in every phrase he plays. 2024-2025 SEASON September 29, 2024 Cellobration! October 20, 2024 Modigliani Quartet November 17, 2024 Paul Lewis Plays Schubert December 15, 2024 The Virtuoso Flutist Denis Bouriakov January 19, 2025 The Virtuoso Organist Paul Jacobs February 9, 2025 The Virtuoso Cellist Steven Isserlis March 9, 2025 Ravel’s 150th Birthday Concert April 13, 2025 Quartetto Di Cremona May 18, 2025 Late Night With Leonard Bernstein 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 FEATURING BUY TICKETS Steven Isserlis Connie Shih His internationally diverse program will feature works of Beethoven, Bohuslav Martinu, and Nadia Boulanger . This afternoon will culminate in Edvard Grieg’s folk-tinged cello sonata , which Isserlis poetically describes as “combining warm-hearted charm with joyous excitement and imbued with Grieg’s soaring ecstasy of yearning wistfulness.” PROGRAM Ludwig van Beethoven Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2 Program Notes Bohuslav Martinů Program Notes Cello Sonata No. 1 Nadia Boulanger 3 Pieces for cello and piano Program Notes Edvard Grieg Cello Sonata, Op. 36 Program Notes Watch Steven Isserlis perform the third movement of Joseph Haydn’s Concerto Concerto No. 1 in C major

October 18, 2009 – David Chan, violin; Jeewon Park, piano, Rafael Figueroa, cello JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897) Trio in B Major, Op. 8, for violin, cello, and piano October 18, 2009 – David Chan, violin; Jeewon Park, piano, Rafael Figueroa, cello Johannes Brahms’ Piano Trio, Opus 8, is in many respects a paradoxical work. Progressing from a radiant B major to a tragic B minor, the piece juxtaposes passages of luxurious warmth and optimism and music of turbulence and despair. It is also, in the version heard most often today, simultaneously one of Brahms’ earliest and latest works. He had already started composing the trio in 1853, when the great Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim gave the 20-year-old Brahms a letter of introduction to Robert and Clara Schumann. Brahms’ meeting with the Schumanns at their Düsseldorf home marked an important turning point in his life and career. The Schumanns received him with enormous enthusiasm and generosity. They invited him to stay with them for several weeks, initiating a close friendship that would last for the rest of their lives. Schumann wrote glowingly about the younger composer in his influential journal The New Leipzig Musical Times, and he introduced Brahms to the head of the prominent music publishing firm Breitkopf & Härtel. This greatly enhanced Brahms’ prospects for a successful composing career. The following February, while still working on the trio, Brahms received the distressing news of Robert Schumann’s suicide attempt. He hastened back to Düsseldorf to comfort the Schumann family. It was under those dark circumstances that he completed the piece later that year. Perhaps this brush with tragedy associated with his mentor altered the emotional trajectory of the work, diverting it from its luminous B-major beginning and setting on the course towards its stormy B-minor conclusion. Toward the end of his life Brahms, now the most respected of living composers, changed music publishers. Fritz Simrock bought the rights to all of Brahms’ works from Breitkopf & Härtel for the purpose of publishing them in a new edition. Simrock offered Brahms the opportunity to revise some of his earliest works for the release of the new edition. Brahms, ever the perfectionist – he had burned his first twenty string quartets and postponed composing his first symphony until his mid-40s – decided to revisit his 35-year-old trio, Op. 8. After performing the new version in 1890, Brahms wrote to a friend, saying, “Do you still remember the B major trio from our early days, and wouldn’t you be curious to hear it now, as I have (instead of placing a wig on it!) taken the hair and combed and ordered it a bit…?” This was quite an understatement. In fact, he had shortened the overall length of the work by a third, substantially rewriting the middle sections of the first, third, and fourth movements. Only the Scherzo remained essentially unchanged from its original version. The final work seamlessly blends the impetuosity and passion of his youth with the technical assurance and architectural mastery of his maturity. The first movement begins like a cello sonata, unleashing a glorious cello melody that continues for 23 measures before it is finally joined by the violin. The atmosphere of the movement is wise and reassuring, demonstrating that, even at an early age, his musical sensibilities were already well-formed and recognizably “Brahmsian.” The Scherzo begins in a stealthily portentous B minor. Compressed staccato phrases are interwoven with longer thematic threads that foreshadow surprises ahead. Sudden fortissimo outbursts crash through the texture, dissolving into delicate piano filigree and quiet passagework in the strings. The contrasting trio introduces a melody of expansive warmth and maturity. The third movement alternates between solemn piano and string chorales, eventually blending the two into a sustained, meditative texture. The music then gives way to a long-lined, soulful cello solo. The solemn chorale textures return toward the end of the movement, now accompanied by ethereal ornaments in the right hand of the piano. The final movement is a musical battle between hope and despair. A quietly agitated opening explodes into major-key passages of great exuberance and exultation. Finally, though, the music retreats back into agitation and concern, and the trio concludes in a burst of stormy, B-minor turbulence. By Michael Parloff Return to Parlance Program Notes

January 19, 2020: Paul Lewis, piano LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Fantasia in G minor, Op. 77 January 19, 2020: Paul Lewis, piano Beethoven was miserable during the summer of 1809 owing to Napoleon’s invasion and occupation of Vienna. The composer wrote of this time: We have passed through a great deal of misery. . . . Since May 4th, I have brought into the world little that is connected; only here and there a fragment. The whole course of events has affected me body and soul. . . . What a disturbing, wild life around me; nothing but drums, cannons, men, misery of all sorts. The noise and confusion was especially hard to bear because the court and most of his friends had fled the city, communication was disrupted, and he was unable to spend his customary sojourn in the countryside where his creativity was always rejuvenated. Despite his mood and intermittent inability to write anything “connected,” he composed an impressive number of works during the invasion year: the Fifth Piano Concerto, the Harp Quartet, three piano sonatas (opp. 78, 79, and 81a), several lieder, and a number of miscellaneous pieces, among them the present Fantasia, op. 77. Though Beethoven may have begun writing down the Fantasia during this trying time, he may have actually conceived it in December 1808 for the same concert on which he premiered his Choral Fantasy , which begins with a grand piano introduction in improvisatory style. The solo “Fantasia” that he extemporized on that concert might well have been some form of the present work. In any case, he completed the Fantasia in October, after the armistice was signed and presumably during or following a stay in Hungary with his good friends the Brunsviks—Count Franz, who received the dedication, and his sister Therese. Billed in G minor, the remarkably free-ranging Fantasia touches on that key—never to return—with a cascading scale figure and somber chordal phrase. Repeating the gestures in an unrelated key, Beethoven moves on through a kaleidoscopic array of keys and thematic gestures, eventually settling sweetly in the distant key of B major. He then proposes a simple eight-measure theme in that key and treats it to seven variations before a broad coda reintroduces harmonic uncertainty—even a sweet variant of the theme in C major! The boisterous cascade and subdued chordal gesture of the opening return to settle his main B major key once and for all, to which he adds a comical sign-off. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

March 29, 2015 – Matthew Polenzani, tenor; Ken Noda, piano MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937) Cinq mélodies populaires grecques March 29, 2015 – Matthew Polenzani, tenor; Ken Noda, piano Early in 1904 French musicologist and philologist Pierre Aubry was preparing a lecture on Greek and Armenian folklore entitled “Songs of the Oppressed,” and he asked Greek-born fellow musicologist and critic Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi to provide some examples from Greece. Singer Louise Thomasset agreed to perform them on short notice, but only with piano accompaniment, so Calvocoressi enlisted the help of his longtime friend Ravel. They selected five folk songs—four out of Pericles Matsa’s Chansons (Constantinople, 1883) and the fifth, “Les cueilleuses de lentisques,” from a Hubert Pernot collection entitled Chansons populaires de l’le de Chio. Ravel came up with the accompaniments in only thirty-six hours—his first foray into folk settings—and the lecture-demonstration duly took place on February 20 at the Sorbonne. The following year Ravel decided that three of the songs were “too brief,” so he arranged three others from the Pernot collection, which together with two of the originals, “Quel galant” and “Chanson des cueilleuses,” now make up his Cinq mélodies populaires grecques. On April 28, 1906, Calvocoressi presented a recital on popular Greek song, on which Marguerite Babaïan gave the first performance of the set in its new configuration. These songs were the first of Ravel’s piece to be accepted by prestigious music publisher Durand, who wished to be granted first option on all of his subsequent works. Ravel left his stamp on these accompaniments with their chromatic inflections and reinterpretations of modes, but without destroying their original flavor. “Chanson de la mariée” (Song of the bride) is a lively wake-up call for a bride on her wedding day. Ravel accentuates the modal tune (Phrygian) with his chromatic harmonies, and uses rapid-fire repeated notes to generate excitement. “Là-bas, vers l’église” (There by the church) takes up the same mode, but in gentle, serious reflection on those buried in the cemetery, replete with softly chiming “bells.” “Quel galant m’est comparable” (What gallant compares with me?) begins in a boastful proclamation, takes up a dancelike strut, then indulges in a moment of tenderness, before a brief return to the dance. In “Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques” (Song of the Lentisk Gatherers) Ravel keeps his setting simple, with floating harmonies and occasional spun-out elebortion for the voice alone. “Tout gai” (All Gay!) cavorts happily in the major mode with no chromatic inflections. Ravel’s alternating-hand patterns provide lively interest to the ebullient “Tra-la-las.” © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2023 AT 4 PM MEMORY BELIEVES BRENTANO STRING QUARTET ANTIOCH CHAMBER ENSEMBLE Brentano String Quartet Antioch Chamber Ensemble ”The Brentano String Quartet, by now well established in the international pantheon, offers performances both fiercely intelligent and expressively pristine." — The New Yorker
 “The Antioch Chamber Ensemble performed with clarity of tone and intonation so pure that you could hear the buzz of overtones… — New York Times ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS The celebrated Brentano String Quartet and the Antioch Chamber Ensemble Choir will join forces for a moving and eclectic program featuring the World Premiere of Bruce Adolphe’s Memory Believes (a requiem) , written in honor of the composer’s brother, artist Jonathan Adolphe. The event will also include Beethoven’s otherworldly Cavatina from his 13th string Quartet, a selection of favorite English Madrigals , and Mozart’s exquisite motet, Ave Verum Corpus for choir and strings, written less than six months before the composer’s death in 1791. 2023-2024 SEASON October 15, 202 3 Lysander Piano Trio November 12, 2023 Angel Blue, soprano Bryan Wagorn, piano December 3, 2023 Brentano String Quartet Antioch Chamber Choir January 14, 2024 Goldmund String Quartet February 18, 2024 Candlelit Music of The Spirit March 10, 2024 Richard Goode, Piano Late Beethoven April 7, 2024 Jordi Savall, Conductor Hespèrion XXI May 12, 2024 Mothers Day Concert June 2, 2024 Mozart’s Double Concertos 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 FEATURING BUY TICKETS About Composer Bruce Adolphe Composer, author, lecturer, and performer Bruce Adolphe — known to millions of Americans from his public radio show Piano Puzzlers, which has been broadcast weekly on Performance Today since 2002 — has created a substantial body of chamber music and orchestral works inspired by science, visual arts, and human rights. Over the past 30-plus years, Mr. Adolphe has served as composer-in-residence at many festivals and institutions throughout the United States. A key figure at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 1992, he is the Society’s resident lecturer, has appeared as a commentator on Live From Lincoln Center television, and has lectured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As an author, Mr. Adolphe's books include The Mind's Ear: Exercises for Improving the Musical Imagination for Performers, Composers, and Listeners (Oxford, third ed. 2021) and Visions and Decisions: Imagination and Technique in Music Composition (Cambridge, 2023). PROGRAM Bruce Adolphe Memory Believes (a requiem) for string quartet and chamber choir (World Premiere) Program Notes Beethoven Cavatina from String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 130 Program Notes English Madrigals John Bennet: All Creatures Now William Byrd: Though Amaryllis Dance Thomas Weelkes: Hark, All Ye Lovely Saints Thomas Tomkins: Adieu, Ye City-Prisoning Towers John Wilbye: Draw on Sweet Night Thomas Morley: Fyre, Fyre! Program Notes Mozart Ave Verum Corpus for chamber choir and string quartet Program Notes Watch the Antioch Chamber Ensemble Choir perform Matthew Brown’s Sitvit Anima: Watch the Brentano String Quartet perform the finale of Beethoven’s 16th String Quartet. Op. 135

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2025 AT 4 PM “SINGERS” FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA BRAD GEMEINHARDT, HORN WILLIAM SHORT, BASSOON ANTON RIST, CLARINET MUSICIANS FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA MICHAEL PARLOFF, CONDUCTOR BRAD GEMEINHARDT , HORN ANTON RIST , CLARINET WILLIAM SHORT , BASSOON MICHAEL PARLOFF , CONDUCTOR 2025-2026 SEASON September 14, 2025 “Singers” from the Met Orchestra October 12, 2025 Lawrence Brownlee, tenor November 2, 2025 Benjamin Appl, baritone; James Baillieu, piano December 7, 2025 The Tallis Scholars January 18, 2026 Benjamin Beilman, violin; Jonathan Swenson, cello; Orion Weiss, piano February 22, 2026 Radu Ratoi, accordion March 8, 2026 Jonathan Biss, piano April 26, 2026 Jerusalem String Quartet May 17, 2026 Chee-Yun, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello; Henry Kramer, piano 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 FEATURING BUY TICKETS Musicians from the Met Orchestra Michael Parloff, conductor Benjamin Bowman, concertmaster Bruno Eicher violin Wen Qian, violin Sarah Vonsattel, violin Katherine Fong. violin Ming-Feng Hsin, violin Milan Milisavljević, viola Dov Scheindlin, viola Joel Noyes, cello Kari Docter, cello Leigh Mesh, bass Seth Morris, flute Lauren Scanio, flute Elaine Douvas, oboe Joseph Jordan, oboe Anton Rist, clarinet William Short, bassoon , Jensen Bocco, bassoon, Brad Gemeinhardt, horn Javier Gandara, horn Anne Scharer, horn ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS “SINGERS” FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA The members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra spend their careers listening to and collaborating with the world’s greatest singers. As a result, a vocal sensibility — lyrical, expressive, and flexible — deeply informs their approach to phrasing and musical line. Parlance Chamber Concerts’ Opening Concert will feature three of the Met’s principal instrumental "singers,” hornist Brad Gemeinhardt, bassoonist William Short, and clarinetist Anton Rist , performing some of Mozart’s greatest wind concertos with colleagues from the Met Orchestra, conducted by Artistic Director Michael Parloff. The program will also include Haydn’s Symphony No. 6, “Le Matin,” designed to showcase the artistry of the virtuoso musicians in his handpicked orchestra at the court of Prince Paul Anton Esterházy. PROGRAM W.A. Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat, K. 495 Program Notes Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 6 in D, Hob. 1/6 (“The Morning”) Program Notes INTERMISSION W.A. Mozart: Bassoon Concerto in B-flat, K. 191 Program Notes W.A. Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A, K. 622 Program Notes Watch Members of the MET Orchestra perform Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364: Watch Hornist Brad Gemeinhardt perform Brahms’s Horn Trio, Op. 66:

February 17, 2018: Chiara String Quartet JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809) The Seven Last Words of Christ for string quartet February 17, 2018: Chiara String Quartet THE BACKGROUND Haydn himself described the history of this unique work in the preface to his vocal version, published in 1801: About fifteen years ago [1785] I was asked by a canon in Cádiz to write instrumental music on the Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross. It was then customary every year, during Lent, to perform an oratorio in the main church at Cádiz, to the increased effect of which the following arrangements contributed a great deal. The walls, windows, and pillars of the church were covered with black cloth, and only one large lamp, hanging in the center, illuminated the sacred darkness. At noon all the doors were closed, and the music began. After a spoken prelude, suited to the occasion, the bishop ascended the pulpit and pronounced one of the Seven Words, and delivered a reflection upon it. When it was finished, he descended from the pulpit and knelt down before the altar. This interval was filled by music. The bishop ascended and descended the pulpit a second, a third time, and so on; and each time the orchestra filled in at the end of the discourse. My composition had to be appropriate to these circumstances. The task of writing seven Adagios, each of which was to last about ten minutes, to follow one another without wearying the hearers, was not the easiest; and I soon found that I could not confine myself to the prescribed time limits. The music was originally without text, and it was printed in that form [1787]. It was only at a later period that I was induced to add the text. . . . The partiality with which this work has been received by discerning connoisseurs leads me to hope that it will not fail to make an impression on the public at large. Haydn did not travel to Spain for the first performance on Good Friday, April 6, 1787, so it is perhaps understandable that he made one salient error in a remarkably detailed description, which he presumably dictated to Georg August Griesinger, handler of his dealings with publisher Breitkopf & Härtel. (It is also possible that Griesinger crafted the preface after Haydn showed him the original commissioning letter, which has since disappeared.) The term “main church” (Hauptkirche ) does not properly signify where the performance took place, not only because there are and were many “main churches” in Cádiz, but it is misleading even within the complex of buildings that comprise the Church of the Rosario. Scholars have assumed that Haydn was simply trying to make the place of the first performance sound more imposing, but we need to follow a bit of history before his description can be appreciated for what it is—the scenario that inspired one his most remarkable and successful compositions. The original Santa Cueva (Holy Cave), underground and adjacent to Cádiz’s Church of the Rosario, began to be used in 1756 by a fraternal group for their weekly meditations on the Passion of Christ. In 1771 Jesuit priest José Sáenz de Santa María became director of the brotherhood and began conducting these meetings. Two years later, in a tangential but related connection, he helped Italian cellist Carlo Moro obtain a position in the Cádiz Cathedral orchestra and provided him with an entree to the chamber music salons of the aristocracy. (The research of cellist Carlos Prieto, who plays the Stradivari cello “ex-Piartti” once played by Moro, has helped to establish a number of pertinent facts.) Father Santa Maria invited Moro to the Good Friday ceremonies at the Santa Cueva in 1774, which took place just as described much later by Haydn and deeply impressed the cellist. In 1778 Father Santa Maria inherited his father’s vast fortune and title, Marquis de Valde-Iñigo, and immediately decided to enlarge and refurbish the Santa Cueva. He hired architect Torcuato Cayón, whom he knew from Cayón’s work on the Cádiz Cathedral, and the renovation, begun in 1781, was completed in time for Good Friday services in 1783. Cáyon had just died in January that year, so his disciple Torcuato Benjumeda continued Cáyon’s and Father Santa Maria’s much grander plans—constructing the more luxurious upper chapel of the Santa Cueva between 1793 and 1796 and refurbishing the Church of the Rosario, also in 1793. Before those later projects were carried out, however, Father Santa Maria determined that his Passion ceremonies in the Santa Cueva would be greatly enhanced by the addition of music. The tradition of a noon to three o’clock meditation on the Seven Last Words is said to have originated in Peru with Jesuit priest Francisco del Castillo, and Father Santa Maria may have gotten the idea of adding music from the 1757 posthumous publication in Seville of another Peruvian Jesuit, Alonso Messia Bedoya. Father Santa Maria always aimed high and decided to commission the most famous composer of the time, Joseph Haydn, bypassing Moro’s suggestion of an Italian compatriot, Luigi Boccherini, who was living in Spain. The idea of approaching Haydn seemed daunting to Moro, but Father Santa Maria turned to fellow brotherhood member Francisco de Paula María de Micón, marquis of Méritos, and maestro di capilla of the Cádiz Cathedral, whom Moro knew from his work there and from playing at his chamber-music soirees—and with whom he especially enjoyed speaking Italian. More important, the Marquis of Méritos was a friend of Haydn’s. In 1785 the Micón wrote a commissioning letter to Haydn full of such detail that Haydn not only accepted the commission but knew what shape it would take and what the ethos and effect of his music should be. With their correspondence lost, we can only surmise that the marquis described the ceremonies just as Haydn laid them out in his preface, and that the ceremonies took place in the same way every year, just as Moro had witnessed in 1784. Further, one of Haydn’s nephews wrote that “the composition owed more to the explanation that he had received in writing from Sr. de Micón than to his own creation because in its own unique fashion, it led him through every step of the way, to the point that, while reading the instructions from Spain, it seemed as though he was actually reading the music.” It might be added, however, that Haydn’s mention of the difficulty of the task was borne out by his friend Abbé Stadler, who was with him when he received the commission. In his autobiography, corroborated by publisher Vincent Novello and his wife, Stadler helped him over a seeming quandary about how to proceed by suggesting the he simply write melodies as if he were fitting them to the first phrase of text in his mind. Before turning to the music itself, however, we might touch on one further possibility for Haydn’s 1801 use of the term “main church,” which has led many to suppose that the first performance took place in the beautiful upper Oratory, which had not even been built at the time of the first performance in the renovated underground Santa Cueva. Among many elaborate features—Ionic columns of jasper, ornate altar of silver and jasper, patterned marble floor—the upper Oratory boasts numerous sculptures, sculptured reliefs, and paintings, in particular, three paintings by Goya: The Last Supper , The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes , and The Guest at the Wedding . Because plans for the upper Oratory were already in the works by 1785, it is entirely possible that the commissioning letter to Haydn contained many details that referred to the envisioned project (although Goya had not yet been specifically commissioned) as well as giving the description of the customary Good Friday ceremonies. The thread of the envisioned plans and how Haydn may have been influenced continues with another individual who might have played some role in Father Santa Maria’s conception of combining art and music in his Santa Cueva project. Sebastián Martínez, collector of art and literature, lived near the site and as a friend of Goya drew up the commission for his paintings for the upper oratory. Martínez owned an engraving of Poussin’s famous painting the Eucharist , which Goya would have seen while staying with him and which many commentators have described as one of the influences for Goya’s The Last Supper in the upper Oratory. As scholar Thomas Tolley suggests, Martínez, as a member of high society who was also interested in the relationship between painting and music, would have also revered Haydn and may have helped in the selecting and commissioning process. He and the others involved in commissioning may have even known the story of Haydn’s Farewell Symphony and hence his fascination with lighting effects, which may have helped to solidify their choice. In any case, it would be easy to imagine the commissioning letter including a copy of Poussin’s painting, which is strikingly similar to Haydn’s description of the “sacred darkness” illuminated by “only one large lamp, hanging in the center.” It is fascinating to think that Goya may in turn have even been influenced by a Good Friday performance of Haydn’s music in the underground Santa Cueva before completing his commission in the upper Oratory. In a remarkable tradition, The Seven Last Words has been performed at the Santa Cueva every Good Friday since 1787. Father Santa Maria made sure Haydn received the honorarium he had been promised, but in a manner almost as unusual as the work itself. One day Haydn received a small box from Cádiz, which he opened only to find a chocolate cake. Highly incensed, Haydn cut into it and found it filled with gold pieces. THE MUSICAL BACKGROUND Composed in 1786 and possibly completed in early 1787, the work originally bore the title Musica instrumentale sopra le 7 ultime parole del nostro Redentore in croce, ossiano 7 sonate con un’introduzione ed al fine un terremoto (Instrumental music on the 7 last words of our Redeemer on the cross, 7 sonatas with an introduction and at the end an earthquake), scored for pairs of flutes, oboes, and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. We know from a later article, published around the time of a 1791 London performance, that at the time Haydn corresponded with the Bishop of Cádiz asking if he could exceed the ten-minute limit occasionally, to which the Bishop responded that he should do as he wished and he (the bishop) would shorten his sermons accordingly. (That correspondence is also unfortunately lost.) As soon as the work was completed, Haydn was already pleased with it and had it performed in Vienna on March 26 and Bonn on March 30, 1787, which performances actually predate the Cádiz performance by a few days. Haydn was taken to task by some but praised by others for his daring in expressing the Seven Last Words by purely instrumental music. He had also arranged the work in the present version for string quartet by February 14, 1787, and authorized a keyboard reduction. Then in 1794 he attended a performance in Passau for which his music had been fit with words by Joseph Friebert based on Christ’s last words from the four Gospels. Though Haydn complimented Friebert, he told a student that “could have written the vocal parts better,” and, with the help of Baron Gottfried van Swieten who adapted Freibert’s text, Haydn produced his own vocal version in 1795–96, inserting a new number for winds between the fourth and fifth sonatas, and adding clarinets, contrabassoon, and two trombones to the orchestra while subtracting two horns. This version, Die Sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze , was first perfromed in Vienna on March 26 and 27, 1796. Haydn’s instrumental original unfolds as follows, each movement, including the introduction and the earthquake, in sonata form: Introduzione, D minor, Maestoso ed Adagio: Haydn makes the most of the contrast between dramatic angular motives in dotted rhythm and contrasting tender passages with pulsing repeated notes. Sonata I: “Pater, dimitte illis, quia nesciunt, quid faciunt” (Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do), B-flat major, Largo: Sounding sweetly contrasting to the minor-mode introduction, this movement incorporates the distinct pulsing first heard there, and does switch to the minor mode for expressive purposes. Especially striking is the chromatic treatment for Haydn’s at that time imagined words “the blood of the lamb.” Sonata II: “Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso” (Today you will be with me in paradise), C minor ending in C major, Grave e cantabile: After the pensive opening and in the reprise, the switch to a singing melody in major over arpeggiated accompaniment represents the reward of paradise. Listeners may catch a foreshadow of the hymn (slow movement) of Haydn’s Emperor Quartet. Sonata III: “Mulier, ecce filius tuus” (Woman, behold your son), E major, Grave: Beginning with three simple repeated chords, Haydn’s simple seraphic setting represents the text, “Woman, behold thy son.” Scholar Daniel Heartz points out that Haydn had used similar music for his Salve regina in the same key of 1756. Sonata IV: “Deus meus, Deus meus, utquid dereliquisti me?” (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?), F minor, Largo: Solemnity and lamenting begins to predominate with Haydn’s setting for the words “My God, why have you forsaken me?” in the far removed key of F minor. Haydn had also used this dark key for his Symphony nicknamed “La Passione” in 1768. Sonata V: “Sitio” (I thirst), A major, Adagio: This movement begins with an innocent-sounding melody over “dry” pizzicato accompaniment, which makes the entrance of the raging music for the imagined text, “I thirst,” so striking for its expression of torment. Sonata VI: “Consummatum est” (It is finished), G minor, ending G major, Lento: Haydn was particularly proud of this movement, in which he represents Jesus crying to God “In a loud voice”—five fortissimo chords—“It is finished.” Haydn later uses the motive for a bass line accompaniment to a lovely violin melody in the major. Sonata VII: “In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum” (Into your hands, Father, I commit my spirit), E-flat major, Largo: Haydn represents Christ’s yielding his spirit to God’s hand in with a noble first theme. The use of mutes gives the impression of quiet acceptance and the quiet ending suggests Christ’s earthly life being over. Il terremoto, C minor, Presto e con tutta la forza: Without pause Haydn unleashes the fury of the earthquake following Christ’s crucifixion, described in Matthew 27:51: “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.” Haydn’s depiction in raging unisons, darting gestures, and unsettling cross rhythms provides supreme if brief contrast to all the contemplation that has gone before. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes