May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Ken Noda, piano GEORG FRIEDRICH HÄNDEL (1685-1759) Hear me, ye winds and waves from Scipione and Giulio Cesare, Del minacciar del vento from Ottone May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Ken Noda, piano Always able to compose quickly when circumstances demanded, Handel wrote Scipione in just three weeks, completing the opera only ten days before the first performance on March 12, 1726, at the King’s Theatre in London. He had planned to present Alessandro, but had to come up with a new opera when one of his singers had to arrive too late. Not only did he have to borrow music from some of his recorder sonatas for the overture, but at the last minute had to remove a role and alter Paolo Antonio Rolli’s already hastily prepared libretto when one of the already assembled cast dropped out. It is no wonder that he made extensive revisions for a 1730 revival, which became almost a pastiche with the inclusion of fourteen numbers from his earlier operas. The creation of the recitative and aria “Hear me, ye winds and waves” mirrors the kind of assembly that produced Scipione. In Act II, Scene 2, the imprisoned Princess Berenice (soprano) sings the gently martial but lamenting aria, “Tutta raccolta ancor” (Still wholly contained) while awaiting her captor Scipio, who loves her, though she loves Lucejo. In the late nineteenth century British composer, semiprofessional baritone, and poet Theo Marzials and composer/arranger Amelia Lehmann (known by the inititals A. L.) took the music from this aria and, setting it for low voice, fit it with the English words “Hear me, ye winds and waves”—Marzials’s translation of “Aure, deh, per pietà spirate,” an aria in Handel’s Giulio Cesare. (Handel’s original Caesar was sung by an alto castrato, but is now often performed by a baritone.) Marzials preceded the aria (music from Scipione, words from Giulio Cesare translated into English) with the recitative “Dall’ondo periglio,” which he translated as “From the rage of the tempest” and which had introduced “Aure, deh, per pietà spirate” in Giulio Cesare. Caesar sings his Act III recitative and aria after surviving a drowning attempt and being washed ashore—he tells of his escape, laments the loss of his legions and his glory, and prays for an end to his misery. Thus the English recitative and aria known as “Hear me, ye winds and waves,” actually contains more words and measures of music from Giulio Ceasre, though the memorable music of the aria portion has become so beloved that the selection is always billed as from Scipione. Though originally a lament for Berenice, the music serves Caesar’s purpose equally well, a transference Handel himself could easily have appreciated. The Marzials/Lehmann piano vocal arrangement, published in 1895, has become a popular recital selection. * * * * * Handel composed Ottone in the summer of 1722 for premiere at the King’s Theatre, but he had to make numerous revisions before the opening on January 12, 1723, because of complaints from the illustrious cast about their roles. Nicola Francsco Haym had adapted the libretto—somewhat clumsily according to critics—from that of Stefano Benedetti Pallavicino for Antonio Lotti’s 1719 Teofano, and further segmenting during Handel’s setting caused disjointedness of the drama. But the opera turned out to be one of the most popular of Handel’s career, in large part because of the music’s merits. The plot revolves around a true event, the marriage of Otto II of Germany to Princess Theofano of the Eastern Empire in Rome in 972. Pallavicino, and hence Haym, added story elements concerning Berengar’s suppressed attempt to overthrow Otto I in 950 and the 976 succession of Basil II to the Eastern Empire throne. The blustery bass aria “Del minacciar del vento” (The threats of the wind) is sung in Act I, Scene 4, by the pirate Emireno (Emirenus) who has delayed Ottone (Otto) on his way to Rome to be married, but whom Ottone has captured. Emireno hints that he is someone important (actually Teofane’s brother, which he doesn’t reveal) and boasts that he will always retain his pride just before he is dragged off to prison. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

2019-2020 SEASON Welcome to the 2019 — 2020 season of Parlance Chamber Concerts! On October 27 , our inaugural concert will showcase the dynamic Quartetto di Cremona , one of the most exciting chamber ensembles on the international stage. Recipients of the 2019 Franco Buitoni Award in recognition of their exceptional contribution to promoting Italian chamber music throughout the world, the ensemble’s program will feature string quartets by Verdi, Puccini, Boccherini, and Respighi . Our December 15 event will spotlight music from three of Igor Stravinsky ’s iconic theater works. Pianist Andrew Tyson will perform the dazzling Piano Suite from the 1911 ballet Petrushka . Tyson will then join violinist Benjamin Beilman for Stravinsky’s charming and witty Suite Italienne from the neoclassic 1919 ballet Pulcinella . The afternoon will culminate in a fully narrated, choreographed performance of Stravinsky’s seminal 1918 chamber theater work, The Soldier’s Tale . Seven superb musicians will join renowned actor-narrator Benjamin Luxon in the Faustian tale of a young soldier who makes a deal with the Devil. On January 19 , the celebrated English pianist Paul Lewis will perform music by Beethoven and Schubert . Internationally regarded as one of the most poetic artists of his generation, Lewis’s recital will feature three works by Beethoven, including the “Moonlight” Sonata in C# minor , and Schubert’s sublime Sonata in G Major , which Robert Schumann called “Schubert’s most perfect sonata in form and conception.” On February 16 , the luminous Metropolitan Opera soprano Ying Fang will collaborate with pianist Ken Noda . One of the Met’s fastest-rising young singers, Ying Fang has been called “a star in the making” by the New York Times. Her recital will include a selection of best-loved opera arias and songs by Händel, Mozart, Schubert, Bizet, and Rachmaninoff . On March 22 , America’s foremost organ virtuoso, Paul Jacobs , will celebrate Bach’s 335th birthday with a recital of towering masterpieces for The King of Instruments. The Grammy Award-winning organist will perform Bachian favorites including Sheep Safely Graze , the sparkling Trio Sonata in E minor , and the powerful C-minor Passacaglia and Fugue . On May 3 , two of today’s most scintillating young violinists, Paul Huang and Danbi Um , will join forces with the superb Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen in an electrifying program of rarely performed masterpieces. The concert will include exhilarating works by Beethoven, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Pablo Sarasate , and a specially commissioned trio by the award-winning young American composer Chris Rogerson . On June 6 and June 7 , the season will culminate with the triumphant return of the Pinchas Zukerman Trio . The star-studded ensemble will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with a special weekend residency that will include a Saturday afternoon masterclass and two all-Beethoven concerts on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon . Highlights will include performances of the “Spring” violin sonata, A-major cello sonata , and the “Ghost” and “Archduke” piano trios . Michael Parloff Programs and artists are subject to change 2019-2020 SEASON October 27, 2019 Il Quartetto Di Cremona An Italian Journey December 15, 2019 Stravinsky! Ballet & Theater Music January 19, 2020 Paul Lewis, piano Beethoven and Schubert February 16, 2020 Ying Fang, soprano Ken Noda, piano March 22, 2020 Paul Jacobs, organ Bach’s Birthday Concert May 3, 2020 Paul Huang & Danbi Um, violins Juho Pohjonen, piano June 6 & 7 2020 Pinchas Zukerman Trio All-Beethoven Weekend Residency 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

December 13, 2015 – Paul Watkins, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Cello Sonata in C major, op. 102, no. 1 December 13, 2015 – Paul Watkins, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano Beethoven dated the present C major Sonata “toward the end of July 1815” and its D major companion “beginning of August 1815.” These two works, along with the Opus 90 Piano Sonata, the song cycle An die ferne Geliebte , and the Opus 101 Piano Sonata, show the Romantic depth of feeling, experiments with form, delicately interlaced lines, and unexpected harmonies that mark the threshold of his celebrated late style. The impetus for writing cello sonatas at his time lies in a series of extraordinary events, connected in various ways with the Hungarian Countess Marie Erdödy. She was not only a generous patron but an excellent amateur pianist, though often bedridden, and was his astute advisor on business and personal affairs. In 1808 he had lived in rooms she generously furnished in her spacious Viennese apartment, and he called her his Beichvater (father confessor)—that is, until he stormed out in 1809 in the first of several rifts in their friendship. On New Year’s Eve 1814, the palace of one of Beethoven’s other patrons, Count Razumovsky, burned down. His house quartet—the celebrated Schuppanzigh Quartet, which had premiered many of Beethoven’s works—had to be disbanded, and the cellist, Joseph Linke, one of Beethoven’s good friends, took up employment as musical tutor to the Erdödy family. Shortly thereafter Countess Erdödy wrote to Beethoven to mend a rift that had lasted since 1810. Her letter doesn’t survive, but Beethoven responded on February 29, 1815, thanking her for renewing their friendship and promising to send her his Opus 97 Trio and other works that hadn’t yet been published. The countess must have then requested some music for Linke, judging by Beethoven’s letter (undated but probably that summer) saying that “the promised music will be sent from town”—most likely one or both of the cello sonatas. Since the Erdödys had moved to Jedlesee, east of Vienna just across the Danube River, Beethoven delighted in making a pun on linke (left in German): “The violoncello [Linke] is to apply himself, starting on the left (linke ) bank of the Danube and playing until everyone has crossed from the right bank of the Danube; in this way your population will soon increase.” Beethoven dedicated these fruits of their renewed friendship to Countess Erdödy. The C major Sonata divides neatly into two movements, each containing a slow introduction to a fast section. Beethoven acknowledged his unusual structure with the subtitle “free sonata” in his manuscript. He had explored free structures much earlier—as in his Opus 27 Sonatas, subtitled “quasi una fantasia ”—but here there is a new concision and concentration on contrapuntal lines. And, though slow introductions were nothing new for him, the sweet tenderness and contrapuntal intricacy of the opening Andante sounds more personal, like an exchange of confidences. Beethoven shatters this intimacy with the vehement unison opening of the Allegro vivace, which is doubly striking for its minor mode. He finds myriad uses for the dotted rhythm of the Allegro’s opening as the movement progresses, and also opens up brief miraculous moments of poignant sweetness within the prevailing vigor. The reflective conversation resumes in the Adagio introduction to the finale, but now with florid embellishment of insistent lines and with many passages in the cello’s lowest register. A building anxiety gives way to a varied recall of the first movement’s introduction in all its tenderness, which provides a perfect foil for the humor of the finale. A recall of this kind appears occasionally in earlier works—significantly in one of his “fantasia” sonatas, Opus 27, no. 1, though in a slightly different position—but it becomes more pronounced in his late works, most notably in the Ninth Symphony. Built from one of his most concise motives, the lively finale again shows complex contrapuntal thought, but also humor with a touch of irony. Commentators relatively recently have discussed “Romantic irony” in Beethoven’s late style, indicative of ambivalence and self-doubt. This parallels his verbal sense of humor, which at the time became infused with ironic self-deprecation—a famous example being his death-bed remark: “Applaud friends, the comedy is over.” In his music the irony shows in contradictions, interruptions, fragmentation, and seemingly indecisive moments. The present finale’s dramatic interruptions and clever fragmentation all lend an ironic subcurrent to the jollity. The new style of these cello sonatas, unsurprisingly, evoked puzzlement at first. In 1815 Mannheim Kapellmeister Michael Frey heard Linke and Beethoven’s former student Carl Czerny play the premiere of one of the Opus 102 Sonatas (he did not record which), and confided to his diary, “It is so original that it is impossible to understand on first hearing.” © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) S’altro che lagrime from La clemenza di Tito, K. 621 Zeffirettti lusinghieri from Idomeneo, K. 366 February 16, 2020: Ying Fang, soprano; Ken Noda, piano In July 1791 Mozart received a “last-minute” commission to compose an opera to celebrate Leopold II’s coronation as King of Bohemia. He had to work quickly in order to complete La clemenza di Tito (The clemency of Titus) by September 6, when it would open at the National Theatre in Prague. Having begun the work in Vienna in late July, Mozart arrived in Prague on August 28 and completed the opera only the day before it opened. After modest successes, La clemenza di Tito experienced a triumphant closing night, which was reported to Mozart back in Vienna on September 30, the day of the premiere of Die Zauberflöte. More than forty composers had previously set Pietro Metastasio’s libretto for La clemenza di Tito, beginning with Caldara in 1734. For Mozart’s purposes the libretto was adapted by Caterino Mazzolà—“reduced to a proper opera” as Mozart put it—who shortened it by one-third and manipulated almost all of Metastasio’s texts so that there would be ensembles and finales in addition to solo arias. The plot, typical of opera seria (eighteenth-century dramatic opera, usually on a classical subject), concerns Titus (Tito), benevolent Roman emperor, whose plan to marry someone other than Vitellia, daughter of the deposed emperor, causes her to plot his demise. She enlists Sextus (Sesto)—who is Tito’s friend but hopelessly in love with her—to burn down the entire city of Rome and thus roast Tito alive. Meanwhile, Tito’s choice of consort has shifted for political reasons from Berenice to Servilia, Sesto’s sister, but when he learns that Servilia and his friend Annio are in love he declares he will not come between them. He now chooses Vitellia, but she doesn’t find out until it is too late to stop the deadly plot. Miraculously, Tito survives the fire, but Sesto is condemned to death for treason. Vitellia, unable to bear the guilt, confesses her part in the scheme, and Tito, who has granted Sesto clemency, now does the same for Vitellia. “S’altro che lagrime” (If nothing more than tears), a gentle minuet-like arietta, is sung by Servilia in Act II as she comes upon Vitellia crying and warns her that her tears are not enough to save Sesto from death. Servilia doesn’t realize that Vitellia is crying in guilty anguish over having brought about his death sentence. Stepping back in time to Mozart’s first big break in opera, in the summer of 1780 he received a commission to write an opera seria for the Electoral Court of Munich. Elector Karl Theodor’s establishment, having recently moved there from Mannheim, boasted one of the finest opera companies and probably the finest orchestra in Europe. Mozart had encountered many of these musicians in Mannheim during his travels several years earlier and he expended his greatest efforts to write a worthy opera. Salzburg cleric Giovanni Battista Varesco condensed Antoine Danchet’s earlier five-act libretto, Idomenée, into three acts, which Mozart—already exhibiting his exceptional dramatic sense of timing and theatrical effect—had to prune severely. Mozart wrote some of his most glorious music for Idomeneo, rè di Creta (Idomeneus, king of Crete), and the premiere, which Mozart conducted in Munich on January 29, 1781, was well received. Yet despite Mozart’s considerable innovations, opera seria was a dying art form, and Idomeneo disappeared from the repertoire, remaining unappreciated until the twentieth century. The story of Idomeneus, the Greek chieftain returning home after the Trojan war, parallels the Biblical story of Jephtha: in return for his deliverance from a horrendous storm, he vows to Poseidon that he will sacrifice the first living being he encounters when he goes ashore, only to find that this is his own son Idamantes. In Italian fashion, the libretto averts a tragic ending by having Poseidon decree that Idomeneus abdicate his throne in favor of Idamantes, who is to marry Ilia. She is the one he loves, though she had earlier given him up to her rival Electra as Idomeneus maneuvered to avoid sacrificing his son. Ilia sings “Zeffiretti lusinghieri” (Gently caressing zephyrs) at the outset of Act III, tenderly, exquisitely asking the wind to carry her thoughts of love to Idamantes. Graceful fast notes represent her message flying on the breeze. The middle section in this ternary form brings musical contrast, though it expresses the same basic idea even if it is now the plants and flowers that are to relay her love. © Jane Vial Jaffe Texts and Translations SERVILIA S’altro che lagrime Per lui non tenti, Tutto il tuo piangere Non gioverà. A questa inutile pietà che senti oh, quanto è simile la crudeltà. S’altro, etc. —Pietro Metastasio ILIA Zeffiretti lusinghieri, deh volate al mio tesoro, e gli dite ch’io l’adoro, che mi serbi il cor fedel. E voi piante, e fior sinceri, che ora innaffia il pianto amaro, dite a lui che amor più raro Mai vedeste sotto al ciel. Zeffiretti lusinghieri, etc. —Giovanni Battista Varesco after Antoine Danchet SERVILIA If nothing but tears you expend on him, all your weeping will not help. To this useless pity that you feel, oh how similar cruelty is. If nothing, etc. ILIA Gentle zephyrs, oh fly to my beloved, and tell him I adore him, and to keep his heart true to me. And you plants and tender flowers, which my bitter tears now water, tell him that no rarer love you have ever seen beneath the sky. Gentle zephyrs, etc. Return to Parlance Program Notes

April 23, 2017: Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Warren Jones, piano JULES MASSENET (1842-1912) Letter Scene and Va! Laisse couler mes larmes from Werther April 23, 2017: Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Warren Jones, piano At least as early as 1880 Massenet was considering writing an opera based on Goethe’s epistolary novel Werther (1774), whose protagonist commits suicide over unrequited love. Goethe’s tragic hero became one of the chief symbols of the Romantic movement in Europe. In Massenet’s factually challenged memoirs he was purposefully vague about the timing of the genesis of his opera saying it had stemmed from when dramatist Georges Hartmann handed him a copy of Werther in Wetzlar on their way back from a performance of Parsifal in Bayreuth. As Masssenet sat reading, he recounted, in a German beer hall in the town where Goethe’s story takes place, he was moved to tears, particularly by the Ossian quote “Pourquois me réveiller” (Why awaken me), which Werther would sing in one of the opera’s dramatic peaks. Scholars have determined that Massenet’s vagueness would lead readers to assume he was talking about the summer of 1882, and that he put aside the idea for his operas Manon and Le Cid, but other details confirm that this Parsifal journey must have occurred in 1886. In truth Massenet began composing Werther in 1885, based on a scenario by Hartmann but actually setting a libretto by Édouard Blau and Paul Millet, so the Wetzlar occasion would have simply spurred him on. Though Hartmann had not actually written part of the libretto, the composer no doubt gave him nominal credit to aid him financially when his bankrupt publishing firm was being absorbed by another. Massenet completed the opera in 1887, but Léon Carvalho, director of the Opéra-Comique, turned it down as too depressing. The theater burned down shortly thereafter, and, though there was a possibility of a premiere in 1889, Massenet’s next opera, Esclarmonde , was performed instead. As it turns out, the premiere took place on February 16, 1892, sung in German, at the Vienna Hofoper—the result of the management requesting another opera from Massenet after the great success of his Manon there in 1890. Somewhat surprisingly, the soprano who had sung the role of Manon in Vienna now took on the mezzo-soprano role of Charlottte, a performance fondly remembered there for decades. The Parisian premiere in 1893 met with only modest success, and it took until the 1903 revival by Albert Carré for Werther to achieve popular status and acclaim as one of Massenet’s greatest masterpieces. The story concerns Charlotte, whose care for her siblings after her mother’s death arouses the sympathy and love of Werther, even though he knows she is set to marry the absent Albert. Charlotte and Werther attend a ball and become entranced with each other, but the spell is shattered when they return to her house and hear that Albert has returned. Time passes, and Charlotte and Albert have been married for three years when the depressed Werther can’t help show his feelings for her. Charlotte says he must really go away until Christmas. Despairing, he contemplates suicide and leaves. On Christmas Eve, Charlotte rereads all the letters that Werther has sent to her, admitting that she really loves him. The desolate Werther appears suddenly and they reminisce tenderly, but she flees. Albert reads a letter from Werther saying he is going away and wants to borrow his pistols. Albert makes the agitated Charlotte bring them as she fully realizes Werther’s intention. She runs to Werther’s rooms, where he lies mortally wounded. He is happy to be united with her, and she admits she has always loved him before he dies in her arms. Massenet made certain changes in Goethe’s story, such as Charlotte’s marriage to Albert being the result of her dying mother’s wish rather than her own choice, having Albert know why Werther wanted to borrow his pistols, and having Werther actually conscious for a final duet with Charlotte. Nevertheless the story proved relatively unproblematic to adapt for the operatic stage, and provided Massenet with a perfect vehicle to show the full force of his ability to write inspired, fluid melodies as well as shrewd psychological character development. The Letter Scene (“Air des lettres”), in which Charlotte reads from letters that Werther has sent her, specifically connects with Goethe’s original story, which he tells in the form of letters. The music’s psychological drama draws from the fact that we experience both the emotions that Werther transmitted in writing the letters as well as Charlotte’s reaction to them. With incredible dramatic pacing, Massenet follows this (after an exchange in which Charlotte’s sister Sophie tries to cheer her up) with the remarkable “Air des larmes” (Aria of tears), in which Massenet famously uses a saxophone obbligato—nicely imagined here on piano—to aid in the aria’s mournful expressiveness. © Jane Vial Jaffe Texts and Translations Scène des lettres (Air des lettres) Werther! Werther! Qui m’aurait dit la place que dans mon coeur il occupe aujourd’hui? Depuis qu’il est parti, malgré moi tout me lasse! Et mon âme est pleine de lui! Ces lettres! . . . Ah! je les relis sans cesse . . . Avec quel charme, mais aussi quelle tristesse! Je devrais les détruire . . . je ne puis! «Je vous écris de ma petite chambre; un ciel gris et lourd de Décembre pèse sur moi comme un linceul, et je suis seul! seul! toujours seul!» Ah! personne près de lui! . . . Pas un seul témoignage de tendresse ou même de pitié! Dieu! Comment m’est venu ce triste courage, d’ordonner cet exil et cet isolement? «Des cris joyeux d’enfants montent sous ma fenêtre. Et je pense à ce temps si doux où tous vos chers petits jouaient autour de nous! Ils m’oublieront peut-être?» Non, Werther, dans leur souvenir votre image reste vivante, et quand vous reviendrez . . . Mais doit-il revenir? Ah! ce dernier billet me glace et m’épouvante! «Tu m’as dit: à Noël, et j’ai crié: Jamais! On va bientôt connaître qui de nous deux disait vrai! Mais si je ne dois reparaître, au jour fixé, devant toi, ne m’accuse pas, pleure-moi! Oui, de ces yeux si pleins de charmes, ces lignes, tu les reliras, tu les mouilleras de tes larmes, O Charlotte, et tu frémiras!» Va! Laisse couler mes larmes Va! laisse couler mes larmes . . . elles font du bien, ma chérie! Les larmes qu’on ne pleure pas, dans notre âme retombent toutes, et de leurs patientes gouttes Martèlent le coeur triste et las! Sa résistance enfin s’épuise; le coeur se creuse et s’affaiblit: il est trop grand, rien ne l’emplit; et trop fragile, tout le brise! Letter Scene (Letter aria) Werther! Werther! Who would have told me the place that he occupies in my heart today? Since he has gone, in spite of myself, I’ve been all weary! And my soul is filled with him! These letters! . . . Ah! I read them constantly . . . With what charm, but also what sadness! I should destroy them. . . I cannot! “I am writing to you from my little room; a sky gray and heavy of December weighs upon me like a shroud, and I am alone! Alone! Always alone!” Ah! No one near him! . . . Not a single testimony of tenderness or even pity! God! How did this this sad courage come to me, to order this exile and isolation? “Joyful cries of children rise from beneath my window. And I think of the time so sweet when all your dear little ones were playing around us! They will forget me, perhaps?” No, Werther, in their memory your image remains alive, and when you return . . . But will he return? Ah! This last note freezes and terrifies me! “You said to me: Christmas, and I cried: Never! We will soon know which of us was speaking the truth! But if I do not reappear, on the appointed day, before you, do not accuse me, weep for me! Yes, with those eyes so full of charms, these lines, you will reread them, and you will wet them with your tears, O Charlotte, and you will tremble!” Go! Let my tears flow Go! Let my tears flow . . . They do me good, my dear! The tears that we don’t cry all fall back into our soul, and their patient drops hammer on the sad and weary heart. Its resistance is finally exhausted; the heart grows hollow and weakens: it is too great, nothing fills it; and too fragile, everything will break it! Return to Parlance Program Notes

ORION WEISS, PIANO One of the most sought-after soloists and chamber music collaborators of his generation, Orion Weiss is widely regarded as a “brilliant pianist” (The New York Times) with “powerful technique and exceptional insight” (The Washington Post). With a warmth to his playing that outwardly reflects his engaging personality, Weiss’s “delicate, even fingerwork” (Washington Classical Review) and “head-spinning range of colors” (Chicago Tribune) have dazzled audiences around the world. He has performed with all of the major orchestras of North America, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the New York Philharmonic. In February of 2025, Weiss released Arc III, the final album in his recital trilogy, on First Hand Records. Weiss’s 24-25 performance schedule includes engagements with violinist James Ehnes, who joins Weiss for a return to London’s Wigmore Hall and for performances of the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Seattle. Among numerous engagements with U.S. orchestras, Weiss makes his David Geffen Hall debut in New York with the American Symphony Orchestra. He performs Bach's Goldberg Variations at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Newport Classical in Rhode Island, among other recitals. He is featured in performances at Italy’s Teatro Marrucino Biglietteria and in the Great Artists Series at Washington University in St. Louis, on a tour with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and at LaMusica Chamber Music Festival in Sarasota, Florida. Weiss also tours Japan, playing the complete Brahms Violin Sonatas with Akiko Suwanai and performs the complete Grieg Sonatas with James Ehnes in Bergen, Norway. Over the last year, Weiss made his return to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by Michael Tilson Thomas, and debuted with the National Symphony Orchestra, led by Ken-David Masur. He also toured the United States and Asia with violinist Augustin Hadelich and performed at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music, and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. Known for his affinity for chamber music, Weiss performs regularly with Augustin Hadelich, as well as fellow violinists William Hagen and James Ehnes; pianists Michael Brown and Shai Wosner; and the Ariel, Parker, and Pacifica Quartets. As a recitalist and chamber musician, Weiss has appeared at venues and festivals including the Ravinia Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg), the Edinburgh International Festival, the Schubert Club, Hong Kong Premiere Performances, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the Lucerne Festival, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center’s Fortas Series, the 92nd Street Y, and at summer music festivals including Bard, Santa Fe, Bridgehampton, Bravo! Vail, Sunriver, and Grand Teton, among many others. Other highlights from Weiss’s recent seasons include a live-stream with the Minnesota Orchestra; a performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; the release of his recording of Christopher Rouse’s Seeing, the first two installments of his critically acclaimed Arc recital trilogy; a recording of Korngold’s Left Hand concerto and other works with Leon Botstein and TON; and recordings of Gershwin’s complete works for piano and orchestra with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and JoAnn Falletta. Weiss can be heard on the Naxos, Telos, Bridge, First Hand, Yarlung, and Artek labels on recordings such as The Piano Protagonists with The Orchestra Now, led by Leon Botstein; a disc of Scarlatti Sonatas for Naxos; a solo recital disc of Bartók, Dvorák, and Prokofiev; Brahms Sonatas with violinist Arnaud Sussmann; a solo recital album of J.S. Bach, Scriabin, Mozart, and Carter; and a recital disc with cellist Julie Albers. In March 2022, First Hand Records released the first album of Weiss’s Arc Trilogy – Arc I: Granados, Janáček, Scriabin – a recording exploring the omens and tension of the period preceding World War I. Gramophone Magazine praised the album as “expansive, colorful, and texturally varied.” Arc II, featuring the music of Ravel, Brahms, and Shostakovich, was released in November 2022. Arc III, featuring works by Brahms, Schubert, Debussy, Dohnányi, Ligeti, and Talma, was released in February 2025 and called a “a worthy successor to the distinguished predecessors” by Gramophone. Over recent years, Weiss has also raised his profile through video, assembling a broad and growing YouTube videography that includes Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the Op. 39 Rachmaninoff etudes, and Grieg’s Lyric Pieces, among many others. In the summer of 2011, Weiss made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood as a last-minute replacement for Leon Fleisher. In recent seasons, he has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and in summer concerts with the New York Philharmonic at both Lincoln Center and the Bravo! Vail Valley Festival. In 2005, he toured Israel with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Itzhak Perlman. Weiss’s list of awards includes the Classical Recording Foundation’s Young Artist of the Year, Gilmore Young Artist Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Gina Bachauer Scholarship at The Juilliard School, and the Mieczyslaw Munz Scholarship. He won the 2005 William Petschek Recital Award at Juilliard and made his New York recital debut at Alice Tully Hall that April. Also in 2005, Weiss made his European debut in a recital at the Musée du Louvre in Paris. From 2002-2004, he was a member of Lincoln Center’s The Bowers Program (formerly CMS Two). A native of Lyndhurst, Ohio, Weiss attended the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Young Artist Program through high school, where he studied with Paul Schenly, Daniel Shapiro, and Sergei Babayan. His other teachers include Joseph Kalichstein, Jerome Lowenthal, Kathryn Brown, and Edith Reed. In February 1999, Weiss made his Cleveland Orchestra debut performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The next month, with less than 24 hours notice, Weiss stepped in to replace André Watts for a performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and was immediately invited to return for a performance of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto that October. In 2004, he graduated from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Emanuel Ax. Learn more www.orionweiss.com .

KEVIN J. MILLER, PIANO American pianist Kevin J. Miller, a Grammy Award nominee, has garnered widespread acclaim for his masterful and dynamically artful performances. His recent collaborations boast an impressive array of international artists, including distinguished vocalists Lawrence Brownlee, Joseph Calleja, Nadine Sierra, John Holiday, Karen Slack, Will Liverman, and Leah Hawkins. Notably, Mr. Miller had the privilege of preparing the incomparable soprano Jessye Norman for performances of Laura Karpman's production of Ask Your Mama, which culminated in a triumphant presentation at Carnegie Hall. His artistry can be heard on several recordings, including Been in da Storm So Long, featuring baritone Kenneth Overton, and Lawrence Brownlee's critically acclaimed release Rising. Mr. Miller's formidable musical foundation was laid at the Mannes College of Music, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano. He further honed his craft at the University of Michigan School of Music, earning both a Master of Music degree and Artist Diploma in Collaborative Piano under the guidance of Martin Katz. Mr. Miller's distinguished career has been marked by esteemed appointments to the music staff of several of the nation's most revered opera companies. His impressive roster of affiliations includes The Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, Washington National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Cincinnati Opera, Austin Opera, Opera San Antonio, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

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April 3, 2016: Sir James Galway, flute; Benjamin Beilman and Danbi Um, violins; Mark Holloway, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Timothy Cobb, bass; Paolo Bourdignon, harpsichord JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Air on the G String (from Suite in D, BWV 1068) for flute, strings, and continuo April 3, 2016: Sir James Galway, flute; Benjamin Beilman and Danbi Um, violins; Mark Holloway, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Timothy Cobb, bass; Paolo Bourdignon, harpsichord For background on Bach’s Orchestral Suites, see Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor. The Third Suite may be the most famous of the four on account of its meltingly beautiful Air. One of the most popular and arranged pieces of all time, it achieved special notoriety through August Wilhelmj’s version for the violin G string (1871). The Air’s binary form—two halves, each repeated—and its “stepping” bass overlaid with a long, sustained melodic line are standard Baroque procedures, but its poignant effect transcends all formulas. James Galway plays its haunting violin part on the flute. Return to Parlance Program Notes

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2020 AT 3 PM PAUL LEWIS, PIANO BEETHOVEN AND SCHUBERT BUY TICKETS PAUL LEWIS, PIANO “Lewis’ deep insights into the emotional complications of this music were matched by his firm grasp of classical structure and the ways in which Schubert’s lyrical gift illuminates that structure. This was Schubert playing of a very high order.” – Chicago Tribune FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS The English pianist Paul Lewis is internationally regarded as one of the most poetic artists of his generation. His performances of the core piano works of Beethoven and Schubert have received unanimous critical and public acclaim worldwide. His program will include Beethoven’s cherished “Moonlight” Sonata in C# minor and Schubert’s sublime Sonata in G Major, which Robert Schumann called “Schubert’s most perfect sonata in form and conception.” PROGRAM Beethoven Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27, no. 1, “Quasi una fantasia” Program Notes Beethoven Fantasia in G minor, Op. 77 Program Notes Beethoven Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, no. 2, “Quasi una fantasia” (“Moonlight”) Program Notes Schubert Sonata in G major, D. 894, op. 78 (“Fantasie”) Program Notes Watch Paul Lewis perform Schubert’s final piano sonata in G major:

MODIGLIANI QUARTET The Paris-based Modigliani Quartet celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023. They are regular guests at the world’s top venues and finest string quartet and chamber music series. In 2017 it was a special honor for the ensemble to be the first string quartet ever performing in the big hall of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. In 2020, the quartet became artistic directors of the string quartet festival “Vibre! Quatuors à Bordeaux” as well as the renowned “The Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition”. In addition the quartet are founders and artistic directors of the Saint-Paul-de-Vence Festival. Since autumn 2023 they have been teaching the first String Quartet class at the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot. Modigliani Quartet has been recording for the Mirare label since 2008 and has released 13 award winning CDs since. In January 2024, the quartet’s latest album featuring quartets by Grieg and Smetana was published and received enthusiastically by the international press: “The French Quatuor Modigliani brings these highly emotional works to life with energy, color and glowing passion.” (Rondo, January 2024) The recording was also featured in the bestseller list 2-2024 (category chamber music) at the “Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik”. In the 2024/2025 season, Modigliani Quartet will be dedicated to the greatest challenge in the life of a string quartet: recording all 16 string quartets by Beethoven. Other highlights of the new season include a tour of North America in October 2024, as well as concerts at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the L’Auditori in Barcelona (as part of the string quartet biennial), the Konserthus Stockholm, and at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. Thanks to the generosity and support of private sponsors, Modigliani Quartet plays on four outstanding Italian instruments: Amaury Coeytaux plays a 1715 violin by Stradivari Loïc Rio plays a 1780 violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini Laurent Marfaing plays a 1660 viola by Luigi Mariani François Kieffer plays a 1706 cello by Matteo Goffriller

OLIVER NEUBAUER, VIOLIN Violinist Oliver Neubauer is a senior at The Dalton School, a student of Li Lin at The Juilliard Pre-College, and a student of Itzhak Perlman, Catherine Cho, and Sean Lee at the Perlman Music Program. In September, 2018, Oliver will attend the Juilliard School as a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship in the studios of Itzhak Perlman and Li Lin. Concerts this season include performances with the Symphony of Westchester (as a winner of their 2017 Young Artist Competition), YoungArts Week 2018 (as a winner of the 2018 YoungArts Competition), Neue Galerie (NYC), American Museum of Natural History, Great Performers Series (Palm Beach), Weill Recital Hall, Paul Hall, and the Asian Cultural Center. Oliver was a winner of the 2017 Young Musicians Competition at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, a Young Performer at the Music@Menlo Chamber Music Institute, and a member of the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program. In May, 2013 Oliver made his Lincoln Center debut at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Young Ensembles Concert . In addition, Oliver has performed at Summerfest La Jolla, Music@Menlo, Mostly Music Series, NJ, Lake Champlain Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, Music from Angel Fire, and Art in Avila in Curaçao. In 2013, Oliver made his debut with the New York Philharmonic as the narrator for Britten’s Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra. Oliver is also a competitive chess player, participating in dozens of national tournaments. Oliver was the recipient of a Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Key Award and was a National Merit Scholarship Program Semi-Finalist. As the recipient of a Gold Award from YoungArts, Oliver is currently a Semi-Finalist candidate for a 2018 Presidential Scholar in the Arts Award.