Search Results

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2019 AT 3 PM STRAVINSKY! Ballet & Theater Music BUY TICKETS INN-HYUCK CHO, CLARINET Principal Clarinet, Met Orchestra DEMIAN AUSTIN, TROMBONE Principal Trombone Met Orchestra CHRIS COLETTI, TRUMPET Principal Trumpet Canadian Brass BENJAMIN LUXON, ACTOR-NARRATOR “His interpretive power is unquestioned.” — The New York Times ANDREW TYSON, PIANO “A real poet of the piano.” — BBC Radio 3 BENJAMIN BEILMAN, VIOLIN 2019 “Poised and monstrously talented” — Philadelphia Inquirer IAN ROSENBAUM, PERCUSSION Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society ANNI CROFUT, DANCER FRANK MORELLI, BASSOON Principal Bassoon Orpheus FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS This special event will feature music from three of Stravinsky’s iconic theater works. The dazzling Piano Suite from Petrushka was inspired by the music from his groundbreaking 1911 ballet, and the neoclassic Suite Italienne for violin and piano was adapted from Stravinsky’s charming and witty score for his 1923 ballet Pulcinella . The afternoon will culminate with a fully narrated, choreographed performance of Stravinsky’s seminal 1918 theater work, The Soldier’s Tale , the Faustian tale of a young soldier who makes a deal with the Devil. PROGRAM Igor Stravinsky Three Movements from Petrushka Andrew Tyson, piano Program Notes Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne Benjamin Beilman, violin; Andrew Tyson, piano Program Notes Igor Stravinsky The Soldier’s Tale Benjamin Luxon, narrator; Anni Crofut, dancer; Instrumental Septet Program Notes Watch Anni Crofut dance the Tango, Waltz, and Ragtime from Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale”:

Development Director Inmo Parloff Leadership Council Thomas and Heidi Ahlborn Anne Bosch William and Zitta Chapman Catherine Coo ke Christina Hembree Adrian and Christina Jones Ronald and Mollie Ledwith Youngick and Joyce Lee Carol Martin Dorothy Neff Suzanne Taranto Donald and Gigo Taylor Richard and Michelle Vaccaro

DENIS BOURIAKOV, FLUTE - 2011 Principal Flute of the Metropolitan Opera, Denis Bouriakov enjoys one of the fastest growing careers in the flute world. He has won prizes in many of the most important international competitions, including the Jean-Pierre Rampal, the Munich ARD, the Prague Spring, the Carl Nielsen, and the Kobe competitions. Bouriakov looks outside the standard flute repertoire for works that allow the flute to shine. In addition to having a phenomenal virtuoso technique, he is continually transcribing and performing violin concertos and sonatas, expanding the limits of flute technique and artistry. Mr. Bouriakov released his first solo CD in 2009, which includes the Sibelius Violin Concerto in his own arrangement. He has also recorded the Bach Concerto for 2 Violins in d minor with flutist William Bennett and the English Chamber Orchestra. His anticipated 2012 CD, recorded in Japan, will include works by Copland, Debussy, Boehm, Jolivet and Prokofiev. Bouriakov has performed worldwide as a soloist with many orchestras, including the Moscow Philharmonic, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Ensemble of Tokyo, the Odense Symphony, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Ensemble of Paris and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Denis Bouriakov was born in Crimea (now the Ukraine). At the age of ten, he was given a place at the Moscow Central Special Music School, where he studied with Professor Y.N. Dolzhikov. With the support of the ”New Names” International Charity Foundation and the Vladimir Spivakov Foundation, he toured as soloist to over 20 countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and the USA. He went on to attend the Royal Academy of Music in London, studying with Professor William Bennett (OBE). His graduation in 2001 was accompanied by the “Principal’s Award”, the diploma for Outstanding Recital, and the Teaching Fellowship Award for the following year. In 2006, the Academy awarded him the title of ARAM, Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. While in London, Bouriakov freelanced as principal flute with the Philharmonia of London, the LPO, Leeds Opera North and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Bouriakov’s first position was Principal Flute with the Tampere Philharmonic in Finland, where he also taught at the Tampere Conservatory of Music for 3 years. In 2008, he was appointed Principal Flute with the Barcelona Symphony under Eiji Oue. Later that year he won the Principal Flute position in the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Mr. Bouriakov is very active as a soloist, orchestra player and teacher; his recent engagements have included recitals and master classes in Europe, Asia, USA and Australia.

April 14, 2019: Jason Vieaux, guitar ANTÔNIO CARLOS JOBÍM (1927-1994) A Felicidade April 14, 2019: Jason Vieaux, guitar Composer, pianist, guitarist, and arranger Antônio Carlos Jobim was greatly influenced by the American West Coast jazz composers of the 1950s, such as Jerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, and Barney Kessel, and, he said, by French Impressionist composer Claude Debussy. But he always infused his music with a bit of Brazilian samba, which gave it an exotic uniquenesss that attracted enormous popularity. Jobim is especially known for helping to launch the bossa nova craze, the movement that sprang up in the late 1950s in Rio de Janeiro as a stylistic shift in the urban samba. The term bossa nova may have first been used publicly in 1957 by journalist Moyses Fuks in promoting a concert by the Grupo Universitário Hebraico do Brasil, but it was a style that was already being pioneered by guitarist João Gilberto. His recordings of bossa nova songs by Jobim and lyricists Vinicius de Moraes and Newton Mendonça took the world by storm. The term combined bossa —slang in Rio for “shrewdness”—together with nova to describe the new complex melodic intervals, harmonies, and rhythmic structure. The subdued, almost spoken delivery, blending with the innovative guitar style—Gilberto had just recently invented his now-famous “stammering” guitar stroke—became just as important for bossa nova as its melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic innovations. Jobim is known especially for his bossa nova song “Girl from Ipanema,” composed in 1962 with Moraes, but another of his famous songs, also written with Moraes, came at the outset of the bossa nova craze. They wrote “A felicidade” in 1958 for the French film Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus), directed by Marcel Camus and released in 1959. Sung by Agostinho dos Santos with Roberto Menescal on guitar, the song accompanies the opening credits. Jobim underlays its lyrical, haunting melody with exuberant bossa nova rhythms, exemplifying the conflict of its opening lines: “Sadness has no end, happiness / happiness does.” In 2001 guitarist, composer, and arranger Roland Dyens arranged “A felicidade” for guitar only, dedicating it Gilberto. He added idiomatic figuration and flourishes that make it a great virtuoso showpiece. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

December 19, 2017: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975) Concertino in A minor, Op. 94 for two pianos December 19, 2017: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano Shostakovich composed his Concertino for two pianos in December 1953 for his sixteen-year-old son Maxim, who premiered it with another student, Alla Maloletkova, on November 8, 1954, at the Moscow Conservatory. (The erroneous date of January 20, 1954, is sometimes given as the date of the premiere. Scholar Laurel Fay has determined that no record of a performance on that date exists, though there was a performance on January 20, 1955.) The November concert was devoted to works of Shostakovich, including the song cycle From Jewish Poetry and the Piano Quintet with the composer at the piano. It was for his son that Shostakovich also wrote his Second Piano Concerto in 1957. A one-movement work, the Concertino begins with an Adagio featuring serious unison octave pronouncements alternating with hymnlike passages. Soon, however, an exuberant Allegretto takes over, which the composer and his son take at a very fast tempo in their historic recording for Monitor Records. The jaunty second theme in Shostakovich’s “circus music” vein sounds as if he is making reference to a family joke. Development of both ideas remains lively, building to a shimmering climax. His recall of the hymnlike music over bass tremolo is striking, as is his tiptoeing return to his main theme and boisterous second theme. With immense drama Shostakovich briefly recalls both ideas of his opening Adagio before the main theme of his Allegretto makes a mad dash to the finish. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

January 10, 2010 – Emerson String Quartet FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 80 January 10, 2010 – Emerson String Quartet Felix Mendelssohn grew up with every familial and material advantage, and he made the most of his unique opportunities. He composed brilliantly from an early age and developed astonishing virtuosity as a pianist, organist, and conductor. Highly educated, he loved literature, poetry, and philosophy and became an adept linguist, painter, and writer. His ever-supportive father, Abraham, a wealthy banker, bought a magnificent estate in Berlin, which he turned into an artistic focal point of the culturally rich city. Distinguished artists, literary figures, and well-to-do colleagues attended the Mendelssohn family’s salon concerts, where the children performed, often playing their own music with full orchestras hired by their father. A child prodigy on the order of Mozart, Felix was admired by no less a figure than Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who told the boy, “I am Saul and you are David. Come to me when I am sad and discouraged and quiet my soul with your sweet harmonies.” Felix’s older sister Fanny was – like Mozart’s older sister, Nannerl – also a child prodigy of remarkable capabilities. At 13 Fanny scored a Händel Oratorio for full orchestra as an exercise, and as a birthday gift for her father, she memorized and performed all 24 Preludes from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. Although her compositional skills were not encouraged to the same degree as her brother’s, she wrote 466 pieces of her own over the course of her life. While the Mozart siblings eventually grew apart, Felix and Fanny grew increasingly devoted to each other during their short lives. There was never a hint of rivalry or jealousy between them. On the contrary, they dedicated many works to each other, advocated for each other’s music, and expressed extreme mutual fondness and admiration throughout their lives. When in 1847 Felix received the news of his beloved sister’s sudden death by a massive stroke, he was so devastated that he immediately suffered a stroke of his own. Unable to attend her funeral, he sank into a profound depression. His wife insisted that he take time off from his daunting performance and administrative schedule to travel with their family to the Interlaken region of Switzerland, where he could regain his physical health and emotional equilibrium. While in Switzerland, he spent his days hiking in the mountains, making watercolors and drawings of the Swiss landscape, and composing his string quartet in F minor, which he completed in September of that year. Soon after returning to Germany, however, his inconsolable grief came back to him. He suffered another stroke and within two months was dead at the age of 38. The F-Minor String Quartet, his last completed work, expresses his rage and despair at the loss of his beloved sister. Although Mendelssohn’s music is admired for its flawless technique and aura of classical refinement, some have criticized it for showing too much emotional restraint. The F-minor quartet completely belies this portrayal. It is, from beginning to end, a work of unprecedented intensity and turbulence, arguably his most impassioned and tragic work. The opening movement begins in a burst of violent, shuddering tremolos, clearly representing the shock and grief he must have felt when he was first informed of his beloved sister’s death. Thunderbolt-like fortissimos and stomping accents express the depth of his despair. The music is riven by extreme contrasts as Mendelssohn tries to calm himself, only to be wrenched anew by the slashing pain of loss. Toward the end of the movement a unison outburst ratchets the intensity up another notch, and the movement careens to a desperate conclusion. A Scherzo follows, but not the typically light, “Mendelssohnian” Scherzo of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The mood is operatic in its agitation, with fierce, off-kilter syncopations, heavy accents, and severe passages where the entire quartet again plays in unison. The contrasting Trio introduces a Verdian ghost dance in the viola and cello, which accompany a low, ominous violin duet. After returning to the agitated Scherzo, the ghosts slink off in a spooky, phantasmal coda. The Adagio is a warmly nostalgic song without words, reminiscent of the intimate piano pieces that Felix and Fanny wrote and often dedicated to each other. Closely woven string textures reflect their tight emotional bond. Although the movement begins as a wistful elegy, it builds to a cathartic fortissimo climax in which funereal, dotted rhythms predominate. The intensity gradually recedes although the dotted rhythms continue to echo through the texture, and the movement ends in a sweetly resigned pianissimo. Desperation and drama return full force in the final movement of the quartet. Shivering passagework is interrupted by crashing, dissonant chords. Extreme virtuosity is demanded of the four quartet members as Mendelssohn’s final work drives headlong toward a tragic conclusion. By Michael Parloff Return to Parlance Program Notes

October 19, 2008 – Sheryl Staples, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Carter Brey, cello; Warren Jones, piano ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Quartet in E-flat, Op. 47, for piano and strings October 19, 2008 – Sheryl Staples, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Carter Brey, cello; Warren Jones, piano Schumann tended to explore specific musical genres extensively before exhausting the possibilities and moving on to other compositional styles. For instance, the years 1831-1839 were devoted almost exclusively to piano music, while in 1840 he composed over 160 songs, inspired by his happy marriage to Clara Wieck and their new life together in Leipzig. In 1841 he shifted his attention to large orchestral works, composing the first of his symphonies and his piano concerto. The year 1842 is often called Schumann’s “Year of Chamber Music.” In a six-month burst of creativity, he composed six major chamber works: his three string quartets, Op. 41, the Piano Quintet in E-flat, Op. 44, the Piano Quartet in E-flat, Op. 47, and a Piano Trio in A minor, later to be published as Fantasiestücke, Op. 88. The Piano Quartet in E-flat was composed between October 25 and November 26, 1842. Dedicated to Count Matvei Weilhorsky, an amateur cellist, it features prominent solos for that instrument, especially in the lyrical third movement. Schumann’s true source of inspiration, however, was the brilliant piano playing of his beloved wife, Clara. Throughout the work, the piano is kept constantly in the spotlight. Clara was delighted by the quartet, writing in her diary, “[It is] a beautiful work, so youthful and fresh, as if it were his first.” A model of concision, the quartet blends Schumann’s deeply Romantic spirit with his fascination for the contrapuntal techniques of his Leipzig predecessor, Johann Sebastian Bach. The first movement begins with a mysterious, floating, four-note figure, which is suddenly transformed into a crisp, forward-moving gesture that permeates the remainder of the movement. This compact motive combines with a flowing, linear melody in the piano that interacts conversationally with the three string instruments. The Scherzo is nimble and hushed, emulating the atmosphere of the scherzos of Felix Mendelssohn, Schumann’s Leipzig friend and colleague. Two contrasting trios are laced with elements of the initial Scherzo, giving the short movement a seamless, unbroken motion. The song-like third movement is the emotional high point of the quartet, beginning with a sweetly yearning cello melody that evolves into a tender duet with the violin. A chorale-like middle section forms a bridge back to the initial melody, now heard in the viola and surrounded by a filigree of violin figuration. The ethereal coda features a sustained “pedal” B-flat in the cello, which, unusually, requires the cellist to stealthily tune the instrument’s low C string down a whole-step. The Finale demonstrates Schumann’s skill as a contrapuntalist. Clara and Robert often enjoyed analyzing Bach’s fugues together. In the early 1840s she wrote in her diary, “Our fugal studies continue. Every time we play one it becomes more interesting for me. Such great art with such a natural flow.” The final movement of the Piano Quartet reflects their passion for Bach, beginning with a vigorous fugue subject in the viola, which is then taken up by the piano and finally the violin. (The absence of a cello entrance of the fugue subject may be intended to give the cellist additional time to retune the lowest string.) The polyphonic writing quickly gives way to freely lyrical and syncopated passages that recall themes from the earlier movements. The final movement displays Schumann’s unique blend of Romantic and Baroque textures and brings the work to an exuberant conclusion. By Michael Parloff Return to Parlance Program Notes

May 12, 2024: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano Maurice Ravel Mother Goose Suite for piano 4-hands May 12, 2024: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano Ravel often preferred the company of children to that of adults. In 1908 he wrote a delightful set of piano duets entitled Ma mère l’oye (Mother Goose) for two of his favorite children, Mimi and Jean Godebski. Their parents, Ida and Cipa Godebski, some of Ravel’s best friends, regularly entertained many of the famous artists, writers, and musicians of the period. Years later Mimi wrote: Ravel was my favorite because he used to tell me marvelous stories. I would sit on his knee and indefatigably he would begin “Once upon a time . . .” And it was Laideronnette, Beauty and the Beast and above all the adventures of a poor mouse that he had made up for me. . . . It was at la Grangette [the Godebski’s country house at Valvins] that Ravel finished or anyway presented us with Ma mère l’oye. But neither my brother nor I was of an age to appreciate such a dedication and we saw it rather as something that involved hard work. The piano duets were first performed on April 20, 1910, in Paris on the first concert of the Société Indépendente, founded as a rival to the Société Nationale. The work was played, not by the Godebskis, but by two young girls—Jeanne Leleu (student of Marguerite Long, one of Ravel’s great interpreters) and Geneviève Duronys (student of Madame Chesné). Ravel was extremely pleased by the performance, as he touchingly wrote to Mlle. Leleu afterwards. She later won the Prix de Rome and became a professor at the Paris Conservatory. Ravel wrote in his autobiographical sketch: “It was my intention to awaken the poetry of childhood in these pieces, and this naturally led me to simplify my style and to thin out my writing.” The contrast between these five pieces and Gaspard de la nuit, also written in 1908, could scarcely be greater in this respect, yet Ravel remains Ravel in the essentials—the modality of the melodies, the harmonic and rhythmic treatment, the recall of old dance styles, and the evocation of fairy worlds. Writers of the past provided the direct inspiration for Ravel’s set of little “tales”: Charles Perrault for Sleeping Beauty and Tom Thumb (1697 anthology); Comtesse d’Aulnoy (a Perrault contemporary) for Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas; and Marie Leprince de Beaumont for Beauty and the Beast (1757 Children’s Treasury of Moral Tales). The final piece takes up the end of the Sleeping Beauty story, thus neatly enclosing the set. As with many of his piano works, Ravel orchestrated Ma mère l’oye, in this case on a commission from Jacques Rouché, director of the Théâtre des Arts, for a January 1912 ballet performance, choreographed by Mme. Jeanne Hugard. To make a complete ballet Ravel added two numbers and several transitions, and changed the order slightly. The work is best known, however, in its five-movement concert suite version, which follows the order of the piano duets. In the Pavane of the Sleeping Beauty, Ravel depicts the 100-year sleep of the princess by employing the ancient Aeolian church mode, evoking a sense of “long ago.” Gentle chimes add to the atmosphere. Tom Thumb is headed by a quotation from Perrault’s tale: “He thought he would be able to find the path easily by means of the bread which he had strewn wherever he had walked; but he was quite surprised when he could not find a single crumb; the birds had come and eaten them all.” The music depicts his trail with muted thirds in the accompaniment joined by a melody that often moves in parallel motion, lending an ancient flavor to the wistful passages. Ravel suggests bird twitterings midway through the piece. Ravel turned to the pentatonic (five-note) scale for Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas, to suggest its Eastern atmosphere. From the Comtesse d’Aulnoy’s story of the Ugly Little Girl (Laideronnette) and the Green Serpent, who both overcome their respective spells eventually to live happily ever after, Ravel depicted the following episode: “She undressed and got into the bath. The toy mandarins and mandarinesses began to sing and play instruments; some had theorbos made of walnut shells; some had viols made of almond shells, for the instruments had to be of a size appropriate to their own.” Ravel’s portrayal pays particular attention to their diminutive size. In Conversations of Beauty and the Beast (quotations from Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s tale head the piece), Beauty tells the Beast that he does not seem so ugly when she thinks of his kindheartedness. He asks her to marry him, and though she refuses at first, she finally accepts. He of course, turns into a prince at that moment. Musically their conversation takes place as a kind of slow waltz. The Suite concludes with The Fairy Garden, in which Sleeping Beauty wakes up to her handsome prince. The “magic” glissandos (slides) at the end caused poor little Jeanne Leleu to hurt her finger in the piano version, she later recalled. Any hopes she had of being allowed to finger the notes individually were dashed by Ravel who said simply, “I am an assassin!” and left them as they were to create their enchanting effect. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

2010-2011 SEASON 2010-2011 SEASON 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

KENNY WASHINGTON, JAZZ DRUMS One of the many young hard-bop revivalists to have arrived on the scene in the late ’70s and early ‘80s, Washington has been in particular demand by much older musicians, playing with such legendary veterans as Lee Konitz, Betty Carter, Johnny Griffin, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, and Tommy Flanagan. Born in Brooklyn, Washington studied with the former Dizzy Gillespie drummer Rudy Collins and attended New York’s LaGuardia High School for Music & Art. Washington worked with Konitz while still in his teens, recording with the saxophonist’s nonet in 1977. He worked with Carter from 1978-9 and Griffin from 1980. A prolific freelancer, Washington has compiled an enormous discography, performing on dozens of sessions by many of jazz’s most prominent figures. Washington has a strong interest in jazz history; he’s written liner notes for and/or helped prepare classic jazz re-releases by Art Blakey and Count Basie, among others. He’s also taught jazz drumming at the New School in New York City, and worked as an announcer at the New Jersey jazz radio station WBGO.

May 19, 2019: Wendy Bryn Harmer, soprano; Ken Noda, piano WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) Three Late Songs, K. 596 – 598 May 19, 2019: Wendy Bryn Harmer, soprano; Ken Noda, piano Mozart composed three songs on January 14, 1791, just short of two weeks before his thirty-fifth and last birthday. His lodge brother Ignaz Alberti printed them early that same year in the Frühlingslieder (Spring Songs) section of the Liedersammlung für Kinder und Kinderfreunde (Song collection for children and their friends). This four-volume set, of which only the spring and winter volumes survive, was edited by teacher, poet, humanities scholar, and Catholic priest Placidus Partsch, who likely had the responsibility of assigning texts to different composers. Mozart’s three songs are all strophic—that is, several verses sung to the same melody and, unlike his usual practice, Mozart formatted them like piano pieces with one verse written between the staves. The remaining verses were printed on separate pages. Sehnsucht nach dem Frühling (Yearning for spring), placed first in the spring volume, has achieved folk-song-level popularity owing to its happy melody and charming storytelling images. The poem by Christian Adolf Overbeck (1755–1821) was originally titled Fritzchen an den Mai (Little Fritz, to May), referring to an appealing character Overbeck had contributed to German children=s literature. The title Mozart used stems from a collection edited by J. H. Campe, though many people know the song simply by its first line, Komm, lieber Mai (Come, dear May). The poem consists of five verses, but many modern performers often omit one or more of the middle verses. Clearly Mozart had the melody on his mind because he had just used it as the theme of the rondo finale in his last Piano Concerto, K. 595, completed only nine days earlier. For Im Frühlingsanfange (At spring’s beginning), Mozart sets a poem by Christian Christoph Sturm (1740–1786) titled simply Der Frühling (Spring). Mozart’s own title stems from the catalog he kept of his works, but the first edition bore the title Dankesempfindungen gegen den Schöpfer des Frühlings (Thankful feelings toward the creator of spring). Here, despite the strophic setting, Mozart leaves the world of childhood behind with his dramatic opening chords, a touching melody with signature upward leap and gently elaborated descent, a throbbing bass repeated note in the middle, judicious chromatic harmonies, and a sophisticated if brief piano postlude. Sturm’s poem contains six verses (ordered differently from the Mozart complete works edition as given below), but performers often omit two or three of them. Mozart returns to childlike fun and Overbeck’s poetry for Das Kinderspiel (Children’s play). The nine-verse poem was originally titled simply Kinderlied (Children’s song), but its carefree high spirits, which Mozart captures perfectly, make Kinderspiel an especially fitting title. As with the other songs in this set, singers today often omit some of the interior verses. Mozart gives the performance direction Munter (Blithely) and sets the text in a lightly dancing 3/8 meter. Little leaps and oscillations add to the playful atmosphere. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

September 14, 2025: “SINGERS” FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA ANTON RIST, CLARINET; MUSICIANS FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA; MICHAEL PARLOFF, CONDUCTOR WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) Clarinet Concerto in A, K. 622 September 14, 2025: “SINGERS” FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA ANTON RIST, CLARINET; MUSICIANS FROM THE MET ORCHESTRA; MICHAEL PARLOFF, CONDUCTOR Mozart composed his Clarinet Concerto for his friend and fellow Freemason Anton Stadler, who played in the imperial court orchestra in Vienna and whose playing was admired far and wide. Mozart’s relationship with Stadler has always fascinated historians. The clarinetist constantly borrowed money from his friend, who could ill afford to lend it. Once Mozart loaned him two watches to pawn and, when Mozart also loaned him the money to redeem them, he spent that as well, so Mozart permanently lost his watches. The composer’s widow Constanze reported that Stadler also stole silver from them! Stadler’s great artistry, charming personality, lively conversation, and membership in the Masonic order more than outweighed his sponging ways in Mozart’s eyes—for which we have some of the composer’s loveliest music as testament. Not only the Concerto, but the wonderful Clarinet Quintet and the obbligato solos in two of the arias in La clemenza di Tito were written for specifically Stadler. Stadler was especially known for his expressive playing in the “chalumeau” or lower register of the clarinet and had a special clarinet made for him by Theodor Lotz, another Freemason, that extended the lower range of the normal clarinet in A. Though Mozart’s original manuscripts for both the Clarinet Concerto and the Quintet no longer survive—Stadler is thought to have pawned or sold them—scholars have discovered that both were written for this extended range instrument, and have been able to reconstruct “original” versions of both. “Parto, parto” from La clemenza di Tito was also written with this special clarinet in mind. (Modern reconstructions of this instruments have resulted in replicas known as “basset clarinets.”) The Clarinet Concerto actually began as a Concerto in G major for basset horn (crescent-shaped alto clarinet). Mozart completed 199 measures of the first movement before deciding that it should really be written for the higher clarinet in A (with the extended range) and started over in A major. Completed in October 1791, just two months before his death, the Clarinet Concerto stands as one of the true gems of the clarinet repertoire, exploring every range of the instrument, from high to low and from poignant lyricism to agile merriment. The first movement shows the abundance of melodic ideas that we have come to expect from Mozart, here with a kind of luminous lyricism rather than impassioned energy. The tone quality is colored by Mozart’s light orchestration that includes no oboes and naturally no clarinets, but in which the flutes impart a limpid beauty. The dialogue between the clarinet and orchestra is masterful—often harmonious, occasionally competitive. Of particular note is the imitative play between the strings, joined by the clarinet, in elaborating the first theme even before the main solo entrance of the clarinet. Another fascinating passage has the clarinet playing an Alberti bass (broken chord pattern) in its lowest register in accompaniment to witty repartee between the first and second violins. Mozart’s recapitulation is a model of concision after the more expansive exposition and development. Words cannot possibly do justice to Mozart’s sublime slow movement, one of his simplest yet most profound utterances. The clarinet “sings” the melody to a tranquil rocking accompaniment and the whole is repeated by the combined ensemble. The clarinet then climbs with almost unbearable grace to a peak in its second phrase, again repeated by all. This entire opening section returns, ingeniously varied, after a middle section that shows off the clarinet’s ability to leap and decorate expressively. Mozart’s concluding Rondo reveals its riches in five sections—three occurrences of its capricious refrain alternate with two contrasting episodes. Mozart manages to display the soloist’s virtuosity while maintaining the highest level of artistic integrity—the clarinet dances, soars, tiptoes, leaps, wallows—all with incredible eloquence. Especially poignant is the haunting episode in minor with its heart-in-the-throat hesitations and pauses. Mozart’s lighthearted refrain banishes the shadows and the movement concludes in a coda of elegant exuberance. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes