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

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2020 AT 3 PM YING FANG, SOPRANO KEN NODA, PIANO BUY TICKETS KEN NODA, PIANO YING FANG, SOPRANO “A warm, agile, and appealing voice…a star in the making.” – Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS The luminous Metropolitan Opera soprano Ying Fang is one of today’s fastest-rising young artists. She has been hailed by the New York Times for her “pure and moving soprano, phrasing with scrupulous respect for the line and traveling with assurance through the mercurial moods.” Ying Fang will join the esteemed collaborative pianist Ken Noda in best-loved opera arias and songs by Händel, Mozart, Schubert, Bizet, and Rachmaninoff. PROGRAM Georg Friedrich Händel Endless Pleasure (from Semele ) Program Notes Georg Friedrich Händel Angels ever bright and fair (from Theodora ) Program Notes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Un moto di gioia (from Le Nozze di Figaro ) Program Notes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Deh vieni non tardar (from Le Nozze di Figaro ) Program Notes Franz Schubert Viola Program Notes Franz Schubert Nacht und Träume Program Notes Georges Bizet Chanson d’Avril Program Notes Georges Bizet La Coccinelle Program Notes Sergei Rachmaninoff Six Songs, Op. 38 In My Garden at Night, To Her, Daisies, Pied Piper, Dreams, A-oo Program Notes Watch Ying Fang perform S'altro che lagrime in the Met’s production of La Clemenza Di Tito:

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

April 24, 2022 – Marc-André Hamlein, piano MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN Suite à l’ancienne (Suite in the old style) (2020) April 24, 2022 – Marc-André Hamlein, piano For biographic background about pianist and composer Marc-André Hamelin please see the artist’s biographical profile in this program. Just like C.P.E. Bach in this afternoon’s first piece, Marc-André Hamelin turns a retrospective gaze on the Baroque suite form, though through a much later lens. A consummate piano virtuoso who has composed throughout his illustrious career, Hamelin wrote his Suite à l’ancienne as a commission rather than as a solo vehicle for himself. He first encountered pianist Rachel Naomi Kudo in 2017 when he judged the 15th Van Cliburn International Competition. He was impressed by her performance of his Toccata on L’homme armé, which he had composed as the competition’s compulsory piece. For her part, Kudo was enamored of the piece and felt she had finally found the composer she wanted to commission with her funding from the prestigious Gilmore Young Artist Award. Said Hamelin, “I was very happy to accept. I knew I would be in good hands.” Kudo gave the premiere of the Suite à l’ancienne on February 21, 2021, in a “Virtual Special Event for The Gilmore” (Gilmore International Piano Festival). Hamelin himself will perform the piece in May 2022 at the Berliner Klavierfestival and agreed to play it one month earlier on this Parlance Chamber Concert at the request of Michael Parloff. Kudo had asked for something inspired by J. S. Bach, which turned Hamelin’s thoughts to the Baroque suite. “My suite is directly derived from the Baroque models of the various works in the genre by Bach and Handel in that the general forms are very similar. Beyond that, even though the language remains completely tonal (in A major/minor in this case), the harmony is much more involved, more chromatic.” Further, the work brims with textures and pianistic effects built on an intimate knowledge of masterful piano works ranging from Chopin and Ravel to Godowsky and Skryabin. Many Baroque suites opened with an introductory movement that was meant to be improvised or written out so as to sound like an improvisation. The stunning Préambule that opens the six-movement Suite à l’ancienne indeed sounds improvisatory with its careful notation tempered by the instruction to be played “liberamente” (freely). The brief movement commands attention with its rapid, chromatically inflected figurations that range the entire keyboard at double or triple forte throughout, ending with a grand A major chord. The Allemande presents a delightful contrast, meant to be played sweetly, charmingly, without agitation. In the binary form of most suite movements (two sections, each repeated), the music swings along easily, tunefully, despite its intricate chordal texture. In the Courante, literally “running” in French, Hamelin combines the Baroque dance type in fast triple meter with the light and playful character of a nineteenth-century scherzo, also in fast triple meter. Kudo calls this movement with its fast running sixteenth notes and leaping accompaniment “fiendishly difficult.” The right and left hands switch roles briefly at the start of the second section, which intensifies—without getting louder!—when both hands join in the fleeting sixteenth notes. The opening returns, then alters course to end in an impish disappearing act. Rather than using the typical “sarabande” designation of many Baroque suites, Hamelin titles his slow movement “Air avec agréments” (Air with ornaments). Its sound is magical, Impressionistic—shimmering in the upper register of the piano, delicately sprinkled with ornamental flourishes. A brief transition to the lower register leads directly into the next movement. This is the point in a Baroque suite where composers would often insert their choice of dances—gavotte, minuet, bourrée, among others—usually in pairs with a return to the first dance after the second. Hamelin does just that with his Gavotte—more of a graceful bustle than a courtly dance—which envelops the Musette. In earlier centuries the musette was a dance-like pastoral piece named for the small French bagpipe and imitating its sound with underlying drones and simple stepwise melodies. Hamelin cleverly makes his “drones” sound in open fifths, but they actively oscillate while ranging the left half of the keyboard. By holding everything in the pedal, including the right hand’s melodic lines, Hamelin creates a mesmerizing effect before the Gavotte returns. The Gigue makes a dazzling—and humorous—conclusion to the Suite à l’ancienne, fully in keeping with the spirit of the Baroque gigue but blasted into the twenty-first century. At one point, in a particularly chromatic passage, Hamelin writes: “Whoa, this floor’s too slippery—let’s go jig somewhere else.” The music rights itself, as if to start the section again, but continues on its roller-coaster course to a return of the jaunty opening just before the triumphant finish. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

January 18, 2026: Benjamin Beilman, violin; Jonathan Swenson, cello; Orion Weiss, piano FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66 January 18, 2026: Benjamin Beilman, violin; Jonathan Swenson, cello; Orion Weiss, piano On January 21, 1832, Mendelssohn wrote from Paris to his sister Fanny, “I should like to compose a couple of good trios.” Over a decade earlier he had written a trio for piano, violin, and viola that he never published, but he did not compose a “good trio”—one he thought worthy of publication—until 1839. Published in 1840, the D minor Trio, for the more conventional combination of piano, violin, and cello, was hailed by Schumann in the Neue Zeitschrift as “the master Trio of the age, as were the B-flat and D major trios of Beethoven and the E-flat Trio of Schubert in their time.” Mendelssohn finally made good on his 1832 wish when in 1845 he composed a second piano trio—his last—the present C minor. Owing to its strong outer sonata-form movements, the characteristic songfulness in the second movement, and the fleet-footed scherzo, the C minor Trio easily merits a place alongside the D minor. Mendelssohn dedicated the C minor Trio to violinist and composer Louis Spohr—along with playing much of Spohr’s chamber music, Mendelssohn had conducted and continued to perform many of his works with the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig. Mendelssohn wrote to him on February 14, 1846: Do not be angry with me for having been so bold as to dedicate the enclosed Trio to you without consulting you in advance. Hauptmann assures me that you would receive it well nevertheless, and so I hope he is not mistaken. I would like to have saved the honor for a somewhat longer piece; but then I should have had to put it off, as I so often have had to of late. . . . I no longer wished to delay expressing for once the heartfelt gratitude for so many pleasures, for so much instruction, for which I am indebted to you! Indeed Spohr received the C minor Trio well—he himself played the piece with the composer on several occasions. The main theme of the first movement is flexible and well suited for thematic and contrapuntal development; the restless theme, combined with the sustained low pedal tone (C, the cello’s lowest note), contributes a sense of dramatic anticipation to the opening. A particularly effective detail is Mendelssohn’s use of this theme in the coda where the strings play a broader version against the original version in the piano. The expansive second theme is also given an appearance just before the end of the coda, but this time strikingly in a new key (F minor). The gentle Andante espressivo, in a basic ternary pattern, is reminiscent of the composer’s Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words). It is followed by a scherzo that stems from the fairy-world atmosphere of the Octet, but is slightly more agitated and aggressive. Mendelssohn toyed successfully with the form by incorporating the trio theme in the reprise of the scherzo. The main theme of Mendelssohn’s Finale, with its quick ascent and more prolonged descent, exerted its influence on Brahms, who used it almost literally as the theme of the Scherzo of his F minor Piano Sonata. Another feature of Mendelssohn’s Finale—the inclusion of a contrasting choralelike melody—also found its way into Brahms’s Sonata Finale. Mendelssohn’s characteristic spiritual gesture—similar to the fifteenth-century “Herr Gott, Dich loben alle wir” (common Doxology), which Bach had used in his Cantata 130—creates a solemn mood at its first appearance and returns majestically in the coda to crown the entire work. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

June 19, 2022 – Pinchas Zukerman, violin; Shai Wosner, piano LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, op. 24, “Spring” June 19, 2022 – Pinchas Zukerman, violin; Shai Wosner, piano This most famous of all Classical violin sonatas arose out of Beethoven’s impulse to write a contrasting pair in which the F major Sonata would serve as the more relaxed, genial resolution to its more intense companion. Thus he composed his A minor Violin Sonata in 1800 and immediately after, the present Spring Sonata, completed in 1801. He intended to publish both as Opus 23, but owing to a printer’s error in which the violin parts were engraved in different sizes, they were issued separately to save the expense of redoing one of the parts. Beethoven dedicated the pair to his patron Count Moritz von Fries, whose home had been the scene for the famous piano improvisation duel between Beethoven and Daniel Steibelt. Though Beethoven had composed in pairs before, these Violin Sonatas are the first of his famous companion pieces of such different character, one in the minor and one in the major, carried out most notably in his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. The Spring Sonata’s F major key and its flowing, pastoral qualities, especially in its outer movements, are responsible for its nickname, which, however, did not arise with the composer. The first movement’s charming main theme, which has endeared the Sonata to millions, points up several notable features, the first of which is the rigorously impartial parceling out of themes and accompaniment between the two instruments—the violin plays the melody first with accompanimental piano figuration, then the roles are reversed, and this trading off occurs throughout the Sonata. This was not always the case in most eighteenth-century works in the genre, in which the keyboard was considered the primary player. Second, the very fact that there is a great deal of accompanimental figuration—for whichever instrument—is also particularly noticeable in this Sonata as compared to Beethoven’s earlier works. And finally, the technical challenges are not overwhelming for the players, which contributes to the easygoing quality—and to the remarkable number of amateur performances this Sonata has always attracted. The trading off continues in the slow movement, whose unhurried main theme receives florid bits of ornamentation as it returns in varied guises. Certain of these ornaments, fragmented interjections, and especially the repeated oscillations toward the close have suggested bird song to a number of listeners. The briefest of scherzos presents a playful theme that delights the ear as it sets the violin at rhythmic odds with the piano. Apparently fascinated by this theme, Schumann adapted it for the Soldier’s March in his Album for the Young. The busy scales of the trio lead to the short return of the main theme, which trails off delicately. As in the first movement Beethoven employs a lyrical main theme in his finale, here as a rondo refrain between contrasting episodes. One of the movement’s most unusual features is the return of this theme—elaborately set up—in a remote key before it elegantly rights itself. Toward the end he introduces a galloping variation on the theme, and continues to vary the ensuing sequence of ideas to make a conclusive finish. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

September 24, 2017: Paul Neubauer, viola; Arnaud Sussman, violin; Rafael Figueroa, cello; Michael Brown, piano HERMANN SCHULENBURG (1886-1959) Gypsy Romance and Csardas September 24, 2017: Paul Neubauer, viola; Arnaud Sussman, violin; Rafael Figueroa, cello; Michael Brown, piano Hermann Schulenburg is known for contributing music to a number of German films in the 1930s and ’40s, and he was equally at home as a lyricist, though his work has languished in relative obscurity. It comes as something of a surprise then, that in 2015 his Gypsy Romance and Csárdás, which stems from his song “Puszta-Märchen: Es spielen heut’ nacht für mich die Zigeuner” (Fairy Tale of the Hungarian Plains: The Gypsies play for me tonight) reappeared in the 2015 docufiction The Dark Side about the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. The connecting link is violist Paul Neubauer, for whom Schulenburg’s piece had recently become of a signature encore piece. He recorded the piece for Music@Menlo, performed it in the film, and treats us to it here. The Gypsy Romance and Csárdás begins in the poignant improvisatory style related to the slow (lassù) section of many Hungarian dances before breaking into an exuberant fast (friss) section—a csárdás—for the blazing close. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Ken Noda, piano WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) Un bacio di mano. K. 541, Mentre ti lascio, o figlia, K. 513 May 15, 2016: James Morris, bass-baritone; Ken Noda, piano Mozart frequently composed separate arias on short notice, not only as additions or substitutions for existing operas, but for formal occasions involving a patron, for benefit concerts being given by one of his favorite singers, or simply for private occasions with friends. He composed “Un bacio di mano” (A kiss on the hand) in May 1788 for Francesco Albertarelli, who on May 7 had sung the title role in the first Viennese performance of Don Giovanni and who was particularly known for his stylish performances of comic roles. Mozart contributed this aria for him to sing as the buffo character Monsieur Girò in the Viennese version of Pasquale Anfossi’s comic opera Le gelosie fortunate (Jealousy rewarded), which opened the following month on June 2. Tradition has it that Lorenzo da Ponte—Mozart’s librettist not only for Don Giovanni but Le nozze di Figaro and Cosí fan tutte—adapted Filippo Livigni’s libretto for the Viennese stage, though no proof has surfaced. The replacement of Girò’s aria “Del gran mondo” with “Un bacio di mano” shows just the kind of ironic touches for which da Ponte was known. The worldly Frenchman Girò gives witty courtship advice to the naive, enraged Don Pompeo, who has caught him kissing a lady’s hand. Brief, lively, and masterfully theatrical, this aria has become especially noteworthy for the theme that appears at “Voi siete in po’ tondo” (You’re a little dull), which Mozart famously recycled three months later in the first movement of his Jupiter Symphony. * * * * * During initial work on Don Giovanni, Mozart composed “Mentre ti lascio, o figlia” (As I leave you, o daughter) on March 23, 1787, for one of his closest friends in Vienna, Gottfied von Jacquin, a good amateur bass. Jacquin’s musical skills were so highly regarded, in fact, that for a time it was believed that he was the composer of some of five vocal Notturni (short ensemble love songs) that Mozart had written for him. Mozart took the text for “Mentre ti lascio” from Sant’Angiolo-Morbilli’s libretto for Paisiello’s 1777 opera La disfatta di Dario (The defeat of Darius), about Alexander the Great’s conquest of King Darius of Persia. The grieving Darius bids a heartrending farewell to his daughter, which Mozart depicts with phrases of tender mourning and a faster section that mounts in great agitation, all colored by a rich, imaginative accompaniment (originally for orchestra). © Jane Vial Jaffe 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

April 3, 2016: Ying Fang, soprano; Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway, flutes; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Sheep Safely Graze, from Cantata 208 for soprano, two flutes, and continuo April 3, 2016: Ying Fang, soprano; Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway, flutes; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord Bach wrote secular cantatas for aristocratic patrons to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays, name days, and accession days, or for academic ceremonies. He wrote one of his most famous, Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd! (What pleases me is above all the lively hunt), BWV 208, on a text by Weimar court poet Salomo Franck for the birthday of Duke Christian Weissenfels in 1713. Known as the Hunt Cantata, it contains “Schafe können sicher weiden,” the well-known aria for Pales, second soprano to Diana, goddess of the hunt. For centuries listeners have been captivated by its texture of rocking parallel thirds for two flutes—the quintessential pastoral instrument—accompanying the tender main melody, which praises Duke Christian for ruling his people as a good shepherd. © Jane Vial Jaffe Text and Translation Schafe können sicher weiden, Wo ein guter Hirte wacht. Wo Regenten wohl regieren, Kann man Ruh und Friede spüren Und was Länder glücklich macht. —Salomo Franck Sheep may safely graze where a good shepherd watches. Where rulers are governing well, one may feel rest and peace and what makes countries happy. Return to Parlance Program Notes

MICHAEL PARLOFF, BIOGRAPHY Principal Flutist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from 1977 until his retirement in 2008, Michael Parloff has been heard regularly as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. He has collaborated with such noted artists as James Levine, Jessye Norman, James Galway, Peter Serkin, Dawn Upshaw, Thomas Hampson, Jaime Laredo, and the Emerson String Quartet and has performed on numerous occasions at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. As a lecturer, conductor, and teacher, Michael Parloff has appeared at major conservatories and university music schools in the United States and abroad. These venues include The Juilliard School, Yale University, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Music@Menlo, the Verbier and Tanglewood Festivals, and the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland. He has been a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music since 1985. Michael Parloff is the founder and Artistic Director of Parlance Chamber Concerts. The mission of Parlance Chamber Concerts is to promote the appreciation and understanding of classical music in Northern New Jersey by presenting the world’s finest singers and instrumentalists in affordable, innovatively programmed public concerts and educational events. In recent seasons, Parlance Chamber Concerts has presented such renowned artists as the Emerson and Brentano String Quartets, pianists Emanuel Ax, Richard Goode, Jeremy Denk, and Simone Dinnerstein, Met Opera singers Stephanie Blythe, Thomas Hampson, Matthew Polenzani, Isabel Leonard, and Nathan Gunn, flutist James Galway, and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. Since 1996, Michael has also presented over 30 benefit concerts for various nonprofit organizations and humanitarian causes in Northern Bergen County, New Jersey. Michael Parloff has recorded extensively with the Metropolitan Opera for Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, London, and Philips and has recorded solo recital repertoire and 20th-century chamber music for E.S.SAY, Gunmar, CRI, and Koch. To view Michael Parloff’s videos and multimedia lectures, click here .

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2021 AT 3 PM HAYDN SEEKING BUY TICKETS ESCHER STRING QUARTET “The Escher players seemed to make time stand still, effortlessly distilling the essence of this introspective music with expressive warmth and a natural confiding intimacy.” — Chicago Classical Review ROMAN RABINOVICH, PIANO “Mr. Rabinovich performed with uncommon sensitivity and feeling, playing with a wonderful brio and spontaneity, crisp rhythmic bite, and abundant colorings.” — The New York Times FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS Mozart called Haydn a “great man and my dearest friend,” and Beethoven knelt before Haydn on his 76th birthday to fervently kiss his hands and forehead. Haydn’s celebrated wit, grace, and eloquence will be richly on display in this musical survey of his seminal chamber works for piano, string quartets, and piano trio. As a special treat, the multitalented pianist Roman Rabinovich will accompany his own short animated film entitled “Imaginary Encounters with Haydn.” PROGRAM Claude Debussy Hommage à Haydn Program Notes Joseph Haydn String Quartet in G, Op. 77, No. 1 Program Notes Joseph Haydn Piano Sonata No. 50 in C Hob. XVI: 50 Program Notes Maurice Ravel Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn Program Notes Joseph Haydn String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 76, No. 4 (“Sunrise”) Program Notes Joseph Haydn Piano Trio in G, Hob. XV: 25 (“Gypsy”) Program Notes Watch Roman Rabinovich play Haydn’s Piano Sonata in G, Hob XVI 39: