Howard Alden, guitar "He may be the best of his generation," writes Owen Cordle in JazzTimes . George Kanzler of the Newark Star Ledger proclaims that he is "the most impressive and creative member of a new generation of jazz guitarists." And Chip Deffaa of the New York Pos t observed that he is "...one of the very finest young guitarists working today." It seems that the only thing regarding Howard Alden on which the critics have debate is whether the remarkable jazz guitarist is one of the best or simply the best. Born in Newport Beach, California, in 1958, Howard began playing at age ten, inspired by recordings of Armstrong, Basie and Goodman, as well as those by guitarists Barney Kessel, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt and George Van Eps. Soon he was working professionally around Los Angeles playing in groups ranging from traditional to mainstream to modern jazz. In 1979, Alden went east, for a summer in Atlantic City with Red Norvo, and continued to perform with him frequently for several years. Upon moving to New York City in 1982, Alden's skills, both as soloist and accompanist, were quickly recognized and sought-out for appearances and recordings with such artists as Joe Bushkin, Ruby Braff, Joe Williams, Warren Vache` and Woody Herman. He has continued to win accolades from critics and musicians alike, adding Benny Carter, Flip Phillips, Mel Powell, Bud Freeman, Kenny Davern, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie and George Van Eps, as well as notable contemporaries such as Scott Hamilton and Ken Peplowski to his list of impressive credits. Howard Alden has been a Concord Jazz recording artist since the late '80s where his prolific recorded output as leader, co-leader, and versatile sideman, has captured an artist of consistently astonishing virtuosity and originality. One of the many highlights in Howard Alden's fruitful association with Concord Jazz came in 1991 when, at the urging of Concord President, Carl Jefferson, Alden recorded with one of his all-time heroes, seven-string guitar master George Van Eps on the album Thirteen Strings . As a result of his associating with - and inspiration from - George Van Eps, Alden has been playing the seven-string guitar since 1992. The seven string guitar imparts a greater range and harmonic richness to Alden's already colorful tonal palette, as evidenced on three remarkable follow-up albums with Van Eps, his critically acclaimed duo recordings with saxophonist/clarinetist Ken Peplowski, and the stunning interplay between Alden and special guest Frank Wess on Your Story - The Music of Bill Evans . Alden also teamed up with fellow guitarists Jimmy Bruno and Frank Vignola to record a three guitar outing entitled The Concord Jazz Guitar Collective , which was quickly called by some critics "an instant classic!" Alden's recording from 1996 Take Your Pick serves to underline Howard's wide scope of knowledge of jazz literature. Thoughout the disc, one is amazed at how skillfully Alden delivers interpretations with fresh surprises. Michael Moore, Bill Goodwin, Lew Tabackin, and Renee Rosnes combine with Alden to bring exciting interplay and thrills around every corner to the ten standard and lesser known gems hand picked for this recording. Released in honor of Concord's 25th anniversary was a duo recording with Jimmy Bruno, Full Circle teamed with the very first Concord recording Jazz/ Concord featuring Herb Ellis and Joe Pass. Howard can be heard on the soundtrack to the 1999 Woody Allen movie "Sweet and Lowdown", starring Sean Penn, who was also nominated for an Academy Award for his role as a legendary jazz guitarist in the '30s. Howard not only played all the guitar solos, but also coached Mr. Penn on playing the guitar for his role in the film. The London Observer had this to say about Alden's 2001 solo CD, My Shining Hour ; "If there is such a thing as a complete jazz guitarist, then Alden is it. Only a real virtuoso can sustain a whole CD of solo guitar with the aplomb he displays here." In 2004 Howard was the guitarist(and musical director) chosen for an all-star line-up commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival, touring 50 cities of the United States in addition to their appearance at the Newport Festival. The 2005-2006 season saw Howard adding his acoustic guitar voice to violinist Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing on his national concert tour. His 2009 recording, “I REMEMBER DJANGO”, once again features his distinctive acoustic sound, developing and expanding the warm and elegant spirit of his performance in “Sweet and Low Down”. Howard’s inimitable playing has also been sought out by rock/blues/pop icon Steve Miller for recording projects and live appearances. Even country music legend Vince Gill recently said, after hearing Howard play in Nashville; “I’m meat and potatoes, but he’s the real deal!” And guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke has this to say about “Guitar” , Howard’s recent solo recording on K2B2 records; “It's the best recording of the seven-string guitar I've ever heard!”. In 2018, in addition to his solo guitar work, Howard has been asked to join multi-genre violin star Nigel Kennedy in recordings and concerts. Howard Alden was voted "Best Emerging Talent-Guitar" in the first annual JazzTimes critics' poll, 1990, and "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" in the 1996, 1992, 1993 and 1995 Downbeat critics' poll. In February of 2009, Howard was recognized as a “Modern Maestro”, one of DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE’S 75 Great Guitarists of all time! “An original virtuoso”

CONNIE SHIH, PIANO The Canadian pianist, Connie Shih, is repeatedly considered to be one of Canada’s most outstanding artists. In 1993 she was awarded the Sylva Gelber Award for most outstanding classical artist under age 30. At the age of nine, she made her orchestral debut with Mendelssohn's first Piano Concerto with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 12, she was the youngest ever protégé of Gyorgy Sebok, and then continued her studies at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia with Claude Frank, himself a protégé of Arthur Schnabel. Later studies were undertaken with Fou Tsong in Europe. As soloist, she has appeared extensively with orchestras throughout Canada, the U.S.A. and Europe. In a solo recital setting, she has made countless appearances in Canada, the U.S., Iceland, England, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan and China. Connie has given chamber music performances with many world-renowned musicians. To critical acclaim, she appears regularly in recital with cellist Steven Isserlis. Including chamber music appearances at the Wigmore and Carnegie Halls, she performs at the prestigious Bath Music Festival, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Weill Hall (N.Y.), and at the Kronberg Festival. Her collaborations have included Maxim Vengerov, Tabea Zimmerman, and Isabelle Faust. Connie regularly tours North America and Europe with Steven Isserlis, and includes a tour of Asia with Joshua Bell. In addition she appears at concert venues across Germany with the cellist Manuel Fischer-Dieskau with whom she recorded the first-ever CD of the Sonatas for piano and cello by Carl Reinecke and the complete Beethoven sonatas. Her CD with Steven Isserlis on the BIS label was recently released. Connie's performances are frequently broadcast via television and radio on CBC (Canada), BBC (U.K.), SWR, NDR, and WDR (Germany) as well as on other various television and radio stations in North America and Europe. She is on faculty at the Casalmaggiore Festival in Italy.

SHAI WOSNER, PIANO Shai Wosner continues to attract international recognition for his exceptional artistry, musical integrity and creative insight. With imaginative programming that communicates his intellectual curiosity, Wosner performs a wide-ranging repertoire from Mozart and Beethoven to Ligeti and composers of his own generation. Hailed by the Financial Times as “an artist to follow keenly”, Wosner’s virtuosity and perceptiveness have made him a favorite among audiences and critics alike. In the 2009-2010 season, Mr. Wosner made his highly acclaimed subscription debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conducted the Los Angeles Chamber orchestra from the keyboard, in a performance broadcast on National Public Radio. He returned to the BBC Scottish Symphony in both subscription concerts and performance at the Proms with Donald Runnicles and appeared with the BBC Philharmonic in a live broadcast from Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. He has also performed in solo recitals throughout the US as well as in duo recitals with Viviane Hagner (at the Kennedy Center), Christian Poltéra (at Wigmore Hall in London) and Jennifer Koh. Other recent highlights include his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra; his return to the Atlanta and Houston symphonies and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia; appearances with the North Carolina and Charlotte symphonies and the Sacramento Philharmonic; and solo recitals at the 92nd St. Y in New York, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and Wigmore Hall. His 2010-2011 season includes subscription concerts with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the release of a solo recording of works by Brahms and Schoenberg on the Onyx label. Wosner will also appear in solo recitals broadcast live on Radio 3 from the Wigmore Hall and Cardiff’s Hoddinott Hall as well as at the Piano Aux Jacobins festival in France. His duo recitals include appearances with Martin Fröst (at Lincoln Center), Dietrich Henschel, and Jennifer Koh. Other recent and upcoming engagements include appearances at the Hay-on-Wye festival, the Stavanger Chamber Music Festival, the Cheltenham Festival, and the City of London Festival. Wosner is the recipient of both an Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, which led to the commission of Michael Hersch’s “Along the Ravines”, a concerto for piano and chamber orchestra. He recently completed a residency as a BBC New Generation Artist, during which he played frequently with the BBC orchestras, including appearances conducting Mozart concertos from the keyboard with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. His performances in recital, chamber music, and orchestral repertoire continue to be broadcast on Radio 3. In recent seasons, he has appeared with numerous major orchestras in North America, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl; the National Arts Centre Orchestra; the Philadelphia Orchestra; the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; the Fresno Philharmonic; and the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Dallas, Milwaukee, Columbus and Memphis. In Europe, he has appeared with the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Gothenburg Symphony, the Barcelona Symphony, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Orchestre National de Belgique and the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, among others. In 2006, he debuted with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Salzburg, during the 250th anniversary celebrations of Mozart’s birth. He has work with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Slatkin, Donald Runnicles, Alan Gilbert, Peter Oundjian, Gunther Herbig, James Conlon, Ji_í B_lohlávek and James Judd. Wosner is widely sought after by his colleagues for his versatility and spirit of partnership. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with numerous esteemed artists including Pinchas Zukerman, Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Christian Tetzlaff and Cho-Liang Lin. He is a former member of Lincoln’s Center’s Chamber Music Society Two and performs regularly at various chamber music festivals, including Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, among others. Other summer festival appearances include the Ravinia Festival, Hollywood Bowl, Mostly Mozart, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Recent chamber music engagements include a performance with members of The New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall; a performance of the Mozart concerto for three pianos with Joseph Kalichstein and Alon Goldstein and the New York String Orchestra with Jaime Laredo at Carnegie Hall; and collaborations with the Tokyo, Miro and Parker string quartets, and the Georgian Chamber Players at Spivey Hall. For several consecutive summers, Wosner was also involved in the West-Eastern Divan Workshop led by Daniel Barenboim and toured as soloist with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Born in Israel, Mr. Wosner enjoyed a broad musical education from a very early age, studying piano with Emanuel Krasovsky as well as composition, theory and improvisation with André Hajdu. He later studied at The Juilliard School with Emanuel Ax. Shai lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.

ALBERT CANO SMIT, PIANO A musician who has been praised as “a moving young poet” (Le Devoir), Spanish/Dutch pianist Albert Cano Smit enjoys a growing international career on the orchestral, recital, and chamber music stages. Noted for his captivating performances, storytelling quality and nuanced musicality, the First Prize winner of the 2019 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions has appeared as a soloist with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony, Montréal Symphony, the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río, Barcelona Symphony, Catalonia National Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Nottingham Youth Orchestra, and American Youth Symphony. Recital highlights have included his Carnegie Hall debut presented by The Naumburg Foundation, his Merkin Concert hall debut presented by Young Concert Artists, recitals at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre, Paris’ Fondation Louis Vuitton (the performance was streamed live globally), the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington, DC, Germany’s Rheingau Music Festival, and return performances at the Steinway Society in San Jose. He has been in residence at France’s Festival de Musique de Wissembourg for seven years, a piano fellow at Bravo! Vail Music Festival and Tippet Rise Art Center, and has had his recital debut in Asia at Xiamen’s Banlam Grand Theater. Albert has been presented in recital by Festival Bach Montréal, University of Florida Performing Arts, the Krannert Center (Urbana, IL), and Matinée Musicale (Cincinnati, OH). He recently premiered Katherine Balch’s “Spolia” with flutist Anthony Trionfo taking them to the Morgan Library and Carnegie Hall. Recent recitals with Trionfo have included the Alys Stephens Center, Kravis Center, Evergreen Museum & Library, and others. Cano Smit is set to continue touring with violinist William Hagen, with whom he has recorded the CD “Danse Russe”. During the 22-23 season Albert will appear in recital and chamber music performances at Merkin Hall (New York, NY), the Cosmos Club (Washington, DC), the Crystal Valley Concert Series (Middlebury, IN), Friends of Music Concerts (Sleepy Hollow, NY), Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota (Sarasota, FL), and Abbey Church Events (Lacey, WA), and will also participate in the inaugural chamber music ensemble of YCA on Tour. He will appear as soloist playing Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 4 in G Minor with the Seattle Symphony (Seattle, WA), Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Aiken Symphony (Aiken, SC), and Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major with the Elgin Symphony (Elgin, IL). An advocate for new music, Albert has premiered numerous solo works on his recital programs, commissioned for him by Stephen Hough, Miquel Oliu, and Katherine Balch. He has given four hand performances with Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the Wallis Annenberg Center Hall and Zipper Hall, taken part in the Jupiter Chamber Players in New York and the Bridgehampton Chamber Festival, and performed with such artists as Gary Hoffman, Andrej Bielow, Thomas Mesa, and Lev Sivkov. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with such ensembles as the Ebene, Szymanowski, Casals, Cosmos, Gerhard, and Verona Quartets, and has released an album of Austrian viola music for Champs Hills with Emma Wernig. Albert was First Prize winner at the 2017 Walter W. Naumburg Piano Competition. Additional special prizes at the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions include The Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize, the Alexander Kasza-Kasser Concert Prize for support of his Kennedy Center debut, the Friends of Music Concert Prize (NY), and the Sunday Musicale Prize (NJ). Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Albert recently completed an Artist Diploma with Robert McDonald at the Juilliard School, where he was awarded the 2020 Rubinstein Prize for Piano. Early on, he studied music at Montserrat mountain’s Escolanía de Montserrat choir, where he sang as an alto. Later, he studied piano with Graham Caskie, Marta Karbownicka, and Ory Shihor. He is an alum of the Verbier Festival Academy and holds a BA in Piano Performance from the Colburn School, as well as a MM from the Juilliard School. He currently resides in New York City.

GOLDMUND STRING QUARTET Florian Schötz, violin 
 Pinchas Adt, violin 
 Christoph Vandory, viola 
 Raphael Paratore, cello The Goldmund Quartet is known to feature exquisite playing (Süddeutsche Zeitung) and such multi-layered homogeneity (Süddeutsche Zeitung) in its interpretations of the great classical and modern works of the quartet literature. Its inwardness, the unbelievably fine intonation and the phrases worked out down to the smallest detail inspire audiences worldwide. In keeping with the theme of their current CD "Travel Diaries", the past season was marked by international travel. The Quartet travelled to Colombia for the Cartagena Music Festival and toured the U.S. with stops in New York, Boston, Kansas, Tucson, Salt Lake City and Montreal. Back in Europe, their busy schedule took them to Italy, France, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark. The 2022/23 season features a firework display of musical highlights. A tour of Japan by invitation of the Nippon Foundation is followed by the Quartet's debut at Gewandhaus in Leipzig. Performances in Padova and at Teatro Reggio Emilia lead the Quartet to Italy while performances of Chausson's Sextet with violinist Noa Wildschut and pianist Elisabeth Brauss are scheduled in Holland and Belgium. In the second half of the season the Quartet follows invitations from Sociedad Filarmonica in Bilbao and the Hemsing Festival in Norway before concluding the season with recitals at Berlin Konzerthaus, Prinzregententheater Munich, Musikverein Graz, Mercatorhalle Duisburg, Mönchengladbach, Bensheim and the Marvão Festival in Portugal. The winners of the renowned 2018 International Wigmore Hall String Competition and the 2018 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition have been selected by the European Concert Hall Organisation as Rising Stars of the 2019/20 season. Since 2019, they have been performing Antonio Stradivari's Paganini Quartet, provided by the Nippon Music Foundation. In addition, the quartet was awarded the Jürgen Ponto Foundation Music Prize in March 2020 and the Freiherr von Waltershausen Prize in December 2020. In 2016, the quartet was already a winner of the Bavarian Arts Promotion Prize and the Karl Klinger Prize of the ARD Competition. In 2020, Berlin Classics released "Travel Diaries", the Goldmund Quartet's third album with works by Wolfgang Rihm, Ana Sokolovic, Fazil Say and Dobrinka Tabakova, which Harald Eggebrecht described as "one of the liveliest and most stimulating string quartet CDs of recent times". (Süddeutsche Zeitung). Their Travel Diaries are the musical diary from their last decade together and a sound document that is both reflective and forward-looking. Chamber music partners include artists such as Jörg Widmann, Ksenija Sidorova, Alexander Krichel, Alexey Stadler and Wies de Boevé, Nino Gvetadze, Noa Wildschut, Elisabeth Brauss, Maximilian Hornung, Frank Dupree, Simon Höfele. In addition to studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and with members of the Alban Berg Quartet, including Günter Pichler at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia and the Artemis Quartet in Berlin, master classes and studies with members of the Hagen, Borodin, Belcea, Ysaye and Cherubini Quartets, Ferenc Rados, Eberhard Feltz and Alfred Brendel gave the quartet important musical impulses.

EVAN EPIFANO, BASSOON Evan Epifanio was appointed Principal Bassoon of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 2018. Prior to The Met, Evan was a member of The Sarasota Orchestra and New World Symphony, as well as serving as Principal Bassoon of the Des Moines Metro Opera. He has also performed with other ensembles including The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and The Florida Orchestra. Evan can be heard playing with The MET Orchestra Chamber Ensemble at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall throughout the year. He has lead masterclasses at a variety of locations including The Academia Filarmónica de Medellín, Colombia and most recently The Juilliard School. During his summer months Evan has been heard performing with Classical Tahoe in Incline Village, Nevada and The Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego.

DEMIAN AUSTIN, TROMBONE Demian Austin is principal trombonist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He is also a member of the MET Chamber Ensemble, which performs regularly at Carnegie’s Weill and Zankel halls. He has performed with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and in the Mostly Mozart festival at Lincoln Center. Mr. Austin has played on numerous recordings including the Metropolitan Opera Brass CDs, several movie soundtracks, Dialogues with Double Bass with Jeremy McCoy on Bridge Records, the GM Recordings issue of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Brahms’ First Symphony conducted by Gunther Schuller, and many recordings with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, including Strauss’ Tod und Verklarung. He can also be heard regularly on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Live at the Met Broadcasts, the Saturday Matinee Broadcasts of the Met, and on The Met: Live in HD worldwide movie simulcasts. At Juilliard he has been the Gordon Henderson Pre-College Trombone Faculty since 2009. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in 1992 from Oberlin College, where he studied with Raymond Premru, and his Masters of Music degree in 1995 from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Per Brevig. Aside from his career in music, Mr. Austin has a keen interest in film and has attended several intensive seminars on screenwriting.

ALBERTO PARRINI, CELLO ALBERTO PARRINI, cellist, is an associate musician with the Metropolitan Opera and a member of the American Symphony and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. He performs regularly with East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Lenape Chamber Ensemble, Lighthouse Chamber Players, Richardson Chamber Players, New Jersey Symphony and New York Philharmonic. As principal cellist of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic (2007 -2023), he was a featured soloist in concertos by Brahms, Haydn, Saint-Saens and Tchaikovsky. With the Zukofsky Quartet he has given performances of the complete string quartets of Milton Babbitt in New York and Chicago. He performed throughout the U.S. with the American Chamber Players (2004- 2010), was the cellist of the St. Lawrence String Quartet (2002-2003) and spent one season as assistant principal with the Richmond Symphony. Alberto has toured North America, Europe and Asia with Mikhail Baryshnikov and the White Oak Dance Project and performed with Arco Ensemble, Concertante, Continuum, Mark Morris Dance Group, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Mirror Visions, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Proteus Ensemble and Sinfonietta of Riverdale. His principal teachers were Timothy Eddy, Joel Krosnick, David Soyer, Colin Carr and Enrico Egano; he is a graduate of the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School. Alberto teaches cello and chamber music at Princeton University. He is also co-director of the Adult Chamber Music Workshop at Kinhaven.

October 5, 2014 – Osmo Vänska, clarinet; Erin Keefe, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano BÉLA BARTÓK (1881–1945) Contrasts, BB 116 October 5, 2014 – Osmo Vänska, clarinet; Erin Keefe, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano If the celebrated “king of swing” clarinetist Benny Goodman had not commissioned a work from Bartók, the composer probably would never have written a chamber work that included a wind instrument—this was the sole instance. In 1938 Bartók’s old friend, violinist Joseph Szigeti, wrote to him on behalf of Goodman to commission a chamber work the two could play together. The clarinetist made some very specific requests: he wanted a short work—six to seven minutes so it could fit on two sides of a 78 rpm recording—that should contain two movements, one in each of the Hungarian styles lassú (slow) and friss (fast) that Bartók had made so popular in his Rhapsodies. The composer, however, couldn’t help but respond as he had to previous commission requirements: he wrote what he wanted! Bartók did begin along the specified parameters, completing two movements—now the outer two—probably in August 1938, though they were considerably longer than expected. Goodman, Szigeti, and pianist Endre Petri performed these Two Dances, as they were called, at Carnegie Hall on January 9, 1939. The opening Verbunkos (Recruiting dance) movement possessed a livelier character than that of a lassú introduction, so already in September 1938 Bartók composed a slow movement to separate his two dances, though he waited until December to inform Goodman. The premiere of this complete version, finally named Contrasts, occurred in April 1940 when Bartók came to New York and played the piano part in a now-famous Columbia recording with Goodman and Szigeti. The same trio played the work live in Boston on February 4, 1941, and after Goodman’s three-year period of exclusive performance rights expired, chamber groups everywhere took up the colorful piece. As a proper recruiting dance should, the opening movement struts and postures, and includes the typical kind of melodic ornamentation that reflects Bartók’s familiarity with the national style. Both violin and clarinet are given ample opportunities to show off. After the initial march idea, the composer introduces a memorable theme that is ripe with characteristic Hungarian short-long rhythms. Just before the end Bartók provides a clarinet cadenza that displays the instrument’s range both in pitch and dynamics. The slow movement, Pihenő (Relaxation), projects a more serious quality, incorporating sounds that biographer Halsey Stevens suggests were inspired by Bartók’s study of Indonesian gamelan music. A brilliant shimmering passage introduces trills, pizzicato, and murmuring motives associated with what Bartók called “night music,” first introduced in his Out of Doors for piano in 1926. For the only time in any of his works, Bartók employed scordatura (unusual tuning of a string instrument) here in his whirlwind finale. Sebes (Fast dance) begins with the violin taking up a fiddle tuned with the bottom string raised and the top string lowered by a half step. As a result his opening chords sound like the beginning of a danse macabre—similar to Saint-Saëns’s famous example, which also uses scordatura. Bartók also has the clarinetist trade an A clarinet for one in B-flat in the movement’s outer sections, which changes the color slightly, but also reflects the curious tonality of the work—one of its contrasts?—ending in a different key than it began. Bartók interrupts the movement’s frantic perpetual motion for a slower middle section that features a plaintive melody and eerie washes of sound. Here the piano creeps in contrary motion against the slithering of the violin and clarinet, all in a complex meter of 13/8. The composer employs myriad effects from glissandos and “honking” grace notes to a cadenza of violin pyrotechnics to make this one of chamber music’s most riveting finales. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

ERIKA BAIKOFF, SOPRANO Russian American Soprano, Erika Baikoff, is a recent graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. As a Lindemann Young Artist, she sang the roles of Xenia in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov and Barbarina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro . At Maestro Nézet-Séguin's invitation, she joined the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra's tour of Das Rheingold and was featured as the soprano soloist in Mahler's 4th Symphony with Maestro Rustioni and the Ulster Orchestra. Equally passionate about chamber music, she made her debuts with Schubertíada and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, both of which she will return to in future seasons. The 2023/2024 season includes debuts with the Houston Grand Opera, London Symphony Orchestra, and Ciclo de Lied. From 2018 to 2020, Erika was a member of the Opéra National de Lyon Studio, where her roles included Le Feu/ Princesse/ Rossignol in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges , Juliet in Boris Blacher’s Romeo and Juliet , Anna in Verdi’s Nabucco, and the soprano solo in Mahler's 4th Symphony. Erika is the first prize winner of the 2019 Helmut Deutsch Liedwettbewerb and the 10th Concours international de chant-piano Nadia et Lili Boulanger with her duo partner, Gary Beecher. Other awards include the 6th Prize, Oratorio-Lied Prize, and Schubert Prize at the Tenor Viñas Contest, George London Award, Sullivan Foundation Career Development Grant, 2020 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Semi-finalist, Career Bridges Grant, Mondavi Young Artist Founders’ Prize, and the Bouchaine Young Artist Scholarship. Erika is an alumni of the Atelier Lyrique at the Verbier Festival, where she sang Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème, and the Académie Vocal Residency of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in French Studies from Princeton University and a Master of Music from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

TICKETS 4 EASY WAYS TO BUY TICKETS ONLINE BY PHONE Purchase tickets by phone through Purple Pass Tickets at 800-316-8559 , Option 1 IN PERSON Box Office Ticket Sales will start at 3 PM on all concert days BY MAIL Download PCC Mail Order Ticket Form Scroll Down to Purchase Below LOCATION AND DIRECTIONS All performances take place at: West Side Presbyterian Church 6 South Monroe Street Ridgewood, NJ For directions, click here . 2026-2027 SEASON September 13, 2026 at 4 PM Mozart and Schubert at 19 Members of the Met Orchestra Adults (40 – 64): $45 Seniors (65+): $35 Young Adults (21 – 39): $25 Students (12 – 20): $15 Children (8 - 11): No Tickets Required October 11, 2026 at 4 PM Viano Quartet — Four of a Kind Adults (40 – 64): $45 Seniors (65+): $35 Young Adults (21 – 39): $25 Students (12 – 20): $15 Children (8 - 11): No Tickets Required November 15, 2026 at 4 PM Café Music Adults (40 – 64): $45 Seniors (65+): $35 Young Adults (21 – 39): $25 Students (12 – 20): $15 Children (8 - 11): No Tickets Required January 17, 2027 at 4 PM Richard Goode, piano; Itamar Zorman, violin Adults (40 – 64): $45 Seniors (65+): $35 Young Adults (21 – 39): $25 Students (12 – 20): $15 Children (8 - 11): No Tickets Required February 28, 2027 at 4 PM Winterreise Benjamin Appl, baritone; James Baillieu, piano Adults (40 – 64): $45 Seniors (65+): $35 Young Adults (21 – 39): $25 Students (12 – 20): $15 Children (8 - 11): No Tickets Required March 21, 2027 at 4 PM Paul Jacobs, organ Celebrating Bach’s Birthday Adults (40 – 64): $45 Seniors (65+): $35 Young Adults (21 – 39): $25 Students (12 – 20): $15 Children (8 - 11): No Tickets Required April 11, 2027 at 4 PM Zukerman Trio Celebrating Beethoven’s Anniversary Year Adults (40 – 64): $45 Seniors (65+): $35 Young Adults (21 – 39): $25 Students (12 – 20): $15 Children (8 - 11): No Tickets Required May 9, 2027 at 4 PM Stella Chen, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Brannon Cho, cello; Michael Stephen Brown, piano Adults (40 – 64): $45 Seniors (65+): $35 Young Adults (21 – 39): $25 Students (12 – 20): $15 Children (8 - 11): No Tickets Required June 6, 2027 at 4 PM Emi Ferguson, baroque flute, & Ruckus Adults (40 – 64): $45 Seniors (65+): $35 Young Adults (21 – 39): $25 Students (12 – 20): $15 Children (8 - 11): No Tickets Required

DAVID GOULD, BASSET HORN David Gould is the bass clarinetist with the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra in New York City. He has performed with The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, National Symphony, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, New York Philharmonic, L’Orchestre National de France, and Philadelphia Orchestra. Gould has given master classes, concerts, and lectures at many prestigious schools such as the Boston Conservatory, Colburn School, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, and the University of Michigan. He has edited and corrected etudes by Alessio, Labanchi, and Stark and pieces by Paul Jeanjean and Rene de Boisdeffre for International Music Diffusion (IMD). He has recorded for Naxos, Mode Records, and MSR Classics. David Gould is a graduate of the Juilliard School and was awarded the Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship, to study music in France. He is a unanimous first prize winner from the Conservatoire National de Region de Versailles in France. He studied with Michel Arrignon, Philippe Cuper, Stanley Drucker, Jacques Lancelot, and David Weber. David Gould is a performing artist and clinician for Buffet Crampon and Vandoren Paris.