December 18, 2016: Mariko Anraku, harp; Emmanuel Ceysson, harp MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937) Ma mère l’oye, arranged for two harps December 18, 2016: Mariko Anraku, harp; Emmanuel Ceysson, harp 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 Aeolian church mode, evoking a sense of “long ago.” The accompaniment of gentle “chimes” sounds perfect when transferred from piano to harp. 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. In this afternoon’s performance, movements I, II, III, and V were arranged for two harps by John Escosa. Movement IV, Conversations of Beauty and the Beast, is a special arrangement fashioned by our artists, Mariko Anraku and Emmanuel Ceysson. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

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ELLIOTT FIGG, HARPSICHORD, ORGAN Elliott Figg Harpsichord, organ Keyboardist, conductor, and composer Elliott Figg performs with Ruckus, ACRONYM, New York Baroque Incorporated, and New Vintage Baroque. Recent engagements have included conducting and performing on harpsichord for productions with Little Opera Theatre of New York, Spoleto Festival USA, and LA Opera. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in composition from the University of North Texas and a Graduate Diploma from The Juilliard School.

ANDRÉS DÍAZ, CELLO Since winning the First Prize in the 1986 Naumburg International Cello Competition, Mr. Díaz has exhilarated both critics and audiences with his intense and charismatic performances. He has earned exceptional reviews for
his “strongly personal interpretive vision” (The New York Times) and his “bold and imaginative” playing (TheBoston Globe) and was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as a generous grant from the
 Susan W. Rose Fund for Music in 1998. Andrés Díaz’s numerous orchestral appearances have included return engagements with the Atlanta Symphony under the late conductor Robert Shaw; performances with the American Symphony at Carnegie Hall, the symphony orchestras of Milwaukee, Seattle, Rochester under Christopher Seaman, the Boston Pops and Esplanade Orchestras, the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival with Edo de Waart conducting, and the NationalSymphony Orchestra. Among the highlights of Mr. Díaz’s recent seasons are tours of Taiwan, Hong Kong,Korea, Japan, Hawaii, and Canada performing in recital and with orchestra; appearances in Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, the Dominican Republic; a series of concerts in the Soviet Union where he performed as soloist with Russia’s Saratov Symphony in the cities of Saratov and Moscow; and a tour of the major cities in New Zealand with the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra. The young virtuoso is a sought-after recitalist and made his Alice Tully Hall debut in 1987 after winning the Naumburg International Cello Competition. He received critical praise for his second appearance at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in 1989 when The New York Times remarked that his musical views “always seemed deeply considered rather than superficial or manufactured.” His recital appearances have included the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Jordan Hall and the Gardner Museum in Boston, the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, and the highly regarded San Francisco Performances Series. Andrés Díaz frequently performed with the late pianist Samuel Sanders. The Díaz/Sanders Duo performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall in New York, the Philadelphia Arts Museum, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall and other venues across the U.S. and abroad. They appeared in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Colorado Springs, Detroit, and Japan, where they appeared at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. Among other renowned pianists
 with whom Mr. Díaz has collaborated are Judith Gordon, Margo Garrett, Richard Goode, Mischa Dichter, and Anne-Marie McDermott. During the summer of 2001, Mr. Díaz gave the world premiere of Gunther Schuller’s Concerto for Cello 
and Orchestra at the Brevard Music Center with the Brevard Festival Orchestra. In February 2001, Mr. Díaz performed the American premiere of Frank Bridge’s Oration for cello and orchestra at Boston University. Mr.Díaz has also premiered Thomas Oboe Lee’s Cello Concerto (written expressly for Díaz) with the Boston Civic Symphony, and he gave the Boston and Washington, D.C. premieres of Leon Kirchner’s Music for Cello and Orchestra. In that Boston performance, the composer conducted the work. Díaz later performed the piece with the National Symphony Orchestra, James Paul conducting, where it received the First Prize Friedham Award. Andrés Díaz’s debut solo recording on MusicMasters of works by Manuel de Falla and Robert Schumann with pianist Samuel Sanders was acclaimed by The Boston Globe as “strong and subtle; everything Díaz does has
personality and, better than that, character.” On the Dorian label, the two artists have also released Brahms’s Sonatas for Piano and Cello; Russian Romantics, a compilation of short Russian works; and most recently
American Visions, featuring works of Barber, Bernstein and Foote. Mr. Díaz’s current orchestral solo release (also on the Dorian label) features the Villas-Lobos Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and conductor Enrique Diemecke. This recording won a 1996 Allegro Music Award for Best Orchestral Release. His latest recording, in memory of his collaborator pianist Samuel Sanders — featuring the works of Martinu, Lutoslawski, and Rachmaninoff– won The Classical Recording Foundation 2003 Award. Mr. Diaz also recorded the six Bach Suites at the end of 2004. Mr. Díaz’s summer festival appearances (including frequent return engagements) include the Santa Fe, La Jolla, Marlboro, Ravinia, Bravo! Colorado, Spoleto, Saratoga and Tanglewood festivals. His appearances at Tanglewood earned him the Pierre Mayer Memorial Award for Outstanding String Player. He has toured nationally with the Santa Fe and Spoleto festivals. Other festival appearances include the Victoria (B.C.), Steamboat (Steamboat Springs, CO), Musicorda (MA), Rockport (MA) and Cape & Islands festivals. Andrés Díaz is very active with the Díaz String Trio, featuring violinist Andres Cardenes and violist Roberto Díaz. At Carnegie Hall in April 2003, the trio performed the world premiere of a string trio written for them by Gunther Schuller. The trio has performed in the cities of Pittsburgh, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami; at the Kuhmo Festival in Finland and the International Festival of St. Cypriene in France; and they
have toured extensively in South America, Mexico and Canada. The trio was invited by Isaac Stern to play at Carnegie Hall’s Centennial Celebration, and from 1994-96 it served as Trio in Residence at the Florida International University. They released its first recording featuring the music of Paganini on the Dorian label. A second recording is due for release in 2003 featuring music by Penderecki, Dohnayi, Beethoven. Andrés Díaz was born in Santiago, Chile in 1964, and began studying the cello at the age of five. Three years later he moved to Atlanta, Georgia and studied at the Georgia Academy of Music with Martha Gerchefski. Mr. Díaz graduated from the New England Conservatory where he worked with Laurence Lesser and Colin Carr, and currently plays an active role in chamber music performances with the Conservatory’s faculty. He
served for five years as Associate Professor of Cello at the Boston University and Co-Director of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Quartet Program, resigning in September 2001. Mr. Díaz now lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife, Julie, and sons Peter Manuel and Gabriel Andrés. He plays a 1698 Matteo Goffriller Cello and a bow made by his father, Manuel Díaz.

October 29, 2017: Peter Serkin, piano JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Goldberg Variations BWV 988 October 29, 2017: Peter Serkin, piano A wonderful story, recounted by Bach’s early biographer J. N. Forkel, revealed that the Goldberg Variations were the result of a request by former Russian ambassador and insomniac Count Keyserlingk for some clavier pieces that his young house harpsichordist, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, could play for him during sleepless nights. A great patron of the arts, the count lived in Dresden but often visited Leipzig, where in 1737 he had introduced the ten-year-old Goldberg to Bach, recommending him as a harpsichord student. Goldberg indeed took lessons from Bach, but also from his oldest son Wilhelm Friedemann, a great keyboard virtuoso who was working in Dresden. It may be, as some scholars claim, that the elder Bach wrote the monumental work for his son rather than for Goldberg, but Forkel’s account cannot be dismissed because some information for his biography came directly from Wilhelm Friedemann and from Bach’s second oldest son, Carl Philipp Emanuel. In any case, Goldberg, too, became an outstanding virtuoso, and seems to have played the Variations frequently. Bach visited Count Keyserlingk in Dresden in November 1741, having published the Variations that fall, and it is entirely likely that he gave him a presentation copy. The count referred to them as “my” variations, but the work cannot have been an official commission or Bach would have included a formal dedication. For posterity the Aria with 30 Variations will always be known as the Goldberg Variations. In the larger scheme of things, Bach, a master organizer, published the work as part of the series he unassumingly titled Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Exercise), which he issued in installments beginning in 1731. This “exercise” represents the pinnacle of Bach’s art and thus an incomparable peak in the whole of music. His six keyboard Partitas make up Part I, followed by the Italian Concerto and the French Overture as Part II, the Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major and various organ chorales as Part III, and, finally, the Goldberg Variations. He may even have included the Art of Fugue as Book V had he lived to see it published. In choosing to compose a large set of variations, Bach stood firmly in the tradition of Corelli, Handel, and Rameau, though he himself had not written a keyboard set since his youth. Aria was also a traditional title for the first movement of such a set—Bach’s Aria is a thirty-two measure theme that also appears in Anna Magdalena Bach’s Clavier-Büchlein of 1725. For the first eight bars the harmony and bass line (the basis for most Baroque variation sets rather than the theme itself) are the same as for Handel’s Chaconne avec 62 variations, which Bach surely knew. Handel’s treatment of the last variation as a simple canon (precise imitation of one line by another) must have sparked Bach’s imagination even before the Goldberg Variations, because he used the underlying progression as the basis for several canons. Versions of these later appeared in his Fourteen Canons (BWV 1087), which he eventually copied into his own print of Part IV of the Clavier-Übung, explicitly connecting these two collections. He probably also knew a set of sarabande variations attributed to the “Eisenach” Bach (1642–1703)—or to J. S. Bach’s older brother—which employ the same progression for the first four measures. Forerunners aside, Bach employed a much longer theme than his predecessors had, giving himself a much fuller range to explore his incomparable canonic and variation techniques. The whole set is carefully organized so that every third variation includes a canon, systematically increasing the pitch interval at which the second line begins its imitation, starting with a canon at the unison for Variation 3 and continuing through the interval of a ninth in Variation 27. (The canons in Nos. 12 and 15 proceed in contrary motion.) In addition Bach sets up a threefold pattern of variation types (beginning with the third variation) of canon, free counterpoint, and duet-style. Before No. 3 he includes two free variations and follows No. 27 with three more free variations before he recalls the Aria. Despite Bach’s organizational and canonic rigors, there is nothing dry and pedantic about the Goldberg variations, which certainly must have kept Count Keyserlingk highly engaged rather than lulled to sleep. Bach juxtaposes variations of contrasting meter, specific rhythmic figuration, or texture, and he makes dramatic or witty variations with equal ingenuity. One of the most striking aspects of his elegant wit appears in the variations with hand-crossings, which appear already in the first variation. Here they require a certain athleticism, since Bach designates this variation to be played on just one of the harpsichord’s two manuals (keyboards). (Because Bach intended the Goldberg Variations for a two-manual harpsichord, transferring them to piano necessitates decisions about how best to distribute the two-manual variations, which pianists solve in many different ways.) Variations 5, 14, 20, and 28 also call for similar leaping hand-crossings rather than the type whose hand-crossings are the result of lines of counterpoint crossing each other—Nos. 8, 11, 17, 23, and 26. Both types require great virtuosity, the latter following in a long line of keyboard pieces known as bicinia or pièces croisées. Bach also includes dance types, such as a gigue for Variation 7 (labeled al tempo di Giga in his manuscript) or, though not so-designated, a highly ornamented sarabande for the slower Variation 13 with its emphasis on second beats. He labels Variation 10 a Fughetta, which though not a strict fugue contains an entrance of the fugue subject in every fourth bar. Variation 24 seems to have roots in the instrumental pastorale, similar to the siciliana in its lilting compound meter and deceptively simple or “rural” atmosphere. Many of the variations focus on a certain keyboard technique or challenge in the manner of the études of much later generations. Variation 8 suggests a study in arpeggios and contrary motion, Variation 23 a variety of virtuosic figures including parallel thirds, and 28, sustained measured trills, often in inner voices. Bach makes a striking gesture with French overture–style dotted rhythms as a kind of grand opening statement for the second half of the set. This variation also serves to bring back the prevailing major mode after No. 15, the first of only three variations in minor, whose canonic unfolding introduces two-note “sighs,” some daring chromaticism, and a curious ending that drifts upward. The last minor-mode variation, the soulful, chromatic No. 25, achieves the greatest weight and depth of the free variations, part of Bach’s scheme of increasing drama as well as technical brilliance as the set progresses. Most of the variations exhibit a two- or three-voice texture, though Bach intersperses four-voice variations at judicious intervals. Of these, two make specific reference to older polyphonic styles: Variation 22, marked Alla breve, employs Renaissance-style counterpoint as in a motet, and Variation 30 shows Bach having some fun in a quodlibet. Literally “as you like it,” the term had been used since the mid-fourteenth century to designate a humorous piece that combined two or more independent melodies, often folk tunes, in contrapuntal style. The Bach family reportedly improvised such pieces at family gatherings. Scholars have found at least six snippets in Variation 30 that appear to be folk quotations, of which the most obvious are phrases from “Ich bin so lang nicht bei dir g’west” (I’ve been away from you so long) and “Kraut und Rüben haben mich vertrieben” (Cabbage and turnips have driven me away). Bach’s witty combination of these phrases seems to refer to this “hodge-podge” (another meaning of Kraut und Rüben) having driven the main theme away, necessitating the recall of the Aria. Without any knowledge of quotations or elegant witticisms, however, Variation 30’s old-fashioned demeanor has the musical effect of halting the intensifying brilliance built up by the preceding variations, preparing for the Aria’s return to bring the work full circle. It is unlikely that Bach, his sons, or Goldberg played the set of variations straight through at a single performance. Nevertheless, its organization, carefully considered contrasts, cohesion, and technical challenges have made performances of the entire Goldberg Variations the lofty goal of many keyboard virtuosos—to the delight of the listening public. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

JULIE GUNN, PIANO Julie is a music director, vocal coach, and song arranger, and she is passionate about songs and singers. She designs and performs song recitals, and has appeared on many prestigious series over the last several years, including the Carnegie Hall Pure Voice Series, Lincoln Center Great Performers, Londonís Queen Elizabeth Hall, Brussels Theatre de la Monnaie, the 92nd Street Y, University of Chicago Presents, San Francisco Performances, Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Oberlin College, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Scheduled for the upcoming year are recitals at Dominican University, Torontoís Roy Thompson Hall, and cabaret performances in Orange County, Sun Valley, and the Allerton Barn Festival. In 2008 she had the privilege of playing a private recital for members of the United States Supreme Court. Julie Gunn also enjoys teaching and training the younger generation, and in her faculty appointment at the UI, she works with both singers and pianists. She has served on the music staff at the Metropolitan Opera Young Artist Program, Wolf Trap Opera, St. Louis Opera Theatre, Southern Methodist University, Opera North, Theaterworks, Chicago Opera Theater, and Illinois Opera Theater, and given master classes at universities and young artists’ programs all over the United States, including the Ryan Young Artists’ Program, Houston Grand Opera Studio, and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Dr. Gunn is a leader in the promotion of American arts. She works diligently as an advocate for local arts organizations in her home community in the development of projects ranging from constructing arts buildings to establishing patron groups. On a national level, she solicits and programs the work of emerging and established American songwriters on recitals, and is proud to have been the music director of her husband Nathan Gunn’s solo disc, Just before Sunrise, recently released by Sony/BMG records, which included arrangements of songs by Gene Scheer, Ben Moore, Joe Thalken, Billy Joel, Sting, and Charles Ives. Her arrangements of traditional American songs have been programmed by orchestras throughout the country. She seeks to encourage young composers by strengthening their relationships with singers and pianists, and by providing them with more established composers as mentors. Julie Gunn lives in Champaign with her husband and five children.

BRENDAN KANE, BASS Double Bassist Brendan Kane has performed extensively throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Originally from Stillwater, Minnesota, Mr. Kane joined the bass section of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in the Fall of 2014. Prior to his appointment at the Met, Mr. Kane held the positions of Assistant Principal Bass of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Principal Bass of the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra in Brazil. He also regularly tours around the world as Principal Bass of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra as well as annual appearances at the Verbier Festival (Switzerland), Schloss Elmau (Germany) and the St. Barts Music Festival in the Caribbean. Mr. Kane has also performed with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa), Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (London), Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and as Guest Principal Bass with the Hong Kong and Israel Philharmonics. As a chamber musician, he has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, toured with the International Sejong Soloists and appeared alongside Pinchas Zukerman, Maxim Vengerov, Leonidas Kavakos, Tabea Zimmerman, Mischa Maisky and Sir András Schiff among others. Mr. Kane is on sabbatical from the MET for the 22-23 season upon being appointed Principal Bass of the Israel Philharmonic.

MARK WALKER, DRUMS Drummer/percussionist/composer Mark Walker, originally from “Central America” (Chicago, Illinois) began his tenure with Paquito D’Rivera in 1989, when Paquito came to Chicago and needed a drummer who could handle a variety of rhythmic styles. Since then Mark has performed around the globe and recorded many Grammy award-winning albums, not only with Paquito, but also Oregon, Caribbean Jazz Project, Michel Camilo, Lyle Mays, Cesar Camargo Mariano, New York Voices, Patricia Barber, and many more. Mark is also associate professor at Berklee College of Music and has a side project called the “Berklee Brothers,” comprised of Berklee faculty.

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JAVIER GÁNDARA, HORN Javier Gándara has been a member of the Met Opera Orchestra since 1999. He began his professional career at age sixteen, when he won a position in the Puerto Rico Symphony while attending high school at La Escuela Libre de Música in San Juan. Javier later graduated from The Juilliard Schoo, where he studied with Ranier De Intinis. He has held positions with the Orquesta del Principado de Asturias, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta de Euskadi, and the Oregon Symphony. He is on faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, The New School, and Juilliard Pre-College.

PIERRE LAPOINTE, VIOLA Pierre Lapointe is the violist of the Escher String Quartet and founded the group in 2005 with violinist Adam Barnett-Hart, violinist Wu Jie, and cellist Andrew Janss. The Escher Quartet was a member of Chamber Music Society Two from 2006 to 2009 and continues to perform extensively in the United States and all over the world. In 2012 he completed a thesis on Zemlinsky’s Second Quartet to earn a doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music and finished almost simultaneously a recording project of all four Zemlinsky string quartets on the Naxos label. Before devoting himself entirely to the viola, he played the violin and studied composition. In 2002 he performed his first string quartet to great acclaim on the show Young Artists of CBC Radio in Canada. He also received a prize in 2004 from the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec for his work at the Gatineau Music Conservatory and was granted a gold medal by the University of Ottawa in 2000 for his undergraduate studies in composition and violin performance. His main teachers were Yaëla Hertz Berkson, Calvin Sieb, and Lawrence Dutton. Since 2015 Mr. Lapointe has been teaching chamber music at the Southern Methodist University of Dallas.