Search Results

January 27, 2019: Pinchas Zukerman Trio JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897) Piano Trio No. 2 in C, Op. 87 January 27, 2019: Pinchas Zukerman Trio From his holiday haunt at Ischl in June of 1880, Brahms sent the first movements of two piano trios to his friend, famous surgeon and amateur musician Theodor Billroth. Brahms then laid both trios aside—the one in E-flat major permanently and that in C major until precisely two years later when, again at Ischl, he added three more movements. The C major Trio exudes the confidence, happiness, and fulfillment of a composer at his zenith who was widely recognized as one of the greatest of his time. With uncharacteristic pride Brahms wrote to his publisher Simrock, “You have not so far had such a beautiful trio from me and very probably have not published one to match it in the last ten years.” Following his long-standing custom, Brahms tried out the C major Trio, along with the concurrently composed F major String Quintet, at private performances. The first trial took place on August 25 in Altausee, just up the river from Ischl, and the second at Billroth’s home in Vienna on October 19. In December that year Brahms paid Clara Schumann a surprise visit and was delighted to find her trying out the Trio with friends. Finally Brahms gave the public premiere on December 29 in Frankfurt. The work was well received, but Clara complained privately in her diary that Brahms’s playing had degenerated into “thump, bang, and scrabble”—one of the costs of giving up piano practice with his rise as a composer. Though outwardly traditional in layout—sonata-form first movement, theme and variations slow movement, scherzo with trio, and rondo with some sonata features—the C major Trio shows Brahms at his most ingenious in regard to the execution of these structures. The first movement employs two main theme areas that each contain two main ideas. The robust opening idea remains the exclusive property of the violin and cello until the very end of the movement when the piano joins in lustily. One of the most unusual passages occurs in the development when, instead of the expected beehive of activity, Brahms slows down this main idea almost to a leisurely waltz. Another remarkable feature in this second part of the movement is the combining of development and recapitulation functions. Brahms closes with a substantial coda that again includes the “waltz” version of the opening theme, but varied as we have come to expect. Brahms wrote a theme with a Hungarian or Gypsy flavor as the basis for his slow-movement variations. Clara commented particularly on the theme’s folklike nature, brought about in part by the octave doubling of the cello and violin and the short-long rhythms so characteristic of that style. In the course of the variations, Brahms, the supreme master of variation technique, varies not only the string idea, but the syncopated piano accompaniment. The last part of the theme—telescoped from eight to seven bars—shows just one facet of Brahms’s ingenuity, when halfway through he turns the previous material upside down. This inversion appears in each of the variations but the fifth, which signals finality and the onset of the coda. The brief but powerful Scherzo is a gem. The furtive outer sections frame one of the most glorious trios Brahms ever wrote. The gorgeous interplay between the violin and cello produces exquisitely poignant tensions and relaxations as each phrase arches and subsides. Brahms labeled his Finale giocoso or playful, and moments of wit indeed shine through, often based on the staccato pattern of the piano at the outset or on sudden contrasts. Nevertheless, the overall impression is one of restrained intensity that sometimes erupts passionately. Brahms adds to the movement’s aura of importance by affixing an extensive coda in which the slow, tender section near the end reminds us of his unexpected slowing in the first movement. Here it functions as the calm before the storm, which Brahms then unleashes with almost fierce merriment. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

THE ESCHER STRING QUARTET The Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. Championed by the Emerson String Quartet, the group was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2010–2012, giving debuts at both Wigmore Hall and BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall. In its home town of New York, the ensemble serves as Artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and in 12/13 presented a critically acclaimed 3-concert series featuring the quartets of Benjamin Britten. In 2013, the quartet became one of the very few chamber ensembles to be awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Within months of its inception in 2005, the Escher Quartet was invited by both Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman to be Quartet in Residence at each artist’s summer festival: the Young Artists Programme at Canada’s National Arts Centre; and the Perlman Chamber Music Programme on Shelter Island, NY. The quartet has since collaborated with artists including David Finckel, Leon Fleischer, Wu Han, Lynn Harrell, Cho Liang Lin, David Shifrin, and guitarist Jason Vieaux. Last season, the Escher Quartet undertook an extensive UK tour with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor. The Escher Quartet is increasingly making a distinctive impression throughout Europe as it builds important debuts into its diary and receives consistently high acclaim for its work. Recent such engagements have included the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris and the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva among others. In 2013, the group’s first appearance at Israel’s Tel Aviv Museum of Art resulted in an immediate re-invitation, and its performance at Wigmore Hall was followed by an invitation to establish a regular relationship with the venue. The current season sees further significant debuts at London’s Kings Place, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, and Slovenian Philharmonic Hall in Ljubljana, as well as Great Music in Irish Houses and the Risør Festival in Norway. Alongside its growing European profile, the Escher Quartet continues to flourish in its home country, performing at Alice Tully Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and Ravinia and Caramoor festivals. Last season saw a critically acclaimed debut at Chamber Music San Francisco and an appearance at Music@Menlo in California. Elsewhere, the group gave its first Australian performances at Perth International Arts Festival in 2012, and this season makes its debut at the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival. Adding to the current season is the quartet’s involvement in the education of young musicians, with coaching activities at Campos do Jordão Music Festival in Brazil and the Royal Academy of Music in London. The quartet has recorded the complete Zemlinsky String Quartets on the Naxos label, releasing two highly acclaimed volumes in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Forthcoming releases include the complete Mendelssohn Quartet cycle on the BIS label. The Escher Quartet takes its name from Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, inspired by Escher’s method of interplay between individual components working together to form a whole.

ROBERT LANGEVIN, FLUTE Robert Langevin, holder of The Lila Acheson Wallace Chair, joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Flute at the start of the 2000–01 season. In May 2001, he made his solo debut with the Orchestra in the North American premiere of Siegfried Matthus’s Concerto for Flute and Harp with Philharmonic Principal Harp Nancy Allen and then- Music Director Kurt Masur. Prior to the Philharmonic, Mr. Langevin held the Jackman Pfouts Principal Flute Chair of the Pittsburgh Symphony and was an adjunct professor at Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh. Mr. Langevin served as associate principal flute of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for 13 years, playing on more than 30 recordings. As a member of Musica Camerata Montreal and l’Ensemble de la Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec, he premiered many works, including the Canadian premiere of Pierre Boulez’s Le Marteau sans maître. In addition, Mr. Langevin has performed as soloist with Quebec’s most distinguished ensembles and has recorded many recitals and chamber music programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He also served on the faculty of the University of Montreal for nine years. Born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Mr. Langevin began studying flute at age 12 and joined the local orchestra three years later. While studying with Jean-Paul Major at the Montreal Conservatory of Music, he started working in recording studios, where he accompanied a variety of artists of different styles. He graduated in 1976 with two first prizes, one in flute, the other in chamber music. Not long after, he won the prestigious Prix d’Europe, a national competition open to all instruments with a first prize of a two-year scholarship to study in Europe. This enabled him to work with Aurèle Nicolet at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany, where he graduated in 1979. He subsequently studied with Maxence Larrieu, in Geneva, winning second prize at the Budapest International Competition in 1980. His most recent solo appearance with the Philharmonic was in September 2008 in Lorin Maazel’s Music for Flute and Orchestra. Mr. Langevin is a member of the Philharmonic Quintet of New York with which he has performed concerts on many continents. In addition, he has given recitals and master classes throughout the United States and in countries such as Canada, Spain, Costa Rica, Japan, North Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam. He is currently on the faculties of The Juilliard School, The Manhattan School of Music, and the Orford International Summer Festival.

ANNE MARIE SCHARER, HORN Anne Marie Scharer, Acting 2nd Horn Metropolitan Opera Orchestra . Anne has been playing horn at the Met since the 1997-1998 season. Previously she played third horn for thirteen seasons and fourth horn for six seasons. Anne was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin and went on to study music at Indiana University where she studied with Myron Bloom and Michael Hatfield, and then went to the Juilliard School to study with Julie Landsman. Her first professional orchestral position was in Oviedo, Spain as co-principal horn. In 1994 she returned to the United States to play associate principal/third horn with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra for three years, before winning her job at the Met. In addition to her work with the Met Opera, she performs with Classical Tahoe in the summer. Anne has also performed with the New York Philharmonic , The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Monarch Brass and records for commercial and movie soundtracks.

MICHAEL BORISKIN, PIANO Best known as an internationally-active pianist and prolific recording artist, Michael Boriskin has been extensively involved in every aspect of the concert music world, and has been hailed by American Record Guide as “one of the most skilled and versatile musical figures of his generation.” A native New Yorker, he has performed throughout the United States and in over 30 countries. Taking listeners on captivating journeys across four centuries of music, he has appeared at many of the world's foremost concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the BBC, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Berlin and South West German Radios, and Vienna’s Arnold Schönberg Center. He has also performed as soloist with the Munich and Polish National Radio Orchestras, San Francisco, Utah, and Seattle Symphonies, UNAM Philharmonic of Mexico, and American Composers Orchestra, and as a sought-after chamber music collaborator with the Borromeo, Lark, St. Lawrence, and St. Petersburg String Quartets, Dorian and Arioso Wind Quintets, and New York Philharmonic Ensembles. His innovative broadcast series, CENTURYVIEW, on National Public Radio was heard regularly by over one million listeners on 200 stations coast-to-coast. A prolific recording artist, his large discography ranges from Brahms and Tchaikovsky to the present on labels such as BMG/Conifer, New World, Harmonia Mundi, Bridge, Albany, Koch International, and SONY Classical, which has re-released in Europe his acclaimed recording with Jonathan Sheffer and the EOS Orchestra of Gershwin’s complete works for piano and orchestra. Mr. Boriskin has worked with virtually every major American composer of the past 30 years. He is a frequent guest of major educational institutions for master classes, residencies, workshops, and lectures, and is also an accomplished writer whose work has been published by Schirmer Books, American Record Guide , Symphony , Fanfare , Piano and Keyboard , Clavier , Stagebill (Lincoln Center), Chamber Music , Ballet Review , and other periodicals. He was Music Director for three seasons of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project, overseeing the musical production and performance of nearly 250 concerts on ten national and international tours. In addition, he has served as artistic advisor or program consultant for many prominent organizations and institutions, including the United States Department of State, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Tisch Center for the Arts at the 92nd Street Y, New Line Cinema, and Columbia University’s Miller Theater, among many others. Michael Boriskin was named Artistic Director of Copland House in 1998, and his title was expanded to include Executive Director in 2003. As Artistic and Executive Director, he works closely with the Board of Trustees to guide the institutional development and administration of Copland House, and formulate and implement all of its programs and operations.

< Back Gaspar Cassadó Sardana and Jota from Suite for solo cello Program Notes Previous Next

SOOHONG PARK, PIANO Pianist Soohong Park's artistry has resonated internationally, with regular performances in Germany and the UK, including celebrated appearances at Carnegie Hall in New York and the renowned Barbican Hall in London as part of the Guildhall Artists Ensemble under the tutelage of Ronan O'Hora from Guildhall School of Music & Drama. He further enriched his musical experience by participating in the IMS Prussia Cove in the UK in 2018 and reaching the finals of the prestigious Tongyeong Isang Yoon International Music Competition in 2019. His talents were further recognised when he won the Guildhall Gold Medal in 2020. In this season, he has made his debut at Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid and at Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona as a collaborative pianist. Pianist Soohong Park also explores the realm of composition. His composition, inspired by the remarkable female divers of Jeju Island garnered him the grand prize from the Jeju World Cultural Preservation Society in 2020.

DANBI UM, VIOLIN Recently selected as one of eight young artists to join Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center, violinist Danbi Um has appeared as soloist with the Israel Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Herzliya Chamber Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonic, and Dartmouth Symphony, among others, and in such venues as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Seoul’s Kumho Arts Hall, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and for the Seattle Chamber Music Society and Ravinia Festival. This season, she appears with CMS Two in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, at Saratoga Springs, and in many other national and international concert venues. She also participated in the Music@Menlo Festival and tour with “Musicians from Marlboro.” Ms. Um is a winner of Astral’s 2015 National Auditions. An avid chamber musician, she has participated at Marlboro Music, the Ravinia Festival, Yellow Barn Festival, Prussia Cove, North Shore Chamber Music, and the Caramoor Festival. She tours frequently with “Musicians from Marlboro,” and has performed with the Jupiter Chamber Players. Ms. Um was the Second Prize winner of the 2004 Menuhin International Violin Competition, and won Third Prize at the Michael Hill International Competition in 2009. At age ten, she was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music, where she graduated with a bachelor of music degree. She also holds an Artist Diploma from Indiana University.

ANNE SCHARER, FRENCH HORN Anne Marie Scharer has been playing horn in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since the 1997-1998 season. She was appointed to second horn by James Levine in 2016. Previously she played third horn for thirteen seasons and fourth horn for six seasons. Anne was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin and went on to study music at Indiana University and The Juilliard School. Her first professional orchestral position was in Oviedo, Spain as co-principal horn. In 1994 she returned to the United States and played associate principal/third horn with the Columbus Symphony for three years before joining the Met. In addition to her work with the Opera, she teaches horn at Interlochen Center for the Arts and records for commercial and movie soundtracks.

ANNE-MARIE McDERMOTT, PIANO In a career that has spanned over 25 years, American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott has played concertos, recitals and chamber music in hundreds of cities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. The breadth of her repertoire matches that of her instrument, spanning from Bach, Haydn and Beethoven to Rachmaninoff, Prokoviev and Scriabin to works by today’s most influential composers — Aaron Jay Kernis, Steven Hartke, Joan Tower and Charles Wuorinen, among them. As an Artistic Director, Ms. McDermott leads the Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival in Florida and the Avila Chamber Music Celebration in Curacao. 

Beginning with the 2011 season, she is also the Artistic Director of the Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado. Anne-Marie has been an Artist Member of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 1995. Ms. McDermott’s passions have recently coalesced in several important projects that are indicative both of her popularity and the range of her musical interests: the presentation of The Complete Prokoviev Piano Sonatas and Chamber Music as part of the Lincoln Center Festival; The Chamber Music of Shostakovich at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center ; the premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s Piano Sonata No. 6; and the performance and recording of Gershwin’s Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra with the Dallas Symphony (2008, Bridge Records). The latter was named Editor’s Choice by Gramophone. 

About her critically acclaimed recording of the Complete Prokoviev Piano Sonatas (2009, Bridge Records), Gramophone wrote “we have waited a long time for an American pianist of this stature.”

RAFAEL FIGUEROA, CELLO Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, cellist Rafael Figueroa is established as one of the most sought-after cellists of his generation, having appeared in numerous performances throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South Americas, Japan and his homeland of Puerto Rico. His impressive list of prizes and awards include the First Prize at the Gregor Piatigorsky Competition in Boston, The Bronze Medal at the International Pablo Casals Competition in Budapest, winner of the Jill Sackler Cello Competition at the Third American Cello Congress and winner of the Gina Bachauer Memorial Award. Mr. Figueroa occupies the prestigious position of principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under James Levine in addition to his participation in many of the chamber music series in the New York area including The Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York, The Met Chamber Ensemble with James Levine, The New Jersey Chamber Music Society, The Morgan Library Chamber Music Series and Bargemusic. Rafael has appeared in recitals and concerts along such artists as the late Rudolf Serkin, Peter Serkin, the late Samuel Sanders, Andre Michel Shub, Ruth Laredo, Michael Tree, Cho Liang Lin, The Cleveland Quartet, the late Alexander Schneider and James Levine. Mr. Figueroa completed his studies at the Indiana University School of Music under Janos Starker and Gary Hoffman where upon graduation, he became a member of this school’s cello faculty. In 1987 Rafael moved to New York City where he began a ten year collaboration with The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, touring world-wide and recording for Deutsche Grammophon. For five years he was the cellist of The Amadeus Trio and a member of the Chelsea Chamber Ensemble, with whom he premiered and championed a large number of works by contemporary American composers. His summer festival activities have included the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland, the Aspen Music Festival, The Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, Marlboro Chamber Music Festival, Lemi-Lappenranta Chamber Music festival in Finland and the Rockport and Marblehead Chamber music Festivals. In addition to his participation for the first time at the International Festival of Music in Cheyu, Korea in the summer of 2003. Highlights of the past seaons include a performance to critical acclaim of the Brahms Double Concerto with Concertmaster David Chan and The Met Orchestra under James Levine at Carnegie Hall on February 2 , 2003 as part of the orchestra’s subscription series at Carnegie Hall and a second performance of the Brahms Double and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations in Seoul, Korea.

ANGEL BLUE, SOPRANO Angel Blue has emerged in recent seasons as one of the most influential sopranos before the public today. The two-time Grammy Award winner, 2020 Beverly Sills Award recipient, and the 2022 Richard Tucker Award winner is celebrated worldwide for her honeyed soprano and affecting deliveries of many of the most beloved roles in the operatic repertory. The 2023 spring and summer season began with Ms. Blue as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera with Maestro Nicola Luisotti, and her debut in the titular role in Aida at the Royal Opera House with Sir Mark Elder. She can be seen in concert with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Oskana Lyniv, and in recital with distinguished Canadian pianist Dr. Bryan Wagorn at Arizona Opera. Ms. Blue's first summer appearance begins in Europe on tour with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, under the direction of world-renowned conductor Yannick Nézét-Seguin. She will then make appearances at the Hollywood Bowl in Verdi's Requiem with the star maestro Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, shortly followed by her return to the Santa Fe Opera to sing the title role in Tosca. She makes her Aspen Music Festival debut in a solo recital with pianist Myra Huang. The 2023-2024 season introduces audiences to Angel Blue as Leonora in Verdi’s Il trovatore at the San Francisco Opera, followed by a highly anticipated return to the Vienna State Opera. She continues her season with performances as Micaëla in Carmen and a role debut as Magda in La Rondine at the Metropolitan Opera. On September 23, 2019 she opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2019/2020 season as Bess in a new production of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. These performances followed her internationally praised French Opera debut and role debut as Floria Tosca at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in July of 2019. She has also been recognized for performances in countless other theaters, such as the Vienna State Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, Theater an der Wien, Teatro alla Scala, Baden-Baden Festspielhaus, Paris Opera, English National Opera, and San Diego Opera. Puccini’s La Bohéme has played an especially prominent role in the development of Angel Blue’s career. She made her United States operatic debut as Musetta at the Los Angeles Opera in 2007 while a member of the company’s Young Artist Program and subsequently made her debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in the same role in 2015. As Mimí, she has earned exceptional international acclaim. Ms. Blue first sang the role at the English National Opera in London in 2014 and has since performed Mimí for her house debuts at the Palau de Les Arts in Valencia, the Vienna State Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company, the Semperoper Dresden, Hamburg State Opera, and of course, the Metropolitan Opera. Equally active on the concert platform, Ms. Blue has appeared in recital and in concert in over forty countries including Hungary, Kazakhstan, India, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, South Korea, China, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Brazil, and Mexico. In 2011 Ms. Blue opened the Royal Opera House, in Muscat, Oman. Orchestral engagements have included concert versions of Porgy and Bess at the Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle and with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Marin Alsop, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Münchener Philharmoniker under the baton of Zubin Mehta, and Verdi’s Requiem in Sydney, Australia with Oleg Caetani. She has also sung Strauss’s Vier Letzte Lieder and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Peri in Schumann’s Das Paradis und die Peri with the Accademia Santa Cecilla in Rome, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Cincinnati Symphony under Music Director Louis Langree. During the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Ms. Blue dedicated her time to encourage younger singers to stay motivated to finish their studies and continue in opera, through an online talk show called, "Faithful Friday" where she interviewed people who she found to be inspiring. The online talk show received much acclaim from its viewers, many called the show, "Uplifting, and exactly what is needed right now." Ms. Blue has since shifted her focus back to her family life and her singing engagements. However, she still maintains that encouraging and uplifting younger singers in the opera world is at the forefront of her platform. Angel Blue was raised in California and completed her musical studies at UCLA. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and son.