M MISSOURI CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL

2012 SEASONJune 21 to 23 | Program of Events

mochambermusic.org | 314.882.0053

MOCM

MISSOURI CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

PHANTASY | Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 5 pmGLISTEN | Friday, June 22, 2012 at 7 pm

FINALE | Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 7 pm

Pre-performance discussions: June 22 & June 23 at 6:30 pm

First Congregational Church of Webster Groves10 West Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves, MO

mochambermusic.org | 314.882.0053 | facebook & twitter

Welcome to the exciting Second Season of the Missouri Chamber Music Festival (MOCM)! We are delighted to celebrate with you our love of chamber music and hope that these MOCM concerts will continue to inspire you long after the final notes ring.

We are enthusiastic to have many new and wonderful musical artists to share their talents with us this season as well as some familiar faces from last year. We are sure you will recognize some of our gifted musicians from right here in St. Louis in addition to MOCM’s returning artists. MOCM offers a unique time for our artists to collaborate and we hope that you’ll be energized by their musical voices. MOCM is a cele-bration of the art of chamber music, from pen to performance.

Please sit back and enjoy the music this evening. We look forward to meeting and speaking with you at the reception in the Parlor following each concert. We hope that you can experience all the MOCM concerts this season or a pre-performance discussion with Composer-in-Residence Lansing McLoskey (June 22 and June 23 at 6:30 pm).

Thank you for being a part of MOCM’s second season and for your continued support!

2SEASON

Nina Ferrigno & Scott AndrewsDirectors, Missouri Chamber Music Festival

Co

ver

Pho

to: C

andi

ce W

hite

MOCM 2012 Festival ArtistsScott Andrews, clarinet Amadi Azikiwe, viola Melissa Brooks, cello Raehann Bryce-Davis, mezzo-soprano The Calyx Piano Trio Nina Ferrigno, piano Catherine French, violin Jennifer Lucht, cello Lansing McLoskey, composer Joanna Mendoza, viola Maria Schleuning, violin Robert Sheena, oboe/English horn Angie Smart, violin

Board of Directors Nina Ferrigno, President, Artistic Director Melissa Brooks, Vice President Scott Andrews, Secretary, Artistic Director Winston Calvert Jennifer Lin Linda Peterson Lora Reardon

Advisory Council Jennifer Lucht, Director, Carolina Chamber Music Festival Anna Reinersman, Director, Carolina Chamber Music Festival David Robertson, Music Director, St. Louis Symphony Gil Rose, Music Director, Boston Modern Orchestra Project Marc Thayer, Director of Education, American Voices

Festival Manager Kalen Mayo

Volunteers Chip DarrAlan FiddlemanAdrianne Honnold Dana HotleMichelle Infanger

Ryan Mayo Correne Murphy Emily Reardon Angie Smart Tina Ward George Yeh

4

Missouri Chamber Music FestivalPhantasyThursday, June 21, 2012 at 5 pm

Robert Sheena, oboeScott Andrews, clarinetMaria Schleuning, violinAngie Smart, violinJoanna Mendoza, violaJennifer Lucht, cello

String Trio in C Major Françaix1. Allegretto vivo2. Scherzo3. Andante4. Rondo: Vivo

Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and Strings, Op. 2 Britten

Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, Op. 34 Weber 1. Allegro2. Fantasia: Adagio3. Menuetto capriccioso4. Rondo: Allegro giocoso

Please join us for a reception in the Parlor after the performance.

MOCM

5

Phantasy Program Notes

It is supposed that French composers have not been con-cerned in their music with the thought provoking issues of people and the universe, but instead, paint aural canvases of elegance and refinement, of cool detachment or voluptuous-ness. Jean Françaix (1912–1997) conforms to this stereotype in much of his output, and, along with Francis Poulenc, he is possibly the most “French” of 20th-century composers, in the sense of being debonair and lighthearted, a composer of wit and unabashed sentimentality. A fine pianist, Françaix took a first prize for piano at the Paris Conservatory when he was 18. In 1932, while a composition student of Nadia Boulanger, he composed a Piano Concertino that forthrightly presented his Parisian credentials by revealing, at the tender age of 20, both a highly developed skill and a distinct musical personality. The next year he composed the String Trio, an especially success-ful piece of modest proportions dedicated to the Pasquier Trio, a distinguished family ensemble eminent in French musi-cal life during that time. This concise and vivacious work is a celebration of the neoclassical movement that was in vogue at the time. The opening movement is a lively yet intimate conversation among the three instruments, all of them played with mutes, and the viola has a motif spelling the name Bach in reverse, the notes B, C, A, B-flat corresponding to HCAB in German notation. The Scherzo that follows, played without mutes, is unrestrainedly dynamic. With mutes in place again for the songlike slow movement, in A minor and in rondo form, the violin becomes soloist, accompanied gently by the other two instruments. C major returns, and the mutes are gone again, in the Finale, which outdoes the Scherzo in sheer, effervescent drive (it has been described as a chamber-music cancan). The work ends surprisingly softly, though, fading away in a gentle yet pointed pizzicato gesture.

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) wrote his Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and Strings when he was nineteen and enrolled at the Royal College of Music. He felt that he wasn’t learning much there, and later remarked that “when you’re immensely full of energy and ideas, you don’t want to waste your time being taken through elementary exercises in dictation.” Britten didn’t

6

think much of the Royal College faculty, and they hardly knew what to make of him and his already modern style. When he entered the College at age 16, one of the professors who examined Britten for a scholarship said that he didn’t think it was decent that an English public schoolboy of Britten’s age should be writing that kind of music. The Phantasy Quartet was written for a competition for single-movement chamber works established by Walter Wilson Cobbett, a wealthy amateur musician and professional writer of chamber music. The Cob-bett competition had drawn Phantasies from some of Britain’s best: winners included Frank Bridge and John Ireland. In 1932, Britten won the Cobbett Prize for his Phantasy String Quintet. That Fall, he composed the Phantasy Quartet that you will hear this evening. It did not win another Cobbett Prize, but it did get performed in a BBC radio broadcast in August 1933 by Leon Goossens, the leading English oboist of the day. Britten wrote in his diary “Goossens does his part splendidly. The rest, although they are intelligent players, aren’t really first class instrumentalists.” Nonetheless, the broadcast, and a concert performance by the same players that November, did much to establish Britten’s reputation in Britain. The London Times crit-ic praised its originality, and added that “by comparison John Ireland’s 15-year-old pianoforte trio sounded old-fashioned,” making it clear which way the future was heading. A festival performance in Florence the following year gave a big boost to Britten internationally. The Quartet has a formal intricacy that fascinates analysts but does not affect the piece in live perfor-mance. It has been characterized as an “arch,” as two sonatas superimposed on each other, and, perhaps most helpfully, as a sonata with a slow movement inserted between the develop-ment and recapitulation. In the introduction (marked andante alla marcia), the oboe stays aloof from the strings, singing while they march. A quicker section follows in which themes are introduced and developed. Where the recapitulation would normally arrive to reestablish familiar material, Britten instead has something completely different in both music and instru-mentation: a slow section without the oboe. When it finally gets around to recapitulation, the music returns in a mirror image of the way it first arrived: first the quick exposition, then the opening slow march. At the last, the lone cello repeats the first seven bars of the piece, in reverse order.

7

The life of Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) can be summed up like so many other artists in the springtime of the Romantic Era—brilliant, but brief. As well as being a composer, he was also a conductor, virtuoso pianist, poet, and music critic. How-ever, his major contribution to music was in the field of opera, and German opera in particular. Musicologist David Ewen wrote: “The operatic road that leads to Richard Wagner has many milestones but none more important than Weber. No oth-er single operatic composer influenced Wagner so decisively as Weber (as Wagner himself was not slow to confess). For Weber not only established German opera, as opposed to the Italian type, exploiting folk elements, borrowing from Germanic tradi-tions and superstitions, filling his work with the love of German landscape, forest, and village, saturating it with Germanic atmo-sphere and ideals. Further, he made more than one suggestion of what the music-drama should be, anticipating the Wagnerian revolution.” This all has little to do with chamber music, and, in fact, Weber composed very little chamber music. Excepting his works for solo instrument with piano accompaniment, he wrote only the Piano Quartet, op. 18, the Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano, op. 63 and the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings op. 34 of 1815. Rather than intricate interplay among the instruments, where all have an equal voice in the discourse, Weber’s Clari-net Quintet is more like a concerto with clarinet as soloist and the strings as an accompaniment. This is not a surprising way for an opera composer (used to writing for dramatic characters and writing arias) to approach such an ensemble. Weber wrote his quintet for the outstanding clarinetist of the Munich Or-chestra, Heinrich Bäermann. Weber was so taken with Bäer-mann’s playing that in 1811, he lovingly composed two clarinet concertos and a small concertino for him. He also started work on the Quintet, but did not complete it until four years later on August 25, 1815, the day before the premiere performance.

8

Missouri Chamber Music FestivalGlistenFriday, June 22, 2012 at 7 pm

Raehann Bryce-Davis, mezzo-sopranoAmadi Azikiwe, violaCalyx Piano TrioCatherine French, violinJennifer Lucht, celloNina Ferrigno, piano

2 Songs for Mezzo, Viola, and Piano, Op. 91 Brahms1. Gestillte Sehnsucht: In goldnen Abendschein2. Geistliches Wiegenlied: Die ihr schwebet

Variations in G (Kakadu) for Piano Trio, Op. 121a BeethovenAdagio assai – Allegretto

Brief intermission

Glisten (2004) McLoskeySheen 1Glisten 1: Glaze (pavanne) Glisten 2: Luster (chaconne) Glisten 3: Glimmer (canon) Glisten 4: Gleam (aria) Glisten 5: Glint (cadenza) Sheen 2

MOCM

9

String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, no. 3 Beethoven1. Allegro con spirito2. Adagio con espressione3. Scherzo: Allegro molto e vivace4. Finale: Presto

Please join us for a reception in the Parlor after the performance.

Translations

Gestillte Sehnsucht (Stilled Longing)Friedrich Ruckert (1788–1866)

Steeped in a golden evening glow,how solemnly the forests stand!In gentle voices the little birds breatheinto the soft fluttering of evening breezes.What does the wind whisper, and the little birds?They whisper the world into slumber.

You, my desires, that stirin my heart without rest or peace!You longings that move my heart,When will you rest, when will you sleep?By the whispering of the wind, and of the little birds?You yearning desires, when will you fall asleep?

What will come of these dreamy flights?What stirs me so anxiously, so sweetly?It comes pulling me from far-off hills,It comes from the trembling gold of the sun.The wind whispers loudly, as do the little birds;The longing, the longing - it will not fall asleep. Alas, when no longer into the golden distancedoes my spirit hurry on dream-wings,when no more on the eternally distant starsdoes my longing gaze rest; Then the wind and the little birdswill whisper away my longing, along with my life.

10

Geistliches WiegenliedEmanuel von Geibel (1815–1884)(based on text by Lope Felix de Vega Carpio, 1562–1635)

You who hoverAround these palmsIn night and wind,You holy angels,Silence the treetops,My child is sleeping.

You palms of BethlehemIn the roaring wind,How can you today Bluster so angrily!O roar not so!Be still, bowSoftly and gently;Silence the treetops!My child is sleeping.

The child of heavenEndures the discomfort,Oh, how tired he has becomeOf earthly sorrow.Oh, now in sleep,Gently softened,His pain fades,Silence the treetops!My child is sleeping.

Fierce coldComes rushing,How shall I coverThe little child’s limbs?O all you angels,You winged onesWandering in the wind.Silence the treetops!My child is sleeping.

11

Glisten Program Notes

In 1863 violinist Joseph Joachim married the distinguished mezzo-soprano Amalie Schneeweiss. Musical collaborators for Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), as well as close personal friends, they later had a son, named Johannes in his honor. The composer wrote an enchanted cradle song, “Geistliches Wiegenlied,” (Sacred Lullaby) for his namesake, which Amalie could sing with Joseph playing the viola, Brahms’s favorite string instrument. But the marriage became troubled by Joachim’s paranoid delusions about an affair he imagined Amalie had. Hoping to bring them together, Brahms reworked the lullaby and wrote a new song, “Gestillte Sehnsucht” (Stilled Longing). Blissfully domestic as the song was, it failed to repair the rift, and when Brahms took Amalie’s side in the subsequent divorce proceedings, Joachim extended the broken relation-ship to include Brahms as well. Brahms published the 2 Songs, Op. 91 in 1884. Images of wind in trees, calming in “Gestillte Sehnsucht,” yet alarming in “Geistliches Wiegenlied,” unite the two songs. Friedrich Rückert’s “Gestillte Sehnsucht” was the kind of nature poem to which Brahms was very partial, with woods, birds, and wind summoned to whisper the world to sleep. Brahms gives the viola an independent tune, which the voice then uses as a refrain, with rustling broken chords in the piano supporting the whole. Desires, always stirring, are presented in the urgent minor-key middle section, then are quelled by nature in the return to the initial material. Despite its spontaneous feeling, “Geistliches Wiegenlied” is quite cleverly constructed. It begins with the viola playing the well-known medieval Christmas carol “Joseph, lieber Joseph mein.” (Brahms wrote the words under the tune, probably as a hopeful nudge to Joseph Joachim’s familial instincts.) The voice comes in with an entirely different melody and a different text than the one the viola had clearly suggested. As with the first song, the middle section of this three-part song shifts to agitated minor mode for suffering and pain, and here even changes meter. Mary’s pleading remains consistent, however, and peace returns, with the viola giving the old carol again as a final benediction.

12

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Trio, Op. 121a, is a set of varia-tions on “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu,” from a singspiel by Wenzel Müller (1767–1835) that premiered in Vienna in 1794. The variations were probably composed in 1803, however they were not published until 1824. Beethoven’s Kakadu variations were composed in the same year as the “Waldstein” Sonata, Op. 53. The variations show none of the harmonic exploration or motivic manipulation characteristic of the sonata. Beethoven likely wrote the piece to be accessible and sell widely, which is why he chose a popular theme. The Adagio introduction begins in G minor with a unison descending figure. A new motive appears when the repeated chords begin in the piano, after which Beethoven touches on B flat major, but does not commit, preferring to head back to G minor. The opening and secondary motives mingle as the dynamic level grows. Mül-ler’s theme is in two parts, the first tune consists of two four-measure segments that each carry an arching melody, while the second part contains two eight-measure sections. Variation No. 1 is entirely the property of the piano. The second variation proceeds without cello, the rapid violin part moving in triplets over the duple rhythm of the piano part. The cello takes center stage in the third variation, maintaining the basic shape of the theme but none of its details. The proceeding variations more intricately intertwine the instruments until, finally, we reach the ninth variation, marked “Adagio.” The slow tempo allows this to be the most decorated variation of the set. The major mode returns in variation No. 10, in 6/8 meter, followed by the two variations of the coda that end the work in G major.

Lansing McLoskey (b. 1964) came to the world of composition via a somewhat unorthodox route. The proverbial “Three B’s” for him were not Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms, but rather, The Beatles, Bauhaus, and Black Flag. His first experiences at writing music were not exercises in counterpoint, but as the guitarist and songwriter for punk rock bands in San Francisco in the early 1980s. It was actually through these years in the visceral world of punk that he first developed a love for classical music. His music has an emotional intensity that appeals to academics and amateurs alike, defying traditional stylistic pigeonholes.

13

Mr. McLoskey writes: “Glisten is the third in a triptych of works which deal with the visual phenomena of light, reflections, glazes, and surfaces. The first is Tinted (also for piano trio), and the second is Glaze (for brass quintet and drum kit). The concepts I was interested in exploring are somewhat subtle and imprecise, such as glimmer, shimmer, gloss, glaze, sheen, and luster. These evoke not only very subtle visual differences, but also imply action and altering perceptions. When an object is glazed, for example, the exterior is coated with some sort of translucent material which then alters the tint, changes the texture, and reacts with light giving it a glossy, reflective, or flat quality. Rather than taking these ideas literally (as literally as one can represent visual phenomena in sound), I often took them as inspiration for process as much as for the aural result, leaving an open-ended interpretation for the listener.”

With a great artist, it is fascinating to explore the earliest works, searching for the first traces of individuality and hints of what would follow. In 1798, Ludwig van Beethoven began working on his first string quartets, which he completed in 1800, the same year he composed his first symphony. From his “early period,” these are, nonetheless, well known within the standard reper-tory. Even earlier than the quartets, one discovers another, lesser known string chamber work of striking originality: the String Trio Op. 9, No. 3 in C minor of 1797. Beethoven was experimenting in his early trios with the interplay and possi-bilities in chamber music for strings. As a prelude to the great quartets he had yet to write, the third trio of Op. 9 stands out. It features the key of C minor that would inspire some of his greatest compositions, and it displays a masterful handling of chamber music texture, even before his first string quartet. Strikingly, the work fully reveals the unmistakable personality of Beethoven. An element of this vivid personality is the contrast of minor and major keys. The dark key of C minor permeates the trio while its relative major key battles to insinuate itself in the drama. The essential drama of mode and contrast occupies three of the four movements. They are vigorous, authoritative, clever, and characteristic of Beethoven who was a genius at making a sermon out of a few simple declarations. The second

14

movement Adagio is perhaps the deepest prize of the trio. It is unapologetically in C major, poised and graceful with unaccented rhythms and a slower pace, singing with a quiet lyr-icism. The themes are simple, but they are transformed through a fluid interchange of voices across a wide range of musical and emotional terrain. Within this very early work one finds a defining aspect of Beethoven’s musical personality, his uncanny ability to transform simplicity into nobility, the common into the universal.

15

Missouri Chamber Music FestivalFinaleSaturday, June 23, 2012 at 7 pm

Robert Sheena, english hornNina Ferrigno, pianoCatherine French, violinMaria Schleuning, violinAmadi Azikiwe, violaMelissa Brooks, cello

Processione di lacrime (Pavan) McLoskey

Quartet for English Horn, Violin, FrançaixViola, and Cello1. Allegro vivace2. Andante tranquillo3. Vivace assai4. Andantino5. Allegro giocoso

Brief Intermission

Piano Quintet in A Major, Op.81 Dvorák1. Allegro, ma non tanto2. Dumka: Andante con moto3. Scherzo (Furiant): molto vivace4. Finale: Allegro

Please join us for a reception in the Parlor after the performance.

MOCM

16

Lansing McLoskey’s music is described as having “a bluesy edge and infectious punch” by Gramophone Magazine. He has received commissions from Meet The Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, Pew Charitable Trusts, The Fromm Foundation, ASCAP and the Barlow Endowment among many others. Mr. McLoskey completed a PhD at Harvard University, where he directed The Harvard Group for New Music. He holds degrees with honors from UC Santa Barbara and the USC Thornton School of Music, with additional studies at The Royal Danish Academy of Music. His principal teachers were Mario Davidovsky, Stephen Hartke, Bernard Rands, and Don-ald Crockett. Mr. McLoskey’s book Twentieth Century Danish Music remains the only comprehensive research guide on the topic, and he was awarded the Haug Prize for Scandinavian Studies in recognition of his contributions to the field. Proces-sione di lacrime was written for saxophonist Philipp A. Stäudlin and Chameleon Arts as part of the Dance Suite Project with Composers in Red Sneakers and Dal Suono Sommerso (Rome, Italy). The composition won the 2009 “Music Now” Chamber Music Composition Competition at the ISU New Music Festival. Tonight’s is the first performance of the work in a version utilizing the English Horn in place of alto saxophone.

Mr. McLoskey comments:

“In Processione di lacrime (“Procession of Tears”), I took various characteristics of the pavan and incorporated them into the piece: slow tempo, processional, simple, repetitive, duple meter, and a feeling of longing or melancholy. In this procession, however, nobody marches in lock-step: Each player plays a repeated ostinato figure in duple time, but in different tempi simultaneously, so that the parts do not align. The result is both simple yet complex, like two people dreaming of dancing together... but never actually dancing in real life.”

17

Jean Françaix (1912–1997). The very name has an unmistakable lilt to it. That his music resonates with the Parisian flair of his name is a happy circumstance. Turning away from the atonal and 12-tone music that was filling the air during the heart of his compositional career, Françaix followed his own muse, composing unproblematic tonal pieces that flourish in gracefulness, freshness, and spontaneity. His harmonic language is an updated traditional one: enriched chords, beautiful dissonances, and unprepared modulations flesh out compositions that defy the academic and determined norms of twentieth century music composition. The Quartet for Eng-lish Horn and Strings was composed in 1971, a year that saw little else come from the his pen. The unconventional instru-ment combination of English horn and strings clearly sparked Françaix’s inventiveness, which begins in a first movement that doesn’t lose a moment in taking off on a cheeky ragtime esca-pade. Of the work’s five movements, the first, third, and fifth are strictly fun and games, clever, insinuating, and slyly sophisti-cated. These are set off by a sweetly expressive second move-ment, in which the colorful quality of the English horn is espe-cially eloquent, and a reflective fourth movement that takes a brief glance at life in the Parisian fast lane.

18

Antonin Dvorák’s sublime Piano Quintet in A Major occupies a lofty place in the chamber music repertoire. It has a sonic grandeur matched only by the magnificent scale and span of two other works for string quartet with piano, from Schumann and Brahms. Dvorák’s dynamic handling of the ensemble is superb in terms of color, the fluid intermixing of vivid, individual parts with a transparent texture using a brilliant range of scor-ing techniques. Dvorák’s direct and poignant lyricism begins with the very first measures for piano and cello and it continues to bubble up in fresh new springs of melody. Combining color, melody, rhythmic vitality, fine ensemble balance, a brilliant han-dling of form, and Dvorák’s unmistakable voice, the result is one of the greatest chamber music works ever written. The opening sonata movement is stretched between two poles, a voice of intimate lyricism, tender to the point of breaking, and a driving, restless force. The cello sings a soulful, intimate outpouring that is answered after a vast expanse of music development, by a kindred violin. This haunting tune reappears in many guises but always intermittently, providing a glimpse before hiding again in a swelling wave of motion. Dvorák’s handling of dramatic sonata form is masterful: the entire exposition flows unbroken in a single sustained gesture into the ensuing development and return home, so satisfying with its sense of complete explora-tion. The slow movement, Dumka, is a Dvorák specialty: from an widely dispersed folk ballad tradition in Eastern Europe, a somber, slow lament alternates with music of much greater vitality like a lively village folk dance. The most colorful textures of the quintet are found within this movement. The scherzo is a marvel of athletic bounding joy, light as a feather with an ef-fervescent grace. The trio is made from exactly the same notes as its outer counterparts, the same melodies and motifs slowed way down into a transformed variation that reverberates with memories of its former self. The finale is in some ways the most traditionally “developed” of the four movements in terms of rhetorical storm and stress, tension and release. It nonethe-less has much simple and special tunefulness that distinguishes almost all of Dvorák music, a warm, friendly familiarity, with a welcoming sense of coming home.

19

Artist Biographies

Scott Andrews, clarinetPraised as ‘’elegant’’ in the Boston Globe and ‘’extraordinary’’ by the New York Times, Scott Andrews has been critically acclaimed in solo and chamber music performances across the country. A sought-after collaborative musician, Mr. Andrews has performed with many of to-day’s leading artists, including Jaime Laredo, Robert Mann, Christian Tetzlaff, and Christopher O’Riley. An avid proponent of new music, he has performed with organizations such as Composers in Red Sneak-ers and the Auros Group for New Music. Mr. Andrews has appeared with the Ying String Quartet, the Calyx Piano Trio, and the Boston Symphony Chamber Players among many others. Mr. Andrews has been Principal Clarinet of the St. Louis Symphony since 2005. Before joining the St. Louis Symphony, Mr. Andrews had been a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 11 years and also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Saito Kinen Orchestra. He has lectured and given classes throughout the United States as well as in Europe and Japan. Mr. Andrews was for many years the Woodwind Department Chair at Boston Conservatory and a faculty member of the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, MA. He continues to collabo-rate often with Seiji Ozawa in Japan at the Saito Kinen Festival and with the Mito Chamber Orchestra. In addition to his work with the St. Louis Symphony, to expand upon his love of chamber music, and to promote and further the art of contemporary music, Mr. Andrews founded the Missouri Chamber Music Festival with his wife, pianist, Nina Ferrigno.

Amadi Azikiwe, violist Amadi Azikiwe has been heard in recital throughout the US. Mr. Azikiwe has also been a guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has appeared in recital at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, on the “Discovery” recital series in La Jolla, at the International Viola Congress, and at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has also performed in Israel, Canada, South and Central America, India, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout the Caribbean. As a chamber musician, Mr. Azikiwe has appeared in concert with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Chester, Miro, St. Lawrence, Anderson, Arianna, Harrington and Corigliano quartets. He was also a member of the Concertante Chamber Players, and is a former member of the Ritz Chamber Players. Among Mr. Azikiwe’s

20

prizes and awards are those from Concert Artists Guild, the North Carolina Symphony, the National Society of Arts and Letters, and the Epstein Young Artists Award from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, with whom he still maintains a strong artistic and mentor-ing association. Mr. Azikiwe was a visiting faculty member of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Currently, he is on the faculty of James Madison University, and Music Director of the Harlem Symphony Orchestra. He has guest conducted for the Intercollegiate Music Association, at the Gateways Music Festival, and the Trinity Opera Company. Mr. Azikiwe has also appeared as artist faculty at many music festivals around the world. A native of New York City, Mr. Azikiwe studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts, New England Conservatory, and Indiana University.

Melissa Brooks, cello Melissa Brooks has been a member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra since 1992. She is a native of New York City where she attended the pre-college division of the Juilliard School. Ms. Brooks received her undergraduate degree from the New England Conservatory where she studied with Laurence Lesser. Ms. Brooks has performed chamber and solo concerts throughout the country, including a duo concert with cellist Janos Starker. She has won numerous awards and honors and was nominated by Leonard Bernstein for an Avery Fisher career grant in 1988. Melissa has participated in summer festivals such as Marlboro, Tanglewood, Aspen, the Portland Chamber Music Festival, Concert Artists Guild Summer Festival, and the Sun Valley Summer Festival, among others. Ms. Brooks appeared twice as soloist with the St. Louis Symphony under former Music Director Hans Vonk, and also performed Pierre Boulez’s demanding Messagesquisse, scored for solo cello and six other cellos, under the direction of David Robertson. Her most recent solo performances with the St. Louis Symphony included J.C. Bach’s Symphony concertante in A, C. 34 and Haydn’s Sinfonia concertante. She is an active chamber musician and was a co-founder of the St. Louis based arts organization, Crossings Concerts.

Raehann Bryce-Davis, mezzo-sopranoRaehann Bryce-Davis has been hailed by the New York Times as a “striking mezzo soprano” that “sang and spoke potently and moved vivaciously.” And by Opera News as one who “held the stage with ad-mirable intensity and commitment… and didn’t shy away from tapping into notes of lust, rage, and despair that were borderline animalistic.” Ms. Bryce-Davis is a 2012 Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Recent roles include El Amor Brujo (Candelas) and

21

La Vida Breve (Carmela) with the Manhattan School of Music Opera Theatre, Le Nozze di Figaro (Marcellina) with Opera on the Avalon, and selections from Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria (Penelope) at the Manhattan School of Music. In concert she premiered Four Songs for Mezzo Soprano and Orchestra by Jacob A. Greenberg and as an alto soloist she has performed works such as Alexander Nevsky under Philippe Entremont, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Mozart’s Regina Coeli, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and Durufle’s Requiem with an ensemble from the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Equally commit-ted to the art of recital, Ms. Bryce-Davis has studied lieder with artists such as Elly Ameling, Juilus Drake, Roger Vignoles, Barbara Bonney, Robert Holl, Rudolf Jansen, Rudolf Piernay, and Kenneth Merrill. A Masters candidate at the Manhattan School of Music, Ms. Bryce-Davis is a student of Cynthia Hoffmann.

Nina Ferrigno, piano Nina Ferrigno, described by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as “a mag-nificent pianist,” has appeared in major concert venues throughout North America. She has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), with whom she has been a core member since its inception. Her festival appearances include those at Tanglewood, Banff, Norfolk, the Skaneateles Festival, and the Coastal Carolina Chamber Music Festival. Her appearance with members of the St. Louis Symphony at the Pulitzer Foundation was touted as “the high point” of the evening by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Ms. Ferrigno is a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music, where she received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees with distinction. Her princi-pal teachers were Wha Kyung Byun and Randall Hodgkinson. As a long-time member-director of the AUROS Group for New Music and founding member of the Boston-based Calyx Piano Trio, Ms. Ferrigno is committed to bringing classical music to new audiences and strives to commission and perform new works in a variety of settings. Her chamber music recording of Lansing McLoskey’s Tinted was released by Albany Records in 2008.

Catherine French, violinViolinist Catherine French is a native of Victoria, British Columbia, where she began Suzuki studies on the violin at the age of four. A frequent soloist, Ms. French has appeared with orchestras and in recital throughout Canada and the United States, and made her

22

Carnegie Hall debut in 1992. She has been a participant in the Port-land, Lake Winnipesaukee, Marlboro, and Carolina Chamber Music Festivals. Ms. French is a graduate of Indiana University, where she received a Bachelor of Music degree and a Performer’s Certificate, and the Juilliard School, where she earned a Master’s degree. Her major teachers have included Dr. Lise Elson, Miriam Fried, Felix Galimir, and Joel Smirnoff. Ms. French joined the violin section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in September 1994. She can be heard in the Boston area as a member of Collage New Music and the Calyx Piano Trio, and in performance with other BSO members as part of the Prelude concerts at Symphony Hall and other Boston area venues.

Jennifer Lucht, celloJennifer Lucht, cellist, is a native of North Carolina. As a chamber musician, she has been heard in chamber music performances at the Kennedy Center, Weill Recital Hall, Tanglewood, the Ravinia and Bravo! Vail Festivals, on the Greater Philadelphia Performing Artists Series, and NPR’s live broadcast “Performance Today.” Praised for “superb” playing by the Boston Globe and “beautiful, finely detailed sound” by the Boston Herald, she has been concert soloist with orchestras including the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra and Vermont Symphony. Ms. Lucht is currently a member of the Calyx Piano Trio and performs with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in Boston and on tours throughout the US, Canada, and Japan. She is Co-Director and a founder of the Carolina Chamber Music Festival in New Bern, North Carolina, and can be heard in chamber music recordings on the New World, Albany, and Archetype labels. Ms. Lucht received her Bachelor and Masters degrees with a Performer’s Certificate from Indiana University and continued her education with post-graduate studies at the New England Conservatory of Music. Her major teachers include Janos Starker, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Laurence Lesser, Colin Carr, and Carter Brey.

Lansing McLoskey, Composer-in-ResidenceLansing McLoskey (lansingmcloskey.com) has been described as “a major talent and a deep thinker with a great ear” by the American Composers Orchestra, “an engaging, gifted composer writing smart, compelling and fascinating music” by Gramophone Magazine, and “a distinctive voice in American music.” Mr. McLoskey’s music has been performed in thirteen countries on six continents, and has won more than two dozen national and international awards, most recently the prestigious Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the International Music Prize for Excellence in

23

Composition 2011, and the first International Joint Wind Quintet Proj-ect Commission Competition. In 2009, he became the only composer in the 45 year history of the Illinois State University’s New Music Festival to win both the chamber music and orchestral composition awards; both blind-juried national competitions with two indepen-dent panels. Recent performances include premieres in Italy, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Miami, and Melbourne, Australia, and performances at twelve music festivals in the past year alone, including at the 2011 soundSCAPE Festival in Italy, where he was the Composer-in-Residence. Associate Professor at the University of Miami, Frost School of Music, his music is released on Albany, Wergo Schallplatten, Capstone, Tantara, and Beauport Classics.

Joanna Mendoza, violaViolist Joanna Mendoza enjoys an active chamber music and teach-ing career. Noted by reviewers and audiences for a lush, sonorous tone, and eloquent phrasing, Ms. Mendoza has performed throughout North America, South America, and Europe and has given master classes in Beijing, China. She has collaborated with esteemed artists such as Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Anton Nel, Robert Levin, and members of the Cleveland Quartet. She has enjoyed summers performing and teaching at music festivals such as Interlochen Arts Camp, Madeline Island Music Camp, Killington Music Festival, and Mammoth Lakes Chamber Music Festival. Ms. Mendoza is the violist of the Arianna String Quartet and Associate Professor of Viola at the University of Missouri-St. Louis where the quartet has been in residence since 2000. The Arianna Quartet has performed throughout the United States, Mexico, Japan, Canada, and France with recent appearances in Brazil and South Africa. They have been praised for their “emo-tional commitment and fluent virtuosity” (Pretoria News) and “tonal warmth, fastidious balance…expressive vitality” (Chicago Tribune). The Arianna Quartet can be heard on National Public Radio’s “Perfor-mance Today” and “Live from Music Mountain” which broadcasts to 125 stations in the US and to 35 countries. Current projects include a long-term, multi-disc recording contract with Centaur Records and a world premiere of David Stock’s String Quartet No. 9 which the composer dedicated to the Arianna String Quartet. Ms. Mendoza earned her degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she studied with members of the Pro Arte Quartet and at the Juilliard School where she studied with William Lincer and the Juilliard Quar-tet. She plays a viola made by Christophe Landon in 1991.

24

Maria Schleuning, violinMaria Schleuning has been violinist for the Dallas-based contemporary music ensemble Voices of Change since 1996, and was appointed Artistic Director in 2009. An advocate of new music, she has worked with many of the leading composers of our day, and has premiered many new works, the most recent being Dream Catcher, a solo violin work written especially for her as a gift by Augusta Read Thomas. The world premiere performance was on May 3, 2009 in Dal-las, TX. An active chamber musician, Ms. Schleuning has performed in venues such as New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as numerous festivals through-out the United States and Europe. Since 1993, she has been a faculty member at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, and has served in the same capacity at Idyllwild Arts in California since 2007. She has recorded with Continuum in New York, as well as in Dallas with the grammy-nominated Voices of Change, and the Walden Piano Quartet. A member of the Dallas Symphony since 1994, she has been featured as soloist with the orchestra on many occasions. Other solo highlights include appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra on a tour of Eastern Europe including concerts at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the Rudolfinum in Prague. She studied with Josef Gingold at Indiana University, where she was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate; with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School in London, with a grant from the Myra Hess Foundation; and with Joel Smirnoff at the Juilliard School, where she received her Master’s Degree.

Robert Sheena, oboe/english hornSince 1994, Robert Sheena has been the principal English horn player for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and Boston Pops Orchestra (BPO). As a result of his mastery of his instrument, Mr. Sheena has been honored with several premieres and appearances as soloist with the BSO/BPO and has received much critical and audience acclaim. He has been a featured soloist with the BSO in Andre Previn’s Reflections for English horn, cello, and chamber orchestra, Sibelius’s Swan of Tuonela, and Aaron Copland’s Quiet City, a work he has also performed with the BPO. In 1998, David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony commissioned a work for English horn and orchestra, Gabriel Gould’s Watercolors, expressly for Mr. Sheena, who premiered and later recorded the piece with that

25

orchestra under Mr. Miller’s direction. He gave the premiere of Dan Pinkham’s Odes for English horn and Organ at the American Guild of Organists convention in 1998. As a teacher of oboe and English horn, Mr. Sheena is currently on the faculties of Boston University, the Boston Conservatory, and the Longy School of Music. An alumnus of the Tanglewood Music Center, he now works with TMC Fellows in chamber music coachings and master classes at Tanglewood. Prior to joining the BSO, Mr. Sheena performed frequently with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, was assistant principal oboe and solo English horn with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and with the San Antonio Symphony. He received his bachelor of music degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his master of music degree from Northwestern University. He has studied the oboe intensively with such masters of the instrument as Ray Still, Grover Schiltz, William Banovetz, John Mack, and Marc Lifschey.

Angie Smart, violinAngie Smart has been a First Violinist with the St. Louis Symphony since 1998. Originally from England, she began violin lessons at the age of six and won a scholarship to study at Chetham’s School of Music at the age of 13. She continued her studies in the U.S. in 1990 where she attended the University of Miami, Lamar University in Texas, and completed her masters degree at Rice University in Houston. Ms. Smart has performed extensively in Europe and the US with representation by Encore Concerts, and has appeared as soloist with the St. Louis Symphony, Alhambra Chamber Orchestra, Gorton Philharmonic, Lamar Chamber Orchestra, and both Chethams’ Chamber and Classical Orchestras. Her television appearances have included masterclasses with Yehudi Menuhin and as the subject of a documentary profiling “A Day in the Life of a Young Musician at Chetham’s School of Music.” Among other masterclasses, she has played for Midori and Zachar Bron. Ms. Smart has partici-pated in summer festivals such as the Sun Valley Summer Festival and the Missouri River Festival of the Arts, among others. She was a Pro-Am Coach for MOCM during the 2011 inaugural season. Ms. Smart has competed in the 10th International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Yehudi Menuhin Competition, and has been a prizewinner in many other competitions, including the British Violin Recital Prize, Elizabeth Harper Vaughn Concerto Competition, and the William C. Byrd Young Artists Competition.

26

Calyx Piano TrioThe critically acclaimed Calyx Piano Trio features Nina Ferrigno, piano; Catherine French, violin; and Jennifer Lucht, cello. All seasoned chamber musicians, the members of the Calyx Piano Trio have given chamber music concerts throughout the United States and abroad, exciting audiences with their expressive ensemble playing and brilliant virtuosity. As individuals, they have performed with leading national ensembles including the Boston Symphony, the Boston Pops, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and have been heard in chamber music performances at major festivals including Marlboro, the Banff Centre, Ravinia, and Tanglewood. In addition to being Trio in Residence at the Carolina Chamber Music Festival (2008, 2009), recent appearances include those at the Sheldon Concert Hall (MO), the James Library (MA) and the Skaneatales Festival (NY). The Calyx Piano Trio presents dynamic programs featuring masterworks of the repertoire and fresh pieces by living composers. Committed to expanding the trio repertoire, the Calyx Piano Trio has worked with organizations including the Barlow Foundation to commission and premiere new works.

27

12033 Dorsett Road, Saint Louis, MO 63043314.344.1133 • steinwaypianogallery.com

You are cordially invited to visit Steinway Piano Gallery -

Saint Louis. We are home to the family of Steinway

designed pianos - Steinway & Sons, Boston and

Essex, plus Certified Rebuilt and used Steinway

pianos. We share the Steinway legacy of

fine craftsmanship with factory

trained technicians, tuners,

and rebuilders. Our company

specializes in carefully

prepared pianos that will appeal

to the most discriminating teachers,

students, and pianists.

Proudly supports the 2012 Missouri Chamber Music Festival

S T E I N WAY P I A N O G A L L E RY

• Concert piano rentals

• Steinway Certified rebuilding, tuning and repair services

• Piano teacher referral program

• No risk lease plan for beginning piano students

Thank you to all the Missouri Chamber Music Festival Donors.This list reflects gifts received as of June 1, 2012.

Brahms & Beyond Crofton Industries, Portsmouth, VA Fox Performing Arts Charitable TrustMissouri Arts Council

AssociateAnonymous

Patron Dana and Camille GobrechtDrs. Linda Peterson and Clark McKenzie

Friend Mr. and Mrs. Peter EnslinMr. Bill MartinMr. and Mrs. Robert MoodyMr. and Mrs. Dan RiewJenny and Walter Shifrin Ms. Angie SmartMs. Mary Susman

Supporter Dr. and Mrs. Rod Coe Mr. and Mrs. Maurice FerrignoMr. Alan Fiddleman Mr. Steven FinertyMs. Catherine FrenchMr. and Mrs, Mike HanrahanMr. and Mrs. Lawrence KatzensteinMr. and Mrs. Newell KnightMs. Margaret KraeuchiMs. Barbara LibermanMs. Jennifer LuchtMrs. Helga Lunsford Mr. and Mrs. John MorrisonMs. Helena O’ReillyMr. and Mrs. Bob RoederMs. Janice SeeleDr. and Mrs. Kenneth Smith Ms. Molly Strassner

31

Supporter (continued)Ms. Peggy SymesMr. and Mrs. Steve TrampeMr. and Mrs. Jason WeberMr. and Mrs. Pat Welch

A special thanks to the Webster Groves community and to the special people that made this Festival possible:

Dr. Ray Landis and the staff of First Congregational Church of Webster Groves The Fabulous Women of Chamber Project St. Louis Jennifer Lin, Public Relations/MarketingStanley and Arlene Browne of Robust Wine BarMr. and Mrs. Mike Hanrahan Mr. and Mrs. Paul LaFataMadeline and Rob LongstreetMr. and Mrs. Kevin Reardon Mr. and Mrs. Bob Roeder Jan Stokes for her Marketing ExpertiseThe Community Music School of Webster GrovesThe invaluable production support of George Yeh

Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts council, a state agency.

The Festival gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation and support from the Regional Arts Commission.

Sponsorship and playbill advertising opportunities are available for our 2013 Season. Please call 314.882.0053 or email us at feedback@mochambermusic.org for more information.

32

The MOCM Festival Fund Our primary concern in developing the Missouri Chamber Music Festival is the contribution we are making to the musical life of St. Louis and the state of Missouri. Part of our mission is to present con-certs in smaller venues to keep the excitement and immediacy of live performance visceral for our audience members. As a result, ticket revenue only covers a fraction of the cost of MOCM concerts, visiting artists, commissioning projects, and the MOCM Pro-Am Intensive. We depend on the Festival Fund to make up the difference. The Festival Fund is maintained by area arts councils and generous individuals like you. The MOCM Festival Fund supports program expenses including:

* artists fees* visiting artist travel and housing expenses * new music commissioning fees* visiting composer residency and lecture fees * concert space rental* instrument rental* recording engineers

Donor LevelsSupporter ($50 to $249)* advance notice of special events* recognition in the MOCM Festival program

Friend ($250 to $499) * the benefit above* an invitation to a MOCM dress rehearsal

Patron ($500 to $749) * the benefits above* two free tickets to the Festival concert of your choosing

Associate ($750 to $999)* the benefits above* invitation to donor “Coffee Conversation” with festival composer and artists

The Brahms & Beyond Circle * the benefits above* specially tailored benefitsSponsor ($1,000 to $2,999) Partner ($3,000 to $4,999) Leader ($5,000 to $9,999) Angel ($10,000 and above)

33

Yes! I would like to experience more of MOCM.Here is my tax-deductible donation.

Complete the information below and mail your check payable to Missouri Chamber Music, Inc. and this form to MOCM, Inc., 211 South Elm Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63119. Donations can also be made at mochambermusic.org.

Questions? Call 314.882.0053.

m Supporter $50 to $249m Friend $250 to $499m Patron $500 to $749m Associate $750 to $999m Brahms & Beyond Circle $1,000+

m I have enclosed a check for $ ____________________________________________________________m I would like my donation to be anonymous.m I have requested that my donation be matched by my company. Company name _________________________________________________________________________________

Name ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

City ________________________________________________________ State _____________ Zip _____________________

Phone _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Email _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name(s) to appear in playbill ____________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your generous support!

Missouri Chamber Music Festival211 South Elm AvenueSt. Louis, MO 63119

mochambermusic.org | 314.882.0053facebook.com/MOChamberMusictwitter @MOCMFestival

MOCM