musaeus string quartet with brad parker piano · dmitri shostakovich was one of the most important...

September 21, 2019Musica intiMa 1

Tales of Moscow

Musaeus String Quartetwith Brad Parker | piano

LethbridgeSymphony.org

SYMPHONYLETHBRIDGE

music directorGLENN KLASSEN

lethbridgesymphony.org | 3

Programme Order

Dmitri Shostakovich(1906 - 1975)

arr. Diego Marani

Peter I Tchaikovsky(1840 - 1893)

InterMISSIon

Dmitri Shostakovich(1906 - 1975)

Quintet for Piano and Strings Op 57i. Prelude ii. Fugue iii. Scherzoiv. Intermezzov. Finale

Brad Parker | piano

Waltz No 2 froM Suite for Variety Orchestra

Quartet No 1 in D Major Op 11i. Moderato e sempliceii. Andante cantabileiii. Scherzo, Allegro non tanto e con fuocoiv. Allegro guisto

for everyone’s enjoyMenTPlease reMove all Hats to Preserve sigHtlines.

Please set all electronics to silent and lower tHe screen BrigHtness.Please do not PHotograPH during tHe PerforMance.

aBsolutely no audio or video recording witHout Prior PerMission.latecoMers are seated at a suitaBle Break.

Fire reGulations require that every Person has a ticket.no outside food or drinks - a casH Bar is availaBle in tHe auditoriuM

(water generously supplied by subaru of lethbridge)

Musaeus sTring QuarTeTNorbert Boehm & Airdrie Robinson (violin), Gabriel Kastelic (viola), Mark Rodgers (cello)

Special Thanks to the University of Lethbridge Conservatory of Music at Casa for the use of the grand piano and rehearsal space.

We acknowledge that we are gathered on the lands of the Blackfoot people of the Canadian Plains and pay respects to them - past, present, and future - while recognising and respecting their cultural heritage,

beliefs, and relationship to the land. This area is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III.


About the Performers

Canadian pianist, Brad Parker, has performed extensively as a soloist and collaborative pianist in Canada, the US, France, Italy, and Haiti. Recent performances include solo recitals in South Carolina and California, as well as collaborative performances with Pedro Diaz (English horn, Met Opera Orchestra), Gabriel Goni (flute, Costa Rica Symphony), and Nancy Stagnitta (flute, Interlochen Center for the Arts), multiple events in the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, plus concertos with the Charleston Symphony and Lyra Vivace Chamber Orchestra.

An active promoter of new music, Brad has debuted several works for piano and chamber ensemble at the Banff Chamber Music Festival, Paris’ Musique Maintenant, and the Women in Music Festival at the Eastman School of Music. In 2000, he was awarded “Best Performance of a 20th Century Work” at the Chautauqua International Piano Competition.

Dr. Parker is on the music faculty at the University of Lethbridge, and previously taught at Charleston Southern University and Erskine College in South Carolina. His passion for musical instruction led him to volunteer for several summers at the North Haiti Music Camp, on the campus of the Christian University of North Haiti.

Brad completed a Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester (New York), with further graduate studies at the Paris Conservatory (France). He studied at Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, ON), where he earned a Bachelor of Music with Distinction. His principal teachers include Rebecca Penneys, Dr. Heather Dawn Taves, and Jean Koerner.

Since musaeus’ foundation in 1982, the Lethbridge Symphony’s

resident professional

string quartet has earned a reputation as one of Alberta’s most versatile and accomplished classical performing groups. Composed of the Symphony’s principal strings

(violins Norbert Boehm, Lise Boutin, and Airdrie Robinson; viola Gabriel

Kastelic; and cello Mark Rodgers), their repertoire ranges from masterpieces

of the Baroque, Classical and Romantic

eras through to 20th century classics, as well as arrangements

of jazz, popular, and

contemporary music. In

addition to leading our strings sections for the Symphony Series, and other events

that form part of each Season, like Kids Choir and our Love Notes fundraising gala every February, Musaeus String

Quartet & Friends present the Musica Intima concerts. In addition, Musaeus performs at numerous private, public, and corporate events every season.


Peter i tchaikovsky

quartet no 1 in d major oP 11Although Tchaikovsky’s main interest lay in the more public spheres of the symphony, ballet, and opera, he did produce a small body of chamber music works of the highest quality. These works include the ever-popular Souvenir de Florence, the ambitious Piano Trio in A minor and three very fine string quartets.

Tonight we will be hearing the first of these quartets. It was written early in 1871, specifically for a concert of his music given on March 28 of that year in Moscow. At this point in his career, Tchaikovsky had established himself as one of Russia’s leading composers with the success of his concert overture Romeo and Juliet, a masterpiece that ranks as one of his greatest orchestral works. He was also engaged in a major stage project, the opera The Oprichnik. Thus the First String Quartet represents a retreat into a more intimate sphere of music, which for Tchaikovsky was also marked by the spirit of his favourite composer, Mozart.

Perhaps the most striking quality of the First String Quartet is its restraint. The expression of powerful emotions that we find in his symphonies, for instance, is now replaced with music of a

more inward looking character with an emphasis on Mozartian formal clarity, balance and simplicity, although the noted Tchaikovsky scholar David Brown also sees a strong influence of Schubert at various points of the work.

The first movement, Moderato e semplice, is cast as a concise sonata form. It begins with a wistful, syncopated main theme which is answered by the touching warmth of the lyrical subordinate theme. However, before this theme can finish, the music unexpectedly accelerates into an explosion of joy, and it is this exhilarating music that closes the whole movement. The second movement, Andante cantabile, became so popular that it was later arranged for cello and string orchestra by the composer. It is in a simple three-part song form. The framing sections are based on a Russian folksong Tchaikovsky wrote down while visiting his sister and her family on her estate at Kamenka two years previously. (The affecting beauty of this music caused Leo Tolstoy to burst into tears at a performance of the Quartet where he was seated right beside Tchaikovsky.) The middle section features a new, more urgent melody to a pizzicato cello accompaniment suggesting a serenade. A robust Scherzo with Trio follows as the third movement.

Programme Notes by Dr Brian Black


A good-natured Finale then rounds off the whole work with a feeling of bright optimism, which seems to momentarily lose its way towards the end, only to erupt into an ecstatic final transformation of the main theme.

dmitri shostakovich

quintet For Piano and

strinGs oP 57Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the most important composers of chamber music in the twentieth century. Although he is most known for his fifteen string quartets, which represent a particularly important achievement, he also produced other chamber works on the same inspiring level. One of the finest these is his Piano Quintet, opus 57. Not only is it a particularly beautiful piece of music, but it also reveals the capricious nature of Shostakovich’s relationship with the Stalinist government.

The Piano Quintet was written in 1940, during a period in which the composer’s fortunes were improving following the official condemnation, probably from Stalin himself, of his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in 1936. Shostakovich would suffer another even more serious attack on his music in 1948, but in the interim his star was rising. The Quintet was enthusiastically received at its premiere in Moscow

on November 23, 1940, where two of its movements were encored. Shortly afterwards Shostakovich won official government recognition when the Quintet earned for him the newly minted Stalin prize.

Many commentators consider the Piano Quintet to be a neoclassical work that steps back from the disturbing undercurrents often found in Shostakovich’s music. Indeed the Quintet employs older forms such as its opening Prelude followed by a Fugue. Yet the work is also imbued at times with the darkness so characteristic of Shostakovich greatest music. For example the Prelude, with its imposing exchanges between the piano and the strings, has a sombre majesty to it and a number of movements, such as the fugue and the desperately lonely third movement, begin as if emotionally distant and move to an affecting intensity so typical of Shostakovich’s most powerful utterances. Unlike many of the composer’s later works, however, the Piano Quintet also has a brighter side to it, most evident in the exuberant Scherzo which had to be encored at the work’s premiere. Moreover, it is this brighter side that wins out in the final Allegretto, although the victory is rather subdued - more one last gesture of gentle good humour than a truly optimistic farewell.

Programme Notes by Dr Brian Black


About Us

visiT us inside The 11Th sTreeT doors To souThMinsTer hall

E. [email protected] P. 403.328.6808labour - victoria day: mon - Fri, 1 - 5Pm suMMer Hours: tue - tHur, 1 - 5PM

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oPerations staFF

Melanie Gattiker, Executive DirectorSheri Becker, Operations Coordinator

Mary Opyr, Finance Manager

artistic staFF

Glenn Klassen, Music DirectorMark Rodgers, Orchestra Personnel MgrSandra Klassen, Orchestra Librarian

Nancy Graham, Stage ManagerGregg Samuel, Equipment Manager

board oF directorsDoug Emek, President

Colin Moreland, Vice-PresidentMary McIntyre, TreasurerJennifer Little, Secretary

Cindy Ignas, DirectorJeff MacCormack, Director

Muriel Mellow, DirectorTimothy Janzen, Orchestra Rep

Our directors are collaborative people with a passion for the Symphony, strong ties in the greater Lethbridge area, and a capacity for giving. Their valuable skills and knowledge allow us to implement the strategic plan and maintain good governance.

Their commitment includes monthly board meetings, serving on a committee, holding a Symphony subscription, and assisting with fund development.

interested? contact us to learn more!

our Mission

To create and promote a first class orchestra producing memorable musical experiences for audiences of all ages.

our vision and values

To be an integral part of our community’s identity, through:- Artistically diverse performances by orchestra members and guest artists that evoke joy, stimulate growth, and promote learning.

- A welcoming and inclusive environment for musicians, board members, staff, patrons, and the broader community.

- Collaborative partnerships with educational institutions, designed to support and promote music appreciation and education.

- Financial stewardship and sound business management practices.

Rodrigo's ConCierto de ArAnjuez

Rimsky-Korsakov's CApriCCio espAgnole

Monday, October 7, 2019 - 7:30pmSouthminSter united ChurCh

LethbridgeSymphony.org | 403.328.6808 | 11th Street doorS to SouthminSter hall

gLenn KLaSSenmusic director

series 1Sizzlin' SerenadeS

with Iliana Matos, guitar

ticKetS Start at $25

musaeus string quartet with brad parker piano · dmitri shostakovich was one of the most important...

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