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Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players “This was music-making of a very high order” Fred Kirshnit, The New York Sun |
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View Our Printable Calendar and Ticket Order Form (pdf) Take a look at our guest artists for this season. |
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Join us for our next concerts...
Monday, December 1 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Tickets: $25, $17 ~ Reservations advised Michael Stephen Brown piano Jennifer Frautschi violin Isabelle Durrenberger violin Ayano Nakamura viola Brannon Cho cello Sooyun Kim flute Roni Gal-Ed oboe Vadim Lando clarinet Karl Kramer horn Gina Cuffari bassoon Samuel BARBER Summer Music Op. 31 The piece also showcases the individual qualities of each wind instrument. Written in 1953 as a commission by the Detroit Chamber Music Society, Barber’s fee was raised by donations from the audience, with the Society acting as a guarantor for a minimum of $2,000. The principal players of the Detroit Symphony gave the premiere in March 1956. Born in 1910 in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Barber is considered one of the most expressive representatives of the lyric and Romantic styles in the 20th century. At the age of 9, he determined to be a composer. He explained to his mother: “I have written this to tell you my worrying secret. Now don’t cry when you read it because it is neither yours nor my fault. I suppose I will have to tell it now without any nonsense. To begin with I was not meant to be an athlet [sic]. I was meant to be a composer, and will be I’m sure. I'll ask you one more thing Don’t ask me to try to forget this unpleasant thing and go play football. —Please— Sometimes I’ve been worrying about this so much that it makes me mad (not very).” Barber entered the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia in 1924, at age 14, and graduated in 1934, after which he devoted himself to composing in a polished style and with integrity. Every day of his life he played or studied the music of Bach, and he also loved Brahms. For those who withstood the barbs of his waspish tongue he was a loyal friend, a fantastic conversationalist, and an endlessly entertaining companion. Barber—cosmopolitan and highly cultivated—won a Pulitzer Prize for his opera Vanessa (1958) and Piano Concerto (1962). He felt most at home in Capricorn, a retreat in Mount Kisco, New York, which he purchased in 1943 with his partner Gian Carlo Menotti. He died in his New York City apartment in 1981. For a fascinating account of Barber, see Paul Wittke’s article: https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/composer/72/Samuel-Barber/ Amanda HARBERG “Urban Hootenanny”from Philadelphia Suite A native of Philadelphia, Harberg writes for a broad range of instruments that weaves classical Western tradition with contemporary influences to create a distinctively personal style. Her music has been widely commissioned and performed in major venues, such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, in the United States and abroad. She has also scored several documentaries for PBS. Her awards include a Fulbright/Hays Fellowship to study with composer/pianist Frederic Rzewski, Juilliard’s Peter Mennin Prize for outstanding accomplishment, a MacDowell Colony summer residency, and multiple NFA Newly Published Music awards. As the in-house composer for Common Good Productions, Harberg composed scores for The Abominable Crime, an award-winning feature documentary, and Beyond Borders: Undocumented Mexican Americans which aired over 2,000 times on PBS stations across the country. Her recordings are on the Koch, Centaur, and Albany labels. Harberg is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, and in the summers she is on the composition faculty at the Interlochen Arts Camp. Rosario SCALERO Violin Sonata in D minor Op. 12 The Sonata made such a huge impression on the American violinist and influential educator, David Mannes, that he invited Scalero to head the composition department of his conservatory in 1919. Scalero’s style has been described as Italo-Brahmsian in a rich harmonic language and with strong melodic appeal. Scalero (1870–1954) was born in Moncalieri (a suburb of Turin, Italy), noted for its medieval castle. By the age of 6, he studied violin at the Conservatorio St. Cecilia in Rome, then in Turin, after which he went to Genoa to study with Camillo Sivori (the only known pupil of Paganini) until 1889. He appeared with the Sivori Quartet as well. For the next few years he performed throughout Europe to critical acclaim, and met composers, including Gustav Mahler. He made his recital debut in Leipzig in 1891, and he also gave the first Italian performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. In moving to Vienna in the 1890s Scalero studied composition with Eusebius Mandyczewski, Brahms’s longtime friend. He then went to London in 1895 (or 1900) to study and assist violinist August Wilhelmj (concertmaster of the world premiere of Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungs in Bayreuth). In 1907 he went to Rome, where he joined, in 1913, the Società del Quartetto and became its musical director and first violinist. Upon the invitation to succeed Ernest Bloch and teach composition at the David Mannes Music School, Scalero set sail for the United States in August 1919. In 1924 he began teaching at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, becoming the head of theory and composition three years later. His inaugural class included the 14-year-old Samuel Barber, who would evolve as a composer through many years of work directly with Scalero. Among his other pupils were Gian Carlo Menotti (his favorite), Nino Rota, George Walker, Ned Rorem (counterpoint, 1943), and Lukas Foss. In 1946 Scalero returned to his home, the Montestrutto Castle near Ivrea, where he died on Christmas Eve 1954. Today, there is a Rosario Scalero Festival to explore the arts and Canavese area in the Piedmont. As a teacher of composition, Scalero emphasized the study of counterpoint as well as a deep understanding of all musical forms and genres. His approach was both “rigorous” and “traditional.” The American composer Constant Vauclain attested to the demanding and disciplined nature of his methods, and described his unique approach to teaching counterpoint: “It was supposed to be done without touching the piano so that we developed the ability to objectify the many voices in our heads without having to have an instrument to try things out. The only other composers in the twentieth century who had a course of study like this were other Scalero pupils and people like Bartók, who studied the same way in Budapest, and Hindemith. It produces a kind of technique which is recognizable…a kind of mastery over the way voices should be put together.” Vincent PERSICHETTI Pastoral Op. 21 Persichetti’s fondness for wind instruments dates back to his teens—his Serenade for Ten Winds Op. 1 was written at the age of 14. Pastoral is one of 2 pieces he composed for wind quintet. “Written during his late twenties, while still a doctoral student, many scholars feel Pastoral reflects a composer who was yet on the cusp of finding his own compositional voice, possessing a technique still much influenced by Stravinsky, Bartók, Hindemith, and Copland. Flavored as it is with a Coplandesque folk song sensibility and angular harmonies reminiscent of early 20th century composers, the voice of Persichetti’s influences is fairly obvious; but so too is his unique character — full of surprises, twists, and turns [Jason McKinney of Manitou Winds].” Persichetti, a lifelong Philadelphian, was noted for his succinct polyphonic style (based on interwoven melodic lines), forceful rhythms, and generally diatonic melodies (moving stepwise; not atonal or highly chromatic). Born to an Italian father and a German mother in 1915, he was a piano and organ prodigy who supported himself at age 11. He began piano lessons at the age of 5, composed his first two works at 14, and earned money as a church organist during his adolescence. At age 20, he was simultaneously the head of the music department at Combs College, a conducting major under Fritz Reiner at the Curtis Institute, and a piano and composition student at the Philadelphia Conservatory. Seven years later, in 1942, he himself was teaching at the Conservatory, and from 1947 he taught at Juilliard the rest of life (while living in Philadelphia). He also was music editor of the publisher, Elkan Vogel (later acquired by Theodore Presser). When Persichetti died in 1987, he left some 120 works notable for its extraordinarily broad stylistic range from extreme diatonic simplicity to complex, contrapuntal atonality. His work developed “during a period when American composition was deeply divided among rival stylistic factions, each seeking to invalidate the work of its opponents. In the face of this partisan antagonism, Persichetti advocated, through his lectures and writings, as well as through his music, the notion of a broad working vocabulary, or ‘common practice,’ based on a fluent assimilation of all the materials and techniques which had appeared during the 20th century [Philadelphia Chamber Music Society].” Vittorio GIANNINI Piano Quintet The irrepressibly Romantic quintet is an embodiment of his musical creed and advocacy of melody as an inspirational genesis of music. He once declared that he was driven by “an unrelenting quest for the beautiful, with the humble hope that I may be privileged to achieve this goal, if only for one precious moment and share this moment with my listeners.” His whole output is, in fact, a display of prolific melodic content. Giannini (1903–1966) was an Italian-American Neoromantic composer born in Philadelphia to a musical family. His father, Feruccio, was a tenor at the Metropolitan Opera and the first to record on a flat phonograph disc in the 1890s; his mother, Antonietta, was a concert violinist. Both emigrated from Italy in the 1880s. His sister, Dusolina, was a leading operatic soprano in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s; another sister, Euphemia, was a member of the vocal faculty of the Curtis Institute for many years. Vittorio, at age 5, was first taught by his mother. At age 9, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Verdi Conservatory in Milan. When World War I escalated, he returned to the United States and studied composition at Juilliard under Rubin Goldmark (teacher of George Gershwin and Aaron Copland). In 1932 he won the Prix de Rome, granting him 4 years of further study at the American Academy in Rome. Giannini himself became a distinguished teacher of composition and music theory at Juilliard, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Curtis Institute (among his pupils were John Corigliano and David Amram). And he was the founder and president of the North Carolina School of the Arts. His niece, Maura Giannini, a violinist, divulged that “he loved life, music, fast cars and cigars and believed passionately in the future of the arts through young students.” His substantial oeuvre included more than a dozen operas, 7 symphonies, scores of songs, and a variety of concertos and choral, band, and chamber works. His most famous opera, Taming of the Shrew, was produced on color television by NBC Opera Theater in 1954; it won the Music Critics Circle Award. The critic Howard Taubman wrote, “the score is instinct with the spirit of Italian lyricism.” |
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Monday, December 15 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Tickets: $25, $17 ~ Reservations advised Janice Carissa piano Stefan Jackiw violin Ani Aznavoorian cello Vadim Lando clarinet Yoonah Kim clarinet Gina Cuffari bassoon Eleni Katz bassoon Karl Kramer horn Vera Romero horn Johann Sebastian BACH Chaconne BWV 1004 The Chaconne is thought to have been composed in mourning after the death of his wife Barbara Maria. He wrote it while employed at the court in Cöthen, during a period of great freedom and creativity. When Brahms stumbled on the stunning piece in 1877, he told Clara Schumann in a letter, “On one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind.” Brahms also transcribed it for piano left-hand. After Bach’s death, the Chaconne lay dormant until 14 February 1840, when the virtuoso violinist Ferdinand David gave its first public performance in Leipzig, with Mendelssohn improvising a piano accompaniment. A review of the event in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung described Mendelssohn’s part as a free realization of the harmony, contrapuntal in design. Schumann, who was present at the 1840 concert, wrote his own piano accompaniment for the Chaconne and for all 6 of the Bach sonatas and partitas (published in 1854). Brahms’s arrangement of the Chaconne was preceded by at least 3 other solo piano arrangements, including one by Joachim Raff. These accompaniments and arrangements shed light on how 19th century composers viewed Bach (i.e. through the lens of Mendelssohn, Schumann, and others) and showed that they approached him with reverence. This contributed to Bach’s revival as well. Johann Christian BACH Sinfonia No. 6 in Bb Major W.Blnc12 From his set of 6 little symphonies for 2 clarinets, 2 horns, and 2 bassoons, the Sinfonia is closer in form to a notturno or serenade. They are among JC’s finest wind music and last published works, and are considered a turning point in the history of early wind literature. “His style, which was largely derived from Italian opera, was the most important single influence on Mozart, and rested on a foundation of excellent craftsmanship, graceful melody and a fine sense of form, texture and colour [New Grove Dictionary].” Born in Leipzig in 1735, JC was the youngest son and the 10th of 12 children born to Johann Sebastian and Anna Magdalena Bach. He was taught by his father and his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel. In 1754 he went to Italy and studied with Padre Martini in Bologna, converted to Catholicism, and became one of two organists at the Cathedral of Milan in 1760. In 1762 he became composer to the King’s Theatre in London and wrote a number of successful Italian operas for it. He also composed much orchestral, chamber, and keyboard pieces, and a few cantatas. By March 1763 he enjoyed royal favor and patronage as well—he was appointed Music Master to Queen Charlotte. In 1764 he, together with the celebrated viola da gamba virtuoso Carl Friedrich Abel, organized the prestigious “Bach–Abel Concerts” which were important to the development of London’s musical life. The public series of concerts for high society were England’s first subscription concerts and lasted for over two decades. The programs featured a diverse range of works, including those by Bach, Abel, and other composers like Haydn. Among his many commissions, JC was invited to write an opera for the German elector at Mannheim in 1772, and another for the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris in 1778. By 1781, the Bach–Abel concerts had declined in popularity, his music was no longer in demand, and he was in serious financial straits as his housekeeper had forged receipts for over £1000 and absconded with the money. When he died, JC’s debts amounted to £4000. The Queen helped to meet immediate expenses and enable his wife Cecilia Bach to return to her native Italy in the summer of 1782. His death on 1 January 1782 at age 46 was noted by Mozart as “a loss to the musical world.” JC is sometimes referred to as the “London Bach” or the “English Bach” for his time spent living in London, where he came to be known as John Bach. BEETHOVEN Wind Sextet in Eb Major Op 71 Its first performance garnered a glowing review that appeared in the 15 May 1805 issue of Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, Europe’s music journal of record during Beethoven’s day. The critic reported, “Great pleasure was given by a beautiful Sextet in E flat by Beethoven, a composition which shines magnificently by reason of its high-spirited melodies, original harmonies and an abundance of new and surprising ideas.” Beethoven claimed to have written it in a single night; however, the sketches suggest a longer period. The first two movements were probably written before 1796, and the Sextet was published by Breitkopf and Härtel in 1810. In his Beethoven Compendium, Barry Cooper provided some clarification: “Already by 1809 Beethoven could write rather apologetically to Breitkopf & Härtel that ‘the sextet…is one of my early works and, what is more, was composed in one night — All that one can really say about it is that it was written by a composer who has produced at any rate a few better works — Yet some people think that works of that type are the best.’ The work was certainly not written in such a short time but Beethoven’s attempt to belittle it in this way is significant…. Admittedly, the chamber works for winds do not represent Beethoven’s finest or most important music; but…these chamber works provided a safe forum for the development of Beethoven’s personal style.” What Bach meant to Beethoven Beethoven revered Bach and studied his music. To him, Bach was “the immortal god of harmony.” His childhood teacher, Christian Gottlob Neefe, recognized Beethoven’s prodigious talent and introduced him to the works of Bach (particularly the Well-Tempered Clavier), CPE Bach, and Mozart. In a prophetic notice in the March 1783 issue of Cramer’s Magazin der Muzik, Neefe described Beethoven as “a boy of eleven years and of most promising talent. He plays the clavier very skillfully and with power, reads at sight very well, and—to put it in a nutshell—he plays chiefly The Well-Tempered Clavier of Sebastian Bach, which Herr Neefe put into his hands. Whoever knows this collection of preludes and fugues in all the keys—which might almost be called the non plus ultra of our art—will know what this means…. He would surely become the second Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were he to continue as he has begun [The Beethoven Companion].” Shortly after Beethoven arrived in Vienna in 1792, he was invited to Baron Gottfried van Swieten’s musical gatherings, where he perused his host’s library of early music. It wasn’t long before he began acquiring manuscript copies of Bach’s works and purchased published editions. Bach’s influence is also evident in Beethoven’s compositions—he incorporated fugues and contrapuntal elements in his later sonatas and string quartets, and his Diabelli Variations drew inspiration from Bach’s variations. As his hearing declined, he admitted in his diary that he reflected on the “portraits of Handel, Bach, Gluck, Mozart, and Haydn in my room—they can promote my capacity for endurance.” Robert SCHUMANN Adagio and Allegro in Ab Major Op. 70 Originally written for horn and piano and entitled Romanze, the duet was also issued with an alternative part for cello. Delighted with what he heard at a rehearsal, Schumann admitted enthusiastically that he “had had fun with it.” His wife Clara’s response was euphoric: “The piece is splendid, fresh and passionate, just as I like it!” Clara premiered it with Julius Schlitterlau, first horn in the Dresden Orchestra. What Bach meant to Schumann Bach exerted a profound influence on Schumann throughout his life. He once stated, “What art owes to Bach is to the musical world hardly less than what a religion owes to its founder.” He considered Bach his teacher. In his student days while studying law in Leipzig, he discussed Bach with his friends. He admired Bach’s mastery of counterpoint (the fugues, in particular) and studied his works to improve his own compositional technique. Clara recorded that 9 days after their marriage, they studied together the fugues from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. They also jointly studied Beethoven, Mozart, and Hadyn. Among Schumann’s compositions that reveal Bach’s influence are his 6 organ fugues on the B-A-C-H motif and Piano Quintet in Eb Major in its fugal finale. His Album for the Young also reflects Bach’s Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach in its teaching of musical fundamentals. Felix MENDELSSOHN Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op. 49 Schumann, after hearing the Piano Trio, declared it the “master trio of our time,” stating that “Mendelssohn is the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the most illuminating of musicians.” It premiered on 1 February 1840 at the Leipzig Gewandhaus with violinist Ferdinand David, cellist Franz Karl Witmann, and Mendelssohn at the piano. Program annotator James Keller deemed the Trio “as great a masterpiece as Schumann proclaimed it to be. It offers abundant, arching melodies of Italianate, bel canto inspiration, proclaimed with luxuriant sonorities, often introduced in the tenorial tones of the cello. The minor mode provides a sense of depth that can be useful reigning in Mendelssohn’s native exuberance.… As one might expect, the piano part is brilliant.… After the premiere, Mendelssohn revised the piano part somewhat, incorporating certain new keyboard tricks associated with Chopin and Liszt.” What Bach meant to Mendelssohn Among the composers that influenced Felix Mendelssohn was Bach. His love of counterpoint came from Bach and is evident in his disposition toward thick, contrapuntal textures and his inclination to write fugues and canons. The Mendelssohn household’s deep appreciation for Bach’s music was fostered by Sara Levy—Felix’s great-aunt, who was a salonnière, harpsichord virtuoso, and patron of Bach’s sons (she studied with Wilhelm Friedemann and commissioned music from Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel). Levy was the catalyst in reviving Bach’s music, led by Felix. On 11 March 1829, at the Singakademie in Berlin, Mendelssohn conducted the first performance since Bach’s death of the St. Matthew Passion, which inaugurated the Bach revival of the 19th century. |
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Jupiter 2025 - 2026 Season Tickets: $25, $17 ~ Reservation advised Please visit our Media Page to hear Audio Recordings from the Jens Nygaard and Jupiter Symphony Archive Concert Venue:
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As promised, here are the videos of John Field’s Divertissement No. 1 and Sir Hamilton Harty’s Piano Quintet. Fortuitously, our Jupiter musicians had the good sense to record the rehearsal in an impromptu decision, literally minutes before pressing the record button. Pianist Mackenzie Melemed (replacing Roman Rabinovich at the last minute) learned the music in 2 days! Bravo to him. Both works are Irish rarities that were scheduled for the March 16 performances which had to be canceled because of the coronavirus epidemic. Even though the entire program could not be recorded because of technical issues, we are pleased to be able to share with you the 2 musical gems. Enjoy. John FIELD Divertissement No. 1 H. 13 We thank the University of Illinois (Champaign) for a copy of the Divertissement music. Mackenzie Melemed piano
Sir Hamilton HARTY Piano Quintet in F Major Op. 12 Andrew Clements of the Guardian proclaimed the beautiful Quintet “a real discovery: a big, bold statement full of striking melodic ideas and intriguing harmonic shifts, which adds Brahms and Dvořák into Harty’s stylistic mix, together with Tchaikovsky in some passages.” There’s folk music charm as well, reminiscent of Percy Grainger—notably in the Scherzo (Vivace) with its folksy quirks and nonchalance, and the winding, pentatonic melody in the Lento. Our gratitude to the Queen’s University Library in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for a copy of the autograph manuscript of the music. Much thanks, too, to Connor Brown for speedily creating a printed score and parts from Harty’s manuscript. Mackenzie Melemed piano I Allegro 0:00 | |||||||
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Jupiter featured on Our Net News American program opener on March 18, with grateful thanks to Michael Shaffer of OurNetNews.com for recording the matinee concert, and making available the Horatio Parker Suite video for our viewing pleasure. Horatio Parker Suite in A Major, Op. 35, composed in 1893 Stephen Beus piano
More video from this performance can be viewed on our media page |
Jupiter on YouTube NEW YORK CANVAS : The Art of Michael McNamara is a video portrait of the artist who has painted iconic images of New York City for more than a decade, capturing the changing urban landscape of his adopted city. Our Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players provide the music from Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G Minor, underscoring the inspiration the artist has drawn from Jens Nygaard and the musicians. Michael was also our Jupiter volunteer from 2002 to 2010. Here is a video of the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players performance of the Rondo alla Zingarese movement:
The producer-director, Martin Spinelli, also made the EMMY Award-winning “Life On Jupiter: The Story of Jens Nygaard, Musician.” For more information, visit our media
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“Some great musicians get a statue when they pass away. Some get their name imprinted on the roof of a well-known concert hall. But the late conductor Jens Nygaard has a living tribute: an entire ensemble of musicians and a concert series to go along with it... It is one of the city’s cultural jewels... In the end, if Mr. Nygaard was known for anything, it was unmitigated verve. That’s what the audience regularly returned for, and that’s what they got Monday afternoon. To have a grassroots community of musicians continue to celebrate Mr. Nygaard with indomitable performances like these week after week, even without the power of world-famous guest soloists, is proper tribute. And with more large orchestras and ensembles needing more corporate sponsorship year after year, I, for one, hope the Jupiter’s individual subscriber-base remains strong. New York’s musical life needs the spirit of Jens Nygaard, and Mei Ying should be proud she’s keeping it alive.” Read the complete article on our reviews page. |
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