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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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Join us for our next concerts...
Jupiter ~ Summer 2026 Monday, May 18 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Maxim Lando piano William Hagen violin Ariel Horowitz violin Alessandra Yang viola Torron Pfeffer viola Christine Lamprea cello Gabriel Polinsky double bass Sooyun Kim flute Roni Gal-Ed oboe Karl Kramer horn Fritz KREISLER Rondo after Mozart’s Haffner Serenade K. 250 Kreisler adapted the fourth movement of the Haffner Serenade in a free arrangement for violin and piano. It was part of his effort to draw attention to the classical repertoire. Mozart had written the Serenade to celebrate the marriage of Elisabeth Haffner, daughter of the Salzburg mayor, to the merchant Franz Xaver Späth. It was commissioned by Sigismund Haffner the Younger, a close friend of the Mozart family, for his sister’s wedding. The Serenade was first heard on the eve of the lavish affair on 21 July 1776, with Mozart likely conducting and playing the solo violin part. Born in Vienna, Kreisler began to learn the violin at age 4 with his father, a doctor and enthusiastic amateur violinist. At age 7 he was the youngest ever to enter the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied violin for 3 years with Joseph Hellmesberger and theory with Anton Bruckner. He won a gold medal at age 10, an unprecedented distinction. He then studied composition and violin at the Paris Conservatoire. After a successful concert tour in the United States in 1888–1889, he returned to Vienna to study medicine. Then he studied art in Paris and Rome and served as an officer in the Austrian army. In 1899 he resumed concertizing and became one of the most successful virtuosos of his time. In 1910 Kreisler premiered Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto (dedicated to him) with the London Symphony Orchestra and Elgar conducting; it was a triumph. After 1915 he lived mainly in the United States but continued to tour widely in Europe. In 1941 he was struck by a truck in New York City and nearly died from the injuries; although he recovered, his playing and hearing were never the same. He died in New York in 1962. As a violinist, Kreisler was unique. He played with a “tone of indescribable sweetness and expressiveness…. The matchless colour was achieved by [an intense] vibrato in the style of Wieniawski.… Kreisler applied vibrato not only on sustained notes but also in faster passages which lost all dryness under his magic touch. His methods of bowing and fingering were equally personal [New Grove Dictionary].” Kreisler was also a gifted composer, and wrote many pieces for the violin, string quartets, and the operetta Apple Blossom. And he was known as the “secret” composer of the Classical Manuscripts, published as his arrangements of works by the old masters, including Vivaldi and Couperin. When he admitted in 1935 that the pieces were a hoax, many critics were indignant while others accepted it as a joke. Johann Nepomuk HUMMEL Septet No. 1 in D minor Op. 74 The Septet for piano, strings, and winds was a blockbuster that helped establish Hummel as a household name and remained in the repertoire until World War I. While Classical in form, it is Romantic in its emotional intensity, with evidence of Beethoven’s influence. After a performance of the Septet in 1892 at Steinway Hall in London, the Musical Times wrote that it was “at one time enormously popular, but now rarely heard. It is, however, quite worthy of occasional revival…. Mendelssohn performed the Septet in London on 21 May 1832, and it was also Mendelssohn’s piece of choice when he began teaching classes at the Leipzig Konservatorium.” By all accounts, the Septet was regarded by many in the 19th century as his greatest work. Dedicated to the Archduchess Marie Louise, the knockout was premiered by Hummel on 28 January 1816 at a home concert. Hummel (1778–1837)—the greatest piano virtuoso in Europe for more than two decades—was hugely admired as a true classicist by Chopin and Schumann. He was born in Pressburg, Hungary, then a part of the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy. At age 8, he was taught gratis by Mozart, with whom he lived for 2 years in Vienna; and, like Beethoven, studied with Salieri and Haydn, as well as composition with Albrechtsberger. In 1787, he made his first public appearance in a concert that Mozart gave in Dresden. At age 10 he had a string quartet performed, and shortly afterwards he played a Mozart piano concerto in London. His travels took him as far as Saint Petersburg. In 1804 he succeeded Haydn as Konzertmeister and later as Kapellmeister at the court of Esterházy in Eisenstadt (until 1811). Hummel and Beethoven were also close friends for many years until their falling out in the late 1810s, but a remarkable reconciliation took place at Beethoven’s deathbed in 1827. At his funeral, Hummel was a pallbearer and Schubert, a torchbearer. Although ill health his last 3 years reduced his activities, he died a rich man after a long and successful career, then faded into obscurity with the arrival of Romanticism. His death was marked in Vienna by a performance of Mozart’s Requiem. BEETHOVEN String Quintet in Eb Major The Septet sustained its popularity for decades, particularly in Paris. Its widespread demand immediately after publication by Hoffmeister & Kühnel in Leipzig, led to numerous arrangements for various instruments to satisfy the public’s clamor for the hot commodity. It became a staple in 19th-century concert halls and private homes. Originally written in 1799 for clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, and double bass, the Critical Reception of Beethoven’s Compositions by His German Contemporaries records a memorable episode: “When his Septet, arranged as a quintet by Hoffmeister, was played for him by a few dilettantes, he again took his place at the fortepiano and to the amazement of all present improvised on the theme of the first minuet almost for an entire hour. Only on the promise he left us, from a man who steadfastly keeps his word, will console us in our present loss of enjoyment. He departed with the respect of all who became closely acquainted with him.” Later, when Beethoven heard of his Septet’s sensational reception in London in 1815, he snarled, “That damn work; I wish it could be burned!” For the poet Walt Whitman, however, it evoked thoughts of “Dainty abandon, sometimes as if Nature laughing on a hillside in the sunshine; serious and firm monotonies, as of winds; a horn sounding through the tangle of the forest, and the dying echoes; soothing floating of waves but presently rising in surges, angrily lashing, muttering, heavy; piercing peals of laughter, for interstices; now and then weird, as Nature herself is in certain moods—but mainly spontaneous, easy, careless…” Although Beethoven’s aspirations to study with Mozart were never realized, he was a major, lasting influence on Beethoven. Throughout his life, Beethoven admired Mozart, composing variations on several of his melodies. Hoffmeister (1754–1812) was a prominent Viennese publisher and friend of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. His passion, however, was composing; he was madly prolific, writing 66 symphonies, 100 flute quartets, and numerous quintets and other pieces popular in his day. As a composer he was highly respected by his contemporaries, as documented by a tribute published in Gerber’s Neues Lexikon der Tonkünstler in the year of his death: “If you were to take a glance at his many and varied works, then you would have to admire the diligence and the cleverness of this composer.... He earned for himself a well-deserved and widespread reputation through the original content of his works, which are not only rich in emotional expression but also distinguished by the interesting and suitable use of instruments and through good practicability. For this last trait we have to thank his knowledge of instruments, which is so evident that you might think that he was a virtuoso on all of the instruments for which he wrote.” Hoffmeister’s publishing business, begun in 1784, was sold, in part, to Artaria in 1795. He then had a partnership with Ambrosius Kühnel of Leipzig under a new firm, the Bureau de Musique, which was later taken over by C. F. Peters, one of the oldest publishing houses still surviving today.
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Monday, June 1 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Tickets: $25, $17 ~ Reservations advised Drew Petersen piano Hao Zhou violin Clara Neubauer violin Nazeeh Shahid viola Thomas Mesa cello Sooyun Kim flute Vadim Lando clarinet Louise FARRENC Trio in C minor Op. 45 Prominent in 19th-century French music circles, Farrenc was best known as a brilliant concert pianist. She was a contemporary and admirer of Mendelssohn, and her music, like Mendelssohn’s, is driven by poetry, lyricism, and rhythmic lightness. Published in 1862 by Alphonse Leduc, the Trio was written for her husband Aristide Farrenc. It is considered her last major chamber work. The dedicatee was Louis Dorus, a leading French flautist of the 19th century renowned for his virtuosic performances and pivotal role in advancing the Boehm flute system, which revolutionized the instrument’s design and playing technique in France. Farrenc (1804–1875) was a descendent of a long line of royal artists (including several women painters) and a sister of the award-winning sculptor Auguste Dumont. The piano prodigy studied with Johann Nepomuk Hummel and Ignaz Moscheles, who was Mendelssohn’s teacher. At age 15, she added composition to her studies at the Paris Conservatoire—with Anton Reicha. Her marriage at age 17 to the flutist Aristide Farrenc was followed by touring as a pianist and composing. Her early piano music, written in the 1820s and 1830s, was praised by Schumann. Of her Air russe varié, he felt that “one must fall under their charm, especially since a subtle aroma of romanticism hovers over them.” The renowned violinist Joseph Joachim performed her Nonet, and her Symphony No. 3 was a sensation when it was performed at the Paris Conservatory. Berlioz also praised her compositions. By 1842, having established a rock-solid reputation, she was appointed professor of piano at the Conservatoire, where she taught for 30 years. Farrenc was the only woman musician at the Conservatoire in the 19th century to hold a permanent chair of this rank and importance. Evidence of her excellent teaching is reflected in the high percentage of her pupils graduating with the Premier Prix. She herself was twice awarded the Prix Chartier for chamber music by the Academie des Beaux-Arts—an unprecedented honor for a woman. In addition, Farrenc’s 30 Etudes became compulsory study for all piano classes in 1845. And, together with her husband, she compiled a 23-volume anthology of early keyboard music. The New Grove Dictionary concludes that “she merits recognition as a pioneering scholar and a forerunner of the French musical renaissance of the 1870s.” Felicien DAVID String Quartet No. 1 in F minor Highly regarded for its beautiful, under-the-radar 19th-century French romantic writing, the attractive Quartet was dedicated to his friend, the music critic Alexis Azevedo who wrote for L’Opinion nationale. While renowned for his “oriental” compositions, David’s Quartet shows his debt to Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. It “opens with a moving study in melancholia. The…adagio, has an enticing folk-song-like theme you won’t soon forget, while there’s something of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night's Dream in [the] fleeting scherzo. The masterfully crafted finale, a somewhat droll allegretto, is built around two rustic subjects, ending this charming work on a light note [Bob McQuiston].” Félicien-César David was a composer whose music opened the door for the Oriental exoticism that was to become a fixture in French Romantic music. Born in Cadenet, France in 1810, he had a religious upbringing and was first taught music by his father at the age of 5. When he was orphaned at age 6 he became a choirboy, then choirmaster at Saint-Sauveur in Aix-en-Provence at age 19. The following year, in 1830, he persuaded Luigi Cherubini, director of the Paris Conservatoire, to enroll him as a pupil. He left after 18 months and “joined the socialist brotherhood of the Saint-Simonians, becoming their main artistic figure and composing chants for their services. From 1833 to 1835 he preached their doctrines in the Middle East. In his later music, David incorporated recollections of the music he had heard in Jerusalem, Cairo, and Syria. [He had traveled through Egypt, Palestine, and Turkey in 1833–1835, collecting exotic melodies.] In 1844 he produced his ‘symphonic ode’ Le Désert. Resembling an oratorio bordering on opera and embodying Arabic melodies, it was a highly evocative, enormously successful work. [The innovative work was praised for its vivid depiction of the desert.] Of his five operas, Lalla Roukh (1862) maintained its popularity for 40 years. David also wrote other symphonic odes, songs, and chamber works. His music, admired by Hector Berlioz and Camille Saint-Saëns, foreshadowed the Orientalism of Georges Bizet’s Djamileh (1872), Léo Delibes’s Lakmé (1883), Giuseppe Verdi’s Aïda (1871), and other Romantic operas [Encyclopedia Britannica].” He also became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and a librarian at the Conservatoire. David died in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1876. Jean FRANÇAIX Tema con variazioni The irreverent and carefree duo for clarinet and piano was a “Pièce de Concours” (competition piece) written for a clarinet exam at the Paris Conservatoire at the request of professor Ulysse Delecluse. It was dedicated to the composer’s grandson, Olivier. The Neoclassical composer, whose style was vibrant, witty, concise, and marked by lightness, attended the Paris Conservatoire and studied composition with Nadia Boulanger. He was influenced by Ravel, but wrote in his own very individual style—polished, ingenious, and fresh. César FRANCK Piano Trio No. 2 “Trio de Salon” Op. 1 No. 2 The “Trio de Salon” was one of 3 Opus 1 trios, which were highly regarded in his day. The German music critic Wilhelm Altmann noted that Mendelssohn praised them and Liszt introduced them on the concert stages of Germany. While composed at around age 15 during his studies in Paris and premiered in 1939 at the Salle Érard, some sources suggest it was polished between 1841 and 1843, and first published by Schuberth & Co. in Hamburg when Franck was in his early twenties. It was dedicated to Leopold I, King of Belgium. The Opus 1 trios were written during a period when Franck’s father, Nicolas-Joseph, was aggressively managing his career to emulate successful virtuoso–composers like Liszt. It was a short-lived effort to promote César as a child prodigy. Franck named it “Trio de salon” because he considered it a more intimate, less flamboyant piece than the other trios in the set. Franck (1822–1890) was born in Liège, but did not become a naturalized French citizen until 1873. In 1835, his family moved to Paris, where he studied privately with Anton Reicha and Pierre Zimmerman. He then entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 15 and won 1st prize in piano at the end of his first year. Additional prizes included a special grand prix d’honneur and prizes for sight-reading. After a promising start upon his graduation, he sank into obscurity. However, when he switched from piano to organ at age 30, he became the greatest improviser of his time; and after the 1880s he composed most of the music by which he is known. In the view of the esteemed critic Harold Schonberg, “Franck was the dominating musical force of the period in France, both as a composer and as teacher, and he gathered unto himself a group of pupils who did everything but put a halo over him and worship. There was something in the man that encouraged worship. …he was kind to the point of saintliness, serene, otherworldly. Never did a harsh word pass his lips, never a derogatory remark. He was not interested in honors or in money, and a stain-glass aura (reflected in his music) emanated from him. One of his greatest delights was to sit and improvise at the organ of Ste.-Clothilde in a religious ecstasy…. People compared him with Fra Angelico. It was to Franck that the younger generation turned.” His two most famous pupils were Chausson and Vincent d’Indy, who remarked, “Everything in Franck sings, and sings all the time.” |
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Monday, June 15 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Tickets: $25, $17 ~ Reservations advised Fei Fei piano Danbi Um violin Josephine Kim violin Ayano Nakamura viola Gaeun Kim cello Vadim Lando clarinet MOZART “Kegelstatt” Trio K. 498 During his journey to Berlin in 1789, Mozart made a detour to Leipzig twice. He arrived on 20 April and stayed for 3 days. On the 22nd, he visited the Thomaskirche (where Bach had been the most famous cantor from 1723 till his death in 1750) and played the organ for an hour, assisted by Cantor Doles and the organist Karl Görner, both manipulating the stops. In his honor, the choir of the Thomasschule performed “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied” by Bach. Delighted with the motet, Mozart copied the choir parts after perusing the autographs. He then went to Potsdam and returned to Leipzig on the 8th of May. This time, Mozart presented a concert of his own compositions at the Leipzig Gewandhaus 4 days later on the 12th. The concert, however, had not been widely publicized and was a financial fiasco as it was poorly attended. In a letter to his wife Constanza he reported, “From the point of view of applause and glory this concert was absolutely magnificent, but the profits were wretchedly meager.” He also gave various excuses for lingering in Leipzig, but finally left for Berlin on 17 May. Johann Wenzel KALLIWODA String Quartet No. 1 in E minor Op. 61 Dedicated to his friend Joseph Graff of Prague, the Quartet is the first of three commissioned by the publisher Carl Gotthelf Böhme of Peters in Leipzig. Böhme stipulated that the scores should be “nonconcertant for the first violin, with the music nicely divided up among the instruments, not heavy for any of them, and in the beautiful style of Mozart.” The music writer Michael Cookson singled out the Scherzo as “remarkably inventive and stunning…played almost entirely pizzicato. …Kalliwoda must surely be one of the first composers to present a pizzicato movement in a string quartet.” Kalliwoda’s quartets are contemporaneous with those by Cherubini, Louis Spohr, and Mendelssohn. Kalliwoda (1801–1866) was an esteemed Bohemian composer, conductor, and violin soloist during his lifetime. He stood at the cutting edge of his day. At the age of 10, the boy entered the newly founded Prague Conservatory, where he was a member of the first class and graduated five years later in 1816 with distinction, after which he joined the orchestra of the Stavovské Theatre in Prague, under Weber. He was described as a “superb soloist on the violin” and possessed “excellent abilities in composition.” In December 1821 the orchestra gave a farewell concert of his compositions before he departed for a tour of Germany, Switzerland, and Holland. While in Munich, he met Prince Karl Egon II, who offered him the post of conductor in Donaueschingen. For almost 40 years Kalliwoda directed and elevated the standard of the town’s musical life. He was conductor of the court orchestra and opera house, where he presented the operas of Mozart and Cherubini; he coordinated the musical activities at the cathedral; he was considered a “house composer” by the publisher C. F. Peters (its commission of 3 string quartets “were to be in the beautiful style of Mozart”); and he taught the Prince’s children. Leading virtuosos, including Liszt and Robert and Clara Schumann, appeared at his symphony concerts. Schumann, among others, held a high opinion of his work. In the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, co-founded by Schumann, he praised Kalliwoda for the tenderness and sweep of his compositions, even though he was critical of some of his work. Highly respected, he was offered posts in the most famous musical institutions of Leipzig, Cologne, Mannheim, Dessau, and Prague, and was made an honorary member of music societies in Prague, Germany, Austria, Holland, Switzerland, and Sweden. His style is said to represent a link between Beethoven and Schumann. Antonín DVOŘÁK Piano Trio No. 1 in Bb Major Op. 21 ▪ 1875 Written at age 34, the Trio was well-received at its premiere, which helped solidify Dvořák’s growing reputation before he achieved international fame in the late 1870s. The lyrical masterpiece—a youthful, spontaneous spirit in Classical form with distinct Czech folk elements like the polka in the third movement—displays melodic invention and varied rhythms. |
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Jupiter 2025 - 2026 Season Tickets: $25, $17 ~ Reservations 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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MeiYing Manager All
performances, except where otherwise noted, are held at: Copyright © 1999-2026 Jupiter Symphony. All rights reserved.
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