Friday, October 6, 2017 8:00 p.m. Wind Ensemble Cliff Colnot, conductor DePaul 800 West Belden Avenue Chicago
Friday, October 6, 2017 8:00 p.m. DePaul Wind Ensemble Cliff Colnot, conductor Program Franz Krommer (1759-1831) Partita in B-flat Major, Op. 45, No. 3 (1803) Allegro Adagio Menuetto-Trio Rondo Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012) Serenade in Homage to Mozart (1991) Louis Théodore Gouvy (1819-1898) Octet No. 1, Op. 71 (1879) Larghetto, Allegro Moderato Danse Suédoise Romance Allegretto
Program Notes Franz Krommer (1759-1831) Partita in B-flat Major, Op. 45, No. 3 (1803) Duration: 18 minutes Franz Krommer was a Czech composer whose life and career spanned the end of the 18th and beginning of 19th centuries. As a young musician, he learned violin and organ from his uncle, Anton Matthias Krommer, and taught himself theory. In 1777, Franz Krommer moved to Vienna, where he initially established himself as a violinist. From the 1790 s onward, he held a number of posts as Kapellmeister that required him to relocate to various parts of Europe, including Paris, Milan and Venice, among others. His peripatetic career exposed him to a broad cross-section of fashionable musical trends in Western Europe. Eventually Krommer succeeded Leopold Anton Kozeluch as court composer to the Habsburgs and was among the most highly respected composers of the time. Krommer was prolific, and composed a substantial body of work in most genres of his time. He was particularly well regarded for his solo concertos for wind instruments, as well as for his string quartets. Filled with brilliantly florid writing for the woodwinds and horns, coupled with a rich variety of ensemble textures, his Partita in B-flat Op. 45, No. 3 touches on both of these areas. Published around 1803 as the last opus in a group of three Partitas, all of which are scored for ten instruments, this work has the familiar four-movement pattern typical of many 18th century symphonies (sonataallegro slow movement minuet rondo). Although the structure and style of all four movements hew closely to established 18th century practices, with their use of balanced Classical forms, elegant singing lines and mostly straightforward harmonic relationships, there are moments in this piece that seem to reflect some of the stylistic innovations brewing at the cusp of the Romantic era. The recurring A section of the final rondo, for example, seems to begin in the wrong key, G Minor, before eventually moving toward the home key of B-flat major. Similarly, the second section of the third movement wanders into the relatively distant key of D-flat Major, anticipating the colorful and sometimes oblique harmonic digressions employed by composers during the 19th century.
Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012) Wind Ensemble October 6, 2017 Program Notes Serenade in Homage to Mozart (1991) Duration: 6 minutes Jonathan Harvey (b. 1939 d. 2012) was among the most prominent British composers of his generation. His oeuvre was comprised of works in an unusually broad range of genres, including electroacoustic pieces for fixed-media, interactive pieces for instruments and electronics, acoustic chamber and orchestral music, opera, oratorio and a significant output of choral works. Harvey s musical interests were correspondingly varied, although many of his work dealt with one or both of two large conceptual areas: spirituality, especially as expressed in Buddhism and Christianity, and musical history. Composed in two movements and based on material from his opera, Inquest of Love, Harvey s Serenade in Homage to Mozart has a strong connection to music history in the way both his opera and the Serenade itself relate to the music of Mozart. Harvey describes this relationship as follows: Serenade was commissioned by Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Written to preface performances of The Magic Flute, my Serenade ends with a loud, high chord of E flat, the first chord of the opera. But that is not the only connection. The ensemble includes two flutes, one doubling piccolo: Mozart never wrote a serenade for wind using flutes, but of course for The Magic Flute there had to be flutes, Papegeno s pipes too, represented at the very beginning of the first movement, and returning in the second movement, by the piccolo. In fact, they seem to inspire much of the running scale style of the first movement. There are several other quotes in the contrapuntal fabric of the second movement too. But there is a hidden agenda. The first movement quotes from my opera, itself inspired by The Magic Flute, Inquest of Love. Louis Théodore Gouvy (1819-1898) Octet No. 1, Op. 71 (1879) Duration: 23 minutes Louis Théodore Gouvy was a prolific French composer whose life spanned most of the 19th century (1819-1898). Born in a region currently known as Saarbrücke-Schafbrücke, Germany, Gouvy grew up in an area on the French-German border and became a French citizen at the age of 32. Although Gouvy studied piano and harmony privately in Paris as a young musician, he found greater professional success and recognition in Berlin,
Program Notes where he spent the latter part of his life. This difference in reception may have been partially a result of his focus on producing instrumental music, which enjoyed a higher degree of popularity in Germany than in France during this time. Composed in 1879, Gouvy s Octet no. 1, Op. 71 evinces a strong stylistic connection to early German Romanticism, particularly the music of Mendelssohn. One hears this influence in Gouvy s use of lyrical melodies, a generally light affect, and movements patterned according well-established 18th century forms. The overarching outline of this work conforms to Classical symphonic structure with first movement in sonata-allegro form, complete with a slow introduction, a dance-oriented second movement, a slow third movement and a final rondo. Fused with this traditional form, however, one finds unusual elements that respond more directly to 19th century issues, such as use of folk-inspired materials, like the rhythmic, playful second movement, Danse suédoise (Swedish Dance), and the song-like third movement, Romance, which in title and in spirit recalls the music of Robert Schumann. Notes by Christopher Jones
Biography In the past decade Cliff Colnot has emerged as a distinguished conductor and a musician of uncommon range. One of few musicians to have studied orchestral repertoire with Daniel Barenboim, Colnot has served as assistant conductor for Barenboim s West- Eastern Divan Workshops for young musicians from Israel, Egypt, Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries. Colnot has also worked extensively with the late Pierre Boulez and served as assistant conductor to Boulez at the Lucerne Festival Academy. He regularly conducts the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), with whom he recorded Richard Wernick s The Name of the Game for Bridge Records, and he collaborates with the internationally acclaimed contemporary music ensemble eighth blackbird. Colnot has been principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra s contemporary MusicNOW ensemble since its inception and was principal conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, an orchestra he conducted for more than twenty-two years. Colnot also conducts Contempo at the University of Chicago, and the DePaul University Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, and the Chicago Philharmonic. Colnot is also a master arranger. His orchestration of Shulamit Ran s Three Fantasy Pieces for Cello and Piano was recorded by the English Chamber Orchestra. For the chamber orchestra of the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, Colnot has arranged the Adagio from Mahler s Symphony No. 10, Schoenberg s Pelleas and Melisande (both published by Universal) and Manuel De Falla s Three Cornered Hat. For ICE, Colnot arranged Olivier Messiaen s Chants de Terre et de Ciel for chamber orchestra and mezzosoprano, also published by Universal. For members of the Yellow Barn Music Festival, Colnot arranged Shulamit Ran s Soliloquy for Violin, Cello, and Piano, to be published by Theodore Presser. Colnot re-orchestrated the Bottesini Concerto No. 2 in B Minor for Double Bass, correcting many errors in existing editions and providing a more viable performance version. He has also been commissioned to write works for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Percussion Scholarship Group. His orchestration of Duke Ellington s New World Coming was premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim as piano soloist in 2000, and Colnot also arranged, conducted, and co-produced the CD Tribute to Ellington featuring Barenboim at the piano. He has also written for rock-and-roll, pop, and jazz artists Richard Marx, Phil Ramone, Hugh Jackman, Leann Rimes, SheDaisy, Patricia Barber, Emerson Drive, and Brian Culbertson.
biography Colnot graduated with honors from Florida State University and in 1995 received the Ernst von Dohnányi Certificate of Excellence. He has also received the prestigious Alumni Merit Award from Northwestern University, where he earned his doctorate. In 2001 the Chicago Tribune named Cliff Colnot a Chicagoan of the Year in music, and in 2005 he received the William Hall Sherwood Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts. Most recently, Colnot has been awarded the 2016 Alice M. Ditson Conductor s Award of Columbia University in recognition for his excellent commitment to the performance of works by American Composers. He has studied with master jazz teacher David Bloom, has taught jazz arranging at DePaul University, film scoring at Columbia College, and advanced orchestration at the University of Chicago. As a bassoonist, he was a member of the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago, Music of the Baroque, and the Contemporary Chamber Players.
Personnel Franz Krommer Partitia in B-flat Major, Op. 45, No. 3 Oboe Andrew Cooper Carl Colvin Clarinet Julia Janda Jesse Bruer Bassoon Cameron Keenan Jonathan LiVolsi Horn Fiona Chisholm Momoko Hasselbring Trumpet Monica Benson Jonathan Harvey Serenade in Homage to Mozart Flute Erin Wallace Armand Assaiante Oboe Andrew Cooper Carl Colvin Clarinet Michael Tran Julia Janda Bassoon Jonathan LiVolsi Cameron Keenan Horn Abby Black Fiona Chisholm Louis Théodore Gouvy Octet No. 1, Op. 71 Flute Ana Boulast Oboe Andrew Cooper Clarinet Julia Janda Ian Marino Horn Momoko Hasselbring Gabriel Krauter Bassoon Cameron Keenan Jonathan LiVolsi Librarian Michael Ippolito
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Upcoming Events Wednesday, October 11 8:00 p.m. Ensemble 20+ Friday, October 13 8:00 p.m. DePaul Concert Orchestra Saturday, October 14 8:00 p.m. DePaul Chamber Choir and Concert Choir Sunday, October 15 2:00 p.m. Recital Hall Chicago Classical Guitar Society Evaluated Recital Sunday, October 15 3:00 p.m. DePaul Wind Symphony Friday, October 27 7:30 p.m. Sunday, October 29 2:00 p.m. DePaul Opera Theatre Presents Benjamin Britten s Turn of the Screw Monday, October 30 8:00 p.m. African Drum Ensemble Tuesday, October 31 8:00 p.m. Baroque Chamber Concert Tuesday, October 31 8:00 p.m. The Jazz Showcase DePaul Jazz Workshop at the Jazz Showcase Wednesday, November 1 8:00 p.m. Guest Recital: Christopher Hutton, cello
upcoming events Thursday, November 2 8:00 p.m. Faculty Recital: Jason Moy, harpsichord with guest artist Shirly Hunt, viola da gamba Friday, November 3 8:00 p.m. New Music DePaul Saturday, November 4 8:00 p.m. DePaul Symphony Orchestra Sunday, November 4 3:00 p.m. Faculty Recital: Ilya Kaler, violin Sunday, November 4 3:00 p.m. Student Center (Lincoln Park) Jazz Orchestra Sunday, November 4 8:00 p.m. Guitar Ensemble Festival As a courtesy to those around you, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. Flash photography is not permitted. Thank you. Sign up for Music @ DePaul E-Notes! Receive bi-weekly updates in your inbox on performances taking place at the School of Music, as well as special offers and discounts to ticketed events! You can choose to unsubscribe from the list at any time. We have a strict privacy policy and will never sell or trade your email address. You can sign up for E-Notes by visiting music.depaul.edu and clicking on Concerts & Events. DePaul University School of Music 800 West Belden Avenue Chicago Recital Hall 804 West Belden Avenue Chicago music.depaul.edu 773.325.7260
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