G.Schirmer257 Park Avenue South, 20th FloorNew York, NY 10010tel 212 254 2100fax 212 254 2013

News from G. Schirmer, Inc.and Associated Music Publishers, Inc.

Members of the Music Sales Groupwww.schirmer.com

April ’05

“Augusta Read Thomas is oneof my favorite living Americancomposers.” George Steel, directorof Columbia University’s MillerTheatre, declares his enthusiasm forher music as she is featured thismonth in its portrait concert series.

“It has been my wish for a longtime to have a portrait of Augusta,”he elaborates. “Her music is exciting, vibrant, colorful, and wonderfully made. I think we have put together a diverse program — with a great ensemble, Alarm Will Sound (conducted by Alan Pierson) — that will show off many different sides of her work.” The concert

Michael Tilson Thomas at Carnegie Hall

In 1997, Carnegie Hall’s “Making Music” concert series debuted. Since then, 13 ofour composers have been featured on these portrait programs. On 10 April,Michael Tilson Thomas takes center stage as number 14 for an evening ofinformal chat and performances that includes the world premieres of three newchamber works: Notturno, Rilke Songs, and Tea with Maggie. Moderated by Carnegie’sartistic advisor Ara Guzelimian, the concert also highlights Tilson Thomas’s recentpercussion work Island Music.

A Pair of Composer PortraitsAugusta Read Thomas at Miller Theatre

highlights a number of premieres:the first performance of her newwork Final Soliloquy of the InteriorParamour (written especially forAlarm Will Sound for this concert);and the New York premieres of InMy Sky at Twilight, Silver Chants theLitanies, and Spirit Musings.

Also this month: the MetropolitanMuseum of Art hosts the choral

group Chanticleer as they presentthe New York premiere of PurpleSyllables, and Thomas’s cellocompositions are the subject of anarticle in Strings Magazine.

Next month, Thomas expands hercatalogue with four world pre-mieres: the San Diego Symphonypresents Credences of Summer; theLincoln Trio performs Moon Jig; theNewman and Oltman Guitar Duointroduces Memory: Swells; andviolinist Rachel Barton Pinepremieres Caprice at the MusicordaFestival (MA) and then takes thework to DC for the annual USSupreme Court Musicale, a privateconcert which will be later broad-cast on NPR’s “Performance Today.”illustration: Richard VecchioAugusta Read Thomas

photo: Susan Schelling, courtesy San Francisco Symphony

␣ ␣ ␣ ␣ ␣ I have been writing solo and chamber pieces forthe last year or so whilesketching and gatheringthoughts towards somethingnew. ‘Rilke Songs’ [is] anexamination of the curiousway in which Schubert,Mahler, and cowboy songsoverlap — something myfather pointed out to mewhen I was child. Imagine aJewish pianist in a cowboybar in Durango who channelsMahler and Schubert.

‘‘

— As told to James M. Keller

‘Notturno’ is my take on old-fashioned étude de concert[inspired by flutists PaulaRobison and Paul Renzi, theSan Francisco Symphony’sprincipal flutist for nearly 50years]. It has the shape of a bigoperatic scene...

Five or six years ago, [pressrepresentative Margaret Carson]came to tea and I demonstratedfor her my new Sibelius com-posing software. We sat downtogether and started to impro-

vise using three sounds fromthe sound-bank of thatcomputer... What [we] impro-vised was a monstrousconcoction, but I’ve returnedto it from time to time, andthe result is this piece of puremusic conjecture. [‘Tea withMaggie’] is my tribute to thekind of music I performed agood deal in my younger days,an affectionate send-up of acertain severe, bygone stylethat was formerly known as‘avant-garde.’ ’’

Notturnofl; hp, 2vn, va, vc, db

Rilke SongsBaritone, piano

(three songs of the five-song cycle will be premiered)“Ich lebe mein leben”

“Lied des Trinkers”“Immer wieder”

Tea With Maggieelectronics

Alarm Will Sound

John CoriglianoCircus Maximus 35'

...[the] wild ride...is spatially conceived, with ahuge ensemble onstage, eleven trumpets ringingthe first tier, a saxophone trio at the edge of thesecond tier immediately above, and directlyacross from them, a horn duo. Additional

percussion could be heard from upstairs,somewhere in the back....Oh, I neglected tomention the small marching band that enteredfrom the back, paraded up to the front of thestage and then returned via the other aisle...

Review

2

SneakPeek

Those trumpets began the slightly maddiversions with a unison blast that seemed tocircle the auditorium...the result was as ifblinding searchlights had been flipped on,which spread feverishly through the ensembleuntil all sections of the group were in full cry,including some impressively braying clarinets.And as in his First Symphony (and perhaps hisscore to Ken Russell’s “Altered States”),Corigliano’s language is eclectic...and wiselytaps this excellent group’s youthful exuberance,without sacrificing discipline....The audiencereaction was almost as humorously over-the-topas some of Corigliano’s ideas, but bully forthem: it’s always heartening to see peoplestanding to cheer a new piece.

— Bruce Hodges, MusicWeb.uk.net

“I’ve long had a deep, andprivate, enjoyment of mydream life.” Gabriela LenaFrank lures us into her innersanctum of inspiration, as shecontemplates the 10 Aprilworld premiere of her newtwo-movement piano quintetGhosts in the Dream Machine,performed by pianist SimoneDinnerstein and the ChiaraString Quartet in Philadelphia.

Ghosts in the Dream Machine isinspired by two sources: thestudies of Malcolm Godwin, anoted expert in the field ofdream research, and theartwork and creative mind ofSimon Dinnerstein (the fatherof the pianist). Frank contin-ues, “Godwin’s concept ofdreams refers to the transitory,hallucinatory images andimpressions from our wakinglife, which visit us in ourdreams...Simon’s work is

“Ghosts in the Dream Machine”

fantastically evocative, castingordinary subjects in a decidedlyunordinary light. He accessesthat imaginative spirit tuckedaway in the recesses of ourdream world, and the recurringthemes of mystery, night andwonder are what drives thisquintet. Originally, I heldMussorgsky’s Pictures at anExhibition as a blueprint —[Victor Hartmann’s] pictures ofRussian daily life are straight-forward and pictorial. ButSimon’s work is complex andeven elusive without being coy,much like a dream. Oneminute, it is serene; the next,highly disturbing. Thischimera-like quality cries outfor music that is psychologicallyrich, and in reworking myinitial ideas, I wrote a workwhich focuses intensely onmood and color.” Onthe 12th, Dinnersteinand the Chiara String

photo: Chris Lee

Jerry Junkin (left) and John Corigliano (right)

Quartet bring the work to theAaron Copland School ofMusic in Queens for its NewYork premiere.

More Frank news: This month,she also travels to LincolnCenter where she is featured ina portrait concert at the NewYork Public Library for thePerforming Arts. Next month,Frank goes to Brazil for theOrquesta Sinfonica da Bahia’sSouth American premiere ofIllapa: Tone Poem for Flute andOrchestra.

Ghosts in the Dream Machine c. 16'2vn, va, vc, pf

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New York premiereFor three bands

On-stage band: 4(2pic).4(ca).3+2bc+cbcl.3+cbn/4.4(2Dtpt).4.2+2euph/timp.4[=5]perc/pf.hp;

Surround band: 0.0.1.2asx+tsx+barsx.0/2.11.0.0/3perc/db;

Marching band: pic, Ebcl, 2tpt, 2tbnUniversity of Texas Wind Ensemble/Junkin

27 February 2005; Carnegie Hall, New York CitySimone Dinnerstein

costume design: Paul Tazewell, courtesy Michigan Opera Theatre

Costume design for the character of Edward Gaines, whombaritone Rodney Gilfrey brings to life on 7 May in RichardDanielpour’s opera “Margaret Garner,” presented by theMichigan Opera Theatre. With a libretto by Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, Danielpour’s first opera willbe directed by Kenny Leon and conducted by Stefan Lano.Based on an historical incident, “Margaret Garner” (a co-production with the Cincinnati Opera and Opera Companyof Philadelphia) runs for five performances, and is afeatured highlight at the 2005 Opera America Conference.

Subsequent performances at CincinnatiOpera in July 2005 and Opera Companyof Philadelphia in February 2006.

Margaret Garner (2004) full evening3(pic).2(ca).3(bcl).3(cbn)/4.3Ctpt.2+btbn.1/

timp.3perc/hp.pf(cel).stage pf/str

Principal Roles:

Mezzo-soprano, Lyric Baritone,

Dramatic Soprano, Lyric Baritone

Secondary Roles:

Dramatic Tenor, Light Lyric Soprano,

Tenor, Lyric Tenor

SATB Black Chorus, 32 voices suggested

SATB White Chorus, 40 voices suggested

3

Mark AdamoLysistrata, or The Nude Goddess 135'

A sumptuous love story, poised between comedy and heartbreak....It works: a minuteafter the music began, I knew that I was in the hands of a brilliant theatre composer.Adamo’s effortless expertise was on display in his 1998 maiden effort, Little Women,

but he has taken several bigleaps forward, particularly inintegrating his proudly tonalmelodies with more dissonantconnective material. Adamo’saccompaniments would make agood primer for any young

composer learning to write for and around singers. Each strand of the vocal line ispunctuated by some perfect short gesture: the orchestral writing is often little more— or nothing less — than a play of light around the voices. Slow dotted rhythms,reminiscent of Britten in his ceremonial mode, give the music a sudden grandeur; asthe cities work their way toward reconciliation, the women sing radiant, flowingchorales....It’s almost shocking how deep this seemingly lighthearted opera goes.

—␣ Alex Ross, The New Yorker

Review

photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Grand Opera

Premierea tragicomedy for singers and orchestra

English libretto by the composer after AristophanesMichael Kahn, stage director

Stefan Lano, music director

Principals: 17 to play 24 characters4S, 3Mz, 2C, 4T, Bar, Bar[=B-Bar], 2B-Bar

1(pic).0.1.asx(barsx).1/1100/timp.2perc/hp/str (4.4.3.3.2)

(Re)view — William Schuman: “A Free Song, Secular Cantata No. 2”

In April 1943, Americancomposer WilliamSchuman won the firstPulitzer Prize ever awardedfor musical composition forhis work, A Free Song,Secular Cantata No. 2. Thiswas not a bad achievementfor the recently appointedDirector of Publications ofG. Schirmer, and formerprofessor of music at SarahLawrence College, who,though an establishedcomposer at the time of hisaward, had earlier showedno great interest in seriousmusic at all, being en-thralled, like so many

1943 William Schuman A Free Song, Secular Cantata No. 21947 Charles Ives Symphony No. 31949 Virgil Thomson Music for the film Louisiana Story1950 Gian Carlo Menotti The Consul1955 Gian Carlo Menotti The Saint of Bleecker Street1956 Ernst Toch Symphony No. 31958 Samuel Barber Vanessa1960 Elliott Carter String Quartet No. 21961 Walter Piston Symphony No. 71963 Samuel Barber Piano Concerto No. 11967 Leon Kirchner String Quartet No. 31969 Karel Husa String Quartet No. 31973 Elliott Carter String Quartet No. 31983 Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Symphony No. 11985 Stephen Albert RiverRun1987 John Harbison The Flight Into Egypt1990 Mel Powell Duplicates: A Concerto for Two

Pianos and Orchestra1994 Gunther Schuller Of Reminiscenes and Reflections1995 Morton Gould Stringmusic1998 Aaron Jay Kernis String Quartet No. 2 (musica

instrumentalis)2000 Lewis Spratlan Life is a Dream, Act II, Concert version2001 John Corigliano Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra

young American men, by jazz and popular song.

This vitality served the more mature composerwell. Leonard Bernstein, who famously recordednumerous Schuman works, including all of hissymphonies, observed William’s “lust for life,” his“vigor and propulsion” and his “buoyancy andenergetic drive,” traits reflected time and again in

the three-movement work using poems takenfrom Walt Whitman’s Drum-Taps, written inresponse to a previous, emotionally-fraughtbattle, the Civil War. Matched perfectly inSchuman’s cantata, the poems “Long, Too Long,America,” “Look Down Fair Moon,” and “Songof the Banner at Daybreak,” successively build toa climactic cry of hope.

Since 1943 the Pulitzer Prize has honored excellence inmusical composition. G. Schirmer is endowed with agenerous legacy of Pulitzer Prize winning works:

the exuberant, life-affirming voice whichmarked Schuman’s music.

A Free Song was com-pleted in October of1942, as the tide wasbeginning to turn in theSecond World War andthe Allies were justbeginning to experiencetheir first glimmers ofsuccess. Nationalsentiment was high onthe side of the boysfighting in the war. So itis no accident thatSchuman, an experiencedchoral composer, built

The opening lines of “Long, TooLong, America” sound a summonsand a challenge that goes straightover the footlights.

— Boston Herald-Tribune, April 1943

The composition is clear cut, finely feltand expertly fashioned, and foundimmediate favor with the listeners.

— Musical Courier, April 1943

Of William Schuman’s A Free Song letit be said here is a work of significantmeaning. He paints with bold vividstrokes and has a particular leaningtoward choral music.

— Music News, June 1945

Mr. Schuman understands how tohandle voices and orchestra andthere are moments of poignantbeauty in this score.

— Musical Leader, May 1943

A Free Song, Secular Cantata No. 2 (1942) 22'Text: Walt Whitman

Chorus; 3(pic)3+ca.3+Ebcl+bcl.3+cbn/4331/timp.perc/str

Premiere 1943; Boston Symphony Orchestra;

Serge Koussevitzky, conductor; Harvard Glee Club;

Radcliffe Choral Society

Copyright © 1943 (Renewed) by Associated Music Pulishers, Inc.(BMI) International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.

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G. Schirmer selected performances April ’05Anniversaries

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Mechem (GS)American Trio ★(April 1, 3)New AmsterdamSingersNew York City

Corigliano (GS)Circus MaximusUniversity of FloridaWind Ensemble

Harbison (AMP)Piano Trio No. 2Amelia TrioLa Jolla, CA

Lang (RP)world to comeMaya Beiser, celloPurdue University

Shchedrin (GSR)Carmen Suite (afterGeorges Bizet)(April 1, 3)Los AngelesPhilharmonic

Nørgård (WH)The Will-o-the-Wispsgo to Town ★★★Birmingham SymphonyEngland

Tan Dun (GS)Concerto for StringOrchestra and Pipa(April 2, 3)West Shore Symphony

Adamo (GS)Little Women(April 2 - 10)Dayton Opera

Danielpour (AMP)Spirits in the WellJessye Norman,soprano; MarkMarkham, pianoLos Angeles, CA

Wolfe (RP)Early That SummerEthyl; RedCleveland, OH

Harbison (AMP)Flashes andIlluminationsSanford Sylvan,baritone; DavidBreitman, pianoNew York CityMechem (GS)TartuffeUniversity of CentralArkansas

Adams (AMP)Shaker LoopsGeorge MasonUniversity

Lang (RP)memory piecesMolly Morkowski, piano(April 7, 12)New York City

Tan Dun (PPI)Water Passion afterSt. Matthew(April 7, 8)University ofCalifornia at LosAngeles

Ali-Zadeh (GSR)Crossing IIYanov-Yanovsky(GSR)LacrymosaPresent Music

Barber (GS)Knoxville: Summer of1915Barbara Bonney,soprano; OrpheusChamber OrchestraEllington/ed.Schuller (GS)Night CreatureMontclair StateUniversity

Glass (DUN)CompanyHartford SymphonyImbrie (AMP)From Time To TimeEnsemble ParalleleSan Francisco, CAIves (AMP)Symphony No. 4(April 9 - 12)Munich PhilharmonicLang (RP)Sweet AirBritten Sinfonia

Harbison (AMP)Abraham ★★Norwegian NationalOpera Choir andOrchestraOslo, Norway

Gordon (RP)Van Gogh Opera(concert version)Alarm Will SoundNew York City

Adams (AMP)Grand Pianola MusicHarmonielehreShaker Loops(April 14, 15)Hong Kong Philharmonic

Adams (AMP)Shaker Loops(April 14, 15)BBC Scottish Orchestra

Harbison (AMP)Oboe ConcertoBergen Philharmonic

Nørgård (WH)TurnTanaka (CH)CrystallineEve Egoyan, pianoToronto, Canada

Stravinsky (GS)Concerto in E-flat,“Dumbarton Oaks”(April 14 - 16)Philadelphia Orchestra

Antheil (EWM)A Jazz SymphonyGothenburgSymphonyGoteborg, Sweden

Tanaka (CH)Frozen HorizonNight BirdTales of TreesContemporaryDirections EnsembleAnn Arbor, MI

Adams (AMP)The Chairman Dances(April 20, 21)Orchestre de laSuisse RomandeGenf, Lausanne,Switzerland

Harle (CH)The Ballad of JamieAllan ★★★Northern SinfoniaGateshead, England

Lutoslawski (CH)Concerto for Orchestra(April 21, 22, 26)Boston Symphony

Nyman (CH)The Upside-down Violin(April 21 - 24)The Fuxci ClubMontreal, Canada

Sheng (GS)Tibetan Swing(April 21, 23)Seattle Symphony

Weill (GS)Down in the Valley(April 21 - 23)Grambling StateUniversity

Frank (GS)Ghosts in the DreamMachine ★Simone Dinnerstein,piano; Chiara QuartetQueens College

Ali-Zadeh (GSR)Mugan-SayagiYo-Yo Ma, cello; TheSilk Road EnsemblePhiladelphia, PA

Prokofiev (GSR)Romeo and Juliet(April 13 - 17)Washington BalletWashington, DC

Shostakovich(GSR)Violin Concerto No. 1(April 13 - 19)Boston Symphony

Menotti (GS)The Consul(April 15 - 24)Arizona Opera

Tan Dun (GS)Water ConcertoBoston ModernOrchestra Project

Thomas (GS)Murmurs in the Mist ofMemoriesSpirit MusingsSunlight EchoesGoshen College

Thomas (GS)Ritual IncantationsCleveland InstituteNew Music Ensemble

Kancheli (GSR)Magnum Ignotum(April 23, 24)Okanagan SymphonyKelowna, Canada

Salonen (CH)Lachen verlerntLeila Josefowicz,violinLondon, England

Tan Dun (GS)Death and Fire:Dialogue with PaulKlee(April 25, 28)PhilharmonicOrchestra of the StateTheatre of MainzGermany

Sheng (GS)String Quartet No.4, “Silent Temple”Cassatt StringQuartetSyracuse, NY

Adams (AMP)Harmonielehre(April 3 - 18)Dominique Dumais,choreographerBallett MannheimGermany

Whitbourn (CH)Annelies ★★★Louise Katech,soprano;Choir of ClareCollege;Royal PhilharmonicLondon, England

Babbitt (AMP)PhilomelDa Camera SocietyHouston, TX

Barber (GS)Knoxville, Summer of1915Gould (EMI)Folk SuiteWalla WallaSymphony

Laderman (GS)SimoesYale CellosNew Haven, CT

Ruders (WH)Kafka’s Trial(April 4 - 13)Royal Danish OperaCopenhagen,Denmark

Wolfe (RP)LickBoston University

Schnittke (GSR)Cello Concerto No. 1(April 6 - 9)San FranciscoSymphony

Tavener (CH)Song for AtheneTwo Hymns to theMother of GodThe SixteenNew York City

Gordon (RP)Trance(April 8 - 12)Wayne McGregor,choreographer;Random DanceAmsterdam,Netherlands

Lang (RP)Stick FigureSusan Marshall,choreographer; SusanMarshall & CompanyDurham, NC

Frank (GS)Ghosts in the DreamMachine ★★★Simone Dinnerstein,piano; Chiara QuartetPhiladelphia, PA

Schurmann (CH)String Quartet ★★Chilingirian QuartetIrvine, CA

Ali-Zadeh (GSR)Mugan-SayagiYo-Yo Ma, cello; TheSilk Road EnsembleNew York City

Harbison (AMP)Six American PaintersAn Die MusicNew York City

Classics DeclassifiedShostakovich (GSR)Symphony No. 5American SymphonyOrchestra

Saariaho (CH)Nymphea Reflections(April 20 - 26)Boston Symphony

Thomas (GS)Purple Syllables ★ChanticleerNew York City

Sheng (GS)String Quartet No. 4,“Silent Temple”St. Petersburg StringQuartetFlushing, NY

Frank (GS)“Mestizo Waltz” fromThree Latin AmericanDances(April 25 -29)San FranciscoSymphony

Corigliano (GS)Gazebo DancesUniversity of Texas atAustin

Lang (RP)Face So Pale(April 27 - 30)Norwegian NationalBallet

Catán (AMP)Florencia en elAmazonas Suite(April 28 - May 1)Dallas Symphony

Salonen (CH)Gambit(April 28 - 30)Cincinnati Symphony

Tan Dun (PPI)Paper Concerto forPaper Percussion andOrchestra(April 28 - May 1)Los AngelesPhilharmonicComposer-in-ResidenceWyner (AMP)Memorial MusicPartita for PianoKansas CityConservatory

1 Joan TowerStepping Stones premiered 1993

2 Wallingford Riegger died 1961

3 Tan DunConcerto for Six premiered 1998

4 Morton GouldThe Jogger and the Dinosaurpremiered 1993

6 Andrew Imbrie born 1921

André Previn born 1930

Igor Stravinsky died 1971

7 John HarbisonCello Concerto premiered 1994

Yehudi WynerCommedia premiered 2003

8 Aaron Jay KernisNew Era Dance premiered 1994

Walter PistonSymphony No. 1 premiered 1938

9 Samuel BarberKnoxville Summer of 1915premiered 1948

Aulis Sallinen born 1935

11 Peter LiebersonAh premiered 2002

10 Joan TowerClarinet Concerto premiered 1988

13 Morton GouldSymphony No. 4 (Symphony for Band)premiered 1952

14 Leon KirchnerLily premiered 1977

18 Miklós Rózsa born 1907

Augusta Read ThomasRise Chanting premiered 2002

21 John HarbisonFour Psalms premiered 1999

John McCabe born 1939

23 Sergei Prokofiev born 1891

23 Mel Powell died 1998

Augusta Read Thomasborn 1964

Joan TowerViolin Concerto premiered 1992

24 John Alden Carpenterdied 1951

25 Giya KancheliNight Prayers premiered 1992

26 Robert KapilowCity Piece: Shuttlecocks premiered 1996

Bright ShengTibetan Swing premiered 2002

28 John Jacob Niles born 1892

29 Lan Adomian 100

Duke Ellington born 1899

Sofia GubaidulinaTwo Paths premiered 1999

30 Ellen Taaffe Zwilichborn 1939

Lang (RP)memory piecesDanny Holt, pianoCambridge, MA

Tower (AMP)IncandescentEmerson StringQuartetGainesville, FL

Public rehearsalDanielpour (AMP)String Quartet No. 5(“In Search of La VitaNuova”)Guarneri StringQuartetLincoln Center

Rodríguez (GS)TangoUtah State University

Rodríguez (GS)Tango ★★Lantano EnsembleLondon, England

Barber (GS)Vanessa(April 16 - 24)San Diego Opera

Composer inResidenceFrank (GS)Leyendas: An AndeanWalkabout(April 16 - 18)Arianna Quartet;University of Missouriat St. Louis

Lang (RP)Little EyeSo PercussionNew York City

80th BirthdayCelebrationMechem (GS)To An Absent Love★★★(version for sopranoand piano trio)San Francisco SongFestival

Danielpour (AMP)Celestial NightLynn UniversityConservatory ofMusic

Lang (RP)memory piecesMolly Morkowski,pianoDartington, England

O’Regan (NOV)Nunc DimittisWestminster ChoirCollege

Kapilow (GS)Dr. Seuss’s GertrudeMcFuzzDr. Seuss’s GreenEggs and HamCleveland Orchestra

Schuman (AMP)Prayer in Time of WarSymphony No. 4NorthwesternUniversity

Bacon (GS)Smoky MountainScherzoNashville Symphony

Barber (GS)Violin Concerto(April 26, 27, 30)New York City Ballet

Rodríguez (GS)Hot Buttered Rumba(April 26, 30)Arkansas Symphony

Schoenberg (GS)Chamber SymphonyNo. 2Orchestra LondonCanada

Shostakovich (GSR)Concerto (No. 1) forPiano, Trumpet andStrings(April 27 - 30)New York Philharmonic

Tan Dun (GS)Tea ★★(April 29 - June 19)Oldenburg StaatstheaterGermany

Harbison (AMP)AbrahamMassachusetts Instituteof Technology

Barab (GS)La Pizza Con FunghiHoiby (GS)Bon Appetit!Greensburg AmericanOpera

Kancheli (GSR)LonesomeShostakovich(GSR)Violin Concerto No. 1Baltimore SymphonyNew York City

Tavener (CH)Lament for Jerusalem★★Song for AtheneOrpheus Choir ofWellingtonNew ZealandGlass (DUN)Violin ConcertoMobile Symphony

Kirchner (AMP)Music for Orchestra IINew EnglandPhilharmonic

Mahler/ed. Mazzetti(AMP)Symphony No. 10Bogota SymphonyColombia

Prokofiev (GSR)Romeo and Juliet(April 30 - May 8)San Francisco Ballet

Franghiz Ali-Zadeh

Sanford Sylvan

Present MusicbringsAzerbaijanicomposerFranghiz Ali-Zadeh toMilwaukee onApril 8. Thismonth, Yo-YoMa and the SilkRoad Ensembletake her musicon tour.

On April 6 atNew York’s92nd St. Y,BaritoneSanford Sylvanperforms“Flashes andIlluminations”of JohnHarbison,accompanied byDavid Breitman.

photo: Internationale Musikverlage Hans Sikorski

photo: www.alliedartists.co.uk

On TourJennifer Koh, violin

Salonen (CH)Lachen verlerntSeoul, Korea ★★,␣ April 15Daewon, Korea,␣ April 16Tokyo, Japan ★★,␣ April 19New York City, April 28

Composer Portraits in New York CityApril 7Thomas (GS)

Final Soliloquy of the Interior Paramour ★★★In My Sky at Twilight ★Silver Chants the Litanies ★Spirit Musings ★Alarm Will SoundMiller TheatreColumbia University

Tilson-Thomas (KON)

Notturno ★★★Rilke Songs ★★★Tea With Maggie ★★★Island MusicCarnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall

Frank (GS)

Cuatro Canciones AndinasLeyendas: An Andean WalkaboutSueños de ChambiBruno Walter AuditoriumLincoln Center

On TourJamie Laredo, violin;Sharon Robinson, cello;Curtis Institute of Music

Danielpour (AMP)In the Arms of the BelovedAllentown, PA,␣ April 25New York City ★,␣ April 26Philadelphia, PA, April 29

On TourChanticleer

Thomas (GS)Purple SyllablesNew York City,␣ April 22Boston, MA, April 29

Purcell Room, London“A Musician of Our Time”Maxwell Davies (CH)

April 19Naxos Quartet No. 1Maggini QuartetSongs of HoyPurcell Contemporary Ensemble

April 22De Assumtione Beatae Mariae Virginis ★★Blind Man’s BuffLondon Sinfonietta

April 24A Dance of the Hill ★★★London Sinfonia

April 26, 27Naxos Quartet No. 6 ★★★Maggini Quartet

April 28Two MotetsChoir of Westminster CathedralAcademy of Music Brass Ensemble

April 30Mavis in Las VegasPhilharmonia Orchestra

Soprano, Bass-baritone; SATB3(pic).2+ca.3(bcl).2+cbn/4331/timp.4perc/hp/str

Alternate: 2(pic).2.2(bcl).2/4.2.1+btbn.0/timp.2perc/hp/str

Sheila Judson, soprano;Wayne Shepperd, bass-baritone

Topeka Symphony and Chorus/Strickler5 March 2005; Topeka, KS

Review

Charles IvesPiano Sonata No. 2, “Concord”Steven Mayer, pianoNaxos CD 8559127

Dmitri ShostakovichJazz Suites Nos. 1 and 2The Bolt (Ballet Suite)Russian State Symphony/YablonskyNaxos SACD 6110104

William Grant StillAfro-American SymphonyFort Smith Symphony/JeterNaxos CD 8559174

Recent Recordings

George AntheilComplete Works for String QuartetLithuanian NightSix Little Pieces for String OrchestraString Quartets Nos. 1, 2, and 3Del Sol String QuartetOther Minds OM 1008-2

Camargo GuarnieriPiano Concerto No. 2Max Barros, pianoWarsaw Philharmonic Orchestra/ConlinNaxos CD 8557666

Hans Werner HenzeL’Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe(“The Hoopoe and the Triumph of Filial Love”)Dieter Dorn, stage directorBrian Large, film directorSalzburg FestivalVarious soloistsVienna Staatsopera ChoirVienna Philharmonic/StenzEuroarts DVD 2053929

Max AttackLondon’s Royal Festival Hall is the place to bewhen Peter Maxwell Davies is feted as “AMusician of Our Time,” 17–30 April.

This festival underscores his distinct and far-reaching influence on contemporary music, notonly in Britain but worldwide. “A Musician ofOur Time” presents lectures, informal discussionsand concerts performed by such groups as thePhilharmonia Orchestra and ensembles of theRoyal Academy of Music. Also featured are twoworld premieres: A Dance on the Hill given bymezzo-soprano Pamela Helen Stephen and theCity of London Sinfonia led by Richard Hickox,and the Maggini Quartet’s first performance ofNaxos Quartet No. 6. The composer’s AssumtioneBeatae Mariae Virginis receives its UK premiere bythe London Sinfonietta conducted by OliverKnussen.

Max (as he is affectionately known) made hismark in the 1960s and 70s with his expressionistscores, biting film music and provocative theatrepieces. Since then, he has prolifically expanded hiscatalogue with operas, ballets, concertos, sympho-nies, chamber music, and works for voice. He hasalso spent much of his career as an educationaladvocate and has composed a number of engagingworks for children.

Maxwell Davies currently serves as Master of TheQueen’s Music, and is in discussions withBuckingham Palace about new pieces and events.

photo: Gunnie Moberg, courtesy: Royal Festival Hall

Kirke MechemSongs of the Slave 34'

What a work it was. With 130 voices...andtwo vocal soloists...Strickler led the singersand musicians in performing Songs of theSlave, a suite that the Wichita-born,Topeka-raised composer Kirke Mechemdrew from his opera, John Brown.

...Songs of the Slave proved stirring. And itwas not just for the lush and lively score by

Mechem but also for the text he chose fromhistory....The fiery abolitionist John Brownarrived 150 years ago in what was “BleedingKansas.”...But slavery’s legacy didn’t endwith the South’s defeat.

When Shepperd sang...words from a speechby Frederick Douglas, the former slave whochampioned liberty for his race...it served asa reminder of another moment decades laterthat put Topeka’s name in the historybooks....Mechem cemented that historicalconnection by closing his cantata with aphrase from the Declaration ofIndependence....That wasn’t the suite’s onlydramatic moment....Mechem [composed] amovement based on a letter that a slave,Harriet Newby, wrote to her husband. Shetells him she fears she will be sold if hedoesn’t soon return. [He] was killed inBrown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. She wassold.

...a memorable concert.— Bill Blankenship,

The Topeka Capital-Journal

Kirke MechemSongs of the SlaveVocal score 50482274 $8.95

To an Absent Love —␣ Song CycleThe first song is Harriet Newby’s letter ofher husband, from “Songs of the Slave”Soprano and pianoVocal score 50482690 $5.95

6

7

Poul RudersKafka’s Trial 105'

Ruders is a prodigiously skilled anddaringly imaginative craftsman, andKafka’s Trial is a brilliant achieve-ment: a grotesquely comic, bitterlysatirical and, ultimately, deeplymoving work that hooks you fortwo onrushing and uninterruptedhours...

...Bentley...andRuders settledon theingeniousdevice ofcombining thenovel withelements ofKafka’s life...In1912, Kafka,living inPrague, metFelice Bauer ofBerlin andstarted a two-year courtshipthrough letters.This conflictedcorrespondencetook a bizarreturn whenBauer’s bestfriend, GretaBloch, enteredthe picture as ago-between butwound up getting involved withKafka. Naturally the truth cameout, with recriminations on allsides. Kafka channeled his tormentand guilt into The Trial.

In the opera, scenes from Kafka’sthree-way relationship with Bauerand Bloch are seamlessly inter-spersed with episodes from thebook...The lead tenor plays bothJoseph K. and Kafka, and as Bentley

Reviewshoped, you care about the haplessand beleaguered author, who livesonly though his agonized writing.

But what makes you care and shakesyou up is Ruders’s stunning score.Stylistically, as usual, he is all overthe place. The madcap scenes aredriven by garish, frenzied musicthat nods to Prokofiev. Elements of

spiky atonality mix withMinimalistic riffs. When characterssnipe at one another, the orchestraerupts in pugnacious bouts ofcounterpoint. Kvetching bureau-crats are captured through whiningwoodwinds and sniveling strings.

But every time the ranting energyand pummeling dissonance get outof hand, the score turns momen-tarily pensive as Ruders captures a

character’s reflectionsthrough luminous, quietlysustained and weirdlybeautiful music...

— Anthony Tommasini,The New York Times

W.A. Mozarted. Paul Badura-SkodaPiano Concerto No. 26,“Coronation Concerto”reduction for two pianosSet 50483628 $14.95

Robert Kapilowfrom “03, This New Immense,Unbounded World”

the mississippi riverempties into the gulffor SATB and chorusOctavo 50485592 $1.60

Proverbfor SATB and chorusOctavo 50485591 $1.60

photo: Martin Mydtskov Rønne, Royal Danish Opera

Johnny van Hal and Marianne Rørholm in “Kafka’s Trial”

New Publications

Yehudi WynerPiano Concerto, “Chiavi in Mano” 20'

Spook a thoroughbred, see how fast it runs...composer Yehudi Wyner senta jolt through the Boston Symphony Orchestra...with his world premierepiano concerto, Chiavi inMano. “Chiavi in Mano” — it’sa phrase stolen from Italiansalesmen: basically, “if you gotthe keys, you own it.” The keys here are both under the soloist’s fingersand in the musical suggestiveness, which hints at the work’s eventualoutcome, but subtly...

Chiavi offers many chances for admiration. From its simple beginning, itexpands to larger explorations, all following a thread that comments onprevious material and moves quickly on. In one movement...Wyner’s Chiavibrings Ives, the great incorporator of popular idiom, to a new generation.

— Keith Powers, Boston Herald

PremierePiano; 2(pic).2.2.2/4231/timp.perc/str

Robert Levin, piano; Boston Symphony/Spano17 February 2004; Boston, MA

Michael GordonGotham 30'

Gotham...will undoubtedly be the most discussed piece of new orchestralmusic played in London this year. Like its spiritual ancestor, EdgardVarèse’s epic 1922 ear-basher Amériques, its theme is the New World in allits brash, brilliant, multifarious intensity — and particularly, of course,New York. But this is no lullaby of Broadway.

True, the first movement is compara-tively mild. Rising and falling scalesshift in and out of syncin...minimalist fashion, while, on thebig screen behind the orchestra, BillMorrison’s collage of newsreels

flickers and shudders through primordial footage of sheep in Central Park.But the second and third movements are a different matter. As skyscrapers,subway trains and crowds whirl across the screen, Gordon’s score crashes...

Imagine a dozen police sirens, each a quarter-tone apart from thenext....Add a pounding beat. And then, just when you think that theheavily amplified orchestra can’t produce anything more...imagine a kind ofdanse macabre for our times: a relentless, ferocious jig that starts with asingle fiddle, then splinters into a myriad different lines, none quite alignedwith the next, until the whole band is spinning in a mega-decibel vortex.

— Richard Morrison, The Times (London)

UK premiere2(afl,pic).2.0.0/2320/pf/2perc/egtr.5str-ebgtr/str(min 33331)London Sinfonietta/Brabbins

11 March 2005; Queen Elizabeth Hall,London, England

Libretto by Paul Bentley(available in English or Danish)

S, 2 Mz, 4T, 3 Bar, B; SATB4.1+ca.3+bcl.sx.3+cbn/6441/

timp.4perc/hp.epf.kbd.acn/strFrancisco Negrin, stage director

Royal Danish Opera/Schønwandt12 March 2005; Copenhagen, Denmark

Premiere

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Jonathan Biss, piano

8 March 2005; Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall,

New York City

Deborah Horne, Editor

Ed Matthew, Managing Internet Editor

Dmitri ShostakovichThe Bolt full eve.

Leon KirchnerPiano Sonata No. 2 14'

Ballet in Three Acts

3333/6331/timp.perc/hp/str

Alexei Ratmansky, choreography; Bolshoi Ballet

25 February 2005; Moscow, Russia

There was the Berg Sonata...and as acounterbalance, Leon Kirchner’s SonataNo. 2 in all its crowded, heart-on-sleevepassion.

Mr. Kirchner is well into his 80’s and thepiece here only two years old, but itslanguid, limpid periods bear the seeds ofan enormous eruptive energy. The musicsurges and expands from states of calminto great rushes of complexity.

— Bernard Holland,The New York Times

The choreography, sets, costumes and,above all, Shostakovich’s masterful scoreconspire to make The Bolt one of thosetheatrical events that can cause even themost jaded viewer to stand up and cheer.Despite the ballet’s inauspicious theme— industrial sabotage during the earlydays of Stalin’s rule — it comes across asrollicking good fun, with delicioussatirical overtones that can be grasped byanyone with even the vaguest notions ofSoviet life in that tumultuous era.

— Raymond Stults,The Moscow Times

Reviews

Opening of Final Soliloquy of the Interior Paramour by Augusta ReadThomas. CopyrightZ © 2005 by G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP) New York, NY.

International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.