Greetings Everyone!!
Brahms & Schumann Classical Music Salon #5
- This Sunday, October 28th 4:30 PM
8 Broadmoor Hills Drive, Colorado Springs, CO80906.
For October 28
th we still have a few spaces open for reservations. Please, send email or call 527-8776 or 439-4630.
The musical lineup for Oct 28
th is all
Brahms and Schumann featuring great works of these immortal masters
.
If you were not able to make the Oct 14
th salon
, here is a final chance to hear some of our Denver-vicinity talent.
Don't miss
Dorothy Crow-Willard, violin and her impassioned reading of a Schumann Sonata.
Also,
Gary Crow-Willard, bass, is sure to give a penetrating and dramatic rendition of Brahms' profound
4 Serious Songs, written shortly before Brahms' death.
Finally, salon regulars,
David Greene and
Abe Minzer, will perform Brahms Haydn Variations for
2 Pianos, a most novel and exciting instrumental combination.
Brahms & Schumann Festival Music Salon Series
7 Glorious Concerts with Food and Drink in an Intimate, Casual and Friendly Setting
15 great musicians from the Front Range
Remaining salons...
Sunday Oct 28
4:30PM
Sunday Nov 4 4:30PM
Saturday Nov 10 6:30PM
$23/evening, $80 any 4, $95 any 5, $110 any 6, $120 for all 7
Call Abe Minzer at 719-439-4630 for info/reservations-Space Limited
THE PROGRAM- October 28
th
Schumann Sonata in A minor for Violin and Piano, op. 105, was written during a period in Schumann's life when he created chamber works in rapid succession.
From September to November of1851 he wrote the A minor Sonata for Violin and Piano, op. 105 (created in 5 days between 12 and 16 September), then his 3
rd Piano Trio, and the D minor Sonata for Violin and Piano.
Schumann saw hiscreative personaas comprised of two contrasting characters:
Florestan and Eusebius.
Florestan was the expansive, passionate, impulsive side of his creative energy, while Eusebius was the contemplative, inward, philosophical side.
In the A minor Sonata for Violin and Piano, the sudden shifts of mood between Florestan and Eusebius are readily in evidence.
We have everything from surging passion, to folk dances, to churning turbulence just under a surface ofa Mendelssohnian lightness.
Brahms Vier Ernste Gesänge (Four Serious Songs), Op. 121.
When Brahms' lifelong friend and champion, Clara Schumann, suffered a stroke on March 26, 1896, Brahms was concerned that this "greatest wealth" in his life might soon die. He consecrated himself to completing the Vier Ernste Gesänge (Four Serious Songs), Op. 121, by his birthday, May 7 of the same year, and dedicated the score to her.
She died two weeks later on May 20
th.
The familiar biblical texts were taken from the Martin Luther translation of the bible:
1.
"Denn es gehet dem Menschen"
(Thus it goes for men as for the beasts - each must die.) - Ecclesiastes 3:19-22
2.
"Ich wandte mich und sahe an alle"
(I wandered about and looked upon everything...) - Ecclesiastes 4:1-3
3.
"O Tod, o Tod, wie bitter bist du"
(Oh death, how bitter you are for the man who has had everything)
- Ecclesiastes 41:1-2
4.
"Wenn ich mit Menschen und mit Engelzungen redete"
(If I speak with the tongues of humans and of angels) - 1st Corinthians 13
INTERMISSION
Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn for 2 Pianos, consisting of a
theme in B-flat major, eight
variations and a finale, was composed in the summer of
1873. It was published in two versions: the variations for two
pianos, written first but designated Op. 56b, and the same piece for
orchestra, referred to as Op. 56a.
Recent scholarship has revealed that, despite the title of the work, the theme is very unlikely to be by
Haydn. In 1870, Brahms's friend Carl Ferdinand Pohl, the librarian of the
Vienna Philharmonic Society who was working on a Haydn biography at the time, showed Brahms a transcription he had made of a piece attributed to Haydn titled
Divertimento No. 1. The second movement bore the heading
St. Anthony Chorale; and while current usage still prefers the original title,
Variations on the St. Anthony Chorale is the name favored by those who object to perpetuating a misattribution. Even that name, however, tells us very little: To date, no other mention of the so-called "St. Anthony Chorale" has been found.
The movements and variations are named and tempo markings are as follows:
- Thema. Chorale St. Antoni. Andante
- Variation I. Poco più animato
- Variation II. Più vivace
- Variation III. Con moto
- Variation IV. Andante con moto
- Variation V. Vivace
- Variation VI. Vivace
- Variation VII. Grazioso
- Variation VIII. Presto non troppo
- Finale. Andante
THE ARTISTS- October 28
th
Violinist Dorothy Crow-Willard grew up in Boulder, where she began her musical studies with piano in kindergarten and violin in a public school sponsored instrumental program the summer after third grade.
She has carried her violin with her ever since, including on backpacking trips and while hitchhiking in Norway, where she became enamored of the Hardanger Fiddle. Her studies at OberlinCollege, Hartt School of Music and privately in New York and Boston acquainted her with some of the world's finest violin pedagogues, including Shirley Givens and Roman Totenberg.
With their inspiration, she has performed as concertmaster of professional and community orchestras, including the Goodspeed Opera House Orchestra, the Orchestra at Montview and the Centennial/Denver Philharmonic; as soloist with the Connecticut Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of New England, and the Arapahoe and Centennial Philharmonic Orchestras; and as chamber musician throughout the country, most recently as first violinist of Denver's Lark Quartet.
She is delighted by the opportunity to participate in Abe Minzer's Salon series with her long-time collaborator, David Greene.
Pianist David Greene has performed chamber music with faculty at CU-Boulder as well as principal players of the Colorado Symphony. His name has appeared on virtually all the chamber music series in Denver, including 2 performances at the ArvadaCenter. He has accompanied for various local community choirs and has served as music director at 2 different churches. He was staff accompanist at the HochsteinMusicSchool in Rochester, NY and was accompanist for the classes of Kathleen Crofton, distinguished ballet mistress and former soloist in the dance company of Anna Pavlova.
Bass Gary Crow-Willard grew up on a dairy farm in the St. Lawrence River valley of upstate New York, where his first voice lesson was by the fabulous acoustics provided by the interior of a grain silo.
He went on to a BA in Music from SUNY Fredonia and a Master of Music from Yale (where the training was somewhat more traditional - and fortunately, lacked the pungent odor of grass ensilage).
After teaching voice at TrinityCollege and WesleyanUniversity in Connecticut and performing in NYC, Boston and throughout New England, he moved to Colorado with his violinist wife, Dorothy, and their 7-month old daughter in 1988.
Performance venues have included the Bronx Opera, the Little Orchestra Society at Avery Fisher Hall, Manhattan Theater Club, Aspen Music Festival, the New Haven Symphony, and the Denver Civic Theater where he portrayed Sweeney Todd in 1993.
He is currently a member of the Ars Nova Singers in Boulder.
Pianist/Concert Organizer Abram Minzer is a creator of the diverse Colorado Springs-based music salon series. In the first 2 series, Schubert song cycles and Mostly Mozart have been featured. Abram Minzer earned a doctorate in Piano Performance at W. Va. University, and taught piano and chamber music at GoucherCollege in Baltimore. He was concerto soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Currently, Dr. Minzer is Music Coordinator at Temple Beit Torah in Colorado Springs, and actively performs Jewish and contemporary music. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife Carol Schreuder and enjoys travel.
| Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh; wie dies stirbt, so stirbt er auch; und haben alle einerlei Odem; und der Mensch hat nichts mehr denn das Vieh: denn es ist alles eitel. Es fährt alles an einem Ort; es ist alles von Staub gemacht, und wird wieder zu Staub. Wer weiß, ob der Geist des Menschen aufwärts fahre, und der Odem des Viehes unterwärts unter die Erde fahre? Darum sahe ich, daß nichts bessers ist, denn
daß der Mensch fröhlich sei in seiner Arbeit, denn das
ist sein Teil. Denn wer will ihn dahin
bringen, daß er sehe, was nach ihm geschehen wird?
| For that which befalleth the sons of men
befalleth beasts, as the one dieth, so dieth the other; and they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?-- Ecclesiastes 3:19-22 |
| Ich wandte mich und sahe anAlle, die Unrecht leiden unter der Sonne;Und siehe, da waren Tränen derer, Die Unrecht litten und hatten keinen Tröster; Und die ihnen Unrecht täten, waren zu mächtig,Daß sie keinen Tröster haben konnten. Da lobte ich die Toten, Die schon gestorben waren Mehr als die Lebendigen, Die noch das Leben hatten; Und der noch nicht ist, ist besser, als alle beide, Und des Bösen nicht inne wird, Das unter der Sonne geschieht.
| So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. Yea, better is he than both they,
which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.-- Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 |
| O Tod, wie bitter bist du, Wenn an dich gedenket ein Mensch, Der gute Tage und genug hat Und ohne Sorge lebet; Und dem es wohl geht in allen Dingen Und noch wohl essen mag! O Tod, wie bitter bist du. O Tod, wie wohl tust du dem Dürftigen, Der da schwach und alt ist, Der in allen Sorgen steckt, Und nichts Bessers zu hoffen, Noch zu erwarten hat! O Tod, wie wohl tust du!
| O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that is at peace in his possessions, unto the man that hath nothing to distract him, and hath prosperity in all things, and that still hath strength to receive meat! O death, how biter is the remembrance of thee. O death, how aceptable is thy sentence unto a man that is needy and that faileth in strength, that is in extreme old age, and is distracted
in all things, and that looks for no better lot, nor waiteth on better days! O death, how acceptable is thy sentence.-- Ecclesiastes 41:1-2 |
Wenn ich mit Menschen und mit Engelszungen redete, Und hätte der Liebe nicht, So wär' ich ein tönend Erz, Oder eine klingende Schelle. Und wenn ich weissagen könnte, Und wüßte alle Geheimnisse Und alle Erkenntnis, Und hätte allen Glauben, also Daß ich Berge versetzte, Und hätte der Liebe nicht, So wäre ich nichts. Und wenn ich alle meine Habe den Armen gäbe, Und ließe meinen Leib brennen, Und hätte der Liebe nicht, So wäre mir's nichts nütze. Wir sehen jetzt durch einen Spiegel In einem dunkeln Worte; Dann aber von Angesicht zu Angesichte. Jetzt erkenne ich's stückweise, Dann aber werd ich's erkennen, Gleich wie ich erkennet bin. Nun aber bleibet Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe, Diese drei;
Aber die Liebe ist die größeste unter ihnen. | Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all fatih, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing. For now we see through a glass,
darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (Love). -- 1st Corinthians 13; |
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