CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Ensemble ACJW
The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute

Weill Recital Hall
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 at 7:30 PM

Ensemble ACJW

GEORGE CRUMB Eleven Echoes of Autumn (Echoes I)
KAYHAN KALHOR The Silent City
ELLIOTT CARTER Esprit rude/esprit doux
SCHUBERT Piano Trio in B-flat Major, D. 898

The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education—is made possible by a leadership gift from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Major funding has also been provided by Mercedes and Sid Bass, The Irving Harris Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Kovner Foundation, Martha and Bob Lipp, Mr. and Mrs. Lester S. Morse Jr., Judith and Burton Resnick, Susan and Elihu Rose, and The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, with additional support from Mr. and Mrs. Nicola Bulgari, Jean and Louis Dreyfus Foundation, Susan and Ed Forst, The William Petschek Family, and Suki Sandler.

This Carnegie Hall commission and performance is made possible, in part, by a generous grant from the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

Program Notes:

GEORGE CRUMB (b. 1929)
Eleven Echoes of Autumn (Echoes 1)

Many of George Crumb’s works include symbolic, mystical, and theatrical elements, frequently requiring the musicians to produce sounds in innovative ways. The 11 pieces, composed in 1966 for the Aeolian Chamber Players and performed without interruption, each exploit certain timbral possibilities of the flute, clarinet, violin, and piano. Like many of his scores, Eleven Echoes is extraordinary—both visually and aurally—with occasional passages shaped in a circle in the manner of medieval composer Baude Cordier (ca. 1400).

Crumb has explained: “The most important generative element of Eleven Echoes is the ‘bell motif’—a quintuplet figure based on the whole-tone interval—which is heard at the beginning of the work.” This germinal idea, a descending whole-tone interval, supports Crumb’s density of invention throughout the work, appearing in many rhythmic variations, frequently in a highly chromatic context.

Although each of the pieces has its own distinct character, contrasting music also sometimes occurs, for example the “wind music” of the alto flute and clarinet in eco 2 or the “distant mandolin music” of the violin in eco 3. An expressive arch-like curve of the whole work is unifying, with a gradual growth of intensity to a climax in eco 8, followed by a gradual diminution. At the conclusion of the work, Crumb accentuates a feeling of isolation and loss by directing the violinist to create a mournful, fragile timbre by playing with the bow hair completely slack.

Although Eleven Echoes has certain programmatic implications for the composer, he feels it is “enough for the listener to infer the significance of the motto-quote from Federico García Lorca: “... y los arcos rotos donde sufre el tiempo” (“... and the broken arches where time suffers”). These words are softly intoned as a preface to each of the three cadenzas (echi 5-7) for flute, violin, and clarinet, and the image of the broken arches is represented visually in the notation of the music.

Eleven Echoes of Autumn (Echoes 1) received its Carnegie Hall premiere on February 25, 1979, in Weill Recital Hall with Jayn Rosenfeld, alto flute; Laura Flax, clarinet; Gregory Fulkerson, violin; and Robert Black, piano.

KAYHAN KALHOR (b. 1963)The Silent City

Kayhan Kalhor dedicated The Silent City to locations throughout history that have been “destroyed by humanity, war, and natural disaster.” More specifically, The Silent City serves as his musical elegy for the Kurdish village of Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan that was devastated in 1988. Based on an altered A-minor scale, Kalhor integrates ancient Persian musical traditions with a modern sensibility to honor such fallen cities.

The Silent City was originally scored for two violins, two violas, cello, bass, and kemancheh.

The kemancheh is an instrument that dates back to the 12th century CE. It has a small round wooden body with a spike protruding from its base, a sound table made of animal skin, and a cone-shaped neck. The kamancheh usually rests on the player’s knee and is twisted on the spike to meet a bow. Played in the tradition of improvised music known as maqam, the kamancheh has a warm sound, much like that of the human voice, and lends itself to solo virtuoso playing.

In performance, The Silent City invites each of the musicians into the process of developing the piece by means of improvisation until they reach the conventionally composed and arranged conclusion. As a result, every time the piece is presented, it changes according to the performers and their collective mood.

The Silent City was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and received its world premiere on September 17, 2006, in Zankel Hall. The performance featured the Silk Road Ensemble and Kayhan Kalhor.

ELLIOTT CARTER (b. 1908)
Esprit Rude / Esprit Doux

Esprit Rude / Esprit Doux for flute and clarinet was dedicated to Pierre Boulez in honor of his 60th birthday on March 31, 1985, and was commissioned by the Sudwestrudfunk. For that occasion, Baden-Baden Radio broadcast several concerts of Boulez’s music, and they also invited several composers to write pieces in tribute to him. Elliott Carter explained that the work’s title refers “to the rough and smooth breathing of ancient Greek, because I had noticed that both kinds of breathing occurred in the words ‘Hexekoston etos,’ which means ‘sixtieth year’ in Greek. So I thought that would make an amusing title.”

In this brief, difficult duet, the two parts intentionally never really mesh. Characteristic of Carter’s compositions, Esprit Rude / Esprit Doux is almost overwhelming in dramatic expression. When one instrument plays a downbeat, the other has a figure that goes over the downbeat, and when one has a complicated figure of groups of seven, for example, the other is likely to be playing groups of eight. Even so, the work displays its warmhearted and playful nature alternating slow with fast music. Needless to say, in the spirit of the title, both instrumentalists need to produce some rough and some smooth breathing.

Esprit Rude / Esprit Doux received its New York premiere in Weill Recital Hall on January 29, 1987, with Rachel Rudich, flute, and Robert Yamins, clarinet.


FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797–1828)
Piano Trio in B-flat Major, D. 898

Schubert’s Piano Trio in B-flat Major is the first of only two works the composer wrote in this form. Its playfulness often surprises the listener despite its traditional structure. For example, the first movement, Allegro moderato, is in traditional sonata form, but in the recapitulation where it is usual to return to the original key, Schubert ventures off in three different directions—each a false start—before succumbing to the expected modulation. The movement then ends with a brief and peaceful coda that concludes, surprisingly, with two short, loud chords.

The second movement, Andante un poco mosso, begins with a cantilena theme, a lovely cello melody accompanied, initially, by the piano. The violin and piano each state the theme again, embellishing it with counter-melodies before the contrasting second section that features a syncopated string rhythm. Again Schubert plays with the listener in an unexpected way, when he returns to the first theme, dramatically varying the melodic line. The Scherzo: Allegro is playful and energetic, building to a climactic end. Its trio section dances to waltz time. In the last movement, a Rondo: Allegro vivace, the listener expects to hear the initial theme repeated with contrasting development between repetitions, but instead Schubert alters the original melody significantly each time he brings it back.

Robert Schumann admired the trio tremendously, saying, “One glance at Schubert’s Trio and the troubles of our human existence disappear and all the world is fresh and bright again.” The trio is, indeed, cheerful and sparkling, brimming with melodic beauty and rhythmic inventiveness that enhance its sonorous Romantic harmonies.

—Susan Halpern
Susan Halpern contributes program notes to numerous musical organizations.

Copyright © 2008 by The Carnegie Hall Corporation

Ensemble ACJW
Ensemble ACJW is the performing arm of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. Ensemble ACJW performs at Carnegie Hall and The Juilliard School in addition to bringing performances and educational events to the Saratoga Springs community through a partnership with Skidmore College. The Ensemble comes together in different sizes and configurations, having the opportunity to play intimate chamber music as well as larger conducted chamber orchestra works.

The Academy is a two-year fellowship that provides the finest post-graduate musicians with performance opportunities, advanced musical training, intensive teaching instruction and experience, and the skills and values necessary for careers that combine musical excellence with education, community engagement, and advocacy. The program reflects the belief that the artist of tomorrow will require both the ability to perform at the highest level and the capacity to give back to the community, inspiring the next generation of musicians and music lovers.

The Academy was launched in January 2007 with 16 fellows and has now expanded to 34 fellows. The fellows were selected because of their extraordinary level of musicianship, deep commitment to education and community engagement, and leadership qualities. Fellows are graduates of leading music schools including The Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College The New School for Music, New England Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory, Stony Brook University, and Yale School of Music. Please visit acjw.org for more information about the program.