NEW YORK VIRTUOSI, Kenneth Klein-music director

Presents KAMMERMUSIK/NYV led by Dr. Dale Stuckenbruck Our Water/Our Music celebrating International Water Day, March 22 featuring

Liu Fang, pipa

Sunday, March 18th, 2012, 7:00 PM, Hillwood Recital Hall, LIU Post Campus

PROGRAM
Yi Dance, solo pipa with a short string orchestra introduction Wang Hui-Ran
(1936-)

Liu Fang, pipa and Kammermusik Ensemble A Spalsh of Cold Water Gwyneh Walker
(1947-)

Kammermusik Ensemble
(1893 - 1950)
Moon Reflected on Second Spring

Erquan Yingyue ()
Abing

Liu Fang, pipa and Kammermusik Ensemble Butterfly Lovers concerto, excerpts
Gang (, 1935-) ,1933-) Liu Fang, pipa Dale Stuckenbruck, musical saw Heawon Kim, piano He Zhanhao( Chen

Water Night, arranged for strings Eric Whitacre Kammermusik Ensemble Suite in F major (HWV 348) Friedrich Handel Water Music, 1717 (1685-1759)
1.Overture (Largo Allegro) 2.Adagio e staccato (pipa instead of oboe) 3.Allegro Andante Allegro da capo (hand instead of frech horns)

Georg

KAMMERMUSIK ENSEMBLE

VIOLIN I Annie Foxen, Andrew Koe**, Nora Koe, Hyunju Ji* VIOLA David Vakili

VIOLIN II Ariana Rahgozar, Erin McGowan, Bradley Bosenbeck* CELLO Kyra Koe Dustin Liu

* assisting musicians from LIU Post Department of Music, studio of Dale Stuckenbruck ** concertmaster for Yi Dance and Erquan Yingyue ()

Thanks to Heawon Kim-Stuckenbruck for her unfailing support to keep this group alive. THANK YOU, TO THE LIU POST DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC FOR SUPPORTING THIS EVENT IN THIS LOCATION FOR PERFORMANCE. IN ADDITION WE ARE GRATEFUL TO THE WALDORF SCHOOL OF GARDEN CITY FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT IN THE USE OF THE FACILITIES FOR REHEARSALS.

Featured Guest Soloist Liu Fang, pipa

As a child prodigy in her native China, now a resident of Canada, Liu Fang has been regarded as one of the most eminent pipa soloists. She is also excellent performer on the Chinese zither Gusheng. Her fans are young and old, of all nationalities and backgrounds. Her fans range from musicians with perfect pitch to senior citizens with hearing aids.. Her talent crosses all

boundaries, linguistic and cultural. She has performed numerous concerts throughout world to massive acclaim, including solo recitals of Chinese traditional and classical music as well as contemporary music with orchestras, string quartets and ensembles. She has also premiered a number of new compositions such as the works of Canadas eminent composers R Murray Schafer and Jose Evangelista, and made frequent appearances in national and international TV and radios. Liu Fang is also highly acclaimed for her Silk and Steel projects in which she has collaborated with world class musicians from various traditions, and has released 9 solo and collaborative albums. Her most recent recording 'Silk Sound', under the French Label Accords Crosses, won the prestigious Academie Charles Cros Award (the French equivalent of the Grammy). Liu Fang is referred to in the press as "the empress of pipa (L'actualit, 2001), divine mediator (World, 2006), the greatest ambassadress of the art of the pipa (La presse, 2002) and possessing virtuoso technique, grace and a unique empathy toward the music she plays whether it is a traditional folk tune or a modern Western composition (All Music Guide, 2004). In 2001, Liu Fang was the only musician to receive the prestigious 'Future Generation Millennium Prize' awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts to three artists of different disciplines under 30 years of age.

PROGRAM NOTES
Wang Huiran, composer Yi Dance: Wang Huiran (Wang Hui-Ran) was born in 1936 in Shanghai, China. He started learning pipa and liuqin (a smaller version of Chinese lute) at the age of 13 and became profesional soloist in several musical troups during his early career. In 1957 Wang was selected to go to Moscau State Radio Station and recorded several traditional pipa solo pieces. His own composition "Merry dancing under the moon" received excellent comments. In 1960, Wang composed the celebrated "Dance of the Yi people" which has becomes the classical pipa composition that can be heard almost every where in China. This piece, combining the spirit of the folk tradition and the best use of the pipa technique, has become an excellent model for contemporary pipa compositions. Wang has also made great contributions in improving the making of Liuqin in such a way that this instrument, which was used mainly for accompanying local opera or other instruments, has also appeared in solo genres. He composed many pieces for Liuqin and wrote a book entitled "How to play Liuqin". Wang Huiran also displays excellent skill in conducting Chinese orchestra. He was invited several times to conduct Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and Chinese Youth Orchestra. Gwyneth Walker, composer Dr. Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947) is a graduate of Brown University and the Hartt School of Music. She holds B.A., M.M. and D.M.A. Degrees in Music Composition. A former faculty member of the Oberlin College Conservatory, she resigned from academic employment in 1982 in order to pursue a career as a full-time composer. For nearly 30 years, she lived on a dairy farm in Braintree, Vermont. She has now returned to herchildhood hometown of New Canaan, Connecticut. Walker's catalog includes over 200 commissioned works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, chorus, and solo voice. The music of Gwyneth Walker is published by E. C. Schirmer (choral/vocal music) and Lauren Keiser Music (orchestral/instrumental music). In recent years, Gwyneth Walker traveled across the United States working with a variety of musicians as they recorded her works. As a result of these collaborations, several new CDs have been released: A Vision of Hills (piano trios and string works, performed by Trio Tulsa), An Hour to Dance (music for SATB chorus

recorded by the choirs at Whitman College), Now Let Us Sing!(with Bella Voce Womens Chorus, Burlington, Vermont), The Sun Is Love(solo voice and piano works performed by Chicago artists Michelle Areyzaga and Jamie Shaak), and Scattering Dark and Bright (song cycles recorded by the Walker-Eklof Duo). In addition to the composing of new works, there has also been a special project of creating orchestral accompaniments for many of the choral and vocal works in the Walker catalog. Thus, the Songs for Womens Voices, Three Days By the Sea, I Thank You God, and the song cycle, No Ordinary Woman!, have all been orchestrated. Another new work, A Testament to Peace, combines three peace-oriented choral works (Tell the Earth to Shake, The Tree of Peace, and There is a Way to Glory) into a set with chamber orchestra. Recently premiered by the Evanston (IL) Symphony is The Promised Land songs for Soprano and Orchestra based on familiar American songs. Another special project has been the creation of works for orchestra with narrator. Muse of Amherst (based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson) has been performed by several New England orchestras. And,By Walden Pond (with readings of H. D. Thoreau) was premiered in 2009 by the Carson City (NV) Symphony. A Cold Spash of Water: Although the string quartet repertoire is often associated with formal concert presentations, there is also the element of informality when chamber musicians gather to play music for their own enjoyment or to share with listeners. And it is from this tradition that the Short Set was inspired. For just as Haydn based his "Menuet" on a popular dance form of his day, so "Rhythm and Blues" might appear today. And rather than an "Allegro" to infuse energy, perhaps "A Splash of Cold Water" will do! These are short pieces written in the American vernacular musical language. The intent is to provide music that is fun to play and to hear. Abing, aka Hua Yanjun, erhu player, composer Erquan Yingyue:
Abing was born on August 17, 1893 in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi to father Hua Qinghe, who was a Taoist priest. His mother was a widow, and her re-marriage to a priest was resented by her family; she remained depressed and died a year after Abing's birth. Abing was raised by extended family until the age of eight, when he went to live with his father at the temple. Abing was the name used by his family. He was given the official name Hua Yanjun at this time and sent to school. Abing's father was proficient in a number of musical instruments and Taoist religious music His father trained him in drums from the age of 10. Abing began learning the diz at age 12, then the erhu, undergoing a rigorous set of training, such as playing the flute with weights attached to the end of the flute to increase the power of his wrist. At age 17, Abing first performed in religious ceremonies, and won acclaim for his musical talent, presentation, and voice. In 1914, upon the death of his father, Abing took charge of the temple along with his cousin. However, badly run operations at the temple, and an opium addiction, drove Abing into poverty. At the age of 34, he contracted syphillisand progressively lost sight in both his eyes. He became homeless and earned a living as an itinerant street performer. In 1939, he married Dong Caidi (), a country widow in Jiangying. After his marriage, Abing performed every afternoon in a public square in Wuxi. He became famous for incorporating topical issues into his music and songs, especially the war with Japan After the performance, he would walk through the city's streets, playing the erhu. This was a period of prolificacy for Abing, and his most famous composition,Erquan Yingyue, was performed in this period. After the Japanese takeover of Wuxi, Abing travelled to Shanghai, while his wife went to her home village. In Shanghai, Abing played music for a kumgu opera company. In 1939, he returned to Wuxi and his old routine. However, his musical current affairs commentary also irked the authorities, and after 1945 he was

prohibited from singing about news items at his usual place of performance. In 1947, Abing suffered a severe bout of lung disease. He stopped performing, and earned a living repairing huqin. In the summer of 1950, two professors of the Central Conservatory of Music, Yang Yinliu and Cao Anhe, both Wuxi natives, travelled to Wuxi to record Abing. By this time, Abing had not performed for almost three years. After three days' practice, and in two sessions, three erhu pieces and three pipa pieces were recorded. However, Abing's favourite piece, Meihua Sannong, was not recorded when the team ran out of blank records. The recording brought Abing wider acclaim, and in September he was offered a teaching position with the Central Conservatory of Music. However, he was by this time too ill to accept, and died on December 4, 1950. He was buried in the graveyard of the temple where he was born. His wife also died three months later.

Chen Gang (, 1935-), He Zhanhao(,1933-), composers

BUTTERFLY LOVERS' STORY The concerto is in one movement, but is broken into distinct sections. Each tells a different part of the story of the Butterfly Lovers. Some of the melodies come from the Chinese Operaof the same name or from traditional Chinese folk songs. The solo violin of the concerto is symbolic of Zhu Yingtai, the story's protagonist, and the cello part is symbolic of Liang Shanbo, her lover. The concerto begins with a flute and then enters into a simple melody played by the solo violinist. This melody comes from a Chinese folk song of the yellow river, and tells the story of Zhu Yingtai's childhood. The solo violin is accompanied by a harp and other elements of the orchestra. Next, the concerto tells of Zhu Yingtai's disguising herself as a man and her journey to Hangzhou to attend school. The solo violin plays a complex and fast melody floating above the rest of the orchestra. When Zhu arrives she meets Liang Shanbo, a fellow student. The two spend three years together as good friends. Zhu falls in love with Liang, but cannot express her feelings without revealing her identity as a woman. When both the students must return home, Zhu invites Liang to visit her family and to court her sister. He doesn't know that Zhu is really inviting him to marry her. Liang promises to see Zhu again, but Liang waits before doing so. When Liang arrives, he sees Zhu and realizes that she is a woman, and they fall in love. The solo violin and cello parts play a sad duet that is the most famous and powerful of the work. The love duet between the two is replaced by anger as Liang learns that in his absence, Zhu has been betrothed to another. The two solo parts contrast the rest of the orchestra. Several melodies are used in this section, the orchestra plays loud and accented chords in between the softer cello and violin parts and the parts are often intertwined. Liang becomes sick and dies as the music replays the duet of their love. Zhu and the orchestra continue to play their contrasting parts. The section ends with the suicide of Zhu Yingtai as the solo violin plays an overarching high note. The lovers' parts are overcome by a final orchestral section. In the legend, Liang's grave opens and Zhu throws herself into the chasm. The lovers' themes return and the two lovers are magically transformed into butterflies. Eric Whitacre, composer Water Night: Eric Whitacre is one of the most popular and performed composers of our time, a distinguished conductor, broadcaster and public speaker. His first album as both composer and conductor on Decca/Universal, Light &

Gold, won a Grammy in 2012, reaped unanimous five star reviews and became the no. 1 classical album in the US and UK charts within a week of release. His second album, Water Night, will be released on Decca in April 2012. It features seven world premiere recordings and includes performances from his professional choir, the Eric Whitacre Singers, the London Symphony Orchestra, Julian Lloyd Webber and Hila Plitmann. His compositions also feature on multiple other recordings made in Europe, North America and Australasia. Erics ground-breaking Virtual Choir, Lux Aurumque, received over a million views on YouTube in just 2 months (now 3 million), featuring 185 singers from 12 different countries. Virtual Choir 2.0, Sleep, was released in April 2011 and involved over 2,000 voices from 58 countries. Virtual Choir 3, Water Night, received 3,746 submissions from 73 counties and is currently in production for launch in April 2012. Georg Friedrich Handel, composer Water Music: Legend has it that Handel composed Water Music to regain the favour of King George I. Handel had been employed by the future king before he succeeded to the British throne when he was Elector of Hannover The composer supposedly fell out of favour for moving to London in the reign of Queen Anne. This story was first related by Handel's early biographer John Mainwaring; although it may have some foundation in fact, the tale as told by Mainwaring has been doubted by some Handel scholars.

Another legend has it that the Elector of Hanover approved of Handel's permanent move to London, knowing the separation between them would be temporary. Both were allegedly aware the Elector of Hanover would eventually succeed to the British throne after Queen Anne's death

VISIT: http://www.philmultic.com/