Bucks County Performing Arts Center

Presents

The Wister Quartet

Nancy Bean, violin      Pamela Fay, viola
Davyd Booth, violin     Lloyd Smith, cello
with
Anne Sullivan, harrp

PROGRAM

Sacred and Profane Dances, for quartet and harp ………………………… .Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
                                                                                                                                                 

Chanson dans la Nuit, for harp solo … ..………………………….....……….. Carlos Salzedo (1885-1961)
                                                                                                                                        

Fantasie, for violin and harp …..……..…………………………… ..... ……… .Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
                                                                                                                                        
                                   
Meditation from Thais …………… ...……………………..........……………….. Jules Massenet (1842-1912)

------ Intermission -------

String Quartet in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1 …………………………………. Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
                                                                                                                                   

ABOUT THE MUSIC

French composer Claude Debussy is considered to be a key link between late 19th century Romanticism and the Impressionist Period in music of the early 20th century.  But in a letter of 1908, he wrote "I am trying to do 'something different'--an effect of reality...what the imbeciles call 'impressionism', a term which is as poorly used as possible…."  Some musicologists argue that Debussy may have been reacting to unfavorable criticism at the time, and the negativity that critics associated with impressionism. Ultimately it can be said that he would have been pleased with application of the current definition of impressionism to his music.  The piece on today’s program, “Danses pour harpe chromatique avec accompagnement” was written in 1904.  The advent of a “new” chromatic harp at the turn of the century helped re-establish the harp as an instrument worthy of top-notch composers like Debussy and, shortly thereafter, Ravel and Roussel.  The 2 movements of Debussy’s work are the Danse sacrée (in F major) is to be played very moderately, and the Danse profane (in D major) which is marked “modere”(moderately).

“Chanson dans la Nuit” (Song in the Night) was written by the famous harpist Carlos Salzedo.   Salzedo, who was born in Arcahon, France,.was also a notable composer and conductor. Carlos entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of nine years old, where he won prizes in piano (Descontes)and solfège (Schwartz). He continued his piano studies with Charles de Beriot, son of a renowned violinist and a piano pupil of Thalberg.  Salzedo's father, a well-known voice teacher, decided Carlos should take up a second instrument, and harp was chosen, because he was too weak to play a wind instrument. In 1901, at age sixteen, Salzedo won the premier prix in harp and piano on the same day, a feat unmatched before and since, and was awarded a Steinway grand piano.  Later in life, he appeared regularly as a soloist with orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, on tour as a recitalist, harp ensemble leader and flute-harp-cello trio member. His activity in the 1920s alone was astonishing in its energy, and he was a celebrity as well.

Camille Saint-Saens was born in Paris in 1835 and died in Algiers in 1921.  He was a pianist, organist, and music critic in addition to being a very prolific composer.   He composed operas (Samson and Delilah, Henry VIII), symphonic works, 5 piano concerti, violin and cello concerti, and numerous chamber pieces for a wide variety of instruments. One of his most famous works is Carnival of the Animals.  While the volume of new works for the solo harp decreased during the 1800’s, after 1900, as mentioned above, the number of works increased.  French composers were predominant in this respect because of France’s contribution to the evolution of the instrument itself.  Saint-Saens published the Fantasie, Op.95 in 1893.   It illuminates many aspects of the harp’s character, and demonstrates its composer’s keen sense of tonal color and timbre.  Fourteen years later he followed it with a Duo for Harp and Violin in a similar style.

Jules Massenet, French operatic composer of the Romantic Period, composed some 25 operas of which his most famous ones are: Manon, Le Cid, Werther, and Thais.  He also wrote orchestral pieces and 200 songs.  Still one of the most famous of all operatic instrumental excerpts is the “Meditation.”            

Felix Mendelssohn was a master of just about every musical form and genre.  He wrote well in all mediums, from great symphonic works, concerti, oratorios, to the finest chamber music, lieder and piano solo works.  His life spanned the most fertile period of the fruition of the Romantic Period, from the last years of Beethoven and Schubert to the onset of Liszt, Schumann and all the other masters of the first half of the19th century.  The body of work that make up the string quartet literature are greatly enhanced by the exquisite works of Mendelssohn, from the very fine early ones to the later mature ones.  The Quartet in D Major, Op.44, No.1 was composed in 1838 (Felix was a very experienced 29 year-old).  The first movement is in sonata form with the development section mostly sequential and modulatory in nature, the sequences broadening in scope to contribute a very dramatic, almost symphonic, character to the whole movement.   The second movement, a menuetto (in typical ABA form), has a long, triadic melody, which is extended creatively through the movement’s harmonic foundation.   The third movement, in a quasi-rondo structure, is very much a “song without words.”   Finally, the concluding movement is reminiscent of the Fourth Symphony (the “Italian”) which was composed in 1831.  Its character and some of the inner details (e.g., rhythmic pulsation, descending sequences) are similarly striking.  

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Since its formation in 1987, the Wister Quartet has earned high praise from critics and audiences alike for its superb performances, including those with guest artists Emanuel Ax, Alicia de Larrocha, Christoph Eschenbach, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Yo-Yo Ma.  In addition to concerts in Europe and China, the Quartet performs widely in the Philadelphia region, including concerts at Arcadia, Haverford and Swarthmore Universities and Gettysburg College. It appears regularly in concert series presented by The Philadelphia Orchestra, The German Society of Pennsylvania, The Chamber Music Society of Bethlehem, the Glencairn Museum, and the Renaissance Musical Arts series in Albany, New York. The Wister Quartet makes summertime appearances at Music at Gretna, the Lenape Chamber Players Gala Concerts in Doylestown, Concerts by Candlelight at the Laurel Hill Mansion in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, and the Chamber Series at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The Quartet has recorded for Direct-to-Tape Records; its first CD was nominated for a Grammy. It is the core group of the popular Philadelphia chamber ensemble, 1807 & Friends, which performs at Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts. 1807 & Friends’ recording on the Direct-to-Tape label, “The Philadelphia Connection”, features the Wister Quartet’s highly acclaimed performance of the Barber String Quartet.
               
Nancy Bean, violin, has been a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1983 and served as its Assistant Concertmaster until her retirement in 2009 to devote herself to chamber music. She is Artistic Director of 1807 & Friends chamber ensemble and violinist with the Barnard Trio, the Florian Trio, Duo Paganini, Duo Parisienne, Duo Malibran and the Amerita Chamber Players. A Seattle native, she is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Jascha Brodsky and Felix Galimir. She has appeared as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the Everett Symphony, and Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia. She has performed in chamber concerts with Christoph Eschenbach, Wolfgang       Sawallisch, Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Sarah Chang, Alicia de Larrocha, Radu Lupu, Yo-Yo Ma and Garrick Ohlsson.   She also performs with the Barnard Trio, Duo Paganini and the Florian Trio and has recorded with Koch International and Direct-to-Tape Records.

Davyd Booth, violin, has been a violinist and keyboard player in The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1973 and was named its harpsichordist in 1999. He was a member of the Philarte Quartet for 14 years; he is Co-Director and harpsichordist for the Amerita Chamber Ensemble and violinist with 1807 & Friends chamber ensemble. A graduate of the New School of Music, he studied violin with Jascha Brodsky and piano with Susan Starr and Martha Massena. He was co-host of "Great Singers Remembered", which ran for four and a half years on WHYY. He has made several solo recordings with Direct-to-Tape Records.

Pamela Fay, viola, is a substitute violist with The Philadelphia Orchestra and is a member of the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia. She has been a member of the Toronto Symphony and the LeClair String Quartet and is  the violist of 1807 & Friends chamber ensemble. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto.  An active chamber musician, she has performed in chamber concerts with Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Alicia de Larrocha, Christoph Eschenbach, Garrick Ohlsson, Sir Andrew Davis, Janos Starker, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Lloyd Smith, violoncello,  has been a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1967. Named Assistant Principal in 1988 and Acting Associate Principal in 2002, he retired in 2003 to devote himself to chamber music and composing. He is the cellist of 1807 & Friends chamber ensemble and the Amerita Chamber Ensemble.  A graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, his teachers were Leonard Rose and Orlando Cole. He has participated in the Marlboro Music Festivals, where he was coached by Pablo Casals and  the Budapest String Quartet. He has recorded with Columbia, CRI, Leonarda, Capstone and Direct-to-Tape and received the C. Hartman Kuhn Award for Outstanding Achievement from The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2002.

Anne Sullivan began her career as a concert harpist at age twelve when she appeared twice as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra.  A native of the Philadelphia area and a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she is in demand as a recitalist, chamber musician and symphonic soloist. Her orchestral appearances have included engagements with the Baltimore Symphony, the Delaware Symphony, the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Opera Company of Philadelphia.  She has accompanied many classical and popular artists including Luciano Pavarotti, Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra and Roger Daltrey of “The Who.” In 1986, she co-founded the flute and harp duo SPARX with flutist Joan Sparks which has received numerous national awards.  The duo has released three CD recordings:                 Reflections, The Power of Two, and Christmas Echoes. Ms. Sullivan was a member of the music theory faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music from 1982-2002.  She is the author and arranger of more than two dozen works for harp and has published a series of ear training books specifically for the harp student. Currently, she is the harp instructor at the University of Delaware and Swarthmore (PA) College.

            
                                 Please stay after the performance to meet the artists and have refreshments.