Chamber Music Palisades concert March 17
Entertainment Desk
March 02, 2009
DEEPLY PERSONAL WORKS OF BEETHOVEN, MARTINU, GAUBERT AND RAVEL SHOWCASED IN CHAMBER MUSIC PALISADES PROGRAM.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 8:00 PM, at St. Matthews Parish in Pacific Palisades
Performance Features Ida Levin, violin; Rob Brophy, viola; Ronald Leonard, cello; Maria Casale, harp; Susan Greenberg, flute; Delores Stevens, piano.
Six renowned chamber artists illuminate the passion of Beethoven, the variations of Martinu, the impressionistic flare of Gaubert, and the neo-classical strains of Ravel at the penultimate concert of Chamber Music Palisades (CMP) - one of the Southland's leading and most intimate chamber music series - on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, at 8:00 P.M., at St. Matthews Parish in Pacific Palisades. The featured artists are acclaimed soloists Ida Levin, violin, Rob Brophy, viola; Ronald Leonard, who served as principal cellist with Los Angeles Philharmonic for 25 years until his retirement in 2000, Maria Casale, harp, and CMP Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors Delores Stevens, piano and Susan Greenberg, flute.
Works by two French contemporaries open the program. Sonatine en Trio for flute, viola and harp, a neo-classical gem by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), showcases the composer's powerful command of harmonics. Trois aquarelles (Three Watercolors) by Phillippe Gaubert (1879-1941), one of the most prominent French musicians and conductors of the era, translates into sound the visual impact of watercolor painting technique in which colors can simultaneously blend and stand on their own subtly revealing the texture of paper beneath them.
Also featured is Ludwig van Beethoven's (1770-1872) Trio in D Major ("Ghost") op. 70, #1, written after he was completely deaf. Hinting at his own internal struggle is the dark second movement that inspired the title "Ghost." It is sandwiched between movements rich with warm lyrical melodies that give no hint of the composer's profound hearing loss.
The program's final piece is the Piano Quartet of Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959), a prolific chamber music composer who was born in the Bohemian village of Policka and moved to Paris in 1923, becoming a younger contemporary of Ravel and Gaubert. In 1941, he fled the advancing German army for the United States, where, shortly after his arrival, he wrote the Piano Quartet, punctuated by syncopated melodies and tinges of melancholy.
Chamber Music Palisades was founded in 1997 by Greenberg and Stevens, both Pacific Palisades residents. They draw guest artists from their vast pool of talented colleagues in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and other leading ensembles from across the country, as well as from Southland universities and the ranks of the Hollywood recording industry. In addition to presenting established chamber works, Chamber Music Palisades has commissioned nearly a dozen new pieces by such renowned composers as Paul Chihara, Jane Brockman, Henri Lazarof, Adrienne Albert, Maria Newman, Gernot Wolfgang and Joel McNeely.
Tickets are $25; students with ID are free. St. Matthew's Parish is located at 1031 Bienveneda in Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. For tickets and information, please call (310) 459-2070 or visit www.cmpalisades.org.
ROB BROPHY, viola, has toured with the Verbier Festival Orchestra throughout Europe and both North and South America under the musical direction of conductor James Levine. Other conductors with whom he has collaborated include Zubin Mehta, Wolgang Sawallisch, Paavo Jarvi, Yehudi Menuhin and Yuri Temirkanov. In the United Kingdom he has performed with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the Halle Orchestra among others. Actively involved in chamber music, he has worked with Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Dmitri Sitkovetsky and Michel Dalberto. He began studying the violin at the Chetham School of Music and switched to the viola at the age of 18. He then went on to graduate from the Royal Northern College of Music In Manchester, England.
A Southern California native, MARIA CASALE is a world-class concert artist described by the New York Times as a "deft player, capable of tossing off virtuosic passages with an ease that belies their difficulty." Currently she serves as principal harp with the New West Symphony and the California Philharmonic and is professor of harp at Pepperdine University and California State University, Northridge. She was the gold medal winner of the 1989 USA International Harp Competition and made her solo debut recital in 1990 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, which brought her tremendous critical acclaim. Since then Casale, who began playing harp at age 6, has performed with orchestras worldwide, from the Israel Philharmonic and Orquesta Sinfonica National to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Among other numerous professional highlights, she was a featured soloist at the 1990 World Harp Congress in Paris and the 1999 World Harp Congress in Prague. She earned both her Bachelor and Master Degrees from the Juilliard School of Music.
Flutist SUSAN GREENBERG enjoys a versatile career as soloist, chamber musician, symphony player, and recording artist. The Los Angeles Times has described her playing as "brilliant," "elegant" and "supple," and has lauded her "panache" and "musical projection." A member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, she has been a frequent soloist on both flute and piccolo with the orchestra. Previously she premiered by Bruce Broughton and Gernot Wolfgang, among others. Ms. Greenberg has also appeared as guest soloist with the San Francisco, Oakland Symphonies and Santa Monica Symphonies and at the Casals Festival and the Hollywood Bowl. She has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, L.A. Opera, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theater and Joffrey Ballet, and at the Ojai Festival. Ms. Greenberg was the principal flutist for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra's tour of Japan, and has received the "Most Valuable Player" award on the flute from the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. Ms. Greenberg has been on the faculties of California Institute of the Arts and Occidental College, and is currently an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University.
RONALD LEONARD served as principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 25 years until his retirement in 2000. He is well known as a teacher, conductor, and musician. He has appeared as soloist with leading orchestras throughout the United States under the direction of such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sir Charles Groves, Carlo Maria Giulini, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Herbert Blomstedt, Giuseppe Sinopoli, and André Previn. A critically acclaimed chamber music performer, Leonard has been a Marlboro Festival participant including tours and recordings, and he is a former member of the Hartwell, Vermeer, and Eastman quartets. In 1996, Leonard was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in recognition of his achievements in the field of music.
Born in Santa Monica, California, IDA LEVIN began her violin studies at age three and made her professional debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at age ten. The recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Ms. Levin was invited by Rudolf Serkin to appear with him in a joint recital for President and Mrs. Reagan, broadcast by PBS as "In Performance at the White House. " She made her Carnegie Hall debut as soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra, and appeared as soloist with the New York String Orchestra under Alexander Schneider at both Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. In recital, Ms. Levin has appeared at the 92nd Street Y, the Kennedy Center and in major cities throughout the United States, England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Israel. Ms. Levin is a member of the Boston Chamber Music Society and is a regular guest with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Houston Da Camera, and is a senior artist at the annual Marlboro Festival. She has given master classes worldwide, has served on the faculties of Harvard University, the European Mozart Academy and the Sander Vegh International Chamber Music Academy in Prague.
Pianist DELORES STEVENS's recent career engagements have taken her from her Los Angeles base to Argentina, Australia, The Czech Republic, Japan and China as well as across the U.S. Acclaimed as a soloist and chamber musician, she has been honored by the National Association of Composers for "Outstanding Achievement in Contemporary Music." Ms. Stevens is a six-term former Director/Trustee of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and is the Chamber Music Artistic Director for Young Musicians Foundation (YMF). She is Artistic Director of the Martha's Vineyard Chamber Music Society, a major East Coast chamber music series, and is Co-Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Chamber Music Palisades. Stevens has recorded for fifteen labels and recently completed recording J.S.Bach's oboe and harpsichord sonatas with internationally acclaimed oboist Humbert Lucarelli and a DVD 5.1 surround-sound recording of the Brahms Piano Quintet with the Ives String Quartet.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 8:00 PM, at St. Matthews Parish in Pacific Palisades
Performance Features Ida Levin, violin; Rob Brophy, viola; Ronald Leonard, cello; Maria Casale, harp; Susan Greenberg, flute; Delores Stevens, piano.
Six renowned chamber artists illuminate the passion of Beethoven, the variations of Martinu, the impressionistic flare of Gaubert, and the neo-classical strains of Ravel at the penultimate concert of Chamber Music Palisades (CMP) - one of the Southland's leading and most intimate chamber music series - on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, at 8:00 P.M., at St. Matthews Parish in Pacific Palisades. The featured artists are acclaimed soloists Ida Levin, violin, Rob Brophy, viola; Ronald Leonard, who served as principal cellist with Los Angeles Philharmonic for 25 years until his retirement in 2000, Maria Casale, harp, and CMP Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors Delores Stevens, piano and Susan Greenberg, flute.
Works by two French contemporaries open the program. Sonatine en Trio for flute, viola and harp, a neo-classical gem by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), showcases the composer's powerful command of harmonics. Trois aquarelles (Three Watercolors) by Phillippe Gaubert (1879-1941), one of the most prominent French musicians and conductors of the era, translates into sound the visual impact of watercolor painting technique in which colors can simultaneously blend and stand on their own subtly revealing the texture of paper beneath them.
Also featured is Ludwig van Beethoven's (1770-1872) Trio in D Major ("Ghost") op. 70, #1, written after he was completely deaf. Hinting at his own internal struggle is the dark second movement that inspired the title "Ghost." It is sandwiched between movements rich with warm lyrical melodies that give no hint of the composer's profound hearing loss.
The program's final piece is the Piano Quartet of Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959), a prolific chamber music composer who was born in the Bohemian village of Policka and moved to Paris in 1923, becoming a younger contemporary of Ravel and Gaubert. In 1941, he fled the advancing German army for the United States, where, shortly after his arrival, he wrote the Piano Quartet, punctuated by syncopated melodies and tinges of melancholy.
Chamber Music Palisades was founded in 1997 by Greenberg and Stevens, both Pacific Palisades residents. They draw guest artists from their vast pool of talented colleagues in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and other leading ensembles from across the country, as well as from Southland universities and the ranks of the Hollywood recording industry. In addition to presenting established chamber works, Chamber Music Palisades has commissioned nearly a dozen new pieces by such renowned composers as Paul Chihara, Jane Brockman, Henri Lazarof, Adrienne Albert, Maria Newman, Gernot Wolfgang and Joel McNeely.
Tickets are $25; students with ID are free. St. Matthew's Parish is located at 1031 Bienveneda in Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. For tickets and information, please call (310) 459-2070 or visit www.cmpalisades.org.
ROB BROPHY, viola, has toured with the Verbier Festival Orchestra throughout Europe and both North and South America under the musical direction of conductor James Levine. Other conductors with whom he has collaborated include Zubin Mehta, Wolgang Sawallisch, Paavo Jarvi, Yehudi Menuhin and Yuri Temirkanov. In the United Kingdom he has performed with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the Halle Orchestra among others. Actively involved in chamber music, he has worked with Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Dmitri Sitkovetsky and Michel Dalberto. He began studying the violin at the Chetham School of Music and switched to the viola at the age of 18. He then went on to graduate from the Royal Northern College of Music In Manchester, England.
A Southern California native, MARIA CASALE is a world-class concert artist described by the New York Times as a "deft player, capable of tossing off virtuosic passages with an ease that belies their difficulty." Currently she serves as principal harp with the New West Symphony and the California Philharmonic and is professor of harp at Pepperdine University and California State University, Northridge. She was the gold medal winner of the 1989 USA International Harp Competition and made her solo debut recital in 1990 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, which brought her tremendous critical acclaim. Since then Casale, who began playing harp at age 6, has performed with orchestras worldwide, from the Israel Philharmonic and Orquesta Sinfonica National to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Among other numerous professional highlights, she was a featured soloist at the 1990 World Harp Congress in Paris and the 1999 World Harp Congress in Prague. She earned both her Bachelor and Master Degrees from the Juilliard School of Music.
Flutist SUSAN GREENBERG enjoys a versatile career as soloist, chamber musician, symphony player, and recording artist. The Los Angeles Times has described her playing as "brilliant," "elegant" and "supple," and has lauded her "panache" and "musical projection." A member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, she has been a frequent soloist on both flute and piccolo with the orchestra. Previously she premiered by Bruce Broughton and Gernot Wolfgang, among others. Ms. Greenberg has also appeared as guest soloist with the San Francisco, Oakland Symphonies and Santa Monica Symphonies and at the Casals Festival and the Hollywood Bowl. She has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, L.A. Opera, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theater and Joffrey Ballet, and at the Ojai Festival. Ms. Greenberg was the principal flutist for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra's tour of Japan, and has received the "Most Valuable Player" award on the flute from the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. Ms. Greenberg has been on the faculties of California Institute of the Arts and Occidental College, and is currently an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University.
RONALD LEONARD served as principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 25 years until his retirement in 2000. He is well known as a teacher, conductor, and musician. He has appeared as soloist with leading orchestras throughout the United States under the direction of such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sir Charles Groves, Carlo Maria Giulini, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Herbert Blomstedt, Giuseppe Sinopoli, and André Previn. A critically acclaimed chamber music performer, Leonard has been a Marlboro Festival participant including tours and recordings, and he is a former member of the Hartwell, Vermeer, and Eastman quartets. In 1996, Leonard was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in recognition of his achievements in the field of music.
Born in Santa Monica, California, IDA LEVIN began her violin studies at age three and made her professional debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at age ten. The recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Ms. Levin was invited by Rudolf Serkin to appear with him in a joint recital for President and Mrs. Reagan, broadcast by PBS as "In Performance at the White House. " She made her Carnegie Hall debut as soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra, and appeared as soloist with the New York String Orchestra under Alexander Schneider at both Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. In recital, Ms. Levin has appeared at the 92nd Street Y, the Kennedy Center and in major cities throughout the United States, England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Israel. Ms. Levin is a member of the Boston Chamber Music Society and is a regular guest with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Houston Da Camera, and is a senior artist at the annual Marlboro Festival. She has given master classes worldwide, has served on the faculties of Harvard University, the European Mozart Academy and the Sander Vegh International Chamber Music Academy in Prague.
Pianist DELORES STEVENS's recent career engagements have taken her from her Los Angeles base to Argentina, Australia, The Czech Republic, Japan and China as well as across the U.S. Acclaimed as a soloist and chamber musician, she has been honored by the National Association of Composers for "Outstanding Achievement in Contemporary Music." Ms. Stevens is a six-term former Director/Trustee of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and is the Chamber Music Artistic Director for Young Musicians Foundation (YMF). She is Artistic Director of the Martha's Vineyard Chamber Music Society, a major East Coast chamber music series, and is Co-Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Chamber Music Palisades. Stevens has recorded for fifteen labels and recently completed recording J.S.Bach's oboe and harpsichord sonatas with internationally acclaimed oboist Humbert Lucarelli and a DVD 5.1 surround-sound recording of the Brahms Piano Quintet with the Ives String Quartet.