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March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813 March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano As demand increased for his keyboard teaching, Bach realized that he needed instructive materials other than the virtuoso works of his early years—not only for students who sought him out, but for his own children who were beginning to show considerable musical talents. Thus between 1717 and 1725 he composed a large number of works of varying degrees of difficulty as teaching tools. Heinrich Nikolaus Gerber, who studied with Bach from 1724 to 1727, left an account of his teaching methods, which included starting a student on the two-part Inventions, followed by the three-part Sinfonias, moving on to the so-called French Suites, then the English Suites, and finally to the great “48,” the preludes and fugues of the Well-tempered Clavier. Bach’s own son, Carl Philipp Emanuel, reported the same course of study. The title “French” that became attached to these Suites in the years following Bach’s death is somewhat mystifying. Though he gave the title in French—Suites de clavecin—the Suites contain as many German and Italian characteristics as they do French. Similarly, the “English” Suites, whose original title was also given in French, do not seem particularly English. In Bach’s lifetime the French Suites were called the “Little” Suites to distinguish them from the more extensive English Suites. Bach first began collecting the so-called French Suites, composed c. 1722–25, in a notebook he was compiling for his second wife, Anna Magdalena. It is clear that these pieces were, to a certain extent, works in progress, because Bach returned to them several times to make revisions, perhaps with different students in mind. He also left his own copy relatively free of ornamentation, possibly to encourage his students to develop improvisational skills in that regard. What is now Suite No. 6 does not appear in that notebook, having been added to the other five around 1725; there also exist two other similar suites that Bach might have considered including at one time. In all of these “French” suites he decided to omit the prelude that opens his other suites, even going so far as to remove one he had already composed to make it fit the group. Bach based his suites on a standard series of Baroque dance movements, which by this time were no longer meant for actual dancing—Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue. All the movements employ binary form (two sections, each repeated). A variety of additional dance movements could be inserted between the Sarabande and Gigue, the typical place for any slightly more “modern” dance forms. Because the French Suites contain no preludes, the opening Allemandes take on that function and even contain gestures and figuration similar to that of Bach’s preludes. Suite No. 2 in C minor is one for which several variants exist in the sources, particularly in the Allemande and Courante. The Courante exhibits the “running” style of the Italian corrente in a two-voice texture. For his inserted dances Bach chose an Air, also in two voices, and one or two minuets, depending on the version one follows. The delightful Gigue employs the upbeats, dotted rhythms, and strong-beat accents of the French dance known as the canarie. Bach’s imitative entries add another level of allure. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2022 AT 4 PM EMERSON STRING QUARTET VALEDICTORY CONCERT BUY TICKETS DAVID FINCKEL, CELLO “His playing has great warmth and expressiveness coupled with a noble, aristocratic restraint.” — Strings Magazine GUILLERMO FIGUEROA, VIOLA EMERSON STRING QUARTET “With musicians like this there must be some hope for humanity.” — The Times (London) FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS The Emerson String Quartet has maintained its status as one of the world’s most illustrious chamber ensembles for more than 45 years. In honor of their final season, this special valedictory concert will bring back two Emersonian laureates — the quartet’s original violist, Guillermo Figueroa, and longtime cellist, David Finckel — for a musical reunion that will conclude with Johannes Brahms’s radiant String Sextet No. 2 in G major. Don’t miss this unforgettable event! PROGRAM Joseph Haydn String Quartet in G, Op. 33, No. 5 Program Notes Dmitri Shostakovich String Quartet No. 12 in D-flat, Op. 133 Program Notes Johannes Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G, Op. 36 Program Notes Watch the Emerson String Quartet perform Shostakovich’s 8th String Quartet at Parlance Chamber Concerts:

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2018 AT 3 PM GALA OPENER CHAMBER CONCERTOS BUY TICKETS NICHOLAS CANELLAKIS, CELLO “Superb young soloist.” — The New Yorker MICHAEL BROWN, PIANO “Formidable pianist” — The New York Times DAVID J. GROSSMAN, DOUBLE BASS Principal Bass LA Chamber Orchestra MATTHEW LIPMAN, VIOLA “Rich tone, eloquent phrasing.” — The New York Times ARNAUD SUSSMANN, VIOLIN “Beauty of sound and elegance.” — Nice Matin EMILY DAGGETT SMITH, VIOLIN “Irrepressible élan.” — The Seattle Times SEAN LEE, VIOLIN “Breathtakingly beautiful.” — The New York Times FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS Six dazzling artists will blend concerto panache and salon intimacy, performing virtuoso concertos in chamber settings. PROGRAM Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Concerto No. 14 in E flat, K. 449 for piano and string quintet Michael Brown, solo piano Program Notes Franz Schubert Rondo in A, D. 438 for violin and string quartet Sean Lee, solo violin Program Notes Ernest Chausson Concerto in D, Op. 21 for violin, piano, and string quartet Arnaud Sussmann, solo violin Program Notes Watch Sean Lee perform Schubert’s Rondo in A:

December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532 December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ Bach’s astounding proficiency as an organist not only earned him legendary renown in his lifetime but contributed immeasurably to his unique position for posterity as an idolized composer of boundless inventiveness, mind-boggling intellect, and technical wizardry. His more than 250 compositions for organ span his entire lifetime, from his earliest pieces written as a student with his father’s cousin, organist Johann Christoph Bach, to an organ chorale, one of his last pieces, composed when he was nearly blind. Most originated during his employment at the Duke of Weimar’s court, 1708–17, the last period of his long life when he held an actual post as organist. The present Prelude and Fugue in D major is thought to be an early Weimar work from about 1710. This was a time during which he had absorbed influences from German predecessors such as Buxtehude, Böhm, and Pachelbel, as well as Italian masters such as Legrenzi and Corelli, but before he encountered Vivaldi’s works, which brought about a significant style change c. 1713–14. Bach’s early organ works show an impassioned exuberance if a generally less polished harmonic and polyphonic technique. Bach’s organ works can be easily categorized in two groups—those based on chorale melodies and those freely invented, such as toccatas, fantasias, preludes and fugues. The two categories do not separate music intended for church—the vast majority of his organ works—from that for any other purpose such as teaching or recitals, rather, there was considerable crossover. The Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532, is one of those formally varied, exuberant “free” pieces, which unfolds on an especially large scale. The Prelude consists of a brilliant and wide-ranging introduction, a contrapuntal “Alla breve” (two beats to a bar) in Italian style with slowly shifting harmonies, and a slow section that ends with recitative-like passages in preparation for the Fugue. The fugue subject shows Bach’s fascinating inventiveness in shaping something extraordinary out of repetitions and sequences (the same material at a different pitch). He was clearly fascinated by this remarkable subject because he reused it in his Toccata in D major, BWV 912, which may date from around the same time. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2020 AT 3 PM PAUL LEWIS, PIANO BEETHOVEN AND SCHUBERT BUY TICKETS PAUL LEWIS, PIANO “Lewis’ deep insights into the emotional complications of this music were matched by his firm grasp of classical structure and the ways in which Schubert’s lyrical gift illuminates that structure. This was Schubert playing of a very high order.” – Chicago Tribune FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS The English pianist Paul Lewis is internationally regarded as one of the most poetic artists of his generation. His performances of the core piano works of Beethoven and Schubert have received unanimous critical and public acclaim worldwide. His program will include Beethoven’s cherished “Moonlight” Sonata in C# minor and Schubert’s sublime Sonata in G Major, which Robert Schumann called “Schubert’s most perfect sonata in form and conception.” PROGRAM Beethoven Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27, no. 1, “Quasi una fantasia” Program Notes Beethoven Fantasia in G minor, Op. 77 Program Notes Beethoven Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, no. 2, “Quasi una fantasia” (“Moonlight”) Program Notes Schubert Sonata in G major, D. 894, op. 78 (“Fantasie”) Program Notes Watch Paul Lewis perform Schubert’s final piano sonata in G major:

February 9, 2025: The Virtuoso Cellist, with Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) 3 Pieces for cello and piano February 9, 2025: The Virtuoso Cellist, with Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih Nadia Boulanger together with her equally gifted sister, Lili, created quite a stir in many areas of French music that had typically been the domain of men. Their father and grandfather had been professors at the Paris Conservatoire, in which steps Nadia followed, though not without a struggle. Their mother, a Russian countess and singer, oversaw their early musical education but also instilled rigid values in them and rarely praised their achievements. Nadia often felt eclipsed by her sister, but devoted herself to promoting her younger sister’s works after Lili’s untimely death at age twenty-four in 1918. Nadia, however lived until the ripe old age of ninety-two, and became far more influential as a teacher of composition to many of the most renowned composers of the era—Leonard Bernstein, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, and Virgil Thomson, to name just a few of the Americans she taught. She also influenced American musical life by conducting American works while touring the United States in the 1920s. In between the two World Wars she became the first woman to conduct the London Philharmonic Orchestra and famously conducted the première of Stravinsky’s Dumbarton Oaks in Washington (1938). During WWII she resided in the United States, where she guest-conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic and taught at Wellesley College, Radcliffe College, and the Juilliard School. After WWII Boulanger returned to teach at the Paris Conservatory, though she continued to travel internationally in response to a plethora of invitations, even teaching for a time at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England. Failing hearing and eyesight curtailed her activities at the end of her life, but she continued to work almost until her death in 1979. Boulanger composed her Trois pièces (Three pieces) in 1911 originally for organ, transcribing them for cello and piano in 1914. The Impressionistic opening piece projects a diaphonous effect whose delicacy was much admired by her contemporaries. The gently rippling piano effects complemented by long lines on the muted cello build toward the center point before ebbing. The second piece also projects an air of intimacy, now with a folklike melody whose tiny short-short-long melodic units in the cello are instantly imitated by the piano. The vigorous dance character of the final piece provides complete contrast, propelled by its motoric rhythms. The first section broadens into 5/8 time, its unusual metric feel taken up by the slower middle section now in 5/4. A tantalizing hesitancy brings on a vigorous return of the opening music to round off the piece in ebullient style. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

March 26, 2017: Jerusalem String Quartet ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK (1841-1904) String Quartet No. 13 in G major, op. 106 March 26, 2017: Jerusalem String Quartet Dvořák endured three homesick years in New York as director of the National Conservatory of Music, with one blissful sojourn in his beloved Czechoslovakia for the summer of 1894. When he again returned home for the summer of 1895, nothing could persuade him to return to America, yet despite feeling “inexpressibly happy,” he was unable to compose anything new for several months. Then in a great rush in November and December he completed the G major Quartet, op. 106, followed by the A-flat major, op. 105. The Bohemian Quartet gave the first performance of Opus 106 in Prague on October 9, 1896. The G major Quartet shows the composer embarking on a new path, and one wonders what would have followed these last two quartets had he lived beyond sixty-three years. Would he have developed a “late” style by continuing to work in short fragmented motives instead of extended melodic lines, and let his building of these motives increasingly dictate his forms? Would he have made even more bold harmonic experiments? Here in one of Dvořák’s finest first movements, he creates a first theme area from brief gestures—repeated leaps, trills, oscillating descending triplets and alternating chords—and a second idea that one commentator aptly described as “a funny little unison bear-dance motive.” The second theme, though more lyrical, also consists of fragments, based on a repeating four-note motive. His harmonic explorations here and his transformation of materials as he develops and recapitulates show consummate skill. The slow movement is one of chamber music’s most beautiful. Dvořák treats his poetic main theme—which shows a remnant of American influence in its pentatonic configuration—in a series of rich, free variations, alternating major and minor modes as he loved to do. The freedom of his conception, shaped more by pauses and pacing than by cadential divisions, lends an originality to his form and allows him to build to a impressive climax. In the galloping scherzo, Dvořák delights in certain unexpected features, such as the crazy duet between viola and cello that serves as an accompaniment to a new statement of the main theme. Another surprise is the “false” trio, in which the lyrical pentatonic melody first presented by the viola shows a kinship with the second movement’s main theme. The “real” trio introduces a gently rocking pastoral theme, punctuated by trills and fleeting arpeggios. The finale begins with a slow anticipation of its jolly, syncopated main theme. With great structural freedom, Dvořák strings together a series of themes that includes a more extended exploration of his slow introduction, which in turn brings a chain of developmental reminiscences from his first movement. It is fascinating to see Dvořák making further developments across movements, rather than including a development section proper. He rounds out the movement with a lusty recall of his exuberant main theme. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

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March 24, 2019: Edward Arron, cello JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Prelude from Suite for Cello in D, BWV 1012 March 24, 2019: Edward Arron, cello Bach most likely composed his Six Suites for unaccompanied cello, BWV 1007–1012, while serving as Kapellmeister at the court of Prince Leopold in Cöthen between 1717 and 1723. Precise dating is difficult because they survive, not in Bach’s own hand, but in a copy made later in Leipzig by his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach. It is likely that the Suites were written either for Christian Ferdinand Abel or Christian Bernhard Linigke, both accomplished cellists and Cöthen residents. Estimation of their performing abilities is, in fact, considerably enhanced by the mere idea that Bach may have written these substantial works for one or the other of them. Though appreciated in some circles, as Forkel’s 1802 Bach biography makes clear, the Suites fell into quasi-oblivion along with much of Bach’s music in the decades following his death. Bach’s celebrated biographer Philipp Spitta gave them their due for their “serene grandeur” in his monumental study (1873–80), but they remained little known by the general public until they were championed by Pablo Casals in the early twentieth century. Bach’s forward-looking exploration of the cello’s potential unfolds within the traditional configuration of the Baroque suite, which consisted of old-style dances in binary form—allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue—with a newer-style optional dance movement, or Galanterie, interpolated before the final gigue. These interpolated dances in his cello suites consist of minuets, bourrées, or gavottes, and he prefaced each of the Suites with a Prélude. Throughout, Bach’s contrapuntal genius shows in his ability to project multiple voices and implied harmonies with what is often considered a single-line instrument. The Sixth Suite is unusual in that it was written for a five-stringed instrument. Was it the violoncello piccolo? viola pomposa? cello da spalla? In any case, the fifth string would have sounded a fifth higher than A, the highest string on a four-stringed cello. Any performance problems in playing this work on today’s four-stringed instrument—different tone quality from playing higher on the A string than Bach would normally have written, certain awkward double stops, or rapid string crossings (bariolage) requiring an open E string—have long since been solved. The extensive Prelude immediately proclaims the virtuosic nature of this Suite—the cello plays almost constant triplets except for a passage near the end when Bach employs doubled note values. Specified dynamic markings, used sparingly in Bach’s time, call for quick juxtapositions of loud and soft. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

ALBERT CANO SMIT, PIANO A musician who has been praised as “a moving young poet” (Le Devoir), Spanish/Dutch pianist Albert Cano Smit enjoys a growing international career on the orchestral, recital, and chamber music stages. Noted for his captivating performances, storytelling quality and nuanced musicality, the First Prize winner of the 2019 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions has appeared as a soloist with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony, Montréal Symphony, the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río, Barcelona Symphony, Catalonia National Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Nottingham Youth Orchestra, and American Youth Symphony. Recital highlights have included his Carnegie Hall debut presented by The Naumburg Foundation, his Merkin Concert hall debut presented by Young Concert Artists, recitals at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre, Paris’ Fondation Louis Vuitton (the performance was streamed live globally), the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington, DC, Germany’s Rheingau Music Festival, and return performances at the Steinway Society in San Jose. He has been in residence at France’s Festival de Musique de Wissembourg for seven years, a piano fellow at Bravo! Vail Music Festival and Tippet Rise Art Center, and has had his recital debut in Asia at Xiamen’s Banlam Grand Theater. Albert has been presented in recital by Festival Bach Montréal, University of Florida Performing Arts, the Krannert Center (Urbana, IL), and Matinée Musicale (Cincinnati, OH). He recently premiered Katherine Balch’s “Spolia” with flutist Anthony Trionfo taking them to the Morgan Library and Carnegie Hall. Recent recitals with Trionfo have included the Alys Stephens Center, Kravis Center, Evergreen Museum & Library, and others. Cano Smit is set to continue touring with violinist William Hagen, with whom he has recorded the CD “Danse Russe”. During the 22-23 season Albert will appear in recital and chamber music performances at Merkin Hall (New York, NY), the Cosmos Club (Washington, DC), the Crystal Valley Concert Series (Middlebury, IN), Friends of Music Concerts (Sleepy Hollow, NY), Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota (Sarasota, FL), and Abbey Church Events (Lacey, WA), and will also participate in the inaugural chamber music ensemble of YCA on Tour. He will appear as soloist playing Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 4 in G Minor with the Seattle Symphony (Seattle, WA), Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Aiken Symphony (Aiken, SC), and Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major with the Elgin Symphony (Elgin, IL). An advocate for new music, Albert has premiered numerous solo works on his recital programs, commissioned for him by Stephen Hough, Miquel Oliu, and Katherine Balch. He has given four hand performances with Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the Wallis Annenberg Center Hall and Zipper Hall, taken part in the Jupiter Chamber Players in New York and the Bridgehampton Chamber Festival, and performed with such artists as Gary Hoffman, Andrej Bielow, Thomas Mesa, and Lev Sivkov. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with such ensembles as the Ebene, Szymanowski, Casals, Cosmos, Gerhard, and Verona Quartets, and has released an album of Austrian viola music for Champs Hills with Emma Wernig. Albert was First Prize winner at the 2017 Walter W. Naumburg Piano Competition. Additional special prizes at the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions include The Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize, the Alexander Kasza-Kasser Concert Prize for support of his Kennedy Center debut, the Friends of Music Concert Prize (NY), and the Sunday Musicale Prize (NJ). Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Albert recently completed an Artist Diploma with Robert McDonald at the Juilliard School, where he was awarded the 2020 Rubinstein Prize for Piano. Early on, he studied music at Montserrat mountain’s Escolanía de Montserrat choir, where he sang as an alto. Later, he studied piano with Graham Caskie, Marta Karbownicka, and Ory Shihor. He is an alum of the Verbier Festival Academy and holds a BA in Piano Performance from the Colburn School, as well as a MM from the Juilliard School. He currently resides in New York City.

September 18, 2022: Elaine Douvas, oboe; Joel Noyes, cello; Bryan Wagorn, piano HENRI BROD (1799 – 1839) Duo from Lucia di Lammermoor, Op. 55 for oboe and cello & piano accompaniment September 18, 2022: Elaine Douvas, oboe; Joel Noyes, cello; Bryan Wagorn, piano Henri Brod began studying oboe at the Paris Conservatory at the age of twelve. After receiving the Premier Prix in 1818, he was appointed second oboe in the Paris Opéra orchestra alongside his teacher, Gustav Vogt. Brod filled in as first oboist during Vogt’s absences and succeeded him in 1834. Contemporary accounts often compare the two players—the famous French musicologist and encyclopedist François-Joseph Fétis wrote: “The sound he drew from the oboe was sweeter, smoother and not as forceful as that of his teacher; his phrasing was elegant and graceful; his execution of the virtuosic passages was lively and brilliant.” Brod’s career was all too short—he died just three months short of his fortieth birthday, when he would have received a pension that would have supported his wife and young son. In another facet of his career, Brod, along with his brother Jean-Godefroy, was an innovative oboe maker, possibly the first in France to add the octave key and to extend the oboe’s range. He also developed a straight English horn as well as baritone and “petit” oboes, and he invented a gouging machine for making reeds. In addition, he is the author of an informative method book in two volumes (1826, 1835), of which at least the first is still readily available in an edition by Valerie Anderson. As with many performing composers, Brod wrote mainly for his own instrument—opera fantasies, variations, and chamber works such as wind quintets and trios, as well as six oboe sonatas that were among the works he published in his method book. He also composed an opera, Thésée, presumed lost, which was rejected for performance in 1826 but received a partial performance in 1837. A complete list of his works has yet to be made. Brod’s Duo from Lucia di Lammermoor (or Lucia ed Edgardo, duo de Lucia di Lamermoor de Donizetti arrangé pour hautbois ou clarinette et basson ou violoncelle avec accompaniment de piano, op. 55, as its original title reads) likely dates from around 1837, when Donizetti’s successful 1835 opera was first performed in France. No doubt Brod gave its first performance with some of his Paris Opéra/Conservatory colleagues. The duo appeared in print in 1841, two years after his death. The original title, Lucia ed Edgardo, is apt because the piece is essentially an arrangement of their extended duet from Act I, Scene 2, with the bassoon taking the role of Edgardo, laird of Ravenswood, and the oboe that of Lucia Ashton. The story, set in Scotland, revolves around the love affair they are carrying on despite the bitter feud between their two families. Before the tragic events of her madness and both their deaths, Edgardo meets Lucia secretly to say that he must leave for France, and he wants to make peace with her brother Enrico so he can ask for her hand in marriage. She begs Edgardo to keep their relationship secret, which rekindles his anger against Enrico. This is the point at which the Duo picks up the story. After the three instruments provide a portentous introduction, Lucia (oboe) tries to calm Edgardo (bassoon), but he begins singing mournfully about the tomb of his betrayed father on which he swore revenge. She tries again to calm him and tells him to banish all feelings but love. After a grand pause, a martial-sounding section signals Edgardo’s resolve as he hits on the idea of marrying her on the spot. They exchange rings and call on heaven to witness their vows. The lovers must part, which brings on a wistful mood, and the final section lilts as they sing of the breeze that will carry their ardent sighs. Brod caps the piece with a virtuoso coda of his own design. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021 AT 3 PM THE SCHUMANN STRING QUARTET MENDELSSOHN, RAVEL, AND MOZART BUY TICKETS PAUL HUANG, VIOLIN Paul Huang possesses a big, luscious tone, spot-on intonation and a technique that makes the most punishing string phrases feel as natural as breathing.” — The Washington Post SCHUMANN STRING QUARTET “Fire and energy. The Schumann Quartet plays staggeringly well with sparkling virtuosity and a willingness to astonish” — Süddeutsche Zeitung FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS One of today’s fastest rising ensembles, the Schumann String Quartet has been hailed worldwide for their fire, energy, and supreme technical accomplishment. Their Parlance debut will include Mendelssohn’s precocious Quartet in A minor, Op. 13, Maurice Ravel’s spellbinding Quartet in F, and Mozart’s adventurous “Dissonance” quartet. PROGRAM Felix Mendelssohn String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13 Program Notes Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F Program Notes W.A. Mozart String Quartet in C, K. 465 (“Dissonance”) Program Notes Watch the Schumann String Quartet perform Mendelssohn’s F-minor Quartet, Op. 80: