Program Notes: December 12, 2004
Tonight's program runs the gamut from the familiar to the unfamiliar, yet all its offerings celebrate song, each in its different way.
Chen Yi began studying composition at the Central Conservatory in Beijing in 1977, continued studying with (among others) Chou Wen-chung and Mario Davidovsky at Columbia University beginning in 1986, and has, since earning her doctorate, taught at Peabody Conservatory and the University of Missouri, where she now holds an endowed chair. The winner of many awards from many prestigious foundations and institutions in both the United States and China, Chen Yi has managed the difficult task of blending European-American styles with elements drawn from her native Chinese heritage, within a richly diverse orchestral idiom. In Momentum (1998), Chen Yi's deft handling of the orchestra suggests a powerful blend of powerful nature, elaborate art, and the innocence of folk expression; specifically, her music describes in turn the ferocity of molten lava and the elaborate combination of delicacy and bold strokes that characterize Chinese calligraphy, before giving way toward the end to a traditional Chinese folk-song setting.
Dvorák's Symphony No. 8 in G (1889, formerly numbered 4) is probably his most songful symphony, beginning with a poignant alternation between religious chorale and folklike pastoral that provides the basis for a rousing opening movement. The funereal second movement is dominated by a plaintive vocality, at times providing a warmly expressed consolation. The graceful scherzo is as much song as dance, and shows us Dvorák at his melodic best. For the finale, a freely conceived theme and variations, he delivers his melodic basis first in the form of a trumpet fanfare, thus both announcing and disguising his derivation from similar finales by Beethoven--a derivation especially evident in the melody's turn figures, which evoke both the familiar "Ode to Joy" melody of Beethoven's Ninth and Brahms's response to that melody in the finale of his First Symphony. Dvorák made great claims for the innovations of this broadly scaled symphony, and even though it tends to be overshadowed somewhat by the turbulent minor-mode symphonies on either side (Nos. 7 in D Minor and the "New World" Symphony in E Minor), those claims were surely justified.
Although Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence (1890, rev. 1892, originally set for string sextet) does indeed commemorate a happy visit to the pride of Tuscany, it is considerably more Russian than Florentine in character. It begins with a rustic dance alternating and sometimes combining with lyrical interludes, and proceeds with a love duet between violin and cello in the second movement (perhaps an indication of what is really being commemorated, more than the setting!). The particularly Russian melancholy of the Scherzo, with its sprightly contrasting middle section, then yields to a finale that bases its sometimes elaborate counterpoint on yet another peasant dance.
To round out the program, we provide actual song, at its most familiar and traditional, with stirring arrangements of "A Place Called Heaven" and "I Bought Me a Cat," the latter in a 1950 setting by Aaron Copland.
Jubilant Sykes, baritone
The American singer Jubilant Sykes adds a new dimension to his artistry with his latest recording for Sony Classical Wait For Me, featuring classic contemporary pop songs by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Brian Wilson and others, a collaboration with acclaimed pop producer Craig Street. A classically trained baritone whose career has already taken him to the Metropolitan Opera, the great music festivals of Europe and concert halls across the U.S., Sykes has created a diverse and personal approach to singing in his distinctive career.
This summer, television audiences will got to know Sykes a little better, when he appeared on TNT's All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson, taped live in March at Radio City Music Hall and scheduled for broadcast on July 4. On the concert, he sings Wilson's classic "Good Vibrations" with Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson, and he also appears in the finale with Elton John, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, David Crosby and others. With the release of Wait For Me, Sykes will be touring the U.S. this summer and will be singing at the Hollywood Bowl July 2-4.
Jubilant, the singer's first recording under an exclusive contract with Sony Classical, brought him together with jazz trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard in innovative arrangements of spirituals and hymns. The recording was released in the spring of 1998.
Much in demand as a classical soloist with orchestras, Jubilant Sykes has performed under the direction of such noted conductors as Lorin Maazel, Raymond Leppard, David Zinman, Andrew Litton and Christoph Eschenbach. He has given critically acclaimed performances of Mendelssohn's Elijah, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Brahms' A German Requiem and Mozart's Requiem, as well as performances of orchestral song cycles of Mahler, including Kindertotenlieder and Rºckert Lieder. He was also the featured soloist in the world premiere of American composer Libby Larson's Coming Forth Into Day, set to a text by Jehan El Sadat, the widow of Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat.
Following his 1995 debut at a Boston Pops concert at Tanglewood under John Williams, Sykes was immediately reengaged to accompany the Boston Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart on their 1995 and 1997 holiday tours. He appeared on the Pops' Christmas special, broadcast on PBS, and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the 1996 "Salute to Symphony" telecast. Sykes was also featured as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.
Jubilant Sykes won first place in the regional Metropolitan Opera auditions in Los Angeles and went on to make his Met debut as Jake in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess during the company's 1990-91 season. In addition to his work at the Met, Sykes has appeared with both the Deutsche Opera Berlin and the Houston Grand Opera, as well as other U.S. opera companies. In concert performances, he has sung in Cavalli's Calisto with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and in Bizet's Carmen (as Escamillo) with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra.
Crossroads Chamber Orchestra
Crossroads School was founded in 1971 by a group of educators and parents whose goal was to provide a diverse student body a coeducational college preparatory education combining academic excellence with a comprehensive fine and performing arts program, community service, athletic challenge, and environmental education. Crossroads proudly offers a wide variety of music performances by our gifted Music Major students. Throughout the year at Crossroads, four concerts are presented by the premiere string ensemble, Crossroads Chamber Orchestra, which has three CDs to their credit, in addition to two chamber music concerts and monthly solo recitals featuring our jazz and classical musicians. Our younger instrumental players perform in ensembles for family and friends in public performances toward the end of the year.
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