Symposium 83 - 14 October 2007

Symposium LXXXIII
14 October 2007
“The Pinnacle of Classicism”
Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven

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Mark Steinberg, violin
Myron Lutzke, ’cello
Pedja Muzijevic, fortepiano

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Haydn Piano Trio in C
Mozart Violin Sonata, K. 454
Beethoven Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1

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Though Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven stand at the center of the Classical music canon, it is still rare to hear their music on the kind of instruments they knew.

The fortepiano, one of Europe’s great pre-electronic technological achievements, rapidly evolved from the late 1700s through the 19th Century. Composers were protagonists this process, writing music that fully marshaled the capacities of each new model. For this concert, Pedja Muzijevic will play a fortepiano based on those of the 1790s, ideally suited to this music.

Pedja Muzijevic, piano

Written within a decade of each other, the three works on this program reveal the shared musical influences of the greatest Classical composers.

Mark Steinberg, violin

When I contacted Myron Lutzke about this concert, he remarked that “these pieces are all old friends.”

Myron Lutzke, 'cello

Could there be better company in which to open our 23rd Season?

The Helicon Foundation
James Roe, Artistic Director
William A. Simon, President
Albert Fuller, Founder

Symposium 84 - 9 December 2007

Symposium LXXXIV
9 December 2007
“PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION”
Romantic Russian Music

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Lauren Skuce, soprano
Jennifer Frautschi, violin
Pedja Muzijevic, piano

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Prokofiev Violin Sonata No. 1, in F Minor
Rachmaninov Art Songs
Mussorgsky “Pictures at an Exhibition”

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In June of 1994, Albert Fuller and I attended England’s Aldeburgh Festival to hear Pedja Muzijevic play “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" autograph score

Helicon’s first Symposium exploring the deeply expressive Russian repertoire features Pedja’s interpretation of Mussorgsky’s masterpiece with works by his countrymen, Prokofiev and Rachmaninov.

Pedja Muzijevic, piano

Prokofiev returned to the USSR in 1936 and shortly thereafter began work on a violin sonata that would take him eight years to complete. It was premiered by David Oistrakh with whom Prokofiev collaborated to ensure the virtuosic demands of the solo part suited the violin.

Jennifer Frautschi, violin

To perform Rachmaninov’s lush art songs, Helicon welcomes the award-winning soprano, Lauren Skuce, whose singing was recently praised in The New York Times as “bright and agile, becoming brilliantly liquid and sexy in the high register.”

Lauren Skuce, soprano

THE HELICON FOUNDATION
James Roe, Artistic Director
William A. Simon, President
Albert Fuller, Founder

Sympoisum 85 - 10 February 2008

Symposium LXXXV
10 February 2008
“The Mysterious World of Heinrich Biber”
Baroque Virtuoso Violin Music

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Colin Jacobsen, violin
Robert Wolinsky, harpsichord & organ
Myron Lutzke, 'cello
Daniel Swenberg, theorbo

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Heinrich Biber (1644-1704) was one of the great violin virtuosos of his day and a composer with a deeply personal language. The works on this program inhabit both the virtuosic and numinous worlds of his music. Listening to Biber, I am reminded of the marvelous Duccio “Madonna and Child” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The front edge of its frame is charred in two places by candles, because this work of great artistic sophistication was used to enhance personal devotion. Likewise, Biber’s music places extraordinary demands on performers, yet seems aimed not at public display, but rather, the intensely personal work of faith and spiritual understanding. We are pleased to welcome virtuoso violinist, Colin Jacobsen, back to Helicon to perform this remarkable music with the formidable continuo team of Myron Lutzke and Robert Wolinsky.

THE HELICON FOUNDATION
James Roe, Artistic Director
William A. Simon, President
Albert Fuller, Founder

Symposium 86 - 27 April 2008

Symposium LXXXVI
27 April 2008
“Transfigured Night”
Romantic String Sextets by Johannes Brahms and Arnold Schoenberg

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Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36
Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4
We close our 23rd season with two works that limn the acme and apotheosis of the Romantic Era. The youthful vigor of Brahms’ String Sextet, Op. 36 will be enhanced by the richness of our ensemble’s twenty-four gut strings. Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (“Transfigured Night”), composed in 1899, is the first “symphonic poem” scaled for chamber music. Based on a Richard Dehmel poem, Schoenberg’s richly expressive music follows the story of a couple discovering the redemptive power of truth, forgiveness, and love. Presenting such 19th-century masterpieces in rare gut-string performance is central to Helicon’s mission.




"Transfigured Night" (Verklärte Nacht)
by Richard Dehmel
(Translation:1992 Lionel Salter)

Two People are walking through the bare, cold grove;
the moon accompanies them, they gaze at it. The moon courses above the
high oaks; not a cloud obscures the light of heaven, into which the black
treetops reach. A woman's voice speaks:

I am carrying a child, and not of yours;
I walk in sin beside you.
I have deeply transgressed against myself.
I no longer believed in happiness
and yet had a great yearning
for purposeful life, for the happiness
and responsibility of motherhood; so I dared
and, shuddering, let my body
be embraced by a strange man,
and have become pregnant from it.
Now life has taken its revenge,
now that I have met you.

She walks with awkward step.
She looks up: the moon accompanies them.
Her dark glance is inundated with light.
A man's voice speaks:

Let the child you have conceived
be no burden to your soul.
see, how brightly the universe gleams!
There is a radiance on everything;
you drift with me on a cold sea,
but a special warmth flickers
from you to me, from me to you.
This will transfigure the other's child;
you will bare it for me, from me;
you have brought radiance on me,
you have made me a child myself.

He clasps her round her strong hips.
Their breath mingles in the breeze.
Two people go through the tall, clear night

Richard Dehmel (1863-1920)

THE HELICON FOUNDATIONJames Roe, Artistic Director
William A. Simon, President
Albert Fuller, Founder

Helicon Members 2007-2008

Ongoing major support for Helicon is provided by The Alice Tully Foundation.
We extend special thanks to Carol & Jeff Barber of Metrowines for donating the wine for 2007-2008
As always, we are grateful to The Kosciuszko Foundation for its hospitality. 

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We wish to express our gratitude to Helicon’s Members
whose support makes possible the events of our twenty-third season:

Helicon Society
Joan K. Easton

Directors Circle
Karen McLaughlin & Mark Schubin

Sponsoring Members
V. Edward Dent, Arthur Richenthal
Ryo Toyonaga & Alvin Friedman-Kien
Marica & Jan Vilcek
Lisa & Paul Welch

Sustaining Members
Yukiko & Jim Gatheral
Franklin Heller & Christian Steiner
David  S. Moyer & Alice Schroeder
Laura Schoen & Robert Kaufman
Ann & Joe Scozzafava
Lavinia & William Simon
Joanne Witty & Eugene Keilin
Susan Zolla-Pazner, Ph.D. & Sherman Pazner, M.D.

Contributing Members
Patty Otis Abel & Dennis R. Reiff
Judy Evnin
Doreen Lindsay & Andrew Burt
Peter C. Lombardo, M.D.
Arlene & Bruce Simon

Members
Anonymous (1)
Carol & Jeff Barber
Cindy Bolt & Edmond V. Karam
R. David
Bynum, Nancy Cardozo
Philippine Dodd
Pamela Drexel
Patricia & Michael Fast
Nancy Hall
Rosanna & Corwith Hansen
Rebecca Higgins
Anthony Joseph
Hideko Kamino, M.D. & Howard Ratech, M.D.
Paul Kimball
Sarah O.H. Johnson
Gregory Keilin
Honey & Michael Shara
Yoshiyuki Shimizu
Catherine Keller & Jason Starr
David Longmire
Lena Persson
Hervé Pierre,
Gil Quito
Robert Schwartzman
Jane Taylor & Guy Renvoize
Joanna Wylomanska
Barry Wacksman
Ruth S. Widder
Anna Zetlin

Contributors
Amy & Bob Poster