The Helicon Foundation's 23 Season Symposium LXXXIII - 14 October 2007 “The Pinnacle of Classicism” Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven Mark Steinberg, violin Myron Lutzke, ’cello Pedja Muzijevic, fortepiano Haydn Piano Trio in C Mozart Violin Sonata, K. 454 Beethoven Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1 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. Written within a decade of each other, the three works on this program reveal the shared musical influences of the greatest Classical composers. When I contacted Myron Lutzke about this concert, he remarked that “these pieces are all old friends.” Could there be better company in which to open our 23rd Season? The Helicon Foundation's 23rd Season Symposium LXXXIV - 9 December 2007 “PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION” Romantic Russian Music Lauren Skuce, soprano Jennifer Frautschi, violin Pedja Muzijevic, piano Prokofiev Violin Sonata No. 1, in F Minor Rachmaninov Art Songs Mussorgsky “Pictures at an Exhibition” In June of 1994, Albert Fuller and I attended England’s Aldeburgh Festival to hear Pedja Muzijevic play “Pictures at an Exhibition.” 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. 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. 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.” The Helicon Foundation's 23rd Season Symposium LXXXV - 10 February 2008 “The Mysterious World of Heinrich Biber” Baroque Virtuoso Violin Music Colin Jacobsen, violin Robert Wolinsky, harpsichord & organ Myron Lutzke, ’cello Sonatas and Solos for Violin by Heinrich Biber 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's 23rd Season Symposium LXXXVI - 27 April 2008 “Transfigured Night” Romantic String Sextets by Johannes Brahms and Arnold Schoenberg Vera Beths & Mark Steinberg, violins Dov Scheindlin & David Cerutti, violas Myron Lutzke & Nina Lee, ’celli 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. To lead this important performance, the renowned Amsterdam-based violinist Vera Beths makes her Helicon debut.