Cometition Update
Concerts
Concert Preview
Directors
Educational Initiatives
E-mail us: nyae@aol.com
Home
Lecture/Demos
Mission
New Music Festival
NYAE Perspective
Performers
Press Coverage
Program notes
Recordings
Sponsorship Opportunities
Workshops
New York Art Ensemble
presents our
3rd Annual
Concert Benefit
1. Lento molto sostenuto
2. Marcato intensivo
3. Harlequin minuet and trio
4. Lontano - always quiet
5. Presto
6. Air
7. Largo sostenuto - very still
David Greshman, clarinet; Dorothy Lawson, cello
Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano* (1999)
1. Slow - reflective
2. Fast - agile and aggressive
Todd Reynolds, violin; Dorothy Lawson, cello;
Steven Gossling, piano
The Four Elements ** (1998)
Helen Campo, flute; Dominic Donato, percussion;
Todd Reynolds, violin; Dorothy Lawson, cello
Whale-Tronica* (1999)
James McElwaine, soprano saxophone; Eric Merovitch, alto saxophone;
Paul Seibert, tenor saxophone; Steve Plekan, baritone saxophone
Jared Beynon
Preston Stahly
Maya Levina
Edmund Cionek
This evening’s concert is dedicated to Harriette E. Koeneke
(1919-2000), enthusiastic patron of the arts, supporter of the
New York Art Ensemble, and longtime friend extraordinaire.
*Premiere Performance ** Winner, 1999 NYAE Young Composers Competition
Starlight on Dark Water
Night...
Lento molto sostenuto for clarinet solo - and is connected, by a short section for cello to the Marcato intensivo.
Harlequin minuet and trio hobbles along mostly in 3/4 time until the calm of Lontano - always quiet.
Presto is a brief echo from Marcato for solo cello before the Air, which leads without interruption to the Largo sostenuto - very still.
Jared Beynon received his masters of music degree in composition from the University of Michigan. His teachers include Eugene Kurtz, George B. Wilson, William Bolcom, and Clifford Taylor. In 1984 his opera Iphigenia was awarded a fellowship grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and was premiered in concert form at Merkin Concert Hall. Mr. Beynon is a member of ASCAP. His Rose Sonata for violin and piano is published by Societe des Editions Jobert of Paris.
Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano is the first in a series of pieces that are to be written for this combination. The first movement begins in a moderate tempo with an stately ascending arpeggio-like figure in the piano. This opens the door for the cello and violin, each in turn making their initial statements. The music is calm, deliberate, expressive, and introspective - but not without interruptions. In contrast, the second movement is fast, raucous, and playful. An excited violin passage sets up a powerful entrance in the piano and cello. I was interested in juxtaposing the hard-edge power of the group with playful, quick-tempo, interweavings that bind the movement together. The chase is on!
Preston Stahly received his bachelors and masters degrees in composition from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Leslie Bassett, William Bolcom, Ross Lee Finney, Eugene Kurtz, and George B. Wilson. His concert music encompasses a wide variety of instrumentation, including: Solus I and Solus II (for alto flute and alto sax, respectively), Duo for Violin and Cello, Stevens Songs (for soprano and piano, on poems of Wallace Stevens), Dreaming with Mondrian (for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, and contrabass), Kestrel (for flute, harp, and percussion), and Chimera, a three-part work for orchestra that received the Charles Ives Prize from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. His music is recorded and available on the Fleur De Son Classics, Musical Heritage and NYAE labels. In addition to chamber, vocal, and symphonic works, he has also written music for film (Robert Altman’s Secret Honor ) and television (the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Children’s Television Workshop).
The Four Elements. Last year I was asked to write a piece for a children’s workshop at Lincoln Center. I thought about a creative theme thatchildren could grasp, and finally decided on the four elements - air, earth, water, and fire. I assigned an instrument to each element:
vibraphone and crotales as air to create a foggy atmosphere, cello as earth to keep a base with its deep tones, flute as water with its flowing texture, and violin as fire, entering with angry sforzandi and intense vibrato. The piece was written under the guidance of Bruce Adolphe at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. It was written in a rush to meet a deadline, the latter half of it having been written within a few days.
Maya Levina was born in Kiev, Ukraine, where she grew up with her mother and brother. She began playing piano and composing at the age of five, at a local music school. When she was eight years old she moved to New York City and began attending the Aaron Copland School of Music, where she is presently studying. Ms. Levina is a junior at the Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts. She is studying piano with Dr. Donald Pirone, composition with Dr. Edward Smaldone, and theory/analysis with Dr. Roy Nitzberg.
Whale-Tronica. The composer poses the question: "What do whales know of our music?" Have the legions of cruise ships circling the globe with their public address systems, night clubs, and perpetual lounge acts influenced the songs of these leviathans? Have the hulls of the Alaska Princess, Sovereign of the Baltic, or Arctic Fantasy resonated with the pulsating beats of disco, hard-core, neo-swing, and jungle to some recognizable effect? Does Donna Summer rule in the court of Poseidon? Cionek writes, "Along with whale sounds, I have sampled freely from Techno music. Driving rhythms, looping textures, wild speaker panning, and terse, repeating melodic themes (plus a few mermaids on the rocks) create a lively mix of the aquatic and the electronic." To misquote the B movie legend Criswell, "Can you say it doesn't happen?"
Edmund Cionek composes for the concert hall and the theater. His music is a mixture of both classical and pop influences. In addition to his work as a member of the NYAE he is an affiliate artist with The Bar Harbor Music Festival. Current projects include Four Tableaux, a song cycle for women's voices inspired by paintings of Picasso, Klee, Duchamp, and a painter of the American West to be named later. He has collaborated with Michelle Demko, music director of the Allen Stevenson School, and its Boys Choir to compose The Worm and Harvest Time, using texts by the students. His Tribute to the 25th Anniversary of the Gerald Ford Presidential Administration was recently premiered by The Accidentals at the MidWestchester Arts Center. Cionek's Sci-Fi Chillogy (Space; an Opera in Capsule Form, Ed Wood, and Henry David Thoreau: One Step Beyond) will be presented at the Laurie Beechman Theater on April 26 and 27. A recipient of the degree DMA in composition from the University of Michigan, he teaches classes in American Music at NYU and Purchase College. Cionek is published by Alfred Music and MMB.
e-mail: nyae@aol.com