NEWS, PROGRAM NOTES and
BIOS
March 2010 Concert
Beach Cities Symphony
To see a
program invitation card, click here.
PROGRAM NOTES
26 March 2010
CATALONIA: SUITE POPULAIRE
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)
Born in Camprodón, in the
region of Catalonia, Albéniz was a child prodigy who first performed at four
years of age and had a successful early career as a concert pianist. As a
teenager he studied at the Leipzig Conservatory and then in Brussels before
returning to Spain in his early twenties. There he taught piano in Barcelona
and Madrid, and there also he came under the influence of the Spanish
nationalist movement. Albéniz’s fame and reputation rest mainly on piano pieces
that borrow the rhythms and melodies of Iberian folk traditions. Catalonia (1899) belongs to his later
period, when he was living in France and producing operatic and orchestral
works. But before his untimely death of Bright’s disease, Albéniz returned to
his first love, completing Iberia, a
suite of twelve piano pieces in the Impressionist tradition, in 1908. He died
in Cambo-les-Bains, a resort in the French Pyrenees, and was interred in
Barcelona, less than a hundred miles from his place of birth.
--Toni
Empringham
LA BODA DE LUIS ALONSO
Jerónimo Jiménez (1854-1923)
Jiménez was born in Spain,
probably in Seville, and by age twelve was playing in the first violin section
of the Teatro Principal orchestra of Cádiz. In his early twenties he studied at
the Paris Conservatory and traveled through Italy before returning to Spain. He
became director of the Teatro Apolo de Madrid and then of the Teatro de la
Zarzuela. He composed a number of zarzuelas
(a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes,
the latter incorporating opera, popular song, and dance) as well as symphonic
and chamber music. Despite his success in mid-career, his later years were
shadowed by poor health, academic disfavor, and poverty. However, his lasting
influence can be seen in works written after his death by such notable Spanish
composers as Joaquín Turina, Manuel de Falla, and Joaquín Rodrigo (featured in
the second half of tonight’s program). El Baile de Luis Alonso and La Boda de Luis Alonso (1896-7) are his best-known zarzuelas. Mariachi Cielo Nuevo will be playing a special
arrangement of La Boda (The Wedding) for strings, trumpets,
guitars, guitarrón, and vihuelas.
--T.
E.
HUAPANGO
José Pablo Moncayo (1912-1958)
Moncayo was one of a group
of Mexican composers who combined native folk traditions with European and 20th
century North American musical styles. Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, he studied
at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City while supporting himself
by playing piano in cafés and for radio broadcasts. In 1942 he came to the
United States on a grant from the Berkshire Institute to study under Aaron
Copland among others. Upon his return to Mexico City, Moncayo became artistic
director of the Orquestra Sinfónica de la Ciudad de México and, in later years,
of the Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional. Huapango is dance music and uses the
“two against three” rhythm also heard in Chabrier’s España. It builds intensity by adding instruments section by
section, somewhat in the manner of Ravel’s familiar Bolero, moving forward engagingly while interweaving until the full
orchestra is playing.
--T.
E.
FANTASÍA PARA UN GENTILHOMBRE
Joaquín Rodrigo (1901 -1999)
While in
graduate school, I was assigned to deliver a lecture on 20th century music to
an undergraduate music appreciation class. After subjecting them to Stravinsky,
Bartók and the like (at that time quite heady stuff), I ended my presentation
with Rodrigo, who is known for his blending of Classical influence and
structure with folk tradition, in a style he himself labeled “Neocasticista,”
or “faithful to tradition.” His music was almost like a catharsis to the class,
who were largely non-plused by what they had heard before, and it left them
wanting to know more about the music and its composer.
Joaquín
Rodrigo was born in Sagunto, Valencia, and almost completely lost his sight at
the age of three after contracting diphtheria. He began to study solfeggio,
piano, and violin at the age of eight, then harmony and composition from the
age of sixteen. He wrote his compositions in Braille, which was transcribed for
publication. His first small-scale compositions date from 1923, and his first
orchestral work, Juglares, from a
year later. After initial success in Valencia and Madrid, Rodrigo moved to
Paris in 1927, following the example of his predecessors Isaac Albéniz and
Manuel de Falla, and enrolled at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where
his principal teacher was Paul Dukas.
In 1933
Rodrigo married the Turkish pianist Victoria Khamhi, who became an important
collaborator in many of his compositions. The Rodrigos lived and worked in
France and Germany during the later part of the decade, while the Spanish Civil
War ran its course, returning to Spain in 1939 two days before the outbreak of
World War II, Rodrigo was carrying with him the completed manuscript of his
first concerto, composed in Paris the previous winter and spring, the Concierto de Aránjuez, for guitar and
orchestra. It was the work which would eventually bring him worldwide fame.
Although distinguished by having raised the Spanish guitar to dignity as a
universal concert instrument and best known for his guitar music, he never
mastered the instrument himself. In 1954 Rodrigo composed Fantasía para un gentilhombre at the request of Andrés Segovia.
Tonight’s version is the flute transcription done for James Galway.
--Bill
Malcolm
ESPAÑA: RHAPSODIE
(Alexis-)Emmanuel Chabrier
(1841-1894)
Chabrier's
family intended him to be a lawyer, and he dutifully studied, passed his exams,
and worked in the Ministry of the Interior. But his passion was always music,
and he began composing on the side, publishing many minor works and two
operettas before finally abandoning his ministry post after nineteen years in
1880 to devote his time to composition.
It was España that established Chabrier as a
composer of serious works. In 1882 he visited Spain with his wife and family
and was enchanted by the energy of Iberian music. He described the dancers at
the café concerts to a friend: "If you could see them wiggle, unjoint their
hips, contort, I believe you would not want to get away! At Malaga I was
compelled to take my wife away . . . ."Returning to Paris, he promised the
conductor Charles Lamoureux he would write a Spanish-themed piece that would
cause audience members to leap up and embrace each other. Though the first
performance in 1883 may not have ended in a group hug, the piece did catch fire
with the public, and its themes were so memorable that the main melody was a
hit again 73 years later in a 1956 ditty called "Hot Diggity" (with
the chorus: "oh hot diggity, dog ziggity, boom what you do to me").
Though he
first wrote España for piano,
Chabrier quickly realized it needed the thrust and brilliance that
orchestration could give it, and he makes full use of his resources. Written in
a traditional sonata form, the two main themes contrast the tempestuous Spanish
jota with the slower, lyrical malagueña. The kinetic first theme, by
means of repeated hemiolas, seems to be in three and two simultaneously (much
like "America" in West Side
Story). In the development, Chabrier hints at the "endless variety of
rhythms" that he heard superimposed on the basic 3/4 pattern of the dance.
A new theme is introduced by the trombones, punctuated by references to the
opening theme. The conventional recapitulation is followed by an exciting coda
that brings back the trombone theme for a brilliant conclusion.
B. M.
PROGRAM BIOGRAPHIES: 26
March 2010
BARRY BRISK
Music Director and Conductor
Barry Brisk
first conducted in public at the age of 14, when he performed selections from South Pacific at his graduation from
Webster Junior High School in West Los Angeles. As a student he also conducted
the orchestra at University High School, Mount St. Mary’s College, and the
University of Music (formerly Academy of Music) in Vienna, Austria, where he
studied with the prominent conductor/teacher Hans Swarowsky. Professionally,
Brisk has conducted many orchestras in Southern California, as well as in
Mexico and Austria.
Maestro
Brisk has been Music Director of the Beach Cities Symphony since 1994 and is
particularly proud of having expanded the orchestra’s repertoire. In 15 years
he has repeated only two compositions. He has conducted works by more than 80
composers, 11 of whom are living. Kaleidoscope,
which received its world première at our January 29 concert, is the second
orchestral suite that Maestro Brisk has written for the BCSO. His Serenade for Orchestra premièred in May
of 2007.
Barry
Brisk’s wife, Cathy, is an internationally recognized expert on ancient Greek
coins. Their son, Philip, is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the
University of California, Riverside. Philip’s wife, Marilyn, received her
master’s degree in political science from the University of Lausanne in
Switzerland and will be pursuing her Ph.D. in the Southern California area.
RHONDDA DAYTON
Flute Soloist
Rhondda
Dayton, Flute Soloist
Currently
Principal Flute with the Beach Cities Symphony, Ms. Dayton also performs with
the Moorpark Symphony Orchestra, Royal Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Westminster
Chamber Orchestra, and Cabrillo Music Theatre’s pit orchestra. She has been a
featured soloist with the internationally televised Hour of Power at the
Crystal Cathedral, Ventura Civic, California Lutheran University, Moorpark,
Royal Oaks, and Beach Cities Symphony orchestras. Tonight’s performance will
mark her second appearance as soloist with the Beach Cities Symphony. For her
first solo in 2003, she and Principal Oboe Larry Tunick performed Salieri’s
Concerto in C Major for Flute, Oboe, and Orchestra.
MARIACHI CIELO NUEVO
Mariachi Cielo Nuevo Student
Ensemble
Mariachi
Cielo Nuevo (New Sky) is the youngest, largest and most experienced
school-based mariachi ensemble in California.
Founded in 2002, its 22 members, ages eight through twelve, are students
at Middleton Street School in Huntington Park.
Their instrumental skills are unmatched by other young mariachi groups
in the Los Angeles area.
Mariachi
Cielo Nuevo has had more than 500 appearances throughout Southern California,
Colorado, and Arizona. In recent years,
this youth ensemble has participated in the Mariachi USA Festival at the
Hollywood Bowl and has also been the main attraction at the Fiesta Mexicana
concert held annually at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood. They were selected
to perform at the L.A. County Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler
Pavilion in 2005, 2006, and 2008.
They have participated in several events sponsored by the Autry National
Center and have been featured in KABC’s Vista L.A. and in Univision’s Primera
Edición.
Mariachi
Cielo Nuevo musicians are proud to be among the most accomplished musicians in
the Los Angeles Unified School District.
All members have been chosen to participate in the District-wide Honors
Orchestra and are recipients of music scholarships from the Los Angeles County
Elementary Schools Music Association. In addition to their passion for
expanding and sharing their musical heritage, these first generation California-born
musicians are also scholars who excel in their academic achievement. Most members of the group have scored in the
advanced category in the California Standards Test. They are the epitome of dedicated practice and are determined to
succeed in their music and academic studies.
CLAUDIA ZUÑIGA
Director, Mariachi
Cielo Nuevo
A native of Burbank, Claudia Zuñiga started playing violin at age
eleven and continued her studies with Dr. Mickey Fruchter at the
California State University, Los Angeles, Music Conservatory through
high school. At California State University, Northridge, she studied
violin with Michael Ferril and was a member of the CSUN Symphony
Orchestra for five years. She received her Bachelor of Arts in
Music Education and Master of Arts in Education from California State
University, Northridge. Ms. Zuñiga has been the instrumental music director of
Mariachi Cielo Nuevo for seven years and the teacher of instrumental music of
200 students at Middleton Street School. Since 2007 she has played violin with
the Beach Cities Symphony. She plans to return to school and pursue her
doctorate in Music Education. When not
in rehearsal with her students, she enjoys the pleasure of travel. She recently visited Ireland, Austria, and
Italy; if given a choice (aside from living in Los Angeles) she would love to
live in Vienna.
Ms. Zuñiga would like to thank Mr.
Javier G. Miranda, Principal at Middleton Elementary for his never-ending
support, her colleague Juan Cuevas, all parents, faculty, staff, at Middleton,
and the city of Huntington Park. This
program would not have its continued success without them.
This page last modified on
March 11, 2010.