Music@Menlo from American Public Media

2006 Broadcast Series
In July and August, 2006 American Public Media was on-site in Menlo Park, California to record the Music@Menlo summer chamber music festival.

	Listen Shostakovich: Sonata for Cello and Piano in d minor, op. 40 For Menlo's first three seasons, co-artistic directors David Finckel and Wu Han never appeared in duet together because they—a phenomenal husband-wife cello-piano team—were very conscious that Menlo should not be all about them. Their focus was on the music itself and the artists they'd invited. But here in the first moments of the first 2006 concert they paired up for this fantastic performance that shows why they are who they are.
	Listen Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in e, op. 67 —Derek Han, piano; Ani Kavafian, violin; Peter Wiley, cello Mozart celebrated birthday number 250 this year, so he was the headline of the 2006 Menlo festival, but the sub-head was Shostakovich who has 100 candles on his cake. Not that there’s much celebrating going on in this piece, written in the horrible year of 1944. If you like your music nice and dramatico, here you go. If you’ve only got a minute to sample it, go to the beginning of third movement and check out Peter Wiley’s beautiful, eerie cello solo, pitched so high that it sounds like a completely different instrument.
	Listen Mozart: Sonata for Piano, Four Hands, in C major, K. 521 Wu Han, Derek Han, piano Key is everything here. After the Shostakovich on the first half—both pieces in the December darkness of d minor and e minor—this C Major Mozart Sonata is the first day of spring.
	Listen Mozart: Church Sonatas in F, K. 244; E-flat, K. 67; C, K. 336 Ani Kavafian, Tein-Hsin Wu, violin; Peter Wiley, cello; James Welch, organ These churchy pieces always make me smile, knowing a bit about the complexity of Mozart's character, especially his delight in bathroom humor. But here he is being a good pious young man, and a professional composer trying to please his boss.
	Listen Mozart: Piano Quartet in g, K. 478 Wu Han, piano; Ani Kavafian, violin; Carla Maria Rodrigues, viola; Peter Wiley, cello The delicious final course in the musical meal of Menlo's first program.
	Listen Schubert: Fantasy for Piano, Four Hands, in f, D. 940 Jeffery Kahane, Wu Han, piano I think Schubert must have had read some twisted, tragic story before sitting down to write this, because he's so clearly trying to do the same with this music. He tells it as a story in four movements—four chapters, if you like—but each one flows without a break to the next. Jeffrey Kahane takes the lower part, while Wu Han plays 'right hand.' Afterward Jeffrey was telling me how surprised he was at the power of this particular Steinway, especially the low end, and that if he'd had another set of hands he would've covered his ears! (see blog post Menlo: noisy world)
	Listen Antonin Dvorak: Piano Trio in e minor, op. 90, "Dumky" Wu Han, piano; Ani Kavafian, violin; David Finckel, cello This piece also unfolds as a set of stories, though I don’t see a nice red thread running through it as you can in the Schubert Fantasy. Each of these six movements is its own brilliant dark world. To watch David Finckel’s face during the performance—you can tell he’s enjoying the music in that way, as story: surprised at this turn, almost frightened at the next.
	Listen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Adagio, K. 540; Gigue in G, K574; Fantasy in d, K. 397 for solo piano Jeffery Kahane, piano Kahane has been doing all the Mozart Piano Concertos with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra over the past season, conducting them from the piano keyboard. He has an almost religious affiliation with Mozart, and it comes out in the loving performances he gave these solo pieces.
	Listen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto in E-flat Major, K. 449 (1784) Jeffery Kahane, piano; Joseph Silverstein, Ani Kavafian, violins; Carla Maria Rodrigues, viola, David Finckel, cello; Scott Pingel, bass The Orion String Quartet Let me know what you think of this piece. After writing it for full orchestra and piano, Mozart made this chamber arrangement. The Menlo performance was impeccable, but I sure missed all the colors and textures and force of the big band. You?
	Listen Johann Sebastian Bach arranged by Mozart:Five Fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier for String Quartet, K. 405 The Orion String Quartet Mozart made an intense study of Bach’s writing because he wanted to polish his own counterpoint writing. No better way to do that than by taking Bach’s preludes and fugues apart and re-arranging them for string quartet. It was a great exercise, but the result goes way beyond exercise: when these were recorded in St Mark’s Church in Palo Alto, the sanctuary was dimly lit and it felt as if we were indeed in church, the best service you could imagine.
	Listen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Adagio and Fugue for String Quartet in c minor, K. 546 (1788) The Orion String Quartet I really don’t know what to make of this piece (not the performance, which was great). This sounds like Mozart trying to be someone he was not. He’d just come off his study of Bach and suffering a serious case of hero worship, as far as I can tell. To my ear he’s trying to be a dour German Lutheran instead of the ebullient Austrian Catholic that he was – and not really making it. What do you think?
	Listen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet in E-flat Major, K. 428 (1783) The Orion String Quartet The Orion String Quartet with the switch-hitting Phillips brothers, Daniel and Todd, who swap first-violin position about every other piece. Daniel’s turn here. The Menlo audience adored Orion and lined up for every one of their performances.
	Listen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quintet in C Major, K. 515, (1787) The Orion String Quartet Now this was something! The Mozart Quartets, written 225 years ago, are still models of writing for four strings, but when he added one player – in this case, viola – he stumbled on a whole new equation: 4 + 1 = 6, or even more. Bigger sound, vastly deeper expression. This Mozart Quintet was the real surprise for me of the Festival to date, as if someone had given me my first piece of chocolate. I didn’t know these Quintets existed. There are five more, so I’m on my way to check them out.
	Listen Leos Janácek: "Mládí" (Youth) —Carol Wincenc, flute; Allan Vogel, oboe; Anthony McGill, clarinet; Carey Bell, bass clarinet; Richard Todd, French horn; Frank Morelli, bassoon Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Atherton…all these small cities south of San Francisco are blessed with the nicest weather you could imagine. Daytime highs ca. 76 degrees or so, lots of sunshine for months on end. So for those who reach a certain age and have had enough snow shoveling, this is a great place in which to retire. The senior members of the audience especially loved the fact that this wildly colorful piece of wind music was written by a man who was 70 years young.
	Listen Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet no. 3 in c minor op. 60 —Gilbert Kalish, piano; Jennifer Frautschi; violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Finckel, cello If I had to choose one piece from Menlo 2006 that you have to listen to, here it is. I had a visceral reaction to it, and if you want to read one person’s attempt to try to put it into words – didn’t Steve Martin say that writing about music is as hard as dancing about architecture?. Short of that, here’s two things to know before listening: a.) Man Loves Woman Who Will Never Love Him Back; b.) buckle up for live-or-die music-making.
	Listen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Flute Quartet in D Major, K. 285 —Carol Wincenc, flute; Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Finckel, cello Carol Wincenc hasn’t had the career of a Jean-Pierre Rampal or Jimmy Galway, and after listening to her for years, and again in this Quartet, I have no idea why. If you only have a minute, listen to her flute sing all alone in the middle movement with plucked strings underneath. Could’ve heard a pin drop when she played.
	Listen Mozart: Serenade for Winds in c minor, K. 388 —Allan Vogel, Kimaree Gilad, oboes; Anthony McGill, Carey Bell, clarinets; Dennis Godburn, Frank Morelli, bassoons; Richard Todd, Brad Warnaar, French horn The main lesson of Menlo 2006 was how Mozart just kept blowing apart the conventions of his day. Here’s the best case in point. Wind serenades were supposed to be a kind of beige audio wallpaper for the king’s dining room. Mozart got in trouble for this one. C Minor is a key you have to pay attention to! When guest-lecturer Ara Guzelimian was setting this piece up for the audience, he described this particular ensemble – principal players from some of America’s best orchestras – as his dream team of winds.
	Listen Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major, K. 452 —Gilbert Kalish, piano; Allan Vogel, oboe; Anthony McGill, clarinet; Dennis Godburn, bassoon; Richard Todd, French horn
	Listen Benjamin Britten: Cello Suite no. 3, op. 87 —Colin Carr cello
	Listen Igor Stravinsky: "Le Sacre du Printemps" (The Rite of Spring) for Piano, Four Hands Gilbert Kalish, Wu Han, piano
	Listen Olivier Messiaen: "Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps" (Quartet for the End of Time) —Jorja Fleezanis violin; Anthony McGill clarinet; Colin Carr cello; Gilbert Kalish piano
	Listen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581 —Jorja Fleezanis, Jennifer Frautschi, violins; CarlaMaria Rodrigues, viola; Colin Carr, cello

2005 Broadcast Series
In July and August, 2004 American Public Media was on-site in Menlo Park, California to record the Music@Menlo summer chamber music festival. These four one-hour programs offer outstanding performances along with conversations with the artists about their passion for this music.

At the 2004 festival, performers explored the distinctive musical languages of Italy, France, Eastern Europe and Russia. Musicians are constantly looking for ways to bridge the cultural and artistic divides between countries as disparate as these. In this way Music@Menlo provides a unique insight for the Public Radio Collaboration examination of globalization. Though the emphasis in this series is on the music, the performers discuss what it means to be a global musician from a business as well as aesthetic perspective; for instance, how to find interpretive links between works separated by oceans.

	Listen to program 1 In the eighteenth century, Italy was the European capital for creativity and innovation. To this day, its impact is still felt around the globe. We'll enjoy performances outstanding musicians who'll also talk about their experiences living abroad, traveling across continents and working with musicians from other countries. Tomaso Albinoni: Concerto in B-flat, Op. 9, No. 2 for Trumpet and Strings —Ani Kavafian and Tee Khoon Tan, violins; David Washburn, trumpet; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Peter Wyrick, cello; Charles Chandler, bass; Kenneth Cooper, harpsichord Giovanni Benedetto Platti: Sonata for Flute and Continuo —Carol Wincenc, flute; Kenneth Cooper, harpsichord Giacomo Puccini: I Crisantemi for String Quartet —Philip Setzer, violin; Ian Swensen, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Peter Wyrick, cello Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in D Major for Flute and Strings "Il Gardellino," RV 90 —Carol Wincenc, flute; Ani Kavafian, violin; David Finckel, cello; Charles Chandler, bass; Kenneth Cooper, harpsichord Vivaldi: Concerto in C Major for Two Trumpets and Strings, RV 537 —James Rodseth, trumpet; David Washburn, trumpet; Sophie Arbuckle, violin; Arik Braude, violin; Ian Swensen, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; David Finckel, cello; Peter Wyrick, cello; Charles Chandler, bass; Kenneth Cooper, harpsichord
	Listen to program 2 On this program we'll focus on France and talk about that "je ne sais quoi" that sets French music apart from the rest. Stunning performances of music by French composers bring these observations to light. Claude Debussy: Petite Pièce —Anthony McGill, clarinet; Derek Han, piano Francis Poulenc: Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano —Allan Vogel, oboe; Dennis Godburn, bassoon; Jeffrey Kahane, piano Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 1 in c minor, Op. 15 —Ian Swensen, violin; Geraldine Walther, viola; Colin Carr; cello; Jeffrey Kahane, piano
	Listen to program 3 Antonin Dvorák was a composer with a dilemma: how to write new, contemporary music that still grew from the traditional folk melodies of Bohemia. On Music@Menlo we'll look for the solution. With a cast of all-star musicians, Music@Menlo examines nationalism and globalization through classical music. Listen for fantastic performances of Eastern European music. Bedrich Smetana: Piano Trio in g minor, Op. 15 —Ian Swensen, violin; Christopher Costanza, cello; Wu Han, piano Antonín Dvorák: Selections from Gypsy Songs, Op. 55, for Soprano and Piano —Dina Kuznetsova, soprano; Derek Han, piano Antonín Dvorák: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 87 —Jorja Fleezanis, violin; Geraldine Walther, viola; Colin Carr, cello; Gilbert Kalish, piano
	Listen to program 4 Russian music is often unmistakable: it's big, it's dark and it's electrifying. But it can also be vulnerable. Music@Menlo looks at the the beautiful paradox of Russian music and it's fickle relationship with its European neighbors. Sergei Rachmaninov: Selected Songs for Soprano and Piano (1916) "Margaritka" (Daisies) "K Ney" (To Her) —Dina Kuznetsova, soprano; Gilbert Kalish, piano Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Selected Songs for Soprano and Piano "Ya li v polye da ne travushka bila" (Was I Not a Blade of Grass?) "Den li tsarit" (Always for Thee) —Dina Kuznetsova, soprano; Gilbert Kalish, piano Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70 for String Sextet —Jorja Fleezanis, Elmar Oliveira, violins; Cynthia Phelps, Geraldine Walther, violas; David Finckel, Sumire Kudo, cellos

2004 Broadcast Series

	Program 1 ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678–1741): Concerto in D Major, RV 95, La Pastorella (1729) —CAROL WINCENC, flute; ALLAN VOGEL, oboe; BARRY SHIFFMAN, violin; COLIN CARR, cello; KENNETH COOPER, harpsichord WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-91): Trio in E-flat, K. 498 (Kegelstatt) —ANTHONY MCGILL, clarinet; GERALDINE WALTHER, viola; WU HAN, piano IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971): Suite from L'Histoire du Soldat (1919) —GILBERT KALISH, piano; ANTHONY McGILL clarinet; JORJA FLEEZANIS violin
	Program 2 FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847): Selections from Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words) (1841) —WU HAN, piano FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828): Sonata in a minor (op. posth. 137, no. 2) (1817) —PHILIP SETZER, violin; GILBERT KALISH, piano ANTONIN DVORÁK (1841-1904): Quintet in A Major, op. 81 (1887) —WU HAN, piano; THE ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET
	Program 3 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750): Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D —CAROL WINCENC, flute; PHILIP SETZER, solo violin; KENNETH COOPER, harpsichord; BARRY SHIFFMAN, GEOFF NUTTALL, violins; LESLEY ROBERTSON, viola; DAVID FINCKEL, cello; CHARLES CHANDLER, bass JOHN CORIGLIANO (b. 1938): Fancy on a Bach Air (1997) —DAVID FINCKEL cello ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856): Quartet in E-flat Major, op. 47 (1842) —GILBERT KALISH, piano; JORJA FLEEZANIS, violin; GERALDINE WALTHER, viola; DAVID FINCKEL, cello
	Program 4 FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809) : String Quartet in C, op. 1, no. 6 (1760) —ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874-1951): Transfigured Night (1899) —ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET; GERALDINE WALTHER, viola; CARTER BREY, cello

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