Evolution of a 21st Century Violinist
July 23rd, 2011
2-3 P.M. Master Class 4:30 P.M. Performance
Family Arts Day – Cazenovia Counterpoint
Stone Quarry Art Park, Stone Quarry Rd., Cazenovia NY
Shem Guibbory, Violin
Robert Bridge, Percussion
Judith Kellock, Soprano
Ed Castilano, Doublebass
Slowly She Turns (2010) Douglas J. Cuomo (b.1958)
Mr. Guibbory and Robert Bridge, Percussion
Written for Shem Guibbory
Sonata #2 for Solo Violin (1958) Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)
Iglesia Abandonada (1982) Stephen Hartke (b.1952)
Text by Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936): published as Iglesia Abandonada (Balada de la Gran Guerra) in the last book of his life Poeta en Nueva York.
Mr. Guibbory and Judith Kellock, Soprano
Vocalise (2011) Paul Moravec (b.1957)
Mr. Guibbory and Ms. Kellock
Written for Shem Guibbory
World Premiere
Ballet Music from Paper Castles (1985) Jeffrey Levine (b.1942)
Mr. Guibbory and Ed Castilano, Doublebass
Commissioned by NovEnsemble and written for Shem Guibbory
Evolution of a 21st Century Violinist traces the path of a Violinist through 4 centuries, a path full of the ideas and music of many cultures, many composers, many violinists.
The full program starts with Bach, Sarasate, and Ysaÿe – violinist/composers who definitively expressed a style, technique, virtuosity and emotion that develops and continues in the 20th and 21st Century music we will hear today.
The pieces on today’s program take us on the part of that path that covers my lifetime – three of the 5 works being written expressly for me, (Cuomo, Moravec, Levine) and the other two (Bacewicz, Hartke) adopted by me as music native to my style and emotions. I truly love them all and hope that you will too.
Slowly She Turns: I asked Doug Cuomo to write me a piece that would reflect – in a fanciful manner – violinistic ideas that may have come to us from the vast miles and cultures of the Silk Road. Second Sonata: Grazyna Bacewicz was well-known among the great violinists of Europe in the first half of the 20th Century. This piece reflects her intimate knowledge of Bach, Paganini and Ysaÿe as well as the emotional context of her life in Poland behind the Iron Curtain. Iglesia Abandonada (Hartke) is like a miniature operatic drama, expressing the incomprehensible grief of a parent losing their child to the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. Paul Moravec’s Vocalise captures the innate lyricism of the violin and the human voice. We close the program with the Ballet Music from Paper Castles (Levine) easing the passage of our Souls with the sweet and naive music of a woman remembering the loves of her youth.
Shem Guibbory