Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players

“This was music-making of a very high order”
“at the Jupiter concerts, there is always so much about which to be enthusiastic.”
“the rarities glittered like jewels”

Fred Kirshnit, The New York Sun
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Greetings!     Welcome to Jupiter, where you’ll find heavenly music played by a constellation of stars.     Just as you visit a museum to view art by major and minor masters, you’ll hear music of major and minor composers at Jupiter, in programs designed by our brilliant artistic director Michael Volpert.     The familiar and new discoveries to enjoy are also enhanced by our venue’s great acoustics and convivial ambience.     We thank our generous Patrons and Friends in spades for the privilege of offering these musical feasts made possible by their support. We thank the musicians for learning the repertoire, some of which is very difficult and will leave you gasping with awe and admiration. And we thank all of you for coming to Jupiter to savor its array of delectable concerts. You’ll continue to have: ♦ HEPA-filter air purifiers in operation ♦ Ventilation—as much as possible ♦ Spaced-apart seating for better sight lines ♦ Affordable ticket prices    Ticket reservations are advised to avoid disappointment at the door. Not least, please consider a gift to help Jupiter create the best music making around.    All gifts are tax deductible.    Thank you so much,

Artistic director Michael Volpert and Jens Nygaard circa late 1990s

Why the name Jupiter: When Jens Nygaard named his orchestra Jupiter, he had the beautiful, gaseous planet in mind—unattainable but worth the effort, like reaching musical perfection. Many, indeed, were privileged and fortunate to hear his music making that was truly Out of This World. Our Players today seek to attain that stellar quality.

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Monday, March 3 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM
The Franck Connexion
Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
152 West 66 Street (west of Broadway)
Limited Seating

Tickets: $25, $17, $10 ~ Reservations advised
Call (212) 799-1259 or email admin@jupitersymphony.com
Pay by check or cash (exact change)​​​

Chelsea Wang piano
Winner of many awards including prizes at the Seoul, Washington, and New York International Piano competitions; a two-year Fellow of Ensemble Connect ~ praised by the New York Times as an “excellent young pianist”

Hina Khuong-Huu violin
First-Prize winner of the 2023 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition, prizewinner of the 2018 Menuhin Competition held in Geneva, a recipient of the Salon De Virtuosi Career Grant ~Violin Channel’s “Rising Star”

Fiona Khuong-Huu violin
Recipient of the 2022 Arkady Fomin Scholarship Fund, along with the prestigious career grant award from Salon De Virtuosi. Additional accolades include first prize at the 2017 Grumiaux Competition; second prize at “Il Piccolo Violino Magico” in San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy; and third prize and best virtuoso interpretation at the 2019 Louis Spohr Competition.

Dov Scheindlin viola
Winner of the Siemens Prize ~ “an extraordinary violist” of “immense flair” The New York Times

Robin Park cello
Won First Prize at the 5th Mahler Cello Competition and 2023 Princeton University Concerto Competition, and Grand Prize at the 2018 Caprio and Sinfonietta Nova competitions

Vadim Lando clarinet
Winner of the CMC Canada, Yale and Stonybrook competitions ~ “consistently distinguished...vibrant, precise, virtuosic playing” The New York Times

All 4 French composers on this program knew César Franck—“the dominating musical force of the period in France, both as a composer and as teacher, and he gathered unto himself a group of pupils who did everything but put a halo over him and worship [Harold Schonberg].” Although Saint-Saëns could not tolerate Franck’s music (the gulf between them was enormous), both men were original members of the Société Nationale de Musique, whose purpose was to promote contemporary French composers. Among them was Lalo, who was offered the opportunity to compose orchestral music, including the Symphonie espagnole written for Sarasate. Chausson, a disciple and close friend of Franck, was one of two of the honored teacher’s most famous pupils (the other was Vincent d’Indy). And Widor was also influenced by Franck and succeeded him as professor of organ at the Paris Conservatoire in 1890. At Franck’s funeral mass held at the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde, Saint-Saëns, Widor, and Lalo were amongst the large congregation paying their respects.

Camille SAINT-SAËNS  Caprice brillant in B minor
   ~ a virtuosic duo for both the violin and piano, composed in his 20s as a tribute to the Spanish violinist Pablo Sarasate, age 15 at the time

The Caprice is, in effect, a “first draft” that evolved into the finale of his Violin Concerto No. 3 two decades later (and dedicated to Sarasate). The major themes of the Concerto first appeared in the Caprice, which contains more episodic material and a richer harmonic palette than the Concerto. The 2 instruments are equal partners, with cadences embellished in a Lisztian manner, a frequent use of rubato, and a variety of textures. In the 1850s, Saint-Saëns became acquainted with Sarasate, a fellow musical prodigy who made his concert debut at age 8, and began studying at the Paris Conservatoire in 1856 at age 12. In addition to the Caprice, Saint-Saëns wrote his Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Major for Sarasate in 1859.

Saint-Saëns was born in Paris in 1835. Although he was frail and tubercular as a child, he lived till the age of 86, when he died in Algiers. His body was brought back to Paris where he was buried in a state funeral at the Montparnasse Cemetery. The child prodigy was first taught the piano at the age of two and a half years old by his mother’s aunt. Following studies with other teachers, he entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1848. After attending organ classes and winning a second prix in 1849 and a brilliant premier prix in 1851, he began formal composition studies with Fromental Halévy, a protégé of Cherubini. In 1857 he became organist at the Madeleine, a post he held for 20 years.

For those interested in Saint-Saëns before age 11, read on. “It is not generally realized that Saint-Saëns was probably the most awesome child prodigy in the history of music. His I.Q. must have soared far beyond any means of measurement. Consider: at 2 1/2 he was picking out tunes on the piano. Naturally he had absolute pitch. He also could read and write before he was three. At three he composed his first piece…. At five he was deep in analysis of Don Giovanni, using not the piano reduction but the full score. At that age he also gave a few public performances as a pianist. At seven he was reading Latin and interesting himself in science, especially botany and lepidoptery. He also collected geological specimens. His formal musical training started at seven, and he made his official debut at ten. As an encore at his debut recital he offered to play any of Beethoven’s thirty-two sonatas from memory. …an item in the Boston Musical Gazette…states that ‘there is a boy in Paris, named St. Saëns, only ten and a half years old, who plays the music of Handel, Sebastian Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and the more modern masters, without any book before him.’ Saint-Saëns had total recall. If he read a book or heard a piece of music it was forever in his memory [Harold Schonberg].”

Ernst CHAUSSON  Andante et Allegro
   ~ carefree and facile lyricism in the Andante give way to melodrama and pyrotechnics for clarinet and piano

Completed on 28 April 1881, Chausson’s choice of the clarinet is adventurous for its time when the instrument was rarely featured in the salons and concert halls. At age 22, he had a late start at the Paris Conservatoire. Nevertheless, he “experimented with all of the expressive and technical possibilities of the clarinet, bringing into play the colours of its different registers, its lyricism and virtuosity, its brightness and mellowness of tone. If the Andante and Allegro reflects the influence of his two professors—Franck’s density of texture and Massenet’s refined lyricism—it also reveals an individual style characterized by abundant modulations, numerous seventh-chords on the piano, and a fusion of binary and ternary rhythms [Jean Gallois].”

Chausson (1855–1899) was one of the founders of the modern symphonic school in French music. He earned a law degree upon his father’s insistence before he studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where his teachers were Jules Massenet and Cèsar Franck. He also visited Germany to hear Wagner. “Although he absorbed traditional harmony as taught at the Conservatoire, Chausson was clearly influenced by Wagner and ‘Franckism’.... Indeed, Chausson was to become...one of the most prominent and influential members of the Franck circle...[and a] Wagnerian [New Grove Dictionary].” He later developed his own sumptuous late Romantic style, which influenced Claude Debussy and Gabriel Fauré, among others. Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson died tragically at the age of 44 from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident while staying in Limay at one of his country retreats. He was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Edouard LALO  String Quartet in Eb Major Op. 45
   ~ unique, and dramatic at times, the quartet impresses with soaring melodies, a flair for rhythm and color, and a Scherzo of Spanish origin

Stephen Hefling is of the opinion that “this work unquestionably marks a significant moment in the history of the genre in France. Lalo’s score, concise and animated with an intense rhythmic life, includes a slow movement whose density and harmonic daring baffled listeners at its first public hearing in 1859 [Nineteenth-Century Chamber Music].” It was dedicated to his father.

After several years working as a string player and teacher in Paris, Lalo formed the Armingaud Quartet with friends in 1848, playing viola and later second violin. The Quartet, in vogue for many years, gained a reputation for technical perfection and the musical beauty of its performances. It popularized the works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Mendelssohn, and also played Lalo’s compositions, including the Eb Major String Quartet, which was rewritten in 1884 and published in its new form in 1886. When Lalo died, the journals did not print any eulogies, but nearly all the musicians of French renown were present at his burial at Père Lachaise, in tribute to a composer of great talent and character.

Charles-Marie WIDOR  Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor Op. 7
   ~ unveiling romantically appealing melodies and a lively imagination, with a gorgeous Andante movement to wallow in unhurriedly

The knowledgeable and discerning critic, the late Fred Kirshnit, wrote in the New York Sun that “this quintet showcases a white-hot, passionate side. The work is Franckian in character…and even somewhat Lisztian in emphasis. [And]…there was a definite Wagnerian feel.” The Chamber Music Journal noted, “In his chamber music Widor displays a melodic elegance that is characteristically French. There is delicacy of texture and of tonal color, and yet, there is also much vigor and passages of great power.” The Quintet was dedicated to Charles Gounod, who had lobbied for Widor’s appointment as organist at the Église Saint-Sulpice.

Widor (1844–1937)—the preeminent organist in Paris at the turn of the 20th century and one of the most noted organ composers—was the son and grandson of organ builders. For 64 years he was the organist at Saint-Sulpice in Paris and he taught at the Conservatoire, succeeding César Franck as professor of organ in 1890 and Théodore Dubois as professor of composition in 1896. Among his organ pupils were Louis Vierne and Marcel Dupré, as well as Albert Schweizer, with whom he annotated an edition of the organ works of Bach. His composition pupils included Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud. While Widor’s oeuvre includes operas, symphonies, concertos, and chamber music, he is remembered mostly for his 10 symphonies for solo organ, a form he pioneered, and most especially for the ripping Toccata finale of his Organ Symphony No. 5. Widor was laid to rest at Saint-Sulpice, in the burial crypt below the nave.

Monday, March 17 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM
Blazing Stars
Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
152 West 66 Street (west of Broadway)
Limited Seating

Tickets: $25, $17, $10 ~ Reservations advised
Call (212) 799-1259 or email admin@jupitersymphony.com
Pay by check or cash (exact change)​​​

Hyunah Yu soprano
Prizewinner at the 1999 Naumburg competition and recipient of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award ~ “absolutely captivating...with exceptional style and effortless lyrical grace. The audience, to judge by the general swooning, was helplessly in love by the end.” The Washington Post

Roman Rabinovich piano
Winner of the Rubinstein, Animato and Arjil competitions, the Mezzo and Salon de Virtuosi awards, and the Vendome Prize ~ “admirable interpretations...performed with a rich, full-blooded sound, singing lines and witty dexterity.” The New York Times

Stefan Jackiw violin
Winner of the 2002 Avery Fisher Career Grant “Talent that’s Off the Scale” Washington Post  ~ “...a legend in the making. He has everything he needs to make an exceptional career for himself – flawless technique, precocious musical understanding, and a sweet, singing tone.” Chicago Tribune

Ariel Horowitz violin
Winnner of the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Ambassador Prize, and winnings at the Grumiaux, Stulberg, and Klein competitions, and the Salon De Virtuosi Career Grant ~ “Sweetly Lyrical” Washington Post

Clara Neubauer violin
Silver Medal winner at the 2020 National YoungArts Competition, first prize at the 2019 Symphony of Westchester and 2017 Adelphi Young Artist competitions., and winner of the 2017 Young Musicians Competition at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center ~ recently featured on the WQXR Young Musicians Showcase

Sofia Gilchenok viola
A rising young artist, she has been described as “both stylish and entrancing” by the Hartford Symphony Orchestra ~ she serves as Principal Violist of Symphony in C, and recently participated in the Kronberg Academy’s 2023 master classes with Tabea Zimmermann

Mihai Marica cello
Winner of the Irving Klein, Viña del Mar, Salon de Virtuosi and Dotzauer competitions ~ “Mihai is a brilliant cellist and interpreter of music. His playing is spellbinding.” Mitchell Sardou Klein

Yoonah Kim clarinet
Winner of the 2016 Concert Artists Guild Competition and first prizewinner of the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition ~ hailed by The New York Times for her “inexhaustible virtuosity.”

Franz CLEMENT  Introduction and Polonaise in E Major
   ~ in Classical style, for violin virtuoso and string quartet

Clement—a native son and favorite of the Viennese public who stood on chairs to applaud him—was a virtuoso violinist and composer. Born in 1780, the child prodigy began playing the violin at age 4 and was exploited by his father. By 1790, at age 10, he performed successful concerts in London, some of which were conducted by Haydn and Johann Peter Salomon. When Beethoven heard Clement perform in 1794, he lauded his talent, writing in Clement’s book of remembrances that he “would reach the greatest goal possible to an artist here on earth” and urged him to “return soon so that I may hear your dear magnificent playing.” From 1802 to 1811 Clement served as director and concertmaster of the newly-established Theater an der Wien. In his benefit concerts and in other musical concerts led by him, he performed Beethoven’s works at a time when the master’s genius was not yet recognized. In 1805, a benefit concert for Clement presented the first performance of the Eroica (conducted by Beethoven) at the Theater an der Wien, and in 1806 the premiere of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto (written for and commissioned by Clement). These are merely two of the famous ones. As to his skill, Clement played some variations “mid umgekehrter Violin”—with the violin reversed—and a sonata on a single string! He is also known for his phenomenal memory. He wrote a piano reduction of Haydn’s The Creation, among other works, based only on his participation as a violinist. Louis Sphor also recorded in his autobiography that after hearing 2 rehearsals and a performance of the oratorio, The Last Judgement, Clement played several long passages from it on the piano the next day, with all the harmonies and accompanying passages, without ever having seen the score. He published several compositions of his own as well, including a Violin Concerto in D Major. In his later years, his decline as an artist was observed by Beethoven, who refused Clement the position of concertmaster at the premiere of the Ninth Symphony, and wrote in his conversation book, after a concert in 1819 featuring Clement’s variations on a theme of Beethoven, that Clement’s work was “Poor stuff.” Sadly, Clement’s career ended in distress because of financial mismanagement which left him impoverished when he died in 1842.

Louis SPOHR  6 Deutsche Lieder Op. 103
   ~ marvelous “German Songs” about life and love—for soprano, clarinet, and piano

While the Songs are rooted in the Classical tradition of Mozart (whom he revered), they anticipate the works of Richard Wagner (whose music he championed) with their grand virtuosic gestures and chromatic harmonies. As to the origin of the Songs, Spohr recounted in his autobiography, “I received a letter from [Johann Simon] Hermstedt in which, on the instructions of Princess Sondershausen, he invited me to write for the latter some songs for soprano voice with piano and clarinet accompaniment. Since this work very much appealed to me, I composed in the course of a few weeks six songs in this genre…which I dedicated to the Princess at her express wish, thereupon receiving from her the gift of a valuable ring.” At the premiere, the clarinet part was played by his longtime friend and the foremost clarinetist in his day, Hermstedt, for whom Spohr had already written four concertos. He was the Duke’s clarinet teacher and was known for his technical brilliance and a style marked by striking gradations of tone. In order to maximize Hermstedt’s mastery, Spohr wrote florid obbligatos as well as passages to show the clarinet’s lyrical qualities. Hermstedt included the Songs in his last recital in 1840.

Spohr (1784–1859) was a dominant force in German music and was as famous as Beethoven—he served in a number of court positions, he was the celebrated leading violin virtuoso, he was one of the most sought-after and prolific composers of the first half of the 19th century, and is considered a forerunner of early Romanticism. He also was an ideas man—he invented the chin rest, introduced the use of the baton and rehearsal numbers, developed the double quartet after Andreas Romberg first proposed the idea, revived the music of Bach and Handel, and he was the author of an influential violin method, as well as a wonderful autobiography that included details his many travels throughout Europe. In addition to his musical activities, he was a family man who enjoyed a happy social life and varied pursuits like swimming, ice-skating, hiking, gardening, and painting.

SCHUBERT  Quartettsatz in C minor D.703
   ~ powerful, fiery, dramatic first movement of an intended 12th String Quartet

Schubert is known to have written 15 string quartets. As a teenager, from 1810 to 1816, he wrote 11 in the classicism of Haydn and Mozart for the family to play (his brothers Ferdinand and Ignaz on violin, himself on viola, and his father on cello); the incomplete Quartettsatz; and 3 later epic string quartets auguring the Romantic age. The 12th quartet thus stands at a tipping point in his life. According to musicologist Robert Winter, the Quartettsatz is “a work of furious intensity that heralded Schubert’s maturity as a composer of instrumental music.” As its name implies, Schubert wrote only the first movement, followed by 41 measures of the Andante; it was unfinished. Long after his death in 1828, the manuscript landed in the hands of Brahms who collected Schubert scores; he edited and published it in 1870. Its posthumous premiere was performed on 1 March 1867 in Vienna.

BEETHOVEN  Piano Trio No. 1 in Eb Major Op. 1 No. 1
   ~ reveals his assimilation of the high Classical style, but in his distinctive personal manner—from the first Mozartean movement in a Beethovenian voice, generous with musical ideas, to his expansionist tendencies in the coda

Beethoven made an imposing statement when his three Op. 1 piano trios were performed at one of the soirées of his early and loyal patron Prince Karl von Lichnowsky. Haydn, one of the invited guests, remarked on their bold originality: “You give me the impression of a man with more than one head, more than one heart and more than one soul!” His first great patron in Bonn, Count Ferdinand Waldstein, recorded in his personal album, “You will receive the spirit of Mozart from the hands of Haydn.” More than a decade after publication, Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung proclaimed the trios “Strong, powerful, and moving.” He had labored over the extensive revisions before Artaria printed them, secretly subsidized by Prince Lichnowsky. Thomas May explained, “Beethoven’s first official declaration in print as a composer was a stunning success, both critically and commercially.... Even more, Beethoven’s successful assessment of the public demand for new pianoforte-centered chamber music allowed him to establish a formidable identity with Vienna’s leading publishers. The biographer Lewis Lockwood points out that, as a result, ‘he thought about composition and publication from early on as a single large-scale enterprise.’”

Jupiter 2024 - 2025 Season
20 Mondays at 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Good Shepherd Church ♦ 152 West 66 Street

View Our Season Calendar

Tickets: $25, $17, $10 ~ Reservation advised
Call (212) 799-1259 or email admin@jupitersymphony.com
Pay by check or cash (exact change)​​

Please visit our Media Page to hear Audio Recordings from the Jens Nygaard and Jupiter Symphony Archive

Concert Venue:
Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
152 West 66 Street (west of Broadway), New York

“one of the most refined and intelligent church spaces in New York” ~ The New York Times Built in 1893 by Josiah Cleveland Cady, architect of the old Metropolitan Opera House and the American Museum of Natural History

Office Address:
JUPITER SYMPHONY
155 West 68th Street, Suite 319
New York, NY 10023
admin@jupitersymphony.com
(212) 799-1259

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Jupiter in the News

ConcertoNet
“knocked the socks off this listener...It was wondrous chamber music. And the three artists gave it the deserving excitement, volition and imagination.” 
Harry Rolnick, ConcertoNet   more...

“the performers were top notch”
“The homey church where these concerts take place, nestled on West 66th Street in the shadow of Lincoln Center, is an intimate and acoustically vibrant place for chamber music.”
Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times   more...

Strad Magazine
“A finely forthright, fluent and expressive account of Haydn's Divertimento in E-flat major opened this programme of miscellaneous chamber music in a series known for adventurous programming.”
Dennis Rooney, Strad Magazine   more...

ConcertoNet
“Mr. Nygaard’s cadenza flowed down Mozart lanes and paths, each with beautiful backgrounds. And at the very end, Mr. Nygaard brought forth that martial major theme, like an unexpected gift.” 
Harry Rolnick, ConcertoNet   more...

As promised, here are the videos of John Field’s Divertissement No. 1 and Sir Hamilton Harty’s Piano Quintet. Fortuitously, our Jupiter musicians had the good sense to record the rehearsal in an impromptu decision, literally minutes before pressing the record button. Pianist Mackenzie Melemed (replacing Roman Rabinovich at the last minute) learned the music in 2 days! Bravo to him.

Both works are Irish rarities that were scheduled for the March 16 performances which had to be canceled because of the coronavirus epidemic. Even though the entire program could not be recorded because of technical issues, we are pleased to be able to share with you the 2 musical gems. Enjoy.

John FIELD  Divertissement No. 1 H. 13
  ~ simply delicious piano quintet, alternately titled Rondeau Pastoral and better known in its version for solo piano, Twelve O’clock Rondo, on account of the 12 “chimes” at the end ~ by the creator of the Nocturne, which had a major influence on Chopin

We thank the University of Illinois (Champaign) for a copy of the Divertissement music.

Mackenzie Melemed piano
Abigel Kralik violin
Dechopol Kowintaweewat violin
Sarah Sung viola
Christine Lamprea cello

Sir Hamilton HARTY  Piano Quintet in F Major Op. 12
  ~ in a lyrical Romantic idiom, with a distinct, breezy Irish-salted voice

Andrew Clements of the Guardian proclaimed the beautiful Quintet “a real discovery: a big, bold statement full of striking melodic ideas and intriguing harmonic shifts, which adds Brahms and Dvořák into Harty’s stylistic mix, together with Tchaikovsky in some passages.” There’s folk music charm as well, reminiscent of Percy Grainger—notably in the Scherzo (Vivace) with its folksy quirks and nonchalance, and the winding, pentatonic melody in the Lento.

Our gratitude to the Queen’s University Library in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for a copy of the autograph manuscript of the music. Much thanks, too, to Connor Brown for speedily creating a printed score and parts from Harty’s manuscript.

Mackenzie Melemed piano
Abigel Kralik violin
Dechopol Kowintaweewat violin
Sarah Sun viola
Christine Lamprea cello

I Allegro 0:00
II Vivace 10:43
III Lento 14:44
IV Allegro con brio 23:59