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Join Us For Our 2024-2025 Season! |
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Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players “This was music-making of a very high order” Fred Kirshnit, The New York Sun |
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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.
View Our Printable Calendar and Ticket Order Form (pdf) Take a look at our guest artists for this season. |
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Join us for our next concerts...
Monday, April 7 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Tickets: $25, $17, $10 ~ Reservations advised Albert Cano Smit piano Joshua Brown violin Isabelle Ai Durrenberger violin Cong Wu viola Christine Lamprea cello Vadim Lando clarinet Note: Joshua Brown replaces Sueye Park for this concert Rubin GOLDMARK Romanze for cello and piano Op. 3 Goldmark (1872–1936), a New Yorker of Austro-Hungarian descent, was a standout among Dvořák’s American students. His father Leo, a lawyer and cantor, was a founder and a singer of the Oratorio Society of New York, as well as a cofounder of the New York Symphony Society. His uncle was the famous Jewish-Austrian composer Karl Goldmark. After a year at City College, the 17-year-old studied for 2 years at the Vienna Conservatory, where his composition teachers were the Fuchs brothers, Robert and Johann Nepomuk, and his piano teacher was Anton Door. Upon returning to New York in 1891, he studied piano at the National Conservatory with the virtuoso Rafael Joseffy (former pupil of Moscheles, Tausig, and Liszt) and composition with Dvořák. After Dvořák left for Iowa in 1893, Goldmark taught piano and theory at the Conservatory till the following year, when poor health prompted his move to Colorado Springs, where he served as director of Colorado College. After regaining his health, he returned to New York in 1902. For 2 decades, he taught piano and composition privately and toured across the U.S. and Canada, giving over 500 lecture-recitals on music, theory, composition, and Wagner’s music. In 1907 Goldmark cofounded the “Bohemians,” the legendary New York Club of musicians (of which Jens Nygaard was a member). From 1924 till his death, he was head of the composition department at Juilliard. His compositions include Hiawatha, Samson, Negro Rhapsody, and The Call of the Plains, a favorite of the violinist Mischa Elman. Rudolf FRIML Suite mignonne Op. 35 The titles of the movements suggest characteristics of the music: Solitude, Chanson matinale (Morning song), Valse romantique, Petite histoire (A little story), Danse bohémienne, and Un moment de rêve (Contemplation). The publisher Arthur P. Schmidt advertised the Suite as “valuable for what it offers as study in interpretation…[and as] many opportunities for applying…an artistic manner.” Friml was a pianist and composer mostly known for his 30 operettas and revue scores which showed strong European musical influences, and alluded to pre-World War I European lightheartedness. He was born in Prague in 1879, became an American citizen in 1925, and died in Hollywood in 1972. Friml studied with Dvořák at the Prague Conservatory around 1900 to 1903, and served as piano accompanist for the violinist Jan Kubelík in Europe and the United States, where he remained from 1906. He also made his American debut performing his First Piano Concerto with Walter Damrosch and the New York Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall in 1904. His own reputation as a recitalist was made “for his keyboard improvisations as well as his character pieces, lyrical salon dances, etudes, violin and cello pieces and songs, some written under the pseudonym Roderick Freeman [New Grove Dictionary].” In 1912 he was called to replace the composer Victor Herbert and wrote his first and successful operetta, The Firefly, commissioned by the singer Emma Trentini. Even more popular were Rose Marie, best remembered for the song “Indian Love Call”; the Vagabond King with its popular songs “Only a Rose” and “Some Day”; and the Three Musketeers. From 1934 Friml composed for motion pictures. His last important song, “The Donkey Serenade,” was interpolated into a film adaptation of The Firefly in 1937. Otakar ŠEVČÍK “The Blue-eyed maiden” from Czech Dances Op. 10, No. 1 Ševčík was a Czech violinist and very influential teacher. Born in 1852, his father taught him the piano and singing from the age of 5, and the violin at age 7. He studied at the Prague Conservatory in 1866–1870, then taught at the Mozarteum in Salzburg for 3 years, served as concertmaster of Vienna’s Comic Opera, and toured as a recitalist. In 1875 he became a violin professor at the Imperial Music School in Kiev until 1892, when he returned to the Prague Conservatory and taught there for 14 years, becoming professor in 1901. Ševčík also traveled abroad to promote his teaching methods in the United States and London. His base, however, was in Pisek, where pupils flocked from all over the world, especially from Britain and the United States, to receive their final training. He taught nearly 5000 violinists including Jan Kubelik, Efrem Zimbalist, and Marie Hall. When Dvořák was director of the Prague Conservatory, he was a great proponent of Ševčík’s teaching methods and made them compulsory for the school’s violin students. In 1909 Ševčík was appointed head of the Vienna Academy, working there until 1918. Known for his practical approach to performance and technique development, he is the author of several study books for the violin that are still in use today. He died in 1934 at the age of 81. Ferdinand LAUB Polonaise Op. 8 Laub’s virtuosity and artistry were greatly admired by Tchaikovsky, who called him the finest violinist of his time. Born in Prague in 1832, he was taught the violin by his father from age 4, and he began to appear in public at age 6. In 1841 the Norwegian violinist, Ole Bull, praised the 11-year-old’s virtuosity. In 1843 he was accepted straight into the second year at the Prague Conservatory. In his last year, in 1846, he caught the attention of Heinrich Ernst and of Berlioz, who invited him to Paris, but the Revolution of 1848 prevented his visit. Instead, Laub worked as a soloist in the Theater an der Wien, then toured in Europe. In 1853 he succeeded Joachim as Konzertmeister in Weimar, where he met Liszt and played chamber music with him. He then taught at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, and in 1856 he was appointed chamber virtuoso to the Prussian king. At his peak Laub appeared with his most famous contemporaries, including Clara Schumann, Han von Bülow, Anton Rubinstein, Theodor Leschetizky, Smetana, and Joachim. In 1866 he became violin professor at the Moscow Conservatory, where he was acclaimed as a soloist, chamber musician, and conductor, and in demand as a teacher. Tchaikovsky’s first two string quartets were premiered by the Moscow String Quartet, led by Laub. In 1874 he stopped working because of illness. While on his way to a spa, Laub died in Gries, Italy, at the age of 43. After his untimely death, Tchaikovsky wrote his third string quartet in his friend’s memory. “In his time Laub was renowned for his beautiful tone, his technical virtuosity and his unfailing sense of style. …his interpretation of the Beethoven concerto was particularly celebrated. He was one of the first violinists to perform the Bach sonatas. His instruments included an Amati, a 1706 Guarneri and a 1727 Stradivari [New Grove Dictionary].” George Whitefield CHADWICK String Quartet No. 4 in E minor Both Chadwick and Dvořák, whose “American” Quartet was introduced by the Kneisel Quartet in Boston in 1894, created themes that sound like, but are not, folk song. For his 4th String Quartet, Chadwick created for each movement original themes that echo with New England hymns and fiddle tunes, and incorporates, in its finale, elements of passacaglia and fugue that recall a sea shanty. After its premiere by the Kneisel Quartet, it became his most popular string quartet during his lifetime. Chadwick was a composer of the “Second New England School,” its music rooted in the traditions of European Romanticism. Born in 1854 in the rural town of Lowell, Massachusetts, Chadwick was the son of an insurance salesman, a high school dropout, and a vagabond scholar. After studying the organ and music theory in Boston, he went to Leipzig in 1877 to study privately with Salomon Jadassohn, and then at the conservatory with Carl Reinecke, and in Munich with Josef Rheinberger. His success as a composer was surprisingly rapid. Upon his return to Boston in 1880 he taught music theory at the New England Conservatory, and by 1897 he became its director, a post he held until his death in 1931. As an educator, Chadwick played an important role in American music, counting among his pupils Horatio Parker, Henry Hadley, and Florence Price. He also conducted orchestral and choral concerts. As a composer, “his best works show him to have been a pioneer in freeing American musical expression from German conservatory style.” He also wrote music resembling Dvořák’s “American style”—using American themes since the 1870s. The New Grove Dictionary concludes that “Although he was not as popular as Edward MacDowell, as honoured as Horatio Parker or as imaginative as Charles Ives, George Chadwick was one of the most influential teachers in American music and one of the most versatile composers. He may be counted as a realist, one of that broad gathering of American creative personalities who flourished during the pre-World War I decades typified by the Ashcan school of painters, the social realism of such theatre directors as David Belasco and such writers as Stephen Crane and ‘O. Henry.’” Antonín DVOŘÁK Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor “Dumky” Op. 90 Dvořák’s popularity came from his embrace of the folk musical styles of Bohemia, expressed in folk-inspired works such as the Slavonic Dances. This led him to combine Eastern European vernacular styles and traditional chamber music forms. The epitome of this fusion is the “Dumky” Piano Trio, written in 6 dumka, a folk genre most likely of Ukrainian origin popular in Poland and Bohemia in the 19th century. Dumka means “a fleeting thought,” and the musical genre evokes an intense feeling that characterizes the Slavic soul in an emotionally charged vision. Each of the Trio’s dumka alternates between brooding melancholy and sharply contrasting interludes of dancelike exuberance. Completed on 12 February 1891, the Trio premiered in Prague on 11 April with violinist Ferdinand Lachner, cellist Hanuš Wihan, and Dvořák at the piano. The work was so well received that Dvořák performed it on his 40-concert farewell tour throughout Moravia and Bohemia, prior to leaving for New York to head the National Conservatory of Music of America. |
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Monday, April 14 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Tickets: $25, $17, $10 ~ Reservations advised Adam Golka piano Hina Khuong-Huu violin Fiona Khuong-Huu violin Paul Neubauer viola Audrey Chen cello Vadim Lando clarinet ANONYMOUS Clarinet Polka The composer of the Clarinet Polka has not been irrefutably identified. The origins of a piece of folk music that resembles the Clarinet Polka, as it is presently known, can be traced to the turn of the 19th century. Entitled “Klarinetten Muckl” by an “Anonymous” composer, the piece is included in a collection of “Known Songs and Dances,” arranged for accordion by Otto Thirsfeld and published by J. Weinberger in 1906 in Bavaria (now Austria). A copy of the first edition is preserved in the Austrian National Library in Vienna. Another version of the polka with the title “A Hupfata” is said to date in the late 1890s, and a vinyl recording of “A Hupfata” was released in 1907. It featured the graphic design of the 14th Bavarian Infantry Regiment Band. In 1913, the Polish composer Karol Namysłowski reorchestrated the anonymous piece for traditional Polish instruments, entitled “Dziadunio Polka” after the Polish word for “grandfather” (copyrighted 16 December 1913). It became a hit. In 1915, the Clarinet Polka was first recorded in the United States by Frank Przybylski for Columbia Records in Chicago. Since 1971 it has been used as the introduction to Lato z Radiem, one of the most popular shows on Polskie Radio Program I in Poland. Namysłowski (1856–1925) was the founder of Poland’s oldest symphony orchestra. He studied the trumpet and violin at the Warsaw Institute of Music, graduating with distinction. After a few years of teaching music and conducting concerts, he formed a band of talented farmers; it became the Peasant Orchestra in 1881, based in Zamość. The musicians, whom he taught, wore traditional Polish dress, and Namysłowski conducted facing the audience while playing the violin. The Orchestra gained enormous popularity, and by 1885 it gave its first performance in Warsaw, and in 1891 it played for Tsar Alexander III, who presented Namysłowski with a gold ring with diamonds. The Peasant Orchestra made a 3-month tour of the United States in 1925, performing 80 concerts in 14 states. Its first concert was at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and it also performed for President Coolidge at the White House. In addition, it recorded 10 vinyls for Victor in Camden, New Jersey. The Namysłowski Peasant Orchestra later became the Karol Namysłowski Symphony Orchestra. Michał Kleofas OGIŃSKI Polonaise “Pożegnanie Ojczyzny” The Polonaise was composed after Ogiński returned to Warsaw from a diplomatic mission to the Hague and London. Upon his return, he found out that Poland was being threatened with an invasion from Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Saddened, he wrote the Polonaise in A minor for solo piano. As a composer, Ogiński is noted for his piano music, especially polonaises, which influenced Chopin and other contemporaries, including Józef Elsner and Karol Kurpiński. The music’s melancholic, lyrical mood suited the taste of the times and expressed Polish patriotism. Although Ogiński was an accomplished politician and diplomat, he is remembered today as a musician and composer. Born in Guzów, near Warsaw, in 1765 into an aristocratic family, he first studied the violin and piano under Józef Kozłowski, and in 1798 took occasional violin lessons from Giovanni Battista Viotti while residing abroad. His political career began in 1786, when he was elected to the Sejm (Parliament), after which he held various ambassadorial and government positions in the Netherlands, London, Warsaw (as Grand Treasurer of Lithuania), Constantinople, and elsewhere. Among his numerous achievements, he was one of the leaders of the Kosciuszko uprising, and he collaborated with Napoleon (whom he met in 1797) in creating the Duchy of Warsaw, which he viewed as a stepping stone to eventual full Polish independence. Like Napoleon, he was a Freemason. After traveling throughout Europe, Ogiński settled in 1802 at Zalesie, near Vilnius, and in 1815 in Italy. He died in Florence in 1833. Karol Józef LIPIŃSKI String Trio No. 2 in A Major Op. 12 While known as the “Polish Paganini,” Lipiński rejected the appellation, noting that he played in a very different manner, with a modest demeanor, and an honesty of expression. In the view of the New Grove Dictionary, “Lipiński represented the orthodox Classical school of Viotti and Spohr, with an emphasis on good tone quality. [His] mastery of all the other elements of technique made his style unique.” Born in 1790 in Radzyń, Lipiński learned the violin and rudiments of music from his father, who was conductor of the Count Starzeński Orchestra in Lwów (Lviv); he later learned the cello from Ferdinand Kremes. As a violinist, he developed a beautiful, strong, and deep tone which became a hallmark of his playing. In 1809, at age 20, he became first violin (and later conductor) of the opera theater in Lviv. In 1814 he went to Vienna to meet Spohr, who encouraged him to further his violin studies, which he did upon returning to Lviv—he resigned from the theater and focused on practicing and composing. “After reading in the newspapers about Paganini, he decided to hear him and in 1817 left for Italy.… He met Paganini in April 1818 in Padua and played with him twice…in Piacenza. Between 1819 and 1828 he played in many Polish, German and Russian towns. He met Paganini for the second time in 1829 in Warsaw, during the coronation of Nicholas I of Russia as King of Poland, and their playing initiated a press controversy as to who was the greater [Chopin was in the audience]. When he returned from Warsaw he gave up public performance so as to perfect his technique.” In 1833 Lipiński resumed his artistic tours in Europe, then settled in Dresden in 1839, when he was appointed Konzertmeister by the Saxon king. In addition to the royal orchestra, he formed his own string quartet and taught; his pupils included Henryk Wieniawski, then age 13. Among his admirers were Berlioz, Wagner, and Schumann, who wrote: “Lipiński is here. These three words are enough for a music lover to set his pulse racing…. For those who have not yet heard the powerful violin master, who is so adept at ushering one into the realm of previously unfamiliar feelings, it is recommended that they pay attention to this special opportunity to relish in his art as this is going to be a musical performance they may not experience in years.” In 1861 he retired to his estate in Urlów, where he died after a severe asthma attack. Juliusz ZARĘBSKI Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 34 The Piano Quintet is Zarębski’s last work before he succumbed to tuberculosis in 1885 at age 31. It was rediscovered by Martha Argerich, who performed it at the Lugano Festival in 2011. The New Grove Dictionary asserts that “Zarębski was the most original Polish composer of the second half of the 19th century. His piano works were influenced by Liszt…. He also developed some of Chopin’s methods, drawing on folk music and making creative use of some of its modal characteristics in his harmony; and he had a comprehensive command of the technical resources of the piano. His compositions are marked by great variety of colour…and sometimes by an emancipation of unrelated chords which marks him out as a forerunner of impressionism. Zarębski’s finest work is his Piano Quintet…. Advanced harmony, richness of colour and an enterprising use of rhythm, as well as the full exploitation of the piano and its skillful blending with the strings combine to make it one of the most remarkable Polish chamber works of the second half of the century.” Born in 1854 in Zhitomir, Zarębski graduated from the Vienna Conservatory in 1872 with gold medals in composition and piano. He then studied at the St Petersburg Conservatory in 1873, earning his Free Artist diploma in only 3 months. In 1874 he studied the piano for a year in Rome under Liszt, becoming his favorite pupil. By 1880 he was appointed professor of piano at the Brussels Conservatory, a post he held till his death. Zarębski also concertized throughout Europe with great success. And he mastered, within two months, the technique of playing the 2-keyboard piano (an invention of the brothers Edouard and Alfred Mangeot), then developed a repertoire for it, and gave concerts on the instrument during the Paris Exhibition of 1878 and later in London. The Mangeot double grand piano has the bizarre distinction of having the top keyboard running in the opposite direction to the keyboard below (that is, the bass to the right, and the treble to the left). Likewise, the 4 pedals are “mirrored”! Only 2 were ever made. Zarębski’s name is pronounced Yooliush Zarempski. |
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Jupiter 2024 - 2025 Season Tickets: $25, $17, $10 ~ Reservation advised Please visit our Media Page to hear Audio Recordings from the Jens Nygaard and Jupiter Symphony Archive Concert Venue:
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Like our Facebook page to see photos, videos, Jupiter in the News ConcertoNet
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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 We thank the University of Illinois (Champaign) for a copy of the Divertissement music. Mackenzie Melemed piano
Sir Hamilton HARTY Piano Quintet in F Major Op. 12 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 I Allegro 0:00 | ||||||
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Jupiter featured on Our Net News American program opener on March 18, with grateful thanks to Michael Shaffer of OurNetNews.com for recording the matinee concert, and making available the Horatio Parker Suite video for our viewing pleasure. Horatio Parker Suite in A Major, Op. 35, composed in 1893 Stephen Beus piano
More video from this performance can be viewed on our media page |
Jupiter on YouTube NEW YORK CANVAS : The Art of Michael McNamara is a video portrait of the artist who has painted iconic images of New York City for more than a decade, capturing the changing urban landscape of his adopted city. Our Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players provide the music from Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G Minor, underscoring the inspiration the artist has drawn from Jens Nygaard and the musicians. Michael was also our Jupiter volunteer from 2002 to 2010. Here is a video of the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players performance of the Rondo alla Zingarese movement:
The producer-director, Martin Spinelli, also made the EMMY Award-winning “Life On Jupiter: The Story of Jens Nygaard, Musician.” For more information, visit our media
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“Some great musicians get a statue when they pass away. Some get their name imprinted on the roof of a well-known concert hall. But the late conductor Jens Nygaard has a living tribute: an entire ensemble of musicians and a concert series to go along with it... It is one of the city’s cultural jewels... In the end, if Mr. Nygaard was known for anything, it was unmitigated verve. That’s what the audience regularly returned for, and that’s what they got Monday afternoon. To have a grassroots community of musicians continue to celebrate Mr. Nygaard with indomitable performances like these week after week, even without the power of world-famous guest soloists, is proper tribute. And with more large orchestras and ensembles needing more corporate sponsorship year after year, I, for one, hope the Jupiter’s individual subscriber-base remains strong. New York’s musical life needs the spirit of Jens Nygaard, and Mei Ying should be proud she’s keeping it alive.” Read the complete article on our reviews page. |
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MeiYing Manager All
performances, except where otherwise noted, are held at: Copyright © 1999-2025 Jupiter Symphony. All rights reserved. |
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