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Join Us For Our 2025-2026 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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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, January 5 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Tickets: $25, $17 ~ Reservations advised William Wolfram piano Geneva Lewis violin Hina Khuong-Huu violin Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt viola Gaeun Kim cello Vadim Lando clarinet TCHAIKOVSKY Valse–Scherzo Op. 34 Originally for violin and orchestra, the Valse–Scherzo was composed for and dedicated to violinist Yosif Kotek, whom Tchaikovsky had taught at the Moscow Conservatory and with whom he had an intimate relationship. Kotek noted that “this shall be a piece to impress everybody.” It has, and continues to do so. France hosted its first performance in conjunction with the Paris World Exposition on 20 September 1878 at a Russian Symphony Concert in Trocadero Hall, with the Polish violinist Stanisław Barcewicz as soloist and conductor Nikolai Rubinstein. The arrangement for violin and piano is by Tchaikovsky. Aram KHACHATURIAN Trio An early work, the Trio was written at age 29 while at the Moscow Conservatory studying with Nikolai Myaskovsky. As it so happened, Prokofiev heard it in Myaskovsky’s composition class. He had rented an apartment in Moscow while still living in Paris, and was in the city to look for promising new compositions in the Soviet Union. In the interest of fostering cultural exchange between the Soviet Union and France, Prokofiev was given the task of promoting recent work of young Soviet composers abroad. Thus, through Prokofiev’s recommendation, the first performance of the Trio took place at the Société Triton in Paris. The Triton, dedicated to performances of new chamber music, was founded by the composer Pierre-Octave Ferroud in 1932. Prokofiev was one of the executive committee members, and the European premiere of his own Sonata for Two Violins was presented by Triton as well. Khachaturian was one of the 3 top composers of the Soviet Union, and won 4 Stalin prizes, one Lenin prize, a USSR State Prize, and the title of “Hero of Socialist Labor.” Born in 1903 in Tbilisi, Georgia to an Armenian family, his first musical experiences were the folk songs of his mother and of his hometown—“I was brought up surrounded by rich folklore. This is how my way of thinking was born.” A late starter, his music education began at the age of 22 at the Gnessin State Musical and Pedagogical Institute and continued at the Moscow Conservatory, where he excelled in his studies (from 1951 he became a professor at both schools). As a young composer, he was influenced by Ravel, and later by the folk traditions of Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. In 1948, along with Prokofiev and Shostakovich, Khachaturian was denounced under the Zhdanov Doctrine for bourgeois tendencies in his music. Forced to apologize publicly, his guilt was merely by association as his nationally-tinged musical idiom was a far cry from any modernistic excess. After Stalin’s death in 1953, he was the first among prominent musicians to appeal for fewer bureaucratic restraints and greater creative freedom. In 1954 he was named People’s Artist of the USSR. He composed in almost all genres and forms: ballets, concertos, symphonies, orchestral works, songs, film and incidental music, and pedagogical works. His most popular hit is the “Sabre Dance” from the ballet Gayane—recognizable worldwide. The New Grove Dictionary states that “Khachaturian’s successful career represents the fulfillment of a basic Soviet arts policy: the interpenetration of regional folklorism and the great Russian tradition. His native Armenian (and, in a wider sense, trans-Caucasian) heritage is reflected in his languid melodies, stirring rhythms and the pulsating vitality of his musical idiom; but his imagination was disciplined by an academicism based on Rimsky-Korsakov…. Whenever he used folklore he reshaped it in a personal way…. He represented socialist realism at its best.” Khachaturian died in Moscow in 1978, but is buried in Yerevan, Armenia. Sergei PROKOFIEV Sonata in C Major for Two Violins Op. 56 Upon hearing a poorly written work for two violins, Prokofiev produced his own Sonata as a commission piece to conclude the inaugural concert of Triton, a society in Paris dedicated to presenting new chamber music. The Sonata, in four movements of two-part counterpoint, is a mercurial mix of lyricism and sharp-edged rhythmic and harmonic piquancy, less dissonant than most of his works of the 1920s. Sergey TANEYEV Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 30 The resplendent Quintet, as described by Cobbett’s Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music, is “The crowning glory of Taneyev’s chamber works with piano, permeated with profound thought and inward pathos.” Dark and densely textured, there is an abundance of soaring melodies and impassioned lyricism. Taneyev (1856–1915) came from a cultured family with aristocratic connections. He was given his first piano lessons at age 5, and from the age of 9 to 18, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his teachers were Tchaikovsky (in composition) and Nikolai Rubinstein (in piano). He became a brilliant pianist, graduating in 1875 with a gold medal in composition and performance—the first in the history of the Conservatory to achieve this honor. Taneyev became close friends with Tchaikovsky and was held in such high regard that Tchaikovsky sought and appreciated his opinions and musical suggestions. He was trusted with giving the first Russian performance of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto as well as performing as soloist for the Russian premieres of Tchaikovsky’s other works for piano and orchestra. In 1878, upon Tchaikovsky’s resignation, Taneyev was persuaded to take his teacher’s place, but he consented only to teach the harmony and orchestration classes. In 1885 he reluctantly became the Conservatory’s director. Among his pupils were Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Glière, Medtner, and Grechaninov. At his death from a heart attack in 1915, he left a large body of work including 4 symphonies, keyboard and choral works, and many chamber pieces. Taneyev has been called the “Russian Brahms” and he may also be a “Russian Bruckner.” Tchaikovsky had even dubbed him the “Russian Bach” (Bach was one of his early inspirations). |
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Monday, January 19 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Tickets: $25, $17 ~ Reservations advised Albert Cano Smit piano William Hagen violin Clara Neubauer violin Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt viola Audrey Chen cello The 4 exceptional Hungarian composers on this program were immigrants to the United States. Sigmund Romberg immigrated to New York in 1909 to pursue musical aspirations; within 8 years he achieved his first hit musical on Broadway. Béla Bartók left Hungary in 1940, fearing the rise of Nazism, the Hungarian government’s antisemitic policies, and the growing political instability in Europe. He settled in New York City, where he worked at Columbia University and continued to compose; he became a citizen in 1945, shortly before his death. Miklós Rózsa also came to America in 1940 to work on The Thief of Baghdad for Alexander Korda’s London Film Productions. He stayed on in Hollywood and became a citizen in 1946. Ernst von Dohnányi fled Europe in 1948, initially going to Argentina, and then settling in Florida in 1949; he became a citizen in 1955. A political smear campaign in Hungary had accused him of harboring fascist sympathies, despite his having actively protected Jewish musicians during World War II. Miklós RÓZSA Northern Hungarian Peasant Songs and Dances Op. 5 The 4 different tunes, one for each of the movements in a slow-fast-slow-fast configuration, came from his “Little Black Book”—a small black notebook he used to document Hungarian folk music he heard in his youth. His biography recounted that he used it to jot down the melodies. Although the Suite was composed just after his graduation from the Leipzig Conservatory, Rózsa was already considered so proficient that he would take over the classes of his teacher Hermann Grabner in the latter’s frequent absences. He later wrote an orchestral accompaniment for the Little Suite. Rózsa was born in Budapest in 1907 and raised on his father’s country estate. Immersed in music from a young age, he was influenced by his musical family as well as Hungarian folk traditions—“The music was all around me; I would hear it in the fields when the people were at work, in the village as I lay awake at night; and the time came when I felt I had to try to put it down on paper and perpetuate it.” By age 7 Rózsa was composing. In 1925 he studied chemistry at the University of Leipzig, before dedicating himself to composition a year later at the Leipzig Conservatory. In 1931 he left for Paris, where he met Arthur Honneger, who introduced him to the idea of writing for film as a way to earn a living. Thus, although he achieved success with his orchestral works early in his career, he became a prominent film score composer after his move to Hollywood in 1940. His most famous scores are for Spellbound (first use of the theremin), Ben-Hur, and A Double Life. His luscious music is reflected in the rhythms and colors of folk music, and he played a key role in turning Hollywood film music into a more sophisticated art form. He composed nearly 100 film scores between 1937 and 1982, winning 3 Academy Awards and 17 nominations. Despite deteriorating health, Rózsa composed into the late 1980s. He died in 1995, leaving a rich body of work that bridges concert music and film scoring. “The most distinctive feature of his music is its lyricism, which is either pentatonic or modal and, like its harmony, full of the characteristic intervals of Hungarian folk music [New Grove Dictionary].” Sigmund ROMBERG Serenade from The Student Prince The song is a romantic ballad, expressing the Prince’s deep feelings for Kathie and his desire for her to be with him. The Student Prince, probably the most popular of all his works, is a romantic operetta based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster’s play Old Heidelberg, first performed in 1901. The melodramatic tale is about a young prince who falls for a commoner, a tavern keeper’s niece, while attending university. It was the longest running show on Broadway in the 1920s and 1930s. The lyrics were written by Dorothy Donnelly. Originally for voice and piano, the arrangement is made by Joseph Wood, the American composer who taught at Oberlin College for 35 years. Romberg was once the king of Broadway and his music was ubiquitous in touring productions. His songs—a blend of Austrian, Hungarian, gypsy, and Jewish influences—were very popular for 40 years. Born in 1887 in Nagykanizsa, his father was director of a sawmill and his mother wrote poems and short stories. He studied piano and violin in Vienna, but became an engineer to please his parents. Emigrating to the United States in 1909, when he was 22, Romberg became a pianist at musical cafes and then a dance-band leader at the Bustanovy Restaurant at 39th Street and Sixth Avenue (dance bands in restaurants were rare at the time). His first dances were published in 1912. Two years later he became the staff composer for revue-extravaganzas produced by the Shubert brothers, notably the Passing Show series. During World War I, having become an American citizen, he served in the army military intelligence. After the war, he began writing romantic operettas with richly melodic songs; among his best known are The Student Prince, The New Moon, and The Desert Song. In one 3-year period before he reached his peak, he wrote no less than 17 different productions. In the early 1930s Romberg moved to Hollywood to write scores and adapt his works for films. From 1942 until his death he toured the United States with his own orchestra. After his death in 1951, he faded into near obscurity.. Ernő (Ernst von) DOHNÁNYI Serenade in C Major Op. 10 The Serenade was written during a concert tour to London and Vienna and premiered in Vienna two years later. It is an exemplar of the form, a 5-movement suite packed with musical riches. Jascha Heifetz, William Primrose, and Emanuel Feuermann recorded it in the early 1940s—a stunning performance, which probably has not been matched. According to the New Grove Dictionary, “Next to Liszt he ranks as the most versatile Hungarian musician, whose influence reached generations in all spheres of musical life. He is considered one of the chief architects of Hungary’s musical culture in the 20th century.... As a pianist Dohnányi ranked among the greatest of all time.... As a master of chamber music he had few equals after Brahms.... As a conductor Dohnányi’s chief merit was the recognition of Bartók’s genius decades before others....” Born in Pozsony (now Bratislava) in 1877, he was first taught by his father. At age 17, he studied at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music in Budapest—piano with István Thomán (Liszt’s favorite pupil) and composition with Hans von Koessler (a devotee of Brahms). Both Liszt and Brahms swayed his piano playing and compositions, respectively. Further, Howard Posner defines the context of the Serenade and summarizes the relationship between and Dohnányi and Bartók: “Dohnányi wrote his Serenade…the year Dvořák died. Dohnányi was 26, and already an international star pianist and a major figure at home in Hungary, where his influence was powerful. As early as 1895, he had drawn attention as a composer, when Brahms praised the 18-year-old’s Op. 1 Piano Quintet and arranged its Vienna premiere. Because he acquired international stature even as a teenager, Dohnányi’s decision to study at the Budapest Academy of Music instead of going to Vienna or Berlin lent prestige to that young institution, and led younger musicians such as Bartók and Kodály to study there as well.… When Bartók, only three years younger than Dohnányi, gave a recital at the Academy in October 1901, a Budapest critic wrote ‘Bartók thunders around on the piano like a little Jupiter. No piano student at the Academy today has a greater chance of following in Dohnányi’s footsteps.’ Two years later Bartók was a student in Dohnányi’s master class. In later years Dohnányi would dominate the Hungarian musical scene to an extent scarcely imaginable. In the 1920s he was so active as a teacher, pianist, and conductor that Bartók said Dohnányi was providing the nation’s entire musical life. Dohnányi’s resume pretty much bears Bartók out: by the 1930s he was director of the Budapest Academy, music director of Hungarian Radio, and chief conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic.” Béla BARTÓK Piano Quintet in C Major The masterful Quintet was written when Bartók was 23. His composing had taken a pause as he was discouraged from expressing his creativity while at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. Then he heard the premiere of Also sprach Zarathustra, met Strauss, and was inspired: “I was aroused as by a flash of lightning by the first Budapest performance of Also Sprach Zarathustra. It contained the seeds for a new life. I started composing again.” Refreshed, he composed the Quintet, a work that shows his early attempts to break from the traditional compositional standards of his contemporaries and to use folk elements. He performed its premiere with the Prill Quartet in Vienna. |
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Jupiter 2025 - 2026 Season Tickets: $25, $17 ~ 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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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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performances, except where otherwise noted, are held at: Copyright © 1999-2025 Jupiter Symphony. All rights reserved. |
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