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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, March 16 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Tickets: $25, $17 ~ Reservations advised Anna Han piano Fiona Khuong-Huu violin Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt viola Josephine Kim violin Sara Scanlon cello Bethany Bobbs cello Sooyun Kim flute Vadim Lando clarinet Mikhail GLINKA Viola Sonata in D minor The Sonata is the first large, original work for the viola in Russian music, albeit an unfinished one. Usefovich, a well-known Soviet writer on the viola, perceived that “The music sprung from the same lyrical and romanze elements as represented in Glinka’s songs.” In 1825 Glinka (at age 21) began writing a viola sonata while living in St Petersburg. He considered it a major breakthrough, marking a transition from his early, academic pieces to his unique Russian masterpieces. In late April and early May 1828, while visiting Moscow, he wrote the Sonata’s second movement, which he thought had “some quite clever counterpoint.” He began a third movement in rondo form…but never finished it—“the Rondo, whose folksy and Russian overtones I can still recall, I never did write down.” He revised the 2 movements in the early 1850s. Vadim Borisovsky completed the 2nd movement in 1931 and performed the Sonata for the first time on 1 May 1931 in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with pianist Elena Beckmann-Scerbina. Borisovsky was a giant figure in bringing the art of viola playing to prominence in Russia, and was a founder of the Beethoven Quartet. Glinka (1804–1857) was the father of the Russian nationalist school and the first Russian composer to win international recognition. Born an aristocrat, he was raised in landed gentry. During his first 6 years, while in the care of his paternal grandmother, he was cut off “from all music except for the folksongs sung in abundance by his nurse, the chant he heard in the village church, and the strident church bells [tuned to a dissonant chord]…. The importance of this initial and exclusive musical diet was fundamental: the folksongs sank deep into Glinka’s mind so that later he could effortlessly incorporate their shapes into his own melodic invention…. On his grandmother’s death in 1810, Glinka passed into the care of his parents, and at last began to hear other music…. [In 1817] he was sent to school in St Petersburg. There he excelled at languages, adoring also the natural sciences and any subject that elicited an imaginative response. In general, though, his musical education was thoroughly unsystematic…. On leaving school in 1822 he…settled into the life of a musical dilettante in the world of the St Petersburg drawing rooms to which his sociability and skill, both as singer and pianist, readily gained him access…. During the 1820s he composed a fair amount of music, even though he had had no formal musical grounding…. But the rich cultural life of St Petersburg…provided him with models upon which he could base his early works…. [In] the late 1820s his attention was focusing increasingly upon the styles and techniques of Italian opera [New Grove Dictionary].” From 1830 Glinka traveled in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Vienna, and Paris (residing there for 2 years); studied in Milan and with Siegfried Dehn in Berlin, where he died after catching a cold. His compositions were an important influence on future Russian composers, notably the members of the Mighty Five, who took Glinka’s lead and produced a distinctive Russian style of music. He is best known for the operas A Life for the Tsar and Ruslan and Ludmila. His orchestral composition Kamarinskaya (1848) was said by Tchaikovsky to be the acorn from which the oak of later Russian symphonic music grew. Glinka is often called the “Father of Russian Music and the “Father of Russian Opera.” Sergei PROKOFIEV Flute Sonata Op. 94 While working on the massive, sprawling film score for Sergei Eisenstein’s Ivan the Terrible in Central Asia,Prokofiev wrote the Sonata in the summer of 1943 “in a gentle, flowing classical style” for the USSR’s Committee on Artistic Affairs. He had been evacuated to Alma-Ata in Kazakhstan, away from the war-torn Eastern Front, to avoid capture by the German regime. His biographer Israel Nestyev noted that its themes were sketched before the war and were inspired by the French flutist Georges Barrère. The demanding Sonata for both the flute and piano is in his neoclassical style. It pushes the boundaries of the flute in its stunning chromaticism and tone colors, which utilize a wide range of dynamics and rhythms to create a rich, nuanced, and expressive soundscape. Later, at the suggestion and with the assistance of David Oistrakh, Prokofiev made a transcription—the Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major Op. 94a.The Flute Sonata (his only work for the flute) premiered in Moscow on 7 December 1943 by Nicolai Kharkovsky and pianist Sviatoslav Richter. The violin version was first performed by Oistrakh and pianist Lev Oborin on 17 June 1944. Glazunov was open about being a musical conservative, and demonstrated this by walking out of a performance of an early work by his pupil Sergei Prokofiev. Despite his distaste for Prokofiev’s spiky dissonances, he encouraged the young composer and secured a performance of his original First Symphony (later destroyed). Alexander GLAZUNOV String Quintet in A Major Op. 39 Roderic Dunnett in a review for Strad magazine commented, “The Quintet is a work of real substance and weight, cogently argued and ingenious in its effects...the bustling, folksy finale makes a splendid conclusion following the...Andante. But the masterpiece is the Scherzo, which features some really effective pizzicato.... It is all profoundly rewarding.” Of immense stature, Glazunov was the major Russian symphonic composer of the generation that followed Tchaikovsky. Born in 1865 in St Petersburg, he lived comfortably as the son of a successful book publisher who played the violin, and a mother who was a good pianist. In 1880 his music teacher Mily Balakirev suggested that he study composition with Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. Glazunov became Rimsky-Korsakov’s favorite pupil, who in his teacher’s words improved “not from day to day but from hour to hour.” Two years later Balakirev conducted Glazunov’s First Symphony, written at age 16. The public was astounded. He continued composing, and by the time he completed his Second Symphony in 1886, he earned the nickname “The Little Glinka” and was the recognized heir of the nationalist group and composed according to their principles. He was also influenced by Franz Liszt, whom he visited in Weimar in 1884. Other influences were Wagner and Tchaikovsky. Most of Glazunov’s best works date from the 1890s and into the turn of the century. In 1905 he became director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he had taught since 1899. “During his long tenure he worked ceaselessly to improve the curriculum, raise the standards of staff and students, and defend the dignity and autonomy of the conservatory [New Grove Dictionary]. After the Revolution of 1917 he remained at his post until 1928, when, feeling isolated, he left the Soviet Union. After an unsuccessful tour of the United State in 1929–30 he lived in Paris, where he died in 1936; his remains were reinterred in an honored grave in the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in St Petersburg. Regarding his significance, “Within Russian music Glazunov…succeeded in reconciling Russianism and Europeanism. He was the direct heir of Balakirev’s nationalism but tended more toward Borodin’s epic grandeur. At the same time he absorbed Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestral virtuosity, the lyricism of Tchaikovsky and the contrapuntal skill of Taneyev…. The younger composers (Prokofiev, Shostakovich) abandoned him as old-fashioned. But he remains a composer of imposing stature and a stabilizing influence in a time of transition and turmoil [Grove].” |
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Monday, March 23 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM Tickets: $25, $17 ~ Reservations advised Drew Petersen piano Hina Khuong-Huu violin Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt viola Josephine Kim violin Gaeun Kim cello Yoonah Kim clarinet Luigi CHERUBINI String Quartet No. 2 in C Major The early Romantic String Quartet is a transformation and reworking of his one and only symphony from 1815, with a new slow movement. A dazzling Allegro is followed by the new, effective Lento of contrasting moods and tempos, an energetic Scherzo, and powerful Finale. Cherubini was regarded as one of France’s leading musicians. Beethoven, for one, told the English composer Cipriano Potter while on a walk in the woods in 1817 that he considered Cherubini the greatest living composer. He reinforced his opinion in a letter to Cherubini in 1923, writing, “I am enraptured whenever I hear a new work of yours and feel as great an interest in it as in my own works—in brief, I honor and love you.” Beethoven proclaimed Cherubini “Europe’s foremost dramatic composer.” He admired Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor to such extent that he ordered it performed at his own funeral. Another admirer, Schumann, said that Cherubini was “to this day, at his advanced age, superior as a harmonist to all his contemporaries; the refined, scholarly, interesting Italian whose severe reserve and strength of character sometimes leads me to compare him with Dante.” Cherubini (1760–1842), born in Florence, studied at the conservatories in Bologna and Milan. He remained in Italy until 1788 when he moved to Paris, where he lived for the rest of his life. He gained notoriety as an opera composer, but by 1805 Parisian tastes had changed, leading to the demise of interest in his operas. He then turned to composing religious and instrumental music. Cherubini served as director of the Paris Conservatory from 1822 until his death. He was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery, 13 feet from his friend Chopin; his tomb is adorned by a bas-relief by Augustin Dumont, the brother of Louise Farrenc. Henri BÜSSER Appassionato Op. 34 The Romantic miniature was dedicated to Théophile Laforge, who became the first professor of viola at the Paris Conservatoire in 1894. Laforge encouraged composers to write solo works for the viola, and regularly included these in the syllabus requirements for his Conservatoire class. Büsser was born in Toulouse in 1872 and died in Paris in 1973, just 2 weeks shy of his 101st birthday. His distinguished career began as a choirboy at the Toulouse Cathedral. Following studies at the École Niedermeyer, and then at the Paris Conservatoire with César Franck and Charles-Marie Widor in organ and Charles Gounod and Jules Massenet in composition, he won the Prix de Rome in 1893. With the backing of Gounod, he attained the post of organist of Saint-Cloud. He was appointed to the staff of the Paris Conservatoire in 1904, and became one of the composition professors in 1931. As a composer, Büsser remained faithful to the French 19th-century tradition and is best known for his dramatic works, influenced by Wagner, but his sophisticated orchestration and harmony were influenced by his colleague Debussy. Büsser conducted 10 performances of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande in 1902, and orchestrated his Petite Suite and Printemps. Jules Auguste Edouard DEMERSSEMAN Morceau de Concert Op. 31 A solo de concours serves as a showcase for the performer’s technical skills, musicianship, and artistic expression. It was often used as a final performance for graduation or entrance into a specific program. Demersseman, the most famous virtuoso flutist in Paris in his day, was called “The Paganini of the Flute” and “The Sarasate of the Flute.” Born in Honschoote near the Belgian border, he lived a short life of 33 years (1833–1866). He entered the Paris Conservatory at age 11. The following year he won first prize for flute in the class of his teacher Jean Louis Tulou, as well as for solfège, fugue, and counterpoint. After two failed attempts to obtain the Grand Prix de Rome for composition, he decided to pursue a career as a flutist. His reputation as a virtuoso developed from his performances at the Concerts Musard in 1856, and at concerts conducted by Jean-Baptiste Arban at the Paris Casino and Champs Elysées. The press was impressed. Reichert stated, “We know nothing more refined, complete or who can sing more on his instrument than Demersseman.” The musicologist François-Joseph Fétis opined, “his talent alternated between highly refined, extremely brilliant and very distinguished.” Demersseman’s natural ability to spin delightful melodies was matched by a mastery of compositional techniques. Predictably, he wrote mostly for the flute, but he also wrote for the saxophone, trombone, clarinet, oboe, euphonium, and ophicleide. Requests for compositions for the Paris Conservatory solos de concours were numerous and made his works one of the most played for the slide and valve trombone (20 times between 1863 and 1896). He died possibly from tuberculosis. Ernst CHAUSSON Piano Quartet in A Major Op. 30 The late Romantic Quartet premiered on 2 April 1898 at the National Society of Music in Paris. The British music writer Ian Lace has described it as “a charismatic work…with a charming opening movement denoting a mood of searching yearning and uncertainty. It can be dreamily melodic. The piano part…has a beguiling, pellucid beauty…. The second movement is beautifully, intensely romantic with the mood suggesting devotion. The brief third movement has its roots in a folksong with its tune in the Phrygian mode…. The strongly rhythmic and rather turbulent Finale is energetic before a waltz section calms the atmosphere and romantic yearning is recalled.” 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 made several trips to Germany to hear Wagner’s operas. “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 at one of his country retreats in Limay. He was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery. |
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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:
Office Address:
Like our Facebook page to see photos, videos, Jupiter in the News ConcertoNet
Strad Magazine 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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performances, except where otherwise noted, are held at: Copyright © 1999-2026 Jupiter Symphony. All rights reserved. |
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