DAVID AMRAMSo in AmericaSelected Chamber Music Compositions 1958-2017

David Amram, piano Estelle Parsons, narratorElmira Darvarova, violin Ronald Carbone, viola Samuel Magill, cello

Kenneth Radnofsky, alto saxophone Thomas Weaver, pianoNew York Piano Quartet (with guest pianist Thomas Weaver) The Amram Ensemble

DAVID AMRAM (born 1930) started his professional life in music as a FrenchHornist in the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.) in the early 1950s, aswell as playing French horn in the legendary jazz bands of Charles Mingus, DizzyGillespie and Lionel Hampton. Appointed by Leonard Bernstein as the first Composer-In-Residence for the New York Philharmonic in 1966, he also composed the scores forthe films Pull My Daisy (1959), Splendor In The Grass (1960) and The ManchurianCandidate (1962). He composed the scores for Joseph Papp’s Shakespeare In The Parkfrom 1956-1967 and premiered his comic opera 12th Night with Papp’s libretto in 1968.He also wrote a second opera, The Final Ingredient, An Opera of the Holocaust, for ABCTelevision in 1965. From 1964-66, Amram was the Composer and Music Director forthe Lincoln Center Theatre and wrote the score for Arthur Miller’s plays After The Fall(1964) and Incident at Vichy (1966). 

A prolific composer for over 60 years, his most recent symphonic compositionsinclude This Land, Symphonic Variations On A Song By Woody Guthrie (2007),commissioned by the Guthrie Foundation, performed by the Colorado Symphony withAmram conducting and recorded by Newport Classics in 2015; Giants of the Night (2002)commissioned and  premiered by flutist Sir James Galway; Kokopeli, A Symphony inThree Movements (1995), premiered by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra with Amramconducting; and Three Songs, A Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (2009). He has also

collaborated as a composer with Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller, Eugene Ormandy, LangstonHughes and Jacques D’Amboise,  and as a musician with Thelonious Monk, JohnnyDepp, Hunter S. Thompson, Odetta, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Betty Carter, Floyd RedCrow Westerman, Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Paquito D’Rivera and Tito Puente.

In 1957, he created and performed in the first ever Jazz/Poetry readings in NewYork City with novelist Jack Kerouac, a close friend with whom Amram collaboratedartistically for over 12 years. Since the early 1950s, he has traveled the worldextensively, working as a musician and a conductor in over thirty-five countriesincluding Cuba, Kenya, Egypt, Pakistan, Israel, Latvia and China. He also regularlycrisscrosses the United States and Canada. Amram is the author of three memoirs, NineLives of a Musical Cat (2009), Offbeat: Collaborating With Kerouac (2005) and thehighly acclaimed Vibrations (1968, 2007), all published by Routledge Taylor andFrancis. Amram’s archive of professional and personal papers were acquired by theLincoln Center of the Performing Arts Branch of the New York Public Library. And, hewas the subject of the full-length feature documentary David Amram: The First EightyYears, which is available on Vimeo On Demand.

In 2011, Amram was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame as recipient ofThe Jay McShann Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013 he was presented withClearwater’s Pete and Toshi Seeger Annual Power of Song Award. In 2015, The TheaterFor The New City honored him with their annual Love & Courage Award. And inrecognition of his enormous achievements and continuing contributions to the culturallife of New York City, Brooklyn College presented David Amram with an HonoraryDoctor of Fine Arts degree and chose him as their commencement speaker.

In 2016 he received several awards for his lifetime of work as a classical composer,improvising multi-instrumentalist and pioneer of World Music, while touringinternationally and premiering Three Lost Loves for alto saxophone, violin and piano.And The New York Chamber Music Festival chose him as their composer-in-residence for their 2016-2017 season. 

In 2017, he composed PARTNERS: a double concerto for violin, cello andorchestras, made a string orchestra version of his Greenwich Village Portraits forsaxophone and orchestra, was made a Lifetime member of the Actors Studio  andgiven a special award by FarmAid for 30 years of annual collaborations with WillieNelson to help support America’s family farmers through music.

In 2018 he began composing Voyages for unaccompanied violin for virtuosoviolinist Elmira Darvarova, while touring the world and writing his fourth book DavidAmram: The Next 80 Years.

Constantly composing, he continues to perform as a guest conductor, soloist,multi-instrumentalist, band leader and narrator in five languages. All of his concertmusic is published by C.F. Peters Corporation. For further information, access david-amram.blogspot.com

NOTES by DAVID AMRAMTHREE LOST LOVES (2016) is based on stories which took place in the novels ofthree authors: Willa Cather, Zora Neale Hurston and Jack Kerouac. The work wascommissioned for the founders of the AMRAM ENSEMBLE: violin virtuoso ElmiraDarvarova and master classical saxophonist Ken Radnofsky, and it was premieredon October 3, 2016 at the Center for Arts and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany.Darvarova and Radnofsky were joined by the third member of the Amram Ensemble,the brilliant young pianist and composer Thomas Weaver. I want to thank ElmiraDarvarova and Ken Radnofsky for making it possible for me to write this piece forthem, and to thank Dr. Audrey Sprenger for her help in finding the perfect stories forthis piece in the works of Willa Cather and Zora Neale Hurston.

The first movement, Jim and Antonia was inspired by the love affair described byWilla Cather in her novel My Antonia, published in 1918. As the most enduring bookof her Prairie Trilogy, My Antonia chronicles the fond memories and new challengesof the immigrants from Europe, called Bohemians, who settled in the ruralcountryside of Nebraska, always longing for the comforts of the old country as theyadapted to the New World. The music reflects both the nostalgia of the past and thevitality of the harsh prairies, where two young people share their dreams as theystruggle to find their own identity and happiness together.

The second movement, Janie and Tea Cake recounts a passionate romance, whichended tragically in Zora Neale Hurston’s classic novel Their Eyes Were Watching God,published in 1937. Like the character of Antonia, Janie was a proud and independentwoman who demanded  respect as well as affection. The music for this movement wasinspired by the genius of the rich tapestry of African-American music, drawn fromthe timeless hymns and chants of the sanctified church as well as the gift of the blues,jazz and all the sounds of nature still heard late at night in parts of Florida and thedeep South where Zora Neale Hurston spent most of her life.   

The third movement, Sal and Terry, the Mexican Girl is a classic tale of two youngpeople who fell in love, and the publication in the Paris Review of this story from Onthe Road made it possible for author Jack Kerouac to have his entire novel finallypublished in 1957, after years of rejection. Like the richness of the prose of WillaCather and the poetic dialogue of Zora Neale Hurston, Kerouac’s story telling wasalways honest and always musical.

At the end of the 19th century, the great Czech composer Dvořák said in a letterthat the enduring beauty of African-American and Native American indigenousmusics, combined with the treasures of the folklore and the classical gems of the oldworld brought here to these shores, could provide composers of the future withendless new ways to create music to enhance the repertoire. That’s what WillaCather, Zora Neale Hurston and Jack Kerouac did in their writings which alwaysreflected their lives in a unique and moving way. This is what I hope that Three LostLoves can do to contribute to our music.

THE WIND AND THE RAINIn 1958 I composed the score for Joseph Papp’s production of Twelfth Night held inCentral Park. 

The play ends with Feste alone on stage singing “When that I was but a little tinyboy, with a hey-ho the wind and the rain”. At the first reading of Twelfth Night by theactors, I was so moved by the simplicity and pathos of the character of Feste standingalone on stage and singing those beautiful words of Shakespeare, I went home andcomposed the song and used it in various forms throughout the play, accompanied bya flute, viola and bassoon. The violist for this production was Midhat Serbagi, amusical colleague and friend since we played together as members of the SeventhArmy Symphony in 1953. Midhat said that he felt this little song could be expandedupon and that he would like to have me write a piece for viola and piano for him toplay some day. I wrote it and looked forward to hearing him debut it in a concert inNew York City where we both lived. But in 1958 there was no place to have itperformed, since there was no interest in my concert music by anyone in the musicestablishment. So I put it in my drawer.

In 1959, I was asked to compose a three movement concerto for oboe, two hornsand strings. For the second movement, I decided to orchestrate most of myoriginal The Wind and the Rain, and reconstructed the viola and piano version. Thepiece was entitled Shakespearean Concerto and it has been performed by manyorchestras since. There were viola solos at the beginning and the end of the secondmovement. At my Town Hall concert May 6th of 1960, when the ShakespeareanConcerto had its New York premiere, everyone loved the second movement andMidhat played the solo parts. In 1968, my two-act opera “Twelfth Night” used the songas a recurring motif throughout the entire opera. Joe Papp wrote the libretto and it hashad seven productions. In 1971 RCA Red Seal recorded the ShakespearianConcerto and again Midhat played all the viola solos. In 2017, almost 60 years after Icomposed it, the original version of The Wind and the Rain has now been recorded forfirst time in this stunning rendition by violist Ronald Carbone and pianist ThomasWeaver. It was worth the wait. I always share with young artists what so manyconductors, composers and artists of all genres have told me throughout my life.“Don’t be in a rush. Use your energy to create the best piece possible. And then put itaside and begin the next one.”

The VIOLIN SONATA was composed in 1960 and dedicated to my friend SeymourWakshal who took an early interest in my music and asked me to write him a piece. Ithad its premiere at Town Hall in May of 1960 as part of a whole evening of my concertmusic, and has been played and recorded several times since then. The first movementis constructed in the traditional from of most sonatas with two basic themes, adevelopment section and recapitulation, inspired as much from my lifelong experience

of playing jazz and hearing the endless creative use of harmonic invention, melodicflights of fancy, and rhythmic clarity that are a hallmark of the jazz experience for all ofus lucky enough to have played with the masters. The second movement is like aprayer, as we hear in traditional Jewish music, sung as a nigun or song without words,similar in spirit to the old African-American spirituals, Irish airs and Portuguese fados.And it was also written to give the violinist a vehicle to show their own individual wayof sharing their expressive and creative gifts. The third movement, a Theme andVariations, uses a brief eight-bar fragment which utilizes one note, harmonized with acircle of fifths and the third voice in contrary motion serving as the melody. When Iplayed it one night in 1958 for author Jack Kerouac when he was visiting me for a fewdays in my old 6th floor walk-up on Christopher Street, he liked it so much that in 1959I used it as a second theme for the film Pull My Daisy which Jack and I did together.“You should use that in a classical composition some day” he suggested after the filmwas done. In 1960 I did, and the series of variations reflect all the different genres ofmusic which are still part of the rich mosaic of musical cultures that continue to thrivetoday in New York City, sixty eight years after the Sonata was written.

PORTRAITS FOR PIANO QUARTET was composed in 1979 to celebrate andhonor the unique sonority of the violin, viola, cello and piano, and to afford eachplayer the chance to showcase their own creativity in a variation, or “portrait”, whichfeatured them. I thought that if I could create a simple theme that provided themusicians and the audience with a sense of the bitter-sweet memories of travelingback in time to a more peaceful and ideal world, then each ensuing variation couldshow all the complexities of our modern times. It is a thrill that 38 years aftercomposing it, the piece has now been reborn with this splendid recording by themembers of the New York Piano Quartet. 

ELEGY (1970) was composed as an orchestral piece in memory of Jean Dale Katz,whose devotion to bringing classical music into the lives of children made it possiblefor thousands of young people to discover the treasures of classical music at thesummer camp she and her husband, David Katz, created. Working together, theyfounded the Queens Symphony and members of the orchestra commissioned me tocompose Elegy to celebrate her life when Jean Dale Katz passed away. Elegy waspremiered by the Queens Symphony March 6, 1971, with  violinist Pinchas Zukermansoloing and David Katz conducting. The piece was written to celebrate Jean’s loveof  the rich cultural heritages of Queens, which included musical traditions of oldEnglish, Welsh, Middle Eastern, SouthEast Asian, and the wealth of folk music of allgenres which has always been a hallmark of this unique borough of New York City.Elegy was recorded in 1973 in its symphonic version with David Zinman conductingthe Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for RCA Red Seal Recordings, and Howard

Weiss as soloist. Since the original orchestral version was frequently performed, manyviolinists requested a piano transcription of the piece. I made one in 1977, andforty years later, Elmira Darvarova has recorded it for the very first time in itschamber music setting.

TWO EXCERPTS from JACK KEROUAC’s “ON THE ROAD” (2017)When Jack Kerouac and I gave the first-ever public jazz/poetry readings in New Cityin the Fall of 1957 at the Brata Art Gallery (on 10th St. in the East Village) and severalsubsequent ones at the Circle-in-the-Square Theater, we never dreamed that thiswould contribute to the development of what became known as Spoken Word, HipHop, Rap and readings of poetry and music in many languages and many styles ofmusic worldwide.

In 1995, when I debuted Readings from “On the Road” at the Kennedy Center,with E.G. Marshall reading Kerouac’s words, I provided a score which was performedby members of the National Symphony Orchestra which I guest conducted, and so Iwas able to fulfill a dream of Kerouac’s to have a formal symphonic setting of hiswords. But when Elmira Darvarova asked me to end this CD in the simple bare-bones way that Kerouac and I had done our readings with music sixty years ago, Ihad to reorient myself to providing appropriate music created on the spot, as a way torecapture those fertile times, and provide a framework for Kerouac’s poetic prosewhich gave such vivid descriptions of the America that he hoped he could honor inhis writings. His own narrations when we worked together were so compelling, Ithought I would ask Oscar-winning actress Estelle Parsons, an old friend for sixtyyears, if she could possibly do it. (She was in New York directing a production ofChekhov’s Uncle Vanya at the Actors Studio.) I knew she would be a perfect choicebecause like all great actors, she always makes everything she does feel real andmakes you feel that you are part of the moment when it is happening. By a miracle,the recording of this CD was scheduled the day before the first public preview ofUncle Vanya, and Estelle agreed to do it on her one day off as a director. Byserendipity she had chosen me to play the role of Telegin in her production of UncleVanya, as well as having me provide music for the production, so since I also had thesame one day off, we were able to do it together. Estelle honored Jack’s words in themusical way that allows you to feel that Kerouac is speaking directly to you and thatyou are welcome to join him on his journeys. Since Kerouac loved Bach and Chopinas much as he loved Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, I thought that Elmira’sidea of including these two gems with simple musical support of the words would bea perfect way to end the recording.

—David Amram © 2018

Oscar®-winning ESTELLE PARSONS isan American actress, singer and stagedirector, working extensively in film,theatre and television, and directingBroadway productions. After studying lawat Boston University, Parsons became asinger before studying Method Actingwith Lee Strasberg and deciding to pursuea career in acting. With a background inlaw, she was hired in 1952 as a writer,producer and commentator by The TodayShow, becoming the first Women’s Editorand the first TV network political newsreporter (1952-1955). Making her stage

debut in 1956, Parsons established her career on Broadway during the 1960s, receivinga Theatre World Award in 1963, and an Obie Award for Best Actress in 1964. Sheplayed the Widow Begbick in the American premiere of the Weill-Brecht opera, Riseand Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1970), and performed as Mrs. Peachum to LotteLenya’s Jenny in Threepenny Opera on tour and in New York City. She also playedRuth in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance on Broadway in 1981. In 2010 sheappeared in London, playing psychic Helga ten Dorp in Ira Levin’s Deathtrap at theNoël Coward Theatre in the West End. She starred as Maude in the Paper MillPlayhouse’s (Millburn, NJ) production of “Harold and Maude: The Musical”, and in2016 she starred in Israel Horovitz’s new play Out Of The Mouths Of Babes at theCherry Lane Theatre in New York City. She was recently seen on Broadway inMornings at Seven, August: Osage County, Good People and Nice Work If You Can GetIt. She has been nominated five times for the Tony Award, which recognizesexcellence in Broadway Theater – four times for Lead Actress of a Play,  and once forFeatured Actress (“Mornings at Seven”, 2002). She was awarded the 2010 Back StageGarland Award for Performance in a Play for “August: Osage County” in a SteppenwolfTheatre Company production at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. In 2004,Estelle Parsons was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Estelle Parson’s film career spans 30 movies, including Bonnie and Clyde (1967), INever Sang for My Father (1970), Two People (1973), A Memory of Two Mondays(1974), For Pete’s Sake (1974), Dick Tracy (1990) and Boys on the Side (1995). Inaddition to winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Bonnie andClyde in 1967, and an Academy Award nomination for Rachel, Rachel in 1968, shereceived a BAFTA Award nomination for her role in Watermelon Man (1970).

On television, Estelle Parsons played the recurring role of Beverly, on Roseanne (hercharacter earned a TV Land Award for Favorite Classic TV In-Law in 2003). Other

television credits include appearances in Frasier, The Patty Duke Show, Love, AmericanStyle, All in the Family, Archie Bunker’s Place, Open Admissions, Law & Order: SpecialVictims Unit, Grace and Frankie, and The Good Wife, as well as The UFO Incident: TheStory of Betty and Barney Hill and the PBS production of June Moon.

As a director, Estelle Parsons has numerous Broadway credits, including Romeoand Juliet, Macbeth and As You Like It in 1986. Off-Broadway, she directed Dario Fo’sOrgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo (1983). She also served as the Artistic Directorof the Actors’ Studio in New York for five years. She has taught acting at Yale andColumbia, among other universities.

Violinist ELMIRA DARVAROVA is a Grammy®-nominated recording artist and an award-winningperformer (Gold Medal at the 2017 Global MusicAwards). A concert violinist since the age of four,she caused a sensation, becoming the first ever(and so far only) female concertmaster in thehistory of the Metropolitan Opera in New York.With the MET Orchestra she toured Europe, Japanand the United States, and was heard on the MET’slive weekly international radio broadcasts,television broadcasts and CDs for Sony, DeutscheGrammophon and EMI. As concertmaster of theMetropolitan Opera she has performed with thegreatest conductors of our time, including thelegendary Carlos Kleiber. She studied with YfrahNeaman at the Guildhall School in London (on aBritish Council scholarship), with Josef Gingold atIndiana University (as one of his teachingassistants) and with Henryk Szeryng (privately).

An award-winning artist (Gold Medal at the 2017 Global Music Awards, the GoldQuill Award by Classic FM Radio, and the Boris Christoff Medal), Elmira Darvarovacan be heard on numerous CDs, recorded for several labels (recent releases includethe world premiere recording of Vernon Duke’s violin concerto with the ORF ViennaRadio Symphony Orchestra, and a CD with world-premiere recordings of chambermusic by René de Castéra, named by MusicWeb International a RECORD OF THEYEAR 2015). Several of her albums have been selected as Record of the Month by theprestigious British publication MusicWeb International. Her CDs have won criticalacclaim in such esteemed publications as The Strad Magazine, Gramophone, Fanfare,American Records Guide, BBC Music Magazine. She has performed concertos withthe Moscow State Symphony, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, the Rochester

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Philharmonic, the Grant Park Symphony, the Columbus Symphony and withnumerous other orchestras. She has appeared on the most prestigious stages on fivecontinents – Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer/ Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall andSymphony Space in New York; Symphony Hall in Chicago, Davies Symphony Hall inSan Francisco, Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Suntory Hall, Bunka Kaikan and NHKHall in Tokyo; Musikverein in Vienna, Cadogan Hall in London, Sheldonian Theatrein Oxford, Koncerthuset in Stockholm, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Smetana Hall inPrague, Megaron in Athens, Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, KölnerPhilharmonie, Mumbai’s National Center for Performing Arts, Moscow’s TchaikovskyHall, Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, among many others. She has given recitals andmaster classes at many festivals worldwide, and has been concerto soloist with theMoscow State Symphony, the Vienna Radio Symphony and with numerous Europeanand American orchestras. She has partnered for chamber music performances withmusic giants such as cellist Janos Starker and double bassist Gary Karr, as well as withthe world-renowned pianists Pascal Rogé and Vassily Lobanov. She has recorded twoCD albums of baroque music with Gary Karr, and a Poulenc disc with Pascal Rogé, aswell as the Brahms Horn Trio with New York Philharmonic principal horn PhilipMyers. She has also recorded three CD albums of Piazzolla tangos – two of them withthe late tango pianist Octavio Brunetti. For the Naxos label she has recorded threealbums with world premiere chamber music by Franco Alfano, and for the Frenchlabel Azur Classical she recorded two discs with world premiere chamber music bythe French composers René de Castéra and Émile Goué. A documentary film aboutElmira Darvarova was shown on European television. Well-versed not only in opera,symphonic and chamber music repertoire, she also performs and records in manyother genres and styles, including tango, jazz, contemporary/electronic music, Strohviolin, and Indian ragas. Numerous composers have dedicated works to ElmiraDarvarova. She appears with the New York Piano Quartet, the Delphinium Trio, theQuinteto del Fuego, the Amram Ensemble, and in a duo with the Argentinepianist/composer Fernando Otero, as well as with the world-renowned Indian sarodistAmjad Ali Khan (with whom she has recorded a trilogy of CD albums based ontraditional Indian Ragas). A jury president of several international chamber musiccompetitions in Europe, she is also director of the New York Chamber Music Festival.Praised by The Strad for her “intoxicating tonal beauty and beguilingly sensuousphrasing” and “silky-smooth voluptuous tone”, she was featured in a GramophoneMagazine article about her world-premiere recording with the Vienna RadioSymphony of Vernon Duke’s violin concerto (written for Heifetz in 1940). For moreinformation please visit her website at: www.elmiradarvarova.com

Violist RONALD CARBONE enjoys a diversemusical life encompassing chamber music,orchestral, and solo performances as well asrecording. He was principal violist of the AmericanBallet Theatre Orchestra and for many years anassociate member of the MetropolitanOpera Orchestra. Mr. Carbone is founder andmusic director of the Canaan Chamber MusicFestival, violist in the Omni Piano Quartet, TheNew York Piano Quartet, as well as a frequent guestviolist with Spectrum Concerts Berlin. He was amember of the Orchestra of Saint Luke’s andComposers String Quartet, as well as thePortsmouth Chamber Ensemble, the LexingtonTrio, and the Griffes String Quartet. He has taughtat Vassar College, the Chamber Music Conferenceat Bennington College and Smith College. He is

currently on the music faculty at New York University. He has recorded for manylabels, including Naxos, CRI, Albany, Reference-Records, and Urlicht/Audiovisual.Mr. Carbone, a recipient of the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music award andtwo Artists International awards, was also a member of the Atlanta SymphonyOrchestra and the Barcelona City Orchestra.

Cellist SAMUEL MAGILL has been called ‘… aworld-class artist (Magill’s opulent tone is positivelyseductive)…” in the March/April, 2018  issue ofFanfare Magazine. Of his Centaur release of AndrewRudin’s Cello Sonata, Fanfare wrote, “Throughout,Magill’s beautiful cello tone is in evidence, endlesslyexpressive, subtle in shading. Rudin is presently writinga composition for solo cello for this Metropolitan OperaOrchestra member, a first rate artist andinstrumentalist.” His first Naxos CD of the CelloConcerto of  Vernon Duke was hailed as “flat-outmagnificent” by the American Record Guide,while The Strad wrote in 2010 of his world premiererecording of Franco Alfano’s Cello Sonata “...Magill’shusky, dark timbre matches the Cello Sonata’s yearningintensity to perfection...”. The June, 2014 STRADMagazine raved about Magill’s “sumptuous tone” inhis March, 2014 recital at Bargemusic in New York, inph

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which he and Beth Levin performed the rarely heard Czerny transcription ofBeethoven’s  Kreutzer Sonata. This led to their latest recording, titled Cello Music fromAustria-Hungary; this 2016 Navona release features the Kreutzer, the Sonata for SoloCello by Artur Schnabel, and Emanuel Moór’s Ballade, for Cello and Piano. Of theSchnabel, Jed Distler wrote in Classics Today, “…Magill’s superb technique, range ofcolor, and intelligent pacing make a compelling case for a work that I’m sure manycellists will find rewarding.” He wrote about the Beethoven, “The point is that themusical message transcends any questions of instrument on account of Magill’s supplebow arm, spotless intonation, and tonal evenness, abetted by Levin’s intense response toBeethoven’s subito dynamics and her sound collaborative instincts.”

Sam Magill has appeared as soloist throughout Japan and the U.S., includingperformances of the Schumann Concerto and Brahms Double Concerto in Tokyo’sfamed Suntory Hall and in Alice Tully Hall. Mr. Magill has partnered with the pianistsOxana Yablonskaya, Pascal Rogé and the late Grant Johannesen, and has given annualrecitals since 1994 at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. He is a co-founder of The Elysian Ensemble, a Flute, Cello and Harp Trio. They made their NewYork debut at Weill Recital Hall to critical acclaim. Strings Magazine declared them“masters of their instruments”. 

A pupil of the late Zara Nelsova, Mr. Magill was educated at the Peabody Instituteand Rice University. He is currently a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra inNew York, and was formerly Associate Principal Cello. He was for nine summersPrincipal Cello and Soloist of the New York Symphonic Ensemble. As such he touredthroughout Japan playing the concerti  of Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, Dvořák,Dohnanyi, Schumann, Brahms and Beethoven. Three of these performances wererecorded live by Panasonic. Magill was also a member of the Pittsburgh Symphonyand the Houston Symphony, and was Principal Cello of the Houston Ballet Orchestra.He has been a Guest Principal Cello for Opera North in Leeds, U.K. In 2015, Magillserved as Principal Cello of the Castleton Festival in Virginia, and has been aparticipant in the Lake Tahoe Summerfest. 

He is a founding member of the New York Piano Quartet, the resident ensembleof the New York Chamber Music Festival, under the direction of violinist ElmiraDarvarova. The New York Piano Quartet released 2 CDs on the Urlicht label, in 2012and 2013. Of the Erich Korngold and Joseph Marx Quartets, Gramophone Magazine(May 2013) wrote: “Both pieces receive ultra-impassioned, vividly detailedperformances…”.

Saxophonist KENNETH RADNOFSKY hasappeared as soloist with leading orchestras andensembles throughout the world, including theLeipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and New YorkPhilharmonic under the direction of Maestro KurtMasur, Jerusalem Symphony, Dresden Staatskapelle,Boston Pops, Taipei and Taiwan Symphonies, NewWorld Symphony, BBC Concert Orchestra, MarlboroFestival, Portland String Quartet, and MoscowAutumn, a Russian new music festival. Mr.Radnofsky made his Carnegie Hall debut with theNew York premiere of Gunther Schuller’s Concertowith the National Orchestral Association. The worldpremiere of the Schuller was also given byRadnofsky, with the Pittsburgh Symphony, with bothof the highly acclaimed performances conducted bythe composer. David Amram’s Concerto, Ode to Lord

Buckley, is also dedicated to Radnofsky, who premiered the work with the PortlandSymphony under Bruce Hangen’s direction. He has also performed on numerousoccasions for the Boston Symphony, thrice soloist with Boston Modern OrchestraProject (Hovhaness, Olivero, Gandolfi Concerti), with conductor Gil Rose, and twicewith Boston Classical Orchestra, with conductor Steven Lipsitt.

Of his 100+ commissions, American composers who have written for Radnofskyinclude Schuller, Amram, James Yannatos, Michael Gandolfi, Michael Colgrass, DonaldMartino, Milton Babbitt, Ezra Sims, Chris Theofanidis, Michael Horvit, John McDonald,Larry Bell, Roger Bourland, Allen Johnson, Elliott Schwartz, Pasquale Tassone, ArmandQualliotine and an innovative commission of Pulitzer Prize winning composer JohnHarbison for a Sonata, premiered Dec. 3, 1995 by forty-three saxophonists in differentlocations around the globe in an effort organized by Radnofsky, entitled World-WideConcurrent Premieres, Inc. (WWCP). Mr. Radnofsky is Founder of WWCP, and hascreated a network of musicians commissioning today’s finest composers. Yang Yong,Christian Yufra, Juan Ruiz, Jaime Fatas, Shih-Hui Chen, Andy Vores, Lei Liang, VincentPlush, Georgy Dmitriev and Jakov Jakoulov have also written for Radnofsky, and allwhile celebrating over thirty years of teaching, with concerts in Istanbul, Rome, Taipei,Havana, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Mexico City, Montreal, Caracas,Manchester, UK, Beijing, Shanghai, and elsewhere.  

In the 2017-18 concert season Radnofsky will premiere the new concerto of OsnatNetzer with Steven Lipsitt’s new BBB Society Orchestra, and David Amram’s‘Greenwich Village Portraits’ (for string orchestra) with the Orchestra of Indian Hill,Bruce Hangen conductor. In 2016-17, Radnofsky and violinist Elmira Darvarovapremiered ‘Three Lost Loves,’ (the FOURTH work composer David Amram has

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written for\commissioned by Ken Radnofsky), with pianist Thomas Weaver, withtheir recently formed ‘Amram Ensemble.’ 2015-2016 also offered premieres of morenew works by Jakov Jakoulov and Yang Yong, performances on New YorkPhilharmonic Chamber Series; 2014-15 the world-premiere of David Amram’s‘Greenwich Village Portraits’ (saxophone and piano) in New York, and Boston, andrecitals in Shanghai and Beijing. Other recent appearances include concerti as soloistwith the New England Conservatory and Boston University Wind Ensembles (Husaand Perker, respectively) and Augusta Read Thomas’ Carillon Sky, with Ensemble‘Signal,’ at June in Buffalo, and appearances with Chatauqua and DearbornSymphonies, the premiere of James Yannatos’ Saxophone Concerto with the LongyConservatory (of Bard College) Orchestra in Sanders Theatre, and Baris Perker’s newConcerto with the Istanbul State Symphony in Turkey. Ken Radnofsky has been afrequent soloist with conductors John Mauceri, John Williams and the Boston Popsin Franz Waxman’s Suite for Saxophone, ‘A Place in the Sun’. 

Concurrent with his performing and teaching, Radnofsky has designed andimplemented a saxophone program for Venezuela with saxophone professor ClaudioDioguardi over the last ten years, as well as teaching in Brazil, Israel, China andTurkey. Radnofsky is committed to outreach on an international scale, nationally andlocally; his editorial on such was published in the Christian Science Monitor.Radnofsky has given literally thousands of outreach performances. They include ateaching component and investment in community to which he is deeply committed.He is President of the Boston Woodwind Society, an organization dedicated tofostering the development of talented young woodwind players, succeeding itsfounder, the late Matthew Ruggiero, and co-founder (with Michael Couper), ofRCEditions (woodwind music publishing house). 

Current solo CD releases include David Amram’s ‘Ode to Lord Buckley’ (NewportClassic Recordings), Debussy Rhapsody with the New York Philharmonic (Teldec13133/Apex), Radnofsky.com (Boston Records 1043), Fascinatin’ Rhythms (BostonRecords 1044), Gandolfi ‘Fantasia’, ‘From the Institutes of Groove,’ (BMOP/sound1028), Donald Martino’s Saxophone Concerto (New World 80529-2), MichaelColgrass’ Sax Concerto Dream Dancer, (Mode 125), and Elliott Schwartz ‘Mehitabel’sSerenade’ (Sax Concerto) on Albany-Troy 646. He is featured sax soloist with theHollywood Bowl Orchestra, in Franz Waxman’s ‘A Place in the Sun,’ under JohnMauceri’s direction (Philips 4321092). Kenneth Radnofsky’s principal teachers wereJoseph Allard, Jeffrey Lerner, David Salge, Steven Hoyle, Terry Anderson, and DuncanHale. He teaches at New England Conservatory, Boston University and Longy Schoolof Bard College. He is a Selmer Artist. For more information please visit his websitewww.KenRadnofsky.com

THOMAS WEAVER is an American composerand pianist whose active solo and chamber careerhas included performances both in the UnitedStates and abroad. His playing has been hailed asdisplaying both “sensitivity” and “incredibledexterity.” Weaver has appeared in concert hallsin New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago,Nashville, Dallas, Berlin and others, in additionto regular performances at Tanglewood duringthe summer. Weaver has performed with anumber of eminent musicians including ElmiraDarvarova, Kenneth Radnofsky, JenniferFrautschi, Gene Pokorny, and members of theMetropolitan Opera Orchestra, New YorkPhilharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, BostonSymphony Orchestra, and others. A champion of

new music, Weaver has premiered a large variety of new works, including works byDavid Amram and Christopher LaRosa. Weaver is a member of the Amram Ensembleand New England Chamber Players. During 2018, Weaver is scheduled to appear asguest artist on the New York Philharmonic Chamber Music Series and as a soloist forBernstein’s Symphony No. 2, “Age of Anxiety” at Tanglewood.

An award-winning composer, Thomas Weaver’s music has been performedthroughout the United States, Germany, Austria, and Japan. His works have beencommissioned by a number of organizations and musicians including The New YorkChamber Music Festival, Elmira Darvarova, Kenneth Radnofsky, Alea III, the DarajaEnsemble, and Joshua deVries. Weaver’s works have also been performed by largeensembles such as the Boston University Symphony Orchestra and Mannes AmericanComposers Orchestra. In 2018, two new works commissioned by The New YorkChamber Music Festival and Elmira Darvarova will be premiered in New York, withsubsequent performances in Paris, France.

An active educator, Weaver is holds faculty positions at the Curtis Institute ofMusic in Philadelphia, PA and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Weaverhas presented lectures and classes at a variety of locations, including NorthwesternUniversity, Murray State University, Austin Peay State University, and The People’sMusic School in Chicago. Weaver’s primary piano teachers include Anthony diBonaventura, Victor Rosenbaum, and Pavel Nersessian. His primary compositionteachers include David Loeb, Dr. John Wallace, and Dr. Martin Amlin. For moreinformation please visit www.thomaseweaver.com.

Producer: John C. Baker • Recording Engineers: Patrick Keating (Three Lost Loves) andRyan Streber (The Wind and the Rain, Violin Sonata, Portraits, Elegy, Two Excerpts from“On the Road”) • Mastering Engineers: John C. Baker and Sam Ward • Liner Notes:David Amram • Front Cover Photo: David Amram, Greenwich Village 2016 (courtesy ofDavid Amram) • Back Cover Photo: David Amram and Estelle Parsons, Actors’ Studio NewYork, 2017 (courtesy of David Amram) • Recorded on November 8 and 9, 2017, at OktavenAudio, Mount Vernon, New York, by Ryan Streber, recording engineer, except for “ThreeLost Loves”, which was recorded on September 26, 2017 at Jordan Hall, New EnglandConservatory, Boston, Massachusetts, by Patrick Keating, recording engineer.All of David Amram’s compositions are published by C.F.Peters Corporation

Three Lost Loves for violin, alto saxophone and piano (2016)The Amram Ensemble: Elmira Darvarova (violin), Kenneth Radnofsky(alto saxophone), Thomas Weaver (piano) World Premiere Recording1.  I. Jim and Antonia based on Willa Cather’s “My Antonia” 4:382.  II. Janie and Tea Cake based on Zora Neale Hurston’s 

“Their Eyes Were Watching God” 10:043.  III. Sal and Terry, the Mexican girl based on Jack Kerouac’s 

“On the Road” 9:35

4.  The Wind and The Rain for viola and piano (1958) 6:42Ronald Carbone (viola), Thomas Weaver (piano) World Premiere Recording

Sonata for violin and piano (1960)Elmira Darvarova (violin), Thomas Weaver (piano)5.  I. Allegro moderato 5:576.  II. Andante espressivo 6:217.  III. Theme and Variations 5:34

8.  Portraits for piano quartet (1979) 12:04The New York Piano Quartet: ElmiraDarvarova (violin), Ronald Carbone (viola),Samuel Magill (cello), with guest pianist Thomas Weaver

9.  Elegy for violin and piano (1970) 13:48Elmira Darvarova (violin), Thomas Weaver (piano) World Premiere Recording of the version for violin and piano

Two Excerpts from Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” (2017) narrated by Estelle Parsons, accompanied by David Amram(piano) World Premiere Recording10.  I. Children of the American Bop Night 3:15

Estelle Parsons (narrator), David Amram (piano) 11.  II. So in America 2:21

Estelle Parsons (narrator), David Amram (piano) Total time: 80:24

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� & � 2018 AFFETTO RecordingsAffetto Recordings, LLC61 Nassau Street, Princeton NJ 08542 USA

DAVID AMRAMSo in AmericaSelected Chamber Music Compositions 1958-2017

David Amram & Estelle Parsons, 2017