ARTIST SERIES

Saturday, November 22, 20142:00 PMWeill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall881 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10019

The Oracle aT DelphiThe Music of

Dinos Constantinides

Dinos Constantinides, composer

Margaret O’Connell Lin He

Robert DiLutis Michael Gurt

Saturday, November 22, 2014 at 2:00 PMWeill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY)

Iris Derke, Co-Founder and General DirectorJonathan Griffith, Co-Founder and Artistic Director

Presents

DISTINGUISHED CONCERTS ARTIST SERIES

The Oracle aT DelphiThe Music of

Dinos Constantinides

With Soloists from Louisiana State University

Lin He, Violin

Robert DiLutis, Clarinet

Margaret O’ Connell, Mezzo-soprano

Michael Gurt, Piano

Program

Mountains of Epirus for violin and piano, LRC 73a I. At the Village II. Country Fair Lin He, violin; Michael Gurt, piano

Midnight Fantasy II for clarinet and piano, LRC 113a Robert DiLutis, clarinet; Michael Gurt, piano

Lazy Jack and His Fiddle for solo violin, LRC 199 Lin He, violin

Transformations for clarinet and piano, LRC 126c Robert DiLutis, clarinet; Michael Gurt, piano

Listenings and Silences for voice alone, LRC 111 Margaret O’Connell, mezzo-soprano

Intermission

Delphic Hymn for voice alone, LRC 65d Margaret O’Connell, mezzo-soprano

Music for Violin and Clarinet, LRC 173a Lin He, violin; Robert DiLutis, clarinet

Fantasia for Solo Clarinet, LRC 79 Robert DiLutis, clarinet

Idyll for violin and piano, LRC 147c Lin He, violin; Michael Gurt, piano

The Oracle at Delphi for violin, clarinet, and piano, LRC 146a Lin He, violin; Robert DiLutis, clarinet; Michael Gurt, piano

Mountains of Epirus for violin and piano, LRC 73a (1980)

I. At the Village II. Country FairMountains of Epirus for violin and piano was written in memory of the composer’s mother and father. The piece is modal and employs characteristics of Greek rhythm, syncopated figurations, and polychordal sonorities. The work was premiered in 1980 for violin and orchestra, with the composer as soloist, at the celebration of the North and South American Orthodox Church. Mrs. Coretta Scott King, Senator Edward Kennedy, the Mayor of Atlanta, and other officials were among the audience of 5000. The members of the orchestra were drawn from Georgia State University.

Midnight Fantasy II for clarinet and piano, LRC 113a (1989)

Midnight Fantasy II for clarinet and piano is based on a three-note chromatic cluster that derives from the beginning of an old, evocative Nat King Cole song. The cluster, first appearing at the opening of the work, is transformed through octave displacements into melodic figures of a lyrical nature and leads to a nightingale’s song. Fast descending sonorities occasionally interrupt the tranquil mood of the music. The interplay of tonal and atonal elements creates mood changes and affects the overall structure of the piece. A dramatic middle section embellished by short, fast passages brings the music back to the opening three-note cluster. A highly contrapuntal section builds up to loud sonorities echoed by very soft clusters. The nightingale’s song appears again as an epilogue.

Lazy Jack and His Fiddle for solo violin, LRC 199 (2001)

I. Happy and Playful II. Sad Day III. Scene on E IV. Scene on D V. Scene on G VI. Scene on A VII. Grande FinaleLazy Jack and His Fiddle for solo violin, derived from the folk-tale for children called Lazy Jack (2001), is the third in a series of projected musical stories for children, involving a small ensemble, reader and solo instruments.

Program Notes

Transformations for clarinet and piano, LRC 126c (1993)

I. Castles in the Air II. Recollections III. Tender Conversation (to Manos) IV. On the PlaygroundTransformations for clarinet and piano is based upon personal experiences and associations of the composer. In all versions, the entire composition is a constant transformation of a single motive that the composer remembers from his youth when he did some work as a violinist for the Greek Cinema. Divided into four parts, the piece portrays four different scenes of simple everyday happenings.

Listenings and Silences for voice alone, LRC 111 (1988)

Text by Pinkie Gordon Lane I. A Quiet Poem II. Poem Extract III. ListeningsListenings and Silences for voice alone portrays an intimate monologue of one musician based on the text by Pinkie Gordon Lane, former Poet Laureate of Louisiana. Its style is declamatory and its material is derived from various modes. Intervallic relationships pervade the cycle, thus giving unity to all three parts.

Delphic Hymn for voice alone, LRC 65d (2002)

Delphic Hymn for voice alone was written in 1979 as incidental music for the LSU Theater production of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. It employs material from the First Delphic Hymn dating from about 138 B.C. This version for voice (vocalize) was written in 2002.

Music for Violin and Clarinet, LRC 173a (2000)

1. Prologue 2. Dialogue 3. Monologue I and II 4. EpilogueMusic for Violin and Clarinet is a fun piece. It denotes the thoughts of two individuals expressed in many ways in a conversation format. As the titles of the four movements of the work indicate, the conversation appears sometimes as a

monologue, a dialogue, beginning or an ending. Throughout the piece intervallic relationships control the various happenings. Sonorities based on seconds and thirds highlight the harmonic progressions, which influence the direction of the music. Stylistic quotations ornamented by sound effects are also important.

Fantasia for Solo Clarinet, LRC 79 (1981)

Fantasia for Solo Clarinet is written in ABA form. The outer sections, A, are quasi-free sections and the inner section B is rhythmic and dance-like. The entire piece depicts a conversation between two instruments by using different registers of the solo instrument.

Idyll for violin and piano, LRC 147c (1994)

Idyll for violin and piano is based on a three-note figure which first appears at the beginning of the solo violin. This figure is transformed throughout the composition into several rhythmic and melodic ideas and in various tonal centers. Sometimes it acts as a short motive, sometimes as a part of a long phrase, and sometimes as a counterpoint. Its upward leap of perfect fifth followed by steps in the opposite direction gives the romantic flavor that the composer wanted. Notable examples of this figuration can be found in the opening motives of the Elgar and Korngold concertos among other twentieth-century romantic violin concertos. The best way to understand the form of Idyll is to follow its emotional thrust. Its opening is a very lyrical idea in C minor that underlines a feeling of melancholy. Various abrupt shifts of tonality follow, thus creating excitement that is manifested in the interplay of ideas full of rhythmic and dynamic devices. This is a powerful section contrasting with the opening of the piece, which then leads to a triumphant climax in the Lydian mode on C. The forces of human ingenuity have emerged victorious. The last part of Idyll, still in the Lydian mode, is calm and happy. Idyll was completed on June 26, 1994.

The Oracle at Delphi (Study III) for violin, clarinet and piano, LRC 146a (1994)

The Oracle at Delphi (Study III) for violin, clarinet and piano was written for and dedicated to the Verdehr Trio. It is based on a folk-like modal tune that highlights the Greek heritage of the composer. This tune appears as a solo passage on the clarinet at the beginning and at the end of the work. Parts of the tune and the intervals of fourths and fifths are worked out in various ways throughout the piece, thus creating new tonal possibilities. The Oracle at Delphi (Study III) received the 1997 Grand Prize from the Delius Composition Contest.

Meet the Artists

Dinos Constantinides, composer

Dinos Constantinides’ works have been performed throughout the US, Europe and Asia by prestigious ensembles including the American Symphony Orchestra in New York; the Memphis and New Orleans Symphony Orchestras; the English Chamber Orchestra; the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic in the Czech Republic; the Athens State Orchestra in Greece and the Shenzhen Symphony in China.*

He received the first prize in the 1981 Brooklyn College International Chamber Opera Competition, the 1985 First Midwest Chamber Opera Conference, and the 1997 Delius Composition Contest. In 1985 he was honored with the American New Music Consortium Distinguished Service Award and in 1989 with the Glen Award of L’Ensemble of New York. He has received several Meet the Composer grants as well as yearly ASCAP Standard Awards. In 1994, the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars honored him with a Distinguished Teacher Award.

Writing for the New York Times, Tim Page described Constantinides as a composer whose “music speaks simply, often combining Greek modes... with an attractive quality of ritual mystery.” The Romanian newspaper Cuget Liber acclaimed; “The music of the Greek-American composer Dinos Constantinides seduced the listeners with its unusual warmth and sincerity.” And the late Ernst Krenek described one of his works as follows: “There are many fascinating details…I am much impressed.”

As the Director of the prestigious Louisiana State University Festival of Contemporary Music for 22 years, Constantinides presented the top composers of the continent including Carlos Chávez, John Cage, Milton Babbitt, Karel Husa, and Ernst Krenek among others.

He has written over 265 compositions, most of them published, for all mediums including his opera Intimations, winner of two awards, his opera Antigone and six symphonies of which the 2nd Symphony earned him the Artist of the Year Award of Louisiana. His music appears on over 60 professional CDs.

Constantinides has served on the Board of Directors of many national societies in the U.S.A., including the Society of Composers (SCI), College Music Society, National Composers of U.S.A. and Music Teacher National Association (MTNA).

He is a member of ASCAP and has been an evaluator for the MacArthur Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

He was educated in Greece at the Ioannina, Greek, and Athens Conservatories and in the USA at the universities of Indiana, Michigan State and the Juilliard School. His teachers included Tony Schultze, Marios Varvoglis, Yannis Papaioannou, Leda Kouroukli, Olga Menjou, George Lykoudis, Ivan Galamian, Dorothy DeLay and Josef Gingold. Constantinides was a member of the violin section of the State Orchestra of Athens in Greece for over 10 years, and played in the Indianapolis Symphony and Baton Rouge Symphony (Concertmaster) in the USA for many years.

He is presently Boyd Professor, the highest academic rank at Louisiana State University, head of the Composition area, and Music Director of the Louisiana Sinfonietta.

* This is Constantinides’ fourth feature appearance on the DCINY Concert Series.

Margaret O’Connell, mezzo-soprano

Margaret O’Connell is a mezzo-soprano who performs opera, lieder, musical theater, sacred music, and contemporary works. She began her career as a professional violinist, earning her Bachelor of Music degree in Violin and Voice at Oberlin Conservatory of Music (USA). She earned her Master of Music degree in Solo Voice at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. In January 2014, Ms. O’Connell made her concert debut in Munich, singing Berg’s Sieben frühe

Lieder, Ravel’s Chansons madécasses, and songs by Weill and Gershwin. Last fall she made her Carnegie Hall debut with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra as “Ein großes Mädchen” in Strauss’ Feuersnot. In April 2013, Margaret stepped in to sing the role of Giulietta in a concert of Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Oper Einspringen Berlin. Ms. O’Connell was the Alto Soloist in Monteverdi’s Marienvespers with Baroque tenor Mark Tucker and conductor Egon Mihajlovič, as part of the Steglitzer Tage für alte Musik Berlin. Recent New York City performances include the roles of Carmen, Dulcinée (Don Quichotte), Olga (Eugene Onegin conducted by William Hobbs), and Nicklausse (Les Contes d’Hoffmann). Margaret has premiered many American operas, including Michael Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight (excerpts). Margaret was called a “superb mezzo” by Fanfare Magazine for her recording of Randall Snyder’s Traveling West with North-South Records (Max Lifchitz, conductor).

Lin He, violin

Violinist Lin He will make his Carnegie Hall debut during the 2014-2015 season. In January, 2015, he will appear as the soloist with the Louisiana Sinfonietta. The past season, he made his Rapides Symphony Orchestra debut with the Korngold Concerto. He has presented recitals at universities across the United States. Most recently, he performed solo recitals and gave master classes at Arizona State University, Florida State University, and University of North Texas.

As an orchestral player, Mr. He has performed with the Shanghai Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic and New World Symphony. He is a regular addition to the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Summer festival appearances have taken Mr. He to venues such as the Music Academy of the West, the Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival. Lin He has been a laureate of the Padesta Solo Competition and the ASTA competition. Mr. He is now serving as the Associate Professor of Violin at the Louisiana State University School of Music. During the summer, he teaches at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. Born in Shanghai, China, Mr. He began his musical training at the age of five. Mr. He received his doctorate from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied under the tutelage of Zvi Zeitlin. Other major influences include Sylvia Rosenberg and Paul Kantor. His CD release from Centaur Records of French Sonatas for Violin and Piano with pianist Gregory Sioles received favorable reviews. His website is www.linheviolin.com.

Robert DiLutis, clarinet

Robert DiLutis is currently the Professor of Clarinet at the University of Maryland, School of Music, College Park and in his 5th season as Principal Clarinetist of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. Mr. DiLutis previously served as Professor of Clarinet at the Louisiana State University School of Music from 2009-2012. He has also held positions with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony Orchestra and the Eastman School of Music. Mr.

DiLutis has served on the faculties of St. Mary’s University in Texas and Nazareth College in New York. His recent recitals and master classes have included the

University of Georgia, University of California at Northridge, University of South Carolina, Catholic University of America and the International Clarinet Conference in Assisi, Italy. Born in Baltimore, Maryland to a family of musicians, Mr. DiLutis studied first at the Peabody Conservatory with William Blayney and later at the Juilliard School with David Weber, principal clarinetist of the NYC Ballet. In 1989 he made his Carnegie Hall Recital debut as the winner of the Artist International Chamber Music Competition. As a soloist Mr. DiLutis has performed with ensembles such as the San Antonio Symphony, LSU Wind Ensemble, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. Mr. DiLutis has performed and toured with the New York Philharmonic.

Michael Gurt, piano

LSU Professor Michael Gurt holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School. In 1982 he won First Prize in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, and he was also a prize winner in international competitions held in Pretoria, South Africa, and Sydney, Australia. Gurt has performed as soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, the Capetown Symphony, the China

National Symphony Orchestra, and the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, South Africa. He has made solo appearances in Alice Tully Hall in New York, Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles, Orchestra Hall in Detroit, City Hall in Hong Kong, the Victorian Arts Center in Melbourne, Australia, Baxter Hall in Capetown, South Africa, and the Attaturk Cultural Center in Istanbul, Turkey. Gurt has collaborated with the Takacs String Quartet, and he recently performed at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, Queensland. He has served on the juries of both the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and the New Orleans International Piano Competition, and he has recorded on the Naxos, Centaur, and Redwood labels.

DISTINGUISHED CONCERTS INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK

Founded by Iris Derke (General Director) and Jonathan Griffith (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor) Distinguished Concerts International New York is driven by passion, innovative vision, a total belief in its artists, and an unwavering commitment to bringing forth unforgettable audience experiences. DCINY is a creative producing entity with unmatched integrity as a talent incubator, a star-maker, and a presenter of broadly accessible, world-class musical entertainment. For more information about Distinguished Concerts International New York and upcoming DCINY musical events around the world, please visit: www.DCINY.org.

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Saturday, November 29, 2014 at 7:00 PM

Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center

With Grace: The Music of Gwyneth WalkerNancy Menk, Guest ConductorGwyneth Walker, Composer-in-ResidenceFeaturing Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Distinguished Concerts Singers International

SoHarmoniums - NY’s Own Women’s ChoirElizabeth Núñez, Director

Sunday, November 30, 2014 at 2:00 PM

Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center

Messiah…Refreshed!

Thomas Beecham/Eugene Goossens’ 1959 Re-Orchestration of Handel’s Messiah

Jonathan Griffith, DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor

Featuring Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Distinguished Concerts Singers International

Special appearance by Santa Claus!

Dates, repertoire, and artists subject to change.

2014 DCINY Concerts – Please join us at our other upcoming events:

DCINY Administrative Staff

For a full 2014-15 listing and ticket details, please visit www.DCINY.org

Danuta Gross, Director of Finance & Administration

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Iris Derke, Co-Founder and General Director

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