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American composer BENJAMIN LEES was born on January 8, 1924 to Russian parents. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to San Francisco. There he began to study piano at the age of five, continuing in Los Angeles, where he moved in 1939. After military service in World War II, Mr. Lees began the study of composition at the University of Southern California. He soon came to the attention of the legendary American composer George Antheil, the famous "Bad Boy” of music. He left the university and began studies with Antheil in advanced composition and orchestration which lasted almost five years. Following this period of study, Mr. Lees was honored by being among the first recipients of the Fromm Foundation Award (1953).
A Guggenheim Fellowship in 1954 made possible a period of work in France, followed by a stay in Helsinki on a Fulbright Fellowship. While in Europe, Mr. Lees was given the Sir Arnold Bax Medal (London, 1958), and the UNESCO Award (Paris, 1958) for his String Quartet No. 2. He remained in Europe until 1962, producing important works such as the Second Symphony, the Violin Concerto, and the Concerto for Orchestra, which have since become firmly entrenched in the symphonic repertoire. Upon returning to the United States, Mr. Lees continued to fulfill many commissions from major orchestras and ensembles, including the Detroit, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Delaware, and the National Symphony Orchestras. A commission from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust brought about performances of this work by the Houston, Atlanta, and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Philharmonia Orchestra of London and the Israel Philharmonic. Mr. Lees has just completed a symphonic work, Echoes of Normandy, for tenor solo, organ, tape, and orchestra, commissioned by the Dallas Symphony to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
Mr. Lees's compositions have enjoyed numerous performances by such legendary conductors as George Szell, William Steinberg, Erich Leinsdorf, Eugene Ormandy, Thomas Schippers, Jean Martinon, Zubin Mehta, James DePreist, and Lorin Maazel, with ensembles such as the Cleveland Orchestra New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Detroit Symphony.
Mr. Lees's music is unmistakably American in its rhythmic energy and directness. But it is markedly different from what audiences have come to identify as American music as associated with Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein. The influence of the eight-year stay in Europe, of the Surrealist ideas to which Mr. Lees was exposed there, the avoidance of folk material, a keen appreciation of the visual arts, an acerbic wit, and an unerring sense of the true and expressive combine to make his a singular voice in contemporary music. His craft is formidable, but even more so is his awareness of the essence of music, and it is this awareness that is so appreciated by audiences.
Sonata No.3 for Violin and Piano (1989)
The Third Sonata is presented first on this disc on the premise of the "reverse" suspense novel: first the reader is apprised of the denouement, and then proceeds to deduce how things got to such a pass. This Sonata, composed in 1989, represents something of a distillation to date of the ever evolving style of Benjamin Lees.
The work is all in one movement and has three basic subjects. These are treated in a process of continuous development, a technique the composer had been utilizing for the previous ten years. Development begins as soon as an idea is presented, so that the listener is always conscious of a continuous musical thread.
Although not atonal, this Sonata is not fixed in terms of keys. Indefinite tonalities cross, disappear, reemerge, and cross again. Piano and violin are equal partners, and never encroach upon each other's material, thanks to particularly effective use of registers and distribution of ideas.
The Third Sonata was commissioned by violinist Daniel Kobialka.
Sonata No.2 for Violin and Piano (1973)
In this Sonata the task of stating the seminal material of the first movement is entrusted to unaccompanied violin, in what appears to be a cadenza. Rhythmic leeway is abandoned, as soon as the piano joins in, for a driving pace and a succession of shifting meters. The irregular meters create a sense of energy and suspense, rather than instability. The material is spun out from the opening major sevenths and a triadic figure heard in the cadenza. The movement ends with an expanded, and reflective, reiteration of the opening statements.
In the second movement an eerie mood is set by the undulating chordal melody in the piano, which the violin joins with a twanging pizzicato figuration. Tension builds gradually through an imitative passage between the two instruments, breaking out in a clanging tolling in the piano and fierce marcato in the violin. Suddenly, the storm breaks and we hear a gradual return to the lulling chords and pizzicato of the opening, which fade finally into the mist.
The third movement is a raucous and sarcastic Rondo, in which each of the three principal motives is developed before it is repeated. The writing is virtuosic for both instruments, and the violin shows off some wild glissando effects in single and double stops. As this turns out to be a sparring partnership, each instrument is given its own ending, with the violin having the last word.
The Second Sonata was commissioned by the McKim Fund of the Library of Congress.
Invenzione for Solo Violin (1965)
Invenzione for Solo Violin received its premiere in January 1966 in New York at the hands of the well-known champion of music for solo violin, Ruggiero Ricci. Mr. Ricci was in search of new material to add to the standard body of work for violin alone, and it is safe to say that in the Invenzione he found a worthy successor to the compositions of Bach, Paganini, and Bartok.
As the title indicates, some Baroque methods were applied, such as the use of counterpoint and motivic repetition and development. Most of the melodic material is derived from the very first bar, while almost all the rhythmic elements are presented in the Maestoso opening statement of fifteen measures. The overall concept is that of a chaconne, albeit a rhapsodic one.
In Benjamin Lees's music one rarely encounters many consecutive bars with the same meter. This is also the case with, Invenzione. The listener is made to feel at home with rhythmic patterns of varying length and complexity, similar to those of a very fine prose poem. The general outline is tripartite, with the opening material making a brief appearance in the center of the piece, and then being restated in full before the coda. The "inventions” in between are fanciful intervallic and rhythmic variations which are quite challenging for the performer.
Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano (1953)
The First Sonata is a virtuoso piece for both instruments, and a great deal of fun to play. Without much ado, the first movement rips into a ferocious, and quite humorous, main theme. The theme is varied and repeated, until it finally subsides into a dreamy, fanciful second subject. Material from both themes is then developed, until the second subject is restated in a kind of a shortened recapitulation. This is followed by a coda driven by relentless sixteenths in the violin part, and wonderfully jazzy chords in the piano.
The mood changes radically in the second movement. Here we find a deeply felt adagio in 3/4 time, tranquil and lilting. After some variation on the opening melody, and a climactic statement which appears to be the second theme, the real second theme is presented. It is at once poignant and cool to the touch. The main theme returns at the close of the movement.
The third movement is true bravura for both instruments. Here we get the greatest sense of the direction Benjamin Lees's future compositions would take. This is a rondo with occasional shifts of meter, some quirky harmonies, and a great deal of humor. It is a happy piece, although not without a dash of irony.
Ellen Orner
Ellen Orner
Born in Moscow, violinist Ellen Orner came to the United States in 1974 with her family at the age of twelve, and four years later made her New York debut playing Lab's Symphonie espagnole withthe Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra at Lincoln Center. She has studied with violinist-composer Eugene Phillips at Carnegie-Mellon University, Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School, and Josef Gingold at Indiana University.
Ms. Orner has appeared in recital throughout the United States, and as soloist with the Columbus and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras, to critical acclaim. A winner of the National Arts Club Award in 1981, she was Artist-In-Residence at La Gesse Music Festival in Toulouse, France and appeared as guest artist with Leon Fleisher's Theater Chamber Players at Kennedy Center.
Contemporary music is an important part of Ms. Orner's repertoire. In addition to promoting the music of Benjamin Lees, she has given U.S. premieres of works by composers such as Harry Somers of Canada and Cristobal Halffter of Spain, and continues to expand this aspect of her programming.
Joel Wizansky
Pianist Joel Wizansky made his debut with the San Francisco Symphony at the age of 17. Since that time he has appeared frequenrtly as both soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Europe, and Taiwan. His radio broadcast recitals have been heard in New York, Washington, Baltimore, and Chicago. Among Mr. Wizansky's numerous awards are fifth prize in the Marguerite Long International Competition in Paris, and first prize in the Helen Hart International Competition.
Mr. Wizansky was a studentof Leonard Shure and Leon Fleisher, and holds degrees from the New England Conservatory and the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He is currently an adjunct faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory.
Ms. Orner and Mr. Wizansky are frequent collaborators, presenting a repertoire of contemporary compositions as well as traditional works.
Cover Art: William Nelson Copley, Untitled, 1960, oil on canvas; in the collection of Mr. Benjamin Lees; reproduced with consent of the artist.
Copley (CPLY), b. January 24, 1919, in New York City. In 1946 he opened a Surrealist art gallery in Los Angeles, buying for the gallery and for himself the works of Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Rene Magritte, and other Surrealist artists. He became friendly with the group, and began painting himself. He is a Surrealist in style and lifestyle, and is also recognized as "a Pop of Pop in 1948” (Julien Levy). Mr. Lees spent many hours in Copley's company, as well as the company of the artists he represented, in Los Angeles and in Europe.
This recording was made in Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland on December 29-30, 1993, using one pair of Sennheiser microphones connected through a Benchmark preamp to a Sony DAT recorder. All the postproduction has been done digitally, giving the listener a first-generation master.
Producer: George Omer
Engineer: Jeffrey Zaraya.
Steinway concert grand piano provided by Jordan Kitt Music.
ALBANY RECORDS U.S.
P.O. Box 5011, Albany, NY 12205
Tel: 518.453.2203 FAX: 518.453.2205
ALBANY RECORDS U.K.
Box 12, Warton, Carnforth, Lancashire LA5 9PD
Tel: 0524 735873 FAX: 0524 736448
WARNING: COPYRIGHT SUBSISTS IN ALL RECORDINGS ISSUED UNDER THIS LABEL.
© 1994 BEJAMIN LEES & ELLEN ORNER
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