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New Music from Bowling Green
Don Freund was born in Pittsburgh in 1947; he studied at Duquesne University and earned his graduate degrees at the Eastman School of Music. His composition teachers were Joseph Willcox Jenkins, Darius Milhaud, Charles Jones, Wayne Barlow, Warren Benson, and Samuel Adler. His compositions include more than 80 performed works that range from orchestral works to music for dance. Noted as a pianist, conductor, and lecturer, Mr. Freund served as chairman of the Composition Department at Memphis State University for 20 years. During that time he founded the Memphis State University's Annual New Music Festival, programming close to 1,000 new American works. He has served as Professor of Composition at Indiana University School of Music since 1992. Mr. Freund has received many awards and commissions including a prize for the Washington International String Quartet Composition Competition and the 1997 Rodrigo Riera International Competition for Guitar Composition, among others. Mr. Freund's works are published by MMB Music, Boosey and Hawkes, ECS, Seesaw and Vivace Press. His recorded music appears on the CRI label.
Radical Light is one of a proposed set of seven Poem Symphonies. The sections of Poem Symphonies can be performed separately or in sets of two or three, or all together as an orchestral work 35 minutes in duration. Each symphony is inspired by the work of a contemporary American poet. The symphonies are not attempts to set poetry to music, but rather aim to evoke the visions, images, and atmosphere of the poem, using the written work as a point of departure.
He Held Radical Light A.R. Ammons
as music in his skull: music
over ridges immanences of evening light
back over the furrows of his brain
into the dark, shuddered,
in long swaying swirls of sound:
reality had little weight in his transcendence
his feet on the ground, was
and liked himself, and others, mostly
Chris Theofanidis was born on December 18, 1967, in Dallas, Texas, and holds degrees from Yale, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Houston. Mr. Theofanidis has been commissioned by numerous orchestras, including the National Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Oregon Symphony, and the California Symphony (for whom he was composer-in-residence between 1994 and 1996). He has also written for several chamber ensembles, including Speculum Musicae, the Cassatt and Muir String Quartets, and the Absolute Ensemble. His awards include the Prix de Rome, the Barlow Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship, and an American Academy of Arts of Letters' fellowship. Mr. Theofanidis currently lives in Houston, where he teaches at the University of Houston.
On the Edge of the Infinite for violin and orchestra (1997)
On the Edge of the Infinite(1997) was written to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi Empire in Monaco. It is a one-movement, ten minute work, that contrasts explosive, tutti outbursts from the orchestra with very lyrical writing for the soloist and strings. Typical of my style is a very "wet" orchestral acoustic, with melodies being continuously filtered and refracted through a variety of colors.
This work was first performed in Monaco, April 4, 1997, by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, James DePreist, conducting. The soloist was Elissa Lee Kokkonen.
Born in Mannheim, Germany, on March 4, 1928, Samuel Adler received his early music education from his father who was a cantor and composer of Jewish liturgical music. The family came to the United States in 1939 and settled in the Boston area, where Adler's training as a violinist gave him strong grounding as a composer. He received degrees from Boston University (B.M.) and Harvard University (M.M.) and has been awarded five honorary doctorates. He studied conducting with Serge Koussevitsky, and composition with Aaron Copland, Paul Hindemith, Walter Piston and Randall Thompson. His work in The 7th Army Symphony Orchestra (1949-53), at North Texas State University 91957-66) and at the Eastman School of Music (1966-94) reflects a career which has been spent in the service of others. He has been a guest composer or conductor at over 300 universities worldwide and has over 400 published works in all media. Adler has received awards too numerous to mention. Among the most prestigious are those from the National Endowment for the Arts; Ford, Rockefeller and Guggenheim Foundations; American Academy of Arts and Letters; Music Teachers National Association; Phi Beta Kappa; and the American Guild of Organists. In 1993, he was elected to the Chilean Academy of Fine Arts for "outstanding contributions to the world of music as composer, conductor and author." He is currently professor of composition at The Juilliard Schol of Music and has served as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Bowling Green State University.
Requiescat in Pace - a poem for symphony orchestra
Requiescat in Pace is dedicated to the memory of President John F. Kennedy and was written in Dallas during November, 1963, immediately after the horrendous events of the assassination. At that time, I was living there and served as a professor of composition at North Texas State University and music director at the Temple Emanu-El. The work was requested by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for a memorial concert in early December and was in fact premiered at that time.
Requeiscat in Pace is in one continuous movement of shifting moods, beginning very softly with a rather nebulous theme in the bass clarinet and the bassoon and accompanied by a sustained sound in the timpani, cellos, basses and harp. The first of three tunes representing the three major faiths in America is then introduced. The Kyrie chant from the Mass of the Angels is interrupted by an outburst by the whole orchestra and followed by a Jewish chant which has its origin in cantillation of the book of Lamentations. The third chant is from the Episcopal prayer book and is played by the strings. All three chants are freely developed throughout the work, and a climactic point is finally reached which is to show the world's anguish and shock at the event. This climax is relieved by a short passage in the strings, another in the winds and a chorale in the brass, and finally leads to a coda where all three chants are combined, finally ending in an open fifth which dissolves into one single note held by a solo second violin.
The work is about 12 minutes in duration and expresses my grief at the events that occurred that November 25 years ago and hopefully captures the spirit of the moment as well as the subsequent resolve by all peoples to get together and celebrate the life of our young president.
Canadian composer Jeffrey Ryan's varied catalogue includes art song, choral music, chamber ensemble and orchestral works. His compositions have been performed and broadcast across Canada and internationally by the Toronto Symphony, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, the Buffalo Chamber Ensemble and the Brandon Chamber Players, among others. His commissions include works for the Windsor Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Mr. Ryan is a graduate of Wilfred Laurier University, where he received the gold medal in music, and of the University of Toronto. He holds a D.M.A. degree from The Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with the distinguished composer Donald Erb. Previous teachers include Alexina Louie, Lothar Klein, Mariano Etkin, Boyd McDonald, and Owen Underhill. He is an Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre, and a member of the Canadian League of Composers and the American Composers Forum. He has served as visiting guest composer at Brandon New Music, at the String of the Future festival, at Bowling Green State University's New Music and Art Festival, and with the Windsor Symphony as the SOCAN Foundation's Composer in the Community. He is composer advisor for Music Toronto, and is a collaborative artist with the Royal Conservatory of Music/Toronto District Board of Education's Learning Through the Arts program.
Although the legend of the Danish king Amleth can be traced back as far as the tenth century, it is through Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet that the character of Ophelia is best known to us today.
In the many recorded versions of the legend, however, details of Ophelia's character are left open to interpretation. Is she a willing accomplice in the plot against Hamlet, or an innocent pawn? In Shakespeare's reading, further complications arise when Hamlet murders Ophelia's father. Whether from guilt, love, naiveté, confusion or grief, Ophelia goes mad. She meets her fate while picking flowers by the river: upon falling into the water she drowns under the weight of her sodden robes. The image of Ophelia, floating serenely down the river, surrounded by white robes and garlands of flowers, was a powerful image for Symbolist poet Arthur Rimbaud. His set of three poems, Ophélie, depict her as a ghost, a restless spirit doomed to repeat the watery journey night after night.
In this single-movement setting, the soprano soloist is both Ophelia and an observer of the ghostly scene. After an orchestral prelude, Ophelia appears, singing to herself, unaware of her impending fate. The voices of her madness swirl around her, and as the second poem begins, she is engulfed by the waters. As she is swept away, the orchestra takes over with a climactic interlude, which leads into the final poem, a mysterious invocation of Ophelia's image. Ophélie was premiered 9 November 1994 with soprano Luanne Clarke as Ophelia, sopranos Adele Crawford, Tamara Seckel and Tina Selvaggio and the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, Magnus Martensson conducting.
On the calm black waters where the stars sleep
White Ophelia floats like a great lily,
Floats very slowly, lying in her long veils
From the far-off woods comes the sound of the mort.
For more than a thousand years, sad Ophelia
Has passed, a white phantom, on the long black river.
For more than a thousand years her utter madness
Has murmured her lovesong to the evening breeze.
The wind kisses her breasts, and unfurls in a corolla
Her great veils gently rocked by the waters;
The rustling willows weep on her shoulder,
The reeds bend over her wide dreaming brow.
The crushed waterlilies sigh around her;
At times, she awakens, in a sleeping alder,
Some nest, from which escapes a little rustle of wings:
A mysterious song falls from the golden stars.
O Pale Ophelia! Beautiful as snow!
Yes, you died, child, carried off by a river!
Because the winds falling from the great mountains of Norway
Had spoken low to you of bitter freedom;
Because of breath of wind, twisting your hair,
Carried strange noises to your dreaming spirit;
Because your head heard Nature's song
In the moaning of the tree and sighs of the nights
Because the voice of the wild seas, an immense groan,
Broke your child's heart, too human and too gentle;
Because one April morning, a beautiful pale suitor,
A poor fool, sat mutely at your feet!
Heaven! Love! Freedom! Such a dream, poor foolish girl!
You melted to him like snow to fire:
Your great visions strangled your speech
And the horrible Infinite filled your blue eyes with terror!
And the poet says that, by the light of the stars,
You come each night to search for the flowers you had gathered;
And that he has seen on the water, lying in her long veils,
White Ophelia floating, like a great lily.
Translation by Jeffrey Ryan
Karel Husa, Pultizer Prize winner in Music, is an internationally known composer and conductor who was Kappa Alpha professor at Cornell University from 1954 until his retirement. An American citizen since 1959, Husa was born in Prague on August 7, 1921, studying at the Prague Conservatory and Academy of Music, and later at the National Conservatory and Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. Among his teachers were Arthur Honegger, Nadia Boulanger, Jaroslav Ridky, and conductor André Cluytens.
Husa was elected Associate Member of the Royal Belgian Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1974, and to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1994. He has received honorary doctorates from seven schools and has been the recipient of many awards and recognitions, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and awards from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1995, Husa was awarded the Czech Republic's highest civilian recognition, the State Medal of Merit, First Class.
His String Quartet No. 3 received the 1969 Pulitzer Prize and, with more than 7,000 performances, his Music for Prague 1968 has become part of the modern repertory. His works have been performed by major orchestras all over the world. Much of Husa's music is available on recordings issued by CBS Masterworks, CRI, Grenadilla, Sheffield, Albany, and other labels.
Reflections (Symphony No. 2) (1983)
Karel Husa's Reflections is dedicated to the memory of the late Edward B. Benjamin and was commissioned by the North Carolina Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Mrs. Edward B. Benjamin. Karel Husa offers the following statement about the work:
"Although not written in a classical or romantic style, it nevertheless reflects symphonic form. The three movements (Moderate Very fast Slow) are united by closely related modes, scales and rhythmic elements. The resulting melodic lines, chords and rhythmical patterns are constructed in a reflecting way, like images in a mirror. "Reflections" is also used in the sense of three contemplations or meditations. Each movement explores the possibilities of new sounds and colors of the orchestra. The ensemble is composed of two flutes (second doubling on piccolo), two oboes (second doubling on English horn), two clarinets, two bassoons, (second doubling on contrabassoon), two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings , the size of orchestras in late Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven Symphonies with the addition of harp and percussion parts."
Marilyn Shrude is Professor of music composition and director of the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music at Bowling Green State University. A composer/pianist, Ms. Shrude has degrees from Alverno College and Northwestern University. The recipient of the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award for Orchestra Music in 1984, Ms. Shrude has also been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council, the Cleveland Arts Prize and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Music, among others.
She has received commissions from the Interlochen World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Youngstown State University and Pittsburgh New Music Ensembles.
Marilyn Shrude's music appears on the Orion, Ohio Brassworks, Centaur, Pneuma, Capstone and Access labels.
Recognized for her teaching with the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1987, Ms. Shrude is the chair of theory and composition for the Interlochen Arts Camp.
Into Light was written at the request of Henry Charles Smith for the World Youth Symphony Orchestra and the opening concert of the 67th season of the Interlochen Arts Camp (July 3, 1994). As the title suggests, it is a celebration of the joy and exuberance of youth and the passion that drives one forward on an artistic journey. The work is based on the Gregorian chant fragment, "Ite Missa est," and is a call to mission, an invitation to discovery. Into Light is lovingly dedicated to Henry Charles Smith, whose enthusiasm, artistry and integrity have been the stability behind the World Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Emily Freeman Brown, Music Director and Conductor of the Bowling Green, Ohio, Philharmonia and Opera Theater was the first woman to receive a doctorate in orchestral conducting at the Eastman School of Music. Recently appointed Music Director of the Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra, she has also served as Guest Conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Brown has appeared as conductor with orchestras in the United States, Europe and South American including the Rochester Philharmonic, the charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the Syracuse and Toledo Symphonies, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Eastman virtuosi, the Ashland, Dearborn, Plymouth, Sheboygan and Sioux City Symphonies, the Skaneateles Music Festival, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the National Symphony of Chile and the Bartók Ensemble, both in Santiago, and at the American Festival of the Arts (Houston), Interlochen and Chatauqua summer music institutes. Ms. Brown has also recorded for Opus One Records. From 1987 to 1989 she served as Associate Conductor of the Eastman Philharmonia and Conductor for the Eastman Opera Theater. In 1988 she was a winner of the Affiliate Artists' Conducting Auditions.
Ms. Freeman Brown studied conducting and cello at the Royal College of Music in London, England where she was twice winner of the Sir Adrian Boult Conducting Prize. Her major teachers have included Leonard Slatkin, Herbert Blomstedt, Franco Ferrara, and David Effron.
Bowling Green Philharmonia
The Bowling Green Philharmonia was founded in 1918 by decree of the university president at Bowling Green State University. A combined student/faculty ensemble of fewer than 20 musicians, he declared that it should "furnish suitable music for many college functions."
It has grown considerably since then under the direction of many distinguished conductors. They include Merrill C. McEwen (1922-23, 1931-33, and 1934-40), Seymour Benstock (1955-61), Harry Kruger (1961-66), Charles Gigante (1966-69), Emil Raab (1969-81), Grzegorz Nowak (1982-85) and Robert Spano (1985-89).
In the last several years the Philharmonia, with conductor Emily Freeman Brown, has established a wider reputation through its performances at the Bowling Green New Music and Art Festival. Works of composers such as John Adams, Gunther Schuller, John Corigliano and Joan Tower have been performed under their guidance. The pieces on this disc were first performed at this festival and recorded during the fall months of 1996 and 1997.
Soprano Myra Merritt, born in Washington, D.C., is a graduate of The Peabody Conservatory of Music and The Catholic University of America. She has sung in some of the greatest opera houses in the world and has performed with many of the world's great orchestras and conductors today. Ms. Merritt made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the Shepherd Boy in Wagner's Tannhauser with James Levine conducting. She has been featured on several of the "Live from the Met" televised broadcasts including the Gala performance of the Metropolitan Opera's Centennial celebration.
Internationally, Ms. Merritt has appeared in concert in Helsinki, Moscow, Estonia, Debrecen, Ekaterinurg and most recently in Bregenz, Austria where she performed in the Bregenz Music Festival. She has also performed with the National Opera of Finland, The State Opera in Budapest and Theatre des Westins of Berlin. She has performed with the Vienna Philharmonic in the Musikverein.
Among her awards are grants from the National Opera Institute and Sullivan Foundation. She is a recipient of grants form the D.C. Commission of the Arts and Humanities and the recipient of The Catholic University of America's Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in the field of Music.
A 1986 Tchaikovsky International Competition winner and First Prize winner of the USSR National Violin Competition, Movses Pogossian earned his diploma and doctorate from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music in Moscow. Having performed with major Russian orchestras including the Moscow Philharmonic, Mr. Pogossian made his American debut with the Boston Pops in 1990. He has since performed with the Tucson Symphony, Arlington Symphony, and El Paso Symphony and has appeared as a recitalist in numerous cities around the world. An active chamber musician, Mr. Pogossian frequently collaborates with the Apple Hill Chamber Players. He is a Founder and Artistic Director of the Shady Side Chamber Music Festival in Pittsburgh, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Passages and a regular participant at several music festivals, such as El Paso Pro Musica Chamber Music Festival, June in Buffalo, and Olympic Music Festival in Seattle. Mr. Pogossian is currently on the faculty at Bowling Green State University.
(listed alphabetically within each section) 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons
Special acknowledgement goes to Dean H. Lee Riggins, the faculty and staff of the College of Musical Arts and the estate of Herbert and Leni Fromm for their support of this project.
Producers: Russell Schmidt, Marilyn Shrude,
Samuel Adler, Emily Freeman Brown
Recording Engineer: Mark Bunce · Cover Art: Dorothy Bryan
Cover Design: Bates Miyamoto Design
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