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Paul Freeman Introduces. . .
Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Paul Freeman, Music Director
I was introduced to the music of John Biggs through his Concerto for Orchestra. When he told me he had also written concertos for solo instruments I immediately asked him if he would consider doing an all-Biggs CD consisting of three of his concertos. I was particularly struck by the similarity of approach between Biggs and that of the Baroque era. His feel for tone color, orchestration, counterpoint and compositional form in general is indeed very strong.
The unusually cheerful brightness of the cello concerto is a good contrast to the more austere and penetrating viola concerto. Not only was it fun to record the orchestral concerto but refreshing to collaborate with Virginia Kron and Paul Silverthorne because of the insight which they brought to John Biggs' music. We are delighted to include an all-Biggs CD in our Albany series and happy to make our listeners aware of the outstanding talent of this California-based composer.
Program Notes by the Composer
Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra
The most recently written of the three concertos on this recording is the cello concerto. It was commissioned by the New West Symphony (Ventura County, California) in memory of Carmel Maitland, a strong supporter of the orchestra. I chose Virginia Kron as soloist and the piece was premiered in January 1997 with Boris Brott conducting. The stipulations in the commission were that it be somehow compatible with the rest of the music on the program, which included Bach, Handel, Telemann, and Mozart, and that it be scored for strings, two horns, and two oboes. I convinced them to add two bassoons which I thought would be essential. This was a good decision, as it allowed me to pair-off the cello in trios with the oboes, horns and bassoons in the slow movement, with good effect. In honor of the spirit of the earlier composers I kept the textures transparent and used a more “classical” approach to melody and formal outline.
Concerto for Viola, Woodwinds and Percussion
This concerto was written in 1966 with no commission and no prospects for a performance. In 1967 John Trudeau, founder of the Peter Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon invited me to conduct the premiere at his next Festival. It occurred on August 20, 1968 with Patricia Miller (Portland Symphony) as soloist and members of the Britt Festival Orchestra. I remember the concert well. Just before I went on stage, the first flutist told me that she had left her part at home. As luck would have it I had an extra in my briefcase, handed it to her, and the concert proceeded smoothly. Cast in one movement, the work is based on three themes, which make their appearance in order, played by the soloist shortly after his brief dramatic entrance. The first, “cantando,” is accompanied by flutes. The second, “calmo,” is accompanied by bassoons. And, the third, “serioso,” is accompanied by clarinets. Although quite somber in its opening and closing sections, and serious in the central fugual section, the piece does manage to let a little sunlight in from time to time.
When I was a student at UCLA, conductor Walter Hendl performed in Los Angeles with his orchestra from the Eastman School of Music. They played a memorable performance of Paul Hindemith's Symphonia Serena. I was moved by the stature and content of the work, and its formal outline stayed in my head for many, many years —28 years to be exact. At that time I received a commission from the Ventura County Symphony (Frank Salazar, conductor) to write a concerto. I called upon my memory of the Hindemith piece which had four movements, using the full ensemble in the outer two movements with winds for the second and strings for the third. What remained in my mind the most was the string movement, in which Hindemith had set a very difficult task for himself. He put forth a slow, sustained section, with strings playing with their bows. This was followed by a section of equal length, but now fast and with strings playing pizzicato. Then the surprise: both sections return, played simultaneously! So this concerto, although in one continuous movement, owes its formal outline to Paul Hindemith: opening with full orchestra, then a quick march for the winds, then the “double music” for the strings, and ending with the full orchestra for the close.
Born in Los Angeles in 1932, John Biggs received his Master's Degree in composition from the University of California at Los Angeles, doing further study at the University of Southern California and the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp, Belgium. His teachers include Roy Harris, Lukas Foss, Ingolf Dahl, Flor Peeters, and Halsey Stevens. As an educator, he has taught at Los Angeles City College, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and served as composer-in-residence to six colleges in Kansas under a grant from the Department of Health, Education, & Welfare. As a performer, he founded the John Biggs Consort, which toured internationally under Columbia Artists Management, specializing in medieval, renaissance, and 20th century music. As a composer, he has won numerous awards and honors including a Rockefeller Grant, Fulbright Grant, Atwater-Kent Award, and ASCAP “Serious Music Award” every year since 1974. He has received a number of “Meet the Composer” grants from diverse parts of the United States. Biggs has written a large body of compositions for orchestra, chamber ensembles and the operatic stage.
“(The Biggs') Cello Concerto, played with flourish by Virginia Kron, proceeds with a restless heart and a sense of idiom,” praised the Los Angeles Times for Ms. Kron's 1997 premiere performance. She has been hailed by critics for her “warm and supple cello tone,” her “rich, dark tone and great expression,” and her “extraordinary sound.”
Ms. Kron has earned these quotes with western U.S. and international performances of solos and chamber music. In Europe she has performed in England, Switzerland, Italy and Cyprus. Her active advocacy of new music includes performing regularly for William Kraft's Ensemble for Contemporary Music and in the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra.
Her recordings range from John Luther Adams' The Far Country to two popular compact discs with performance and recording artist Kim Robertson. Ms. Kron holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California.
Paul Silverthorne is one of the foremost viola soloists of his time, having performed with major orchestras in the United Kingdom, United States and throughout Europe. His commitment to contemporary music has led to a close relationship with many of the leading composers of our time. In August 1993 his performance of Robert Saxton's Viola Concerto at London's Royal Albert Hall prompted the Times to describe him as a “virtuoso in sensitivity as well as technique.”
His solo engagements take him regularly to various parts of the world. Silverthorne has recorded for EMI, NMC, ASV and Meridien. His most recent compact discs, on the Koch International label, are a recital disc of Britten, Hindemith and Shostakovich with the pianist John Constable and the Viola Concerto by Miklos Rosza with James Sedares and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Both have received rave reviews.
Paul Silverthorne is also Principal Violist with the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta. He regularly gives masterclasses around the world and is a Professor at both the Guildhall School and the Royal Academy of Music, where he was recently elected a fellow.
Paul Silverthorne is indebted to the Royal Academy of Music for the loan, from their collection, of the Amati viola of 1620 used on this recording.
Paul Freeman has distinguished himself as one of the world's pre-eminent conductors. Much in demand, he has conducted over 100 orchestras in 28 different countries including the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and major orchestras in London, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Berlin. Maestro Freeman has served as the Music Director of Canada's Victoria Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic and Associate Conductor of the Detroit and Dallas Symphony Orchestras. He is currently Music Director of the renowned Chicago Sinfonietta and simultaneously serves as Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in Prague. With over 200 recordings to his credit, he has won numerous awards for his unique interpretations of the classical, romantic, and modern repertoire. Dr. Freeman, who studied on a U.S. Fulbright Grant at the Hochschule in Berlin, holds a Ph.D. degree from the Eastman School of Music and LH.D. degrees from Dominican University and Loyola University.
Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Since the Czech Republic's bloodless “Velvet Revolution” of 1989, the country has been riding a rapid wave of democratization, which has affected the music industry as well. Orchestras in order to survive must concern themselves with the procurement of foreign funds through recording contracts and overseas performances. These developments have necessitated the need for higher performance standards.
Out of this chaotic scene Jan Hasenöhrl, an outstanding solo trumpet player, sensed the acute need to reshape the Czech orchestral scene and, in 1993, invited the top musicians from Prague's major orchestras to form a new orchestra, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. The Orchestra gave its first concert, conducted by Vladimir Valek, in November 1993 in Prague's Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall. In 1994 the Czech music world's national treasure, Zdenek Kosler, was named chief conductor. The first recording was made at the beginning of April 1994. Maestro Kosler died in August 1995.
In January 1996 the brilliant American Conductor and Music Director of the Chicago Sinfonietta, Paul Freeman was appointed Music Director and Chief Conductor. Under Maestro Freeman's leadership, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra has shown stunning development. Already he has made over 30 compact discs with the orchestra and has toured Italy and Great Britain. So successful was the November 1997 United Kingdom tour of 19 concerts under Paul Freeman and Libor Pesek that IMG Concert Management has recently signed a 5-year contract to tour the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in Europe, Asia, and America. Through its many recordings, concerts and television productions it is fast becoming one of the most important ensembles in the Czech Republic.
Artistic Director:Paul Freeman
Executive Producer:Joan Yarbrough
Recording Director: Jiri Gemrot
Recording Engineer: Jan Kotzmann
Mastered by: Jan Kotzmann
Recorded:May 1997 and September 1998, ICNRecording Studios, Prague
Cover Art:Charla Freeman Puryear
John Biggs' music is published by Consort Press.
Paul Freeman Introduces. . .
Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra
I Allegro con Bravura [7:51]
Concerto for Viola, Woodwinds and Percussion
Mestoso, Animato con brio, Mestoso [21:40]
Allegro Energico (tutti), Briskly (winds),
Half as Fast (strings), Faster (tutti) [22:01]
Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Paul Freeman, Music Director
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