Wendy Law - Cellist

Program

Wendy Law presents
La Pasión
Part of the VOYAGE TO THE EXOTICS series
Tuesday, December 3, 2002 8 PM Paul Hall, The Juilliard School

featuring Wendy Law, cello
Ying-Chien Lin, piano
Adam Brown & Yaniv Attar, guitar
Shalanda Bond, soprano
Paola Balsamo Prestini, composer
Teresa Marcaida, Jane Sato,
Matthew Stewart & Benjamin Stewart, dancers

Suite for Solo Cello I. Prelude-Fantasia II. Sardana (Danza) III. Intermezzo E Danza Finale	Cassado
"LXVII ISLA NEGRA Pablo Neruda Love Sonnets” for Soprano and Cello Pensivo; andante	Prestini
“Puneña” No. 2 – Hommage à Sacher, Op. 45 I. Harawi II. Wayno Karnavalito	Ginastera
Intermission
“Oceano” Free, Moody, Passionate	Prestini
“Suite Populaire Espagnole” for Cello and Guitar El Pañ Moruno Nana Canción Asturiana Jota	Falla
“Tango Suite “for Cello and Two Guitars Tango n. 2 – Andante rubato, melancolico	Piazzolla
“Grand Tango” for Cello and Piano Tempo di Tango	Piazzolla

Program Notes

Suite for Solo Cello by Gaspar Cassado

Cassado, a Spanish cellist and composer, was born in Madird in 1897. Born into a musical family, Cassado first began his studies with his father Joaquín Cassadó, who was an organist and composer. He then continued his studies at the Barcelona Conservatory, and eventually landed in Paris to study with Pablo Casals. He also studied composition with Manuel de Falla and Maurice Ravel. Casssado enjoyed an international career as cello soloist performing with famous conductors at the time such as Furtwangler, Beecham and Weingartner.

His compositions are very much influenced by his background. We can hear the “Spanishness” in the suite; his music evokes warmth and passion, and it is free and sensual. Filled with Spanish dance rhythms and harmonies, one can imagine being in a Spanish red dress, dancing to the music. --Wendy Law

Puneña No. 2, Homage to Paul Sacher Op. 45, by Alberto Ginastera

The Kecuan word “Puna” refers to the highlands or a plateau of 4000 meters in the Andes. It also means bare and arid ground, as well as the feeling of anguish one can have at high altitudes. “Puneña” refers therefore to the Puna.

Puneña No. 2, Homage to Paul Sacher, is a re-creation of the sonorous world of this mysterious heart of South America that was the Inca empire, the influence of which one can still feel in the north of my country, as well as in Bolivia and Peru.

The work consists of two closely related movements. The first one, Harawi, means melancholy love song. It is based on two themes, the first one being eSACHERe and the second one (the other six notes) the metamorphosis of a pre-Columbian melody of Cuzco. Lyric and ardent but at the same time deep and magical, it evokes a haunting solitude, sounds of kenas, murmurs of the distant forest with imaginary bird singing “Sacher!…Sacher!…”, and the glittering of moon and stars.

The second movement, Wayno Karnavalito, is a wild and turmultuous Carnival dance on the principal theme “eSACHERe”, full of rhythms of charangos and Indian drums, coloured costumes, ponchos and masks, as well as of Indian corn alcohol.

I composed this work in Geneva during February 1976 at the request of Mstislav Rostropovich, to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of our mutual friend, the famous conductor and patron of music, Dr. Paul Sacher. --Alberto Ginastera

Oceano & Love Sonnet LXVII by Paola Balsamo Prestini

Oceano and Love Sonnet LXVII are both inspired by Mexican folk songs from my youth. There are the typical triplets, and the flat and long, floating sad and melancholic lines. The cello is treated like a guitar in parts of the Love Sonnet to emphasize the hopeful (harmony-wise) part of the song. Both are inspired by folksongs from Guadlajara, (known for its rich mariachi tradition), which tell stories of unrequeited love, and general history through songs. They both present two note motives which are spun out, and both begin with long solos that meditate on these motives. The Love Sonnet is as much a struggle between the two instruments for independence as it is a love duet bewteen them. --Paola Prestini

LXVII ISLA NEGRA Pablo Neruda Love Sonnets

La gran lluvia del sur cae sobre Isla Negra
como una sola gota transparente y pesada,
el mar abre sus hojas frias y la recibe,
la tierra aprende el humedo destino de una copa.
Alma mia, dame en tus besos el agua
salobre de estos meses, la miel del territorio,
la fragrancia mojada por mil labios del cielo,
la paciencia sagrada del mar en el invierno.
Algo nos llama, todas las puertas se abren solas,
relata el agua un largo rumor a las ventanas,
crece el cielo hacia abajo tocando las raices,
y asi teje y desteje su red celeste el dia,
con tiempo, sal, susurros, crecimientos, caminos,
una mujer, un hombre, y el invierno en la tierra.

The great rain from the South falls on Isla Negra
like a single drop, lucid and heavy,
the sea opens its cool leaves and receives it,
the earth learns how the wineglass fulfills
its wet destiny. In your kisses, my soul, give me the water,
salty from these months, the honey of the fields,
fragrance dampened by the sky’s thousand lips,
the sacred patience of the sea in winter.
Something calls to us, all the doors turn
open by themselves, the rain repeats its rumor to the windows,
the sky grows downward till it touches the roots:
so the day weaves and unweaves its heavenly net,
with time, salt, whispers, growth, roads,
a woman, a man, and winter on earth.

Artists

	Cellist Wendy Law has appeared with orchestras worldwide, including the Boston Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, New Philharmonia, Juilliard Orchestra, and New England Conservatory Symphony. She has worked with such conduc-tors as Robert Spano, Richard Westerfield, and Benjamin Zander. An active chamber musician, she has performed in New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, and Boston’s Jordan Hall. She has collaborated with the Borromeo String Quartet, the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston, Yo-Yo Ma and Pamela Frank among others. Music festivals appearances include Tanglewood, Ravinia, Caramoor, Rockport, Taos, Banff and Toronto’s New Music Festival. Performances this 2002-03 season include a December Recital at Juilliard’s Paul Hall and her debut performance with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2003. Ms. Law made her Avery Fisher Hall debut with the Juilliard Orchestra under David Atherton this past April, performing the Elgar Concerto in e for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 85. Fascinated by interdisciplinary arts, Ms. Law has collaborated with the Juilliard Dance Ensemble with choreographer Igal Perry, performing the Bach Cello Suites. She appears regularly in VisionIntoArt (VIA), a collaborative interdisciplinary arts organization that presents contemporary music. Ms. Law has appeared on radio and television including the Hong Kong Radio Station, and Boston’s WGBH. A tour of Chile and Argentina with the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, was filmed for a documentary, and broadcast nationally on PBS. Ms. Law has recorded Wing-Fai Law’s Phantasm with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra for the Hugo label. A recipient of numerous awards, Ms. Law has won first prizes in the Juilliard Cello Concerto Competition, National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, Kingsville International Competition, Fischoff National Competition (as a member of the Amaryllis String Quartet), the Harvard Musical Association Achievement Award, as well as local and national prizes in the American String Teacher’s Association Competition, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition. Ms. Law began her cello studies with Ge Wu at the Hong Kong Academy of the Arts. She continued her studies with Mark Churchill at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School when she moved to Boston at the age of twelve. She received her Bachelors of Music with Distinction from the New England Conservatory with Laurence Lesser, and her Masters of Music from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Joel Krosnick. Ms. Law is currently in the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at the Juilliard School and continues her work with Joel Krosnick and Tim Eddy.
	Ying-Chien Lin’s preeminence as one of Taiwan’s foremost young pianists of international caliber came into sharp focus in 1996 when she won the national Chopin Competition and was selected to represent the Republic of China at the 13th International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Her numerous prizes and awards include winner of the piano competition of Japan’s Hamamatsu Piano Academy, winner of the Taipei City Symphony’s Concerto Competition, scholarship of the Aspen Music Festival where she studied with John Perry, and winner of the Accompanist Competition at the National Institute of the Arts in Taipei. She performed frequently on recital and with orchestra at the Taipei National Concert Hall and other professional venues in this country and abroad including Vienna, Aspen, and Japan. Besides being invited to perform as solo and duo pianist at the Mannes College’s Chopin Festival in New York City, she won the piano competition sponsored by the Taipei Philharmonic and Culture Foundation, the concerto competition at Stony Brook, and was selected to participate in master-classes by Richard Goode in New York City and Sergiu Fiorentino in Taipei. Miss Lin is in great demand as a chamber-musician and her services have been requested by leading artists and groups such as the World Youth Choir in 1998, Taos Festival in 2001 and Yellow Barn in 2002. She is also interested in promoting contemporary works and has cooperated with Bright Sheng working on his Piano trio and performing the work in public in New York City.
	Guitarist Adam Thomas Brown has performed throughout Europe and the United States performing in New York, London, Amsterdam, Vienna, Prague, Munich and Venice. Numbered among his recital credits are New York’s Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the British National Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields and London’s Wigmore Hall. He has appeared at renowned music festivals, including Aspen (USA), the Bath International Guitar Festival (England), Amsterdam International Guitar Festival (Holland) and the Quadrivium Music Festival (Italy). Born in Scotland to American parents, Mr. Brown began his guitar studies with Philip Thorne. He then studied guitar with Carlos Bonell as a Foundation Scholar at the Royal College of Music in London, England, where he received his Bachelor of Music with Honors. During his studies at the Royal College of Music, Mr. Brown was awarded several prestigious awards for his artistry: the Peter Pears Prize, the Jack Morrison Prize and the Madeline Walton Prize. He received his Masters of Music degree in 2002 from the Juilliard School where he studied with Sharon Isbin with the support of the Scottish International Education Trust and the Caird Trust. Currently, Mr. Brown continues his studies at the Juilliard as the first guitarist to be accepted into the school’s prestigious Artist Diploma program since its inception.
	Born in Israel in 1979, guitartist Yaniv Attar has performed throughout the United Kingdom, Greece, North America and Israel. After graduating from the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem with Irit Even Tov, Yaniv entered the Royal College of Music in London, studying with Mr. Charles Ramirez. As a soloist, Yaniv played with the Tempus Chamber Orchestra and the Tredeager Orchestra. Competition and special awards include The Peter Pears Prize and the Guitar concerto competition prize at Juilliard. Yaniv is currently enrolled on the Master of Music Program at Juilliard with Ms. Sharon Isbin. His studies are generously supported by The America Israel Cultural Foundation and the Juilliard School of Music.
	Twenty-year old soprano Shalanda Jamell Bond, is a native of Baltimore, Maryland.Shalanda has been an award winner in numerous competitions, including the bronze medallion in The Rosa Ponselle Competition in 1998 and third prize in the New York Singing Teachers’ Association 2000 Young Artist Vocal Competition. In addition, she was the winner of The African American Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Vocal competition in Philadelphia and placed third in the Leontyne Price competition. In October of this year, she was a semi-finalist in Beijings 2nd International vocal competition. Her studies continue during the summer months. In the summer of 2000, she participated in the Opera Works Summer Program in California under the direction of Ann Baltz. This past summer she performed with the American Musical Opera Theater in productions of La Bohème and Rigoletto on tour in Taiwan at the Taipei National Theater. She finished her summer studies at The Chautauqua Institute working with her voice teacher, Marlena Malas.
	Paola Balsamo Prestini is a co-director, founder and composer of the inter-arts group, VisionIntoArt. She is the recipient of many awards, including an ASCAP 2002 Morton Gould Composers Award, a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship, & the ACO’s Whitaker Reading Sessions. Her music has been featured in almost every NYC venue by groups such as American Composers Orchestra (ACO), New York Concert Singers, the Juilliard Orchestra, Symphony 21, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; her filmwork has been featured on CNN and CNN.COM, and most recently in Chase Palmer’s NeoNoir, winner of the Austin Film Festival for Best Short Film. Upcoming commissions include the Monumental Brass Quintet’s 2003 Women’s Commissioning project, works for several soloists, and works for VisionIntoArt’s 2003 season. She is currently on teaching faculty at the New York Philharmonic and School for Strings, and graduated with a BM and MM from the Juilliard School. She has studied with Samuel Adler, Robert Beaser, and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
	Matthew Stewart has an intense passion for the arts. He is a musician, songwriter, painter, singer, actor, and not least of all, a dancer. He began his dance training at Ballet Arts Minnesota under the direction of Bonnie Mathis and Marcia Chapman, and continued to study on scholarship with schools such as San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Joffrey, and the Harid Conservatory. His travels have brought him to New York where he is in his fourth year of training at the Juilliard School.
	Benjamin Stewart, a native of Apple Valley, MN, is currently a senior at the Juilliard School. He began his dance training at Ballet Arts Minnesota under the direction of Bonnie Mathis and Marcia Chapman, and continued to study on scholarship with schools such as The Harid Conservatory, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Joffrey. When not dancing he enjoys acting, singing, playing the piano and songwriting.
	Teresa Marcaida was born in October 1983 in La Plata, Argentina. She started dancing at the age of 8 under the guidance of prominent teachers in the Modern Jazz, Ballet and Graham techniques. She lived and studied in Buenos Aires, where she completed her bilingual high school education with highest honors. Ms. Marcaida has performed in many of the most well-known theaters of Argentina and has won several international competitions in Brazil and Uruguay and in her own country, where she was awarded a special prize for the best performance of a contemporary solo work. Moreover, she spent two months in Bordeaux, France, on scholarship of L’Academie Bordelaise de Dance. In 2001 she came to the United States after being accepted into the BFA program in Dance of The Juilliard School, where she is currently a sophomore. She is thrilled by her first experiences in Dance Composition as well as by the other technique classes, rehearsals and performance opportunities and is always willing to participate in any activity that enlivens her knowledge and passion for dance and the arts.
	Jane Sato trained at the San Francisco Ballet School and will graduate from The Juilliard School this coming May. She has danced in works by Paul Taylor, Robert Battle, Hans Van Manen and Philippe Trehet and has also been on tour with the San Francisco Ballet. She plans to join a dance company, choreograph and teach dance in the future. She is also a visual artist and would like to open up her own restaurant someday.

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