Let Us Serenade YouSaturday, February 23, 2013

7:30 pm Acadiana Center for the Arts

Hubbell Chamber Music Series

Tribute to Lulu Hilliard

Music byMozart, Tchaikovsky and Gershwin

C O U R T E S Y

Artists bios

MARIUSZ SMOLIJ is considered one of the most exciting conductors of his generation. Frequent recording artist for NAXOS International, he has consistently gained international critical acclaim including praise by the New York Times for “compelling performances.” Maestro Smolij has led over 100 orchestras in 27 countries on five continents, appearing in some of the most prestigious concert halls of the world. In North America, he collaborated with the Houston Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Orchestra of the Chicago Lyric Opera, St. Louis Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Hartford Symphony and Symphony Nova Scotia, among others. Internationally, he enjoys a notable reputation appearing with important symphonic ensembles of Austria, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Holland, Israel, South Africa, Columbia, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, as well as his native country of Poland. Maestro Smolij has held the position of permanent conductor with acclaimed orchestras

and musical institutions in the United States and Europe. At the invitation of Maestro Christoph Eschenbach, he served as the Resident Conductor of the Houston Symphony and was Staff Conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. In Europe, he was Music Director of one of the oldest European orchestras, The Wroclaw (Breslau) Philharmonic, as well as the International Festival Wratislavia Cantans in Poland. The conductor has appeared at major international music festivals: Janacek May in the Czech Republic; Rheingau Music Festival in Germany; La Folle Journée in France; Lutoslawski and Wratislavia Cantans Festivals in Poland as well as prominent cultural centers such as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, National Cultural Center of China in Beijing, ABC Hall in Johannesburg, Bunka Hall in Japan, National Halls of Bulgaria, Serbia and Cyprus, among many others. Maestro Smolij has introduced American audiences to many unknown works by Eastern European composers, and regularly performs American orchestral music in Europe. His interests in championing a wide spectrum of repertoire is exemplified by a long list of recordings he has made for prominent labels including Universal, Hungaroton and Naxos. The Naxos series, featuring Eastern European masters, has repeatedly received high accolades from international critics and will enjoy its newest release this season. Maestro Smolij’s reputation as a conducting pedagogue reaches both sides of the Atlantic. He has served on the faculty of Northwestern University School of Music, has taught at the International Workshops for Conductors in the Czech Republic, has taught at professional conducting seminars in the USA and Poland and was invited to present conducting master classes at the Zürich Conservatory in Switzerland. Born near Katowice, Poland, Maestro Smolij is an accomplished violinist and founder and violinist of the internationally recognized Penderecki String Quartet, performing and recording with this ensemble in Poland, Germany, France, Italy and the United States. After studies in Europe, he studied conducting in the United States, earning a doctorate degree from Eastman School of Music.

PeRRy TROScLAIR, oboist, is a native New Orleanian and holds a master’s degree from LSU where he studied with the late E. Earnest Harrison. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1980. Raised in Kenner, his first taste of symphonic music came in high school when he played in the New Orleans Civic Symphony. He attended LSUNO in the late 70’s where he studied with John Mercer, Fred Korman and Helen Erb, all members of what was then the New Orleans Symphony. Another of his passions is aviation and Perry is now in his 26th year as a flight attendant at Legacy Continental Airlines [now the new United], and is based in Houston. He has been a resident of Spring, Texas since 1989 where he volunteers teaching aerobics and yoga. He is a member of the International Double Reed Society, former member of the Baton Rouge and Brazos Valley Symphonies, and has been a member of the Acadiana Symphony since 1994.”

Musicians

Mariusz Smolij, Music Director and Conductor

Acadiana Symphony Chamber Orchestra

VIOLIN ILauren Baker, Concertmaster, Dr. Gerald and Mrs. Geraldine Hubbell ChairEmil IvanovMichael BlaneyKatarina VaughnIya Tsyrkot

VIOLIN IIStefka Madere, PrincipalHannah MarcusLaurentiu NorocelChung-Hui Hsu

VIOLAJennifer Cassin, PrincipalRuth NavarreRafal Zyskowski

CELLOMark Pritchard, PrincipalDragos Filip

BASSYongHao Pan, Principal

CLARINETAntonio Tanase, Principal

OBOEPerry Trosclair, Principal

KEYBOARD Paul Baker, Acting Principal

AnTOnIO TAnASe currently serves as Principal Clarinetist of the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra. An active performer, Mr. Tanase has traveled extensively throughout Europe and United States as chamber musician, orchestra musician, and soloist. He has worked with notable conductors Christoph Eshenbach, Eiji Oue, Christoph von Dohnanyi. His past solo appearances include performing the Mozart and Weber clarinet concertos with the Romanian Chamber Orchestra. Before joining the Acadiana Symphony, he served as principal clarinetist of the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale. During this time he was also a member of the West Texas Winds Quintet.

A native of Bucharest, Romania, Mr. Tanase was awarded a Bachelor of Music Degree in Clarinet performance from Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany and a Master of Music Degree in clarinet performance from Louisiana State University. His teachers include Greg Raden, Johannes Peitz, and Hans Deinzer. He currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Clarinet at the University of New Orleans.

ACADIANA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAMariusz Smolij, Music Director and Conductor

presents

“Let Us Serenade You”Saturday, February 23, 2013

7:30 pmAcadiana Center for the Arts

Lafayette, LA

Serenade for Strings in E minor, op. 20 Edward Elgar Allegro piacevole (1857-1934)

Oboe Concerto in D minor Alessandro Marcello Andante e spiccato (1684-1750) Adagio Presto

Perry Trosclair, oboe

Serenade for Strings, op. 48 Piotr Tchaikovsky Waltz (1840-1893)

Serenade, K. 525 Eine kleine Nachtmusik Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart Allegro (1756-1791) Menuetto. Allegretto Rondo. Allegro

INTERMISSION

Meditango Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)

Por una Cabeza Carlos Gardel (1890-1935)

Theme from 8 e mezzo (1963 F. Fellini movie)* Nino Rota (1911-1979)

Transylvanian Dance* Dinu Ghezzo (1898-1937)

Lullaby for Strings George Gershwin (1898-1937)

Beatles Medley arr. by Paul Baker (b. 1962)

Milonga del Angel* Astor Piazzolla

Libertango* A. Piazzolla/A. Occhiuto*Antonio Tanase, Clarinet

Program page

Quarter notes

Serenade for Strings in e minor, Op. 20 edward elgar (1857-1934) Sir Edward Elgar is widely regarded as one of England’s greatest composers, sharing status with Henry Purcell (1659-1695) and Benjamin Britten (1913-1976). Largely self taught, Elgar’s musical output includes oratorio, two symphonies, concertos for violin and cello, orchestral tone poems, chamber music, the Pomp and Circumstance marches, and his most famous work, Enigma Variations (1899). The Serenade for Strings is an early work composed in 1892. It shows the strong influence of German composers from Weber and Mendelssohn to Wagner, but a distinctly Elgar (and British) style was beginning to emerge--deep personal expression, British historical glory, and even a subtle but unmistakable evocation of the serene English countryside.

Oboe concerto in D minor Allessandro Marcello (1684-1750) Alessandro Marcello was a part time musician-composer, scarcely mentioned in the history books. He nevertheless composed a sizable body of works--solo cantatas, arias, songs, violin sonatas, concerts--that would be performed at concerts in his home in Venice. His music was strongly influenced by his Venetian contemporary, Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). Marcello’s Oboe Concerto in D minor was composed in 1717. It is testimony to the work’s significance that Bach transcribed it for solo harpsichord.

Serenade for Strings, Op. 48 Peter TchaikovskyValse (1840-1893) Tchaikovsky composed four orchestral suites that differ from the 19th century serenade only in name. But none of the four captured the popularity of the op. 48 Sting Serenade composed in the autumn of 1880, which premiered on October 20, 1881, in St. Petersburg, and was received with enthusiastic public response. It was also the composer’s favorite who wrote that he “was terribly in love with this serenade.” The String Serenade is usually performed in its entirety, although, the second movement Valse is often performed alone. After all, Tchaikovsky was second only to Johann Strauss II when it came to composing memorable rhythmically irresistible waltzes.

eine Kleine nachtmusik, K525 W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) The title of Mozart’s last and most famous serenades translates easily to “A Little Night Music.” Mozart, however, did not mean the work to be “a small amount of music to be played at night,” but a short nottorno, which is just another 18th-century term for the serenade, and which could be played at any time of the day. Mozart’s personal catalogue entry describes the work as consisting of five movements rather than the four we know today. A second Minuet somehow disappeared or ended up in another composition. But nobody misses it. The formal balance of the four remaining movements is so perfectly proportioned that the inclusion of the absent Minuet might understandably be heard as a superfluous addition.

Program notes by Dr. James Burke

Standing on her head in the front yard for an audience of children, or gracefully reciting the Charles Dickens character monologue of “Little Nell,” that is the array of energy for which Eula “Lulu” Hilliard is remembered by her friends and former neighbors. An athletic and enlightened individual, she exercised her diverse talents, not to impress, but just because she could. Her stunning red hair complemented her vivacious nature, stately presence, and reputation as a colorful, candid, yet dignified, lady. Lulu’s neighbors, Geraldine and Gerald Hubbell, were entertained by her headstands. In turn, the Hilliards were entertained by live recordings of opera flowing from the open windows of the Hubbell home. A good listener, Lulu soaked the emotive sounds into her soul. “Her appreciation for human abilities to create powerful musical and visual art was genuine,” explains C. Paul Hilliard, her husband of 34 years. “Lulu celebrated God’s power behind the human mind. We talked about that,” Hilliard adds of their discussions about fine arts. “Whether or not we liked a piece, we found it amazing that humans could dream it, envision it, and put it on canvas, into sculpted form, or into sound,” says Hilliard. He cites their mutual interest in Mozart’s music, starting with the amazing compositions created in Mozart’s

childhood, exemplifying that great display of the human mind and its creative possibilities. That appreciation was the core of her ASO legacy. “She was an ardent, serious ASO patron,” confirms Hilliard. Combining her passions for music and visual arts led to the ASO legacy that Lulu generated through generous financial and collaborative leadership. She planted the seeds that ensured opera would have a presence in the ASO performance schedule. A memorial donation following Lulu’s death in 2005 supported the collaborative operatic productions of Barber of Seville and The Magic Flute between the ASO and UL-Lafayette. In this way, observes ASO Board President, Anne Pyle, “Lulu set the tone for multi-disciplinary partnerships, which are now engrained into ASO’s programming.” Pyle points to recent ASO collaborations with indigenous Louisiana musicians, like Sonny Landreth, Roddie Romero and Ellis Marsalis, that bridged genres. Pyle believes these novel alliances would have made Lulu proud. Looking ahead to the unique partnerships in store for the 2013-14 season, Lulu may have again been upside-down with delight! Elaborating on Lulu’s ideas about opera in Acadiana, Hilliard explains that her vision was to achieve New York Metropolitan Opera performance standards at a local level. It’s a spirit that has endured within ASO concerts. It has also endured through Chamber orchestra performances at the Paul and Lulu Hilliard Art Museum at ULL, and the recent cinematic Met Opera showings at Acadiana Center for the Arts, home of the Arts Council Board on which Lulu also served. “Lulu believed in leveraging the resources of multiple organizations to create quality arts presentations in Acadiana,” recalls Hilliard. Her interests resonated strongly in the 1990’s and into the early 21st century, observes ASO patron, Geraldine Hubbell. Several local organizations were producing operas then, each requiring expensive costumes, performance fees and staging. Coalescing community partners into a unifying force for quality instead of competition was Lulu’s hope. Lulu’s legacy lives on through ASO performances. Her hope has become reality through ASO’s extensive community partnerships, professionally commissioned works, and continued presentations of famous opera music.

Story by Jeanne Solis

In the spotlight

Lulu Hilliard1922-2005

THE ACADIANA SYMPHONYWOMEN’S LEAGUE

PRESENTS

“VEGAS 2013”

Tickets: $50/person or $400/table

Purchase Tickets atacadianasymphony.org

Lafayette Hilton1521 West Pinhook Monday, March 4, 2013Doors Open 10:30amLunch & Fashion Show 11:45am

MAD HATTER’S LUNCHEON & STYLE SHOW

FAITH&

JENNIFER WELCH-BABIDGE, soprano

St. John’s Cathedral

TRIBUTE TO ERNIE AND SHIRLEY ALEXANDER

featuring

Friday, March 1, 2013 7:30 pmSunday, March 3, 2013 3:00 pm

MUSIC