Mandolin Concerts of Note

[Eugene]

groovy...and wacky.

[jmcgann]

My concert was a success due to the high caliber of friends I am fortunate enough to get to play with.

Mandowise, Jim Dalton has one of the best tremolo sounds I"ve ever heard, and tore up some very difficult passages. Adam Larrabee ripped into some challenging 'cello parts with relish, and Joe Walsh also played his ### off on some very non-standard mandolinistics. All three players were called upon to improvise on fiddle tune settings as well as a funk groove, and also to execute some unusual melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic ideas, and all three played great.

A composer relies on players not only to execute ideas, but to, as Frank Zappa put it "Put the eyebrows on the music". Without the right attitude, it is just notes on paper. Thanks, guys, for bringing yourselves to the writing!

================================================

PS- Adam's mandocello is the very rare prototype Fender Tom Mix Signature Series (Tom didn't do a lot of artist endorsements, and in fact had a falling out with Leo Fender over the logo design, as Leo felt that a Mother-Of-Pearl horse/cowboy inlay along the fingerboard was too expensive, and wanted to use mother-of-toilet-seat cactus on the pickguard). Few historians take note of the fact the Tom Mix had a mandolin quartet comprised of fellow singing cowboys (Gene Autrey played a Loar Mandola) who specialized in performing the complete Beethoven string quartet cycle in a single evening, on a stage setting that included a gas-fed campfire, horses, and non-allergenic hay (as Gene Autry had severe reactions to hay and grass pollen).

Adam "acquired" the instrument from an ex-loan shark who was unavailable for comment on the transaction, as he disappeared immediately after Adam's "purchase" of the instrument (the charges against Adam were dropped due to lack of evidence). *












































* Happy April Fool's Day. #

[NYClassical]

Hi Everyone:

I'm playing the Gaudioso Concerto in G Major with two violins, and guitar playing the cello/continuo part:

Friday, April 14th at 8:00pm
Mannes College of Music
150 W. 85th St. New York, NY
FREE

The rest of the program is Solo guitar-- some Scarlatti, Chopin, and Villa-Lobos, and the Ponce Concierto del Sur (with piano).

I'm also playing the Gaudioso on Saturday, May 6th,at St, Barthomomew's, as part of an all-chamber guitar concert.

More info here

[vkioulaphides]

Hello, Adam. Now that, ehm... I am not AS employed as before, I will try to make either date. Having said that, nothing as busy as freelancing...

Cheers,

Victor

[NYClassical]

gotcha. here's to hoping you can't make it for good reasons, but still hoping you can make it. actually, here's to hoping you have a midday gig that pays lots of money, and then you make it over to my concert

ps- jmcgann: i went to school with Adam Larrabee years ago--very talented jazz guitarist, and i'm sure he's a great mandocello player....

[Jim Garber]

PS- Adam's mandocello is the very rare prototype Fender Tom Mix Signature Series

I guess that is where Peter gets his mandolin chops.

Any pics of this mandocello beast... you got my curiosity.

Jim

[Eugene]

7:00 pm, Sunday, 30 April 2006: Otterbein College String Department Showcase Concert
including Gruviera Armonico (i.e., Karl, guitar prof. on Otterbein's faculty, and me, part-time mandolin hack)
Otterbein College, Riley Hall in the Battelle Fine Arts Center
Free Admission!
For info: 614-823-1508

Jim Bates, whom some of you know, is the head of this program.

[Linda Binder]

If you're in Madison WI tonight (April 6) and have a yen to hear guitars come to a concert tonight by the Madison Guitar Ensemble on the campus of of UW-Mad in Morphy Hall at 8:30. Mandolin content--I was asked to join them to play Bach's Brandenburg #3 --mandolin with 10 (Ten...seriously, ten!) classical guitars Conducting will be renowned Classical guitarist Javier Calderon, who runs the guitar program at UW-Mad.
--Linda

[Jim Garber]

Linda,
10 guitars and how many mandolins?

Jim

[Linda Binder]

just me...unless you can get here in a hurry Jim.
--Linda

[NYClassical]

If you're in Madison WI tonight (April 6) and have a yen to hear guitars come to a concert tonight by the Madison Guitar Ensemble on the campus of of UW-Mad in Morphy Hall at 8:30. Mandolin content--I was asked to join them to play Bach's Brandenburg #3 --mandolin with 10 (Ten...seriously, ten!) classical guitars Conducting will be renowned Classical guitarist Javier Calderon, who runs the guitar program at UW-Mad.
--Linda

wow that sounds like fun!

[Jim Garber]

just me...unless you can get here in a hurry Jim.
--Linda

Sure... what's for lunch?

Jim

[Linda Binder]

Thanks Adam, I think it will be fun. #If you need another ten guitarists ( a deccagaggle?) for the continuo part of the Gaudioso I can get you some names. #Jim, Jim, Jim....you missed lunch. #Dinner might be good though if you can find a flight. You better hop to it.
--Linda

[NYClassical]

Thanks Adam, I think it will be fun. #If you need another ten guitarists ( a deccagaggle?) for the continuo part of the Gaudioso I can get you some names. #Jim, Jim, Jim....you missed lunch. #Dinner might be good though if you can find a flight. You better hop to it.
--Linda

oh man--tempting, but...hmmm. i think i'll start small and build it from there

in all seriousness-- the guy i've got is REALLY solid. young guy, but really, really good. wish i had 10 of him!

adam

[vkioulaphides]

*sigh*

Adam, this coming Friday won't happen (for me, that is). Yes, your "prophesy" came true, at least in part: at noon, I am playing the annual performance of St. Matthew Passion at St. Peter's (@Citicorp— you surely know it) and, once that gig is done, I will need to come home and recover; it's not for nothing they call that piece a *Passion*. Besides, some "domestic attention" has been pressingly demanded of me: oh, it's not the wife, it's the daughter who demands my presence at home, after a day's absence

Perhaps I'll catch your performance in May...

Play well!

[NYClassical]

no prob--busy time of year for church gigs. glad you're working, of course! i'll post the may 6th info again in a couple of weeks.

[Alex Timmerman]

Hello all,


Just in case...

For those mandolin enthousiasts who live on the other side of the big pond and who are thinking about coming over to Europe in the near future, here is perhaps a good reason to actually do so and visit Holland :



SATURDAY - June 10th at 20.00 hours:

The Hague – An evening concert by THE CONSORT conducted by Alex Timmerman at the Elandstreetchurch, Elandstraat 194 in the centre of The Hague (Netherlands). #


During the concert compositions will be performed that cover almost all musical periods. The first part features arrangements of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel (Baroque), Gioacchino Antonio Rossini (Classical) as well as original works for mandolin orchestra by Raffaele Calace (Neo Romantisism) and Yasuo Kuwahara (Contemporary).

The soloist of the first part of the programme will be the Dutch Harpist ANNEGREET ROUW in the famous Harp Concerto by G. F. Händel.

After the interval the programme continues with original works for mandolin orchestra by Contemporary composers. Some of these recently composed works, like the ´Concerto per Orchestra a pizzico´ by the New York based Greek composer Victor Kioulaphides and the ´Legend of Princess Noccalula´ by the American composer John Craton - in which the Dutch mandolinist SEBASTIAAN DE GREBBER will be the soloist - are dedicated to THE CONSORT.

You are all very welcome!


SATURDAY - June 10th at 20.00 hours:
Elandstreetchurch (Elandstraatkerk), Elandstraat 194 in the centre of The Hague (Netherlands). #



Best regards,

Alex


Photo: The Elandstraatkerk. By the way, the Church has a great acoustic!

[vkioulaphides]

Once again, Alex, I wish I could be there! Of course, June is rather soon, and I am still "in transition", without any clear idea of what comes next in my (professional) life. It seems that my next time across the pond will be some time next fall, but, alas, no sooner than that. I just don't know...

I DO know, however, a prominent arts presenter who is actually from The Hague—#even though she runs a chamber music series in... Brooklyn, New York! I will ask her whether she will be in her hometown in June, right on time to attend your concert. I am sure that, if she could attend, she would be most favorably impressed by the fine playing of Het Consort.

Hey, you never know what connections can lead to what... *diabolical snicker*

Best of luck to you all.

Cheers,

Victor

[margora]

The Providence Mandolin Orchestra will present a concert this Saturday at 7:30 PM for the "Arts in the Village" chamber music series at Goff Memorial Hall in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. The program is as follows:

Pavans and Galliards William Byrd (arr. O. Kalberer)
Music for Play Claudio Mandonico
Capriccio Hans Gal
Song for My Father Clarice Assad
Concerto per orchestra a pizzico Victor Kioulaphides

INTERMISSION

Country Fields (world premiere) Eva Kendrick
Suite #6 Hermann Ambrosius
Song of Japanese Autumn Yasuo Kuwahara
Concierto de Media Luna Jose Luis Barroso

Two of the works on the program -- the Assad and Kendrick -- were composed for the PMO. Clarice Assad is a
pianist, vocalist, and composer from New York City; she is the daughter of the well-known guitarist Sergio Assad. Eva Kendrick is a composer and vocalist from Massachusetts whose song cycle "Shining" has been performed throughout New England and which will receive its Los Angeles premiere in June. "County Fields" is a lovely piece with a "pastoral" atmosphere well suited to a mandolin ensemble and we are very pleased to be giving its world premiere at the concert.

Directions to the concert can be found at our website, www.mandolin-orchestra.org.

[Alex Timmerman]

Dear Friends,


I am very happy to announce to you a concert of importance for our instrument.

This concert is special because three young musicians were selected from a large group of young competitors by the jury of the Dutch Orchestra Het Orkest van het Oosten, as very gifted on their instruments.
The participants, all studying at music schools in our province Overijssel, had to play a programme of about 20 minutes of their own choice and convince the jury of their capability to perform well on stage. The chosen finalists would namely be given the chance to play during the so-called ´Talentenconcert´ of Het Orkest van het Oosten (The Orchestra of the East).

One of the three chosen talents is Ferdinand Binnendijk, the promising young Mandolinist of whom I informed you earlier at this very topic (Feb. 16th).
The two other finalists are Alain Pondman on Saxophone and Martine Stigt Thans on Violin. So I would say the Mandolin is in good company!

The great thing of this all is that Ferdinand will perform John Craton´s MANDOLIN CONCERTO No. 1 in d-minor
with(!) Het Orkest van het Oosten conducted by Candida Thompson.

Again a real première here of an American composition for mandolin and orchestra in it´s original setting!

This Mandolin Concerto (No.1) has three movements; an Allegro, an Adagio subtitled “Alabama Lullaby” and an Allegretto.
Having heard this work performed by Ferdinand and Eva van den Dool (on piano) I can inform you that it is simply a wonderful Concerto of nearly 20 minutes. While the beautiful theme of the Lullaby give the soloist a change to shine with his (her) tremolo and arpeggios all over the fingerboard, the two outer movements offer so many opportunities in which the performer can ´shine´ with virtuosity, etc.
And interesting to know, this very Craton work was written for and dedicated to our own Victor Kioulaphides!

This ´Talentenconcert´ will be a great experience for Ferdinand and for us to witness.
The event will take place on Thursday June 15th, starting at 19.00 hours in the concerthall of the Nieuwe Buitensociëteit in Zwolle (Netherlands).

I will keep you all informed!


Many greetings,

Alex

PS. Here you can view the score and hear the Sibelius MIDI computer file at the American Music
Center #of John´s 1st Mandolin Concerto.

Photo © AT 2006 Ferdinand Binnendijk.

[vkioulaphides]

Wonderful!

While I am honored beyond words that our good John C. dedicated this work to me, I am also delighted that it has become a vehicle for young Ferdinand's astonishing skill and fine artistry. Perhaps some day I will get to hear Ferdinand play this work; otherwise, I will forever be condemned to my own, ehm... approximate rendition of it.

Congratulations to both John and Ferdinand, as well as to Alex, whose deeply involved teaching has fostered, nourished, and supported such sterling young talent.

Bravi!

[margora]

The Providence Mandolin Orchestra
Mark Davis, Director
With Special Guest Artist Carlo Aonzo

June 10, 2006, 8 P.M.

St. Martin’s Church
50 Orchard Ave
Providence Rhode Island

I.

Suite No. 6 Hermann Ambrosius
Prelude
Minuet
Sarabande
Gavotte-Trio
Badinerie

Concierto de Media Luna Jose Luis Barroso
Recuerdos
Elegia
Danza

Concerto per orchestra a pizzico Victor Kioulaphides
Sinfonia
Notturno
Rondo

Concerto in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 6 (RV 356) Antonio Vivaldi
Allegro
Largo
Presto

Carlo Aonzo, mandolin

II.

Prelude No. 10, Op. 112 Raffaele Calace

Carlo Aonzo, mandolin

Burlesca Silvio Ranieri

Serenata Fabrizio Guidice

Kaze Katsumi Nagoaka
Allegrettto malinconico
Aria
Allegro ritmico

Carlo Aonzo, mandolin
Mark Davis, guitar

Song for My Father Clarice Assad

Concerto in C Major (RV 425) Antonio Vivaldi
Allegro Moderato
Largo
Allegro Moderato

Carlo Aonzo, mandolin

Program Notes

By Robert A. Margo

Italy is the ancestral home of the mandolin, spiritually and literally. It was in Italy that the “mandolino” and “mandoline” first made their appearances in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The mandolino had six courses (double strings) tuned mostly in fourths while the mandoline had four courses tuned in fifths like the modern mandolin (or violin). Vivaldi wrote his “mandolin” works such as the familiar RV 425 for the six course instrument although these are frequently performed on the modern mandolin. Originally for violin (from the collection of concerti known as “L’estro Armonico”) the “Concerto in A Minor” also transfers beautifully to the modern mandolin.

By the mid nineteenth century the mandolin had fallen into disuse in European art music but remained popular as a folk instrument in Italy. A revival ensued in the late nineteenth century, and the mandolin soon became one of the most widely played instruments in the Old and New Worlds. Virtuosos burst on the scene, tutors written, ensembles of all sizes and types formed, and vast quantities of music published. Perhaps the greatest of all the early twentieth century mandolinists was the Italian Raffaele Calace who performed widely and also personally constructed some of the finest instruments of the era. If this were not enough Calace composed many of the mandolin’s greatest works, perhaps none greater than a series of unaccompanied preludes -- immensely attractive musical jewels, fiendishly difficult, of which No. 10 is one of the most spectacular.

If mandolin and guitar conjures up an image of the proverbial tourist version of “O Sole Mio” the combination is also responsible for chamber music of a very high order. Silvio Ranieri, who was born in Italy but spent most of his creative life in Belgium, was a performer of the first rank and an important composer. Ranieri’s “Burlesca” is characteristic of his music, full of rapid scales, elegant phrases, and Italianate charm. Fabrizio Guidice’s “Serenata” is another work in a traditional style while Kaze Nagaoka’s “Kaze” draws on popular musical idioms of Brazil.

At the other end of the ensemble spectrum resides the mandolin orchestra, modeled after the bowed strings variety. Calace dreamed of a time when mandolin family instruments would figure prominently into symphonic music, a dream that despite important counter-examples from Mahler to Boulez has yet to be realized. However, orchestras of plucked string instruments thrive today in Europe, the United States, and Japan, and much new music has been written. Today’s concert features one of the classics of the modern repertoire, Hermann Ambroisus’ “Suite No. 6” written in a friendly, neo-baroque style. Jose Luis Barroso’s “Concierto de Media Luna” evokes a Spanish atmosphere with its allusions to flamenco harmonies and rhythms. The concert also highlights a remarkable new work, Victor Kioulaphides’ “Concerto per orchestra a pizzico”, composed for the Dutch ensemble Het Consort and given its United States premiere in February by the Providence Mandolin Orchestra. Written for the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, Clarice Assad’s “Song for My Father” is filled with the subtle harmonies and infectious rhythms of the composer’s native Brazil.

Born in Savona, Italy, Carlo Aonzo is one of the world’s premier performers on mandolin. From a musical family, his first teacher was his father, and he went on to study with Ugo Orlandi at the Cesare Pollini Conservatory of Padua. He has received numerous awards including the Vivaldi prize of the Vittorio Pitzianti National Mandolin Competition in Venice and first prize in the Walnut Valley National Mandolin Contest in Winfield, Kansas. Aonzo has toured throughout northern Europe, Italy, and the United States as a soloist or with chamber ensembles and orchestras. He has recorded Paganini’s complete works for mandolin on period instruments (“Integrale per Amandorlino e Chitarra Francese”). Other recordings with guitarist Beppe Gambetta and mandolinist David Grisman have featured the works of early twentieth century Italian composers (“Serenata” and “Traversata”). For Mel Bay Publishers he has recorded a video concert (“Carlo Aonzo: Classical Mandolin Virtuoso”) and his work was also featured in “Mandolin 2000”.

The Providence Mandolin Orchestra was founded by the late Hibbard Perry in 1971. Since then, it has become one of the leading American mandolin ensembles, with regular appearances throughout the Eastern United States, Canada, and Western Europe. With well over two hundred pieces in its repertoire, the PMO features a wide range of musical styles from Renaissance dances to Baroque concertos, turn-of-the-century nostalgia, and avant-garde expressions. The group’s unique tonality has inspired exciting new works by Clarice Assad, Will Ayton, Owen Hartford, Eva Kendrick, Barbara Kolb, Robert Martel, Michael Nix, Stephen Funk Pearson, and many others. The Orchestra is under the direction of Mark Davis. Mr. Davis pursues an active career as a solo performer, educator, and conductor. Mark Davis directs a multi-level guitar ensemble program at the Wheeler School in Providence RI.

Ticket prices are $15 ($10 for seniors/students). There is ample street parking in the vicinity of the church.

Carlo Aonzo will also hold a mandolin workshop from 1-3:30 PM at the Wheeler School, 216 Hope Street, Providence RI (very close to St. Martin's). The price for the workshop alone is $30; concert + workshop is $40 (reduced price for seniors and students). Details can be found in a separate posting on this site or by going to Providence Mandolin Orchestra

[WJF]

From the shameless self promotion department ...

My Band, "Tin Roof" will be appearing at The Towne Crier Cafe in Pawling, NY on Friday night June 9th at 8:00PM along with special guests The Rowan Brothers. Yes ... those would be Peter's brothers Chris & Lorin.

This is a potentially important gig for us as rumor has it that if we do well, we could get a shot at The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. If you're in the area and can lend your support, I'll dedicate my first Grammy Award to you!!

Thanks for reading ... hope to see some of my mando-brethren there!!

More details here: http://www.townecrier.com/calendar.html (June 9th link on right hand side of page)

[Jim Garber]

Boy, this sure is mandolin week-and-a-half in my area. Last week we had Skaggs and Statman and Oustroushko in New York. Last night, Carlo Aonzo played with a host of local stars (more details below) and now Wayne's band. I have been trying to get to hear you guys.In the middle of it all I spent 3 intense days at Carlo Aonzo's workshop.

I wish I could make it to Wayne's gig, but am pretty exhausted from all this mandolin stuff. I may have to play guitar for awhile or b*njo to rest up.

Carlo's concert was wonderful. He played primarily a classical repertoire of Bach, Ugolino, Vivaldi, Paganini, Mozart, Bortolazzi ably assisted by Barry Mitterhoff, Enrico Granafei, Joe Brent, Bob Rose, Chaim Caron, Rene Izquierdo and John Carlini. All in all an excellent performance.

Jim

[a12]

FYI
The Milwauke Mandolin Orchestra has been asked again
to perform on Praire Home Companion on June 17th.
Linda usually makes these announcements but she is
in Italy and won't be back until the 16th.