PROGRAM

American Haiku, Paul Wiancko (b. 1983)

Graham’s Crackers, Dana Wilson (b. 1946)
I. Ballad
II. Swing
III. Samba

Incantation and Dance, William Grant Still (1895-1978)

Wings, Joan Tower (b. 1938)

Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin (1898-1937), arr. Dobrinescu

musicians

Grace Hong, oboe
Elizandro Garcia-Montoya, clarinet
Parker Nelson, horn
Khelsey Zarraga, violin
Mason Spencer, viola
Herine Koschak, cello
Byeol Kim, piano

program notes

Paul Wiancko (b. 1983); American Haiku (2014)

A richly-textured duo that incorporates Appalachian fiddling, percussive patterns and Japanese folk-inspired melodies. Premiered by Ayane Kozasa and Paul Wiancko at the S&R Foundation on October 24, 2014.

—Paul Wiancko

Dana Wilson (b. 1946); Graham’s Crackers (2005)

Graham's Crackers was commissioned, premiered, and recorded by Adam Unsworth, with funds provided by Temple University. The first performance was in Spring, 2006, in Philadelphia. The work's title derives from the fact that Adam's son, Graham, was being born at the same time that this piece was. The outer movements are conventionally notated, while the optional second movement calls upon the performer to improvise in a jazz style.

—Dana Wilson

William Grant Still (1895-1978); Incantation and Dance (1945)

An Arkansas Son: William Grant Still (1895–1978) William Grant Still (1895-1978) was born in Mississippi and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he developed his love for music and ability on numerous instruments before moving to Ohio to attend Wilberforce University and later Oberlin Conservatory. Considered “the Dean of African-American classical composers” he composed over 150 works including five symphonies and eight operas, and was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in 1999. Incantation and Dance is the only work Still wrote for oboe and piano, although many of his works were frequently performed with different instrumentation. The piece begins with a melancholy evocation of a far-off land. It proceeds directly from the Incantation to a joyful pentatonic Dance.

—Dr. Tara Schwab, Dr. Kristin Leitterman, and Ms. Emily Trapp Jenkins

Joan Tower (b. 1938); Wings (1981)

Wings (1981) was written for my friend and colleague Laura Flax, who premiered the piece at her recital in Merkin Hall (New York City) on December 14, 1981. The image behind the piece is one of a large bird—perhaps a falcon—at times flying very high, gliding along the thermal currents, barely moving. At other moments, the bird goes into elaborate flight patterns that loop around, diving downwards, gaining tremendous speeds.

—Joan Tower

George Gershwin (1898-1937); Rhapsody in Blue (1924), arr. Dobrinescu

On January 7, Gershwin began setting down notes for his rhapsody, which he notated in a score for two pianos—one representing the solo part, the other the orchestra (including certain suggestions about possible instrumentation).

It was his brother, Ira, who came up with the title, inspired by a visit to a gallery showing an exhibit of paintings by James Abbot McNeill Whistler. Whistler was drawn to titling his paintings—no matter how representational—with completely abstract titles, such as the famous “Arrangement in Gray and Black” (popularly nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother”). The Gershwin brothers took a shine to the concept, and found a musical equivalent in the title Rhapsody in Blue. The word “blue” naturally evokes “the Blues,” and, by extension, jazz. Various aspects of jazz vocabulary certainly are prominent in the Rhapsody in Blue—this was the point of the repertory Whiteman programmed in his “Experiment in Modern Music”—but at heart this is a symphonic work, and its ancestry lies more in the direction of Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Liszt than Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, and W.C. Handy.

Gershwin devoted about a month to writing the piece, but it shared his schedule with other projects, including a trip to Boston for the premiere of his musical Sweet Little Devil. Gershwin recalled: “It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattlety-bang that is often so stimulating to a composer. . . . And there I suddenly heard—and even saw on paper—the complete construction of the rhapsody, from beginning to end. . . . I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America—of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness. By the time I reached Boston I had a definite plot of the piece, as distinguished from its actual substance.”

—James. M. Keller

about fifth house ensemble

Praised by the New York Times for its “conviction, authority, and finesse,” the Chicago-based Fifth House Ensemble harnesses the collaborative spirit of chamber music to reach beyond the traditionally-perceived limits of classical music. The ensemble’s artistic, educational, and civic programs engage theater groups, video game designers, corporate innovators, and folk bands to share stories as diverse as the communities it serves.

Reaching 17,000 students annually through its arts-integrated educational programs, Fifth House connects K-12 core curricula to vivid, custom-crafted, and interactive musical experiences which challenge students to share and lead. As an extension of this work, Fifth House enters its fourth year of partnership with Loyola University’s Center for Urban Research and Learning this season, through which the ensemble is in residence at sites serving at-risk youth and adults including Deborah’s Place, Teen Living Programs, Cara Chicago, and Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School at the Chicago Temporary Youth Detention Center. Fifth House also partners with Storycatchers Theatre as part of its residency at the detention center to develop new curriculum culminating in a new theatrical work based on participants’ own experiences.

An established partner and resource to the nation’s top music schools and conservatories, Fifth House launches the careers of emerging artists through entrepreneurship residencies and training programs, including those at Yale College, Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, Indiana University, Roosevelt University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, UT-Austin, Northwestern University, San Francisco Conservatory, DePaul University, and the Colburn School. Recent creative partnerships have included those with The Cleveland Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera. In 2012, Fifth House launched Fresh Inc, a two-week, intensive training program for emerging composers and performers where Fifth House works with participants on building careers in music in line with their own unique vision and values.

Visit us at www.fifth-house.com for more information, and for videos of our latest work.

funding credit

Fifth House Ensemble is supported in part by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Alphawood Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Steven R. Gerber Trust, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Paul R. Judy Center, a Vision Grant from Illinois Humanities, a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, the Albert R. Pick Fund, New Music USA's New Music Organizational Development Fund, the Alice M. Ditson Fund, and by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.