DUO MELIS,guitars - San Francisco Performances

present
DUO MELIS, guitars
Susana Prieto
Alexis Muzurakis
Friday, November 13, 2015 | 7:30pm
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
DE FALLA
Danza Española No. 2 from La Vida Breve*
Danza de los Vecinos from El Sombrero de Tres Picos*
Danza de la Molinera from El Sombrero de Tres Picos*
DE LHOYER
Duo No. 3 in E minor, Opus 31
I. Allegro
II. Romance
III. Rondo
DUSAN BOGDANOVIC Sonata-Fantasía
Allegro ritmico
Adagio, rubato
Allegro molto
INTERMISSION
RAMEAU Allemande *
Le Rappel des Oiseaux *
Les Tendres Plaintes *
Les Cyclopes *
GRANADOS Valses Poéticos*
PIAZZOLLA Tango Suite
Allegro
Andante rubato melancolico
Allegro
*Transcriptions by Alexis Muzurakis & Susana Prieto
Duo Melis is represented by Aranjuez Artistic Services AranjuezArtists.com
As D’Addario classical artists, Duo Melis performs exclusively on D’Addario Strings
For Tickets and More: sfperformances.org | 415.392.2545
| 1
in Berlin (Germany). Since 2006 Alexis and
Susana have taught at the Conservatoire National de Strasbourg in France.
PROGRAM NOTES
Danzas from La Vida Breve
and El sombrero de
tres picos
MANUEL DE FALLA
Born November 23, 1876, Madrid
Died November 14, 1946, Alta Gracia
ARTIST PROFILES
San Francisco Performances presents Duo
Melis for the third time. They previously appeared in 2007 and 2011.
ARTIST PROFILES
Spanish guitarist Susana Prieto and
Greek guitarist Alexis Muzurakis made their
debut as Duo Melis in 1999 at the International Guitar Festival of Volos (Greece). Since
then they have performed in such prestigious
halls as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Tchaikovsky Hall
in Moscow, the Megaron in Athens, and the
Merkin Concert Hall in New York. They are in
great demand for concerts and master classes
at international guitar festivals and prestigious
concert series in Europe and America. They have won numerous prizes, both individually and together. In 1999, as a duo, they
won first prize at the International Guitar
Duo Competition of Frechen (Germany). The
following year they won the prestigious Guitar Duo Competition of Montelimar (France)
as well as the 21st International Guitar Duo
Competition “Mauro Giuliani” (Italy). In 2001
they captured the Duo/Ensemble prize at the
Chamber Music Competition of Leipzig (Germany) and the same year were the winners
at the International Guitar Duo Competition
of Paris (France). In 2003 they recorded their
first CD after winning the recording prize
Citta di Verona at the International Chamber
Music Competition “Gaetano Zinetti” (Italy).
In 2005 they successfully auditioned for the
Yehudi Menuhin Society Live Music Now.
2 | Duo Melis has collaborated with the Berliner Symphoniker, the Neubrandenburger
Philharmonie, the Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie, the Radio Orchestra of Bucharest,
and the National Orchestra of Thessaloniki
conducted by Leo Brouwer. Their wide repertoire spans from baroque music to the
music of A. Piazzolla, A. Ginastera and Leo
Brouwer, and also includes concertos for two
guitars and orchestra by Rodrigo, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Vivaldi as well as the newly
composed concerto of Marek Pasieczny dedicated to Duo Melis.
Recent appearances in North America include the Guitar Foundation of America’s Annual Convention, and recitals in Chicago, St.
Louis, Austin, Scranton, College Station, Houston, Brownsville, and Detroit. They have appeared twice for both OMNI Concerts and San
Francisco Performances in San Francisco and
the Cleveland Classical Guitar Weekend. They
were featured artists at the Bethlehem Guitar
Festival in Pennsylvania. In Europe, they have
presented recitals in Italy, Greece, Germany,
Poland, Russia, Spain, Rumania, Holland,
Czech Republic, Austria, Norway, Sweden
and France. After their Guitar Foundation of
America Performance in 2008, Mark Switzer of
Soundboard wrote: “one of my favorites of the
conference; their playing was technically superb, musically convincing and demonstrated
fantastic ensemble.” Susana and Alexis have studied in Spain
and Greece respectively. They continued their
postgraduate studies as duo and as solo artists at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The
Hague (Holland), the “Felix Mendelssohn
Bartholdy” Conservatory in Leipzig (Germany), and the Conservatory “Hanns Eisler”
Manuel de Falla, the great 20th century
Spanish composer, wrote music marked by
painstaking attention to detail which passes
from meditative repose to dynamic action
with great rapidity. His ability to absorb the
essence of flamenco into his unique compositional voice is evident in his gypsy ballet,
El sombrero de tres picos (The Three Cornered Hat). Danza de los vecinos (Dance of
the neighbors) is based on the traditional
Seguidillas, a dance in triple time performed
in male/female pairs with animated footwork
reflecting the rhythm of guitar and percussion. Danza de la Molinera (Dance of the Miller’s Wife) is based on the Farruca, a dance in
quadruple time danced by men alone featuring fast turns, quick intense footwork, held
lifts and falls, and dramatic poses.
Duo No. 3 in E minor, Opus 31
ANTOINE DE LHOYER
Born September 6, 1768, Clermont-Ferrand
Died March 15, 1852, Paris
Antoine de Lhoyer was a French guitarist
and composer of music for the guitar. He also
had a notable military career and a life marked
by regular travel due to the political instability
of Europe at the time. His music fell into obscurity and he died an impoverished death at the
age of 83 in Paris. Scholars and contemporary
guitarists, including the Duo Melis, are reviving
interest in his work, which is of very high quality. Guitarist Lorenzo Micheli has written an influential appreciation which says in part, “the
simplicity and consistency of each part, the
melodic and rhythmic incisiveness of the thematic material (packed with references to the
music of Mozart), the formal knowledge and
the dramatic and almost theatrical dialogue
between the two instruments blend and give
birth to a musical architecture of exceptional
solidity and variety, that has very few equals in
early nineteenth-century guitar repertoire.”
For Tickets and More: sfperformances.org | 415.392.2545
Kazuhito YAMASHITA
Performing the complete cello suites of J.S.Bach
Sat., Oct. 10, 2015 2:30 & 7:30pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
Niño De PURA
“Homenaje a Paco De Lucia”
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015 7:30 pm Herbst Theatre
D’ADDARIO Performance Series featuring Liying Zhu
Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015 7:30 pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
Duo MELIS
Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 7:30 pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church*
Alvaro PIERRI
Friday, Dec. 4, 2015 7:30 pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church*
BIASINI International Guitar Competition & Festival
Thurs. – Sun., Jan. 14 – 17, 2016 S.F. Conservatory of Music
DYNAMITE Guitars 1st Edition
Martin Taylor, Badi Assad, Frank Vignola & Vinnie Raniolo
Sat., February 6, 2016 7:30 pm Palace of Fine Arts
Leo KOTTKE
Thurs., Feb. 18, 2016 7:30 pm Herbst Theatre
Manuel BARRUECO
Sun., March 13, 2016 7:00 pm Herbst Theatre*
Julian LAGE & Chris ELDRIDGE
Sun., April 3, 2016 7:00 pm Herbst Theatre*
Sergio & Odair ASSAD w/ Clarice ASSAD
Sat., April 9, 2016 7:30 pm SFJAZZ Center*
Yamandu COSTA
Wed., April 13, 2016 7:30 pm Herbst Theatre
AMADEUS Guitar Duo
Sat., April 23, 2016 7:30 pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
* Presented in association with San Francisco Performances
The Omni Foundation Guitar Series
is made possible in part by generous
grants from the D’Addario Music
Foundation and Grants for the
Arts/S.F. Hotel Tax Fund.
“The finest series for guitar in the United States,
without question!”
–Sergio Assad
The Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts wishes to aknowledge with thanks
the following people whose generous support has made this series possible.
DIRECTOR’S LEVEL
D’Addario Music Foundation
John & Joan D’Addario Foundation
Hill Guitar Company
Doug & Jeanne Monsour
Hai Nguyen
Herb & Reina Perez
Curt & Margaret Weil
Eric Wells & Maryanne Razzo
FOUNDER
Guitar Salon International
Donatello Bonato & Jane Kaplan
Heather Dodson
Felix & Maria Vergara
BENEFACTOR
Accord Case
Harris Guitar Foundation
PATRON
Classical Guitar Magazine
Guitar Solo Productions
IBM
Kim Buller
Ruth Fisher
Jesse & Sue Henry
Bill & Catherine Young
SPONSORS
KinderGuitar
Rick & Diane Grech
Jerzy & Alicja Orkiszewski
Rick Sara
Clyde & Joan Sugahara In Memory of
Curtis Renshaw
Travis White
S U STA I N I N G M E M BE R
Chuck Ashton
Michele Dana
Michael Gage
Bill Ghiorso
Mitchell Friedman
Stephanie Hill
Dan Koren
Daniel Leemon
Ann & Keith Mangold
Charles Ortiz
Alan Perlman
Rebecca Peters
Deborah Robbins & Henry Navas
John & Carolyn Shea
Peggy Simon
Roger Stoll
Roger Ward
Dennis White
ADVISORY BOARD
John D’Addario
Sergio Assad
Ruth A. Felt
Theresa Calpotura
Dean Kamei
John Harris
Scott Cmiel
David Pedersen
Curtis Renshaw
David Tanenbaum
Bill Young
415-242-4500 OmniConcerts.com
236 West Portal Ave. #1, San Francisco, CA 94127
For Tickets and More: sfperformances.org | 415.392.2545
| 3
Sonata-Fantasía
DUSAN BOGDANOVIC
Born 1955, Belgrade
A richly gifted composer, improviser and
guitarist, Dusan Bogdanovic has created a
musical language that is a unique synthesis
of classical, jazz and ethnic music. The Sonata-Fantasía fuses percussive effects, jazz and
African rhythms, elements of Balkan music,
and string bending techniques pioneered by
blues and rock players into the service of a
highly organized exuberant and compelling
classical composition.
opera and to an interest in the historical and
folk roots of Spanish music. Enrique Granados was one of the great figures of this renaissance of indigenous music. He was also
inspired by the grace, elegance and sense
of proportion of Spanish courtly life in eighteenth century as depicted by Francisco Goya
and the Valses Poéticos features an introduction reminiscent of a vibrant Scarlatti Sonata.
Julian Bream has pointed out “the following
Valses reflect the veiled hues of other times,
some grave—some gay, with gentle whispers
of Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier and Ravel’s
Valses Nobles et Sentimentales.”
Allemande
Le Rappel des Oiseaux
Les Tendres Plaintes
Les Cyclopes
Tango Suite
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU
Born September 25, 1683, Dijon
Died September 12, 1764 Paris
Born in Argentina and raised in New York,
Astor Piazzolla also lived at various times in
Rome and Paris. Though his grandparents
were Italian immigrants and he was a frequent expatriate himself, Piazzolla made his
name as a composer and performer inspired
by the traditional Argentine tango. Like flamenco and the blues, tango developed as the
voice of a disadvantaged social group. Piaz-
Rameau was one of the greatest figures in
French musical history and one of the most
respected composers of the eighteenth century. He composed many works for harpsichord
both in traditional Baroque dance forms and
also magnificent descriptive movements
drawn from nature and the theatre. The Allemande is an example of the most popular
courtly dance of the Baroque era, moderate
and dignified in tempo with a characteristic
upbeat introduction. Le Rappel des Oiseaux
(The Call of the Birds) is a rondeau, which imitates birdsong with elaborate figuration and
ornamentation. Les Tendres Plaintes (Gentle
Tears) evokes a mournful mood with a slowly
falling melody. Les Cyclopes was inspired by
Lully’s portrayal of the mythological oneeyed giant and features what Rameau called
roulements (rapid scale passages) and batteries (rapid, disjunct figuration).
Valses Poéticos
ENRIQUE GRANADOS
Born July 27, 1867, Lleida
Died March 24, 1916, English Channel
Early nineteenth century Spanish musical
taste was under the influence of foreign composers and conservative in style. The principal public musical entertainment was Italian
opera and instrumental recitals featured the
works of Chopin and Schumann. The musical nationalism that swept across Europe in
the last decades of the 19th century led to
the creation of a characteristically Spanish
4 | ASTOR PIAZZOLLA
Born March 11, 1921, Mar del Plata
Died July 4, 1992, Buenos Aires
zolla, after studies with Nadia Boulanger,
used the influences of 19th century opera
and 20th century jazz and classical composers to create his own contemporary chamber
music, a more urgent, passionate extension
of the tango. He liked to quote Tolstoy who
said, “tell the story of your village and you
tell the story of the world.” Piazzolla remained true to his roots, and he told his story so skillfully that musicians and audiences
throughout the world have loved his music.
The Tango Suite is a three-movement work
dedicated to the Assad Duo. The opening
movement begins with a lively accompaniment figure accompanied on the second instrument by an elaborate percussive part. By
hitting the instrument in differently places
and with the hand turned in different ways,
the guitarist can produce a remarkable array
of different pitches and percussive timbres.
The second tango begins sweetly, with widely ranging melodic shapes eventually punctuated by brusque chordal figures. The finale
is the most agitated of the three movements,
full of bright, rapid chords, speedy single
lines and a touch of chromaticism. Even the
gentle middle section retains a feeling of energy and zest.
—Program notes by Scott Cmiel
ON SALE NOW: WORKS OF ART
BY CALIFORNIA ARTIST
PAUL WONNER
Several works by California
abstract expressionist Paul
Wonner were donated to
our organization by the
William Brown and Paul
Wonner Foundation and
are available for sale, the
proceeds of which directly
benefit SF Performances.
For more information and to
Paul Wonner, Study with Fruit and view the works online visit:
sfperformances.org/wonner
Flowers, 1982, acrylic on paper
For Tickets and More: sfperformances.org | 415.392.2545