Photo by Shervin Lainez
Photo by Marco Borggreve
Joshua Bell, violin and Alessio Bax, piano SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019 • 8PM Jackson Hall, UC Davis Sponsored by
Individual support provided by Nancy Lawrence and Gordon Klein
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We should take a moment to acknowledge the land on which we are gathered. For thousands of years, this land has been the home of Patwin people. Today, there are three federally recognized Patwin tribes: Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. The Patwin people have remained committed to the stewardship of this land over many centuries. It has been cherished and protected, as elders have instructed the young through generations. We are honored and grateful to be here today on their traditional lands. https://diversity.ucdavis.edu
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PROGRAM
Joshua Bell, violin Alessio Bax, piano
Rondeau Brillante in B Minor for Violin and Piano, D. 895
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano Allegro ben moderato Allegro Recitativo — Fantasia: Ben moderato — Molto lento Allegretto poco mosso
César Franck (1822–90)
INTERMISSION
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Sonata No. 4 in C Minor for Violin and Piano, BWV 1017 Siciliano: Largo Allegro Adagio Allegro Sonata No. 3 (Ballade) in D Minor for Solo Violin, Op. 27, No. 3
Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931) Ysaÿe
Caprice after Saint-Saëns’ Étude en Forme de Valse for Violin and Piano, Op. 52, No. 6
Additional works to be announced from the stage Program is Subject to Change.
Joshua Bell records exclusively for Sony Classical—a MASTERWORKS Label www.joshuabell.com Mr. Bell appears by arrangement with Park Avenue Artists and Primo Artists. www.parkavenueartists.com www.primoartists.com Alessio Bax records for Warner Classics and Signum Records. For more information on Mr. Bax, visit: www.alessiobax.com
The artists and fellow audience members appreciate silence during the performance. Please be sure that you have switched off cellular phones, watch alarms and pager signals. Videotaping, photographing and audio recording are strictly forbidden. Violators are subject to removal. MONDAVI CENTER 2019 –20 |
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PROGRAM NOTES Rondeau Brillante in B Minor for Violin and Piano, D. 895 (1826) FRANZ SCHUBERT (Born January 31, 1797 in Vienna Died November 19, 1828 in Vienna) The Rondeau Brillante in B Minor (D. 895), one of the handful of compositions Schubert wrote for violin, was composed in October 1826 for the 20-year-old Czech virtuoso Josef Slavík, whom Chopin described as “the second Paganini.” Slavík arrived in Vienna early in 1826 after having established an excellent reputation in Prague, and he inspired from Schubert both this Rondeau and the Fantasy in C Major the following year. A performance of the Rondeau by Slavík and pianist Carl Maria von Bocklet (to whom Schubert had dedicated the D Major Piano Sonata, D. 850 of 1825) was arranged early in 1827 in the Viennese office of the publisher Domenico Artaria, who thought highly enough of the new work to publish it in April as Schubert’s Op. 70. “The whole piece is brilliant,” stated a review in the Wiener Zeitschrift. “The spirit of invention has here often beaten its wings mightily indeed and has borne us aloft with it. Both the pianoforte and violin require accomplished performers who must be equal to passages ... which reveal a new and inspired succession of ideas.” The Rondeau Brillant opens with a dignified introduction before launching into the principal theme, a melody of Hungarian flavor probably modeled on the songs and dances Schubert heard when he served as music master to the Johann Esterházy family at their villa in Zelesz during the summer of 1824. The main theme returns twice to frame one episode given to some showy violin figurations and another one of more lyrical character. A dashing coda in the bright key of B major closes this handsome work. Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano (1886) CÉSAR FRANCK (Born December 10, 1822 in Liège, Belgium Died November 8, 1890 in Paris) Franck first considered writing a violin sonata in 1859, when he offered to compose such a piece for Cosima von Bülow (née Liszt, later Wagner) in appreciation for some kind things she had said about his vocal music. He was, however, just then thoroughly absorbed with his new position as organist at Ste.Clotilde and unable to compose anything that year except a short organ piece and a hymn. (His application to his duties had its reward—he occupied the prestigious post at Ste.Clotilde until his death 31 years later.) No evidence of any work on the proposed sonata for Cosima has ever come to light, and it was not until 20 years later that he first entered the realm of chamber music with his Piano Quintet of 1879. Franck’s next foray into the chamber genres came seven years after the Quintet with his Sonata for Violin and Piano, which was composed as a wedding gift for his friend and Belgian compatriot, the dazzling virtuoso Eugène Ysaÿe, who had been living in Paris since 1883 and befriending most of the leading French musicians; Ysaÿe first played the piece privately at his
marriage ceremony on September 28, 1886. The formal premiere was given by Ysaÿe and pianist Léontine Bordes-Pène at the Musée moderne de peinture in Brussels on December 16, 1886. In tailoring the Sonata to the warm lyricism for which Ysaÿe’s violin playing was known, Franck created a work that won immediate and enduring approval and which was instrumental in spreading the appreciation for his music beyond his formerly limited coterie of students and local devotees. The quality of verdant lyricism that dominates the Sonata is broken only by the anticipatory music of the second movement and the heroic passion that erupts near the end of the finale. The work opens in a mood of twilit tenderness with a main theme built largely from rising and falling thirds, an intervallic germ from which later thematic material is derived to help unify the overall structure of the Sonata. The piano alone plays the second theme, a broad melody given above an arpeggiated accompaniment never shared with the violin. The movement’s short central section, hardly a true development at all, consists only of a modified version of the main theme played in dialogue between violin and piano. The recapitulation of the principal and secondary subjects (dolcissima ... semper dolcissima ... molto dolcissima—“sweetly ... always sweetly ... very sweetly,” cautions the score repeatedly) rounds out the form of the lovely opening movement. The quick-tempo second movement fulfills the function of a scherzo in the Sonata, though its music is more in the nature of an impetuous intermezzo. Two strains alternate to produce the movement’s form. One (“scherzo”) is anxious and unsettled, though it is more troubled than tragic; the other (“trio”) is subdued and rhapsodic. They are disposed in a pattern that yields a fine balance of styles and emotions: scherzo–trio–scherzo–trio–scherzo. The third movement (Recitativo—Fantasia) begins with a cyclical reference to the third-based germ motive that opened the Sonata. The violin’s long winding line in the Recitativo section is succeeded by the Grecian purity of the following Fantasia, one of the most chaste and moving passages in the entire instrumental duet literature. The main theme of the finale is so richly lyrical that its rigorous treatment as a precise canon at the octave is charming rather than pedantic. When the piano and violin do eventually take off on their own paths, it is so that the keyboard may recall the chaste melody of the preceding Fantasia. Other reminiscences are woven into the movement—a hint of the third-based germ motive in one episode, another phrase from the Fantasia— which unfolds as a free rondo around the reiterations of its main theme in a variety of keys. The Sonata is brought to a stirring climax by a grand motive that strides across the closing measures in heroic step-wise motion. Sonata No. 4 in C Minor for Violin and Piano, BWV 1017 (ca. 1720) JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (Born March 21, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany Died July 28, 1750 in Leipzig) From 1717 to 1723, Bach was director of music at the court of Anhalt-Cöthen, north of Leipzig. He liked his job. His
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employer, Prince Leopold, was a well-educated man, 24 years old at the time he engaged Bach. (Bach was 32.) Leopold was fond of travel and books and paintings, but his real passion was music. He was an accomplished musician who not only played violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord well enough to join with the professionals in his household orchestra, but also had an exceptional bass voice. He started the court musical establishment in 1707 with three players (his puritanical father had no use for music), and by the time of Bach’s appointment, it had grown to nearly 20 performers equipped with a fine set of instruments. It was for this group that Bach wrote many of his outstanding instrumental works, including the Brandenburg Concertos, Orchestral Suites, Violin Concertos and much of his chamber music. Leopold appreciated Bach’s genius (his annual salary as Court Conductor was 400 thalers, equal to that of the Court Marshal, Leopold’s second highest official), and Bach returned the compliment when he said of his Prince, “He loved music, he was well acquainted with it, he understood it.” Bach was himself a skilled string player during those years (his son Carl Philipp Emanuel recalled, “He played the violin cleanly and penetratingly. He understood to perfection the possibilities of the stringed instruments”), and he composed most of his chamber works for violin, including the three sonatas and three partitas for unaccompanied violin and the six sonatas for violin and keyboard, before he left Cöthen in 1723. The six Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard largely follow the structure and style of the sonata da chiesa (“church sonata”)— four movements (slow–fast–slow–fast), imitative in texture, serious in expression—though one (No. 4 in C Minor, BWV 1017) admits a lilting Siciliano as its opening movement, and another (No. 6 in G Major, BWV 1019) begins with a quicktempo Allegro as the first of its five movements. Though the limpid rhythms and pastoral nature of the Siciliano that begins the Sonata No. 4 in C Minor (BWV 1017) derive from an old dance of Sicily, the music’s mood and even the contours of its melody recall the profoundly moving mezzo-soprano aria Erbarme Dich from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion: Have mercy on me, Lord/Regard my bitter weeping. The following Allegro is a spacious movement of serious demeanor and richly varied counterpoint. The third movement drapes a poignant violin melody upon a cushion of gently insistent triplets in the keyboard. The Sonata closes with a brilliant fugal Allegro. Sonata No. 3 (Ballade) in D Minor for Solo Violin, Op. 27, No. 3 (1924) EUGÈNE YSAŸE (Born July 16, 1858 in Liège, Belgium Died May 12, 1931 in Brussels) Eugène Ysaÿe (ee-sy-uh) was one of the most beloved musicians in the decades surrounding the turn of the 20th century, a violinist revered by his peers and lionized by audiences, a teacher of immense influence, a conductor of international repute, and a composer of excellent skill. Ysaÿe began studying violin when he was 4 and three years later was admitted to the Liège Conservatory, where he won a prize for his playing and a scholarship for study with Henryk Wieniawski at the Brussels Conservatory from 1874 to 1876. Ysaÿe learned in 1876 that Henri Vieuxtemps had recovered sufficiently from a recent
stroke to accept a few students, so he moved to Paris to receive that virtuoso’s instruction for the next three years. After serving as concertmaster of Benjamin Bilse’s orchestra (the predecessor of the Berlin Philharmonic) and touring Germany, Scandinavia and Russia, Ysaÿe settled from 1883 to 1886 in Paris, where he formed close ties with many of the city’s leading musicians: Franck, Chausson, Debussy and others composed works for him. From 1886 to 1898, Ysaÿe was professor of violin at the Brussels Conservatory, where he also established the Ysaÿe String Quartet (for which Saint-Saëns wrote his Quartet No. 1) and founded the orchestral Concerts Ysaÿe, both of which were principally dedicated to promoting new French and Belgian music. Increasing commitments for tours as violinist and conductor required him to leave the Conservatory in 1898, though he continued to live in Brussels until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Following his debut in the United States in 1894, Ysaÿe’s American prestige equaled that which he enjoyed in Europe, and he was named music director of the Cincinnati Symphony in 1918. He returned to Europe in 1922 to revive the Concerts Ysaÿe and resume his tours. Declining health caused by diabetes and an affliction of his bowing arm began to limit his activities in his later years, however, and in 1929 he was forced to have a foot amputated. He died in Brussels in May 1931. In 1937, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, a long-time violin student of his, inaugurated an annual violin competition in Brussels—the Prix International Eugène Ysaÿe (rechristened the Queen Elisabeth Competition after World War II—in his honor. Ysaÿe’s most admired compositions are the six Sonatas for Unaccompanied Violin (Op. 27), which he was inspired to compose after hearing Joseph Szigeti play a Bach solo sonata in 1924. These Sonatas are in an advanced stylistic idiom influenced by the modern music of France, and call for feats of technical mastery that rival those required by the Solo Caprices of Paganini. The one-movement Sonata No. 3 (subtitled Ballade), dedicated to the celebrated Romanian violinist, composer and teacher Georges Enesco, is a work whose imposing technical requirements do not obscure the deeply felt sentiments and powerful expressive substance of the music. Caprice after Saint-Saëns’ Étude en Forme de Valse, Op. 52, No. 6 for Violin and Piano (1901) EUGÈNE YSAŸE In 1901, Ysaÿe adapted Camille Saint-Saëns’ fearsomely difficult Étude en Forme de Valse, written in 1877 for the Alsatian pianist Marie Jaëll, as a Caprice for Violin. In both the original piano version and in Ysaÿe’s violin adaptation, the work is a dazzling virtuoso showpiece. ©2019 Dr. Richard E. Rodda
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS Joshua Bell, violin With a career spanning more than 30 years as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, conductor and director, Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated violinists of his era. Since 2011, Bell has served as music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, succeeding Sir Neville Marriner, who formed the orchestra in 1958. Bell’s interests range from the repertoire’s hallmarks to commissioned works, including Nicholas Maw’s Violin Concerto, for which Bell received a Grammy Award. He has also premiered works of John Corigliano, Edgar Meyer, Jay Greenberg and Behzad Ranjbaran. Committed to expanding classical music’s social and cultural impact, Bell has collaborated with peers including Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Chris Botti, Anoushka Shankar, Frankie Moreno, Josh Groban and Sting. Recently, Bell joined cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Jeremy Denk to record Mendelssohn’s piano trios, slated for release in early 2020. He also collaborated with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra on a record featuring the Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto, to be released in fall 2020. Bell maintains an avid interest in film music, commemorating the 20th anniversary of The Red Violin (1998) in 2018–19. The film’s Academy Award–winning soundtrack features Bell as soloist; in 2018, Bell brought the film with live orchestra to various summer festivals and the New York Philharmonic. In addition to six Live From Lincoln Center specials, Bell is also featured on a PBS Great Performances episode, “Joshua Bell: West Side Story in Central Park.” Through music and technology, Bell further seeks to expand the boundaries of his instrument. He has partnered with Embertone on the Joshua Bell Virtual Violin, a sampler created for producers, engineers and composers. Bell also collaborated with Sony on the Joshua Bell VR experience. An exclusive Sony Classical artist, Bell has recorded over 40 albums garnering Grammy, Mercury, Gramophone and Opus Klassik Awards. Sony Classical’s June 2018 release, with Bell and the Academy, features Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy and G-Minor Violin Concerto, and received a Grammy nomination. In 2007, a Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post story on Bell performing incognito in a Washington, D.C., metro station, sparked a conversation regarding artistic reception and context. It inspired Kathy Stinson’s 2013 children’s book, The Man with the Violin, and a newly-commissioned animated film. Bell debuted the 2017 Man with the Violin festival at the Kennedy Center, and, in March 2019, presents a Man with the Violin festival and family concert with the Seattle Symphony.
Bell advocates for music as an essential educational tool. He maintains active involvement with Education Through Music and Turnaround Arts, which provide instruments and arts education to children who may not otherwise experience classical music firsthand. Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Bell began the violin at age 4, and at age 12, began studies with Josef Gingold. At age 14, Bell debuted with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra and debuted at Carnegie Hall at age 17 with the St. Louis Symphony. Bell received the 2007 Avery Fisher Prize and has recently been named Musical America’s 2010 “Instrumentalist of the Year” and an “Indiana Living Legend.” He received the 2003 Indiana Governor’s Arts Award and a 1991 Distinguished Alumni Service Award from his alma mater, the Jacobs School of Music. Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin, with a François Tourte 18th-century bow. Alessio Bax, piano Combining exceptional lyricism and insight with consummate technique, Alessio Bax is without a doubt “among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public” (Gramophone). He catapulted to prominence with First Prize wins at both the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, and is now a familiar face on five continents as a recitalist, chamber musician and a concerto soloist. Bax has appeared with more than 100 orchestras including the London, Royal and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras; the Boston, Dallas, Cincinnati, Sydney and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras; and the NHK Symphony in Japan; collaborating with such eminent conductors as Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov and Jaap van Zweden. This fall brings the release of his 11th Signum Classics album, Italian Inspirations, whose program is also the vehicle for his solo recital debut at New York’s 92nd Street Y. A further debut follows with the Milwaukee Symphony, where he plays Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto. He undertakes Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto and Choral Fantasy with the Santa Barbara Symphony; plays the same composer’s complete works for cello and piano with Paul Watkins at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and on a forthcoming recording; performs trios in Santiago and Rio de Janeiro with Berlin Philharmonic concertmaster Daishin Kashimoto and French horn virtuoso Radovan Vlatković; and embarks on U.S. and European recital tours with superstar violinist Joshua Bell. After headlining the North Carolina Symphony’s season-opening concerts together, Bax and his wife and regular piano partner, Lucille Chung, give duo recitals in New York, New Haven, Atlanta and São Paulo. He rounds out the season with a full summer
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highlighted by his fourth season as artistic director of Tuscany’s Incontri in Terra di Siena festival. Bax appeared with the Boston and Melbourne Symphonies, both with Sir Andrew Davis, and with the Sydney Symphony, which he led himself from the keyboard. Other 2018–19 highlights included the pianist’s Auckland Philharmonia debut, concerts in Israel, a Japanese tour featuring dates with the Tokyo Symphony, U.S. collaborations with Miguel HarthBedoya and Edo de Waart, a high-profile U.S. tour with Berlin Philharmonic principal flutist Emmanuel Pahud, and two solo recitals at Buenos Aires’s Teatro Colón. He was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Wolf Chamber Music Award and the Lincoln Center Award.
“Emperor” Concerto; Bax & Chung; Alessio Bax plays Mozart, recorded with London’s Southbank Sinfonia; Alessio Bax: Scriabin & Mussorgsky (“Recording of the Month and quite possibly of the year” by MusicWeb International); Alessio Bax plays Brahms (a Gramophone Critics’ Choice); Bach Transcribed; and Rachmaninov: Preludes & Melodies (an American Record Guide Critics’ Choice). On Warner Classics, his Baroque Reflections album was a Gramophone Editor’s Choice. He performed Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata for Daniel Barenboim in Barenboim on Beethoven: Masterclass, available on DVD from EMI. At age 14, Bax graduated from the conservatory of Bari, Italy. He lives in New York City and joined the piano faculty of Boston’s New England Conservatory in fall 2019.
Bax’s celebrated Signum Classics discography includes recordings of Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” and “Moonlight” Sonatas (a Gramophone Editor’s Choice) and Beethoven’s
gateway The Huberman Violin by Joshua Bell Bronislaw Huberman with what would become Joshua Bell’s violin.?
M
y violin is over 300 years old.
Known as the Gibson ex Huberman, the revered instrument came into my life one fateful day during the summer of 2001, I was in London, getting ready to play a Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall and decided to stop by the famous violin shop J & A Beare to pick up some strings. As I entered the shop, Charles Beare was just coming out of the back room with a stunning violin in hand. He told me that it was the famous Huberman Strad, and of course I was instantly intrigued. I soon learned all of the known details of the violin’s remarkable history, which is complete with twists and turns to rival the film that I had only recently finished working on, The Red Violin. Believed to be one of only five or six instruments made in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy, the violin has belonged to many, including the English violinist George Alfred Gibson. But it was its connection to Bronislaw Huberman that I found particularly fascinating and somewhat personal.
Huberman was a Jewish Polish violinist who lived from 1882–1947. He was a child prodigy who was revered for his remarkable virtuosity and daring interpretations. Huberman studied under Joseph Joachim in Berlin, and by the age of 11 he was already touring Europe as a virtuoso. It was during one of those early tours that he met the pianist Arthur Rubinstein, who was only 6 at the time, and had not yet achieved the legendary status that he came to hold. The two musicians remained lifelong friends. At 13 Huberman had the honor of performing the violin concerto of Johannes Brahms in the presence of the composer himself, who was stunned by his interpretation. According to biographer Max Kalbeck, “As soon as Brahms heard the sound of the violin, he pricked up his ears, during the Andante he wiped his eyes, and after the Finale he went into the green room, embraced the young fellow, and stroked his cheeks. When Huberman complained that the public applauded after the cadenza, breaking into the lovely Cantilena, Brahms replied, ‘You should not have played the cadenza so beautifully’.” con’t on p. 8
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Huberman became one of the most celebrated musicians of his time, but it was in 1929 that his contribution to humanity took on an added dimension. During that year he visited Palestine and came up with the idea to establish a classical music presence there. During Hitler’s rise to power, Huberman had the foresight to realize he could save many Jewish artists while fulfilling his desire to start a Palestinian Orchestra. Huberman auditioned musicians from all over Europe. Those selected for the orchestra would receive contracts and, most importantly, otherwise impossible-to-get exit visas from their homeland to Palestine. Huberman raised the money for the musicians and then their families, even partnering with Albert Einstein to set up an exhaustive U.S. fundraising trip in 1936. By the end of that tour, the money for the orchestra was secured and 60 top-rate players had been chosen from Germany and Central Europe. All in all, it was a fantastically successful tour, barring one particular performance at Carnegie Hall on February 28th. That night Huberman chose to play the second half of his concert on his ‘other violin,’ a Guarneri del Gesu. During the applause following his performance of the Franck Sonata, Huberman’s valet walked on stage to inform him that his Stradivarius had been stolen from his dressing room. The police were called while Huberman tried not to panic, continuing optimistically with his encores. The instrument had previously been stolen in 1919 from a hotel room in Vienna but was recovered days later when the thief tried to sell it. This time, Huberman was not so lucky. There are several versions as to exactly how and why the violin was stolen, but what we know for sure is that the instrument ended up in the hands of a young freelance violinist by the name of Julian Altman. Some say Altman’s mother convinced him to steal it; others report that Altman bought if off the actual thief for $100. Regardless, Altman took great pains to conceal the violin’s true identity, covering its lovely varnish with shoe polish and performing on it throughout the rest of his career, which included a stint as first chair with the National Symphony Orchestra during World War II.
true identity of the instrument. She eventually returned the violin to Lloyd’s of London and received a finder’s fee; and the instrument underwent a nine-month restoration by J & A Beare Ltd which noted it was like “taking dirt off the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.” The instrument was then sold to the late British violinist Norbert Brainin of the Amadeus String Quartet. Previous to my fortuitous encounter with the violin at J & A Beare, Brainin had once let me play it after a rehearsal of the Mozart G-Minor string quintet which I had the pleasure of playing with him one evening in the 1990s. “One day you might be lucky enough to have such a violin,” he had said prophetically. And so here I was in 2001, buying some strings at the violin shop and I was introduced to the 1713 Stradivarius again. As it was handed to me, I was told it was being sold to a wealthy German industrialist for his private collection. However, after playing only a few notes on it I vowed that this would not happen. This was an instrument meant to be played, not just admired. I fell in love with the instrument right away, and even performed that very night on it at the Royal Albert Hall. I simply did not want it to leave my hands. This violin is special in so many ways. It is overwhelming to think of how many amazing people have held it and heard it. When I perform in Israel with the Israel Philharmonic, I am always touched to think how many of the orchestra and audience members are direct descendants of the musicians Huberman saved from the Holocaust—with funds raised by concerts performed on the very same instrument I play every day. Who knows what other adventures will come to my precious violin in the years to come? While it certainly will be enjoyed and admired long after I am not around anymore, for the time being I count myself incredibly lucky to be its caretaker on its 300th birthday.
Heartbroken, Huberman never saw his Stradivarius again. However, his great dream was fulfilled when the new Palestine Orchestra made its debut in December of 1936 with the great Toscanini on the podium. I like to imagine that my own relatives might have been in the audience on that opening night, as my grandfather was born there and my great grandfather was part of the first “Aliyah” of Russian Jewish immigrants to Palestine in 1882. As for his violin, it was played by its suspected thief for over 50 years, and in 1985, Julian Altman made a deathbed confession to his wife, Marcelle Hall, about the MONDAVI CENTER 2019 –20 |
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DIRECTOR CIRCLE $1,750–$3,749
The Aboytes Family Ezra and Beulah Amsterdam Russell and Elizabeth Austin Robert and Susan Benedetti Don and Kathy Bers Edwin Bradley Richard Breedon, Pat Chirapravati, and Rosa Marquez Marguerite Callahan Cantor & Company, A Law Corporation Margaret Chang and Andrew Holz
Allison P. Coudert Jim and Kathy Coulter* Terry Davison Joyce Donaldson* Matt Donaldson and Steve Kyriakis Noel Dybdal Karl Gerdes and Pamela Rohrich David and Erla Goller Dr. Eva G. Hess Sharna and Mike Hoffman Ronald and Lesley Hsu Martin and JoAnn Joye* Barbara Katz Nancy and John Keltner Robert and Cathryn Kerr Joseph Kiskis and Diana Vodrey Charlene R. Kunitz Thomas Lange and Spencer Lockson Francie and Artie Lawyer* Hyunok Lee and Daniel Sumner Bob and Barbara Leidigh Lin and Peter Lindert David and Ruth Lindgren Richard and Kyoko Luna Family Fund Natalie and Malcolm MacKenzie* Dennis H. Mangers and Michael Sestak Susan Mann Betty Masuoka and Robert Ono Janet Mayhew In Memory of William F. McCoy Sally McKee Mary McKinnon and Greg Krekelberg Katharine and Dan Morgan Craig Morkert Augustus B Morr Rebecca Newland John Pascoe and Susan Stover J. Persin and D. Verbeck Nancy Petrisko and Don Beckham Linda and Larry Raber Kay Resler* Marshall and Maureen Rice Dwight E. and Donna L. Sanders Christian Sandrock Ed and Karen Schelegle Bonnie and Jeff Smith Janet Shibamoto-Smith and David Smith Edward Speegle Maril and Patrick Stratton Geoffrey and Gretel Wandesford-Smith Dale L. and Jane C. Wierman Susan and Thomas Willoughby Verena Leu Young* And 3 donors who prefer to remain anonymous
ENCORE CIRCLE $700–$1,749
Drs. Ralph and Teresa Aldredge Michael and Shirley Auman* Laura and Murry Baria In Memory of Marie Benisek Al Patrick and Pat Bissell Muriel Brandt Craig and Joyce Copelan Robert and Nancy Crummey Gayle Dax-Conroy In Memory of Jan Conroy Dotty Dixon* Anne Duffey John and Cathie Duniway Melanie and Robert Ferrando Doris Flint Jennifer D. Franz Florence Grosskettler Mae and David Gundlach Robin Hansen and Gordon Ulrey Rick and Zheyla Henriksen Leonard and Marilyn Herrmann Ralph Hexter and Manfred Kollmeier B.J. Hoyt
James and Nancy Joye Peter G. Kenner Paul Kramer Paula Kubo Ruth M. Lawrence Michael and Sheila Lewis* Robert Medearis Roland and Marilyn Meyer John and Carol Oster Celia Rabinowitz John and Judith Reitan C. Rocke Tom and Joan Sallee Elizabeth St. Goar Sherman and Hannah Stein Karen and Ed Street* Eric and Pat Stromberg* Mont Hubbard and Lyn Taylor Cap and Helen Thomson Virginia Thresh Roseanna Torretto* Henry°and Lynda Trowbridge* Rita and Jack Weiss Steven and Andrea Weiss Dan and Ellie Wendin Kandi Williams and Frank Jahnke Paul Wyman Gayle K. Yamada and David H. Hosley Karl and Lynn Zender Karen Zito and Manuel Calderon de la Barca Sanchez And 3 donors who prefer to remain anonymous
ORCHESTRA CIRCLE $350–$699
Dorrit Ahbel Susan Ahlquist Andrew and Ruth Baron Paul and Linda Baumann Mrs. Marie C. Beauchamp Delee and Jerry Beavers Carol Benedetti Jane D. Bennett Robert Bense Ernst Biberstein Robert Biggs and Diane Carlson Biggs Brooke and Clay Brandow Meredith Burns Anne and Gary Carlson* Bruce and Mary Alice Carswell* Simon and Cindy Cherry Dr. Jacqueline Clavo-Hall Mr. and Mrs. David Covin Gwendolyn Doebbert and Richard Epstein Daniel and Moira Dykstra Nancy and Don Erman Helen Ford Edwin and Sevgi Friedrich* Joyce and Marvin Golman Paul N. and E.F. (Pat) Goldstene Tom Graham and Lisa Foster Darrow and Gwen Haagensen Sharon and Don Hallberg* Marylee Hardie Dione and Roy Henrickson Michael and Margaret Hoffman Jan and Herb Hoover Robert and Marcia Jacobs Don and Diane Johnston Weldon and Colleen Jordan Susan Kauzlarich and Peter Klavins Helen L. Krell, M.D. Bill and Laura Lacy Allan and Norma Lammers Ellen J Lange Larkin Lapides Sevim Larsen Carol Ledbetter Randall Lee and Jane Yeun Barbara Levine Ernest and Mary Ann Lewis Bunkie Mangum Joan and Roger Mann Dr. Maria I. Manea-Manoliu
David and Martha Marsh Katherine F. Mawdsley* Susan and David Miller Elaine and Ken Moody Robert and Susan Munn William and Nancy Myers Margaret Neu* Suzette Olson Frank Pajerski Sue and Jack Palmer Jill and Warren Pickett James D. and Lori K. Richardson Ms. Tracy Rodgers and Dr. Richard Budenz Ron and Morgan Rogers Sharon and Elliott Rose Shery and John Roth Bob and Tamra Ruxin Roger and Freda Sornsen Tony and Beth Tanke Robert and Helen Twiss Ardath Wood Iris Yang and G. Richard Brown Wesley Yates Melanie and Medardo Zavala And 8 donors who prefer to remain anonymous
MAINSTAGE CIRCLE $125–$349
M. Aften Elizabeth Allen* Penny Anderson Nancy Andrew-Kyle* Elinor Anklin Alex and Janice Ardans Antonio and Alicia Balatbat* Charles and Diane Bamforth Michele Barefoot and Luis Perez-Grau Carole Barnes Jonathan and Mary Bayless Lynn Baysinger Lorna Belden Merry Benard Kristen and Alan Bennett Bevowitz Family Dr. Robert and Sheila Beyer Elizabeth Ann Bianco Roy and Joan Bibbens* John and Katy Bill Sharon Billings and Terry Sandbek Dolores Blake Dr. Caroline Bledsoe Fredrick and Mary Bliss Judith Blum Brooke Bourland* Jerry and Verne Bowers—Advent Consulting Services Jill and Mary Bowers Carol Boyd* Melody Boyer and Mark Gidding Dan and Mildred Braunstein* Linda Brown Alan and Beth Brownstein Mike and Marian Burnham Dr. Margaret Burns and Dr. W Roy Bellhorn William and Karolee Bush Edward Callahan Nancy Callahan Richard and Marcia Campbell Nancy and Dennis Campos* James and Patty Carey Ping Chan* Bonnie and LeRoy Chatfield Amy Chen and Raj Amirtharajah Carol Christensen* Craig Clark and Mary Ann Reihman Gail Clark Linda Clevenger and Seth Brunner James and Linda Cline Sheri and Ron Cole Steve and Janet Collins Richard and Katie Conrad Terry Cook Nicholas and Khin Cornes Fred and Ann Costello Catherine Coupal* Victor Cozzalio and Lisa Heilman-Cozzalio Crandallicious Clan
† Friends of Mondavi MONDAVI CENTER *2019 –20 | 10 Center Mondavi Center Advisory Board Member
°In Memoriam
Tatiana and Virgil Cullen Fitz-Roy and Susan Curry Laurence Dashiell Doug and Joy Daugherty Nita A. Davidson Relly Davidson Judy and Mike Davis Judy and David Day Ann Denvir Carol Dependahl-Ripperda Linda and Joel Dobris Marjorie Dolcini* Jerry and Chris Drane Karen Eagan James Eastman and Fred Deneke Laura Eisen and Paul Glenn Carol Erickson and David Phillips Eleanor E. Farrand* Michael and Ophelia Farrell Les and Micki Faulkin Janet Feil Cheryl and David Felsch Robin and Jeffrey Fine Maureen Fitzgerald and Frank DeBernardi Dave and Donna Fletcher Dr. and Mrs. Fletcher Glenn Fortini Daphna Fram Marion Franck and Bob Lew Marlene J. Freid* Larry Friedman and Susan Orton David Fudala In Memory of David Gatmon Barbara Gladfelter Ellie Glassburner Marnelle Gleason* and Louis J. Fox Mark Goldman and Jessica Tucker-Mohl Pat and Bob Gonzalez* Drs. Michael Goodman and Bonny Neyhart Joyce and Ron Gordon Karen Governor Halley Grain Jeffrey and Sandra Granett Jim Gray and Robin Affrime Paul and Carol Grench Don and Eileen Gueffroy Abbas Gultekin and Vicky Tibbs Cary and Susan Gutowsky Wesley and Ida Hackett* Myrtis Hadden Bob and Jen Hagedorn Jane and Jim Hagedorn Kitty Hammer William and Sherry Hamre M. and P. Handley Jim and Laurie Hanschu Susan B. Hansen
Alexander and Kelly Harcourt Kay Harse Anne and Dave Hawke Mary A. Helmich Rand and Mary Herbert Calvin Hirsch, MD Pamela Holm David Kenneth Huskey Lorraine J Hwang L. K. Iwasa Diane Moore and Stephen Jacobs Vince Jacobs and Cecilia Delury Karen Jetter Mun Johl Gary and Karen Johns* Michelle Johnston Andrew and Merry Joslin David Kalb and Nancy Gelbard Shari and Tim Karpin Steve and Jean Karr Patricia Kelleher* Sharmon and Peter Kenyon Leonard Keyes Nicki King Ruth Ann Kinsella* Camille Kirk Don and Bev Klingborg John and Mary Klisiewicz* Kerik and Carol Kouklis Sandra Kristensen Roy and Cynthia Kroener C.R. and Elizabeth Kuehner Kupcho-Hawksworth Trust Leslie Kurtz Kit and Bonnie Lam* Nancy Lazarus and David Siegel Peggy Leander* Evelyn A Lewis Barbara Linderholm* Motoko Lobue Joyce Loeffler and Ken McNeil Mary Lowry and Norm Theiss Karen Lucas* Melissa Lyans and Andreas Albrecht Ariane Lyons David and Alita Mackill Dr. Vartan Malian and Nora Gehrmann Drs. Julin Maloof and Stacey Harmer Theresa Mann Pam Marrone and Mick Rogers J. A. Martin Leslie Maulhardt* Keith and Jeanie McAfee Karen McCluskey* and Harry Roth* Jim and Jane McDevitt Tim and Linda McKenna Thomas R. McMorrow
Artistic Ventures Fund
We applaud our Artistic Ventures Fund members, whose major gift commitments support artist engagement fees, innovative artist commissions, artist residencies and programs made available free to the public. James H. Bigelow Ralph and Clairelee Leiser Bulkley John and Lois Crowe Patti Donlon Richard and Joy Dorf
Nancy McRae Fisher Wanda Lee Graves and Steve Duscha Anne Gray Barbara K. Jackson° Rosalie Vanderhoef
Endowment Giving
Thank you to the following donors whose support will leave a lasting impact on Mondavi Center programs. James H. Bigelow Karen Broido Chan Family Fund Sandra Togashi Chong and Chris Chong John and Lois Crowe Richard and Joy Dorf
Mary B. Horton Barbara K. Jackson° Dean and Karen Karnopp Debbie Mah and Brent Felker Diane Marie Makley Rosalie Vanderhoef Verena Leu Young
Karen Merick and Clark Smith Joe and Linda Merva Cynthia Meyers Beryl Michaels and John Bach Leslie Michaels and Susan Katt Maureen Miller and Mary Johnson Sue and Rex Miller Vicki and Paul Moering James Moorfield Hallie Morrow Marcie Mortensson Rita Mt. Joy* Robert and Janet Mukai Bill and Diane Muller Robert Nevraumont and Donna Curley Nevraumont Kim T. Nguyen R. Noda Jay and Catherine Norvell Jeri and Clifford Ohmart Jim and Sharon Oltjen Andrew and Sharon* Opfell Mary Jo Ormiston* John and Nancy Owen Mike and Carlene Ozonoff Thomas Pavlakovich and Kathryn Demakopoulos Pete Peterson The Plante Family Jane Plocher Bonnie A. Plummer Harriet Prato Otto and Lynn Raabe Lawrence and Norma Rappaport Olga Raveling Catherine Ann Reed Fred and Martha Rehrman* Maxine and Bill Reichert David and Judy Reuben Russ and Barbara Ristine Jeannette and David Robertson Denise Rocha Jeep and Heather Roemer Ron and Mary Rogers Maurine Rollins Carol and John Rominger Richard and Evelyne Rominger Warren Roos Janet F. Roser, Ph.D. Cathy* and David Rowen Cynthia Jo Ruff* Paul and Ida Ruffin Joy and Richard Sakai* Jacquelyn Sanders Elia and Glenn Sanjume Fred and Pauline Schack Patsy Schiff
Leon Schimmel and Annette Cody Dan Shadoan and Ann Lincoln Jeanie Sherwood Jennifer Sierras Jo Anne S. Silber Teresa Simi Robert Snider and Jak Jarasjakkrawhal Jean Snyder Nancy Snyder William and Jeannie Spangler* Curtis and Judy Spencer Tim and Julie Stephens Judith and Richard Stern Deb and Jeff Stromberg George and June Suzuki Bob Sykes Yayoi Takamura and Jeff Erhardt Stewart and Ann Teal Julie Theriault, PA-C Virginia Thigpen Henry and Sally Tollette Victoria and Robert Tousignant Justine Turner* Ute Turner* Sandra Uhrhammer* Ramon and Karen Urbano Ann-Catrin Van Marian and Paul Ver Wey Richard Vorpe and Evelyn Matteucci Craig Vreeken and Lee Miller Kim and James Waits In memory of Carl Eugene Walden Andrew and Vivian Walker Don and Rhonda Weltz* Doug West Martha S. West Robert and Leslie Westergaard* Nancy and Richard White* Sharon and Steve Wilson Janet G. Winterer Suey Wong* Jessica Woods Jean Wu Timothy and Vicki Yearnshaw Jeffrey and Elaine Yee* Dorothy Yerxa and Michael Reinhart Chelle Yetman Phillip and Iva Yoshimura Phyllis and Darrel Zerger* Marlis and Jack Ziegler Linda and Lou Ziskind Dr. Mark and Wendy Zlotlow And 23 donors who prefer to remain anonymous
Legacy Circle
Thank you to our supporters who have remembered the Mondavi Center in their estate plans. These gifts make a difference for the future of performing arts and we are most grateful. Wayne and Jacque Bartholomew Karen Broido Ralph and Clairelee Leiser Bulkley John and Lois Crowe Dotty Dixon Nancy DuBois° Jolán Friedhoff and Don Roth Anne Gray
Benjamin and Lynette Hart L. J. Herrig° Mary B. Horton Margaret Hoyt Barbara K . Jackson° Roy and Edith Kanoff° Robert and Barbara Leidigh Yvonne LeMaitre° Jerry and Marguerite Lewis Robert and Betty Liu Don McNary°
Ruth R. Mehlhaff ° Joy Mench and Clive Watson Trust Verne Mendel Kay Resler Hal° and Carol Sconyers Joe and Betty° Tupin Lynn Upchurch And one donor who prefers to remain anonymous
If you have already named the Mondavi Center in your own estate plans, we thank you. We would love to hear of your giving plans so that we may express our appreciation. If you are interested in learning about planned giving opportunities, please contact Nancy Petrisko, director of development, 530.754.5420 or npetrisko@ucdavis.edu. Note: We apologize if we listed your name incorrectly. Please contact the Mondavi Center Development Office at 530.754.5438 to inform us of corrections. * Friends of Mondavi Center
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†Mondavi Center Advisory Board Member
°In Memoriam
Supporting the power of the arts Creativity not only powers the soul, but empowers your health. And research shows that they’re both linked in positive ways. So go ahead and let your artistic side flow. Learn to play a musical instrument, adventure to a new theatrical play, or join the dance class you’ve always wanted. And when you need a team of experts behind you, you’ll always have partners in your care with UC Davis Health. During open enrollment learn more about our primary care providers, our 17 clinics throughout the region — including Davis and Sacramento — and how UC Davis Health can support you.
choosehealth.ucdavis.edu
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