Program Notes:

Mark O'Connor
Born in Seattle, Washington, August 5, 1961
String Quartet No. 2 (Bluegrass)
Composed February - May, 2005
As I continue to develop other artistic interpretations of vernacular and idiomatic music of my own past, I uncover new pathways in discovering how much this music from my childhood means to me in the present tense. With my String Quartet No. 2, I bring to bare one of my favorite music styles I learned as an 11 and 12 year old, bluegrass.

Bluegrass music is the vocabulary I use in the quartet, and it instructs the musical language of the string quartet art form. Although in this case I admit that, just like my own classical string writing is unique, such is the case with my early bluegrass playing. In other words, this is not a classical interpretation of roots music, rather it is a modern interpretation of bluegrass music. Or, to put in yet a different way, it is my own version of my own version! The approach results in a doubling up of the musical uniqueness of my Quartet's conceptual endeavour, and ends up providing the listener with a new musical idea.

The process in which I used to compose the Quartet is a bit of a departure, even from my usual methods. I got the idea for this compositional process from the piano trio I had written just prior to it, Poets and Prophets. In that trio, I utilized Johnny Cash vocal phrases and rhythmic hooks from his early group, the Tennessee Two, to thematically inspire the music and developmentally produce the content. Here, with my Quartet, I kept that approach but now I simply wanted to use my own licks! This is where the process became even more unusual - I hardly played any bluegrass in the last twenty years and the bluegrass themes, rhythms, and tunes I use in the Quartet are new. I mean new to me as well! This all may be a little like riding the bicycle and never forgetting how, but with an additional twist. Even though I had not pursued bluegrass music, somewhere in the back of my mind I was still developing a repertoire of the hottest bluegrass licks and the most soulful bluegrass harmony I could muster up. I just hadn't realized it. That was, until I was ready to write this "classical" string quartet.

From the bouncy bluegrass vocal-like melodies, to the blistering fast hot licks, to the rhythmic bow "chopping," to the gospel yearnings of the slow movement, I wanted to comprehensively dive down deep into the strains of this music. I wanted to further discover what this American musical art form means to string playing, what it means to this quartet, and ultimately what my own past means to me today.
- Mark O'Connor, August 4, 2005


Mark O'Connor
Born in Seattle, Washington, August 5, 1961
String Quartet No. 3 (Old-Time)
Composed January - April, 2008
String Quartet No. 3 (Old-Time) was composed on the occasion marking 400 years of history dating from the days of the first European settlements in the Americas. My specific task from the Hudson Commission was to concentrate music based on the natural habitat and beauty of the Hudson River Valley, as well as on the time of the first European settlers. It was natural for me to think about old-time fiddling in this light. My own Dutch ancestors settled in the Hudson Valley in the early 1600s, and eventually travelled down the Appalachians to settle in the South in the early 1800s. The old-time fiddling that dominated the areas along that route is the musical language utilized in creating this String Quartet.

My interest in the rich traditions of old-time fiddling, as well as my own family history throughout the Hudson River area for many generations, combine as the seeds of inspiration for the Quartet No. 3. I employ rhythms and harmonies forming a mosaic of impressionistic wonderment about the area with its rich habitat, early struggles, and development. I myself live in Manhattan, just a couple of blocks from the Hudson River, and working on this quartet makes me feel like I have come full circle in this piece, both in musical concepts and in historical references. My knowledge of the region and all of the connections throughout the history of my family are vivid with beauty, irony, and so many confluences, both profound and simple; in many ways like the early settling of Appalachia and the musically rich traditions it produced along the way.

For the musical genesis of the Quartet, I initially created phrases from the fiddle that were molded out of old-time fiddling tradition. With technical twists and turns, the phrases became unique and new, but all the while still connected to the tradition. It is these phrases that I used as material to create the String Quartet. Through the process of composing, techniques such as re-harmonization, development, and canonic applications spill over each other like the Hudson tributaries in the Adirondacks. The counterpoint of the Quartet invigorates and establishes itself. The result is a wholly participating body, emphasizing transitions from the traditional to the contemporary in sound and style. The music here is no longer fiddle music, as the inventions of the Quartet embark on a new story, a new way to play, and with a new musical idea to put forward.

Note: Quartet No. 3 (Old-Time) is the second quartet in a long-term compositional project of six string quartets, all of them informed by different traditions of fiddling and American music.
- Mark O'Connor, March 26, 2008


Mark O'Connor
Violin
Mark O'Connor began his artistic journey with the creator of the modern era of American fiddling, Benny Thomasson, and the French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. Now, at age 48, he has melded these influences into new American classical music, and is perpetuating his vision of an American School of string playing.
His first recording for the Sony Classical record label, Appalachia Waltz, gained O'Connor worldwide recognition as a leading proponent of a new American musical idiom. The follow-up release, Appalachian Journey, received a Grammy Award in February 2001.

O'Connor's musical works are embraced by a variety of artists: his Fiddle Concerto has become the most performed modern violin concerto today; Yo-Yo Ma has recorded the solo cello version of Appalachia Waltz and frequently performs it in recital; Renée Fleming has performed and recorded the vocal song arrangements he composed for her; the Eroica Trio regularly performs his Poets and Prophets Piano Trio No. 1, which they commissioned in 2003; Sharon Isbin has recorded his duet for violin and guitar; the Twyla Tharp Dance Company and New York City Ballet are currently choreographing to Mr. O'Connor's music; and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has recently recorded his new Americana Symphony.

Mr. O'Connor regularly presents residencies at many schools of music throughout the United States. He is also the founder and president of the internationally recognized Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp in Tennessee and the Mark O'Connor String Camp in New York City.


Ida Kavafian
Violin
Violinist/violist Ida Kavafian enjoys an international reputation as one of the most active and versatile musicians performing today. Artist and member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and former violinist of the renowned Beaux Arts Trio, some of her many activities presently include performing as a soloist, in recital, with her sister Ani, as guest violist with ensembles such as the Guarneri, Orion, and American String Quartets, as Artistic Director of the highly successful Music from Angel Fire festival in New Mexico, and as a faculty member at The Curtis Institute and Bard College. With repertoire as diverse as her career, she has premiered many new works including concerti by T?ru Takemitsu and Michael Daugherty, has toured and recorded with jazz greats Chick Corea and Wynton Marsalis, and has had a solo feature on CBS Sunday Morning. Her recording of Fire and Blood by Daugherty was released in August 2009. Co-founder of the innovative group Tashi more than thirty years ago, Ms. Kavafian more recently co-founded a piano quartet called OPUS ONE.

Ms. Kavafian is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she was a student of Oscar Shumsky, and was presented in her debut by Young Concert Artists with pianist Peter Serkin. Her violin is a JB Guadagnini and her viola was made by Peter and Wendela Moes in 1988. Residing in Connecticut and Philadelphia with her husband, violist Steven Tenenbom, Ms. Kavafian has found great success in another field - the breeding, training, and showing of prize-winning Hungarian Vizsla dogs, including the Number One Vizsla in the U.S. for the year 2003 and the National Champion of 2007.


Paul Neubauer
Viola
Balancing a solo career with performances as an Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Paul Neubauer is the Orchestra and Chamber Music Director of the OK Mozart Festival in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and was the youngest principal string player in the New York Philharmonic's history, when he was only 21.

In 2005, Mr. Neubauer premiered Joan Tower's Purple Rhapsody, a viola concerto commissioned for him by seven orchestras and the Koussevitsky Foundation. He recently released an all Schumann recital album with pianist Anne-Marie McDermott for Image Recordings, and recorded several works that were written for him: Wild Purple for solo viola by Joan Tower for Naxos; Viola Rhapsody, a concerto by Henri Lazarof on Centaur Records; and Soul Garden for viola and chamber ensemble by Derek Bermel on CRI. He has appeared with over 100 orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, including the New York, Los Angeles, Helsinki, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonics; National, St. Louis, Detroit, Dallas, San Francisco, and Bournemouth Symphonies; and Santa Cecilia, English Chamber, and Beethovenhalle Orchestras. He gave the world premiere of the revised Bartók Viola Concerto, as well as Concertos by Penderecki, Picker, Jacob, Lazarof, Suter, Müller-Siemens, Ott, and Friedman.

Mr. Neubauer has performed at the festivals of Verbier, Ravinia, Stavanger, Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, Mostly Mozart, and Marlboro. He was an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the first prize winner of the Whitaker, D'Angelo, and Lionel Tertis International Competitions. He is on the faculty of The Juilliard School and Mannes College.


Matt Haimovitz
Cello
Renowned as a musical pioneer, cellist Matt Haimovitz has inspired classical music lovers and countless new listeners by bringing his artistry to concert halls and clubs, outdoor festivals and intimate coffee houses, any place where passionate music can be heard. Through his visionary approach - bringing a fresh ear to familiar repertoire, championing new music, initiating groundbreaking collaborations and innovative recording projects for Oxingale Records, maintaining a tireless touring schedule as well as mentoring an award-winning studio of young cellists at McGill University's Schulich School of Music in Montreal - Haimovitz is redefining what it means to be an artist for the 21st century.

Mr. Haimovitz made his debut in 1984, at the age of 13, as a soloist with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic, and at 17 he made his first recording for Deutsche Grammophon (Universal Classics) with James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has since gone on to perform on the world's most esteemed stages, with such orchestras and conductors as the Berlin Philharmonic with James Levine, the New York Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta, and the English Chamber Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim.

In 2006, Haimovitz received the Concert Music Award from ASCAP for his advocacy of living composers and pioneering spirit and, in 2004, the American Music Center awarded him the Trailblazer Award for his far-reaching contributions to American music. Born in Israel, Haimovitz has also been honoured with the Avery Fisher Career Grant (1986), the Grand Prix du Disque (1991), the Diapason d'Or (1991), and he is the first cellist ever to receive the prestigious Premio Internazionale "Accademia Musicale Chigiana" (1999).

All of tonight's artists are making their Royal Conservatory debuts.