Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Lydia Artymiw, Piano
Jennifer Foster, Soprano
Benny Kim, Violin
Elissa Lee Koljonen, Violin
Raimundo Penaforte, Percussion
Rick Rowley, Piano
Peter Rejto, Cello
Patricia Shands, Clarinet
Peter Rejto, Artistic Director
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Suite for voice and violin (only available recording), with Jennifer Foster, soprano, and Benny Kin, violin
A self-taught composer, Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) explored the colorful materials of both his native folk music tradition and Brazilian popular music to create a richly melodic national style. The three songs comprising his Suite (1923) translate as “The Young Girl and the Song,” “I Wish to be Happy,” and “The Peasant Girl of Brazil.” The second and third songs have a syllabic text, the first of which may be paraphrased: “The thin, gaunt girl, her skirt flying above her bony knees, came half dancing, singing, in the dim twilight. She beat a rhythm with her stick in the dust of the sidewalk. Suddenly she turned to the old Negro woman who came tripping behind, an enormous clothes bundle on her head. ‘Oh, give it to me, granny?’ ‘No.’ ”
Manuel Ponce: Sonata Breve (only available recording), with Elissa Lee Koljonen, violin, and Rick Rowley, piano
Manuel Ponce (1882–1948), famous for his song “Estrellita,” earned esteem as the one Mexican composer whose music appealed to all levels of society. A brilliant pianist, Ponce studied composition in France with Dukas. He absorbed impressionist and neoclassical elements, assimilating them into his own national style based on Mexico’s folk heritage. His Sonata Breve (1933) develops the piano and violin as equal partners.
Alberto Ginastera: Pampeana #2 Rapsodia para Violoncello y Piano, with Peter Rejto, cello, and Lydia Artymiw, piano
Ginastera (1916–1983) wrote three “Pampeanas” for varied scorings, each intended to evoke the essence of the Argentine plains. He writes: “Whenever I have crossed the pampa, my spirit felt itself inundated by changing impressions, now joyful, now melancholy, produced by its limitless immensity and by the transformation that the countryside undergoes in the course of the day . . . from my first contact, I desired to write a work reflecting these states of my spirit.” Throughout Pampeana #2 (1950) Ginastera exploits characteristic Argentine dance rhythms—the estilo, which moves first in a slow 4/4, then a fast 6/8; and the malambo, the rapid foot-stomping dance of the gauchos.
Carlos Guastavino: Sonata para Clarinete y Piano (only US recording), with Patricia Shands, clarinet, and Lydia Artimiw, piano
Carlos Guastavino (1912–2000) was born into a musical family in Santa Fe, Argentina. After initial training with his aunt, he studied piano and composition at the National Conservatory in Buenos Aires, where he received a solid, if European-oriented, education. Although the voice remained his favorite vehicle for his lyrical ideas, Guastavino composed in many genres. His works combine late romantic gestures with national Argentine themes.
Raimundo Penaforte: Quartice for four guitars and 'obligata et ad libitum' percussion (World premier performance), with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and Raimundo Penaforte, percussion
From the composer: Quartetice is a Portuguese-inspired word of my own creation meaning “the process of writing music for four players.”
I. Prelúdio (prelude) is a slow movement of contemplative character. It acts as an introduction to the other movements, but can also be played independently.
II. Gangorra (seesaw) is a dancelike movement based on a northern Brazilian rhythm called baião. Repetitive harmonic and rhythmical patterns give this movement a minimalistic touch.
III. Interlúdio (interlude) carries the same musical characteristics as the Prelúdio. It is slow and contemplative but also independent.
IV. Frevo Barroco (Baroque Frevo) is inspired by the Brazilian street dance Frevo from the state of Pernambuco. It is a physically demanding “binary” type of dance popular during carnival celebrations. Dancers carry colorful umbrellas and their movements resemble those of Russian dancers. Its simple, marcato bass-line pattern made me think of the figured bass of the Baroque period.
The percussion used in these movements is mostly for coloristic purposes and rhythmical accents. The term obbligato et ad libitum percussion means optional and improvised percussion.
Artistic Director and Cellist Peter Rejto has appeared throughout the U.S. and abroad in hundreds of performances as soloist and with the Los Angeles Piano Quartet of which he is a founding member. His 1996 recording of the concertos of Gerard Schurmann and Miklos Rozsa with the Pecs Hungarian Symphony was greeted with great critical acclaim. Fanfare writes of this recording, “Some of the best cello playing I have heard. A full rich tone, . . . deep understanding and a broad vision of these compositions musically and emotionally.” Mr. Rejto has appeared at the summer festivals of Aspen, La Jolla, Round Top, Carmel Bach, Marlboro, Fairbanks, Sitka, Santa Fe, Grand Canyon, and BRAVO! Colorado. His many honors include winning the Young Concert Artists International competition and the Debut Award of the Young Musicians Foundation, Los Angeles. Currently Professor of Music at the Oberlin Conservatory, Mr. Rejto performs on a Dominicus Montagnana, made in Venice in 1721. He has recorded for Sony Classical, Silva Classics, Summit, Music Masters, and Pickwick.
Lydia Artymiw, Piano, made her professional debut at age 8 with the Philadelphia Orchestra. A recipient of numerous awards, including the 1987 Avery Fisher Career Grant, she also garnered top prizes in major competitions, such as the 1976 Leventritt and 1978 Leeds Competitions. She has appeared with more than 100 orchestras throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Far East and has collaborated with such artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Stoltzman, Arnold Steinhardt, the Guarneri, Vermeer, American, Orion, and Shanghai Quartets and has toured nationally with Music From Marlboro. Ms. Artymiw’s solo albums on the Chandos label have won “Best of the Year” and “Critic’s Choice” awards from Gramophone Magazine. She is on the faculty of the University of Minnesota.
Jennifer Foster, Soprano, has built an enviable reputation as a prominent vocal artist. Lauded for the tenderness, warmth, and security of her singing, she made her debut as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte with the Los Angeles Music Center Opera. She has toured nationally with the San Francisco Opera as Adele in Die Fledermaus and has performed with the Young Artists of Florida Grand Opera as Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata. She has also appeared with the festivals of Santa Fe; Aldeburgh, England; and Verbier, Switzerland in a concert appearance with Bobby McFerrin. She has been a featured soloist with symphonies in Los Angeles, Boston, San Diego, among others.
Benny Kim, Violin, is the winner of several prestigious awards, including the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1983. The Washington Post writes that his “technique was dazzling; his emotional depth and style touch the peak of romantic violin playing.” In addition to performing with many leading American orchestras, including the Chicago and St. Louis Symphonies, he maintains a busy solo, recital, and chamber music career across the U.S. Mr. Kim has participated in international music festivals, such as Interlochen, Aspen, Marlboro, Vancouver, BRAVO! Colorado, Cape Cod, the Grand Canyon, Dubrovnik, and France. He is a graduate of Juilliard and teaches violin at the University of Missouri/Kansas City Conservatory of Music.
Elissa Lee Koljonen, Violin, is recognized as one of the most celebrated young violinists of her generation. She first received international acclaim by becoming the first recipient of the prestigious Henryk Szeryng Foundation Award and silver medalist of the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition. Ms. Koljonen has performed with orchestras and symphonies in Philadelphia, Boston, Minnesota, Detroit, Baltimore, Helsinki and Seoul, among many others. As recitalist, she has frequented many musical capitals such as London, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Seoul, Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York. Born in the United States, she received her early education in Hong Kong and Korea. She returned to the U.S. at age 11 to further her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. Ms. Koljonen records for Dorian Records.
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet is recognized as one of America’s premier instrumental ensembles, considered both charismatic and versatile. Popularly known as the LAGQ, four virtuoso guitarists transcribe concert masterworks that provide a fresh look at music of the past, along with interpretations of world music and contemporary works that break new ground. Each member of the group—John Dearman, Scott Tennant, Andrew York, and William Kanengiser—is a seasoned soloist and gives the LAGQ the unique capability of rotating the “first chair” from piece to piece. The LAGQ has appeared at prestigious guitar, festival, and chamber music series worldwide, including Philadelphia, Chicago, New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Montreal, Toronto, Japan, China, Germany, the UK, Singapore, Istanbul, and many others. They have been featured guests on TV and radio programs, such as St. Paul Sunday Morning, Evening at Pops, CNN’s Show Biz Today, CBS’ Saturday Morning, and A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts. The group’s most recent release is Air & Ground on Sony Classical. The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet appears courtesy of Sony Classical.
Raimundo Penaforte, Composer, is one of the most versatile and prolific Brazilian musicians of his generation. His works have been performed in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Japan and South America. In the U.S., Mr. Penaforte’s music has been performed at The White House and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. In 1996 his New York debut was as Artistic Director of the Brazil-New York Jazz Festival at Town Hall. Recently he was in Brazil producing the recording of his New York Suite, a suite with trumpet and piano, written for and premiered in 1995 by Brazilian trumpeter Fernando Dissenha. Mr. Penaforte has studied at Hardin-Simmons University, New York University and The Juilliard School, where he currently teaches.
Rick Rowley, Piano, has appeared extensively as a recitalist, concerto soloist and in chamber music performances with many of the world’s leading musicians. Mr. Rowley’s has been heard frequently on radio broadcasts in the U.S. and recorded for radio in Europe. He has had a long association with the International Festival Institute at Round Top, beginning in the early 1970s. During that time he has performed in numerous concerts and served as Program Director. Mr. Rowley is also on the faculty at the University of Texas in both the Music and Drama departments. His recordings are on the Round Top Records, Premier Recordings, and Summit Records labels.
Patricia Shands, Clarinet, has been acclaimed throughout the U.S., South America and Europe. She was a prizewinner in the Concert Artist Guild and John Knowles Paine competitions and currently performs as a member of the Pacific Arts Woodwind Quintet, the American Sinfonietta, Music Now!, and the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra. Her recorded performances are available on the Round Top and Summit labels. Ms. Shands is currently Professor of Clarinet and Chamber Music at the University of the Pacific.
Cover art: Brenda Semanick • Program notes: Nancy Monsman • Design and art
direction: GroundZero • Producer and Recording Engineer: Matthew Snyder