Image: C.P.E. Bach / Lithographie by Heinrich E Winter
On SATURDAY, APRIL 16 at 3 p.m. the SANTA BARBARA MUSIC CLUB will present another program in its popular series of concerts of beautiful Classical music at Faulkner Gallery in the downtown Public Library.
The program opens with the lyrical “Poco adagio” from the Sonata in A minor, H. 562 of Carl Phillipp Emanuel Bach, performed by oboist Adelle Rodkey. Next, clarinetist Chad Cullins and pianist Christopher Davis interpret the poetic Fantasy Pieces, Op. 73 of Robert Schumann. Pianist and composer Leslie Hogan will then present her impressive Two Bagatelles (2003) and Image as Music (2012). The program will conclude with flutist Tracy Harris and pianist Svetlana Harris featuring four handsome works exemplifying the sensitivity and virtuosity of the flute repertoire.
Program Details
(1714-1788)
- Poco adagio
(1810-1856)
- Zart und mit Ausdruck (Delicate and with expression)
- Lebhaft, leicht (Lively, light)
- Rasch und mit Feuer (Quick and with fire)
Christopher Davis, piano
- A Little Light on the Water
- The Shape of Her Face
- Run
Notes on the Program
by Betty Oberacker
One of the highlights of Santa Barbara Music Club’s concerts is the opportunity for audiences to hear great music from a variety of historical periods, with a diversity of musical forms, performed by excellent artists.
The program opens with the lyrical “Poco adagio” from the Sonata in A minor, H. 562 of Carl Phillipp Emanuel Bach, performed by oboist Adelle Rodkey. Interestingly, even this early work, composed in 1735, enables us to detect the stylistic differences between the music of C.P.E. and that of his father, Johann Sebastian: both texture and intent of Emanuel’s music is lighter and more transparent, themes are more homophonic and less ornate, while the harmony is not so concentrated as is that of Johann Sebastian. But it is fascinating to note that the older Bach had a notably skeptical attitude to such a “light” style: “It is Prussian blue! And it will fade!” was his caustic comment on the works of his son.
Next, clarinetist Chad Cullins and pianist Christopher Davis interpret the poetic Fantasy Pieces, Op. 73 of Robert Schumann. Composed in 1849 for clarinet and piano, the composer indicated that the clarinet part could also be performed on viola or cello – and the work is in fact often performed in that form. “Fantasy Pieces” is a name of which Schumann was particularly fond, which he utilized in several other compositions, and which exemplified the fundamental romantic concept that creative expression is the product of the artist’s unrestricted imagination. So to, the connotations of “fantasy” justified the sudden mood changes, a signature of so much of Schumann’s music, reflecting the composer’s own frequently evanescent emotions and character.
Pianist and composer Leslie Hogan will then present her impressive Two Bagatelles (2003) and Image as Music (2012). Of the music, Dr. Hogan states:
“The two movements comprising Two Bagatelles, “Sleep” and “thoughts that fit like air …” were composed more than a decade apart and yet share, in their genesis, one essential element: the pleasure a pianist can have in composing for the piano. “Sleep,” though slow and often quiet, is not so much a lullaby as a musical representation of insomnia, or an uneasy drowsiness, with a hint of sweet resolution at the end. “Thoughts that fit like air …” owes much to minimalism in its texture and its joyous rush of sound. In that work, I was interested in exploring composite lines created by superimposing fragments of different lengths.
Image as Music was written to be performed at the Spoleto Festival as a part of a panel entitled Art, Creativity and Self-psychology: Aesthetic Gesture in the Arts, Self-Experience, and Psychoanalysis. The concept of gesture I chose to focus on was gesture as process, the act of creating music, and Image as Music was written as a kind of case study for that presentation. The three movements each have a specific image: “A little light on the water” sets out to capture a particular play of light on the Santa Barbara Channel, one made up of multiple shimmering layers over a barely moving, gleaming surface. The title is from a poem by Robert Hass. “The shape of her face” was written with the curve of my older daughter’s cheek in mind—though the music is also strongly influenced by my relationships with my children and the ways that those relationships can be intuitively expressed in music. The last movement, “Run,” is based on an image of a child running headlong across a lush, green meadow.”
The program will conclude with flutist Tracy Harris and pianist Svetlana Harris featuring four handsome works exemplifying the sensitivity and virtuosity of the flute repertoire: Claude Debussy’s impressionistic Beau Soir (Beautiful Evening), arranged by Todd Harris, Jules Mouquet’s delightful Pan and the Shepherds, from Le Flute de Pan, Op. 15, Benjamin Goddard’s romantic Valse, from Suite Op. 116, and Franz Doppler’s sparkling Fantaisie pastorale hongroise (Hungarian pastoral fantasy).
The Performers
Adelle Rodkey, oboist, received her BM Degree in Music Pedagogy, magna cum laude, from Wheaton Conservatory of Music (Illinois), where she studied oboe with Carl Sonik. A native of Santa Barbara, she was an oboe student of Anne Anderson and a piano student of Lana Bodnar and Marilyn Clemons. Honors accorded her have included the President’s Award from Wheaton College, as well as awards from the Music Teachers National Association and the Pillsbury Foundation. Adelle performs frequently in several orchestras and chamber music ensembles, and is Instructor of Oboe at Westmont College. As a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, she maintains a private studio of oboe and piano students.
Chad Cullins, clarinetist, began studies with Elise Unruh and Nancy Mathison in Santa Barbara and furthered his musical education at Santa Barbara City College and USC, the latter as a pupil of Christie Lundquist, Principal Clarinet of the Utah Symphony. Chad has performed in many Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera productions as well as with the SB Choral Society, SB Oratorio Chorale, Symphony of the Vines, and West Coast Symphony, and his performances with the San Luis Obispo Opera Orchestra exemplified his doubling skills on clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute. A current SBCC student and member of the SBCC Symphony, Chad’s goals include expanding his classical and jazz flute repertoire and performing tenor saxophone as soloist and in jazz ensembles.
Christopher Davis, pianist, has been concerto soloist with several orchestras including the Northwest Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and has studied with renowned teachers and scholars in Germany, Austria, and Portugal. He earned his BA Degree from UC San Diego, his MM Degree from the University of Arkansas, and his DMA Degree from UCSB. In addition to serving as the Music Academy of the West’s House Manager (2009-2016), Dr. Davis has been on the staff of the Ojai Music Festival and Westmont College (2014-2016), and has worked for Camerata Pacifica, collaborating independently with many of their musicians.
Composer/pianist Leslie A. Hogan received her principal training at the University of Kansas and the University of Michigan. Her music often manifests her longtime fascination with other art forms and with the potential of music to reflect or respond to visual stimuli from the natural world. As a pianist, she has performed with UC Santa Barbara’s Ensemble for Contemporary Music and was a co-founder and frequent performer for the Current Sounds concert series in Santa Barbara. She was on the board of the Chamber Music Society of Santa Barbara for over a decade. She has received awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (Charles Ives Fellowship, 2002; Charles Ives Scholarship, 1993), the Rapido Composition Contest, the American Music Center, ASCAP, and the Chicago Civic Orchestra, among others. Dr. Hogan has taught composition in the College of Creative Studies at the University of California-Santa Barbara since 1995.
Tracy Harris, flutist, is internationally renowned as soloist, chamber musician, teacher, and author, and is a former SBMC scholarship awardee. She earned her BM Degree at UCSB, studying with Jill Felber. Founder/Artistic Director of the popular “Tracy Harris Flute Boot Camps,” which assist over 1,000 underprivileged students annually, she records on the Elite Source label and her latest Wyndfall Duo release is the album Eklectick, with pianist Svetlana Harris. Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician, Tracy recently premiered works by Todd Harris, which were showcased at Sir James Galway’s International Master Class. Please visit www.TracyHarrisFlute.com and also view her performances on YouTube.
Svetlana Rudikova-Harris, pianist, was born in Russia and is an internationally renowned solo and collaborative pianist, recording artist, and pedagogue. She earned three Masters Degrees in Performance as well as the Special Award for Excellence in Piano Performance and Instruction at the Russian National Education Competition. Gold Medalist in the Russian National Young Performance competition at age 16, she won the Russian Choral Conducting, National Piano Prize, and Russian Piano Competitions. Svetlana has recorded on the Melodiya label and has performed for over 20 years with sister-in-law Tracy Harris, both in orchestral concerts and in their “Wyndfall Duo.” In addition, she conducts clinics, and lectures and maintains a private piano studio.
