Image: Wisperfal, choreography by Carrie Diamond
This concert features two works, one from the Twentieth and one from the Twenty-first Century. First, Adelle Rodkey, oboe, and Eric Valinsky, piano will present Strauss’s Concerto in D major for oboe and small orchestra, one of his last works. This is followed by Wisperfal, a piece originally written for solo piano for choregrapher Carrie Diamond and performed by Ballet Santa Barbara. This concert features the World Premiere of the 4-hand version of Wisperfal, performed by Pascal Salomon and Eric Valinsky.
Program Details
AV 144, TrV 292 (1945)
(1864-1949)
- I. Allegro moderato
- II. Andante
- III. Vivace-Allegro
Eric Valinsky, piano
World Premiere
(b. 1952)
- I. Summer: Allegro con brio
- II. Autumn: Allegro
- III. Winter: Adagio non troppo-Allegro
- IV. Spring: Allegro
Eric Valinsky, piano segundo
Notes on the Program
Eric Valinsky’s Wisperfal, a four-movement fantasy based on Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, was originally commissioned by Ballet Santa Barbara (now the AD&M Performance Group) in 2010. Although originally intended for several instruments, budgetary considerations constrained the work to piano solo. The work was premiered at Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theater for over 1,000 elementary school children. The piano solo version never quite did justice to Valinsky’s musical ideas, and fourteen years later, he expanded the work to piano four-hands. Valinsky drew from Vivaldi’s use of ostinato, the repetition of musical patterns for musical effect, and sequence, the repetitive patterns that shift in pitch. Although the use of ostinato is a feature of minimalist music, Wisperfal is not minimalist music. Valinsky likes to think of it as a “maximalist” celebration of Vivaldi’s music.
The title Wisperfal is compounded from abbreviations for the seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Each movement corresponds to one of the four concerti. The choreographer changed the order of the movements to start with the joy of summer and end with the hope of spring and this order was preserved by the composer. Wisperfal quotes Vivaldi liberally, but also includes quotes from other works by Valinsky. Each of the movements uses a recurring motif, the carillon chime from Riverside Church in New York City, which the composer heard every quarter-hour when he was a doctoral student at Columbia University. The chimes mark transitions, as they do in real life.
Richard Strauss’s Concerto in D Major for oboe and small orchestra or piano is a three-movement suite that was among the last works that he wrote, and is harmonically rich with long soaring melodies, akin to the musical language in Rosenkavalier. It was commissioned by oboist John De Lancie, who was a significant player and teacher in the American oboe community.
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.
Pascal Salomon, piano, was born in Israel, grew up in France, and has concertized as recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber music pianist in Europe, Israel, China, and the U.S. He has been featured soloist with prominent European orchestras, and has recorded three solo and chamber music CDs. A dedicated teacher, Dr. Salomon taught piano for 9 years at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, Switzerland, and has served as collaborative piano faculty member at Westmont College.
He is currently building the upcoming Santa Barbara Conservatory of Music, which will offer a complete music education for grades 1-12 in the Santa Barbara area with a mentorship approach and possible scholarships.
A native Manhattanite, Eric Valinsky has, for more years than he would like to admit, maintained dual careers in computer systems architecture and music. He was educated at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the University of Illinois, finally achieving his DMA in music composition from Columbia University. He studied composition with Walter Aschaffenburg, Salvatore Martirano, Jack Beeson, and Darius Milhaud; piano with Sara Crawford Drogheo and Emil Danenberg; and conducting with Harold Farberman. While living in Los Angeles, he became music director and composer-in-residence for The Storie-Crawford Dance Theatre Ensemble. Returning to New York, he served in a similar capacity for Danny Buraczeski’s Jazzdance, Uris Bahr and Dancers, and The New American Ballet Ensemble as well as composer-in-residence for The Rachel Harms Dance Company, Opera Uptown, and the Dance Department at City College of New York. He is currently Music Director for the American Dance & Music Performance Group and moonlights as founder and partner of Inlineos LLC, a strategic Internet consulting company.
