Quintet on 5th
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 – 8pm
University of Michigan Faculty Woodwind Quintet
Amy Porter, flute
Nancy Ambrose King, oboe
Daniel Gilbert, clarinet
Jeffrey Lyman, bassoon
Adam Unsworth, horn
with Special Guest, Ilya Itin, piano
University of Michigan Faculty
Woodwind Quintet
www.music.umich.edu
Amy Porter, flute
Three-time international prize winning flutist Amy Porter has been acclaimed by major critics as an exciting and inspiring American artist who matches "her fine controlled playing to a commanding, sensual stage presence.” Following a performance of Jacques Ibert‘s Concerto with the Houston Symphony, the Houston Chronicle praised her performance stating: “She has succeeded in avoiding all the overdone playing styles of the most famous flutists today... She also was an exuberant, easily extroverted performer whose enthusiasm for the music made the composition sparkle." Ms. Porter first leapt to international attention winning the Kobe International Flute Competition in Japan, which led to invitations to perform throughout the world. Ms. Porter has been heard in recital on National Public Radio, highlighted on PBS Live From Lincoln Center. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Ms. Porter is a graduate of the Juilliard School after which she held the position of Associate Principal Flute in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for eight years before becoming Professor of Flute at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance in Ann Arbor.
Nancy Ambrose King, oboe
Nancy Ambrose King, oboe, has appeared as soloist and recitalist throughout the United States and abroad, including solo performances with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic (Russia), the Janacek Philharmonic (Czech Republic), the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra, the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Swan in Birmingham, England, the Festival Internacional de Musica Orchestra in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the New York String Orchestra, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and Sinfonia da Camera. She has performed as recitalist in Weill Recital Hall and as soloist at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. A recording artist for Naxos, CBS Masterworks, Arabesque and other labels, King has been heard as soloist on WQXR radio in New York City and NPR’s “Performance Today”. She is currently Associate Professor of Oboe at the University of Michigan and President of the International Double Reed Society.
Daniel Gilbert, clarinet
Clarinetist Daniel Gilbert joined the faculty at the University of Michigan as Associate Professor of Clarinet in 2007. Previously, he held the position of Second Clarinet in the Cleveland Orchestra from 1995 to 2007. Mr. Gilbert teaches at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and he also served as the Associate Professor of Clarinet at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music from 2000 to 2001. A native of New York City, Mr. Gilbert received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and both a Master of Music degree and a Professional Studies Certificate from The Juilliard School. Before joining the Cleveland Orchestra, Mr. Gilbert was active as a freelancer in New York City, appearing regularly with groups including: The Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theater, New Jersey Symphony, Solisti New York, the Stamford Symphony and the New Haven Symphony, where he played principal clarinet from 1992 to 1995.
Jeffrey Lyman, bassoon
Jeffrey Lyman, bassoon, considered one of the premier performers, teachers, and historians of the bassoon in the U.S. is Associate Professor of Bassoon at the University of Michigan, having received his undergraduate degree from Temple University and his MM and DMA from the University of Michigan. He has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Savannah Symphony, and the Grand Rapids Symphony. Appearances at international festivals include the Moscow Autumn Festival, the Festival dei Due Mondi (Spoleto, Italy), Académie Européene d'Été de Musique (Tournon, France), Colorado Music Festival, Vermont Mozart Festival, Saint Bart's Music Festival (French West Indies) and the Chamber Music Conference and Composers' Forum of the East at Bennington College. His most recent major project is a mixed-media web-based survey of the history of the bassoon in Mexico and the new World titled El Bajón en México.
Adam Unsworth, horn
Before coming to Michigan, Adam Unsworth served as Fourth Horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra from 1998 to 2007, and prior to that was Second Horn of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, served as a guest Principal horn with the St. Louis Symphony as well as Principal horn of the Colorado Music Festival. A former faculty member at Temple University, he has appeared at many universities throughout the United States as a recitalist and clinician. He has made several solo and chamber appearances at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Mr. Unsworth received his formal training at Northwestern University, and continued with graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2006 Adam released his first jazz CD entitled Excerpt This!, which features new Unsworth compositions for jazz quintet of horn, woodwinds, vibraphone, bass, and drums, and two original works by multi-woodwind virtuoso Les Thimmig.
with Special Guest, Ilya Itin, piano
see Program #1
György Sándor Ligeti
(1923-2006; Hungary)
Six Bagatelles for wind quintet
(1953)
John Steinmetz (b. 1951; USA)
Quintet (1984)
Gary Schocker
(b. 1959; USA)
Chorinho (~1995)
Francis Poulenc
(1899-1963; France)
Sextet for piano and
wind instruments (1939)
About The Music:
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Sextet for piano and Winds
Poulenc wrote his Sextet for Piano and Winds in 1933. He revised it some six years later, and then it was finally published in its present form. Poulenc was above all, a melodist. This was no small feat, living in the shadows of the giants of the modern-day twentieth century composers.
The idea of woodwinds performing as a chamber ensemble has had a very checkered history. During the nineteenth century it was all but forgotten as a viable musical entity. However, the idea of winds playing chamber music had a strong renaissance in the twentieth century. Just about every major composer has composed something for winds in many different combinations.
The Poulenc sextet is a prime example of melody, wit, structure, and a variety of colors, especially with the addition of the piano in the mix. Even though he publicly acknowledged that he didn’t mind “using other people’s chords,” his works are all very identifiable. If you listen closely, you might even hear a reference to “Melancholy Baby” in the first movement. The second movement is reminiscent of Eric Satie in part, and the third movement is a dashing display of vibrant and jazzy rhythms.
Francis Poulenc was born into a pharmaceutical family known as Rhone-Poulenc, which, through various mergers, is known today as Sanofi-Aventis, the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world. He displayed a formidable piano talent and was one of France’s ‘Les Six.’ He is best known for his sacred works and songs for voice.
(notes © William Noll)
